Deceased
|
 |
||
|
The new album from Deceased, the supposedly classic band of the supposedly legendary King Fowley, is all about ghosts and spirits - much the same as their last album, Fearless Undead Machines, was all about zombies. Supernatural Addiction grows on you. When I first heard it I didn't like it much, largely due to the vocals. I thought they were terrible and couldn't see past them, but now I think they are not bad, and the rest of the music is generally very good. They have some bad songs but overall even they are not that bad. While the album is possibly worth buying, I don't feel they deserve their legendary status. On another note, King Fowley has his own record label. [Considering what I was expecting - a pretty straightforward but competent death metal album - I was very pleasantly surprised. Supernatural Addiction is an extremely progressive and forward looking album, with influences from many different areas. How many death metal bands could you name that have a stripped down flanger section in the middle of a song (Dark Chilling Heartbeat)? The sound is also comparatively clear and uncluttered for the genre, no doubt helped along by producer Simon Efemey. - Ed] |
|||
|
|||
 |
Century
Media
Tankard
|
||
|
Wasn't eighties thrash cool? Don't you miss listening to Spreading The Disease era Anthrax? What do you mean no?! Well, if you were ever a thrash fan, this album will make you dig out all your old Annihilator and Testament albums, and say, "Wow! cool!!". It's got all the qualities of a good album - but it's the kind of style that you either love or loathe. There's nothing groundbreakingly original about this album - these kind of songs lived and died over ten years ago. Very well written songs all the same, making for a very enjoyable album all in all. But it would've been nice to see something with an original twist to it. There's gotta be so many signed unoriginal bands out there. the thing I like about this album is that the style is so out of date, you can kinda forgive them. If this was an unoriginal death metal album, I would have no time for it, cos there's so many bastards out there making albums like that. Basically, Kings Of Beer is a collection of great songs. this band would've been really big about fifteen years ago. Full of speed-picking, catchy choruses, and silly singing topics. Coooool!! What more could you possibly want? Verdict: If you've forgotten how enjoyable thrash can be, you should definitely check this out. |
|||
|
|||
Gong
|
|
||
|
Without going into too much detail, I first heard about Gong a few months back when an old man in a pub started talking to me about them. He was going on about how weird they were, and he wanted to come round to my house and lend me some of their LPs! Well that sounded a bit dodgy, but I was very curious all the same. A number of weeks later I bought one of their classic albums, Angel's Egg, for a very good price. It was really a very bizarre album, right down to the inlay. To cut a long story short, it was part II of the Radio Gnome trilogy. Zero To Infinity is part 5 of the trilogy - where part four went is anybody's guess. Gong take the idea of a concept album to new levels - they have a five part concept trilogy, which charts the adventures of one Zero The Hero. The story will provide you with great amusement, if you're of the right mindset, even without listening to the music. Zero is basically a better produced and slightly tamed down version of Angel's Egg, so I'll talk about them both. The band have French and Engligh links, and at times you can hear very strong French influences in the music. It is NOT metal. The thing is, I don't know what it IS. At times it's ambient, at times rock-ish, and the rest of the time just odd. Saxophone is used throughout, and is probably the most prevalent instrument, with flute at times. I'm really having a hard time trying to describe it any better! I think I prefer Angel's Egg, but it's a great album all the same. Verdict: Get Gonged!! |
|||
|
|||
Fury Of Five
|
||
|
And as the collection of ancient Attitude material comes to an end we find Fury of Five nestled at the bottom of the pile. And strangely enough just as I come to review their first album, At War With the World, in through the Attitude letter box comes their new album, This Time it’s Personal. So in typical ground breaking style, we decided to review them both in a kind of before and after way. Fury of Five conjures up ideas of Hardcore, which is not my most hated form of music, but I don’t know too much about it. At War With the World starts up with an air raid siren which nicely introduces the crushing riffage of Come and Get It. Things are looking rosy in a kind of Biohazard meets Machine Head way. Wake Up America adds a touch of early Discharge and some Sick Of It All-esque lyrics. The production is neat with the guitars crunching along nicely, and the vocals are well delivered, with more variety than in standard hardcore. Indeed the Machine Head tag continues, with Burn My Eyes being brought back to mind, not a bad thing at all. Some tracks such as No Time For Love can begin to seem a little long winded, especially for the normally short and snappy hardcore market, a short guitar solo is even introduced! Nevertheless, At War With the World is an impressive debut, which suggests that the band have more in their arsenal than all out aggressive speed. Things are certainly boding well for the future. Well here in the future we find the bands second release, This Time it’s Personal. The album cracks off with the title track which seems to follow the standard hardcore cliché more than their previous work. Multi-layered shouting and lyrics about respect, basically your every day stuff. However the band still show a fair amount of talent musically, specifically in the guitar department which keeps the heavy factor pumped while introducing some more subtle elements. And yes, that Machine Head thing is still going on, check out the intro to Never which is very reminiscent of Mr Flynn and his rotating line up. Another slight point is the production. I’m not sure but to me their second album doesn’t quite seem as polished as the first. Then again maybe it’s just these ears. However there’s still an undeniable quality to this album, and I especially like the more mellow touches that the band have introduced in the like’s of Season’s Change. Hardcore is a market which unfortunately is too often formulaic for me, but Fury of Five seem to have that little extra vision to lift them above the dross. Oh yeah, the closing rap track, Wigga In Da Hood is nice as well. Overall this album’s a lot better than its title suggests. I mean, This Time It’s Personal, come on lads, that’s a little weak, wasn’t that the tag line for Jaws 4, you know the shite one with Michael Caine? Oh I’m rambling again. And that’s your lot. Both albums are well worthy of any hardcore fans collection, even if there are occasional guitar solos, and to tell you the truth I can’t really distinguish between them very much. So buy them both, or don’t. Ok, I’m going for a lie down, I think they call this reviewer burn out. Dear Ed, can I have a sabbatical? Preferably paid. I’ll go check out the metal scene in Florida, Hawaii, California, eh Australia and other places that are warm. So how’s about it you miserable tight fisted git? [<Malky style> No </Malky style> - Ed] Rating: ********** for em both |
||
|
Borknagar
|
 |
||
|
I saw Borknagar when they supported Cradle Of Filth in the Glasgow Garage, and I don't remember much about them. Upon listening to their album I've decided, although weird Viking metal with grandiose singing in some parts and in other parts Black Metal, that Borknagar are a good band and their album is well worth buying. Their song titles all seem to be about Viking stuff like The Eye Of Odin, A Tale Of Pagan Tongue, and To Mount And Rove, which are good themes for a band from Scandinavia (Norway I think). |
|||
|
|||
 |
Blackend / Plastichead Eclipse
|
||
|
Despite what it says in the inlay, Eclipse's debut album is not great. Neither is it terrible though, it just suffers from two things: the drums are rubbish and the song finishing is fairly poor. The drums suffer from the same problem as many black metal albums, it's speed over timing or skill. As for the finishing, they basically don't seem to have put enough time into the songs. There are many reasonably promising riffs and melodies, but they are not put together well and not used to their full effect. I suppose I should mention the style about now. They play largely atmospheric black metal, though with frequent frantic parts. Thankfully not too many. At times there is a definite hint of Anathema in there, though surprisingly the more atmospheric songs are the short ones. Go figure. It's not something I would buy, but I'm sure some people would appreciate it. Verdict: Listen before you buy |
|||
|
|||
|
Plastichead / Rhythm Vicar Raw Noise
|
 |
||
|
Erm, see title for description. Repetitive, boring, non-melidoc noise. Couldn't sit through the whole album, I'm afraid. Many extreme albums are not my cup of tea, but I recognise the technical abilities of the musicians. This isn't even competantly played. Crap sound. Crap "songwriting". Crap musicianship. 'Nuff said, really. [Please excuse our poor reviewer, she's in a bit of a mood! - Ed] |
|||
|
|||
