MCD reviews - M

MACHIAVELIK (FRA) "JOIN-UP!" MCD 2001 MAFIA U.G./LE COMMANDO. Usually I won't pay attention to a band (especially a french band...) that proclaims itself to Deathcore or Brutal Death with hardcore influences, because it's sounding like starting to be the next big trend... but MACHIAVELIK is fortunately more Brutal Death than hardcore! In fact, there's no real hardcore to be heard (thanx!) in this 4-tracker MCD, as for the titles & artworks, they sure aren't Death Metal, more rap-from-the-city & fight-yo-man-point-of-view... maybe some occasional howling vocal cords didn't work with me... That is the only aspect that disgusts me & ruins the package but I don't give a fuck, I can burn the booklet & back cover if I want! Otherwise, musically just plain skilful, technical structures and picky, vicious riffs with a very heavy CRYPTOPSY influence without the core-vocals, here they are grunting and deep raging from the guts combined with some occasional grind screams, all this reminds me the GORGUTS' "Obscura" kind of vocals but lower. Anyway, he sometimes roars too much but I can live with this! Not so much Dying Fetus alike finally (which starts getting boring), I was very surprised by the high quality of this new band, they crush!!! I would never suspect they're a french band, with all those grindnoise jokes the scene has to endure nowadays, I'm rarely enthusiast about my country, it's slowly changing and some bands are obviously rising more matures and professional than others for the better! I can't count the number of french bands I found excellent in this issue, this is really a good news for all of us that desperately attended to see it happening, hey wake-up, it's now done!! Problem now is to find real support from this non-Metal country and opening the minds to real Morbid Death Metal but it's another thing... Fans of CRYPTOPSY & GORGUTS: BUY OR DIE!!! c/o PIERRE STEIN, 3 RUE DU COLONEL OUDOT, 75012 PARIS FRANCE. k.gool@lecommando.com LE COMMANDO: c/o ANTHONY GAUCHY, 65/67 RUE DE PARIS, 93230 ROMAINVILLE FRANCE. nito@lecommando.com MAFIA UNDERGROUND: PO BOX 60, 9 RUE A. LAHAYE, 93170 BAGNOLET FRANCE. gothicmafia.free.fr
MAGUS (USA) "RUMINATIONS OF DEBAUCHERY" MCD 2000 ELEGY. Finally out, this occult piece of extremely personal Obscure Metal music originally out on 7" vinyl on Gothic recs., is now re-released on CD with 3 other tracks: "Rumination (...of Nature)", "Reflections Of The Dark" & "Hexacles" as outro. If you thought that blast beats were just recently invented by some brutal & heavy grind bands like Devourment, you wrong, within six months of existence (12/12/91 to 06/05/92), MAGUS managed to accomplish what today many Brutal & Technical Death/Grind bands do, the only difference is that MAGUS had the talent to include influences from extreme Doom & Atmospheric elements creating a style for themselves. Today, bands will only try to sound like each other instead of reaching something from their own inspirations. So I take this re-release from MAGUS as a reminder of how to form a band in creating something different while staying completely engraved in utter underground & spiritual reflections. The only change that occured is that the 7" was heavier & slower recorded than this re-release and so sounded darker & better, so if you still can find it somewhere... don't hesitate to buy it at all costs! The MCD includes this quote from the author of this bizarrery: "How can I begin to describe the six months of accomplishments, yet endless disappointments which suddenly and miraculously turned around and culminated in this demonstration enterprise? I will not try to attempt this at all. Suffice to say that for this release, I used numerous formulas of 'alkemikal sciences and metal(s)' combined into a single format. As Magus' one and only recording, Ruminations Of Debauchery has presented a musical experience in one of the most unmusical environments imaginable. The songs of Magus, for which I conducted thaumaturgical and metaphysical research in 1991, had many faces and many moods. Ruminations Of Debauchery is a merger of efficacy and Pandemonium, a melting vessel of ideologies. From the very beginning of my musical career, I have always considered myself as a 'Magus', and I hope to always remain so. Thanks and unthanks are, as usual too diverse to mention, but I poor out both to those deserving and they know who they are. I wish not to review this any further, as this kult has ceased. Magus (12-12-91 to 6-5-92) Russley Randel Givens." And so this Kult sentence: "Science Of The Sun And The Magus Both Find The Sign Of Its Rebirth" shall remain, BUY OR DIE ETERNAL!!! 71 ACKERMAN AVE., SUITE 163, CLIFTON, NJ. 07011 USA. elegy666@elegyrecords.com
MALIGNANCY (USA) "MOTIVATED BY HUNGER" MCD 2000 UNITED GUTTURAL. Come back of the 2/3 actual Mortician line-up with a new release of total Brutal Death/Grind/Gore mastication! Twisted & complex structures are now included within fast as Hell grinds & blast beats! Just in case you love both DISGORGE bands from US & Mexico, you might only love MALIGNANCY too! The production is mega-raw and sounds like a Live recording, completely amazing stuff that stands for originality & a plenty of technical aspects that you can't find in the Mortician releases, it's damn pretty different & doesn't sounds like anyone else. "Intrauterine Cannibalism" comes as a Live bonus track & that's how it must be played, that's not kidding stuff for sure! BUY OR DIE!!! 86 RIDGE RD., YONKERS, NY. 10705 USA. maligancy@malignancy.com www.malignancy.com UNITED GUTTURAL Recs: PO BOX 752, GRAYSLAKE, IL. 60030 USA. info@unitedguttural.com www.unitedguttural.com
MASTER (USA) "FOLLOW YOUR SAVIOR" MCD 2001 METAL AGE. Three tracks that keeps the MASTER's trademark longing forever, more modern Thrash in the stop-and-go riffing now but with solos which is always something that attracts me in Metal in general. Just the modern production doesn't belong to MASTER in my opinion, but what can I do?
MENTAL HORROR (BRA) "EXTREME EVOLUTIVE TRAUMA" MCD-R 99 Self-prod. "Tortured" & "Profane Mind" are two bonus tracks from oct.'99 along with their excellent Demo 98 that got them an interview for issue #666! I'm not sure this recordable-CD is for sale but you can write them to know a little more about it. What is splendid with this band is that they keep everything as fast as possible with chaotic & infernal leads but they do things different than Krisiun or Rebaelliun, they simply achieved the same level of musicianship in my opinion, they are great technicians. Of course the Demo is far to be perfect but I understand pretty well their point about what they want to offer, something really extreme, dark, aggressive, musical & brutal and it has to be encouraged because they kick ass! I crave for these unrelenting solos at the speed of light, I've always been into that intense style of chaotic leads, it rules to me, it is supreme!!! Let's talk about these two bonus tracks now: the sound is rawer and got it right in my face, it explodes & destroys anything around me, the intensity of Black Metal with pulverizing old Death Metal sound is a dreadful atomic Metal weapon!!! Fantastic sound, they don't leave up one second of calmness and you can now hear the drums properly, they definitely are with KRISIUN & REBAELLIUN at the forefront of a new revival of true ferocious and hateful Brazilian Death Metal Demons that has disappeared for too long now, the dawn has come for us to show the craps what REAL Metal is all about: to surpass your limitations!!! These 2 new songs contain a lot more rage than their Demo had, more blackish in the way Diabolic do but faster, more extreme so this is a good encouraging evilution! BUY OR DIE!! c/o ROBLES DRESCH, RUA VISC. PELOTAS, 357 POA/RS 91030-530 BRAZIL. mh666@terra.com.br
MERENDINE ATOMICHE (ITA) "THE HOLY METAL" MCD 2000 NO BRAIN. Newer Thrash bands never attracted me and this one is no exception... Those linear vocals a la sepultura are shit! I prefer when he really sings, that makes me appreciate the music much better, mix of old & new school Thrash with some calm moments like in some old Heavy Metal albums. Well, that's a good band but nothing in it will make me remember of them after quite some times... c/o LUCA CERARDI, VIA G. LEOPARDI 14, 35010 ONARA DI TOMBOLO (PD) ITALY. demonheart@libero.it PULSAR Recs/mgt: c/o SAGGIN MICHELE, VIALE VERONA 108, 36100 VICENZA ITALY. pulsar-records@libero.it
MITHRAS (UK) "Dreaming in splendour" MCD-R 2000 Selfprod
MORBID ANGEL (USA) "LOVE OF LAVA" Bonus MCD 99 EARACHE. Oh, oh! This is something very special, it cames as bonus CD along with "Formulas Fatal To The Flesh", I don't think it's a rarity but as I adore all those solos by Trey Azagthoth, I can't resist to speak a little about it! You'll find in some of the solos from "Domination" & "Formulas..." , supposed with a difference as they're titled a bit differently but to me it's just the same solo repeated twice, I mean those who end by 'Alt' are sounding drastically the same as the one just before so in total of 40 tracks for 18mn, there's only 26 distinctively different solos as 14 ended by a 'Alt' and I have still not pointed what the modification he did bring to them? Maybe an unpalpable subtle sound effect... Only Trey can tell you what it's all about! Hail to him & his genius! It's interesting for those who absolute love solos & skills, BUY OR DIE!
MUTAZIA (Swe) "No existing beliefs" MCD 2000 Self-prod. Old-school mid-paced Death/Thrash Metal that sounds like early ASPHYX & RESURRECTION, true spirit has been trapped in this excellent effort that relates to the past and it is great to hear that in year 2000 when many new bands want to sound like the new trends of metal, support the real underground music with haunted atmospheres: BUY OR DIE!!!