Deception is the game of Italian black metal outfit Absentia Lunae. The first song, "Occasus Professio," is a voice recording of an apparent political figure with a military snare being played in the background, audience cheering and such, which might cause you to believe these guys are a more ambient-sounding project, which is not exactly the case.

The second song, "Mid Summer Spiritual Holocaust," begins with the "trendy" underground black metal production sound that the band themselves claimed to be above, implanting a negative image in the listener's mind... You'll also be tempted to turn it up, of course, as it's not quite as loud as it should be... big mistake, as the band has deceived you into believing this is their sound, after which they break in the real production, which is full of depth and quite a bit louder. Say goodbye to any thoughts of lo-fi production and laugh at yourself for falling into their trap!

It's great to see a band that actually resembles the claims they make about themselves. The music has a ton of depth and feeling, and isn't limited to your basic black metal songwriting formula. Sure, it's got a lot of blastbeats to start with, yet they are used tastefully. The majority of the time when they aren't used sees the percussionist actually putting the snare and crashes to good use, creating complex patterns instead of just following a general routine. There's a breakdown in a song that leads to an atmospheric composition, almost like something you'd hear on a soundtrack to a black metal mystery-drama film with the vocalist screaming his lower-pitched black metal screams with a phasing effect on them. The vocalist also seems to enjoy using a ton of reverb on his vocals, which makes them sound a bit stronger, though it's obvious he is putting a great deal of strength into the performance to begin with.

Absentia Lunae really stick to their claims of extreme avant-garde-ism, as the music is able to evolve and change and employs many different moods and atmospheres. "Subliminal Aeternitate" has a more depressive sound, yet also morphs between feelings of aggression, beauty, and even triumph making this song quite an epic! The songwriting on In Vmbrarum Imperii Gloria is stunning and rich and ideal for listening late at night while you're nestled comfortably in your bed.

All 40 minutes of this record are used to such an outstanding extent that one usually doesn't witness in the realm of black metal. In Vmbrarum Imperii Gloria never gets boring, and the increasingly spontaneous nature of the music makes it seem a bit more personal, like the pure essence of these musicians is being beamed right into your brain and you can sense their intentions. It's obvious that they have reached their goal with this album, and any black metal fan should proudly sport this album in their collection. Absentia Lunae have got to be one of the best black metal acts of 2006! (9.5/10)

Another surprise from Trieste, Italy. While their fellow-citizens Aisling play Celtic folk black metal, Absentia Lunae (featuring ex-Aisling singer Ildanach) play raw, cold black metal. Two years after their debut, Marching Upon Forgotten Ashes (reviewed in Maelstrom #31), the new album, In Umbrarum Imperii Gloria, is here to leave the unsuspecting listener breathless.

The beginning is deceptive — after a clean intro with some preaching in Italian, "Mid Summer Spiritual Holocaust" sets off as a lo-fi recording of black metal guitar riffs and a barrage of drum fills, but then suddenly the volume goes way up and the full sound kicks in. The surprise effect is completed by furious blastbeats and Ildanach's randomly scattered screams — while he was in Aisling, his voice was hollow and unnoticable, but here the screams are loud, sharp and full-bodied. Although some reverb has been added to the vocals, the change is still puzzling. On "Subliminal Aeternitate," Ildanach also begins using shouts which sound just as mad, establishing himself as a surprisingly versatile singer.

The guitar, played by Climaxia (yes, a female) has a shaded but glassy sound, and although low in the mix, plays the role of the one instrument that bonds the others. The riffs themselves are mostly straighforward black metal, written with sensibility — while one riff might be going on, the drums could be shifting between three or four patterns and the riff would sound good along with all of them. Speaking of the drums, they are excellent. The sound is triggered but sound natural and full, the playing is amazing — from mad blastbeats, tom rolls flying everywhere, all the way to syncopated jazz rhythms and cymbal abuse. Yes, there are some dreamy, clean parts, but before you start thinking "Italy, black metal, jazz..." — no, this is not anything like Ephel Duath, it is Absentia Lunae showing another, darker and more pensive side of Climaxia's playing and songwriting.

Bad points? Well, it seems that Italian bands either write exaggeratedly catchy, hymnic tunes or deliberately try to avoid them, which is the case with Absentia Lunae. Obviously, the intention was to give the listener a bleak sensation of various degrees of depression and paranoia. In that light, even though the music might sound too repetitive or similar, there isn't much else to complain about. (7.2/10)

Oakland, California's All Shall Perish has smacked together an amalgamation of styles into a product that will sell. This is going to be popular with the younger set, with it's metalcore twin guitar riffs, hardcore style breakdowns, melodic death growl-scream-growl vocals. It makes one wonder, since they're a newer band, and The Price of Existence is their second album, were they just "brought up" with and influenced by the sounds of so many of today's cookie-cutter, sound-alike bands, or did they consciously sit down together and decide they wanted a style that they knew would sell a lot of albums?

It's not a bad album by any means. It will likely be vastly popular with the karate-chopping, high-kicking-in-the-middle-of-the-moshpit set of kids. My big problem with All Shall Perish is that there's so much potential hidden underneath their pre-fab style. They could go far as a technical death band and garner a lot more respect from fans with more discerning tastes if they dropped some of the more wishy-washy melodic elements and the hardcore undertone, and stuck with the base foundation and vocals. Rather depressing that a band with such talent is cranking out TV-dinner type albums when they have the skill to give us a seven-course meal. (5/10)

This anecdote from an old colleague comes to mind: he was driving his gear and crew home after a marathon filming session in New York City. It was 3AM and the streets were mostly abandoned. Perched at a red light, he happened to look up at the window of cheerless building, and through it he saw a single bare light bulb hanging from a frayed wire. Shuddering, he looked away. He had no idea what was going on in that room with the lone bare bulb, and he sure as fuck did not want to know.

Archon Satani brings this scenario to mind. I must admit unfamiliarity with the blackened duo’s repertoire (the original release of this recording is dated 1993), but as with any qualified, Byronic suitor’s charms, I’ve fallen under its spell. This is a superb black ambient recording, understandably seminal, and worthy of staying in print. Groaning, distant voices of the damned intertwine with radiator hiss and clangy reverb. Almost as an answer to my prayers, these tracks of Archon Satani combat mediocrity with somber, merciless, unrelenting darkness.

Any rhythmic textures are incidental in the shadow of this aural torture (beats clock very slowly, if at all, making Khanate or early Melvins sound thrashy). Mind of Flesh and Bones actually provides a glimpse of Hell, with layers upon layers of trudging, Siberian death march, and intermittent orchestral seasoning. The groaning ambient fume aptly evokes the hopelessness of a sordid S&M session gone terribly awry, where the safety word "cookie" is spoken clearly, but against all code, goes unheeded.

The sonic equivalent to chewing on tinfoil, swallowing and then trying to shit it out, Archon Satani serve up an endurance test that could arguably make crucifixion seem like playtime. The duo’s inspirations derive from the standard fare (Anton La Vey and Aleister Crowley), but I purport these tracks are actually the ultimate hymn to reality: harsh, bleak, and imprisoned. Pick it up. (8.8/10)

Asguard is a band from Belarus and Dreamslave is their third full-length album. Now, Belarus is not a country well known for its metal scene, is it? It sometimes happens that bands from such countries consist of members with very different musical backgrounds and influences because, simply, it's hard to find musicians with similar musical tastes and preferences. In some cases this produces quite original results, but in Asguard's case we have a band with what can either be described as no personality — or a multiple personality disorder.

Looking at the artwork, it's hard to tell what Asguard are about — there is a tree, a cyborg fetus and some sci-fi graphics. The song titles are of little help, varying from "Master of Everything" and "Supremacy Over the World" all the way down to "Slave Forever" and "Crash of Hope," with occasional excursions to "Infinite Road to Hell" or "Where Once the Moon Rose," but looking at the lyrics it's clearer that it's all a Matrix-type fantasy about real life being a dream. Of course, they might actually be about the zero point energy field — or astral plains — but somehow I doubt it.

The music is a mixture of Scandinavian influences. Though it has to be said that members of Asguard are very accomplished and versatile musicians, even three albums into their career they still haven't decided which way to go. Most of the time it's Swedish melodic death exchanging with Dimmu Borgir (double bass drum parts from the recent albums), with occasional raw black blastbeats, keyboard interludes, blues solos, jazzy leads and mid-tempo thrash. On paper, this doesn't sound bad — but in reality there are 16 songs joined together by monotonous raspy vocals and a clear sound with no real punch. There are plenty of ideas and the songs are complicated enough and assembled with experience, but the lack of originality or really catchy parts makes Dreamslave a tedious listen. Sad, because Asguard could clearly do better.

Melodic death metal has really spread its influences everywhere and to unexpected territories. Some bands, for example Hungarian band Casket Garden, have even outperformed their idols. But some, like Asguard, will have to try harder. (4.2/10)

Coming from Los Angeles, Autumn Black is yet another metalcore band from the US that, thankfully, doesn't sound like yet another metalcore band from the US. While we aren't talking about Between the Buried and Me-level here, we're certainly in presence of one of those bands that really do something to get the genre out of its Myspace-centered phase, and into something better; or at least more music-centered.

Compositionally, Autumn Black is easily one of the best bands in the genre. It's unconventional, yet not illogical, complex or technical. The heavy parts are good and the breakdowns are even better, as opposed to 99% of metalcore, where breakdowns are almost invariably turds the size of Russia.

A central point here is the harmonization of the instruments, and the fact that those instruments are not as static as in most hardcore-derived music. In fact, the playing is pretty dynamic, with the instruments exchanging positions as the music demands (for example, the guitars can go from solely rhythmic to dual guitar melodies in just a few bars). However, I'm not gonna fool you. The (thankfully) not so frequent bits of straight-forward Avenged Sevenfold worship are horrible, no matter how you look at them, but (again, thankfully) they are not really dominant or attention-demanding, anyway.

Another central part is the variety displayed. Melodic black metal, hardcore, post-thrash, post-rock, emo, you'll hear them all here, and with varying degrees of quality. The post-rock (emotional clean guitar work, mainly) parts are as a whole just great; the melodic black metal riffs are quite inventive as are the emo ones (if only they'd stop those vocals...) and the post-thrash ones, sometimes nu-ish, are ok.

Technically, it's a mixed bag. We have the outstanding guitar play, the robotic but quite good-sounding programmed (or extremely triggered) drums, and then the completely unfitting vocals that make Beneath the Shadows sound like a generic metalcore album, even though it's not. Seriously, you wouldn't find Autumn Black to be a metalcore band at all if it weren't for those pesky little Avenged Sevenfold rip-off bits and the vocals. While the first are not that big of a problem, the second really undermine the whole experience in moments where you just want to hear that amazing melody on the back and that screaming bastard won't let you. Actually, the clean vocals are not so bad but they are really (and I mean REALLY) MTV emo-sounding. Then again, if you like metalcore you're probably already used to those and it won't make it all any worse for you.

With some flaws, but original and about as entertaining as metalcore can get without resorting to silliness. Beneath the Shadows will surprise quite a lot of people and please the metalcore fans that are tired of the millions of copycats. (7.2/10)

review by: Rick Luna

Burialmound's thick style of death rushes in and hits you like a wall of well-produced sound. The fast-picked guitars, drumming that is both energized and varied, and rich, low growls converge to create a chunky, groove-centered variety of traditional death.

Devil's Work contains 19 tracks, and each song runs about three to four minutes, so repetitiveness is not apparent in this album. Burialmound also shifts things regularly within each track to keep things interesting, and the verses and choruses alike contain creative riffs and rhythms that must keep the pit churning at live shows. This group is one of the most complete-sounding trios out there, though it must take on at least one extraneous member when on tour.

Burialmound have a dozen years of metal performance under their belts, and it shows in their mature sound, well-thought-out song structures and quality playing. They don't depart from the familiar, however, so if you're looking for an experimental group that's pushing musical boundaries, Burialmound ain't it. The tempos and chord structures are consistent, there are few solos and the instrumentation is unvarying, leaving a sound we've all heard before unbroken throughout.

This isn't a deathblow for Burialmound, because they do pull off their style well. It's not modern or adventurous, but if you're looking for a new compilation of quality, conventional death metal, Devil's Work will make a good acquisition. (6.5/10)

Canaan's The Unsaid Words is as uncomfortable as it is unique. It is extremely ambient, alternating between such solo passages and actual songs. As far as the material goes, it is tame, plain and boring. It's unsure if even heavy ambient appreciators would go for it, as harmony seems to have taken a Hail Mary on this one, hitting and missing in each its own way. The music is more hypnotic than anything else, which would nominate this album for being a good listen when you're sick, kind of like Dolorian's self titled release except not as good. (5/10)

This three-year-old British quartet Capricorns has an air of experience about it. The band's sound is mature, and it successfully combines a plodding sludginess with polished accuracy.

Almost entirely instrumental, Capricorns' sound is based in repetitious grooves and lacks the drastic, jarring thematic changes that keeps a listener on edge and is only intermittently heavy. Ruder Forms Survive, the group's first full-length release, tends toward the slow and easy, employing minor chords along with minor distortion to lull you into a sense of depressed serenity before breaking into a slightly heavier section and upping the tempo a bit. It is in these parts that Ruder Forms Survive reminds me vaguely of Isis' Panopticon, except without the growling.

The only vocals appear in "The First Broken Promise," in the form of a high whine from Eugene Robinson of Oxbow. The screeching is a satisfactory deviation from the rest of the album's rocky sludge, though not exactly easy on the ears. Overall, Ruder Forms Survive is an inoffensive, and unchallenging, listen. Repetitive and often dull, this release could use an element of the extreme to capture attention and drive it forward. (5.5/10)

The irony is so thick, it's almost palpable! Coldseed, featuring members of Soilwork and Blind Guardian, make quite the defeatist statement with their album title, Completion Makes the Tragedy. Is it really so tragic that this album was completed? Answers to that question are very mixed.

Completion Makes the Tragedy is the kind of album that takes several spins just to grow on you. It's not an experimental album, unless you consider electronic sounds to be experimental, though almost every band is using those now. It would be unfair to say the several spins are required to grasp the complexity of the album, as that just isn't true. It's not complex at all, basically housing a few nice riffs here, a mellow chorus there, and the occasional mellow breakdown section. The reason the album takes several spins to grow on you is because there really aren't that many catchy or memorable sections. A lot of it seems like background music that flows in one ear and out the other, you can almost sleep to it!

The first exceptionally catchy chorus comes in the second song, "Democracy Lesson," yet unfortunately the song also holds a verse that sounds like it was recycled from one of the recent Soilwork albums. The chorus here has a soft feel with an atmospheric piano, Strid's melodic clean vocals, and some synth strings, yet it only lasts for precisely 17 seconds.

Collision provides a venture into the depths of grindcore with Roadkill. This isn't your run-of-the-mill grindcore, however, as it also utilizes characteristics known to metal and hardcore. There are a lot of tremolo rhythms interlaced with slower (this is used loosely), more melodic rhythm mechanics. They also throw in the occasional solo that remains faithfully in the pentatonic scale rather than the insane mindless shredding of faster grind (and death metal) bands. There are also the obvious hardcore influences in which the "triple hit" rhythms and double bass pop work pretty well, and luckily for us, they don't overuse these sections.

The songs are like a room of mirrors like you'd find in a carnival, where each mirror is a different shape and form. One basic idea goes in, and is warped by each mirror to make a different outcome. Each song features the same basic instrumental foundations. One with a short attention span may actually believe they've been listening to the same song for 24 minutes. Roadkill is extremely short length for a full-length, especially with the slower tempo and downgraded excitement. Everyone loves the computer-programmed, over-the-top percussion when it comes to grind, however, there is a real percussionist here and he puts in a fantastic performance despite the majority of the content being blastbeats or that "triple hit" double bass previously mentioned. The snare drum has a high, tinny sound similar to a gunshot, pitch-shifted a good bit higher. The mix is consistent and very well done with everything being the right volume, which is ideal for loud playing. It always sucks when you crank up an album and the vocals overpower the music too much.

Roadkill is an enjoyable, but short and seemingly continuous album. The album seems to flow from the beginning until the end which makes for a less distracting listen, as you won’t find yourself exclaiming, "Oh, this is the song I don't like!" and hitting the skip button. Overall, it's not for everybody, but like a carnival, it's worth check out... at least once. (6.7/10)

Know what's a mystery? How a band like Core Device appeared out of nowhere and released such an incredible album with a style far more unique than 99% of the bands out there can ever achieve. Probably we're just too used to the fact that debuts aren't really definitive when it comes to style or uniqueness. All the opposite, Our Fellowship Eternal shows clearly an original way of composing, and a tendency to produce way above average songs.

Our Fellowship Eternal is essentially a post-thrash album, but thoroughly processed and presented in a way that you probably won't notice it at all. If you pay attention, you'll hear Iron Maiden, Nevermore, Master of Puppets Metallica, Candlemass, and some vocal melodies almost straight out of Sonata Arctica's Silence (if it weren't because Core Device's ones are one octave lower... and less flowery, not to mention much better). Varied and all, Core Device never loses its style and its traditional kind of heaviness.

It's surprisingly quite consistent as well. The album feels like an album and not just like a mash-up of similar songs.

One central point of Our Fellowship Eternal is indeed its kind of heaviness. People usually think anything labelled "post-thrash" will be random polyrrhythms, complex irrational patterns and polymeters, but Core Device plays mostly 4/4 songs with harmonization and power chord-driven bits. We’re not saying it's simplistic, because Our Fellowship Eternal is indeed a top-tier album when it comes to composition. The original arrangements are intensified by the fact that the songs actually evolve and progress, adding vocal styles and not-so-traditional dual guitar parts. And it's not like the progression of the themes is predictable either. In summary: catchy songs, easy to follow, but definitely not simple-minded.

While the album is that great compositionally, it's not as great when it comes to the technical part. Alright, it IS very good, but it's not as brilliant as one would expect from a band that can compose a song like "Burning Away." The guitar riffs are mostly amazing, but there are some that are pretty much filler riffs. That is, riffs that just fit, but add nothing to the song. At least there's usually the bass in those parts to make up for it with some simple but pummeling leads. The drumming's quite good as well with some inventive bits, but overall nothing to drool over.

Our Fellowship Eternal would easily be a 9.5/10 album if it were more developed in the technical side, but that's when you realize that, after all, it's still a debut album. And a really damn good one at that. Anyone into the more traditional genres of metal but wanting more original bands will absolutely adore this one. (8.5/10)

Please follow the instructions in this review very closely for best results. Failure to follow the instructions will result in loss of experience / enjoyment.

Step 1. Purchase Creep Colony's Relief of Death from the appropriate distributor.

Step 2. set up your dwelling as an altar to the evil deity / entity of your desire.

Step 3. Corpsepaint yourself and any house pets you may own.

Step 4. Turn off all lights. Use candles.

Step 5. Insert newly purchased CD into stereo system.

Step 6. Crank that bastard up!

By now you should be immersed in the intense aura of Relief of Death. For optimal enjoyment, do make note of the extreme old school style of black metal in the vein of Mayhem, Burzum and Darkthrone that is currently assaulting your ears. Any urge to start headbanging violently is completely normal and is encouraged for your enjoyment. Please feel free to relish in the tremolo drenched happiness of each song and the ferocious drumming that will compel your body into a black metal frenzy. Keep in mind the phenomenal vocals and evil screams that will permeate the wall of grimness. Watch for the killer guitar solos, as there have been cases where the overall kvltness of the entire room has increased tenfold because of them.

We hope your listening experience has been one of enjoyment and grimness. As you exit the music, please do not try to use small house pets as musical instruments, as this may result in injury to your person and household draperies. Please feel free to consult these directions again for future sessions of enjoyment. (6.66/10)

Cretin have actually been around since 1992, and have previously released a 7" and now have finally gotten together and released a full album. Two of the three guys in this band played in Exhumed, which raises your expectations just a bit. Don't. You'll be sorely disappointed.

Ever hear an old, old demo of a band you really love? You can tell that it's the same band but the production is really bad and the playing on it is far sub-standard to what the band is putting out today? That's how this album Freakery is. The production seems very rough, the bass is hard to hear in the mix and the drums sound "tap, tap, tap" rather than the "bang, bang, bang" you're hoping for.

Raw production should be left to black metal bands recording in the forest. There are guitar solos aplenty here, and while they sound expertly played, they go nowhere and seem very out of place in the songs. It sounds to me like the band met in someone's basement to record and didn't have much material prepared and decided to have everyone play as fast as they can for a minute, growl, growl (and not even good growls, more like throaty shouts), guitar solo, growl, growl, now play as fast as you can for another minute. OK, there's one song. Now do the same thing 15 more times, and there's our album. There's no form or cohesiveness, nothing to pull everything together. It doesn't feel like it makes sense. Even an Agoraphobic Nosebleed album with 99 tracks feels like it has some sense of direction.

The only nugget of redemption to be found here are the lyrics to the song "Cockfight." The basic idea is bums hiding in alleys with no pants on, then jumping out to surprise flash-attack people with... yes, you guessed it.

Freakery has a very high school feel to it. Let's hope they go back to the basement, actually plan out their next album and get some production help.

*Sigh* (3.3/10)

Somewhere, Mozart is turning over in his grave.

According to the New Webster's Dictionary: Deluxe Encyclopedic Edition, "music" is defined as: "The art of organizing or arranging sounds into meaningful patterns or forms, usually involving pitch, harmony, and rhythm."

This very same dictionary defines "noise" as "a sound or sounds of a loud, confused, or discordant kind."

The two above defined words are antonyms.

In this new era of revolutionary ideals and liberal encouragement of redefinition of what are acceptable boundaries of long standing values and definitions, comes a new genre of so-called "music" appropriately labeled "noise." Now, while the general population is still deciding whether or not little girls should be allowed to dress like the rap hos they see in music videos, this seemingly new fad is garnering attention on the international level, forming small underground circles of their own, promoting this new genre of sound that can be summed up in three simple words: Random. Talentless. Bullshit.

To analyze the "music" on this disc is impossible, because there is none. The only relative thing worth commenting on is the relentless drumming that can't stay on beat.

One can only comprehend what the Damsel people were thinking prior to entering recording of this album, although it may have gone something like this: "Alright, here's what we do. we get the drums to go as fast as we can play 'em while we see how many different noises we can pull out of the guitars to the point far beyond stupidity, and let's just try and keep time, but seriously, who's gonna care if we half ass it."

There is no sense in taking this review any further. Noise is not music, never will be, never was and it is an insult to music, past present and future, to call it such. (0.0001 /10)

Dead Rabbits first and foremost is a Black Sabbath rip-off band that mixes in a bit of American rock with annoying, overly flashy solos with no point but to cover up lack of inspiration, all the while flaunting a decidedly Christian direction in their music. Sin-Eater stumbles along in a drunken manner, a riff here, a drum fill here, insertion of tacky solo somewhere in the middle and vocals that sound like an Ozzy wannabe at open mic night at the local pub. The songs are poorly arranged and even more poorly written. It's almost like a game to see what structure the next song is in, and in this game, you're most likely going to win.

Now there are people out there with the mindset of "well they're Christian, I'm Christian, and no matter what anyone says these guys are good and so I like their music if only for their message." That's all fine and dandy, but if that's the way you roll, please use protection and stretch a condom over each ear before playing this album. Thank you. (3/10)

It is always a good sign when the very first riff of an album becomes instantly epic the moment you hear it. It is also a good sign when the very first song becomes instantly epic as well. However, the best sign of a great album is when that album becomes epic in its entirety. Reference Doom:VS's Aeternus Vale, the debut album from one man doom project by Johan Erickson, the founder and drummer for the legendary goth/doom band Draconian.

From slow, sorrowful passages to ambient interludes, from mournful, regretful voices to agonizing and saddened growls, to moving solos to intricate as well as ambient drumming, Aeternus Vale spins a world shrouded in mist and darkness, moving shadows forming within the swirling emptiness, figures emerging, but so far away.

As the sole member of Doom:VS, Erickson is phenomenal behind every instrument. The guitars can get a bit uncomfortable every now and then, but in a way, it only adds to the desolate mood. Tracks such as "The Light That Would Fade" and "Oblivion Upon Us" is sure to set this release apart from the crowd with epic riffs, intricate arrangements, and brilliance in every note. If you're a fan of Draconian, you owe it to yourself to check this album out. If you're a fan of doom in general, you owe the community to check it out. A release this good does not deserve to go quietly into the grey. (9/10)

Drugs of Faith’s self-titled mini-album is the first output by this young band from North Carolina. If there's one thing you should know before anything else, it's that it was founded by the same Richard that founded Enemy Soil.

Against all odds, the Enemy Soil influence isn't as strong as one would expect. If you're a real fan, you'll recognize his style quickly, but if you aren't, you aren't gonna go "That's SO much like Enemy Soil" at all. Anyway, Enemy Soil went mostly for the crust / powerviolence / grind side of things, but Drugs of Faith is, without a doubt, a hardcore band.

You're probably tired of hearing bad things about hardcore. Either that it's stagnating, that it's getting emo, that metalcore's taking it over, or that it's getting far too abstract for its own good. Indeed, old-school hardcore and modern hardcore are almost two different genres, and the line between them is pretty clear. But once in a while we get a band that defies it, and that's when you say "Maybe it's not THAT dead yet." Drugs of Faith is one of those bands.

While old-school in vocals and most riffage, Drugs of Faith is actually quite modern. Well, not as modern as, say, Converge or Dillinger Escape Plan (not that it's necessarily a good thing), but it's definitely more abstract and avant-garde when compared to early hardcore pillars. The quick, short and punishing songs from Necros / Minor Threat are here, the Black Flag riffs are here as well, and most of all, the old fashioned vocals (hallelujah, no tough guy vocals).

On the other hand, the compositions are definitely modern, and the arrangements and guitar tone are more early Neurosis than they are Bad Brains. The approach is sludgier as well, so you aren't listening to a rehash of old releases.

Drugs of Faith is also one of the few hardcore bands to have a really original atmosphere, and to care about it. It's not just "let's go against the government" or teen angst — it's actual art.

You're probably also tired of hearing about bands that mix the old-school and the modern, and that just suck at doing so. Everything changes and so does music, right? Well, thankfully, Drugs of Faith is the exception here as well. A mid-point between both tendencies, this release is about as enjoyable as it gets. Yes, it's short, and yes, it's not really groundbreaking or anything, but it's fun and quite original aesthetically. Clearly an example to learn from when it comes to hardcore.

The bad part about all this is that based on such a short release, we can't know if Drugs of Faith will evolve into a Neurosis-worship band, into a full-blown modern hardcore band, or if it'll go the old-school way. Based on what's shown here, they could do all of them. (7.8/10)

Gadget is one of the most underrated gindcore bands around. They're from Sweden, and have come up in Nasum's shadow. Their first album, Remote, was well received, but the band was likened to Nasum and pushed a bit to the side. With their second album, The Funeral March, they're finally out of the shadow and into the spotlight.

Though it feels like blasphemy to say, this album is better than anything Nasum ever did. It's smoking fast grindcore with deep, roaring vocals in the mix, in it — not on top of it, making it feel even heavier; and then some songs ("Everyday Ritual," for example), have a sludgy stoner doom feel to parts of them. Whoever would have thought you could mix fast grind and sludgy doom?

No matter which style Gadget’s playing, the entire album is heavy. Have you ever heard a song that was so heavy it made the pit of your stomach feel weird? Every song on this album has that effect, like you've swallowed a huge rock and it's landed in your stomach with a big thud, but the album is so filled with adrenaline that your heart is pounding too. The Funeral March is a complete assault on your senses, so good it hurts and once it's over you want to do it all over again.

Their sound is professional, sounding like this could be their 10th album rather than only their second. The songs vary in pace and feel, they don't fall into the "songs all sound the same" trap that many bands of the genre have stepped into and can't escape from. The production is slick, yet doesn't detract from the sheer brutality and murderous aggression of the songs. Album of the year so far. Absolutely essential. (10/10)

It's about freakin' time!! General Surgery formed in 1988, have current and past members from such bands as Birdflesh, Jigsore Terror, and Nasum (yes, these guys are from Sweden, too... makes you wonder if everyone in Sweden is in a metal band), and have had some splits and demos floating around. And now, lo and behold, a mere 18 years after forming, they've finally released an album!

General Surgery were actually disbanded for most of that in-between time, but still, holy non-prolificness, Batman. These guys got together wanting to pay tribute to their favorite band, Carcass, and it's something they're good at. They're the true kings of all the Carcass-worship bands.

There's not really anything new here. Gore-splattery vocals, standard deathgore guitars, the songs kind of blur together, and nothing stands out to differentiate one from another; it's the same thing they've always done, and other bands have attempted to do as well, but it's General Surgery. It's a real full-length General Surgery album after all this time. You have to get it for that alone. If you loved Carcass, or any of the General Surgery splits, this is almost essential. For anyone else, not as much, but still a fun listen. (6.5/10)

Erratic metalcore bands have become more and more common in recent years, but for some reason there is just not enough variety in this seemingly boundless genre. The Gentleman Homicide is another example of a band that simply doesn't do enough to detach itself from the norm, though this group isn't necessarily a bad one. Wide-ranging, throaty screams accompany high-pitched, distorted riffs and irregular drumming, the tempos and guitar lines often shifting unpredictably. The jarring effect is nothing new at this point, and besides some melodic lines that set The Gentleman Homicide apart later in the album, neither are the instrumental tricks the group employs.

Playing this type of music does take an ear and some degree of talent, but Undertanding the Words We Speak doesn't push any boundaries in metal, and often it just comes off as cheesy. The shifts are purposefully rough around the edges, but the element of sloppiness pervades too much of the album. The lyrics read like the usual bad teenage prose, except for the near-constant mentions of Jesus and the pleas to god for strength and "self control." Perhaps they should ask for some exceptional talent or originality next time. (5/10)

This duo is composed of Nordvargr (Sweden) and Goat (USA), and their writing/recording process apparently involves sending tracks to one another, each responding to the other’s foundations, elaborations, and sacrament. The result is a multi-layered, harsh squelch intended for fans of those high priests of black noise drone, MZ.412. Goatvargr’s imagery plays more at underground black metal than suit-and-tie assembly or anonymizing hooded monk gear (think Akercocke in reverse), but their music is suitably bleak and serrated.

These seven tracks map out a severely disturbed psychic landscape, more synthetic than organic (although some limited sampling comes through), with latent radio interference popping up like a gopher, and within the blackened ritual is a celebration of severe cruelty. (7/10)

Wow. Most of you are probably not aficionados of ‘70s prog rock, but some of you might have seen the photos. You know, musicians that look like a cross between hippies and medieval bards — happy, sweaty faces beneath ridiculous hairdos, two guitarists singing into one microphone, an animal drummer behind them and ecstatic audience before them. If you have actually checked out the music, you might have been frustrated by the excessive length of the songs, and those adrenalin moments were few and far between. But not with San Francisco's Hammers of Misfortune.

The music on The Locust Years brings those photos into life all the time. It is progressive rock at its best, firmly rooted in the ‘70s, but without ignoring all the progress that happened since then. But don't be scared by the progressive talk, the music is nowhere near any modern prog rock or metal — it sounds absolutely honest, original and straightforward and nothing is there just for showing off. The songs, as different as they are, and incorporating an envious range of moods and tempos, still have a coherence. It's amazing to hear how tracks like "Trot Out the Dead" or "Chastity Rides" can sound better than anything Iron Maiden have written in the last 20 years, while still having the antique aura of Blackmore's Night. And on the farewell track, "Widow's Wall," the rhythm and the melody part ways only to reunite into a magnificent, fatalistic ending.

Overall, the atmosphere can be only described as ominous — whether it's a fast or a slow part, there is always a feeling that Hammers of Misfortune are here to tell us that things are going to hell. The guitar melodies, harmonies and contagious riffs are so efficient that even a tone deaf person couldn't ignore them, and the warm, vintage Hammond keyboards are always present to add more somberness — even when they are played like Deep Purple on speed. The lunatic drummer (appropriately named Chewy) never rests or runs out of ideas. Vocals add another touch of brilliance — while Mike Scalzi sounds like a suicidal wizard, the female vocals are warm, evoking and melancholic. At times it is hard to believe that Hammers of Misfortune are an American band, playing in 2006, but considering that they are from the city that gave the world Alcatraz, The Church of Satan, Maelstrom, and Dirty Harry — stranger things have happened.

The Locust Years offers way too much to absorb through casual listening. You'll probably have to listen to it for a number of times before you — first, get used to its originality, and — second, realise how grandiose it is. In other words: get it now, and you'll thank yourself later. (9.5/10)

Impaled Nazarene is a band that never takes a backward, or even lateral, step. Each album is progressively better, more vicious and more technical. From the first note, Pro Patria Finlandia rips into you and doesn't loosen its hooks until it's through.

The basic style is comparable to All That You Fear, released in 2004. The guitars stand far above ImpNaz's previous offerings, and the idea of nuclear metal takes on a more concrete form. The group's earlier releases sound so fast and chaotic as to barely make sense. Pro Patria Finlandia has more structure without sacrificing aggressiveness or the basic, brutal style that ImpNaz is known for.

In addition to Mika's incredible, throat-ripping vocals and the improved instrumentation, each track on the album sounds entirely different from the last. The lyrics, riffs and character of the songs are unique, though the essential sound is cohesive. And each one is memorable, from "Goat Sodomy" to "I Wage War."

Pro Patria Finlandia has got to be Impaled Nazarene's best release to date, though I can't do enough to recommend that you check out the band's entire over-the-top library. (9/10)

Terraformer is a dense but simple work of heavy sludge and dirge-like grooves. As always, Knut focuses on building atmosphere, but in this case it employs more repetition and fewer vocals to do so. The whole thing is pretty heavy and should satisfy fans of bands like Isis, who don't mind repetitiveness when it's there to make a point.

This Swiss quartet employs a few new tricks in Terraformer, as well, mixing complex guitar riffs (as in the impressive "Kyoto") with simpler, slower grooves and moody electronic interludes like "Bollingen" and "Fibonacci Unfolds." It makes for an interesting mix, and it's certainly not for everyone. The noise elements are especially taste-sensitive, but if you've liked any of Knut's earlier releases, Terraformer should be a hit. The album is a slow but interesting ride. (7/10)

Compared to the rest of Knut’s discography, Alter is a somewhat different story. This release of remixes of Knut's earlier work in commemoration of the group's 10-year anniversary is a head-scratcher, among other things.

Strange, otherworldly noise groups rework and deconstruct what was already somewhat avant-garde and experimental to a strange result. Slow and eerie tracks pervade as noise producers have their way with Knut's basic ideas, throwing unusual synth lines in among hollow yells and crawling guitars.

Big fans of Knut's may really enjoy Alter, but the rest of us will likely be left wondering if it was really necessary. (5/10)

Losing Sun make a wise choice straight from the get-go by having the bass guitar start on its own. One can fully comprehend the tone of the bass, which is thick and a bit distorted, so that when the actual music starts, it can be picked out quite easily. It's great to see so much attention put on an instrument that is usually an afterthought in most groups, with basslines that simply conform to the guitar rhythm progressions. The clear and well-defined production also assists each separate instrument in being heard in the mix without any certain sound having domination over the others. Evan the vocals are mixed perfectly, and you can hear every word the vocalist croons.

Inertia emits mixed signals throughout the first song, for the most part. A growl smothered with an effect leads the way for the rest of the vocal performance, yet the verses are full of clean vocals, and even stranger — the chorus is stuffed with Disturbed-style vocals with a slight throaty grind. "Dirtnap" is a very catchy hard rock tune with your basic verse/chorus hard rock formula that was probably chosen as the opening track due to it's tame nature. The instrumental "[Pill]" introduces more electronic sounds, effect-smothered riffs, and a seemingly computer-programmed drum beat.

"Inertia" is where the band begins to show more of their death influence as the vocalist starts to throw in his incoherent death screams, which don't sound so fitting in this nu-metal template. It's a bit out of character. Other than the death screams, the vocals fit very well with Losing Sun's sound, and they are very well-performed.

There are a lot of well-placed riffs and effects, but there aren't really any key changes that engage the listener. Perhaps a keyboardist playing a string ensemble through some of these choruses would have added a bit more depth, but the music just sounds a bit too thin. Perhaps the aforementioned bass isn't as strong as it should have been in the mix. The guitar tone is a bit too trebly and lacking too much mid and low end. What you'll find with Losing Sun's Inertia is nothing more than decent nu-metal with a mere half-hour length, not a milestone for the genre or anything exceptionally pleasing or memorable. (5/10)

Hailing from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania comes Lowlyfe, a band from the streets preaching the streets. Just like the streets, their sound is chaotic and full of discord, various noises bleeding into the mix, making it about as pleasing as rush hour in New York. Throw a bunch of annoying, monotonous vocals over everything and back it up with the most objectionable drumkit in the universe, and you've got the picture painted.

Lowlyfe’s roots are very mixed, drawing from all schools both old and new to create a used, boring sound that doesn't really seem to do anything but be excruciatingly difficult to listen to. The solos fail at any musical integrity and add nothing but more annoyance. To make things worse, the guitar tones are horrible, as well as the production of the entire record. And yet, if any one thing ruined the album more than anything else, it would be the vocals. Horrible. (1/10)

Trondheim, Norway.

Manes previous and heavily electronica-influenced album, Vilosophe, got a rave review in Maelstrom, gaining a massive score of 10/10. As a steppingstone before the next full-length album, Manes recorded two new songs, a cover of a 16 Horsepower song and a song somewhat inspired by Duran Duran to form the EP entitled [view].

Like with Finland’s Black Crucifixion (who got a review in the previous issue) we have a black metal band not longer wanting to play black metal for being weary with the scene. Personally, I think that a band should change their name to avoid existing fans’ becoming disenchanted, but alas, many metalheads are renowned for their stubbornness. For instance, there is a number of people around who did appreciate Burzum’s post-metal explorations on keyboards, living out his Nazi-esque, pagan, Dungeons & Dragons fantasies. Still, with no doubt, a majority would prefer the old stuff.

As expected, after an album like Vilosophe, little guitar violence is to be found on [view]. Expect instead the sound of dark electro like Skinny Puppy tearing up Depeche Mode.

On this release, Emil handled main vocals and Tor-Arne added some "violent" percussion. Apart from those four new recordings, this EP, limited to 999 copies, included two remixes by Cordell Klier and a remix by Dj Don Tomaso.

"Cinder Alley" is the 16 Horsepower cover (they were a folk/gospel bluegrass band from Denver who disbanded last year). What I like most about it is the clarity of the drum cymbals during the intro. The overall feel of the song reminds of the pathos of something like Evanescence.
Emil’s high, theatrical vocals drag me back to cobwebbed mind-crevices with the long lost memories of one Kevin Rowland (a master of theatre in his day).

"Terminus RMX" is a sort of triphop instrumental with staccato rhythm samples. "The Neoflagellata Revision" seems like something by ‘80s techno pioneers New Order, combining drama with dance. Though having a bit more guitar in it, it’s still shockingly poppy stuff, in contrast to a title as catchy as an eel in a bucket of goo.

Things really start to lose ground with"Terminus Deconstructus," which has a guest appearance by a low-pitched, electronised parakeet introducing a total bleep-fest courtesy of Cordell Klier.

"Knife and Kleenex" is along the same lines of "Neoflagellata," which are the only two songs entirely created by Manes. The song "Title" is based on Duran Duran’s title track for the ’85 James Bond film "A View To A Kill" and, in all honesty, because it seems more like a homage than a parody, my sympathy levels drop very rapidly. I never liked Simon LeBons whining back then, and when I must admit that a Duran Duran song remains better than a cover version, my mood for the day is well-screwed.

And to top it off: The total 180-degree drop is established with the last track called "Terminus Dei Profundis," which is a "highly fascinating" collection of various fuzzy noises at different pitches that will pull the listener under in a murky pool of avant-gardeness, which is — to use a quote by Rick Wakeman — "as interesting as a wooden chairtester with piles." As if the original wouldn’t have been aggravating enough, Cordell Klier made a RE-mix of it.

No, really, my verdict is not as positive as some other folks gave. A few months back I had a tough time writing about a difficult release from a drastically eclectic french collective called Diapsiquir, but in this case a display of eclecticism rather numbs the mind instead of challenging it and for that I can’t help but wanting to throw this Manes thing straight out the window. It’s as pretentious as Paris Hilton’s pale white ass and it is a confusing battle between annoyment and boredom. I haven’t been able to decide between the two.

Manes is currently in pre-production for two new seperate albums tentatively titled Invention — or How the World Came to an End and Why We Did It and Be All//End All. I’d suggest they present them under the title [Terminus Definitus] — Impression # 1 and Impression # 2 and subsequently call it quits, or at least with this distracting peskiness. Just how can one get so exited about 30-odd minutes? Hrmpf. (3.5/10)

If you like blackened death, then this is probably a compilation you'd want to check out. There are 14 Spanish bands with one song each. Ironically, the band Masacre are not featured on this compilation at all, yet they've got their logo stamped on it and have released it in their name. Each band displays their own unique characteristics, from the highly skillful guitar sweeping and vocal screeches of Krueger, to the slow, sludgy riffs of Mistica. This compilation seems to focus on two things: presentation and talent.

Aggressor holds the longest song length, only by two seconds, with a length of 7:08. They are also one of the weirder groups featured on the compilation, as they use major chords and strongly uplifting sounding riffs accompanied by low, guttural grunts and very high, grinding monkey screeches. These guys can also shred up a storm, a feature that seems to be present in most of these bands, which keeps this 70-minute compilation epic from becoming boring.

Of course, with every compilation, there will be a few less-desirable bands that seem to drag on a bit or are just plain bad, but for the most part, this compilation is a great look into the Spanish blackened death scene. Cronos seem more similar to a metalcore band in a blackened disguise and don't quite fit in too well with the other bands. They've got the similar lower-quality production but the music just doesn't fit in this template. Nameless are probably one of the kvltest groups featured here, with their loudly mixed, scratchy guitar tone and intense throaty growls in the style of Chuck Schuldiner covered with distortion. If these guys toned down the distortion a lot, they might sound a lot like Death.

Threshold End begins their song with some creepy ambiance followed by possibly the catchiest material on the compilation, with the best production and Hypocrisy-esque arrangements... older Hypocrisy, of course. They've got the most amazing solo section as well, stuffed with great key changes and keyboard elements. The solo's guitar tone makes it sound similar to a keyboard solo, which is a nice touch.

There are a lot of great bands featured here, and like most of the metal compilations I come across, this one is well worth the time and doesn't fail to entertain. Bajo El Signo De La Violencia is a compilation you could enjoy for a very long time, and really makes the Spanish scene look good. (8.7/10)

We can usually count on the Temporary Residence label to put out relevant, moving albums. Stuff like Eluvium, Mono, Envy, etc... Artistic, emotive and rich stuff. And that’s just this year.

Miss Violetta Beauregarde is none of those.

Odi Profanum Vulgus Et Arceo is a heinous collection of spastic, broken, programmed would-be hip hop beats, traces of splintered electronic warbling, and vocals that sound like Denis Leary’s impression of Yoko Ono. On crack. The album is 19 minutes long, and features 16 tracks.

Some of the tracks don’t even have music, and their tandem of beat box and bonkers screaming come across as some sort of pitiable, unsettling attempt at an artistic, one-woman cheerleading squad in front of a stand with not a single spectator, and indeed on a field with no teams or game.

The rest of the tracks are interchangeable exercises in sonic vapidity. The songs have titles like "I’m a Wolverine and You’re a Walrus and I’m Kicking Your Ass," "Max Cance and the Cockring Industry," and "Adolf Hitler’s Emotional Side." Yes, yes. Very vulgar. They all sound like the same stark absence of a good idea, rather coming across as a smug, self-contragulatory binge of how edgy and off-the-wall one can get.

Odi Profanum Vulgus Et Arceo is like playing the piano with a dildo strapped to your head while shooting water through the gap in your front teeth — it’s never been done before! If seeing such an artistic performance appeals to you for more than two seconds, then Miss Violetta Beauregarde might be for you. (0/10)

This release from noise trio MZ.412 has been quite a few years in the making. It appeals to my penchant for hell-drone. In New England, we’ve had similar paragons of exquisite torment: Bonedust, Hanged Man’s Orgasm, Can’t, Karlheinz, Dog, even Red Bliss (when they were unrehearsed). And yet the Northeastern U.S. is only a thimble full of polluted ocean, as the impressive catalog of Cold Meat Industry indicates. MZ.412 is certainly one of their darkest releases, unmistakably Swedish and anathema to common decency.

The tracks "Point of Presence," "Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Your Wrath," "Infernal Affairs II," and "Unhealing Wounds" are standouts. MZ.412 evoke Swans, latter-day Burzum, Wendy Carlos, and even the Eraserhead soundtrack (see From the Vault review, issue #42 for that essential ordeal). Their drone is often evocative and film-like (especially during "Inkant 12 SLE"), suitable for any "Saw" type of predicament you hopefully never find yourself stuck in. (7/10)

The Swedish death metal masters Necrophobic have returned, after a four year absence with the much anticipated release Hrimthursum. Evident here is the years of honing their craft in terms of song writing and musicianship, while not compromising the absolute metalness of the overall sound. This album is a far cry from their debut, The Nocturnal Silence, and a departure from Bloodhymns, but this is by no means a negative thing.

Hrimthursum, which means "frost giant" in old Icelandic, seethes with intensity. The focal point of the guitars is no longer on the chunky rhythm guitar section, but on the lead guitar melodies. These melodies add to the songs without detracting from the heaviness of the rhythm, while the rhythm serves to underscore leads and to power the songs along in their own right. The songs push speed, without attaining hyperspeed, but this is not a deterrent to the point of intensity.

The production of the album lends itself to this intensity. The vocals are clear, but raw. The guitars are distorted and heavy, but not in the "traditional Swedish" death metal sense. (Unbalanced, over-driven lowness) It’s interesting to note is Fredrik Folkare of Unleashed participated on the engineering of Hrimthursum.

The album opens with a track entitled "The Slaughter of Baby Jesus," which sounds like a ritual killing of the Christian savior. It progresses from the sounds of an infant crying to dramatic synth sounds interwoven by guitars and drums. This intro ends to be greeted with the sounds of "Blinded by Light, Enlightened by Darkness." This track begins with a midway fast drum beat, double bass, and a threatening but melodic guitar line. A cry of "ugh" and "yeah" see the song speed up, and it becomes immediately evident the band has sharpened and blackened their form of death metal. The album is full of menace, spite and energy.

Hrimthursum sees Necrophobic moving ever onward, not attempting to recreate past albums. This is a good thing as the newly trodden musical territory is filled with great song writing, which bodes well for future endeavors and for live shows. Under the new style, I would classify the band as black/death perhaps, but certainly not just another death metal band. (8/10)

Ever since this new breed of pseudo metal dubbed "metalcore" started rearing it's ugly head, it has become interchangeable with "hardcore," with the only exception being that metalcore takes more from thrash metal than anyone would care to admit. Now with mainstream acts like Trivium and Bullet for My Valentine getting more exposure than they deserve, it's time for a band to actually define what metalcore truly is and dig the genre a respectable niche in the world of music.

Enter Nexxt. Although unsigned, this Italian quintet has great potential. Their brand of metalcore is tougher and more leathery than their skunk-haired, screaming counterparts, and it is much more mature. This four song EP shows confident passages with prominent riffs and tough-as-nails vocals. Indeed, if this style catches on, we will see metalcore change for the better. (7.5/10)

What do cunnilingus-performing puppies, lollipop-farting monkeys, Paris Hilton's little rat butthole, punching babies and monkeys ripping off a guy's nuts all have in common? They've all escaped from the warped mind of self-professed metal nerd Brian Posehn.

Don't recognize the name? You'd probably recognize the face. He played Kevin, the big nerdy guy who hung out with David Spade's character in the sitcom "Just Shoot Me."

This is some great comedy. Poshen’s delivery is calm, almost like sitting at a party and having a guy standing next to you telling you about something funny that happened to him the other day. And while some of what he says sounds crazy now when writing about it, when listening to it, it makes perfect sense and you sit there nodding in agreement, knowing damn well you've felt the same way at one time or another. He covers everything from TV and movies, masturbation, growing up as a nerd, porn, masturbation, marriage; it's all here, and it's all funny.

Brian is also a metal fan. You find little pieces of metal humor hidden amongst the other insanity, plus there are two tracks on the disc by his bands. The first band is called Posehn (pronounced Poh-SANE for anyone that was wondering). Posehn has Scott Ian from Anthrax, Joey Vera from Armored Saint and John Tempesta from White Zombie and The Cult. Brian does vocals. This band rips! The song is called "Metal by Numbers," and it's very funny. That's the only problem with it as a song. Brian does the vocals in kind of a shouted spoken word style almost, which is understandable, he wrote it to be funny, and he wants people to be able to understand what he's saying. Just once it'd be cool to hear him growl the whole song. The other of Brian's bands on this disc is called Titannica. Can you guess who they sound like? They do a funny Metallica-mockery song called "Try Again, Again." Also included is a Titannica interview.

Get it. Laugh. Punch a baby. (8.9/10)

Hail, Sweden! So many great bands have come from Sweden, why not throw another onto the ever-growing pile? Quest of Aidance haven't been around long: they got together in 2004, and this is their first release. It's actually their demo, which was so good, Pulverised decided to just add some artwork and release it as an album.

Fallen Man Collection is only 10 minutes long, so it seems like there wouldn't be too much to it, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. The eight tracks give you more bang for your buck than you'd expect. They have that giant brutal wall of sound style that really makes you take notice. You put the CD in and are paying little attention, picking at the dirt under your fingernails (we all know it's there, you're all dirty metalheads), then RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR, out of nowhere there's an explosion of sound and your jaw drops and you sit up in your chair.

It's hard to find any one thing that stands out from anything else, good guitar work, in your face vocals, everything here is a quality sonic beatdown; these guys aren't new to the scene, having played in bands such as Scar Symmetry, Unmoored and Torchbearer, and their experience shows. The only drawbacks I can find are the songs are a little same-soundy, and the album is too short. Even if the songs sound a little alike, it's ok because it's a good sound. Definitely look for these guys in the future. We're hoping for another offering from them soon. (8.7/10)

Raison d'Etre. Everyone that knows about the dark ambient genre's existence knows this band. Some say it's the best band in the genre, some say it's too ethereal to be good, but the truth is that Raison d'Etre has been releasing outstanding records for years now. Not only outstanding, but genre-defining.

Metamorphyses is — don't say you didn't expect it — amazing as well. It does, however, show an even deeper change when compared to the old stuff. Instead of the church-sounding ambient of the early releases, here we have a far more drone-based, if not industral, ambient soundscape. Rhythm isn't as important now, opting instead for textures and atmosphere while still retaining coherency.

The album is divided into six long parts for a total of 55 minutes. Another difference related to this is that the album flows like if it were just one long track, evolving and changing, and not like six thematically different songs.

The various degrees of the build-up of tension throughout the six tracks play a major role in the album. The music usually starts calm and quiet, and logically turns loud and noisy, only to turn calm again, like a constant cycle. While predictable, this formula proves itself to be effective when combined with Raison d'Etre's new sound. It is, in a way, similar to the way post-rock works: you need to listen to the complete thing to really know what's going on.

Another main difference is the not so constant usage of samples. Samples were used, that's obvious, but now feedback and machine-like sounds are central, leaving sampling as just a secondary process. This, coupled with the minor role rhythm plays in Metamorphyses, makes the album more of a (non-metal) drone one than a dark ambient one. However, fans of both will enjoy the album as it fits both genres.

Atmospherically, Metamorphyses is less rigid than most ambient, relying in pure ambience and not in assaulting the listener with two thousand ideas at the same time. Yes, you could say it's aesthetically simpler than the old Raison d’Etre albums, but it's certainly better this way.

Raison d'Etre still represents what's happening to the whole dark ambient genre: turning less rhythmic and more avant-garde. From the outside, it looks like it's turning like a modern, synthetic, musique concrete, without the whole tape processing. Its overall quality isn't dropping, nor is Raison d'Etre's. (8.9/10)

Rhapsody of Fire, the band formerly known as Rhapsody, were forced to change their name due to copyright and trademark issues. The band play it off casually, believing this is "a great new start that reflects the emboldened and increasingly grandiose direction that the music has taken." Rhapsody's music has always been quite grandiose, so how could they possibly heighten the greatness of their already existent sound?

The title track, "Triumph or Agony," starts off with a seemingly tame orchestral arrangement. Eventually the gratuitous powerchords are introduced, as well as the vocals that have become so familiar to Rhapsody fans by now. The chorus shows the group's love for vocal layers within a fairly thin layer. The vocal layers range throughout the album from a more subtle sound, to a massive choir explosion and everywhere in between. Luca Turilli presents his guitar skill with some sweeps, though on a larger scale the majority of the song focuses on orchestral and vocal elements, and Turilli doesn't get the chance to exhibit leads that often. We see Turilli playing a few more leads on "Heart of the Darklands," but unfortunately his talent is not presented as well as it may have been on this song either. Both songs demonstrate Rhapsody's familiar skill of producing engaging orchestral work interlaced with intense choir vocals, until....

"Old Age of Wonders" is possibly the most bewildering song on the entire album simply for its massive shift in style. It has an exceedingly cinematic sound, with a touch of medieval and renaissance musical influences. The guest female vocals add that little extra nudge to get that Blackmore's Night kind of atmosphere. The transition to the following song, "The Myth of the Holy Sword," is perfect and flows naturally as if the songs are supposed to be together. The chorus on this song is also a highlight of the album with its fantastic imagery of pirates sailing the seas and being jolly.

"Il Canto Del Vento" is the only song on Triumph or Agony wherein the vocals are performed in Italian, and the title is translated as "The Song of the Wind." The sound is extremely grandiose here, although the song is somewhat reminiscent of The Magic of the Wizard's Dream, a previously released Rhapsody mini-CD. It doesn't quite hold the same sentimental value with the lack of guest vocalist Christopher Lee, but it's still a beautiful composition — a description that could be applied to any of the songs on Triumph or Agony.

Fans of Rhapsody will not be disappointed with this album, and will probably group together in the town square to celebrate heartily. Let me take that back: Rhapsody fans may be slightly disappointed when they're brutally pummeled with an array of growl vocals half-way through the 16-minute epic. They're surprisingly well-performed and each one sounds like a different character, a great touch of dynamics on what is a veritably awe-inspiring epic.

"Son of Pain" demonstrates this new "grandiose, emboldened" sound that the group has been speaking about. It is yet another very cinematic song with simply magnificent string ensembles, well-placed crashes, keyboard choirs, flutes, and more that is all combined together within this one first-rate emotional piece. It's like something straight from a high-budget film soundtrack!

Possibly the most highly anticipated aspect of Triumph or Agony is the 16-minute conceptual epic, which starts with some lutes, with are eventually joined by a flute and some violins to make a sublime little medieval medley that is ended by the arrival of the heavy guitars, yet will appear again as somewhat of a reoccurring theme. There is a chorus within this song that also has a pirate-like sound, which is always mirthful and fun to listen to. The lyrics include tales of orcs, elves, and dwarves — what's not to love?

There are some guests featured within the last little section of Triumph or Agony who lend their voices to play a role in the ongoing concept. Some voices sound vaguely familiar, while others are apparently new characters. Christopher Lee makes another appearance with his distinct voice, yet it is impossible for us to possibly list all of the other guests as the information has not yet been released.

In all likelihood, Rhapsody (of Fire) fans will probably flock to Triumph or Agony, as it is obviously one of the best albums of its kind to surface this year. (9.7/10)

Rome sounds like the logical fusion of Leonard Cohen, The Angels of Light, and Kurt Weill. Berlin is subtle, subdued, and paced like incidental music. Admittedly, one can never have anything but very personal interpretations of what makes "post-apocalyptic folk," but Rome is unusual enough to perhaps reap their own subcategory. Their brand is more sample-driven and proto-industrial than what I would associate with folk style (acoustic guitars and minimal, primitive percussion), but the achievements of tracks like "The Orchards" and "Une Autre Vision" are impressively evocative, as if you are hearing something interesting on a radio or TV in a neighboring apartment, but can’t quite make out what it is.

The intended narrative elements of these songs become easily obscured by the industrial percussion motifs, but the lone, cold piano and droning vocals of the closing track, "Herbstzeitlose," rescue my overall impression of this project. (6.9/10)

After last year’s The Exhibitions EP (which got a 8/10 from us) it is now time for Secrets of the Moon to give us the full monty.

Antithesis is what looks like a concept album revolving around the misconception regarding the significance of Satan. Secrets of the Moon handle a different approach toward their subject than, for instance, Venom do. Although the menacing vocals of singer LG are radiating with far more powerful vibes of evilness than Sir Cronos, Secrets of the Moon prefer to see things rather in a more philosophical and, if you like, spiritual way.

Take the meaning of the nine-pointed star as depicted on the front. This star is a symbol for the moon and the balanced astral plane, completion and eternity. The number of nine is a reappearing character in mythology, from the nine muses to the nine Celtic heroes. Even Emerson, Lake and Palmer had a little song called "Karn Evil 9," because of the symbolic appeal of this number. It seems logical that in connection with this symbolism, Antithesis contains nine tracks. What the numbers 11.18 in the opening title "Nowhere 11.18" stands for is probably a nice little riddle for you cabbalists out there. It’s definitely not for the Celtic feast day of "Mawes" or the date that Madonna will give a show in their hometown. I’ll offer my promo copy to anyone who can come up with what seems like the right explanation.

Other facts in numbers are that the album lasts for a good 58 minutes and that they contain long songs peaking with "Ghost" (8:23) and "Lucifer Speaks" (8:40). The only tracks clocking in under three minutes are the first and last instrumental tracks, "Nowhere 11.18" and "Exit."

It’s hard to say which tracks stand out otherwise, as all tracks seem to be encapsulated in an omnipresent atmosphere, making the listener want to experience the songs as chapters from an intriguing and dark story. It’s a bit like with the last Deathspell Omega album, Kenose. The music is full of acrobatic — I dare say progressive — diversities, but instead of burying you beneath an avalanche of feisty chaos, they take you to a place with more room for the cerebral and contemplative without lacking anything in intensity.

The air is so thick and dense, it could be cut with a knife. LG sounds like a mysterious hooded figure indicating those sites to you with a slightly bent and black-nailed index finger. The drumming is great with an a-typical emphasis on the toms instead of the snare or bassdrums, sometimes even bordering on the tribal.

With a skimmed down promo copy, it’s a pity that I can not tell much about the lyrical content. How far will the listener be enlightened with regard to Secrets of the Moon’s protest against the popular personification of evil? Answers are needed in these times when dubious types commit dreadful deeds in the name of a supreme and divine being. No one says "the devil made me do it," because God warrants submission, hence giving man an excuse to shove away any individual responsibility. On the other hand, having faith in man’s stupidity, the Devil stands for "free will," the moral agency God created Lucifer with, which led the latter being cast out and becoming Satan. Duality and antithesis became an eternal source of both suffering and inspiration.

With Antithesis, Secrets of the Moon have created an impressive work about the struggle between submission and free will. Some may find this intellectual kind of black metal a bit too much to chew on, but in my view it puts more weight in the scale than the uncomplicated Satanism as found in Carpathian Forest’s latest outing (which wasn’t too bad either, by the way). A very good album. (8/10)

City of New York is a virtual train wreck. It’s a hardcore/punk album recorded at home in a basement. Considering that, the sound of the instruments is actually pretty good, albeit in a lo-fi, unmastered way. The guitars and drums are played well, and they got a good sound out of them.

The vocals ruin whatever could have been good about this album. The immediate problem is that they’re mixed horribly. It sounds like someone found the instrumental tracks to City of New York on the internet, and decided to scream along to them using a USB microphone normally used to chat online with, and record it then and there with no effects, editing, or indeed, mixing whatsoever. This leads to the music and the vocals existing on two very unpleasantly incongruous levels.

Not that there’s anything to work with here. Most members of the general populace would readily associate screaming with tunelessness, but you won’t really grasp how bad it can get until you hear this album. The singer exhibits blatant contempt for anything involved with rhythm or syntax as well. In light of this, commenting on the music’s quality is a moot point — it seems to not be half bad at certain points, but no one but a saint of music reviewers would ever get that far.

Lo and behold, in the liner notes, is a credit for someone playing classical guitar. Hey? Indeed, there it is, predictably tacked on as an outro to the last ordeal on this album. Perhaps also predictably, it’s a pleasure to listen to, which then plunges City of New York in a whole new realm of unintentional self-loathing and circumstantial mutual contempt amongst its parts. (1/10)

One thing is inconsistency, be it lyrical, musical, or both. Another completely different one is complete nonsense. What we have here isn't necessarily bad (even though I'm not saying it's good, not at all) but it's just too nonsensical and random for actual music listeners. Really, it's not a matter of quality or of Society 1's The Years of Spiritual Dissent being enjoyable or not, but it's weird to see so many unrelated facets of a band in just two hours or so.

Before saying just exactly WHAT is wrong with this, you'll want to know what the hell Society 1 is, if you don't know already. Avant-garde industrial nu-metal. It’s probably better read than heard. Take a random old Korn album, mix it with Skinny Puppy, then add spoken word songs and plain random bits and there you have it — Society 1. So far, it's pretty normal, many nu-metal artists have done that already, but nope, this band in particular is actually quite original. Well, you won't see any developed riffage or anything THAT different from what you've already heard.

However, it doesn't have that teen angst feeling present in most nu metal... it has something worse.

What's missing here is one of the central factors in music: quality. It's not like we're expecting Bach, but all the compositions (excepting one or two) are incredibly subpar, and I mean the kind of subpar you'd expect out of MTV at peak hours.

The only remotely good thing about The Years of Spiritual Dissent is the whole synth and electronics work, and the few really avant-garde moments. Everything else is either garbage, or just too random to be good. The technical ability is pretty much null, recycling the same riffs you've heard many, many times, the same drum patterns and fills you'd expect from Mudvayne, and sometimes decent, sometimes abysmal vocals.

Still, that doesn't explain why it's nonsensical, right? Well, try to picture this: a DVD filled to the top with pornstars, the band talking about drugs, puking or some other random stuff, saying that they don't really take themselves seriously. And then, a CD titled Years of Spiritual Dissent with half of it being "intellectual" spoken word tracks about sex as art, or salvation, or some other crap. And don't forget the fact that Society 1 has recently started a pseudocult with even more random guidelines and symbols. Comparing the DVD to the CD makes it seem like it's two different bands sharing only the vocalist and one or two beliefs. But no, they are the same band and, sadly, they want to show the world how uh... manly they are, or something.

As a sidenote, the vocalist in the band is a porn producer (which would explain the metric fuckload of sex jokes).

So, unless you want to see the singer mooning the audience far more times than I'm willing to count, making immature jokes about everything, insulting the audience in pretty much the single most high-school-like way of insulting ever created, or the drummer puking (or was that the guitarist? whatever), you won't like it. Imagine Rozz Williams gone incredibly wrong mixed with Type O Negative's vocalist gone even more wrong, with a little bit of Marilyn Manson's "Let's do everything we can to get on TV" attitude. Multiply that by the number of members in Society 1 and you have the band you're gonna watch for probably more than an hour, if you can stand it. Well, you'll get to see random pornstars getting sprayed with cream and chocolate and being spanked, so you might like it. No real music to be found, though.

So, a band without musical quality, without good compositions, with no technical ability whatsoever, showing opposing views from one minute to another, with just some avant-garde influences here and there and with an unbelievably moronic attitude about it all, yet trying to appeal because of these very characteristics. *You* rate it. (.../10)

Setherial appeared in 1996 with Nord, a cold, atmospheric, relentless masterpiece (see the From the Vault piece on it – ed). Hell Eternal from 1998 was a blasterpiece of Swedish hyperspeed black metal and it's still one of this writer's all-time top five black metal albums. But now it's 2006 and Setherial are here with their new album, Death Triumphant. Somewhere along the way they have released an album and a compilation, changed a couple of members, gained some weight, lost most of their corpse paint and hair, and, unfortunately, their conviction.

As always, there is no pointless intro, but what follows is an unpleasant surprise, namely the sound. Once again, Setherial have done the recording in the famous Abyss studio, with Tommy Tagtgren turning the knobs — which has always worked. But this time the result is irritating. And not of the charming, unproduced black metal-type irritating, more like the "overproduced and badly matched" type.

All the instruments have a dry, sterile sound, the guitar sound is full and too midrange-heavy and the vocals are silent — which would still be fine. But the drums sound like cardboard boxes — with the exception of the snare drum, which sounds like drummer Alastor is hitting a paper bag. The biggest annoyance comes from the ride cymbal — bad sounding, reverbed over both channels and so loud that it kills the will to listen to anything else. Add some bass boost and the sound becomes decent but then there's nothing except bass (oh yes, and the ride cymbal). Switch the "surround" effect on, and you can hear everything, but is it worth it?

Well, not really. Long gone are the days when Setherial used to make albums that would make you change your facial expression every ten seconds. Now they are just going through the motions and trying to be modern. The usual hyperspeed is gone, the blastbeats now sound tired and in spite of plenty of changes and experiments in rhythm, and some technical riffs — it all sounds the same. It's funny how, while doing hyperspeed, Setherial still managed to incorporate stunning dynamic changes (for those able to make them out, of course) and now, with all the signature Swedish black metal riffing, mid-tempo thrashing and occasional melodic death parts, things aren't really going anywhere.

There are countless stop-and-go breaks, but they don't help — on Hell Eternal there was ONE, but it was a monumental one. Occasional attempts at recreating the atmosphere from Nord are killed by the sound and the way Funestus is singing — monotonous and simply following the rhythm.

Death Triumphant is not all bad, there are memorable riffs here and there, occasional wild melodies and a couple of chilling moments. For a lesser band it would be a worthy achievement. But Setherial are — or were — capable of so much more. (5/10)

Now a well-known Latvian Pagan metal band, Skyforger released their first CD, Kauja Pie Saules ("The Battle of Saule") in 1998 through Mascot Records. Due to poor distribution, it remained largely unavailable so their current label, Paragon Records, re-released it. And it is never too late for good things, especially if they are presented with so much elaboration.

Don’t worry if you know nothing of Latvian Pagan / folk music or history; Kauja Pie Saules is a bona fide encyclopedia. Starting with the cover, a reproduction of artwork showing the battle of Kauja in 1236, over the lyrics in Latvian (coming with full English translations) to another reproduction in the middle of the booklet. There is also a note about ancient Baltic tribes, Pagan spirit and years of fight against Christian conquerors. (Years? Croats quit fighting the same morning they started, at lunch time, because obviously it was more important to eat. I hereby use this opportunity to publicly disown my country. With Editor's permission.) (Granted. Where will you move to? Lemuria? – Ed.)

The music doesn't fall behind the artwork. While the sound and spirit can generally be compared to the earliest albums of Bathory, Amorphis or Satyricon, the style is genuinely Latvian. From the intro song "Zviegtyn' Zviedza Kara Zirgi" ("Neighed the Battlehorses"), a beautiful ancient acoustic Latvian warriorsong, through the opening battle cry of the title track, and further on, Skyforger build a style of their own with apparently minimum effort. Traditional folk parts are thoughtfully alternating or working together with primitive black / thrash parts and it is amazing how, when the acoustic instruments are gone, the simple and powerful riffs still resound with them. A number of traditional instruments (kokles, war-horn, bagpipes, giga and something called a rattle stick) add precious atmosphere to the already classic, rough and proud sound, and the screams in Latvian are in a class of their own.

The only drawbacks of Kauja Pie Saules would be the ‘80s sound and song structures on a ‘90s album. But what is a decade here or there when talking about things that happened 800 years ago? (8/10)

Epic Viking folk black metal driven by punk energy? Yes, really. It is sort of strange to see a black and white cover with one long-haired guy dressed in black, standing in front of a forest — but with an anarchy symbol instead of "a" in the logo. It definitely needs explanation.

Sorg, the single member of Norwegian SorgSvart, is one pissed off person, so much that his "piss off" list is longer than the thanks list. He hates the system, the institutions, religion, capitalism, local Nazis, the police, the USA, and probably countless others. Luckily, the list of instruments he can play is just as long. The five songs on Fortrapt fra Verden i Vakkert Selvmord are even longer.

"Host - Paradokser I Menneskesinn Og Kosmisk Natur Et Oppgjor Med Falske Mann. Part 1" (yes, the titles aren't exactly short, either) opens the album in a classic Norwegian style, with a mathematical but very memorable riff, two bass drums and vicious screaming. The sound is very clear, all the instruments are present but — surprise — it is mono, just like the rest of the album. Things get a bit clearer if you take into consideration that Fortapt fra Verden... is actually a collection of five demo songs recorded between 1999 and 2004. Nonetheless, the sound on them is quite uniform.

The main inspiration is obviously another "sorg," Vintersorg (don't ask me, all I know is that "svart" means "black"). But just when you have immersed yourself into the classic black atmosphere, there is a change in mood. Sorg starts using his clean singing voice (which is quite amazing) and the song takes a folksy turn, with some Norwegian folk instruments. The riffs become weird — this is clearly folk Viking type of playing, but there's a punk, mocking feeling to it. But this is just a taste of things to come as Sorg has just started taking us through a whole range of moods.

The three following songs are positively murderous. Throughout their six to ten-minute length, they take the listener through an omnium gatherum of often contradicting emotions but with a constant flow, a stream-of-consciousness trip through Sorg's hyperactive mind. You don't even need a stereo sound to recognize all the good things going on here. There are hymn-like choruses, brilliant Nordic trollish melodies, uplifting singing, desperate screams and folk interludes that emerge at unsuspecting moments. Don't be surprised when in the middle of "Skog Og Mark - En Frelse Fra Falskhet" ("Forest and Countryside - a Salvation from Falseness") you hear a shepherd calling his sheep. To stay true to the do-it-yourself ethic Sorg has — naturally — recorded all the voices himself (yes, I do mean the sheep as well).

"Hagland - Mitt Land" is a minor classic with a combination of a "la-la-la" chorus — sung in a proud Viking voice — and "forests and mountain tops" atmosphere of the other parts. The album ends with the title track, though it is the weakest one on the album, a mostly straightforward seven-minute black thrash song.

For being basically a collection of remastered demos, Fortrapt fra Verden i Vakkert Selvmord is brilliant. Now that SorgSvart has a record deal, let's hope that it won't take another five years until we have a new album. (7.5/10)

Yes, dear Maelstrom readers, you knew it was going to happen again. It's yet another tough guy hardcore album. It seems like it wasn't enough with the millions of bands coming from that genre, all of them pretty much the same thing with just one or two little details changed just so it's not THAT bad of a rip-off. But it's ok, because Straight Opposition isn't just a Hatebreed worship band, it also mixes it with some Biohazard! By now, you're probably thinking about how ear-shattering that mix would be, and let me tell you, you're right.

The only good thing about Step by Step is its energy (and that's actually quite an achievement for the genre). From the first track until it finishes, it's all raw energy (sometimes too much) and anger. It's one of those albums you just can't sleep to. Some riffs are decent too but they are not precisely masterpieces. At least they don't make it as boring as the average tough guy hardcore band. That's not that much of an achievement, though.

But anyway, it was said above that Straight Opposition mixes its music with Biohazard. What that means is random rap segments. That also means headache-inducing segments. To make matters worse, those rap parts come in when it seems like the song could get good. For example, "PEHC Crew" starts with an almost Cock and Ball Torture-like riff, so right when you're thinking that maybe you're finally going to enjoy a good track, Straight Opposition just destroy it with some random rapping in Italian. Oh, and if you thought the rap wasn't misplaced enough, they decided to use a rap bonus track. Sadism? Probably.

So, pointless, mediocre and overall lacking, but not conummately boring. Worth your money? Not really. Better than your average tough guy NYHC-styled band? Yes. Too bad that's not really saying much. (3.8/10)

Warning: if you like the CDs in your collection to be good sounding, well played, thoughtfully arranged and life-affirming, then stay away from Striborg. Far, far away. But, if expressions like tr00, kvlt, necro, grim, misanthropic, blakk and nihilist make a significant part of your vocabulary, start paying attention.

Are the "101 rules of black metal" your bible? And perhaps you're thinking that Darkthrone are too commercial and overproduced? Then you're going to have a wet dream come true because Striborg compared to Darkthrone sounds like Darkthrone compared to Dimmu Borgir.

Striborg, a Tasmanian one-man black metal creation, has been around since 1997 and released a total of 15 albums, demos and compilations. This CD consists of the new recording, Embittered Darkness, and Isle De Morts, a 1997 demo back from the time when the project was still called Kathaaria. Even more amazing is the fact that hyperproductive Sin Nanna also played in some other bands along the way.

Embittered Darkness sets off with an eerie clean guitar and keyboard intro, but "Wrapped in a Cocoon Out of Harms Way" comes as a shock — the sound is so ridiculously bad. There is a thin, loud, irritating, buzzing, constant, reverbed guitar and a set of badly recorded drums with a weird stereo displacement. Yep, it's a four-track recorder, the way it's supposed to be in the "true" circles. Bass? Occasionally present, but only if you really pay attention. Vocals? Hollow, undecipherable and unashamedly loud. The songs are slow, long, repetitive, sloppily played and probably written very quickly. The lyrics are random thoughts about the human race being retarded, nature-destroying vermin soon to be annihilated by mother Earth — and if it doesn't happen, Sin Nanna will happily dig a ditch to die in.

To anyone but a few, Embittered Darkness will be an irritating, boring, headache-inducing, retarded piece of anti-music, an embodiment of everything they ever hated about black metal.

To the rest of us, it will be beautiful. An organic, natural, instinctive, evoking, overwhelming symphony of everything that we feel on those days when nothing has meaning. Bright, loud, cold, cruel and fuzzy guitar is the only thing strong enough to describe the glory of a depression coming from misanthropic isolation, taking the listener to a more natural world by simple means of creating a contrast. Just violently sweep away the banalities of everyday suffocating life rituals, and what will remain will be a chilling fantasy trip through the untamed, untouched, wintry nature — something that all good black metal should be able to do. And how could it possibly be boring with this sound? The same riff never sounds the same, the same note will sound different every time it is played — you just have to pay attention. And it's easy to. The drums are another valuable addition — with long, repeating patterns and a sense of dynamics they have a structure, but occasional on-the-spot improvisations and unequal hits bring even more of the "natural" feeling to the atmosphere. Stunning.

Wait... did I just say "stunning"? How to describe Isle de Morts, then? It's still the same band, but this time it's a relentless blizzard of blastbeats going from fast to faster, evoking Immortal's Battles in the North or the faster parts of Darkthrone's A Blaze in the Northern Sky. And the drumming is flawless, showing that Sin Nanna is actually a great drummer — the playing on Embittered Darkness is like that because he WANTED it to be like that. Hah! Just shows that you have to know something well before you're going to deconstruct it. There are some amazing and difficult drum fills but always delivered with bestial intent and at times unbelievable speed.

The guitar is less in-your-face this time but it's still fuzzy enough to make it hard to decipher what's going on. But, listen very, VERY carefully and some really good riffs will reveal themselves. Also, for a change, the singing is more understandable, more tortured and less hollow, the only downside being one attempt at clean singing. The 74-minute experience ends with "Mist," a slow outro with distorted and clean guitars combined... hmmm, suitable for introducing you into listening to the CD once again, isn't it...

Once again, this CD is not for everyone. It is probably not for you. You have been warned. The chosen few misanthropic bastards will love it and cherish it, and you can think anything you want about us. We don't care. (9.5/10)

Viking alert! Thrudvangar are a German band, with lyrics in German, playing double-bass drum- and keyboard-driven Viking metal. Walhall, their second album, is a nice effort, not flawless, but with some qualities making it suitable for Vikings of all generations, young and old. How? Read on...

The keyboard intro and outro (with a sound clip from "The 13th Warrior") are creating a Hollywood soundtrack for vast oceans beckoning you to board your ship and sail away to a raid. Eight songs between them are an exercise in Viking / folk riffing and melodies, most of the time unoriginal but with some surprises. The faster parts remind of Ensiferum, the slower ones sound like Einherjer, with obligatory choir singing and a "hey!" every now and then.

The vocals are a slight drawback, being mostly gargled rasps, but when the singer screams it's instantly forgotten; plus his occasional spoken voice is quite pleasant. The sound is another minor disadvantage, with thin guitars and loud triggered drums, but then, Vikings aren't supposed to be perfect — they are supposed to do the best with what they have. And — after a couple of listens — it's obvious that Thrudvangar are doing quite well.

Where "Asatru" starts with galloping rhythm guitars and turns into a speed metal attack, "Kriegernacht" begins as a Viking drinking song but ends as symphonic black metal. "Schwert der Asen" is a Viking grandfather-to-grandson bedtime story with a simple, catchy keyboard intro, some English lyrics and a chorus spoken in German. The title track is an epic of clean guitars and whispers, horns (hmmm, played by keyboards, but it's the thought that counts), more galloping guitars and an epic scream for Valhalla as a chorus, progressing into a slow sweeping black metal drama. "Blut und Feuer" is a mixture of thrashing guitars and bagpipes (yes, also played by keyboards) reminding of In Extremo. "Helheim" is slightly more technical, with some disturbing keyboards and choir screaming. "Gronland" and "Odins Jungfern" make a suitable ending of the loud part of Walhall, the first one with the most memorable, epic, headbanging intro/main riff on the album and the second one with a whirlwind of guitars and keyboards and a poignant spoken chorus.

Though at first Walhall might sound simple and at times uninspired, it reveals more of itself with each consecutive listen. Maybe it's not Enslaved, Moonsorrow or Bathory, and occasionally it's a soundtrack for the "Hagar the Horrible" comic strip, but take it as a sonic version of "The 13th Warrior" and enjoy it for what it is. A sincere, straightforward, sometimes dodgy but occasionally epic interpretation of Viking metal. (6.8/10)

Underground Series I focuses mainly on French brutal death and grind. Most of the well-known bands from the scene are here: Bestial Devastation, Benighted, Fuck the Facts, and some less known but equally brilliant ones as well (even if not French). It can divided in two halves: the French metal bands half, and the Meat 5000 records half.

As for the French metal half, it's pretty varied, but not so pretty. All the songs are individually good, but they are unrelated and make the compilation flow almost randomly. For example, Erlen Meyer's almost emotional track and Absinthe's old-school death tracks are quite good on their own, but in the context of the compilation, it seems like they are just begging for a skip. Inconsistent, yes, but at least there's a lot of musical quality displayed by each band, outside from the whole "compilation structure" thing.

Surprisingly, the band that stands out the most is the death-ish grind Karmassacre, with its three short songs, including a Disrupt cover. Other highlights include Bestial Devastation's incredible nonsensical brutality and Benighted's more mature approach to brutal death.

The Meat 5000 Records half is without a doubt much better. It contains many of the most important new bands of the genre, such as Corporal Raid, Fuck the Facts, Negligent Collateral Collapse, Sanity's Dawn and some newer acts such as Mechanical Separation and From Beyond Death. This time, the incoherency is only found in the last three tracks, the almost Dadaistic songs by Hipopishow, Viandox 2000 and Korky. The rest, however, are invariably amazing and make for a nice summary of the last two or three years of grind's history.

Easily the strongest track on the whole compilation is Negligent Collateral Collapse’s "Neurotransmitter," arguably a perfect and nerdy goregrind song filled to the top with insane vocals and groovy odd riffs. Really, this half is worth the compilation alone.

For someone who hasn't heard post-2002 grind, the second half of Underground Series I will be worth gold. For someone who doesn't know the French death metal scene, the first sixteen tracks will serve as a good intro. And last, for someone wanting to hear some minutes of totally random cybergrind, the last three tracks will do. You could say it's sometimes incoherent, but, overall, it's far better than many of the other attempts at covering all the bases when it comes to death metal and grind. (7/10)

Being a huge fan of Polish death metal, receiving Vader's newest work was a great opportunity. They've been knocking around the scene since 1986, known but underrated for many years. They've put out 18 albums and with the last few, they're finally getting more recognition, due in part to some major touring. Ever wonder if it's something in the water in Poland that makes all these bands so damn good? They consistently crank out death metal bands who many fans acclaim as the kings of the genre, though for many years Polish bands were more popular outside their own country than in it.

Impressions in Blood is very slick, production-wise; listening to it, you know a lot of work went into that sound. The instrumental intro and outro sound like the score to an epic movie, setting the pace for what ends up being close to an epic album. There's so much going on here, such intricate sonic detail in each track that you don't even realize it all on your first listen. Every instrument's note fits together like one of those giant 10,000-piece puzzles it takes you an entire summer vacation to get put together, and on top of it, Peter Wiwczarek's vocals. While we're usually big fans of the deeper, demonic growls, his throaty and actually intelligible grunting put that final crowning touch to this album. Any other voice wouldn't have completed the picture.

The one and only thing that could be considered a "problem" here is that a few of the songs start to sound alike after a while. While they're great songs, so you don’t mind listening to them, it's hard to separate them into individual tracks. With that said, easily the best track here is the anti-Christian theme to "Helleluyah!!! (God is Dead)." While the chorus is rather repetitive, it's also very catchy and you find yourself hollering right along as you start your own mini-moshpit with yourself in your living room. Essential listening? Not really. At the top of my recommendation list at the moment? Definitely. (8.8/10)

The album casing did not look promising. Generic, warlike cover art and song titles like "Judgment Defiles," "Climatic Annihilation," and "Insanity of the Obsessed" got me ready for a stinker. But, despite the outwardly generic and overdone look, the album as a whole is pretty strong.

This California death trio has an old-school, crunchy, groove-centered style that employs regular tempo shifts and decent soloing to add a good amount of variety to the band's commonly heard sound.

Deep growls, quick, accurate riffing and versatile drumming make up Warface's core, and it's hard to go wrong when these important elements are so strong. The songwriting isn't too formulaic, either, as Insanity of the Obsessed avoids the excessive repetition that would make it tiresome halfway through.

Warface's style hasn't developed far past the work of death bands in the early ‘90s, which is the group's main failing. Although this album lacks innovation or an element of edgy surprise, it is generally strong and should please diehard fans of good death. It will take more creativity on the part of Warface to impress metal fans at-large, however, and the band would do well to put more imagination into its next release. (6/10)

In an age where most music is dominated by guitars, it's an extremely

pleasant experience to hear WeltenBrand, a neo-classical, dark romantic group that hails from the principality of Liechtenstein, a small country that shares a border with Sweden.

Small as their origin may be, WeltenBrand bring a sound that has been making waves in the underground of dark music, largely featuring the strings of a bass guitar and a violin. Naturally, keyboards and vocals play the biggest parts, with deep lead vocals accompanied by angelic harmonies while being backed by thoughtful, mysterious and intense drumming. The song structures are well thought out and there is an energy within the entire sound that cannot be denied; a pulsating, continuous flow that harnesses it, bursting every now and then as each song compliments and leads into the next with an almost natural ease, urging you to spin this album again and again.

The End of the Wizard is a definite musical achievement that WeltenBrand should be most proud of. This album shows why this band has created a stir in the underground and will continue to create waves until the day of the band's demise. Truly an album to be cherished. (9.5/10)

People often complain about grind's immaturity. It's no secret, grind IS immature, but that's half of why it's good. And one of the whole grind scene's most puerile bands is, without a doubt, XXX Maniak. Instead of going the Anal Cunt way, however, they decided to actually care about the music and write catchy but agressive songs. So here we are, with an XXX Maniak reissue. What does that mean? It means good ol' brutal, gore-influenced grindcore.

Musically, XXX Maniak is Agoraphobic Nosebleed's twisted cousin. We're talking about an absurdly morbid version of Scott Hull's weirdest band without all that UFO / religion / technology nonsense. What it does have, however, is lots (and I mean LOTS) of bizarre samples and plain insane aesthetics. The predominant themes go from sex to anything gore-related so... yeah, typical grind stuff. In fact, while musically the opposite of goregrind (opting for abstract musicianship instead of a groove-based one), the aesthetical aspect is a lot like the most important German goregrind bands: Gut, Cock and Ball Torture, and Mucupurulent.

Its playing, however, is far more polished than almost every "typical goregrind" album ever recorded. You won't find one screw-up here or an unfitting riff. And most of all, with some exceptions, the songs are actually songs. That is, riffs and drum patterns aren't the same one for thirty minutes with random vocals over it. Just the opposite: the early Agoraphobic Nosebleed-like riffs give each song personality, and the sometimes mechanical, sometimes just silly drums make it all even better. Also, the samples are funny and work in context as a kind of atmosphere-builder.

Technical grind? Not really, but not simple grind either.

As far as gore goes, XXX Maniak sums up everything good about the genre, and discards almost all of the bad things about it. For example, it's fun and its songs are concise, but it doesn't have the cheap production some bands have (which is almost never good). Also, the vocals aren't your typical unidimensional ones, instead having different vocal styles (around five in total), so it doesn't get monotonous. Still, it's grind, so don't expect anything really complex or deep out of it.

As it is common with grind records in general, Harvesting the Cunt Nectar has just one flaw: the length. With about 15 minutes of music if we exclude the samples, it's hard to call this a full-length release. Alright, when compared to the first version of Harvesting the Cunt Nectar, this one's longer, including an incredibly weird cybergrind bonus track. But anyway, the problem's not the actual length but the feeling it has of not being complete or kind of rushed. It's not as bad as it sounds, however. You can always press play once more.

To define XXX Maniak in some words, let's just say: "extremely brutal, sex-obsessed, misogynistic, as-perverted-as-it-gets modern grind." If you thought that Agoraphobic Nosebleed was too politically correct, or that Neuro-Visceral Exhumation was too raw and grindy, then XXX Maniak is for you. (8/10)

Regardless of what anyone will tell you, southern metal will always be an interesting genre because it is without a doubt the most clever genre when it comes to groove. Soilent Green. Corrosion of Conformity. Well, now you can add Birds of Prey to that.

Birds of Prey could very easily be the Skinless of southern metal. Slanted with death'n'roll aesthetics, the grooves on this album are completely massive, with the occasional standard filler. Starting strong with "Mangled by Mongoloids"(See the Skinless reference?), Birds of Prey establish a rhythm that’s too catchy to stay seated to.

From the first second, you can see that this is a band you need to see live. Things just get more vicious from there. "Landfill Burial" launches into a a midtempo crush with a groove that sounds like it's straight out of a Corrosion of Conformity record, like Wiseblood. They even go Black Sabbath on "Filthfarm of Washington State." The riff's enough to paint a big, evil smile on your face before you kick into the trudging stomp of a rhythm.

However, this album isn't about complete groove, and offers enough for even fans of bands like Goatwhore to appreciate. "Front Lawn Filled with Family Members" kicks in to a completely violent black metal section, and ends after kicking into a thrashy section. The next track, "Murder of an Off Duty Cop" is without a doubt the most somber of the album, progressing in a Scandinavian swoon. A nice break from the harsh musical treatment beforehand.

Weight of the Wound isn't challenging, it isn't amazingly artful, but what it does is manage to create some very driving rhythms that, regardless of taste, will encapsulate any type of metal fanatic. If you're into Corrosion of Conformity, Burnt by the Sun, Alabama Thunderpussy or Goatwhore, you'll love Birds of Prey. (7/10)

Dead Man in Reno is a tough band to crack. Their self-titled album is a mix between Darkest Hour and Between the Buried and Me. It's got the worst parts of Darkest Hour, but the best parts of Between the Buried and Me.

Musically, the album is very thematic, but by that, I mean what will happen is they'll rely on one idea per song, but then fill it with a lot of bullshit that desn't need to be there. Riffs that are obviously filler and uninspired. Then, the songs bloom and take flight in melodious guitar harmony, or shift into an enrapturing chorus that sounds exactly like a more focused Between the Buried and Me.

Essentially, Dead Man in Reno need to work on their entire songwriting theory. It might be interesting to see this band develop, but in all honesty, this album has few good moments. But when they're good, they're wonderful. (5/10)

You got math rock, then you got grind core. Then, you have bands like Dysrhythmia and Behold! ..The Arctopus — the bands that bring spazzadelia to a completely new level with how intricately crafted their music can become. While, Behold! ...The Arctopus tend to handle the jazzier side of things, Dysrhythmia focus more on melody that's about as technical as it can get.

Barries and Passages is the band's fourth album together, and their best to date. Though frantic in nature, Barries and Passages is a completely calculated machine that can deliver progressively texturing melodies, or completely asphyxiating passages in the blink of an eye, or in a single gasp of breath.

Six minutes into the album will make you feel like you're in the third trimester; it's THAT moody. Songs like "An Ally to Comprehension" embody what Dysrhythmia are about. Off-kilter, neurotic melodies that seem to eat at your head, with a bassline that's thick and booming around every squeal and pinch harmonic. Along with that, you have songs like the ender, "Will the Spirit Prevail?", which is a climactic and progressive songs that builds a fantastic melody, akin to something you'd hear from The Arcade Fire, or ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead.

In the end, Barriers and Passages is an extremely complex but rewarding listen. Definitely not your standard cup of grind or post-rockish tea. (8/10)

Somewhere amidst the Sonic Youth noise aesthetics and Sleeping People off-kilter math rock lie Don Caballero, one of math rock's most long-standing bands. If you aren't familiar with the term math rock, it's essentially a music that's constructed, not written, and at their core Don Caballero are genius' at their craft.

World Class Listening Problem, Don Caballero’s latest Relapse release, sees this phenomenal instrumental band building advanced and attractively insane soundscapes that, while schizophrenic, are simultaneously the most pleasant thing you've ever heard. The opener, "Mmmm Acting, I Love Me Some Good Acting" starts off with a dissonant and somewhat disdainfully woeful wail that progresses into a dreamy sphere of noise that seems to roll around in your head gelatinously.

"Sure We Had Knives Around" boasts a killer groove from a very extraordinary drummer. An ethereal mood abounds while the bass runs circles behind a constantly noisy yet melodious guitar track.

Although Don Caballero seem to adhere to the Sonic Youth edict of noise-noise-melody, they're certainly capable of lightening the mood with such songs as "Palm Trees in the Fecking Bahamas," which is obviously a light-hearted, swaying piece to the point of being a lullaby. The title track also has a similar feel to it, though a bit more somber and downtrodden.

In the end, World Class Listening Problem is a fine example of the more aural regions of music that can't just be duplicated formulaically, as well as one of the best albums of the year so far for people who are into brains and heart in their music. Gotta dig the absolutely ridiculous song titles too. (10/10)

Maelstrom is for "metal and extreme music." (Not exactly our motto, but ok – ed.) It’s also for screamo, though the genre is completely scoffed upon by nearly every death, thrash, black and even metalcore fanatic. However, it's a double-edged sword. Whenever I expressed interest in certain screamo bands like Envy, City of Caterpillar and Mewithoutyou, I always heard the "unmetal" speech. (Not from me, Maelstrom happily covers jazz and alt. country with the same verve as death metal – ed. again)

I've even been called a beatnik because I like to keep a healthy dose of Mars Volta, The Arcade Fire, The Clash, Fugazi, Sonic Youth and lastly ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead on the side.

Now, it goes without saying, those bands are about as metal as a basket full of puppies. However, it's important that you have to understand that it took an open mind to get into metal in the first place, whether it's Darkthrone you listen to, or even Avenged Sevenfold. Bleck.

That being said, it takes an extremely open mind to appreciate good music as a whole. More than half of the metal bands on the planet blow. It's the same way as far as every genre goes. The best rap is never on the radio. The best indie is never the MySpace-featured band. That's just how it goes.

Envy are one of those completely golden bands. A band that will make you think twice about having some sort of bias towards screamo. It doesn't take a broken heart or any kind of pain to appreciate this kind of music. Of course, the feel is somber, and not in that mechanized, shoegazing, Jesu way.

Insomniac Doze, this Japanese screamo band's latest release, vocally is emotional, but it's hell on ears. That's not where it shines, though. The music is absolutely breathtaking. Stuck firmly in between the dreamy shoegaze of Amusement Parks on Fire and the audible surrealism of God Is an Astronaut at moments, even with a little bit of fellow Japanese post-rock merchants Mono's emotionally captivating and heart-wrenching sway.

Of course, the lyrics aren't in English, but that just recalls an idea from Chuck Palahniuk's Diary, that being that you don't have to understand what you're hearing whenever there's emotion behind it. Peter Wilmot has an obsession with Spanish soap operas just to prove it. Not speaking a word of Spanish, he picks up on expression, body language, the like. Though that was a pedestrian example, it's how you have to take to mind Envy. Not just because it's a different language, but because you'll miss the entire point of this amazing album if you don't attempt to feel the emotion behind it.

Insomniac Doze is an addicting and emotively depressing album that will hopefully shine a lot of spotlight onto the Japanese scene, which is starting to produce some very interesting music. Find and enjoy. (8.5/10)

So, you get a promotional copy from Nuclear Blast, right? Now, off the bat, three years ago you'd be happy. Now, you're being greeted by five something-teens in suits and ties who aren't Akercocke. Naturally, you think the same thing any person would. "This better be an Akercocke side project."

Bzzt. Wrong.

It's Mendeed. The album: This War Will Last Forever. It's got one of the coolest intros yours truly has ever heard, and brings to mind hints of something between John Zorn and Textures at their most ambient. However, that's some sort of pipe dream at this point, considering Coprofago haven't put out another album yet. The first riff that comes from the album being reviewed sounds great, and combined with the right rhythm, you expect something killer.

Bzzt. Wrong.

This album title needs to change to This Boredom Will Last Forever. Cop-out twin guitar harmonies abound beside abhorrent songwriting technique, underproduction, and the bane of all things metallic since Killswitch Engage broke further onto the scene with that lamer Howard Jones: clean singing.

Lots and lots of clean singing. But not like Christian Alvestrom, Scar Symmetry vocals. Not even like that. Rather, think nasal teenager yelping sandwiched ever so indelicately between hardcore scream and hardcore scream.

Needless to say, you don't need me to tell you to avoid this album. Let it rot on shelves. (0/10)

(Author's note: Some sources say that there are nine songs to this recording, but the promo here only has eight. More than likely, it's just a mix-up in tracklisting from promo to retail; either that or completely imagined. This, however, is the full album.)

Red Sparowes debut release, At The Soundless Dawn, was an underground phenomenon. Personally, it was in my top twelve albums of '05. So, there's no doubt that metallers of the more zen nature and post-rockers alike have been eagerly anticipating the follow up to an album that seems pretty hard to top.

Upon the first initial seconds of Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun, you'll find yourself hard-pressed not to get lost in the stream-of-conscious, ebb and flow of gently whisping melodies that carry along with them not just an element of beauty, but a slight retributional tone.

It seems that Red Sparowes got a hold even more so of their ability to uses trance-like, hypnotic rhythms to embed a listener into their music. There were strong hints of it on their debut, but Red Sparowes have fine-tuned it to where even if the melody doesn't affect you, the seemless, completely sparse yet fixated rhythm will keep you entrenched in the song.

So, with all bases covered, Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun is a complete success, surpassing the sometimes unoriginal atmospheric feel of their debut and transcending into a slightly discomforting, but highly emotional feel surrounding the music.

With each release, Red Sparowes are reaching a poetic level that pretty much sets them the standard along with a good novel or collection of Poe writings. The tell-tale heart of music. (9/10)

Most people don't know what to think about Devin Townsend or Strapping Young Lad at first. Even most of his fans still really don't know what to think about him. Even if you don't buy into the stream of his creative genius, you'll be perplexed by the angle all his music comes from. Like him or hate him, you know there's something different about him.

So, what to say about The New Black, SYL's second album in about a year (which was a bad move for Fear Factory)? Well, I can say with full confidence that essentially every song on this album is a throwaway from virtually every point in their catalogue. That being said, you have to understand: throwaways from a five-star restaurant are still better than Burger King. It's no secret, OK?

The New Black lacks that ultra-sonic, intelligent punch that Alien and City have, as well as the intensity of their self-titled album. Upon first listen, it's absolutely clear what Devin Townsend and company were aiming for when this album was recorded. Let's just take a look at some of the songtitles:

"You Suck" — Bold. Simple. True. You indeed suck.
"Far Beyond Metal" — Truth never had so much cheese.
"Fucker" — No real punchline here. Just read it a couple of times.

This album isn't a sonic flurry, nor is it a pile of bricks to the neck. It is, however, energy recorded raw, on disc. Every member of Strapping Young Lad is at their peak endurance wise, because these anthems of aggression aren't smart, they're not pretty. They're raw. Fucking disgusting. Amazing.

It's an endless, swirling parabola of hate and aggression that starts at the first three seconds and never lets up. The industrialized overtones give the suffocation a notion of a constant wall of noise. There's some candy for your brain to taste every second of this album, not a moment of silence. Just violence.

The New Black is fantastic. It's heavy. It's angry. It's... white. And you need it. (8/10)

If famous nu-metal producer Colin Richardson (Slipknot, Sepultura, Machine Head) says, "if you want ultimate heaviness, go buy a Hostility CD," in order to sell a product, then he must be bullshitting. However, Hostility does tend to fall under his level of expertise, but it's all just a scheme folks. Don't believe the hype.

The music does sound heavy, but it isn't one of the best albums of the year by a long shot. Although it may be a bit technical for some, it just doesn't really attempt to try to lay down the lines of catchy. It is in fact a hybrid of various genres mostly of a hardcore kind, but downright metal in its heart. It's simple, but nothing memorable to brag about.

Uncompromised is a mix of Meshuggah and a dab of Sikth, and a whole lot of other bands that would generally fall under the category of weird. However, the rest differs with elements like nu-metal grooves.

Uncompromised does have its moments where you can really sink your teeth into, but the rest just stands there and then it passes. It gets old fast, move on. (5/10)

Blade of the Ripper seemed to come from nowhere and without very much background about them besides their Myspace site. Their self titled album is a work of devilish metal that takes the joys and wonders of traditionalist metal and sours it with tales of witchery, Satanism, and other black arts. It isn't black metal, that's for sure.

Blade of the Ripper isn’t entirely exciting, nor is it overly dull. Think of it as an offering of Slayer as far as content goes and mixed with some Mastodon and High on Fire. You've heard this before and although it hints some originality with some old school metal storytelling, it just doesn't appeal.

The album only goes so far with a little over half an hour of average metal and piqued with a coarse vocalist who probably is a heavy drinker in real life. Hell, raise your glass to that idea, but the music can be another story that should continue to unfold as the years progress. (4/10)

When I read that the new release by Hella featured stripped down versions of the band’s originals, I automatically added "laid back" to the equations. There were other factors to support this unfortunate conclusion, most obviously the album title and my unfamiliarity with the previous work of this math rock duo. Boy, I could not have been more wrong.

Acoustics is anything but laid back. More precisely, it is a maniac inferno of drums and guitars fully integrated into Rock in Opposition, flamenco styled compositions. In the fashion of their Japanese forefathers Ruins, Hella starts at the peaks and never let go, delivering curling variations on top of these inhuman, flat lines. The guitar occasionally suggests of a feverous melody, with fired up Frippish tones on top of squeezed arpeggios, and the drums fill every vacant spot between the guitar notes with creative maneuvers and hits, so that even the most dedicated listener will not find himself bored throughout the album’s 23 dense minutes.

There is a true beauty lying in the calculation that hides behind as well as motivates the violent jam of dazzling strums and off-the-wall drums lashing and kicking, resulting in a deliberate, acoustic realization of this brutal material, rather than plain chaos.

Fans of the exhausting intensity of Ruins should feel at home with this release. Others should perhaps start with more refined works, such as Ahleuchatistas’ What You Will. (7.75/10)

Illogically pompous and peculiarly obscure, Tristwood presents us with anything the adjective "post" can relate to: post-black metal, post-death metal, post-grindcore, post-industrial. Equipped with an innovative sound and an abundance of electronica, this unheralded outfit delivers an extremely strong and convincing array of sounds that, if considered separately, add nothing new but synergistically are a sum far, far greater then its components and building blocks.

Think of a remix album for Behemoth's Thelema 6.0, where the backbone is a powerful and mammoth black/death hybrid being fused and embellished with computerized keys, beats and synthetic tunes done skillfully and almost exquisitely.

Intensely and tightly orchestrated, The Delphic Doctrine is indeed one of the rare gems of post-modern radical music that keeps the attention and interest of any listener — no matter how cynical, dismissive or purist one may be –– at hair-raising and adrenaline-rush level, and beyond…

Provocative, harsh and wonderfully punishing, The Delphic Doctrine is anything both the extremist and the intellectual within the underground enthusiast may want to try. It is better then drugs, believe your humble servant…

For one of the best efforts in recent times among the industrialized / mechanized / electro extreme metal bands, the score hence would have to be (8.99/10)

Being a lover of sludge music, who would have thought this particular reviewer would dismiss, reject and be dismayed by a sludge outfit? What's wrong here with Zoroaster’s self-titled album?

Ah, a very good question. The answer would have to relate to Zoroaster's blatant copycatting Black Sabbath first and foremost in such a way that one needs rubbing one's eyes in order to be sure the promo's sleeve says Zoroaster rather then bear the name of the aforementioned forefather of all that is slow, discordant, disharmonious, mainly doom metal and its derivative — sludge.

In addition, sludge / doom metal has got something to do with filth, I think, hence the title; music that either generates a feeling of un-cleanliness, both mental and physical, or causes the listener to experience such unwelcome states of being.

Zoroaster's MCD is neither this nor that; too clean for its own sake, too calculated and tidy, this neat and aesthetic music lacks in that "grime" and "rubbish" factor, whereas Eyehategod, Grief — and, let's say Monarch, to some extent — succeed with their unadulterated hatred and poison; a venom that stains and soils immediately any soul it touches.

Being a sludge / doom fan, this reviewer is almost temped to claim this MCD is rather good purely on the basis of it being a sludge/doom recording, but based on the above mentioned factors in addition to the fact this recording is a tedious, formulaic and repetitive piece of stoner/sludge, by-the-book doom metal infested with lack of inspiration — he unfortunately needs to say otherwise. (5/10)

Wow! Two sludge releases to review for the same issue of Maelstrom; I must be in sludge heaven (a paradox?!). I digress…

Essentially, Mouth of the Architect defines a much more atmospheric hardcore-inclined sound than anything sludge has got to offer in every which account one may look upon. The Ties That Blind is a neat and clean sonic performance that shares more common factors with bands such as Isis, Pelican and the Swedish Switchblade rather than with any of the classic sludge sub-genre-defining bands (e.g. Eyehategod, et al.,), employing oceans of semi-distorted guitars with that familiar saddened, apocalyptic vibe atmospheric hardcore bands are touched with (Neurosis et al.,) and formulating a special brew of something that could be only defined as post-rock etiquette — all of the above sets the unique Mouth of the Architect apart from anything sludge may offer.

These are two parallel concepts never meant to have met: each serves a certain goal; each fulfills certain needs. If sludge is the prodigal son or the black sheep of doom metal, then The Ties That Blind — the sheer, immediate and natural representative of the atmospheric hardcore/post-metal / post-rock side of the coin — is the sublime, artistic and noble cousin of that gloomy family.

The Ties That Blind is almost 70 minutes of majestic wallow (a paradox once more?) in the guts of the essence of human emotion and a beautifully and thoughtfully constructed album of utter quality. Comes as highly, highly recommended. (9.5/10)

AIDS is a one-man project from Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Geoff Montgomery (aka Tophetarath), a man possibly better known for his labors within bands such as Hordes of The Lunar Eclipse (drums, bass, guitars and vocals), Nokturnel (drums), and the seemingly under-appreciated Fog (drums). Points of reference are bands like Conqueror and Blasphemy, or USA ones like Black Witchery or Thornspawn.

Syndrome of the End Approaching is a nice but average example of standard black home and kitchen metal, complete with the obligatory intro and outro. The production sound is rough around the edges but nonetheless very acceptable, sometimes with creative use of left and right channel differences.

Some of the titles (a collection of old and new material, 12 in total) relate to biblical names, places and phrases, but as it seems they are just chosen for cosmetic reasons. The intro is a solemn piece with a commanding pace conjuring images of slaves on ancient Roman galleys.

Track two, "Mourning of Hadadrimmon," follows the intro riff and develops into a nice ‘90s style mayhem. "Noumenon Filter" seems to be heavily based on the final riff section of Burzum’s "A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit" (Aye, lest thou forgottest thy classics!) "Necrovore" may be a tribute to the band with the same name, but then again, somewhere in my collection, my Nihilist demos briefly glow a bright red. Old skool chaos will squirt away the lazy wax from your ears.

"Hoc Est Enim Corpus Meum" is a reference to what Christ said about the wafer of bread. Hungry for more? "Paranoia and Fevers in Sodom" is a merry metal waltz overflowing with creative spooky voices wrestling and a (far too) brief drum solo.

Ah, well, a little thing to tell about every song, but in the end it’s all funny or somewhat amusing at best. Nothing many wouldn’t have heard before. Of course a Sepultura cover of "Antichrist" should not be left unmentioned, which sounds ok and pretty true to the original.

So, if you’d like to contaminate yourself with An Indirect Diagonal Smile (or whatever the idea was behind the name), you might want to fetch one of the 300 bloody vinyl copies. They’ll be waiting patiently for everyone but the rubberheads. (5/10)

After reviewing the previous release by Thee More Shallows, More Deep Cuts, I was keen to put my hands on the band’s new EP, Monkey Vs. Shark. Unfortunately, it was bit of a letdown.

"Washing my feet in the shower I slipped then I cried / the sound that came out didn’t sound like an animal of any kind" — this is the opening declaration on the album’s first track; bare, revealing. "The last time I ever peed my bed I threw my sheets out of the window" follows shortly, perhaps a bit more than some can or wish to handle. But that’s where the true beauty of Thee More Shallows lies, as this nakedness adds up to a thrilling and disturbing, animalistic musical experience that builds up only to be picked up by the monotonic hums of the second track, balancing and mitigating the aching, electronic shrieks of its predecessor.

Then, the album continues with the vibraphonic vibes of "Phineas Bogg" (one of the two cuts enhancing the US release, both culled from the Cuts Plus Two EP) and another dose of that mellow yet tense performance that serves as the band’s trademark, lasting nearly throughout the entire release, including a nod into captivating, restrained territories a-la King Crimson’s "Islands" on the closing "Deadbeat Water."

Yet, while on the previous, nearly three years in the making album, More Deep Cuts, everything was so detailed, lush and well thought of, the new release suffers from a certain anemia: the instrumentation is simply not as rich (missing much of the chamber music tint) and the hazy, about-to-explode indie rock occasionally comes off rather expected and stays out of reach, instead of swallowing you inside.

Furthermore, the remix of the ars poetic "Freshman Thesis" (originally on the previous release) is quite pointless, and adds up to the disappointment, especially when considering the short length of this release.

Still, Thee More Shallows manage to maintain their unique sound, resulting in work of unequal fascinations. I hope it won’t be long until we hear from them again, but I wish it would not be at the expense of a thorough release. (6.25/10)

LWE is a three men outfit led by keyboard player Frank Lucas (a Jordan Rudess disciple) and this, the trio’s debut release, is an instrumental amalgamation of progressive-rock and jazz-rock.

While Lucas succeeds in carrying various keyboard tones that range from classical, grand piano-like compositions to synthesized electric sounds confidently, at times even magnificently, the rhythm section is mostly trivial in its contribution, supplying a dry backbeat and mostly uninspired solo spots.

"Liberty," the first track, showcases a clear Emerson, Lake & Palmer inspiration, with classically influenced keyboard playing dominating the slightly overblown scene. The second track, "Sleight of Hand and Foot," already takes a turn towards thematically based variations and the album continues in a similar fusion between the two aforementioned genres — a fusion that unfortunately takes off the catharsis and epic out of progressive-rock and the genuine, spontaneous creativity out of jazz-rock.

And so eventually we are left with a programmatic performance that borders on elevator jazz-rock music (check out that awfully mellow "The Nightcap" and you’ll know what I mean!) — an almost banal beauty that every now and then evokes memories of Marty Friedman’s new-age inspired releases (albeit with less of a compositional sense). Luckily, the presence of Edgar Gabriel’s acoustic and electric violins on three of the tracks adds some more color to the final outcome. It’s just a shame nobody brought some boldness to the act as well! (5.2/10)

Deranged have decided to ease off on the accelerator big time on this release. Some changes were evident in the previous album, Plainfield Cemetary, which was much more in control than their early stuff like High on Blood or Deranged. Plainfield’s riffing was less frantic and so was the overall pace of the songs. Here, Deranged have all but forsaken the blastbeat, and when they do appear, they are mostly mid-tempo blasts.

The riffing is more laidback than anything Deranged have done before and though that should have been a point of consternation for Deranged fans, they have filled each song with riffs that clearly sound different from each other. So while in their early albums it wasn’t really easy to track songs by the riffs, here the Swedes have paid a lot of attention to the songwriting. It actually feels as if Deranged were quite sure of their ability to write some twisted death metal without having to rely on speed and they have pulled it off. (7/10)

Uh, oh. The Spirit Tower’s first song is called "Sindarilla." My wimpy poser alert antennae immediately start flailing wildly and alarm bells start ringing as if I just bumped into the band members of Estrogenocide.

Fairytale Abuse, while not as bad as my favorite worst band ever, are still pretty bad. This is basically very basic melodic metal, with awful, half-arsed black metal vocals and cheesy, generic melodies that pop up everywhere, mercifully burying the crappy kindergarten rhythm guitar.

I couldn’t get past the third song on this eight-track album, and while that would probably mean that there is a certain amount of unfairness in this review, it also means that I wont be caught dead giving them a single point above zero. (0/10)

review by: Brandon Strader

Here we have a one man band from Ukraine (but residing in Holland) who has re-recorded an old demo with a better sound and with the help of a drum machine. The band has been labeled as black metal by the record label but the good and clear drum sound combined with the absence of any synths or female vocals gives this a certain blackdeath feel.

The riffs have a very thrashy feel to them and they serve as a perfect backdrop for a good headbanging session. The tempos have been mixed well, from the fast sections with blast beats to the catchy headbanging parts. There are quite a few good solos scattered across the album too, the kind of solos that follow the music well rather than being put in every song just for the heck of it.

I gathered from Pulverised’s site that the demo was recorded more than 10 years ago, in which case Mr. Carpathian Wolf has had plenty of time to work on the songs and make them sound really good. It’s Conspiracy’s next output, if there ever is one, which will be a true test of the band. I look forward to it. (8/10)

However, the pure black metal songs are just that; poorly recorded black metal with a bit of everything and a bit of nothing… The single standout characteristic lending Nordavind's black metal its identity are the bestial and vehement vocals that are not your typical high-pitched rasp, but something really hateful and animal-like.

A rather good recording for what it is, even if nothing special, however there's hope invested in the future for these musicians; hope that will have wanted them to thread their own way because doing time and again what has been done so many times throughout metal's short history will lead, eventually, to oblivion. (5.5/10)

What's fascinating about writing for an underground music 'zine are golden opportunities to stumble upon obscure, grotesque — and sometimes wonderful — musical entities.

Artists such as S. Tyrrell, the mysterious and sole musician in Diable Amoreux, whose weapons are not over-distorted guitars and blood-spitting lungs, but tunes that are so sickly sweet, they impose a mental threat, generate antagonism, they set a distance between themselves and the common listener, hence the bands from whence they were originated are entitled to be called: underground.

This unique recording is all about experimenting with radical paradoxes; it is extremely tranquil but very unsettling; some tunes are, as above mentioned, sweet to the point of vomiting but at the same time these very tunes are coupled with lyrics of death and perversion ("Storchy Weather" for instance); this music is the sonic equivalent to barbed wire buried in a candy wrapper; a chocolate bar flaked with shards of glass. Imagine that.

The vocals are twisted to the point of morbidity, escorted by a piano, an acoustic guitar, or a cello, or by all three at the same time. The music swings — as well as the pitch of voice — on the spectrum of emotions from almost-too-happy-to-bear tunes to almost dirge-like requiems, but never too sad or mourning but constantly gloating, scornful and mocking.

To sum what can't be really summed; this recording is as adventurous as it is phenomenal. It is dark and morbid in a paradoxically joyful way, twisted and original to the point of revulsion and a rewarding in an inexplicable way, the Diable Amoreux way. (9.666/10)

P.S. Don't let the redundant, closing, black metal-styled theme-song spoil the fun. It's not that bad of a song; but not as good as the album, either.

Multiverse plays mellow jam-band music. Their four-track demo CD shows off their influences – a little jazz, a little funk, a little indie rock. I imagine this group puts on a fun live show, the kind of show where you don’t necessarily focus entirely on the band, but are not offended at the sounds you hear drifting over toward your picnic. Multiverse makes pleasant, sunny melodies that are less about stepping in new sonic directions than jamming. If you like Phish, or any of a number of suchlike bands, you’ll enjoy Multiverse. (6.5/10)

Real Big Time begins promisingly, with an instrumental intro that showcases the group’s talents – Rosematter makes melodic music that you can easily imagine putting on and listening to for the hell of it. And then, 30 seconds into the second track, the singing starts, and you wonder if you accidentally flipped to an episode of "The Real World" or "Laguna Beach."

Garbage made music much like this – female lead singer, lots of guitars, a few catchy hooks. Unfortunately, a lot of other bands have come along and thrown together the Garbage with some Green Day and gotten a sound that is very similar to what Rosematter seems only now to be discovering.

I would like to make a distinction however, between the sound of the music and the talent of the performers. Rosematter are light-years ahead of many groups their age. They can play their instruments well, can handle multi-part harmonies, and generally have a sound on their self-released album that is more cohesive and solid than that of so many other bands. Some tracks, like "I’d Like to Thank the Academy," display an ability to shift speeds and atmospheres. Frontwoman Katie Kolos sings her heart out on every track, including the requisite ballad. Highly recommended if you need a dose of high-energy rock. Just be ready for every song to remind you of something you heard on the radio circa 1998. (6/10)

If the track on this single is indicative of the rest of the album, this is one not to be missed. Caroline crafts ethereal, spacey music that wafts over and around you, leaving you somewhere that other than where you started out. I am reminded of Zero 7, or Lamb, or Hooverphonic.

The Poignant mix of "Everylittlething" incorporates the whirrs you might expect from someone touted as an electronica chanteuse, while "Sunrise" itself pulsates with longing (the remix here of "Sunrise" sprinkles in a few more clicks and beats, but loses something of the original beauty of the song). I’m looking forward to hearing the full-length. There is a great deal more to be said about Caroline. (9/10)

The 101 make good music. I wouldn’t feel instantly compelled to turn off the radio if I heard one of their songs. Solid not-quite-indie rock, along the lines of Jimmy Eat World or (perhaps even) the Gin Blossoms. I keep thinking I’ve heard a bunch of these songs before, but I think that is a function of their poppyness and mass appeal.

Not that mass appeal is a bad thing; a track like "Mott Haven" exemplifies why the sound is popular. As does "Road." You find yourself humming along, even if you’ve never heard the song before, thinking, "hey that’s pretty good, doo-dooh…" and suddenly you’re singing along to the chorus and wondering if you have the words right.

The 101 will appeal to people who remember the mid-late ‘90s as a time of good rock music. Eric Richter, the band’s frontman, was active in that scene, so it’s not surprising that the sounds are similar. The 101 at least play an excellent rendition of the old tune, with some new words. They are closer in similarity to Ted Leo than to Green Day, for what that’s worth. I think that’s a very good thing. (7/10)

The first track of this album ("Broken," which has appeared on a couple of compilations in Italy prior to the release of this album) made me think of U2. Soaring vocals, those distinctive guitars – SHW nailed the sound.

Upon hearing the second track, I wonder if the divide between Italian rock and what I’m used to calling rock is as unbridgeable as it sounds to me now. I wonder whether I can appreciate something that seems to strike a number of disharmonious chords for me, since I have little context in which to frame Italian rock. Does it all sound like this, a bizarre melange of ‘80s metal-vamping and heavy synth? I feel trapped in a "21 Jump Street" episode.

And yet. There are parts of most tracks that intrigue – the synthesizers on "Hullabaloose" are played to good effect at the beginning, but then return with too much force in the body of the song, particularly during the chorus. I find myself enjoying the intros to songs, then wanting to turn away as each number progresses. But there are moments. The chorus on the title track is quite lovely, for me the highlight of the album. "Beyond" steps outside of the old-school mold and suggests that there is more to listen to here, but not necessarily by me. (5/10)

Just looking at the list of artists on this compilation made me happy. There are a number of folks I’ve heard and enjoyed over the years (Laura Viers, Sufjan Stevens, Colin Meloy), as well as some newer names (Imaad Wasif, see my review last issue) that I am glad to see being put out there. Even better, there are some fine pieces by names that are new to me but worth checking out.

Before I mention the standout pieces on the disc, let me issue a warning: I was told by a certain person near and dear to me that this is "girl music, you know: mopey love songs and stuff." This compilation is meant for mellow afternoons spent porch-sitting or driving your Prius through the California countryside. Or playing in your local non-Starbucks cafe. Get my drift?

Warning over, I can think of very few tracks that did not appeal to me. Worth mention is the outstanding "Feet Asleep" by Thao Nguyen. Nguyen’s vocals are just distressed enough to keep you interested – not your typical waif-girl singer / songwriter. She sounds like Cat Power on an exuberant day, sprightly yet yearning for something. I’ll also mention Jeff Hanson, only to say that you really should hear his voice. If you think Antony has an androgynous voice, you haven’t heard androgynous.

Simone White’s "American War" takes issue with all those wars we’ve been involved in – "freedom and democracy and SUVs" – and so speaks to my heart. But it is also a good song, in a time when good protest songs are hard to find.

The last track on the album is a suitable closer from Lovers. A short, sweet piece, it captures the feeling of this compilation – gentle, with an edge. (8.5/10)

The review for Thessera’s Fooled Eyes is a case study of how things can start off superbly, but go horribly, horribly wrong in the realm of progressive metal. And all because of some stupid talking.

Most of Fooled Eyes is a pleasure for prog metal fans to listen to. The musicianship is superb, the playing dense and busy, and the talented singer’s melodic, creative lines are a pleasure to listen to. The busy, metal parts of Fooled Eyes feature a great deal of keyboard and guitar runs, and for the sake of quick comparison, go ahead and attach them stylistically in the huge category that Dream Theater is at the pinnacle of, without labeling Thessera a copycat band. Fooled Eyes’ quiet parts, in comparison, draw some pretty strong stylistic parallels to Angra’s wonderful laid-back sections on their Temple of Shadows album. Is it the Brazilian connection that makes these bands’ parts evoke each other?

Fooled Eyes production is nearly great. The instruments come through effectively, and the vocals sit well and work beautifully for the singer’s pleasant delivery. The only issue is the sound is a little bit blurty, meaning that the edges around the notes played are a little bit loose; a finer, more tight mix would have been a little more suitable to the noodling detail Thessera puts into their music. This is particularly the case where the drums are concerned. It’s not a huge deal, though, and won’t get in the way of fans of the genre enjoying the album.

Fooled Eyes started off as a potential candidate for my best of the year list due to its rich instrumental interplay and engaging arrangements; its depth and density of composition and orchestration had eager repeat listens seemingly guaranteed. Except for the goddamn talking.

You might have read some of my personal railing against my greatest pet peeve in metal, and progressive or power metal in particular: how bands feel it somehow can only add to a record’s appeal by including some manner of utterly inconsequential jibber-jabber pertaining to whatever trivial, piece-of-crap thematic story that said band has put together, thinking that we actually buy musical albums for any reasons other than wanting to listen to music. Note to bands: WE DON’T GIVE A FUCK. Write a story if it amuses or helps you write good music, but please don’t obligate us to partake.

But Thessera does all the herd one better. The *four* wretched, entirely unforgivable spoken parts are done in some kind of dramatic dialogue, seemingly in some sort of third-rate soap opera style, performed by actors who are all from a country (Brazil) where English isn’t the native language, who aren’t fluent in English but are oddly compelled to talk to each other in English in a stilted, staccato, unnatural (and badly produced) way, but who try their damnedest to sound like they’re totally hip dudes. And as if it couldn’t get any worse, there’s a phone ringing. A phone, fer chrissakes.

Not that it helps that these passages seem to be linked to one of the gayest melodic themes heard in prog metal in recent memory, but Fooled Eyes tragically becomes less and less about enjoying the musical brilliance, and more and more about dreading the horrific talking. And this, my friends, is musical tragedy. I don’t think I’ll ever listen to this otherwise highly recommended album ever again. (pretty great, but falling fast/10)

Vocalist Jorn Lande has abandoned the best project that he ever was or will be a part of, Ark, to put out campy, schlocky albums instead. We’re not sure it was his fault, of course, but we’re going to blame him regardless.

Does anyone remember Ark? Has anyone else heard of them? They were a progressive metal band from Norway that put out all of two records. Unlike the vast majority of prog metal bands, Ark had little to nothing to do with power metal, while at the same time sounding nothing like Dream Theater. Imagine that. They were fronted by Lande, who, although even then, could be accused of smarmy Michael Bolton-meets-Jon Bon Jovi soulfulness, was a pretty fantastic singer who gave the band so much of its worth.

But enough more teary-eyed reminiscing. We just went on about Ark because this band Cloudscape reminds us a good deal of them. Ok, Cloudscape has much less to do with prog metal, and much more to do with "album-oriented rock," but the vibe of Ark is still strongly there.

It’s mostly the singer. He’s got the same flair and delivery as Lande did. Thankfully, though, the level of the aura of conceit is considerably toned down, which is a good thing. But some of the lines he sings makes you want to go get your Burn the Sun album out.

Seriously, though, Crimson Skies strongly stands on its own merits. The sonic mix of instruments and vocals is perfect, and the harmonies are seamless in their production and application. Some of the songs are really memorable, and the others that fall short of that always manage to be enjoyable. Ok, some of the are samples like Middle Earth battle horns on one track are obnoxious, but it doesn’t substantially detract from the point that Crimson Skies is a highly accomplished, professionally executed, ‘80s-flaired, AOR-flavored metal album that’s eminently pleasant to the melodic ear. (8/10)

In what’s taken on some sort of bloated, cult mythology in the Maelstrom lexicon, I, Roberto, went to Holland to see the Gathering play the concert in 2005 that would be captured for their A Sound Relief DVD. While the actual accounts of Joshua’s review of that DVD concerning yours truly may or may not be accurate, what I will testify to being the truth was, while waiting around in the entryway of the gorgeous Paradiso — a converted church in the middle of Amsterdam — I noticed a flyer touting the arrival of super loveable, cult Belgian black metal band Lugubrum, who would be playing the following month.

Curse my luck. I wouldn’t be able to make it. I love Lugubrum. They’ve got the perfect cocktail of kvlt necroness, married with unmatchably random, geeky obsessions (e.g. pigs, carrots, midgets); they dress up like old-timey hicks, they draw all their own inimitably brilliant/retarded cover art, and they regularly feature banjo solos in their black-cum doom metal masterwork.

What kind of coincidence, then, that not only would Lugubrum release a live album, but that the very same live album would be of the very same show I lamented missing? A very good coincidence, indeed.

How’s the album, then? Let’s just say I’m happy, because I feel much less regret about having missed the show... at least the aural part.

The irony is Live in Amsterdam is a really good-sounding live album. The instruments are powerful and clear, and you can tell the whole band got a top-notch mic job by the pro crew at Paradiso. The problem, though, lies in the contrast of the band’s career niche in the face of such an objectively great live recording.

I haven’t got a favorite Lugubrum song, or anything even close to it. Rather, Lugubrum is a band whose appeal leads to having favorite entire recordings, based on the aura of said pieces and how they fit together. This aura is invariably a unique take on the gloriously fucked, perfectly flawed, particular artistry that is necro, cult black metal. The simple compositions, as good as they are, perhaps take a back seat to the execution.

So hearing Lugubrum with clarity is weird. Their collective fish is out of its water. This results in Live in Amsterdam somehow lifting the veil off of the group’s obscure machinations, revealing some tight, but somehow rather uninteresting songs. The saxophone tries its damnedest to add some eerie quality to the music, but even then, the warmth in which it mixes in with the equally balmy instruments is, well, so un-Lugubrum.

Live in Amsterdam features eight tracks that come and go without much fanfare. Of course, we can’t SEE what went on during the concert, but as far as audio-only representation goes, some of the mystical sheen has accidentally been wiped off one of our fave black metal bands. (6/10)

Coming at you straight from the Ukraine, Killing Absorption goes straight for the jugular. Killing Absorption is a catchy album that most brutal bands out there should take notice of. Its level of catchiness relies on its simple formula, and mind you, it's not dumbed down. Each song takes in a little something from North American death metal bands such as Cryptopsy and Deeds of Flesh in some respects as well as European greats such as Decapitated, however not heavily.

The structure is tight here and the drumming is pretty much the source for its ability to appeal. The guitars only serve to complement but go very well with the mix. There are guttural growls and don't stray from the norm.

Killing Absorption isn't exactly original nor is it a real gem, but it's a good album that pleases those who love to scream bloody murder or give out their hails or the horns to. You know who I'm talking about, you devoted death heads. (7/10)

If I had seen this three-DVD set of Bruce Dickinson concerts, in stores, I would have been psyched. Unfortunately, closer inspection reveals another story.

The first red flag is that the material that I imagine most people would buy the set to see — the material from Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding (after all, why would the box feature cover artwork highly reminiscent of the latter album?) Is relatively buried on the second DVD.

There’s a reason for this. It seems pro cameras were not allowed to record the shows in Brazil for the Chemical Wedding tour, and the sound is taken directly from the board. So, while it’s a good musical performance, the sound and video is hardly something you’d shell out top dollar for, expecting to get a professional product. The track listing is exactly the same as the Scream for Me, Brazil live CD that came out several years ago. Incidentally, no one that I know who likes Bruce Dickinson’s solo band has that CD anymore.

The contents of the first disk is in comparison far superior in both sound and video. Unfortunately, the opening set, 1990's Dive, Dive, Live, is an almost unbearable display of butt-rock, back when Dickinson’s solo forays were apparently for the purpose of being as little like Iron Maiden as possible. I couldn’t get by four full songs.

It’s a letdown, but the highlight of the set is in fact the Skunkworks set, recorded in 1996. The songs have little if anything to do with metal, but they have a very strong appeal, and I found myself begrudgingly compelled to just check out one more each time a new song came along. The music features excellent vocal parts, solid musicianship, and a pleasant sonic mix. The only fishy part is how the video for individual songs is clearly made up of two different performances, unless the guitarist is able to change t-shirts back and forth within seconds, and without halting play.

Disk three is a collection of all the videos Dickinson has ever done with his solo band. But seeing how just about every music video in general, and metal music video in particular, has been horribly embarrassing at worst, and not at all the way I pictured the band or music at best, the third DVD remains solidly in the grips of the teeth of its dedicated plastic tray. (6/10)

Let the scandal commence. Nay, let it flourish: my love for jazz is second ONLY to metal. But like the latter, there are certain parameters I pledge by. The primary edicts:

1.) Like Coltrane, Coleman, and Davis, jazz should forsake convention for innovation (even at the risk of becoming contemporary).

2.) Jazz should NOT employ vocals of any kind (certain exceptions arise, as is the case with Painkiller, where vocals add to the disquiet with shrieks and bellows).

And 3.) Tread the path of improvisation, meandering and energetic, whilst maintaining that baffling human ability to formulate and attain cohesion amidst chaos.

Alto saxophonist John Zorn formed the Painkiller project in the early ‘90s with ambient sage Bill Laswell on bass, and Napalm Death’s Mick Harris on drums. Zorn is so badass and prolific. Since creating his own label, Tzadik (the Hebrew word for "righteous one"), he has released numerous other sub-kultural sound artists along with his own Naked City (close in style to Painkiller, but more urban than concentration camp), Masada (proggy jazz), and the Filmworks series, among so many others. Over ten years on, the Tzadik catalogue is sizable, diverse, and growing.

Painkiller’s intial releases, Guts of a Virgin and Buried Secrets, took on a lot of controversy because of their graphic covers (one showing a gutted, naked female). Those recordings were very similar in style to Napalm Death, in their song brevity, seemingly random shrieks, and grind fever.

Execution Ground treads a bit heavier with deeper ambience, more effects, and increased focus on the dark maw of life. The songs are much longer than before, averaging about 15 minutes each (but with constant gear shifting that keeps the journey unpredictable). The first track, "Parish of Tama (Ossuary Dub)" explodes with violence from the outset, then glides down into an elegant jam-out between Laswell’s subterranean bass, Harris’s battery (subtle when it needs to be), and Zorn’s sax (and human) wails. Drenched with reverb and sweat, the effect is darkly grim sounding, like a slaughterhouse in November.

"Morning of Balachaturdasi" (got to love these titles) resembles progressive jazz ‘n’ hell more closely. Harris begins with a deceptively soothing beat, then Laswell pops stationary major chord abuse, and Zorn’s chromatic scales play off atonal overdubbing. They lay off the abuse for a little bit, then LFO’s seethe along like sirens; but by far, the coolest stuff plays ten minutes in: Zorn just plays the highest, horrid, most anguished note for as long as he can, as Laswell octave shifts even HIGHER than that and Harris pounds his kit with the randomness of ack-ack fire.

"Pashupatinath" is the psychadelic piece, building out of one melodic line and filling the air with the sounds of strangled agony. Indeed, this one may be the best example of what DARK JAZZ is about. In places, the song resembles that Bay Area multimedia staple, Neurosis, in the best way: performance as shared experience.

Ah . . . so now then. Disc two. Ambient.

First track, Painkiller extends "Pashupatinath" into even more troubled realms, but syncopation is minimized (or sent further down in the mix). Samples also abound here, most of which are unsettling and well-suited to this sonic abyss. When dark ambient is spot-on, emptiness is made to sound HUGE.

Second and final, "Parish of Tama – Ambeint," drones for nearly 20 minutes with very accurate waiting room tones. Then, the strangled imp voice resurfaces obscenely, and the band wails at their tools from way, way afar. This is the spirit of charred ruin, suffocating vapor, and sad eyes.

Execution Ground is sublime audio hatred, folks. Not the only brand — that would really suck ass, if we were limited to just one — but it’s mandatory even for non-jazz fans. Painkiller is not fist in the air music, and most assuredly not metal. The project transcended brutality, and helped shape it into a bigger threat. Painkiller laid the soundscape of black cancers we harbor, and nurture, within. But to speculate on Zorn’s intention is even more troubling: is this material supposed to encourage those cancers to surface, or warn us of their latency?