I suppose the lyrics are fairly juvenile, but these songs are really memorable, and also raw. This is as it should be. I was pleasantly surprised by this release. It’s nothing new at all, and a little more originality would lift them above the crowd, but they still do a fine job.

Chuckie’s back. Call this Human, part II. The sound of Death gets better with time, but 1988’s Leprosy is still the cream. Andy LaRocque (formerly of King Diamond) throws in his wailing two cents along the way, as do Dark Angel’s Gene Hoglan, and Sadus’ bass master, Steve DiGiorgio. My advice is to give this a couple honest plays to grow on you before you write it off.

The Dead Youth are, with out a doubt, one of the sickest bands out there. This album is much better than their debut. It starts out with a demented intro, and then goes directly into the kind of repulsive Death Metal these freaks are known for. Everything has improved, from the guitar riffs, to the drums (which are incredible). And of course John’s twisted bass-lines, and Dave’s unholy vocals are as great as everything else. No one can hold a growl as long as Dave. A must.

Not as Death Metal as half of their Dead World 7-inch, but still plenty heavy. I miss the Death element, but I do dig the more experimental/Industrial stuff. These guys evolve somewhat with each release, which is necessary for a band, and somehow they have managed to change in the right ways - which seems to be impossible for a lot of bands. Favorite track: “Kill.”

Heavy, mechanical, emotional, perfect, Industrial Death Metal on side one. Clearly Relapse spends the money on quality, as this is one of the best sounding 7-inches I have ever heard. Completely stunning in it’s intensity and clarity. Side two is a spoken word poem set to eerie, haunting music. It is extremely effective and moving. Inconceivably supreme. I don’t see how this could be better at all.

Regular readers of Metal Curse know how stupid I think it is when bands rhyme “fire” and “desire.” At least Dawn (not to be confused with the other bands of the same name) waited until the last verse of the last song to do it. Other than the occasionally dual-tracked vocals, this is not much above the ordinary, as far as brutal Death Metal, with clear production, goes.

Not really as Noisy as I expect from my pal Steinbock. In fact this is pretty different from what he usually does. It’s still really weird, and these songs are utterly unique, but. Oh, wait, there’s the chainsaw. For just a second, I was worried. Vocalist Rat adds a degree of sickness with her shrieks. Interesting. Favorite track: “Pale Lady.”

This is more like actual music than anything Dawn main-man Steinbock has ever done (that I know of). Of course, it’s still totally weird, and not really too musical at all. Rat again screeches some sick vox, and Steinbock whispers some himself this time, also. I miss the chainsaw, but this is interesting. Cool lyrics.

This is a weird release. It has out-takes of various tracks, and the guitar solo title track. It’s interesting to hear all this, but I can recommend it to guitar-hero worshippers only.

The thick production saves this. David’s a good guitarist, but way too mainstream Metal as far as his singing is concerned, at least for me. This is way better than what you would expect from the title, and I really like parts of it, but it’s just too “poppy” for the most part for me to dig all of it, which is too bad, since David is really cool and tries damn hard.

A Black “Metal” band from Indiana?! Yes, it’s true. “Corpse paint” and all. These are not really songs in the traditional sense. They are more experimental than probably anything you’ve ever heard, and maybe better described as “experiences.” Very weird. You were warned.

The two new tracks are both great. Classic Danzig, I think. The cover tune, “Trouble,” is pretty cool, although I am getting a little weary of hearing how “evil” Glenn is. The four live tracks are the weird part for me, though. Uncle Glenn’s vox are not very strong on them. It sounds like he was pretty tired. And there is an awful lot of crowd noise. It sounds like a good bootleg. Oh yeah, the song choice is peculiar too. They didn’t include “Dirty Black Summer” which was the first single from the last album, but “Sinistas” is here. Strange.

The balance on my copy is fucked-up, and so I have way more right-channel than left. Hopefully not all the tapes sound like this. Other than that somewhat severe problem, this demo is decent Deathrash: Some speed, and some brutality. But really, I’ve heard stuff that is heavier, faster, slower, more brutal and still more memorable. They need something to make them stand out from the hundreds of other good Death Metal bands.

I was wondering how this band would progress. They have replaced a guitarist and a bassist, since I last heard from them, but the new guys seem up to the job. Troy’s vocals are a little deeper this time out, while the music is a bit more groove-oriented. This has given Damnage a more unique sound, and the excellent production allows the listener to delve more deeply into it upon repeated listens. Lookin’ good, guys.

Chris Poland’s new band is way closer to Dream Theater than it is to Megadeth. The disc is nothing at all like I expected. It is closer to Return to Metalopolis than to his stuff with the Circle Jerks. Make no mistake, this is a Progressive Metal album, despite the lack of keyboards. The band is tight, and Chris shines with his sometimes crunchy and sometimes Jazzy solos.

The vocals are a little too rough for me to feel exactly right about saying that Damage is a Thrash band, but the music would certainly give that impression. Not really anything new going on, but they play with great conviction, and that counts for something.

Sometimes this band’s Thrash is really powerful. However, the rest of the time it’s pretty predictable. They can play, and the production is fantastic, but I’d maybe work on the lyrics (they don’t have to rhyme), and come up with some more original riffs.

More Death Metal than their last demo, Alice in Horrorland, and also more intense. Everything is heavier, although a little less memorable, but not much. One of these four songs was written for them by Lars Rosenberg (Entombed), and it fits right in with the others. This should get them signed.

Finally, after numerous setbacks, the album has finally been released. And it was most definitely worth the wait. This is with out a doubt the most progressive Death Metal release I’ve heard. Weird vocal effects combined with experimental structures could yield a terrible result, but that is not the case here. Possibly, Focus could be described as what a Death Metal Voivod would sound like, but that’s still not quite it. Genius is pretty close, though.

I was really glad to see that these guys got picked up again when Relativity/Combat dropped them after what I thought was a great debut (check out the bonus track). Upon listening to this I was a little disappointed with the vocals of new-guy Marco, but I understand that he is no longer with the band, so perhaps the new new-guy will fit in better. Now then, about the music: This may be the best thing Fulton has ever done. The songs are memorable and heavy Thrash. Lots of double bass, which I always like to hear. The lyrics are as good as ever, which is to say great. If you haven’t heard of this band, now is the time.