Hammerheart has created a real must-buy situation with this one. This disc has an old EP from each of these now-well-known bands, and unless you already have the original versions, I think you’ll be tracking this down. Looking at the reviews above [of Godless Savage Garden and Spiritual Black Dimensions, which were both printed above this review in Metal Curse #12 -Editor], you can see that I happen to like Dimmu, and they are just as good here, although perhaps more raw and less produced. And OMC is also very impressive - even more so than their later work on Century Media, if you ask me, although they do just barely keep this from a perfect ten. I consider it to be extremely cool of Hammerheart Records to have re-released these EPs on a single disc, when they could have just as easily had two separate CDs, and milked it for more money.

Well, despite the lack of Accept covers to help this along, I really like it. It’s intense and memorable new wave Black Metal, with more than a little Thrash and Death Metal seeping in. Sure the production is very polished, but not to the degree that it detracts. In fact, it’s really quite well done. I might just be first to say it, but I honestly think these guys deserve their success, and I certainly like them a lot more than Cradle of Filth. There is damn little keeping this from perfection.

I was very happy to find out that this band had not one, but two new CDs available when I saw them at this year’s (2001) Milwaukee Metalfest. Their live show kicks ass, too, by the way. As for this disc, their patented Groovy Punk Metal is even more Metalized than on their eponymous debut, and their sense of humor bigger and more porno than ever, as well. Dick D starts things off with “All Cops Are Dicks,” and ends with an unlisted cover of NWA’s “Fuck the Police.” Neither is as flawless as the anti-pig track on their next album [2001’s Bigger Than Ron Jeremy], however… Then these ski mask wearing madmen break out an ancient Traci Lords sample before unleashing the rest of the insanity. But as great as this album is, the one that follows it is even better. Still you’d better get them both (and their debut).

This is more Gothic and less Metal than [the band’s previous album] Wedding the Grotesque, and seems to have lost more than a little in the transition.

“Industrial Black Metal.” Oh yeah, that’s just what the world needs. After the obligatory gay intro, these naughty fellows crank up their very fake-sounding drum machine to 1,000 BPM and get to work on some extremely simple speed-picking. Actually this is somewhat better than I’m making it sound, and not really terrible, but anyone - and I mean anyone - could sit down with a drum machine and a guitar and make an album at least this okay.

It’s cool to have this ‘97 demo on disc. The production obviously is a little inferior considering the source, but mastered by Jim Morris, it sounds good enough. It sure beats being stretched and eaten up by my tape deck. Plus evil bonus tracks!

Being previously unfamiliar with this Slovakian band, I had no idea what to expect when I put Sighting into my CD player. I was in for a very pleasant surprise! Depresy play brutal and melodic Death Metal that combines strong songwriting with varying tempos to create an album that is innovative and memorable. Keyboards are used to create a bone-chilling atmosphere, which gives this release an eerie presence. Properly placed tempo-changes and variations in keyboard usage help to create individuality amongst the eight tracks featured here. With the exception of the keyboards being a little too loud for my liking in some places, the production is well done. I find myself liking this album more and more with each successive listen. I’ve been told that Depresy also have an MCD out entitled A Grand Magnificence. I will definitely be investigating that release as well! Those of you looking for something a little different in the realm of brutal Death Metal should give Depresy a try. You won’t be disappointed.

This is the kind of extreme Hardcore/Metal crossover that my pal Jack would call “Metalcore,” so I’ll steal his term. It’s occasionally easy to see the Slayer influence in Denile, but only at their most mellowed out and relaxed. This band is unbelievably intense, and can be tremendously heavy whenever they feel like it. The blurred line between Metal and Hardcore has been explored by many bands over the years, and most of them proved just how hard it is to do that and not sound like complete jackasses. Denile blends the styles so flawlessly, so masterfully, that it seems as if they’ve had decades to perfect their craft. The problems that other crossover bands have had in the past (mostly bad vocals and stupid riffs) are utterly obliterated here, without one second of weakness to be found in these nearly 25 minutes. But that’s the only problem: this is too short! I need more! Okay, it is true that I would much rather have 25 perfect minutes than have more time and less perfection. God damn, I can hardly wait to hear more from these guys.

After a fairly heavy intro, the Thrash / Power Metal kicks in, still a bit heavier than I was expecting. And considering that the principle members of D&W are from Blind Guardian and Iced Earth, this band’s ability is beyond question. But what I do question is why guys from Blind Guardian and Iced Earth would team up to form a band that more or less sounds exactly like what you’d get if you put their main bands in a blender, and set it to “puree - extra heavy guitar sound.” That’s not to say that D&W is bad, just sort of redundant. And, the band’s name gives away a great deal of their lyrical content, which might have been impressive to me when I was a little kid. Maybe.

Cool combo of Black Thrash with more traditional Metal elements.

Hell! Yet another Demoncy album! Baphomet Records has been doing a lot of dredging within the scene these days. I’m not sure that Killjoy intends to attempt a resurrection of the older days of Black and Death Metal but it certainly seems that way. This sounds like something that was recorded back in 1993! Anyway, this is the third full-length album by Demoncy and this release sees Demoncy becoming a solo project. The other members have departed and the only one left is Ixithra (who also is the sole member of Profane Grace). Joined in Darkness sounds rawer, more bestial and certainly more like a band going for feeling rather than technical ability. No flashy guitar masturbation, no complex, technical riffs, no solos, no polish - you just get pure, ugly, Black Fucking Metal. While the last album sounds more in the Darkthrone vein, album number three has much more of a Death Metal feel. If you can imagine a primitive as fuck Death Metal sound mixed with raspy, quasi-whispered vocals, you pretty much get this album. Joined In Darkness is raw, primitive and evil - the way Black Fucking Metal is supposed to be.

This is Demoncy’s second full-length album, recorded back in 1996 but not seeing the light until late 1999. This is one of the first US Black Metal bands to form during the heyday of Florida and New York’s Death Metal scenes. It was pretty much just Demoncy, Masochist, Necrovore and Profanatica back then. I think this was the last Demoncy material to be recorded with a full band. I heard that the original line-up had ex-members of Profanatica in it, but if they remained to perform on this CD, then they obviously changed their names. Regardless, this doesn’t sound at all like Profanatica. The playing is too tight and the general imagery is more along the lines of the Nordic scene than the older US scene that Demoncy came out of. If you remember Faustian Dawn’s raw, Darkthrone influenced Black Fucking Metal with some interesting atmospheric bits, then this new album will not sound unfamiliar to you. The production on this is slightly better than the Faustian Dawn album’s, with a more polished sound and a cleaner guitar tone. The music, on the other hand, hasn’t changed all that much. You still think of Darkthrone when you listen to this band. This album would probably have had a bigger impact on the scene back in 1996 but I get the feeling that Demoncy will get lost in the shuffle in 2000 because too many bands sound exactly like they do.

At last Dementor have returned with their follow-up to 1997’s Kill the Thought on Christ. Faster and deadlier than ever, this album is utterly relentless in its evil Death Metal onslaught.

I guess I don’t hate this as much as Gerg did Delashay’s previous album [1998’s _ The Court Composer _ -Editor], but it’s still not too impressive. What we have here is a sometimes decent attempt at creating a “haunting” and “epic” soundtrack for a movie that doesn’t exist. The “borrowing” from other, far more well known, soundtracks gives little credibility to La’rue’s vastly inflated self-image and claims that this album “summons forth the primal majesty of the universe.” It’s not completely terrible, but give me a break! Honestly, I think that as far this type of “soundtrack” work is concerned, there is simply a lot better out there, and the legitimate composers generally don’t share La’rue’s extreme delusions of grandeur.

A fairly decent hybrid of brutal Death Metal, Swedish-like Thrash, and seldom moshable Core arrangements. The vocals go from a somewhat substandard yell to bestial growls of Assuck depth. This has its moments of pure hostile rage achieved through insane tempo changes. Still, it does tend to drag on at times. I found myself also to get into it most of the time, but I don’t know how I’d feel had I spent $16 on it. Certainly it isn’t always the most original composite, but I sense the capability this has to grow on you if you let it. Maybe it’s just because I can’t resist making some sort of contorted spinal movement to the mosh riff in “Speak Out My Name.”

Defleshed’s brand of Thrashy Death Metal has been a long-time favorite of mine, and this album sees them kicking just as much ass as ever. As an extra bonus, we’re even treated to live versions of “Under the Blade” (my favorite song form their album of the same name) and “Thorns of a Black Rose.”

Defiled (this one, anyway…) hails from Japan and plays brutal Death Metal in the vein of the Florida bands (Morbid Angel, Monstrosity, Deicide, etc…). This is their debut album and though there are some good parts on it, the majority of it is fairly generic brutal Death Metal that I’m sure anyone who got into the scene back in 1992 will have plenty of already. I know my collection of Death Metal CDs is quite extensive and contains quite a few bands that sound almost exactly like this. I guess the biggest hurdle that Defiled has to clear is the one with “originality” written on it. If you like by-the-numbers Death Metal, then Defiled will be to your liking - though I seriously doubt that it will get more than one or two spins on your CD player. Seriously, there are better ways and better bands to blow $15 on. No offense to the band, but this is yet another release that will be buried and forgotten before it is more than a few weeks old.

Well, there is nothing that I love more than a 2 minute, 22 second long intro! Why the fuck do bands do stupid shit like that?!? Just start the god damn music, you fuckheads! And then I get my wish - the music starts. Gallop-riffs, pretty guitar solos, and a singer not quite as flamey as I thought he might be. What’s funny is that the press release says that the band “decided to change their music dramatically and employed a real vocalist and started playing Heavy Metal.” So, first of all, they admit to being trend-followers; and secondly they make fun of all Death and Black Metal singers. These are not good ways to get a positive review in this zine. Even if this album were good, which it’s not - it’s a half-assed rip-off of a tenth-rate Hammerfall cover band - I could never recommend it. My only question is why Necropolis would even bother to release it all… But I could guess.

What I have here is a three-song promo of their latest album. Innovation is not a prerequisite of mine, but you better make up for it in the brutality department. These songs have poor dynamics from the simplistic drumming to the muddled riffs. The vocal delivery is the worst aspect, sounding like a weak Chris Barnes on Six Feet Under’s debut, Haunted. Peers Dying Fetus and Mortal Decay are a more enjoyable listen. This is harsh considering I ordered their demo, Gradually Melted, from the band and thought they had potential. What an appropriate album title!

Any time a press release mentions something like “December is not just a Metal band,” it clues me in that the disc might well be terrible. And this is certainly no exception. Praying… is like a textbook of everything that’s wrong with new “Metal.” I try to distance myself form that crap as much as possible, so I’m not sure if this sounds more like Pantera, Korn, Sevendust, or whatever, but all their attempts at heaviness and extremity fall completely flat and are very unconvincing.