Crucified Mortals - Converted by Decapitation
This intro had really sparked my curiosity with it’s almost Katatonia-like atmosphere. Unfortunately the rest of the album is dated Bay Area-style Thrash with a vocalist who sounds like Dave Hewson with a touch of Downs and a harelip. Cool intro, though.
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Cropment - Spiral of Violence
Not sure if a pro-love, pro-peace intro/sample from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the best way to get someone psyched up for an ultra-violent Death Metal album, but I guess I can’t argue. These guys play brutal Death reminiscent of Butchered at Birth-era Cannibal Corpse, but with a touch more melody. The low growls are good, but not quite Immolation-good, while the high screams a la 2004 Chris Barnes tend to become a little annoying after a while. Overall this isn’t bad, just a little boring.
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Crebain / Leviathan - split
This split CD compiles six tracks each from two of the Bay Area’s one-man Black Metal bands (the Bay Area is also home to Draugar, yet another one-man Black Metal band). Of the two, Leviathan is more famous but Crebain is no less talented. Crebain main-man Ankalagon has more of a Trash/Death Metal background and while this is a solid slab of Black Metal, it does have a more Death/Thrash vibe to it. The music is more memorable and harder hitting than your average “beat one good riff into the ground” Black Metal band and the production gives Crebain a clear, heavier sound. The songs seem a little bit drawn out but they still kick substantial ass. Leviathan is also sporting a clearer sound than on their previous releases and it actually shows a different side of the band. The past three Leviathan releases have been much more in the Darkthrone vein, having an ugly, raw sound. Their half of this split seems more Emperor/Burzum inspired and has keyboards and a much more atmospheric sound while still remaining true to their older style. The only odd track on this split is a cover of “Blood Angel” (a Von track) done by Leviathan. It comes after a long, Ambient outro that rounded out their first five tracks. For those who know the Von sound, “Blood Angel” is faithful to it, down to the vocals. If this had been done prior to Leviathan’s fifth track (“Now Relic”), I wouldn’t have had a problem with it, but “Blood Angel” sounds like it was tacked on at the end as an afterthought.
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Corruption - Hellectrify Yourself (video)
I haven’t heard anything from these guys since 1996’s Ecstasy, and I don’t remember liking it too much. This live DVD has done nothing to change my mind about this band and its Stoner/Groove “Metal,” even though this does look and sound great, in wide-screen and 5.1 Dolby audio, etc… It’s the standard Metal Mind treatment, which is to say that it’s technically very impressive, and has plenty of bonus stuff. But when the band sucks, who cares?
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The Conspiracy - 3000 Crosses
Paper-thin ’80s Ass Metal from Michigan. Not even the quality production or good drumming that you normally get from even the most dense Ass bands. I can honestly say this sounds like Judas Priest… if they’d began their career in 2001 and were from Michigan.
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Code Black - Penetration
This might be the worst singer I’ve ever heard. He sounds like Phil Anselmo and Tom G. Warrior colliding in their respective Glam phases. The lyrics are severely unintelligent, and the music might have been considered heavy and groundbreaking in 1985. Bloodless, lifeless Thrash-by-the-numbers.
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Claymore - Released
I’ll be honest, I didn’t really have much interest in this 5-song demo/CDR until I saw the band mentioned in the thanks list on the new Red Chord album. What handy little marketing tools thanks lists are. Well, these guys aren’t bad. I am actually reminded of newer Varathron of all things. Melodic, adventurous Black/Death showcasing a ton of musical talent, especially in the keyboard department. Great drumming, decent riffs, and the vocalist even sounds like Necroabyssious. All I would change, other than the poor production, is the gay Celtic harmonies that everyone seems to be using nowadays. Or maybe they’re supposed to be Irish, Scottish, Finnish, or whatever fucking kind of traditional Folk-sounding bullshit you can think of. The bottom line is that if it sounds like an Irish Spring commercial or makes me envision men in kilts, it’s not cool, it has no place in Metal, and I don’t want any part of it. It’s fucking 2005, get with the god damn program!
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Chaosbreed - Brutal
This album is not aptly named. I would have gone with Washed Up Members of Bands That Sold Out Over a Decade Ago Trying to Cash in on a Popularity Resurgence in the Style They Were Once So Quick to Abandon. But that’s just what I would’ve gone with. My apologies to the former members of Amorphis and Sentenced involved with this too-little-too-late Death Metal peace offering, but unfortunately, god forgives… I don’t.
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Centinex - Decadence - Prophecies of Cosmic Chaos
Hard to believe these guys have been toiling since 1990. It’s 2004 and these guys still write Death Metal like they just opened Sunlight. Not much has changed with the Centinex attack. Fast, heavy, melodic Death blending all kinds of countrymate influence. From Entombed and Dismember to At the Gates and In Flames, it’s quite an effective amalgam. Okay, so maybe this time around they’ve succumbed to a few modern tactics (occasional clean vocals, slower tempos, more dynamics, melodic choruses a la Hypocrisy), but it does breathe some new life into their sound, and if it can gain this criminally underrated band a little notoriety it’s well worth it. Here’s to Centinex for another solid effort and perhaps a long overdue breakthrough.
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