The Meatmen - Evil in a League with Satan
It’s close to impossible to beat the mighty Dutch Hercules, Tesco Vee, and his Meatmen, but when they start a CD with a Venom cover, you know it’s one for the vaults. They go on to deliver such soon-to-be-classics as “Shut Up and Suck” and “Strap On” (with some help from Butt Trumpet’s Bianca Butthole), as well as their anthem “We’re the Meatmen and You Suck,” plus some other Porn Punk treasures. As if that weren’t enough, this CD-ROM has a bunch of live video footage, all the Meatmen info you can stand, and a “game” where Tesco gets to smack Jesus around. How can you pass up such coolness?
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Mayhem - Wolf’s Lair Abyss
This is blasting, sinister, raw Black Metal with one of the most extreme vocalists I’ve heard in quite a long time. The music is fast paced, for the most part, but it does slow down every now and then and achieves a semblance of melody. Thankfully, this doesn’t happen often. Sometimes the singer switches to clean, chanting vocals that are not particularly to my liking. The contrast with the harsh vocals makes it bearable however, and the music, which is extremely tight and extremely extreme keeps me dancing. When I first heard this, I nearly had a heart attack. Your reaction should be similar. This is no doubt a protest against all the bland, melodic bands pouring from Norway these days…
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Malevolent Creation - In Cold Blood
I was a little disappointed with their Joe Black collection of various odds & ends, but let me assure you that In Cold Blood sees MC at their most fierce yet, even surpassing Eternal. Their blistering Death onslaught has simply never been more intense, or better produced. Never have they written better riffs, and never have they played them with such conviction. And I’d like to go record and say that Jason Blachowicz is easily in the top 5 Death Metal vocalists I’ve ever heard. His vox are extremely consistent and recognizable, not to mention raw enough to cut through steel, but still understandable. I think all new bands should view In Cold Blood as a textbook example of how to properly make a Death Metal album. It simply must be awarded the highest honor.
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Infernal Torment - Birthrate Zero
It seems that whenever a band changes their logo, their sound changes, too. Gone is the completely over the top Ultra-Death and gurgled vox that made me freak out over their debut CD. Not to say that this isn’t heavy as Hell. It’s certainly still brutal Death Metal, but is now in a more controlled style. I’m sometimes reminded of the precision Death groove of the last two Napalm Death albums. I’m also glad to report that there is still some sickness here. I suppose that IT had no choice but to go in a different direction. After all, how could they improve upon perfection? Birthrate Zero is in no way a sell out of any kind, but rather a choice of surgically removing one’s head, rather than smashing it to a pulp.
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Internal Bleeding - The Extinction of Benevolence
Now this is more like it! IB’s first full-length CD, Voracious Contempt, suffered from a thin production and a lack of new songs, but those problems have been solved with this monster. Frank’s vox are more demonic than ever, and now the full power of their “pit-riffs” has been released. This Death Metal will kick your ass until you remember it, then throw you into the pit to die.
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Incantation - The Forsaken Mourning of Angelic Anguish
Wisely they have kept the songs short concentrated bursts of pure Death. Speaking of Death, we are treated to a very convincing cover of “Scream Bloody Gore.” Nothing new here, but nothing bad either, and 44,000 great riffs, too. In this case, the old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies in spades. Glad they didn’t try to “fix” anything.
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Gwar - Carnival of Chaos
I have tolerated Gwar in the past because they were funny and sort of heavy. Usually that’s a memorable combo. But what happens if you take away most of the heaviness? Then it’s just a joke band. And what if the joke isn’t funny anymore? Gwar is getting there. Their last album, Ragnarok was well on its way to being useful only in backyard Tron games. Carnival… is an extremely slight redemption (probably more like a small aberration in their downhill free-fall, but only their next album will tell for sure), since some of the tracks are listenable, and a few (such as “Penguin Attack,” “The Private Pain of Techno Destructo” and the New-Punk, Beefcake the Mighty sung anthem “Hate Love Songs”) even sorta good, but the rest are the dried up shit around a scumdog’s asshole. A couple Country styled attempts at humor, a bunch of Guns N Roses kind of Cunt Rock, and a Lounge number sung by the Gwar Hairy Armpit Bitch. Gwar are running out of ideas fast.
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Gwar - Rendezvous with Ragnarok (video)
The best way to experience Gwar is live. A video isn’t bad, though. Less messy anyway. And considering that their recent albums haven’t been as good as their early stuff, a video gives you a sort of “greatest hits” collection, plus you get to actually see all the crazy antics of these goofs. I would have appreciated it more had they played some older material, but I suppose that’s why they have other videos.
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Horror of Horrors - Blood of the Suspicious
I believe that this is a re-release of their impossible to find Fangs, Breaking the Skin CD. And, I’m thankful for that, because this is a massive slab of precision Death Metal, and it’s a pleasure to finally hear it.
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