Reviews
ANY BANDS/LABELS that want their releases reviewed can send me a
promo kit at the following address. Anything sent will be reviewed and posted
within 30 days.
METAL CORE ZINE c/o CHRIS FORBES PO BOX622 MARLTON, NJ 08053 USA
New Reviews - 4/23/04
SCEPTIC/Unbeliever's Script (Candlelight) Swedish style of death
metal that is ok. The band sound like many other bands doing the At The Gates
style, though the vocals aren't as throaty. The productions is good, but the
band lack that one solid crushing push that would make this rule. Info:
www.candlelightrecords.co.uk
CRIONICS/Human Error Ways To Selfdestruction (Candlelight) Fast and fast and
more fast. This is blazing speed to the max and I love it. Bone crushing
lighting like riffs and blasting drums with real death metal vocals make this an
underground treat. Production is on the money and this will satisfy any death
metal fan. Info:
www.candlelightrecords.co.uk
MINDSNARE/The Noble Ancestry (Forever Underground) Fast death metal like
Immolation, Incantation, etc. The band can really slay off some killer
riffs and songs are very memorbale and the vocals are good death metal style
vocals too. If you crave fast death metal with style, then pick this up. Info:
www.foreverunderground.com
DECRYPT/Holy Erotic Rapture (Forever Underground) Holy shit is this some fast
fuckin grind. Total speed freak band here. I loved it too. Fast as lighting
riffs and Jap grindcore vocals with a incredible production make this one cd you
must one. If you are into bands like Brutal Truth or super fast grindcore, buy
this baby. Info:
www.foreverunderground.com
JASAD/Witness Of Perfect Torture (Forever Underground) Generic 3 rate
Suffocation death metal. Not into this style of death metal at all. Info:
www.foreverunderground.com
VENEFICUM/Enigma Prognosis (Forever Underground) A wicked combo of
death/black metal with some tasteful keyboard parts here and there. The band is
usually a million miles an hour with some slow parts here and there to keep it
honest. Black metal style vocvals without all the cheap screams too. A solid
release. Info:
www.foreverunderground.com
CORPSE FUCKIN ART/Splatter Deluxe (Forever Underground) Cannibal Corpse style
death metal. You have heard this a million times from many other bands. Info:
www.foreverunderground.com
DARK DISCIPLE/Same-Decent modern death metal. The low vocals I could do without.
The music is mostly groove with some blast beats. If your into Cannibal Corpse,
Suffocation, etc then you'll like this. Info:
www.morbidrecords.de
NEHEMAH/Requiem Tenebrase (Apidocere) Fast fast picking black metal with total
black metal vocals. The band don't blast it into hyerspped 100% of the time,
which is good. They mix it up which I liked. I am not a huge fan of black metal,
but if you like bands like Immortal, Darkthrone, etc I am sure you'll love this.
Info:
www.adiporere.fr
LEIDEN/Empty (Apidocere) This wasn't my cup of tea, but this is like doomish
melodic metal with female vocals. The female vocals are incredible as her voice
is out of this world. If you like The Gatheirng, then you'll love this.
Incredible band for the style they play. Info:
www.adiporere.fe
CRYSTALIUM/Diktat Omega (Apidocere) This is like a epic black/death metal band
with some very fast blast parts. The drums have a horrible sound though and when
the band go into the ultra speed parts, it just sounds weak and frail. Vocals
are screamed at top of lung vocals which were cool by me. The band are trying to
be different and it works on some levels and others it does not. Info:
www.adiporere.fe
BENIGHTED/Insane Cephalic Prod (Apidocere) A ripping blast of death metal that
will explode your head off like the zombies in the Dawn of the Dead movie. The
band can write some explosive riffs and the blast beats come across really well.
The vocals are solid, excpet for the gutteral growls here and there. A worthy
purchase. Info:
www.adiporere.fe
FROZEN SHADOWS/Hantises (Holy Records) Holy shit this knock me for a loop. Fast,
crushing, barbaric black metal that never lets up and packs the power of a Mike
Tyson punch in his prime. The vocals are a mix of black metal with a big of the
death metal style thrown in. A quality production makes this a release worth
searching out.
Info:
[email protected]
CORBIN KING/Desatination (Levaithan) This is an all instrumental cd of some good
soild rock music. The guy who plays guitar can really play a lick and he sure
knows his chops. The songs for being without vocals are very memorbale and you
can just feel the emotion as he rips off the riffs. Love the 2nd song. What
emotion. Info:
www.leviathanrecords.com
SCRATCHING SOIL/War Experience (Stygian Prod) Pounding black metal with touches
of death metal here and there. The band can slash and bash and the band play
fast most of the time. They use the riff picking black metal style with black
metal vocals, but also the vocals are very strong here. The production is very
good and this is a quality black metal band. Info:
http://stygiancrypt.cjb.net
AMBRAZURA/Storm In Your Brains (Stygian Prod) Bone crushing death metal with
some wicked riffing and vocals. The band doesn't sound like any one band and
they just punish and hurt their guitars as the riffs fly out. Vocals are deep,
sick growls from hell. The band can blast into the fast lane and also slow it
down. A really fine display of death metal. Info:
http://stygiancrypt.cjb.net
THE GREAT DECEIVER/Terra Incognito (Peaceville) Bad groove metal band. Not into
this style at all and all these style bands are a dime a dozen. Give me
Biohazard. Info:
www.peaceville.com
HEARSE/Armageddon Mon Amour (Candlelight) Some wicked death metal that has a bit
more melody to it and is not just blast blast blast. This sort of remined me of
the band Carnivore at times. The band rely on the choppy, awesome riffs along
with some great vocals to get the jbo done here. The singer used to sing in Arch
Enemy from what I read and he shred here. Buy this cd at all costs. Info:
www.manicmusiconline.com
SCOTT MOSHER/Inferno (The Ambient Mind) This was a very weird, hauting release.
Very moody and at time it sounded like Rush if they played metal. I love track
#4 it is so catchy it's not funny and the vocals rule. This is the project of
one guy and he has been doing this for quite awhile now.
If your looking for something out of the norm and different, then I suggest you
pick this up and you'll be glad you did. Info:
www.theambientmind.com
ENSOPH/Opus Dementiae (Cruz Del Sur Music) Another fucked up band here. And that
is a good thing. Here is another band testing the limits and boundries of metal
msuic. The music is very hard to desribe as it's not total death metal nor black
metal. The band use flutes and everythint else you can thik of. The vocals are
growls of black metal and also death metal at times. A whirlwin of power and
very effective band here. Info:
www.cruzdelsurmusic.com
INCRIMINATED/Kings Of Misery (Displeased) This is raw black/death metal old
school style. I thought this was ok, it just didn't blow me away so to speak.
The music is mostly fast in the Hellhammer vein and the vocals are sort of like
Hellhammer as well. If your into old school stuff, you'll love this, but it just
lacked that killer punch I crave. Info:
www.displeasedrecords.com
ILL DIVINE/Blind Are The Eyes Of Servitude-Death metal in vein of Immolation,
Incantation with a chunk of Cannibal Corpse throw in here and there. Punishing
riffs and vocals. The production is solid, nto raw, but not too polished. The
band mostly play fast, but also slow it down as well. Not much to say excpet
this is a solid death metal band. Info:
www.illdivine.fr.st
VEHEMENS/Reincarnate-Another good soild band here. Blasting fast death metal
that punishes and hurts the listener with some great riffing and heart pounding
drums. Vocals are growls of death and are the way death metal vocals should be.
Production is good and I'd like to hear more from this band. Info:
www.vehemens.fr.st
VAGINAL PURUKENCE/Same-This I didn't get into much at all. Typical low tuned
death metal that sounds no different from the 1000's of bands I have heard over
the years. Info:
www.vaginal-purlence.com
ANAX/Same-Fast blasting death metal that I couldn't get much into at all. The
band plod through 14 tracks of tunes. The drums when the band go into the blast
parts sound like little tin cans. The vocals aren't strong neither. The songs
aren't memorable much either. Just can't find anything of value here at all.
Info:
www.anazmetal.cjb.net
JUMBO'S KILLCRANE/Rumpelstilskin Grinder/Spilt 7" (Red Candle Records) The
label was kind enought o send me the 7" (no recond player) and also a cdr
so I could review this. Jumbo's Killcrane smash through with some interesting
death metal. The band are faitly original and the band can play hard and fast
with quite a whallop. Rumpelstiltskin play death metal with a twisted and warped
mind. The guiatr sound is werid sort of like Human Remains from NJ. This is a
killer 7" well worth kicking up. Info:
www.redcandlerecords.com
CHASTAIN/The 7TH Of Never & The Voice Of The Cult (Leviathan) Holy shit. 2
great, classic power metal releases on one cd. These both were put out in the
late 80's and still sound as freah and as good as they did back then so don't
think is some sort of hope on the power metal bandwagon ok. If you like your
metal played with melody, but with plenty of power, passion and feeling then you
must buy this cd at once. Info:
www.leviathanrecords.com
DISMEMBER/Where Ironcrosses Grow (CandlelightUSA) Holy shit is this one
mothfuckin death metal release. This is 150% prime sedish death metal and is
just what the doctor ordered. If you don't think this is a fantastic death metal
release don't call yourself a fan of death metal. An absolute avalanche of
ravage death metal riffs and vocals. Riffs that punture, torture and pierce the
skin. Production is perfect and this is the best release of 2004 bar none so
far. Info:
www.candlelightrecords.co.uk
CONJURATION/Same-I listened to this a couple times and something was just
missing. The band play a raw brand of death/black metal, which I found to be ok,
just nothing earth shattering. The music kinda plod alongs at times and just
doesn't have that sense of melody and go for the throat style. Info:
http://heavymetalhorror.cjb.net
DEATHSPAWNED DESTROYER/The First Bestial Butchery (Northern Sound) This band
sort of mixes the swedish sound in with a bit of thje modern sound and also the
old sound too. The vocals are good, soild thick, growls of death metal. Riffs
that stew the brain and drums that will beat you senseless. Info:
http://bestialburst.blackmetal.fi
NAILGUNNER/All Life Ends-Nice job by these guys. At The Gates style death metal
that will rip, tear and just blast you into pieces. Riffs that will have your
head and neck snapping into overdrive for sure. Vocals are growls of death. A
fantastic release that any death metal fan would be proud to own. Info:
www.nailgunner.cjb.net
THE GREAT KAT/Wagner's War (TPR Music) One thing about the Great Kat. She has
never stranded away from her speed metal style. This is a 3 mini part cd with
songs that go about 2 minutes each. The msuic is fast, furious and raging speed
metal. Kat screams and screams out the vocals more. The riffs are lighting fast
and she had the ability and the power to back up her bold statements. If you
enjoyed her past stuff, then you'll love this speed metal demon release. Info:
www.greatkat.com
PRAYER FOR CLEASING/The Rain In Endless Fall (Tribunal Records) Groove death
metal that metla that sounds like a million other bands doing the nu metal
style. Not for me. Info:
www.tribunalrecords.com
DEADSOIL/Forever The Enemy (Tribunal Records) 5 tracks of modern death metal
with tons of groove and Pantera like vocals. However, this band does it right as
the songs are filled with melody and they pack a whallop. The fast parts totally
crush all. The drummer can really rip in with the double bass parts too. This
what Machine Head should have sounded like instead of going in the direction
they did. Looking forward to hearing more from this band. Info:
www.tribunalrecords.com
SCHOOL FOR HEROES/Arrivals/Departures (Tribunal Records) I wasn't into this
much, but if you love bands like Helmet, Pantera, Machine Head, etc. Groove
metal with lots of catchy, bouncy riffs and Pantera vocals. Info:
www.tribunalrecords.com
AGE OF RUIN/Black Sands Of The Hourglass (Tribunal Records) More groove metal
including a funny cover of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" sung
with death metal vocals. If your into any of the above 3 bands and the bands I
linked them with, you'll want this too. Info:
www.tribunalrecords.com
PRO PAIN/Fistful Of Hate (Candlelight) This is good groove metal. This band has
been around for a long time and they still sound great to these ears. Gary spews
out the vocals with hate and passion. The riffs are catchy, melodic, but still
pack a wallop. If your into the groove metal style this is simpy the best band
doing that style today. Info:
www.candlelightrecords.co.uk
CADAVER/Necrosis (Candlelight) This is one whale of a release. Trippy lighting
riffs and some killer death metal vocals. Did I mention this was fast? Sort of
like the band Whiplash playing death metal. Riff after punishing riff will have
your neck doing windmill circles. Get the ice packs ready. This is old school
all the way and if your into groove metal ha ha this will blow shit like that
out the window. Info:
www.candlelightrecords.co.uk
DESTINY/The Tracy Chapter (Lifeforce Records) Modern groove emtal done by a
million other bands. Same tired riffs and tough man vocals. If I want to listen
to groove I'll slap on Biohazard, Pantera or Pro Pain. This is just too generic
for my ears. Info:
www.lifeforcerecords.com
GHOLGOTH/Sommus Mortis Imago (Ordealis Records) A killer slab of death/black
metal that will have your neck spinning and your mouth smiling. Blastering riff
after crushing riff of slaying like technical riffs and some tasteful vocals
make this a must for any underground fan. Info:
www.ordealis.com
GNOSTIC/Evoking The Demon (Ordealis Records) Fuckin war metal at the highest
level. Blistering black metal that mows down everything. Fuck this release
kills. Total over the top black metal vocals and they sound great to these ears.
A sonic raw production only adds to this. If your into bands like Blasemphy from
Canada, you'll worship this. Yeah it's that good. Info:
www.ordealis.com
PERDITOR/In Signo Suo (Ordealis Records) Fast fuckin blistering black metal that
is total old school and sounds good to these ears. The riffs are good, the songs
are fast and aggressive and the vocals are sung with substance. The production
is good and this is another soild release from this label. Info:
www.ordealis.com
ZA FRUMI/Legends Act 2 Vampires (Waerloga Records) Sorry this is nor for me.
This is goth stuff like a soundtrack to a horror film. Info:
www.waerloga.com