I sort of wish that I knew more about “Nu-Metal” so that I could more accurately say who Converge is ripping off. I’m going to go out on something of a limb and say it’s Slipknot, but I’m not really sure. I’d be lying if I said that I listened to this band’s previous two albums (both reviewed in Metal Curse #12 [see reviews]) at all after reviewing them, and I no longer have them for comparison purposes, but I’m pretty sure this is drastically more intense. There are actually some okay parts on this album, but they’re far outweighed by the goofy and/or stupid shit. Still, I’ve got to say that this band does seem to improve somewhat with each release and this is easily their best. That doesn’t mean it’s any good, though. But if you like the new breed of Roadrunner bands [circa 2001], you might dig it.

Featuring members of Elegy, Vanden Plas, and Kamelot, this supergroup delivers a Progressive Metal concept-album of epic proportions. This sci-fi novel put to music includes powerful vocals, amazing keyboard-driven melodies, and stellar guitar work. I don’t know about the rest of you, but Progressive Metal usually bores me to tears with all of its stop-start drumming and ridiculous guitar-noodling. Such is not the case here. These guys know how to play complicated music, but they also know the meaning of restraint. Continuum in Extremis grabbed my attention and never let go. What Nocturnus did for Death Metal, Ian Parry has done for the Progressive genre.

Brutal, noisy Death / Grind. When they’re not trying to hard to be weird and different, that is. Well, I think my review is now longer than the name of the band, so my work here is done.

It’s difficult for me to take a band seriously when they are named something is stupid as “Chinchilla.” I mean, this band thought it would be a good idea to name themselves after a little mouse-like animal. At least pick a tough rodent! But, then again, I suppose that the name does fit. The members of Chinchilla are all good at what they do (Power Metal), but it’s all so wimpy and sugary that I almost went into a coma. And I’m not a fan of lyrics such as “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” They cover the ancient Kiss chestnut “I Stole Your Love” (inserting some double-bass drum action), and while fairly close, the original is actually heavier. So, that really should tell the whole story.

This is album number two for Chaostar and much like their debut (also on Holy Records), this is much more along the lines of Classical than Metal. In fact, this has absolutely no Metal in it at all. Though there are some Darkwave elements here and there - most notably in the drumming - the bulk of this album sounds like a movie soundtrack or an opera. As a huge fan of that Classical/Opera sound when done right, I was really impressed at how well most of this album flowed. It’s not like a collection of tracks but it almost sounds like this album is one big track where all the songs flow into one another. The only thing that kept this from being called absolutely fucking brilliant by me was the abrupt ending. Everything was going along great when all of a sudden, the CD was over! Aargh! I hate it when that happens! It’s like watching a movie and having the ending credits roll before the climax. This album builds and builds but there is no climactic sequence nor is there any wrap-up at the end. Threnody just stops. I was so disappointed that this was over that words can’t describe it. I found myself mumbling “No! That can’t be all! There has to be more!” repeatedly as I sat there hoping that there was one of those “hidden” tracks that magically appeared after a minute or so of dead silence. No such luck, I’m afraid. If it wasn’t for that, Threnody would be rated much higher, but that really blew it for me.

This keyboard-heavy band hails from Finland and though the immediate comparison to Dimmu Borgir is going to come up, there is still plenty of good music to be had on this album. The keyboard work is the most dominant feature of Ceremonial Embrace and they definitely shine in that department. The arrangements where that particular instrument is concerned are great. This is clearly a band with a very talented keyboard player. However, like most keyboard-heavy bands, one has to wonder why there are two guitarists? If you can barely hear them most of the time, why bother having them? The riffs are pretty hard-driving and aggressive, but you can’t really make them out too well when the main atmosphere and melody are coming from the keys. The other thing about them that I found was that their songs, while good, just don’t encourage me to listen to them again and again. I’ve listened to this twice and I think a third listen may come - just not soon. This doesn’t mean that they suck. There are plenty of bands that fall into this category. They have talent, but in the end, their songs just aren’t engaging enough to get me to listen to them over and over.

This band sounds like they are heavily influenced by two very different styles of Black Metal. When they play fast, they sound dead-on like Dark Funeral. When they aren’t playing fast, they sound very much like Dissection. In fact, the bulk of Mirrored Revelation is in the Dissection style of Melodic Death Metal. The strength Celebratum has is rooted in this style. The fast stuff, while powerful and ferocious, loses a lot of memorability. You also have a situation where the production works fine for the slower material but gets muddled when the speed kicks up. The sound problem is centered around the snare drum. When the blast-beats start, the snare partially drowns out the guitars, making things hard to discern. When things are in the mid-paced range, everything clicks properly. The riffs are melodic, memorable and clear. Mirrored Revelation is mostly good, but I think Celebratum still has some rough edges to work out when it comes to their style. For my first exposure to this band, I have to say that I like what they’re doing and if they can work out a sound that can make their fast stuff sound as good as the slower stuff, these guys will fucking kill.

Holy fucking Hell on fire! The disc-opener, “Cathedral Flames,” is an unbelievably heavy throwback to the Forest of Equilibrium days that had me ready to change my entire rating scale so that I could give this album an 11. When the second track started, I knew this was still a classic, but my venerable rating scale was in no danger of rearrangement - although just barely. Lee seems to understand that a somewhat more restrained vocal style can be a big plus, and these songs see him going back in time to an approach similar to that used on the Soul Sacrifice EP. Some complete assholes will probably say that this album represents a “step back” for the band, but that’s pure insanity, and anyone who would say otherwise is an idiot. Endtyme is clearly the result of a look back over the years to see what worked the best for this band, and a synthesis of those styles and influences into a sometimes depressing, sometimes rocking, sometimes groovy, sometimes retro sound. Personally, I have always liked the Doom elements of Cathedral the best, and this is their heaviest since their flawless debut. It’s also a more individual sort of heaviness, and likewise for the “groovy” parts. The rather obvious Black Sabbath worship of the past is mostly gone, and their sound is more entirely their own. I understand that they have various styles that they like and want to include, and of course also fans of the different facets of their musical personality, but as far as I’m concerned, if all the songs had been as brutally heavy as the instrumental first track, or even the oppressive Doom slow-motion suicide of “Requiem for the Sun,” or the beyond-heavy bits of “Ultra Earth,” this would have been as easy 10. The less Doomy songs, such as “Whores to Oblivion,” are also improved from past releases, making this, I guess, the most complete and versatile Cathedral album yet.

When I heard that Trevor (Obituary) Peres had teamed up with NY Death Metal band Pyrexia to form Catastrophic, I knew I’d be in for a treat, but I didn’t really expect something of this magnitude. Within the realm of Death, they cover all the bases, and these guys are very clever in their use of speed, often keeping things at a slower, heavier, and dare I say it, more groove-influenced, pace, although the songs are kept short. That, mixed with bursts of high-tempo drumming, makes these songs extremely memorable and durable. What all this means of course, is that The Cleansing is an awesome slab of old-meets-new Death Metal, featuring the added bonus of Keith DeVito’s utterly flawless vocals. This will certainly end up as one of the best albums of the year.