Latest reviews

Opeth

Still Life (Re-Issue)

Peaceville Records

Opeth are known for their beautiful work, the lengths they go to to surround the listener with soundscapes that would destroy or belittle any other band. So when ‘Still Life’ ended up in my in-tray I dove for the cd player. As always the story is the main thing and I’m not going to spoil it for you, all I will say about it is this….If you love your music to have depth, a ‘soul’ so to speak then you have to find this. There’s nothing wrong with having heart or showing your god given talent to the world but when it’s packaged up like this is ‘perfection’ is a description I don’t often use. Beauty and grace don’t often find themselves in our little corner of the world but here it flows fantastically through the music, bringing out those little pieces of softness you don’t often let others see. As always a wonder to behold and experience, go enjoy yourselves! Jo Johnson-Smith

Avsky

Malignant

Moribund Records

Sweden is not really renown for its blackmetal apart from the majestic bands such as Marduk and Dark Funeral, but we can now add this band into this blackened equation with what this duo have created, which is a bloody blackened wrecking ball of an album. The music is fast black metal that has a coldness about it that reeks of dark decaying industrial spaces and cities riddled with heretical altars to the pointy horned one. The musician ship of this duo has a depth of understanding that many of today’s bands have either mis-understood or not seen as important as well as a metal heritage that can be twisted through a guitar sound that is both moving and enticing at the same time. The music that spews forth from this release has a malevolence that wraps around and through your soul to the point that your head starts to bang in time to the violence contained in this black gem. DJS

Behemoth

Satanica (Re-Issue)

Peaceville Records

I don’t often get to touch such lovelies as this, usually a dark hand snatches them from the pile and heads for the headphones but now it’s my turn. But in saying that they’re one of the things I remember people raving about I can understand why. Almost ‘middle of the road’ in form and speed compared to some of the outer edge stuff we sometimes get. Mind you it’s nice to hear all the instruments and vocals for once, everything on here has a reason to be here. There’s no twiddly bits of crap musicianship here or fakery, we get what we want, brutality, echoing through our skulls like the chanting of a thousand slaughtered goats on the altars of long dead gods. Brilliantly balanced with the rest of the tracks we get the message that these guys are putting across, that to truly know the ‘universe’ nothing should be limited to you. A message of choice, the original message that was given at the beginning in the Garden of Eden, it’s upto YOU if you want to pick the fruit….me? Well I’m a Daughter of Lillith….make your own mind up. Jo Johnson-Smith

Amenti

Under The Dying Sun

Code 7

Bopping along to Amenti is never something I saw myself doing….that is until now, it’s mixture of catchy rhythms and open structure make it a very easy release to get into. Something that isn’t always a good thing but here it reminds me of the days when thrash was just pushing out it’s little sneakered feet onto the scene. Here we have another hybrid, another voice to fill the niche we live in, mixing the bouncy hooks of thrash with the guttural styles we’re used to. I’m able to follow the lyrics without using the crib sheet (which for outside use is always a bonus) and makes shouting the lyrics back at concerts so much easier. But seriously, we have a tight unit here, musically and talent wise too, they know what they’re good at but in places they could do with that ‘little something’. I’m not sure what it could be when recording but I bet you they have it live it’s in the hooks and riffs on here, live they’d take you to the desert lands and show you their world. Recorded it’s lost that ‘spark’ but it’s still damn good. Jo Johnson-Smith

Candlemass

Chapter VI (Re-Issue)

Peaceville Records

They say it does one good to return to the beginning of one’s obsessions and see them as they are, well for us extreme metal fans we can when record companies re-release updated versions of beloved classics. Just like this one.

Candlemass was one of those bands I was ‘warned’ about, that they’ll lead you to the ‘dark’ side of music, so I did what any kid would do, went to find out as much as I could and where I could get it from. Nowadays the sophisticated taste of the music listener will take one look and dismiss it, but don’t. Inside this music is everything you’re enjoying right now, the epic wealth and splendour, the depth of emotion and feeling, the ‘darkness’ we all love to listen to and with this re-release and re-mastered version we get to watch them on the big screen tv too! Yes you get a DVD as well! RESULT! So you can watch and remember when you had more hair and could fit into those 34 inch jeans while rocking out to the memories and ground breaking music that paved the graveyard for others to perform on. Go have a history lesson kids, learn at the feet of those who went before you and remember what you think is new has been here before. Jo Johnson-Smith

Terrordrome

Vehement Convulsion

Grindethic Recs

When any fan talks about the Greek metal scene the same band name keeps coming up and that is Rotting Christ, well after listening to this release I can definitely say there are hidden gems in the Greek scene and this is one of them. These Greek guys have constructed an album that could easily be called Death-Thrash. Even though the style of vocal delivery is a cross between Deathmetal and Grindcore, the music is very much thrash orientated in both its speed and delivery. When listening to this release you can see where the musical inspiration comes from due to the fact that there are hints of the 1980’s German and American thrashmetal scene mixed in to this musical maelstrom. The Guitars are very fresh sounding and move easily between a pulsating rhythm as well as solos that are not to elaborate as to spoil the overall power of the songs themselves or the great musical vision as a whole on this release. DJS.

Defeated Sanity

Psalms Of The Moribund

Grindethic Records

The extreme metal scene today’s seems to be split into many different sub-genres and styles, that range in brutality and sound. Well DS could be said to have their feet planted firmly in the brutal side of the metal spectrum. Their music is monolithic with its towering riffs that are heavy and pounding whilst being bombastic in there approach. This set of pounding rhythms are then over-rode by a twin guitar assault from Christian Kvehn and Wolfgang Teske who seem to never get over indulgent but in saying that the finesse shown in the solo’s is so fine tempered they lift the overall brutality to the next level. Their musical assault is tightly wrapped about the voice of Jens Staschell who twists his growling vocal cords around a set of lyrics that would make even a hardened Carcass fan weep with Joy. With bands like this coming out of the death metal scene at the moment then the future is very bright indeed. DJS

My Dying Bride

An Ode To Woe

Peaceville Records

I don’t manage to get out to as many gigs as I used to but I remember listening to MDB in a small cellar like room in Bradford long, long ago, when I was younger and was swayed by the dark beauty of the music they were playing. As rough as it was you could hear the heart inside it, the potential they had to destroy a heart in a few moments of sound. Listening to this live album release I could be there again, lost in the crowd of bodies, shifting and moving to the sound that fills every pore of your skin until the darkness has to consume whatever you have left inside your heart.

I’m a fan, I admit that totally and I don’t think they could ever disappoint me, but for those of you who’ve never heard or seen My Dying Bride in full flow, filling a room with their own reality with every note they play then this is a MUST. Orchestral, pitched perfectly, graceful without being showy or grandiose, they do what they do best and that’s PLAY with everything they’ve got. Thanks Peaceville, have a hug from me for this one! Jo Johnson-Smith

Mourning Caress

Inner Exile

Restrain Records

To say that this release took two weeks to record is a miracle of some passion or grace from the gods. Because inside here we have some hefty numbers that aren’t going to let you get away with things you’re used to getting away with. You’ll be humming the first track believe me, after a few plays you’ll be able to sing along as well. Its that easy to get into this release, they’ve had a hard time in getting here and it does show in the commitment of the music. No holds barred, it does go for the throat from the start, no part-timers here or ‘second string’ band this one. Oh no, they feel what they do and sing from the heart of it, giving it to you as raw as it comes from the mouth to the head. Which is how music of this style should be, emotive but not drowning you in the emotion, involving but not dragging you into suicide, just making you aware of what their saying in the music and lyrics. A fine line to balance on but they’ve managed it and I for one take my hat off and give a bow, well done guys and may we hear many many more from you in the future! Jo Johnson-Smith

Brown Jenkins

Angel Eyes

Moribund Records

Well it looks like KA has done it again with his one-man project `Brown Jenkins’. He has managed to take what at first look, sounds like a gothic machine run factory and all of the misery contained there in whilst at the same time crossing it with a majestic state funeral march in all of its dowdy splendour. The overall feel of this release is monumental inasmuch as at the same time being able to conjure a bleakness that cuts to the very heart of ones inner core. The musicianship is so over-whelming that it at first seems to be a barrage of noise. But as you explore it further the longer it plays the sound starts too mesmerise with an aural beauty which is hard to understand at first sight but becomes more apparent the deeper you go. DJS

Bloodbath

Unblessing the Purity

Peaceville

Well here we have the new release from those Swedish death heads Bloodbath. The four tracks on this mini EP are of the highest quality that BB has become renown for in both production and presentation. The music is aggressive in a melodic way that many a band today has tried to emulate but never bettered. The riffs are very fluid and dynamic at the same time without being over indulgent in any shape or form. The guitar work is of a such a high calibre that you can hear every tortured thought that the two lyric writers Renkse and Nystrom were having when writing and cogitating their lyrical subjects. The lyrical subjects are in depth and manages stray into territory that breaks the run of the mill blood and guts fare that we all love and adore, in fact the subjects are rather progressive in their dealing with all types of darkened ideas. The lyrics take on an another level of malevolence when Mikael Akerfeldt spits them forth from his vocal cords, he injects a venom into the proceeding that gives Anders and Pers guitar work a run for its money in the delivery of viciousness. Now all we can do is look forward to the new album scheduled this year and what it holds fro us the listeners and fans. DJS