CD reviews - H

HADEZ (PERU) "DAMNATIONS FROM THE PAST" CD 2001 AUSTRAL HOLOCAUST. Their two Demos "Altar Of Sacrifice" '89 & "Hadez Attack…" '90 remastered from old nasty tapes, low budget recording but really knew how to play their instruments to perform their speed Thrash/Death like old SEPULTURA, early SHUB-NIGGURATH, etc. This was the first time listening to these Peruvian veterans, two Demos that were real full-length releases, a total of 17 tracks/61:22 full of Evil Thrash attack that will make you remember of the old days when productions were raw with harsh guitars and bands played with convictions & hateful rage to capture the heinous essence of real insane Metal Beast! I enjoy this, for old-school mad Tapes maniacs & fanatics only! c/o JOHN CAPCHA T., AV RESTAURACION 130, CIUDAD Y CAMPO, LIMA 25 PERU. hadezattack@yahoo.com www.geocities.com/guerrerosdelamuerte AUSTRAL HOLOCAUST Prods: c/o ERICK NEYRA, AV GERMAN AGUIRRE 1422, CONDEVILLA LIMA 31 PERU. australholocaust@hotmail.com
HAEMORRHAGE (SPA) "MORGUE SWEET HOME" CD 2002 MORBID. CARCASS rip-off returns with a new CD that I must admit is far better than every of its predecessors, at least those I had heard of! I've never been a fan of this style except when CARCASS did it thirteen years ago. This album is well-done & produced, heavy sound & blasting to the bones, so yes, it's a lot better than what they did before. It's nearer to EXHUMED now! True grinders might appreciate this no problem! c/o LUISMA, C/ROMA #47, 8° A, 28820 COSLADA MADRID SPAIN. haemorgue@hotmail.com, http://come.to/haemorrhage
HARAKIRI (USA) "Reverence for madness" CD 2000 SKEPTIC Recs. Heavy obscure sound that's similar to INSATANITY & IMMOLATION's "Here In After", brutal & twisted Death Metal also in that same vein aforementioned. It's really interesting & skilful with a dark mood, excellently performed, it reminds me of old SUFFOCATION in some ways, also similar to a french band called INNERFEUDS (reviewed elsewhere!). Brutal & technical sombre American Death Metal at its best, an album that has its great moments due to imaginatives arrangements and catchiness of well-structured songs, "Reverence For Madness" forced admirations for that it contains all what I'm looking for when discovering a new band: powerful & lugubrious brutality with interesting & original structures: BUY OR DIE!
HARAKIRI (USA) "TWILIGHT OF THE IDOLS" CD. Excellent once again, from the first song, I'm impressed by the quality & originality of this band and the nine other tracks didn't disappoint me at all! It's Dark, fast & Evil, quite technical at times and of course Brutal! Filled with an energic hatred that you can't find in all the actual brutal bands, the fact is that HARAKIRI is definitely performing their very own personal Death Metal style more twisted than the average and that makes them standing above the flood of "brutal" bands everywhere. I like 'em more than the last Cannibal Corpse albums for example, so give this one a chance & forget the big bands: BUY OR DIE!
HARMONY DIES (GER) "DON'T TRUST" CD ARS METALLI. Brutal!! They make me think of FERMENTO but better, tighter & faster, also more skilled and blasting, crushing, almost no slow parts and some of the blast-beats reminds me the old SUFFOCATION energy but they aren't that technical. It's really one of the best CDs I have checked out within an order of 4 brutal CDs, this looks like it's the best in the package! Total brutality the american way, really heavy and they don't mosh which I like but still there's no real solos in this band too... If you liked FERMENTO's first album, you will love HARMONY DIES, guarantee!! Very similar arrangements can be heard within "Don't Trust", a great album for sure, so BUY OR DIE!
HARMONY DIES (GER) "I'LL BE YOUR MASTER" CD 2000 ARS METALLI. Yes, a new one!! And still brutal as fuck like the old SUFFOCATION with a mega-blasting production heavy as Hell and also makes me think of FLESHGRIND & TON because they're fuckin' tight with quick riffs right to your skull! Excellent blasting brutal band believe me, they have nothing to envy the american bands, they're even better than some I know! Ultra-heavy brutal Death Metal production with some mosh parts. They really are going more & more extreme at each new release out, a long time has gone since the Split 7" with Krisiun and they're fucking more mature now, may they continue in this way, but 28mn is really too short for an album like this...! BUY OR DIE! c/o KAI MERTENS, ARCHIBALDWEG 38, 10317 BERLIN GERMANY. harmony-dies@t-online.de www.harmony-dies.de ARS METALLI: ROSENGASSE 3, 15230 FRANKFURT / ODER GERMANY.
HARMONY DIES (GER) "IMPACT" CD 2003 MORBID. Damn, another one…! What a slow ass I am!! Still got that shredding heavy sound and having more original riffs included now, really creating something their own original brutal way, pleasant to listen to, brutality's their law without denying the musicality even if they've always showed that inverted G key in their logo…, now having some solos, HARMONY DIES fuckin' rules, really! BUY OR DIE!!!
HATE (POL) "Evil Decade Of Hate" CD 2000 APOCALYPSE. A jubileum album! Consisting of many old tracks from their previous albums: tracks 1-11 recorded in Selani Studio, Nov.97, tracks 12-13 recorded Live in Klub Park, Sept.99, tracks 14-16 recorded in Hard Studio Aug.99 and tracks 17-21 recorded in Power Play studio Nov.91. If you had never heard of their past releases, it's a great chance for all of you to discover HATE through this "Evil Decade Of Hate" that offers a good view about them & their Deicidian Death Metal, BUY OR DIE! PO BOX 239, 00-987 WARSZAWA 4 POLAND.
HATE (POL) "VICTIMS" CD 98 METAL MIND. Very good as usual, this consists of 4 new tracks and covers of Slayer & Napalm Death + bonus tracks from old unreleased recordings probably tentatively called "The Unwritten Law" dating from 95 but as it's all written in polish language, I'm not real sure of this as 3 tracks were already existing on their two first Demos... But sure that's very old sounding tracks! This band is just perfect, I enjoy their music more than Vader now, of course didn't retained their obvious DEICIDE influence as usual! Always a great pleasure to listen & review: BUY OR DIE!!
HATE (POL) "CAIN'S WAY" CD. Speed Death Metal attack, precise and above all: Evil!!! With this new album they again prove that Vader is now gone, glory to HATE! Excellent, pure Death Metal like no other band had ever understand it: fast, obscure & tight as the unrelenting unholy flames of Hell licking your skin, boiling your blood, possessing your flesh & grazing your charred bones…hahahah!! The riffs exploding around like souls escapes to Hell are just made especially to possess your mind and making you all addicted to their music, so HATE stands among the best Death Metal bands of the whole universe. I can just await for the next dominant offering… BUY OR DIE!
HATE ETERNAL (USA) "KING OF ALL KINGS" CD 2002. Damn it, it's fuckin' ferox!! Death Metal at the speed of light and if that wasn't enough: twisted as the maze of Hell and unrelenting soloing riffs avalanche! Superbly produced for that it sounds audible & musically… Dark! Prostrate yourself in front of the King of all Kings, truly Extreme this album regenerates the blood of those who gets bored of the actual Death Metal scene by the mediocrity of many bands that get signed without any evident talent…HATE ETERNAL is the only band with GORGUTS capable of pushing the limits of human perceptions! I didn't lose my time listening to it, definitely a kick in the ass & nuts, BUY OR DIE!!!
HATEPLOW (USA) "THE ONLY LAW IS SURVIVAL" CD 2000 PAVEMENT. Second album of fast blasting Grind/Death a bit in the old NAPALM DEATH style, pretty destructive! Imagine an uncontrollable steamroller running at 180 miles/hour... this is HATEPLOW! This is just brutality, linear as fuck and fast as Hell, musically can not be considered as brilliant as there's only power chords all the time going at the speed of light and just crushing from the beginning to the end. You can skip a song and it seems just continuing from the previous song you have heard. I just give it a good rate for the fast performance, otherwise, it's pretty boring and going nowhere to me... but who cares?
HATRED (USA) "THE OFFERING" CD 99 Self-prod. This one always came in with good Demos so it was now time to release a full-length and this is again a good one with fast & technical Death/Thrash Metal that reminds me MASS PSYCHOSIS a lot but more extreme so this can't disappoint any fans of true aggressive & original Death/Thrash/Twisted Metal! Many leads & arrangements that were completely sick & inspiring sounding new to my ears, this band's aim is certainly to create their own extreme Metal music style and they succeed completely!! It's fuckin excellent and original, I would say they innovate and refresh the style thoroughly! Not heard such skilled malevolence since a long time and I'm not licking asses, just got it copied on a tape from an old cousin and I've definitely checked this out at all costs, BUY OR DIE!! PO BOX 10264, ALEXANDRIA, VA. 22310 USA. hatredva@aol.com
HEADHUNTER DEATH CULT (BRA) "...AND THE SKY TURNS TO BLACK... (The Dark Age Has Come)" CD 99 MUTILATION. I have been waiting for this for two thousand years and here it is!! Total darkness & morbid blasting holocaustic sensations, true Death Metal from Brazil! The band exists for almost 14 years now but never heard anything about them until now! That's when a friend from Singapore (hail, Putra!) sent me their incredible flyer that I got intrigued by the Ross Dolan's quote they did print on it... "Ultra brutal & unholy Death Metal..." and that's right! Old-school & pure Death Metal Evilness with amazing heavy raw sound that recalls the very first ASPHYX album: "Embrace The Death", also got that dooming mood with insane sordid disgusted vocals like in first PURGATORY & old SAMAEL ("Blood Ritual" + "Ceremony Of Opposites"), also many obscure & apocalyptic feelings as well like in IMMOLATION... Yeah, fucking rules for sure and I'm completely into it, addicted to morbidity & doomingness... I revel in obscure Death!!! This is very raw and crude with the professional level of their debut but of course, has evolved into more extreme Metal feelings now! I was filled with morbid energies when listening to it, BUY OR DIE!! c/o SERGIO "BALOFF" BORGES, PO BOX 548, AG. CENTRAL-COMERCIO, SALVADOR / BAHIA, 40.001-970 BRAZIL. baloff@ig.com.br or deathcult@zaz.com.br MUTILATION Recs: RUA 24 DE MAIO N°62, 1°ANDAR - LOJA 231, 01041-000 SAO PAULO-SP BRAZIL. mutilation@uol.com.br
HECATOMB (BRA) (tracks from "Empire of no emperor" CD) I only got three tracks for review that Mauricio of INFERNAL sent to my old time cousin-friend for review (Hail bros'!). HECATOMB plays fast & raging thrashing Death Metal, a bit like old Deicide but I would say more Evil with great atmospheres & morbid inspirations, it's killer and I'm dying to hear the entire album after this good apéritif!! My undying thirst for great Evil Death Metal bands such as HECATOMB reclaims its full dose of "Empire Of No Emperor": BUY OR DIE!!!
HELL-BORN (POL) "HELLBLAST" CD 2001. Raging Metal invocation, satanic savagery, Evil chants from the battlefields, Metal the way it must be! Catchy and unrelenting as a neverending hymn to the strong Metal warriors of Death, great to hear again in this age of pure Metal decay! A real feast for the beast that dwells in me: METAL OR DIE!!!
HELL-BORN (POL) "THE CALL OF MEGIDDO" CD 2002. Metal of a real Dark nature, hey that's the underground! They make me think of Krisiun sometimes by their intenses riffs & vocals, also goes fast! Each song is a pure Metal hymn with its catchy & repetitive chorus, efficient structures that brings back the old days when Metal was made with memorables songs & riffs easy to get into that makes your head banging & feet taping, highly recommended stuff, BUY OR DIE!
HORRID (ITA) "REBORN IN SIN" CD 2002 DEADSUN. Oh, big swedish sound for this Italian band, as far as I remember I had an old 7" & a Demo of HORRID that were not particularly great… It was a surprise to see that they were still going in this sinful world! Very predictable generic melodic swedish Death Metal style but it changes from all the dying fetus copycats! The old-school still got its place in the new millenium of Death, it's not what I would call a great nor good album, I don't know why the mix sounds bizarre… This will certainly not get a big success in the underground. c/o RENDINA MATT, VIALE DEI TIGLI 16, 20020 BUSTO GAROLFO (MI) ITALY. simrend@libero.it http://members.xoom.it/horrid
HOUWITSER (HOL) "Rage inside the womb" CD 2001 OSMOSE. This confirms what I said about their previous album (see vinyls reviews!), hyper heavy & crushing brutal Death Metal not for the weak melodics! It's still very SINISTER alike in some parts of the songs and also Suffocationesque as well! No doubts that this band now gets a cult status with this (already!) third album, Holland breeds a hell of stage-diving brutality, this is where the real underground is: BUY OR DIE!
HUMAN REMAINS (USA) "Admirations Becomes Chemical" CD MASTERCULT. Pfff, so fuckin' cool, I'd like to get all Mastercult releases, I already got 25 CDs from this "label" but there's again a lot more stuffs circulating around! HUMAN REMAINS were and still are standing among my all times favorites American Death Metal bands, because of their genius skills & uncommon ideas, extreme vocals spews and technically insane but precise & right to the point, you won't get lost in an overdose avalanche of bizarres sounds, this is clear that all riffs were extremely worked & thought-out before recording them, my champions in original but extremely brutal & sick Death, better than many newer so called "brutal" or "technical" bands.
HYPNOS (CZECH) "IN BLOOD WE TRUST" CD 2000 MORBID. I got the opportunity to see this band Live and they were quite OK, they have a good brutal rage of pounding Thrash/Death Metal feelings. That's a good band for sure but they do not offer any real extremes within their music, they sound too much like KRABATHOR and ACHERON sometimes and it's very predictable for me. I got some pleasure when listening to this album while at the same time I was waiting for something more... Just an acceptable release.
HYPNOS (CZECH) "THE REVENGE RIDE" CD 2001 MORBID. This sounds a lot better now, they got faster tunes and have that old raw energy that I could have heard in old CARCASS' "Symphonies Of Sickness" but with real morbid vocals and Thrashing riffs here & there mixed in with some demented speed accelerations & atmospheres bringing at least some massive & strong evilness! The selling arguments of Morbid Recs is as always overabused, sure they have to support their bands but why praising so much a band that isn't as extreme as they pretend it to be? I enjoy the album but I won't say that it is the Death Metal king these days... Just I can say that this is a compromise between DEMENTOR & old KRABATHOR which is a compliment from me and I recommend this to all true blasting Death Metal fans everywhere, far better than the previous CD: BUY OR DIE! c/o BRUNO, KOPANKY 1726, 686 03 STARE MESTO CZECH REPUBLIC. bruno.hypnos@post.cz MORBID Recs: POSTFACH 3, 03114 DREBKAU GERMANY. promo@morbidrecords.de www.morbidrecords.de
HYPNOSIA (Swe) "Extreme hatred" CD 2000. Wonderful Skilful Speed Thrash/Death like only a few bands keep performing in year 2000, this reminds me of the first ATHEIST album, certainly more Extreme & faster but retaining that old-school feeling of blasting raging spirit & Dark energy! This in my opinion sounds more brutal & tighter than many newer so called "bands"…Thrash 'em all with "Extreme Hatred", a title that speaks for itself, BUY OR THRASH!!!!!!!!