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'Anyway' expands on the previous tracks by having a solitary acoustic guitar backing up another great vocal line. Just as you think it might be getting a bit monotonous, a keyboard comes in gently in the background to add a bit more depth but without spoiling anything. A bit of soothing background lead work finished the song off nicely. 'Touch The Sky Once More' is yet another very bare slow song, with the instrumentation virtually perfect: enough to make a song but not so much that it overpowers the mood. Subtle drums & guitar rule. 'Cannonball' is perhaps my favourite track, again for the excellent instrumentation and vocal line.

The only problem I might possibly have with this music is that if you weren't stoned it would be really boring to play (as in physically play) a lot of the time, but if that's an excuse to get stoned then it can't be all bad!?! Seriously though, this is a cool album if you like mellow 70s rock sorta stuff: well worth a listen...

This CD, while being very similar to Strapping Young Lad, is also completely different. It shares the wall-of-noise feeling of the SYL material, but in a much less heavy way. The whole album is basically an experiment in sound: the vocals add to the atmosphere rather than being high in the mix and being heard as vocals. It's definitely atmosphere driven. Each time I listen to it I take much more from it. I suppose the subtleness of the vocals lead to the feeling of this maybe being some sort of soundtrack music. In fact, as I'm sure I read somewhere, the soundtrack to a (weird) musical.

The first two tracks, 'Seventh Wave' and 'Life' are an excellent start to the album. As a showcase of what's to come, they combine catchy repetitive guitar rhythms, pounding (but not fast) drum beats, subtle synths, and the previously mentioned vocal moods. Both songs are definitely cool, and have been growing on me the more I hear them. They show the lack of structure which permeates the album. It's not about having a verse riff, a chorus riff, then back to the verse. Not at all. It's about musical progression rather than technicalities. 'Night' starts off like Guns n Roses' 'Welcome To The Jungle' but quickly gets back into the OM stride already set out. Unfortunately it starts to get a bit dull about half way through, as does perhaps it's successor 'Hide Nowhere'.

'3A.M.' has leanings of Pink Floyd, and is simply synths and four lines of vocals lasting 1:53, and it serves as an intro to the vaguely boring 'Voices In The Fan' The rest I'm afraid is quite similar. With this kind of music it's hard to make memorable songs, as had been provan here.

In general the album suffers a bit from the same problem as SYL: it has some really cool standout tracks, but some just seem to pass you by. It is however much easier to get into for most people than the face-shredding Strapping... I can't wait to hear what the Infinity album (Devin's current project) will sound like!

Hecate Enthroned:
Dark Requiems...

'Forever In Ebony Drowning' is exactly what I have always wished Cradle Of Filth were. It has all the good bits of Cradle and very few of the bad bits, with a sprinkling of Sirrah thrown in too. Classical undertones with brutal execution. Thankfully the drumming doesn't suffer the same lack of talent that dogs so many bands in this genre; it's fast and rhythmic, and fits in with the song rather than pounding meaninglessly through your skull.
So often the drumming in bands like this just gives me a headache. Probably part of the reason why this isn't so here is because they are quite low down in the mix - a very wise decision.

Track 6, 'For Thee, In Sinful Obscurity', is a lovely relaxed piano/keyboard led atmospheric song in the style of Elend, with female vocal harmonies throughout. It breaks the album up nicely before plunging back into the pace of the previous tracks once again. This next song thankfully surprised me. About four minutes into it, it reverts back to the slower, atmospheric leanings heard in the previous track. The different musical styles are blended beautifully within the one song, again something which Cradle have not managed yet in my opinion
The piano sound used throughout this album adds greatly to the music, where with Cradle it just makes them sound really cheesy (which they are).

I don't think I could recommend this album to anyone but current fans of the genre, but to them it will certainly be appealing. In my opinion they are surely better than Cradle Of Filth, though not dissimilar, so Cradle fans should love them.

However I must make a small admission. Myself and a few others from the hallowed halls of Attitude were slightly worried about Diabolus in Musica. You see we received an advance tape containing the track 'Stain of Mind' and what did we find? I'll tell you what we found, a fucking Coal Chamber riff behind Tom Araya's aggresive scream. Oh my God, could the only band in the history of metal who have not sold out actually compromise their sound in order to shift a few more units. After listening to it a bit I actually began to like 'Stain of Mind'. There's still enough Slayer in it to have Marilyn Manson quaking and the riff does fit with the vocals well. The worry was though that Slayer had filled their album with such mind numbing riffage and had decided to put Adidas gear on.

The album itself starts with 'Bitter Peace' and a riff that is very reminiscent of Machine Head. Could it be true, are Kerry et al pandering to the new wave? However after this intro the album itself kicks off for real. Take Korn, the Deftones, Fear Factory, Machine Head and Coal Chamber, mix them in a blender and guess what- You don't get fucking Slayer. None of those bands no matter how much I like them or dislike them (as the case may be) can touch the collective of Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King and Paul Bostaph. 'Bitter Peace' itself is an update of 'War Ensemble' and is the equivalent of a ground to air missile hitting your ears. You can tell I'm enjoying reviewing this can't you. Following this is 'Death's Head'. Ok so maybe this shows some signs of Slayer updating their sound but there's still so much of the original style in there that you hardly notice. The aformentioned 'Stain of Mind' follows and sits much more comfortably on the album surrounded by some more familiar ideas. Slayer slow it down a little with 'Overt Enemy'. A political rant that brings in some elements of 'South of Heaven' along with a whole new load of ideas. 'Perversions of Pain' is possibly let down a little by its slightly droney chorus but I only pointed this out because it's the only flaw on the album (anyway, the killer verse makes up for it). 'Love to Hate' has a slight rap influence to it and is another sign of Slayer bringing in ideas from elsewhere but don't worry it doesn't sound like ICE-T. 'Desire' is Tom's typical serial killer song, if you like, Slayer's version of a balled, except with a little experimentation in the vocals. 'In The Name of God', is not as satanic as the press may lead you to believe, instead it's more antigod. 'Scrum' is a song about rugby apparently but I don't remember so much blood shed when I watched the Five Nations. 'Screaming From the Sky' and 'Wicked' are your more typical Slayer speedy outputs and the album ends with the simply mind crushing 'Point'.

Everyone reading this now should buy this album and while you're at it get the whole Slayer back catalogue. There is no doubt who will be the heaviest band at Ozzfest and if I had my way Slayer would be sitting were Korn are now residing on the bill. All you Slayer fans out there will already have this album but there are maybe a few of you who are standing on the edge looking in. Come on in, after all there's nothing to be scared of, only Hell Awaits. In this world there is no such thing as perfection so theoretically an album should never get full marks. However I don't think Slayer are of this world and after 16 years of unrelenting heaviosity there is no band who deserve it more. Slayer have invited me to stay a while, now they'll keep me forever.

Suggested Rating: **********

Pepper Acton
Marrow

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Pepper Acton is a young self-taught pianist/singer/song-writer.  The bare quality to the sound of her songs is reminiscent of artists like Tori Amos, as are the extremely personal, heartfelt lyrics.  You can hear the passion in her delivery.   Pepper means what she's singing; it's not just pretty words to fit the music.  It is from her very marrow.

Themes include her relationships with family and friends, drugs, sex, and pain that we all have to go through at some point in life.  It makes a change from the highly stylised lyrics and moods of much of the stuff in the charts.  Pepper's music harks back to the Jazz age when music wasn't just another product to market.  A few listens to this album are definitely required to "get into" it and turn the lyrics over in your head.

'Marrow' is avery interesting work and well worth a listen to.  Pepper herself is (probably) touring the mid-west and east-coast of the States right now, if you'd like to hear her in the flesh.

The drum start to Know is vaguely reminiscent of Sepultura, as are the vocals when they initially come in (before going into the expected SOAD style). The guitars at points could also be Roots era Sepultura, though more tend towards the more modern sound of Soulfly (unfortunately). There are some really strong and really heavy parts in this song which make it sound fucking amazing (and fun live) but unfortunately it's not consistant.

P.L.U.C.K. (strange title) starts off with a very Nuclear Assault type start-stop thing, which unfortunately doesn't work that well. The rest of the song shows promise, and brings in female (I think) vocal harmonies to quite cool effect before plunging back into the start-stop disaster. Basically though, it's the same style to what has gone before, with the Soulfly/CC guitars, vocals, and dodgy out-of-time style (ie. strangely syncopated) drums.

As I've said about other SOAD stuff, it is interesting and definitely deserves a listen. Whether you will like it or not is another matter; it's probably an aquired taste. All I can say now is try to listen to them somehow. Their first album is due out on the 30th of June (US). After their summer Ozzfest stint I'm sure they'll have quite a few fans.

Nightfall
Lesbian Show

Moaning aside, the guitars are fairly consistantly cool throughout the whole album, with twin lead at times. As I write this I am listening to track 4, 'The Secret Admirer' (crap title), and I'm noticing a similarity to Rotting Christ. They have a very similar overall feel and style to RC, though are not as heavy so might be more accessible in some ways. Unfortunately they are not quite as well developed as RC yet.

The drumming in parts of 'The Fleshmaker' is reminiscent of Slayer, which really has to be a good thing. Unfortunately the rest of the song lacks anything amazing to set it apart from the rest. In fact it gets quite frankly dull towards the end. There's nothing wrong with having a 5.5 minute song if it has the riffs to support it, unfortunately this doesn't.

Nightfall suffer from the same problem that so many Euro metal bands have (yes, I'm slowly realising that this style seems to be what all mainland European bands are trying), and that is lack of flair and imagination. They can almost always play their respective instruments with confidence and skill, but they are not 'interesting'. They don't generally grab your attention. A poor man's Rotting Christ, I wish them luck in the future...

Soufly
Umbabarauma (single)

Elsewhere on the cd there is the world cup mix of the track, and the instrumental version of this mix as well. Personally I hate instrumental versions of songs that are also on the cd in their entirity, it just seems to be a way of filling up space and saving bands time of doing another mix or even an extra track. But that is just my opinion. Anyway the world cup mix of Umbabarauma has even less heavy guitars in it than the original version, and sounds far more bass orientated. The other track on the single is the extended version of Tribe. This is much more like what I like about Soulfly, heavier guitars, more aggresive lyrics, and also a good song. Despite not loving the song that much, I’d rather have this as a football song than the likes of Vindaloo, however, I somewhat doubt Umbabarauma will appear on any “The Best World Cup Anthems...Ever!” compilation. Overall a not bad, but not brilliant 5½.

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

Throughout the guitars are heavy and the vocals aggressive, especially on 'Moment Of Truth' where Freddy seems to be issuing a challenge essentially telling whoever it is directed towards to stop being all talk, and in their words “to be about what they speak”. The other highlights are, coincidentally, the only two songs on the album longer than 3 minutes, 'Waste Of Time' and 'Lesson Of Life'. And for something slightly different to the rest, 'Our Family' is in Spanish and makes good use of stereo speakers in places, giving the impression of 2 voices doing the vocals. Fortunately the song has good guitar riffs so not understanding what is being said is of little consequence. The album is short and not that varied, but what is there is quite good, though overall not enough to give the album more than a 6/10.

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

Misanthrope
Visionnaire

There's nothing wrong with what Misanthrope are doing on this album, it's just that it's entirely unoriginal. Having said that, I would much rather listen to hours of this than 10 seconds of Korn. I had the misfortune of being trapped on a bus down to Ozzfest with Korn on the taspe player for about two hours, and I came out hating them more than I could have ever imagined possible. They repulse me. They revulse me. With any luck I shall never have the misfortune of listening to them again. Unfortunately, I fear,  there is no justice in this world.

Back to the subject at hand. The opener 'Futile Future' is actually full of promise, from the very subdued Anathema-esque intro to the crunching rhythm, not bad vocals, and the interesting lead work. Unfortunately it's length works against it. Oh, and the good bits sound like Rotting Christ. 'Batisseur De Cathedrales' enhances the Anathema feel, while bringing in laughable piano (played on Speed) and dire vocals. Imagine one of the really fast go nuts bits in Cradle Of Filth, and this is a piano equivalent! Track 4, 'Le Silence Des Grottes' brings in more of this piano, making it sound like the soundtrack to a Tom & Jerry cartoon! They also mix in short Deicide-style solos.

'La Recontre Revee' is a bit different to the rest of the tracks: it is their ballad. The first minute or so sounds almost like some 80s keyboard pop ballad type thing, and the rest is just plain dull. Vocally it is utterly uninspiring. As it is sung in French I have no idea what he's singing about, but it doesn't sound very interesting anyway.

The rest of the album is marginally better thankfully, with stylistic influences including Iron Maiden, Deicide, Anathema, and possible a hint of Megadeth (and every other band in mainland Europe, hardcore aside); unfortunately they don't sound remotely as good as any of these bands. Sorry lads.

Contact: Alan McFarland, 183 Dumbuck Road, Dumbarton, G82 3NU
Tel: +44 (0)1389 601 186

Let me emphasize the good points before I completely savage it, though. The instrumentation and musicianship cannot be faulted, as it is quite superb. A lot of time, money, and hard work has gone into producing this tape, so no-one can doubt their dedication. The songs are even strongly structured with a delicate 'feel' to each. But there is one vital department where Confusion Corporation confuse the fuck out of me... the vocals. Their range includes: grunting, screaming, harmonizing, singing, backing, shouting and speaking. This isn't across the full album, but on every song! It's as if they have half a dozen different vocalists on each song, each with different influences and distinctly varying styles. It seems to make a mockery of perfectly good songs at times.

Influences? Jeez, where do I start? After consultation with others at Attitude, the general opinion seems to be Cannibal Corpse, Neurosis, and Napalm Death. None of them my scene at all. Perhaps that has a bearing on this review.

Just when you're getting quite into growly vocals with almost poppy backing (even though he sounds like he's singing from across the street), along comes this awful cacophony that sounds like a demented budgie on speed. On one song (due to vocal effects, I hope!!) this demented budgie sounds as if he's been shot into space. On other songs, I'm convinced Eric Cartman of South Park is on lead vocals. I can't say which songs have there bits, as the cassette version has no track timings and at times the songs seem to run into each other. By the end of the tape I was completely lost, and the Icemaiden refused to melt for me afterwards, giving me some frosty glares.

Even though I've given the impression that I don't like the recording (because I don't like it, at all), I get the feeling the tape lacks pieces of the puzzle that would be filled in live, so I actually would like to review them in a concert scenario. Watch this space...

However I get the feeling that this is a cult thing and if you liked the bands past output then you'll probably like this. As for me, thank Christ I only need to review them for this issue.

Suggested Rating: **********