Music Reviews of Metal, Grindcore, Death, Prog-Rock
Band Spotlight
Chiodos
Perhaps no one can explain the sheer ferocity and timid quietness it is better than when vocalist Craig Owens says “we don’t want to let the kids down” when discussing the group’s intense vocals live at shows. Well they never let a single kid down with their vicious assault on the ears and grip on the jugular...
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Skinny Puppy - Mythmaker
Converge - No Heroes
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The Geeks - Every Time We Fall
Limbeck - Limbeck
WinterKids - Memoirs
03.09.2007 by J-Sin
Music Reviews of Metal, Grindcore, Death, Black, Thrash, Progressive Rock
The Secret — Disintoxication Buy it at Amazon
The Secret are from the Eastern portion of Italy, to be precise the small city of Trieste. Fiercely progressive blackened-heart extreme metal (think a more heavy Converge) that rips off your head to barf toxins straight into your heart, lungs, and stomach. Cavity-filling distortion wrenches you from your place in society and launches you into a stratosphere filled with chaos, pain, and loss. “Disintoxication” is one of the most heavy albums I’ve heard in a while; it sounds as if they bottled an atomic explosion and let the pressure build for a millennium. The best thing is how raw and natural the album sounds, despite its chaotic outer shell.
- J-Sin
Lords of the North — Lords of the North Buy it at Amazon
Black Sabbath friendly riffs come at you from all sides on this stoner rock paradise album. Hard pounding percussion, crunchy guitar distortion, and long low-tuned monster tracks with a vocalist who conjures forth ‘70’s heavy rock perfectly, all combine for Lords of the North self-titled release. Fuzzy doom-riddled stoner anthems that recall the mighty Sleep.
- J-Sin
Engel — Absolute Design Buy it at Amazon
Debut albums usually seem to either completely disappoint, haunt you for a lifetime, or be tossed aside into a heap of indifference. Engel’s “Absolute Design” seems to be sort of between the later two. Recorded and mixed by Anders Friden of In Flames with Daniel Bergstrand assisting (he’s known for his work with Anders’ In Flames as well as Meshuggah among others), “Absolute Design” recycles melodic death metal riffs into dynamic and fitting chorus-rippers. Vocally it’s most definitely influenced by the Nordic metal scene, ranging from guttural to melodic yelling.
- J-Sin
Guapo — Elixirs Buy it at Amazon
Guapo is a duo comprised of Daniel O’Sullivan and David J. Smith. “Elixirs” is a psychedelic composition that transcends “normal” experimental music. Densely arranged, “Elixirs” was composed using a Rhodes, synthesizers, autoharp, harmonium, various percussion, piano, bass, and guitars. Stirring backdrops against which O’Sullivan adds spry vocals, shake your soul, rattle your mind, and deepen their assault against your sixth sense. Warning, this album is very different, very mind-altering, and very essential.
- J-Sin
Third Degree — Punk Sugar Buy it at Amazon
Crusty grind punk that thrashes about with a fuckload of abandon. Harsh vocals scream out from this Polish group who unleashes only their second full-length in a decade. I hear a lot of Extreme Noise Terror and Napalm Death influence in their grimy and fast delivery. Imagine getting disemboweled by a masked someone in a darkened dungeon. Just as your life is eeking out and you’re about to die, you reach out and unmask your villain, only to find that it was your sweet old grandma grinning back at you. That’s the sort of unprepared shock you’re in for with “Punk Sugar”. Blistering punk blasts of venom, spite, and horror all packaged neatly into an adrenaline-fueled album.
- J-Sin
Pyramids — Pyramids Buy it at Amazon
Gut-wrenching atmospheric oddness that drips psycho-somatic musical elements into a funnel that drains straight into your cerebellum. Pyramids is as intriguing and mysterious as their Egyptian and Mayan namesake. Haunting soundscapes that perpetuate and penetrate making its mark while not leaving one. You can listen to this album several times and not hear the same sounds twice—it’s that densely creative. You’re just forced to close your eyes, dim the lights, and outright experience everything. The bonus CD features remixes from Jesu, James Plotkin, and Blut Aus Nord among others. Pick this up now.
- J-Sin
The Sword — Gods of the Earth Buy it at Amazon
Intelligent stoner rock that viciously recalls Sleep and Rainbow from the hallowed halls of live music infamy in Austin, Texas, The Sword stompboxes their way into a dense haze of distorted allusions. Summoning mythical imagery via a heavy dose of melody and churning hooks, The Sword maintains huge catchy hooks while still retaining an under bite of challenging heavy metal. Think the next incarnation of Black Sabbath but more astute in the great literary works of humankind.
- J-Sin
Torche — Meanderthal Buy it at Amazon
Torche is the only stoner rock band who can craft perfect doom riffs into catchy harmonies that, dare I say, traverse the line between rock and pop. Bludgeoning you with gut-busting guitar onslaughts, “Meanderthal” flips off the devil as it drops tunings to below the sinkholes of hell itself. Somewhat psychedelic at times, Torche rumbles through catchy melodies that would find Dave Groehl in utter ecstasy. Riff-aholics will get their fix and then some with this mammoth cacophony of colossal six-string density. If you don’t own this album, don’t you dare consider yourself a heavy music fan.
- J-Sin
Fall of Serenity — The Crossfire Buy it at Amazon
Despite a lineup upheaval that found long time bassist John Gahlert on vocals, guitarist Alex Fischer on bass, and newcomer Ferdinand Rewicki joining the band as the new guitarist, Fall of Serenity is just as brutally efficient with their unique brand of metalcore. Progressive melodies that recall Swedish metal influences and thrashy choruses that remind one of Bay Area metal, “The Crossfire” is rife with splashy guitar harmonies as well as an appearance by legendary female metalhead Sabina Classen (Temple of the Absurd, Holy Moses).
- J-Sin
Burning Skies — Greed FIlth Abuse Corruption Buy it at Amazon
Recorded at Rape of Harmonies (Maroon, Fall of Serenity, Heaven Shall Burn), “Greed Filth Abuse Corruption” is aptly described using all the metal clichés: heavy, fast, brutal, gruesome, extreme. Grinding out tracks of death metal, filthy hardcore, and crusty grindcore, the U.K. based Burning Skies embodies old school Carcass and Napalm Death. I think they said it best with a track entitled “Emocalypse”. In-fucking-deed.
- J-Sin
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