Oh fuck am I glad that terrible intro is over. What is it with stupid intros these days? Anyway, after that annoyance ends, the fast Black Metal starts up. The production saves this from being as raw as the music seems to want itself to be, which is weird. And there are some keyboards to make things “atmospheric,” I guess. But this white noise guitar sound is grating. Why not have a thick, evil tone, instead of the thin buzz, which is thankfully sort of buried anyway? This has a lot of good moments, but with all the bands that sound like this, Abba, I mean Aeba, need something to set them apart - other than a stupid name.

I was expecting something more from this band as their label, Scarlet, released the Aborym album. Unfortunately, Adversam are plagued by a problem that infects about 85% of the Metal scene in general. The problem, you ask? Drums. Not bad drums but overly loud drums. Adversam has drums that are so loud compared to the other instruments that I’m tempted to call this a blast-beat rap album. The keyboards are good and what little of the guitars that I could hear were OK too but when the drummer is going along at full blast, you can’t hear any of it. Adversam kind of reminds me of Dark Funeral or older Immortal but with keyboards and a little more atmosphere. Imagine the first Immortal album played at Pure Holocaust speeds. The result isn’t bad in itself. With the current mix, however, it really sounds annoying. There is so much more going on in the background that it pisses me off that I can’t really hear any of it because the drums drown out most of it completely. Next time, please turn up the guitars and turn down those fucking drums!!! I’d like to give it a higher rating, as I feel that this band really is quite talented, but the mix brings this down a whole lot.

This cassette may or may not also currently be available on CD. The band mentioned that it is, but also that they are sold out… Anyway, this evil Black Death is quite well done and also pretty heavy. And in the second song, “Sadist Christ,” they scream “Jesus is cumming in your mouth” over a nice acoustic guitar part. I know they’re totally serious, but that’s such a funny thing to say that it alone would make this worth owning. But really all the songs are good, just not as awesome as that.

I just loved the way Pit magazine reviewed this EP. It was a long political statement that had nothing at all to do with this EP’s music. I came away knowing next to nothing about Absurd besides the fact that they were Nazis. Yes, I agree that raiding No Colours and Darker Than Black’s offices and confiscating their stuff is stupid and that no matter what their political affiliations are, they deserve to speak their mind no matter what they have to say. If you are a music magazine reviewing a release, at least have the courtesy to tell us a little about the music. Now, about Absurd’s music… Absurd had always been the strangest Black Metal band I’d ever heard. They had more in common musically with the Oi scene than with Metal. In fact, their demos were pretty much just Oi music with Black Metal vocals and Satanic lyrics. This EP still has a lot of that style in it. There are more Black Metal parts on Asgardsrei but there are plenty of Oi influenced hooks in their songs. The most memorable parts, in fact, are these hooks. The production is quite a bit on the shitty side with the guitar being way too low for my taste. In fact, I’m not even sure that there is a guitar on this. The production is so bass heavy that what I’m hearing may really a distorted bass guitar. And that drum sound… I’ve heard drum machines that sound better than this. All the lyrics are in German and no translations are forthcoming. The fact that I could get this in America is somewhat of a small miracle in itself. This CD will probably only appeal to skins or aficionados of WP/NS Black Metal (fans of Graveland, Perunwit, Thunderbolt or Nargaroth for example) as this more interesting because of the bands Nazi ideology than because of their music.

I don’t recall ever hearing the name Aborym mentioned before so I’m assuming that they’re a new band. If that is the case, then this is a really well put together debut album! The addition of Attila Csihar (yes, that Attila!) as a guest vocalist really upped my expectations. For the most part, this is atmospheric Black Metal in the vein of Emperor or Cradle of Filth but with a distinct sound that hints at the other bands yet really sounds nothing like them. There are a lot of different ideas thrown around here and for the most part, they all work really well. The sound on this CD is fucking excellent and the only disappointment was in some of the faster tracks where the snare started drowning things out. Oh yeah, the Moonspell riff (it sounds blatantly like “Alma Mater” except that they changed the last part a little bit) also caught my attention. Other than that, this album kicks some major ass and has been firmly affixed to my CD player for quite a while now. Look for it!!!

Very well-played Death Metal with Thrash influences from this great Australian band. Songs range in style from melodic to fast, and brutal vocals combine with grooving melodies to make for notable diversity. I like the production on this release, especially where the guitars are concerned. The bone-crunching riffs are extremely infectious. A highly talented band with a bright future ahead of them!

It’s good to hear a band that’s always improving. Abominant seem to be constantly refining their sound, correcting even the tiniest flaws in their Death Metal onslaught. This, their second album, sees them closing in on perfection.

Fast, raw, noisy Black Metal. I seem to remember this band as being more compelling and memorable, but still, this intensity can’t be denied.

When I first picked up this album, I thought to myself, “Oh no, another cheesy Satanic-as-fuck Black Metal band that couldn’t afford real cover art so they stole something from an old comic book.” I bought it anyway, being fully aware that sometimes you get greatness in shitty packaging. What I got was ugly. And brutal. And Satanic. In other words, a really good Black / Death Metal album. Abaddon Incarnate sounds more akin to Incantation mixed with a little Necrotism-era Carcass and the horror movie samples of Mortician thrown in for good measure. There is a definite Grind influence amidst the churning, down-tuned guitar assault and the vocals are low but not monotone. The Last Supper isn’t for people who like lots of melody and artsy shit thrown in with their Death Fucking Metal. This is from the older school of Death, where brutality was mixed with being memorable and the whole thing was designed to make you headbang so hard that you dislocated your skull.

A lot of bands understand the idea that Death Metal should be brutal, and 7th Child is certainly no exception to that. But what appears to be difficult is combining that intensity with memorable songs. This is massive while you listen to it, destroying all within 15 feet of your speakers, and that is required of good Death Metal, but perhaps something could have been added somehow to make the songs more memorable and thus allow 7th Child to stand more on their own in this crowded Extreme Metal scene.

The band with the stupid name is back once again, hot on the heels of their very interesting split CD with Bloodthorn. But there’s something strange going on here: This is apparently only one disc of a 2CD set, with the other being all Ambient/Industrial/Noise that was recorded at the same time as this album. I guess Season of Mist figured that I’d hate the other disc (probably accurate), but it would have been nice to get the complete package. My complaints aside, this is plenty evil Black Metal that expertly incorporates synths into their speed and raw power.

I’m sure you know that vocalist/bassist David Vincent and guitarist Erik Rutan are out of MA. And for maybe a nanosecond I was concerned, but then realized Trey would find the best possible replacement for an otherwise inconsistent position in the band. Steve Tucker fills that position with so much ooze, er, ease that it’s madness! He uses a deeper register to his vox, and sings much faster, reminiscent of Altars of Madness, combining some of the best vocal elements required to make this band the rolling juggernaut it is and should always be. With Trey at the lyrical helm, the vessel that carries the Morbid enlightenment conjures images from the myths of Babylonia and the Ancient Ones, and in ancient tongues to boot! You know, the way it should be. Produced by Trey himself, this is certainly his album. His guitars are proof of that. Sludge induced riffs and contorted chaos solos, with unimaginable screeching arpeggios that maybe only two people on Earth can do, let alone use dexterously in a song repeatedly, speaks for itself. And let us not forget the swirling roaring ground which the unearthly Morbid Angel is grounded in, being the otherworldly drumming of Pete “Commando” Sandoval. I’ve heard many drummers, and a lot of them are fast, and I’ve done rational fair comparisons, but by far the best Death Metal drummer for some time has been Pete. His compositions are unmatched, and his control at multiple varying speeds of double bass is like a switch. An awesome album! But there’s something else here. The last track is this strange opus of more of a Rock origin. Weird, but I like it. I was certainly not expecting it, as opposed to the other strange musical diversions usually found on a Morbid album. Of these musical diversions, there are three distinct ones tacked to the end of the album. Perhaps one for each member of the band, because one is certainly Pete’s. First the title is in Spanish, loosely translated as “Ritual Hymns of War,” and its this rolling drum piece I initially thought was programed with this Dead Can Dance beat behind it or something. It’s nice to see these guys branch out and experiment a little, but perhaps they can somehow infuse these segregated aspects of themselves together into an amalgam of perfection. Oh, and they use that evil chime from “Blasphemy”! Spiritually, a superb Morbid album, and something… else.

After a fairly haunting synth intro, the symphonic Black Metal gets started. Fast and tight, these goatfuckers also manage to use the keyboards to make their blazing speed a bit more interesting. However, the vocals are insane cackles, which is not normally too bad, but as there is no lyric sheet, I can’t figure out the lyrics, and I like to know about that stuff.

This is no nonsense, straight ahead Death Metal. Absolutely brutal from beginning to end. These guys know how keep the aggression at maximum without letting it overpower the riff. Of special note are the title track and “To the Red Ones.” Both of which must be big mosh starters in their native Czech Republic. These songs also highlight the political bent to their music, which distinguishes them from their devil-worshipping brethren. The only oddball on the disc is the closing track, “About Death,” which includes some quasi-Black Metal keyboards and overdubs. Even on this tune, their pure, balls-out aggression wins out over any melodic overtones they wanted to make. Overall, a diamond hard gem of anger and brutality.

More Devil-worshipping Insanity Sludge Junk Metal. This time with cover art by convicted evildoer Mike “Boiled Angel” Diana. The music is sick, heavy, and raw, with plenty of feedback. While the vocals are beautiful screams from another reality of pure pain. So, I’m pretty much all for it.

After a little intro, my old friends get started with the ass kicking and don’t ever let up. This is sometimes straight ahead brutal Death Metal, while at other times, it’s more complex, technical, and even, dare I say it, experimental. With the last, “hidden,” track being the most so. Insanity aren’t afraid to take chances and try new things, but unlike other bands who like to experiment, they wisely know that they should also keep some things within the realm of Death.

I always wondered what happened to Horrified after their In the Garden of Unearthly Delights album came out back in ‘94. Apparently they broke up for awhile, but reformed in ‘98 and got right to work on this new LP. It’s a really European, non-brutal, Death Metal sound, to be sure, and there are a few sort of goofy bits that detract, but it’s still not bad.

Oh man, that Techno intro scared me, but I’ll let it pass for the moment, as things do improve. For the first song, the Thrashy riffs and raspy vocals are backed up by good basslines, and interesting drums. But the way in which the vocals are phrased, how they fit with the music, is a bit too like the Rap influenced NWOHSCPM [somewhat later termed “Nu-Metal” -Editor] bands, and then the female sung “pretty” choruses start up, ala Fear Factory. I mean this has some cool stuff going on, but also some trendy sugarcoated shit. But I was prepared to excuse that to some degree if things got better. However, the opening seconds of the second song proved that these guys have their heads up their asses. When the chick singer Cock Rock’s her way through the lines “Hey, hey, come on / Here we come, so come on,” and then the raspy male vocals echo the same inane words, I knew it was over for The Mass. But then the next song, “It Was Me,” proves me wrong, with an upbeat take on Cemetary’s Godless Beauty Death Rock formula, sung most (and best) with the now improved female vocals. Okay, when the male and female vocals are overlapped in this song, it once again proves that only Paradise Lost can (or at least, could) properly do that sort of thing, but it’s not horrible. This should have been the first track, as it is the best one, but it got stuck right in the middle. Strangely enough, things stay nearly this good for the remaining two cuts, with the band sticking mostly to the Doomier, Death Rock sounds established on “It Was Me.” Although the last song, “The Name of My Game,” is something of a synthesis of their different styles, and so not nearly as good. All this begs the questions of what the fuck are the first two tracks even doing on this at all, and in what order were these songs written? Hopefully they are going toward this much better style, and not toward the crap that comprises the first two cuts. I’m torn on this rating, but despite the low score, I did really like two of the five songs, with one more being passable, and I’m not planning on keeping this one in my car for the sole purpose of throwing at some asshole who cuts me off.

By now I think that we all know what to expect from these blasphemers, and they certainly deliver the bads on this album. The weird, Industrial/Ambient intro track is about all the innovation to be found here, but that’s fine with me. When you have perfected this style of blistering fast Back Metal, why fix what’s not broken?

Poor Phil just can’t keep a lineup together. And after the perfection of their last album, In Cold Blood, I was really hoping that the lineup would never be altered again. But this disc sees the return of original screamer, and all around cool guy, Brett Hoffmann (and hopefully I’ve spelled his name correctly, as it’s a little different every time I’ve ever seen it). I’m glad to see that Brett’s back, and his voice has never been stronger, but the lineup changes have somewhat altered the band’s sound, and while still a fine example of brutally memorable Death Metal, I wouldn’t exactly say that this is flawless.