CD reviews - S

SABBATIC FEAST (USA) "SEALING THE VORTEX" CD 99 LTFB. Pounding raw Death/Grind with an Evil touch of old Blasphemy & Beherit into it! Punishing blasts and technical thrashing riffs, the whole is very obscure & brutal, an extreme package indeed! A little chaotic mood like some old Bestial Warlust and Sadistik Exekution but at their own sauce. The best comparison to describe it will be ABADDON INCARNATE or old KATAKLYSM, that's maybe the only bands known enough in this unique uncommon style, or imagine Excruciating Pain with a lot better musicianship and without harmonizer! It is very hateful Brutal Death/Grind kind of music and I enjoy it quite very much!! This band rises above the masses of clones by searching themselves their own extreme Metal style which is much more original and more extreme than what is going on these days! There are many unpredictables arrangements in this album as well as very insanes vocals from ultra-deep guttural to goreful screams of pain-inflicting possession, and everything in between!! Plus, the music is unrelenting but I don't get bored for one second, like if I was listening to Nuclear Death's two first albums (reviewed elsewhere too!). A pretty intense and insane band that will only please the most extreme open-minded around, one of the most interesting releases in this issue, BUY OR DIE!!!
SACRALIS (GER) "INFERA DESTINO" CD 2000 Self-prod. The morbidity & heaviness of SACRALIS has to be heard & experienced, because it is something that you will not soon forget! This is a real Dark & insane bewitchment, as you might know it's a 100% girl band. These witches know the secrets to create moods of darkness in a mixture of dooming & linear Dark/Death Metal atmosphere like old SAMAEL & TORCHURE. No chants here, at least good death grunts are spewed forth & sometimes blackish but most of the highest vocals sound like a 33rpm male guttural singer tuned to 45rpm or an high speed dubbing! A better comparison should be Dana Duffey of Demonic Christ and Cadaveria of Opera IX. The whole creation sounds Evil and unrelenting, no time for sweetness or melodies here, this is as black as the dark side of the moon, flying as the spirit-winds of abominations just after the apocalypse, heavy, fuckin' heavy... I'm really entering an infernal gate and falling endlessly below the bowels of Hell! No big change from their previous MCD and I rejoice of this fact because they really have found their own style & sound now, witches great! (if I can dare to tell!) Well, long after the ending of the CD, I'm still under the influence of the Death's spell engulfed in "Infera Destino" and I believe there will be many other souls in the same case, soon... possessed... SACRALIS were responsible of the big headhache that my girlfriend had to endure... too heavy for her! BUY OR DIE!!! c/o MIRIAM STORZ, RÖSCHWEG 41, 71686 REMSECK GERMANY. info@sacralis.de miri@sacralis.de nadja.sacralis@gmx.de marita.sacralis@gmx.de
SACRIFICE (CAN) "Torment In Fire + Forward To Termination" CD MASTERCULT. Their two first cult Thrash albums on one disc, now re-issued officially, so why spending your money on this bootleg...?
SACRIFICIAL (DK) "ERECT:ELOQUENT:EXTINCT" CD 99 MIGHTY MUSIC. Big sound, they remind me MORGOTH's "Odium" and old DISMEMBER/ENTOMBED more Thrashing & strong like old KONKHRA! They are famous at creating various ancient Metal atmospheres ranging from old Obituary to Resurrection to anything that sounded good in the old days! Just the lyrics aren't Death Metal to me. They do really have an excellent Thrash/Death Metal feeling that is pretty intense, extreme, unrelenting and brutal during 45mn, rare to find in today's modern styles as such. SACRIFICIAL is definitely a band to keep an eye focused on, let's hope they will not turn into that "death'n roll" trendy bullshit! Better for all of us to BUY OR DIE now! VERMLANDSGABE 74 1. TV., 2300 COPENHAGEN DENMARK. information@mightymusic.dk http://www.mightymusic.dk
SADISTIC INTENT (USA) "Impending Doom… Before The Conflict" CD MASTERCULT. Unofficial again but so good idea to resurrect old stuffs from a band like SADISTIC INTENT, too bad the sound was a little saturated on this bootleg as I got "Impending Doom" Tape EP 90 and "A Calm Before The Storm" 7"EP 91 and they don't saturate as such, probably done by an incompetent guy who wants to kill the bands he likes...? Strange but true! It only gives you the need to try finding out the originals to get the original sound quality. So I shall search on ebay to find that "Conflict Within" Demo 89 with a good sound!
SANATORIUM (SLO) "ARRIVAL OF THE FORGOTTEN ONES" CD 99 EREBOS/DAGDY. Great album of fine Dark & Epic Death Metal in the same old spirit as DEMIGOD or old ADRAMELECH with weird & original haunting melodics arrangements, catchy & obscure as Hell! Plenty of old 80's Heavy/Thrash Metal influences are undeniables and that's what give them the old-school vibes from a forgotten style that is real good to revive now without making it sounding gay nor feeble. If you need strong emotions in your Death Metal like some old DECEASED albums with somewhat a Swedish melodic influence like CENTINEX and a brutal guttural vocalist similar to Craig Pillard with some Brutal Death & Grind arrangements, then this album's certainly made for you! Great production & excellent true Metal feelings, not your common brutal band, so BUY OR DIE! c/o MARTIN BELOBRAD, BAJZOVA 29, 01001 ZILINA SLOVAKIA. belobrad@za.netax.sk www.angelfire.com/mt/turcik/index.html DAGDY MUSIC: BIELSKA 2/7, 43-400 CIESZYN POLAND. box@dagdy.com www.dagdy.com.pl
SANATORIUM (SLO) "INTERNAL WOMB CANNIBALISM" CD 2001. FORENSICK MUSIC. It promised to be even more brutal with a new line-up & different music than before and that’s true but not to the point I was expecting, I mean it’s sometimes very predictable Death/Grind oriented, in the FERMENTO’s vein with those CHRIST DENIED-alike vocals and easy to remember structures like DYING FETUS & BROKEN HOPE (also Macabre, especially for track #6), so not as original as above and a little too repetitive for my taste, I felt like I had already heard that too many times but the album is well-done anyway with excellent quality, just it musically doesn’t break the ice in my opinion... The low voice comes from the deep throat of Goreopsy singer, cover art by Zig and some lyrics were written by Matt Bishop of Lividity & James Parks II of Prophecy. So if you need again some American influenced brutality, SANATORIUM can now bring you the dose you’re waiting for. The end of the album from track #8 to #11, seemed to be better arranged with real good ideas & feelings, very reminiscent of BROKEN HOPE. Even if there’s some points I don’t like that much in it, there are some real good tunes at the end of the CD and I just hope that the future direction of SANATORIUM will be in that way! Keep this new direction guys!
SANCTIMONY (LATVIA) "ETERNAL SUFFERING" CD 2000 FATHER. Big crushing sound for this one, a lot of great soulful Metal solos within their raging Death Metal avalanche, this is strong, imposing death grunts & has some Bolt Thrower, old Dominus similarities with good obscures feelings, emotions & atmospheres, some melodies and faster tunes like Cannibal Corpse as well! An heavy, catchy Death Metal album that is highly recommended to all those who crave for barbaric twisted Death Metal power & nightmares! Very well structured and convincing with many leads, this really is a good one to purchase except for the last shit Thrash song..., anyway, this will soon enter a "classic" status, no problem! Support them, enter their "Eternal Suffering" now: BUY OR DIE! c/o KARLIS JAKUBONIS, KALNCIEMA 43-6, LV-1043 RIGA LATVIA. monstersound@inbox.lv FATHER Prods/Dist: c/o SLAVA NADEIN, AVOTU STR. 5-30, LV-5071 LELVARDE-1 LATVIA. guntis@it.lv
SANITYS DAWN (GER) "CHOP COPPER" CD 2001 SHREDDED. Seems to have evolved more into the new Death/Grind wave, they sound like PYREXIA, VIBRION, DYING FETUS, TON and the vocals are too much hardcore, on the other hand the production is very heavy, low tuned & morbid in the MORTICIAN vein. Also contains higher vocals than before, they tend to get more extreme now. If you're fan of newer PYREXIA materials, "Chop Copper"'s for you, not for me as it isn't Death Metal anymore to me, the rest of the album belongs more to the Grind/hardcore trends. The sound rules but the music is boring, I'm definitely not into this band!
SANITYS DAWN (GER) "MANGLED IN THE MEATGRINDER" CD 99 SHREDDED. Still got that stupid voice as intro! Porky-pig Grind/Death feasting on old CARCASS influences & newer Gore/Grind/punk styles where every band sounds the same. Cover art is very similar to EXHUMED's "Gore Metal" but the music is more basic. So, another clone with good sound that will please all the fun Grind freaks around there, good but not an essential release, sounds too much like many other bands today, boring. c/o CHRISTOPH BAHLMANN, FORTUNASTR. 24, 30451 HANNOVER GERMANY.
SARCOFAGO (BRA) "NIGHTS IN HELL" CD Live Bootleg... The excellent darkness induced by the intro revealed a damn crude saturated sound for this Live recording and it's not even mentioned when/where it has been recorded...this remains a mystery! So this cult is even more as it's certainly recorded in Hell: Recrucify, Black Vomit, Satanas, Nightmare, I.N.R.I., The Last Slaughter, Satanas, Nightmare (Drums Slaughter) & Terveet Kadeet covers... is what to expect and the sound is ok for me, it sounds like the old Sepultura's Demos, satanic to the bones & flesh! It's supposed to be a very rare item (what the owner of a record store said to me) but I have seen it on many distro-lists in the underground and some are selling it cheaper than others... I got it for 13€ from Warchangel distro, I think it's a good price for such a piece of collector worth 34mn long...for the old-school die-hard & freaks only: BUY OR DIE! Others can buy the last dyingfetuspoliticopycraps. No address, move your ass fuckers!
SCRAMBLED DEFUNCTS (RUS) "CATACOMB ABATTOIR" CD 98 RELICS. Good intro prepares you to what you will have to endure next to it: Brutal Technical Death Metal the US vein of INTERNAL BLEEDING, DYING FETUS and occasionally some old SUFFOCATION of course! Groovy stuff & catchy, grindy all the way with cool solos & guttural "büi-büi-büi" vocals, crushing heavy blast-beats & tempos, that's a cool album of pure brutal Death, I would prefer it faster & more extreme for sure but that's ok. Fans of US brutality should BUY OR DIE now 'coz these Russian guys rule! c/o RUSSIA MOSCOW 111395, ST. MOLDAGULOVOY 10 - 2 - 72, DMITRI. scrdef@dnttm.ru
SCREAMING AFTERBIRTH (USA) "PUKE PILE" CD 2002 UNITED GUTTURAL. This smells the putrid infected War! Brutal Death/Grind like DISGORGE US, too bad that the drums are mixed too up front, the guitars sometimes revealed a MORTICIAN influence. Another brutalasfuck band from the states: BUY OR DIE!
SEED (SINGAPORE) "TERROR STRUCK" CD 98 WOONGJIN MUSIC. An heavy Death Metal band that crushes like old Malevolent Creation & old Massacre, old Napalm Death, old Asphyx, old Vader, old Deicide, old Terrorizer etc., along with some newer Thrash influences. This one's ok but sometimes lacks of conviction and the production isn't the best, the leads are interesting and very well performed with skills. The music is classic Death Metal with many little hardcore & grindcore grooves, this will please any freaks around as I enjoyed it very much for what it is: a good old-school Death Metal styled band.
SEIRIM (GER) "KILL, WAR, CHAOS" CD 2002 CUDGEL. I remember of a Split 7" with Purgatory and I found this band interesting with their fast Death/Black Metal tunes. This album is more Death Metal & apocalyptic but I haven't heard their previous debut CD "Empire Of The Dead" yet. This new album is quite ok to me, they have a lot of thrashy riffs inside their tunes, Death/Thrash/Black should better fit the description with extreme speed & skills, a raw storming production helps to get more pleasure off their pure Metal aggressions that kills the weak! Great band here, I'm very satisfied by what they offer to my ears, BUY OR DIE!! c/o JOERG WEMHOLD, MITTELSTRASSE 13, 04741 ROSSWEM GERMANY. www.seirim.de CUDGEL Agency: POSTFACH 100147, 06871 LUTH. WITTENBERG GERMANY. office@cudgel.de
SEPSISM (USA) "TO PREVAIL IN DISGUST" Promo CD 2003. Quite heavy & brutal for sure but there's some vocals that don't do it for me, sort of PYREXIA influenced if you know what I mean, yes hardcorish... But the whole is definitely more guttural than PYREXIA now, brutality is their game and if you really dig this, I can only recommend you to listen to this one, recommended savagery!
SERPENT OBSCENE (Swe) CD 2000 Necropolis.
SEVERE TORTURE (HOL) "FEASTING ON BLOOD" CD 2000 THE PLAGUE. This is a winner!! From the first incisive riff, you're caught by the throat by their well-structured catchy Brutal Death Metal that reminds me old DEICIDE, old CANNIBAL CORPSE & old CRYPTOPSY! This is again a great skilled Death Metal band from Holland that all Death Metal fans will worship, it's fucking tight and fast, goes right to the point with a certain extremity, very American sounding and shredding with a maniacal blasting technical brutality and ferocity, no compromise, BUY OR DIE!!! HOF TER AA 58, 5282 WH BOXTEL HOLLAND. severetorture@hotmail.com www.severetorture.com
SEVERE TORTURE (HOL) "MISANTHROPIC CARNAGE" CD 2002
SEXORCIST (HOL) "WELCOME TO YOUR DEATH" CD 2001 BLEEDIN' HEMORROID. This is a great gift from these Dutch grinders! All the recorded Demo materials + unreleased Live 7" are finally united all in one! 68:25mn of real good raw old-school Grind/Death like no more bands play now: morbid tunes & heavy drums, raging vocals and an overall atmosphere pretty sick & better than the old Impetigo or Blood, sort of an old NECROSANCT or SADISTIK EXEKUTION first album, especially Demo 93 "Welcome To Your Death"! Fuck! I loved that soulful & raging dooming morbid ambience, no so called "Grind" bands do that nowadays, they all just sound punk or hardcore, funny & kidding around now... The band is still going under the BRUTALITY REIGNS SUPREME name and a CD is now out on Bloodbath Recs. BUY OR DIE!!! BRUTALITY REIGNS SUPREME: HERTOGSTRAAT 17, 2405ZG ALPHEN A/D RIJN HOLLAND. brutalityreigns@hetnet.nl http://come.to/brs BLEEDIN' HEMORROID Recs: POSTBUS 2110, 7302EM APELDOORN HOLLAND.
SHADOWS FX (BRA) CD 2001 IMPACT Recs. This band sounds like old SODOM and they do it pretty well, just got some little mistakes especially the drums aren't that tight but the atmosphere is here anyway, Dark Death/Thrash Metal like it ruled in the past, late eighties underground Metal adorers wil sure embrace SHADOWS FX promptly! Old-school fuckin' rules: BUY OR DIE!
SIGMA DRACONIS (ITA) "DE RERUM NATURA" CD 2004 self-prod. This band certainly knows how to take pictures of themselves but concerning their music... I have heard this kind of goth/blackmetal too many times from the now mainstream trendy Norvegian bands and this offers nothing good for my ears, really boring stuff, well played but really boring black keyboard metal, cradle of bitch posers & worshippers do not belong to my pages, this is just plain fake blackmetal. www.sigma-draconis.com info@sigma-draconis.com
SINDROME (USA) "Vault Of Inner Conscience/Into The Halls Of Extermination" CD Bootleg. Demos 92 & 91!! Technical Death/Thrash gods!! I already reviewed Demo 92 in the previous issue, I still confirm that they were as genius as old NOCTURNUS and more original & twisted, unpredictables materials, you can't say what kind of riff will follow the other when you listen to it for the first time and the arrangements with synths are simply well thought-out within the songs. It's fast, thrashing skilful Speed Death/Thrash with many great solos, those who are disgusted by technical abilities can only vomit while listening to SINDROME's Demos who were a lot better produced & more professionally performed than many shitty albums! A damn great band like that deserved to headline all Metal shows for more than ten years worldwide but who knows what happened to SINDROME after releasing these giant genius masterpieces of pure excellence?? Honestly, what's greater than these two Demos in the underground? I haven't heard anything comparable, this is a unique & mighty Cult band!!!!!! Demo 91 was kinda more classic but their genius was already there thrashing around, the vocals were great, Imagine King Fowley singing more Thrash; I nearly understand them without lyrics sheet, only copied onto a tape and I'm the most happy of men! These were the two best Demos of all times, try to check 'em out & LISTEN OR DIE!!
SINISTER (HOL) "CREATIVE KILLINGS" CD 2001 HAMMERHEART. Rachel fucking rules!!! Yes the new vocalist is a girl and she grunts like Dave Ingram of old Benediction's "The Grand Leveller" but deeper & more enraged! Impressive, and so is the music as always: top-class technical Death Metal with the now legendary riffs that SINISTER created for ten years now, quick, precise & killing tight as Hell! Never betrayed the Death Metal scene & fans during all the years of intense dedication to the most extreme music of the whole universe: Hail DEATH METAL!!!!!!! This new album is again fast & Evil with a damn catchiness but the sound never reached the heaviness of "Hate" or "Diabolical Summoning" it's much more clear and a little "empty" like its predecessor named "Aggressive Measures". I'd like to hear the old sound coming back, it will be much better in my opinion. Anyway, this doesn't shut up my erective enthusiasm, it's always such a joy to hear a new album from this band. Note that an unusual cover of POSSESSED's "Storm In My Mind" ends the CD with class & pride: BUY OR DIE!! http://sinister.wingsofdeath.nu
SINISTER (HOL) "SAVAGE OR GRACE" CD 2003. Why so much people get disappointed by the new SINISTER??! It's beyond me!!?? This is certainly their best return, I love the ancient riffing and the soloing madness of "Savage Or Grace", why complaining about something that absolutely doesn't contains one valid reason to spit on it like that!!!? Maybe some people don't like women in Death Metal? Fuckin' fags you are, Rachel fuckin' rules, she grunts with an Evil hatred better than a lot of male vocalists around!! Just listening to "Savage Or Grace" makes me even more proud to have stayed true to this band since day one of the now classic "Cross The Styx", the album seems returning to this 1992 ungodly apparition and rumors said about the old guitarist returns… Probably true as it's the same kind of quick & skilled riffs that ruled before within the SINISTER's very own style! So stop shit-talkings and open your eyes & ears to finally say what you really think: I DAMN LOVE THIS ALBUM OF TRUE & PURE DEATH FUCKING METAL!!!!!!!! Where can you find a band that plays their own style for more than ten years instead of creeping into the next big trend, think about it & then you just have to cut your tongue promptly! BUY OR DIE, FUCKING BASTARDS!!!!!
SIX FEET UNDER (USA) "GRAVEYARDS CLASSICS" CD 2000 METAL BLADE. This album consists of cover tunes from old Hard-Rock & Heavy Metal bands such as AC/DC, ACCEPT, KISS, IRON MAIDEN and so on... I can't understand why a "death" Metal band do such album?? Same goes for Illdisposed... Are they too lazy to find new ideas & writing new materials, so that they do only copy their fathers? A cover tune remains a cover tune, I always prefered the original versions anyway, the feeling of a band can't be copied by another one for sure! Plus, this is a wrong release, why didn't they cover more difficult, extreme songs by Morbid Angel, Deicide, Entombed or Dismember, Grave instead...? Just for selling out seems to be the main reason here as this is lazy shit!
SIX FEET UNDER (USA) "True carnage" CD 2001 METAL BLADE. It sounds like MORTICIAN and JUNGLE ROT, very repetitive Doom-mid-tempo Death Metal music, it's morbid enough for that I have listened more than 2-3 tracks in the entire album but gets real boring, as I said before, MORTICIAN do this kind of music better than anyone else…
SKELETON OF GOD (USA) "Hideous Corpse" CD MASTERCULT. Old stuffs by SKELETON OF GOD have been re-issued officially by Deathgasm recs, so don't spend your money on this botch bootleg!
SKINLESS (USA) "FORESHADOWING OUR DEMISE" CD 2001 RELAPSE. Fantastic new brutal album by these deathers, it’s heavy, it’s crushing and blasting with a morbid feel, it sometimes reminds me of BROKEN HOPE, ROTTREVORE & DISSECT, quite heavy bands if you don’t know! SKINLESS have some real good intros and interesting brutal tunes without any weak point, I can’t say there is a riff that I don’t like, all are made to suit each other for that it couldn’t be done in any other way than that! Great job, yeah, it’s full of massive arrangements, fucking solid and catchy as Hell, really good to see that a label like that can set a deal with a truly underground band like they did it some years ago with many other bands, it also proves that Death Metal returns stronger & heavier, really worth buying, this is perfect! BUY OR DIE!!! PO BOX 829, SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY. 12866-0829 USA. www.4skinless.com
SKINLESS (USA) "FROM SACRIFICE TO SURVIVAL" CD 2003. I can't understand why so much people are getting into this band nowadays, it's boring hardcore to me! Really not my cup of Metal anymore... This is disappointing as it can not be linked to Death Metal at least that's my personal opinion. Can I call it technical hardcore?
SKULL CRUSHER (CZECH) "Tormented" CD 2000 NSM. New band in the MORBID ANGEL spirit, at least very similar arrangements emanates from "Tormented", but their sound is quite different and very technical arrangements proved that it is a band to be taken for serious! Many leads, pure excellence of the musicianship, all is here to say that SKULL CRUSHER is a great Metal band that could reign when first ATHEIST, DEATH or NOCTURNUS albums appeared in early nineties, 100 percent Death Metal still rules these days but trends don't want you to listen to it again! This is truly original and some of the dark arrangements will make ashamed many of the newer bands for sure!! Damn this is exceptionally great to hear it these days, a long timing album with many great songs and unpredictables arrangements, very varied structures and original to the bones, a technical Death Metal masterpiece with great Metal feelings, powerful and inspiring without any weak point, this simply rules perfect!!! BUY OR DIE!
SLAMFIST (HOL) "SKULLSMASHER" CD 2000 BERSERKER/OAK KING. POSTBUS 81011, 3009 GA ROTTERDAM THE NETHERLANDS. band@slamfist.com www.slamfist.com oakking@slamfist.com BERZERKER Recs: PO BOX 1011, 2340 BA OEGSTGEEST THE NETHERLANDS. berzerker41@hotmail.com www.berzerker-records.com
SNUB (UK) "MEMORIES IN RICHTER" CD 2000 COPRO. Another trendy commercial shit metal with rap voice and hardcore riffs boring as the dark side of the moon, seems that these bands only use two riffs and repeat them all the time, worse than the black metal trend!! This fucking boring stuff sucks, I feel like listening to the same track during all the album timing 34.16mn! Nothing new & nothing interesting from this basic thing is guarantee!
SODOM (GER) "IN THE SIGN OF EVIL/OBSESSED BY CRUELTY" CD 88 SPV/STEAMHAMMER. Everyone knows this band for sure! I think it is a reedition that deserves to be exposed especially to the young fans that didn't know about SODOM until now, the essence of Black/Evil Metal came from this band as well as VENOM, CELTIC FROST, SLAYER or early SEPULTURA: basic repetitive riffs, thrashing with speed and a unique Dark energy emerged from them all, then followed and copied by many other pretenders (if not saying completely ripped off sometimes!). By this I mean that you'll understand more from where the early Impaled Nazarene style comes from... and many other as well in the so called Dark/Black Metal kind (early Samael, etc.). To me only the old ones can earn my respect as they were truly there before what started to be the trend and they bring absolute cult albums of real obscure underground Metal! They had many great inspirations at creating a true sordid ambience & atmosphere which is rare to hear with the new bands now. It's now time to hail them again & forever: BUY OR DIE!!
SOILS OF FATE (SWE) "SANDSTORM" CD 2001 RETRIBUTE. Finally an album out now, as far as I know, they released two Demos before this (from which two songs of these are also enclosed at the end of the seventh song of the album as ghost-tracks). Technical & heavy, low tuned guttural blasting Death brutality, totally in the US vein of course! High-speed blast-beats, stomping twisted guitar roars, it is now sure that DYING FETUS won't stay the leader for too long now, with so many bands playing that kind of music, it seems that a new trend is born! And all of these bands are showing great abilities, each with their own quality & technical musicianship. The good point with SOILS OF FATE is that they also include solos and their lyrics aren't politically involved (thanx!!), only pure violence, otherwise it's not that original but efficient, in-your-face Brutal Blasting Death Sickness, BUY OR DIE!! c/o HENKE CRANTZ, SÄTUNAVÄGEN 24 C, 195 41 MÄRSTA SWEDEN. Strippedhumanity@hotmail.com come.to/soilsoffate RETRIBUTE Recs: PO BOX 76, NEW FERRY, CH63 0QT ENGLAND. Retribute@aol.com
SOLAR DAWN (SWE) "EQUINOCTIUM" CD 2002 MIGHTY MUSIC. Actually, I'm not real sure if they're swedish or not but who cares? I tend to think they are anyway because it's very trendy melodic shit metal! Burn this shameful release! Une grosse "daube" comme on dit chez nous!
SOLSTICE (USA) "Pray" CD 95 STEAMHAMMER/SPV. Featuring Alex Marquez, this band had the thrashing anger of old MALEVOLENT CREATION, total old-school spirit and catchy as Hell Death/Thrash Metal with skills that lobotomized you until you're screaming for mercy or for more, depending of what camp you're from! This was really apocalyptic, I will always have dark visions haunting me while listening to these old-school goodies! Fans of the "première-heure" shall understand me! BUY OR DIE!!
SONS OF CHAOS (USA) "DAWN OF THE APOCALYPSE" CD 2000 Self-prod
SONS OF CHAOS (USA) "REDWORK" CD 2001 BLOODSOAKED. There's still some great original bands over there, by this I mean bands that don't sound like the well-known ones too much! The style here is heavy, grunting and also clear & tight, yes, this is Death Metal of very good quality, obscure approach and semi-technical, a bit like old Oppressor but more morbid like Immolation at some points. There's also some higher vocalizations here & there and more classic Metal influences, definitely a great band as they offer absolutely nothing weak within their music which is rich in subtleties and full of unpredictables arrangements, in other words it's a winner! Every Death Metal heads around this globe should give "Redwork" a good rate, as for myself, I'll simply but convincingly spit my BUY OR DIE as far as I can! PO BOX 5042, VACAVILLE, CA. 95696 USA. sonsofchaos@hotmail.com www.sonsofchaos.net BLOODSOAKED Recs: c/o PETER HASSELBRACK, 65 HIGH RIDGE ROAD, #518, STAMFORD CT. 06905 USA. peter@bloodsoaked.net www.bloodsoaked.net
SORCERY (SWE) "BLOODCHILLING TALES" CD 90 UNDERGROUND/NO COLOURS. Yes, ten years ago, that was how real Swedish Death Metal sounded alike: haunting, raw, heavy and dark, no fucking wimpy melodies, no lighten things, there was only the darkness here with soulful atmospheres, dark spirit of Evil Death ruled and shall remain eternal, unequalled by the newer bands now! Mid-paced catchy old-school Death Metal in the old vein of DEATH's "Scream Bloody Gore" & AUTOPSY's "Severed Survival" just a little more atmospheric & slower but darker...! I rejoice eternal from old tunes of the dead born from Hell to haunt this human world... BUY OR DIE!!
SORORICIDE (ICELAND) "THE ENTITY" CD 91. An old stuff from Iceland can only be a good one! This is a morbid doomyd-tempo Death Metal from Hell with burning soulful leads of eternal depressing atmospheres & ambiences, imagine SORROW meets old SADISTIC INTENT, you'll see what SORORICIDE is all about: Evil & sordid! Morbid grunting vocals, oppressing riffs, decaying obscure moods & cool drums were the malignant ingredients that ruled ten years before, when Death Metal wasn't about to turn hardcore or grind, it had many darkened & haunting feelings and that's always a pleasure to resurrect it in my mind, that's how it must be done forever! If you find this somewhere in the second hands world: BUY OR DIE!!
SOULLESS (BRA) "JOURNEY OF SOULS" CD 2000 DEMISE. Death Metal from Brazil!!! They aren't playing like Krisiun nor Rebaelliun or Abhorrence, it's slower and more from old-school classic ways, it's brutal and catchy, a little twisted but very predictable, they abuse the harmonics sometimes and it's not a good idea... The sound is a good one, raw, a total Death Metal one but the problem might be their abilities to compose good song structures & arrangements, they remind me of SICKENING GORE and INCANTATION by some of the riffs but they don't even equal them. Well, that is just a band coming out to be good but they still lack of extreme talent & feelings to be less boring in my opinion, really too predictable & average, nothing of high interest here, good vocals anyway.
SOULLESS (USA) "AGONY'S LAMENT" CD 2002 WORLD CHAOS. This is another SOULLESS band and better than the above, this one performs a technical form of mid-paced Thrash/Death Metal with the old & new school rage, a tad twisted, crystal-clear production and some melodic fumes very swedish influenced..., the voice reminds me of Chuck Schuldiner before he passed away just a little more aggressive, nearer to the common newer black metal vocalists. This Japanese label once again signed an uncommon melodic Thrash/Death Metal band, this might please fans of the melodic swedish scene and those addicted to thrashing riffs a la JUNGLE ROT & newest GRAVE materials but a lot more technical & twisted like DECEASED, OBSCENITY, just more Thrashy. This one deserves some spotlights, I admire the fact that it doesn't sounds too much like anything else I could have heard before. This is worth listening to all real headbangers: PO BOX 7417, CLEVELAND, OHIO 44134-7417 USA. soulless@soullessdomain.com #406 NEW LIGHT BLD. 2-25-6 HONGO BUNKYO-KU TOKYO JAPAN 113-0033 worldkdm@syd.odn.ne.jp wcp@syd.odn.ne.jp www.world-chaos.com
SOULLESS (POL) "TOTAL DESECRATION" CD 2002. Don't get confused, it's another SOULLESS band here from Poland and a Death Metal one! Seems to handle a drum machine, or is it triggered as fuck?? No, my ears didn't fail, it's a drum machine but they now got a human drummer as printed. A crude raw sound makes me enjoy their music which is relentless & technical, obscure... In fact, this is how I like my Death Metal: fast, intense and full of darkened morbidity! Completely underground release, the sound is sure not for the new metallers nor for trendy bastards! Excellent leads and putrid voices. c/o DARIUSZ SWIATEK, UL. PUDLERSKA 18/8, 41-500 CHORZOW POLAND. soulless666@interia.pl soulless666@wp.pl www.soulless.metal.pl
SOULREAPER (SWE) "WRITTEN IN BLOOD" CD 2000 NUCLEAR BLAST. Excellent fast Death/Black Metal by ex-Dissection members, this new band sounds like DAMNATION and is more aggressive and technical, all the songs are pure Evil hymns of skilled desecration with that omnipresent obscure & hateful atmosphere, a portal to the graveyards where unholy souls arise from their doomed unholy burial ground, revengeful & enhanced by supremes leads of total emotional Death feelings like BRUTALITY, this sombre force destroys the skies and holy heaven shall now rain bloody bones! Some Morbid Angel influences are undeniables but they really create their own & pure unrelenting Evil Death Metal style. Excellent musicianship, the production makes the whole thing heavy & dooming, unholiness sordid as Hell! Soon to be an acclaimed classic by all truest Evil Death Metal legions worldwide, enter their own vision of pure underground, BUY OR DIE!
SOULREAPER (SWE) "LIFE ERAZER" CD 2003
SPAWN (GER) "System full of victims" CD 2001 BRUCHSTEIN. Never heard of this band before, the underground's definitely full of surprises, so is this a good one…? Yes!! Fucking yes! It's a fast, fat & powerful skilled Death Metal avalanche, thrashing like the old BROKEN HOPE, brutal & heavy with a good technical level, full of subtleties, it shreds without compromise and offers no weak tunes, very similar to the old BROKEN HOPE albums by the ambience but the music is a little different and much more original with morbid feelings. One of the best surprises of issue #7: BUY OR DIE YOU ALL DEATH METAL DEMONS!!!
SPAWN OF POSSESSION (SWE) "CABINET" CD 2002
SPINA BIFIDA (HOL) "ZIYADAH" CD 92 ADIPOCERE. This is old but my old cousin from Poitiers wanted me to get this one, so here it is, I'll review it gladly because it's a good Doom band and I like good Doom, this means that there are no chanting vocals, only grunting, morbid voices from beyond along with basic atmospheres of pure Doom, this is slow, deadly & decaying heavy tunes like Mystic Charm or even old Deteriorot & old Derketa, maybe slower than these bands but also very depressing & oppressing, atmospheric & hypnotic like old Asphyx & old Samael, this is how I like it to be done: heavy from Hell! In other words: real DOOM! The artwork still remains a mystery in my eyes... This is real good if you like this kind of slow & raw Metal, look no further: BUY OR DOOM!
SPINECAST (USA) "DISEASE OF WORTHLESSNESS" CD 99 Self-prod. Brutal Death/Grind from the states! Fast, technical & enraged as only the american/canadian bands do, reminds me all those bands with more common sound, picking riffing, technical structures and some screaming vocals, also mosh stuff but they are capable of including solos in their songs which I like a lot, for that they remind me Cannibal Corpse, french Disgust and old Cryptopsy. Excellent album of tight technical brutality, catchy, original as fuck and crushing most of the brutal signed bands I know! Is this becoming one of my favorites? What is evident is that they deserve to feature in all of the brutal musicianship collection for sure! Don't miss this essential album, 45mn of pure excellence and a real lesson of picky brutality, everything within this disc rules, I'm real impressed! BUY OR DIE! PO BOX 471, HARVEST, AL. 35749 USA. spinecast@aol.com
SPLATTERED CADAVER (USA) "MERCILESS BUTCHERY" CD 2001 UNITED GUTTURAL. Remember that great Demo & promo? They're back! Heavier than ever like if MORTICIAN finally get a real drummer in the studio & beaten 'em to Death! That's brutal & heavy to the lowest point, crushing the weak posers and bringing a great dose of new-school brutality without trendy influences, there are no mosh, no hardcore in this, it plains blasts like DEEDS OF FLESH but a little slower, anyway very brutal & gory, grindy, guttural Death! BUY OR DIE! 1111 S. 117TH ST., MILWAUKEE, WI. 53214 USA. www.splatteredcadaver.com
SUBLIME CADAVERIC DECOMPOSITION (FRA) CD 2003 OSMOSE
SUDDEN DEATH (GER) "UNNATURAL HUMAN ART" CD 2000 SUPER SHOCK RESIST. Stuff in the new vein of CRYPTOPSY, not that picky and more mid-paced but the same brutality indeed! Quite good band, they remind me of our french DISGUST & INIQUITY too but I don't like the vocals... Some slow tunes here and there helps it having more feelings and originality. That's not really my cup of Death to tell the truth, especially those boring vocals disappoint me, the rest in the music is quite ok and definitely deserves to be heard, it's heavy & pounding with excellent production but doesn't break my neck in two... In fact, I would need more to be impressed!
SUFFOCATE (SLO) "LUSTFORHEAVEN" CD 2000 EREBOS. Grind/hardcore with industrial/robotic intro... The shit hardcore backing voice do really sucks, the rest as well! Just a pity, the whole sounds similar to the old Napalm Death/Repulsion but more Power/hardcore styled influenced... From the first time I listened to it, I knew that I won't listen to it over again. Good production but the music isn't for me, too basic & predictable, in other word: boring! Avoid this mosh shit, there are many better stuffs around. c/o GELERT PASZTOR, TESEDIKOVO 428, 925 85 SLOVAKIA. rpappa@ba.telecom.sk http://suffocate.phuture.sk
SUHRIM (Bel) "Unidentified flying bodyparts" CD 2001 HYBREED.
SURGICAL DISSECTION (SLO) "THE INBORN MALIGNANCE" CD 99 EREBOS. Quite good band that reminds me old Napalm Death with an American influence and sounding like many newer bands in the Brutal Death/Grind style with quality & energy, not so much Cannibal Corpse influenced but they're technical enough to be compared to the Gore Metal legend! Maybe some old Suffocation & Kataklysm remembrance as well as bands like Mortal Decay & canadian Blood Of Christ came to mind, twisted & brutal Death/Grind is the law! Just a little too short album for me but... BUY OR DIE!! c/o MARTIN MAJER, MOSKOVSKA 48, 974 01 BANSKA BYSTRICA SLOVAKIA. EREBOS Prods: c/o MARTIN BELOBRAD, BAJZOVA 29, 01001 ZILINA SLOVAKIA. belobrad@za.netax.sk www.angelfire.com/mt/turcik/index.html