What was I expecting? Well to be honest I'm not really sure, but it certainly wasn't this! The cover reminded me of mid 90s Earache artwork for some reason - not sure if I'm mad or actually remembering something. From the moment the eponymous opener kicks in you know exactly what you're getting, and you just know the whole album is going to be the same. Put simply, it's 80s style warbling harmonised vocals over wanky thrash guitar. Think Helloween, Jag Panzer, WASP and the like.

Looking at their biog suddenly everything becomes clear. All four members have been involved with various bands before, such as Helloween, Yngwie Malmsteen, and WASP. This style is nothing new to them, and as a result they do it very well as you would expect. Whether that is good enough in the year 2001 is not clear though - how many people still buy albums like this?

Verdict: Decent album, 15 years too late.

San Francisco's Becoming are undoubtedly a very promising band, crossing somewhere between moody Slayer, And Justice For All era Metallica, and late 80s death metal. Well that's the best I can come up with anyway. The eleven tracks show that the band can both write and play well (for the most part), though perhaps the songwriting is still a little immature. Production is a bit lacking for an album, it's really just a good 11 track demo as far as I'm concerned.

You can hear them on Attitude Radio, or at http://becoming.iuma.com if you have some spare time.

Verdict: Check it out, support the underground.

Rachel Stamp is a name that I’ve heard countless times, but up till now I’ve never actually heard any of their stuff. The release information instantly drops a few names within the first few quotes, in this case the New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks. So sleaze rock is the agenda then. Well the single contains one studio track, namely Monsters of the New Wave, and two live tracks from their forthcoming live album, Stampax (that really is a dire title!).

Anyway, down to business. Monsters of the New Wave opens up with raunchy guitar lines, and embarrassingly keyboardy keyboards (no doubt what the band were looking for). Vocalist David Prangley has a sweet voice, and the track is entirely passable, if not a little tame. I just get the feeling that it’s not quite as edgy sounding as it should be.

This theory is further enforced when the first live track, and stand out track on the single, Black Cherry kicks in. Much more alive and raw than the studio stuff, this shows Rachel Stamp in what is probably their best environment, in a sweaty hell hole in the back of beyond. It sounds like the band are having a lot of fun onstage, and despite the slightly canned feel to the audience reaction, it really highlights a band that sound like they’ re worth seeing. The following track, a cover of the Motorhead/Girlschool track, Please Don’t Touch, doesn’t quite have the same effect as Black Cherry but nevertheless reinforces the live versus studio sound. Overall the single is a good introduction to the band, but I get the feeling that newcomers would be best investing in the live album than the studio stuff. Rock and Roll, baby!

Rating: **********

The first track on this album is called Albatross. Sabbath inspired doom instantly springs to mind. Considering other ditties such as Requiem and The Ancient are also listed, I thought I might be onto a winner. Indeed the album kicks off very much in a Death/Doom way, reminiscent of Six Feet Under ’s Warpath opus. However from this initial groove we move into a more Gloom/Death slant, and then into basic Death Metal. It seems Mulch have more than one string to their bow.

But is it any good? Well I think so. It’s hardly like to set the world on fire but the band do enough to at least make themselves stand apart from the majority of the pack. The Six Feet Under comparison holds up, with the vocals moving between straight grunting to gravelesque singing, which helps to hold the attention during some of Mulch’s more bog standard moments. The production is also quite nice, with the guitars having enough weight behind them to shift some serious air, but with everything remaining pleasantly audible. As an album, Blackened Symphony is perhaps lacking in what you would call stand out tracks, but it keeps a fairly consistent feel to it, and the band showcase a range of influences which helps them to have a somewhat original slant on the extreme metal thing. Unfortunately, as if often the case with Death Metal, things do tend to blur into one large mass of aggression. In fact, as the album progresses, it seems that Mulch tend to stray less, and revert back to the tried and tested formula of speed and grunts, with the delicate acoustic intro to No Sacrifice being a surprising exception.

So there we have it. Blackened Symphony is a solidly good Death Metal release by a band who seem to be willing to push the boat out a little. So if you’re looking for something extreme that’s a little bit different, but not in an Earth shattering way, then look no further than Mulch.

Rating: **********