Albums like this really annoy the fuck out of me! The riffs are excellent; raw and melodic in the style of early to mid Paradise Lost. But the vox are pure torment to sit through. I’m reminded of everything from Janie Lane to Paul Stanley to Sebastian Bach to Kip fucking Winger! (If none of these names sound familiar, you’d probably rather I didn’t tell you what bands they are from. Just trust me, the vocals suck.) If Aaron of My Dying Bride, Nick of Paradise Lost, or just about any other good Doom singer were on the mic here, this would be an easy ten.

Feedback and huge waves of distortion on top of gurgling bass lines and unrelenting drums. The vocals are buried deep beneath the surface, and spew out like molten rock. Welcome to Hell. Cover by Pushead.

Every bit as impressive as their split with Warzone, these guys continue to amaze me. Every song is extremely catchy, flawlessly played, and heavy. Victory seems to spare no expense on recording budgets, since this, like all their other releases, sounds great. The thick production owes more to Metal than Hardcore, and CfA don’t seem to be afraid to use some traditionally Metal drumming, but they are all ‘core. This is close to being perfect, and has definitely put CfA in the running for best Hardcore band, but the competition is fierce.

While the title track is one of my favorite songs from The Carnival Bizarre, the 4 songs that accompany it are the ultimate in queerocity. There is absolutely no need whatsoever to purchase this if you already own Carnival. I know I’d be one pissed off motherfucker when I got this one home. Please take my word on this one. $12-$15 is way too much to pay for one ass wipe.

Some of these tracks are the most blatant Sabbath rip-offs I’ve ever heard, but I’m just glad to hear that there is some heaviness on this disc. In fact there is very little of their goofy ’70s worship, and I’m damn glad to see that it got cut away. As much as I hate to say it, I think that Lee’s vocals are holding them back. They are distinct and instantly recognizable, but I think that he tries too hard to walk the line between “really” singing and having a rough edge, and it works less and less with every album.

Any band that covers Impetigo (“Defiling the Grave”) has got to be cool. CUM are certainly no exception, as the ferocity of their ultra-fast Grinding Death is matched by the insanely raw vocals. Extremity at its sickest - you’ve got to like that.

This is an odd retrospective, since it only has three tracks from the band’s pre-Tools of the Trade days. There are five tracks from the Swansong sessions that are in the same Hard Rock/Metal style as that album. Next are four somewhat heavier tracks, recorded for the BBC’s Radio 1 show. That’s all the unreleased material, but the tracks from the Heartwork and Tools of the Trade EPs are also on here, as well as the band’s songs from the Pathological and Grindcrusher compilations. Since it has so much unreleased or hard to find material, this is nice for Carcass fans, but I am disappointed that there was so little material from early in the band’s career.

Well, it’s over. One of the best Underground Death Metal acts in the history of existence has broken up. I’m not 100% sure why, but if they were going to continue on making albums like this one, then it was for the best. By no means does this album suck, but it’s simply not Carcass. It’s not the ultra fast and sick Reek of Putrefaction Carcass, nor is it the tuned-down, toned-up, precision Death machine Heartwork Carcass. But it is the last Carcass album, and whether or not that is cause to buy it is totally up to you.

New vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher has done almost nothing to change this band’s sound. As always, the Corpse-men deliver on their promise of brutal Death Metal. I don’t really think that this will win them any new fans, but anyone who was worried that Vile might see this band heading in a more commercial direction will be delighted to find out that this is more intense than The Bleeding, although less memorable (which is mostly due to it being mixed with the bass lower, and the vocals louder). I know that this band is popular with a lot of dorks who also like Panty-tera and White Zombie, (and thus it is trendy for those into more Underground bands to not like them) but that’s not Cannibal’s fault. They have never moved from their commitment to provide gory Death Metal, and I respect that. While I would like to torture quite a few of their idiot fans, I stand behind this band, and this release.

While these guys are probably a little less intense than most of their label-mates, they are still every bit as interesting. BtGoG write extremely memorable songs, and their playing is stellar. I couldn’t ask for much more, really. [Maybe a better band name! -Editor]

Finally a Spinal Tap for the ’90s. They expertly cover Chuck Berry, Cheech & Chong, AC/DC, and Neil Diamond, amid their slew of originals. Doubtless from the same school of thought as Ludichrist, although not as heavy. Very entertaining, especially when they’re making fun of Nirvana or the Beastie Boys. I laughed out loud.

In these days of sell-outs and wimp-outs, hearing an album like In Mourning gives me the strength to continue. This is every fucking bit as intense as their masterful When the Sky Turns Black, but this time the playing and writing are slightly improved (I say “slightly” because there wasn’t much room for improvement in the first place), and some chances are taken - mostly in the occasionally very innovative guitar solos. And as far as I’m concerned, Scott’s somewhat understandable Death growls are impeccable. There are a few minor imperfections, but this is extremely close to being a flawless album.

Well, if you are expecting this to sound like Bruce’s former band, Iron Maiden, or his previous solo albums, you’re in for a big fucking surprise. Some have described this album as “Alternative,” but I really don’t think that’s accurate. Imagine the last 2 studio Maiden releases translated into a more “Rock” mode (also, sadly, without the inspirational bass-work of Steve Harris). Bruce’s new band (supposedly a permanent line-up) is super tight, and every one of these songs is richly textured, and generally very memorable. Perhaps it’s the years of banging my head to “Powerslave,” “Flight of Icarus,” and the rest, but I’ve always been a huge fan of Bruce’s voice, so nearly any time I can hear him sing, I’m all for it. Although a fine album in its own right, I would honestly rather be listening to his solo live double album, or Balls to Picasso, or virtually anything he ever did with my heroes, Iron Maiden.

This is the slowest, heaviest, most lethargic Sludge I’ve ever heard, and probably ever will hear. There’s a single 1 hour track on the CD, and I’m sure it would mean suicide to listen to it all at once. I don’t know how to rate this, and I don’t know what else to say, except that those looking for the most extreme in mind-crushing, soul-numbing dirge soundscapes - here it is.

Until the horrible vocals started, I was impressed by the sludgy heaviness of the music. Sadly, the music itself moves almost into the background to make room for the vox, but that’s more the fault of whomever mixed this than of the band. I wasn’t impressed by all the weed-worship, either. If this had been all instrumental, it would be getting a much higher rating.

This is quite an improvement from Ultima Thulee. It’s written and played with more intensity, and the production has become more focused on showcasing the band’s evil power. Also of note is that the keyboards have become more integrated into the rest of the music. I’m impressed.

The only even remotely interesting thing about this Oasis-sounding wimp-Rock is the blue swirl vinyl, and looking at that ceases to be interesting after about 3 seconds.

Sometimes I’m impressed by how well a demo is produced. This is one such case. I was going to say that it’s especially important, since this is a Black Metal band, and often they (or maybe used to) have poor production on purpose. But then I noticed the lyrics which don’t seem to have much to do with Satan (they’re mostly about death), and so even though musically this is fast-paced melodic Black Metal, I’m not sure that description really fits 100%, and actually that’s cool.

The Victory label is well known for quality Hardcore, and Bloodlet is certainly no exception to that. However, they do incorporate some slower tempos and an untraditionally heavy guitar tone into their sound. I think these things help to give them an individual sound, but some may be put off by such “innovations.”

This band’s For Centuries Left Behind EP was hard to beat, but it has been done. This has a thicker production, but is still total darkness - Black Metal more or less in the way of Emperor, with haunting keyboards. They also inject a touch more Death Metal into their old coffin spirit than do the aforementioned masters. This has produced a very worthy follow-up to their debut EP, but let’s have a full length already!