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Blackend / Plastichead Hecate Enthroned
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ooooooh nooooo!!. Yep, another album with a scary intro, which this time works well and leads is into the heavy depth of Perjurer. Those who already know Hecate Enthroned will not be surprised when mid-song they slow it all down and move into one of their trademark melodic sections. The track shows the band's ability to move between different styles and tempos with ease, which is their main strength over other bands in the genre. That, and the fact they can play their instruments (Claire doesn't call me a bitch for nothing). They not only have melody, but they also have groove. Groove? Yes, groove. In the way that Six Feet Under have groove at times. It's been a while now since I've listened to the excellent Dark Requiems... album which preceded this, but from what I remember I think Kings Of Chaos is a bit less heavy. A common downfall of black metal is piss poor production (see Darkmoon for example), but thankfully there's none of that here. All the guitars, drums, and vocals are clear whilst remaining heavy. Mentionworthy is Exhalted In Depravity, a weird instrumental tracks complete with weird electronic noises. They manage to move seamlessly from the electronic domain back into the more traditional anger-fest of real guitars, drums, and sore throats. In my opinion Hecate Enthroned are the shining light of the black metal scene, and it's good to see a little innovation on this album. In fact, they could well be the only band in the genre which I would actually choose to listen to!! If you can imagine old-style Anathema done in the black metal tradition, you might arrive somewhere close to this. Verdict: Well worth your £££ |
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Zizania
Wolverine
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First off is a big slap on the wrist for a drawn out and utterly useless biog. Shame on you. Imagine telling us ten years of irrelevant history, about bands we have and never will hear of, and then mentioning this album in practically the last sentence. Anyway, here’s the lowdown. Wolverine are a progressive metal band who, shock horror, have received praise for their use of clean vocals and death grunts. Shit, stop the press, there’s a new musical paradigm in town. It worries me greatly that this is all Wolverine have to advertise. Fervent Dreams is a mini-album, written and performed by a bunch of guys who have been performing together in a bunch of different bands for years. Its labelled as progressive metal but to me opening track, Whispers on the Wind, kinda sounds a bit like Helloween with a gruffer vocalist. The music on offer is of a reasonable standard, with it being obvious that Wolverine contain one or two talented musicians. However the songs, although not being terrible, don’t really catch me. Sure the cheese is here, but it’s done with perhaps a little too much seriousness to appeal to your average metal drongo . While Maiden are brilliant for their craft of gouda and good songs, Wolverine seem to want to try and inject a touch of reality to the proceedings which kills all the fun. Neither do they capture glorious misery, but instead walk a middle ground which seems too safe. Perhaps they’ re the R.E.M of the trad metal section. Maybe I’m in the wrong mood for this, but Christ it needs a spark. For their forthcoming full length, Wolverine should inject some songs about World War II fighter pilots, science fiction novels and dubious historical figures. At least they might sell some albums in Germany. Rating: ********** |
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Various
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The fourth installment of Century Media's Serial Thriller samplers contains eight bands, ranging from Moonspell to Exodus to Stuck Mojo. Opener Soulsick from Moonspell showcases the band's latest album The Butterfly Effect, which is very much more intense than it's predecessor. Following this is Stuck Mojo with Not Promised Tomorrow from the live album HVY1, and in typical SM style, it rocks big time. Having said that though, I think I'd prefer it not to be a live recording. Next up is Scheitan with Marionette. Weighing in at a mere two minutes and forty seconds, this song is quite hard to describe. It's got almost black metal vocals, groovy guitar and keyboard melodies, and despite not being able to make out any of the vocals, I'm almost tempted to sing along. Actually yeah, I like it a lot even if it is bordering on cheezy. Skinlab follow this up with with a typically heavy in-yer-face effort in the form of The Messengers. It lets up half way though though and actually becomes quite good (I'm not the biggest Skinlab fan on the planet). The track is takes from CM's recent Bad Brains tribute. Haste sound like Stock Mojo with Forbidden's Russ Anderson on vocals, which makes for an interesting combination, if nothing else. Runemagick give us a take on Euro death metal, with a crushing guitar sound not unlike Electric Wizard played at 78rpm. While a reasonable song, it doesn't exactly shine. Zonata give us a great Helloween revival with Dream Child, and as people who know me will tell you, I live (love - I'm not really that sad!) Helloween (Keeper 1+2). Oh yes, this takes me back. No-one will ever be able to reproduce those great songs, but Zonata are certainly having a pretty fair crack at it. The album is rounded off with a classic from Exodus, A Lesson In Violence. Classic it may be, but it doesn't seem to bring back the classic Exodus I remember. Verdict: Not a masterpiece, but well worth the asking price (£1.99?) |
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Six Feet Under
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The latest album by Chris Barnes - he also has an EP out soon. It has eleven songs and two bonus tracks - one of which is the Iron Maiden classic Wrathchild. Chris' vocals are really cool and this is probably my favourite song on the album. The other songs are basically death metal with weak drumming. The first song sets the tone, named Feasting On The Blood Of The Insane, is great. Verdict: Better than his other two - well worth buying |
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Incantation
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Another of Relapse's extreme death metal bands, Incantation are a satanic band that have quite a few albums under their belts - This is my favourite to date. Diabolical Conquest has eight songs that are all quite long and all are fast paced - the drumming is hyperspeed, the guitars are heavy, and the vocals are near impossible to make out (this is good!). Too many of the songs start the same and are hard to tell apart. This is the only down point on a good album which reminds me of Suffocation. |
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Backfire!
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Oh arse. Lumped with another hc release from the bad old days of 97. Oh well, here goes... This CD has everything on it which turns me off the genre. It's incessantly grindy, low on melody, and drags on for what seems like hours. If you can imagine being punished in Saudi Arabia for accidentally looking in the direction of a woman, getting your hand chopped off would be a close running alternative to being made to listen to this all the way through. Was that harsh? Cooooool! Songs like The Truth, We're Still Around, and Diggin' Up The Past just really get on my nerves. Perhaps it's largely down to the horrible guitar sound (and the drumming, and the vocals!), because if you listen carefully there is often a not bad riff hidden in there somewhere just waiting to get out. Unfortunately it never does, such is the world of hc. Verdict: Formulaic drivel |
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Feier Mettel Drei Flaschen In'na Plastiktüte
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Hmmm. Difficult one this. On one hand we have a passable German punk band and a song with a Kazoo on it, while on the other we have one of the cheesiest covers I've ever seen (and I've seen a good few!), and German lyrics. Unfortunately the lyrics tend to be what makes a punk song worth listening to, so when you can't understand then it tends to suck a bit. So which way does the balance fall? Well I'd have to say somewhere in the middle. Cop out maybe, but true. Some tracks are fun to listen to and have full-on punk attitude to the max, while others drone on a bit. In common with most famous punk acts they're not exactly blessed in the vocal department, but given the calibre of other vocalists in the genre I can't really hold that against them. I think I've just realised my life's calling - I could be a punk vocalist!! Verdict: Passable punk |
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Artemisia
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To be honest, I’ve been kinda putting off reviewing this album, but going back to it after a long while, it isn’t as bad as I remember it to be. Atmospheric, gothic, death metal is the order of the day here, and to its credit, the album is pretty damn varied, and even reminds me of good ol’ Anathema in parts (coool). It all seems a bit predictable though, which is the major criticism I have of this album – a slow, atmospheric intro, moving into trebly guitar distortion, and finally into the inevitable deathly vocals. Wahey. Be still my beating heart. It just seems a bit too tried and tested for my taste. Anathema did this style years and years ago, and did it better. If only Artemisia had thrown a fresh twist into this album, it would have made it so much more interesting. They’ve got a few good song parts here and there, but not enough to make an overall impressive song. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a well-made, competent album, but that’s where it all goes a bit pear-shaped in my book. Verdict: A competent but unoriginal album – very little to hold listeners’ interest. For die-hard fans of this style only. |
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