Tacit Fury - "The Invented Pain"
(Russia, Witchcraft Records, Doom Metal, 2006)
When I got this CDr copy of original release, I was very astonished beause it came from... Witchcraft records – a label from Mexico with identifical name as my own label Witchcraft productions! This did the material more attractive to listen to and got an opinion what Tacit Fury are. Through depressive depths of total grief you can feel the power of a real talents!
I swear, any doom-metal addicted person will be pleasured so much with possessing this album! This kind of extreme music was into the deepest underground in Russia about too long time, but according the latest years, the doom metal became rise up and became stronger day by day. Tacit Fury is a new perspective band from there, which trying to create an atmosphere of sufferings, which dying man can feel until the demise. Musically, it’s an impressive doom metal, with unique atmosphere, which might be changed from soft sorrow to heavy grief. The first half of the album remembered me Ukrainian doomsters AUTUMN, but after middle of the disc, for sure, material started to attack stronger! Yeah, the atmosphere of music is very sacred, mysterious and ancient, which associated with Aztec’s cult (according the special cover) in my excited brain! Songs on “The Invented Pain”, especially “Sacrificed Virgin” and next songs sounds in the vein of legendary “Theli” by THERION!!! Powerful guitar’s supplement, clean female voice mixed with deepest growling, leave no place for doubt – it’s draw the atmosphere of dead civilization! Absolutely great work and must have to look for any doom-devoted soul!
Playing time: 50:43
Review By Sulpher
Taarma - "Remnants of a Tormenting Black Shadow"
(Balochistan, Suffering Jesus Productions, Black Metal, 2007)
Black Metal is truly a global phenomenon... Here we have the debut CD from Taarma who hail from the former Afghan province of Balochistan, now a disputed territory occupied by the Pakistani army. It's hard to imagine metal exists at all in this part of the world, let alone a black metal act of such outstanding quality.
Taarma play slow, raw, grief stricken black metal in the vein of Burzum or Xasthur (indeed there is a cover of the latter band on this disc) and I haven't heard black metal that is permeated with such darkness for some time... The guitars are a mist of distortion, forming an impenetrable wall of sound that envelopes the listener. The only other sounds that can be heard are distant, echoed screams, and a few hits from a drum machine... It sounds like I'm describing an act like Abruptum, but Taarma is far more structured in its dirge-like approach and create an atmosphere of utter blackness and despair with their music. The highlights for me are the harsh "Kafan - Part II" and the utterly funereal "Apparition of Misery", though I think all tracks are of a high quality.
Those who want to hear some raw black metal with real substance should check out "Remnants of a Tormenting Black Shadow, as I found it a real blast of cold air in a genre that can sometimes sound a little stale. This album is limited to 1000 copies, so check Suffering Jesus' website for ordering details: www.sufferingjesus.info
Contact: blackestwitchcraft@yahoo.com
Playing time: 46:04
Review by Jamie Smith
Tao Menizoo - ¨So Blind¨
(France, Thundering/Manitou Music, Polymorphic Thrash Death Blasting, 2008)
Tao Menizoo is for sure a very unusual name and a band almost unknown for the great majority of our readers! I don't want to give you to much details about this combo, considering its past and so on, because you'll surelly get the chance to read an interesting interview I've made with Laurent. To be honest with you I really like this album called ¨So Blind¨, an interesting work that brings in front of us a combination of musical styles such as: thrash, death and industrial metal! In a few words: polymorphic thrash/death blasting, if we take into consideration what band members said about hteir musical way of playing. Taking elements from bands such as: Voivod, Pantera, Prong, Coroner, Ministry or Opeth, to name but a few, Tao Menizoo seems to be a very original band who creates its own musical universe instead of using frequent ¨clichees¨ as many combo are doing today.The musical content is a very variated one, with inteligent breaks and guitar solos, passing from mid tempos to the faster ones very easiliy and with a real pleasure to create their own musical style! Although the vocal score isn't a death metal one, it fits perfectly with band musical content; very well emphasized by the thrash metal elements and an industrial touch that makes ¨So Blind¨ a masterpiece of the french metal area in the latest few years! As I said before, you can learn more things about this band only if you read the interview and ofcourse if you're going to listen the material!
Contact: contact@taomenizoo.com
Playing time: 61:08
Review by Litocranius (10/09)
Tarm - “Veretsu Maade Poeg”
(Estonia, Hexenreich Records, Pagan Black Metal, 2006)
This is the first demo from Estonian newcomers Tarm. After a strange intro (which reminds me of the intro to a Realm of Carnivora CD a few years ago) we have the music; raw Pagan Black Metal, not a million miles from Bestia or the aforementioned Realm of Carnivora (Thonolon contributes the drums to this demo, so it's not a surprise). Tarm, however, tend not to use blast sections and use strident mid tempos and some folky melodies (played in the metal style, though; we're not talking Metsatöll or Nokturnal Mortum here) in their sound. The sound quality is raw but good and I think Tarm show some potential; they are a little generic, but development and more original song writing they might produce something special. Black CD-R with pro-printed cover, available from Hexenreich Records [http://hexenreich.estmetal.ee].
Contact: kyyvitssynge@hotmail.com
Playing time: 24:42
Review by Jamie Smith (02/07)
Tears of Mankind - "Without Ray Of Hope"
(Russia, Stygian Crypt, Atmospheric Doom, 2006)
Wow, Russia, seems, was been awakening from the deepest dream and start to give birth to really unique masterpieces! I'm always astonished at how such talents might appear in a really far backyard of the country, where only "bears" and oil might be founded and it's not a Russian stereotype in whole - Surgut city, where the band are from, is located on the North-East, which is well-known for its crime, oil and deadly frosts... What such half-prison may give? I had relied on something low-quality, completed with backlog about several years, but I had ruthlessly mistaken!!! Bloody hell, even in such harsh conditions the true art exist and against all odds demonstrate a very interesting musical decisions! Tears of Mankind perform a very interesting mix of death/doom metal, eclectically assessed on gothic touches and sometimes, strong folk influences are appearing and do the music much intelligent and varied, especially, if it is not a primordial folk motives - Phillip Skobelin (about him later) had used an interesting variations of Celtic folk songs, which, as for my opinion, are very similar to Irish "ale" jokingly-songs, which suddenly appear on "The River". And even that was not a real violin, but a sample, it sounds very good, I have to emphasize! But these touches are in middle of album, however into the beginning CD starts from obscured, unhurried and full of sorrow themes, impressed through pressing gravity of cold riffs. In some moments we hear a big similarity with My Dying Bride's way: typical tragic grimness and sad clear vocals... Exactly as by MDB's vocalist! Fourth song called "Theme of Laura" originally taken from Akira Yamaoka's theme (watch the Silent Hill 2) and remixed. Go onward. "From Dark to Light" track sounds like a march, having much death metal quintessence. A great to taste! Must to say, that whole album doesn't bore anytime, maybe because Phillip Skobelin did a flowing transitions and diluted the songs by atmospheric, vast touches, which allow music be, so to speak, more volumetric. And who he is, finally? He is a mainman and only author of all works! (guitars, vocals, synths' programming, samples, etcetera...) I want emphasize it because being single creator of such saturated music cause just a huge respect!!! Phil made everything very professionally and its sounds as a real, unadulterated musical roadbed, ultimately completed and ready to be examined and I guess, he already came into Metal genre with special musical education, which had allowed him to getting abstracted from usual Heavy metal cliches and add something own.
Anyone, who would like taste something original in doom metal, must take a look at this original project, coming from snowy and frosty North Russian area. A creditable debut!!!
Contact: feel78@inbox.ru
Order: www.stygiancrypt.cjb.net
Playing time: 57:36
Review by Sulpher
Tenebris - “Catafalque/Comet“
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It seems that luck was very rare in the history of Tenebris. The biography is a long sad story. The band was founded in 1991, but they only managed to release two full length albums. The label which released the debut “The Odious Progress“ (1994) bankrupted, the second album „Only fearless Dreams“ (1996) had no promotion and the third one was never released. Labels with legal and financial problems, line up changes and things like that forced them to split up in 2003.
This CD is a compilation of two EP’s (“Catafalque” was originally released in 1998, "The Comet" is a promo which was recorded in 2002) as well as two previously unreleased demo songs. I can’t hear a difference in the quality between the demos and the official recordings.
Shame on me! I’ve never heard of this outstanding band. They could have made two or three songs out of each one, there are no limitations and no repeats, the ideas and innovative structures just don’t end. Black metal combined with classic rock a la Jethro Tull, a Morricone-like melody which leads into death metal, all kinds of vocals (from clean to distorted - like Samael used to have on the last two albums - to growling ones), they seem to have five singers on this CD. That’s what I call progressive and diverse! The info labels them as technical death metal but it’s much more than this! Bands I think of when I hear Tenebris are Arcturus, Alchemist, Pan.Thy.Monium and a lot of Strommoussheld (great band!) which are also from Poland. And it fits together, it doesn’t sound enforced at all, that’s the most weird thing!
The best tracks are “You’d better fear Light“ and „Wanderer“ but the quality is constantly high! And the more you listen to it, the better it gets! A great production and a perfect design are making this release a must-have for open minded rock listeners!
I’ve heard that they’ve earned some respect and a are sort of a “cult band” in the eastern Europe but I think they would be much more than that without all the problems they had! However, in 2006 the band reunited and is recording new songs at the moment. I hope they’ll have luck this time, they deserve much more in any case!
Contact: www.tenebris.igk.pl
Playing time: 43:09
Review by Dr.Winter (04/07)
Tenebris - “Melting EP”
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“Melting” is the first sign of life from this outstanding Polish band, since they’ve reunited in 2006 (read the review above for more infos).
From the beautiful design and form (professionally printed paper sleeve) to the compositions and production, everything is just perfect here! Though the new stuff is comparable to the old releases, it’s something completely different. The music Tenebris are playing is almost indescribable. One song on this EP could be a medley of excerpts from a whole album. If it’s done wrong, all these styles mixed together could result in a chaos, but in this case it works without problems! The best example is the title track, which begins with two different guitar solos at the same time. If you change the balance of your player, you can hear a different melody on each speaker but together it’s a single one! Just great! I think Tool have made something similar on the “10,000 Days” album, but in their case it’s not that obvious. What follows is a mix of all possible genres, from progressive AOR to Death Metal. This song grabs you immediately and doesn’t give you a single second to breathe until the showdown, which is an incredible intensive and original solo! This is my favorite here! Listen to it on our radio while it’s in the playlist! The other three tracks have the same high quality, the same weird but comprehensible instrumentation.
The bands they list as influences should give you an idea about Tenebris: such different acts like King Crimson, Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah’s exceptionally gifted guitarist), Fields of the Nephilim, Isis or Morbid Angel. But I also notice some Pink Floyd, Dredg or Mike Patton influences, as well as some sort of Dessert Blues/Rock...
Some very talented musicians have gathered here, check them out, they still don’t have a label, dammit!!!
I can’t understand why it is so hard for them to find one, while Vader are releasing the same album over and over again! You have to get this EP somehow!
Contact: www.tenebris.eu
www.myspace.com/tenebrisband
Playing time: 19:45
Review by Dr.Winter (03/08)
Tharaphita - “Primeval Force"
(Estonia, Nailboard Records, Pagan Metal, 2005)
This is the first Tharaphita full length in five years and their third in total. Not the most prolific of bands, yet Tharaphita make up for this in the quality of their music, which is always of a high standard and "Primeval Force”, is no exception to this rule. This new album is very similar to their 1998 debut "Raev" in a lot of ways; they seem to have dropped the speed metal influence on the previous album a little bit and concentrated on the epic stuff. And how epic it is! The vast songs stride forth at a brisk mid-tempo with driving drum beats, clear, crisp guitar sounds and some great synths (provided by Manatark's Kaido "Draconic") add depth to the music. All in all it has a very "Viking" feel to the music, which makes the band sound more Scandinavian than East European (though it's true that Estonia, culturally and ethnically, could easily be considered a Scandinavian country). Fans of early Enslaved and maybe the newer stuff by Nokturnal Mortum (minus the fiddly folk bits) would do well to check out Tharaphita if they haven't already, since these Estonians are just sounding better with each release.
Contact: ahto@nailboard.org
Playing Time: 41:11
Review by Jamie Smith
The Atlas Moth-¨ A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky¨
(U.S.A., Candlelight Records/ 255, Doom Metal, 2009)
Founded 2 years ago (2007) by the mutual desire to play a combination between a New Orleans sludge style with the psychedelic rock music of the 60, The Atlas Moth was create to show band members deep love for the almighty riffs of occult and dark metal!
Labelled as doom metal, still from the beginning, this U.S. band started to combine more than heavy riffs and doom metal solitude, but core metal lines, and from time to time even slow death/ black metal; the final result being for sure on your taste, doom metal fans and extreme metal head bangers! Introducing frequently some industrial/ dark wave elements, The Atlas Moth tries to make us wander from their original influences, bands like Cathedral, Saint Vitus or Candlemass being for sure a source of inspiration for this combo across the Ocean.
Frequently this band reminds me Crisis on their ¨ Deathshead Extermination¨, but nothing extremely relevant in the end!
The vocal score used by band’s front-man goes from sung lines to death/ black, even noise phases, and it makes me to believe that this doom metal description of their music isn’t appropriate at all.
In the other hand all the guitar riffs and solos shows us the original departure of The Atlas Moth musical content, the old doom metal roots! A doom way of playing that I have no fuckin’ idea how it will sound in the new millennium!
This is heavy music for heavy thinkers, and if most doom bands are the journeys to the war,
The Atlas Moth is for sure the battlefield!
Contact: d.toms@plastichead.com
Playing time: 49:00
Review by Litocranius (02/10)
The Beast - “Fixed by the Devil”
(Belgium, Painkiller Records, Raw Black, 2002)
Pure Satanic dark art! A project of Nornagest, from the cult black metal band Enthroned in which he tries to give life to ideas that couldn’t get in his main band. Ritual songs like "Satanic domination”, a cover of Von`s "Devil Pig" and other black metal blasphemies reunite on this "spew in the face of Christianity" release. On the cover of the CD lays written: "underground sound for underground maniacs only” so if you consider yourself a black metal maniac this MCD is for you, if not just ignore it. The cover artwork is made by Chris Moyen (the one who has done the covers for Beherit).There is also a hidden track here, pure satanic ambiance.
Contact: laurent@painkiller-records.com
Playing Time: 15:44
Review by Cătălin Carlaonţ
The Fat Rat Grumble - “Liquid Stones”
(Italy, Self released, Stoner Rock, 2002)
The Fat Rat Grumble plays stoner rock with a lot of guitar experimentation. The production is not so great but the music is, so if you have chances to listen theyr music don’t hesitate and do it because it worth’s it!!! The first track "come on" reminded me of The Doors even although The fat rat grumble sound is more heavy. "Liquid stones" is more into psychedelic sound with a strange guitar sound which gives you the sensation of melting and then turning into a stone "Seth" for Suicidal. "On my way", another depressive track is by far the best track of the CD in my opinion. "Stonetruck" is a great head banging moment and will remind you a bit about Black Sabbath. "Mind compressor" is another doom song which I have enjoyed a lot. The track which puts an end to this CD is "Radio Bolkan". Words are not enough to describe the music of The fat rat grumble............. listen to this one!!!
Review by Cătălin Carlaonţ
The Meads of Asphodel - “Damascus Steel"
(U.K., Supernal Music, Medieval Experimental Black Metal, 2005)
In this, The Meads of Asphodel's third CD, the band have decided to develop the style they introduced on the "Jihad" EP (which came out as a split with Mayhem). The 'concept' of the album is an attack on religious extremism and man's inhumanity to other man, all in the 'cause' of religion. So "Damascus Steel" sounds a lot rawer than before, the first track proper "Creed of Abraham" is a frenzy of distortion and blast-beats topped with Metatron's distinctive bellow. "Hollow Womb of Suicide" is more experimental, where Arabic influences and dance beats are offset with ragged guitar riffs. "Sword of the East" is a Hawkwind cover has more of a space-rock feel, but again those black metal aesthetics are present and correct. TMOA have done a great job of making a black metal album that is truly unique and progressive; each song on "Damascus Steel" has it's own character (not to mention weird moments) and it's this that really make the band sound so refreshing, especially in a scene that can be musically stagnant and reticent to move forward from the early 90's. Track number 8 is an epic, not just by name, approaching the ten minute mark (complete with Band Aid parody) and the bonus of "Of Death and Dying" finishes to CD with a more traditional sound, yet with some truly hypnotic choir sounds over the raging black metal. "Satanic Black Nubian Pharaohs" even has a trumpet solo and track 6 is a Louis Armstrong cover, how many BM albums can claim that? A work of deranged genius, no doubt!
Contact: mail@supernalmusic.com
Playing time: 61:26
Review by Jamie Smith
When people think of outsider black metal, they often think of bands like Velvet Cacoon, Xasthur, Silencer, or any of the many other musically-related bands. But, when you really think about it, do these bands truly play “outsider” black metal? As black metal is already an outsider genre, all these bands are really doing is taking the isolationist side of black metal to the extreme. So, though many of their influences may lie outside that of black metal, it is really a very pure black metal movement in essence. So, then, if one is truly to play outsider black metal, they must look at what exists outside of black metal – the bright, warm, poppy, fun, and melodic – and find a way to fuse that with black metal. That is precisely what this project from Chicago called the Mausoleums has done and you might be surprised how well they make it work.
“Blackened Fawns Cleanse the Earth with Fire” is the Mausoleums’ second album and is easily one of the most bizarre releases I think I’ve ever heard. For those of you who thought there must’ve been a typo above, with the genre listed as “black metal/pop-rock/psychedelic,” there was no typo. The Mausoleums somehow manage to blend ultra lo-fi black metal with fun, poppy rhythms, catchy melodies, and simple song structures while still leaving room for occasional moments of dreamy psychedelia. The album’s brief, but uplifting, organ-drenched opener, “Livelihood,” is a triumphant, stomping arena-rock jam. Sunshiny melodies combine with epic chords and a driving drum beat to give the appearance of a very bright path being laid down for the rest of the album. But, that is only partly true. The second track, “The One Who Sees,” rivaling Ildjarn in terms of buzziness, kicks right in with damaged, warbly guitars, stumbling drums, and grim vocals. But even then, bright melodies break through the thick layer of crust to shine some kind of demented light on everything. This goes on throughout the album, combining black metal with a number of un-black styles, ranging from the new-wave vibe of “Thief,” the country-western twang of “Swept Under,” and the surf rock jangle of “Skeletal,” ending with the bright folkiness of “The Bees.” It is this juxtaposition of styles that keeps things interesting. Full of so many combinations that shouldn’t work but do, this album also has plenty of those “What the fuck?” moments that only a black metal band can play off as pure genious. But, then again, this whole album is pretty much a “What the fuck?” moment that leaves you feeling so dirty yet so clean at the same time. The “true” black metal fans out there will probably scoff at this, but the more adventurous listeners that appreciate weird and out-there music will probably find this to be a rewarding listen that will get more than a few spins in their CD player.
Released on CD-R in a cool handmade mini gatefold package.
Contact: www.myspace.com/iamthemausoleums
Playing time: 37:43
Review by Colin Williamson
The Rick Ray Band – “Out of the Mist of Obscurity”
(U.S.A, Neurosis Rec., Progressive/Hard Rock, 2003)
One thing drags the releases down...that thing is the quality of the recorded sound that sometimes is a little bit distorted. This is for persons who like music of Frank Maryno and Mahogany Rush and for ones who like good rock quality in general.
Rick is the first person who ever sent me a CD for a review in my webzine two years ago, back then he released the “Guitarist” CD. Now it’s the time for me to present its latest release” Out. ”.The music is progressive hard rock with some jazz influences. The songs are well composed and played but I noticed some repetitive motives like the solo from the first part of the opener” Why did I know” which reminded me of a solo from the “Guitarist” CD. On this late CD the vocal lines are not entirely played by Rick, but on some songs you can hear Phil Noch with a classical type of rock vocals. Some of my favorites songs are: Out of the mist of obscurity” that has some good variations between slow jazzy parts and hard rock ones and a great solo at the end with a psychedelic touch.” Reflection” is probably the best song of the entire CD, a soft song with a classical guitar and nice vocals.” Demons and Man” a semi-acoustic song that develops like circles of smoke in the wind, this sounds a bit funny but that’s the way I’ve felt it, a very catchy song. ”Waiting” is the hardest song of the record and has the best vocal performances.
Contact: hobbelshnimp@hotmail.com
Playing time: 55:14
Review by Cătălin Carlaonţ
The Sixth - “For Hate and Heritage”
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Though The Sixth (from El Paso, Texas) is a newcomer band, some of the members have been in the music business for almost two decades now! Three of them were part of the very well known band Pissing Razors, who released seven albums (one of them being a live album) between 1996 and 2003: Joseph Rodriguez (vocals), Cesar Soto (guitar) and Mathew Lynch (guitar) have founded The Sixth together with Dan Contreras (drums) and Arturo Saldana (bass) in 2005. I’m not very familiar with Pissing Razors’ discography but I’ve noticed that The Sixth have very much in common with them.
This is the debut album, but it doesn’t sound like the first step at all. Far from it! Its homogeneity can only result from the many years of experience they’ve had and it’s noticeable from the first tones of the opening track.
I would describe it as melodic Hardcore with some traditional Metal influences (especially the guitar solos together with the rhythm section remind me of Nevermore, I really love those parts) and some “modern” ingredients like voice distortions or short samples for example. I even notice some Cannibal Corpse-like lead guitars here and there. Oftentimes it sounds like a mix of Prong (some melodic parts and vocals) and Crowbar (because of the Sludge elements)... A lot of comparisons here, I know. Well, for me it’s rather hard to find something original about this band, something that would allow you to recognize it easily... That’s the main problem with this album. What I also don’t like is the rather monotone voice. Some more clean vocals would give the songs more diversity and atmosphere, just check out the chorus in “A Fate Unfortunate” and you’ll know what I mean.
My favorite song is “Dead Cold”, the last one (!). Somehow it’s different compared to the rest, with its various vocals (from fragile and clean ones to painful screams), riffs and structures and even some Iron Maiden-like (?) leads at the end. This should have been the opener in my opinion!
It was really hard to find the right words for this album, maybe that’s a positive fact, maybe not. But in conclusion, this release is a very professional one, all is done right here more or less. Pretty perfect powerful production, some great tunes performed by talented musicians, all you expect from a release of this genre. Also the digipack version I’ve got is designed very well (though I’ve seen the front cover pic somewhere on the internet - I hope it’s not stolen). As I’ve said, more diversity would be good, it was hard for me to listen to the whole album at once, but I’m not that much into this kind of music and I suppose for fans of this genre this one deserves 10 points! There’s a downloadable version here, including some free samples, so check them out!
Contact: www.myspace.com/thesixthmusic
Playing time: 48:18
Review by Dr.Winter (05/08)
The Telescopes - “Third Wave”
(U.K., Double Agent, Experimental Rock, 2002)
The Telescopes are presenting on this CD various kinds of music, from the pure pop rock ballad which is the first song to jazz influenced melodies and even video game soundtracks.
All here is so natural and easy to listen. If you need a moment of peace and relaxation this could be one of the best things for you.
The fifth track could fit very well in a horror movie, it has a very dark atmosphere ...the sixth track reminded me about the `70`s progressive rock (Van Der Graf Generator especially).
The best track here is seventh , an atmospheric track were you can hear piano , violin and two wonderful voices and some strange computer generated effects . After this song follows an electronic experimentation, where you can hear lots of synthesizers and computer generated sounds. On the ninth track the style is again changed, here you can tell that you are listening to a modern jazz CD. The last song is another atmospheric ballad, very atmospheric.
This release is for open minded music listeners or for the ones who are enjoying experimentation in music.
Contact: info@doubleagentrecords.com
Playing time: 47:40
Review by Cătălin Carlaonţ
Thornspawn - “Horns to the Cult” 7"
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Thornspawn are renowned as one of the premier Black Metal bands from the U.S.A. This 2004 offering is a tribute to two of the originators of the Black Metal sound namely Necrovore, covered on the first side of this 7’’ with the song “Divus de Mortuus” which first appeared on the demo with the same name in 1987 and on the second side Beherit’s “Hail Sathanas” from the 7’’ “Dawn of Satan's Millennium” from 1991. Being faithful to the original recordings and not adding anything new in terms of alteration to the songs (the sound in much better though on this new recordings) if you’ve listened and liked the songs in their original form then you will surely like them as played by Thornspawn. An interesting fact in that the bands logo for this release is made like a combination of Necrovore and Beherit’s original logos (personally I believe that Thornspawan leans more on the Necrovore sound). This vinyl also comes with an insert with some drawings made by an old friend of mine and liner notes. Even tough short it is a good addition to a black metal collection.
Contact: www.agoniarecords.com
Playing Time: 5:18
Review by Cătălin Carlaonţ (10/07)
Thorwald vs. Pulmonary Fibrosis - “Medical dissector” vs.”Pulmonary Fibrosis”
(Slovakia/France, Bizarre Leprous Records, Brutal Death/Grind, 2004)
Bizarre Leprous Records offers us a split CD with 2 of the best brutal death and gore-grind bands from Slovakia and France. And that isn’t a bad idea, especially if we take into consideration that both bands were founded too recently enough. Through these more than 30 songs this split carries us in the “well” known universe of medicine, very well emphasized by bands lyrics. I want you to notice from the beginning that both combos have recorded some cover songs originally singed by well known bands such as: Mortician, Carcass, Regurgitate or Malignant Tumour. Also, you should keep in your minds that Thorwald and Pulmonary Fibrosis are devoted to the European brutal death and gore-grind metal way of playing, and we should be proud by such good bands. In my point of view Thorwald is the beat band of this split CD; if we take into consideration that band members succeeded to sing covers from Mortician & Carcass at a very high level. And this thing denotes that Thorwald need no more covers from now on, because they are for sure a big band. The main attraction point of this “Medical dissector” is the vocal register used by the 2 singers of Thorwald, the screaming or guttural tonalities being simply devastating ones for sure. With a bass player in a very good shape, and a blasting rhythmical section, Thorwald wants to dethrone the great names of the European death-grind metal underground scene.
Pulmonary Fibrosis is one of the most interesting French death–grind metal bands ever. On their split CD side Pulmonary Fibrosis show us that it has one of the best rhythmic section from the whole European death-grind metal area. The vocal register is a very low one, something I never heard until now. This musical genre played by the French Pulmonary Fibrosis is called ”ultra brutal gore-grind metal”, and is very well combined with some core metal sounds, a thing that makes this “Pulmonary fibrosis” to sound a little bit groove.
All in all, this split CD is a very interesting one, and it deserves our full attention because both bands are in a very good shape.
Review by Litocranius
I've been uncertain about the post 2000 sludge albums since a lot of them seamed easy-done charming (?) metal, with some creative efforts always left unorganized and in an early stage of evolution. Thou's second album comes with a refreshing coherence, a successful achievement in marring drone doom profoundness and vastness with furious slams of sludge well tied together by inspired melodic parts and revengeful vocals done black metal style. The songs easily penetrate the listeners sensibility. They insinuate and impose the overall atmosphere that they keep and explore until the end. Like burning anger long kept hidden and transgressing into a philosophy of revolt, these songs flow like coagulating lava of hurt , depicting, explaining, remembering, promising revenge and resolution. This is rarely spiritual in a religious way, even when dealing with christian morals there is a need for a more social response. There is a sense of realism in their lyrics that touches the romantic style.
This may pass unnoticed because for a sludge post 2000 album it is clearly not cool enough and for a drone doom album certainly too melodic and just not super slow enough. The infusion of simple and inspired melody
into a heavy deep and grave sound does magic.
Contact:http://noladiy.org/thou.html
Playing time 42:35
Review by Gheif (09.04.2010)
Thou Art Lord - "DV8"
(Black Lotus Records, Death/Black Metal, Greece, 2002)
Well another project reunited to release a new worthy to listen opus. In my opinion this is more a death metal album than a death/black one because black metal elements are hard to be found here. The songs have that pure hellish energy, energy those bands like Death, Resurrection, Celtic Frost succeeded to bring forth. The music of Thou art Lord is not similar to any of the above mentioned bands but the atmosphere is. Some songs are better than the others but all in all there is balance. Favorite songs „Crowning of the winged skull”, „Desire lust and incubus”, „Those we guide”. A must for the extreme metal lovers, you’ll have a food refreshing experience when you’ll listen to this.
Review by Cătălin Carlaonţ
Thunderstorm - “Beyond the Dawn”
(Romania, Self Produced, Heavy Metal, 2001)
I've got here the first demo/album that I receive from my own country. I must confess that I haven’t listened to them before although this is their third demo (the other) two are: “Tales from a dying world” and “Season of shadows”. The style is modern heavy metal with a medium/high tempo. They use a lot of keyboards which I must confess, are doing great combinations with the guitar solos, the vocals are not so good but, they aren’t the worst either. My favorite songs are: ”Dreams of Steel “, “Starscape” and “Foundation”. Can we talk about a new wave of Romanian heavy metal?
Contact: thunderstorm@go.ro
Review by Cătălin Carlaonţ
Tjolgtjar - "Five Tjolgtjarian Keys"
(USA, Suffering Jesus Productions, Fantasy Metal, 2006)
Sometimes you hear a CD and no matter how much you want to commend the band for doing something different, you can't help but fucking hate it! This is certainly the case for the deranged American act Tjolgtar. The sole member "Reverend" JR Preston has created an entire new language for this fantasy world of the Tjolgtjarians... I bet he speaks Klingon and has a bloody Star-Trek uniform in his wardrobe too. Anyway, the music is "raw" (i.e. badly produced) with black elements and lots of silly modulation sounds. The vocals go between Donald Duck screams and a terrible King Diamond wail... I just couldn't listen to anymore of this. It's terrible. I try to be open minded but since I dislike high pitched vocals and intensely dislike Science Fiction, this was a loser from the word go. By far the worst album I've ever had to review for Arcana Noctis... And to think Tjolgtjar will be covering the awesome "Christ Fire" on a forthcoming VON tribute just does not bear thinking about. Dreadful!
Contact: tjolgtjarium_code@htmail.com
Playing time: 41:55
Review by Jamie Smith
Tor - “Tor”
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Another high quality release from Evil Distribution here, this is Tor’s debut demo released on professionally printed black CD-R with A5 hardcover booklet, which looks absolutely first rate. Does the music live up to such extravagant packaging? Yes it does. Tor play raw and depressive black metal with rough, detuned guitars and sloppy drums that reminds me greatly of USBM legends such as Judas Iscariot and I Shalt Become. Tor are much more than just another black metal band though and aren’t afraid to experiment, such as on “Moments”, which is an ultra slow, doomy guitar riff surrounded by synth atmospherics which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Skepticism album. Sole member of Tor Nick DiSalvo does a great job using the synths to create an epic, astral atmosphere which combined with the black metal described above makes an interesting listen that is both familiar and refreshing. For a first demo this is demonstrating incredible potential and I for one will be watching Tor’s progression with interest. 8 EUR from www.evildist.com or check Tor’s website for more info: www.cavernofthewolf.com
Total Tragedy - "Every Story has a Glory"
(Indonesia, De Facto Productions, Gothic Death, 2001)
This the first band that I ever listened from Indonesia and is a good band .They are playing doom/gothic .Here are mixed growled/feminine vocals (Martha is one of the best vocalists that I listened till now!), distorted guitars, church piano and of course drums (I liked them a lot). This may not be the most original band on the world but what they are playing is of a good quality and they seem to understand the true nature of gothic metal! The lyrics are in English and in their native language. My favorite tracks are: "Sinar Batas Sapi", "Embrace the Moon “and "Kiss of Death". Try to get this and you will not regret!
Review by Cătălin Carlaonţ
Toxic Death - "Contamination"
(Death Metal, Walk Records, Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2005)
Toxic Death don't mess about with intros or atmospherics, they go straight for the jugular with opener "Opening a Window to the Past". The music is very brutal death metal with crushing de-tuned thrash riffs. They remind me quite a lot of Vader, which is no bad thing. The songs are reasonably long and well written, as opposed to a lot of "brutal" death/grind, which is just two minutes of disposable crap. This is really how brutal death metal should sound! A live track finishes off this unfortunately very short (4 tracks/14 mins) promo. Anyone who likes brutal old style death metal with a modern edge should not delay in buying Toxic Death's debut CD!
Contact: walkrec@teol.net
Playing time: 14:43
Review by Jamie Smith
Trashcanned - „The Age of Treason“ E.P.
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Trashcanned from St.Pölten was formed in spring 2003 and consists of six members (vox, bass, two guitars, drums & synths). This is already the fourth demo/EP. I can’t say much about the past releases, but there has been changes and developments in their sound (they rearranged the band and found the right balance in 2005 when Cristine (guitar) and Gregor (drums) joined) and this EP rocks! Fortunately it’s a little hard to describe the music of Trashcanned! Four songs are presented in the best quality: Great riffs and leads, perfect drumming, diverse vocal lines, good production... In the main it’s modern trash/metalcore with a lot of industrial/Fear Factory (though not that complicated) influences, some math metal, sometimes some Swedish melodic metal, all held together by soberly (but important, not obsolete!) electronic sounds/keyboards.
The rhythms, tempos and structures are changing constantly, “Blindfold” for example (my favourite track here) is the most diverse one (like the band members themselves), very much happens in this one! Sounds fresh and new, though we all know the ingredients - like some bands listed as favourites in the press info: Fear Factory, Ministry, Tool, Suffocation, The Dresden Dolls, The Cure, Arch Enemy... it’s a long list!
Tim (the vocalist) is 28, the others were born in ’85 and all of them have played already in other bands and still have some projects... Nevertheless they sound very professional and mature to me!
Try to get one of the (handnumbered) copies of this EP, and look forward to the first full length album in 2007 which will be followed by a tour through
Contact: trashcanned@gmail.com
Playing time: 19:25
Review by Dr.Winter
Tribal Machine - “Soldiers in a War of the Mind”
(Canada, Lamina Dereves Productions, Industrial Rock, 2006)
“Soldiers in a War of the Mind” is Tribal Machine’s second album after “The Awakening of the Animal” which was limited to 100 (!) copies only and was sold out very quickly. The band from Canada seems to aim high with the individual mix of (older style) Rock and Industrial.
Sever Bronny, the charismatic frontman who is doing the vocals, keys, programming, sequencing and additional guitars, is making music since 1997. Guitarist Brian “Meta” Hartlen joined the band in 2003, followed by bassist Brad Wutke in 2004.
The music Tribal Machine are playing is pretty strange, especially for people who are not that familiar with bands like the ones they list as influences (Nine Inch Nails, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Dead Can Dance, Skinny Puppy, Wumpscut, Beatles, Marilyn Manson, Nirvana) but if you’re open minded you have to check out this band!
This is an outstanding album, they managed to write some really catchy songs, “old school” and timeless, yet modern and powerful. Songs like “Sand of History” (ingenious one!!!) or “Black Fly” (which are both singles) won’t leave your head after you’ve heard them for the first time. The various electronic sounds and the noisy scratches are making them even brutal sometimes (of course not in the sense of a Death Metal song) though they’re almost danceable but there’s an intensity (especially in the lyrics) which makes you wanna destroy something. Here’s a statement I really like, which was taken from their website:
“Soldiers in a War of the Mind” explores the dichotomy between life and the way it’s represented in the mass media. As Sever puts it; “...I wanted to reflect themes that I saw on the news and read in books. I’ve noticed that the things we were fed did not necessarily reflect what was really going on, what the people really needed to know, and that pissed me off. I wanted to write about it, expand on it, explore it; but I also wanted to explore things about human nature, things like relationships, drugs, manipulation, and the discovery of something greater.”
All in all I’d say the music is a mix of the newer Project Pitchfork works and the feelings Deine Lakaien are creating in their “harder” songs (a fact which is funny because both bands are from Germany) enriched with a big portion of originality and wealth of ideas. Fitting to the album’s title, the propulsive rhythms sound somehow military and Sever like a leader who is orating. His vocals are sometimes a little distorted, some screams are placed just right but most of the time the expressive clean voice is exactly what this kind of music needs. Sometimes Gary Numan comes into my mind when listening to him...
Only two of the twelve tracks are a little "hollow" but I suppose that I just have to listen more carefully to them...
You can order this album from their website or via iTunes, the new one is coming in 2008. I’m really looking forward to it and wish them to find a bigger distributor! “The self-generated entity is gonna take on the world...”
Contact: www.tribalmachine.com
www.myspace.com/tribalmachine
Playing time: 54:37
Review by Dr.Winter (11/07)
Twilight is Mine - "When the Twilight Covers the World"
(Russia, Witchcraft Productions, Black Metal, 2004)
This is the debut release from the small Russian label Witchcraft Productions, in the form of a limited edition CD-R by the black metal act Twilight is Mine. As far as CD-R's go, it is a quality product, although the layout is a little rough. As far as the music is concerned, Twilight is Mine play top notch atmospheric black; sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but always full of dark atmospheres. Despite being a domestic recording, the sound is very good, particularly the synths; they create thick layers of dank darkness over the skeletal tremolo-picked riffs and drum machine underneath. The band clearly owe their identity to early Emperor, although I can trace elements of Mysticum, Limbonic Art and even Secrets of the Moon lurking in the primordial blackness of Twilight's music. All in all, very impressive, but if you want a copy I wouldn't wait around – this is sure to quickly disappear into the sands of time and become a rarity very soon.
Contact: info_witchcraft@list.ru
Playing time: 33:32
Review by Jamie Smith
Tu Carne- ¨... Me Quendo Con Tu Dolor¨
(Spain, Bizarre Leprous Records, Gore Grind, 2004)
Dignified followers of well known Haemorhhage, Tu Carne delights our hearing with a very good slow grindcore album called ¨...Me Quendo Con Tu Dolor¨; the 20 tracks constituting a true sample of the spanish extreme metal area. Band members have found an interesting ideea and they called this musical style as ¨mid tempo gore grind metal¨ and I totally agree with it! Without saying, Tu Carne's musical content is a very pleasantly one and I found out that the spanish musicians are very sinceres! Unfortunatelly for their listeners Tu Carne use vocal effects, considering that this is a very good thing for the spanish metal area. The final result is a very interesting one, but I think it could not satisfy enough people because of the vocal score. The whole material sounds a little bit groovy, the usage of the hardcore elements being decisive for Tu Carne's way of playing but for band fans too. Between all these interesting elements we can find the bass-guitar final attacks and awesome guitar solos, the last instrument being tuned very, very low! The rhythmical section is a very good one also, the band drummer being in a very good shape. Almost all the lyrics are made in spanish, but that isn't something very unusual! Generally speaking they are using medical themes, but we can find here a few about grave diseases too. The booklet picture shows us a very blood stained vision, its link with the band lyrical concept being very, very tight! ¨... Me Quendo Con Tu Dolor¨ is an impressive album at every level and the extreme metal fans will gonna consider it as a collection piece. Get this album and you'll probably learn interesting things from the spanish grind godz Tu Carne!