Mongoose III
The Big Weed Smoke Of '65 EP

Email: mongoos3@aol.com
Address: 19 Castlehill Drive, Newton Mearns, Glasgow, G77 5JZ, Scotland

Mongoose III is an offshoot from Scottish doomsters Serenade, though because I've misplaced my copy of their latest release I'm not sure whether it's the exact same band or not. Rather than going for the power-doom sound of Serenade, Mongoose III is definitely an altogether more stoner proposition. In fact it was because of our liking for stoner that this was sent in - the Serenade album got a bit of a slagging from friendly wee Scott.

So how did I know they're stoner? Song titles like Light Those Bongs and The Devil's Big Weed Smoke Of '65 gave it away a tad. Oh, and the flyer for it boasts proudly "4 tracks of the catchiest, heaviest sabbath influenced metal around". Well that got me interested, because there's nothing like a bit of Sabbath - and it has to be said this is nothing like a bit of Sabbath. It's a good and enjoyable EP, which may well be heavily influenced by the fiendish four, but it doesn't sound much like them. And no that's not a criticism.

There is a nice diversity accross the four tracks, with everything from stoner to hardcore to death grunts pervading your aural extrusions. A dubious mixture you might think, but in practice they intermingle admirably. The production is not bad and for the most part works quite well, but it could certainly be improved. To get the most out of it you really need to crank the volume up - that'll get the nice crunchy guitars noticed a bit more. There's definitely a cool vibe to the CD, though it took several listens to find it and to get accustomed to the Serenade-isms that remain.

VERDICT: Catchy, competant, heavy - worth a listen

Plan E
E For Your Ears / E For Your Eyes

Email: solardisk@solardisk.com

Ok I forgot about this one so this is going to have to be quick, sorry guys!

Plan E have two bassists and no guitarists - weird I hear you say, and you’d be right. The sound produced however does not obviously lack the said instrument, and in fact the band may benefit from the omission. Plan E delve into several different territories on these two discs ranging from goth through to jazz. Some sampling and other effects go a long way in providing the band further quirkiness. The bottom line is - This is different!

All in all a promising collection of songs, though the Ed says their later full-length album is not as good. Sorry about the length of the review but as this release is ages old what does it matter.

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

Liege Lord
Master Control

Master Control was originally released in 1988, and it was being played along with the likes of Metallica on American College Metal Radio, and it’s quite clear why. Liege Lord have a very obvious old-school feel to them, and sound like they were heavily influenced by everybody’s favourite cheesy old synchronised guitar playing band, Iron Maiden, with a little bit of Youthanasia-style Megadeth thrown in (even although that album wasn’t around until after Master Control, or something….I’m so confused!!!). Yes, they play sort of typical 80s thrash metal, and they play it well. They write the kind of songs which have those really ultra-catchy choruses, which, after having heard them once, will live on in your head forever. The best song for that is the second one, named Eye of the Storm, it’s a corker 8-)

If you have a tasselled leather jacket, really tight jeans and white trainers, and you wear them all with pride, then this album’s a must. Let’s just say that there’s room for a little cheese in everybody’s lives, and if this isn’t good cheese, I don’t know what is 8-)

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

[Check out the Liege Lord competition in this issue]

Vim Patior
Magni Nominus Umbra

First thing to note about this album is that it is a cross between Death and Black Metal (how original!). Second thing to note is that it’s not that bad. Sure Vim Patior aren’t exactly the most original band but what they have here is a well produced album (i.e. you can hear everything) which in areas throws in a few curve balls. Some riffs and sections remind me of eighties thrash. This is probably because unlike say, Thron, Vim Patior have the ability to play songs under the speed of light, instead preferring sudden time changes and rock solid riffage to bludgeon you repeatedly.

There is of course the odd nod to all things Iron Maiden, and despite the singer not being the greatest crooner you’ll ever hear, marks are still awarded for trying to vary the vocals just that little bit. I don’t know much about the band but in some sections it seems that we have dual grunters laying down the lyrics, which I’m sure refer to all thing dark and nasty.

Those of you who are avid readers of Attitude most likely know that’s its not often that the extreme metal scene receives good marks from me but Vim Patior just have that little bit of the much needed X-factor. Perhaps its their slightly traditional feel or just the good sound quality but they’re one of those bands who just seem to have that touch more class. Another thing I like is their lack of reliance on keyboards, at last someone who doesn’t need to paper over the cracks left by piss poor song writing.

As I said earlier and will restate just to make it clear, this is not the greatest or most original album ever. However in the sadly saturated extreme metal scene Vim Patior are a proverbial breath of fresh air and should be checked out by avid fans.

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

Thron
Seductions Of The Unbaptised Darkness

When I first put this on and In Dominions of Lewd Spells kicked in, it reminded me of Legion era Deicide. No bad thing I thought. Give it a minute to get into it and what your basically looking at is a poor Cradle of Filth clone. Nice keyboard sections intermingle with deathly dull speed drills only enlightened by the odd Maidenesque guitar section. Songs such as the title track, My Moonfaced Empress and Lust Has Not Boundaries tell you what to expect. It always confuses me how these bands try and claim some deep and dark romanticism while basically playing substandard death metal with the occasional female vocal or keyboard thrown in to add that atmospheric feel. This is passe now, done and best forgotten, bands like Thron should take a good look at themselves and question what they’re adding to the already far over populated Black Metal market. It’s certainly not originality or song writing expertise.

Its clear the band do have talent if some of the instrumental work is anything to go by, its just that they seem so concerned with being extremely fast that almost all subtlety is lost. Napalm Death used to be fast but they kept their songs to less than a minute for a reason. Oh this does get boring. On occasion Thron do hook onto a good riff but they either repeat it ad infinitum or all its power is drowned out by the poor production. Indeed the sound could only be described as muddy which unfortunately also hampers the band.

Given the money and publicity Thron probably could be the next Dimmu Borgir. However, I for one think its time for these vampire obsessed freaks to grow up and discover the wide world. A world where sunlight is a blessing and ancient predators who feast on the blood of humans and are scared of garlic don’t exist. Have you got that, they don’t exist, Christ I’m more scared of the taxman. Here’s an idea, I’m going to start a band where we all dress up as Leprechauns and sing songs about the Emerald Isle and pots of gold, what with the fascination with imaginary and mystical creatures I’m sure to make a killing. [you'd make a great Leprechaun! - Ed]

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

Skythrone
The Way...

O ye Gods!  What in the cosmos did I do in a previous life that meant I had to listen to this?  The best use to be made for this album would be a cure for insomnia.  In fact, it did literally send our esteemed Ed to sleep. [to be fair, I was going to sleep anyway - Ed]

The soft intricate medieval synthesiser rhythms combined with slow drum-machine and breathy whispered spoken vocals just create an extremely "background" feel, which did little to attract the attention of this humble reviewer.  This sort of reminds me of CoF's Cruelty and the Beast during the quiet periods of cheesy horror-movie keyboards.  I'm also reminded of the electronic background music of the dungeons'n'dragons type roleplaying computer games I played as a sad nerdy teenager.  Neither are good musical influences in my book.

The two tracks which stand out (and are just about worth listening to) the most from the mire of mediocrity are Symphony of the Dark Millenium and Galaxy.  They're both instrumentals (perhaps made bearable by the absence of "atmospheric" chanting), the first sounding like an eighties chip-music rendition of a robust classical piece (bouncy and fun) and the second being a bit of a dancy almost industrial track.

My feeling is the terribly cheesy sound is due to the equipment used.  Playing these melodies on guitar or more modern synths might save them from sounding quite so dire.

Verdict: Certainly not my cup of tea, but possibly soothingly bland enough for those for whom it's dangerous to excite.

Goresleers
Far Away From Anywhere Else

There’s nothing like a good, thick ol’ slab of doomy gothic metal – and that’s exactly what we’ve got here, in the form of this album from Goresleers. Although this offering may not be overly original, it’s no rip-off, either - it’s done well, and has quite a few memorable songs in it. The combination of heavy rhythm and dark, catchy lead guitar gives some really cool vibes. I can actually use this for more than background music, which is a sure sign I quite like it.

The one major problem I have is the vocals – the style they’re delivered in doesn’t really complement the music. Partly because the singer has a heavy foreign accent – he seems to alternate between English and some other language throughout the songs (or maybe that’s just his mumbling – it’s hard to tell!!). Because of this, the phrasing of the vocals seems wrong in parts (though it may seem right in his home language). Also, there seems no power behind them, which lets the songs down a bit. After all that slagging off of the vocals, they aren’t bad, I just feel they should be a lot better.

This album has a lot of great moments, and some lead riffs that kill, but overall, I was left feeling a little disappointed, mostly with the vocals. I’m interested to see what this band do in the future, since I feel the songwriting structure will develop further with time. Still a damn good album, though, despite its faults, with some great songs that stick in your mind (a little too long!).

Miskatonic

Various
At The Mountains Of Madness

Doom metal is a funny thing. Just look at this compilation to see why. Starting with Solstice’s Battle metal feel the album also incorporates the groovy Maiden style of Eternal Elysium and the sheer crawling heaviness of Burning Witch. If anything this spectrum of sounds is what this compilation intends to highlight, and if so it pulls this off with a lot to spare. Another impressive element is the weight of talent on display, sure in some areas clichéd but nevertheless an impressive collection from bands whom most of you will never have heard of.

Of particular interest to these ears are firstly the talent from Britain. The aforementioned Solstice kick of proceedings with the excellent The Sleeping Tyrant. Demo bands, Warning and Blessed Realm also put in solid shifts with the former being extremely slow and reminiscent of early Sabbath and the latter adding a nice groove. Perhaps my favourite song on the cd is the very Sabbathesque (its difficult to mention Doom metal without Ozzy and co getting name dropped every few seconds) Serpents Path by Pale Divine. Again a band who I have not heard of before but who boast an impressive and all important swinging feel. In fact all the bands on this cd will appeal to different people. With Eternal Elysium and Millarca from Japan adding a touch of the NWOBM, particularly vocally, Revelation and While Heaven Wept inject a gothic tingle and Cold Mourning ham it up with a dose of Cathedralesque horror.

And that’s your lot, 10 underground acts who simply portray almost all things doom and in most cases in an extremely accomplished manner. The addition of contact addresses for each band helps to underline the underground nature of this project and its no surprise to find that the label is run by a member of Solstice. Well worth your money!

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

Jungle Rot
Slaughter The Weak

This is a good death metal album, which starts to tribal drumming before exploding into action. The songs are heavy and quite powerful. This album has nine songs and more tribal drums and native noises are at the end.