MCD reviews - S

SACRALIS (GER) "BORTAS" MCD 98 Self-prod. I had reviewed this in the previous issue but I now get the original so I am able to communicate their address now. An all female band in true Death/Dark/Doom Metal is so rare since Derketa & Mythic split-up that it has to be known. Dooming heavy Death Metal is an old style that not so many bands perform these days, so this is another reason for me to speak about them once again in case the readers were not aware of that band. There are many good arrangements that are nothing but pure Death & darkness, there is no fun & no joy in this, it's pure Dooming Hell!! The sound is heavy & rips, thrashing like a catchy blasting spirit of abominations, this reminds me a lot the old TORCHURE albums and old Samael back in 92-93, with those malignant keyboards, Hell's bells & good death grunts full of obscure hatred... I love ancient tunes resurrected years after when everybody forget about these goodies! Their Evil atmosphere gives me the need to perform an obscure ritual... BUY OR DOOM!!!
SAURON (HOL) "TRUE HATE EMBODIMENT" MCD 2000 GLOBAL EXTINCTION. This is an intense, fast & extreme Black Metal band, they first remind me of ANGEL CORPSE but a little more Black influenced. Stuffs like ZYKLON-B & old IMMORTAL "Battles In The North" to explain more my vision, also melodic at times. c/o LUDAS, RINGBAAN-OOST 487, 5017 AB TILBURG THE NETHERLANDS.
SCYTHE (USA) "UNDEAD INFANTRY" MCD Self-prod. This reminds me the polish DAMNATION at the first approach by their riffing and speed but has lower & deeper vocals with also shrieking ones as well, many Black Metal arrangements can be heard too. Very well played, excellent drummer but the guitars lack of originality, too much predictables riffs for my taste... This is good enough to keep me interested anyway, this fast Black/Death/Dark Metal assault definitely sounds welcome here and it would have been a shame not listening to their unrelenting dexterity, BUY OR DIE!
SEVERED HEAD (?) "DESECRATION OF MY OWN GRAVE" MCD 2000 DIERIGHTNOW. Brutal Death Metal stuff here, violent and raw in the american vein, that's not bad but not good too, just average and I've heard this too many times I think, I'm bored! No excellent ideas heard here but a good raw sound and feeling like early DYING FETUS' Demos. For the fetus addicts only!
SEVERE TORTURE (HOL) "BUTCHERY OF THE SOUL" MCD 2002. Here's a band that I will qualify as the dutch CANNIBAL CORPSE, many of their songs are quite similar to old & newer C.C. materials. This disc unites their two 7"Eps and two other tracks including a cover of... CANNIBAL CORPSE' "Perverse Suffering". If you already had the EPs, I see no point for you to purchase this, except if you're a mega-fan of SEVERE TORTURE, I personally consider it as a good brutal band but Live... they were limit when I saw them for the first time at F.T.C. 2002, I was a little disappointed by their performance that day but I enjoy listening to their music and that is the most important thing, oh and yes the CANNIBAL cover seems to be the only reason to purchase this as it's damn well executed, at least it must be heard!
SKEPTICISM (FIN) "AES" MCD 98 RED STREAM. Same as above review but only one track for nearly 28mn long! BUY OR DIE of course!
SKEPTICISM (FIN) "ETHERE" MCD 97 RED STREAM. 3 tracks for 27mn from this incredibly unique & pure DOOM band! They're still heavy, ssssllllooowww as Death, atmospheric as Fire & sordid as Hell and that's how it must be & stay forever!!! Real Dark bands like that are now too rare to find out these days! That's the real underground spirit of malediction, DOOM!! BUY OR DIE! PO BOX 9, 11711 RMK FINLAND.
SKYCLAD (UK) "SWORDS OF A THOUSAND MEN" MCD 2001 DEMOLITION. Ooops! What's this? The band is turning pop punk-rock or what?? Only the 3rd & last track sounds like SKYCLAD but the two first are the same title-track with different mix and it's crap trendy shit! I suppose it's only made for the fans of this band right? PO BOX 62, JARROW NE38 5WJ ENGLAND. www.demolitionrecords.com
SLAVEARC (UK) "STRUCTURAL DAMAGE IN THE BLUE PRINT OF HUMANITY" MCD 98 SCREAMS OF SALVATION. Good Raw Death Metal that sounds cruel and raging, dark as a real vengeance and punishing. Obscure like Decrepit but different, it's really oppressing dark feelings here and I feel great while listening to these englishmen. Some experimental arrangements a la new Gorguts, even more obsessive saturations here & there...and Death Metal returns from the ashes of ancient darkness of forgotten times, once again with class & pride, many thrills did run down my back... This is true Death Metal with the obscure feeling, I adore! This is great, great, great! For truest fans only: BUY OR DIE!
SLAVEARC (UK) "Vanquish" MCD 98 SCREAMS OF SALVATION. This one's more doomy like Dusk but punishes the next few minutes with a real cruelty: again some raging & ripping Death Metal tunes, I don't know if that was out before or after the other MCD that same year, this is really obscure sometimes, very inspiring and haunting your mind… Argh it's already finished, I want more!! BUY OR DIE!
SOUL EROSION (FRA) "FURIOUS MIND DEGENERATION" MCD 2001 SHOCK WAVE. Evil old-school Death Metal in the vein of old DEICIDE, DEATH and newer CANNIBAL CORPSE but distinctively different, they're tight and play fast with enraged feelings of their own, also good production! This release is of high quality and really impressed me by the true feelings they created through "Furious Mind Degeneration", professional in every aspects and a pure Death Metal release performed with brilliance & originality, definitely awesome & excellent!! There are definitely skills in this band, many twists & turns the way Death Metal should be played! I can't remember one french band who had such unpredictable talent in musicianship to try & pretend sounding like the Tampa's gods...! I enjoyed this very much, no trends follower and purveyors of damn soulful traditions, we're currently witnesses of a new Death Metal revival here in... France with real musicians! No needs to say that this would be interesting to see them Live one day! Awaiting that day, BUY OR DIE!!! c/o YANN PLOQUIN, 59 RUE DE BOURGOGNE, 31700 BLAGNAC FRANCE. soul.erosion@caramail.com SHOCK WAVE Recs: B.P. 81, 31703 BLAGNAC CEDEX FRANCE. shockwrec@aol.com
SUDDEN DEATH (Ger) "Infernal" MCD 98 SUPER SHOCK RESIST MUSIC. Excellent Death Metal, fast & Evil, completely old-school ripping and original by their own extremities, raging with catchiness the same way as CANNIBAL CORPSE sometimes. It's real good and with a top-notch production, they deliver such a powerful skilful energy that it's a lot better with only 5 tracks than many new albums coming out! SUDDEN DEATH is without any doubts a winner and the old-school spirit is sure to survive eternally with bands like this, simply the way it must be done: with virulent class & quality! BUY OR DIE!!!
SUFFERAGE (GER) "BIRTH" Demo-CDR 2001 Self-prod. This was recommended to me by an old cousin from Poitiers… and he was right! This Death Metal band arrives with an incisive thrashing Demo! Tight and ready to conquer, just the vocalist seems needed to cup the mic, he has a saturated voice that is a little out of the music first but works well finally. Damn, they go fast, they punish like VADER & CRYPTOPSY sometimes while at the same time doing 100% their own original music. Best comparison would be PROFANITY country-mates, they blast as all Hell! I particularly adore the sound, its raw old-school vibes makes me remember of old PURGATORY & ASPHYX, and occasionally newer CANNIBAL CORPSE recordings, so not the typical modern low sound for sure! This is definitely a great Demo that will please all those adepts of extreme, intense & fast blasting aggressive thrashing Death Metal, unrelenting within the seven tracks + intro/outro. It's pleasant to hear new band like SUFFERAGE that don't follow the new trendy styles of "modern death metal", nearly 25mn of what I consider as a real MCD, this will beat your head off! BUY OR DIE!! c/o OLE FINK, BÜLTENBLICK 29, 22415 HAMBURG GERMANY. maledictionmetal@aol.com www.sufferage.de
SURGICAL DISSECTION (SLO) Promo CD 2001. Brutal & corrosive, grinding Death Metal that blasts, fast & technical as fuck, headbanging musick, real Extreme Metal band that knows how to decompose your brain & fill the empty skulls of Death a la CRYPTOPSY, impressive new materials, skilled & damn brutal unrelenting as Hell, it's perfect as it doesn't fit in with a particular trend, I'm impressed to the bones: BUY OR DIE!!