Very thick and powerful production, with a sharp guitar sound. Growly vocals and interesting lyrics. And the songs are very energetic and I can even remember them. A little on the Thrashier side of Death.

Impetigo started out as a Hardcore band (didn’t they all) in July of ‘87. From there they added Scott as a second guitarist to attain a heavier sound. Ultimo Mundo Cannibale is the band’s heaviest release to date. The lyrics seem influenced by Carcass and Godflesh.
All This insanity opens up with a rape/wind storm which is pretty cool. The album is really bassy. Even a lot of the vocals are slowed down electronically to give them a deep, slow sound. The rest of the vox are in normal Death Metal fashion, though as usual terribly difficult to understand if I am doing anything other than reading the lyric sheet. This is a terrible shame because the lyrics are cool. What I can understand is the sound bites, awesome. One is a woman being stretched on the rack and whipped, among other things. The music is pretty speedy and rumbly, and the lyrics devastate. The only thing holding this back are the electronic, unintelligible vocals.

Hellwitch has been around for a long time (since October of ‘84). Since that time they have gone through innumerable line up changes with Patrick Ranieri remaining a constant forceful backbone. Finally Hellwitch’s current line up gelled with Patrick on guitars an vox, Tommy “McMarijuana” Mouser on bass and Joe Schnessel on drums. The album itself is pretty heavy and contains Hellwitch classic “Nosferatu.” The vocals throughout the album are sporadically modified; not a bad touch. Certain songs seem to flash back to the sixties, such as “Mordirivial Dissemination.” “Pyrophoic Seizure,” itself has a psychedelic intro. Most of the rest of this album is fairly swift. Give this one a listen sometime. You might like it.

This demo sounds much better than their earlier Thrashed Black. The production is improved and all three songs are more memorable, yet still heavy. Everything sounds more focused. I think the better production helps a lot. Ted’s vocals sound better too. Now I won’t say this is my favorite demo of all time - it’s not. But these guys have improved in both writing and recording and this demo shows the talent of this Deathrash outfit. And even though this demo contains only three songs, you can tell that a lot of time and effort was put into each of them.

Imagine a band that combines the sound of Sadus and Entombed! Get the idea? Needless to say, Malevolent Creation are the gods of Death. Comprised of: Phil Fasciana (guitar), Jon Rubin (guitar), Brett Hoffman (vocals), Mark Simpson (drums), Mark Van Erp (bass); they are a major force. This tape only has three songs: “Remnants of Withered Decay,” “Decadence Within” and “Impaled Existence.” But any one of the three would be worth the price of the tape by itself. I found the first song to slightly edge out the other two, but only just barely. It’s easy to see why Roadrunner signed these guys. I was also impressed when I got a copy of this after they were signed. That shows how dedicated they are. And what kind of people. I personally know of other bands that would have said to wait for their debut LP. You had better get a copy of this while there are still some left!

{Phil has weathered line-up changes galore, and never allowed his band to release a less-than-excellent album. And now, original singer Brett Hoffman has returned after an extended absence on their latest release, The Fine Art of Murder.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

Side one starts off with the title track, which I feel is the weakest one, though still better than most of the crap that tries to pass as songs. Anyway, it opens up with bubble sounds, which I think may have been done on the bass. If so, then it’s very impressive. The tune goes on to tell the story of the remains of a sunken ship. The story is cool. The second tune, “Edge of Death,” accentuates its crusher speed with grindingly slow verses. Song three is a little more constant with its speed, about “Altar of Sacrifice”’s (Slayer) pace. Musically, Hexx is very tight and clean. The drums are interesting at times, and the guitars work well together. The lyrics are cool and fit with the vox almost perfectly. Side two is supposed to have an interview, my copy has side one again. Worse things have happened. Pick this one up, it’s worth it.

{Hexx later had an album on Century Media (Morbid Reality, released in 1991) that featured a cover of the Spider-man theme. I recall that being the best track on it.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

This demo is graced by excellent production and recording as well as the ultra heavy vocals of Jan-Chris. There are only a few people in the world who could claim to have a more brutal voice. The music is very bassy and reminds me of a slower Napalm Death (as of ND’s Harmony Corruption LP). Slow Death Metal at its best. Heavy, brutal and occasionally even fast, but no blast parts. There is a strange absence of double bass, I wonder if… Favorite track: “Foetal Carnage.” Awesome.

The vocals here are a little smoother than on their first demo [1989’s Seeds of Destruction], but still this is hardly a problem. In fact, I really can’t find any problems at all with this 5-song Thrash masterpiece. Clear, distinct production. Good guitar and bass sound. Good, meaty, screamed vox. Lots of double bass. And, of course, Chris Cauble’s Steve Harris-like bass ability. The fact that the songs are well written and memorable makes this clearly stand out. However, the last song, “I Won’t Change,” simply doesn’t measure up to the extremely high standard of the rest. This is the final demo from Ghost Story, but bassist Chris and his brother Andy (ex-Catacomb) have formed a new band…

This is freaky. The first song, “The Institution,” hit me in the face like a pissed off wolverine. However, the other three tunes didn’t evoke exactly the same response. The Fury play an interesting Punk/Crossover style and their drummer, The Hammer, is pretty kick-ass. The recording quality and production are both above average, and this 7-inch is packaged in a “special foldout poster.” This is a really decent effort, plus one awesome song. It shows what The Fury can do and their range. And, lest I forget, one of the members is wearing a Motorhead shirt in the band shot/poster. Like free stickers, that’s always cool.

This band from Chicago has put out an excellent demo. It is fast and pounding. The band’s sound is more controlled than most raw Death Metal. The vocals are fierce, yet the lyrics are understandable, even without a lyric sheet (always a plus). For once, none of the lyrics are about abortions, drug use, crooked televangelists or acid rain. All of which have been done to the point where I want to give Tammy Faye an injection of chlorofluorocarbons to kill her unborn child. It’s like a breath of fresh air. If anyone comes out of the underground in the nineties, it should be Funeral Nation. Watch them.

{More demos, a 7-inch and two albums (really more like two versions of the same album, with a few variant tracks, and different layouts), After the Battle and Come Kingdom Thy, then they vanished.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

Winter seems to be a sludge-Death Metal band. I think that makes them, if nothing else, one of a kind. They play very slowly, for the most part, but occasionally speed up to slow. Sometimes they even sound a bit Industrial. The vocals are always slow and are best described as Death. The seven songs on this album are at best scary: as in “Eternal Frost,” which is okay; and at worst boring, as with the first track “Oppression, Freedom, Oppression (Reprise).” Into Darkness is a weird album and I imagine it would take quite some getting used to, which is bad. I suppose this is what Winter wanted to sound like. I can’t really bring myself to recommend this, but it is different. I just don’t happen to like it.

{Relapse later re-released this album, and the band then put out an EP before calling it a day.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

I think Combat wants Forbidden to be big, Metallica kind of big. This might be the album to it, too. But, let’s introduce the band first: Craig Locicero (lead and 6-string acoustic guitars), Russ Anderson (vocals), Paul Bostaph (drums), Tim Calvert (lead, 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars) Matt Camacho (bass).
Now about the LP: This is not a typical Thrash album, or band for that matter. They experiment (I use that word with extreme caution) with different things, most often it is the vocals. Usually a band with music this heavy has a Kreator style singer, Russ can sing in this “from the balls” style, but he can also actually sing, which is rare and often detracts from the power of the music. In this case, the only time Russ’s singing bothered me was on the track “One Foot in Hell,” but even that wasn’t too bad.
Highlights include: “Infinite,” “Step by Step,” the instrumental “Spiral Depression,” and the title track.
This is an extremely strong second attempt, especially considering that almost all bands’ 2nd LP is their worst one.

{Forbidden would never again come close to the greatness of this album, and have since faded from view here in the US. I understand that they still have a little following in Europe, and perhaps Japan, but I’ve also been told that their newer material has taken on a NWOHSCPM (New Wave of Homosexual So-Called Power Metal [which would eventually become known as Nu-Metal. -Editor]) “attitude,” so who cares about these poseurs? Yet this was, and is still, nearly a masterpiece.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

[Please note that the reviews in Metal Curse #1 and #2 did not have numerical ratings.]

Flotsam and Jetsam’s newest work, to be frank, left something to be desired. The music seems to have slowed down. Eric A.K. tries to sing more on this LP than on the other two. Granted, every single song has a cool part or two, but one or two cool parts per song does not make a good album. I’m not sure I can pinpoint a reason for the new style, but as they, themselves said in the song “Deviation,” they can “give no explanation for deviation.” My best guess would be that they tasted a little fame with No Place for Disgrace, and like many other bands thought it was a license to become funky. “E.M.T.E.K.” and “K.A.B.” are both cool songs which I hope come out on a single (which would be worth buying). I believe they can do better. If they could be fierce for a whole album, not just a few bars, they would a force. Maybe they should do more Elton John covers. I give this LP two thumbs down. Come on guys, I expect better than this.

{Believe it or not, but F&J is still releasing albums, each improving a bit on the previous one. Their 1997 album, High, saw them make a return to Metal Blade after about a decade on other labels. In these bleak days of bands bowing down to the mindless likes of Korn and Pantera, it was good to hear High and know that at least some of the old timers have the sense and desire to still be themselves. F&J have also just released a new LP, Unnatural Selection, but I have not yet had the opportunity to give it a spin. So, while not the best band I’ve ever heard, Flotsam has my respect. Unfortunately they’ve never gotten the recognition they really deserve, so they may have to try to live on my respect alone.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

[Please note that the reviews in Metal Curse #1 and #2 did not have numerical ratings.]

Excellent music: Very impressive, well recorded and executed Thrash. But like an alarming number of bands, these guys have one of those screechy, high pitched, singers, and that’s almost always bad. Their singer, Michael, almost makes his style work, and sometimes it does. In fact, the more I listen to this, the more I grow to tolerate his voice, but it takes awhile.

False Prophet has a rather unique sound. Comparable to very early Death Angel or Megadeth (but musically heavier than the latter). It’s interesting to hear Death Metal music with a more traditional Thrash vocalist. The members of False Prophet are: Paul Ray (vocals/guitar), Chris Lyndon (bass), Mike Morrison (guitar) and Raymond Martin (drums). My favorite of the four tracks on this demo is the last one, “False Prophecy.” This tape shows a lot of promise. I understand that their new demo should be ready soon (if it’s not now), and I’m looking forward to hearing the new stuff. Sign of the Cross is not to be missed, so write ‘em and tell ‘em I sent you.

This demo is extreme Death Metal. The production is pretty bad and the mix is really freaky. However, the vocals are the rawest, heaviest, harshest and most brutal that I have ever heard. The songs are as Death as it gets. Exulceration is possibly the most extreme Death Metal band in the world. ‘Nuff said.

I don’t know much about this band, but I do know that they have been around for awhile, and I would be willing to bet that this is the kind of Punk that inspired Thrash. It’s fast, the vox are screamed and the lyrics have a social message. In short, this is pretty awesome. Yeah, they repeat the song titles way too often, but it doesn’t quite grate on my nerves for some unexplainable reason. One of the last Punk bands left, so show ‘em your support.

Wow, four albums and still no ballad! Big shit, and by the way, a ballad is not necessarily a slow song: a ballad tells a story. I wish people could get this straight. Anyway this LP sees the addition of new drummer John Tempesta, who is apparently only average. This is not a bad LP, but it does have a few problems: In some places Zetro’s vocals sound uninspired or briefly annoying, there is little variance in the drums, the beginning of “The Lunatic Parade” is stolen from S.O.D.’s “March of the S.O.D.” (which is not a cool thing to do), and sometimes the lyrics seem rushed as if the guys were hard up for words. On the up side, the guitar sound is very heavy sounding and cool as fuck. The solos are outlandish, I knew that Gary and Rick had this in them and here’s where it comes out. The music is heavy, which is what Exodus wanted, but don’t expect Bonded by Blood Part 2. This album would be very good from another band, but I expect more from Exodus, they practically invented Thrash. Maybe next time they will reinvent it.

{I’d guess that anyone reading this knows that Exodus reformed with more-or-less their original line up, played some shows, and released a live album of classics from the Bonded by Blood era. So, I guess they never did “reinvent” Thrash, and have settled instead on trying to just relive it.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

This is an above average Thrash-Death album. Musically the band is talented, although not much jumped out and killed me. Lyrically this is a bunch of twisted dudes. There are no less than three references to killing the Pope. One song is about a “butt-slut,” as far as I can tell (the lyrics to that one, “Anal Lust,” are omitted). Only one song, “Legions of Death,” really stands out. Musically, Exhorder plays some heavy, occasionally speedy stuff. The vocalist, Kyle Thomas, has an interesting style that is not quite as much in the Death style as the music. At the time of the recording of Slaughter in the Vatican, Exhorder apparently was lacking a bassist, because the bass tracks are all credited to the two guitarists: Vinnie LaBella and Jay Ceravolo. Since then a bassist has been added. This is a decent album that shows much promise. I will be waiting to hear what the next album sounds like. I hope they don’t lose the aggression, it’s their edge.

{If I had only known then what would happen with this band and style… As you must know, the supreme poseurs Pantera slowed this album down and copied it note for note, and somehow got rich and famous doing it. But Exhorder were the innovators, and played with honestly and sincerity, which are two concepts that Pantera know nothing about, no matter who they have fooled into thinking otherwise.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

This four-song demo has excellent production, I have heard albums from bands signed to major labels that didn’t sound this good. The cover has two colors, band photos, a thanks list and all the lyrics. Very professional throughout. Musically, Eidetic is Thrash. Usually fast and pretty memorable, but the guitar sound is not especially heavy- the distortion is smoother than what I normally hear. The drum sound is the best I have heard recently on a demo. Now we get to Morten’s vocals. He sings, not as much as Russ Anderson (Forbidden), but it’s singing and I know some of you don’t go for that. The vocals fit with the music, however, and it would sound wrong if either were heavier individually. All the songs are interesting and I think you should check ‘em out.