Amazing. I’m always impressed when I hear something a little different, and Cenotaph certainly qualify. They combine pretty extreme brutality with atmospheric elements and even great lyrics. The production is also unique: Somewhat raw, but in the good way. Check this out.

Recorded at Sunlight and has the occasional eerie keyboard part. This is certainly not the most original sound (although they sound almost nothing like Entombed/ Dismember/ Carnage), but who cares? It’s great! Brutal Death Metal, in case you couldn’t figure it out. Extremely impressive debut. I really have nothing negative to say. Keep up the good work guys! Favorite tracks: “Scars” and “Nightmare Lake.”

How many of you were big Frost fans until Cold Lake? I too was shocked with hearing that tape. After that came Vanity/Nemesis, which was a valiant effort to help Celtic Frost, but it wasn’t enough. So now here comes a greatest hits, sort of. It does contain great songs like “The Usurper” and “Circle of the Tyrants,” but it also has “Cherry Orchards.” What the fuck is that?!? In no way should that be on a Celtic Frost greatest hits album. That song should be inducted into the Celtic Frost hall of shame. Frost was, once, one of the best bands around, but those days are over good people. Great, now I’m depressed. I think I’ll go listen to Morbid Tales a few thousand times.

The title track has been re-recorded for this EP and is noticeably different, as are Lee’s vox: they are way less raw and I guess at least double tracked. This vocal style takes some getting used to. Also, the drums are simpler than I would expect - not as much double bass. In fact, this EP is way less Death or Doom than I was expecting. I guess that’s Columbia’s influence. Too bad. “Autumn Twilight” and “Frozen Rapture” both kill god, but the other two tracks barely give him pause. I wonder what their next full length LP will sound like…

Fairly straight forward Thrash with yelled vocals. The four songs are all catchy and this is produced well. I dig it. If you like Thrash at all, check this out - it beaks no new ground, but it’s pretty cool.

This four song EP has the same great production as Carcass’ last album [Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious -Editor]. That may or may not be great news. But I like it. I’ve always thought these guys were a bit stuck on themselves to be so self-congratulatory as to use medical terms they learned in college before dropping out, but you can’t deny their musical prowess. They fucking kill. And so does this EP.

Great cover art. Banned again. Even the “censored” art has been banned in some places! And they have the goriest lyrics this side of Autopsy. Heavy? Fuck yeah! Brutal? Holy shit is it ever! Even remotely memorable? Nope. Boring? Sadly, yes. This album is so brutal that it could kill everything on earth. These freaks know brutal. And they know how to get a great sounding recording. But what they don’t know is how to make me remember any of their songs. Lyrics - sure. I love ‘em. And what cool song titles! And the cover - stunning! But can I remember a single riff or anything like that? Nope, I fell asleep. Upped some for sheer brutality.

A little more on the experimental side of Death Metal, not totally unlike Disharmonic Orchestra. The vocals are a bit screechy and if they were a little different, it might help. But they are easily distinguished from other bands, so that is obviously in their favor. Musically they are untouchable and this is, all things considered, an excellent release.

For some reason, I was expecting this to be pretty bad. Sometimes I’m really wrong. In reality, this is an excellent Thrash album. There is an unbelievable amount of energy in this record. [Nuclear Assault’s Glenn] Evans obviously gave everything he had to give and the result is awesome.

This five song EP has something for virtually everyone. The title track is Death/Grind the Brutal Truth way. Next up is a bass-heavy Techno/Rave remix of the first track done by Larceny. It’s an interesting change of style. “Walking Corpse” is from their debut album and was one of the best tracks on it. Now we come to a Black Sabbath cover, “Lord of This World,” which is kinda cool. “Bed Sheet” finishes up the disc. It’s a bunch of noise and samples over a sorta Dance-oriented beat (usually). I’ve heard stranger stuff, but never all by the same band.

If the recording were a little better, it would make it lot easier to tell how good Brainstorm is. I can hear a lot of things to like about this Thrash outfit: Catchy riffs, psudo-Death scream vocals. But the level is so low, the tape hiss is nearly as loud as the music, and that’s kind of a distraction for me. I think in a good studio, these guys could do pretty well. And while they save up the money for Unisound and the trip to Sweden, they might want to work on the lyrics a little.

Very catchy and extremely well recorded and played Thrash. Completely fucking amazing. Everything here is right. Shinya may be my new bass hero. This has an unbelievable amount of energy - it just explodes out of the speakers. The vocals are original and kinda weird (this may have something to do with the fact that English is not Norio’s native language), but very cool. I can’t say enough good things about this demo. Just buy it. Now!

The throat of Snap Judgment appears here in a six-string capacity. And like SJ, these guys are pretty Hardcore. But where SJ incorporate some Death Metal, Bottom Line has opted for a bit (or more) of Punk. The singer, Tom, sounds like Billy Milano (S.O.D., M.O.D.), at least in how he phrases his vocal lines. Or maybe just like most Punk singers. Anyway, there is a lot of energy here, and these songs all sound great (the production is amazing). Very likable.

I’ve been waiting to hear this 7-inch for quite some time, and it was certainly worth the wait. Boorish Boot is a sort of Poppy Punk band, and their music has considerable energy. Their songs are very memorable and played well.

This sounds like about a million or so other bands. I am surprised that Bone Club isn’t one of MTV’s pet bands, they’re bland enough, in the popular way. You get the idea, right?

Musically this is great, usually nearly Hardcore sounding. The vocals are nearly okay, too. They vary from a yell, which more or less matches the music, to a somewhat less powerful drone. A little vocal touch-up work, and this would be just fine.

Industrial/Tech (as in technology, rather than technical) /Death. Far more harsh than Ministry or NIN, Bloodstar are the vanguards of this new style. Effortlessly combining elements of many genres together to create their own sound. Amazing and breathtaking. Favorite song: “The Gift of God.”

Twenty tracks of distorted-bass Death/Grind. Ultra brutal vocals and fast tempos. These guys go for the kill with brute force alone. And kill they do. Mass destruction. Total genocide. It’s brutal, but I’ve heard stuff I like way better.

Fairly standard quality, sound wise, for a 7-inch. The songs, however, are pretty cool, and would benefit greatly from a better quality reproduction. Very heavy guitar and distorted bass create a “dirty” sound, which allows a lot of power to show through. Raw vocals add to the overall effect, and if the sound quality were a bit better I might call this a masterpiece.

A little Thrashier than their first album, but still Hardcore. I’m extremely glad that any Hardcore is still around and Biohazard is one of the more talented survivors. If you like ‘Core, get this; if not, get help. ‘Nuff said.