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Peaceville / MFN Opeth
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Opeth’s dark and moody intro sets the mood for this doomy, gothic album – it reminds me of the theme music they would use in a film at the part where the unsuspecting victims are creeping through a dark, haunted house……. coooool! Then the full force of their onslaught crashes in, with aggressive guitars and deathly vocals… and the contrast works quite well. I especially like the ballady tracks, with classical-influenced guitar and clean vocals, with a chill-out vibe – kinda reminds me of how Planet Caravan fitted into the Paranoid album. Usually it’s about now in a review where I would slag off an extreme album like this for sounding cheesey – for the first time in ages though, I’m not gonna do that here – basically because this album definitely gives off a dark, aggressive (as well as chilled-out in places) vibe, without sounding cheesey, in the same way poncey corpse paint or seven-inch spiked wristbands seem cheesey – y’know what I’m talking about, people… As the album progresses, more and more influences become apparent in their melodies and guitar work, ranging throughout rock and classical music – successfully conjuring up another world with their music… definitely the sign of a good band. Verdict: Top quality miserable music with a really cooool vibe. |
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Colder Thy Kiss
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This is the first album from this New Jersey doom metal outfit, describing themselves influenced by the likes of My Dying Bride, Dead Can Dance, Fear Factory, and Beethoven… weird mixture in some respects, but it works (although I must’ve missed the Fear Factory part… never mind!). The main bulk of this album reminds me very much of My Dying Bride, but with a more commercial edge to it (and although I’m a MDB fan, sounding more commercial than them ain’t exactly hard!!) – the organ / piano-like keyboard throughout adds a dark, atmospheric edge, helped along by the accompanying moping guitars. My major gripe about this album is that it lapses sometimes into metal cliché territory, especially evident in the screaming metal guitar at points, along with tried and tested (and duuuuuuull) doom metal riffs. That’s only me being a bastard, though – on the whole, this is an enjoyable album, with plenty of original parts. The strongest parts on this album come from the atmospheric, classically-influenced keyboard parts. Yeah, I hear you say, Anathema and MDB beat them to it, but this band give it a slightly different perspective in the doom metal context. This album’s original enough to prove worth checking out – not groundbreaking, but fun (in a miserable kinda way!). One of the most enjoyable doom metal albums I’ve heard in a while. Verdict: Masterful miserable metal. |
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Subterra
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I saw a link to these guys on a stoner rock website somewhere, and asked them if they'd be interested in sending in a CD for review. After taking a look at the Attitude site I got an email back from them warning me that they weren't exactly metal - that's why I'd asked them to send something in, I wanted something a bit different for a change. What we've got is an album which, in sentiment at least, resembles some Neil Young stuff I've got. Old-style American rock, and not too bad either. I have to be honest and say I still prefer Neil Young, but hey, he's one of the best around. If you don't hold them up to such unfair scrutiny, Subterra make some quite cool moody chill-out rock music. The kind of thing you'd listen to on a Sunday morning, or certainly the kind of thing my dad listened to on a Sunday morning when I was younger. I know Subterra aren't going to appeal to most of the people who read Attitude (despite the title), but I'm sure some will love them. Verdict: Good for chilling out to |
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I:AND:I Stitch |
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There is no indication of a record label so I think I’m going to put this in the album section as a self financed release [I:AND:I recordings - Ed]. Which makes this all the more impressive, as although not absolutely stunning, the production more than cuts the mustard providing a harsh guitar sound, very much in a new metal vein. Stitch describe themselves as Heavy Aggro Tribal Groove, and I can’t really argue with that. First track, Riotpolice, kicks in with a cool bouncy guitar riff and some nice, if becoming a tad standard, tribal drumbeats. The album runs through eight tracks, which all deliver some ear punishing aggression, except for the more laid back closer of Stir. Ok so that’s the facts, but lets get right down to the bones of this project. Amazingly I actually like this release. A self confessed sceptic of all that is Kornbizkitchamber, Stitch actually have come up with a bit of a corker. Perhaps its their death metal leanings that actually enable them to play some catchy riffs, but to these ears, Stitch are one of the most impressive of the new wave coming from Western America. Ok, I’m no expert, but together with Soulfly, Stitch are the only band to hold my attention. Perhaps its because they don’t dip into the frankly school boy antics of lets say, A.D.I.D.A.S. However lads, there is some room for improvement. The songs do occasionally slip into the heard it before category, particularly on Noose. Perhaps some more variety as shown on Stir would break things up a bit. Also, I do wish they’d play around a little bit more with the Latin influences which they mention in their biog. The vocals do occasionally bring this to the fore, but perhaps a little more attention to this will provide the band with their own sound. The reason I say this is because the biog extravagantly claims that Stitch ply a “distinct, original sound”. Ok so there’s a touch of Death Metal but this sounds incredibly close to the aforementioned Soulfly. Nevertheless, for an up and coming band, Stitch are more than worth your attention. All you young things don’t know what you’re missing. Rating: ********** |
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Right Direction
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This album is actually quite old now, about two years I think. I thought we'd reviewed it ages ago but apparently not, so here we go. Probably the impression you'll get from the cover is that Right Direction are a hardcore band, and you'd basically be right. They are more interesting than much of the dross out there though, because they have a lot more variation. They manage to blend elements of hardcore, metal, punk, Suicidal Tendencies, Guns 'n' Roses, and even a little known band from Oxford called Mindsurfer (see their demo reviews in previous issues). The vocals get a bit grating after a while, but hey, it's hardcore! The song ideas are quite interesting at times, and the production is certainly adequate, though not stunning. Many of the tracks are very anthemic, but they just don't have the production to carry it off fully. The sound needs to be developed a bit - that will come with time so probably they'll be much better sounding now. Verdict: Going in the right direction |
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Music For Nations Cradle Of Filth
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| Dani Filth's latest offering is a good EP which, with only six songs, lasts long. Some of the songs are covers but I don't know from whom (Sleepless, Anathema - Ed). The second and fifth songs deserve special mention as to me the chorus on the second song, Of Dark Blood And Fucking, sounds like the theme tune to the Power Rangers, and the fifth song has some operatic singing in it which to me sounds a bit like the part in the Fifth Element when the blue woman is singing. For me these two songs alone are worth getting the EP for. | |||
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SystemShock / Pavement Castigate
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This is a brilliant album from three evil Germans on the SystemShock / Pavement labels. I had heard one of their songs on a compilation CD and knew I had to buy this album. The subject matter is strange because although there are anti-jesus songs (as the title suggests), other songs are about aliens coming to destroy the Earth and stuff which is cool. My favourite song on the album is called Down By The Crematory Woods, which like the rest of the songs on the album is fast and heavy and the vocals throughout the album are very good. A good album and well worth buying, and in the booklet there is a cool photo of one of the band standing, all in black, next to someone considerbly smaller in a Tweetie Pie costume!?! |
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Brutal Truth
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Bye Bye BT, and good luck in the future. Hopefully some of them will go on to do something I enjoy, because I certainly don't enjoy BT. Not that they are shit, they're just not my thing. As I'm sure you all know, they are heavy as fuck and don't believe in melody. that's a little bit unfair actually - there are a few bits with cool rhythms, but not much. The first CD in this double CD set is live recordings from 1998, and shows exactly what BT were about - power, intensity, extremity, and noise. There's virtually no letting up at all on the CD, which makes it dull listening to me, but any fans of the band would get a kick out of it. Weighing in at a hefty 23 tracks, you can hardly complain there's not enough on it. A bit too grindy for me, though there is an interesting cover of Sabbath's Cornucopia. CD2 is a 33(!) track compilation of b-sides and other rare tracks. Aside from a few songs, notably Cybergod (originally by Nausea) and Cornucopia (again), this is much the same as the first CD. The sound quality is generally better because most of the tracks are not live. While this helps it along a bit, it by no means makes it enjoyable listening. I can definitely say this won't be on my playlist for long. Verdict: Fans will love it, everyone else should steer well clear!! |
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