CD reviews - Z

ZUBROWSKA (FRA) "ONE ON SIX" CD 2003 XTREEM. Quite strange that I never heard of this french band before, they're very original and powerful Extreme Metal, not too much hardcore and not Death nor Black Metal, this is a successful mix of a little of everything that is Metal! Of course this appeals to the modern days fans, old-school people will find it reluctant but I appreciate it for what it is, I won't listen to it everyday but I can recommend it to all those who like this modern Metal, this is also very original, no copycat trends here! They're furious and knows how to pulverize the new comers: technical to the bones and better than the dyingfetusmiseryindextrendyshit!! Highly recommended french Metal stuff!! c/o JULIEN DEYRES, 1 RUE PONS CAPDENIER, 31500 TOULOUSE FRANCE. info@zubrowska.com www.zubrowska.com
ZUBROWSKA (FRA) "FAMILY VAULT" CD 2005 XTREEM. Second strike like a fist in your balls, Power, Thrash, Hardcore, Grind very original blend of all that pounds & brutalize without compromise, this is not for the weak and ZUBROWSKA definitely found their very personal style, not too fond of this personally but it's a very good quality release, enjoy their violence!
ZYKLON (NOR) "WORLD OF WORMS" CD 2001 CANDLELIGHT. Super-powerful Black Metal, more raging than IMMORTAL's "Battles In The North" and heavier than MESSE NOIR with something like a Death Metal vengeance in the vein of MORBID ANGEL! Same feelings as these three bands are engulfed in "World Of Worms" real good to hear, it fucking strikes right in my vortex and blasts upon my skull at the speed of light with those rolling drums like that MYRKSKOG's infernal Death Metal machinery!! Also if you're a pure fan of BELPHEGOR, this is damn the same destructive energy! Maybe the production & some arrangements are too "mechanical" sometimes but this doesn't ruin their extremity, this is simply perfect & heavy, exhausting listening, total Warmageddon, BUY OR DIE!! 2 ELGIN AVE. LONDON W9 3QP ENGLAND. www.candlelightrecords.co.uk

CD reviews - Y

YATTERING (POL) "MURDER'S CONCEPT" CD 2000 SEASON OF MIST. Seems that the french labels are finally turning their ears to Brutal Death Metal!? Is Death Metal returning back to trends again? Ah! I will not complain about it, if the band is great, it doesn't matter from which label they're signed on and it is a great come back from YATTERING since their (I think it is) first CD "Human's Pain" out on Moonlight prods. Original and brutal bands always attracted me especially when they are offering something different that do not fall in any clichés, that is a real work of creation and deserves to be a lot more exposed. BROKEN HOPE alike but more chaotic, more underground, a la DEEDS OF FLESH but not that technical, that's definitely their own Brutal Death Metal music and one of the rare brutal bands who keeps up with solos, so are they deserving of more respect from me. The only thing that sounds unnecessary are all those intros & outros, it is incoherent for example to finish the album with 5 minutes of dark soundscapes when you know that another song should better fit the whole 42mn! This french label definitely has good taste concerning underground brutality: ABADDON INCARNATE and now YATTERING, let's hope to see it continuing in the right way forever and not following trends again... BUY OR DIE! PO BOX 666, 80-458 GDANSK 50 POLAND.
YATTERING (POL) "GENOCIDE" CD 2003. This starts like VIBRION

CD reviews - W

WACO JESUS (USA) "FILTH" CD 2003 MORBID
WARHEAD (BEL) "SPEEDWAY/THE DAY AFTER" CD 2002 MAUSOLEUM. (Re-release of LPs 84-86!)
WITCHES' SABBATH (SPA) "DARKNESS KINGDOM COMING" CD 2001 FPG. The sound on it is too synthetic (or should I say pathetic?), the guitars seemed to be detuned, computerized or something compressed, anyway they aren't tight enough with the fast drums which are way more convincing than the rest of the whole recording. Musically fast mid-nineties Black Metal in the norvegian/swedish way, the only weak point is that they were not ready to record this album, maybe the next release will crush… For Black Metal fans only! c/o JESUS OJEDA, C/ LANZAROTE 40, 35200 TELDE, GRAN CANARIA SPAIN. c/o EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ, C/ PELAYO 14 APTO. 53, 35010 LAS PALMA G.C. GRAN CANARIA SPAIN. witchessabbath@mixmail.com
WITCH-HUNT (USA) "Souls enshrouded fire" CD 2000 X-RATED. I remember of an old MCD that was pure old Metal rooted, the band now turned to a fast melodic Black/Heavy Metal style in the vein of Dissection. Well played & produced but did really bore me after the first track, I'm definitely allergic to abusives melodies, I prefer listening to an old Iron Maiden album sometimes… For freaks of melodies only!
WYKKED WYTCH (ITA) "ANGELIC VENGEANCE" CD 2001 DEMOLITION. PO BOX 62, JARROW NE38 5WJ ENGLAND. www.demolitionrecords.com

CD reviews - V

VACANT STARE (UK) "VINDICATION" CD 2002 COPRO.
VADER (POL) "LITANY" CD 2000 METAL BLADE. Fuck yeah! They're now signed to Metal Blade and they didn't pursue with their tekno bullshit on "Kingdom" MCD! Just the drums have a fishy tekno sound but that's still true VADER as we all usually know. I would say a lot more simple structured than before which is a little disappointing, at first some riffs were no more extremes than old CELTIC FROST or old OBITUARY...! On the opposite to it, they continue with their now legendary fast, intense blasting spirit called Doc and the result is just 11 tracks for half an hour which is short but if you're lucky to have installed the proper windows version on your PC, there's something like a bonus track/video-clip in this disc, mine can't afford to play it properly, I gotta check out a newer version! The last track "The Final Massacre" kills, obviously re-recorded as it featured on their "Necrolust" Demo 89 and "The Ultimate Incantation" first album 92 out on Earache recs. If you're proud to call yourself a true Death Metal warrior, you must BUY OR DIE FUCKIN' NOW! Everywhere is DEATH!!! VADER RULES! METAL BLADE: PO BOX 1332, 73054 EISLINGEN GERMANY. www.metalblade.com
VADER (POL) "Reign Forever World" CD 2001 METAL BLADE. Still true to their roots for more than a decade, who can say the same for other bands, when many changed style to sell more CDs and fit in a trend, there are some bands who won't give a fuck and continue exploring within their own style that they created for themselves! The incorporation of some more technical arrangements and weird obscures moods makes them sounding better and still getting those assassin accelerations here & there started by a guitar riff inducing total chaos & armageddon!! I found this album more interesting than "Litany" which was good but lacked of something concerning the sound, I think it was too clean, they now returned to a more savage & raw production and it doesn't mean that quality was put in the corner, no, that's how Death Metal must be produced in my eyes, it must sound dark & Evil!! There are also some familiar old-school covers revisited faster & more extremes than the originals of course and some cult Live cuts! This is a weird album and definitely a great one that I recommend to everyone into real Extreme Metal feelings, BUY OR DIE!
VADER (POL) "REVELATIONS" CD 2002
VALAR (FIN) "MAGIC & WYRMFIRE" CD 2001 FPG. A one-man band with drum machine & synths that does atmospheric/folk black metal… I'm definitely unlucky to find out good killer/aggressive Black Metal bands, most of those FPG releases were sent to me by Adipocere. VALAR is good if you need to fall asleep at track #3, in the Burzum vein… The sound is ok but with all those synths, I feel like listening to something commercial like Synthetiseurs vol.2 or Jean-Michel Jarre! If you dig this kind of soft music: DRAGONTHRONE Prods: c/o TOMI KALLIOLA, KASKENTIE 3 AS.1, 05840 HYVINKÂÂ SUOMI FINLAND.
VASTION (USA) "CLOSED EYES TO NOTHING" CD 2000 RETRIBUTE. Speed & melodic, strong Death Metal that reminds me our french CARCARIASS with emotions & aggression, also very much similar to ARGHOSLENT! Sometimes unrelenting apocalyptic & epic old-school Death/Thrash fuckin' Metal that I can compare to the old MASSACRA's own style & DECEASED's atmospheres enhance this 30mn disc here'n there superbly. Still the band has to prove themselves as they don't give full aggression to their music, not that it is badly played but certainly needs to spend more time in the studio and get the proper sound to accentuate their own mood. A better mixing could bring them at a higher aggressive level for sure, especially the drums! Well, it's damn fucking catchy, original & fresh, does not sound like anyone else and is fucking close to true underground Metal spirits from below! Some excellent reasons to BUY OR DIE! 80 FOSTER TRACE DR., LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. 30043 USA. vastiondth@aol.com www.geocities.com/vastiondth RETRIBUTE Recs: c/o CHRIS MEADOWS, PO BOX 76, NEW FERRY CH63 OQT ENGLAND.
VEHEMENCE (USA) "THE THOUGHTS FROM WHICH I HIDE" CD 2000 Self-prod. That's ok Death Metal, semi-brutal but do not attract me so much. It's maybe too much common now to hear this kind of band. Oh, yes the last track should be skipped because it sucks with its piano or synth intrusions, too bad! dethofme@hotmail.com
VENERAL DISEASE (GER) "VERDICTS" CD 99 Self-prod. Here comes an excellent fast and technical Death Metal band in the blasting & catchy thrashing traditions! Musicianship at the speed of light, unrelenting flow of deadly riffs, flattening everything on its path like if old SLAYER meets new CANNIBAL CORPSE & VADER, with the heaviness of old MALEVOLENT CREATION & Bolt Thrower, impressive & simply unreal! They're fucking tight and play 666% original and interesting, true Death Metal, by this I mean they got the real aggression & dark aspects performed with talent & feelings at quick pace, you see? The album is also lasting longer than the average (43mn) including 4 bonus tracks certainly taken from a previous Demo as the sound differs but the quality of the performance is the same. Well, to keep it short, this is a great Death Metal band and I command all true Death Metal fans to BUY OR DIE!! c/o INGO MAIER, BAHNHOFSTRASSE 32, 69514 LAUDENBACH GERMANY.
VERMINOUS (SWE) "IMPIOUS SACRILEGE" CD 2003 XTREEM. Dark intro as I will always like this kind, VERMINOUS starts with a fast Evil Death Metal assault that can sometimes remind you of SADISTIK EXEKUTION but remains more classic in the whole while also being fuckin' Extreme & aggressive all along with the typical Swedish sound's signature this way of KAAMOS or REPUGNANT, this also musically tend to be more of that kind of bands than the sadx dudes! So an impressive album to say the least, they blast & shred pretty well, I have nothing to complain about "Impious Sacrilege", the darkened atmosphere is also a plus and I like the raging vocals, sounds old-school and convincing like a spit in your face, may they spit blood, sperm & antichrist's vomit, this will always be a refreshing bloodshower to me, European Death Metal at it's be(a)st with uncontrollable leads madness and the cover artwork is a fine blaspheme, not for christians: BUY OR DIE!!!!!!! c/o ANDREAS JOHANSSON, AVÄGEN 14, 29638 AHUS SWEDEN. info@verminous.com www.verminous.com XTREEM Music: PO BOX 1195, 28080 MADRID SPAIN. info@xtreemmusic.com promo@xtreemmusic.com www.xtreemmusic.com
VILE (USA) "DEPOPULATE" CD 2002
VIOGRESSION (USA) "PASSAGE" CD 92 TOMBSTONE.
VIRAL LOAD (USA) "Practitioners of perversion" CD 2001 TXDM Underground
VIRULENCE (USA) "A CONFLICT SCENARIO" CD 2001 MORBID. These guys are twisted for sure, the prelude is like old Atheist, more melodic & more grind, then they mixed their Extreme Metal substance with some technical jazz experiences and uncommon melodies, undoubtedly original like CEPHALIC CARNAGE, WICKED INNOCENCE, HUMAN REMAINS or BRUTAL TRUTH & DICHOTIC but that's not something that attracts me maybe due to the vocals in the way Blockheads spew, the boring hardcore spewings is definitely not for me but the music is worth listening, it's very original & goes in all directions possible! If you're looking for something truly different & standing apart from other established styles, in other words: anti-trend twisted music, then look out for VIRULENCE's new effort but I recommend everyone to take a listen to their "Dormant Strains" previous MCD, it had more Death Metal influences & sounded awesome! Fans of aforementioned bands should rejoice with "A Conflict Scenario" anyway but don't let you disgusted by the cover art: a yellow flower with bees...! For open-minded grinders only: BUY OR DIE! c/o NICK PEYER, 1193 COMM AVE. APT. #11, ALLSTON, MA. 02134 USA. nman@aol.com
VITAL REMAINS (USA) "DECHRISTIANIZE" CD 2003 CENTURY MEDIA. Glen Benton's vocals are way too linear and medium to fit in with the VITAL REMAINS music in my opinion which is damn speed and more varied than the DEICIDE materials. This is not a winner, I appreciate the music but the vocals ruined it totally! In fact I love the speedy way the music is going on this album, it's really reaching an Extreme level sometimes like HATE ETERNAL and also the fact that they also incorporate Heavy Metal arrangements & solos, just buy it for the music, not for the shitty vocalist...!
VOMITOR (AUSTRALIA) "BLEEDING THE PRIEST" CD 2003 METAL BLOOD
VOMITORY (SWE) "REVELATION NAUSEA" CD 2000 METAL BLADE. A new album and continuing from where their second "Redemption" evolved: faster, more extreme! This one is destructive and dark, as always 100% Death Fucking Metal!! Punishing and thrashing your brain with their hyper-blasts, they leave absolutely no sweet nor calm moments like old Napalm Death or Krisiun! One of the most intense & strong heavy brutal Death Metal albums I have heard lately, the energy is unrelenting and it's great to see that the big labels now take care of the real underground Death Metal bands! That's how Adramelech & Bolt Thrower could sound if they were going faster & more extreme at the speed of light! Every band should follow that same mutation of chaos, it's supreme! BUY OR DIE!
VOMITORY (SWE) "BLOOD RAPTURE" CD 2002. A new one and still in that old vein, maybe more like MALEVOLENT CREATION than in the past now, very heavy stuff & slaughtering while also keeping the Swedish old-school trademarks & traditions: melodic & blasting! A song like "Chaos Fury" has a very Slayerian ANGELCORPSE/KRISIUN structure with breaks and catchy riffs whilst others have more of old NAPALM DEATH, BOLT THROWER similarities and I won't complain about this fact except that they're sometimes repetitive & predictable with easy & memorable riffs used & tried many times by many other bands to the point of that the whole album sounds like a tribute to all those mentioned bands… I have found some boring riffs inside and also some good arrangements here & there but I won't say that it is a necessary album to buy at all costs, I sometimes surprised myself at waiting for the end of the CD… for fans only!
VORACIOUS GANGRENE (FRA) "MURDERING WITH NO VALID REASON" CD Live April 30th 2000. I don't know if the band sells this but the sound is good! Cool intro and raw Live sound gives the band an exact view about the energy delivered on stage, it's heavy and grinding, blasting, technical with an awesome guttural voice and some occasional screams here and there. I like the heaviness of this recording, seems to have been recorded in Hell! They were tight and this performance was ok regarding this point, of course they certainly know better than me where the mistakes belong during the gig, but this is my opinion here: they're damn good! Imagine the old AVULSED more twisted and extreme, faster, more technical, more... brutal!! All in all, this is in the American style of crushing Brutal Death/Grind but VORACIOUS GANGRENE doesn't sound like a particular band in my ears, they're really original & bestial in their own twisted style of brutality, if you liked "Hooked To Death" their previous self-produced MCD studio recording, you'll find here much more tracks and get a better opinion, definitely worth a listening, shall we await for an album now?! BUY OR DIE!!
VORKREIST (FRA) "SABBATHICAL FLESH POSSESSION" CD 2003 XTREEM
VULTYR (?) "MONUMENT OF MISANTHROPY" CD 2001 FPG. Why can't I get good Black Metal for review? Am I onto some black lists or what?? This band sucks, it's no more extreme than some punk/rock in my ears and the melodies are too repetitives, this is a perfect boring album! Don't buy this shit.

CD reviews - U

UMBAKRAIL (FRA) "IN UNITY PAÏENNE" CD 2001 DEADSUN. I didn't like the MCD if you remember well, that was some Black/Heavy Metal and this new CD is much more atmospheric, a little in the vein of Misanthrope (ou Mise-En-Crotte, si tu préfères!) and the fairy norvegian trend: weak vocals, weak sound, total weak metal for the weak trendy bastards, this is not for me! Why Deadsun signed this, it's a mystery…
UNDERCROFT (CHILE) "reDEMOlition" CD 98 WAR DISCOS/BLACK BOX. This fuckin' rules!! Their two Demos: "To The Final Battle" May.'93 & "Demons Awake, Revenge Is Near" Nov.'93 along with 3 bonus tracks from March '97 and one more bonus (cover of NAPALM DEATH's "Unfit Earth") from August '97!! This shows how brutal they were at their beginning playing 100% total Death as they now perform more a clear Death/Thrash sounding style than in the past. No matter if they aren't as brutal & raw now, some of the riffs were catchy as Hell, unforgettables!! Definitely engraved in my mind for eternity, I'm glad some labels take care to re-print some old Demos forgotten for ages now... This should revive the flame of some tired souls now, Shall We Begin... Demons Awake, Revenge Is Near:.. BUY OR DIE!!! http://undercroft.home.ml.org http://come.to/undercroft undercroft666@hotmail.com blackbox@netline.cl WAR DISCOS: PO BOX 11-59, SANTIAGO CHILE.
UNDERCROFT (CHILE) "Danza Macabra" CD 2000 WAR DISCOS. Fuck, that's very Deathrash now, pounding and shredding, pulverizing like some old MASTER but a little more extreme and with some hardcore influenced riffing… If you dig fast brutal stuff like HATEPLOW or DIVINE EMPIRE, this new album might interest you for sure! This is a very high quality release but not Death Metal anymore, enough for me! I can't get into the vocals but I highly recommend this anyway, the music rules and bands from Chile are quite rare nowadays especially in Extreme Metal Music. http://dive.to/undercroft
UNDERTAKERS (ITA) "VISION DISTORTION PERVERSION" CD 2000 NOCTURNAL MUSIC. Ok, that's still brutal & heavy, grinding and catchy like their two previous CDs but I still don't like the vocals at all! Otherwise the music is killer and has no weak point (except that there aren't any solos, fuck me!), it's heavy, it's crushing & kinda groovy like CRYPTOPSY's "None So Vile" & some newer CANNIBAL CORPSE. Much more typical technical mid-paced American Death/Thrash Metal influenced with a little hardcore beats & blasts. Many twists & turns makes it fucking heavy & unrelenting, keeping it interesting to listen to. There are no simples repetitives or linear riffs that can bore me in this album except the hardcore ones of course but they don't abuse with facilities, they mix 'em all strong together pretty well with some unpredictable originality. Definitely one of the best Brutal Death Metal bands from Italy with BASTARD SAINTS, NEFAS & MORBUS, as I don't get more news from this country for this issue but of course MIND SNARE, NEOPHYTE & DEMONICATION were quite good too, BUY OR DIE! c/o ENRICO GIANNONE, VIA S. ROCCO 31, 80016 MARANO (NA) ITALY. madfucker@libero.it
UNFRAGMENT (FRA) "IN MEANDERINGS OF AÏN-SOPH" CD 2003 Self-prod. After their second Demo that really impresssed me to the bone, it was natural for them to record this first full-length which I must admit surpass my expectations, the vocals have gained in maturity and the whole music got faster & tighter, a lot darker and more punishing, yes "In Meanderings Of Aïn-Soph" is a complete punishment that follows the real Death Metal veins for that it doesn't sounds like your common french bands, it's more sounding like coming from mighty Poland with its clear yet raw sound & technical aspects not to forget the necessary originality & evilness! Old VADER, old SINISTER, old MORBID ANGEL are what this album makes me remember of, I'm a lot excited concerning the future of this band, the quality & talent is obvious and I'm sure a lot of Death Metal fans will share my vision, tracks from the Demo are also engulfed, re-recorded within the 45mn/11 tracks worth of pure Death Metal heaviness from the ancient times-traditions!! Considering that in France not so much bands knows how to perform Death Metal in that vein & spirit with above average musicianship, I must say that it's my favorite release of the moment, it clearly stands above many so called "Death Metal" bands, listen to UNFRAGMENT, you ignorant, and cross the real Death: BUY OR DIE!!! 14€ ppd to: JEROME GUIBERT, LA CHAISE, 49450 ROUSSAY FRANCE. unfragment@hotmail.com www.unfragment.st.fr
UNLEASHED (SWE) "The Utter Dark Revenge" CD MASTERCULT.
USER NE (SPA) "TARANTOS" CD 2003 XTREEM MUSIC. c/o SILVER, AV VELAZQUEZ #13, 1°C, 29004 MALAGA SPAIN. userne@userne.net www.userne.net XTREEM MUSIC: PO BOX 1195, 28080 MADRID SPAIN. info@xtreemmusic.com promo@xtreemmusic.com www.xtreemmusic.com
USURPER (USA) "SKELETAL SEASON" CD 99 NECROPOLIS. PO BOX 388897, CHICAGO IL. 60638-8897 USA.

CD reviews - T

TEARS OF DECAY (GER) "SAPROPHYT" CD 2002 CUDGEL. c/o MICHAEL EDEN, ALTHUSIUSSTR. 92, 26723 EMDEN GERMANY. www.tears-of-decay.de
TENEBRAE (FIN) "DYSANCHELIUM" CD 93 SPINEFARM
TENEBRARUM (MEX) "ALTA MAGIA" CD 2000 AMERICAN LINE/MORBID GHOUL. I remember of another TENEBRARUM band that hailed from Colombia I believe... This one obviously comes from Mexico (because MEX means Mexico fuckin' ignorant!) and they have a grinding approach to their obscure guttural Metal tunes similar to HARDWARE (also from Mexico, fuckin' ignorant bastards!!) but they use more keys and not always in the good way for me as it sometimes sounds sweet like a soundtrack to these erotic movies from the 70's...something fairy too! But the whole brutality in their song is occulting those sweet interludes, remaining obscure & doomy while at the same time they go fast & their Brutal heavy grinding blasting Dark/Death erases the sweet ambience with horrorful tunes from down under the ground. The raw sound has something Evil, magick & magnetically cavernous like the ORGANIC INFEST CD (of course if you don't have this one you can't understand the review, haha!!) or BRAINSTORM and INFAMY's Demos. Just to say that TENEBRARUM from Mexico has something similar to TENEBRARUM from Colombia (this one was complete atmospheric) but a lot more Brutal and combining too much of atmosfairyc moods in between the songs. I like their brutal raw grinding sound but I can live without the atmos-partitions... It's an original & obscure piece of Grind Metal Magick, interesting but I won't listen to this everyday. For the curious underground metallers interested listening to something uncommon with an old styled raw sound from the early nineties.
TERATOMA (SPA) "THE TERATO-GENUS REBORN" CD 99 FLESHFEAST. Starting with an acoustic intro suddenly annihilated by pounding Brutal Death/Grind Metal the U.S. vein. Some good solos, morbid low tuned guitars & deep guttural vocals, yes somewhat in the vein of old Incantation, Imprecation & Magus, Entety but the drums are way too predictables & linear sometimes boring... Spanish brutality in the same way as old Avulsed & Fermento but more grinding, unrelenting, faster & pounding from Hell! Fans of total gutturalizations can get into this no problem! FLESH FEAST Prods: c/o MICHELE MORABITO, C./ SARDENYA 151 APT.16, 08013 BARCELONA SPAIN. morbidmike@jazzfree.com
THANATOS (HOL) "ANGELIC ENCOUNTERS" CD 2000 HAMMERHEART. A new one!! And still in the same vein, more old-school Death Metal that reminds me the one & only album of dutch CEREMONY but more Thrashy & speed! Killer album of true Death/Thrash fucking morbid Metal!!! Argh! This kills me by the skills of the musicians and the damn great well-thought arrangements, twists & turns, leads from beyond... This rules from Hell!!! I have not heard another such a soulful album like that this year, it's good to know that a band like THANATOS stayed true for more than ten years now and keep going thrashing & glowing the absolute cult Metal of Death! 41mn of pure excellence as we now get accustomed to hear from The Netherlands of Death! This one is to be linked with ancient albums from mid-late 80's to early 90's when bands like SLAYER, MORGOTH, the french MERCYLESS & AGRESSOR, ASPHYX were fucking great & totally inspired & possessed by Death! Everywhere is Death, BUY OR DIE!!! BIERENS DE HAANWEG 105, 3076 DB ROTTERDAM HOLLAND. sgebedi@hotmail.com
THANATOS (HOL) "EMERGING FROM THE NETHERWORLD" CD UNVEILING THE WICKED (HAMMERHEART). Album from '89 re-released now with bonus Demo tracks from "The Day Before Tomorrow" Demo '87, "Rebirth" Demo '86 and an unreleased track "Howling" taken from '87 Demo session. This is an awesome technical old-school aggressive Thrash band from Holland, a lot better than the Portuguese one reviewed in the MCD section! Their logo reminds me the old Nocturnus. That album is old but deserves to be re-activated because of its excellent catchy old-school vibes in both sound & style, simply a classic and with 70mn/19 songs, it is well worth the money of death! No shit groove, no shit mosh or industrial influences of trendy modern days, only true & pure raw Metal of Death performed in the right dark spirit with excellence for all real thrashers only, I got it from NouNourS, BUY OR DIE!
THANATOS (HOL) "REALM OF ECSTACY" CD 92 SHARK/CARGO. Second album, this time the original version that I personally checked out in a second hand records shop, how people can get rid of such a good album like this one?? Out on the same label that released the two first Massacra's albums and also produced by Ulrich Pösselt at RA.SH.-Studios too! Still performing their Thrash as mentionned above with more & more of those original ideas and catchy as Hell! This is one of the most interesting and original Thrash/Death albums that I carry in my collection of undead souls now still retaining that dark & morbid spirit that ruled in the old days of pure Death & real Thrash Fuckin' morbid Metal, BUY OR DIE!
THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (FRA) "3992: SOPHYA" CD 2000 THUNDERING/AGE. I am the only one to blame, I should not spread my contact everywhere without knowing what others are all about, that's the bad side of the internet mailing! The result is here: fairy music, trying-to-be-dark-but-ended-boring-&-trendy-black-metal-influenced... That kind of music isn't underground to me, you can hear that in many movies soundtracks from TV shit! Fuck off boring weakness! musdiv@aol.com www.musicdivi.com thundering@musearecords.com
THE KUNTAUTKULT (HOL) "FROM THE PITS..." CD 99 DISPLEASED. This one has something reminiscent of DAMNABLE & REINFECTION, maybe the sound and the twisted brutality makes me think about these two polish bands. Fast & Brutal, crushing Death/Grind that also reminds me of old CRYPTOPSY and ORDER FROM CHAOS, this has many mega-blasts and also an American influence in this style from track 5 which is very grindy, MORTICIAN-alike. The whole album remains very original and uncommon, may it be first from the name of the band, for the TV-inspired artworks & lay-out or the weird intros & acoustics instrumentals, a quite strange concept surrounds this release for sure! What is sure is that this disc is a weapon against wimpy trends and if you're open-minded enough & looking for something different, you can check this one out no problemo, BUY OR DIE! RONDE TOCHT 7D, 1507 CC ZAANDAM HOLLAND. displeas@xs4all.nl
THE RAVENOUS (USA) "ASSEMBLED IN BLASPHEMY" CD 2000 HAMMERHEART. Featuring Killjoy, Chris Reifert & Dan Lilker...! Giving birth to a new mutating form of old AUTOPSY, old IMPETIGO, fucking dirty, noisy & raw as fuck, Evil! This is a pure dooming underground abomination where the atmosphere is real sordid & apocalyptic, you just can't escape the inevitable Death's scythe of Black doomingations... Remember the first SEPULTURA's releases and then you'll see what THE RAVENOUS is all about with some twisted & morbid ambiences a la new Gorguts, old Grief, Winter, old Samael, etc. Fans of old AUTOPSY & true Death/Doom/Evil should be glad listening to this, it really keeps the old spirit alive! What is important in this album is the insane blasphemous atmosphere, it makes you bleed forever...! A complete annihilation of any actual forms of life, an obscure presence from below arises like a living-dead... BUY OR DIE!!
THORAZINE (CAN) "SEED THE BLACK SKY" CD 99 INJECTED. Canada isn't breeding so much brutal bands lately, were they all burnt-out...? No!!! Here comes THORAZINE and their musical, technical Death Metal with leads, sort of a Brutal Death answer to Belphegor, very interesting and aggressive, brutal Extreme Death! The raw sound exploses with spurts & spews of total rage infecting my eardrums for brain's enchantment! Definitely the musicianship of Canadian bands enters the legend, I rarely got disappointed by that country of blasting sickness!! They all stick to their very own & personal style, obviously one of the most original Extreme Metal scene in the world with Brazil & Australia! These three lands of Death revealed a flood of talented bands like nowhere else in the world. This new band is very original and unpredictable, lots of arrangements, atmospheres, breaks, etc. The whole staying morbid & insanely skilled the way Death Metal should be, this is a great new turn and a necessary album in my eyes, BUY OR DIE!!
THORIUM (NOR) "OCEAN OF BLASPHEMY" CD 99 DIEHARD. Pretty classic Death Metal, well done and catchy as fuck in the old swedish style/trend. Good feelings, the first song "Crest For War" has a strong & memorable refrain. This is a fine release but I must admit there are too much repetitives & predictables Heavy Metal melodies in their songs, they aren't twisted nor extreme enough for my own taste and I found it a little boring like if I had already heard that kind of stuff before them many, many times... Band's like DEMIGOD but not that dark and sounding too much Gothenburg-trendy, somewhere in between if you know what I mean...(yes: gay!) Oh, there's a cover of DEICIDE's "Lunatic Of God's Creation" and I found it good enough, they're lucky I'm in a good day! Some songs were good while some others sucked...! This is fishy as I have not figured what their point is, releasing such a doubtful, hesitating CD is just half-acceptable to me, be Metal or be gay but don't mix'em together! DIEHARD: VINDEGADE 101, 5000 ODENSE C DENMARK. diehard@diehardmusic.com www.diehardmusic.com
THORNS OF THE CARRION (USA) "THE GARDENS OF DEAD WINTER" CD 93 WILD RAGS. Raw Doom from Hell with two long intros and a total running time of 55mn including two Live tracks which is interesting for that I never experienced a total Burning Doom ambience on stage! Well, the band seemed not to be ready at recording this, some untight & untuned mistakes revealed in the first song but maybe that was their own choide as the rest of the album is correctly performed. Sometimes reminds me of Magus with a violin passage, don't worry this isn't another of those boring melodic classical music influenced bands, this is completely underground & disharmonic guttural Doom/Death music that will send you down under the surface of the Earth! The synth is just used occasionally and voluntarily de-tuned from the guitars, that's why I found it strange in the first song, that's a good idea, it makes the music more sick, morbid & insane, unsound! Fans of slow agonizing Metal should find here something good for their twisted minds, BUY OR DIE!
THORNSPAWN (?) "WRATH OF WAR" CD 2002. Quite great album, a brutal raw Black Metal one including 7 tracks + intro/outro, in the vein of BLOODSTORM completely! That's what they make me think about the most. What can I add except that I like it of course! That's how I like Black Metal to be done: Evil & Blasting aggression! Some Death Metal influences this way of SADISTIK EXEKUTION as well enhance this monsterpiece of pure Metal degradations, punishing & astonishing by the warrioric doomed atmospheres from Hell, a winner in all battles: BUY OR DIE!
THOU SHALT SUFFER (NOR) "INTO THE WOODS OF BELIAL" CD 97. (re-edition of MLP 91 + "Open The Mysterrïs Of Your Creation" 7"EP 91) Old stuffs here, this is the kind of old obscure Death Metal with some malignant dooming synths like many Swedish & Finnish bands did perform at that time, totally in that vein of ancient Death Metal spirit resounding from Hell, insane! Old Carnage, old Darkthrone, old Amorphis, Incantation, God Macabre etc... kind of raw & heavy Death Metal you know, rising from Black! That was the real underground back at that time and I still love that kind of darkened Death Metal 666%! Some bands did really transcribe into music what dwelled in their black souls, THOU SHALT SUFFER was one of the countless number of these bands, devoted to obscurity with a raw sound from the deepest pits of Hell, especially the 7" which was very similar to early INCANTATION stuffs! Remember the ancient time & BUY OR DIE!
THRON (Rus) "SubjeCt to damage" CD 2000 MUSICKNESS.
THRONEAEON (SWE) "NEITHER OF GODS" CD 2001 HAMMERHEART. Thanx to the label for always sending Promos with booklet/lyrics! Damn right in between DEICIDE & VADER's kind of Death Metal! With some solos in the old Asphyx vein and some obvious liking to old Morbid Angel, this is again an album that I will like a lot! Many catchy riffs, tight as fuck and right to the point, a raging voice and skilful as the ultimate Death's scythe incision! Everything in this album rules, it's perfect and shows a great improvement since "With Sardonic Wrath" previous MCD out on Helgrind & then re-released by The Plague. THRONEAEON don't offer anything real new but damn they know how to play it right with higher quality & insane precision, so they can make the difference with their thoughtful twisted riffs! Killer, not heard such a great band since the Polish HATE released their "Daemon Qui Fecit Terram" upon the underground, I had the same feelings with "Neither Of Gods" but slightly different as THRONEAEON are even more professional! Fans of true & pure Death Metal essence might only worship this album because it shows how to play it in year 2001: BUY OR DIE!!! PO BOX 3091, 72003 VASTERAS SWEDEN. info@throneaeon.com www.throneaeon.com
TORTURER (CHILE) "LIVE FROM THE ASHES" CD 2002. Superb Live album from one of the oldest Chilean bands, morbid Death/Thrash Metal like no other bands can do, ancient spirits arised from their Evil tunes, blasting as only the South-American bands know how to play it with feelings & doomingness/catchiness, thing that we can't hear in nowadays bands now. TORTURER reminds me of INFERNAL from Brazil so you know what I'm talking about! Old-school fuckin' rules: BUY OR DIE!!!
TOTTEN KORPS (CHILE) "Tharnheim: Athi-Land-Nhi; CICLOPEAN CRYPTS OF CITADELS" CD 2000 REPULSE. Good intro in the old SAMAEL ways… The music is mainly into the BOLT THROWER kind, especially in the vein of MORDETH from Brazil of Death! Doomy & oppressing hypnotizing Death Metal with some fast accelerations here & there, thrashing heaviness, way different from their first MCD "Our Almighty Lords" out in 1993 on Hellion Recs. The most strange is that no one in the old line-up features in this new album!?? 100% new members but still the same name, I probably missed some Demos in seven years or what?! The result is here, a good old-school Death Metal album and I won't complain about it! This is brutal, heavy, catchy with a grunting voice from the grave, 40mn of total blasting Death with solos, feelings & all necessary ingredients, support the Chilean scene, if you love MORDETH like me, this is more brutal: BUY OR DIE!! c/o FERNANDO TORO, MIRAFLORES #515, SANTIAGO - CENTRO CHILE. ftoro@miraflores.dportales.cl totten_korps@hotmail.com
TRANSGRESSOR (JAP) "Recollected Limbs" CD 2001 BLOODBATH/OBLITERATION/WEIRD TRUTH. I can't believe that they're still going!! This "album" in fact includes tracks from their Demo 90 "Twisting Brochus", track from unreleased Split-flexi with Jesus Save 91, 3 tracks from the first CD 92 "Ether For Scapegoat", one from CD comp 93, comp CD 98 and the latest being a promo track recorded for this CD, a previously unreleased brand new song! (In fact the first 8 tracks, except #5, are the entire CD 92 with the same sound and the rest is from comps & promo!) What made this band special was that they were creating a style for themselves, mixing Death, Doom, & atmospheric/dark elements sometimes in the first ASPHYX's "Embrace The Death" vein that I always love to hear! The newer tracks from 98 were quite different and more fast, brutal and twisted but still offering materials different from the other bands at that same time. The somptuous heavy, crushing sound of their debut is now gone but a new originality is now born, more brutal, twisted technical attacks! Members from Vomit Remnants helped them recording the 98 songs but now the only remaining member of TRANSGRESSOR is Takashi Tanaka, drums/vocals since day one of this band and in 2001 being a two-piece band with the help of Yoshio Hasegawa previously guitars/vocals in 92, now coming back as guitar/acoustic/bass/vocals but the band is still in a complex situation, breaking up and reforming, it will continue to exist to break the laws refering to the meaning of the band's name! So we can see here very devoted individuals and that is what the scene needs in years 2000! The new track from 2001 returns more doomy like they used to do at their early days! Wish 'em to get the chance to reform again a complete TRANSGRESSOR line-up so that they could be able to show us their dark visions in doomy spirits, but for now get this CD with complete history of the band & cool layout, BUY OR DIE!!! c/o TAKASHI TANAKA, 1-18-25-601 MUTSUGI, ADACHIKU TOKYO 121-0052 JAPAN. trans_13@yahoo.co.jp cztheday@pop02.odn.ne.jp BLOODBATH Recs: 1-6-2 KOKUBUN, ICHIKAWA CHIBA 272-0834 JAPAN. bloodbathrec@hotmail.com http://fly.to/bloodbath OBLITERATION Recs: 3-41-16 SUMIDA, SUMIDAKU TOKYO 131-0031 JAPAN. grindrock@hotmail.com http://grindrock.hoops.ne.jp WEIRD TRUTH Prods: 2-3-11-301 HAYASHI, ATSUGI KANAGAWA 243-0816 JAPAN. nyar@aol.com http://members.aol.com/nyar
TRAUMA (POL) "Suffocated In Slumber" CD 2001 PAGAN. Return of this band with again their pure Death Metal, raging style with thrashing old-school energies a la old MALEVOLENT CREATION and some great Metal atmospheres, inspiring! The band has evolved greater with time, their creation fucking rules, many leads, interesting, obscures arrangements and blasting, thrashing around their pure technical Metal of Death quite original & refreshing, still 100% fast & brutal with a plus! Contains nothing cliché and offering something new, this album is somewhat groundbreaking compared to what's going on lately, this is really original & welcome in my pages, some of the arrangements are comparables to IMMOLATION but it's definitely made of different feelings. It's always damn great to put my hand onto an album like this, it's so out of trends and personal, many willl be burnt to ash while listening to "Suffocated In Slumber" one of the highlights this issue!! Pure excellence, BUY OR DIE!!!
TRAUMATISM (CAN) "GROSSY UNFAIR..." CD 2000 Self-prod. Imagine old KATAKLYSM with more typical mid-Grind & blast-beats and many old TERRORIZER influences, this is a destructive affair! The production rules, really of high quality and I can hear all the instruments, good mix! Hey, that's really an enjoyable Grind album even if sometimes there are a little too much of those repetitive basic riffing, that's why I can recognize it is Grind! Well, I'm a real big motherfucker, the band is very good and surpass many others in the style with superior production that is high above the average, a la INHUME! Plus this isn't fun Grind, for that they deserve a fuckin' BUY OR DIE!
TYPHOID (SLO) "Intestines of immortality" CD 2001 IMMORTAL SOULS. Back with another great intro but the music seems not to be as exciting as the above review, just some IMPETIGO-alike tunes, of course faster than the original but very basic & predictable now, it's fuckin' disappointing, I can't believe that I gave them a good review with "Ruptured Self-control". The riffs…it's like listening to some debutants or like early SANATORIUM & INHUMATE, the album really contains nothing particularly great but just some very classic & cliché Death Metal tunes, stop the madness, there are better bands around in the scene! C'est vilain comme Death Metal, ça casse pas une brique! I skipped after 3-4 tracks….
TYPHOID (SLO) "RUPTURED SELF-CONTROL" CD 99 IMMORTAL SOULS. Great full-of-Death artworks on this CD! Good haunted intro... Fast forward unholy Death Metal accelerations with uncommon originality, damn their drummer can keep pace so long and frequently with those blast-beats & double-bass from Hell! No similarities found in this new band, they are fast & destructive, technical american Death/Grind sounding, deep hollow vocals from beyond but the screaming backing vocals sound misplaced to me... They are completely unpredictable and intense kicking some serious asses, I did not get into it easily so this is a great sign that I would love this! I can only compare them with DEEDS OF FLESH, GORGASM, old KATAKLYSM, old CRYPTOPSY, they are at least equally talented in technical brutality except for the shitty backing vocals, they have to improve this aspect, the music is greatly thought-out with all those blasts & quick skilful techniques, they are tight, original, fast & ready as fuck to BUY OR DIE! c/o ROMAN REGINA, KOMENSKEHO 337, 97212 NEDOZERY - BREZANY SLOVAKIA. typhoid@pobox.sk www.typhoid.sk

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

CD reviews - R

R.U. DEAD? (GER) "...Completely dead" CD 2001 MAJESTIC UNION/SEMPITERNAL. Okay, all their Demos & vinyls, MLP are packed here for another resurrection of old-school Death/Thrash with aggressive & dark Metal spirits. That band was truly original and had some great materials recorded, I think it's good to hear them again if you're a pure old-school maniac of course!! It had a lot of SLAYER influences in my opinion, at least who doesn't take influences from SLAYER?? Let their Metal make your head banging & feet taping until you're also "…Completely Dead" as well…BUY OR DIE!
RAIN (SWI) "STARLIGHT EXCTINCTION" CD 2002 ADIPOCERE. Modern, false metal for trendy sheeps with a lot of synthetical elements, samples, drum machine, etc. This isn't glorious at all, burn this, motherfuckers, burn this! RATED Mgt: c/o DEMEESTER DOROTHEE, BLANCHERIE II, 1022 CHAVANNES SWITZERLAND. management@frozenrain.ch www.frozenrain.ch
RE-ANIMATOR (UK) "LAUGHING" CD 91 UNDER ONE FLAG. Thrash Metal was the law and RE-ANIMATOR was a damn good band, Thrash Metal maniacs should get this but I prefer their previous album anyway!
REBAELLIUN (BRA) "ANNIHILATION" CD 2001 HAMMERHEART. Evil!!!! This is what I'm looking for! The band evolved even more extreme & faster from their previous album & MCDs, this is truly Extreme & raging Death Metal!! The production fucking rules & fumes, pure Metal with unholy & morbid energies captured in the crypt of revived flames where the charred christ burns!!! Chaos & Apocalypse are two words that describe well the intensity of the album, the whole concept is truly evoking of Armageddon, tormenting the soul of a million dead by leads of extreme might, riffs of abominations revealed, drums of War & vocals of unrelenting merciless terror & death!!! A wide opened gate to the supreme Hell's return at the speed of light, this world is now sure soon to burn...! The Morbid Angel influence remains in some solos and arrangements, as well as the old gods such as Possessed, Slayer, Deicide keep inspiring the brazilian legions of Death, as they're now with KRISIUN & ABHORRENCE the ultimate army against the cowards & weak trendy bastards the planet accidentally breed. The change in line up obviously occured for the better, Hail REBAELLIUN, Hail Brazil of Death, HAIL DEATH METAL, BUY OR DIE!!!! www.rebaelliun.com
REBAELLIUN (BRA) "BURN THE PROMISED LAND" CD 99 HAMMERHEART. Oh, puissant!!! What a great album title, the intro is a prelude to the fucking WAR against christianity!!! This is simply TRUE Metal the purest & most extreme way possible! They are the second finger in the hand of the extremely rich in skilful abilities of the now Cult Brazilian Death Metal scene with KRISIUN. Flames of Hell are spewing all around while walking their unholy ground, chants of Death Metal soldiers are echoing through a sombre vast battlefield, burying place, smart winds & tornados of stormful hatred pulverizing any form of life, hair in the air, agonizing enemies, Arrrgghh, this inspires me a lot! Apocalyptic visions tormenting my soul, transporting me chaotickly through the maze of Death, hurting everywhere I go, out of control, POSSESSED, SLAYER, MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE and of course KRISIUN are the visions that haunt me while listening to REBAELLIUN's "Burn The Promised Land", fast, thrashing, raging, insane & intense Death Metal at the speed of light travelling through your own mind with clearness & virtuosity!!! I'd like to see & hear more bands like that in our scene, they really keep me alive & refresh the black liquid that flows eternal in my veins... HEAR THEIR CRIES, BUY OR DIE!! C.P. 946, CEP 90001-970 POA/RS BRAZIL. rebaelliun@yahoo.com
REINFECTION (POL) "THEY DIE FOR NOTHING" CD 2000 ABLATED. I remember that their Demo was not that good, they now achieved a killer first album of extreme Grind/Death and that reminds me a band who had an album out called "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" and also another polish Grind band called DAMNABLE too with some Cryptopsy here & there. This might please all Grind maniacs guarantee, really a strong first album, BUY OR DIE!!! HUBALA 29/7, 26-400 PRZYSUCHA POLAND. ABLATED: PO BOX 488, VALLEY CITY, OH. 44280 USA. analripper@hotmail.com
REPUDILATION (USA) CD BURNING DOGMA. This is a band I was very into back then but since they split up, some members were playing in different bands that didn't interest me, I did lose interest by their somewhat hardcorish new projects. So here's a chance to appreciate their old stuffs again if you missed for example their incredibly heavy Demo 96 "Purging Of Impurity", their side on the split 7" 1997 with DISFIGURED and the tracks from Frozen Dawn II Comp CD, you've got 'em all here: 8 tracks on one fuming disc. If you've never heard of them before, they're better than INTERNAL BLEEDING, very groovy & guttural Death Metal, squeezy guitars and technical drumming. Go buy this chef-d'oeuvre of brutality & "Dance, motherfucker, dance! DANCE!" BUY OR DIE!!
RESURRECTED (GER) "BUTCHERED IN EXCREMENT" CD 2001 PERVERTED TASTE. They're back, rectifying their mistakes with "Butchered In Excrement", a cool album of underground brutality, better recorded than the one below, much more enjoyable in every aspects, the riffs are changing more often than in the past, they're blasting & thrashing with a raw abrasive sound, very heavy & loud, catchy songs including the same influences as reviewed above. This time they chosen to cover "Infecting The Crypts" by the masters of brutality: Suffocation! Being tuned a little higher, this sounds quite different as they changed some of the riffs but the result is very well done! Death Metal is the game here with guttural & higher vocals here and there, definitely a good brutal album for freaks: BUY OR DIE! PO BOX 120414, 47124 DUISBURG GERMANY. info@resurrected.de www.resurrected.de
RESURRECTED (GER) "FAIRELESS TO THE FLESH" CD 99 PERVERTED TASTE. This is disappointing, the album seems having been recorded Live with a simple audio tape recorder! Too thin sound, their previous one had also a raw but little better recording! This is doubtless a step back in the production area. Musically did not change that much, brutal Death Metal the american style with blast-beats and decent catchy riffs that are a little too repetitive to me & boring but finally acceptable. I think this band should spend more time in the studio before releasing a CD, that would be more fair! They do remind me of KADATH, BLOOD & old DOMINUS "View To The Dim" in certain structures they are similar, mainly guttural brutality & savagery. I won't consider it as essential but I can listen to it while eating a pack of curlys! (peanuts if you prefer!). A cover of DEICIDE's "Sacrificial Suicide" at the end, not that good, maybe next time... For this being their second album, it's very average and disappointing.
RESURRECTED (GER) "Blood Spilled" CD 2003 PERVERTED TASTE. Already 4th album and this makes me looking like a lazy bastard to review 3 of them all in the same issue!! Hum.. let's get to the critics now: following the last album "Butchered In Excrement", they made it as good as this previous effort including the now classic cover tune in each album, they've chosen this time "Mass Appeal Madness" by Napalm Death. Death Metal the true underground way made their way with the same similarity to "Faireless To The Flesh", the band seems having found their way as they don't change that much from the second album… Up to you if you like it or not, I personally like it, the band stays true to its roots and only gets better with time without changing style, that is something I consider as a quality. "Blood Spilled" is a respectable album, oh yes, what about the cover tune, you said? Well, it's recognizable and well turned in their own game, I enjoy it and true underground fans might enjoy it as well: BUY OR DIE! PO BOX 120414, 47124 DUISBURG GERMANY. blood@resurrected.net www.resurrected.net
REVENGE (CAN) "TRIUMPH . GENOCIDE . ANTICHRIST" CD 2003 OSMOSE. How can you listen to all those melodic or symphonic blackmetal bands again when you've heard this? Put them to Death! This is how it must be done: BLASPHEMY, BESTIAL WARLUST, CONQUEROR, unrelenting, chaotic, aggressive and above all grinding & truly Evil Black Metal like you're not used to hear nowadays, just BUY OR BLACK!!!!!!!!
RIPPING CORPSE (USA) "DREAMING WITH THE DEAD" CD 91 UNDER ONE FLAG. Argh, finally I found my original copy at a music forum, so glad! This rules, original sound, original tunes of the dead, cult technical twisted thrashing Death from the ancient time resurrected through this review of death for those who missed it, absolutely cult, cult, CULT! Erik Rutan was doing a great job in this, not so many bands were so challenging at that time, there were only NOCTURNUS doing that kind of fast & complex structures and a few other like HELLWITCH if I remember well... RIPPING CORPSE now gone but not forgotten, were simply doing it sicker! And the sicker it gets, the better I feel! If you still can find it somewhere just do like me: BUY OR DIE!
RISE (USA) "SLAVES OF ILLUSION" CD 2000 NEPHILIM. A new album of true and crude Death Metal, following what they have done with the MCD & first album, total raw sound abrasive as the walls of Hell's corridors, dark feelings are still present as well as ancient atmospheres that recall the glorious UK scene a few years back: MALEDICTION, BOLT THROWER, BENEDICTION, EVOKE... Cruel voice full of horror visions, shredding & heavy guitars, slashing drums & soulful arising solos that tear your soul apart, RISE is also reminder of SADISTIC INTENT, old MORBID ANGEL, CRUCIFIXION & WITHERED EARTH to me... There is no gggoooddd...!!! That intro was on another old Demo too, maybe DECEIVER's "Nocturnal Death" '94 from Finland but not sure yet... Well, sorry if I am moving away from the RISE review but some events in stuffs sometimes remind me that it already featured somewhere else, I just try to remember & resurrect...! BUY OR DIE!!
ROSSOMAHAAR (RUSSIA) "QUAERITE LUX IN TENEBRIS" CD 2003 XTREEM. This has been sent to me by the label, a Black Metal band so to say, with high vocals & synths… the particularity is that they're a little more technical than the average bands, also melodic but they don't impress me that much. It makes me remember of ETERNAL DIRGE & OXIPLEGATZ first albums sometimes. Well I have nothing else to say, just I have no opinions about it… It's not my kind of music but maybe yours? c/o KAI STALHAMMAR, PO BOX 52, MOSCOW 115597 RUSSIA. info@rossomahaar.com www.rossomahaar.com
ROTTENESS (MEX) "BLASPHEMOUS GORE ENJOYMENT" CD 2000 EMERALD CITY. Here we got another Mexican Porn-Gore-attack! Imagine old DEAD INFECTION played faster & more extreme, nearly Brutal Death with Grind accelerations, they are with DISGORGE one of the most brutal thing I could have heard from there, primitive & beastial! They aren't as perfect as DISGORGE are but they sure are on the right way to equal them in extreme brutality with torturing leads of suffering...! There's really some great potential to be heard here.
ROTTREVORE (USA) "The Epitome Of Vicious Fornication" CD MASTERCULT. This isn't an official release but the damn ungodly Demo "The Epitome Of Pantalgia" & 7"Eps: "Copulation Of The Virtuous And Vicious" EP '91 + "Fornication In Delirium" EP '92 and a 5-trax Live recorded in Cleveland, Ohio 28/03/92, all together! If you don't know or remember this band, they had the "Iniquitous" album out in '93 on Drowned Prods. (now Repulse recs.) and it was damn crushing heavy & brutal at the time!! Rumors are saying that ex-members from ROTTREVORE are currently working on a new extreme project that will far out all previous recordings, can't wait to hear that!!
RUNEMAGICK (SWE) "ENTER THE REALM OF DEATH" CD 99. Strong & mighty heavy Dooming Death with a blast! Catchy as fuck from the very first second to the last note, including some keyboards here & there like the old bands from Sweden & Finland, the sound is extremely low & heavy, it crushes with a cult dark epic atmosphere! That band was totally unknown to me, thanx J-P from My Sovereign for sending this! It is heavier than the old Dominus and Iniquity, more dooming & sordid! The ambience is fucking obscure and I love that, it's something becoming uncommon to hear these days with a very long timing, (nearly one hour). BUY OR DIE!!!
RUNEMAGICK (SWE) "RESURRECTION IN BLOOD" CD 2000. New album & a dark one! Kept going with the same epic Doom/Death Metal atmosphere as above, just a few brief keyboards now and the same sound quality as Morgion, Skepticism & first Bal-Sagoth album, this is just to talk you about their sound because it's musically completely different, it's pure old, ancient mid-paced Death Metal a la DEMIGOD, only heavier like old GRAVE too, yes, that's right in between these two cult bands, crushing & ripping with catchy dooming darkness & morbid moods! Somber as a night of Death's arrival riding a funeral horse, hanging its scythe above the human necks... this is inspiring! A total of nearly one witching hour of storming Doom holocaust, tranquil & mighty, reigning morbid & massive among the mortal sheeps! Both their CDs are highly recommended, damn fucking heavy, insane & obscure as Hell! BUY OR DIE!!!
RUNEMAGICK (SWE) "THE SUPREME FORCE OF ETERNITY" CD 98 CENTURY MEDIA. Mighty Death Metal with real strong feelings, it reminds me of BOLT THROWER sometimes but has faster warriors-accelerations and more varied moods like the first DOMINUS album definitely stronger than both bands, it's also a bit similar to AETERNUS' "Ascension Of Terror", very heavy, Epic Death/War Metal that is far better & different from all the other melodic bands of the Göteborg scene, more brutal with solos in the INTESTINAL BAALISM vein if you remember of this Japanese band... with very strong emotions, really a great album that I recommend to all fans of mid-paced Epic Death, pure Metal! Sometimes dooming, sometimes punishing, sometimes melodic & pounding... BUY OR DIE!