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| Whoremoan - Absinthism | Interlock - Submerged |
| Alkahounds - Prurient Leanings | Anomalous |
| Satanic Black - I.M.O.A.L. | Soundscape 37 - Thirst |
| Razorwire - Wired To The Sin | |
Whoremoan
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The curiously named Whoremoan open up this 9 track demo with the even more curiously named Pony Boy - a song which rocks big time, and is particularly helped along by the over enthusiastic vocals which are spread liberally throughout the whole album. To describe their style is not easy, but I'm sure I read somewhere that they are stoner punk. While I wouldn't have described them as that myself, I can see where it comes from. It's heavy rock basically, and a good example of it. As far as production goes it's very adequate for a demo, but it's a shame they didn't have more to spend - this could be a fantastic album with the right backing. The more laid back parts of songs like Blanked are almost verging into Pearl Jam territory, and are quite well mixed in with the heavier stuff. The Cow Is Now is cool, in a kind of Entombed (Same Difference era) way. Verdict: Cool stuff, looking forward to their new material. |
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Interlock
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Female singers are cool. They’re so much more interesting than guy singers in the heavy music genre – partly because they’re that much rarer. Interlock use both female and male vocals, which works extremely well, especially since their music is the gothic end of metal – it adds a lot of atmosphere to it. Anyway, I suppose I should say more about this album instead of just rambling on about female singers… It’s refreshing to see a gothic metal band use electronic effects, samples and drum machines in their music – I’ve never heard them used to this extent before in this style of music, but it works incredibly well, making this sound very modern and original. It makes a bloody change from all the albums I usually hear in Attitude Towers from this style of music, with their wanky screaming guitars and boring power chords! This band is obviously influenced from wide and far, since many styles shine through – the miserable gothic element, the energy of metal, as well as some atmospheric Eastern influenced sounds with weird sounding instruments… yeah!! All of these combine to make a very dynamic and interesting sound. I’ve tried to think of negative criticisms for this album, but to no avail. This band are definitely worth finding… Seek, listen, and enjoy. Verdict: Very original and refreshing electronic goth metal. |
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Alkahounds
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This is a very well produced demo which has the makings of a very good album (given a chance). It reminded me of both Green Day and The Offspring, although was had its own unique sound. The band then used a good mixture of high energy riffs and soothing ballad intersections to give the demo a sound which was very interesting and enjoyable to listen to. According to the biog with this recording they have plenty more songs waiting to be released on the public and if they are as good as the 4 on this demo then I think we could be hearing an awful lot more from the Alkahounds in the future. |
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Anomalousemail: anomalousrock@yahoo.com |
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The first song in this recording has a humorous title Satins a Cheesecake which has a sound very similar to Nirvana. In fact all the songs have a huge resemblance to Nirvana, but still have a style of there own and are well recorded and produced. This gives the recording a very good sound, making it a pleasure to listen to. This is a very good recording from a very good grunge band, who (according to the press release) have interest from some major labels. I think this is justified as they are the best grunge band I have heard since Nirvana. |
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Satanic Black
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When I first listened to this album I hated it, but this was because it wasn't what I had expected. The cover art, liner notes, band and song names all being satanic made me think this was going to be a black metal album, but it very much isn't. The guitars are a bit light for me, the drums are too slow, and I really hate the vocalist, but some of the songs are OK and they remind me for some reason of Venom. Verdict: An OK album, but misleading |
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Soundscape 37
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Hmmm, me thinks this is a demo. The lyrics sheet which our ever so efficient Editor provided me with sheds little light on what this musical ditty should be officially called but the production provides some classification hints. While far from being terrible, the sound still has enough bedroom like glitches to suggest that Soundscape 37 might even just be one guy noodling about with his equipment, ahem. And what a sick guy that is. You see, Soundscape 37 have been watching their channel 4 documentary’s and have come up with a concept mini-album. Imagine a musical based on secret government tests involving plutonium and humans. Yeah, X Files freaks rejoice. This is all set to a bleak industrial background, full of screechy echoing guitars and unrelenting drum tracks. It’s a bit like Pitch Shifter’s Hanger 84 spread over 5 tracks. Opener, and I feel the best track, C.A.L-3 sums up the tone of the whole demo. It’s bleak with its documentary soundtrack providing some disturbing listening. The guitars are toned perfectly, and the whole sound of the song would fit nicely on a Cronenberg film. Dreary and difficult though the subject may be, there is something undeniably entertaining about Thirst. I guess something within us enjoys the utterly devious nature of our government. Maybe we gain satisfaction from knowing that within this increasingly tame existence, the devil is still looking for new and interesting ways to not only lie to us, but kill us as well. Although the music is not really my normal listening preference, I think coupled with the subject matter, it provides a suitably drab soundtrack. Industrial music at its most basic is a harsh emotionless entity. I know that it is very often coupled with bleak misery, which I suppose you could argue means it is full of emotion, but emotional music to me, is uplifting. It doesn’t need to be happy, listen to the blues or Anathema, but it gives you a certain feeling. Industrial leaves you cold, very much like the idea of secret medical testing. Soundscape 37 have tailored their music and message perfectly, although I perhaps fail to see how much further they can take this. Regardless of what the future holds, this is still my favourite listen for this issue. It’s almost as sick as Cannibal Corpse! Rating: ********** |
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Razorwire
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Wired to the sin? Wired to the eighties more like. This English quartet's style seems to be very traditional eighties rock/metal influenced by the likes of Iron Maiden, Megadeth, and the odd touch of Skid Row. The most modern element of their demo can be found on the fourth and final song Draconian Blues, which has a Paradise Lost-style (surprise surprise) lead guitar bolted onto the basic trad rock framework. Vocally there is a definite resemblance to Dave Mustaine, adding to the general atmosphere of cheesiness created by twiddling guitar solos and the odd "ooh" thrown in for good measure. Frankly, I'm puzzled. It's a bit early I think for an eighties retro-thing to be happening with a band who look quite young from the fuzzy photo on the demo's inlay. It's nevertheless pretty enjoyable for a demo with the usual muddy production problems. The musicianship is pretty good, with my only gripe being the second song Alone, where the drummer seems to want to outpace the rest of the band in the speedier sections. Verdict: Rather dated, but quite good. |
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