July 2006 Archives

CD, Ahdistuksen Aihio 2006

Track list: Slavery Soaking the Spartan Spirit - Rubbercunt - For My Kin Who Waits You in the Shadows - Black Powder Orgasm, Dum-dum Bullet Climax - Baptized at Bermuda Triangle - Neon Destroyer - Do Insects Have Graves? - Sadomatic Rites - Pinion Pie & Sweet White Wine

This album mixes raw black metal vocals with surprisingly light and cheery electronics. The mismatch is obvious and annoying. The music should be oppressive, aggressive and threatening; now it's none of that. Either the music needs new vocals or the vocals need new music. Only Do Insects Have Graves? gets where the other tracks should be. The music also sounds too clean, too sparse and minimalistic. So - not even almost there. **

CD, Abracadaver 2001

Track list: Sin Deep My Wicked Angel - All Hope In Eclipse - Born In A Burial Gown - Summer Dying Fast - No Time To Cry - The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh - Suicide And Other Comforts - Dinner At Deviant's Palace - The Black Goddess Rises II - Scorched Earth Erotica

Cradle of Filth has put together a mixed bag of stuff. Couple of instrumental pieces, some new tracks, a cover, some remade older tracks... Most of the stuff have one thing in common and that's their mediocrity. Cradle of Filth has made better stuff, and even the decent tracks, like The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, sounded better the first time they were released. The only glimpse of light on the album is the excellent Sisters of Mercy cover No Time to Cry. The rest of it can be forgotten. **

CD, Autopsy Kitchen Records 2004

Track list: Intro - Solitary Voyage - Scorpio Incarnate - Ashes to Ashes - The Glorious Moment - Rise and Fall - Transmission Postmortem

I'm quite unfamiliar with the US black metal scene, but apparently there's life in the underground. Demise is, at least, a solid proof of that. Armed with a cold, bleak style reminiscent of Burzum's coldness, Nachtmystium paints some pretty convincing soundscapes. The album sounds simply dismal. It's not pure gold, though - the album-ending ambient noise piece Transmission Postmorten is uninspiring filler stuff. I'd prefer proper music. ****