Buried Beneath - The Last Rays of the Moon
This isn’t a new album but a repressing of Buried Beneath’s demos on CD. As some of you may know, this is Mike from Night Conquers Day’s old band. Unlike NCD, Buried Beneath plays brutal Black/Death Metal. Some of the atmosphere that later went on to be an integral part of NCD can be found here amidst the crushing Death Metal assault that the band laid down back in the days. I don’t have the original copies of this band’s demo tapes so I can’t really compare them to this new version, but the liner notes do a good job of explaining all the changes that Mike made after the fact to make these tracks more to his original vision. After listening to this CD, it kind of makes me sad that this band never achieved the successes that it should have. Another band fucked over by rip-offs and died before its time.
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Burial - Mourning the Millennium
Ultra brutal Death Metal with sick vocals and occasionally goofy lyrics. For example: “Made her bleed, made her die, stabbed her wound, and ate her pie.” Well, to be fair, most of the rest of the lyrics are more gory or evil, but if these guys possess a sense of humor, then I’m all for ‘em. Their production and songwriting are quite good, too, as is the packaging.
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Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding
It makes me feel a little weird to say this, but I think that after hearing this and Iron Maiden’s Virtual XI, it’s pretty clear that Bruce was the real motivating force in that band. It’s been a long time since Bruce was involved with a perfect album, but maybe thanks to teaming up with Adrian Smith, the wait is over. The Chemical Wedding is not only flawless, but it’s also the best (non-Motorhead, of course) Metal album I’ve heard in a long time. All the new guys cashing in on Traditional Metal could never hope to come up with something this heavy, or this good. But of course Dickinson & Co. have been at this for quite a long time, and have finally honed their collective skills into something I never thought I’d hear: an album that gets better and better with every listen, with no flaws in sight, and none apparent after no less than 100 spins. This is one of the best Metal albums of all time. This is seriously that good. And one more thing: It’s sort of difficult to describe the style of this disc. It’s modern, I suppose, and yet traditional at the same time. There are no galloping riffs, and the guitar sound is thicker, heavier, than you would expect. So how is it traditional? Anything with Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith is Traditional Metal, my friends. But there is a real sense of majesty and power that a lot of the current pretenders try for, but never reach. Maybe it’s the amazing range and power of Dickinson, who’s voice has never sounded as good as it does here. Or maybe it’s Smith, who I always thought was the guy who wrote all the wimpiest Maiden stuff, now unleashing all his monster riffs and flawless execution. Or maybe it’s the rest of the band. Roy Z., the other guitarist, is likely Smith’s equal, and also responsible for the amazing production. And dare I say that Eddie Casillas is as good a bassist as The Master, Steve Harris? But it’s true. When Bruce left Iron Maiden, I was sure that he was going to go on to record some horrible Pop Metal crap, and that Maiden would be better off without him. It was just a feeling I had after hearing “Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter.” Well, he did write some less-than-perfect stuff, but clearly all that is long out of his system, and I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong. Try as they might, Maiden haven’t been able to regain the old magic, while Bruce has boldly gone forward and created brand-new magic of his own. If you only have the cash to buy one CD, this is the one. It’s going to be tough to top this one, guys. My only choice is to bestow the highest honor possible upon this flawless masterpiece. (Since this was reviewed, Bruce and Adrian have both rejoined Iron Maiden…)
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Borknagar - The Archaic Course
Borknagar consider themselves a Black Metal band, which I just don’t hear at all (musically, at least). But, they are a very good Metal band, period. Strong musicianship, catchy songs, and a lineup that reads like an “All-Star” assembly of Black Metal’s best acts. You can’t go wrong with this.
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Bolt Thrower - Mercenary
At long last Bolt Thrower make their return. This pretty much sounds just like you’d expect, which is fine with me.
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Bogus Blimp - Men-Mic
How could anyone describe this band? Every song is totally different, ranging from almost horror soundtrack kind of stuff to dark, umm, something… This is just insane, but it is interesting. Actually, I kinda like it.
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The Bluetones - Solomon Bites the Worm
Fucking terrible, and a waste of space.
[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.]
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Blot Mine - Porphyrogenesis
Fast Black Metal, that is well produced, and yet somehow raw at the same time. As a note to Near Dark, I do understand why labels send out incomplete review copies (and I think those reasons are baseless, false, and pathetic), but how about we’re at least sent a fucking track listing next time!
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Bloodlet - The Seraphim Fall
As always, Bloodlet delivers a slower, heavier version of Hardcore. Actually, I’m tempted to not call this Hardcore, but I’m not exactly sure what other term to use. They seem to be more influenced by Sludge bands like Grief, but without all the noise and excess feedback, than by Warzone or whoever. In any case, Bloodlet have a unique sound, and this disc is packed full of their massive tunes.
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