Album Reviews

  • Dirk Diggler - Dirk Diggler (2010)

    cover

    Hailing from Israel today we have a very perky porno-grind band called “Dirk Diggler”. While we are not huge fans of gridcore in general, we can recognize when a band is pretty good at creating chaos and decadence with their music and Dirk Diggler excels at this.

    Featuring the traditional porn samples, Dirk Diggler blows in your face 14 tracks of crushing gridcore that can be compared to Pig Destroyer, Anal Cunt and similar bands. Track after track the band provides a hefty amount of riffs and bestial vocals to please the most ‘demanding’ fans of the genre.

  • Brutally Deceased – Dead Lovers’ Guide (2010)

    cover

    Hailing from the Czech Republic, today we have the neck-breaking music of Brutally Deceased and their debut full-length release “Dead Lovers’ Guide”. Many new bands attempt to play ‘old-school’ Swedish Death Metal but fail miserably, however Brutally Deceased excels in this department very nicely and created 33 minutes of retro-DM that fans of the genre will love.

    With a very solid production, “Dead Lovers’ Guide” will drill your ears for nine very catchy tracks. The band’s music has just the right feeling to believe you are back in the early days of Grave, Dismember, Morgoth, but has the 2010 studio clarity.

  • Grave Digger - The Ballad of Mary (2011)

    cover

    Just a few short months after the release of the amazing “The Clans Will Rise Again”, we have Grave Digger providing us with an EP featuring 5 songs that would have been best fitted in a special edition version of the band’s previous album. However, these 5 songs provide a different (and very interesting) look to a few of the songs of the band’s latest full-length release.

    Featuring two versions of their epic ballad “The Ballad of Mary”, this EP packs enough heat to surely satisfy the band’s fans. In the first version of this song we have Doro and Van Canto providing vocal support, making this song considerably better. In the ‘extended’ symphonic version (which is actually 20 seconds shorter than the Doro version of the song) we have symphonic elements that add to this song a very acoustic/classical feeling to this dramatic song.

  • Svartpest – Mjodfest (2010)

    cover

    With a story that reads like a soap opera (according to the press kit), today we have Norway’s Svartpest and their latest release “Modfest”. In this album we get 7 tracks of a mixture of Black Metal with some Viking/Folk influences that feels somewhat a bit undercooked, but decent enough to make an ok album.

    Taking 3 songs from their 99 demo (with the same title), the band gives us a total of 7 tracks that dramatically vary in quality, but have a few decent ones to call this album a ‘lukewarm’ success. We have nothing against such releases, but we think is kind of lame to rehash older songs for newer releases (unless you are a band with a long (and recognized) trajectory).

  • Liktjern - Kulde, Pest & Død (2011)

    cover

    Hailing from Norway, today we have another Black Metal band popping out of the woods. Liktjern has been around since 1996 but due to tons of line-up changes and everything you can imagine, the band has never released any music until “Kulde, Pest & Død”, a very raw and ‘traditional sounding’ Black Metal MCD.

    As we are reviewing this album during a winter storm, we can surely state that this kind of Black Metal is just right for these moments. All 4 songs are raw and basic, a simplistic but rather traditional approach to the genre, but then again who said Black Metal is supposed to be pretty.

  • Lebowski – Cinematic (2010)

    cover

    As one of the most ambitious self-released albums we have received in years, we have Lebowski’s musical opus “Cinematic”. In this release, the band culminates a 5 year writing process in the shape of a sound track to a non-existent movie as they put it. Being the band’s first full-length release, we are sure they will turn some heads along the way with such a professional and rich production.

    The variety of textures created by the moods and instruments is outstanding, all the elements come together magically in such a way that you can visualize the atmospheres created by the band in each of the 10 songs presented in this release.

  • Havok – Time is up (2011)

    cover

    After their solid debut album “Burn”, Havok is back with their crushing Thrash Metal sound with “Time is up”. This new release features 10 tracks and 42 minutes of non-stop Thrash Metal music that will blow your speakers off. Unlike all the copycat bands, Havok is influencing their sound with modern elements and with a crystal clear production that puts them in the same caliber are the greats of the genre Exodus, Forbidden, etc.

    With the opening track aptly titled “Prepare for Attack”, the band unleashes their musical skills with sick tracks that will have you headbanging from the first minute. The guitar riffing is even better than on their “Burn” album, and the catchiness of the songs is unrivaled.

  • Macabre – Grim Scary Tales (2011)

    cover

    The masters of deranged music and sick and twisted lyrical content are back with their first full-length release in eight years. “Grim Scary Tales” is consisted of 14 tracks, each referring to a killer and their atrocities, which make for 50 minutes of very interesting tracks that vary between Death Metal, Grindcore, Technical DM, and overall madness.

    With the opening track “Locusta”, Corporate Death and Nefarious deliver a brutal two prong bass guitar and lead guitar attack that will render the listener unconscious due to the high intensity of the song. Moving over we have the completely insane “Nero’s Inferno”, a piece that sounds straight out of a circus formed by psych patients.

  • The Shadow Theory – Behind the Black Veil (2010)

    cover

    As a prefect example of super-groups that don’t really work, today we have The Shadow Theory and their first full-length release “Behind the Black Veil”. Form by Psychotic Waltz vocalist Devon Graves and featuring Kristoffer Gildenlöw (ex-Pain of Salvation) on bass, Johanne James (Threshold) on drums, The Shadow Theory boosts enough musician fire power to be amazing…well they are half way there.

    Starting the album with “I Open Up My Eyes”, you immediately notice a Jethro Tull rip-off flute using mixed in with the vocals, the bass guitar line is particularly great but it can’t save a mediocre song from crashing and burning with very uninspired repetitive sections. Another thing that kills songs is the stupid lyrics of “Ghostride”, in this track just after 2 minutes you will start wondering what the hell you are doing listening to such dumb lyrics.

  • Evergrey – Glorious Collision (2011)

    cover

    With a revamped lineup, Tom S. Englund and company return with what is probably the band’s best release in a few years. With “Glorious Collision” the band reaches new heights thanks to the technical brilliance and catchiness of all the songs presented in this release. As we all know over the years, Tom is great at crafting very somber lyrics and bringing them to life with his gifted vocal style.

    “Glorious Collisions” feels like a much needed reboot in Evergrey to more forward with more progressive ideas and rediscover their dark and emotional sound. Since the opening track “Leave it behind”, a very mystical aura enshrouds this release and it’s never released until the end of the album, a truly magnificent accomplishment.

Pages

Recent Image Galleries