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I Like Being Scared
 
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These were all done at least 5 or 6 months ago. The Carnivorous Vagina reviews was probably a year and a half ago.
Death - HUMAN
Utterly pummeling. Subtly technical and simply brutal. Pure aggression, anger and beauty perfectly balanced in a precise unleashing of hatred towards society. Death's "Human" is one of the several albums that all death metal is measured against. It is a genre milestone, a glimpse into the future of death metal. It is the perfect blend of all that was death metal at the time - groove, brutality, and the imminent infusion of jazz elements with the genre's past thrash roots. It is an album that is as relevant today as when it came out almost sixteen years ago. For me, it is hard to be unbiased toward the album that introduced my once ignorant ears to death metal.
Thousands of words have been used to describe this album. Thousands of hours have been spent listening to "Human" by fans all across the world. These fans have been drawn into the deep production, master songmanship, incredible musicianship and personality of each song. Listening to Human is an experience. Blasting songs like "Suicide Machine" and "Lack of Comprehension" is almost a spiritual awakening for many. The sheer impact of the music hitting you is enough to make you stop an allow the songs to absorb you and your attention. I once played "Lack of Comprehension" in a school class for a presentation and everyone simply sat and stared for three minutes, completely shocked. To them it was an eternity, for me, it was over too quickly.
As the drums fade into "Flattening of Emotions," you are completely unprepared for the sonic intensity of the guitar tone. I still get chills racing up and down m spine when that song erupts. It's like an orgasm of death metal fury - so powerful and close. One of the most powerful aspects of the album's tone is its depth. The guitars sound as if there are a million guitars playing simultaneously and hitting every note at the same time. Sadly, the bass is generally lacking and even the intro to "Lack of Comprehension," is a bit hard to decipher without close examination. Schuldiner's guitar tone is simply overpowering the bass. DiGiorgio should have been a bit more audible in the mix. Luckily the guitar tone that Chuck and Paul Masvidal discovered for this album is simply incredible. The tone is beautiful and fucking HEAVY. It is absolutely uncompromising.
This production supports one of the strongest song collections that any album has ever had. Ever. Eight songs, thirty-three minutes and fifty-seven seconds of perfection. The album neither lasts too long nor is is over too quick. It beats the crap out of you and then lets you get up only hoping for more abuse; more Death. "Flattening of Emotions" and "Suicide Machine" exists as a brutal opening combination only to be followed by "Together as One" and the intense "Secret Face." Hell, if that was all that was on this record, it would already be worth the price of a full length. Instead however, we get the lethal quartet of previously mentioned "Lack of Comprehension" and three closing tracks that fit perfectly onto the album yet hint at the future direction that death would take with its next three albums: Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic, and Sound of Perseverance. "See Through Dreams", "Cosmic Sea", and "Vacant Planets" are monumentally intense jazz/death hybrids with a hint of jazz more than the pure fusion of jazz and death metal that Pestilence (latter albums) and Atheist would become known for.
These songs are ultimately an extension of the musicians themselves, notably Schuldiner. Reinert's drumming is spectacular and compliments Schuldiner and Masvidal excellently. Guitar solos are superb, each one capturing the essence of the song and existing as separate memorable entities. These musicians and somewhat absent DiGiorgio - who we don't have to mention due to his undeniably incredibly talent - are masters of subtlety. The quick high pitched noises twenty-four seconds into "Suicide Machine," bassist DiGiorgio I believe, and the vocal effects used later on at the end of "See Through Dreams" are only two examples. The album's charming quality is found not in the music but in the musician's prowess at adding these minuscule yet personal touches to the music.
This album, "Human," is a piece of art that all must own. It is an example of metal, death metal and music at its very best. The effort and legacy of the musicians on human is unquestionable as is the strength and legacy of the release itself.
Drudkh - BLOOD IN OUR WELLS
I am taking the time out of writing a paper for honors history to instead focus on a more pressing matter - explaining the shear incredibleness of this newest Drudkh album. It is appalling how this band is incapable of making anything less than legendary. It is almost as if, God created Mr. Saenko for the explicit purpose of making bands that create music that is so good that no one is allowed to not hear it. Sadly, few do hear it, but those who have the opportunity to hear albums like Forgotten Legends, Autumn Aurora, The Swan Road, and now, the most recent album, Blood In Our Wells, are able to experience a journey into the depths of music unlike any other. Not only do these albums portray the earthiness which is so desired by many who enjoy listening to black metal, but its not all blasting like many of the Scandinavian bands. This album, rather, this masterpiece is as far as i'm concerned, the best black metal album that i can think of. Epic, enchanting, cold attitude with warm, yet raw production, and melodies which James Taylor could be proud of, it creates a feeling of sheer bliss to be anywhere within audible range of it. Aliens come to Earth for the sole reason that, like us, they too NEED music this good on their planet.
The songwriting is superb on this album. Before this album, I thought that False Dawn was the best black metal song I had ever heard however, with When The Flames Turn To Ashes, all illusions are shattered as far as that is concerned. Each song flows, like Ukrainian rivers. The production is, as I said, fantastic. Everything is audible, and clear yet the production has its rough spots. Musicianship is ridiculous and perfect. The drumming of Yuri is precise and groovy. When you play this album, the trees tilt toward you, the beasts hide just a little closer, and life as you know it stops until, once your finished, fifty minutes have passed.
One thing which I will comment on is that, as on The Swan Road, there is an increased usage of Ukrainian Folk music on this album. However, this aspect is used, in my opinion, much better than on Drudkh's last album. It is incorporated better. And, if you play the two albums back to back, the ending of Swan Road, Song of Sich Destruction flows wonderfully into Nav, the first track on Blood In Our Wells.
A Couple of standout parts to mention are aside from everything.. The first true guitar solo on a Drudkh release, which occurs in Furrows of Gods, the second track on Blood in Our Wells (second track is actually the first real track since the First track is a intro taken from the movie Mamaj. Solitude And Eternity are both incredible tracks with short folkish intros and incredible depth. Ukrainian Insurgent Army is also an incredible track however the best track is by far When The Flame Turns To Ashes. Erupting into a blaze then dying out once more only to yet again be stoked and brought back to life, this song is a black metal ode to the power and nature of fire. Two acoustic interludes meander while you can hear the fire being stoked with the sporadic inclusion of subtle yet mind blowing heavy guitar parts that last for a quarter of a second and then are gone only to re-emerge 5 seconds later, all the time making you yearn for the flames which return seemingly at a different place every time you listen to the song, as if the song is changing every time you listen to it much like a fire changes every time you watch it. Slowly, the fire subsides leaving ashes in its wake.
Carnivorous Vagina - ISTINTO OMICIDA
If you like death metal thats technical, brutal and coherent then this album is probably not for you since it has none of these characteristics. In fact, this album is probably the exact opposite of any of those things. First let me say that I'm guessing this band is attempting to be some kind of Gore-Grind / Death Metal hybrid. If your wondering what brings me to that assumption let me explain. The "band"'s name is Carnivorous Vagina and they have songs with such titles as "Hatchet Punishment", "Infanticidio" and the aptly titled "Worms." Its quite possible that they somehow found a broken Mortician album that skipped or was broken directly in half and through some hellish bit of bad luck on the listener's part still worked when Dr. Morbus first started learning how to play what could possibly be considered a musical instrument. Now, don't take that as meaning that this band sounds like a horrible Mortician clone. In fact this band sounds nothing like Mortician. In fact the only reason I used that analogy was because every track sounds like a single three second chunk of music that they looped over and over and therefor sounds like a skipping cd. I'm guessing that the band was hoping that this music would eventually kill the listener due to its horrible-ness and then be spread across the world as being the first album to immediately kill those who listened to it. Not because it was so utterly brutal but because it sounded so utterly bad.
I'm going to first skip directly to the production. Though I've heard worse production, I've never heard a production sound that sounded as if the microphone was placed inside a man's ass and recorded from the inside of his stomach. The overall distortion sound is something between Bigfoot releasing a massive flatus attack and Micheal Moore having a orgy with the fattest human and non-human women possible. The bass is akin to Neanderthal love grunts and the vocals, when audible, are much of the same. The drums are quite strange. They are programmed first of all but what immediately sets them apart from any other recorded drums is that they must have been recorded in an airplane hanger; the drums positions in one corner and the drum microphones in the other corner as far away as possible. The drums are so distant that you have to strain to hear them. Of all the instruments however the drums are possibly the best part of all of the horrible parts that were pulled together to comprise this disgraceful piece of music. I use the term music lightly.
The Songs are quite short with each averaging maybe two and a half minutes. There is however one five minute song. In short there are no "epic" songs on this album. If there were, theres a good chance that particular song would actually suck time out of the universe and we would never gain it back. Let me give you a run through of the tracks. "Buried / Undead", "Abomination", League Of Evil", "Captured", "Hell Massacre", "Zombie Ritual" (Not to be confused with Death's Zombie Ritual which far surpasses anything that this band could ever excrete), "Tortured", "Bloodbath", "Slip In Bloodshroud", "Ravish", "Deathouse", "Circle Of The Damned" and "Primitive Ravage" could all be the same track for lack of anything remotely different about them besides the horrific spoken segments before each. The Intro track, "Worms", and "Infanticidio" are all what I would call noise tracks and comprised of nothing but random noises and slight bits of melody... possibly. The only two songs that actually stuck out in any way were Hatchet Punishment which employed some interesting snare rhythms (I think it was a snare drum but it may have been a human butcherer banging on steel pipes with a cleaver) which i actually did hear over all the Moore orgying and through the stomach of the unlucky mic-stand, and the title track which was another noise track but was not actually nearly as bad as anything else on this record.
Warning! This is the utmost worst sounding noise ever recorded. In all I sincerely hope that they did not make too many of these. To be perfectly honest with you, there is not enough room on earth for more than one copy of this album. I would have preferred to pay three dollars for a rock of the same size than this album. The PMRC should make a new rating to place on this album and label it H. H for the following words: Hellish, Horrible, Heinous, Horrendous, Hideous, Horrid, and also Hairy - hairy just for kicks though I guess you can also say that the album sounds hairy in some places - especially anywhere that there is sound. I may not be the greatest music critic however I have heard enough music to know that music is not supposed to sound like the inside of a garbage truck. This album is evil. Not because its meant to be or sound evil but because anything this horrible has to be evil. I once heard someone die. This album was the cause. Actually in the song "Bloodbath" you can hear the people in the recording studio dying. Its around one minute and fifteen seconds into the song. If your feeling the need to listen to music that is nothing but sheer crap or looking for a unique way to commit suicide this is your album.
Time Requiem - OPTICAL ILLUSION
I'm not a fan of Dream Theater. Whether that is because I refuse to allow myself to like a band that, I feel, is more inclined to show off their capabilities than write good songs is one question that I probably shouldn't need to answer. Time Requiem is possibly the greatest Dream Theater clone I have ever heard however, there is something strange present here on Optical Illusion that makes me enjoy them and I don't think its because they actually make good musicianship work from a songwriting perspective. Whereas Dream Theater's song seem to be a pitch patchy in some places for me, Time Requiem's compositions flow more like birds softly taking flight only to come to rest on some branch or something. Dream Theater to me is like that bird's deformed cousin that only has one wing and doesn't believe the other birds when they tell him that he can't fly.
This album is a great showcase of abilities, yes, there is no doubt about that however underlying the fact that these guys are fantastic musicians is the fact that they are also fantastic songwriters. Although I can't give them credit for being truly original in their attempt and sound, I can give them kudos for their above mentioned credits. Manning the pilots seat to my [questionable] ears is Richard Andersson, Time Requiem's keyboard extraordinaire who's heavily prominent on this album and who also clearly has a lot of classical piano training since which shows throughout especially during solo sections. Vocalist James La... I mean... Goran Edman presents us with a great range, I would have like to have heard some more lower pitch sung parts however.
The band is completed with Magnus Nilsson replacing Magnus Nord on guitars, Andy Rose on bass and Jorg Andrews on Drums. The rhythm section of the band is as talented as both Andersson and Edman and show it throughout the album. Although Magnus' solos are a bit one sided in their phrasing, opting more for straight forward shredding then more thought out solo sections which I feel would benefit the album better. This irksome quality also applies to a number of the keyboard solos which could have been made more interesting as well. Being the fantastic musicians these guys are, I'm sure they could have done more interesting solos. The one case where this doesn't apply is in the solo section towards the third quarter of the title track, Optical Illusion, which is total genius and really anthemic in a way.
Overall, as an album it is really thought out and its obvious that a lot of effort went into this. I would listen to this before any Dream Theater album. The album is a bit on the long side but thats alright and in this style it doesn't detract. A bunch of the songs all start off similarly with a piano intro or keyboard intro leading into the song which makes it a little repetitive. There are also a few spots with some melodies that sound really familiar. The intro to "The Ashen Soul" I could swear I heard on one of those really cheap classical CD sets that you can buy. I think its one of Bach's Inventions or something. Whatever. Basically, it boils down to: If your a Dream Theater fan you are gonna love this. If your not a Dream Theater fan, you might find something here that is a bit more interesting than Dream Theater themselves. Of course, you can listen to this and immediately hate it as many undoubtedly would as this is, in many ways, very inspired by that pretentious cloud of musicians that hangs in the air above so many bands emulating their style.
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ONLY ONE THING REALLY SETS ME FREE, HEAVY METAL LOUD AS IT CAN BE!!!!! YEAH!!!!!
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I Like Being Scared
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Last Login: 7/31/2008 9:33:39 AM
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Gallhammer - ILL INNOCENCE
No need to overstate the obvious but moments such as the ones this album captures are worth writing about. You can say that the blackened, encrusted beast that is Ill Innocence has been done before and you wouldn't be completely wrong. But this album harvests something that I have failed to hear in many albums of similar style - passion for depression. Depression has never been this fun... ever.
The music of Gallhammer could accurately be called an ode to Hellhammer and Darkthrone. It is reminiscent of Burzum at times and sweeps into Earth styled drone-scapes while maintaining a filthy tone and atmosphere in an entirely feminine way. "Delirium Daydream" could never be done by another band as well as Gallhammer. Each track is sarcastically emotional in that girlish manner that is so misunderstood. While Angela Gossow continually tries (and fails) to be a "strong" woman, these three girls don't try to be anything other than natural and come off sounding stoic. In return, Gallhammer come off sounding as if they were meant to write these songs instead of being perceivably gimmick driven such as the last two or three Arch Enemy albums - odd analogy I know. The point is there is no joke here - everything about this band is gimmick free.
The fact that the musicianship is perfectly primitive yet competently played works well. Vivian Slaughter's simple plodding bass and earthy tone are perfectly suited to the droning nature of many of the tracks. Risa Reaper's drums have this "gravestone quality" to them - protruding from the ground / earth / base of the music to be examined as they ring out. Mika Penetrator's guitar tone is wholesome and full. It fits perfectly with the other instruments and retains heaviness without contradicting the feminine nature of the music. The vocals are one of the most intriguing aspects of Gallhammer's sound. With each member adding vocals to the mix, the messages seem to be completely universal for the three. Vivian does most of the vocals however she never once pulls an "I'm the leader" or implies anything of the sort. No one has a leader personality. The "whole" exists as a leader.
Why has "Blind My Eyes'" intro riff never been written before? Best riff on the album. Not because its the only riff either. It wipes the metal table clean of crumby riffs that so many bands are using these days. The album contains a lot of sludgy, droning, black metal but "Song of Fall" wins the blackened drone award. The vocals at 5:44 are spectacular. "Speed of Blood" is the punk - fueled song with moments of intensity. "SLOG" contains the albums main compositional blunder - breaking into an untimely section at 6:53. One thing that Ill Innocence doesn't capture enough is the use of feedback in the band's live shows. Dawn of... captures this important aspect of the Gallhammer sound. The lack of "May Our Father Die" is also somewhat disappointing. A Re-recorded version of this blackened song is displeasing.
Overall, there is a great sense of promise that the band shows. Lets hope that Peaceville will bring these three to the US. I haven't see a worthwhile band from Japan since Loudness two years ago.
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ONLY ONE THING REALLY SETS ME FREE, HEAVY METAL LOUD AS IT CAN BE!!!!! YEAH!!!!!
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I Like Being Scared
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Last Login: 7/31/2008 9:33:39 AM
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METAL INQUISITOR - DOOMSDAY FOR THE HERETIC
While Metal Inquisitor is certainly their own band with a certain classic style, I believe it isn't outlandish or without (crystal) logic to say that Doomsday for the Heretic can best be described as a more thrashed and, definitely far more British (shhhh... I know they are German), version of a band that rhymes with "vanilla code" and comes from Kansas. El Rojo's vocal style is definitely reminiscent of Mark Sheltons with a healthy dose of Saxon's Peter Byford's own, anthemic style mixed in.
The tone suits everything that this album is about. The guitars are edgy with lots of treble and mid range, allowing the bass to really fill up the low end audibly. The drums are basic in sounds and in technique. Don't expect blast beats, crazy fast double bass or a four minute long drum solo halfway through the third track.
A lot of the band's sound is a clever reworking of other influential acts. The short acoustic intro immediately reminded me of the intro to Fight Fire With Fire though with a more romantic-era underpinning than Metallica could ever muster although Restricted Agony sounds like a less interesting throw-away song from Kill Em All right down to the Seek and Destroyish "ALRIGHT!." Vocally this one sounds much more like Bobby Blitz on Taking Over than Shelton or Peter Byford leading me to believe that El Rojo seems to still be finding his own style.
Although Thane of Cowder's opening riff reminds me of "Losfer Words" and other parts remind me of the chorus in Blind Guardian's "Don't Break the Circle," I find that the this and the next two songs are the strongest part of this album. Star Chaser - though somewhat Priesty in its naming and even more Halfordesque in its possible connotations) is catchy and easily singable. El Rojo's voice becomes more distinct at times during these songs. Midnight Rider continues with the memorable riffs and Priestisms.
Throughout this album though there is no doubt about what era Metal Inquisitor wished they were in. The entire album reeks of forgotten high tops, patched denim and leather, and mullets. Hell, Metal Inquisitor make me wish I was around during the heyday of metal. The album's title track is one of the best fist pumping and air guitar playing tracks I've heard in a long time. The last song on the album is a CD only track (the LP has an LP only track) with a guitar tone that I would compare to AC/DC on The Razors Edge album.
Now, don't go thinking that this is a modern day, flawless representation of what 80's metal sounded like because this album has its flaws. Infamia is the "epic" twin guitar dueling track on the album and yet, for its memorable melody falls short due to a haphazard structure which rears its ugly form most noticeably in the guitar lead section which, though interesting at first, ends rather sloppily with an awkward transition back into the main song section. Legion of Grey, though the shortest track suffers from the inclusion of a strange instrumental section and Logan's Run has some excellent sections though it could use some lead riff boostage. It has a great chorus and a great solo section but is thin otherwise. The inclusion of a sample mid song doesn't do much for me either.
While there are flaws and moments of questionable structure and flow. There is one thing that this release doesn't lack - heart. The Metal Inquisitor inquisition truly believes in their art and is ready to spread the word of past metal memories. This is a truly 80's band lost in the modern era.
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ONLY ONE THING REALLY SETS ME FREE, HEAVY METAL LOUD AS IT CAN BE!!!!! YEAH!!!!!
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I Like Being Scared
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 7/31/2008 9:33:39 AM
Posts: 80,
Visits: 86
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AUTUMN MYST - BLACK FUCKING DEMO
Autumn Myst's "Black Fucking Demo," is the black metal equivalent of a fourteen year old fat Gothic teenager crying in the corner, feigning the desire to be alone, while simultaneously hoping that someone who cares might be watching her. Why was this even released? I won't deny that there were moments in the songs which I enjoyed however none of these moments haven't been done before with more proficiency and heart. Unless your primary and ultimate goal in life - a goal that should be accompanied with immediate suicide - is to own every unwanted Canadian black metal demo, I wouldn't go out of your way to acquire this release.
The drums are distant and vague in nature and act more as a metronome, in many instances, than an instrument. The first track is a prime example of what I would label as boring black metal demo drumming: little variety; few if any well composed fills; minimal use of the toms; overuse of the ride and high-hat. The melodies are like dirty, used and abused whores which Adrammalech, the sole member of the band, can't seem to escape from. These stagnant melodies are accompanied by stagnant tone. The release gets better near the end with "Summoning The Prince of Armegeddon" containing several moments to stop and enjoy and its last riff being the sole worthwhile reason for listening to the demo. It is too short though, only repeating once, never allowing for enough time for its hidden wraiths to escape.
If the nature of a demo is to demonstrate ability and render an image of future capability, I have not been swayed to seek out more material from this band. My needs haven't been satisfied and at the end of this release I am left feeling a need for something much more fulfilling.
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ONLY ONE THING REALLY SETS ME FREE, HEAVY METAL LOUD AS IT CAN BE!!!!! YEAH!!!!!
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