This is barely tolerable, as I’ve never been into radio-friendly music. Some of the songs are just plain weird. The only interesting thing about this mess is the sampling that goes on between some tracks. Several of the samples are actually pretty funny, but otherwise this is just plain dull. And, with seventeen tracks, it was a chore to get through. Readers of Metal Curse will find nothing of interest here.

Gothic-tinged Death/Doom with a Greek feel. I am reminded of old Septic Flesh and even Rotting Christ, although Gaias is nowhere near that league yet. These clean vocals would’ve been a mistake in English, let alone Spanish. Traces of more modern Black Metal are scattered throughout for injections of intensity, as they are often well needed. Overall, this isn’t bad, but I doubt I’ll be reaching for it anytime soon.

Doesn’t the title of this plastic abortion tell you that it must suck? Perhaps it gets better after the first 30 seconds of the third track (somehow I doubt it), but that’s when the “Rapping” begins in earnest, so I wouldn’t know. Fuck this fruitbooty bullshit! These idiots might just as well go back to doing Top 40 covers, or whatever they did before someone told them “the kids really like that Rap/Metal stuff!”

Macho-core! I must admit after looking at the band’s photos, I’m a little scared for my life to insult them, but fuck it, it has to be done. This shit sucks ass! They’re Christians, they’re wiggers, they’re super tough, and they want to beat your ass for no reason. I just don’t get it. The music is lifeless and dull; all attitude, no heart. Rap-based stomping rhythms for the school bully. I’ll pass.

Funeral Rites, hailing from Japan, play symphonic, melodic Black Metal. The vocal and drumming styles remind me of Darkthrone, while the overall strong structures are more akin to early Dimmu Borgir. The combination of these two styles makes for an incredibly diverse album that never gets boring. The songs vary in speed from mid-paced to fast, and no two tracks ever suffer from that dreaded feeling of “sameness.” Necroeater offers enough variety that any fan of Black Metal should find something to enjoy on this release. The album has a sound that is sinister and eerie, giving it a dark, brooding atmosphere. One problem I see with this release, however, is a lack of continuity. It seems to jump around a little too much. Track 4, “Disenchantment,” is a beautiful classically-inspired synth-piece, but it sounds completely out of place with the rest of the songs. Perhaps if it were placed at the end of the release, it would make more sense. And, I swear, there is a riff in track 7, “13th Disciple,” that sounds like it was lifted from the song “Epic” by Faith No More. Very odd indeed! Funeral Rites is the first Black Metal band from Japan that I have ever listened to and, overall, I enjoyed Necroeater because it avoids sounding “typical.” An interesting release that is definitely worth a listen.

Yeah, I’m a Death Metal freak at my innermost core, but I’ve always enjoyed throwing a little Pop-Punk into the mix to break things up. Good music is good music, right? Well, good music Frigate ain’t. Not by a long shot. Disgustingly upbeat and happy, Frigate at their very best sound like a watered-down, candy-coated version of that ’80s group that sang “That’s What I Like About You.” There are male and female vocalists, both of which are sterile, irritatingly cheerful, and downright intolerable. This is total fucking cheese. Avoid this musical and lyrical lack of ingenuity at all costs.

Considering this is a collection of demo tracks (repressed for your enjoyment…), this CD actually sounds pretty good. In fact, I’m inclined to say that it sounds even better than their first album, Deep Into Time. The sound is noticeably rougher, but at the same time, there seems to be less of an Emperor/Satyricon (old, of course) influence and more of a Folk Metal edge. There are two non-demo tracks on this CD, and when you consider how good they are, I’m surprised that they didn’t make it onto any of Forefather’s albums. The orchestral version of “Ancient Voice” - which appeared in more Metalized form on Deep Into Time - is particularly interesting because it sounds a Hell of a lot better than the original. I don’t have any of Forefather’s demos, but I think most (if not all) of the demo material made it onto their debut album. Regardless, I think these demo versions are worth listening to and fans of the band will definitely want to pick this up.

This is album number two for England’s favorite heathen sons, Forefather, and though they were borderline Emperor/Satyricon on their debut disc, this one pushes them totally in the league of the Folk/Viking Metal king, Falkenbach. There were some Folk melodies and ideas on their debut, but The Fighting Man pushes that even further. The songs all have more individual identity, the guitars are thicker and the whole product is 100% better. For me, the standout track had to be the closer, “When Our England Died,” because it actually evokes an emotion from me which very, very few bands are able to do. Maybe it’s the strange attachment I have for medieval Europe (England and Scotland in particular - that’s where most of my ancestors are from), but it did the job, whatever it was. Some might find Forefather’s lyrics to be a bit on the hokey side but I’ll take them over “kill your momma for Satan” style teenager-trying-to-be-evil lyrics, macho-boy testosterone fueled homosexuality and “we got our lyrics by rewriting Carcass songs” bullshit. In fact, I like this album so much that if Falkenbach can’t top it with their next album, Forefather might just dethrone them as king of the Folk Metal sub-genre.

This band hails from the USA, but you’d hardly guess it. They sound quite European. And in the Black Metal genre, I guess that can be considered a compliment. Fog could very easily fit in with most of the Norse Black Metal bands when it comes to sound, and with their talent level, they could also fit in with the top bands over there. As it stands, they’re one of America’s top bands when it comes to sick-ass Black Fucking Metal. If any band comes to mind while listening to this, I have to say that it’s Marduk. The tempo and sound are very similar to Heaven Shall Burn…, but with some variations in the style (use of keyboards on one track, acoustic guitar and clean vocals on another). The production is also quite impressive with the guitars being razor sharp and the bass being audible for the most part. My guess is that this band is quite a spectacle live because this stuff sounds like it would cause some major mayhem in the pit at your local Metal club.