This one opens up with “Hate Song,” which sounds like a ssllooowww Suicidal Tendencies, right down to the Mike Muir sound-alike. The band itself claims “none of the lyrics on this record mean anything, so don’t waste your time.” I didn’t. I do like the Punk influences this album shows, but I usually like things faster. Additionally, there is a distinct lack of heaviness, although the bass is the dominant instrument. Included is a short quip on “How to Kill” -not bad.

Here we have some impressive hardcore Thrash. The songs are, perhaps a bit long, but they are all cool. This album also shows that Forced Entry have a sense of humor, with such songs as “We’re Dicks” and “How We Spent Our Summer Vacation.” They deal with a lot of interesting subjects in their lyrics. Musically impressive, lyrically entertaining and vocally powerful; this is a band to watch out for, and As Above, So Below an album to buy. Favorite quote (from “We’re Dicks”): “Fuck off, or I’ll kill you.”

Here we have a three piece band out of Canada. They are a Crossover band that sounds a lot like Bad Religion. The demo has five songs, including a cover of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” (which I don’t like), all of which are pretty short. And throughout the demo I only heard two solos of any kind, so that’s a downer. I also didn’t like the lyrics. I guess they are an okay Crossover band, and if you like stuff like Bad Religion, you should check ‘em out.

Side one of this 7-inch was way too scratched to play. From the looks of said scratch, it might have been intentional. Anyway, this rendered four of the seven songs unplayable. As for side two, it’s pretty uninspired Grind. Short and fast, and I’m sure the lyrics would be interesting if I could make them out, or if they were printed. Very cool cover art, though.

Speedy, happy, Thrashy, Punky sound. Really bright bass, and super clear production. Excellent playing and pretty memorable songs combine for an interesting listen. I’m occasionally reminded of the later Death Angel stuff. You would almost have to like this, at least a little.

Experiment successfully combines the technical sides of such bands as Death, Atheist, Cynic and Obliveon, with the brutality of the likes of Grave, Deicide and Gorefest. I know what you’re thinking - “Bullshit!” Yeah, well fuck you, I’m serious. The music on this five-song demo is mega brutal, yet also technical enough to keep me entertained forever. The vocals are somewhat similar to those of Martin Van Drunen (Asphyx). So although understandable, the vox are powerfully raw and bestial.

Finally Exmortis has returned with this excellent two song 7-inch. The production is very interesting. They must have spent a lot of time to get this unique sound. This is especially true of the guitar sound. I have never heard anything exactly like it. Blood Feast has a somewhat similar sound on their Chopping Block Blues album. It’s pretty trebley, but still, somehow, heavy. Anyway, the two songs, “Dreams of the Dead” and “Fade from Reality,” continue the Exmortis tradition of quality Death Metal, and there are subtle differences that set this apart from the average. Don’t pass this up.

Well, I had heard that Exit-13 was a Grind band, but of the 4 songs here, only the last one, “Only Hypocrisy Prohibits,” is even a little Grindy. All are weird and original, too bad I don’t really like it. This is not to say they are irritating- simply, they exist. Yeah, the music is heavy, and the vox try to be raw (although what they are is humorous). So this leaves me wondering exactly what this band was trying to do. I’d be interested to know how they describe their original sound.

The strange intro leads into some fairly intense Death Metal. This is mostly speedy and the vocals are excellent. Production is also great. These are not the most original songs I’ve ever heard, but Exempt really does a good job with them.

Cool. Interesting Deathrash music and a somewhat original vocal style. I like it. The songs are more memorable than you might expect, and this gives this LP a necessary advantage. Check it out. ‘Nuff said.

Weird, and eerie intro, which leads into a mostly speedy Death Metal onslaught. Occasionally keyboards haunt the songs and keep the atmosphere fully in the evil night.

Musically, this is great sounding Thrash. I can only wish that these four tracks were all instrumentals. Nick’s vocals are horrible. He kinds “talks” his vocals in the most annoying voice ever recorded. I can’t see anyone even tolerating it, much less enjoying it. I’d be lookin’ for a new singer, guys.

Epidemic is a very powerful Speed/Thrash band, and I’m talkin’ real speed here. Carl’s vocals are understandable, yet raw enough to fit perfectly with the heavy music. However, sometimes he sings so fast that you can’t keep up, even though the lyrics are enclosed. I think that I have really missed this kind of Wehrmacht-like speed in the lyrics as well as the music. The production is excellent and all five songs sound great. Epidemic reminds me, both musically and vocally, of the bastard child of Shades of Grey and Wehrmacht, with a little Deicide thrown in. Lyrically, they deal with the human situation, no “Satan raped my dog” kind of stuff here. Anyway, this demo is very impressive.

For those of you that don’t know, the vocals on this LP were performed by ex-Carnage bassist, Johnny Dordevic. [It eventually came out, years later, that Johnny actually didn’t do much more than some backing vox on this album, with most of the lead screaming being taken care of by the band’s drummer and at-the-time-main-man, Nicke Andersson, and guitarist Uffe Cederlund. -Editor] Most people don’t seem to appreciate his Hardcore/Death crossover style. It’s original, and I really like it. However, L-G Petrov (vox) is back in the band now. As I mentioned above, I think the vox are cool, but most people don’t like ‘em. But everyone agrees that musically this album is awesome. I still hear the occasional Metalli-riff [check out “Evilyn”], but the mega heavy guitar sound and all around excellent production make up for the, uhh “tribute” riffs. Inspirational quotes: “I thought I gave my life, but back I was only given pain.” and “There is no other God. Satan killed him.” Favorite track: “Crawl.”

This 3-song EP contains two new songs and a new version of “Bitter Loss,” which was originally on Left Hand Path. Musically speaking, the new songs, “Crawl” and “Forsaken” [actually an old demo track, re-recorded here] are both awesome, as is the new version of “Bitter Loss.” However, the vocalist who was on Left Hand Path, Lars-Goran Petrov, is gone and so is the ultra heavy guitar sound. Apparently it’s mixed lower this time, but it sounds different to me. Anyway, they have added a bassist, although his name is not mentioned. The new vocalist, Orvar Safstrom, is pretty weak, and almost ruins “Bitter Loss.” Fortunately, he was just a session vocalist (a session Death Metal vocalist?) and he will not be on the new LP, Clandestine. If you could look past the vocals, this would be a ten, but you can’t.

Acoustic guitar and spoken word poetry on the first track gives way to a much more straight forward, sorta Groovy Thrashcore style. Okay, but nothing really special past the intro.

The bass is mixed too loud - I like that. Other than that, this is reasonably typical Thrash, but with weird vocals. It’s good, but it’s nothing new. I do appreciate the bass heavy sound, though. Favorite song: “E.S.U.”

Speedy Death Metal with totally rancid vocals. Occasionally they slow down, and that works a lot better for them and allows for more originality to show through. Pretty cool.

Heavy Death Metal with clear production and really brutal vox. This 5-songer is cool, but breaks no new ground. Still, this is all you could ask for in the way of brutality. If they could inject a little more originality - something to make them stand out - it would be perfect.

Of course I was curious about a band that would dare to split a 7-inch with the infamous Meat Shits. And what I discovered about Dissension is that they are a Grind/ Noise(ish)/ Punk sort of deal. Their lyrics have a message, so follow along (they are included). Only three songs are featured here- too bad, I would’ve liked to hear more from this extreme group.
As for the Shits: their Porno-Grind has evolved somewhat. Some of their “songs” are actually starting to sound like they were planned (at least a little) and not simply improvised (not that improvisation is necessarily bad). I’d really like to see this band keep the extreme and speed (Blast!), and incorporate them into a longer song or two. Just 1:30 or 2 minutes. That’s all I ask. For just one song. Oh well. As is, MS are apparently the final word in Porno-Grind (so send me a tape and prove me wrong!). This is an interesting and, lyrically at least, diverse 7-inch. It’s worth the $3. Favorite title: “Die You Fucking Bitch.”