Eminenz - The Blackest Dimension
Holy Hell! Imagine the eerie keyboards and machine-gun drums of fast symphonic Black Metal, combined with semi-early Death Metal riffs that would have been at home on the first Deicide album. Yes, this kicks 666 different kinds of ass, and has more lined up around the block to kick later. Perhaps not utter perfection, but damn close. Un-fucking-believable.
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Elysium (Poland) - Dreamlands
Alternating between Doom and Deathrash, this band generally keeps things interesting, and reminds me a bit of early Cemetary. However, every once in a while, the singer decides that using a sort of deep, goofy “clean” voice would be a good idea. He’s wrong of course, but at least it’s a rare occurrence.
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Elegy - Forbidden Fruit
I’ve heard a lot of old-style Power Metal bands in the last few months, and Elegy really stands out as one of the best. They’re ultra-high energy technical onslaught is balanced out with a sort of melancholy feeling and very memorable songwriting. And I really should have known that would be the case. Not because this band has been around since the mid ’80s (although that was something of an indicator), but rather because it simply will not play in my reference CD player. And that’s the kind of luck I have. I’m listening to it as played by my computer’s CD-ROM drive right now…
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Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
I really loved this band’s last album, Come My Fanatics…. It possessed the heaviest guitar tone I’ve ever heard, plus an all-around more Doomy and oppressive sound than what we have here. This time, the EW guys seem to be going for a much more natural (yet still heavy) sound. That’s okay with me, and really if I’d heard this album first, I’d be telling you how heavy this guitar tone is. But, knowing how much more supremely crushing this band was and can be, I find myself wondering why they went in this kind of more groovy, Stoner Rock (as opposed to Stoner Doom, I guess) direction. Perhaps they wanted to continue to evolve their sound, but as a note to all bands, when you’ve reached perfection it’s time to stop evolving, because the only way left to go is down. Still, on its own merits, Dopethrone is a massive bong of groovy Doom.
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Einherjer - Norwegian Native Art
This is album number three for Viking Metal stalwarts Einherjer and for whatever reason, they have never really taken off. They had one album on Napalm, one on Century Media and now one on what I assume is their own label. The music of Einherjer is quite good, blending older Heavy Metal and Classical bits together to form a sound that is pretty much unique. As before, there are plenty of references to the Norse gods and the lyrics are markedly better than Odin Owns Ye All because they have gotten rid of most of the hokey parts. Unfortunately, some hokey parts still exist. I don’t know if these guys should be singing in English, as this might actually flow better (and make more sense) in Norwegian. Musically, Einherjer is quite good but at the same time, the music just doesn’t grab you. It’s good, just not that interesting. When an album gets boring, especially not that far in, it is always a bad thing. Einherjer has the talent. They also have good ideas. Now let’s see if album number 4 can grab my attention the way it should.
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Eidolon - Nightmare World
Melodic Power Metal from Canada with some Thrash-stylings thrown in for good measure. While there are a number of bands that fit this description, Nightmare World’s song-content is what helps Eidolon stand apart from the rest. Instead of writing songs about swords, dragons, and rescuing maidens from their virginity, these guys focus on the workings of the inner-mind and the darkness within one’s soul. In fact, I would say that they strongly resemble Nevermore in this respect. Although there isn’t much in the way of technical wizardry going on here, there is plenty of creativity to be found, and Eidolon’s music is anything but predictable. Check out the acoustic work on “Fortress of Red.” And “Eye of Illusion” has almost a “Pull the Plug” feel to it. Indeed, the production favors the guitar-sound which imbues the music with a more powerful presence that is sometimes lacking in many releases in this genre. A definite force to be reckoned with.
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Earth Crisis - Slither
That’s weird; the CD says “Earth Crisis” on it, but when I hit the play button, out came the new Fear Factory CD. No, I’ll be honest, I really dig this record. I think these guys were long overdue for some type of musical spice-up. Their sound is now equal parts brutal Hardcore and the Billboard Top 40 / 7-string guitar fueled “New Metal.” While it sucks to see a Death or Thrash band go this route, I suppose it could be a more natural “progression” for a Hardcore band. Plus Earth Crisis doesn’t go overboard with it. The more radio-friendly areas only make the traditional EC stomping rhythms seem more brutal. Let’s face it, they were never going to be able to top Gomorrah’s Season Ends in terms of brutality, aggression, and anthemic memorability. It was a bit awkward to hear their stylistic change at first, but after a couple beers and a fat joint, I was banging my head just like the old days. About these guys’ lyrics: I just want them and every other Straight Edge person out there to understand that I do realize that by doing drugs, smoking, and consuming large quantities of meat, that I am killing myself and destroying my body. Being not at all in denial about that, a song like “Killing Brain Cells” becomes a dramatic narration for my demise that I am more than happy to precipitate. Damn, I’m tired of writing [And I of typing! -Ed.]. I think it’s time to hit McDonald’s. I’ll bring this CD for the drive.
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Dying Breed - Fleshflower
After the stupid “scratching” into, this isn’t as bad as I remember Dying Breed being. Don’t get me wrong, their “Groove Metal” is far from great, but at least they seem to be improving, which is a plus. But then we get to the remixes… Okay, if you like that kind of shit, great. But at least get someone who knows what the hell he’s doing, so your “remixes” don’t sound as if they were done by someone in a coma using a Fisher Price My First Gay Techno Remix Kit.
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Dreadnaught - Down to Zero
Groove-laden, “modern” (i.e. start-stop, pseudo-Industrial riffs) Mainstream Metal that would be at home on Roadrunner, if only it were a little more “harsh.” Plus it’s also sorta “retro” at the same time. At least it’s a little aggressive, and I’m sure if The Music Cartel had enough money to really push this album down the throats of brain-dead MTV fans, they could be really big. But that doesn’t make this disc any good. In fact, just the opposite. Still, I have heard worse. I guess.
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