Sleep
Jerusalem

Is music art? Is art the form of expressing oneself, in a manner which pushes the boundaries left by what has gone before. Is Jerusalem art? Is it an opera for the stoner fraternity?

Consisting of one 52 minute track, Jerusalem is unlike anything I've heard before. As heavy as they come, containing only about three chords heavily laid down in a number of tracks the sound can be best described as fat. Monotone vocals occasionally splash over the top of the music, mumbling about the joys of not quite legal smoking. However on first listen is must be stressed that the album sounds like a day trip to the Brillo Pad factory. Dull is the name of the game and if pop punk is your thing then this is your idea of hell. However delve deep and leave your mind open and you find an album that, although your senses tell you to stop listening, you just have to take notice of it. More addictive than the substance it is dedicated to, I find myself going back for just one more listen an alarming number of times.

But objectively this album is shit, then again I'm growing to like it. I'm confused. For the first time in Attitude I'm going to have to bow down and admit that an album has defeated me. It's long, dull, repetitive, interesting, heavy, original, catchy (?) and is definitely one of those 'in the mood only' albums. However it is frightening how often you're in the mood. And no I haven't listened to it stoned, alcohol being my preferred drug in the fight to forget the futility of life. I'm sure though that the sweet leaf would help to enhance the albums potency further.

Basically if you're into stoner rock and like musical experimentation (as most stoners do) then follow the smoke to Jerusalem. However as most of you will think this absolute dross (I don't blame you) then take a wide berth.

An undecided: **********

Gooseflesh
Chemical Garden

Website: http://hem2.passagen.se/gooseweb
Email: timebomb@algonet.se

Gooseflesh's take on heavy music is based on loud guitars and tunes that fall somewhere between hardcore and 90s thrash. This is typified by the opener 'Burning Soul', which also makes good use of vocal harmonies and addictive drum rhythms. The rest of the album doesn't deviate too much from this footprint and as such there are quite a few good tracks, though I wouldn't say any of them are killer.

The potential is there however, espetially considering this is their debut album. Given better production, there could be some classics here. It is largely the vocals which sustain interest on the album, as they don't settle into a dull monotone. I'm reminded a lot of Face Down actually, they have a similar sound. Their vocal harmonies follow a similar style to what Forbidden use throughout Forbidden Evil.

Overall this is a very interesting, captivating, and competant album - let down by production. It is by no means terrible, but if they got the guy who did Mindfield for Face Down, it would be so much better.

VERDICT: An unmined diamond

Evenfall
Still In The Grey Dying

Hmmm... A bit of a curiosity this one. Evenfall have a hybrid Doom/Black metal sound, with the doomy bits sounding more than a bit Anathema-esque.

Music to slash your wrists to then?   Erm...no.  What with this album's melodic qualities and the rather bouncy rhythms of the black metal sections this is strangely fun to listen to.  Most of the songs seem to have Doom and Black metal movements which merge well into each other, and the musicianship can't be faulted.

It's oddly cute (an impression I'm sure the band themselves would be mortified to hear of) because of the combination of death-metal vocals, bouncy rhythms, almost singalong guitar and sinuous keyboard melodies.  A mental picture I get is of hordes of cute wee demons jumping up and down to this at a gig, having a whale of a time.  It's a little like the scene in Gremlins when they're all singing along with the Dwarves in Snow White.  Elements of this are just incredibly horror-movie cheesy, but it does work really well.  In fact, it rocks.  If Evenfall have the same tongue-in-cheek attitude as Cradle of Filth, this'll really tickle the punters (well those with a sense of humour).  If they run off a few interesting T-shirts, they'll be quids in.  I just wish Cradle of Filth were anywhere near as good.

I'm afraid I'm split between calling this fun but cheesy, and giving Evenfall credit for a really well-made album.

Verdict: Great for drunken moshing!

Email: bloco_vomit@pobox.com
Homepage: http://pobox.com/~bloco_vomit
Address: X Creature Productions, PO Box 23109, Edinburgh, EH6 4ZN

Edinburgh's Bloco Vomit are a lucky bunch of bastards. Not only have they toured Europe, but they've even played in Brazil and been on TV. I guess from that they must be hard working, and if that's the case then I guess they deserve it. This, their debut CD, was released on their own label (X Creature Productions) in mid 98.

The album consists of punk / new wave covers from 1976-1979, fused with South American rhythms - the band describe themselves as 'samba punk'. I like both those styles anyway, so a band combining the two sounded interesting to me. On the whole the sound works really well and produces some great interpretations of classic tracks, though it's a bit rough around the edges (that's the way punk is meant to be isn't it?). It doesn't all work though - Pretty Vacant for example is a bit devoid of energy and interest. Tracks which do work include Jilted John, Police And Thieves, Oh Bondage, Up Yours! and Teenage Kicks. If you take the whole album as an experiment, I'd have to say that it works sometimes and fails others.

The production could be improved a great deal, some of the drums for example just boom far too much, but in general it doesn't matter too much due to the style of music. I'd love to see these guys live, I think it'd be a great atmosphere and a lot less restrictive than this CD.

VERDICT: An interesting experiment

I'm not sure what to call this, with only four tracks it slips below album length. Plus the vocals and extreme sounding guitar are so badly recorded that I'd suggest that this is either a demo or a self financed release. No matter. Ignoring the bargain basement vocal sound (I'd go so far as to suggest that, yeah despite production not entirely being any bands fault, these vocals sound so dire and distorted that the band wanted them that way) Wallachia have produced a promising EP/demo.

Opening track, Fullmåne Over Fagaras, starts with some nice acoustic guitar which suggests that at least one member has undertaken some classical training. The track then builds into black/doom metal, which although not being original, is still a lot better than some of the stuff I've heard from the more established European bands. The guitars and drums remind me a little of a slowed down Cradle of Filth, with grunting instead of grating vocals. There are also some standard atmospheric keyboards making their presence felt over the whole demo. Possibly one criticism is that all four tracks sound very alike, not helped by the vocals which are delivered exactly the same way on all four songs. However this never stopped the likes of Coal Chamber burying themselves into the hearts of the metal fraternity. The highlights are definitely the acoustic moments, which have a few small mistakes suggesting that they were probably only recorded in one or two takes, making them all the more impressive.

Basically Wallachia are a band who could easily fit into the established clique of Eurodoom quite nicely. Sort out the vocals and some of the sound problems and yes Wallachia can be big in Germany too.

Rating: **********

Groinchurn
Fink

I'm sorry to report that the underground pile is running dry a little, so any bands or small labels out there please feel free to send your stuff to the usual address. Groinchurn have been lying in the pile for a while now (sorry guys) and much to my dismay they are immediately better than most of the stuff I've done in the past. In fact I think you'll find that this issue despite coming to the bottom of the barrel, I've actually dredged up some of the better underground stuff.

Groinchurn have released an album of 21 tracks which fit nicely on one side of a 90 minute tape. This instantly suggests a grindcore sound and although yes Groinchurn do fall in that category, they also combine elements of Death Metal and even some Machine Head-esque sections to great effect. The album is for a change fairly well produced giving a nice grating guitar sound which provides the necessary heaviness without going over the top. The band also add some samples particularly at the beginning of songs which reminds me a little of Obituary's Cause of Death album. Indeed Groinchurn have actually decided to sit down and write tracks which although often gut wrenchingly heavy, still have enough room to let the listener know that the band actually have some musical talent. The band sound like they have two vocalists in a similar vain as Carcass, who for a change actually try and sing with some hint of timing as opposed to the usual screaming over a wall of noise.

Song titles include- What about them Injuns? and Principles of Mass Suggestion - which, although I have no idea of what they're about, certainly interest me more than last issues Sexual Intercourse (by Judgement Day, still can't get over the unadulterated shiteness of that song). This is another quality release which should not go unnoticed. If you're into heavy stuff then check this out. Extreme metal doesn't come much better.

Rating: **********

Agathocles
Humarrogance

Rounding off my series of underground reviews is Agathocles. Again I must apologise as this has been lying around the Attitude offices for a while. Next issue will see the final clearing out of the multitude of underground stuff that we’ve been working our way through so hopefully most of the albums reviewed in the future will be more up to date.

Anyway, here’s a useless fact for you: Agathocles were thanked on Entombed’s first album, Left Hand Path. This has no bearing on this review but hey I don’t know anything else about the band. Humarrogance is basically composed of grindcore. Short songs, blast beats, throaty screaming, song titles such as Culture of Degradation. All packaged together in a reasonably produced album which has little spark. Run of the mill is the best term to describe Agathocles. The album does have two saving moments when the band decide to take a trip into more jazz/swing related territory which provides respite from the continual sonic attack. There is little to fault the band on, they deliver heavy, fast grindcore, but once again another band falls down due to lack of originality. While Groinchurn succeeded in their well structured brutality, Agathocles tend to drag a bit. Quality Control is probably what the band have to think about, but with grindcore becoming more redundant in the late 90’s, perhaps a fresh approach is needed. Those pointing fingers at Napalm Death’s supposed sell out perhaps should realise that reproducing Scum every album would have led to eventual tedium. However with most grindcore, it is probably best delivered live and this is where Humarrogance will be best judged.

Once again another album will have to be slotted into the section marked specialist market. For while yes, this is not my cup of tea, your die hard grindcore fan will be satisfied. And I’m sure that’s who Humarrogance was intended for.

Rating: **********