1| Roadrunner Spineshank |
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| As you'll have no doubt heard by now, Spineshank are Roadrunner's latest pot of potential gold. I have to
say that RR have been somewhat off form recenetly, though this mught possibly be changing.
Yes, Spineshank are actually really good. They are a
combination of west coast Korn / Coal
Chamber shite, Fear Factory (see below), and newbies System Of A Down, though far better than the first two bands
mentioned. The Fear Factory link is well ever exaggerated. All the magazines have latched onto it and say they're really similar but that's total bollocks. If I was to describe the vocal styles to you you might think they were similar, and yes there's the odd riff that could possible by used by FF, but that's where the comparison ends. Thankfully. FF have unfortunately begun to blend more and more into that teeny metal Korn scene, all it would take to fit totally in would be to downtune a bit. As you may know, I despise Korn. Spineshank seem to have managed to take something from that sound though which works really well. They don't sound like them, but have obviously been influenced by them. The System Of A Down comparison is possibly the most important one; the manic vocal style, often bizarre rhythms, and the slight inexperience shining through. Oh, and it's fairly clear from the sound that both will be stunning live bands. The vocal aggression also owes a bit to recent Sepultura & Soulfly. They have style, they have songwriting talent (something which many similar bands totally lack), they have attitude. The guitar, though often fairly quiet, is usually great. They have a good mixture of shouting and singing, aggression and reflection. And perhaps as important as all of that, it has great production. Give it a chance, try to find it on a listening post or something. |
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| email | Magic Wave - Smoke In My Hideaway (single) | Homepage | ||||||
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Tommy Soderlund (Vocals) (Keyboards) |
Thomas
Aspelin (Guitars) (Backing Vocals) |
Kristofer Becker (Guitars) (Vocals) |
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| Kenneth
Perus (Drums) (Percussion) |
Mikael
Skogberg (Bass) |
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| I love the cool, relaxed vibe of these tunes - the title track hasn't just got ELEMENTS of the 1970s in it, it sounds like it IS a 1970s tune. I don't know who to compare Magic Wave to - there probably are '70s bands that sounded like this, but I don't know any names. Oh, well. This ain't retro in a cheesy way, though. It's just damn good songs. The third song has elements of Sabbath's 'Planet Caravan' in it, though slightly more upbeat and livelier. I'm sure many will label these guys rip-offs of someone-or-other, but since I don't know a lot of '70s rock, to me it's just damn good music, ideal for chilling out to. | ||||||
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| Roadrunner Fear Factory Obsolete |
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| Dino Cazares (Guitar) |
Burton C. Bell (Vocals) |
Christian Olde Wolbers (Bass) |
Raymond Herrera (Drums) |
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| After seeing Fear
Factory at Ozzfest and being far from impressed with the new material they played
there I was a little fearful for Dino et al. I’d firstly like to get
one nagging thing out the way before I talk about the music on offer. The concept on the
album is shite. Not only is it badly fitted to the songs it also is as cheesy as anything Iron Maiden ( that’s right children, dodgy old Iron Maiden) could have ever come up with. Besides all that
it’s been done before most notably in Terminator and, drumroll please, Demanufacture. Which neatly brings us to the first song Shock. Sounding like an outake from the aforementioned album Shock is ok but hardly anything challenging or new. Ok so this is
often a good thing but for a band that are supposed to be as challenging as Fear Factory it’s hardly a great start to the album. However
thankfully things vastly improve when Edgecrusher kicks off.
With a groove and a great chorus this is the type of stuff that I’ve come to expect
from Fear Factory and this song really does save the bad
start. Smasher Devourer helps to set the tone of the album.
That is strong melodic chorus, often utilising Burton’s soaring
vocals mixed with often less than inspiring verses. Yep nice chorus shame about the rest.
Next up is Securitron (the third character of the story and
alternatively known as Skynet, sorry Burt). Again a strong chorus but missing the spark of
the likes of Self Bias Resistor or Demanufacture
to drag the song to classic heights. Very much like Edgecrusher, Descent appears amidst the rubble to save the album from tedium. A more melodic and less throat wrenching track it may be but it’s far from what the media have been hyping it up to be. If you believe what you read Descent is a song set far from the typical Factory mould and is likely to be No 1 when its released, perhaps they’ve never heard Dog Day Sunrise which by the way failed to set the charts alight. Anyway Descent is strong enough to overshadow Hi Tech Hate which I can’t really remember. Freedom or Fire is going to be Obsolete’s version of Bodyhammer. Just as I didn’t like the latter I feel that Freedom or Fire will never become to be one of my favourites. The title track suffers a little from a slightly peculiar drum rhythm but again has a great chorus to make up for this. Following this is Resurrection, which is possibly the best song on the album. I feel that Fear Factory have adapted their style a little on this song mixing pure aggression with melody previously only found on the likes of A Therapy For Pain. And speaking of that track, you’ll find its poor clone as, surprise surprise, the closer of Obsolete in the form of Timelessness. Hmm maybe I sound a little bitchy but Fear Factory is a band I really like and I think maybe that they’ve rushed this a bit. There are moments of brilliance but these are often weighed down but bog standardness. Obsolete is good, but it’s no Demanufacture. Rating: ********** |
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| Century Media Strapping Young Lad No Sleep 'Til Bedtime |
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| Hmm. Before I get into this review, I have to admit that I'd never
heard any SYL stuff previously. In fact, the only thing I
knew about them beforehand, was the fact that Devin Townsend sings with
them. Oh how I vividly remember the first time I came across the strapping young lad
himself... singing with Steve Vai's band project, VAI,
as bald as a coot, wearing goggle shades and dressed neck to toe in black PVC... ahh, gone
are the days, eh Dev? "No Sleep..." is a live release, and shows Devin in the next logical step since the likes of VAI. More extreme, more technological and more sophisticated than any previous outing I've heard Devin's involvement in. It's very energy driven, with enough rhythm & groove to make even the dead think stage-diving's a good idea. Actually, I'm seriously considering kicking myself for missing SYL when they played the Glasgow Arena recently on the SYL/Ocean Machine (another Devin project) thingy. As far as the tracks go, my personal favourite has to be "Far Beyond Metal", mainly for Dev's introduction before it. I'm not known for liking the more extreme stuff, but I happen to like this. It may be heavier than the kind of stuff I'm used to, but at least you can HEAR the singing. A refreshing and extremely welcome change. Devin, I salute you, man! |
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Holy
Records / SPV Elend |
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| Definitely not Heavy Metal. No widdly guitar
solos, men with big hair in tight leather trousers screeching on about Satan, or sweaty
intellectually-challenged drummers. This is a bit more cerebral, sophisticated and
restrained. We're talking orchestral instrumental and classical female vocals, in fact. Why would any self-respecting beer-guzzling, mosh-happy, tough, crazy, Heavy Metal biker bastard from the depths of Hell want to listen to this? Cos very few people are one-dimensional, especially us metalheads. We do occasionally listen to something not really comparable to Slayer. While this album certainly ain't HM, it will appeal to a great many of our fraternity. The music is ethereal, beautiful, delicate, spiritual, but at the same time melancholy. It is dramatic and powerful in a subtle way. Emotional intensity does not always equal speed and volume. If you're in a boucy, jumping round kind of mood this is not a good album. It's for quiet, reflective moments i.e. when the less sensitive accuse you of being a miserable sulky bastard/bitch. They just don't understand......... |
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| Century Media | Angel Dust - Border Of Reality | |||||
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Dick
Thurisch (Vocals) (Guitar) |
Frank Banx (Bass) (Vocals) |
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| Steven Banx (Keyboards) |
Dirk Assmuth (Drums) |
Bernd Aufermann (Guitar) (Vocals) |
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| When I first put this album on, I loved it.
It's basically '80s thrash - good ol' trad, cheesy metal - yeah! The guitar work is fast
and precise, the singer is competent with a wide vocal range, the melodies are strong, and
there's some faint keyboards included to enhance the vibe. After about five or so songs, though, I got kinda sick of it. As much as I love bands that did this type of music, a whole album of the same type of thing that's been done a million times over in the '80s gets a bit boring. All the classic metal guitar cliches are used to death here. Even though Angel Dust write damn good songs in their style (one song, 'Nightmare', is so commercial it's scary - I can inagine it being played in supermarkets now!), they need more variety to their music in this day and age. Even the most die-hard '80s trad metal fan will probably get sick of this - with more originality, they could go a lot further. As it stands, as good as it is - we've seen it all too many times before. |
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Century Media Earth Crisis Breed The Killers |
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| Like Earth Crisis'
straight-edge lifestyle, "Breed the Killers" is
absolutely no fun at all. Let's put it this way, I was watching a documentary on
penguins whilst listening to this and it was eminently more interesting. Hardcore's never really been my thing. This may have something to do with the following facts:
The main complaint I have about this album is the vocals which give the whole thing an air of monotony. For a band with a political message (about the dire state of the environment) their lyrics are largely rendered indecipherable by the vocalist's growly shouty delivery; he may as well be reciting his shopping list. It's a bit of a pity really. the musicians under the vocals seem to be quite competent and have a good rhythmic base on which some aggressive but more melodic tracks could be built. I suggest the vocalist be taught to sing and a little more interesting (possibly lead) guitar added. At the moment all this does is grind and grind and grind and grind and grind and grind on my nerves. |
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| Crazy Life Music Syris |
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| The first thing I noticed about this album was
how eerily similar the singer sounded to Bruce Dickinson (even down to
the ridiculous high notes Brucie is known for). The Maiden
comparisons don't end there, either - Maiden-style guitar
solos,vocal harmonies, and who knows how much else. The title track could easily have been
done by Maiden in the '80s. However, Syris have a noticeable thrash influence throughout as well, making them damn heavy at times. It's this part of their sound that stops them simply being Maiden copycats. Even though this album could easily have been done ten years ago, Syris inject quality, style, and energy into their music,stopping it from sounding as crusty and dated as the genre is usually regarded. If, like me, you're big Maiden (and Testament, and (OLD)Megadeth)fan, you should really like this album. Otherwise, you'll probably think it's '80s nonsense. |
Scott Huffman (Vocals) |
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| Paul Spereded (Guitars) |
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| Rob Such (Bass) |
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| Sean Brown (Drums) (Backing Vocals) |
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| Relapse Brutal Truth |
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| Yeah, okay... this has been out a while now,
but seeing as they sent us a promo, we thought we'd review it anyhow. Seeing also as the
Alternative Metal stuff is thin on the ground right now, I guess it was given my way to
give me something to do. Even by Death Metal standards, Brutal Truth
are pretty extreme. 22 tracks in under an hour means sub three-minute slabs of heavyness.
Encompassing grindcore & hardcore punk, it's a varied & diverse LP for even the
most discerning Death Metaller. As I'm neither discerning nor a Death Metaller, I'm
completely non-plussed by this NYC band. Although, with the kind of rich history behind
this quartet, they deserve a fair hearing if this is your kind of thing, as it sure as
hell ain't mine. After listening to all 22 tracks, I think a quote from their biog sums them up as fairly and objectively as possible; "In an era when death metal bands are either watering
down their sound or taking it so far over the top it no longer resembles music, the world
needs more bands like Brutal Truth." |
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Century MediaThine
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| I was looking forward to hearing this album a
great deal. Peaceville are a label who I respect greatly in
terms of finding original British bands who generally know more than a thing or two about
writing great melodies and crafting them around genuine northern misery. However I guess no-one’s perfect and with Thine I think Peaceville went too far. What we have is a great attempt at copying Aaron out of My Dying Bride’s vocal style and delivery welded onto, well lets look at it from two perspectives. From Peaceville’s side they see progressive metal utilising female vocals, keyboards and a range of musical styles including such critically acclaimed acts as Portishead. From my critical standpoint I see a bunch of ragbag wank thrown together to try and achieve progression but doing nothing but destroying the flow in every song. Thine are miserable, and sure Thine are talented and there are pieces during This Town which show promise but on a whole the album just doesn’t stay along the right path for long enough. The singer is indeed trying his best to try and be Mike Patton and Aaron all in one and in turn is probably Thine’s weakest link. At times A Town Like This can be entertaining and you do get the impression that they are indeed a band who could be classed in their own musical niche. However it all falls apart too often and there is a lack of any focal point within the songs to make you remember them or want to go back and listen again. As for style, well mix My Dying Bride, Anathema, The Blood Divine and you come close without truly hitting the mark. Thine are an album away from becoming a truly necessary act which I feel that they could be. As a debut there is promise but it remains to be seen if they’ll build on this or instead revel in the obscure self obsessiveness of A Town Like This. Don’t split up over this guys, just try and make the songs more accessible and I think that you could give the established goth metal acts a run for their money. Rating: ********** |
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Metal Sessions Vol. 1
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| A pretty cool compilation, this one - it
ranges from the more traditional end of metal and thrash (complete with some good widdly
guitar solos) to something on the verge of death metal near the end, and including some
impressive original metal (like opening band, Syrens Call).
There's no compromising the full-on metal guitars throughout this compilation - not a
ballad in sight (cool!). Although there's a variety of styles on this album, they all seem
to suit being together here - the order is well chosen. Although there's nothing groundbreaking in the style of most of these songs, all of them are reasonably original, to varying degrees - I wouldn't say there was a bad song on this album (although there are a few forgettable ones). I didn't find that any one song particularly stood out on its own, though put together, they make for an enjoyable compilation of metal the way it should be. [More Info: This is an unsigned bands compilation, similar to what I am currently producing for Attitude. It contains 15 tracks from French and Belgian bands and is available for $13US from the address above, make IMOs payable to Booster Productions. As the review said, there a fair amount of decent material on the CD, but unfortunately there's also 'Eternity' by C-One. Somehow in one song they manage to totally rip off both Sabbath's 'Sweet Leaf' and a Led Zeppelin song. Dissapointing.] |
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Blackend Prophanity Stronger Than Steel |
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| Christ on a bike! Why me? My suspicions are
already aroused by the promo sleeve this album has come in: the Gothic typeface the dodgy
songtitles (like "Awaiting your Valkyries arrival"
-- I ain't joking) are printed in, the illegible band logo in typical black metal style.
Oh, and the band are Swedish. I cannot wait to listen to this....... OK. No need to be
prejudiced, you can't go judging on appearances, my girl; that kind of thing quickly gets
one into trouble. Let's just pop the CD into the hi-fi and give it a wee
listen.......Suspicions confirmed, I'm afraid. Eerie? No. Scary? Yes, it's bloody terrifying that so many bands output such mediocre twaddle. For crying out loud, quit the Dungeons and Dragons, and get a BLOODY LIFE! I'm sick and tired of this kind of nonsense. I need a vodka. |
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