Gorguts - From Wisdom to Hate
To be honest with you, I didn’t like their last release, Obscura, at all. It was way too technical and just plain weird! From Wisdom to Hate isn’t a whole lot different than the last release. This is still extremely complex and technical Death Metal. Yeah, these guys are highly talented musicians, but if they can’t write memorable songs, who cares! I’ve given this disc at least 7 or 8 spins, and nothing about any of the eight tracks presented here has any effect on me whatsoever. I can’t tell one song from the other. Where are the riffs? Where are the melodies? Where are the blasts? There is no cohesiveness to these songs. It’s just too chaotic. Oh, how I miss the days of Considered Dead.
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God Forbid - Determination
God Forbid is an extreme music lover’s dream come true, but a critic’s worst nightmare! There is not a category, tag, or witty group of paragraphs that could even begin to do these guys justice. Just look at how fast Century Media recognized this gold mine. One listen to their last record, Reject the Sickness, on 9Volt Records, and you knew you were dealing with a force to be reckoned with for years to come. These guys can do it all. The soul of the band would arguably be Hardcore-based. Driving aggressive rhythms and start-stop riffing that would put Meshuggah to shame (check “Broken Promise”), but they also command the speed and precision of the tightest Metal band you’d care to mention. And then there’s the Maidenesque melodies that intoxicate, like those found on the powerful instrumental “God’s Last Gift.” The vocals? Pure agony. A scratchy throat of inherent pain that wraps up the total package that is God Forbid. Flawless!
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God Dethroned - Ravenous
The Danish hellions have returned, pissed as ever, with a throat-slashing motherfucker of an incredible album! Ravenous may just well be God Dethroned’s crowning achievement, possibly securing them a spot in the Death Metal Hall of Fame. This new batch of songs seems to have been created utilizing the finest elements of the band’s back catalog. The song-writing abilities of Henri and Jens are as brilliant as ever, and Henri’s seething vocals are concrete proof of his convictions. The guitars are screaming-mad, and session-drummer Tony Lareno (ex-Angelcorpse) plays with an intensity that takes the music to the next level. From the moment opener “Swallow the Spikes” kicks in, a relentless onslaught ensues. The momentum continues to build until track six,”The Iconoclast Deathride,” which, unfortunately, breaks the continuity of the music. I’m not sure why they placed that song at the mid-point of the album, but it definitely seems out-of-place. No need to worry though, because they redeem themselves on the very next track, “The Crown for the Morbid.” An excellent cover of “Evil Dead” appropriately closes the proceedings. This album is undeniable proof that these guys are at the top of their game. No doubt about it - Ravenous has all the subtlety of a Viking berserker at the peak of rage!
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God Dethroned - Ravenous
With each album God Dethroned has improved and refined their sound, making it more powerful and their songs more memorable. That cannot truthfully be said about a lot of bands. The Black Death assault found on Ravenous is not the most brutal or the fastest you’ve ever heard, but it’s probably some of the best. The Macabre End cover went by more or less unnoticed, but the Death cover (“Evil Dead”) just about ripped off my head, and was the perfect way to end this monsterpiece.
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Kataklysm - Epic (The Poetry of War)
About a thousand times better than the last Kataklysm record I remember hearing. The music stays consistently awesome, going from Thrashy Death Metal to all out blasting Grind, and they actually use vocal patterns and melody this time. It’s almost like a completely different band. By far the best thing this band has recorded since the almighty The Mystical Gate of Reincarnation EP.
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Jungle Rot - Dead and Buried
Holy fuck, Jungle Rot has always kicked ass, but, this much ass?!? Not very many bands any more even try to play straightforward Death Metal, with no Grind influence, but Jungle Rot does, and over the years they have virtually perfected their deadly craft, as is evidenced here. The addition of a couple re-recorded demo tracks only serves to push Dead and Buried ever closer to a flawless rating. In every issue’s worth of reviews, there is an album or two that I’m not quite sure if it’s exactly perfect, or just really god damn close, and this is one of those, no question about it. I might well look back and wish I’d given this monster a ten.
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Genitorturers - Flesh Is the Law
Hot chick, lame band. That sums up this re-release of cheeseball Industrial Rock garbage, and this group in general. Musically this is little more than second rate White Zombie with a female vocalist, singing about her pussy and how bad you want it. Ladies, I have no problem with you using sex to sell something, but if you want my entertainment dollar, try the porn industry. Music is sacred to me. And a dominatrix theme for any band is such a poser concept, by the way. You know this bitch is at Wal-Mart right now with Davey buying toilet paper and Pop Tarts with her Disney Rewards Visa card, don’t you? Extreme listening… for 8-year old girls.
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Gandalf - Rock Hell
Standard Rock arrangements, occasionally channeled through AC/DC , with a “heavier” production, and sort of gruff Thrash-style vocals. Can they be serious?!? Anyone who might like this musically would have to be turned off by these vocals and probably also the production. This is just a bad fucking idea. I’m sure that the guys in the band think this is really “original,” or whatever, but stapling your dick to your forehead would be “original” too, and almost as insane.
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Gammera - Smoke and Mirrors
Gammera play Stoner Metal in the vein of Kyuss. Although they play this style competently, there is nothing about Gammera’s music that is original. This is just Kyuss-worship. I hate to be harsh on a band that obviously has talent, but these guys need to put some of their own ideas into their music.
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