Obviously not the same Apostasy as in the above review. [The reviews were both originally in Metal Curse #09 one below the other. The other Apostasy is the one from Florida. -Editor] This band are very precise in their Thrash, and their sound is ultra clear, but the riffs are choppy. It sort of reminds me of Fight - even the vocals. This is just not a style I enjoy all that much.

After the intro, Anubi get down to their evil business of Black Metal. They keep things fairly slow, and that gives this an eerie, Doomy edge, but the excruciated vocals and thin guitar sound keep this deep in the realms of Hell. Oddly, the bass is mixed pretty loudly, and that adds quite a bit to their sound. They also experiment with some backwards musical passages, and have created a unique identity for themselves. Not everything they play is gold, but I must give them credit for taking a chance and bringing some new ideas into the genre.

Formerly known as Necromancia, the name change brings a more focused, and original, sound, but still dark and foreboding. I’m looking forward to hearing more from this band.

The title track b/w “Kill the Witch,” wrapped in a full color sleeve. [This is a 7-inch EP. -Editor] Pretty high class job all the way around. Angelkill never fail to impress with their deadly Thrash onslaught.

Extreme Death/Grind with, can you guess? Yeah. Gore lyrics. After the far-too-long weird noises intro, the sickness begins. The playing isn’t exactly awesome, and neither is the production, but the intensity alone makes this worth hearing.

Every bit the Noise/Blast insanity one would expect from Seth and his pack of freaks. The weird part is that the production really varies from “song” to “song.” Sometimes it’s almost a total blur, while others the production is more clear, allowing the intricate subtleties to shine through. They throw in a few covers for fun, but my favorite is the soon to be classic, “Benchpressing the Effects on Kevin Sharp’s Vocals.”

While the possibly Type O Negative inspired band name might make you think that these guys are sort of Goth, that would be a really bad mistake to make. In fact, they are “True Unholy Black Metal.” So true, in fact, that they have bad production, horribly over-driven vocals, and steal the Darkthrone drum beat. They do, however, cover Hellhammer’s “Aggressor.” Maybe a better sound would help, as this is the muddiest thing ever made, but as is, this did very little for me.

More groove, less heavy. More dope, less brains. More retro, less interesting. It’s too bad really, but hey, fuck the bastards.

In addition to eight somewhat Doomy, Black Death tracks, we are also treated to Anton LaVey’s 9 Satanic Statements as narrated by Peter Gilmore. It’s an interesting concept, and it works well for them, but what works even better are the songs. You may recall some of these tracks from the band’s Turbo Records release, Rites of the Black Mass, or perhaps even the Lethal Records version of this release, known as Satanic Victory, which only had 6 tracks and Gilmore’s intros were nowhere to be found. In any case, this is probably a must-have for any fan of Extreme Metal. I know I play the shit out of my copy.

Ahh, the shrill screams, deadly riffs, and keyboards are calling to me. Yes, my friends, this is Black Metal, American style. Well, maybe by way of Emperor. But Accursed are more controlled, perhaps more like Necromantia. Have I just mentioned two of the best Black Metal bands in describing Accursed? Does that mean that Accursed should be placed in the same league as the aforementioned blasphemers? God damn right. Because they continue to experiment with the style and sound, and create something a little different. They even understand the importance of a good production, which is something I had thought that only Black Metal bands from Greece knew about.

What happens when Deathsters Hypocrisy try their hand at an all out Black Metal assault? A masterpiece. Even the production is superb (take note other Black bands: it can be done!). Nice cover of “Massacra,” too.

Are you ready for more? Chris, Freeway, and the boys return again to serve up your nightmares in big, steaming plates of shit. Relapse have put out all three demos on a single CD [Urine Junkies -Editor], so be sure to check that out, too. For Scat Metal fans only.

When you put out a demo with only 2 songs on it, they had damn well better be two fuckin’ awesome tracks. Abolisher obviously know this rule, and have done exactly that. These two songs are very energetic and Thrashy, but Luis turns them to the Death side with his demonic vocals. That would really be enough, but then they go right ahead and make them really memorable, too. I would single out “The Master“‘s bass playing as amazing, but everyone else in the band is just as good as he is. God damn, this is cool! I’m proud to say that my band, Adversary, has had the honor of playing with such an excellent band as Abolisher. Get this immediately, it’ll be the best three bucks you ever spent.

I guess this is okay. AFI are certainly talented, but their brand of Pop tinged Punk isn’t really for me, although it is sort of catchy, and they can play their instruments. I respect their ability, and sometimes like what they do, but just not always. Maybe it’s just too happy for me.

Six dark, majestic songs, that combine Doom, Black Metal (most notably in the vocals) and Thrash into an alternately depressing and raging storm of high-intensity Metal. The excellent production allows all the intricacies of the complex playing to easily come through, yet does not detract from the intensity of the songs. Fans of bands like Dissection take note.

Sometimes the guitar sounds promising, but then the thin vocals are pushed up in front of it, and that’s unfortunate, since at best this guy sounds like Rob Halford on a bad scalp day. There are some really interesting moments, like the spoken horror of “Home,” but mostly nothing really grabbed me.

There sure are a lot of bands with this name. This one is from Poland, and they play fairly standard Death Metal. The good news is that they rely on quality riffs, rather than just blast beats or trying to be as brutal as possible. Of course they are pretty intense.

Vocalist Noise Grinder has the same, high vs. low style of Barney Greenway (Napalm Death) except Noise Grinder is more raw. The music varies from a slow, heavy, memorable, chug, to an all out Blast, which will rip your face off.

It had been a while since I’d heard any new material from Pat and his team, which now consists of only Joel Suarez on drums. Yep, Pat does all the rest. But, is this up to the technical level of previous work? Of course. Still heavy, still fast, still insane, and still uniquely Hellwitch. Excellent production and H.R. Giger cover art push this over the top, into the realms of legendary demos.

Do you give a damn what Jason Newsted has been doing in the 200 years since Metallica’s last studio album? I don’t, but here it is anyway: IR8. I guess that Jason has been hanging out with Rob Halford, since these 3 songs sound like out-takes from Fight, with perhaps the worst elements of Forced Entry thrown in for the hell of it. How many times must Mr. Newsted screech “I am colossus” before I lose my mind? I think he says it about 10,000 times in a row. This is just stupid.