Andromeda - Chimera

Andromeda's third attempt at being a progressive band fails about as hard as Mickey Mouse in a knife fight with Jack The Ripper and Minnie Mouse in a rape scenario with the Boston Strangler. Instead of being a progressive band with a set of worthwhile songs ready to spread like the next sexually transmitted disease from your local college, Andromeda, content with leaving their only truly worthwhile release, Extension of the Wish, working double time without overtime pay, seemingly have felt safe releasing the next album to hailed by fans of musicians pretending to be the next breakout progressive metal band. The lack of balls in the album's tone, seemingly exchanged for a Fabergé egg production with a focus on NASA level precision and clinicality and slip-n-slide slickness, holds much of the album back - especially the good parts (there are no great parts) - This bland tone has inclined me to be more comfortable with categorizing Chimera as a prog-rock album instead of a progressive metal album. Yes, in Andromeda's search for the sky, NASA production has screwed them over.

David Fremberg and Martin Hedin, I'm convinced, ruin everything they touch. David Fremberg's would feel comfortable in a airy white button down shirt that cost too much dancing gaily with Martin Hedin belting out slightly more technically proficient Backstreet Boy tunes. I loved Andromeda when I heard the pre-Fremberg (Fremberg?) version of Extension of The Wish - Mackrory was nowhere near as talented a vocalist as David however when he unleashes in The Words Unspoken, I am hooked for some reason.

Sadly, Johan Reinholdz has really held back on the recent releases. You can tell I am a die hard fan of Extension of the Wish. Chimera is the perfect example as to Reinholdz's recent impetus to "focus on the song." The main problem with this line of thought is that, I never cared about how convincing the 'song' in Andromeda was... I just wanted to hear Johan unleash guitar leads blistering enough to compel Petrucci to suck his thumbs and Herman Li to desperately search for his diapers and pacifier. On the whole album, Only near the halfway mark of "Blink of an Eye" do you really get a taste at what Johan can do with his instrument. While prog-heads would sit in amazement at the density of the lyrical prowess and well defined (yet to my ears fairly straightforward) compositional structure, I find myself wishing I was listening to the energetic and decisively metal attack of the debut and, I must admit, moments of II=I.

Going Under is a perfect example of why this album bothers me - Bombastic keyboard / guitar lead transforming into an anti-climatic, boring and nu-metal sounding (uckk) verse. The song picks up whenever Johan is playing but he constantly takes a backseat to the rest of the less interesting instruments. Granted, Fabian Gustavsson's bass playing is impeccable and excellently performed throughout the album and Thomas Lejon maintains an excellent presence behind his Sabians and Pearls but the song falls flat on it's face, like much of the rest of the album, in terms of excitability. Throughout the album, I feel less like I am listening to the band who released a seminal album in modern progressive metal and instead, more like I am listening to every Dream Theater fan's wet dream.

But it can't be all band right? I mean, aside from some of the horrendous vocals on "The Cage Of Me," I find the track momentarily charming in a cute girl walking past me "Yeah, thats nice," kind of way. Though, Before the song is halfway done I'm running full speed to a Wendy's, searching for the beef. Opener, "Periscope," also contains one of the album's highlights. While not as intense, or memorable (I swear I've heard it before), or even catchy as the worst riffs on "Extension," the main riff is worthy of mention as one of the high points on the album and the chorus in "Periscope," a song which, I must mention, also gets my vote as worst titled song since Disemboweled's awkwardly titled "Sperms Flowing From Nun's Vagina" and until Necropedophilia's 2006 track "Grandpa Gave Me A Japanese Vaginal Expander For X-mas," actually retains some replay value - one of the only parts of this album worth listening to maybe twice. Maybe.

Bottom line - you've heard it all before - the clean guitar interludes, the underlying keyboard, the intricate guitar lines, the competent rhythm section doing everything right but nothing wrong, the production, the song content and lyrical direction, melodies and even the vocals. Its all better found in other bands doing more interesting things better - Time Requiem for one. I wouldn't call the album stale - it's edible. Chimera is that lunch you ate every single day of the year when you were in seventh grade and your school only served one meal which had just enough taste to create the saliva to get it down, but still tasted about as vivid as the cardboard you were dared to eat by your friends.

Gridlink - Amber Gray

Imagine, if you will, yourself sitting in your room enjoying a book when the neighbor's dog begins barking. You try to drown out the dog's barking with the most abrasive grind you can get your hands on. Instead of overpowering the dog's barks however, the dog is killed by the blasts and speedy riffs, your book is thrown across the room in a fit of rage and instead of enjoying a pleasurable night sitting in your favorite chair diving into an abused piece of fiction, you throw on your stompin' boots and run down the neighborhood crushing small animals skulls while indulging in a Popsicle that, by some miracle, happened to be laying in the gutter. Its kind of like that - a midnight, fit of rage erupting out of nowhere.

Jon Chang's vocals are ear piercing and constant from the moment this eleven minute album - a full length according to the band but eleven minutes? Seriously? - begins. Amber Gray, the title track barely starts before second track 3 Miles Below Sea Level begins. Both sound relatively similar with the same basic idea coursing through both - speed, blasts, screaming scratchy death, etc. Matsubara is an exceptionally speedy guitarist - his right hand moving at pick melting speeds and his left, creating a tornadic blur on the neck. Though he can play, I find the short song lack a hook.

Something must be said of Brian Fajardo's drumming. I'm not entirely sure where he can possibly pull the energy to move and blast at speeds this fast. He does stir up some incredibly technical and impressive fills at near - blackout inducing speeds. Okada conjures up some excellent bass fills... hypothetically speaking. I can barely hear him at all though I will use my imagination and claim that he is not playing jazz fusion. The moments when he is audible - notably the beginning of "Stake Knife," also the most memorably song on the album for me - he impresses. Some extra low-end would do a lot to increase what I would deem a "thin" overall tone with emphasis on the highs and mids. A note on this song, as the central portion of the song - thirty / forty seconds in - shows some interesting composition work.

Not something I would find myself listening to over and over again, but there is a slight bit of charm in this blistering rocket ride into oblivion. The lack of any noticeable tempo variation and only minor song variety and vocal variation leave me feeling as though this is an incomplete piece of grind. Luckily, this doesn't fall into the same ditch as most modern grindcore. Heavy on the grind, no core. Lots of noise and harsh abrasive vocal destruction.

THIS IS A
NJ BAND

News 10-03-08

Lethal Strike

All recording is finished for the Lethal Strike demo. The mixing phase has begun. Shouldn't be long now.

Carnivorous Vagina - Istinto Omicida

If you like death metal thats technical, brutal and coherent then this album is probably not for you since it has none of these characteristics. In fact, this album is probably the exact opposite of any of those things. First let me say that I'm guessing this band is attempting to be some kind of Gore-Grind / Death Metal hybrid. If your wondering what brings me to that assumption let me explain. The "band"'s name is Carnivorous Vagina and they have songs with such titles as "Hatchet Punishment", "Infanticidio" and the aptly titled "Worms." Its quite possible that they somehow found a broken Mortician album that skipped or was broken directly in half and through some hellish bit of bad luck on the listener's part still worked when Dr. Morbus first started learning how to play what could possibly be considered a musical instrument. Now, don't take that as meaning that this band sounds like a horrible Mortician clone. In fact this band sounds nothing like Mortician. In fact the only reason I used that analogy was because every track sounds like a single three second chunk of music that they looped over and over and therefor sounds like a skipping CD. I'm guessing that the band was hoping that this music would eventually kill the listener due to its horrible-ness and then be spread across the world as being the first album to immediately kill those who listened to it. Not because it was so utterly brutal but because it sounded so utterly bad.

I'm going to first skip directly to the production. Though I've heard worse production, I've never heard a production sound that sounded as if the microphone was placed inside a man's ass and recorded from the inside of his stomach. The overall distortion sound is something between a yeti hypophenating and Micheal Moore having a orgy with the fattest human and non-human women possible. The bass is akin to Neanderthal love grunts and the vocals, when audible, are much of the same. The drums are quite strange. They are programmed first of all but what immediately sets them apart from any other recorded drums is that they must have been recorded in an airplane hanger; the drums positions in one corner and the drum mics in the other corner as far away as possible. The drums are so distant that you have to strain to hear them. Of all the instruments however the drums are possibly the best part of all of the horrible parts that were pulled together to comprise this disgraceful piece of music. I use the term 'music' lightly.

The Songs are quite short with each averaging maybe two and a half minutes. There is however one five minute song. In short there are no "epic" songs on this album. If there were, theres a good chance that particular song would actually suck time out of the universe and we would never gain it back. Let me give you a run through of the tracks. "Buried / Undead", "Abomination", League Of Evil", "Captured", "Hell Massacre", "Zombi Ritual" (Not to be confused with Death's Zombie Ritual which far surpasses anything that this band could ever excrete), "Tortured", "Bloodbath", "Slip In Bloodshroud", "Ravish", "Deathouse", "Circle Of The Damned" and "Primitive Ravage" could all be the same track for lack of anything remotely different about them besides the horrific spoken segments before each. The Intro track, "Worms", and "Infanticidio" are all what I would call noise tracks and comprised of nothing but random noises and slight bits of melody... possibly. The only two songs that actually stuck out in any way were Hatchet Punishment which employed some interesting snare rythyms (I think it was a snare drum but it may have been a human butcherer banging on steel pipes with a cleaver) which i actually did hear over all the Moore orgying and through the stomach of the unlucky mic-stand, and the title track which was another noise track but was not actually nearly as bad as anything else on this record.

Warning! This is the utmost worst sounding noise ever recorded. In all I sincerely hope that they did not make too many of these. To be perfectly honest with you, there is not enough room on earth for more than one copy of this album. I would have preferred to pay three dollars for a rock of the same size than this album. The PMRC should make a new rating to place on this album and label it H. H for the following words: Hellish, Horrible, Heinous, Horrendous, Hideous, Horrid, and also Hairy - hairy just for kicks though I guess you can also say that the album sounds hairy in some places. I may not be the greatest music critic however I have heard enough music to know that music is not supposed to sound like the inside of a garbage truck. This album is evil. Not because its meant to be or sound evil but because anything this horrible has to be evil. I once heard someone die. This album was the cause. Actually in the song "Bloodbath" you can hear the people in the recording studio dying. Its around one minute and fifteen seconds into the song. If your feeling the need to listen to music that is nothing but sheer crap or looking for a unique way to commit suicide this is your album.

Mefisto - The Puzzle

Sometimes, I wish that the intro to Mefisto's "The Puzzle" would last for the length of a drive across the emptiness of Monument Valley's roads and highways, erupting into the chaotic extremity of it's bulk only while finally reaching the wasteland I had been searching. I could imagine opening the trunk of my rusting used vehicle and grabbing the shovel I had purchased shortly after I had murdered the random prostitute on the side of the road and burying her dismembered and beaten corpse deep in the dry earth beneath the shadows of the buttes.

There is clearly something special residing in the the first track of this demo - a somber memory of a time when everything was simple. The eruption of distortion is welcome however and "Hunting High, Die" is a fitting opening to the album. Without mentioning the excellent melodic base tormenting the underlying structure, Omar Ahmed rips through some excellently executed leads and solo material, proving himself an expert with the bar. Sandro Cajander's bass playing is appreciatively audible and well played as well. While he fails to do anything of major merit bass-wise, his vocals are another beast entirely. As close to black metal as anything you would hear in the mid 80's. Venom have clearly been an influence on his voracious appetite for his snarling nasty vocal approach.

Although a minute into the demo's title track I detect a slight change in tone, it is roughly at the same time I recognize that I've never heard a snare sound like the punch effect from a cheap action movie before. It might just be me though it has a distinctive "ka-pow." This is even more noticeable on fourth track Underground Circus. Returning to title track, The Puzzle, the exceptional solo section escapes being just a tad too long due only to its varied and building internal structure. The riff beneath it is simple and rather stale. A mediocre effort during this length would prove destructive to the song. The more melodic and melancholy harmony section closer towards the end of the track is welcomed however, providing a more interesting underlying structure - more depth of melody and rhythmic variation.

Another beautiful acoustic introduction into Os Liberty cements Ahmed's position as a criminally underrated and unknown yet incredibly talented guitar player. He flawlessly skims through what could be one of the finest and most mature moments on this demo. His ear for harmonious disharmony once the lead kicks in is just another bullet on his resume of guitar tricks. Roberto "Thord" Gornath's drumming stands out on this track. He displays an ear for dynamics and percussion composition. Sandro's bass playing is my only gripe on this track, as I feel he has ultimately taken the easy way out of the song, playing what is expected and not providing anything exciting to the four minute instrumental.

Underground Circus, the final track is a long, eight minute attempt at something epic though I feel it fails halfway there. I get the instinctual notion that it would work better as two shorter songs though Neither half have the riffs to be good enough for a song each. This is the one track I don't think works on the demo. Yes, it shows the band can play but it isn't as in your face, attacking, and effective as the previous three tracks. It suffers from sub par writing on my part with little direction. It has moments of inspiration but they fizzle shortly after.

Eliminator - Breaking The Wheel Released!

ELIMINATOR DEBUT "BREAKING THE WHEEL" NOW AVAILABLE!
Get it at Suffering Jesus Records.

News: Sept 2008

Lethal Strike:

Everything except vocals are done. Shouldn't be long now.

Misc:

A little note about images that are not available at the moment, those images are linked from the Metal Archives website and therefore when Metal Archives is having issues with their image database the images will not show here. Upon the resolution of the database problems, the images will become available again.

Human Remains - Using Sickness As A Hero

Circus sideshows, industrial ventilation fans and a whole heaping load of mad-scientist-experimentation gone terribly wrong, "Using Sickness As A Hero" is seemingly influenced by random objects and, in the case of Paul Miller's vocal approach, Patric Mamali and John Tardy's lovechild. Ultimately seven songs of recklessly composed fragmented riff ideas and bizarre transitions that never develop fully.

Sludgy guitar tones and a penchant for bending virtually a note in every riff, clearly Jim Baglino and Steve Procopio were moving towards a goal of shunning any notion of pretentiousness or virtuosity. Dave Witte shines amidst guitar sludge and Teddy Patterson's furry bass. It seems Dave had the opportunity to basically use any part of his kit and his playing is in stark contrast to his drumming in Municipal Waste.

"Swollen," starts the album for me. Yeah, its the fifth song but its the first one that actually made me curious. It's the first song on the EP that actually made me want to hear the rest of the song. I can't say that I enjoyed where the song went - ultimately the song dissolved into a platter of out of place riffs all connected with those aforementioned transitions. "Human" contains Pikmin voices in the intro and a bass so fuzzy that Jame's peach was jealous. "Rote's" initial genetic make-up is equally awash in guitar widdles, like scraping the strings with a paper clip at varying speeds.

A massive amount of consideration was put into the last track on this EP. "Beyond Human Perception," if my copy serves me correctly, is, ultimately thirty nine seconds of silence. You be the judge on that attempt at musical philosophy.

Metal Inquisitor - Doomsday For The Heretic

While Metal Inquisitor is certainly their own band with a certain classic style, I believe it isn't outlandish or without (crystal) logic to say that Doomsday for the Heretic can best be described as a more thrashed and, definitely far more British (shhhh... I know they are German), version of a band that rhymes with "vanilla code" and comes from Kansas. El Rojo's vocal style is definitely reminiscent of Mark Sheltons with a healthy dose of Saxon's Peter Byford's own, anthemic style mixed in.

The tone suits everything that this album is about. The guitars are edgy with lots of treble and mid range, allowing the bass to really fill up the low end audibly. The drums are basic in sounds and in technique. Don't expect blast beats, crazy fast double bass or a four minute long drum solo halfway through the third track.

A lot of the band's sound is a clever reworking of other influential acts. The short acoustic intro immediately reminded me of the intro to Fight Fire With Fire though with a more romantic-era underpinning than Metallica could ever muster although Restricted Agony sounds like a less interesting throw-away song from Kill Em All right down to the Seek and Destroyish "ALRIGHT!." Vocally this one sounds much more like Bobby Blitz on Taking Over than Shelton or Peter Byford leading me to believe that El Rojo seems to still be finding his own style.

Although Thane of Cowder's opening riff reminds me of "Losfer Words" and other parts remind me of the chorus in Blind Guardian's "Don't Break the Circle," I find that the this and the next two songs are the strongest part of this album. Star Chaser - though somewhat Priesty in its naming and even more Halfordesque in its possible connotations) is catchy and easily singable. El Rojo's voice becomes more distinct at times during these songs. Midnight Rider continues with the memorable riffs and Priestisms.

Throughout this album though there is no doubt about what era Metal Inquisitor wished they were in. The entire album reeks of forgotten high tops, patched denim and leather, and mullets. Hell, Metal Inquisitor make me wish I was around during the heyday of metal. The album's title track is one of the best fist pumping and air guitar playing tracks I've heard in a long time. The last song on the album is a CD only track (the LP has an LP only track) with a guitar tone that I would compare to AC/DC on The Razors Edge album.

Now, don't go thinking that this is a modern day, flawless representation of what 80's metal sounded like because this album has its flaws. Infamia is the "epic" twin guitar dueling track on the album and yet, for its memorable melody falls short due to a haphazard structure which rears its ugly form most noticeably in the guitar lead section which, though interesting at first, ends rather sloppily with an awkward transition back into the main song section. Legion of Grey, though the shortest track suffers from the inclusion of a strange instrumental section and Logan's Run has some excellent sections though it could use some lead riff boostage. It has a great chorus and a great solo section but is thin otherwise. The inclusion of a sample mid song doesn't do much for me either.

______________________

Edit 2012: This album has become one of my absolute favorite albums and in hindsight this review is not accurate. This album is as close as we've gotten to a modern day classic in most regards. GET THIS AND BUY IT TONIGHT!

The Beast - Power Metal EP (1983)

The Beast's Power Metal EP, their first recording, epitomizes the energy and passion of punk infused metal. While I would never say that The Beast are entirely a metal band, I would neither say they are entirely a punk band. For me, they reside as both, maintaining the best qualities of each; the simplicity and edge of punk and the raw power and attitude of metal. Songs like Enemy Ace and The Shape - which also appeared on the Born To Metalize split (I may upload the track from this split as well for a comparison for anyone interested) - are expertly crafted classics with all the necessary qualities needed to be perfect examples of the hybridization of the two base genres.

One of my favorite aspects of this release is the moment you first hear Scott Ruth's vocals. They cut, like glass against the sole of your bare foot or against the wrist of a suicidal drug addict. Neglecting the fact that I prefer a more traditional vocal approach, Scott's vocals are miles ahead of his Ripping Corpse vocals. Its also refreshing to hear how important the bass is in the recording. It really ties so much together. Without Jeff Gross, this EP would really deteriorate into an unpleasant and amateurish quagmire. Even with such excellent drumming on the part of Doug Ryan and wild, yet reserved, guitar playing on the parts of Jack Pitzer and Ron Ace, Jeff Gross' bass playing is vital.

Opener "The Beast" forces you straight into the release, no release, no bullshit. No, epic elongated and abstract intro with mood setting purposes. Hell, there is no mood here. No attempt at pretentiousness. While "Radical Man" passes me by, almost always completely disregarded, "Enemy Ace" demands my attention. From the opening chug, to the growing intensity up to the awesome lead before the verse, Ruth's vocals ooze tension, especially during the masterful middle section. As well as having the greatest example of perfectly panned guitar effects, the section is fierce. Aggressive vocals, perfect return to the introductory riff which, once again, builds up to a memorable solo... and the Sabbathly intro of The Shape. While another great tune, with little to complain about, The Shape on this EP is nowhere near as metallic sounding as on the Born To Metalize split.

For a release that runs the same length it takes to listen to Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner once, you are given a heaping quality of material. Hell, if I had to choose between the two, I would choose "Power Metal" over the classic Maiden track.

The Beast - Power Metal EP (1983)

Bloodbath - Unblessing The Purity

Bloodbath have unleashed upon our virgin ears a deadly force composed of rotting remains and reanimated souls. There is no doubt in my mind that this is what modern death metal is meant to sound like - crushing, relentless and yet blessed with embalming melodies. Relentlessly Swedish in every way, Unblessing the Purity is demanding of attention. Demanding those who claim death metal has no new gold to pan retract their statements and grab their pick-axes.

The combination of Anders Nystrom and Per Eriksson is awesome. They manage to create some brilliant harmonies and riffs. The album would have benefited from a slightly dirtier, rawer guitar sound however and at times, I am wondering if the Katatonia relation has had an impact on the choice of guitar tone. Martin's drumming is tight and expertly played though, as I normally feel of his work ultimately un-noteworthy. Jonas Renske is soon becoming one of my personal favorite bass players. His rich tone on this album really helps dirty up moments that would sound tame and possibly empty (bass section in Sick Salvation).

Blasting The Virginborn reminds me of Grave mixed with Iniquity-esque tricks and treats. The ghoulish and haunting intermission is somehow more deadly than the fierce main riff. While the main riff leaves a single bullet in your skull, the subtlety of the slow, drowning interlude is more akin to being slowly crippled with disease. Eaten by maggots, you watch your own limbs fester and fall away. Weak Aside is torturous. Hidden amongst the rich tones are staccato bursts of shrapnel. Akerfeldt's vocals leave me wondering why he doesn't do Bloodbath full time instead of Opeth. He is clearly having a good time cleaning out his esophagus and sounds refreshed.

Sick Salvation blasts as well, though it has one condemnation - that being the inclusion of what I would consider a novelty transition halfway into the song. It seems like Bloodbath took the easy way across that particular moment. I would have like to hear something more in line with their abilities. The wicked solos and leads constituting the ending of the track work double time afterwards though. I think that my displeasure for the transition comes from a general annoyance on my part of each song having some segment of a slower melodic moment. Neither of the four songs really crush on straight through. Luckily for Bloodbath, these segments are not ill received as they are expertly written and consistently fluid however that small irksome quality is, nevertheless, there.

Mouth of Empty Praise seals the coffin for me. It may be my love of twisted rhythms in death metal but this song has some twisted fucking shit - like an evacuating centrifugal test-subject forgotten in his cage, gravitational forces crushing his internal structures. The empty chanting and fly buzzing closing the album is one of the more unique outro's an album has divulged in my listening years. I appreciate the mood setting of the outro and find it suits the song as well as the album.

Grand Magus - Monument

Grand Magus have been a band that has sought me out and crushed me last year with the release of Wolf's Return. Being my first foray into the music of this Swedish trio, after one listen I was hooked. The power they produce as well as the shear lack of pretentiousness their attack is constructed of is a welcome change to mass of bands that are trying to use Albert Einstein -like equations to write riffs that are then compressed into a dizzying blur of four hundred notes in the span of four seconds. Thats a note every hundredth of a second. Though I enjoy bands such as Decapitated and Necrophagist (Intestinal Incubation is brilliant) and all their ilk, its a blessing to hear the other end of spectrum. Wolf's Return, with brilliant songs like the title track, Blood Oath and Nine along with the opener Kingslayer and second to last track Light Hater makes this album not only an enjoyable listening experience, but as far as I'm concerned, an album that blows away mostly everything else that was put out last year (2005).


The album that Grand Magus released previously is, much like its follow-up, a brilliant boulder of doom that, when unleashed from its position, rumbles onward crushing anything in its path.

To start, the tone of this album is beautiful. Every instrument is mixed perfectly. Fox's bass shakes landscapes. Janne's guitar rips through the air like lightning spreading charged riffs all over the space with Trisse's drums pulling the entire package together. Janne's vocals are, without a doubt, some of the best in metal. Band's would be hard pressed to find someone with as much versatility as he has in range and effect. In some ways, he reminds me of a more metalized Chris Cornell. What I really like about his vocals are that words are easily distinguishable but still heavy as a beached whale. The mixing of all these elements is spectacular, nothing overwhelms anything else with the bass and guitar sounding almost like one instrument. Though I would have liked to see some of the solos a little higher in the mix, this doesn't impede on anything and they still stand out memorably.

With seven songs clocking in at forty three minutes, the album is neither too long nor too short. If Grand Magus could write an album which started in April then ended in July, I don't think I would turn it off except when I slept and only so I can press play when I wake up without missing anything. Regardless, for mere mortals, forty three minutes is a fine album length. The first song, is Ulvaskull which, though I don't speak Swedish, I would guess means "First of Seven Destroyers." Song two, Summer Solstice is a mid-tempo rocker worthy of much head banging and boozing. Brotherhood Of Sleep and Baptized In Fire continue in this style continuing to employ the wizardry of the mid-tempo-groove-masters. Chooser of the Slain, with its sick intro and bridge riff, iron-like verse and archaic atmosphere is a mid-album masterpeice. The fastest track - though still barely topping a residential speed limit - Food Of The Gods mercifully leaves us unscathed however doom-struck in a "wow, that was faster" sort of way, after an album of slower doomsterpeieces. The last track is the album "epic." Clocking in at ten and a half minutes, He Who Seeks... Shall Find erupts like Hawaii's constantly-slow flowing yet unfaltering volcanoes after a minute of drone. Half-way this drone picks up again, alone with a well placed bass solo from Fox. Though a hell of a track, a faster track may have been a more suitable closing track however, this track better represents the band's style and, though by far a mid paced album at most, selective sections of speed burst forth at places to up the tempo and also hint at the band's next, faster, album.

In all, this is a great album for any doom lover and even for those who have yet to take a dive into the sub-genre. Though I'm not going to go into depth about their lyrics, I will say that lyrically, this band also exceeds the vast majority of bands. Lyrically, they destroy whole swaths of the metal-genre. Incredibly reflective, personal and yet also socially conscious lyrics - much like Wolf's Return. For me, this album, more-so entire band, are making me yet another doom-aholic. Their blend of doom, groove, and tone is a truly powerful sound, unconquerable and beautiful.

Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage

Unlike "Valley of the Damned" which boasted excellent songwriting and a pure power metal foundation, "Inhuman Rampage" has rendered Dragonforce's excellent debut sheer luck. The problem with "Inhuman Rampage" is the myriad and unnecessary studio effects, and gimmicky tricks. Almost every song has a section that makes little if any sense in the grand scheme of the song. For instance, opening track and, thanks to Guitar Hero, every wide eyed guitar-hero fan's favorite song, could have been on par with a song such as Disciples of Babylon yet amidst all the excellent material exists a ton of needless crap. Both the beginning and end of the song are awful- beginning due to what is clearly studio created drum-placement and the end is longer than the closing to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Revolution Deathsquad, the following song, starts out with what sounds like a spaceship flying overhead and sprinkling fairy dust upon the world. Between each fragment and riff there is a multitude of guitar squeals and frills. Totally neglecting the fact that at two points ZP sounds like Cher, his vocals sound forced and even though he does do a second rate version of Tobias Sammet (Edguy) he doesn't seem to portray an ounce of fun such as he did on the debut album. The elongated solo section almost totally destroys the second half of the song but instead of relying entirely on wankery, they instead opt for the most un-metal of song destroyers - the Cher voice - again. The riff three minutes and change into the song (shortly after the first Cherism) flows awkwardly and showcases nothing but that Li and Totman can write a groove riff.

Storming The Burning Fields and Body Breakdown are totally forgettable. Probably because they are composed of the same terrible Ideas. Body Breakdown does sport some really questionable verse composition with random keyboard effects and singing that would make George Michael stand at attention. I am still concerned whether the guitar noodles that exist in these songs are pure unadulterated "studio dares." I can imagine Totman and Li sitting together in the studio - possibly in each other's laps - and Herman daring Totman to make a noise that sounds like an alien spaceship decorated by the Queer Eye guy flying into space. Also, I dont think that bassist Frédéric Leclercq is giving enough space to play. I would claim he is wasting his obvious talent being hidden behind the obvious guitar duo's need for spotlight.

Mentioning the other songs is really not too necessary. Operation Ground and Pound is long... too long. Although it would have the album's best intro if there were no keyboards, it becomes more of the same when the song starts - long drawn out solos and noodling. And what the hell is that slow, low chug riff with the keyboard solo? Cry For Eternity is also too long. Also, repetitive. A lot of the same melodies and harmonies, just not a lot of stand out moments for me. I continue to feel, throughout this album that the most memorable moments are the moments that are really not even part of the song. The Pac Man noise, the slap bass section... etc. Thats not a good thing. The Flame of Youth is simply the topping on the cake. It sounds like every other song, every other section, constant whammy-pinch harmonic experimentation, more alien saucer espionage. The placement of Trail of Broken Hearts is terrible. It should be in the middle to break up the tracks.

The album is very tiring to the ears. There is little variance in tempos, to much gimmicky effect noises and guitar lead work that in beneficial in no way. I'm left feeling that Dragonforce are now at a point in their career where they want to be known not as a good band but the band that is better than Dream Theater. I rarely say this, but Dream Theater is better. Dragonforce wont ever be better if they keep writing songs with little individuality and too much blatant masturbation.

Death - Human

Utterly pummeling. Subtly technical and simply brutal. Pure aggression, anger and beauty perfectly balanced in a precise unleashing of hatred towards society. Death's "Human" is one of the several albums that all death metal is measured against. It is a genre milestone, a glimpse into the future of death metal. It is the perfect blend of all that was death metal at the time - groove, brutality, and the imminent infusion of jazz elements with the genre's past thrash roots. It is an album that is as relevant today as when it came out almost sixteen years ago. For me, it is hard to be unbiased toward the album that introduced my once ignorant ears to death metal.

Thousands of words have been used to describe this album. Thousands of hours have been spent listening to "Human" by fans all across the world. These fans have been drawn into the deep production, master songmanship, incredible musicianship and personality of each song. Listening to Human is an experience. Blasting songs like "Suicide Machine" and "Lack of Comprehension" is almost a spiritual awakening for many. The sheer impact of the music hitting you is enough to make you stop an allow the songs to absorb you and your attention. I once played "Lack of Comprehension" in a school class for a presentation and everyone simply sat and stared for three minutes, completely shocked. To them it was an eternity, for me, it was over too quickly.

As the drums fade into "Flattening of Emotions," you are completely unprepared for the sonic intensity of the guitar tone. I still get chills racing up and down m spine when that song erupts. It's like an orgasm of death metal fury - so powerful and close. One of the most powerful aspects of the album's tone is its depth. The guitars sound as if there are a million guitars playing simultaneously and hitting every note at the same time. Sadly, the bass is generally lacking and even the intro to "Lack of Comprehension," is a bit hard to decipher without close examination. Schuldiner's guitar tone is simply overpowering the bass. DiGiorgio should have been a bit more audible in the mix. Luckily the guitar tone that Chuck and Paul Masvidal discovered for this album is simply incredible. The tone is beautiful and fucking HEAVY. It is absolutely uncompromising.

This production supports one of the strongest song collections that any album has ever had. Ever. Eight songs, thirty-three minutes and fifty-seven seconds of perfection. The album neither lasts too long nor is is over too quick. It beats the crap out of you and then lets you get up only hoping for more abuse; more Death. "Flattening of Emotions" and "Suicide Machine" exists as a brutal opening combination only to be followed by "Together as One" and the intense "Secret Face." Hell, if that was all that was on this record, it would already be worth the price of a full length. Instead however, we get the lethal quartet of previously mentioned "Lack of Comprehension" and three closing tracks that fit perfectly onto the album yet hint at the future direction that death would take with its next three albums: Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic, and Sound of Perseverance. "See Through Dreams", "Cosmic Sea", and "Vacant Planets" are monumentally intense jazz/death hybrids with a hint of jazz more than the pure fusion of jazz and death metal that Pestilence (latter albums) and Atheist would become known for.
These songs are ultimately an extension of the musicians themselves, notably Schuldiner. Reinert's drumming is spectacular and compliments Schuldiner and Masvidal excellently. Guitar solos are superb, each one capturing the essence of the song and existing as separate memorable entities. These musicians and somewhat absent DiGiorgio - who we don't have to mention due to his undeniably incredibly talent - are masters of subtlety. The quick high pitched noises twenty-four seconds into "Suicide Machine," bassist DiGiorgio I believe, and the vocal effects used later on at the end of "See Through Dreams" are only two examples. The album's charming quality is found not in the music but in the musician's prowess at adding these minuscule yet personal touches to the music.

This album, "Human," is a piece of art that all must own. It is an example of metal, death metal and music at its very best. The effort and legacy of the musicians on human is unquestionable as is the strength and legacy of the release itself.

For Sale

I recently cleaned my room and I have discovered some stuff I no longer want. Mostly random tids and bits that were hidden underneath bits and tids but I figured instead of throwing them out, there might be someone out there who might want some of this stuff.

24 Disc Cd Rack: Holds, obviously 24 Cds. The interesting thing about this particular cd rack is that the cds lock in so they wont fall out and you push a button and they pop out for you to grab. It's kind of cool but I have no room for it and too many Cd's.
Portable Cd case: Car carrying case for CD's. Has a Zero Tolerance magazine sticker on it. Blue, good shape.
Hacride - Amoeba sticker
The Amenta Sticker
Metallica - No Leaf Clover T-shirt. Worn maybe once. Size XL. I'm a medium at best.
Edguy - Rocketride Mousepad

NP: The Beast - Power Metal - 3. Enemy Ace

News: August 2008

Lethal Strike:

Some quick news about what has been going on around here lately. 95% of the guitars for the new Lethal Strike Demo are done. Bass was finished this morning so aside from some minor parts its all going along very nicely. Everything is sounding extremely thrashtastic. Sadly the release will not be ready for their show this weekend at B.B. Kings in NYC with Finntroll and Warbringer however it will be available shortly afterwards.

Ascendant:

After three years (possibly more) there will be more Ascendant material out soon. Four songs are in the works: Three new songs and a properly recorded version of "The Masada Fortress" which originally was only available as a terribly quality live version which Mike recorded with a microphone next to his television speaker from a live DVD we did back in 2005. There is a possibility we will change names but I am still unsure of this. The whole release should be available sometime in either September or early October.

Eliminator:

New material in the works at the moment.

Misc:

I am looking for live videos of Primordial, Coroner or Opeth (Morningrise - era). If anyone has any of these available please contact me. I am open to trading for them. Also I may start uploading some rare demo's I have stocked away for everyone to listen since I don't want them going to waste. I have some stuff from Gangrena and Desolation Angels I do want to upload as well as some other bizarre material I acquired over a trip last summer to New York.

I'm contemplating writing a detailed walkthrough for Guardian's Crusade for PS1. I haven't played it in a while though it was such a fun and intriguing game. If all goes well and people enjoy it, I might proceed to do more games in the future. I figured that I would start with a simple game at first.

Other than that there isn't much to say. I will be doing more reviews and possibly interviews once the school semester starts. I will have a whole lot of time to do a whole lot of nothing and I figure that tossing more material online at warp speed (or slightly slower) is as good a method to waste time as anything else.

A Day Of Pigs

Anyone who has never checked out A Day Of Pigs that is into sludgy metal has to get their head out of the swamp and get this New Jersey band's first full length, Lecherous. This five piece outfit, comprised of Kevin LeBlanc (Vocals), Steve Silberg (Guitar), Bill Belford (Drums), the surname missing TJ (Bass) and newest member Pat Sheridan also on guitar spend their days swishing and swaggering to a steady helping of sludge.

In 2006, ADOP released a 4 song EP entitled The Oath. While a valiant effort, The Oath was a tired soldier. Containing a different lineup than currently, a second guitarist listed as RFDS is noted. While Lecherous leans towards sludge, this early EP is rooted in the a more hardcore direction with sludgy undertones. The move toward an even sludgier direction was incredibly beneficial.

Opening song "Through Time," lacks energy and a captivating opening riff. LeBlanc's vocals are buried and his excellent rasp hidden. While the song is competently composed, there is no real hook to cling to except a single riff one minute into the song providing an obfuscatous essence to a mostly hollow husk.

"My Dying Rose" is even less engaging. Though the song does have a nice insidious riffs with which to wallow with, the entirety of the rest of the song is shallow and unappetizing. Much like wading through waves of fecal debris, even the crests in this song provide little escape from the troughs.

"Black Cobra" must have been written at a later date from these two previous songs. For one thing, it recognizes the effect tension and a constant building progression can have upon a listener. The subtle play of melody and a heavy hitting core this composition has makes it the most complete and mature song on the album.

Final song, "Forever My Dead," also has a more mature essence. Roughly half-way through there is a riff that hints towards a love of Slowly We Rot, Obituary though not nearly as effortless. While the Florida masters reaped their harvest of slow and destructive with an unmistakable talent for crushing cultivation, ADOP haven't quite sowed their fields properly.

The Oath has ideas and a firm musical ground on which they were meant to be built however this EP, sadly, comes off as sounding amateurish. Luckily, Lecherous, showed a much improved and more mature band. In 2007 ADOP returned...

Released by Spare Change Records on November 13th, Lecherous, while maintaining some hardcore and doom leanings piled on the sludge thicker and heavier than its middle school predecessor. A Day of Pigs, in a single release crushed their EP hands (and mud-covered-boots) down. Kevin LaBlanc's vocals are more prevalent, Meat's guitar tone is both more nasty and tasty, and instead of a clean, badly mixed bass, Holly's (apparently TJ did not play bass on this recording) rougher, not-quite-Lemmy-but-dirtier-than-Geddy, tone was very pleasing.

From the first minutes of Lecherous, a noted change can be felt in the attention to detail: more courageous uses of melody, more complete and riveting songwriting and a seeming ease for creating compelling hooks without resorting to the trend of clean sung vocals. A Day of Pigs, while forging ahead with more adept songmanship bucked the cliches off their backs.

Also offered is an increase in the "metal." Whereas The Oath was somewhat light in having blatant metal inspired riffs, Lecherous embraces the metal so much so that some songs sound as if written by a Dio possessed ADOP. "Pikey" sounds so Cathedral like that I had to check to see if I had somehow switched my Cd player to my cassette deck and somehow left "Soul Sacrifice" inside. "Way To Go Fuckface" and "In The Crease" also lay down the metal as thick as the sludge.

Also present are two instrumental tracks entitled 665 and 667 respectively. At first I was wondering where 666 was and then I found myself wondering where these instrumentals came from. 665 is actually beautiful and stunning, a pool of clean water amongst the industrial leakage and blackened grime embraced by the rest of the songs.

Though a sevenfold better album than their previous EP, Lecherous still has a copious amount of filler and forgettable material. I found the inclusion of My Dying Rose from the EP to be a terrible choice. Inferior to even the worst of the newer songs, it was wasted time. Regardless, with such a massive improvement in every area, I am sure a new album will be even better and more precise than Lecherous.

Live: August 1st, 2008

Lethal Strike

Instead of wasting a night watching reruns of Junkyard Wars I decided to check out my friends in Lethal Strike and Cypher Seer and after a short ride up to The Cup in Linden, I walked in just as L.S. were beginning their set. Their self-titled track was a definite highlight as well as a blisteringly awesome cover of Seek and Destroy. Toxic Terror sounded dreary as ever as well - really looking forward to a good recording of this song. Also included was a cover of Anthrax's Metal Thrashing Mad which would have been even better if only Marcus or Salim had multicolored facial hair.

Syd Barrett

I was impressed. I was actually curious before I even saw them come on stage since I see their drummer all the time since he works at the legendary Vintage Vinyl. Definitely a conglomerate of hardcore punk and sludge and metal and all things doom, each song was expertly crafted for maximum punch. Interestingly, I found myself constantly watching the drummer, as his playing reminded me greatly of Steve Shelton (Confessor) in his continued twisting of beat and rhythm. though I found his use of only a floor tom and one rack tom unique. Heavy is a word that describes many things. Syd Barrett are massive...

Cypher Seer

Though I tend to find the use of keyboards in metal tedious, Cypher Seer's use of the instrument doesn't irk me. It is not overused and their brand of European styled power metal is still very much a guitar-bass-drums showcase. Zano (sp?) has a strong voice, and carried the tunes and vocals well though. I am reminded of the singer of Killswitch Engage in his inflection though overall I get a distinctly "metal" feel. Apparently, this was the first show Cypher Seer has played with their three new members. Only Sergio, Sergio 2, and Rod - Guitar, Keyboards, Guitar respectively - are original members. I am looking forward to their show in September at B.B. Kings with Iron Savior. As good as they were. I think that they will be even tighter and better rehearsed next time in September.

On a more personal level, it was great to see Rod since his relocation to Florida.

First Impressions

Breaking The Wheel

I would be lying if I wasn't impressed with the new Eliminator album. To think that I had a hand in such a masterful slab of metal is mind-boggling. It is a modern classic that rivals not only the thrash and extreme metal of today but can sit along the best of what yesteryear has provided us as well. Each of the seven songs is a auditory template to one's demise, hatred and anger. Equal parts Ride the Lightning, Peace Sells... But Who's Buying, Agent Orange and Soulside Journey, Breaking The Wheel is utterly devastating. Its heaviness is unrivaled. It will grab you and crush you in an unrelenting barrage of evil and despair and tormenting power. It pulls you in every direction, stretching your senses. It is more than simply music. It is the essence.

Lethal Strike

Bayonne's Lethal Strike are currently doing some recording with me at the Contaminated Tones Complex. More information when the recording is finished.

News: July

Due to recent and planned future endeavors I decided to manage my activities and allow people to see what I have been up to through a blog as opposed to a myspace or some other friend-sharing network. While there is little here at the moment I do hope that in the future months I will be able to provide some content that may be of interest to people searching the deep abyss of the world wide web. Hopefully this will be presented through interviews and album reviews.

Recording:

In lieu of the completed work on Eliminator's first album. I am currently looking for interested parties in New Jersey who are looking for somewhere to do quick recording work. I am mostly interested in doing Demo's and EP's due to time constraints, however should the opportunity arise I am also willing to work on a full length. Before people begin contacting me and asking me to do symphonic shit and turning their pile of crap into a mound of gold, let me just say that I am merely a vessel to capture what talent - or lack thereof - you have. I am not going to make a terrible musician sound like Jimi Hendrix. Don't expect to receive an album sounding like the newest Dimmu Borgir or Disturbed or some other over-produced heap of refuse. My aim is help fledgling metalheads record metal as it was meant to be heard - in your face, natural, aggressive, no holds barred, thrashing, brutalizing, powerful walls of passionate art.

Interested? Want an interview? Email me at: Orion_metalhead[at]hotmail[dot]com