Once again, at 26 minutes, this isn’t exactly a long album even by Hardcore standards, but damn do these guys cram this with intensity from first second to last. That and their thick, heavy sound, as well as the raw vocals have earned them repeated spins in my CD player.

This is a side project band of Gorgoroth, the singer of Baltak and I’m not sure but I believe it also has members of Mortifier in the band as well. The intro blatantly rips off Nargaroth (though I think Nargaroth did it better - Kanwolf may want to consider talking to a lawyer to see if these guys owe him any royalties) and then breaks into an all-out speedfest that made me think, “Oh no, not another band who’d rape their dead grandparents to be Dark Funeral all over again!” Luckily, Buio Omega slows things down and gets atmospheric once in a while, tempering their all-out speed assault with bits of slower material and some variations in the vocal styles. This isn’t Hammerheart by a long shot, but there are elements of later era Bathory mixed in with their sound. The production was pretty good though the guitars still were a bit on the thin side and could have definitely used a little more lower-end in them. On the whole, however, this wasn’t a bad release at all. I’ll definitely rank them above average on all major fronts (the lyrics were a bit dodgy here and there but hey, if English isn’t your first language, you’re forgiven as far as I’m concerned). I’d say that I was looking forward to hearing what they do next, but I don’t know if this is a one-off deal or not.

I guess that D.D. and Tim figured that their main band, Overkill, was just too intense, and so they formed this one with some other guys the press release wants me to care about. The sound here is reasonably thick, I guess, but hopefully this is the last gasp of latter-Soundgarden-styled “Alternative” filtered through a ’70s “Hard Rock” aesthetic. It is well done, I’ll give them that, but I have no interest in hearing it. And their limp-wristed, sappy version of “Jump in the Fire” really drives home my point, although it’s at least good for a laugh.

As you might have guessed, this starts out with a cover of Accept’s “Breaker.” And then we’ve got five of their own, all pretty un-heavy, but they occasionally do sort of up the intensity a little. I’d have to be in the right mood to listen to this, and if that mood struck, I’d probably listen to a lot of stuff before I thought of Breaker.

This collection of rare tracks sports the same cover art as the band’s Spearhead EP, which I consider to be a little strange. It is a cool image, but couldn’t Earache afford new cover art? Anyway, you get all the cuts from the now impossible to find Cenotaph and Spearhead EPs, plus two extra songs taken from a compilation called Rareache.

Welcome to part two of the Bloodthorn saga. Onwards into Battle continues the story started on Bloodthorn’s first release In the Shadow of Your Black Wings. This is the story of a mighty king who leads his faithful army to war against an unfathomable evil, which dwells within Tower Bloodthorn. This story is presented in the form of a masterpiece of symphonic Black Metal the likes of which you’ve never heard before. From the opening track, Bloodthorn draws you in and floods your senses with a whirlwind of cascading guitar melodies, raspy Black Metal vocals, thundering drums, and atmospheric keyboard passages. Ethereal female vocals drift into the music to add a haunting yet beautiful dimension. Each aspect of the music seems to enhance another. For instance, the guitars and keyboards complement one another instead of one overwhelming the other. The male and female vocals blend quite well. And neither the drums nor the bass are buried in the production. Each instrument is produced with striking clarity. There’s really no point in trying to compare Bloodthorn to any other band. I’ve never heard anything quite like this; it’s more than just mere music. This is a listening experience that will stay with you long after the music stops. The saga doesn’t end with Onwards into Battle, there are yet more tales to be told…

Well, this is a clear improvement over their debut, The Atlantean Wardragon. Bloodstorm has sort of controlled their earlier Black Metal chaos, but there is still plenty of speed and intensity here. However, there is also somewhat of an older, raw feeling to this recording, which I like.

Although just as good as the above-reviewed album [Revenge on Society -Editor], this does seem to be somewhat less heavy, perhaps a touch more Punk Rock influenced, and so maybe even more catchy, somehow. And the singer reminds me of Billy Milano, which I think is cool. Plus, their Motorhead cover (“Ace of Spades”) is included, although it’s not mentioned anywhere.

Blo.Torch? Have we really used up all the good band names? You’d think that a group this good could have thought of something better to call themselves. I don’t know what the band name and album cover had me expecting (a terrible New Wave Industrial Pantera hybrid piece of shit, most likely), but this quality Death/Thrash absolutely wasn’t it. Okay, they have their weaker moments, complete with sissified vocals, such as the third song, “King of Karnage,” but for the most part, this isn’t bad at all. Certainly not amazing, though.

This is a pretty harsh combination of Industrial and Metal, but it’s not really like anything I’ve heard before. They might have things plodding along all distorted with some crunchy riffs over top of it, and then just fade that out, and let acoustic guitars take over. Or maybe some horror movie soundtrack kind of background stuff could give way to crushing riffs and screams, which then is taken over by more straightforward songwriting for a little while, which slowly builds away from that to a million other things at once. But somehow they make it all work, which would have to be really difficult to accomplish. Bethlehem try to do this, but in a less Industrial setting, and don’t do anywhere nearly as good a job of it. Maybe the wasteland of Industrial sounds is what stitches this monster together, I’m not sure, but however they manage it, this is an engaging listen, but I’m not sure how often I’ll be playing it.

The sound quality was the first thing to impress me, but when these blasphemers broke out their acoustic guitars halfway through the first song (of two), I took notice once more, having previously been somewhat lost in the speedfest up to that point. Not bad at all, and I’ll be waiting to see what they can do with more than two songs.

This is a split CD of two of Necropolis Records’ earliest releases. For those of you who don’t remember seeing this stuff on your local record store’s CD racks, these two were originally released only on vinyl and are both long since out of print. The Messe des Morts EP was one of Holocausto’s earlier works with Beherit, only incorporating some of the Industrial influence that marked later Beherit albums. The production is raw and fuzzy, sounding almost like complete shit but with a little polish. The music is awful, and about as chaotic as you can get while still maintaining some Industrial elements. The Archgoat segment of this CD is a bit longer (it was a 10-inch instead of a 7-inch) and not quite as chaotic. This is clearly underproduced raw-as-fuck Black Metal in the older way, but with Death growls instead of the “getting a large, violent animal shoved up my ass” screams that are so much a part of raw Black Metal these days. The music is sort of like a slower version of Darkthrone during the A Blaze in the Northern Sky era but with a little keyboard work to add some atmosphere. Face it folks, this CD is a retrospective look at the Black Metal scene back in the “older days” and should not be treated as anything else. These two recordings aren’t classics by any stretch of the imagination. If you have the vinyl and love the bands, then this is a worthy buy. If you expect something great, prepare to be disappointed.

This is a “Best of…” compilation CD that features tracks from most of Beherit’s releases. Notable in their absence are any tracks from the first album. The older, chaotic-as-fuck Black Metal material is represented, however, by various demo and 7-inch tracks as well as live and rehearsal tracks from that era. I guess with the first album being re-released by Metal Bastard (or bootlegged by them), the folks at Spinefarm felt that there was really no need to release that material. This CD offers a wide cross-section of songs, ranging from lo-fi chaotic as fucking hell Black Metal to Techno/Industrial Satanic shit with some other strangeness thrown in as well. I wasn’t much of a fan of Beherit’s work (though I did like some of their stuff), but I did find this to be an interesting look at the evolution of Holocausto’s work. This one is for fans of the band only as this isn’t really going to convert anyone.

Formerly known as 5 B Hated, back when they were somewhat more Thrashy, Battle Heart is trying with these 4 cuts to reproduce the sounds of Traditional Metal, and they mostly do an okay job. But every now and then the vocals seem to be a little too high and thin. A little more work in that department, and they’ll be all set, since the music is 99% just fine.

This is the fourth album by British Epic Metallers Bal-Sagoth and much like their previous release, Battle Magic, this is heavy on the synth though the guitars and such are still very prominent. As a matter of fact, I can seriously see this band getting to the point where they would need a second synth player just to deal with how complex the keyboard parts are getting. The production on this is very clean with all of the instruments getting their own space. Bal-Sagoth also remembered that the drums should be in the background, which is really cool. I believe that the songs are all part of a concept piece set in the future, which would explain why Byron, the lead singer, is pictured holding that double-bladed Darth Maul lightsaber. I know a lot of people firmly believe that the Lords of the Sith are really Black Fucking Metal (particularly Darth Vader), but please! The picture just makes me laugh! Another thing, if you’re going to do a concept piece, include the fucking lyrics!!! I don’t care how stupid they are, just clue me in on what the story is about. The introductory paragraph or two is nice but it’s like releasing a really cool movie clip but then shelving the movie so that the only bits we see are off of a thirteenth generation bootleg. Other than those two minor gripes, this really is a great album. The music itself is some of the best I’ve heard in a while. The arrangements sound like they were well thought out and in the Classical vein, resulting in songs that flow very well. If you liked the last album, this one will be well worth tracking down.

This Glam / Sleaze Rock (from Sweden, of all places) is really not anywhere close to being as terrible as I’d expected. One of these songs was even recorded at fucking Sunlight (in case you’ve been in a coma the last decade or so, that’s the same studio where Dismember records)! And the rest of the songs have a similar, heavy guitar tone, which is a nice surprise. As is the actual ability of the musicians, and the memorable songwriting. Quite often the vocals are too whiny for their own good, but the mere fact that they are not always so is almost unbelievable. For what it is, this is enjoyable, and very well done.

Here’s a perfect example of how the media can blow an album way out of proportion. Despite what you may have read in some trendy mag, this is not the end-all be-all of Rock n’ Roll music since the dawn of time. It is simply a catchy album with lots of hooks, melodies, and Cathedralesque groove. Not flawless by a longshot. There are at least 3 or 4 tracks you’ve got to skip over to get to the goods. Most notably the goofiness-plagued “Radio Werewolf.” This does have its moments of Rockin’ glory. Try getting “Erratta Stigmata,” “Hand of Glory,” or “Exit Eden” out of your head after an attentive listen. Then there are the more passionate, morose tunes like “Fey,” which I have been known to listen to on repeat for hours at a time. “Sol Niger” is also a reflective gem. What really determines how much you dig this is how much you like Vil’s crooning Goth-meets-Rockabilly singing. I’ve seen a lot of comparisons to Danzig, but I disagree to a certain extent. If I had to make a comparison, I’d say Peter Murphy meets Elvis. I like his voice. It’s deep, sincere, and he can actually sing. As I said, it doesn’t always work, but for the most part this is a great selection to have around when you’re in the mood for something distinct and classy. So unless you’re a stupid bitch and you think this sounds like Alice in Chains (an actual remark), let loose, comb your hair into a devilock, and feeeeel the groooove!

Here we have three LPs worth of stuff, plus a couple compilation tracks, the most recent of which is from 1986. It’s raw and unpolished, but full of energy, and a real slap in the face to what is passed off as Punk these days. Not exactly awesome, but interesting nonetheless.

I’ve heard a lot of people singing the praises of this Finnish Black Metal trio and honestly, I can’t really see why. Yes, they’re pretty good but not as good as the stuff I’ve heard about them. I think the thing that really gets me down about this album is the one-dimensionality of the drumming and the thin-as-only-Black-Metal-can-get guitar sound. And that drum tone… I think I’ve heard trashcans that sound better than their snare drum. The good news is that though there are problems in the sound production department, the music is a bit more adventurous than your average clone-‘throne band. There are acoustic guitars on occasion and the inclusion of different vocal styles (Black Metal shrieks mixed with Death growls and variations on the standard Black Metal screaming) on a couple songs and they really help push this up a bit. Unfortunately, they still can’t save this album from the rampant one-dimensionality on display in the drumming and in the songs themselves. On the first listen, I couldn’t tell one song from the next. On the second listen, I still had trouble. The Nine Circles of Hell doesn’t totally suck major donkey dicks but it doesn’t do much to distinguish itself from the thousands and thousands of other releases that are competing for the same dollar.

Listening to The Ballads II, I keep thinking about that Hefty trash-bag commercial “…whimpy, whimpy, whimpy” or the Kraft dinner commercial “…it’s the cheesiest!” This is slow, melodic Glam Metal aimed at swelling the hearts of teenage girls world-wide. This will fit quite nicely into your CD collection if it includes bands like Poison and Europe. Laughable!