Noise. [And the most unreadable layout I’ve ever seen. - Editor]

This band hails from Canada, and in case you’re wondering, they’re from the French speaking area. This explains the songs with French lyrics. I’ll leave it at that before my hereditary dislike of French people kicks in (England!). Regardless, this is some pretty potent Black/Death Metal with some Thrashier moments that I’m inclined to say has a lot more in common with older German Thrash than either Norse Black Metal or Death Metal in either the Swedish style or the American Florida/Buffalo style. The vocals are mostly in the traditional “raspy shriek” with the occasional Death growl thrown in. I personally thought that the inclusion of the Death growl was a good idea that just wasn’t implemented enough. I think they only do it for one or two songs and the rest are just raspy Black Metal styled shrieks. The guitar is pretty loud but I noticed that though it was louder than the bass, the drums were still the dominant instrument here. And the snare is kind of annoying too. I think the biggest problem Anhkrehg faces is musical diversity. Many of the songs were similarly structured and though the riffs were different, the drumming was pretty much the same - and when the drums are the loudest instrument, that’s not good. Lands of War is intense and brutal, which is always a plus when playing Black/Death, and since this is their debut album, I’m hoping that these guys experiment with their sound and mix things up a bit more on their next release.

Jack’s review above [for the band’s 1999’s Bleed album -Editor] is perhaps a little harsh. Angel Dust, at least as represented here, has aggressive drumming. But if they did not - if they had Rock drumming, and a somewhat altered production, this would be the very definition of Ass Rock.

I believe that this is the fourth strike by German Atmospheric Black Metal stalwarts Andras and though the bulk of the album is some pretty good stuff, I really have to question the inclusion of the Sodom cover (“Blasphemer”). The reason for this is that it totally interrupts the flow of the album. The cover sounds so out of place that it really draws attention to itself. Imagine a Death Metal song in the middle of an Iron Maiden album. That’s how different it sounds. Another problem this band faces is the fact that they don’t sound all that good when they play fast. When the speed kicks up, their songs lose all the feeling and atmosphere that they had built up as well as calling attention to how thin the guitars and drums are. This is a clearly keyboard dominated band and they should remember that. Their best work is in the slower to mid-paced realm. Next time guys, forget the fast stuff and concentrate on the atmosphere. That’s the stuff that sounds the best.

For those of you not familiar with this one-man project, this Vargher of Bewitched fame trying his hand at a little Blackened Doom. His past works have been outstanding with The Calling and For Snow Covered the Northland, but this album unfortunately is a step down. The synths this time around are downright irritating. I can’t explain it, but they simply overpower the other aspects of the music. The campy sounding keys stick out like a sore thumb robbing the dark music of its grim. Keyboards have always been a part of Vargher’s arsenal, but more suavely subdued in the past, only highlighting, not spotlighting. Don’t dismiss Ancient Wisdom as a failure, just avoid this one release. The aforementioned records are gems.

At last! The suicidal Black Doom masters have returned! The sound this time is more atmospheric than heavy, and things are kept keyboard-intensive and of course slow paced. There is also an excellent cover of Demon’s “The Spell.”

All my promo copy has is two tracks, possibly from their split CD with Ophiolatry, and two bonus demo tracks… Brutal Death / Grind! The production isn’t the best, but that might just be the tape. This isn’t much to go on, but what’s here is pretty good, and certainly very intense.

Back in 1985 or so, when this record (sans the bonus tracks, of course) was initially released, the word “Crust” apparently had a different meaning than the one it has come to possess since then. The combination of Punk and Metal at the time of Arise! lacked the speed and intensity that E.N.T. or Driller Killer would bring to it later on. But does it’s mid-pacedness make this any less good? Not really, but it is different and probably not what you’d expect if I had just said that this is a great slab of seminal Crust. And then there are the vocals, which are also probably not what you might expect, being that they are more British cider Punk - thick and sloppy - as opposed to the prototypical E.N.T. growl / scream combo. The bonus tracks are a big plus for me, since I do have the original pressing, and there are also pretty extensive liner notes (including some comments from none other than the legendary underground artist Pushead).

Melancholy, depressing Black Metal, maybe not unlike early Katatonia, with raw, raspy vocals. It’s extremely well executed and close to flawless.

There’s nothing like the sounds of a storm to start off a an album… Umm, is that a horn? God damn, these guys try way too hard to be different and “original.” When they aren’t wasting their time with flutes and other insanity, this is great Thrashy Death Metal. I don’t mind the occasional female vocals and violins, but I can generally do without wind instruments and barnyard sounds. However, I must say that they do a great job on their cover of King Diamond’s “Welcome Home.”

This band reminds me a lot of Burzum. Not early Burzum but sort of middle period Burzum, around the Hvis Lysett Tar Oss or Filosofem era. The riffs are simplistic, the drumming is simplistic and all of the songs are well over the 5-minute mark in terms of length. Of the four songs here, the shortest is 7 1/2 minutes long and the longest clocks in at almost eighteen. The general feeling around this whole album is depression or melancholy - though I get the feeling that things were supposed to be a bit more grim and nihilistic when you look at the album title and the song lyrics. If driving you to suicide was the idea, Abyssic Hate is a bit too upbeat. I think bands like Evoken or Avernus are much more depressing and suicide inducing than this, for the simple reason that they are able to capture that particular vibe better. This is not to say that Abyssic Hate isn’t good at what they’re doing. In fact, this is a very solid album that has a good sound and captures the feelings of melancholy and emptiness fairly well. Not suicide inducing, but fans of middle period Burzum, the first Long Voyage Back album and Judas Iscariot will find this a worthy addition to their collections.

Some bands think that they improve from one album to the next, but few really do. Abominant, however, is one of those select few bands that keep focusing and refining their sound, ever inching closer to utter perfection in all areas. Although a few of these riffs do sound familiar, this is an otherwise excellent example of Thrashy Death Metal, along the lines of latter day Death or Pestilence. They even manage a very impressive Sacrifice cover (“Re-Animation”), expertly bringing it into their own style.

This MCD is seriously a release meant for the Black Metal packrat only. This is essentially a compilation of tracks that appear elsewhere. Granted, some of these tracks are “unreleased,” but if you cut through the bullshit, this is pure rehash. A couple rehearsal or demo tracks do not make this something to run out and buy by any stretch of the imagination. I’m a big fan of Abigor, but after listening to this, I’m tempted to say that this is a cash-in scam. You get two cover songs - both of which are available on tribute albums (one Kreator song and one Slayer song) - and three Abigor originals. These originals are nothing to write home about because they are demo or rehearsal versions of songs that appear on other releases. My major gripe is that there is nothing really “new” or “exclusive” to this EP. If there were a couple new songs that would appear nowhere else on this, I would definitely say go out and grab In Memory right now. As it stands, packrats and total and complete Abigor junkies are the only people that are really going to want this.

Fans of Krisiun take note, with this new release, the lesser-known Brazilian 3-piece have mutated into an exact replica of their countrymate predecessors. If Krisiun’s lawyers heard this album, they would probably sue for product infringement. Surely it would be no small task to duplicate such inhuman speed and precision, but this may upset those in search of originality. Still, when such a mood requires no more than ferocious blasting and prodigiously technical guitar work, this disc would be just as worthy of a spin. Some of these riffs are actually pretty old-school! Impressive to say the least.

Total fucking shit poseur Metal! Music 100% crafted for the blind masses of 7-string radio stardom. If you’re into lame shit like Static-X and Machine Head you’ll love this because it is in the same vein of gayness. Fuck Billboard Top 40 New Wave of Cum Guzzling Faggot Minimalism.

Recorded live on June 5th, 1988 (what were you doing back then?), the Impetigo side of this awesome slab really takes me back to the old days with three classic tracks. The recording quality is pretty good, and I hope that someone decides to put the entire show out on CD. I really need the extreme sickness of a live Impetigo album, and you do too. [I checked into this, and apparently there are not very many quality live recordings of Impetigo in existence. -Editor] On the other side, the awesome Transgressor delivers a pair of live cuts (one of which was recorded in Michigan [For the unenlightened, Transgressor is from Japan. -Editor], of all places!) from 1992 and 1994, and if anyone has any doubts that they deserve to be on the same piece of vinyl as the legendary Impetigo, these two songs should destroy them. I believe that this is an extremely limited edition item, so I suggest that you don’t hesitate.

I don’t know how this could possibly get any cooler. This is the band’s infamous 1989 demo, along with a couple of bonus tracks. Now that’s enough to make it a mandatory purchase, but Morbid Records likes to stack the deck in their favor, so they put it out on 10-inch vinyl. And it’s a picture disk as well. Side one is never-before-seen full-color artwork by gore master, and Impetigo vomiting frontman, Stevo (known back then as Stevo 138, since it was time to be an android, not a man). And side two is a colorized (very proudly by none other than me) version of the original b&w demo cover. So, even if you have the original demo, this is a must-buy situation, if you will. I now bestow upon Impetigo and Morbid Records the honor they so richly deserve: A perfect rating.

You can always count on Parricide to deliver intense Death Metal, but they’ve really turned things up for this. As much as I liked their Accustomed to Illusion album, this is better. Not that it’s really all that different, just more perfected. I don’t mean in the playing, though. They’re complete experts on their instruments, and have been for quite a long time. I mean that these songs sound like they’ve been worked on over and over until there are no traces of imperfection left at all. Parricide was good before, but this is nothing short of awesome. Hopefully their next full-length release will come soon.

While not quite as flawless as their debut, Extrusion: Battlehymns, this is still a solid slab of Death. I can detect some “modern” influences this time, but for the most part everything is fine. If this album came from another band, I’d be singing their praises, but from In-Quest, I expect nothing less than perfection, and while this certainly kicked the asses of my neighbors as I reviewed it, I am left somewhat disappointed by its non-perfection.

Some lineup changes have altered the approach of this long-running English Black Metal band. You can throw those old Cradle of Filth comparisons out the window, try Massacre! Well, I exaggerate, but honestly, from the first riff onward a huge Death Metal influence is apparent. The guitars are chunkier, heavier, and this new vocalist can go both deep and screechy convincingly. This adds a lot to their sound, of course, the symphonic Black Metal this band is known for is still there. Perhaps they decided upon the genre’s rapid stagnation and ever-nearing burial that some dynamic flavor was necessary. Favorite track: “Blessing in Disguise.”