With all highly experimental music, there exists a very fine line between true art and pretentious crap.  Noise music pushes this abruptly to the very threshold, oftentimes going so far as to even blur this boundary and make the distinction unclear.  That’s not to say that this type of music is necessarily of dubious merit, or even that it should be approached with caution; rather, the point is that it is often difficult to gauge the relative quality of a work of this nature and elicit this information to the a 3rd party.  It is with this notion that I attempt to approach Brown Ring of Fury.

The musician behind the Brown Ring of Fury – Bård Torgersen – needs little introduction within certain circles, but for those who are not aware, he is one of the influential and pioneering musicians from the early days (read 1983-1986) of Norway’s experimental music scene, having been a part of or touring with the likes of Nemlig Hemlig, Masters of Møh, SUPERskill and Lord Bård.  After having disappeared on a multi-year hiatus due to apparent depression and disillusionment with the scene, he has returned, presenting us with a multitude of sounds gathered whilst traveling throughout the world.

Thematically, Brown Ring of Fury is meant to convey the feeling of growing up in Rykkinn, Norway in the early 80’s, in what Bård apparently seems to view as a somber and melancholically profound point in time.  The sounds contained within are metaphors for the occurrences of everyday life during this period, whether it be "quote some stuff from the booklet".  At least, this is what I’d gleaned from the rather unusual message in the CD booklet describing Bård’s personal motivation for coming back to the scene and creating this release.  The real question is whether or not it achieves this goal in the mind of the listener, or whether it falters and remains only a somewhat naïve and misguided attempt at creativity.

I suppose it is more the former case than the latter, though as I said before, it is somewhat hard to decide on exactly how to convey this feeling.  Rykkinn certainly does provide for an interesting endeavor into crushingly brutal and  laustrophobic waves of noise, hypnotizing and enveloping the listener.  And there are quite a few moments of beyond-the-norm twists in the music, with short periods of semi-clean samples thrown in – perhaps for a mnemonic effect or two. There are even interesting regressions in the chaotic and unrelenting noise: at one point an acoustic guitar comes to the forefront to provide a delicate reprieve from the aural bombardment.  However, when it’s all said and done, I can’t seem to put my finger on it, but somehow Brown Ring of Fury just doesn’t seem fulfilling in any particular sense.  Perhaps that is the point though, and if so, it does work out fairly well for its purpose, but it does tend to make the entire thing much more difficult to listen to, even for those accustomed to this type of “music.”

In the end, it’s hard to say whether or not this is a release worth picking up – it’s simply just so hard to gauge, and ultimately my opinion on the matter becomes that much more subjective.  I can say with certainty that it *is* something worth checking out for those who are familiar with previous works from Bård or who are into the Extreme Noise scene in general at least.  The packaging and presentation of the content here is probably worth a look simply on its own. When it comes down to it, Brown Ring of Fury is something that simply has to be heard and interpreted on an individual basis.  Suggesting anything particular beyond that would be misleading.

Track List:
01) Extreme Sunlight
02) Glenn Kristoffersen Is Dead
03) Gilera 500 cc
04) Fields With Flowers In Crazy Colors
05) K.I
06) Best Boy
07) Buenos Aventura Tips noen om denne saken

1349 Rykkinn is:
Bård Torgersen

Jester Records:
http://www.jester-records.com

AENIMA
SENTIENT (Middle Pillar Presents)
~reviewed by Mick Mercer

So they label it guitar-based atmospherics with ethereal female vocals but that just doesn’t being to describe the sheer sensuality and shining brightness or autumnal shadiness of their creations, for this is an essential record for your collection, stuck halfway between the best work of The Shroud or Ataraxia, and a couple more pointed comparisons coming n the next paragraph.

Before the album ends with synth washes beneath sounds of water and gentle historical acoustic nudges, you’ll be hooked. The vocals are just a joy, and the music seductive. Almost haughty in ‘Lilith’ as the extraordinary vocals wind skilfully round pretty guitar they devastate you with ‘Shelter’ which is like a modern take on All About Eve’s ‘In The Clouds’ and ‘Silently There ‘ could be the sort of thing The Sundays were maybe aiming for if they hadn’t be so lazy.

You’ll find a darker, starker side in ‘Old Europa’ and a proudly rotating sauciness with ‘Pale’, a strange opalescence in ‘Dusk’, and Industrial flecks through ‘The Lighthouse’ reveal them as capable as virtuous Goth outburst. Guerrillas in the mist.

There are reflective, nocturnal whispers in ‘The Soil Stained Black’; which will crush you, and when they go somewhat basic, in ;Eclipse’ it’s like Inkubus Sukkubus ice-skating, and that’s their one faltering step in the whole affair.

Fucking stunning, make no mistake.

LILITH
SHELTER FOR A LESSER GOD
SILENTLY THERE
OLD EUROPA
PALE
DUSK
RITES OF PASSAGE
THE LIGHTHOUSE
MORNING RISE
THE SOIL STAINED BLACK
ECLIPSE
SONG TO A MOONLIT MERMAID

http://www.aetherial.org/aenima
http://www.middlepillar.com/mpp
 
 

Antimatter
Lights Out
~reviewed by Eric Rasmussen

Antimatter's debut, Saviour, was a very sparse and creepy trip through unusually emotional music. Music presenting emotion is not what I found unusual - Antimatter's emotion is... empty. Through strong bass lines, catchy electronic beats, occasional synth strings, and a host of talented vocalists, they managed to create music that was so intentionally lifeless, it could only be the result of tortured souls depleted of human emotion and hope. Lucky for us, they thought it'd be fun to share their sense of loss with the music world. Lights Out is the band's second CD, and you can be sure the group still hasn't discovered Prozac.

In some regards I find Antimatter's music very difficult to listen to. It's almost too minimalistic, too diminished of energy, and too depressive. Yet there's a certain power to the dreary soundscapes they create, and I continually find myself returning to them. Antimatter's songs are rather like lullabies by the mentally deranged. You can't always figure out what's going on or why, but you know it can't be good. And, more importantly, you can't deny the engaging sense of catchiness that just barely hangs on in each song. Compared to Saviour, the music is better developed and the song structures are noticeably deeper.

Lights Out features suitably excellent production that gently spreads apart the instruments. In the occasional songs that will feature guitar and drums and keyboards and vocals all at once, you'll never feel assaulted by a dense sound. Most of the time, however, the songs are kind of like three item omeletes. It's as if the band had made these ingredients: light beats, synthy ambience, uneasy melodies, catchy bass, and several talented but disturbed vocal styles. Then when it came time to put the songs together, they decided to choose only a handful of ingredients for each one.

If you enjoy music that can powerfully alter your mood and otherwise chip away at your will to live, what else can I say? Antimatter will be your best friend on those rainy, gloomy days where you can't muster the energy to get out of bed. If you fancy yourself a music collector, there is most definitely a spot for Antimatter in your collection. And if you're just an arm-chair psychologist, hey, it'd be fun to psychoanalyze the music in order to discover what individuals could possibly have created it. But if you're just an average music fan that enjoys inspiring, bouncy, or otherwise 'enjoyable' CDs, make sure you give Antimatter a listen before picking up their work. Their music is art, and save for a catchy beat or two, can only be appreciated as such.

Track List:
1. Lights Out
2. Everything You Know Is Wrong
3. The Art Of A Soft Landing
4. Expire
5. In Stone
6. Reality Clash
7. Dream
8. Terminal

Antimatter is:
Duncan Patterson - instrumentation, vocals
Mick Moss - instrumentation, vocals
Hayley Windsor - vocals
Michelle Richfield - vocals

Antimatter - Official Site:
http://warp9.to/antimatter

The End Records:
http://www.theendrecords.com/

Antiworld
The Horror Of It All (Another State of Mind)
~reviewed by Uncle Nemesis

Even as you read this, Antiworld are being hailed left and right as heroes of the Deathrock scene. But it might be more accurate to describe the band as occupying the badlands of the border territory, where Deathrock stops and good old-fashioned punk rock begins. Going by their music, Antiworld's feet are planted firmly on the punk side of the line. Take away their spooky make-up, dress 'em up in old blue jeans, oxblood Docs, and Ben Sherman shirts, and Antiworld would effortlessly pass as a second-wave (circa 1981) British punk band. The noise they make is uncannily reminiscent of the countless ramalama punk outfits I used to see at the Sunday night alternative gigs at the Lyceum in London around that time. In fact, I'm almost convinced I *did* see Antiworld at one of those gigs, so note-perfect is their take on the sound. Were they on the bill one night between Anti-Pasti and Chron Gen, perhaps? Were they the opening band, the night Black Flag played? I know they weren't, of course - but it feels like they *could* have been.

The Horror Of It All is not a new release - it came out in 2001 - but it's the most recent Antiworld album available at present. There's a new one on the way, apparently, but until it arrives, this counts as the current state of play. The line-up has changed since these songs were recorded: neither of the two drummers credited on the album are now with the band. Antiworld do seem to get through a lot of drummers. Maybe they all die in bizarre gardening accidents.

So, what d'you get? Sixteen songs, each one of them a mad dash through the punk rock undergrowth. Antiworld songs are brief bursts of punk energy which don't fart around. Many of them are only slightly over a minute in duration. The longest song on the entire album is 'Phantom', which clocks in at a massive three minutes and twenty seconds - by Antiworld's standards, that's practically a rock opera. The subject matter is cartoon-horror stuff, zombies and spiders, flying saucers and dead men walking. This is one area where the band deviate quite drastically from their Brit-punk blueprint - their lyrics conjure up an all-American world of cheesy movies at the drive-in, trash culture gone bad. The kind of broad-brush political rants barked out by latter-day UK punk acts don't get a look-in here. That's just not Antiworld's territory.

Grandma Fiendish, the band's singer, rattles through the lyrics in a curiously detatched, almost careless, manner, sometimes employing only two notes throughout an entire song. She'll rush through a line on one note, then go up a bit for the next line, then go down again to the original note for the following line, then up again, then down again...and so on, until the end of the song. This weirdly to-and-fro, see-saw style of almost-singing is actually rather frustrating after a while: I'm sure she can do much more with her voice than she allows us to hear. On 'I Walk', for example, she lets out a sudden scream, which is quite a shock coming as it does in the middle of an offhand, deadpan lyric - and I find myself thinking, why doesn't she let rip like that more often? Later in the album, the band throw in a cover of 'Somebody Super Like You' - a fine old slice of cheese from the rock musical 'Phantom Of The Paradise' - and here, again, she lets go a rising scream which hints at vocal abilities beyond the general run of the album. It's interesting, too, that 'Somebody Super...' is written in a very different style to Antiworld's own songs, and Ms Fiendish handles the more expressive nature of the lyrics, the light and shade, very well. So why does she zip through so many of Antiworld's songs like she's singing the telephone directory? I think she's selling herself short. She can do more than this.

Antiworld are a curious experience for me. I understand where the band are coming from, because I'm coming from that same place myself. But I was there at first hand, and now, although it's nice to dip back in occasionally, it's not like I want to permanently live in the Lyceum of 1981. I suspect Antiworld don't have that first hand experience: they're filtering their old-skool influences through Deathrock-tinted spectacles, and as a result they tend to treat those influences with a bit too much respect. I want to hear them cut loose, show us what they can do when they throw away the blueprint and let their imaginations get to work on the music. Apart from a few little glimpses, they just don't do that here. They're a fine band if you're in the mood for some some buzzing retro-punk with some entertaining spooky-dooky larking about thrown in, but I want to hear what they could do if they pushed things beyond that point.

Now...where *did* I put my 7" single of 'Another Dead Soldier'...?

The tunestack:
Funeral
Angela's Night
The Day It All Went Wrong
Portland Zombies
Tall Man
Frances Of Death
Brain That Wouldn't Die
I Walk
The Spider
Hill House
Night Walker
UFO
Doom Town
Phantom
Somebody Super Like You
Living Dead

The players:
Grandma Fiendish - Vocals
Forty Five Frank - Bass
Ravenscraft - Guitar
Dr. Jack Nowhere - Drums

With:
Tim Slapper - Drums

Antiworld's website:  http://www.anotherstateofmind.net/antiworld%20home.htm

Antiworld's page in the Deathrock.com site: http://www.deathrock.com/antiworld

Reviewed by Uncle Nemesis:  http://www.nemesis.to
 

aLLUring EVE
Random Acts
~reviewed by chris parasyte

What we’ve got here is a four song EP from Chicago’s aLLUring EVE, titled Random Acts. aLLUring EVE (what’s with the random capitalization in the band’s name?) rose out of the ashes of Emeralde Fear, the solo gothic project of vocalist Andree Geneva. Geneva first teamed up with Devin in 1999 (he was playing in a band called Vampyre at the time) when she needed a guitarist to take her solo project live, and the two went on to continue working together and started writing new material, forming as aLLUring EVE soon after. Random Acts marks the band’s debut in recording, and a quick visit to their interweb site tells me they’re currently working on a full length album release.

Despite the member’s roots in gothic rock, aLLUring EVE can’t really be called anything other than an industrial band. Andree and Devin have worked with members or Pigface, My Life With the Thrill KIll Kult and the Electric Hellfire Club, and it shows in their sound. Random Acts was almost a nostalgia trip to listen to, as it sounds like it came straight out of the mid-1990’s peak of Wax Trax-style industrial music. It’s not really a sound that a lot of musicians are working with these days - most of the artists who pioneered the style have either retired their samplers or sold their souls for club dancefloor play.

Don’t let the galleries at the website fool you - Andree Geneva is more than just a pretty face. The photos of her groping her cleavage on the back of the CD cover and website didn’t instill a lot of confidence in her merit as an artist, but such fears were gladly proven to be unfounded. Her voice is at times part demonic snarl, part scream, and at other times can be described with a long string of ‘S’ adjectives: silky, smooth, sultry, seductive, and dare I say it, sexy. She wouldn’t be out of place in a slinky dress, lounging on a baby grand piano in a classy jazz bar where mobsters smoke cigars... I think she hit the Chicago scene about 80 years too late - she belongs in a fictionalized 1920’s Chicago crime movie.

‘artist & disciples’ opens the EP with a bang, with a sound reminiscent of The Young Gods or even Mussolini Headkick. There’s a fair amount of anger in the music, and Geneva’s voice tears through the song with rage. I don’t hesitate to use the ‘G’ word when discussing aLLUring EVE’s music; heavy melodic guitar makes its way into every song, and on the opening track, drives the point home. As with the other songs on this EP, though, the ‘artist & disciples’ seems like little more than a sampling of a song - it’s barely more than two minutes in length.

‘Midnight Homicide’ and ‘floW’ have the sound of early My Life WIth the Thrill Kill Kult nailed. aLLUring EVE’s press material compares the to the TKK, and being a fan, I looked forward to hearing this EP with a mix of anticipation, hope, and skepticism. I was glad to see my skepticism was wasted - these two know what they’re doing.

‘Brandywine’ is a sleepy lullaby of a song, with eery keyboards and distorted guitars arranged in a flowing harmony. Geneva’s voice takes on a very drowsy tone in this song, showing her range as a vocalist once more. Also embedded in the EP’s last track is ‘Sky’, a remixed version of a song called ‘Apparition  Sky’ from the Emeralde Fear days. The new version of the song smacks of Rammstein’s ‘Du Hast’, especially  the guitar work, but the heavier sound works surprisingly well as a backdrop for Andree Geneva’s hypnotic voice.

My one complaint with the EP was that it was over so damn quickly. Of the five songs included on the EP, only one breaks the four minute length mark. The entire EP, including the dead air time between ‘Brandywine’ and ‘Sky’, is a scant sixteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds. It’s one of those cases of not nearly enough of a good thing. But still, it is a good thing, and I look forward to hearing more from aLLUring EVE in the future.

Track List:
1. artist & disciples
2. Midnight Homicide
3. floW
4. Brandywine/Sky

aLLUring EVE is:
Andree Geneva
Devin

Official Website: www.alluringeve.com

aLLUring EVE
PO Box 257552
Chicago, IL
60625-7552
info@alluringeve.com

Arallu
Satanic War In Jerusalem / The War On The Wailing Wall
~reviewed by Joel Steudler

Out of the blue one day, I found this two-album compilation promo release from Israel's Arallu resting innocuously in my mailbox.  Since 'receiving strangely marked packages from the middle east' isn't exactly commonplace here in western Pennsylvania, I was a bit apprehensive about opening it... but then I remembered that I'd previously had some correspondence with Israeli death-metal act Salem's Ze'ev Tananboim, who - as it turns out- is the producer on Arallu's newest album Satanic War In Jerusalem.  Emboldened by this revelation, I slapped the album into the CD tray and spun 'er up, and was rewarded with seventy four minutes of Satan-lovin' black metal.

First off, lets get the Satan issue out of the way.  I regularly blast bands for the all too trite practice of invoking the dark underlord in poseur-ish fashion.  I'm bending the rules here, though, since Arallu hail from Jerusalem, which is the world's epicenter for religious conflict these days.  If anyone has a right to reject the Judaeo-Christian and Muslim gods, it's someone who's sick of being shot at in the name of said gods for as little as walking down the wrong street.  Such is the case in Jerusalem, so if Arralu wants to turn to Satan for solace, I won't argue (though thematically I still find Satanic lyrics passe, kind of goofy, and borderline offensive at times).

On to the music itself.  Arallu plays straightforward thrashy black metal with raw production and aggressive delivery.  The vocals are garden variety rasping, but occasionally Mr. Butchered's delivery morphs into what sounds like several raspers rasping evil jokes at each other and having a good spine-chillingly raspy laugh at our expense.  The effect is unsettling and feels like the forces of darkness are mocking we poor saps who will soon be burned to cinders by their fiery hatred.  The guitar work on both albums is good (if unexceptional) and on the more recent offering, 'Satanic War In Jerusalem', hooky dark riffs abound.

Occasionally, Arallu employ ethnic percussion instruments native to the middle east.  These passages are easily the most interesting on the album, and I wish the band had included more of them.  They give the music a real identity that seperates Arallu from Nordic black-metallers, whom the band angrily dismiss as "virtual warriors" in their press release.  I guess Butchered & Co. figue you're not hardcore unless you're getting shot at during your gigs.

If you are a fan of raw black metal, you'll find alot to like on Satanic War In Jerusalem.  It's well worth seeking out, and shows a marked improvement over The War On The Wailing Wall, which tends to drag on a bit.  The songs are tighter, the production is more punchy, and the riffs are more interesting on Arallu's 2002 release than on their earlier material.  If you're interested in black metal bands with a message, or are just an insane hater of Christianity and Judaeism (Saddam & Osama, this one's for you!), you won't go wrong spending your hard earned zionist-pig supplied dollars on Arallu's latest release.

Track List:
Satanic War In Jerusalem (2002)
01.) The Sons Of Darkness
02.) Jewish Devil
03.) Religions Are Dead
04.) Arallu's Rage
05.) Evil Has No Boundaries
06.) The Butchered Attacks Again
07.) Jerusalem Gates
08.) War Of The Genii
09.) King Of Bloodcave

The War On The Wailing Wall (1999)
10.) Arallu's Warriors
11.) Sword of Death
12.) Morbid Shadow
13.) Warriors of Hell
14.) Mesopotamian Genie
15.) Barbarian Bloodshed
16.) Satanic Birth In Jerusalem
17.) Messenger Of Evil World
18.) My Hell
19.) Satan's War
20.) Kill The Traitor

Arallu is:
Butchered: Guitar, Bass, Vocals & Arrangements
Avi: Guitar
Yonatan - The War Machine: Drums

Arallu Official Website:
http://listen.to/arallu

KMG / System Shock Records:
http://www.impact-records.de/eng/index.htm

ATARAXIA
Mon Seul Desir (Cruel Moon)
~review by Mick Mercer

More beauty, with less of the grand constructs of some of their earlier works, because as they get ever better at weaving rich concoctions from the simplest of ingredients, the mystery is intensified when it appears to be in such a conventional setting. Although the synth can provide certain teasing sounds, we’re mainly talking about vocals and acoustic guitars, with the old bodhran filling in the percussive density. Yet out of these basic elements they make the most extraordinary moods come alive, far more arresting and enveloping than your typical Ethereal, Ambient or Industrial bands with a full arsenal at their disposal. It’s crazy!

There’s only two traditional pieces of music updated here, the rest being modern, but all very quiet and enigmatic.

What is most noticeable here is the richly warm, aromatic acoustics. Yesterday I pointed out how the vocals can seem to dance around the guitar, but on this album it’s like they’re serenading it, and swimming around it. In ‘Aliscon’ the simple sounds even drops down to a sparser feel where they sing about things with a sense of absolute wonder in the voice, and when they coast into the traditional ‘Jarem Gitti’ which doesn’t put over a stereotypical Eastern promise, the tiny ululations scamper through like naughty shrill ghosts.

It’s Vittorio Vandelli’s acoustic on ‘Sendero En Lago Verde’ which is the stunning musical star here, being chunkier, steadier, and more beautiful than ever! just as he uncoils elegantly throughout ‘Eaudelamer’, and there’s another thing. How come they do this so much better than others? Think what a boring thing acoustic and vocals can be and dredge up whatever hoary old Hippy Goth memories you may have. Ataraxia are nothing like that. They make it all seem intoxicating. I remain mystified.

On the final two tracks they have more modern moves, but still keep it under control. Where previously they’ve shown some wilder racketeering, here they are warm and cosy, with a hint of the sour and sinister. The final track actually starts as a medieval thing, with severe cooing and chirping, but then a gap appears, whereupon it seeps back in with synth and percussion stirring up the mix and guiding us out on the same tone but in a wholly different way, which is a clever idea.

More hugely captivating material. You have to love them.

ALISCON
JAREM GITTI
EAUDELAMER
SENDERO EN LAGO VERDE
A L’AUBE
MUNDUS EST JOCUNDUM

http://www.ataraxia.net
 

ATARAXIA
Suenos (Cruel Moon /Cold Meat)
~review by Mick Mercer

This is one of their more unusual albums, taking distinct olden day styles and separating them into sections, which evidently means something to them but leaves me happily baffled.

As their medieval styles have come well to the fore in recent years so the album opens with a section of four songs with deft thumping drums, lowing recorders, some twiddley guitar and vocal frills, initially male led, then female, moving gradually from lightly sombre tunes to frisker ones, without ever putting the mad into madrigal.

It’s on the second section where they start to purr. The soothing and sweet Parisian boulevard sounds of ‘Mon Ame Sorciere’ is captivating, and then in ‘Eleven’ the darkness gently enters, and here we get their classic trademark vocal sound, where with just ever so slightly stilted English the vowels are carefully rounded, and behind the dark lead voice the backing vocals are always wafted, high-pitched and rising. It makes for a delicious mixture, like a lucid operatic dream.

Changes continue with ‘Mnemosine’ with Mediterranean guitar washes seeping beneath the weird harmonic effects of these voices, which wrap themselves around the guitar then bounce away from it, almost as though dancing with it, before the spoken words of ‘I Love Every Waving Thing’ make your hearty beat slower for what is simple, exquisite beauty. They often concoct a unique verbal rhythm, and this, another trademark, works in all situations.

They move out and close the album with more modern touches, from the weirdly mystic sounding ‘Encrucijada’, the moody ‘Funeral In Datca’ with flighty vocal flourishes, and then something almost orthodox. The vocals in ‘The Corals Of Aqaba’ are conventional harmonies, with the curious pipework lending a wistful air, which is then taken up a notch into purely modern celebration with ‘Nemrut Dagi’.

I don’t know what any of it means, but it’s a journey you sink into light a huge bed, as warm evening breezes make everything soft to the touch. As magical as ever.

Yep, it’s old, but they very kindly sent it to me the other day, along with their Mon Seul Desir album which I will review here tomorrow, and as they remain the greatest artistic and emotionally spellbinding band alive I’m hope you’ll want to read about it.

PARTI DE MAL
SADERALADON
BELLE JOLANDE
IL BAGATTO
MON AME SORCIERE
ELEVEN
MNEMOSINE
I LOVE EVERY WAVING THING
ENCRUCIJADA
FUNERAL IN DATCA
THE CORALS OF AQABA
NEMRUT DAGI

http://www.ataraxia.net

Avaritia
Pulse (Equinoxe)
~reviewed by Uncle Nemesis

A debut album from a new band from Germany, although you may recognise one of the people involved. Matthias Dopp is the bass player in Passion Play - this is his own band. Avaritia is a duo; Matthias does the music and Dorit Karstedt the vocals, although there's a bassist (the enigmatic Zwigg) on board for live work.

If you've ever wondered what happened to that classic guitar-goth sound - the kind of stuff the March Violets used to do, or perhaps All About Eve before they went all hippy on us and started playing folk festivals - wonder no more. This music is alive and well and living in the heads of Avaritia. Now, that doesn't mean that Avaritia a retro band: quite the reverse. Pulse has a freshness about it that's entirely 2003. But you can tell where the band are coming from. They're definitely graduates of the old skool.

There are seven tracks of nimble, guitar-driven gothic rockers here, ranging from the urgent, forceful 'And Here They Are Again', upon which several layers of guitars jostle for supremacy, to the almost country-ish stroll of 'Summer's Gone', which almost sounds like vintage Mekons. 'Strangers' is a slow-building spiral, while 'Your Inability' has some neat, delicate, touches of guitar underpinned by dramatic, slashing, chords. Dorit's singing is relaxed, effortless. She never strains for a note, or finds herself in difficulties when the vocal melody heads into uncharted territory. She sounds completely at home in the songs, and it's actually quite rare to hear that kind of easy confidence in a vocalist. So many singers these days are only just getting away with it; to encounter a singer who has a certain no-fuss assurance is less common than it should be in these troubled times.

Avaritia has the feel of a guitarist's band. In every song the guitar is always the principal instrument. The bass keeps itself at a respectful distance from the swirling guitars, quietly going about its bottom-end business and allowing the guitar sound to assert itself. The guitar is organic, chiming, gritty, physical, a dominant presence in the mix. By contrast, the programmed drum sound is immaculate and precise: the drum machine never lets you forget that it *is* a drum machine. The chik-chik-chik hi-hat sounds squeaky clean, as if it had been scrubbed and laundered before being allowed out to play, and when a vintage drum roll effect comes up in the intro to 'Hour-glass' I was transported back to the mid-90s when such drum-machine driven bands as Vendemmian would sprinkle these effects throughout their music. I'd like to hear a fully organic Avaritia line-up: I think a human drummer would beef up the rhythm section and give the band that vital sense of grit in the gears which the polished drum programs don't really provide. But for all that, if you're hungry for a fresh take on a classic sound, here's a band which proves that old-skool gothic goodness never dies.

The tunestack:
And Here They Are Again
Days Like This
Summer's Gone
To Preserve And Never To Forget
Hour-glass
Strangers
Your Inability

The players:
Matthias Dopp - Instruments
Dorit Karstedt - Voice

Avaritia website:  http://www.avaritia.net

Equinoxe Records website:  http://equinoxe-records.com

Reviewed by Uncle Nemesis: http://www.nemesis.to

Barry Andrews
Haunted Box Of Switches (shriekback.com)
~reviewed by Uncle Nemesis
(photo credit Joe del Tufo)

Who is Barry Andrews? You've almost certainly heard his music, perhaps even danced to it in your local club. Barry Andrews is the vocalist, keyboard wizard, and all-round main man of Shriekback, the British post-punk group originally formed when ex-members of XTC, Gang Of Four, and Out On Blue Six got together in 1981. Shriekback's lengthy and chequered career has taken the band from the angular punk-funk excursions of their early releases, through the sleek, chrome-plated electronica and left-field rock workouts of their major-label mid-period, to the strangely shaped acoustic other-world music of their 90s incarnation. And along the way, the band just happened to come up with that towering anthem of proto-goth, 'Nemesis' - to this day, a guaranteed floor-filler whenever a club DJ feels the need to burn up the night with something big and bad and loud.

There's a new Shriekback album in the works, but these days the band operate entirely independently in the time-honoured spirit of punk rock DIY. In order to keep the Shriek-pot simmering until the new material is ready to go - and also to raise a bit of money to cover recording and manufacturing costs - a variety of Shriekback rarities, live sets, side-projects and official bootlegs are being offered for sale via the shriekback.com website. Most of the music on offer is vintage stuff from the vaults, but here's something entirely new: a solo album by Barry Andrews.

This is about as stripped-down as it gets. Just Barry himself and a piano, in his London living room. When he opens the vocal mic, you can hear the ambience of the room, street sounds, police cars going past. It's almost as if you're right there, sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea, while Barry runs a few songs by you to test your reaction. A couple of old songs from Shriekback's past, a few newies which will re-appear in due course with the full band treatment, some previously unheard songs which never made it into the studio, and some musical jottings from the here and now. If you're a Shriekback fan, this is like being allowed into the inner sanctum. And even if you're entirely unfamiliar with Shriekback, there are songs here which will capture your attention as surely as if Barry threw a net over you.

Shriekback afficionados will doubtless appreciate 'Faded Flowers' and 'This Big Hush', two refugees from the Oil And Gold album, which appear here entirely bereft of the lush production of the originals. And yet this only serves to bring out the essential strength of the songs: 'Faded Flowers', an oblique muse on the subject of loss, is perhaps even more moving in its no-frills version. Of the new Shriek-tracks, 'God's Gardenias' seems to be an appreciation of Good Things:

The mist is on the river, the drinks are on the bar
Pleasure's not a dirty word to me
I say chat me no more yoga, show me no more signs
Read me no more catalogues of all my crimes
The fruit is flowing and the beast feels fine
God's gardenias rain on me

'Licking Honey From A Razor' helps us out with a brief explanation in the sleeve notes: 'Inspired by the statement by a Tibetan Buddhist guru that if you were to plummet from a high building to certain doom it would be a shame not to enjoy the view' - armed with that small crib, it's possible to sit back and enjoy the lyrics, as Barry cranks up the tension: 'On the 25th floor/Shouldn't try to make sense/Gravity's something with nothing to prove and the smells are intense'. Only Barry Andrews would introduce gravity to us as if it were a character in a story. 'Awake Too Long' has the feel of a pub singalong, and is apparently a song written on one of Shriekback's never-ending 80s tours, when it seemed like the rock 'n' roll juggernaut would never stop. It's a glorious pean to excess which captures the moment when the rampant pursuit of pleasure slides into the surreal:

My reason's gone for a burton
Chewing the curtains
Saying yes to everything that comes along
We discuss nuclear fission
Make up some new religions
Put my mother's knickers on
And have a bit of a do since I don't know when
I've been awake too long!

But it's not all partying until you weird out. There are odd little improvised pieces here, strange interludes in which Barry takes his random thoughts for a walk along the keyboard. There's 'The Contract Song', an examination of the artist skewered by the twin prongs of the bad old music biz and his own ambition. There's 'Incredulous', a song apparently written '...in the first flush of joy at having my own studio again, wherein I could make up daft little things which I need justify to no-one':

They said that he was cerebral, though he rode the bogus train
He fucked the monkeys like in the film
Though they changed all of their names
And he had a sheep sewn into him for a bet in Singapore
I don't believe that, I don't believe thatI don't believe that any more

It occurs to me that for anyone used to the full-on rock 'n' roll experience, getting inside the head of Barry Andrews in solo-piano mode might require an alarming leap into the dark, but there's a strange genius at work here, and this album is a wonderfully engaging document of what that genius can do. Take the leap!

The tunestack:
God's Gardenias
Faded Flowers
Licking Honey From A Razor
Going Equipped
Down The Coal Hole
Awake Too Long
Contract Song
Incredulous
Queen's Beast
This Big Hush
Going Through the Old Diary
Down The Pyramids

Barry Andrews: Voice, piano

Barry Andrews' website:  http://www.barryandrews.net

The Shriekback website:  http://www.shriekback.com

Reviewed by Uncle Nemesis:  http://www.nemesis.to

Bathory
Nordland II
~reviewed by Eric Rasmussen

Quorthon is one of viking metal's luminaries, and although not a particularly consistent songwriter, his two-part Nordland series is very good. Last year's Nordland I showed a movement back towards his viking roots, and Nordland II is a suitable sequel. Instead of roaming vast icy expanses and dense forests, this time Quorthon has taken it upon himself to go sailing. Nordland II captures the feeling of being out at sea with rhythms set to the pace of a ship rocking in water, interludes with the gentle sweeping of water over sand, and vocals with a rasping pirate-like cadence.

Er... pirate-like? Instead of the traditional viking metal rasps, Quorthon really does sound a lot like a pirate out on the high seas looking to pillage and plunder in proper pirate fashion. The rasps are sort of slurred and offbeat, not hate-filled, but more "avast ye matey"...ish. It's amazingly hard to describe pirate vocals, but if you can imagine ex-Skyclad vocalist Martin Walkyier joining a band of reasonably well meaning pirates and eventually returning to the world of metal with an eye-patch, you wouldn't be too far off.

Other than that, Nordland II is pretty much a straight continuation of Nordland I. The clean vocals are somewhat less prominent, but present the same viking chants and melodies that Bathory's viking vocals have always managed. The epic viking nature of Bathory's recent approach prevails over his pirate leanings, so you can be sure that Nordland II is first and foremost a viking album, and worth looking into if you dedicate your battles to the All Father. The riffs are essentially the same as Nordland I: bouncy Norse rhythms with soaring melodic leads.

I think that's about it, really. If you like Bathory's viking moments, especially on Nordland I, you'll enjoy hearing Bathory exploring new bounds out at sea. The music feels a bit less fresh this time around, in the way that many sequels tend to, but is still highly listenable. I suppose I ought to mention that the opening melody is a near exact copy of the main theme from Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. I don't know if that is intentional, but it's a little funny nonetheless. Perhaps Quorthon was in a jovial mood when he wrote it, or he's just mocking us all for taking him seriously. Who knows! Other than Quorthon.

And Odin.

Track List:
1) Fanfare
2) Blooded Shore
3) Sea Wolf
4) Vinland
5) The Land
6) Death and Resurrection of a Northern Son
7) The Messenger
8) Flash of the Silverhammer
9) The Wheel of Sun
10) Instrumental

Bathory is:
Quorthon - music, lyrics

Black Mark:
http://www.blackmark.net/

The End Records (US):
http://www.theendrecords.com/

Beyond Salem (Canada)
Welcome To Machine
~reviewed by Joel Steudler

Welcome To Machine, which could use a good 'the', is Beyond Salem's newest offering.  The album is a schizophrenic collection of songs that don't meld styes like classic rock, goth, and soundtracky instrumental passages, but rather jump jarringly between them.  This odd bout of random genre hopping makes the album a very uneven release... mainly since the band is definitely more adept at some styles than others.

The main stumbling block I kept tripping over while trying to tolerate this album is the gratingly baleful vocalizing of John Stuart Campbell.  His strained wailing sounds terribly out of place in the context of Black Sabbath-y classic metal numbers like 'Witch On The Mountain'.  The only time his singing ventures into acceptability is when he adopts a Peter Steele-esque theatrical goth tone... and even then it's nothing to write home about.

The songwriting, on the whole, meanders aimlessly and is often punctuated by lengthy bouts of dull nothingness between any catchy riffs that may accidentally crop up.  Much of Welcome To Machine sounds like a classic-radio-rock jam session rather than an album of carefully arranged songs.  Maybe that's something others will appreciate, but I found it boring and pointless.  It's not as if this sound hasn't been covered similarly (and more skillfully) a hundred times before.  The only marginally worthwhile tracks on the album are the three instrumental compositions that conclude it.  They are mercifully devoid of garish vocals and present ambient soundscapes filled with synthesizer noodling.  If the band focused in this direction and improved the quality of their electronics, I could see them eventually entering more listenable territory.

I hate belittling other people's artistic endeavours (actually, that's a lie... occasionally I rather enjoy it), but when presented to me in the context of an album for review, sometimes it can't be helped.  I can find nothing on Welcome To Machine to recommend it for purchasing.  I hope the band continues to refine their sound and eventually arrives someplace where they sound less amateurish and more interesting.  Until then, when someone asks me if I want to go Beyond Salem, I think I'll just stay in town.

Track List:
01.) Intro - 13 Bells
02.) Witch On The Mountain
03.) Last Dance
04.) The Crow
05.) Welcome To Machine
06.) First Days of Mourning
07.) Nordic Storm/500 Years
08.) Farewell & Goodbye
09.) Lost In The Towers
10.) After Midnight

Beyond Salem is:
Michael Cannon: guitars, keyboard, bass
Matte Black: lead & electric guitars
John Stuart Campbell: lead vocals, bass, guitars
Luci Ferr: studio & live drums

Beyond Salem Official Website:
http://www.corpusnet.com/beyondsalem/
 

Bio-Tek
The Ceremony of Innocence
~reviewed by BlackOrpheus
 
Jonathan Sharp is prodigious in his shere number of interests and musical undertakings. If he wasn't already familiar to most through his work with Bio-Tek; he might be familiar through his work with New Mind or Takshaka.
 
The Ceremony of Innocence is the long delayed album from his Bio-Tek project. It is a work of challenging contradictions, not the least of which is the album cover's diverse visuals.  The album is pretty evenly divided between brilliance and depth, and being flat, derivative and bloated. Below are a few cursory observations from my listening experience.
 
"Scarlet Tracings" possesses a certain subdued, almost savage grandiosity. It rises and falls with all the drama and pageant of Wagner. The female vocal was an addition to the music, that I thought fit very well with the overall feel.
 
"Sorrows of the Moon" was based on the Baudelaire poem of the same name.  It opens with tolling bells that herald the spoken word poem in it's original French. It song construction was restrained, and that very restraint was what made it such an effective piece of songcraft.
 
"Profession of Violence" uses the textures of the music and vocals to telling effect.  The beat of this piece, punctuates the palpable menace inherent in the song. The vocals are delivered with a low snarl that exagerates the growing feeling of unease.
 
In closing, I'd like to say that I did enjoy this album. I believe the songs I mentioned, cast Sharp in the best possible light. He is an undeniable talent, I only wish he would explore and build upon these obvious strengths. His forays into the sped up, beat heavy, dance "friendly" songs such as "Reborn," "prayer," and "Caller of the Black" only served to detract from an otherwise perfectly listenable album. Those kinds of displays usually meet with middling success, and at worst are just crude and vulgar displays of synth-sequencer prowess that have been done a thousand times before. Having said all of this, I still recommend giving it a listen. When Sharp shines, he really sparkles.
 

Track Listing:
1. Scarlet Tracings
2. Reborn
3. Sorrows of the Moon
4. Prayer
5. Caller of the Black
6. Profession of Violence
7. Victory Not Vengeance
8. Un Coeur En Hiver
9. Lucifuge Refocale
10. The Last Ritual

Bio-Tek is: Jonathan Sharp

Official Website: WWW.Anti-Statik.Com/BioTek/

Black Label Society
The Blessed Hellride
~reviewed by Eric Rasmussen

Stoner rock is a peculiar genre, particularly when Zakk Wylde is the man interpreting it. Known best for his work as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist, Wylde has also done some interesting solo projects, along with full-on beer fueled rockin' via Black Label Society (BLS). Today we're going to look at the rockin'. The first and only time I saw BLS live, I didn't realize that Zakk Wylde was the guitarist/singer. I thought "now there's a crazy man." Wylde stood tall with his signature black and white spiral guitar, and he was yelling in a manner that led me to believe fire ants had invaded his socks. He looked to be a Harley riding kind of man that wanders around in search of gigs and beer. His music with Black Label Society is kinda like that. All fire ants, Harleys, and beer.

I'm not a big fan of stoner rock, but for the most part Zakk Wylde gets groovy and keeps the music enjoyable. The first song opens with a dramatically themed riff that demands attention - but then the lyrics kick in and start going on about lots of drinking and smoking. Truthfully, I still don't know what to make of the combination. Zakk Wylde blasts through fiery solos ("Stoned and Drunk"), rocks out with Ozzy ("Stillborn"), and uses piano and bluesy guitar to show his soft side ("Dead Meadow"). BLS songs come across as just short of what Wylde is clearly capable of. It's nice that he can play down to earth music, and his guitar technique has improved, but when will he challenge himself musically?

I'd like to see him go all out to create a real metal album with intelligent lyrics, varied riffing and, most importantly, more feeling besides "I like beer." For The Blessed Hellride, Wylde simply visited his local recording studio, camped there for some six weeks, and without any prior planning, made this CD (really, the press sheet said so! Except for the bit about camping. And I don't really know if the studio was local). All the songs are suitably jammin' and probably quite cool in a live setting, but most of them fail to rise above the "beer drinkin' head banging" rating on Depth of Entertainment rock measures.

If you're a strict Ozzy fan looking to explore Zakk Wylde's other endeavors, don't be fooled by the hit single "Stillborn", featuring Ozzy on vocals. The rest of the CD has Wylde singing like he belongs in Monster Magnet, and occasionally doing his own Ozzy impressions - but the focus is clearly on cars, drugs and rock 'n' roll (apparently the preferred motif for metal men who don't feel it necessary to advertise their sexuality). For everyone else: give it a listen if you like your rock hard and groovy, and you might just find yourself enjoying Black Label Society's straightforward and fun romp through abandoned race tracks, biker bars, and smoke-filled concert venues.

Track List:
1) Stoned and Drunk
2) Doomsday Jesus
3) Stillborn
4) Suffering Overdue
5) The Blessed Hellride
6) Funeral Bell
7) Final Solution
8) Destruction Overdrive
9) Blackened Water
10) We Live No More
11) Dead Meadow

Black Label Society is:
Zakk Wylde - vocals, guitars, bass, piano
Craig Nunenmacher - drums

Black Label Society - Official Site:
http://www.blacklabelsociety.net/

Spitfire Records:
http://www.spitfirerecords.com/

Blazing Eternity
A World To Drown In
~reviewed by Joel Steudler

Blazing Eternity's music could be described as a sad memory on a warm summer day.  A World To Drown In is filled with songs that drift along like terminally ill butterflies... pretty things floating on a tranquil breeze that nevertheless have a depressing undercurrent trying to tug you into a sea of maudlin gloom.  Oh- hey, I should probably mention that anyone who expected this to be black metal (as Blazing Eternity's demo releases apparently were) will be either confused, disappointed, or angry.  Probably angry, knowing black metal fans.  Angry and ready to burn things.  But, I digress.  A World To Drown In is definitely not black metal, but it -is- dreamy alterna-goth rock.  Take that how you will... and please don't burn me.

I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, but vocalist Peter Mesnickow reminds me alot of 'Morrissey + a slight Danish accent'.  His voice is well suited to accompany the music, which in it's lighter moments is suggestive of R.E.M. and in the heavier bits... perhaps 'Nighttime Birds' era The Gathering.  Or a less metallic latterday Katatonia.  Maybe even a little like The Cure, really.  If you're getting the idea that this particular sound isn't altogether unique, you're right.  At least the band executes it well.  The production is fine, lending the gloom a crystalline clearness that, well, doesn't make it gloomier but does make for a nice listen.

Maybe that's my problem with this album.  It's too nice.  Its like a lengthy sigh, wistfully wishing you'd pay it more attention... but it can't muster the energy to do anything truly memorable.  If, however, you're too happy and need to be brought back to earth, A World To Drown In will dampen your spirits.  Where it succeeds is in painting glum pictures on your wall that turn the room's atmosphere bittersweet and melancholy.  It never really wallows in the sadness enough to make things truly hopeless, but it does manage to generate a pervasive feeling of unrequited longing for better times.

I won't lie - A World To Drown In doesn't excite me... but then, it wasn't really meant to, I suppose.  If you can't get enough music that exists solely to depress and de-stimulate listeners, you might want to give this album a try.  Sadly, however, the songs on A World To Drown In are insubstantial gossamer trifles, as fleeting as a rain shower in the spring.  They might bring you down while they're happening, but they pass quickly and are soon forgotten when the sun comes out again.

Track List:
01.) Cover Me With Your Eyes
02.) To Meet You In Those Dreams
03.) A World To Drown In
04.) Stars In July
05.) (Don't) Tell The World
06.) Procession
07.) En Nat Bliver Det Sommer
08.) Monument
09.) White

Blazing Eternity is:
Peter Mesnickow: Vocals
Morten Lybecker: Guitars
Kim Larsen: Guitars
Anders Kristiansen: Bass
Lars Korsholm: Drums

Blazing Eternity Official Website:
http://www.blazingeternity.com/

Prophecy Records:
http://www.prophecy.cd/

The Blue Season
Cold
~reviewed by Joel Steudler

I think I will now invent another official category for classifying music (my previous best being YAPMA: "Yet Another Power Metal Album").  This new category shall henceforth be known as BTSLOBBDIW, or "Bands That Sound Like Other Bands But Do It Well".  Ok, so it needs a little work.  I'll try and pare that down a little before adopting it into everyday use.  The inspiration for that unwieldy moniker is The Blue Season's new album, Cold.  If I had to review it in one sentence, I would say "Like old The Gathering, but with a guy singing, too."  Perhaps fortunately for you, I do not have to so limit myself, and you get three more paragraphs of my earnest reviewing.

There are times when direct comparisons of one band to another are unfair.  This isn't one of them.  If The Gathering had decided after Mandylion (so many years ago) to veer into slightly more progressive territory and add in clean male vocals, Cold is pretty close to what would result.  For those not in the know, the style of which I speak is lightly gothic, loosely metallic dark progressive rock.  It's largely guitar driven, filled with synths, has some exotic percussion (congas, to be exact), and yields a somber yet propulsive sound.  In fairness to The Blue Season, they do diverge from Gatheringdom occasionally, with the odd upbeat number like 'My Own Spring'... but the comparison holds true across the rest of the album.

Making things even more Gatheringy, singer Natalie Pereira Dos Santos (whose name is impressively long) even sounds much like The Gathering's Anneke van Giersbergen.  Ms. Santos's voice is powerful and clear, and she sings with convincing emotion... but -for me, at least- the magic's just not there in the same way as it is with Anneke.  It's a purely subjective position, and I don't wish to belittle Ms. Santos's efforts, as she is a fine singer.  Perhaps she's at that point in artists' careers where they are technically proficient, but haven't quite found their own identity yet.  For now, if Anneke ever gets sick and they need an emergency fill-in on tour... well, they should jot down Ms. Santos's phone number.

What we're left with, then, is a prime example of BTSLOBBDIW.  Ok, that's never going to catch on.  Still, my point stands.  The Blue Season is more than superficially like The Gathering... but that doesn't mean their music lacks value. Cold is an engaging album of dark progressive gothic-tinged rock.  If you wish The Gathering hadn't veered so far off the path they walked on 'Mandylion', this album is sure to appeal to you.  If you just like atmospheric dark music with expressive vocals and well played instrumental parts, this is right up your alley too.  I suspect, though, that if The Blue Season sheds their influences more on future releases, we'll leave the cold behind and head into a bright, warm summer.

Track List:
01.)Forever Torn
02.)Release
03.)Forsaken
04.)Hours And Hours
05.)Autumn
06.)When I Fall Asleep
07.)My Own Spring
08.)Surrounding
09.)Cold
10.)Body In The Pool

The Blue Season is:
Natalie Pereira Dos Santos - Vocals
Oliver Zillich - Vocals, Keyboards
Jochen Laser - Guitar, Piano
Bernd König - Bass
Oliver Waibel - Congas, Percussion
Christoph Semmelrodt - Drums

The Blue Season Official Website:
http://www.theblueseason.com/

Bumblefoot
Forgotten Anthology 1995-2002
~reviewed by Eric Rasmussen

Some people would argue that madness and genius are inseparable. If any of these people were looking to prove their point with modern musicians, there's no finer example than the man who wields a guitar that is shaped like a bumblebee. A bumblebee that looks like a human foot. His very name is enough to strike terror into the hearts of all who hear it. Or confusion, in any case. Bumblefoot is a guitarist and singer who crafts the most absurdly original and inventive songs that all fans of music need to listen to. That's my personal bias speaking, but it's a respectably intelligent bias, and you ought to follow its advice.

Forgotten Anthology is kind of like a Bumblefoot greatest hits album. And it's a really good one, too, with tracks representing four eras of his music: depressing grunge, quirky rock/metal songs, modernized 70's lounge music, and er... the most recent era. Which happens to be quite a remarkable era, if largely unclassifiable. "This is all well and good," you may be thinking, "but what's so special about a greatest hits CD?" Forgotten Anthology is defined by the fact that its songs were (mostly) never before released. And it isn't some attempt to make easy cash off outdated material: the songs are all excellent, and any one of them could have easily fit onto Bumblefoot's albums (in fact, tracks 8-12 were on the French release of Uncool).

The first four songs chronicle Bumblefoot's unrealized attempt at sullen grunge. The tracks are rather serious, and Bumblefoot's emotive vocals and zany guitar antics give them a highly unique and powerful quality. Tracks 5-7 might have made a follow-up to Hands, and they continue that album's tradition of warping alternative rock styles. Songs 8-15 would feel right at home on Uncool, and they feature similarly wacky lounge meets metal stylings. "A Way Out" and "Wasted Away" take the CD back to its more serious direction. "Wasted Away", in particular, is a very expressive song with a downcast main theme and appropriately lethargic and depressed singing. The final track is "Mafalda", an imaginative instrumental and scary fretless guitar workout that will convince aspiring guitar students to give up guitar and invest in a recorder.

When I say Bumblefoot is top-shelf material, I mean it literally. His CDs are on my exalted top shelf, and I listen to them all far more than any mental health professional would consider healthy. Forgotten Anthology lives up to Bumblefoot's usual high standards, and all fans of insane, honest, and wacky music need to give it a listen. It continues to amaze me that Bumblefoot can communicate as well with his voice as his guitar, and the combination of the two is unbelievable. Guitar fans can listen just to marvel at the amazing sounds Bumblefoot squeezes from his guitar, but anyone else can appreciate the innovative melodies, catchy choruses, and solid songwriting. Head to www.bumblefoot.com or http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Bumblefoot/ to listen!

Track List:
1) Old
2) Thought I Could Fly
3) Apathy
4) Shell
5) Meat
6) Day to Remember
7) Bagged a Big 1
8) Mine
9) Heart Attack
10) Girl Like You
11) Crunch
12) Maricona
13) (untitled)
14) She Knows
15) Myth
16) A Way Out
17) Wasted Away
18) Mafalda

Bumblefoot is:
Bumblefoot - guitars, bass, vocals, pretty much everything else

Bumblefoot - Official Site:
http://www.bumblefoot.com/

Bumblefoot mp3s at IUMA:
http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Bumblefoot/

Carrier Flux
In Waste
~reviewed by Joel Steudler

Some music is so different from what you're used to that maintaining your interest becomes a difficult challenge.  It's easy to become discouraged and write an album off without giving it a proper chance to sink in and take hold of your subconscious.  I almost let that happen with one-man-band Carrier Flux's In Waste, but I'm quite pleased that I took the time to give it a few thorough listens.  As it turns out, this is one of the more artful and creative albums of heavy music I've come across in a while.

Jeff Phillips is an ambitious man.  Solo projects are hard enough to complete, let alone when they feature arrangements as dense as those on In Waste.   Loosely combining elements of black metal, ambient, goth, techno-industrial, and electronica, Phillips has forged a strong amalgam that bears little direct resemblance to any of its building blocks.  Blazing crunchy guitars and blindingly fast drum machine patterns form a bed beneath an unusual choice of vocal styles that nonetheless creates a strange and not unwelcome mood of disquiet.  Phillips sounds full of resignation and grim fatalism as he delivers his lyrics in a style not unlike that of many a teutonic gloom-metal (or techno) act.  The monotone, nearly spoken-word stylings perhaps recall Depeche Mode right after they've returned home from a funeral, or a less angry, more acquiescent Rammstein.

Synth lines wind through the tremolo picked guitar fuzz with regularity, and no instrument is safe from electronic manipulation (or mauling).  This gives the album a progressive tinge and a bit of a science-fictiony feel.  The lead lines trade off between guitar and synthesizer, zipping and blipping along at breakneck speeds, but the music is primarily driven by the relentless drum machine ticking away alongside buzzy rhythm guitar riffs. Combined with the morose vocals (and a sporadic black metal rasp), the music creates a singular sound that gives Carrier Flux a clear and unique identity.

Anyone who enjoys experimental metal and has an open mind willing to explore a new take on the genre will find In Waste a valuable addition to their collection.  If I had to compare Carrier Flux to another band (and it's in the "Metal Reviewers' By-Laws":  I do!) I would say that it is in the same ballpark that ...And Oceans has been playing in, though AO is out in left field and Carrier Flux is somewhere around second base.  Interpret that however you like.  Do not be put off by my glaringly ineffective analogies, though... In Waste is no waste of your time if you have the patience to appreciate challenging art.

Track List:
01.) Rebirth
02.) Ghost In The Machine
03.) (Transision)
04.) Lustmord
05.) Martyrs
06.) False Projection
07.) Serpent
08.) Above The Crippled Earth
09.) The Enemy Within
10.) Alone In Waste
11.) Am I One Am I

Carrier Flux is:
Jeff Phillips

Carrier Flux Official Site:
http://www.carrierflux.com/
http://www.mp3.com/carrierflux

Black Lotus Records:
http://www.black-lotus-recs.com/

The End Records (US):
http://www.theendrecords.com
 

CAUSTIC SOUL
PARLIAMENT OF ROOKS (CS)
~reviewed by Mick Mercer

When I was reviewing this a small moth actually landed on my nose! He asked what I had on because the headphones were irritating him, and so I told him of this album, in an encouraging, heartfelt manner, for while I generally have little time for the male angsty side of Goth where treated vocals mix with the Industrial undertow, and Rock threatens to overwhelm all, with Caustic Soul, I’m intrigued.

I wouldn’t say this is utterly fantastic, because of one simple thing which is apparent right from the start. They have so much talent, they make the album genuinely varied throughout and any clichés which seem to be forming soon dissipate, but they can’t really explode. Many a track builds with such spectacular ease, you think we’re heading for truly epic territory, which would easily set them on top of the thrusting industrial Goth heap, only for their riffology to get stuck in third gear. At some point they lack the glycerine fluidity which is required to stoke things up and take off with breathtaking power. They get so far, then stop, teetering on the edge of potential greatness.

Another bad moment comes when you realise they have not only covered ‘Scarborough Fair’ but done nothing to invert it, meaning that it remains an utterly shite waste of your time, but that’s the downside over and done with, and the rest of the album, even without their inability to truly achieve lift off, is the unexpectedly attractive vocals, which have gravitas aplenty, and the richly imaginative musical tapestries they urinate against with such pleasure.

And I confess, I don’t recognise this quote, but they start ‘Trine’ with my favourite sample yet hard on a song, as some madman rants, “I believe in cruelty and infidelity. I believe in slime and stink, in every crawling, putrid thing, every possible ugliness and corruption, you Son Of A Bitch!!!” Is it Rumsfeld’s video diary? I know not. Then the songs somersaults away, riffing madly.

‘Eryux’ is Pained Goth par excellence, ‘Dead Doll’ an aching ballad which become a rabid monster, and ‘Goodnight’ an exquisite floaty thing, with the gentility bracing. Yes it goes mental towards the end, because that’s what these bands do, but it’s still lovely. Curiously, you also get to imagine Abba running around with intestines hanging from their mouths during the opening to ‘Sick’ and then the bowel-scraping really begins.

Before I’d finished reviewing Shelly (tortoiseshell and yowly) came and sat on the info sheets they’d included, and swished her tail about to the magnificent autocratic vocals, and frosted brutality in song, proving they appeal to man or beast alike.

HARLOT SKY
TRINE
ERYX
SEPARATION
SICK
DEAD DOLL
AURORA
SCARBOROUGH FAIR
GOODNIGHT

http://www.causticsoul.com

Charger
confessions of a man (mad enough to live amongst beasts)
~reviewed by Eric Rasmussen

Every so often a metal band makes its debut and defies all expectations. Charger is one such band. With the relative hype behind them, and their somewhat interesting album title, I expected them to be far more compelling than they are. On their website, it is said that Charger's style is "impossibly heavy, punk-fuelled sludgecore noise." I'd say that Charger play screechy crap music, or SCM. In reality, Charger are probably somewhere in between the two, playing music not altogether different from The Great Deceiver, and somehow mixing Nirvana-ish grunge grooves with screeching throat-ripping shouts.

I'm under the impression that Charger desired to make music that would scare the living daylights out of sane people, and even annoy hardened metal fans. Mission accomplished. Way to go, Charger. Their debut will be well received in circles where people like to blast lots of noisy music and headbang frequently. Charger's music is certainly suited to headbanging primarily because it's a lot harder to hear clearly when your head is rapidly bouncing up and down, and if you get lucky, you might just connect with a solid surface and knock yourself unconscious.

Ok, so that's the negative view of confessions... on the positive side, Charger can get a good groove going, and the music is certainly heavy and angry and all that fun stuff. Also, there's a nice respite from the screechy vocals during tracks 6 and 7. If you've ever found yourself listening to something called sludgecore noise, and more importantly, enjoying it, Charger is for you. By most outward appearances, they seem like a band I should like. Since I don't, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt in that they're probably respectably well-versed in their style of choice.

If you're not into metal that involves lots of hardcore-ish screaming with repetitive power chord riffs and absolutely no melodic content, you'll probably be on my side when it comes to labeling Charger SCM. But if you are into aurally offensive sonic madness, perhaps to deter would-be burglars or door to door salesmen, you'll find a lot to like in Charger's painful debut.

Track List:
1) ultra violet flyer
2) god made us in the image of his ass
3) pennies for soil
4) chide and harmonize
5) carbon wings
6) airtank face pincers
7) -
8) a ventilation system for cooling poultry

Charger is:
Tim Machin - vocals
Jim Palmer - guitar
Jay Woodroffe - guitar
Tom O' Brian - bass
Paul Sanderson - drums

Charger - Official Site:
http://www.fuzzbastards.com/

Peaceville Records:
http://www.peaceville.com/

COLLIDE
SOME KIND OF STRANGE (Noiseplus Music)
~reviewed by Mick Mercer

I’ll do the relevant comparisons now if you don’t mind. So, that’ll be Garbage with extra art but no actual commercial sensibilities, descendants of either KaS Product or Curve (depending on your age), and consider Kate Bush, providing she went Industrial.

Okay, so where are we, now they’ve hit their fourth album and started getting publicity? We can see them as sleek and combustible, and naturally we can appreciate their quality, recognise their beauty and also just fail to hide our disappointment that they’re not slightly more conventional. The album, which hints at an overt sense of tremulous danger, also sees them stuck in a delightful but doomy rut. That might be hard to swallow, when you think how well they’re doing, but if you acknowledge their own description of their music as soundscapes, you must also accept these aren’t songs, per se, but tracks.

Like many bands, Collide have great points. Being just two people, we have here a pair of weirdoes in perfect harmony. They pitch in together and make it sound grand with exquisitely breathy or fiery vocals, and layer upon layer of restless, polished musical daggers aimed straight ay your mental heart, but what there isn’t, is songs.

It may be more reverie than background, but when not one single song has any demanding pace to it, where we are dragged along, breathless with anticipation and excitement, they have to either come up with astonishing musical tableaux of varying complexity, or have such lyrical profundity we sit and follow the tale. Neither elements occur. Collide songs are a stunning jumble, but it’s pretty much the same kind of jumble. Halfway through the album you really shouldn’t be expecting any surprises, and you certainly don’t get any. You also lose track of what the words are supposed to be about, if they are actually about anything. Sometimes it’s like observing a lunatic dirty-dancing, solo, as the words are rolled meaningfully around the mouth and released in a relaxing manner, and behind the voice the music see-saws dramatically, but following a set pattern.

And that’s a problem, because we’ve all seen bands just dwindle away after bubbling up, and Collide could be one of those.

CRUSHED
EUPHORIA
MODIFY
SOMEWHERE
SLITHER THING
INSIDE
MUTATION
TEMPTED
SHIMMER
COMPLICATED
SO LONG

http://www.collide.net
http://www.darkcelldigitalmusic.net
 

Collide
Some Kind of Strange
~reviewed by Jezebel

I think Blu still loves me, despite me being MIA the last few months. Really I do. Because she sent me Collide.

I had a feeling that she did when my husband picked up the then still unopened CD and said “Collide? I like them. I have heard some of their stuff. Mind if I take a look?” Hey, it was 9am on a Monday Bank Holiday, I didn’t give a flying fudge.

“Cool, cEvin Key and Danny Carey.”

“Huh? Skinny Puppy and Tool? Oh shit, it’s industrial.”

“Give it a listen. You might be surprised. I don’t remember them being industrial.”

So after editing down Turning Japanese and choreographing the CanCan (Hey I am a dance teacher), I found myself a glass of wine, settled into my bedroom and gave a listen.

Thank you Blu.

I love atmospheric music. I love music that seems to paint a canvas with sounds that create visions and landscapes of ideas, fantasies and mysteries. Collide does just that. This is no uncharted territory. Many bands attempt and usually fail at this genre and idea. There are a few that succeed. The Changelings are one of these bands. Black Tape for a Blue Girl, especially of their latest album are icons to me in this kind of musical painting. Collide is definitely one of those bands that are to be respected and to be taken seriously.

But different to the aforementioned bands, Collide adds something a bit more. They add grit. They add dirt to the landscape. They add the grime and the dark, dirtier undertones…even sexual and erotic undertones to this kind of music that I don’t believe the others have. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying The Changelings or Black Tape for a Blue Girl are goody two shoes. But these two, kaRIN and Statik are the black sheep, the dark cousins of the family of landscape artists (hmm, have I just created a new label for a genre of music?)

I am now, as I type this, at the end of the third track off the album, that being "Modify". It ends almost, well, forgive the ugliness of the wording, snorting. And then a soft lovely sound brings in "Somewhere". kaRIN’s voice is lovely, with a touch of Kate Bush to it. Pushing and diving throughout and within the notes finding new depths and heights to go almost simultaneously. How that works and happens, I don’t know. Somewhere floats among the waves finding their peaks and valleys taking you on an oceanaic journey that leaves you satiated and questioning. Another strange combination.

And perhaps that is what Collide is all about. A strange combination. Their representation of themselves through their press pack sure does echo my feelings. They admit that they are opposites, trying to find a middle ground from where their music can soar. But middle ground is the wrong phrasing because that can mean something of a mediocrity and Collide definitely doesn’t know the meaning of mediocrity.

So back to kaRIN’s voice. It is not only Kate Bush I hear. (wonder if she is an influence to her?). But I hear a bit of Siouxsie in there. A bit of Monica Richards (who is thanked on the album). But what is the best part of it, is that it is like a really fine dish. You can taste the essence of the ingredients, but when put together well, the dish takes on its own identity and can be compared to no one.

The engineering on the album is masterful, the balance of instruments and voice incredible. Now Statik, who mixed and engineered album is in charge of noise. I don’t know exactly what instrument that would be, but it makes him a damn good engineer. I find that if a member of a band mixes and engineers an album, there is always a imbalance either away from or too towards the instrument of the engineer (Belisha, Killing Miranda and Faith and the Muse being fine examples of exceptions to that perception). I am interested in hearing exactly what “noise” playing is. I suspect it’s keyboards but I don’t want to put my two cents in…just yet.

There is a problem with reviewing this album and it goes back to the analogy of the fine dish. This is just a fine, excellent produced and created album….oh jesus,  I just got to track 6, "Inside". Can I say wow? I think this slithers more than preceeding track called "slither"? This just wraps itself away in that breezy way of a summer day. The first song I have ever heard in this genre that calls for a white wine? Light chardonnay. Or perhaps a reisling? But again, it’s guttural. It’s sensual and erotic…but doesn’t make you feel guilty, dirty about enjoying it.

Wait a second, let me go back to what I was saying. Yes. A fine dish. You don’t taste individual ingredients, just their essence which makes it taste so good. Not too much pepper or basil. The meat done to perfection. So you can’t pick out one thing. You can just take it as one dish to savour and enjoy.

Damn, this is an album for a bubble bath for two.

So I have gushed and guffawed over this album (and it’s now on it’s second playing in a row by the way)…..okay, I have to say something of constructive critiscm. Hm. Um. Okay. Here goes.

The press release enclosed jumps from first person speaking (kaRIN) to third person quoting kaRIN. That was a bit unsettling. I hate all these strange spellings of name. They not only are a pain in the bum to type, and make my spelling check have fits, but they are a bit silly.

There you go. My constructive criticsm. Fix your press release and spelling your names correctly. Consider your knuckles slapped.

Now the rest of you – go buy the album.

Collide are:
kaRIN: words and voices
Statik: noise

Additionally:
cEvin Key
Rogerio Silva
Kevin Kipnis
Kef
Gilbert Levy
X-8
Danny Carey

Track Listings:
1. Crushed
2. Euphoria
3. Modify
4. Somewhere
5. Slither thing
6. Inside
7. Mutation
8. Tempted
9. Shimmer
10. Complicated
11. So Long

Website: www.collide.net

Email: xcollide@aol.com
 

Conjure One
Tears from the Moon
~reviewed by Jyri Glynn

Considering myself an enormous fan of Front Line Assembly and Delerium; as well as, a vivid admirer of all of Rhys Fulber’s additional side projects, how the hell did I miss his solo debut, Conjure One?

This album should have been the follow up to Delerium’s 1997 release, Karma with its excellent blend of electronic and acoustic instrumentation.  'It's ambient, epic music with a pop structure,' cites Fulber.  Self-titled, Conjure One draws from a full array of international influences ranging from Mediterranean to Middle Eastern.  I was also pleasantly surprised to find female guest stars Poe and Sinéad O’Connor singing on this album; as well as, Jeff Martin from the Tea Party lending his vocals to the track, Premonition (on the limited edition cd).   Israeli vocalist Chemda, Argentinean singer Marie-Claire D’Ubaldo and Melanie Garside also contribute beautiful vocals throughout this refreshing cd.

The album is available in both a single and double cd release version with the additional double cd having more danceable remixes of some of the tracks off the full album.  If you enjoy dance mixes these are superb and have a much more upbeat feel than the original tracks.

The album opens with a short track titled Damascus.  It is very nice opening song, with melodic synth lines, which blends beautifully with Chemda’s vocal chatting.

Center of the Sun is probably one of the most radio-friendly songs presented on this album.  It is also the first of two songs where singer, Poe makes her vocal appearance.  The piano and strings flawlessly carry this beautiful melody.

The third track titled Tears from the Moon features Sinead O’Connor who provides the perfect, sorrowful, reflection for this track in her own unique vocal style.  And even though I am told this is a cover song, it is by far the best thing I have heard from O’Connor in years.  I particularly enjoy the presences of acoustic guitar and violin on this song.  The song portrays the emotional loss of one’s love for another.

I feel something falling from the sky
I’m so sad I made the angels cry
Tears from the moon falling down like rain
I reach for you
I reach in vein

Stop haunting me
It should be easy…
As easy as when you stopped wanting me

The album continues with the song, Manic Star, which features the vocals of Marie-Claire D’Ubaldo.  Ironically this track sounds much like a song from the album, Poem, which was the Delerium release after Fulber left the band and his partner Bill Leeb.  Poem was Leeb’s "solo" Delerium debut and it certainly had more of a mainstream pop feel to it.

Chemda once again echoes her powerfully melodic vocal chants on the track Redemption, blending both middle-eastern and dance textures.  If you are a fan of Delierum’s Karma album, you will enjoy this one as well the next track, Years.

Make a Wish again features singer, Poe who illuminates this track with her gentle, lounge vocals.  Musically the song blends trip-hop beats with a lovely classical piano piece.  I also very much enjoyed the synth textures which flow through out the song.

Marie-Claire D’Ubaldo sings an innocent love song over peaceful electronica on the track, Sleep.  This track reminded me of Opus III’s 1994 release, “It’s going to be a fine night”.

The album closes with a short outro titled Premonition, which is an great song, but right when you are getting into it, the track seems to come to an abrupt end.  If you are lucky enough to find a copy of the limited edition cd, Jeff Martin (Tea Party), who provides most of the guitar work through out this album, is feature vocally on this track.  Unfortunately the version I have to review does not contain this exclusive track so I have no idea how it sounds.

Overall, Conjure One is a breath of fresh air in todays over exhausted electronic based music scene.  Utilizing a nice blend of both acoustic instruments as well as synths, it is a very well written, composed and produced album.  Fulber clearly exhibits his talents; which I'm sure are noticeably absent from his former band, Delerium.
 

1.   Damascus
2.   Center of The Sun
3.   Tears From The Moon
4.   Tidal Pool
5.   Manic Star
6.   Redemption
7.   Years
8.   Make a Wish
9.   Pandora
10. Sleep
11. Premonition (Reprise)

http://www.conjureone.com/
 

Cradle of Filth
Damnation And A Day
~reviewed by Goat

I think with every band that makes it past the van-with-the-puke-petrified-in-the-floorboards stage, there is one album where they've made just enough money to make brilliant music with all the talent and technology they can mobilize, but not yet enough money to have gone soft and completely forgotten that old van.  I think Damnation And A Day is probably that album for CoF.  This is the "major label debut". This is the point in time where all the old hardcore fans start calling them sell-outs. This is where things start to get really interesting.

Personally, I never used to like Cradle that much back in the "old days".  I preferred my black metal as black as humanly possible, and I experienced Cradle as being a bit juvenile and cheesy.  Dani's lyrics seemed about as ridiculous to me as most of Type O Negative's, what with all the silly rhyming and senseless phrasing and pictures of tits and fake blood interspersed all around.  Cradle never did it for me.

Along came Midian.  People kept saying, "Dude, but you GOTTA hear this". They were right.  The Cradle of old had come a long, long way.  Yeah, there were still all the schlock elements, but there was something elegant underneath. Cradle of Filth were starting to grow facial hairs.  Midian was downright amazing.

Then came a grumbling, like the sound of buffalo approaching over the plains. The disgust, the dismay, the dissent of the old fans.  They'd heard the new album and it was not good.  "Damnation And A Day sucks ass", they said.  "Cradle have fucking sold out", they said.  So, with some trepidation, I slipped the headphones on, and closed my eyes.

From what I can tell, Damnation And A Day is the story of creation and damnation, as told by an angel who observed the whole thing, and fell with Lucifer.  Part of it seems like the angel recounting what Lucifer himself said, but the identity of the protagonist becomes a little confusing for me at times, it could be Lucifer himself talking. Regardless, as a theme album, the theme is quite interesting, and Dani's lyrics have gotten a lot less cheesy. There are still some lines that make me cringe, but there are also a few I found quite clever and inspiring.  Here's an example:

Betrayed and played by God
Who alone but He
Scapegraced and goated me?

So, the lyrics have improved, in my opinion, and what, you might ask, about the music?

In a word, brilliant.  I keep reading about this album that it's the same old Cradle, just fancied up, and therefore boring.  I've read that Cradle have "pulled a Metallica" by adding a live orchestra.  I disagree totally. One, I can't even imagine anyone in Cradle ever getting their heads quite as far up their bums as Metallica have, and two, the orchestra in Damnation And A Day is part of the music, it's not "Cradle With Strings".  I can't even imagine the music on Damnation without the orchestra.  The choir and strings are integral parts of the dark black graceful horror of this album.

It seems to me that Dani's vocalizations have increased in range, which is nice.  It doesn't all sound the same anymore, and it's always refreshing when someone in death or black metal pushes the boundaries of their vocal chords this way.  I wish more black and death metal singers would do it.  Chris Barnes is surely the god of taking growls from the depths of hell to the heights of pain, but Dani's startin' to get the idea.

My opinion is that this is the cleanest, tightest, most mature and sonically interesting Cradle album to date.  This feels like the Cradle album that Cradle of Filth have been working toward from the very beginning.  This is the  natural conclusion to everything that came before it.  Whether or not it's the zenith of the music of the band itself, we shall see, but this is truly a beautiful and amazing piece of work, and it'll be a hard one to follow.

I also keep hearing that this album will bring extreme or "black" metal to the mainstream.  This makes me laugh a little.  Yeah, there may be some jock dudes in Jeeps who buy this album and blast it.  Yeah, their girlfriends might think it's cool.  But really, this music can never be mainstream.  The tenets of this album and of black and death metal are completely anti-Nation and anti-God and anti-Everything-That-People-Are-Clinging-To-Right-Now.

Can death and black metal be commodified and sold to the masses?  Of course it can.  Punk, jazz, hip-hop.  Everything revolutionary can be repackaged and emasculated so it's palatable to the lowest common denominator.  However,  the ideas beneath the new packages cannot be toned down, and they cannot be subverted.  If jocks and jockettes buy this Cradle album and dig it, that's fine by me.  A small percentage of them might read the lyrics, and start looking into what the lyrics allude to.  A small percentage of that percentage may actually begin to do some reading and thinking.  And then, a small percentage of that percentage, might find themselves free.  When I was 13, I was listening to the fucking Osmonds.  I'm here today because David Bowie lead me astray. Let them repackage black metal all they want.  Put Dani Filth dolls in all the Toys R Us' for all I care.  What he writes and what he sings are doors.  No matter what Sony Music does, and no matter what the "sell out" chanters say, underneath this music and all "dark" music, there is something truthful and dangerous.

This album will remain one of my all time favorites.  One that ends up in my Cd-wallet time and time again.  Already, lines of some of the songs have become part of my daily thought patterns, as I digest and internalize the lyrics and the sounds that go with them.  I find new things in the music every day.  This album is worth buying and spending time with; repeated listenings only intensify the illusions and the atmospheres.  I wonder what will happen if Cradle do become successful enough to start having full headlining tours across the U.S..  If that does become a reality, I'm pretty sure that the chaos we saw outside of Marilyn Manson concerts will only be child's play compared to what the religious fanatics will do to Cradle, and Cradle fans.  Like I said, this is where things start to get really interesting.

Track Listing:
1. A Bruise Upon The Silent Moon
2. The Promise Of Fever
3. Hurt And Virtue
4. An Enemy Led The Tempest
5. Damned In Any Language (A Plague On Words)
6. Better To Reign In Hell
7. Serpent Tongue
8. Carrion
9. The Mordant Liquor Of Tears
10. Presents From The Poison-Hearted
11. Doberman Pharaoh
12. Babylon A.D. (So Glad For The Madness)
13. A Scarlet Witch Lit The Season
14. Mannequin
15. Thank God For The Suffering
16. The Smoke Of Her Burning
17. End Of Daze

Dani Filth - Scripture And Howls
Paul - Unrepentant White Noise
Martin Foul - Keys To Ransacked Eden
David Pubis - Poisoned Heart Throb
Adrian - Savage Repercussion
Sarah Jezebel Deva - Lead angelic voice
Narration - Dave McEwen
Orchestral passages arranged and mixed by Daniel Presley
Performed by The Budapest Film Orchestra and
Budapest Film Choir - Conducted By Lazslo Zadori

http://www.cradleoffilth.com/
http://www.ozzfest.com/

The Cruxshadows
Wishfire
~reviewed by chris parasyte

To call The Cruxshadows a gothic band, a label they seem to have picked up, is a bit of a misnomer; this band is so much more than that. With Wishfire, the band’s fifth full-length release, they present their uniquely characteristic blend of goth rock, EBM, industrial, synthpop and classical influences. It’s not a style that’s easy to pull off successfully - normally such a blend of styles results in a bit of a musical trainwreck. The Cruxshadows, however, manage to pull it off with great success on this album.

The Cruxshadows are fronted by Rogue, the natural successor to Andrew Eldritch’s vacant throne. His powerful voice is rich in tone and emotion and his diversity brings to mind the vocal styles of everyone from Eldritch (Sisters of Mercy) to Mikey Altered (D.U.S.T.) to Ronan Harris (VNV Nation). Rogue’s range is surprising, going from staccato monotone to outright wail on different songs.

Wishfire is a journey of highs and lows. One song will tear you out of your seat and get you dancing in your basement, the next will have you sitting back down to slit your teenage wrists. It’s an arrangement that works. You don’t get bored listening to 45 minutes of dancefloor stompers, then spend the next 25 minutes sitting still. Variety throughout the album keeps your interest and keeps the CD from falling into a predictable pattern. The songs themselves are tight, expertly produced and mixed, and in most cases hold a great variety in sound and structure within each song that some bands can’t seem to achieve on an entire album. For the most part, the lyrics on Wishfire hit on very typically ‘goth’ themes; loss, rejection, despair, death and, of course, questioning Christian authority.

‘Tears’ is far and away the most energetic track on Wishfire. Bordering dangerously close on synthpop territory, it almost sounds like a song you’d expect to hear from bands like The Echoing Green or Iris, and would be just as at home on synthpop playlists as it would be at any EBM night. After hearing this song on the CD I decided I have to order the EP just to see what Apoptygma Berzerk did with the remix. Following ‘Tears’ is ‘Go Away’, the most depressing song since ‘Something I Can Never Have’. Touching on rather NIN-esque themes of loss and rejection, the song features rich instrumentation and only a bare minimum in terms of electronics backing Rogue’s tortured wailing.

Another highlight of Wishfire is ‘Binary’, a rocking dance track with a driving beat and anthemic vocals. It’s not unlike what VNV Nation might sound like if they were to employ a goth rock guitarist and violins on ‘Legion’ - in fact, the first time I heard ‘Binary’ I couldn’t help but sing along with the chorus to ‘Legion’ as I listened (it works surprisingly well). Two of the odder songs on the album, ‘Carnival’ has the feel of a twisted nursery rhyme, and is followed by ‘Resist/R’, a driving electrogoth track that brings in influences from Kraftwerk and 80’s new wave which demands that you crank the volume to 11. ‘Resist/R’ is also the most politically charged track on the album, as Rogue cries out “I don’t understand why you try to make hatred and intolerance seem justified/I don’t understand your prejudice and lies, tear down your ignorance and open your eyes.”

The album ends on ‘Spiral (Don’t Fall)’, an upbeat, airy track layered in a mix of synthesizer and guitar goodness. One of the more uplifting songs I’ve heard in a long time, I have to admit it surprised me to find it here. Again, the song owes more to synthpop than it does to goth, and sounds like a song you’d expect to hear on a compilation from A Different Drum Records. If you can listen to this song and not be in a good mood afterwards, you simply have no soul left in you.

Wishfire also carries a few multimedia features you’ll need a computer to access. There’s a link to launch the band’s website - I think it’s a rule that bands have to put these pointless things in the multimedia sections on the CD to save us from typing the weblinks ourselves -  and a video file presenting concert footage of the band performing ‘Eurydice’ (from Echoes and Artifacts) at an outdoor festival showcases Rogue’s crazy hair in action (now we know where Robert Smith’s hairline receded to). The clip shows that the band’s magic goes beyond the studio, as they put forth a great performance. The crowd, however, seems pretty unenergized even as Rogue comes down off the stage to mingle. Well, in fairness, it is a daytime performance, and we all know how draining being out in the sun can be for a bunch of goth kids...

Overall, Wishfire is a pretty good CD worth owning for fans of any of the genres of gothic, EBM, industrial and even synthpop. What’s really great about this album is its outright refusal to be pegged into one specific genre or subgenre of dark music, so there’s bound to be a handful of songs on here that just about anyone can enjoy. Keep your eyes peeled - The Cruxshadows are one of the bands to watch in the next few years.

Track List:
1. Before the Fire
2. Return (Coming Home)
3. Binary
4. The Seraphs
5. Spectators
6. Tears
7. Go Away
8. The 4th Phase
9. Earthfall
10. Orphean Wing
11. Carnival
12. Resist/R
13. Roman
14. Spiral (Don’t Fall)

The Cruxshadows are:
Rogue
Chris Brantley
Stacey Campbell
Rachel McDonnell

Official Website: www.cruxshadows.com
Email: cruxshadows@cruxshadows.com

Dancing Ferret Discs:
www.ferret.com/discs
discs@ferret.com
Dancing Ferret Discs
526 S. 5th Street
Philadelphia, PA
19147 USA

DARK RUNNER
AWAKEN ALL MYTHS (Pandaimonium)
~review by Mick Mercer

Some bands seem to want it all, but very few can actually deliver. Dark Runner, operating somewhere in the modern world of Industrial-meets-Ambient, get damn colourful for all their gloom-ridden name, and are quite an inspired bunch.

Initially there are just murmuring voices, like verbal fog, sparring idly with tonal synth notes. It’s very abstract, but it fast becomes harsh jagged entities, with grotesque vocals roaring in, then out, as ugly metal bass-heavy riffology once again has me thinking of the awesome Big Black. You reel, and are struck not by their power but skill, for they haven’t bludgeoned with this noise, they have accentuated their melodic strengths. Then almost at once they drop away into ‘You’re Pathetic’ and the sound is that of a flock of bagpipes, high in the rain clouds. They can be slimy and synthetic, in a seriously unusual and impressive manner, because it still maintains cohesive melodic form rather than being ‘experimental’, and they can be genuinely dancey with ‘Dreaming’’, possessing heavy programmed beats, like a new MARRS, or tighter and more rampant with ‘Some Soft Words’, all snake-like and deviously pretty.

The only real let down is the title track which is a dopier spacey thrust, and then the variety floods out. The cutely disported ‘Master’ which is a tumbling synth racket, with blessed pauses, followed by the hollowed noise of ‘From Beyond (ludicrously protracted title)’, and then the highly curious ‘Stay Away’ which matches morose synth with some stern bass. They build towards a climax with ‘Always In Love’ being austere but sparky, and ‘Nothing Too’ getting rougher, simpler, livelier, only to end with a track of whispers and crazy shadows, which doesn’t quite seep off into oblivion as it takes a final, unexpected symphonic ending a la Hitchcock film noir.

Thickly populated with dance mesmerism and ambient washes, these bastards are crazily addictive. I hope we hear more.

AHERON HADES
YOU OR YOUR LOVE IS SNOWFLAKES IN MY HEART
YOU’RE PATHETIC, THIS IS WAR
DEPARTURE 2
DREAMING
SOME SOFT WORDS FOR HER LOVE
AWAKEN ALL MYTHS
MASTER SAVE US
FROM BEYOND PART 2 + 3 TO H. P. LOVECRAFT
STAY AWAY
ALWAYS IN LOVE
NOTHING TOO
NIGHTFALL

http://www.pandaimonium.com

Darkthrone
Hate Them
~reviewed by Eric Rasmussen

Darkthrone is one black metal band that needs no introduction. Mainly because you're already a fan, or you never will be. Unless by some obscure chance of fate you positively dig groups like Ildjarn, 1349, and Marduk, but somehow haven't heard of Darkthrone... you can trust me: you won't be getting into Darkthrone short of some serious brain damage sustained from stage diving at a black metal concert. The reason is simple. Darkthrone is one of the major innovators of the hardcore black metal style. Even many black metal fans cannot listen to this style with any regularity, and justifiably so. Hardcore black metal is characterized by poor, garage-like production, monotonous rasping vocals, repetitive simple riffing picked at high speeds, and often a sloppy blast-beat saturated drum approach.

Ok, now that I've scared off all of you who weren't true fans, let's get down to business! Darkthrone does absolutely nothing to change the style of black metal. But if only because they've been working on their sound for over a decade, they really do have the hardcore black metal style pretty much nailed. The distortion drenched riffs are repetitive in a very hypnotic way - almost what one would expect from Summoning, minus the girly keyboards. Hate Them isn't quite deep enough to warrant your full attention during every second of its 40 minute duration, but it makes for a nice backdrop when you're feeling grumpy and rather like committing arson at a local cathedral.

Nocturno Culto switches riffs just often enough to lull you into a slower pace before stabbing you with an unexpected speed-picking barrage. His vocals are apt for the style, and though seemingly independent of the other instruments, somehow or another fit the riffing rhythms just close enough to get by. Fenriz's drumming is varied only so much as the guitar work, but again, the repetition is angrily hypnotic.

I've never been a big Darkthrone fan, and chances are I never will be. There's no question that Hate Them is completely unoriginal. Just because you help invent a style doesn't mean you shouldn't play something new after more than 10 years of recording. Nevertheless, the loosely compelling repetition and slower moments combine to form a relatively laid back black metal ambience, and that's all right. The production is somewhat low-key and subdued, allowing the CD to sail smoothly under your attention radar and subvert any non-evil desires you might cling to. If it weren't for some of the faster tunes, Hate Them could almost be easy listening black metal - that is, still too extreme for most music fans, but for the rest of us, a nice break from 1349, Abigor, and Satyricon.

Track List:
1) rust
2) det svartner na
3) fucked up and ready to die
4) ytterst i livet
5) divided we stand
6) striving for a piece of lucifer
7) in honour of thy name

Darkthrone is:
Nocturno Culto - guitars, bass, and vocals
Fenriz - battery

Darkthrone - Official Site:
http://www.darkthrone.no/

Moonfog Productions:
http://www.moonfog.com/

The End Records (US):
http://www.theendrecords.com/
 

Decoded Feedback
Shockwave
~reviewed by chris parasyte

First things first, Decoded Feedback have always been one of those bands that’s just kind of ‘there’. They’ve never really ‘wowed’ this listener, but they’ve never evoked feelings of great distaste either. Decoded Feedback falls prey to something a lot of industrial/EBM artists suffer from - their songs, while well written, performed and recorded, lack that certain spark that separates the ‘A’ bands from the second string material. I was really hoping that on their new album, Shockwave, Decoded Feedback might find what they were missing on earlier releases. Don’t get me wrong, I really want to like this band, but they just make it so hard.

Shockwave opens with ‘Phoenix’, which is obviously the album’s intended single (the video for the song being included in the multimedia material on the CD). The song has the 4/4 dance beat in full force, and will give DJs and dancers something to bop along to. ‘Bondage’ follows, brining the tone down a bit musically. Suprisingly, it’s not a song about S&M, but rather a call to the listener to seek out their independence of thought and freedom. ‘Democracy’, with its clumsy lyrics and frankly boring music, proves that industrial/EBM musicians should leave the politicking to David Thrussell.

For the most part, the music on Shockwave sounds cold and mechanical, and sequenced into the dirt, removing any hint of personality. The choices Decoded Feedback make in the sounds and samples they use on this album don’t help much either - there’s not a lot of new or experimental work being presented on Shockwave. The whole thing comes across as unimaginative and somewhat stagnant. I’m not sure if the idea of the album is to go back to the roots of modern industrial music, but ‘The Fruit of Wisdom’ sounds like it could have been released in 1993, rather than 2003.

Shockwave is not without its bright spots though. ‘Heaven’, the CD’s fifth track, is a pretty good song that sounds somewhere in the same vein as Informatik or some of the more mellow Wumpscut songs.

Marco Biagiotti’s heavily distorted vocals are another strike against this CD. Again, it might have sounded cool ten years ago, but at this point it sounds rather dated in the genre. These days, mechanically distorted vocals cry out either one or both of the following: A) The singer can’t sing, or B) the lyrics are so bad that the artist doesn’t want you to be able to understand them all that easily. In the case of Decoded Feedback, it seems to be a bit of both, depending on the song. Songs like ‘Heaven’ and ‘Do You See’ prove that Biagiotti can carry a tune without burying his voice under a pile of mechanical garbage, but scanning the liner notes of the CD booklet turns up some pretty weak lyrics.

The video for ‘Phoenix’ included on the CD gave my computer all kinds of problems when I tried to watch it. Eventually I got it to play. Seemingly crafted from random stock footage clips laid over one another, then digitally manipulated, the video borders on sensory overload. A nice touch is the use of ‘film scratching’, a process where the actual frames of the film are scratched with a nail or other sharp object to create visible ‘noise’ when projected. The video applies the song’s chorus, “How long before I collapse in ashes?” to society in general. It’s heavy-handed, but it’s a visual feast well worth watching at least once. Just don’t expect to see it on MTV anytime soon.

Overall though, Decoded Feedback’s Shockwave is sadly pretty much filler material. If you’re looking for something you can put on and ignore for an hour while you clean the condo, this is the CD for you. It’s not bad by a long stretch, but it’s still a far cry from good. Forgettable, but not regrettable.

Track List:
1. Phoenix
2. Bondage
3. Democracy
4. The Fruit of Wisdom
5. Heaven
6. Do You See
7. Nothingness
8. Organic
9. Shockwave
10. Burn Europe Burn
11. Love Will Save You
Data Track: Phoenix Video

Decoded Feedback is:
Marco Biagiotti
Yone Dudas

Metropolis Records:
www.metropolis-records.com
label@metropolis-records.com
Metropolis Records
P.O. Box 54307
Philadelphia, PA 19105

DETRACTION
Faith & Reason
~review by Jyri Glynn

I must admit that initially, Faith and Reason by the band Detraction did little for my listening fancy; however, parts of it have slowly grown on me.  It must have something to do with some early new wave fixation I long ago had misplaced.  This band is certainly a blast from the past with its 80’s keyboard sounds and Depeche Mode style vocals.

The first track "White Flag" begins with an impressive and driving guitar riff; unfortunately, it’s the identical riff for the next three minuets.  I felt that it was a great opener for what could have potentially been a great song.

The next track "I’ll be forgot" leads with a sinister organ resembling something one might hear off a Sol Aeternus album.

"Break" sparked some life back into my listening experience with its good melody and catchy vocal parts.   Seldeen sounds vaguely like Gahan from the early days of Depeche Mode.  I also found the lyrics to be strangely sarcastic, yet insightful:

don't you ever wonder why
someone who's had a life as kind as mine
can only sing songs about the ills and wrong
can only remark on life with a bitter whine

it's just too true, if darwin only knew
the cause and effect of the truth
it's just too true, what's left for me to do
but wish against hope that i'm not like you

"l’echapper belle" utilizes a distorted vocal effect, on Seldeen’s voice which did  little for the track.  The vocal effect just didn’t quite fit the 80’s pop, keyboard parts that drive this song.

"151" is the third instrumental on the album and sounds like it was done on some simplistic computer music program.  The drums on this song alone drove me to the point of pressing “next” on my player!

I did however, enjoy the 80’s, arppeggiated keyboard work on the opening of the track, "Once Like You".  Midway this track changes into something one might have heard on a Men Without Hats’ album about twenty years ago.

The song "Thoughts" is a very good example of what I personally would hope to hear more of from this band in the future.  The music perfectly compliments the somewhat baleful lyrics:

There’s a ghost who haunts me from my past
A spectre from fear and loathing cast
Whose fingers once flirted with my mind
Providing the ballast ‘round which these thoughts wind

The overall feeling I got from listening to Detraction is that they are still testing the waters, searching for their overall sound.  However, this is to be expected with any band’s first album release.  My main criticism would be that there are too many uninteresting, video-game-sounding, instrumentals.  Faith & Reason has 18 tracks on it and at least half a dozen of them fall into this category.

Doug Seldeen, the front man for Detraction, has a great voice so I felt his band would have a more balanced album had he not bothered to include all of these instrumentals.  I do look forward to hearing the evolution of music from this band in the future.

http://www.detraction.net

D’HIVER MORT
PALINDROME (DM)
~reviewed by Mick Mercer

As well as enjoying the music and non-music, you can watch the red lcd lights on your sound system as they go crazy, and hate you. (Next morning you’ll find a terse farewell note where the stack once stood.) Two people with a history in hard musical outfits get together to create even harsher moments, which is intended to be violent yet ethereal? Okay, shows us what you can do!

Oh they do. Plinky soundscapes, with ominous tones omnipresent, these numbers are individual whirlpools, some confrontational, some simply insidious. Think of yourself sliding as silently as you can through a shaolin temple, knowing their are trained robot killers after you. Pretty, for all the grim surroundings, with vocals recited like spells, and ambient experimentation just poured all over your head by these captors, it is a curious world, and utterly compelling.

I just don’t know what it’s for.

SPRING
BREEDER
THE HARROWING
SUMMER
A SEASON FOR WAR
BUTTERFLY
AUTUMN
FALL, WINTER (ABSOLUTE ZERO)
XI AURIAL, KREE (DUST AND THE MISERABLE WITCH)
PERSEPHONE
WYNTER

http://www.dhivermort.com

Distorted Reality
The Fine Line Between Love and Hate
~reviewed by Mike Ventarola

 In 2000, Nilaihah Records released a stellar dark dance compilation of up and coming artists. Since its release, most of the bands have garnered consistent accolades for their work. Distorted Reality was among the rising talents featured on this compilation with their hypnotic track "In My Dream."

 Up to that point, Distorted Reality teased the psyches of underground music fans across the globe with featured tracks on a number of other compilation releases. Dj's responded favorably to their work and gave their early demo CD rotation and exposure via clubs as well as college  and internet radio shows. Episodically, magazines printed favorable reviews of the early demo work as well as interviews of both artists.

 Ironically, Distorted Reality isn't a band in the typical sense that we are familiar with. Some years back, Martha Arce, who resides in the US and is also vocalist for the equally phenomenal band Deep Red,  met musician Christian Kobusch, who resides in Germany. They maintained a networking correspondence and eventually discussed this endeavor as a collaborative project. Once they established a mutually creative wavelength, Arce began crafting lyrics while Kobusch constructed the musical work, ultimately resulting in this debut release.

The Fine Line Between Love and Hate is comprised of songs which deal with the many facets of love and loss. Although this isn't something new in the thematic sense, it is still a topic that is a happy medium that crosses all genres. At some point in time, we will all experience an assortment of similar feelings. What is new, however, is the tonal quality that is constructed to seem as though it is our subconscious coming to the forefront from the lyrical delivery.

 Arce's vocal ability carries with it a rather complex  task. Although her work is within the dark dance/electronic realm, her sultry inflections and nuances have a dual role of providing an energetic impetus essential for club rotation while also touching us on an almost subliminally emotional level. At the outset, the tracks may seem to be sung within the proper context of the musical rhythm. However, if you listen closely, it becomes evident how she gently weaves fireballs of emotion that are counterpointed by Kobusch's equally well orchestrated notes and inflections. Within the cofines of these songs, the listener is carried upon waves of anger, lust, loss, longing, lonliness, desperation, self-recrimination and survival.

 As far as extremely talented vocalists, Arce joins the ranks of other impressive vocalists such as:  Dru Allen (This Ascension), Christy Cameron Smith (My Scarlet Life), Lisa Hammer (Mors Syphilitica), Sue Hutton (Rhea's Obsession), Laurie Gordon (Chiwawa), Deborah Lynch (Ego Likeness), Julie Plante (Autumn), Monica Richards (Faith & The Muse), Christianna (Mephisto Walz), Heather Thompson (Tapping The Vein) and Ericah Hagle, Melody Henry & Natalia Lincoln (Unto Ashes). Each of these women possess the innate and uncanny ability to sculpt a song into a living entity. Their talent enables them to internally feel every nuance of a song, transcending mere vocal range, and deliver it to the audience in a tidal wave of emotive expression.

 Some may choose a favorite track based on its dance structure appeal.  Those with a more introsepctive leaning will find themselves gravitating towards the songs they need to feel in their lives at this moment in time. The timeless and enduring quality about this release is that it has the ability to follow us on our own internal and personal transitions.  Added to this are the remixes from a number of notable underground electronic artists, production assistance from Bruno Kramm and the mastering of The Azoic's Steve Laskarides, and one can venture that Distorted Reality is positioned to be the club hit over the coming Summer months and beyond.

 If you venture to the band's website, which is listed below, you will find a wealth of additional information about the artists as well as some song samples. If dark dance music appeals to you, be sure to grab a copy of this gem!

Tracks:
Super Crush
Fever
You Want Me, You Hate Me (Assemblage 23 Remix)
In My Dream
Dance Factor ( Noyce TM Remix)
Drop
Haunted
You Want Me, You Hate Me
In My Dream ( Propaganda Remix)
Super Crush (clip) (Cut.Rate.Box Remix)
Fever (Forma Tadre remix)
Your Only Jewel
Hate Factor
Fear (Sabotage Remix)
Super Crush (Null Device Sodium Remix)

Website:  www.distorted-reality.com

Available from Nilaihah Records: www.nilaihah.com

Distributed in the US through:
Middle Pillar, A Different Drum, Metropolis, Isolation Tank, Projekt, CDBaby, Darkland Music, DSBP, Harvest Media, Unspun, Musikwerks, Amazon and selected Best Buy's
 

Diva Destruction
Exposing The Sickness (Metropolis)
~reviewed by Uncle Nemesis

This is Diva Destruction's second album, but you could argue that it's a debut of sorts. The band, as presented to us here, is very different from the earlier line-up which made the 'Passion's Price' album about three years ago. Back then, Diva Destruction were effectively a duo of vocalist/programmer Debra Fogarty (sometime keyboard player with Fear Cult) and vocalist Severina Sol (otherwise known as the singer in Fockewolf) with an assortment of friends and aquaintances roped in to play instruments as required. The present-day incarnation of Diva Destruction sees new line-up led by Debra alone - although it's interesting to note that the band's original visual identity has been maintained. In the publicity photos, Debra and Sharon, the band's keyboard player, are draped over each other in exactly the same way as Debra and Severina used to do in the promo shots for the first album. An intriguing ploy to establish a continuous visual theme - which, incidentally, also demonstrates that Diva Destruction obviously aren't afraid to play the Sexxy Deth Chyx card for all it's worth!

But what is the music like, I hear you cry. In a nutshell, a dense, layered, wall of noise which leaps out of the speakers with impressive power. 'Exposing The Sickness' was mixed by Scott Humphrey, who has worked with Rob Zombie and Motley Crue, and he's shaped Diva Destruction's music into a careering juggernaut of sound which sweeps all before it. The majority of the tracks here are nailed down to a tub-thumping beat of around 130 bpm - or, at least, that's how it feels. At any rate, this similarity of tempo creates the rather odd effect of blending the tracks into each other. 'Heathcliff', 'Hypocrite', and 'Black Heart', the three songs which open the album, could almost be some sort of megamix, so similar is their rhythmic base. The full-on rush of the music is punctuated by slower numbers, however: 'Forgotten', with its somewhat Cure-ish guitar, and 'Trees', a song built on a staccato blast of chopped-out chords, and 'Stolen Bliss', almost a gothic power ballad, break up the mood and inject a little light and shade.

Lyrically, the songs seem to deal with sundered relationships. Debra, who is the principal songwriter here, with occasional collaborations with guitarist Benn Ra, must have gone through some bleak times in her personal life - but she's come out spitting bile and wormwood to a rock 'n' roll beat. She's a very expressive vocalist - her phrasing is precise, and as sharp as razor wire. In 'Hypocrite' I particularly like the emphasis she gives to the final word in the lines: 'Tell her the truth/all of the truth/all about US!'   She hits the 'US!' like a snake striking its prey. I pity the poor bugger on the receiving end of *that* verbal barb.

Curiously enough, when you read the lyrics as they are printed in the inlay booklet, it seems as if Debra has ignored all the conventional structures of songwriting: rhyme, scansion, it's all thrown up in the air in favour of her own brand of stream-of-consciousness outpourings. It's hard to imagine how some of the lyrics will fit to the music, yet somehow they do. Try this, from 'Black Heart':

'Of all your anger, in your black heart/So empty and cold/you played
with/you played with everything/While you play with everyone you/Meet, I
try to play with a deeper feat/But you hide anger in all you do/How many
more victims must you choose?/But there's beauty in sadness this/Sadness
and there is SANITY IN/MADNESS, so shallow, so shallow/and cold...Till I am
free...'

Perhaps significantly, the only track on this album which doesn't quite hit the mark is Julian Beeston's dance mix of 'When Trees Would Dance', which strips away all the power of the original production and brings a frankly rather weedy beat to the fore. The track is crying out for a gritty, no-shit bassline, or just a bit of general oomph in the bottom end, but it's all too tinny and weak for any real dancefloor action. It's a pity, because I think some of Diva Destruction's tunes would lend themselves rather well to the attentions of a remixer - I'd like to hear what Porl King would do with 'Hypocrite', for example. But, alas, I fear we have to chalk up the 'Trees' dance mix as a miss.

So, we'll program our CD player to skip the remix, but otherwise this is an album that deserves your attention. An intense, impassioned rage against the kind of car-crash relationships we've all been through at one time or another, this is an album that will find a place in black hearts everywhere.

The tunestack:
Heathcliff
Hypocrite
Black Heart
The One
Playing The Liar
Forgotten
Tempter
Valley Of The Scars
You're My Sickness
The Abuser
When Trees Would Dance
Survive
Stolen Bliss
When Trees Would Dance (Julian Beeston remix)

The players:
Debra Fogarty: Vocals, keyboards, programming
Benn Ra: Guitar, bass, programming
Anthem Mastrino: Drums
Sharon Blackstone: Backing vocals

With:
Jimmy Cleveland: Drums
K. Sterling: Bassline programming

The Diva Destruction website:  http://www.divadestruction.com

Metropolis, Diva Destruction's US label:
http://www.metropolis-records.com/?/artists/?artist=diva

Dark Dimensions, Diva Destruction's European label:  http://www.darkdimensions.de

Reviewed by Uncle Nemesis:  http://www.nemesis.to

The Electric Hellfire Club
Electronomicon
~reviewed by chris parasyte

Cleopatra Records takes a break from the seemingly endless stream of tribute compilations and greatest hits CDs featuring artists you’ve never heard of to bring us The Electric Hellfire Club’s latest album, Electronomicon. This is the band’s fifth full length release in over ten years existing in one incarnation or another, and is arguably their strongest work to date. Having toured with the likes of Danzig, Type O Negative, Alien Sex Fiend and Christian Death, and appearing on too many compilations to name, The Electric Hellfire Club seems to be one of those bands everyone has heard of but doesn’t really know anything about.

If the title Electronomicon has you worried that The Electric Hellfire Club has followed the lead of most other bands and slapped together a techno record, let me put your fears at ease. Electronomicon is the furthest thing from a techno album you’re going to hear this year. There are keyboards and samplers at play here, but they’re used to support the band’s characteristic dark, heavy guitar rock sound rather than paint a tiresome futurepop 4/4 landscape. Forget what you’ve seen on MTV - this is the real new metal.

A pretty solid album all around, Electronomicon isn’t really for everyone. Fans of various genres, including industrial, metal and goth will all find something here they can enjoy. The best term for this would be to dub it a, electrogoth metal album, with elements of the Euro-metal aesthetic creeping in thanks to the involvement of producer Tommy Tagtgren. ‘Hypochristian’ steals the show here. The song is a heavy handed rock whirlwind that starts out strong and doesn’t let up. ‘I Dream of Demons’ is another highlight, a rocking number with ambient metal interludes that sound like nothing else more than nightmare lullabies. ‘This is the Zodiac...’ is perhaps the most Euro sounding song on the CD, with the characteristic heavy guitars and general orchestral feel that permeate much of the genres of black and dark metal.

Some of the tracks on the CD strike me as filler material. The intro track ‘Into Thee Abyss’ is fairly cheesy, even for an intro track (why do bands feel the need to record these little wastes of time?). ‘Nordland’ falls in the same category, serving as an inessential 54 second lead-in to ‘Tannhauser Gate’.

Other than that, my only complaints regarding Electronomicon is its intensity from start to finish. The album really could’ve used a bit of break at some point, but fans of driving metal won’t mind the fact that Electronomicon doesn’t let up. As well, the lyrics tend to get a bit tedious, with almost every song paying homage to Satan or some random demon. I found myself tuning out the vocals at various points throughout the album, but the music was more than enough to keep me hooked.

Electronomicon definitely owes far more to metal than it does to industrial or goth, while putting a twist on each genre that should interest most any darkling listener. The Electric Hellfire Club shows no signs of letting up anytime soon, and love ‘em or hate ‘em, you’ve got to give them credit for keeping on doing what they’re doing.

Track List:
1. Into Thee Abyss
2. Wired in Blood
3. Sons of the Serpent
4. Hypochristian
5. Stockholm Syndrome
6. Whores of Babylon
7. Broken Goetia
8. I Dream of Demons
9. Nordland
10. Tannhauser Gate
11. This is the Zodiac...
12. Hymn to the Fallen
 i)Conjuration (Song of Azazel)
 ii) Goat Mass
 iii) Revelry (Feast of the Beast)
13. Keys to the Kingdom

The Electric Hellfire Club is:
Thomas Thorn
Ricktor Ravensbruck
Sabrina Satana
Black Circle Chucky
Klem Kthulu

Official Website: www.electrichell.com

Cleopatra Records:
www.cleorecs.com
Cleoinfo@cleorecs.com
Cleopatra Records
13428 Maxella Ave. #251
Marina Del Rey, CA
90292 USA
 

Elend
Winds Devouring Men
~reviewed by Joel Steudler

Reviewers often use hyperbole when praising an album they particularly like.  In the case of Elend's brilliant Winds Devouring Men, it would be impossible to use hyperbole since no matter how effusive my praises, they would not be exaggerations.  This album is an artistic triumph of the highest magnitude.  Elend has created a masterpiece of dark neo-classical music, a landmark by which other releases will be judged.  Winds Devouring Men melds orchestral, synthetic, and industrial elements into an intense and powerful symphonic soundscape that that is both avante-garde and gothic in nature.

Winds... is a difficult album to discuss because it bears so little resemblance to most of the music reviewed in these pages.  It is in fact more akin to a filmscore than an album of songs, and is best listened to in its entirety.  It isn't totally devoid of traditional song structures either, though they're most often submerged in vast soundscapes that bleed into one another.  Lengthy passages of the album are devoid of melody and are largely textural, blending traditional orchestration and thundering industrial percussion to startling ends.  Sound design is one of Elend's greatest strengths, crafting eerie atmospheres and massive, disquieting industrial nosie.  Paired with the exceptional production standards, Elend's knack for sound design pushes the intensity through the roof in the louder passages and allows for unnerving washes of sound in quieter times.

Mixed into the dense layers of audio are beautiful, smooth male vocals brimming with pathos.  Though the album's cedits don't specify who does the bulk of the singing, whoever it was has a powerful and expressive voice that perfectly meshes with the music.  His mid-pitched delivery is silky and crisp, and carries the same resonance as the instrumentation surrounding his vocals.  Hauntingly ethereal female voices also surface from time to time, but in a choral role ('ahhh's and 'ooh's) rather than a lyric one.  All of the acoustic instrumentalists deliver as poignant a performance as the vocalists, particularly the violinists, who are used to great effect.  Every musician involved in creating Elend's 'Winds Devouring Men' is worthy of praise for their superb efforts.

If you're a fan of dark, atmospheric music and appreciate artistic expression at its highest level, you owe it to yourself to purchase Winds Devouring Men.  Elend's style may be foreign to many listeners, but if you allow yourself to descend into the sonic world they craft, you'll be swept up into the music in no time.  Fans of moody, dark filmscores or classical music should also find much to appreciate here.  Since I review metal albums most of the time, I'm contractually obligated to make a horrible pun at the end of all my reviews.  With that in mind, I'll just say that if you fit into any of the categories I mentioned above, Winds... will blow you away.

Track List:
01.) the poisonous eye
02.) worn out with dreams
03.) charis
04.) under war-broken trees
05.) away from barren stars
06.) winds devouring men
07.) vision is all that matters
08.) the newborn sailor
09.) the plain masks of daylight
10.) a staggering moon

Elend is:
Iskandar Hasnawi
Sebastien Roland
Renaud Tschimer

Vocals, programming, all other instruments, industrial landscapes and noise

And:
Klaus Amman: Trumpet, Horn, Trombone
Nathalie Barbary: Soprano
Shinji Chihara: Violin, viola
David Kempf:  Violin, solo violin
Esteri Rémond: Soprano

Elend Official Website:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/4019/frames.html

Prophecy Records:
http://www.prophecy.cd/
 

Enslaved
Below the Lights
~reviewed by Eric Rasmussen

I can always count on Enslaved to keep black metal creative. Many of today's bands change their approach to songwriting for the sake of maintaining originality - for instance, expanding on metal by adding prominent keyboards or multiple vocalists or a dedicated fiddler. Enslaved is not one of those bands. Amazingly, they have stuck to a primarily guitar-driven extreme metal sound while still pushing the limits of 'metal.' No band writes riffs like Enslaved. There are some creatively placed synths and even a flute on Below the Lights, but Enslaved keep their core sound and put it to good use on this ambitious release.

Below the Lights had a lot to live up to given Enslaved's most recent CDs. Mardraum was a mostly vocal-free journey through dark viking soundscapes with unexpected modern influences. Psychedelic viking metal, if you will. Enslaved headed in a more progressive and conceptual direction with its follow up, Monumension. Below the Lights can be summarized as a mixture of Mardraum and Monumension - the production encompasses their ideas perfectly, and the music is progressive, melodic, inventive, and technical, yet you can still hear the wandering and exploratory qualities of their older style. Enslaved riffs are especially difficult to describe, though you might get some idea of what to expect if you imagine hardcore black metal riffs evolving in complexity and attaining a heavy but forlorn expressiveness.

The vocals range from angry rasps to clean chants and compelling melodies. As with Mardraum, the vocals are used only when they can enhance the musical ideas. Unlike the ungainly plethora of groups that pair their metal with a constant buzzing vocal rasp, Enslaved unleash their angry vocals sparingly, empowering the singing with an even greater presence. Similarly, every other instrument is used to fit some larger idea. When I first heard that Enslaved's guitarist R. Kronheim and drummer Dirge Rep had left the band, I wasn't sure how the music might be affected. If anything, the band has only improved their songwriting.

Enslaved found a new lead guitarist in the excellent Arve Isdal, whose emotional playing adds a welcome dimension to the music.  And luckily, Dirge Rep stayed with the band just long enough to lend his unique touch to Below the Lights. This album is an absolute must have for fans of Enslaved or other guitar-driven viking and black metal bands. I'm not sure if Below the Lights is Enslaved's best CD, but it's certainly their most thoughtful and listenable effort to date: all newcomers should start their listening right here. Head over to www.theendrecords.com and give Below the Lights a listen!

Track List:
1) As Fire Swept Clean the Earth
2) The Dead Stare
3) The Crossing
4) Queen of Night
5) Havenless
6) Ridicule Swarm
7) A Darker Place

Enslaved is:
Ivar P. - guitars, keys, effectors
Grutle Kjellson - vocals, bass
Arve Isdal - lead guitar
Dirge Rep - drums (he has since left the band)

Enslaved - Official Site:
http://www.enslaved.no/

The End Records:
http://www.theendrecords.com/

Evereve
.enetics: 11 orgies of massenjoyment on the dark side of the planet (Massacre)
~reviewed by Uncle Nemesis

Oh dear. I smell a concept. The baffling title of this album suggests that someone, somewhere, has given birth to a Big Idea. The press release adds several more layers of high falutin' confusion:

' "How much is possible? How much freedom do we have?" is singer and lyricist MZ Eve 51 asking. He is twisting, turning visualizing the thoughts he is playing with, driven and curious. To what degree is a decision self-supportive and what has genetic heritage got to do with it? .enetics, genetics, evereve - exactly!'

Evereve are a metal outfit from Germany. There they stand in their publicity photograph, all supercool haircuts and hard stares. They look as camp as a Scout jamboree, but something tells me that wasn't the intention. There's no irony or humour or sense of absurdity here. They *mean* it. Hard men, making hard music. Do they succeed? Well, up to a point. I found the album hard to listen to, at any rate.

I have no quibble with the production. I innocently tried to listen to the album on headphones, and when the guitar on the opening track, 'This Heart' came in, the top of my head almost came off. The sound is big, bad, and LOUD. When I put it through my speakers, I found myself pinned to the opposite wall, hair standing on end, drool leaking from the corner of my slack jaw. Evereve's sound attacks the listener like shockwaves from a bunker-buster. I almost expected to look up and see a black spaceship crashing into the sun. Even the obligatory mawkish power-ballads, such as 'The More She Knows', come crashing in on riffs like tsunamis, all power and not much ballad. 'Her Last Summer'  is fairly typical: giant squalls of metal mayhem interspersed with 'sensitive' interludes - during which you just know that the singer is gazing upwards with that agonised, clenched-jaw expression metal vocalists always adopt when they're trying to do 'sincere'.

For all Evereve's down-with-the-kids image, their music is actually very traditional. Old metal, rather than nu. Sometimes, they thrash it up a bit, but at other times it's almost AOR. Even the fastest, loudest, baddest songs sound like mid-80s hair-metal which has been hastily roughed-up a bit for the nu-metal market. If Evereve did a cover, I'm willing to bet it would be something like 'I Surrender' by Rainbow. They may wear hair extensions and New Rock boots in their publicity pix, but deep down inside I bet they're all poodle perms and white trainers. Their song titles give the game away - very traditional-sounding love song titles like 'December Wounds', 'Along Comes A Fool', and 'One More Day'. If you told me those were songs from an old Whitesnake album, I'd believe you. Even 'X-istence (I'm Free)" looks as if someone from marketing has got alongside the band and told them, 'Guys, you know your song 'Existence'? Why not spell it with an X? That'll make you look kinda rad 'n' kewl, and then we'll be able to sell you to the Slipknot kiddies!'

So. Polished, professional, and image-consulted to the max, Evereve look as contemporary as all get out, but I think it's a thin veneer over aband who are older and more traditional than the marketing guys at their record company would like us to believe. And the concept? I never did get to the bottom of that. If the songs relate to it in any way, it all went over my head. Most of Evereve's stuff seems to reside in the 'My woman's done gone left me an' I gotta make it on through the night, yeah' zone. Very trad.

Don't be fooled by the way they're all tarted up like Zeromancer in the photo. This band has more in common with Gillan. And, in 2003, that thought is far more frightening than any grand concept could ever be.

The tunestack:
This Heart
The More She Knows
Abraza la Luz (Embrace the Light)
Her Last Summer
Silver God
X-istence (I'm Free)
December Wounds
Along Comes A Fool
One More Day
Eat-Grow-Decay
1951

The players:
MZ Eve 51: Vocals, keyboards
T.he H.avoc W.reaker: guitars
Sill E. TosSeR: guitars
0-IQ: bass
MC W1febeater: drums

The website:  http://www.evereve.net

Reviewed by Uncle Nemesis:  http://www.nemesis.to

Fall Of Empyrean
Anhedonia
~reviewed by Matthew Heilman

2002 was a pretty quiet and drab year for Doom Metal fans.  Granted, My Dying Bride’s live release was a thrill, the newest November’s Doom was lighter but still high quality stuff, and Evoken has been working on material (which some of us were lucky enough to preview for review!) but otherwise, Skepticism’s EP was a let down, and there wasn’t much else coming out or going on that was particularly noteworthy.  This dry spell was making me desperate for some new Doom, and thus I went in search of it.  Eventually, I stumbled upon a link to Fall Of Empyrean, a self-proclaimed Doom Metal band from Arizona.  I sampled a track online and asked for a promo of their latest and second EP Anhedonia.

When I finally received the CD, I was beyond impressed and my insatiable need for some high quality Doom was fulfilled.  What I liked immediately about the band is that there is an all-prevalent sense of melancholy and gloom drenching every second of the disc.  To some, such emotional intensity can be overbearing, but for Doom fans, this is exactly what we yearn for, our cathartic sense of escape and the soundtrack to confront and combat our own sense of restlessness.   Or merely just something that carries us out of our abyss, infused with our enthusiasm for the music that we are hearing and experiencing.  Fall Of Empyrean had me soaring and I am wholly engrossed and immersed within their art every time I listen to either of their outstanding E.P.’s.

Their music is dense and multi-layered with bottom heavy guitars, acoustic passages, and light orchestral synths.  The band’s guitar riffing is exceptionally provocative, and is thoroughly enriched with a deep-seated sense of sadness and beautiful melodicism.  These are the kind of strong hummable riffs that stick in your memory, and linger long after the first listen.  The band is equally unsurpassed when it comes to their rhythms, which are thick, heavy, and infused with addictive grooves, even in the slowest parts, drummer Steve Henson snaps away with precision, clarity and crispness and you can’t help but nod along or bang enthusiastically on your car steering wheel.  The production on the album is suitably raw, giving the band a rougher edge but rather than being swallowed in poorly reverberated attempts for atmospherics, the band’s gristled sound enhances their emotional impact.   Though a somewhat coarse recording, the instruments and vocals are perfectly balanced, so much so that even the bass lines are distinctive and easily audible in the mix.  Whoever recorded and produced this disc did a fantastic job, especially when it comes to the dry crack of the snares and hollow punch of the kick drum.

Vocally, Richard Medina rarely strays from an impassioned death growl.   The band is following the timeworn formula of death growls and rarely does he deviate from the pattern other than for brief spoken word passages and effective, icy whispering.  But Richard’s growls succeed because he does not just gurgle along in a monstrous monotone. Instead, his vocals are distinctively angst-ridden, at times venomous and bordering upon spiteful, as if his voice is truly an extension of the anxiety and sickness welling up inside of his nervous stomach.  With teeth-clenched, fists balled and eyes squinted tight, his pain is given voice and his bandmates provide a perfect score, which tempers his seething bitterness with a sweeter sense of gloom, if not outright vulnerability.

The lyrics are also another testament to the band’s honesty and integrity.  Instead of the usual flowery Gothicism (a dangerous kind of penmanship when executed by misguided authors) or detached cold portrayals of bleakness, these lyrics are extremely straightforward and direct, exploring feelings of restlessness, abandonment, rejection, and even a failed suicide attempt.  To be as simple as possible, Fall Of Empyrean’s lyrics are perhaps the most realistic lyrics I have ever read in this genre because they read almost as if they are diary entries or snippets of a late night conversation between two suffering friends.

Anhedonia is an incredibly important release for the preservation of the genre. Truly, this is a remarkably good disc.  Fans of Doom would be hard pressed to find a band that is as raw as this, yet still provide music that is as unforgettably melodic.   It sounds as if the band put forth a great deal of effort in the composition of these tracks.  The brief piano intro and the predominantly acoustic instrumental tracks on the disc are good for what they are and serve their structural purpose, but the E.P.’s four full-length tracks are absolutely monumental.  Fall Of Empyrean managed to exceed all of my expectations (and as I said, I was waiting for something like this for almost a year) and I believe that they will equally make a deep and long lasting impression on fans of authentically Gothic metal and Doom Metal for years to come.

Track List:
1.) Wounded Skies
2.) This Paradise Crumbles
3.) Drowning In Grey
4.) Virga
5.) The Catatonic
6.) Destructive Light of Dawn

Fall Of Empyrean is:
Richard Medina – vocals
Justin Burning – guitars, keyboard
Dan Sobeck – bass
Steve Henson – drums

Fall Of Empyrean – Official Website:
http://www.fallofempyrean.com

Floodland
Decay
~reviewed by Matthew Heilman

No, I am not mistaken – there really is a band that thought it was a good idea to call themselves Floodland.  I wonder if they are Sisters Of Mercy fans?

Sadly, I will have to make this review very quick and hopefully, less painful for the band.  I don’t like this.  And I don’t imagine that many other people will find much to get excited over with this release either.  Austria’s Floodland present a potentially cool mix of synthetic Darkwave programming with several different guitar sounds sprinkled throughout.  However, the vocals are a major distraction from the overall success of the music.  Floodland is fronted by a male vocalist that constantly strains himself to sing lower than he is capable of singing, resulting in a despicable, embarrassing, and unintentionally humourous effect. Even when he attempts a few lines of spoken word, the result is disastrous and extremely overdramatic.  As much as I tried, I just found it impossible to take this band seriously.  I feel bad, because more than likely, his accent is what causes his voice to sound so garbled and such.  However, I don’t think that every Austrian male that tries to sing would end up sounding like a vampire with marbles in his mouth, so something is not right here.  The vocal clichés are overpowering and it really is a shame because the music is honestly not that bad, and the ideas are far more interesting than the ideas of most other active bands trying to make a dent in the Goth world.  But Floodland desperately needs to find a new frontman.

There really isn’t much else I can say.  I hear shades of the Sisters (of course), Suspiria, Type O Negative, Moonspell, Two Witches – all fantastic influences.  Floodland manages to do a great job mixing their synthetic influences with their more organic ideas, for an edgy and interesting sound that is all their own.  But then the vocals kick in and just ruin everything.  I feel terrible, but alas, I can’t recommend this because most people that I know would dismiss it immediately and make fun of the vocals for days on end.  There is talent here, but someone needs to take over the microphone.

Track List:
1.) Enthymeme
2.) Dorian
3.) Morning Won’t Come Tonight
4.) Rainchild
5.) Dark Town
6.) Pile Of Delusion
7.) Coincidence
8.) Decay
9.) Rejected
10.) First Flower After The Flood

Floodland is:
Christian Meyer - vocals, programming
Harald Schmid - bass, keyboards, soundscapes
Bernhard Wieser - guitars, patterns
Markus Schmid - drums, loops

W.A.B. Promotions:
http://wabrecords.org

Floodland – Official Website:
http://www.floodland.org

Napalm Records:
http://www.napalmrecords.com
 

Fleurety
Min Tid Skal Komme
~reviewed by Eric Rasmussen

In 1995, black metal displayed a noticeable trend away from, well, black metal. A number of artists had started to make wacky metal, or were just releasing their first efforts in the genre. What is wacky metal? It's a highly subjective label that can be applied to any crazy metal that just doesn't quite fit into the genre it's supposedly a part of. Fleurety's debut is a prime example. Min Tid Skal Komme ("My Time Shall Come") was an eminently bizarre jazz black metal CD, and it didn't get as much attention as it deserved. Now that wacky metal has become a viable genre and obscure black metal releases are making themselves known, Candlelight couldn't have picked a better time to re-release this previously out of print work.

In addition to Min Tid Skal Komme, Candlelight's version of the CD includes a bonus Fleurety track from a Blackened compilation and Fleurety's A Darker Shade of Evil EP. Essentially, if you're a black metal collector, you absolutely need this CD. There's just no getting around it. Go on, go buy it, and you can finish the review later. I'll wait. If you aren't a fan of obscure hardcore black metal, you might wonder how necessary it is to buy Fleurety's debut full-length album. Those of you with any taste for bands such as Arcturus, Solefald, Dødheimsgard, and Ulver shouldn't hesitate to check out Min Tid Skal Komme (particularly if you enjoy the earlier and harsher work by those bands).

The next question on your mind is "exactly what does 'jazz black metal' sound like?" And if that wasn't the next question on your mind, well, it's there now, and it wouldn't do either of us any good to leave it unanswered. Fleurety successfully build songs on an extremely harsh black metal foundation - the whole works: horrible, ungodly piercing screams with very distorted, pained riffs and blast beat drums. But from there they add in clean guitar strumming, a beautiful female vocalist (Fleurety was ahead of their time by a couple of years!), and very melodic and catchy jazz bass. An odd combo, to be sure, but one that is highly effective at conveying both extreme rage and moody but pleasant atmospheres.

Min Tid Skal Komme shattered the black metal mold with its unexpected eccentricities, but the CD remains "metal" enough to appeal to listeners who couldn't quite swallow Fleurety's later experimental work. All that's left now is for you to get ahold of the CD and give it a listen. You can find clips on Fleurety's webpage, and thanks to Candlelight, you can also now find the CD without resorting to GEMM or eBay. Fans of the defunct Misanthropy Records (Fleurety, Arcturus, In The Woods...) can take my word on Min Tid Skal Komme - it lives up to the best work from the label.

Track List:
Min Tid Skal Komme
1) Fragmenter av en Fortid
2) En Skikkelse I Horisonten
3) Hvilelos
4) Englers Piler Har Ingen Brodd
5) Fragmenter av en Fremtid

Blackened Compilation Contribution
6) Absence

A Darker Shade of Evil EP
7) Profanations Beneath the Bleeding Stars
8) ...And the Choirs Behind Him
9) My Resurrection in Eternal Hate

Fleurety is:
Marian Aas Hansen - voice
Per Amund Solberg - bass guitar
Alexander Nordgarden - guitar, voice
Svein Egil Hatlevik - drums, synth, voice

Fleurety - Official Site:
http://folk.uio.no/sveineh/fleurety/

Candlelight Records:
http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk/

Forlorn
Hybernation
~reviewed by Dibrom

Hybernation, the latest album from Dimmu Borg... umm, wait, this is a Forlorn release?  Apparently so.  It seems as though, in the current sweep of Metal bands abandoning their previous styles in favor of adopting a rigidly formulaic approach and following in the footsteps of Dimmu Borgir, Forlorn is now the latest convert.  Joy.

Why Forlorn decided to drop their previous Folkish/Viking-esque leanings in exchange for what is present on Hybernation, is beyond me.  Perhaps they thought that people would respect them more for ripping off the likes of Dimmu Borgir's Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia than actually coming up with something a little more original of their own. While none of Forlorn's previous albums have ever really been that exceptional,they at least had their own thing going for them back then.

To be honest, there's not a whole lot worth saying about the actual music on the album if you're already familiar with the style I've been discussing.  The vocals sound like they could have come straight from Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir.  The riffs and the synth work definitely share in the attempted eloquent, luminously, and foreboding "evilness" that Dimmu Borgir has perfected, but which often comes out as sounding almost laughable these days.  The drumming style fits the part pretty well too, excepting Nick Barker's special touch; fortunately, the nuances of talent driven style cannot be so easily replicated.  There are a few very brief moments of creativity and even inklings of their older style present, but for the most part they stick with "the formula."

Ironically, probably the most damning attributes of this album as to Forlorn's "newfound" style, are the art, lyrics, and song titles moreso than the music.  One look at the cliched front and back cover images -- the band members clad in "high tech" black leather overlayed upon a greenish background -- definitely promotes a memory or two of Dimmu's Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia photo shoots.  Song titles like "Stigmata Damnation", and "Agony Defiled", surely reflect Forlorn's utterly depraved and brutal "evilness" on this album.  And, of course, Napalm's ubiquitous scantily clad woman is present here too, presumably to increase the appeal of Forlorn's album beyond that of the would-be sole offense in their imitation of now quite trendy styles.

It's rather unclear whether or not this release is in attempt to shamelessly sell more albums and increase popularity at the expense of their artistic integrity, or if Forlorn honestly thinks they will be more respected by following in Dimmu's footsteps.  As far as I'm concerned, either possibility is equally lame.  Should you buy this album?  I'd say, if you're actually interested in this style, save your money and buy the real thing.  Otherwise you might decide to support some bands with a little more originality behind their works.

Track List:
1) Ether Inside
2) Grow City
3) Stigmata Damnation
4) Agony Defiled
5) Cubes
6) Hybernation
7) Abuse
8) Disintegration
9) Silent Demise

Forlorn is:
Hennex - Guitar and Vocals
Dolgar - Guitar and Vocals
S.Winter - Drums
Vulpes - Bass

Napalm Records:
http://www.napalmrecords.com

Hanzel und Gretyl
Über Alles (Metropolis Records)
~reviewed by Jyri Glynn

Setting the musical stage for a futuristic, metal opera, über alles, is the latest album release by New York’s Hanzel und Gretyl.  And even though this cd lyrically seems like it was written more as a sound track for an Eon Flux movie, it is damn good!  HUG’s previous release, Transmissions from Uranus, had more of an electronic EBM-ish sound, where as this album simply kicks some serious arse!

With the majority of the lyrical content being sung in German, naturally this release has a very aggressive feel to it!  Monstrous guitar riffs layered over heavy synth filters and pulverizing vocals provide the industrial dual with their most hard-hitting release to date.

The album begins with a symphonic overture of operatic proportions, which immediately explodes into their second track.  With sirens blaring over keys and militaristic guitars, Vas Kallas executes his abrasive vocals.  Mockingly rolling his R’s,  “Third Rrrrrreich From The Sun” --

Das ist mein krieg       This is my war
Das ist mein blut         This is my blood
Das ist mein reich!!!   This is my Empire!!!

Track five, "Mach Schnell", has a very modern metal sound to it that one might expect to hear on a top forty station alongside artist such as Lincoln Park or Korn.  However, the infuriated German-sung vocals quickly place this band in a genre of its own.  Midway thru the track the angst comes to an abrupt halt with melodic guitar carrying the song while Loopy chants:

Meine augen brennen mit zorn und traenen
Dein Schwarzes herz ist in meinen besitz
Weil ich habe für immer
In dieser scheiss welt gewartet
Verdammen Sie alle
Verdammen Sie

My eyes burn with contempt & tears
Your black heart is in my possession
Because I have waited forever
in this shit world
Damn you all
Damn you

The album continues with the tongue-in-cheek, "SS Deathstar", "Supergalactik", which once again resembles something off of a KMFDM album.

"Let the Planets Burn" is one of my personal favorites with its driving guitars and captivating keyboard parts.  Loopy once again authenticates her livid vocals with harshness that would make any testosterone-filled adolescents proud to batter their cranium.

11:11, one of the only songs on this album sung in English, lyrically appears to have a more profound sense with its metaphysical undertones and hard-hitting metal riffs.

Another notable track on this album is "Transplutonian Annihilation", which sounds vaguely like a Ministry or Revolting Cocks tune.  This track begins with an oriental zither sound yet quickly detonates into a powerful speed metal/industrial tune.  The following song, Mein Kommandant also opens with an acoustic, sitar-sounding instrument, which carries a more melodic, yet driving atmosphere.

In an age where industrial music has come to a crossroad, separating into EBM and Metal, Hanzel und Gretyl has upheld the old school method with their latest release.  Über Alles is essential listening for any industrial music fan.

01. Overture
02. Third Reich From The Sun
03. Ich Bin Über Alles
04. Komm Zu Uns
05. Mach Schnell
06. SS Deathstar Supergalactik RA MP3
07. Let the Planets Burn
08. Intermission
09. 11:11
10. Verbotenland
11. Transplutonian Annihilation
12. Mein Kommandant
13. Aufweidersehen

Label: http://www.metropolis-records.com/?/artists/?artist=HuG
Official site: http://www.hanzelundgretyl.com/

Helloween
Rabbit Don't Come Easy
~reviewed by Joel Steudler

Rabbits, and this review, don't come easy.  This Helloween, the one on the new album Rabbit Don't Come Easy, is not the Helloween I grew up listening to a million years ago in the late 80's and early 90's.  I will always remember Helloween as Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske's band... but Andi Deris has kept the legacy alive for some time now.  This leaves me beside myself when pondering the merits of their latest release.  Do I let go of my fond memories of the past, or should the present band have to live up to the pedigree of their predecessors?  Depending on the answer, 'Rabbit' is either a hopping good powermetal album or one that just doesn't exude the raw euphoric energy the band had in days gone by.

When a band has as storied a history as Helloween does, and has influenced so many acts in all walks of metal, it is impossible to ignore their halcyon days when evaluating their recent output.  At the heart of albums like Keeper of the Seven Keys (parts I and II) and Walls of Jherico rested a certain naive optimism and endearingly goofy commitment to writing fun songs.  No band played 'happy metal' better, though they mixed in speedy thrash numbers and wandering guitar epics like the classic Keeper of the Seven Keys.  I suppose it's surprising that any of that spirit remains given that the band's only ties to the past are now guitarist Michael Weikath and their revered name.

The current Helloween manages to conjure some of the upbeat enthusiasm of the olden days, but they present it in a much tighter, glossier, and conventional manner than Kai & co. did.  Listening to ancient favorites like 'Future World' and 'Livin' Ain't No Crime' reveals just how different the band has become.  The current lineup's songs are more structured and arguably less interesting.  Thankfully, they still manage to pack in catchy choruses and melodies that will linger after the CD stops spinning.  None of them reach the level of the classics, though, aside perhaps from the final track 'Nothing To Say', which was penned by founding member Weikath.  This track alone dishes out the fun that's missing from the super-slick stadium metal on the rest of the album.

What it comes down to is this: if you are unaware of the band's past or can push your memories to the wayside, you'll be able to appreciate Rabbit Don't Come Easy as a prime cut of modern power metal.  Helloween still rises above Power Metal: The Next Generation labelmates like Hammerfall or Primal Fear.  The album's production is impeccable, the songs well crafted (though somewhat sterile), and the spirit of 'happy metal' isn't entirely quelled.  If this album had arrived disguised as a different band's new release, I probably would have stated 'they sound like they must have listened to a lot of Helloween' in my review... so on that count, I guess Deris, Weikath and their rotating bandmates have indeed pulled a rabbit out of their hat.

Track List:
01.) Just A Little Sign
02.) Open Your Life
03.) The Tune
04.) Never Be A Star
05.) Liar
06.) Sun 4 The World
07.) Don't Stop Being Crazy
08.) Do You Feel Good
09.) Hell Was Made In Heaven
10.) Back Against The Wall
11.) Listen To The Flies
12.) Nothing To Say

Helloween is:
Andi Deris: vocals
Michael Weikath: guitar
Sascha Gerstner: guitar
Markus Grosskoph: bass
Stefan Schwarzmann: drums

Helloween Official Website:
http://www.helloween.org

Nuclear Blast:
http://www.nuclearblast.de/

Horrified
Deus Diabolus Inversus
~reviewed by Joel Steudler

Deus Diabolus Inversus fits squarely into a category of music that has no official genre name but could easily be called 'creepshow metal'.  Like the granddaddy of creepshow, Rob Zombie, Horrified seem determined to infuse their music with the audio equivalent of 'B' grade horror movies from the 1970's.  Also like those movies, the music they produce is profoundly cheesy... like a wheel of cheddar left to rot in an old decaying shack in a serial killer's backyard.

The most egregiously irritating aspect of the Horrified sound is "vocalist" Gore's cartoonish bellowing.  All the hot air he blows out of his mouth has zero emotional impact.  Additionally, the vocals are overprocessed to the point of rendering the lyric content of the songs into little more than a slurred, drunken rant.  Rarely have I heard less convincing vocals in all the sordid annals of deathmetal and black metal history.  Compounding the problem, Mr. Gore also employs a 'torture victim' voice that is more raspy and high pitched than his Scooby-Doo-villain yowling.  It is not an improvement.  I am willing to accept that not everybody will think as I do, but I view the vocals on Deus Diabolus Inversus as a total failure on all levels.

Guitarist Stavros exhibits decent technical skill but never adds anything particularly interesting to the mix, with one exception I will note shortly.  Most of the riffs give the impression that killer circus clowns are nearby, ready to eat whatever small children wander into their tent.  The horror-movie schlock atmosphere pervades the whole album, and would have been tolerable had the instrumental performance been more virtuosic, but it never rises above the level of the average Mtv metal band.

The sole exception to all my complaints is the final track of the album, which is a totally out of place but well executed neo-classical guitar composition.  The slow acoustic arpeggios and leads are emotively played and are complimented by the lilting 'ahhhhh's of Dr. Petra Ariadne Westerkamp (who must not have listened to the rest of this album before committing herself to appear on it).  Perplexingly, this track also includes an airy flute solo and subdued violin backing.  The track, 'Argenteum astrum', really comes out of nowhere and leads nowhere as well, but it prevents the album from being wholly reprehensible.  I don't understand at all why Mr. Gore and friends decided to include it, but it shows that they are capable of making much more worthwhile music than that on the other forty nine minutes of the album.

Unless you are a fan of 'B'-movie influenced creepshow music, I recommend you let Horrified try to scare the pants off of more gullible and less discerning listeners.

Track List:
01.) Deus diabolus inversus
02.) Battle of the serpents within
03.) Requiem for a caged lust
04.) Selenes and endymions son
05.) Ascending path: a star child is born
06.) Aphorism
07.) Monolith: test teach transform
08.) One upon a time?
09.) The seven gifts of sin
10.) Doberman
11.) Insects
12.) Avatar of the age of horus
13.) Argenteum astrum

Horrified is:
Gore: Vocals
Stavros: Guitars
Thanos: Bass
Akis: Drums

Horrified Official Website:
http://www.horrified.info/

Black Lotus Records:
http://www.black-lotus-recs.com/

The End Records (US):
http://www.theendrecords.com

Indesinence
Ecstatic Lethargy
~reviewed by Matthew Heilman

This incredibly dark Doom outfit definitely provided this reviewer with a much-needed dose of sincere musical evil – without all the worn out imagery and clichéd musical accoutrements.  This is the real deal.  Allow me to quote from the band’s website:

“In an age where either retro-fixation or contrived cross-pollination and experimentation seem to be the only two paths to choose from; the only concern of Indesinence is how much darker, heavier and intense its uncompromising musical attack can become.”

Like most Doom Metal bands, Indesinence’s music is multi-textured, with layers of deep resonant guitar chords crunching at the core while spidery guitar riffing and bits of eerie melody characterize the lead guitar sections.  The occasional murky arpeggios work their way in, but Indesinence seem to exercise a proper and intelligent restraint with their ideas, and never wear out too much of a good thing.  Though Doom to the core, in that the band never once betrays even the slightest glimpse of light-heartedness, they do stir things up with a few well-timed blast beats and bursts of galloping speed, rather than constantly relying on a sluggish dirge-like pace.  As a result, these faster parts sound succeed in sustaining a remarkably dark and gloomy mood, and these contrasts only enhance the slower passages.

“Ecstatic Lethargy” is really just two tracks, as the first track is merely an eerie 50-second intro comprised of a warm synth drone and chimes – which marks the only appearance of synths on the entire EP, proving that keyboards are not the only instrument capable of creating atmosphere for a band.  In fact, I would say that Indesinence’s contributions to the genre are among the most unique and being that this release is so emotionally suffocating and oppressive, it has an even more distinct atmosphere than most synth heavy releases that wind up sounding sappy and overdramatic.

Indesinence was a pleasant surprise, and a welcome addition to my Doom Metal collection.  These two tracks alone (both clocking in at over ten minutes each) perfectly demonstrate the kind of power that dark music should possess – the ability to make the listener shudder in horrific fascination.  Highly recommended for fans of truly heavy and dark music.

Track List:
1.) Gempiternal Vortex
2.) Catalepsy
3.) Aura

Indesinence is:
Ilia – guitars, vocals
Chris James - guitars
John Wright – bass
Dani – drums

Indesinence – Official Website:
http://users.0800dial.com/seraph/main.html

Band Contact: (YES, Contact them – buy this EP!)
Indesinence@hotmail.com

Informatik
Nymphomatik
~reviewed by BlackOrpheus
 
Informatik has been active since 1993, when Boston studio ower's Da5id Din and Matthew Crofoot discovered their mutual musical interests.  Their creative braintrust resulted in their self-released 1995 album Direct Memory Access.  That release spawned the club hit "At Your Command".  One success lead to another with their follow up album Syntax, which scored another two hits with "Entropy" and "Watching You Watching Me".
 
Now flash forward to 2002, when this Boston, Mass duo debuts their new album Nymphomatik.  What can be said of this particular offering?  Well, having read through the lyrics I can say unequivocably that this is among the most puerile writing I've ever encountered outside of those "standards" penned by those "hair" bands of the 1980's.  The sole redeeming quality of this album, is the masterfully rendered floor friendly music, that lures your attention away from the poor writing. If there was anything here to pique my interest, I'd draw your attention to it. But alas, speaking for myself, there was nothing, although Negative Format and Stromkern both thought there was something here worth remixing.

As I wind this up, I want to clarify my earlier remarks. As a writer, I don't think much of the lyrical gifts of Da5id Din. But that should in no way detract from the music. The music is the inoffensive, if unremarkable 4/4 beat stuff you've become familiar with from the clubs. Hell, from some of the reviews I've read, some people even think this is great writing. So, what do I know? Try it, you might just like it.

Track Listing
   1.    Flesh Menagerie
   2.    Hopeless
   3.    Perfect Stranger
   4.    Physical Education
   5.    Over
   6.    Built for Pleasure
   7.    A Matter Time
   8.    Oblivion V2
   9.    96 Degrees
   10.  Perfect Stranger (Robot Mix by Negative Format)
   11.  Physical Education (Day Job mix by Stromkern)

Informatik is:
Da5id Din
Matthew Crofoot
Tyler Newman

Web Site: WWW.Nymphomatik.Com
Label Web Site:  WWW.Metropolis-Records.Com

Jesus Complex
I Woke Up Dead (Pandaimonium)
~reviewed by Uncle Nemesis

Like so many bands these days, Jesus Complex isn't actually a band. It's a 'project'. Everything on this album, aside from certain vocals, is done by Damon Fries, who the press release tells me is '...the soundman of the pioneering electronic group Clan Of Xymox.' Hang on - Clan Of Xymox? Electronic? Last time I saw the band, Clan Of Xymox were a guitar-based rock outfit. Strange, you'd think the band's own soundman would have noticed that small detail.

Jesus Complex, however, unequivocally *is* electronic, although I suspect even the closest friends of Damon Fries would balk at describing the music as 'pioneering'. Jesus Complex songs are essentially exercises in programming and beat-assembly, over which treated, distorted vocals are laid. Does that sound familiar? It certainly should, for there's a lot of this kind of music around. It's certainly not new, or radical, or left-field these days. It's commonplace stuff.

As if to illustrate this point, the new album by Void Construct happened to come in at the same time as the Jesus Complex CD - and, guess what, Void Construct do exactly the same kind of beats, sequences, samples, and distorted-vocal-chant stuff as Jesus Complex do. You could play Jesus Complex songs back to back with Void Construct songs, and you'd never spot the join. In fact, I've tried this trick on friends (You see? I don't just write reviews, I do field research!) and it works every time. Proof, as if proof were needed, that we're not dealing with rampant, individualistic, out-on-a-limb creativity in this musical area. If anything, it's music as mathematics. Music that's made simply because the technology exists to make it possible. Personally, I find it all much of a muchness.

Sure, technically, it's hard to fault. The music these bands make is always seamlessly sequenced - often, I suspect, with exactly the same software. The standard-issue distorted vocals they all use always sound suitably harsh...while also invariably being characterless and dull. Everyone seems to be working to the same blueprint. Nobody's bringing in any *ideas*. But nevertheless, I will dutifully struggle through this album, and - who knows? - perhaps Jesus Complex will reveal some genuinely original ideas hidden somewhere amongst the bangin' beats and distort-o-vocals. Maybe Damon Fries will take me somewhere I haven't been a hundred times before. The omens are not good, but I'm prepared to give him a chance.

The first track, 'No Hope, No Desire' comes and goes routinely enough. The beats thump away, sequenced motifs repeat and repeat, the distorted voice whispers all manner of apocalyptic doomcookie stuff. 'Blind Faith' kicks off with an ersatz church organ - this, I take it, is Damon Fries beating up on Christianity, a fairly common theme in this musical area. And yes, the vocals are a distorted whisper again, although I can just make out the words: 'I'm waiting for you to come outside'. This, enunciated in Damon's patent 'threatening' style, sounds hilariously like the sort of drunken challenge a belligerent lager lout would issue in a dodgy London pub, with a view to picking a fight: 'Oi, you! Yes, you, Damon Fries! You were looking at my bird! OUTSIDE, NOW!'  Somehow, I don't think this was quite the imagery Damon had in mind when he wrote this number, but unwittingly he's put these pictures in my mind and now they just won't go.

Both tunes are based around mid-tempo industrial-dance beats which are pieced together with perfect competence....but, dammit, has it come to this? When the best thing I can think of to say about a piece of music is that it's *competent*?

And so it goes: the third track, 'Death's Door', has a few guitar effects and some ersatz violin thrown into the mix, which is enough of a deviation from the norm to make me pay attention. Alas, the vocals, which have a distorted, disembodied, chant-down-a-telephone feel, bring it all down to the ho-hum zone. 'End Of The Lie' is a bit of a slowie, starting off all moody and then bringing in a sampled-and-repeated guitar riff. Alas, the vocals, which more or less go 'Haaawragh-a-faawragh, Aaarawagh-a-shaaragh' throughout, are the usual turn-off.

'Vital Signs' is a jaunty little thing, a pleasantly undemanding bit of electro-dance, and would be quite palatable were it not for the vocals, which here make a kind of 'Wheeerraghhh' noise, like the wind sighing in distant electric wires. 'Nothing Can Hurt You' has a spooky mid-tempo beat, and the effects have been backed off enough to make the vocals understandable. Not that Damon actually *sings*, you understand: he's not capable of doing anything more than chanting in a monotone to the beat. But at least we can figure out the words, which tend to be along the lines of: 'Save me from this hell/That I've dug for myself...' Well, you said it, Damon! There's also a female voice in the mix, doing one of those keening, vaguely-eastern backing vocals which always make me think that the estate of Ofra Haza should put in for some royalties.

'Build Them Up, Let Them Fall' is Damon's attempt to entice us onto the dance floor with a bangin' club stomper, but personally I'd rather go to the toilet. On this one, the vocals are submerged under a vocoder effect, a desperately uncool treatment ever since Moby started doing it on all his hits. To be blunt about it, Damon Fries is clearly in no danger of tripping over the cutting edge.

Then we come to 'Fields Of Light', which starts off promisingly, like a slow-burn remix of the Dream Disciples' 'Room 57', but just when you think the tune is going to go somewhere, Damon's whispered-chant arrives like an unwanted guest at a party, and turns it all to poop. 'Lost In Sleep' has a vaguely cool, rolling rhythm - but, Gawd 'elp us - Damon's doing the Moby-style vocoder thing again. Fortunately, Ronny Moorings from Clan Of Xymox lends his somewhat more accomplished vocal abilities to this song, which gives it a bit of a lift, but annoyingly enough Damon's vocoder-voice follows Ronny's lead vocal around like a lost dog. I find myself wanting to shout at Damon, 'Look, mate, just SHUT UP and let the real singer get on with it!'

'You Must Die' plays us out with a bit of a rocker - or, at any rate, as near to a rocker as this genre ever gets. Certainly, there's some beefy guitar riffing away, and if only the song had a proper vocal it might be good. Unfortunately, we just get Damon doing his 'Waaarrghhh! Wha-Whaaarrrghh!' Wha-Whuh-Staaaarrgh!' thing at us, and it all ends up in the underwhelming box again.

So, an album that effortlessly lives down to the will-this-do standards of this uniquely tedious musical genre. An album which would fade into bland nothingness if it was played back-to-back with other practitioners of this music, like Void Construct, God Module, and all the rest. Technically competent, spiritually bankrupt. The programming is spot-on, but the ideas-zone is barren. Even if I didn't know that Damon Fries was the soundman for Xymox, I could probably hazard a guess, because this music sounds like an engineer just doing his job. I want a roaring fire lit by a genuine creative spark, but that, I'm afraid, simply doesn't happen here.
 

The tunestack:
No Hope, No Desire
Blind Faith
Death's Door
End Of The Lie
Vital Signs
Nothing Can Hurt You
Build Then Up, Let Them Fall
Fields Of Light
Lost In Sleep
You Must Die

The players:
Damon Fries: Guitars, vocals, programming
Ala Sharon: Backing vocals
Ronny Moorings: Guest lead vocal

The website:  http://www.jesuscomplex.com

Reviewed by Uncle Nemesis:  http://www.nemesis.to