Music Reviews

Thyrfing - Vansinnesvisor (Hammerheart/Karmageddon, 2002)

Rating: 9.5/10

Folks, this is how you do it. Black metal with keyboards. Thyrfing are true masters of their craft. To pigeonhole Vansinnesvisor as black metal is to do it an injustice, though at core, that's what it is. Thyrfing perfectly blend black metal, thrash and Scandinavian folk perfectly, not bouncing from one genre to another, but melding all three with complete cohesiveness. There is a lot of imagination at work here. Thyrfing perfectly balance melody with ugliness, never going soft, using just enough dissonance to keep the melodies from every wandering into the "pretty" territory. The music is always heavy, always raw, even though refined to perfection.  With Vansinnesvisor, Thyrfing have officially usurped Skyforger's Kauja Pie Saules as my favorite (and in my opinion, the finest) folk-influenced black metal album ever made.

I am reviewing this album well after its release, having just recently really taken the time to listen to and absorb it and I am surprised that people still aren't talking about Vansinnesvisor as it deserves all of the hype and praise Enslaved's Below the Lights received and then some. If you have yet to hear Vansinnesvisor, don't look for an MP3 or borrow a friend's copy - go out and buy it right now because chances are you don't have an album this good in your collection. - Al Kikuras

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Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath (Music For Nations, 2003)

Rating: 9/10

Lost Horizon's second release is one of the three albums this year that I was most eagerly anticipating (along with Manowar's Warriors of the World and Vyndykator's Heaven Sent From  Hell). Their debut album, Awakening the World, renewed my hope for power metal. Rather than avoiding all of the clichés that caused supposed "new metal hopes" like Hammerfall to descend into self-parody, Lost Horizon embraced them, pumped them with steroids, and made them work as effectively as they did when the originators made them clichés to begin with. Awakening the World is not just the finest album to come out of the second movement of power metal, it easily holds its own against the masterpieces of the genre. Picture the soaring melodies of Keeper-era Helloween slammed face first into the pomp and granite balls of Manowar, a drummer that could hold his own in any death metal band, guitarist that actually SOLO, a bassist that plays the instrument like it should be played (ie, not as mere accompaniment to the guitar), and one of the greatest vocalists of all time and you have Lost Horizon. I first read about the band in Metal Maniacs, where the reviewer described them much as I did above. I resolved to buy the album, fully expecting to be disappointed as I had by so many other albums critics hailed as the return of TRULY great power metal. Much to my overwhelming joy, Awakening the World not just exceeded my expectations, it blew them clear off the planet. A new "all time great" had been introduced into the listening rotation, and that is a rare occurrence.

So, as you can imagine by this point, my expectations for A Flame To The Ground Beneath were astronomical. I checked the Lost Horizon web site regularly for updates on the recording, the cover art, constantly monitoring for the release date. I ordered directly from the label's web site before the European release date (which was considerably earlier than the US date) and received my paid copy of the album before the advanced promo showed up. Could Lost Horizon live up to such an earth-shattering debut?

The answer… no. Not because of any fault with the songs or the performance on A Flame To The Ground Beneath, but Awakening the World is destined to be Lost Horizon's Reign In Blood… an album SO FUCKING GOOD that it is virtually impossible to top. But does that stop us from loving Slayer? South of Heaven… amazing. Seasons in the Abyss… amazing. Divine Intervention… spectacular, but they are still "no Reign In Blood." A Flame To The Ground Beneath is still worlds beyond what most, if not all, of Lost Horizon's contemporaries are doing. Had it been the debut album and Awakening the World the sophomore effort, right now I would be writing "I can't believe they outdid an album as amazing as A Flame To The Ground Beneath," but, alas, such is not the case. Awakening the World has something that A Flame does not… a relentless heaviness that, despite the melodies and the beauty of the music, was always in the fore. While A Flame is, certainly, heavy, it is not AS heavy. Perhaps it is the prevalence of the keyboards. There are periods of double bass where the guitar chugging along on top of it should be the driving force, but the keyboards dominate, or maybe it is just that I am jaded, after such a spectacular first effort, I was doomed to not like the follow-up as much. I certainly am not disappointed. I can confidently recommend A Flame to any and all metal fans. If, like me, you already worship Awakening the World, you will love A Flame To The Ground Beneath. If you like power metal and have yet to hear either, I would suggest you start with the latter as you will think "it can't get much better than this," and will be amazed when you listen to Awakening the World and find out that it actually does.

Thank you, Lost Horizon, for putting out another great album and for continuing to bear the torch of true metal. You are the new metal gods (though some of the old ones are still alive and kicking). - Al Kikuras

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Mark "M.E." Edwards - G.W.A. (Guitar With Attitude) (Armored Force Publishing, 2003)

Rating: 8.5/10

Overlorde guitarist Mark "M.E." Edwards has re-released his 1994 instrumentals with some bonus tracks as "Guitar With Attitude," and what an apt title that is. Fans of his work with the legendary metal band are in for a surprise as Mark spreads his musical wings on this material. The tracks herein are, unlike most instrumental albums, not just about technical proficiency (though Mark certainly does play with all the ability of a more renowned virtuoso such as Joe Satriani) but more about moods. It is almost as if G.W.A. serves as a photo album of the man's creative journey. "Summer Cruisin'," just as the title implies, is an up-tempo, warm, happy song that would be perfect to crank while tearing down the highway with the top down (if I had a convertible!). "Lovers" is a soft ballad that features wonderful melodic playing with lilting, lively leads that never stray into showcasing. "The Joust" is the most metallic moment on the release and closest to what Mark has done with Overlorde, and would serve well as an interlude on a metal album. "Jammin'" is a powerful, rocked-out bluesy number with a lead guitar sound to die for.

G.W.A. is a strong release that fans of Overlorde should check out to see the other faces of the band's mastermind. Guitar players everywhere should pick the album up for inspiration, and anyone looking for 50+ minutes of just plain rocking music will find G.W.A. to be equally rewarding. - Al Kikuras

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Mausoleum - Cadaveric Displays of Ghastly Ghoulishness (Razorback, 2003)

Rating: 8/10

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we can safely assume Mausoleum have their lips super-glued to Chris Reifert's assumedly pale and pimpled behind. Mausoleum are unabashed in their emulation of the mighty Autopsy, and Cadaveric Displays of Ghastly Ghoulishness could well be the unreleased tracks from the Mental Funeral recording sessions. From the music, to the vocals, all the way down to the production(which is actually a bit MORE raunchy than Mental Funeral, if you can believe it), Mausoleum left no grave unturned in tribute to their idols. They are to Autopsy what label mates The County Medical Examiners are to Carcass and even cover "Destined to Fester" off the aforementioned Autopsy splatter platter which, coincidence or not, is the same track number (9) as it is on Mental Funeral.

Need I say more? If you are a death metal fan that loves Autopsy (I don't know if one is possible without the other), you will love Mausoleum. If Autopsy never did it for you, first you need to bang your head into a brick wall for about an hour until you work that out, and on your way to the hospital, have the ambulance stop at an underground metal shop so you can pick up Mental Funeral. Once you digest that fucker and are hungry for more, get your grubby hands on Cadaveric Displays of Ghastly Ghoulishness. - Al Kikuras

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Morbid Savouring - Insensitivicious (Murder the World, 2003)

Rating: 8/10

No points for originality, loads of points for playing some of the nastiest death grind to slither out from the underground in years. When the bio proclaims that a band plays "premier pro-rape and pro-pedophiliac murderous grind," chances are a portion of the proceeds won't go to benefit Save the Children. There are basically two breeds of band that play this kind of stuff: the surgeons and the butchers. The surgeons, like Waco Jesus, Inveracity, and Retch, play their brand of pornoholic, misogynistic vomit like a machine. The drums and riffing are ridiculously fast and tight like the proverbial 13-year-old. Then we have the butchers: Intense Hammer Rage, Bowel, Disgorge (Mexico), and now Morbid Savouring. While I am fan of both, I far prefer the latter. I like the serrated blade that leaves things messy as opposed to the clean incision of the scalpel.

That said, you probably know what to expect from Morbid Savouring. They reject the technical leanings of their cousins in grind for an all-out, gloriously sloppy, nausea-inducing goreporn fest laden of monumental proportions. Vocals are spewed from bowel-scraping lows to pig-squealing highs.  Guitars are not played so much as abused. Insensitivicious is the musical equivalent of a bad car accident, and for those of us that can't help but drive slowly by and crane our necks with the hopes of catching a glimpse of gore, is an album that we'll find ourselves enjoying immensely.  - Al Kikuras

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Mutiilation - Majestas Leprosus (Ordealis, 2003)

Rating: 8/10

I've heard the name Mutiilation so often uttered in the same breath as legendary "cult" acts like Graveland and Beherit... that vein of black metal that is so bad, it is good, and you are not going to get much worse than the out-of-tune, plodding main riff of "Destroy Your Life For Satan." It is unbelievably bad, and there has not been a guitar sound this horrendous since Following the Voice of Blood, but when the vocals come in like a chorus of demons, chanting "DE STROY. YOUR LIFE. FOR SA TAN!!" at the song's final surge, it all makes sense. That is pretty much the story with Majestas Leprosus. It is not easy to listen to for even the most seasoned black metal veteran, but then, black metal shouldn't be. Like Krieg's The Church EP, this album is an exercise in torture and ugliness that makes Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger sound like The Wall. Majestas Leprosus has all the melody and subtlety of a dentist drill. That said, this review will either have you saying to yourself "I NEED TO GET THIS NOW" or "I hope I never hear this piece of crap." In either case, your best bet is to go with your gut. I, for one, would fall into the former group if I didn't have it already.- Al Kikuras

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Mystifier - Profanus (Crash Records, 2003)

Rating: 3/10

It's been a long time since I gave "Wicca" and "Goetia" (the first 2 Mystifier albums) a spin, but regardless of my slacking off, they are brilliant(!) albums of occult black/death which have only recently become recognized in the underground for the great albums they are. It's 2003 and Mystifier are back with "Profanus" (although recorded in 2001), and while I have heard very negative things about the albums which came out after "Goetia", I was expecting the same old Mystifier on "Profanus", but it didn't pan out that way! The sound is obviously different than it was ten years ago. The recording is much clearer and they are more talented at their instruments, but they have adapted this hokey 80's heavy metal influence which fails miserably.

The overall formula here is basically the typical Mystifier blueprint: layering slow doom between obscure fast black metal, but "Profanus" finds the band threading cheesy heavy metal solos through the songs and topping it off with, aside from Asmoodeeus' usual vocals (which are not black metal nor death metal but somewhere inbetween), a very campy 80's heavy metal singing which is a tad laughable (but very cool if you have sucked down enough Jack Daniels). The recording is very clear here which is nothing new for Mystifier, they've always been great at producing very audible albums. Since their inception, they've realized that bass can be used to their benefit which is something most black metal bands don't even bother with. It really gives them a very full and discernible sound. The booklet even credits Beelzeebubth with playing "slapin' bass" which amused me.

While Mystifier may still have some of the most haunting synths in all of metal, they become rather pointless when you drown it out in gallons of Velveeta cheese. I mean, honestly, haunting church organs with a wild butt rock guitar solo fingertapping over it sounds goofy enough just reading about it, imagine how very ineffective and ridiculous it actually sounds. Minus the heavy metal influence, this is one damn haunting album, but seeing as this thing is chalked full of showoff solos (which don't sound dark at all) and heavy metal meets opera singing, it just doesn't come off as serious at all. You can clearly hear the old Mystifier looming behind all the guitar masturbation and singing and it's almost depressing to know that they are virtually the same band, they have simply incorporated a new element to the music which completely ruins it! It's like having Alyssa Milano strip for you then realizing she has a cock dangling between her legs. You want to fuck her so bad, but you just cant. I want to like this album, I really do. I tried very hard to get into this thing but I can't... and I'm beginning to put faith into the words of those who told me that this band hasn't quite been the same after their first 2 incredible albums. I'll definitely be hanging on to this one though because the last few songs are completely stripped of this new style and are in the exact same vein as their first albums, so for diehard Mystifier fans this disc might be worth hashing out 15 dollars for because of that reason alone. For everyone else, this is probably one to avoid unless really over the top guitar solos mixed with occult black metal and dramatic heavy metal singing sounds appealing, otherwise I suggest picking up Osmose Records' doubledisc reissue of "Wicca" and "Goetia" if you don't own the originals already. - Glassgoat

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Paganizer - Murder Death Kill (Xtreem, 2003)

Rating: 8.5/10

That oh-so-familiar buzz of Swedish death metal is back. Akin to Bloodbath and Fleshcrawl, Paganzier are call back to the prime time of Entombed, Grave, Unleashed and Dismember and do so with much aplomb. It really is that guitar sound that pushes me over the edge from "this is pretty good" to "how this fucker rages!" For a band that formed in 1998, they sound more like the real deal than most of the real deals do today (with, perhaps, the exception of Grave and Dismember - both of their last albums are still very much Swedish and very much death metal). The vocals are a bit more guttural than the classic Swedish sound, though still much more cleanly annunciated than the goregrind variety. The drum sound is just spectacular, the bass is audible throughout. It almost sounds as if the album was recorded live in the studio - there is passion and power to the material that sorely lacks from a lot of recordings today. From double-bass driven chugging, to blast beats, to sludgy grooves and more, Paganizer have written some potent and delightfully morbid death metal and have released an album that could sit well along with classics of the genre like Left Hand Path and Like An Everflowing Stream as a prime example of Swedish death metal perfectly executed. - Al Kikuras

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Pest - Desecration (No Colours, 2003)

Rating: 8/10

Though by-the-numbers, Pest's Desecration is no less effective in delivering cold, grim, raw black metal. Fan of Darktrone, particularly Transilvanian Hunger and Under a Funeral Moon? Desecration will fit right in with your music collection. I was very impressed with Pest's Ara, a raw, vile slab of putrid crap (I mean that in the best way possible) that was braver than Desecration. That is not to say this album does not have its quirky moments (the oh-so-brief guitar melody that closes "Ninth Nocturnal Departure," for instance), but Desecration is much more straightforward than Ara. "Commanding Armageddon" calls Panzerfaust to mind in its Celtic Frost-ish plodding during which Pest play essentially the same basic riff for the first three and a half minutes of the song, breaking things up with a minute-long bridge before crashing down right back into the same basic riff. Simple, but effective. "Dark Northern Winters" is a speedy number that could be right off the Transilvanian Hunger, but with much better sound.

Pest aren't doing anything new, but they are doing what they do better than many of their contemporaries and as such still warrants some solid listening time. - Al Kikuras

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Psycroptic - The Scepter of the Ancients (Unique Leader, 2003)

Rating: 9/10

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I am always happy to see a package arrive from Unique Leader records because I know the discs inside are going to be no-bullshit, vile, ultra-brutal death metal. Severed Savior, Deeds of Flesh, Mortal Decay... all great bands, but you pretty much know what it is going to sound like before you put it on. That is not a bad thing. I know what a Fuddrucker's All-American one-pounder hamburger is going to taste like before I put it in my mouth, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it to the last drop of glorious grease.

Psycroptic is, at core, brutal death metal and certainly aren't out of place in the Unique Leader roster, but what surprised me was the bizarre twists they incorporate into the music. Psycroptic push the envelope of brutal death metal to new extremes. The Scepter of the Ancients reminds me of Kataklysm's Temple of Knowledge, both musically and lyrically, though it is slightly less frantic. Vocalist Cameron Grant has a similar manic, impassioned delivery to former Kataklysm growler Sylvian Houde (one of the finest death metal vocalist of all time, in my opinion) and Cryptopsy's one-time vomit reverend, Lord Worm. His range is incredible, from subsonic gurgling to the standard death metal growl to inhuman screeching and just about every place in between.

While Psycroptic do share much with their more guttural label mates, there is something organic about Psycroptic's sound. The last Deeds of Flesh outing is entirely inhuman (picture Mortician with technical chops), as is the new Severed Savior, but The Scepter of the Ancients manages to sound like a living, breathing monster as opposed to just a merciless killing machine. This sets Psycroptic apart, and above, most of their contemporaries in this writer's opinion, and makes The Scepter of the Ancients one of Unique Leader's strongest releases to date. - Al Kikuras

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Seven Witches – Passage To The Other Side (Sanctuary/Noise, 2002)

Rating: 8.5/10

Jack Frost has finally done it. He has finally penned a Seven Witches album that is great all the way through. I am fan of each of the previous three Seven Witches albums, but each had its weak moments, particularly the ballads, but when they were good, they were GREAT. Plus, with vocalists like Bobby “Leather Lungs” Lucas (Overlorde, Exhibition) and Wade Black (Crimson Glory) at the helm, it is hard to go wrong. Jack certainly has great taste in vocalists. James Riviera (Helstar), the current front man, puts in a stellar performance.

Passage To The Other Side is the album Judas Priest should have made after Jugulator rather than releasing the dismally mediocre Demolition. Most say Priest isn’t Priest without Halford, and they do have a point, but Jugulator was a great METAL album by any standards, and Ripper a spectacular vocalist when not trying to sing Halford tunes. While he would have done an admirable job trying to fill Rob’s shoes on classic Priest tracks if he was still in a Judas Priest cover band, there is a reason Halford is the one and only Metal God and no one else should be singing “Victim of Changes” in Judas Priest but the man, himself.

That tangent aside, let’s get back to the album at hand. Passage To The Other Side opens with “Dance With The Dead,” and Riviera sounds more like Halford than any other vocalist I have heard. The music would sit well on either the aforementioned Jugulator or even Painkiller. Frost has always worn his influences on his sleeve, and while the Priest inspiration shone through more brightly in the past on tracks like “Metal Tyrant” off the awkwardly entitled Xiled to Infinity and One album, the one-two opening of “Dance…” and “Mental Messiah” just SCREAM Priest, and just when you think it couldn’t sound any more like Priest, “Johnny” tears out of the speakers with a chorus that is as Judas Priest as, well, Judas Priest.

Did I mention that this sounds like Judas Priest?  Not the classic, Stained Class Priest, but the latter-day, heavier modern-metal Priest. So, while Seven Witches don’t score any points for originality, they score a lot for the primo vocal performance, the catchy and consistently heavy songwriting, and the solid musical performances put in by every member of the band. Seven Witches are a world-class metal act that, though treading familiar ground, are still a fucking BLAST to listen to. Passage To The Other Side is an album I have listened to countless times and I am sure I will continue to listen to for a long time to come. - Al Kikuras

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Severed Savior - Brutality is Law (Unique Leader, 2003)
 
Rating: 8/10
 
Fucking a right, people, the title says it all. I enjoyed Severed Savior's demo. I really liked the debut album, Forced to Bleed. Neither prepared me for Brutality is Law. This is a masterfully violent album that fans of relentless death metal like Deeds of Flesh, Krisiun and Diabolic will love. It borders on the ridiculous... the kind of album that is so over the top that you can just as easily have it on in the background, soothed by the machinelike battery, as listen intently and marvel at the technical interplay of the instruments, the sheer endurance of the musicians (particularly drummer Troy Fullerton), and the inhumanly bestial roar of the vocals. I have listened to Brutality is Law at least a dozen times (which is rare, considering the volume of albums I have to absorb), and while the material isn't memorable with regards to ever being familiar to this listener, I find that to be one of its strengths. The guitar work is frantic, the arrangements schizophrenic – the very nature of the music keeps it from sinking in too deep. While an album like Gorguts’ Obscura is not just equally, but actually much more irregular, it does have hooks because the music is organic, whereas Brutality is Law is a very mechanical outing, save the album’s closing track, “Death is Just the Beginning,” a melodic composition dedicated to fallen Severed Savior guitarist Rob Lumbre.
 
No surprises here. You now know what to expect. If you like brutal technical death metal played at hyper speeds, you will not be disappointed if you purchase Brutality is Law. - Al Kikuras

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Soulless - Agony's Lament (Crash, 2003)

Rating: 8/10

I wasn't expecting this. I fully expected Soulless to be a Swedish-style death metal band, ala early Entombed, Dismember, and Grave. Come to think of it, the reason why I had those expectations was probably because I associated Soulless with the Grave album of the same name.

Within the first 8 seconds of the opening track "Bleeding Darkness," it became shatteringly clear to me that Soulless are all about "the thrash," and not just the Gothenberg/At The Gates cookie cutter metal that so many acts are being praised for these days, though is the dominant sound in their craft. Soulless also incorporate elements of traditional German thrash, ala Sodom and Kreator, giving Agony's Lament an ironically refreshing "nostalgic" feel at times. At some moments, like the solo section at 2:45 into "The Soulscythe," Soulless draw from the mighty Slayer, something I wish they would do a little more.

What I think most new thrash metal bands miss that made the classic bands so great is the filth. To explain, stuff like early Sodom and Kreator was sloppy and chaotic, not by design, but due to lack of musical proficiency (something they remedied in later years). That chaos is something that is very difficult to re-create intentionally. Soulless aren't filthy by a long shot, but they are a lot dirtier than most of their contemporaries and as a result I think Agony's Lament is an album I'll find myself spinning much more often than the latest Carnal Forge or Darkane. - Al Kikuras

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Thor's Hammer - Three Weeds from the Same Root (Elegy, 2003)

Rating: 8/10

Black metal has been fucked in every whole. Once a frightening genre, it has become commonplace. Like KISS taking off the makeup, for the most part, the mystery is gone.

Then bands like Thor's Hammer come along, still clinging to that "Who the hell are they and what do they want" persona once reserved for acts like Graveland. Thor's Hammer are a black metal band with an agenda. They are not here to just blaspheme and shock. Their drive is represented in the no-frills, pomp-free nasty black metal Capricornus is churning out in this, his last release under the Thor's Hammer moniker, and a fitting swan song for a band as infamous for its ideology as music. Three Weeds from the Same Root proves that Thor's Hammer's legacy is well-deserved based on the strengths of composition and ability to create a haunting atmosphere without letting the raw nature of black metal wane. While it is unfortunate that Capricornus is laying the Hammer to rest, we are lucky he did so with such a strong final showing and I am sure he will continue with similar ideals and comparable quality with the release of the album Alone Against All under his own name in 2004. - Al Kikuras

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Throcult - Soldiers of a Blackened War (Crash, 2003)

Rating: 9/10

I won't lie, this one surprised the hell out of me. I've always passed on the polished up black/death hybrid movement that came bursting through the gates in 1997, swinging its fists like a rabid monster, opting instead for the more lo-fi necro black metal offerings. With that said, one could only imagine the obvious prejudices lingering in my mind before this thing even hit the player.. but within 30 seconds of the opener I had become a believer. This will undoubtedly shock even the harshest of critics. "Soldiers of a Blackened War" is a concoction derived from an equal blend of black and death metal. They wear their Swedish influences on their sleeve, which is something that might scare many away before even hearing a single note but the genius of Throcult is that they make it work, and they do it in such a flawless fashion that it wouldn't come as any surprise if I heard that these guys have been working on this album for 20 years nonstop.

The vocals are akin to a bloodthirsty blistering rasp, at some points becoming so extreme and violent that it seems his throat is about to spontaneously combust. The guitars perfectly blend the best of death metal hooks with a myriad of black metal riffs streamlined inbetween, everything from misanthropic atonal walls-of-sound destruction to intricate melodies ala Gothenburg, all with an accuracy and precision rarely heard, especially for such a relatively young group. As for drummer Jeremy Portz, all I will say is this man knows how to completely beat the living shit out of his drums. Easily the most impressive thing about this disc is the countless drum patterns exemplified. Jumping between all sorts of tempo changes like a lion through rings of fire, this is definitive of a jaw dropping display of the highest calibre. What makes this debut even more impressive is that they manage to avoid creating a "jumbled" or messy sound with all of the changes that occur throughout each song. Vocalist Brian Fischer comes up trumps in more ways than one as well by lacing each song in a very subtle yet effective manner with some very eerie and dark synth work which perfectly accentuates Throcult’s aura.

The recording is very slick but not over produced. All of the instruments are allowed equal room to breathe which only makes this thing more impressive considering their small budget. "Soldiers of a Blackened War" doesn't wear out its welcome either. They keep each song short and sweet but more importantly, they keep it solid. Not a boring second passes by during the half hour duration of this masterfully crafted disc, making the entire affair quite addictive to say the least. Each song encompasses more changes than most bands manage on an entire album (and in some cases, entire careers) and they do it with incredible talent...... but (ahh, you knew that was coming, right?), if there is one complaint I have it is that they don't channel enough emotion into the music. The songs are undoubtedly executed to pure perfection and these guys obviously know what good metal is supposed to sound like but there is no real feeling of darkness, morbidity, or death. Judging from the artwork and logo (which is adorned with a pentagram), I was expecting something a little "blacker" and more perverse. With that aside, the entire thing comes together and flows with juggernaut strength as one of the tightest sounding bands I've heard in a long time and easily one of the best hidden treasures within North American shores. The fact that this is their debut is even more astonishing. This is one album you won't regret, even for the most critical of metalheads. - Glassgoat

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Unearthly - Infernum: Prelude To A New Reign (Crash, 2003)

Rating: 8.5/10

Ahhhhhh, good good good. Black metal with balls!! Take Dark Funeral's evil, Angel Corpse's hatred, Emperor's atmosphere and Thornspawn's barbaric brutality and you have the black metal war machine known as Unearthly. Keyboard-laden syrupy black metal bands take notice… this is how to use and not ABUSE keyboards. The keyboards are always second seat to the instrument that metal is really all about at the core: the guitar. Track one, "Days Of Storm for Christian Souls," is about as good as it gets. Fast, heavy, screeching vocals, inhuman roars… the sound of a score of demons plowing up from the gates of hell to take you back to the fiery depths! Black metal should (and in this case DOES) sound like your pitiful world is coming to a fast and painful end in a torrent of hellfire and brimstone. Unearthly are the soundtrack to your personal apocalypse. Infernum: Prelude To A New Reign is such a consistently vile slab of black metal that I am surprised more the underground hordes aren't singing their praises. Perhaps it is because they signed to a non-ultra-underground label like Crash Music, or because the album wasn't released in an "ultra-limited cassette edition of 88 copies," but the black metal masses are missing a particularly nasty and pristinely executed slab of black metal mayhem. Unearthly take both ends of the black metal spectrum: the relentlessness and ugliness of Darkthrone's Transylvanian Hunger and the grandiose symphonics of Emperor's Equilibrium IX and stretch both to a comfortable meeting point somewhere in the middle without sacrificing the integrity of either extreme. - Al Kikuras

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Unleashed - Hell's Unleashed (Century Media, 2002)

Rating: 2/10

I realize it is pretty sad (on my part) that I am reviewing this album nearly a year and a half after it was released, but it took me this long to come to terms with how disappointed I am with Hell's Unleashed.

I thought death metal bands were through with the death n' roll thing. I was bitterly disappointed with Wolverine Blues. While it may be a decent release in its own right, on the heels of Clandestine, and from a band that released Left Hand Path and Crawl, it was a turd on a platter. It seemed a bunch of death metal bands suddenly went soft. Gorefest, Atrocity (Hallucinations is amazing, Longing for Death is good, but BLUT was the first drop in the torrent of musical diarrhea that followed) and, perhaps the worst offenders of all, Sentenced, who when the "Fredo" route and became nothing to me after North From Here. Unleashed had two GREAT albums (Where No Life Dwells and Shadows From The Deep), then a few less remarkable, but at least consistently "death metal" releases.

No, Unleashed have not sunk as low as the aforementioned acts. There is actually some good death metal music on Hell's Unleashed, but the vocals are just nowhere. Johnny Hedlund, once a great, emotive death metal vocalist with a distinct voice, sounds uninspired and tame on the vast majority of Hell's Unleashed, and just plain bad on some tracks (the all-around lame "Mrs. Minister"). Unleashed once sounded like they were spawned from the frozen, barren depths displayed on the cover art to Where No Life Dwells, but the magic is just gone... the evil and darkness abandoned for a brainless, cheesy rock and roll attitude and, in some cases, bad attempts at a lighter attitude and unfunny humor. For example, track six, "Joy In The Sun," is a dismal turd:

"Gonna go on a date. Gonna have some fun. Pick you up in my new car. Take a ride in the sun… Formaldehyde fun. Joy in the Sun."

No, I am not kidding. While they at least have the good sense to make a joke of it, the album is as out of place on an Unleashed album as a cock on a supermodel. "Your Head Is Mine" is also an inappropriately goofy track:

"Your head is mine, with my choice of wine. Yeah!"

The lyrics aren't funny. The vocals aren't menacing. The music is way too middle-paced and tame. Hell's Unleased is an album I am going to put away and do my best to forget about. I would be a happier man if it had never been released. Any and all Unleashed fans, stay away. - Al Kikuras

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Withered Earth - Of Which They Bleed (Olympic/Century Media, 2003)

Rating: 8.5/10

A raw deal, Withered Earth have received. These unsung death metal heroes have released a solid album of inventive, schizophrenic grinding death metal laden with thrash hooks, blast beats, rabid vocals, odd timing, bizarre arrangements. Of Which They Bleed grinds when you want it to grind, thrashes just when it needs to, slops sludge everywhere and takes a trip down "bad acid lane" often enough to keep you on the edge of your seat for its duration. Of Which They Bleed is perfect for you pussies that were too freaked out by Gorguts' brilliant Obscura to appreciate it for what it is: one of the finest albums ever made. With this release, Withered Earth take what made Obscura so great and tame it just enough that the lay person can digest it without getting a bad case of musical acid reflux. Of Which They Bleed is the purple pill of bizarre death metal, and a great trip it is. - Al Kikuras

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