Music Reviews

Bathtub Shitter - Wall of World is Words (Power It Up, 2004)

Rating:  10/10

BATHTUB SHITTER, hailing from Japan are a Grindcore band anyone into the genre should listen to I believe.  Its been a long time since I've heard anything this powerful.  I first heard them a few years back on what I believe was a Morbid Records compilation disc.  They have churned out a few demo tapes, 6 7" EP's, one 10" album, and a full-length called Lifetime Shitlist.  They are no strangers to grindcore and as their catalogue will surely show you, they are doing something right to get these releases coming out. BS are surely one of the best bands I've had the privilege to get into this past year.

Wall of World is Words is their 10" album which Power It Up Records out of Germany has pressed onto CD finally after being out of print for a while.  I'm unsure if there are bonus tracks as I don't own the original 10" LP, but I do know that the music contained here is excellent. BATHTUB SHITTER have ear-piercingly high shrieks and low guttural growls, and they don't go for just neck-breaking speeds in their riffs and drumming.  They can slow it down and still impress listeners, and throw in acoustic interludes between tracks.  BS also pay tribute to a few bands who I'm sure helped influence the sound they have achieved here. The songs covered are "Fuck You" by HOLY MOSES, "Imitation of Life" by SCUM, and "We the Helpless" by E.N.T. 

The production on this fits quite nicely.  There is nothing worse than a completely polished album, be it death metal, black metal, goregrind, or grindcore, and BATHTUB SHITTER do not overdo it.  Its clear enough that nothing is buried but they also make no attempts to make something incredibly easy on the ears. This is the way grindcore was meant to be played.  This is one of my most highly recommended albums of 2004.

Look for an interview with vocalist Masato in the coming months. - Rick

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Anaal Nathrakh - Domine Non es Dignus (Season of Mist, 2004)

Rating:  8/10

First off, I am not typing that name up again. They shall from here on out be referred to as AN, to save me a lot of typos. Now, on to the music.  AN play black metal, simply enough. Its fast, its heavy, its evil. No keyboards, no synths, no female vocals.  AN is simply two individuals recording music that is full of rage.

I wish I could compare this to something else but I haven't ever heard black metal like this before.  For a few years people have told me I should check this band out and I regret waiting so long to do so. Better late than never though, right?  I will most definitely be checking out their previous releases as soon I as let this one completely get absorbed.  There is an awful lot to take in here though, this is quite a massive album.

Theres a rather odd mix of clean singing and screaming at times, which at first I didn't like but it really did grow on me with each listen through this. The atmosphere on this album is great too, its just pure hatred and anger.  Basically, you have 40 minutes of pissed off black metal. This isn't pretty, this isn't polished.  Its ugly but if you give it a chance you could really like it. - Rick

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Ancient - Night Visit (Metal Blade, 2004)

Rating: 7/10

It would be easy to compare ANCIENT to CRADLE OF FILTH, but in a lot of ways that comparison is really unfair to ANCIENT.  Part of the reason is that while CRADLE OF FILTH continues to get more cheesy and watered down, ANCIENT continues to produce good records.  While it can be said that their sounds are similar, I was in fact very impressed with this new ANCIENT record, while I haven't really ever been very impressed with any COF record, and I've been much less impressed with recent ones.  It would seem an ill turn of fate that it was ANCIENT that is still on Metal Blade while CRADLE got picked up by some Sony subsidiary.

ANCIENT, though, is neither progressive nor innovative.  They're not doing anything really new from what they were doing when I first heard them. This isn't a bad thing, though. ANCIENT's particular brand of black metal sits well with me, since I feel like a lot of bands have shied away from doing what they're good at, which is making sort of a post-Norwegian melodic/orchestrated black metal.

Unlike a lot of black metal bands, one of the things that ANCIENT does particularly well is the use of dynamics and "switching it up." Whenever I review a black metal album that doesn't suck, this is something I point out (so you probably think I'm a broken record, or worse yet, that I'm just recycling old reviews), but I'm not sure how hard I must stress this before these black metal types catch on.  In order for a band that plays black metal to make an interesting record, you need to have something that offsets the tinny, blasty parts. You find, like many old black metal bands (ARCTURUS, BORKNAGAR, etc.) ANCIENT deftly navigates into cool, slow parts with interesting rhythms, or a bit of atmosphere to build up the mood before breaking back into the really heavy parts.

Another thing that ANCIENT does particularly well is melodic guitar work. I had never really noticed how much their guitar work reflected old school metal roots until I heard Night Vision.  There are some definite NWoBHM harmonies and guitar solos. I really enjoyed these as they broke from the other obvious black metal influences.

While Night Vision still has a bit of that CRADLE camp, all in all I think it's a solid work of black metal, from a "trusted name in black metal." With its dark riffs, blasting and vocals, for the most part (with the exception of the bonus track "Out in the Haunted Woods"), manages to avoid the cheesy trap.

A note for those trve, kvlt types. You probably already know that you don't like ANCIENT from the easy comparisons to CRADLE OF FILTH. And the fact is, there's nothing raw or edgy about this album from the standpoint of black metalers.  This is pretty typical, run-of-the- mill black metal extremity.  But for those of you who are tired of listening to bands with terrible production, guitars you can't hear and space-age (breathy) sounding vocals, ANCIENT is still offering up good material. - Jim Bob The Enforcer

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Archetype - Dawning (Limb Music, 2004)

Rating: 9/10

ARCHETYPE is, well, a progressive archetype, and a damn good one! This album actually put a smile on my face while I was listening to it. They pulled off all the things I like about progressive music in deft fashion that would make Michael Romeo from SYMPHONY X blush! Anyone looking for how to make a good progressive metal record should look in ARCHETYPE's direction!

For one, they managed to avoid pitfall numero uno for progressive bands; a bad vocalist. ARCHETYPE's vocalist is a first class talent.  While sometimes he errs on the side of shrieky power metal, he offsets this by using the occasional (and well placed) death metal growl, and a full range that often times takes him into a baritone/bass register! His melodies are good, while fitting into the progressive song structure with intricate perfection.

The guitars are sublime. While not as in your face or shreddy as some progressive or power bands, they are awesome in a different way. You can obviously tell the guitarist is classically trained, and his chord structures, soloing style and melodic ideas are all evidence of a great understanding of music.  More specifically, what makes music good. I was impressed by his variability and virtuosity.  This guy is a first class musician.

The rhythm section deserves to be talked about as a single unit, which means that they're also excellent! Working as a team to help hold down the low end of this very musically technical and progressive record is no easy task, and these two do so and make it seem much ado about nothing. The time, feel and ryhthm changes come off perfectly, and the bass and drums show off their own technical superiority on more than one occasion.

All the songs on this album are fantastic, but I found myself enjoying the acoustic parts more than I enjoyed the metal parts at time. With use of lush chords, fantastic tone and a classically trained guitarist, ARCHETYPE adds something that other progressive bands dream of; incredible clean breakdowns! There's a lot of reason to be excited about this.  So many bands try to do this, but can hardly pull it off.  These guys could write an entire album of this stuff and it would probably hit off with their fans just as well as this did.  The way these moments are used to offset the heavy parts is genius, making their intricate style even more interesting.

This is a great record.  For those who enjoy progressive metal, this is for you! And, hey Limb Music is 2/3 on this last batch! Good for them! They apparently HAVE signed bands that don't suck. - Jim Bob The Enforcer

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Asskicker - The Barley & Yeast Brain Glaze (Self Released, 2001)

Rating: 4/10

Unfortunately ASSKICKER did no asskicking on my listens to them.  There is nothing special about this band, at all.   When I make music, this exactly the opposite of what I want to make.  This obviously thrash influenced death metal, with a vocalist who sounds like he should be in MUDVAYNE, spent every minute kicking its own ass, not mine.

So lets start with the obviously PANTERA influenced guitar work. Now, I know its a touchy situation with Dimebag having recently been killed, but when I want to hear PANTERA I listen to PANTERA. The guitar work on here could have literally been ripped off of a mid-90s thrash record, primarily, of course, PANTERA. The solos are classic, wanky, amelodic thrash solos. There's very little interesting melody, and while sometimes the guitar is driving, it never reached an intensity level that I found interesting. There are some cool riffs, but that's all they ever amount to, cool riffs.

The vocalist annoyed the hell out of me. The lyrics were stupid, the vocals were boring and as I said above, they sound like the should've been on a nu-metal record. While, I too, enjoy a beer occasionally, this guy writes songs about how cool it is to be an alcoholic. I thought the metal scene had matured to a point where we were leaving trite like this behind!  This isn't funny, like a BLACK FLAG song about beer, or at all even interesting. This is a pathetic attempt at being cool like some 16 year old trying to let the world how cool he is because he drinks beer(!!!).

The recording is good, I'll give them that.  The production isn't bad. The guitar has good tone and the whole thing is mixed well.  But I don't have fun with this kind of metal, I find it to be childish and stupid. - Jim Bob The Enforcer

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Blood Freak - Sleaze Merchants (Razorback, 2004)

Rating: 7.5/10

Razorback has either unearthed a true gem in releasing Sleaze Merchants (reportedly recorded in '90 with demo tracks from '88) or they have a great gag going. In either case, my hand is fashioned into the devil horns and raised to them because BLOOD FREAK falls right in line with the majority of the Razorback roster. I have my doubts because it is SO close to the sound currently explored by bands like GHOUL, LORD GORE, ENGORGED, THE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINERS and so forth and I can't help but think, if Sleaze Merchants was recorded in '90 we would have at least heard a few burps of it since then.

Regardless, this is a solid disc of thrash-laden, CARCASS-ish death gore, replete with horror movie samples (sharing at least one from the film Wizard of Gore with IMPETIGO's Ultimo Mondo Cannibale), multi-layered vocals, blast beats, grinding guitars, pungent bass and demo tracks that sound like a more primitive incarnation of the band. If you're familiar with Razorback's roster, you'll have a good idea of what to expect with BLOOD FREAK. Whether a well-orchestrated hoax or a true lost classic, Sleaze Merchants is a fun listen, though BLOOD FREAK lack the personality that makes bands like the aforementioned stand out as they do. - Al Kikuras

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Cage - Darker Than Black (Fugitive Records, 2004)

Rating: 6.5/10

Old school can be cool, apparently.  I mean, you see it all the time. Kids with trucker hats, trying to look like white trash from the south. Guys wearing bands of shirts they've never heard of (like kids wearing PENTAGRAM shirts, how many 14 year olds do you know who've heard of PENTAGRAM?), and pretending like they enjoy IRON MAIDEN for metal cred among their emo buddies. Old school, however, can be really boring and stupid at times, too. And CAGE rides that fine line pretty hard throughout their record Darker Than Black.

This record isn't bad, by any means. It's aggressive, thrashy, the guitar work is good and it's got some great heavy riffing. I enjoyed a lot of things, but the vocals and the song writing have an old school style to it that has been driving me nuts of late. I've mentioned in several reviews this time around that sometimes it's just better to let something die. I think that the 80s metal throat has got to go.  For example, the intro to the second song ("Kill The Devil" which has one of the most contrived and stupid choruses ever) is very cool, and the music continues, throughout the album, to be cool. But  the thing is ruined by this guy shrieking in a bad falsetto overtop, just like every other power metal album that's been released since Rob Halford started shrieking his balls off with JUDAS PRIEST back in the day. So, while the music is good, this album comes down to a matter of originality. There's hardly anything interesting or original about this album.

Let me stress, however, that there are some extremely excellent riffs on here. I did spend a lot of the time that I was listening to this rocking out at work. Some of the riffing is very technical, and the guitarists have a melodic bent that I really dig. The use of harmonic minor scales, and so on, makes this album fun to listen to at time.  But it's just offset by a vocalist that I can't stand.

As an end-note, I'd like to point out that someone like Al Kikuras would probably have given this record a 9. Remember, reviews are subjective, and if you dig this vocal style you'll probably absolutely dig this record, because there's some really solid material on it.  I rated it a 6.5 because I think it's basically marginalized by this vocal performance. - Jim Bob The Enforcer

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Carpathian Forest - Skjend Hans Lik (Season of Mist, 2004)

Rating: 7.5/10

Skjend Hans Lik is apparently a hold over for the next CARPATHIAN FOREST full-length. You have an alternate mix of one song off the forthcoming album, an unreleased track, a pair of live songs, and their Bloodlust and Perversion demo in its entirety. The new song and other studio tracks, as well as the live songs, are all solid. The alternate mix of "Skjend Hans Lik" (off the Defending the Throne of Evil album) is raw, ballsy, and full of atmosphere. Good song. The previously unreleased "Humiliation Chant" is a creepy piano/vocal/sound effect piece that sounds like a long intro. It is effective, nonetheless. The pre-production song "Spill The Blood of the Lamb" off the forthcoming full length is a raw black metal frenzy that is interesting to hear in its early stages. The Bloodlust and Perversion demo makes Skjend Hans Lik a worthy purchase for Carpathian Forest fans. If you are new to the band, don't start with this release. Get the albums, but a seasoned fan will want Skjend Hans Lik in his or her collection. - Al Kikuras

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Darkthrone - Sardonic Wrath (Moonfog/The End, 2004)

Rating: 8.5/10

Yes, the oft-imitated and seldom duplicated DARKTHRONE have returned with another offering to the black gods, and Sardonic Wrath is sure to keep DARKTHRONE in their favor. As veterans, DARKTHRONE have proven themselves time and time again as the true elite of black metal and, as such, apparently feel no need to impress with speed, posturing, or pompous grandiosity; instead opting for their signature stripped-down, raw, "finger in your face" style of songwriting. The songs are good, the tempos varied. The production is raw, with a great balance of guitars and bass. What DARKTHRONE has that so many other black metal acts lack is attitude by the boat full. The music, the vocals... everything is a snarling smack in the face to the masses. If ever there was a punk black metal band, DARKTHRONE are it. Yes, Sardonic Wrath may not have the same impact as Under A Funeral Moon or Transylvanian Hunger did when they were first released, but that is only because so many bands followed DARKTHRONE's lead since. DARKTHRONE choose to continue to do what they do, which is deliver raw and primitive black metal played as it should be, and do so better than almost all of their contemporaries. If you are a fan, Sardonic Wrath will delight. If you are not, it won't do anything to change your opinion of the band. - Al Kikuras

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Entombed - Inferno/Averno (Candlelight/Threeman, 2004)

Rating: 7/10

A tough review, this one. On one hand, I miss the ENTOMBED of old. The Left Hand Path/Clandestine/Crawl ENTOMBED. Don't we all? I was turned off by Wolverine Blues and tuned out, then tuned back in for 2002's Morning Star (the review of which is, to date, still one of my favorites I have written). So, here we have Inferno. A step back from Morning Star as far as brutality (and a hop, skip, jump, and 24-hour plane flight away from the early works), it is still a heavy album, but what I miss is the extremity. ENTOMBED are walking the path between death metal and rock and roll, and stepping more often over the line of the latter than the former, to my disappointment. But, to their credit, they can write catchy tunes, and there are moments that approach death metal (like the SLAYER-ish "Incincerator"), but not enough of them for my tastes. If you're into the "new" ENTOMBED, you'll like Inferno. If, like me, you were never a true believer in the post-death metal ENTOMBED, Inferno won't do anything to restore your faith. - Al Kikuras

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Godless Truth - Arrogance of Supreme Power (Lacerated Enemy, 2004)

Rating: 8/10

The Czech Republic's first sons of grinding death metal, GODLESS TRUTH, have returned to decimate! Arrogance of Supreme Power is a step forward in brutality from 2001's excellent selfRealization album, and a step backwards in sound quality. While the production isn't nearly as crisp or clean, the music approaches new levels of brutality and technical proficiency. The recording is a little muddy, but appealing in its bass-heavy, "wall of sound" feel. Groove is abundant, as are both blast beats and double bass. Arrogance of Supreme Power does everything a brutal death metal album should, and does it well. GODLESS TRUTH have more akin with song-driven death metal acts like latter-day INTERNAL BLEEDING than the hyper-technical blasters like LITURGY and RETCH, which is not to say GODLESS TRUTH aren't adept in the technical department... they certainly are, but it isn't all-out blasting and double bass throughout. The vocals do dive into the ultra-guttural gurgle that a lot of deathgrind bands employ, but vocalist Zdenek also employs a standard death metal roar, high-pitched screams, and hits just about every stop in between. Very impressive range! The songs are catchy, the playing is excellent... in all, Arrogance of Supreme Power is a very balanced and solid death metal album that any fan of the genre will appreciate. - Al Kikuras

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Guttural Secrete - Artistic Creation With Cranial Stumps - (Unmatched Brutality, 2004)

Rating:  10/10

DYING FETUS was a band I once really enjoyed but over time I found myself getting bored with their style. I figured I was about done with slam or groove laden death metal but I never counted on hearing GUTTURAL SECRETE. They take the absoloute best elements of that style, but don't slow it down just to make music that sounds created to induce riots in pits.  This is fucking violence recorded to a CD, pure uncompromising sickness and heaviness without speeding up and grind to a screeching halt every 20 seconds.  They tear a few pages out of DEVOURMENTS book as well but when you play it this well I can't complain.  I know sometimes I contradict myself, but this is how I really feel about music.  Originality IS important but not 100% necessary.  GUTTURAL SECRETE are not the first band to play this style of brutal death metal, but I'll be damned if they aren't one of the best out there in the USA.  

Why oh why is this only an EP?!?!  They need to get their asses into a recording studio as soon as possibly and put out a full length because this is the best brutal death metal recordings I have heard all year long.  This absoloutely sucks the listener in and before you know it..its over.  Unmatched Brutality, please hang onto these guys.

Danny Nelson of MALIGNANCY contributes vocals on tracks 1 and 4, and hearing one of my favorite death metal vocalists on here only adds to the charm of this short but sweet EP.  I'm not sure what else I can say to praise this but this just caught me completely offguard, and delivered on so many levels.  Keep your eyes open for GUTTURAL SECRETE from Nevada. I believe with the right label behind them, Unmatched Brutality, they will go places and become huge. I anxiously await their full length, but for now this disc will remain in rotation for quite a bit. - Rick

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Jumbo's Killcrane - The Slow Decay (Crucial Blast, 2004)
 
Rating: 7.5/10
 
For a second there I thought I had thrown on my copy of the first BLACK SABBATH LP and my turntable was going at a speed of 12. Nope. JUMBO's KILLCRANE is definitely something to be enjoyed with moderate doses of vicodan, alcohol or mary jane.  But they're just as effective sober. Their greatest feat is in their ability to play it slow, but avoid walking into either the traditional doom or stoner rock tag. The first song proper, "The Slow Decay," really sums up their sound well.  The influences are easy to identify (SLEEP, SABBATH, CATHEDRAL), but they form like Voltron into a maniacal rock n' roll machine. According to the press release this is their fourth full length. Which leaves me with two questions. Where the fuck have I been? And where can I get my hands on the first three??  Highly recommended. - Big Juan

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Lacrimosa - Echoes (Nuclear Blast, 2004)

Rating: 8/10

According to my German friend, LACRIMOSA has been around for a long time. Sometime in the mid-90s, she says, the guy who writes it all, Tilo Wolff, got a little more guitary and started appealing to a more metal crowd. So here I am, reviewing a brazenly goth record for Unchain the Underground.

I'm not upset about this, though!  This record was really fun to listen to! With a very BAUHAUS/LOVE AND ROCKETS meet SWITCHBLADE SYMPHONY sound, Echoes is a very well put together album.  Orchestrated from start to finish (including an excessively long and pretentious album intro), Echoes is textured for full affect.

But this isn't a whole lot more than orchestrated goth rock. It never crosses the border into something new and interesting, it's just really enjoyable.  Tilo's voice is also very cool. In some ways he has sort of a TOM WAITS tone (and he uses the xylophone enough to make me wonder if he isn't at least a little influenced by WAITS' mid-80s material). The woman's voice is alright, but she sings the one song that's in English, and lost some points there (everything else is in German, which adds a bit more to the goth cred).

This is a cool record and it's worth owning if you like goth rock. It's tastefully done, and not overtly stupid or dramatic (though the pictures on the inside would help one argue differently), but most of all it's well written and recorded.

A finaly note, I really like the packaging.  It's done in all black and white, of course, and they don't use any gloss.  They scored an extra point in my book because of the lack of gloss packaging. Seriously, people, quit it with the gloss, already. - Jim Bob The Enforcer

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Lost Soul - Chaostream (Wicked World/Earache, 2004)

Rating: 8/10

Equal parts VADER and MORBID ANGEL, Poland's LOST SOUL bring nothing new to death metal, but play with a ferocity that immediately warms me to their music, and the frowny faces they are making in the promo pic tells me that either dysentery is working its way through the tour bus, or they take their music very seriously. Judging by how balls-on and heavy Chaostream is, I'd guess that latter (though I would never rule out the former). They are certainly more than adept musicians. The guitar work is excellent, and a lot of their ideas are inventive and complex. The prime example would be the chunky riff played over a hyperspeed blast beat in the beginning of "Godstate," and there are enough wacky ideas executed throughout Chaostream to make it an engaging listen throughout. The vocals are of a standard style... ultra-deep with the occasional blood-curdling scream. Very dark and fitting for the music and overall feel of the album. I'd say "savage" would be the most poignant adjective to describe LOST SOUL. Their savagery is their strength, and it makes Chaostream the rewarding listen it is. - Al Kikuras

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