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Got to admit, I didn't expect to like this. We've received a lot of power metal
releases over the past year or so and I usually shuffle them off on to Piston. As a fan of the genre when it was in its prime (Powermad, Deadly Blessing, Realm, Toxik, etc.) I have found most of the new
blood to be piss poor compared to their predecessors as they prefer to emulate rather than create. The quality is like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy - by the third or fourth generation,
things are going to look (sound) pretty shitty. 
I'm not quite sure why Necropolis started a sub-label for rock and roll but I am glad
they did. While I am generally selective about this genre of music, Fueled-Up Records hasn't disappointed me yet. I didn't think they would top the Deadbeats
disc and I was right, but barely. Herbert sounds a bit different then them, going in more of a stoner/space rock direction, rather then rowdy drunk rock and roll. They also use Piano, Organ, and it's nice
to hear a rock band use these two great instruments, rather then just limit themselves to guitar, bass, and drums. The production on this isn't that great but it's definitely a listenable
album. I think this band shows some excellent song writing talents, and will only get better over time. The vocals sound a littler odd too, I think they used some type of effect on it,
but I like how they sound. This is a really good release and Herbert will only get better over time. - 
With this, Mayhem’s newest full length they seem to be sending a message to all
the black metal acts out there intent on recreating A Blaze in the Northern Sky over and over again. Simply put…. GROW UP! Mayhem has long been regarded as one of the founding forces of
true black metal, yet with this record they surpass the genre itself by leaps and bounds. Adding electronic manipulations and other industrial tactics Mayhem proves that they are indeed ready for war. 
Notre Dame are a band I can really respect: the brain child of drummer Snowy
Shaw (x-Mercyful Fate). They are a band with talent and a sense of humor. These guys do almost every style of metal on this album. They can hit you with a horror metal song, a black metal song, a doom
metal song, a death metal song, or a goth metal song. These guys do it all. 
Weak cockrock, Gothenberg-sounding death/black metal. We do NOT need bands
like this cluttering up the underground. At The Gates did it right... with balls and fierce aggression. Raise Hell take At The Gates and slam 'em headfirst into a big, sloppy bucket
of Poison and come out with a syrupy, pretentious brand of metal that would be better flushed down the toilet than pressed on to CD. There are a few inspiring
moments on Not Dead Yet, like "He is coming" (ironically, the shortest track on the album at 1:26), but on the whole this is a load of tripe that I refuse to swallow. Hopefully the rest of
you out there will have enough self-respect to push the plate aside, too. 
Well this was a hard review to write. My
tastes in music have really changed as of late, and I might have been thrilled by this if I hadn't heard the Deadbeats orHerbert before, something that really sounds good, and is just well played rock and roll.
This compilation features many boring, bland, stale, uncreative acts, the only tracks on it that really stick out in my mind are Mud City Manglers, and Gaza Strippers, the rest
seems like filler. This is a really disappointing compilation, I expected so much more then I got from this coaster of a compilation. - 
Pilsner-Laughter, Chickenhawks-Heart
Throb Man, Streetwalkin Cheetahs-Motor City Rock n Roll, Iron Boss-Motherfucker, Dexateens-Teenagers Piss Off, Jones Crusher-Mamasita
It took me a lot longer to review this disc than it does most releases for the sole
reason that it took a lot longer for me to digest it and grasp what is going on. I must admit, months and months and countless listens after receiving this, I am still finding new things and moods in the roughly 17
minutes that make up this inspiring piece of music. A lot of the ambient stuff doesn't thrill me because it winds up sounding like a half hour of black metal album intros, but occasionally, a
project comes along that appeals to the darkest corners of my being. Sarrowz End is such a project, and falls in league with Puissance's Mother of Disease as a release so strong
that I can simply sit and listen to it alone in the dark and be completely engrossed for its duration. As with Puissance, there is actual well-thought out composing going on here, not
just some stoner noodling around on a Casio SK1. The music differs widely from Puissance's compositions, which are much more structured than the ambience of Sarrowz End. This is
electronic music that manages to convey a very organic mood at times, and a cold, sterile feel at others. The sounds on here range from disturbing musical/spoken rants ("Inside
(My Matrix) This Prison") to what could well be the soundtrack to early life crawling forth from the primordial muck ("Schizophrenia"). I am impressed. Now let's hear the
"Widely Released Official Full-Length LP..." - 
To quote Joe Headcrash from 
I am fanatical about Kataklysm's early works, especially Temple of Knowledge,
largely due to the insane performance of former vocalist Sylvian Houde. I haven't heard Victims of this Fallen World, the band's first effort without him, but have heard less than flattering things about it,
among them that it is "a hardcore/rap album in comparison to their other albums," which sounds like a botched abortion, to me. While the music was excellent on the first two full lengths, it was the
vocals that really pushed it over the edge and made those releases exemplary. 
I was (and am) pretty fond of The Crown's last album, Hell Is Here. Although
may wrote it off as a retro throwaway, I had the following to say (If I may quote myself..?) 
I was pretty fond of the debut Viking Crown release, Unorthodox Steps of Ritual
- very raw, ugly, primal black metal that was appealing in its under-produced, almost sloppy sound. Innocence From Hell is a much more polished release, which, in this case, decreases the appeal for me
quite a bit. Phil Anselmo has invited Killjoy in to the band to handle vocals, and the Necrophagia mastermind does an adequate job, but his delivery lacks the distinctive sound of Anselmo's vocals on Unorthodox..., or his
own on the Necrophagia releases. This is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, but it is pretty inconsistent. Check out track 9 to see what I mean. The first minute and a
half or so are downright boring, and then it launches into a great chaotic, thrashy riff that blasts out for the rest of the tune. Anselmo's metalish leads, though sparse, are a breath
of fresh air, as they are seldom employed in black metal of this nature. Keyboards are used well throughout the album, adding a touch of melody without diminishing the ugliness of
the music beneath them and providing occasional melodic interludes between songs. Track 8 is my favorite on the release, and the one track I feel is strong from start to finish
(ironic, as it is a long one, clocking in at around 9 minutes). The production drops off considerably at this point to (bad) demo quality for the rest of the album, sounding a lot like Unorthodox Steps of Ritual.
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Grave Digger - Excalibur (Nuclear Blast, 2000) Rating: 9/10
Excalibur is an album that boasts true metal themes, metal anthems, and metal singing. Lead singer, Chris "Parcival" Boltendahl, has a voice only a mother could love...well, a mother, or a true metal head. Like many German metal bands the lead singing takes some getting used to, but like with Sushi, Mahtzoh Ball Soup, or Creamed Spinach, it's something worth getting used to. This album tells the story of King Arthur, Merlin the Magician, and the sword Excalibur. Each song on Excalibur has an explanation that goes along with it in the liner notes. For example, the intro on "The Secrets Of Merlin” says, "The time before Arthur's reign was marked by hatred, war, treachery, murder, and greed. But then, a man appeared who could do wonderful things, and from that time on Merlin the Magician was the driving force behind Britain's fate. It was a time full of secrets and sagas.", and so forth. "Morgana Le Fay", tells us about King Arthur's half-sister who was also a sorceress, "The Final War", tells the story of the battle between King Arthur and Mordred (Arthur's nephew who lusted after Arthur's kingdom). If this type of in-depth story telling interests you, and metal is in your blood, then this album is for you. If not, well... Britney Spears has a new album out. - Piston Rod |
Grave Digger has been around for a long time. History takes them back to the
heyday of metal in the mid-80's. It's great to see a band that never sold out and never gave up. Metal is alive and kicking some serious ass with Grave Digger. This is true metal plain and simple. No fancy
sub-genre like "power metal", "speed metal", or "goth metal"...this is Metal, METAL! |
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