When I saw that one of this band’s influences is Pantera, I assumed they must suck, but I wasn’t exactly right. The music is very standard Thrash, with some worthless start/stop riffs thrown in. The vox change radically from song to song, but never really seem worthwhile. Not as bad as I was expecting, but not too good.

Metal Blade claims that all the vocals on this album are courtesy of the same person. I would swear on a stack of _Necronomicon_s that it’s two different singers, but hey if it really is just a single young lady on there, then my hat is off to her. She’s a fucking lunatic and she can also sound alarmingly like a man when she wants. The music is unremarkable but solid; if the compositions on the next one can match the level of psychotic intensity of the vocals, we’ll really have a sick-ass album.

Atmospheric Vampire Black Metal (enough adjectives for you?) is what Crimson Moon plays and they do a pretty good job of it. The one thing that stands out the most, in my opinion, is the ritualistic element in some of these songs. There are parts of this CD that really, really sound fucking evil. Though this is only their first release, there are some amazing ideas floating around. The problem is in the production department. This album was recorded on a 4-track so the lack of sound quality is understandable, and for that matter, the fact that this album sounds as good as it does is really a tribute to the band. The technical problems tend to pop up on occasion and distract from their music. There are occasional volume fluctuations, the shitty drum sound and a rather rough sound to the whole thing. The rough sound isn’t much of a problem and adds a rawer edge that makes this brutal, but the drum sound ruins things when it goes into a “blast” segment. The reason is that it sounds totally one-dimensional. A drum machine doesn’t really lend itself to Atmospheric Black Metal (Vampiric or otherwise) as it gives it a mechanical sound that doesn’t fit the style of the music. The use of an actual recording studio would vastly improve this band’s sound and, should they get to have this for their next release, they could very easily kick some of the top bands in the scene off their pedestals and usurp the throne of Black Metal.

An atmospheric combination of Black Metal and the frozen hopes of Doom assaults me. Altering their style from super speed to mournful dirge, the vocals from tormented shrieks to demented whisperings, and yet at all times full of majesty. This is near perfection in all ways.

This band’s bio describes their music style as “melodic Death Metal.” A fairly accurate description. They also have a few Ambient and Atmospheric features. The vocalists are very aggressive in their Death Metal style, the lyricism is morbid and well written, the guitarists work well together in their efforts to bring forward a fierce melody and the keyboarding fits in with the music like the missing piece of a puzzle.

Replacing their drum machine with a human has somehow made this former Death Metal band far more Industrial, and far less interesting. This is by-the-numbers guitar driven Industrial. Very infrequently they have a good idea, but almost instantly ruin it by pulling some ancient cliche out of their asses. Imagine a pitiful attempt at imitating Godflesh at their weakest. Horribly disappointing.

This sounds like the stupid, late career, moments of Pungent Stench - high repetition of so-called groovy riffs with Death-style vocals that are occasionally run through some kind of distortion. Every now and then Corruption will break away from this mold and prove that they can come up with some interesting stuff, but it’s not enough.

What we’re got here is a skullcrushing device. The whole thing only lasts 16:34 (with 5 songs), but this cranium cranker is sure to drill a hole in your bean within the first six minutes. Lush progressive riffs in the Morbid Angel tradition rear their heads and then yield to blowout sections of a more raw school, like maybe Possessed. The sustained ferocity on display here is a wonder to behold. [This demo was later reissued on CD by Wild Rags. - Editor]

This fast Death Metal would be vastly improved by a better (I was tempted to say “existent”) mix. I think there are vocals, but it’s tough to hear them, and when a sample is played, it usually overpowers the music to the point of rendering it nearly inaudible. Also, since whoever recorded this apparently doesn’t understand about the frequency response of the guitar, if I turn it up very much, I’m presented with a lovely “woooo” sort of noise. Perhaps next time Corpsegod will record somewhere a little better suited to music, since I’m pretty sure I hear some possibly interesting (although fairly formulaic) Death Metal in here somewhere.

The price is certainly right for this 50 minute disc. The music is part new Prong, part Godflesh, and there is a hint of heavier things. The vocals are screamed, almost in a Black Metal way, but I’m sure that’s not the intent.

Imagine an occasionally slower and heavier St. Vitus, with angrier vocals, and you’re well on your way to Cold Mourning. While Heaven Wept start off speedy but quickly slow things down, nearly sounding like Type O Negative, thanks to the deep vocals. Interesting release on see-through blue vinyl.

Regular readers of Metal Curse know how much I despise so-called “Hard” Alternative bands. Even if I loved them, I’d fucking hate Coal Chamber’s pathetic derivative bullshit. Half-assed White Zombie cover bands would make fun of this crap.

Sludgy Industrial Noise. There are some distorted vocals buried in the mix. I guess this is supposed to be experimental, and I know it was recorded very low-tech, but I’m just not really too interested.

Cianide have always held their ground, never giving in inch to any of the various trends to come and go in their nearly decade-long existence. They are, perhaps, the most pure Death Metal band on earth. For that alone I would support them, but there is of course more. This demo sees the band trying out some faster tempos, thanks in part to their new drummer, Andy. This is something I didn’t think I’d be hearing from them, but I’ve no complaints. In fact, this (somewhat) speedier material is some of their best yet, which is saying a lot coming from me, and is every bit as agonizingly heavy as anything they’ve done before, and Mike’s vocals are still the absolute definition of brutal. I tried as best I could to find even a single fault with this demo, but simply put, there are none. Two of the five songs, “Metal Never Bends” and “(We Are) The Doomed,” are in the running for the best Death Metal song of all time, right up there with anything you care to mention. And the other three are not far behind. Since my memory is not exactly known to be perfect, I will not say that this is the best demo I’ve ever heard, but I can’t think of a better one at the moment. I could write about ten thousand more words about this masterpiece, but suffice to say that of everything reviewed in this issue, get this first.

On first listen, this seems to be yet another Groove Metal album, but there is a bit more going on than that. Hints of a broader range of styles show up - the most obvious being their sludgy cover of Prince’s “Darling Nikki” - and that has given Chum the necessary depth to rise a bit above.

This is super well produced and Chasm certainly know how to play their instruments, but this kind of “mainstream Metal” puts me to sleep. The intensity just isn’t there, especially in the vocals. Fans of newer Metallica would probably think this is pretty heavy. Although they’d be unable to read any of this, since I’ve had this issue specially treated to detect such dorks and burn at their touch.

I think that these guys want to be Solitude Aeturnus, which is fine with me. At least not ten thousand other bands are already trying to emulate them. Their songs are not as complex, and for the most part not as heavy or interesting, either. But that isn’t the end of the world, as they are sorta memorable. The thing that I don’t like is when the singer, who sometimes sounds great, gets a little off key, off time, or just off. I think they just need a little more time to develop.

Atmospheric and melancholy Metal in the Greek style, combining Thrash, Doom, Black Metal together. At times fast and intense, while others very depressing and sorrowful. The excellent sound is the final element to make this a must.

I believe that this disc compiles tracks from the band’s most recent two demos. The recording was done at Unisound and Abyss, so you are assured of high quality sound to go with the aggressive Thrashy Death. These Swedes may not stray too far from the path of traditional Death Metal, but why fix what’s not broken? Easy to remember, yet brutal to the last drop of blood.

This is so fucking sick and intense Death Metal, that even the most jaded fan will have to be impressed by their ability and extremity. I sure as Hell am.