I’m sure this is supposed to be avant-garde and really neato, but some guy half singing, half droning over what might be a “dark” Ambient background just isn’t interesting to me at all. At least not when the vocals are so goofy, and the sparse music is so boring.

Not much to report here except that no Emperor fan should be without this DVD. Great sound, great production, and a decent directing job. Recorded at a gig in London, there is nothing too visually stunning other than five guys with a good stage presence playing their hearts out. There are nine songs spanning all their albums, and a healthy portion of the classics are here. It puzzles me how Ihsahn can master singing and playing guitar (even soloing) at the same time so effectively, or how effortlessly the drummer seems to blast away. These guys are definitely pros, as this video showcases their immaculate playing ability. The coolest thing about this: I learned the slow part in “I Am the Black Wizards” by watching Ihsahn. This also includes the cult video for “The Loss and Curse of Reverence.”

Live albums can be hard to review. I mean, what else can you ever really say, other than “if you like this band, you’ll want to check out this live album”? Maybe if it’s really awesome, you might add, “even non-fans would have to be impressed with this performance.” In this case, you get the added bonus (provided you have a computer that can decipher it) of a CD-ROM video track for “I Am the Black Wizards,” which is neat, but really just a standard live performance clip. For me, at least, it’s difficult to beat Emperor live.

To say that the genre of Black Metal has been stagnant of late would be a gross understatement. The last BM album to really floor me was Darkthrone’s Ravishing Grimness, if that gives you an idea. Well, this band here has something special. Eminenz has the ability to sound evil, brutal, epic, depressing, and majestic all in one song. They do the symphonic thing to utter perfection, to add another dimension to their breathtaking doomy passages. These guys borrow heavily from the dynamics and precision of Death and Thrash Metal that serves to compliment their blasting Black Metal fury and the aforementioned morose qualities. The vocals are fucking sick. Imagine Jeff Walker, Tomas Lindberg, and Nocturno Culto all rolled up in one diabolical snarl. And the productions is slick, not frail. This is a powerful album that will summon all of your darkest emotions, and one of the finest efforts I have witnessed from a modern Black Metal act in a long long looooooong time. Obtain this gem at all costs.

Holy Hell! Imagine the eerie keyboards and machine-gun drums of fast symphonic Black Metal, combined with semi-early Death Metal riffs that would have been at home on the first Deicide album. Yes, this kicks 666 different kinds of ass, and has more lined up around the block to kick later. Perhaps not utter perfection, but damn close. Un-fucking-believable.

Alternating between Doom and Deathrash, this band generally keeps things interesting, and reminds me a bit of early Cemetary. However, every once in a while, the singer decides that using a sort of deep, goofy “clean” voice would be a good idea. He’s wrong of course, but at least it’s a rare occurrence.

I’ve heard a lot of old-style Power Metal bands in the last few months, and Elegy really stands out as one of the best. They’re ultra-high energy technical onslaught is balanced out with a sort of melancholy feeling and very memorable songwriting. And I really should have known that would be the case. Not because this band has been around since the mid ’80s (although that was something of an indicator), but rather because it simply will not play in my reference CD player. And that’s the kind of luck I have. I’m listening to it as played by my computer’s CD-ROM drive right now…

I really loved this band’s last album, Come My Fanatics…. It possessed the heaviest guitar tone I’ve ever heard, plus an all-around more Doomy and oppressive sound than what we have here. This time, the EW guys seem to be going for a much more natural (yet still heavy) sound. That’s okay with me, and really if I’d heard this album first, I’d be telling you how heavy this guitar tone is. But, knowing how much more supremely crushing this band was and can be, I find myself wondering why they went in this kind of more groovy, Stoner Rock (as opposed to Stoner Doom, I guess) direction. Perhaps they wanted to continue to evolve their sound, but as a note to all bands, when you’ve reached perfection it’s time to stop evolving, because the only way left to go is down. Still, on its own merits, Dopethrone is a massive bong of groovy Doom.

This is album number three for Viking Metal stalwarts Einherjer and for whatever reason, they have never really taken off. They had one album on Napalm, one on Century Media and now one on what I assume is their own label. The music of Einherjer is quite good, blending older Heavy Metal and Classical bits together to form a sound that is pretty much unique. As before, there are plenty of references to the Norse gods and the lyrics are markedly better than Odin Owns Ye All because they have gotten rid of most of the hokey parts. Unfortunately, some hokey parts still exist. I don’t know if these guys should be singing in English, as this might actually flow better (and make more sense) in Norwegian. Musically, Einherjer is quite good but at the same time, the music just doesn’t grab you. It’s good, just not that interesting. When an album gets boring, especially not that far in, it is always a bad thing. Einherjer has the talent. They also have good ideas. Now let’s see if album number 4 can grab my attention the way it should.

Melodic Power Metal from Canada with some Thrash-stylings thrown in for good measure. While there are a number of bands that fit this description, Nightmare World’s song-content is what helps Eidolon stand apart from the rest. Instead of writing songs about swords, dragons, and rescuing maidens from their virginity, these guys focus on the workings of the inner-mind and the darkness within one’s soul. In fact, I would say that they strongly resemble Nevermore in this respect. Although there isn’t much in the way of technical wizardry going on here, there is plenty of creativity to be found, and Eidolon’s music is anything but predictable. Check out the acoustic work on “Fortress of Red.” And “Eye of Illusion” has almost a “Pull the Plug” feel to it. Indeed, the production favors the guitar-sound which imbues the music with a more powerful presence that is sometimes lacking in many releases in this genre. A definite force to be reckoned with.

That’s weird; the CD says “Earth Crisis” on it, but when I hit the play button, out came the new Fear Factory CD. No, I’ll be honest, I really dig this record. I think these guys were long overdue for some type of musical spice-up. Their sound is now equal parts brutal Hardcore and the Billboard Top 40 / 7-string guitar fueled “New Metal.” While it sucks to see a Death or Thrash band go this route, I suppose it could be a more natural “progression” for a Hardcore band. Plus Earth Crisis doesn’t go overboard with it. The more radio-friendly areas only make the traditional EC stomping rhythms seem more brutal. Let’s face it, they were never going to be able to top Gomorrah’s Season Ends in terms of brutality, aggression, and anthemic memorability. It was a bit awkward to hear their stylistic change at first, but after a couple beers and a fat joint, I was banging my head just like the old days. About these guys’ lyrics: I just want them and every other Straight Edge person out there to understand that I do realize that by doing drugs, smoking, and consuming large quantities of meat, that I am killing myself and destroying my body. Being not at all in denial about that, a song like “Killing Brain Cells” becomes a dramatic narration for my demise that I am more than happy to precipitate. Damn, I’m tired of writing [And I of typing! -Ed.]. I think it’s time to hit McDonald’s. I’ll bring this CD for the drive.

After the stupid “scratching” into, this isn’t as bad as I remember Dying Breed being. Don’t get me wrong, their “Groove Metal” is far from great, but at least they seem to be improving, which is a plus. But then we get to the remixes… Okay, if you like that kind of shit, great. But at least get someone who knows what the hell he’s doing, so your “remixes” don’t sound as if they were done by someone in a coma using a Fisher Price My First Gay Techno Remix Kit.

Groove-laden, “modern” (i.e. start-stop, pseudo-Industrial riffs) Mainstream Metal that would be at home on Roadrunner, if only it were a little more “harsh.” Plus it’s also sorta “retro” at the same time. At least it’s a little aggressive, and I’m sure if The Music Cartel had enough money to really push this album down the throats of brain-dead MTV fans, they could be really big. But that doesn’t make this disc any good. In fact, just the opposite. Still, I have heard worse. I guess.

This band is the side project of two of the members of Dargaard, Tharen and Elisabeth Toriser. Most of the ads and promo copy I’ve seen of this band calls them Darkwave. I’d say they were closer to being Dark Ambient or keyboard based Industrial than Darkwave, because Darkwave tends to sound like Disco music with Gothy “oh my life is so fucked up” lyrics. A good example of a Darkwave band is Depeche Mode. Does Dominion3 sound anything like Depeche Mode? I think not. Dominion3 sounds much more like a cross between Mortiis, Plasma Pool (without Attila’s evil vocals) and a Gothic band in the vein of Dead Can Dance. There are some “Blackish” moments where the Black Metal roots of the band show through. The music itself is very listenable and there is some definitely dark atmosphere generated here. This is one for the Gothy folks to pick up.

Masse Broberg is back again with this side project of Dark Funeral (don’t worry, folks, he’s still in Dark Funeral) and though I enjoy Dark Funeral a lot, I like this band more. In a way, this is everything that Dark Funeral isn’t, while still remaining in the realms of Black Metal. Where Dark Funeral is fast and furious, Dominion Caligula is slower and heavier. There is also more atmosphere, female vocals and keyboards - things that you’ll probably never see in Dark Funeral. According to what I’ve heard, this is a concept album based on the life of the Roman emperor Caligula, though the only thing I have to rely on is song titles and hearsay as no lyrics are enclosed. Masse’s vocals are as rabid and evil as ever though they don’t really sound any different than those found on Dark Funeral’s releases. Musically, this album has a lot going for it. There are lots of memorable songs, great riffs and neck-snapping brutality all over the place. There are even some flashy guitar solos, a rare thing in Black Metal these days. Overall, this album fucking shreds and if you had to choose between this album and the new Dark Funeral, I’d advise you to go sell some of your blood plasma so you can afford both.

After a long, slowly-building intro, Domain unleashes vicious Black Death Grind such that I checked to see if they’re from Australia (they’re actually Mexican). Demonized is similar, but perhaps a slightly more Black Metal vocal style. And they do an absolutely brutal cover of “Metal Church.”

Where do you go after an awesome debut album like Redemption? You could try to figure out a way to improve on it, and either somehow succeed, or totally fuck up everything. Most bands seem to identify the wrong elements as being their “weak links” and end up making a real mess of things, while all too few ever manage to top themselves time after time. Or, trying to avoid disaster, you could go the safer route, and more or less make Part 2. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not intended to be any type of insult. Doomed to Inherit is an excellent album, full of great, sometimes-Thrashy-sometimes-Deathy riffs and amazing drumming, just as their debut was.

This sees Dismember getting a little more melodic than on previous releases. Does that mean that the mighty Dismember, the last remaining brutal Death Metal band from the early Swedish Death Metal boom, has finally wimped out? Fuck no! This album still crushes. Unlike so many other bands that have disappeared, changed sounds, or just plain wussed out, Dismember still delivers the fucking goods in the old Swedish overdriven Sunlight Studios way. This time, there are a couple new members, most notably Sharlee D’Angelo (who is probably in a dozen bands now, including Witchery and Mercyful Fate) on bass, replacing Richard Daemon who left to join Satyricon, but has now apparently disappeared off the face of the earth. I have to say that with the newer approach, incorporating a little melody and some ripping guitar solos, is something that I really enjoy. There are more hooks on this album than on a gill net. If you like your Death Metal in the older Swedish vein (no guitar harmonies, overly melodic riffs or half-assed attempts at Black Metal), then Hate Campaign is definitely for you. Now if only Unleashed would listen to this and get heavier and more brutal…

This is not the Crust band, but rather a brutal, Suffocation-like Death Metal band from France. These songs don’t stick with you too much after they’re over, but while it’s playing, this is just total annihilation.

Ultra-brutal Gore Grind with down-tuned guitars, non-stop blasts, and completely indecipherable vocals. Extremely loud and fast, and utterly lacking in variation. Hard to tell where one song stops and another begins. I like quite a few brutal Death Metal bands, and Disgorge is heavy-as-hell, but there just isn’t anything memorable about this album. They have potential, though.