Recorded way back in 1990, this Thrash onslaught, featuring Killjoy on vocals, has held up pretty well. In fact, very well.

I’d really hoped that I could simply type “queens of the world” and be done with it, but this really isn’t that bad. Featuring David Chastain and… Wait a minute! Did this guy really just sing “We’re the kings of the world and we’re gonna get ya!” like four times in a row? And looking over the rest of the lyrics, I see that this is hardly the worst offender. Oh man, how do people feel good about themselves while singing that kind of pap? I’d be too embarrassed to stand in front of a group of people and say shit like “Have no fear, their end is near / They’re Wild / Wild in the streets.” I was considering saying that this proto-Thrash wasn’t so bad, but the dorky and all-to-understandable lyrics have completely fucked it for me. I know they’d never do it, because they clearly think that their shit is gold, but going all instrumental next time would be a great idea.

I’m a little unclear on what’s going on with my review copy, but I think that it’s just the first four (of nine) tracks from this album. Great. Maybe next time I could just get a postcard with a brief description of the album on it, and try to review that. One of the “missing” tracks is apparently a Carcass cover, which I would have like to have heard, considering that it seems to be where the band got its name and all. Anyway, what there is of this is very well played, technically proficient Thrash with some Death Metal tendencies, plus occasional flourishes such as keyboards. It’s odd to listen to this and think that there is a Carcass influence, but there certainly is - just latter-day Carcass, of course. I’m also reminded a little bit of Torchure (if anyone remembers them…). I really like these tracks quite a lot, and I just wish I had the entire album, so that I could have given it the complete review it so clearly deserves. Record labels of the world, please take note: if you want us to review your releases, please do everyone involved a favor and send the complete package for us to examine. It can only lead to longer, more accurate reviews, and we all want that, don’t we? This album probably deserves a higher rating, but having only heard less than half of it, I can’t say with any degree of certainty.

Now this is just blade-to-the-bone Death Metal played to perfection. This will make you start a pit with yourself. Much more bestial than their flawless 5-song debut, Mourning the Millennium, but they have retained much of the infectious catchiness that takes this supreme band over the top. Mind-boggingly technical at times, sparse and blunt at others, but always with a swift foot aimed at the ass. The vocalist has the perfect deep Death growl in league with anybody’s. Fans of Suffocation, Fleshgrind, and Broken Hope pay attention, this band is serious about creating quality Death Metal. (My only complaint: horrible layout colorization!!)

After all these years it does seem very strange to me to hear all these bands playing Thrash/Power Metal and using this “cleanly sung” vocal style. Brainstorm are somewhat unique in that they rip off Overkill a lot more than say Helloween or Running Wild (although they’re certainly not shy about “borrowing” from those bands, too). This guy’s vocals are a bit more reigned in than Blitz’s, but I’m not sure if that works for or against them. Other than that, they play it by-the-numbers the whole way, including a couple “power ballads.”

Pretty decent hybrid of Earth Crisis-style Metalcore and straightforward Rock. Unfortunately, this album has the tendency to seriously drag on. Whether it be too sappy or too monotonous in the basic Hardcore flow, the mind really starts to wander about halfway through this disc. The opening, title, track is cool; a nice forecast of everything this band can do. Then the mood shifts to the emotive cut “Rookie,” which is easily the standout track on the LP (for me at least). But, after that, things drift into mediocrity, not really picking up with a focused musical idea until the very last song, “The Force Majeure,” which is this Delaware quintet at their most aggressive. I know that three good songs out of 13 isn’t really a great score, but they are indeed 3 really kick-ass tunes. Just wait ‘til one of your friends buys this, and then ask to borrow it.

More Progressive Black Metal from this talented band. As expected, the production and songwriting are stellar. Really the only thing that bugs me at all is the fact that vocals are so often “cleanly” sung, and that seems to counteract the intensity of the music. Still, it would be pretty impossible to not like this album.

The first thing I want to say about Bloodshed Divine is that if they made the logo on the front of this CD’s cover any more illegible, they would be up for the world’s record. Not only is it hard to read by itself, but it is in a dark color on a black background. If you don’t look at the cover in the right angle, you’d think that it wasn’t there. Musically, Bloodshed Divine plays Doomy Black/Death Metal that reminds me a bit of Judas Iscariot - though at half speed with Death growls intertwined with the traditional raspy shrieking. The sound on this release isn’t the greatest - there are some inconsistencies in the production - but this is far from the worst I’ve ever heard. There is just enough polish on here to elevate it from the “Necro” Black Metal style but it also retains the rather “cold” guitar sound so common amongst Black Metal bands these days. I personally dislike the “cold” sound because it makes the guitars sound very thin, and Bloodshed Divine could have used a warmer, fuller sound. Summoned to the Ancient Dawn is an album that is solid but a little on the unadventurous side. Their next album should be the one that either defines them as contenders or doom them to mediocrity.

Considering that former Pyogenesis member Roman Schoemsee is in this band, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had really hated the last couple Pyogenesis albums, so I put this in the player with the idea that it probably would be no good. But after hearing it, I’m sort of mixed. It is Doomy, I suppose. The press release says “Gothic Metal,” and I’d go along with that. But, despite the harsh vocals, this really could be heavier. The acoustic guitars and keyboards (neither of which is always present) “lighten” things up too much sometimes. Maybe they’re just trying too hard to create “atmosphere.” Maybe it’s the drum machine. But remember, I’m not machine-o-phobic! I’m not sure what the problem here is. But something just isn’t quite right. Still, this is an interesting album, and everything does seem to come together just right in a few places closer to the end of the disc. A minute or so of the song “Bloodline” is excellent, for example. So, the real problem here might seriously be that I don’t have the necessary time to listen to things 15 times before I review them (once again, count the number of reviews before commenting).