Bad Blood - Bad Blood
Well, I’ve been lied to my whole life. Apparently, you can judge a book by its cover. When you receive a homemade CDR with a 36¢ layout by a band called Bad Blood from the Midwest stating their group influences as Slayer, Van Halen, The Sex Pistols, Mushroomhead, Coal Chamber, Disturbed, Dope, Pantera, Metallica, Drowning Pool, Ramones, Iced Earth, Iron Maiden and Kiss, guess what? It’s going to fucking suck! And, oh my, does it ever.
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Axestroke - Thrash Your Head
Mid-paced, sloppily performed Thrash. I knew when I saw this ridiculously drawn, hideous cover “artwork” (not to mention their band/demo naming genius), that I was in for a real missing-a-few-chromosomes musical endeavor. Horrible.
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Attrition - The Eternity
This definitely is not Metal, which isn’t a huge deal for me, but it’s so unconventional it borders on questionable if it even qualifies as anything at all. The first couple “songs” are pure Electro-Dance Bubblegum Pop with church choir vocals and Classical instruments. The rest of the “album” is basically violin practice with moody backing synths. I’m sure there are people out there that think the unorthodox coupling of violins and keyboards with Techno and sparse background noise is a viable form of music. Then again, there are also people out there who think that the PT Cruiser is one bad ass looking automobile.
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Atrophy - Violent by Nature
More or less just as fast and intense as the band’s debut, Socialized Hate, although maybe somewhat more American sounding, this 1990 follow-up album’s only real flaw is a slightly more polished production, which some may even prefer. There are very rare vocal missteps, which I’ll chalk up to the zeitgeist back then, which was one of “growing” and “evolving” with every release.
The bonus features here are the remaining three songs from the ‘87 Chemical Dependency demo (the first three being on the Socialized Hate reissue) and another low quality “bootleg” video clip.
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Atrophy - Socialized Hate
Originally released in 1988, this Thrash masterpiece (I’ll likely be using that term often for these Metal Mind reissues, so get used to it) holds up well today, especially musically. Often when people think of Thrash -US Thrash, at least- they think of the now-ancient Bay Area bands, but many of the Thrash bands back then didn’t fit that mold at all. Atrophy is closer to German bands like Kreator in both the generally fast tempo and raspy vocals. Listening to this, it’s easy to see how only a bit more extremity could cross the chasm into early Death Metal.
Bonus features here are the first three tracks from the band’s six-song 1987 Chemical Dependency demo (the other three are bonus trax on the Violent by Nature reissue) and a poor quality “bootleg” video for “Socalized Hate.”
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At All Cost - Circle of Demons
Saw this band live recently. They weren’t bad for a group with a singer that uses a tambourine. At the very least their set stopped all the fucking 11-year old kids from somersaulting and doing Tae-Bo. The band on CD, not so much. The energy just isn’t captured on disc as well. Too much of the Southwestern-Ranch Rock shit gets in the way of some otherwise decent Metalcore/Thrash hybrid. And what’s with the T-Pain vocal effects? I was enjoying the clean vocals, then all of a sudden I thought I was gonna get served. At All Cost are unique, but take an open mind to digest, and a rare mood to crave.
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Artep - Fires of Mortal Deception
Artep is an incredibly beautiful woman, described as “the driving force” of this band and a musician since the age of 6. She does the guitar, bass, and synth, while Lord Goatesque handles drumming and vocal duties. As much as I want to kiss what I’m sure is her perfect ass, I can’t. This is merely mediocre, boring Black Metal. Not bad, but nothing I haven’t heard a thousand times today. Artep, if you’re reading this, I would love to make up for this negative review by maybe taking you out to dinner or a movie sometime. I’ll buy.
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Arsonists Get All the Girls - The Game of Life
I’ve never seen a Metalcore band come off as so proud to be a “joke band,” as this West Coast sextet self-proclaim. Aside from the goofy band name and song titles, and perhaps the high-pitched half of the scream/growl vocal combo, there’s not much to joke about on The Game of Life. I personally prefer the band at their breakdown-ready best, but even the keyboard frenzy, schizophrenic style switches, and rabid time changes can’t stop me from enjoying the majority of this disc. Best cuts to burn for the mix: “Shoeshine for Neptune,” “Tourtasia,” “Claiming Middle Age a Decade Early,” and “Taiwanese Troft Trouble.”
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Amorphis - Silent Waters
It’s time to face facts. These guys are never going to return to form. Somewhere down the line they just decided that Metal was stupid, and that they were much better suited for this ‘70’s Rock/Prog Boystown fuck parade, and I just have to deal with it. Their last one gave me a glimmer of hope. It was a touch heavier with an occasional growl, but at its core, still softer than a wet baby’s ass. And the same can be said of Silent Waters. So at this pace of musical rejuvenation, we can expect the next album to pack about as much punch as Breaking Benjamin.
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