The majority of the tracks on this are from the band’s excellent The Time of the Oath, and that’s fine, but I would have really loved to have heard some of their earlier material. Sadly, there is nothing representing Walls of Jericho or before. I would have killed to hear “Victim of Fate,” or “Phantoms of Death.” Anyway, these true Power Metal (not to be confused with what is wrongly called Power Metal by former big-hair bootie-boys) geezers prove that they are still contenders, and I have long since forgiven them for the aberration of Chameleon and Pink Bubbles Go Ape. I wholeheartedly recommend this 2-disc set.

Bands like this are hard to find. This band has put out four full-length albums, and never once have they even attempted to suck cock. They were masters of the fast, brutal Death style, masters of the harsh Black/Death style, and now they have completely mastered slow and emotional Doom. This new CD merely combines all three into the best Hypocrisy effort yet. An outstanding record with the best production I’ve ever heard, courtesy of The Abyss (lead vocalist/guitarist Peter Tagtgren’s recording studio). Unbelievable! Blow a fat choad all over this one Death freaks!

Well, I realize that the Grave line up has been cut down to two now, but it’s my opinion that they could have at least changed their name for this album, because it’s simply not the same Grave that recorded Into the Grave five years ago. I’m starting to notice hints of Power Metal, which is never good. However, this is probably the most worthwhile Grave since their debut. Mixed feelings on this one. See for yourself.

I remember years ago when I first got into Death Metal; I was young, my mind was open and bands like Gorefest put a sense of fear and respect in my blood. Hearing this new LP fills me with plain disgust. Gorefest’s first two albums were excellent, their third wasn’t totally solid, but it was definitely more than tolerable. This new shit sounds like a Zakk Wylde side project. Who are these lavender boys hoping to impress with this weak shit? Do they think that by spaying and neutering themselves an MTV executive will go, “Oh, you guys rule now that you’re gay, here’s some cash!” I’m stumped.

A few years ago, these guys sort of lost their way, but as of their Merciless EP and the follow-up LP, Selfless, they were back on target. I’m very pleased to say that this new album is at least as crushing as those I have mentioned, and is still fairly experimental in some ways. These are interesting compositions, and are helped by one of the best productions I’ve heard for awhile, especially the bass tone. It’s good to hear Godflesh delivering the bads again.

Fans of this band’s earlier Death/Grind will not be disappointed. There has been no wimping out. In fact there has been very little change at all, and a little growth is sometimes necessary to keep things interesting. So, although not in any way a bad release, this seems a bit stagnated.

A weird Industrial/Electronic construction. A lot of different stuff is tried here (synth orchestras, odd layered rhythms, unusual instrumentation, and so on.), but not much of it holds any interest for me. Perhaps it’s too experimental for my tastes.

I have vowed to never say anything negative about Girlschool since their team-up with Motorhead about 1000 years ago, but that really was the high point of their career. Fortunately, this live disc has a version of long time fave “Emergency,” so everything is okay.

Even more so than their last demo, The Cradle, this is exceptionally well produced, written and played. But my favorite part is still the uniquely raspy vocals. It’s difficult these days to have such an individual vocal style, but Jari makes it sound easy. Their technical, super-intense Death/Thrash is hard to forget, even after a single listen. I’m sure we’ll be hearing quite a lot more from this band.

These guys claim to be “Black Funeral Metal,” I certainly agree with the “Black Funeral” part, but “Metal” is almost nonexistent. This is virtually all synths. They’re trying to create “dark, atmospheric landscapes of sound.” It’s not bad for background music, but if you can actually listen to this and stay awake, you must get a lot more sleep than I do! They stick in a hint of guitar and drums in one song, and it’s so simplistic that I think I may have preferred it without these instruments.

The Fuckface side is a bit more intense that their Don’t Hate Us Cause We’re… 7-inch, so naturally I like it better. As for Hickey, they play a lot more mellow style of Punk, but it’s actually really catchy, and they do it quite well. They also know when to inject some Hardcore intensity.

After the atmospheric, majestic intro (excluding what sounds like a bad spot of their master), From the Depths tear into high gear with their demonic onslaught. Sometimes they seem to be an orthodox fast Black Metal act, but just when you think you’ve got a handle on them, they throw in some clean vocals, or a couple Death grunts, or maybe some whispers. Then there are the speed/style shifts. These fiends change from Grind to Ambient in less than the space of a heartbeat, and make it sound not only seamless, but effortless. The 13-second scream in the beginning of “Curse of the Scarecrow” is well worth the price by itself.

Not that this is bad, or that I don’t like the In Flames style they’re going for, but the “beautiful” keyboards get on my nerves, as do the clean vocals. When a more harsh vocal style is implemented and the keyboards are either darker sounding or absent, it’s cool. But they don’t keep the aggression up for very long at a time. I guess that explains why this disc is only 23 minutes long.

Another Death Metal band that is suffering from poor production. With better production, I’m sure anyone who listens to this tape would agree that more of this band’s creativity would show through. But, sometimes you have to get past all the rough edges in order to see the real thing. These guys possess a brutally honest approach to Death Metal. The vocalist is very aggressive, the songs are well constructed, there’s also a great deal of Gothic style keyboarding throughout, and the guitarist for this band has an ear for melodic speed.

A nice thick Thrashy sound, interesting (and well done) sung/yelled vocals and a healthy respect for Batman. You’ve got to like that, I suppose. It takes a few listens to really understand what all is going on with the music and lyrics. Forge is certainly a heavy band, generally employing slower tempos, but they aren’t afraid of speeding it up when they think they should. Sure, there are some rough spots, but I’ll be expecting a lot from their next album.

Death, Doom, Black Metal, Thrash, even Alternative Rock.

[Metal Curse #11 had an additional loose page (“Last Second Additions”) inserted into the centerfold of the zine, featuring a bunch of even-shorter-than-usual “bonus” reviews of stuff that arrived after the deadline for that issue. This is one of those “Last Second Additions” reviews.]

So this is what Kyle has been doing since the demise of Exhorder. I expected things to change gears out of this “Hard Alternative” style into something heavier, but it didn’t happen. At their best, Floodgate might be comparable to Kyuss, but they barely achieve that level for a combined total of 2 minutes on this nearly hour-long disc.

Fleshless start things off with seven tracks of really intense Death Metal, with some Grind elements. They impressed me more for their musical ability and writing memorable songs than for their brutality, but they possess plenty of that, too. Mastic Scum also surprised me by starting their half off with a minute of crushing Death Sludge, but that gave way to an odd combination of Crust and Death Grind, but with more of a Punk influence than I was ready for. Their playing is also great, and the production allows the bass to be heard. They even cover Dead Kennedys (“A Child and His Lawnmower”).

Sometimes a really clear production will take the balls out of a Death Metal band. Not in this case, though. Bloodsoul sounds very clear, yet is immensely powerful, thanks to Peter Tagtgren (who lends a throat for the title track) and his Abyss studio. Although the songs are not the most memorable I’ve ever heard, they are certainly brutal, and this is a fine piece of work. They also do an outstanding cover of Demilich’s “Embalmed Beauty Sleep.”

How the shit does one describe Fishbone? Thrash-Punk Ska-Funk? Damned if I know what to call ‘em, except The Nuttsactor 5, ‘cause we all cum from the Nuttsack. And don’t think that they’re jumping on some kinda Punk bandwagon - they’ve been at this for about a decade. Anyway, this is considerably more diverse and intense than their last effort, Give a Monkey a Brain… And He’ll Swear He’s the Center of the Universe. Clearly getting off such a major label as Columbia has allowed them more room to breathe. Every aspect of this LP is amazing: writing, playing, singing, experimentation - everything.