Elvenking - The Scythe
A subtle mixture of Mr. Big, Bon Jovi, and Finntroll. I think I’d rather drive a nail straight through the head of my dick.
(0) Comment(s)
Electric Wizard - Witchcult Today
God damn their chick guitarist is hot! I don’t get Stoner Doom. I just don’t understand it one bit. Especially the Sabbath-worship variety in a post-Osbournes society. I’m sick of the critics saying how heavy the guitars are. Fuck that! Funeral’s From These Wounds has a heavy guitar sound. This is just downtuned. And the vocal style is executed and produced like a guy singing in the shower, possibly some Obsessed songs, I can’t tell. I’ve smoked weed for 14 years, I’ve never been high enough to where this would sound cool. God damn their guitarist is hot!
(0) Comment(s)
Down the Drain - Dying Inside
Not sure if this is a reissue to be honest [it wasn’t -Editor], but it was in a big stack of them, all from Arctic, so it’s a possibility. For those that don’t know, this is a side project from none other than Malevolent Creation frontman, Bret Hoffman. Well, don’t expect the speed and brutality of Malevolent Creation, but it is at least heavy. Musically, an amalgam of Death, Thrash, Hardcore, and for lack of a better description, Nu-Metal. But fear not, there’s nothing here that will make you lose your lunch. In fact, its good to hear Hoffman’s raspy bark atop a different style. One cannot deny the headbangability of these mammoth grooves.
(0) Comment(s)
Divine Heresy - Bleed the Fifth
Okay, so I was halfheartedly interested to hear what the departed Fear Factory guitarist and spokesman for the morbidly obese, Dino Cazares, was up to these days. Sue me. What he’s up to is musically tight, at least. Aggressive Thrash with the super polished modern sound his former band helped to usher in. Tim Yeung (Hate Eternal, Vital Remains), it should be noted, brings the fucking blast on this album like you wouldn’t believe. It’s the vocals that ruin any chance of complete enjoyment here. The screams sound a lot like Phil Anselmo, who we should all know by now is the biggest piece of poser shit alive, and I liked this clean vocal style better when Howard Jones did it fifteen radio-ready clones ago. These guys pose for the camera tough, but their offering of Extreme Metal is actually very safe and quite harmless.
(0) Comment(s)
Disincarnate - Dreams of the Carrion Kind
This was rightfully praised as a Death Metal masterpiece upon its initial release back in 1993 (and originally reviewed way back in Metal Curse #8), and is no less so now. The legendary James Murphy (Death, Obituary, Cancer, Testament…) perfectly blended his mind-melting guitar leads with the brutal, complex riffs, drumming, and thoroughly raw, yet understandable vox, to produce songs that may never be matched in terms of intensity and how they get into the listener’s head and stay there. Dreams of the Carrion Kind is an all-time classic that has truly stood the test of time and remains as vital now as the day it was first released. This reissue, as with the previous US reissue, has the three songs from the band’s 1992 Soul Erosion demo as bonus tracks.
(0) Comment(s)
Devian - Ninewinged Serpent
For those of you unaware, as I was at first, this is Legion’s new band. The former (and sorely missed) Marduk vocalist has gone down a new path of creativity. Don’t expect the lightning fast Black Metal assault of Marduk, as Devian (which also features ex-Marduk drummer Emil Dragutinovic) are a much more Old School affair. Blending Thrash and melodic Death in a very impressive and anthemic manner, accompanied by Legion’s trademark blasphemous snarl, Devian don’t exactly break new ground, but hold their own as well as anyone to ever attempt this style. And that goes for the elder gods as well. Speaking of which, the echoes of Slayer, Possessed, and Venom are found throughout Ninewinged Serpent, but this is no half-ass, retro-throwback cash-in. It’s as modern as it is vintage. Think along the lines of Dissection’s swansong LP or even a much-improved take on the Immortal spin-off, I. Attempts to pigeonhole this album are futile and irrelevant. If you can’t take a catchy Death/Thrash approach featuring one of the most timeless Black Metal voices of the last decade for what it is, you’re hopeless anyway. Bleak lyrics and no-bullshit riffs make for a release that’s about a thousand times more memorable than anything Marduk’s done lately.
(0) Comment(s)
Despised Icon - The Ills of Modern Man
A nearly flawless fusion of bludgeoning Death Metal and breakdown-fueled Metalcore. This Canadian sextet are the real deal, musically and lyrically, and have come so far from Consumed by Your Poison it’s ridiculous. Grinding, grooving, slamming, pounding, yet somehow poignant, with a two-vocalist attack (screamer/guttural growler) that is instantly recognizable. A fierce display of musical passion capable of being embraced by enthusiasts of any style of Extreme Metal. It would be hard to find anyone with good musical taste who would have enough restraint to not bob their heads during a summer drive with this in the stereo. If you liked The Healing Process, you’ll enjoy this equally if not more.
(0) Comment(s)
Denial Fiend - They Rise
Boasted as “Horror/Metal featuring members of Six Feet Under, Massacre, Death, Mantas, Nasty Savage, Lowbrow, Down by Law, and Pseudo Heroes.” That’s a pretty wide spectrum of staff. I have no idea which members those are or what they do in this band, but it is true that the style is Death/Thrash with a Horror Punk vibe, complete with gang vocals. This may very well start a good pit or two, but I doubt any jaws are going to seriously drop. There are good riffs, but not great ones, and an overdone lyrical concept that goes stale by mid-album. Pretty middle-of-the-road as far as supergroups go.
(0) Comment(s)
Demolisher - Enter the Suffering
A testament to the trivial, yet all too real fact that all the really good band names are already taken. This Finnish 5-piece attack with a heavy, mid-pace Death Metal assault not unlike Cianide and Avulsion. There are also touches of Thrash and Deathcore throughout these three tracks. Although not as memorable as Death Metal of this variety needs to be, I did enjoy this small sample of what could be better things to come. My only advice would be to use more of the guttural vocals and less of the weak screaming.
(0) Comment(s)
Page 116 of 388 pages « First < 114 115 116 117 118 > Last »
