These guys are now known as Symphony of Grief. Anyway, this demo is basically slow Death Metal, with a few speedier parts. Super raw vocals and all that. Pretty fucking heavy, I’d say.

Where their debut, An Evil Shade of Grey, was more traditional, this is experimental. And that was the only missing element that kept the first album from being perfect. Unfortunately, some of the rawness was lost in the translation, but the new incorporating of some Tiamat-like Doom/Rock influences more than makes up for it.

The singer sounds like a ball-less version of James Hetfield (as if Jaymz still had balls), and that may be the best part. I have penetrated the depths of anti-production and buried guitar to locate the songs, and it wasn’t worth the effort. I could tell you which Slayer tunes originally contained these riffs, but I won’t waste the space.

Lee Dorian is a lucky man. First he sings in what is probably the greatest Grindcore band of all time: Napalm Death. Now in the ’90s he sings in Cathedral, which sounds kind of ‘70-ish, but is still ‘90-ish. Confused yet? If this is the first time you hear Cathedral, you’ll probably say, “They sound just like Black Sabbath.” Yeah, so what? I couldn’t think of a better band to be compared to. Sabbath ruled the ’70s (fuck Zepplin!), and now Cathedral shall rule the ’90s (fuck Grunge!). You want real Alternative? Well then, burn your flannels and worship Cathedral.

I really like Doug’s vocals, although they are hard to describe. Sometimes he gets in a more Death-like tone, but usually it’s a gargley yell. Trust me, it’s cool. Musically, this is fast Deathrash, with the occasional great riff, but really it’s the massive energy they deliver that makes them stand out.

These guys are not afraid of a little gore in their lyrics - that can be good, and it certainly is here. Very brutal vocals, but the music is a little more refined - still plenty raw, though, and the vocals are like puked up ground glass (that’s cool). A good production and memorable songs top this off.

Four songs of Thrashy Death Metal. Nothing really outstanding, but these guys every now and them come up with an excellent riff. With more time, I think we’ll sell some really impressive results.

The Columbia distribution deal has obviously changed all the bands involved. Each release through Columbia has marked a turning point in the style of the band, and Carcass is no exception. This is, however, an excellent album, but it is certainly not a Carcass album: No lyrics taken from medical dictionaries, and although still fast for the most part, the use of blast drum beats is extremely limited. Also the production is even more polished than their last album, which lost them the respect of many of their earliest fans, and there is a severe lack of musical and vocal brutality.

Umm, well, this may be a bit too experimental for most people. It’s sort of like Pan-Thy-Monium, in that they are also at least this weird. But it’s weird in the good way, at least as far as I’m concerned. Are you this strange?

Technical and sorta progressive Death Metal, with certain Doom elements. Very interesting to hear, and very easy to remember. The vocals are likewise interesting: Sometimes multi-tracked, but always raw. This may be a bit too experimental for some, and a clearer production would help, but this is really amazing.

Three very brutal songs on this: “Hammer Smashed Face” (which is also on their Tomb… album), “The Exorcist” (a Possessed cover), and “Zero the Hero” (a Black Sabbath cover). This is a definite must buy. The covers are soooooo fucking brutal!

Experimental. Electronic. Weird as fucking hell. Heavy, too, most of the time. And, somehow, all this stuff combines into what is mostly very listenable Industrial. Some Death Metal elements are in there, but not a whole bunch, and I’m sure that’s the idea. This is so layered, that with each listen you gain something else from it, and that’s a really strong point for me. Open your mind, and give this a shot. The CD has 5 bonus tracks, so if you have a player, get that format. [Believe it or not, a million years before the invention of the mp3, in 1993 when this album was a new release and this review was written, not everyone even had CD players. -Editor]

Excellent production, and heavy, memorable music. Just about the sickest vocals. From the first second, I knew this was going to kill, and it does: The devastation caused by this Death Metal band is total and complete. Cancerous Factor does not fuck around.
[This band was previously known as Destroyed Youth. -Editor]

Much improved from their disappointing Death Shall Rise, the Cancer lads prove that not only is there life after Murphy [their old guitarist], but that life is better without him. This shows a more confident, and accomplished band that is on the edge of becoming a major name in the world of Death Metal.

Ten extreme Death Metal tracks. Interesting variations are approached on the vocals: Ultra-raw vomits, yells, and multi-tracked phrases. Very interesting. And the songs are even sorta memorable, which is very difficult to achieve with this brutality level.

Self described as “Shit Rock,” Bulge and their depraved brand of Punk Rock simply cannot be stopped. The perversion, the “Ballad of Ron Jeremy,” the “cum white” vinyl, the sheer coolness of the band & these songs - it all adds up to another winner for Fudgeworthy, the label that can do no wrong.

This is an outstanding piece of work. Fast, slow, strange, heavy, memorable. The lyrics could be polished up a little bit in spots, but musically and vocally, Screams… kills. It must be all that Florida sunshine.

Four songs of intense Deathrash, recorded at Morrisound. This is a very high quality release, but while very good at this style, they really don’t offer anything new or original. That’s totally all they need, and it would elevate them from good to excellent.

Imagine a Mexican, drug lord version of Deicide. These guys are real murders and drug runners from Mexico (or possibly just some dudes from Fear Factory, Faith No More, and other bands.). All bullshit aside, this is a pretty intense release, but all the lyrics are in Spanish, and I’ll bet they’re really funny. Can anyone translate them for me?

Not at all the intro I was expecting: It’s an eerie acoustic guitar/violin instrumental. After that, this goes immediately into exactly what I was expecting. Almost. The lyrics are still sick as shit, but in a less cartoony way than on Swamped in Gore. So that’s better, but I had a hard time following the lyrics even with them in front of me. Musically this is also superior to their debut, the speed is varied from fairly slow to blast. Ignore the lyrics if you must, but this is worth getting.