Oh man, that Techno intro scared me, but I’ll let it pass for the moment, as things do improve. For the first song, the Thrashy riffs and raspy vocals are backed up by good basslines, and interesting drums. But the way in which the vocals are phrased, how they fit with the music, is a bit too like the Rap influenced NWOHSCPM [somewhat later termed “Nu-Metal” -Editor] bands, and then the female sung “pretty” choruses start up, ala Fear Factory. I mean this has some cool stuff going on, but also some trendy sugarcoated shit. But I was prepared to excuse that to some degree if things got better. However, the opening seconds of the second song proved that these guys have their heads up their asses. When the chick singer Cock Rock’s her way through the lines “Hey, hey, come on / Here we come, so come on,” and then the raspy male vocals echo the same inane words, I knew it was over for The Mass. But then the next song, “It Was Me,” proves me wrong, with an upbeat take on Cemetary’s Godless Beauty Death Rock formula, sung most (and best) with the now improved female vocals. Okay, when the male and female vocals are overlapped in this song, it once again proves that only Paradise Lost can (or at least, could) properly do that sort of thing, but it’s not horrible. This should have been the first track, as it is the best one, but it got stuck right in the middle. Strangely enough, things stay nearly this good for the remaining two cuts, with the band sticking mostly to the Doomier, Death Rock sounds established on “It Was Me.” Although the last song, “The Name of My Game,” is something of a synthesis of their different styles, and so not nearly as good. All this begs the questions of what the fuck are the first two tracks even doing on this at all, and in what order were these songs written? Hopefully they are going toward this much better style, and not toward the crap that comprises the first two cuts. I’m torn on this rating, but despite the low score, I did really like two of the five songs, with one more being passable, and I’m not planning on keeping this one in my car for the sole purpose of throwing at some asshole who cuts me off.

By now I think that we all know what to expect from these blasphemers, and they certainly deliver the bads on this album. The weird, Industrial/Ambient intro track is about all the innovation to be found here, but that’s fine with me. When you have perfected this style of blistering fast Back Metal, why fix what’s not broken?

Poor Phil just can’t keep a lineup together. And after the perfection of their last album, In Cold Blood, I was really hoping that the lineup would never be altered again. But this disc sees the return of original screamer, and all around cool guy, Brett Hoffmann (and hopefully I’ve spelled his name correctly, as it’s a little different every time I’ve ever seen it). I’m glad to see that Brett’s back, and his voice has never been stronger, but the lineup changes have somewhat altered the band’s sound, and while still a fine example of brutally memorable Death Metal, I wouldn’t exactly say that this is flawless.

Cold, grim, and raw Black Metal the way it was meant to be. Anti-Christian, anti-Glam, anti-typical. Sure it’s sloppy, repetitive, and not played to utter perfection, but off your high horse, not everything has to be. There is emotion here. Hatred and sadness - who can’t relate? It’s been said before and I’ll say it again: This does remind me of mid-career Darkthrone, if that gives you an idea of the music. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for explosive Steve Evetts production, or something recorded at The Abyss, or anything smooth and polished for that matter. Sometimes I just need something dark and simple for reflection and bitterness therapy. Judas Iscariot’s mussy hymns are the perfect backdrop for such moods.

I don’t know if I should call this Judas Iscariot’s third or fourth album. Technically, this is Andy Harris’ fourth CD as Judas Iscariot, but third album, as it was recorded before the Of Great Eternity album, but released after it. The ads for this album (and all other Judas Iscariot releases, for that matter) say that this is in the vein of older Darkthrone or Graveland. I say that this is wrong. This style of Black Metal can be traced back to the band Von. Von was very influential to the Norse scene even though they, themselves, were from the Bay Area! I know this because I met the guitarist for Von once at S.F. City College, of all places. They played almost exactly like this, making whole songs out of just one or two riffs and getting away with it because nobody else was doing it. Varg from Burzum himself claimed to love that band and so, apparently, does Andy Harris. Though Judas Iscariot is slower than Von ever played, the structure of the songs is the same. The guitar is thick and heavy and the sound is clear but raw at the same time. I’ve always liked Judas Iscariot and this album is probably my favorite. The riffs are primitive and brutal, the lyrics are full of hate and the whole album just reeks of evil. This album proves that the true spirit of Black Fucking Metal has not died nor has it compromised itself at all.

For truly intense, ass kicking Death Metal, look no further.

Extreme Black Metal combined with Death Metal and a demented sort of Crust Punk. Imp Naz call it “Nuclear Metal,” and it will kick your ass.

[Metal Curse #11 had an additional loose page (“Last Second Additions”) inserted into the centerfold of the zine, featuring a bunch of even-shorter-than-usual “bonus” reviews of stuff that arrived after the deadline for that issue. This is one of those “Last Second Additions” reviews.]

I can’t begin to express how great it feels to type “New Renaissance” again! It’s been way too long, and I’m very excited to see that the label that released At War, Indestroy and Wehrmacht (to name just a very few) has returned! And what an all star line up Illwill possesses: Snowy Shaw and Andy LaRocque from the King Diamond band, Sharlee D’Angelo from Mercyful Fate, and Jonas Dahlstrom from Memento Mori. Here’s an odd thing, though: on most of the press clippings that came with this CD, there were comparisons to Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, all of which praised the music, but seemed to not appreciate King’s admittedly unique vocal style. That doesn’t exactly sit well with me, and makes it seem as if the members of Illwill have some issues with the King, and I can’t see how that could be possible. Okay, that mentioned, I guess I’ll get to the actual review. The music covers a huge range. I was tempted to say “impressive,” but some of it, vast though it is, is anything but impressive. When they stick to the more traditional Metal styles, like semi-early Judas Priest, or maybe Balls to the Wall era Accept, then this can’t be beat (well, except by the bands that they’re emulating). Jonas’ vocals expertly cover the same range as the music, effortlessly moving from Halford’s wails to Udo’s throaty rasp. But then there are the parts added to prove how “modern” Illwill is. The “Industrial” bits, the Machinehead “groove,” the overdriving of the normally ass kicking vocals, and then the “sweet” choruses that follow. We don’t need or want this “modern” bullshit, guys! And we really don’t want 7 minutes of chanted “Sleep, Eat, Work!” as an unlisted “bonus headache track.” There is some awesome stuff on here, and it’s certainly well worth checking out. But there is nearly as much that tries too hard to be “fresh” and ends up being fresh shit. And it’s not isolated by song. There are at least some parts in every song that are unbelievable. And then in some of the cuts, there is the aforementioned fresh shit. I think that I’ll chalk this up to the guys trying too hard to make sure that they appeal to the newer listeners. If they can figure out what to concentrate on, and what to eliminate, the next album could very easily be perfect. And as is, this one is hardly bad, but it certainly has some bad moments.

These guys hail from France and apparently play Viking Metal in the veins of Enslaved and early Einherjer. The first thing I thought of when I heard that they were from France was, “Vikings? In France?” But lo and behold, here they are. This is quite good, the production is thick, and the only problem I can see is that the vocals are a bit low, especially when they utilize the standard Black Metal raspy style. When Himinbjorg employ the clean, operatic style, the vocals are very clear and loud. Musically, they tend to go from the mid-paced, atmospheric style to the faster, Immortal-ish speed. The good part about all that is the fact that when they employ the all out speed attack, they never really lose control over it.