March 2006 Archives
CD, Melscene 2006
Track list: Insania - Axes Granted - Praise These Wounds - Hell Raisin' Beer Drinkin' - Hell Belly - One Shot - War Sign - Good as Hell - Tomorrow in the End - We're Here to Die - Supersatan
Godsplague is back with another album full of sweaty heavy metal. There's some stoner-like groove in it, but mostly it's fairly straight-forward heavy metal. They do it well, too: there's little to complain, technically. Some tracks display really good songwriting (Praise These Wounds is the high point). All in all Triumph is a solid heavy metal album. ****
CD, Massacre Records 2006
Track list: Moritat - Atemlos - Macht - Paradigma - Fluch (Ahnung) - Opferzeit - Schwarzes Gift - Nahe - Zuckerbrot & Peitsche - Cabaret
German darkwave electro maestros are back. They have a huge catalog, which is mostly unknown to me. Cabaret, as it turns out, is a pretty good place to start from. I like the way Das Ich combines dark atmosphere, theatrical expression and dance beats; it all blends in rather nice. Of course, with such experience, that's hardly a surprise. ****
CD, Nuclear Blast 2006
Track list: Two Moons - House of Sleep - Leaves Scar - Born from Fire - Under a Soil and Black Stone - Perkele (God of Fire) - The Smoke - Same Flesh - Brother Moon - Empty Opening - Stonewoman
Armed with a new vocalist, Amorphis has come up with one of the best albums on their career. Eclipse is something of a synthesis of everything Amorphis has done. It rocks, simply put. The nev guy Tomi Joutsen handles the job well, having a good range of vocals from clean to rough. The songwriting is top-class, with few real A-list hits, but a balanced set of very good tracks. It's very hard to pick the best! Wonderful stuff. *****
CD, Dockyard 1 2006
Track list: Psalm of the End - The Bloody Path of God - Doomsday Prophecy - Nine Plagues of Egypt - The Grim Reaper - Riders of the Apocalypse - Hellborn - Church of Sacrifice - The Forgotten - Unholy Terror - Memento Mori - Circle of the Tyrants
What's up with metal bands and religion? If they really hate religion so much, why the love affair with the religious imagery? The Bloody Path of God, for example, is a very religious album, with just about every song drawing inspiration from god and church. How boring is that? The music's not superb, either. Mystic Circle has moved from black metal to death metal, practically removing most black metal influences from their music (the song Unholy Terror is an exception). The result is, frankly, fairly boring. **
CD, Rebellion Brothers Records 2006
Track list: New Era of Disgust - Cursing the Venomous Waters - My Demons - Sweet Purgatory - Rebellion Morningstar - Frostland - Opus Funerale - Hands of Immorality - Cold Sky Promise
Goathemy is Finnish black metal band. Their personal touch is the heavy use of a female vocalist. She's definitely the brightest thing about Frostland, as the album is fairly mediocre otherwise. Technically it's alright, but the songs just lack the final shine that would make any of them really stand out. **
CD, Century Media 2006
Track list: Ghastly Indoctrination - CataWomb - Requiem Grotesque - While They Sleep - To Harvest the Artefacts of Mockery - Poltergeist - REvolution:Vanity - Incide - Shardfigures - Insomnia
This German group mixes paranormal themes, black metal and slow doom influences to create an interesting and surprisingly fresh mixture of metal. The best track on the album is While They Sleep, which is spiced with very clever string arrangements. Even though there are low points, the end result is fresh, interesting and atmospheric. ****
CD, Moribund Records 2006
Track list: In the Depths of R'lyeh - Dead Dripping City - At the Edge of the Abyss - Where No Light Hath Shone - Fallen into Shadow - Awakening of the World's Doom
Xathagorra Mlandroth is the man behind this new extreme doom metal band. Extreme is indeed a good word for this album, since I reckon most people - even those who enjoy metal in general - will probably find In the Depths of R'lyeh unlistenable. Long songs featuring slow, crawling beats, wailing guitars and an ominous low grumble for vocals aren't for everybody. Those who fancy that sort of thing will enjoy In the Depths of R'lyeh immensely; for others, this has nothing to offer. ****
CD, Adipocere Records 2006
Track list: Ode - L'ombre du chaos - Chemin de brume - Vers la victoire - Prélude guerrier - Colère de feu - Galv ar brezel - Fureur Celtique - Galian da viken - Chant de bataille - P.m.q.f. - Sacrifies - An enor salv - Funerailles
Quality black metal from France, how refreshing! Drawing from Celtic spirit, Belenos is a French group hailing from Brittany. Their elegant black metal sounds pleasant in my ears. Don't know why - it's not exactly unique, but somehow the whole mixture of influences comes together just right. Chants de bataille is one of the better black metal albums recently. ****
CD, Moribund Records 2006
Track list: Nightwinds - Ultimate Covenant - Tsita Ndäte - Fathom Thee Eerie - Old Rancor - Lusting the Dead ov Nite - Venganza - Mixtla Miquixtli - Lightning Bolts ov Dead - Viaje a Mictlan
Mexico is home for many quite aggressive bands, and Hacavitz is no exception. They marry technical death metal with the evil sound of black metal with good results. I particulary enjoyed Mixtla Miquixtli, it's definitely the high point of the album. The rest of it sounds fierce and is good, ibutnot exceptional. ***
CD, 13th Planet Records 2006
Track list: Fire Engine - 10 Million Ways to Die - Caliente (Dark Entries) - Prune Tang - Dead End Streets - Pole Grinder - Jack in the Crack - Devil Cock - Viagra Culture - Untitled
Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen returns with Revolting Cocks after years of silence. The style remains the same: mixture of industrial, dance beats, buzzing guitars and pornographic imagery. The most interesting track on the album is the Bauhaus cover Caliente (Dark Entries) from the Saw 2 soundtrack. Featuring Gibby Haynes, the track mixes the original goth classic with Jesus Built My Hotrod to an amazing result. The rest of album is kind of average, though. ***
