Music Reviews

Arkhon Infaustus - Perdition Insanabilis (Red Stream/Osmose 2004)

Rating: 9.5/10

It is rare that an album this remarkable is released. Sure, there are albums I love and give high ratings to just because they rage so well, but Perdition Isanabilis is an entirely different beast, which is not to say that ARKHON INFAUSTUS do not tear it up. They most certainly do, but this is music of a higher caliber that aspires for and reaches greater levels, never settling on just being "heavy" or "fast." ARKHON INFAUSTUS are not only solid musicians, but also exemplary song writers. There is not a moment or a note on Perdition Insanabilis that is wasted our out of place. There is a dark, sinister, disturbing atmosphere on Perdition Insanabilis that is achieved through strong composition and playing rather than grandiose keyboards and sound effects. The vocals vary from a guttural roar to high-pitched screams, sounding depraved throughout, as if you are listening to the inner voice of someone in the throes of a long and painful death. The music is inventive, with constant abrupt switches in tempo and feel that keep the listener unsettled, adding to the overall disturbing nature of the album. This is extreme music embodied, and an album that even the most seasoned black and death metal fan will find pushes the envelope to new limits. From the artwork, to the music, to the lyrics, to the imagery, Perdition Insanabilis is a release that is single-minded in its purpose of making the skin crawl at every turn, and it succeeds completely at its goal. One for the ages...

ARKHON INFAUSTUS create a  atmosphere on Perdition Insanabilis... this is the kind of album that frightens the uninitiated listener, and may send a chill down the spine of even the most seasoned black and death metal fan. - Al Kikuras

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Allfather - Weapon of Ascension (Invictus Productions, 2005)

Rating: 9/10

In the wake of the mighty ANGEL CORPSE the aftershocks of which are still being felt even 5 years after they split, few bands have approached the level of intensity that ANGEL CORPSE did (REVENGE being one of the few). Canada's ALLFATHER are just a few cunt hairs away from grabbing that golden ring with Weapon of Ascension. A extreme in ideology as sound, Weapon of Ascension is, just as the title proclaims, a powerful tool in ALLFATHER's campaign for musical supremacy. Whereas ANGEL CORPSE sounded as if, any second, they might spiral off in to total chaos (as bands like BEHERIT and BLASPHEMY often did), due to their exemplary musicianship, ALLFATHER always have their sound in a tight grip. With the aforementioned bands, that reckless abandon was a big part of their appeal... it felt like you were in a Mack truck loaded with bricks, barreling down the highway at 90 miles an hour with a driver that had a few too many beers at lunch and is pissed because he got laid off and this is his last haul. ALLFATHER's chaos is completely controlled, and almost militant in its feel, and is equally appealing as a result. Each member of ALLFATHER is great at what he does. Drummer Paul Jacobsen deftly avoids a generic performance, switching from blasting to thrashy beats and double bass often within the same riff, mixing up the feel even when maintaining a consistent tempo. His performance is not unlike J. Read of REVENGE/CONQUEROR in that he keeps you guessing, but whereas Read's unpredictability comes from his chaotic, almost haphazard style, Jacobsen's is tight and surgical. Vocalist Chadwick Klassen's venom approaches that of Pete Helmkamp. Spiteful and emotive, he spits out the lyrics with abundant rage and hatred. Adam Angus's bass has a great crunchy presence throughout Weapon of Ascension, with a solid rumble that is never covered up by the guitars and he does a superb job of jumping back and forth between thickening up the guitars and, a times, almost sounding like the lead instrument, particularly with his playing on the non-blasting parts, like 60 seconds in to the track "Invictus." Guitarist Justin Hagberg, also the primary composer, has a great sound that never overpowers the rest of the band. They were a three-piece at the time of this recording (plus vocals) and sound like it... like RUSH, each musician has a strong presence. Hagberg writes intricate riffs with a lot of changes that never come off as pompous or showy.

Totaling twelve tracks in under a half hour, Weapon of Ascension is a no-frills, brutal assault of militant black metal that avoids the occult leanings of most black metal bands for a militant approach that is evident in both the sound and lyrics. The album is one-minded in focus and attack, and the end result is a very effective and efficient album that sets a high standard and never fails to reach it. - Al Kikuras

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Birdflesh - Alive Autopsy/Trip to The Grave (Razorback, 2004)

Rating:  9/10

BIRDFLESH released a full length album some time ago on Razorback called Night of the Ultimate Mosh. It featured 2 recording sessions and I enjoyed most of the album, I found it to be worth a listen now and then. BIRDFLESH have returned with a re-release of past material, namely the Alive Autopsy LP and the Trip to the Grave 7" EP.

What I really love about this band is the simplicity.  Its 3 crazy guys screaming, growling and playing as fast as they can in mostly short energetic songs.  The only comparison I can make is to MACABRE, but even then BIRDFLESH do enough to really stand out. They don't come across as a MACABRE clone, they come across as a band I believe to be influenced by them, but they take this styke of death metal and throw in some grindcore and hardcore elements and it works quite well.

I actually feel this material is far more interesting then their Night of the Ultimate Mosh full length album, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did.  I love that bands like this exist, and labels believe enough in them to continue pumping releases out like this. I know this probably won't set the underground ablaze as some people will not take it seriously and its a shame as I feel everyone into death metal or grind should give this a shot, but even if BIRDFLESH remains relatively obscure, I know they are the best kept secret on Razorback Records. - Rick

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Black Witchery - Upheaval of Satanic Might (Osmose, 2005)

Rating: 8.5/10

BLACK WITCHERY have made quite an impact in the underground over the past few years. I first saw the band at the RETURN OF DARKNESS AND EVIL Festival in Clifton, NJ several years ago and I was blown away. I had the CONQUEROR/BLACK WITCHERY split release, but it wasn't until I saw them live that I really "got it." To this day, their performance that night ranks among the best I have ever seen in my life.

So, I eagerly awaited their debut album, Desecration of the Holy Kingdom, and it delivered. While it didn't quite live up to the live impression they made, it was a relentless assault on the senses. The speed, the brutality and the wall-of-sound production (which distorts my car stereo speakers because it is so over the top) sent many a black metal fan into throes of ecstasy. Not since BEHERIT's The Oath of Black Blood had an album so vile been heard. So, this brings us to Upheaval of Satanic Might which I wasn't even aware was due until I received the promo. At first I assumed it was going to be a collection of rare or demo tracks or something since I had yet to hear whisperings of a new album, but that it was... a new BLACK WITCHERY full-length, in this case, full-length being a very short 26 minutes. Like the debut, Upheaval of Satanic Might is an insanely fast and barbaric release. From the first notes to the last, BLACK WITCHERY are unrelenting in their attack. It is ALL ON, all the time, and it is still as effective as it was in 2001. If you heard them then, you know what to expect now. The formula has not changed. If you have not heard BLACK WITCHERY before, think BLASPHEMY on speed and there you have it. Though many bands have tried to match BLASPHEMY, BEHERIT, BESTIAL WARLUST and the like in intensity, BLACK WITCHERY (along with REVENGE) are one of the few bands to actually do so. To sound as vicious and powerful as the originators did when this particular brand of mayhem first took the scene by storm. The one major difference between Upheaval... and Desecration... is the production. It is much cleaner this time out, but don't think you are getting crystal clear sound... anything but. This is still raw and nasty, but that wall-of-sound that had my car stereo peaking is no longer a factor, and while it enables you to hear the music more clearly, since BLACK WITCHERY aren't exactly known for their nuances, I think the production on the first album is actually a little more effective at conveying the chaos that is BLACK WITCHERY, but that one minor difference does not keep Upheaval of Satanic Might from succeeding to beat the listener to a bloody pulp. - Al Kikuras

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Blood Red Throne - Altered Genesis (Earache, 2005)

Rating: 9/10

To date, BLOOD RED THRONE's musical output has been solid but unremarkable. Like mediocre pizza. It doesn't taste bad, and you're not hungry any more after you eat it, but you're not going to go back to the place for another pie next time you're hungry. So, when I received the promo for Altered Genesis, I was far from excited, but wasn't dreading having to sit through the album.

I was in New Hampshire for a week with my wife, sitting on a big, soft white chair and reading The Gates of Janus by Ian Brady (a very good read for true crime fans) when I first put Altered Genesis into my discman, fully expecting it to just slip by as I read. Well, I am very happy to report that I was distracted time and time again during its duration. BLOOD RED THRONE have really churned out a fucking beast of a death metal album here that, though very direct in its delivery, has enough odd moments here and there to make it a very engaging listen throughout. The production is the first thing that struck me. The guitar sound is massive... a wall of distortion that swarms with life, and the bass has a strong presence throughout, which is good as bassist Erlend Caspersen knows just when to blend with the guitars and when to run on top of them. The vocals are primarily a one-dimensional gurgle that certainly wouldn't qualify as ground breaking (nothing on the album would, really) but Mr. Hustler sounds more beast than man, which fits the inhuman feeling of the music. Bernt Moen is a world-class death metal drummer that grooves as effectively as he blasts the snare and pummels the listener with ridiculously fast double bass and fills. Guitarists Tchort, renowned for his work with EMPEROR, and DoD prove to be a hell of a team with a good ear for just how long to play a part before switching to a different feel or mood. None of the songs on Altered Genesis are overlong, and there are no riffs that feel like filler, just there for the sake of speed. Like Reign In Blood, Altered Genesis is relentless from the first seconds to the last, but never gets boring, despite being close to twice as long as the SLAYER landmark album. In these jaded times, it is quite a feat for a death metal band to release an album that is engaging and interesting without really doing anything new. BLOOD RED THRONE have managed to do so just through the strength of their musicianship and songwriting, and Altered Genesis is a prime example of traditional death metal at its most refined. - Al Kikuras

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Brodequin - Methods of Execution (Unmatched Brutality, 2004)

Rating:  8/10

BRODEQUIN are a band I love. As I type this review up I am proudly wearing my Instruments of Torture t-shirt, they are one of the absolute best live bands I've ever seen for any genre of music. My problem with the band has always been their albums, the production never does them justice.  To see BRODEQUIN live is to truly appreciate them. I went into this album review hoping this could change, and while it may not have totally happened, I can say this is the actually the best most fitting production they have had to date.

Improving on their last album Festival of Death, the snare drum sound has been kept lower, the guitar has been turned up, and the vocals are a bit more audible but this sounds like it was recorded in a cave.  Normally at this point I would insult the band, or those responsible for the sound but it feels right here.  BRODEQUIN is all about torture, read the lyrics sometime.  If this was all polished, they might lose some of that barbaric appeal that I find in the band.

Now, to what really matters... the music.  This is their fastest most insane material yet.  I thought they had reached the limits of madness on Festival of Death but I was way off, and I am thrilled to say that.  I wasn't sure how good BRODEQUIN would be with their newer drummer but I can say, after a deep sigh of relief, that Jon Engman is perhaps just as good as Chad Walls.

While I might have some issues with their sound, I've accepted them for what they are, and that is a damn good death metal band who will never have the polished pretty sounding recording some people want.  I was one of them but after this..I can't imagine it sounding any other way really. - Rick

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Calvarium - The Skull of Golgotha (self released, 2004)
 
Rating: 5/10
 
Hmmm... fast paced black metal with members of SATANIC WARMASTER and BAPTISM. I'm not really sure where to go with this.  The material on this CD-R certainly isn't horrible. But it's really not noteworthy either.  In fact there's very little CALVARIUM does that the aforementioned bands don't do better at. I will say that these guys clearly know how to play their instruments. Now if they were a bit more focused on song structure that doesn't feel like it's been written several hundred times over, we might have something here. Regardless, if fast paced European black metal is your hat, then try this one on and see if it fits. - Big Juan

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Chuck Schuldiner - Zero Tolerance (Candlelight, 2005)

Rating: n/a

We lost one of metal and mankind's finest when Chuck Schuldiner passed away in late 2001. A man who's back catalog speaks tomes about his ability and integrity as a musician. From the most primitive MANTAS demos to the refined metal of DEATH's The Sound of Perseverance and CONTROL DENIED's The Fragile Art of Existence, Chuck Schuldiner gave us so much, and as evidenced by the four unfinished recordings from the second CONTROL DENIED album included here on Zero Tolerance, still had much more to share. If you are familiar with the latter-day DEATH albums and CONTROL DENIED's debut, you will know what to expect: heavy, catchy, musically adventurous metal with some of the best players in the game. Even in this primitive state, without vocals, Chuck's final works are still a rewarding listen. Hopefully, one day we will hear these songs in a more completed state if the family and musicians (and label) can see eye to eye on "finishing" the album as best it can be, and make it available to the masses.

Also included on this sprawling two-disc set are the early DEATH demos Infernal Death, Mutilation, Death By Metal and Reign of Terror, which have made the rounds in the underground in copies of various dubious sound qualities, almost all sounding like they were ripped from 5th generation cassettes. Unfortunately, the versions on Zero Tolerance don't sound much different. It is nice to have them all in one collection, though I hope that one day someone unearths the original master tapes and we get versions that aren't quite so muddy and aged. Likewise, it is great to hear the live DEATH recording from the Spiritual Healing tour, circa 1990, but again this is an obviously raw soundboard recording, with all the guitars in the left channel and the drums in right, with only the vocals in both. The demos and live material do the trick of filling out this collection and it is interesting to hear these, his most early works, alongside his most current to appreciate how far the man came over his too-brief career. The early recordings don't really hold up to repeat listens due to the sound quality, but it is great to have them on disc, preserved for posterity, and at $15.98 list price for two CDs it is a good deal, even if just to hear the four CONTROL DENIED tracks. I don't really feel comfortable giving an unfinished work a numerical rating, but can say that if you are a fan of Chuck Schuldiner, then Zero Tolerance is a worthy purchase. - Al Kikuras

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Crowbar - Lifesblood of the Downtrodden (Candlelight, 2005)
 
Rating: 8.5/10
 
I'm gonna break character for a second here. One of the most vivid memories I have of 9/11 is driving home from work (I live in NYC) listening to "The Lasting Dose," the opening track off the last CROWBAR full length.  The opening lyrics ("sometimes I need the fuel that drains from you.  That lasting dose turns cold and blue") and the chorus ("I've felt the pain of a brutal war") seemed so appropriate at that moment, when few of us knew what was going on and genuinely feared for our lives. The pounding riffs seemed to hammer home all the destruction I'd just watched on the TV, and could see outside my window in even plainer view.
With that said, after a 3 1/2 year absence, CROWBAR are back.  With each passing record these guys seem to solidify the fact that they have the market cornered on slow, memorable and crushing riffs.  But Crowbar's biggest feat, and one they maintain here, is that they always avoid the pitfalls of being labeled "doom" or "stoner rock."

There's been some changes in the line-up, but you'd never know it.  The only radical move on their part is the use of some clean vocals here and there. At first I didn't take so well to them, I thought they almost gave off a nu-metal odor. But with each successive listen that grew on me. From the monstrous opening riff of "New Dawn" to the acoustic closing number, the aptly titled "Lifesblood," Crowbar have unleashed another piece of sonic excess in it's purest form. - Big Juan

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Curse - Dead Sun Rise (No Colours, 2004)
 
Rating: 8/10
 
CURSE are a perfect choice for a cold, dark mid-winter day.  Or any depressive and negative setting actually. Black metal is so repetitive today that it's remarkable to stumble across a record that actually evokes a specific mood.  CURSE blend the sounds of early BURZUM and early KATATONIA in a way that is perhaps comparable to FORGOTTEN TOMB.  But CURSE are much more technical in their approach, which only adds to their mystique.  To keep this short and sweet, I'm surprised to see no one talks about this band with all the mediocre crap that passes for "kult black metal" these days. - Big Juan

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Dissection - Maha Kali EP (Escapi Music, 2004)

Rating:  7.5/10

DISSECTION, a band who should not need any type of special introduction..but I have my format for these reviews so I will do so anyway. For anyone who has not read my interview located on this site [insert URL here] Jon Nodtveidt found himself incarcerated several years ago and DISSECTION appeared to be dead.  In mid 2004 it was announced Jon was going to be released from prison and had intended on reforming his legendary band.  Sadly, Jon is the only original member left but the three men he drafted are all capable musicians.  How does this new DISSECTION stand up to the older material?  Read on.

Maha Kali is the rebirth of DISSECTION, it is a new beginning for one of the most legendary bands to ever be spawned from Sweden.  This EP is only 2 tracks in length and has a playtime of 12 minutes. It is one new track, Maha Kali, and a re-recording of Unhallowed from the landmark album Storm of the Light's Bane.  Lets get into this new track Maha Kali first.

It kicks off overflowing with melody, and I will be totally honest, at first I did not like this at all. I kept listening and thinking "This is what I waited years for?  I feel so let down," but something remarkable happened. It grew on me. This is not what anyone was expecting for the new track from this band but you know sometimes you are given something completely different. YOu may not accept it at first but if you give it a fair chance you can find it isn't so bad. I know the DISSECTION I once knew and loved could be long gone, the lineup sure is and musically? Whos to say at this point? This is only one song. The point is though, when you listen to this enough and really follow the lyrics this is really dark. I can't help but nitpick though, I feel like this song isn't totally complete.  For what it is it is decent but to say this sounds perfect would be a lie.  I like it but I know they can do better.

They also re-recorded Unhallowed and I'm not quite sure why. To this reviewers ears it sounds about the same as the original recording, the only slight variation is in the production which I think sounds a little more desolate and a bit colder than it did on Storm of the Light's Bane, but I really believe there was no need to re-record this track.

If you are a fan, you will want this just to keep your collection complete.  If you aren't a fan you could find yourself enjoying this.  The metal community is very split on this.  Some folks who used to dislike DISSECTION love this, and many longtime fans absolutely loathe it.  You really need to hear it one way or the other though.  I'm anxiously awaiting their upcoming live DVD, and the full length album still though. - Rick

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Exmortem - Nihilistic Contentment (Earache, 2005)
 
Rating: 7.5/10
 
It's been over two years since the last HATE ETERNAL record came out, and I've yet to come across any death metal record to hit me as hard since, even including the latest MORBID ANGEL effort.  But EXMORTEM are absolutely putting up a great fight here.  It's not just that this is an angry record, that's a given for death metal. It's the fact that as I listen I begin to visualize myself beating the shit out of my boss, paperboy or anyone else who might have crossed my path in the last 12 hours.
And riffs? These guys seem to be oozing with 'em. Picking a favorite track here is a bit hard because each one hits harder than the last, but I'd probably go with "Fix of Negativity," simply because it may be the most appropriately titled death metal song, ever!  Anyone who was a bit disappointed with last year's SUFFOCATION reunion and are tired of hearing bands that endlessly recycle DEICIDE's riffs would do well to invest in EXMORTEM. - Big Juan

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