
BALATONIZER:
- Occlused In Ottusity (2004) On the wackier side of things we have
Balatonizer. Somewhere between death metal (for some of the riffs),
grind (for the overall style, short songs and long tracklist) and
technometal (for it's use of samples and electronic sounding intros),
this 3 piece manages to do something rare, it manages to use a drum
machine well. I mean, don't get me wrong, you know it's a drum machine,
but it's obvious the band knows enough about real drumming to program
something that at least follows that conventions of what a real drummer
would do, instead of just hitting the "doublekick 64 notes all the
time" button. The riffs are pretty good as well, with just the right
mix of slow stuff, fast stuff, and chunky stuff to make them real songs
instead of just random riffs. The
guitar sound is really big and ballsy, obviously plenty of overdubs.
Vocals are low Broken Hope style. I guess if I had to explain the
band's overall feel, imagine Blood Duster's "Yeest" album mixed with
early Broken Hope with a drum machine. The album comes with a short
comic strip about the band's wacky adventures (one wearing a decepticon
t-shirt no less!), which shows they aren't taking things too seriously,
and that's fine, the music is solid, the album is good clean fun and I
can certainly recommend it if you happen to come across your path.
BANISHED:
Previous to 1993, this band was called Baphomet, see below for past
reviews.
- 7" Banished (1993, EP) A special 7" blue vinyl with two Banished
songs
from an unreleased 1993 demo session. The two songs are 'Altered Minds'
and
'Cast Out The Flesh'. Both songs are available on their later album,
although
the guitar crunch on this record is (in my opinion) a lot stronger than
on
the CD. Definitely worth owning.
- Deliver Me Unto Pain (1993) Very cool riffs, big, in your face chunky
sound.
I wish these guys would release another album. Slick production and a
guitar/bass
sound that makes them distinct in a world of conformity, as well as
great
song writing makes the CD a must have.
BAPHOMET:
In 1993, the band changed it's name to Banished. Please see
above for future reviews.
- The
Dead Shall Inherit (1992) After a name
change to avoid confusion with another band, Banished went on to
produce one of the best death metal albums of the early 90s that no one
heard. Their first album, under the band name Baphomet, is a nice
glimpse into the elements that made their second album so memorable.
Not only does this album include a few tracks that were rerecorded for
their second album, but also a number of riffs on this album were
stolen and reassembled in their later material. You can also hear the
basic crunchy guitar tone that was later perfected, and the rather
unique drum style in it's infancy. So in many ways, this is like a demo
for their second album. As a stand alone album, this is OK death metal,
but in context to its second album, I found it really interesting. If
you've never heard of this band before, do yourself a favor and buy
Banished's "Deliver Me Unto Pain", and if you dig them, then pick this
album up as well. More people need to be exposed to this band, and
their (sadly) short career.
BEHEADED:
- Souldead (1995, Demo)
- Perpetual Mockery (1998)
- Resurgence Of Oblivion (1999,
EP)
- Recounts Of Disembodiment (2002)
Death metal in the style of Deranged. So lots of tremolo picking,
catch-your-breath-if-you-can drumming mixed with some slower moshable
bits. Think the sound and intensity of "High On Blood" but with some
slower parts to break up the pace. Production is good although slightly
muffled, and of course a little messy, but that's sort of what the
style dictates. Lowish vocals (but not super low). The performance is
good and these guys can certainly play some intense music, but without
either really, really memorable riffs or something very original about
the music, this cd will probably get lost in the mess of other similar
sounding bands. I don't want to be too harsh because there's plenty to
enjoy here, it's well worth a listen for sure, but not sure if it has
the necessary staying power.
BEHEMOTH:
- Thelema.6 (2001)
- Zos Kia Cultus (2002)
- Conjuration (2003, EP)
- Demigod (2005) This is the
album we would have had if you take Krisiun's "Conquerors Of
Armageddon" and added more variety to the drumming. The guitarwork on
this album is very reminiscent of "Conquerors", the chord progressions,
the mixture of held chords, low tremolo picking and higher passages,
even some of the riffs are damn near identical. There's also a touch of
Morbid Angel in here, but not in a copycat kinda way. Vocalwise, the
voice is highly processed, they've taken a midrange growl and done some
voice harmonizing to it to achieve that "girl from exorcist" voice.
While I'm usually not a fan of processed voices except when used as an
accent to a normal set of vocals, they do it pretty well, and it's not
too over the top. And in a way it helps the album avoid just being a
Krisiun clone. As mentioned before, the drumming is top notch, highly
triggered, but instead of just doublebass the whole time there's plenty
of complexity here without getting overly complicated. Overall, I think
this album is really good, the riffs are intense and memorable, the
band has just the right level of musicianship and great songwriting
skills, the pacing of the album is perfect, my only complaint is how
similar it is to Krisiun, but I have to give them credit for possibly
even improving in a few ways over the original source material. Highly
recommended.
- The
Apostasy (2007) If you liked their first cd, you'll like this
one too. The same crazy intensity level, the same sorts of riffs. Lots
of cool symphonic bits and pieces to help add atmosphere to the songs.
The music is really well performed, written and produced, I guess my
only complaint is that it sounds too alike to their last album. Not
that that's a bad thing necessarily, their last album was good, this
album is good, but don't expect any personal growth as a band or
anything. This is high quality death metal, and while the lack of
uniqueness may hamper its replay value, anytime you do decide to invest
an hour and listen to this CD, I'm sure you will enjoy yourself.
BENEDICTION:
- Subconscious Terror (1990)
- Grand Leveller (1991)
- Dark Is The Season (1992, EP) 5 songs, several odds and ends from the
band.
Track 1 is a new, good quality fast Benediction song, track 2 is a
cover
song, track 3 is another new track, very heavy, slow and plodding.
Track
4 is 'Jumping At Shadows' from "The Grand Leveler", track 5 is a new
version
of 'Experimental Stage'. Good production, fans of the band should
probably
grab a copy for the third track alone.
- Transcend the Rubicon (1993) While it never reaches a spectacular level,
this
album has good sound with strong song writing and just enough hooks and
new
riffs to make listening to it enjoyable. A good mixture of slow and
fast
songs.
- The Grotesque / Ashen Epitaph (1994) Two new songs (both of which are good, similar
to
the stuff from "Rubicon"), and then three live songs played in front of
a
small audience. The live production is great, well mixed, clear and
bassy.
- The Dreams You Dread (1994) This album was sort of a let down. The riffs
are
muddier than their last album, and the songs are slower, and the whole
album
just falls a bit flat.
- Grind Bastard (1998) This album rocks a little too much for my
taste,
but it's actually pretty decent. A combination of old school death /
heavy
metal and punk. Better than their last album, it has some decent riffs,
clear
production and well written songs. Above average, but not my personal
favorite
type of music.
- Organized Chaos (2001)
Straight
forward, catchy death metal. This album doesn't stray far at all from
previous
albums, mid paced songs, simple song structures. The new vocalist
sounds
a lot like Dave (the former vocalist). I'd have to label this album the
cake, as in, it may not have as much icing as other albums by other
bands (there are still a few riffs here and there that made me take
instant notice), but
everything is very very solid and consistent, with very little bad
material.
The more I listen to it, the more I like it. It's not over the top
brutal,
but it sticks in my head.
BENUMB:
- Soul of the Martyr (1998)
- Withering Strands Of Hope
(2000)
32 really fast and short songs in the same style as any of Napalm
Death's first albums (like Scum). The production is about as good as
any of napalm's first albums as well, I assume that's a stylistic
choice to go for the limited
technology sound quality. Fans of retro grindcore from the 80s will
probably
like this release, as for me, it's pretty fun, but I tend to prefer
modern
day production and well thought through songwriting, but if you're in
the
mood for some mindless oldschool grind, check it out.
BETWEEN
THE BURIED AND ME:
- Between
the
Buried and Me (2000)
- The
Silent Circus (2003)
- Alaska (2005) Something
vaguely in the vein of The Black Dahlia Murders, Despised Icon or The
Red Chord, crossed with Dream Theater if you believe it. A lot of
screaming, fast crazy guitar bits, changing time signatures every few
second, most of the usual metalcore staples, but then you get these
long instrumental parts with keyboards, acoustic guitars and complex
melodies played in unison straight from Dream Theater or other similar
progrock bands. At first the combination is a little bizarre, but I
really started to dig it a few songs in, it certainly provides some
good variety. Like the song "Breath In, Breath Out" has this soft
gentle Joe Satriani clean guitar feel going on, then all of a sudden
'Roboturner" kicks in with a vicious scream and super fast drum beat.
The contrast is really well done and I dig the epic song thing (many
are 7 to 8 min long). The vocalist when he growls sound a lot like Jens
Kidman of Meshuggah, but thankfully the music is different enough that
there's really no obvious comparison between the two bands. As a fan of
prog and metalcore, I would have never thought they'd go well together,
but this band has proven me wrong and the combination allows the group
to standout as something really different sounding. If you can only buy
one album this week, this gets my recommendation.
- The
Anatomy Of (2006, Covers) Ever wondered who the bands were that
influenced Between The Buried and Me? Well, no, actually I didn't, but
since they decided to tell me anyways, I figured I might as well
listen. The album starts off with 'Blackened' by Metallica, which isn't
too different from the Metallica version (with the exception of a few
blast beats, death metal style vocals, and a more synth guitar /
harmony oriented solo). Next comes 'Kick Start My Heart' by Motley
Crue, which is sung instead of growled, and other than a slightly more
distorted guitar tone, is pretty similar again to the source material.
You may see where I'm going with this. Now I haven't heard the original
versions of all these songs, but from the songs I do know, it seems the
band is more interested in staying true to the source material than
trying something different or creative. And so the big question from me
is why make these recordings if they're not going to be that different
from the original? Like a cover of Queen's 'Bicycle Race', I'm thinking
"That would be cool to hear all super heavy and angry", but no, it's
almost exactly like the original. Why not do 'Blackened' all serene and
'Bicycle' all super heavy? Now that would be cool. Anyways, other songs
of notes, Sepultura's 'Territory' and Pantera's 'Cemetery Gates',
which, while again similar to the original, is just such an excellent
song, and they do a good job. Overall, I enjoyed listening to this cd,
but I don't see this as a repeat listen sort of album, because I might
as well listen to the originals instead.
- Colors
(2007) "Colors" opens with a very Dream Theater-esque piece, similar to
the beginning two songs on "Scenes From a Memory", or maybe Devin
Townsend's "Synchestra". But they get to the blastbeats pretty quickly.
Lots of variety, from the prog elements to the really heavy influences
like hardcore and death metal. I feel the songs could use a few more
standout riffs, while these songs are far from filler, their last album
had a few catchier riffs here and there which gave you something to
grab onto. And more than a few riffs are almost direct ripoffs from
Dream Theater, it's obvious that the band listened to "Scenes From a
Memory" a lot before writing this record. The songs are again, epic in
length, 11, 13, 14 minutes long. Overall, a bit of a step down from
"Alaska", but still a decent album and worth checking out.
BLACK EARTH:
- Black Earth (2001, EP) If
you have a hankering for the late seventies / early eightiest right
before glam hit
the stage, you may find lots to love with this band. The group hits the
listener
with a strong groove and simple songs. The vocalist sounds a little
like
Chuck Billy from Testament (all midrange, no high pitched stuff), the
rest
of the band think motorhead on steroids. None of the music goes too
fast,
the band chooses the midground and definately puts a lot of soul into
what
they do. Production wise, the release is a little bottom heavy, but
it's
still clear (ie, not bottom heavy and muffled, which is a nono). If
you're
into say the new Soil CD, or grew up in the late seventies, you may
enjoy
this EP. Not my cup of tea, but good quality stuff. To get a copy of
the
demo, go here.
BLAYLOK:
- No
Exit (1989, Demo)
- Back
To Reality (1990, Demo)
- Loosing
My Mind (1992, Demo)
- Demo
(1993, Demo)
BLOODBATH:
- Breeding Death (1999, EP) 3 song EP. The sound is a little
more
stripped down than their first album, the guitar tone isn't quite as
huge,
but still good production (if "Entombed" were a sound, this would have
an
Entombed value of 6 instead of 10). The songs are straight forward
death
metal, good hooks and simple structure. A good indication of the album
to
come, while I may not go out of my way to find and get this EP, if you
happen
to see it in the CD rack, it's worth picking up.
- Resurrection Through Carnage (2002) Labeled as the ultimate Swedish supergroup
(considering
the band members, including Mikael Åkerfeldt and Dan Swanö,
I'm
not surprised), this album is, well, basically the best Entombed style
band
I've ever heard. For fans of "Left Hand Path" or "Clandestine", this is
about
as close as you're gonna get. I wasn't surprised at all when I went to
the
band's website and both of these albums rate in the top 1 or 2 of each
band
member's favorite album list. But anyways, similarities aside, this
stuff
is done very, very well, the songs are very memorable, mostly midpaced
with
excellent production. Track 9 is now one of my now all-time favorite
heavy
chugging / slow double bass riffs ever, you'll know what I mean when
you
hear it, it's the kind of musical moment you only get once or twice a
year
if you're lucky. If I had to have any critique it's that the drums are
sometimes
too simple, a straight "boom-chick" beat could have been replaced with
something
a little more complex now and again. Anyways, if you like old Entombed,
you absolutely, positively need to get this album.
- Nightmares Made
Flesh (2004) Their first album slowly but surely worked it's
way up to being one of my favorite albums of a few years ago, and so
when I heard that the european market was going to get their new albums
months before the North American market, I was like "fuck that!" and
paid the premium to have it shipped over (please Century Media, I don't
know what the issue is but it would be really cool to have simultaneous
release on the music worldwide.) The resulting album is fantastic, not
quite as good as their first, but still great. Productionwise, the
guitar's are still very thick and heavy, but there's a little more mids
this time which makes it sound less like Entombed. Songwise, the thing
I love about this band is they somehow take chord progressions we've
all heard before and put a fresh spin on them, plenty of great songs,
my favorite so far is probably 'Eaten' which is this slow sludgy song
in the same vein as 'Where the Slim Lives' from Morbid Angel. The
drumming has more blast beats this time while retaining the original
midpaced style of their first album. Basically this sounds like their
first album but ever so slightly modified in a few subtle ways.
"Nightmares Made Flesh" should be considered mandatory for any classic
death metal head.
- Unblessing
The Purity (2008, EP) New 4 song EP from
the band. My first impression, this is Bloodbath? While their last 2
albums had the strong Entombed sound, this CD has very muddy and echoey
guitars, far way sounding and filled with reverb. After getting over
the production shock, I guess some of these riffs do sound like the
band, but they sound more run-of-the-mill. Despite the fact the band's
style was never original, there were always a lot of really catchy,
standout riffs, and the riffs on this EP just don't stand out to me.
This EP isn't bad, the songs are decent, but I expect better songs and
a more vicious sound from the band. So hopefully any CDs they release
in the future will be closer to their earlier material.
- The
Wacken
Carnage (2008, Live CD/DVD) The band's first, and I believe
still only live show, recorded for your pleasure on CD and DVD. The
main thing I look for in a live album is some sort of experience that
you don't get from listening to the album versions. That could mean
extended songs, different production, or the sound of the crowd adding
an extra dimension to the music. In this case, the crowd is almost non
existent except between the songs, the songs are identical to the songs
off their 2 albums, the main difference is the sound. It's still the
core Bloodbath sound (i.e., sounds a lot like Entombed), but it has a
little more depth to it thanks to some extra reverb, and a highly
scooped mix. Many of the songs are faster as well than their album
counterparts, which is a nice change (not that the slow versions are
bad, it's just an enjoyable difference). The song selection is good,
they play a number of songs off their original hard to find EP, as well
as lots of stuff off their main 2 albums. They also play my favorite
Bloodbath songs 'Like Fire' and 'Eaten', so I'm well pleased. The DVD
contains the same songs as the CD, it's fun to see the group all
covered in blood belting out some powerful metal. The band members move
around plenty, the camerawork is great, and it's nice to see a crowd of
like 10,000 people banging their heads in unison. The concert is 1
hour, so just enough time to get some good songs in there, not so long
as to become boring. While nothing revolutionary, this CD / DVD combo
has enough good points to warrant picking it up if you're a fan of the
band.
BLOOD DUSTER:
- Menstrual Soup (1991, Demo)
- Fisting The Dead (1993, EP) This album consists of short bursts of
speed
and unparalleled brutality (in the style of old carcass) mixed with
sound
clips from reeeeally corny australian horror films. While it's been
done
before, the film clips they've picked are completely hilarious, and
strangely
enough makes the album a must-have.
- Yeest EP (1995, EP) Seven new songs from the band. It has has better production, and some of the riffs are damn
good,
but there aren't as many sound clips (d'oh!).
- Yeest
(1996) Yeest EP + Fisting the Dead released on one CD.
- Str8 Outta Nortcote (1998) Nothing very different from their previous
albums.
Lots of strange sound clips which are damn funny, lots of screaming,
blast
beats, and thick, raw, chunky production. Good riffs here and there.
Buy
it if you like their previous stuff.
- Cunt
(2001)
It's been a long time since we had new material from the band, and
overall, this album is a lot better than their previous release. I
think part of what
does it is that the album works better thematically. All the songs and
soundclips
revolve around porn, whether it be a clip from "Boogie Nights" or the
simple
statement "This is a giant cock" that begins one of their songs.
Fisting
The Dead was all australian slasher films, their Nortcote album was
just
too all over the place, sound clips from too many different genres, and
too
experimental. You won't find an organ on this album, just lots of
blasting,
noisy guitars, 1 minute songs and garbled lyrics. All fans of grindcore
should
check it out.
- D.F.F
(2002) 6 tracks of mayhem. Well, not much mayhem, while there's a few
good spots, there's also some pretty corny parts that sound like old
punk with lots of 3 chord progressions, and silly chanted vocals. Track
4 is primarily feedback. Then the last track is over 58 minutes of
silence, you know when you have this big silent period, and then a
quick sound byte of hidden song at the end of the CD? well, these guys
have 58 minutes of silence, and then the CD ends on, well, silence.
Damn you!! If you take out all the crap and only keep the good stuff,
you have about 2 minutes of material. Now I don't think the band has
gone soft or anything, but it seems this cd is primarily a joke, and
not a terribly funny one, and as such I really can't recommend to pick
this up. Find a copy of "Cunt" instead or their new self titled album
which should be out now.
- Blood
Duster (2004) Sorry, after a really great last album, this is a
disappointment. The main problem, far too little grind, far too much
rocking out. If I wanted a punk cd, I'd buy a punk cd. The first riff
on the album screams 80s glam. Glam, punk, motorhead, what happened to
the true evil? Track 2 we get back into grind, but then it deviates
again for track 3. It just makes me want to scream "waaaaaooow!!!" The
production on the album is rougher than their last album too, more
noisy. Sorry, just not digging it. Hopefully this is just something
they have to get out of their system and will return to bloody
grindcore next album.
- The
Shape of Death to Come (2005, DVD) I love music, but I have to
admit, I just don't have the time or funds to pick up every single DVD
out there, especially since everyone and their mother are releasing
one. But when Blood Duster released a DVD, I decided I needed to pick
it up, mostly out of curiosity, I had really never seen any good photos
of the band, and wanted to put some faces to the name. Sure enough, the
band takes the stage shirtless, covered in blood, and smoking up a
storm, not only was I seeing the band, but seeing more of them then I
really wanted to. After a quick song, the concert shifts to a new
venue, and then proceeds to hop from show to show (I really dig the
titles at the bottom of the screen that happen before every song saying
what the band is playing, wish that happened on more DVDs), with tons
of interludes of the band doing crazy shit like bongs in the car,
eating vomit (I really didn't need to see that), hell, one of the band
members pulls out his dick (in full view) and starts pissing on the
cameraman. This goes on for about a hour, concerts from their tour
followed by random craziness and destruction. These guys do seem to
really live the life, not just sing about it, a bunch of young crazy
guys doing fucked up shit. But really, after it was all said and done,
I have to ask, why did I need to see all this? Stuff like that is funny
when you're doing it with your friends, but just doesn't have the same
effect when you're watching strangers on TV (for me anyways, I know
that groups like Jackass made a healthy career doing this stuff). I was
about to write off the whole DVD when I noticed on the menu I
could switch to a 45min concert from DingDong (clips of which were in
the hour long main program), and I'll tell ya, this show is what saves
the thing. Yes, the production isn't perfect (with the bass drum
missing and the vocals sorta low in the mix), but the band was never
about perfect production, it's about crazy fast songs, fucked up lyrics
and brutality, and the band provides. The last 20min or so is material
off their most recent album and EP which I wasn't a big fan of, but the
beginning of the concert is mostly old material. So, I guess I can
recommend the DVD, but I recommend watching the concert over the random
clips that make up the main program, unless you love stuff like
Jackass, in which case you'll probably love this to death.
- Lyden
Na (2007) Rock has always been an important part of the Blood
Duster sound. Even in their first album, they'd have a crazy grind
riff, followed by a more rockin riff, then back to the grinding. But
then the band released their self titled album that was almost 100%
rock, and I just didn't dig it. So now, in an attempt to make everyone
happy, the band releases a 2CD set that has one rock album, and one
grind album. Sounds like a good compromise, but after a listen, I
really just wish they would go back to keeping the two styles together.
What makes an act unique is the way they combine elements into
something new. You may have heard the old saying "Greater than the sum
of its parts", well, here are the parts, and the results are good but
not as good as they'd be if combined. The first CD is the rock album,
which is actually pretty decent. Still not really my thing, but some of
the riffs are cool, nothing overly original, but good loud music to
rock out to. Or maybe I feel this way because I know there's a grind
album on CD 2, perhaps that knowledge somehow makes the rock album more
enjoyable (because you're not sitting there all angry that these guys
have changed style). The grind album should have held my interest more,
but unfortunately, the songs are pretty non distinct. One thing I loved
about their previous albums is the way the sound bytes formed a little
narrative. The first album had all horror films. Their album "Cunt" was
porn related. The sound clips were like little landmarks in a sea of
grind, which helped make the songs distinct. On this grind album, there
are almost no sound clips, and the ones that are there don't seem to
follow any common theme. Some of the songs are cool, but it's just not
as instantly classic as their older stuff. The album also contains info
on downloading a special 20min 3rd album, which is the doom side of
"Lyden Na". This song is slow, plodding, lots of slow held distorted
guitars, feedback and noise experimentation. I actually kinda dig it,
but then again, I am a fan of doom metal. Overall, I enjoyed this album
way more than their last, but I still have to rate it below classics
like "Yeest" or "Cunt". I appreciate them trying to make everyone
happy, but I still believe combining all the elements into a cohesive
whole is the way to go. Not a must buy, but still enjoyable.
BLOOD HAS BEEN SHED:
- I
Dwell on Thoughts of You
(1998) 7 song mini-album, very similar in style and sound to
"Novella Of Uriel". The production on this one is ever so slightly
quieter, the songs have slightly more melody and aren't quite as
intense (only by a very slim margin). Otherwise, these two albums are
pretty much identical, ie, if you happen across it, definitely pick
this up as well.
- Novella Of Uriel (2001) Well, I'm glad I listened past the first song.
We start the album with some vaguely melodic / black metal stuff,
violins, and sung vocals. I quickly spin the cd around and wonder why
again did I buy this thing. Then track 2 hits, and it all comes back to
me, oh ya, I heard track 2 in mp3 format and liked it so much I bought
the album. Track 2 and the rest of the album is far more in step with
what I wanted to hear. Vocalwise, lots of screaming, sorta hardcore
(think Chimaira) with a few sung bits. While the guitar sound is a
little messy and bass heavy (wall of sound style, plenty of overdubs),
it really doesn't bother me too much, since it adds to the ferocity of
the album. Drum wise, very strong, powerful drumming, this guy hits
those skins hard, and he has enough technicality to avoid any obviously
simple beats. And the riffs, wow, fucking brutal stuff. You know the
deal when the band is playing really slow chunky riffs, and the drummer
is following them with the cymbals and snare but on the double bass
he's just tearing away at top speed? Plenty of that here, and I'm
loving every moment of it. Highly, highly recommended, just skip track
1 please.
- Spirals
(2003) Slightly noisier and more chaotic than "Uriel". Think the
difference between Meshuggah's "DEI" and "Chaosphere", the stuff on
this album has a few more songs that consist mainly of repeated stop
and start patterns, there's also some groovier parts that remind me
vaguely of Pantera. Neither of these two points should be taken as
criticism, it's just variations on a theme, although I do have to admit
a few of the last songs on the album seem a little too Meshuggah'ish to
me (not that Meshuggah is bad, but you know me, I generally like a band
to be doing its own thing). Otherwise, the usual stuff, plenty of
screaming, a few sung bits, really low, slow, chunky riffs mixed with
the occasional blast segment, production hasn't changed much which is
fine with me. Not quite as strong as "Uriel" songwriting wise, so I
recommend getting that album first, but this one shouldn't be much
further down that list.
BOLT THROWER:
- In Battle There Is No Law (1988) This was the band way back in their early
days.
The sound is very muddy, the riffs are faster than in any other album
by
them, but they're not very inventive (yet).
- Realm Of Chaos (1989) I do like this album (even though the sound is
horrible).
Shows a glimpse of the brilliance that will appear later in their
career.
- Warmaster (1991) While not as powerful as more recent albums,
this
album was the beginning of the "Bolt Thrower Sound". Good riffs, very
arabian
sounding. The production is clear, but it could have been a little more
in-your-face.
- Cenotaph
(1991, EP) See my review for "Who Dres Wins".
- The Peel Sessions (1991, Earache) A compilation of sorts with
re-recorded
versions of songs from their first three albums. The production is ok.
- 4th Crusade (1992) This is the album that really brought
everything
together. They have this huge wall of sound, the songs are well thought
out,
and the riffs are very inventive. Apparently they layer 8 guitars on
top
of each other on the CD, which should give you an idea just how big
their
sound is. An instant classic.
- Spearhead (1992, EP) An EP that exists only on 12", it contains
an
extended version of Spearhead, as well as some new songs including this
great
song called "Crown Of Life". The EP has been discontinued, which really
sucks
because I don't have a copy of it (although I have heard it).
- Where Next To Conquer (1993, Live) A bootleg album that has pretty poor
production,
but the songs are still brilliant. Gives you a taste of how Bolt
Thrower
sounds live.
- For Victory... (1994) Although not as strong as the 4th Crusade, it
does
offer us more songs in generally the same vein. If you liked the last
album,
get this one as well. A special double CD pack released in England has
this
CD as well as a live CD entitled "War". It's a sound board recording,
and
you really can't hear the crowd (so what's the point of a live album?).
- Mercenary (1998) The album is decent, but it just doesn't seem
to
live up to the Bolt Thrower name. Mid-tempo songs keep the album in a
"4th
Crusade" vein, but the riffs don't have the same freshness,
inventiveness
and intensity. The production is ok, but too bass heavy without any top
end,
it sounds pretty muffled, and not nearly as layered as in previous
albums.
I really expected something more from the band. Try before you buy, you
may
like it, but I'll keep listening to their previous albums.
- Who Dares Wins (1998, EP) An EP filled with hard to find Bolt
Thrower
material. The first 4 songs are from the out of print "Cenotaph" EP,
'Cenotaph'
(the same as the version on "Warmaster"), 'Destructive Infinity'
(available
as a bonus track on some copies of "Warmaster"), 'Prophet of Hatred'
(available
as a bonus track to "Realm of Chaos") and a really badly recorded live
version of 'Realm Of Chaos'. The second 4 songs are from the equally
out of print "Spearhead" EP, which includes the extended remix of
'Spearhead', 'Crown of
Life' and 'Lament' (new songs, but available as bonus tracks on some
copies
of the "IVth Crusade"), and Dying Creed (from the "IVth Crusade").
Lastly,
2 new songs including a rerecorded version of 'World Eater' which is
great,
and a copy of a rare song called 'Overlord'. Controversy has surrounded
this
EP since Bolt Thrower left Earache, and yet the label is still
releasing
Bolt Thrower material. The band has urged fans not to buy this EP, but
it
has so many hard to find goodies, it's tough to avoid. My
recommendation
is to follow your heart on this one, but I personally couldn't give up
a
chance to finally own the material from all of these out of print EPs.
- Honour - Valour - Pride (2002) To see how this album works in the grand
scheme
of things, it really need to be discussed with respect to two other
Bolt
Thrower albums: "the IV Crusade" and "Mercenary". The reason being that
these
two albums in my opinion are the perfect examples of the very best and
very
worst the band has produced. And "Honor Valour Pride" seems to fit
nicely
in between. Thankfully the thick Bolt Thrower production that was
missing
on Mercenary is back, big wall of sound with lots of overdubs. The new
vocalist
seems to fit in well with the band, not straying too far from Karl's
style
while remaining unique. My only complaint is that while the riffs are
good,
very few of them reach the spectacular level, the songs just don't
remain
as instantly memorable as stuff from "the 4th crusade" or "for
victory".
But overall, the album is very solid. I think most Bolt Thrower fans
should be happy, if "4th crusade" is a 10, this hits a consistent 8.
- Those Once Loyal
(2005) The two key elements to a good Bolt Thrower album are
memorable songs and a big thunderous sound. And unfortunately this
album has neither in much abundance. It's just beyond me how a band
that produces such masterpieces as "The IVth Crusade" and "For Victory"
could produce 3 ho-hum albums in a row. I mean, a few songs are kind of
catchy, the last track 'When Cannons Fade' has a good intro, but
comparing say 'The Killchain' to 'Cenotaph' (which both open the same
way), it's not even a competition. Two listens all the way through and
there's just not much sticking in my brain. And the production is
missing that huge overdubbed feel, the army of 1000 guitars that made
"The IVth Crusade" so monumental. It's certainly not a horrible album,
and I'm happy to hear Karl back on vocals, but I just don't foresee
this cd getting a lot of play in my daily rotation.
BRAIN DRILL:
- The Parasites (2006) A cross between Origin and Dying Fetus
(with maybe a touch of Spawn Of Possession thrown in), this album
proves without a doubt that if some band is trying to be the fastest,
there's always someone else trying to be even faster. And that's the
best way to describe the aptly named Brain Drill. Holy mother of god
are these guys speedy. The drumming is just unrelenting, with tons of
hyperblasting, gravity blasts, every sort of blast imaginable. The twin
guitars (both performed by guitarist Dylan) are lightning fast with
plenty of tremolo picking, tapped riffs and harmonized sweep picking.
Vocals are midrange and high pitched screams. The production is good,
although the inclusion of a bass to the band would certainly help round
out the sound a bit. Areas to work on, a catchy riff or two extra would
help solidify the songs (although there are some good riffs in here
already). And the chaotic sound could be ever so slightly tighter, but
that only comes with a band performing together for awhile, and these
guys seem to have only been together for a year or so. This 6 song EP
is only 20min long, but that's the perfect length IMO for such
craziness. These guys have managed to create a really cool, totally
enjoyable, short but sweet mini album that just put a huge smile on my
face. Listen to it while you're eating your breakfast, it'll get you
totally pumped for the rest of your day. Highly recommended.
- Apocalyptic
Feasting (2008) If someone had told me there would be a band
faster than Origin, I would have told them they were smokin crack. But
it seems the people smockin crack is this band, because that's the only
way they could possibly play this fast. This debut album for Metal
Blade contains all the songs from their previous EP (rerecorded with
better production), and 4 new compositions. The addition of a bass
really helps the sound. And the production is way louder and more in
your face. Otherwise, see my review of their EP, since most of the same
stuff applies. A worthy debut, and well worth checking out, especially
if you didn't pick up their original EP. Brain Drill is the new band to
beat in the speed arena. Highly recommended.
BROKEN HOPE:
- Swamped In Gore (1991) Lots of strong riffing, lots of slow grinding
parts
along with some brutal blasts of speed. The lyrics are a bit warped
(ok,
maybe more than a bit), but you don't have to read them. And boy is
that
vocalist low.
- Bowels Of Repugnance (1993) Probably my least favorite of their albums. The songs
are
super fast and brutal, but they're too short, and the whole album goes
by
way too quickly.
- Repulsive Conception (1995) Starting to show a little more song writing
maturity,
an explosive bottom end dominates this album. Some great riffs, and
some
very off-key acoustic interludes.
- Loathing (1997) More slow stuff, more fast stuff, their
accuracy
and brutality have increased (if that's possible). They've lost a bit
of
their bottom end that was in previous albums, but you won't care after
you
hear these riffs. I highly recommend this album.
- Grotesque Blessings (1999) Very similar to Loathing. Even more high end
crazy
scale based riffs, lower chunky riffs and harmonized solos. The CD has
slightly
bassier production then the last album, but still remains very treble
oriented,
I think they should try adding more bass to the mix and see what
happens
(although I admit, more bass might muddy up the incredible accuracy of
these
riffs). The songs and riffs are good, and will probably get even better
with
more listens (and I love these song titles, I mean: "Chemically
Castrated"
and "Necro-Fellatio", ya). The vocals are still super low, although not
as booming as previous albums, they could have been pushed up in the
mix a little
bit. But all these critiques are small details, overall a solid album,
if
you like the band already, you'll like this CD.
BRUJERIA:
- Raza Odiada (1995) Ok, figure this. Dino and Raymond from Fear
Factory,
one guy from Sepultura and a few more musicians get together, pretend
to
be mexican bandits, and then produce 40 minutes of metal all in
Spanish.
While the production is ok, they're a bit sloppy at times, and the
songs
are not exactly the most original in the world (the riffs sound like
stuff
that didn't quite make the cut on a Slayer or Sepultura album). It
sounds
a little like some guy setting up a few mike's in his basement,
practicing
for a few hours with some friends, and then cutting an album (which is
apparently
what they did). This sort of vibe helps out the fictitious plot to this
CD,
I wish I knew Spanish so I knew what they were saying. About the only
song
I can figure out is the title track which is subtitled 'Pito Wilson',
where
they pretend to kill Peter Wilson, the controversial political
candidate
who didn't hide the fact he wasn't fond of immigrants. All in all, as a
concept album it's fantastic, but if you're looking for well thought
out, well produced
original sounding metal, look elsewhere. This album is about fun (in an
angry
mexican sort of way).
BRUTAL INSANITY:
- Society Kill Catalyst (1999, Demo) What starts off as an old ragtime piece
that
my dad would enjoy all of a sudden explodes into some pretty powerful
grindcore
thanks to this 5 piece. The quality is good for a demo, obviously a
full
studio recording would make it better, but all the instruments are
still
clear and lots of bass with only a slightly muffled treble. Pure
grindcore
has never been known for innovations, so don't expect something you've
never heard before (similar in nature to Exhumed or Blood Duster), but
this band has many memorable riffs, as well as a few goofy moments that
makes the genre
so much fun to listen to. Vocals are the standard low guttural stuff
with
the occasional scream, lots of bast beats, overall not unique but well
done,
you won't hear any complaints from this camp.
BRUTALITY:
- Screams Of Anguish (1993) A good mixture of brutal death metal and
symphonic
metal. One minute the band will be blasting, the next it will slide
into
a powerful and epic doomy riff with tons of guitar and keyboard layers.
High
quality riffs and good song writing and song structure keeps this music
going
strong. The drummer can certainly play fast and complex when he has to
(lots
of blast beats and double kicks), but his tempo changes are equally
quick, and he keeps things interesting even when he's playing reeeeal
slow. The vocals
remain pretty standard death metal the entire time. Guitar wise, a
little
muffled, but pretty thick, lots of overdubs. Some nice note-for-note
clear
tremolo picking, as well as sections with simpler held chords.
Emotional and
heartfelt solos with lots of harmonizing and held notes. Some ok
acoustic and keyboard interludes. Nothing super innovative, but I
enjoyed it.
- When The Sky Turns Black (1994) Somewhere between their first and third album.
The
riffs aren't as good as the first, but still quite decent, and worth
listening
to. Good production. If you liked the first album, this one is really
similar
in style and sound, so you'll probably like it too.
- In Mourning (1997) I really feel this CD could have been better.
It
needs more standout riffs & better song writing to catch my ear.
The
guitars tend to do low tremolo picking in reasonably obvious &
unoriginal
patterns, not to mention too much repetition. They also never leave the
mid
paced tempo much. The production is excellent with a good mix, but a
little
more work on the songs would have gotten this CD a better than average
score.
As it stands now, there's better stuff to grab.
BRUTUS:
- SlachtBeest (2003) While unique leader is not really known for
releasing "unique" acts (what is with that record label name anyways?),
this album manages to stay interesting with it's combination of
brutality, excellent production and great musicianship. Music wise,
very standard death metal in the style of, well, everybody (ok, well,
Iniquity, Disgorge, Deeds Of Flesh, you know the lot). Production wise,
very powerful scooped sound. Vocals are very low cookie-monster stuff,
and the guitars remain pretty low as well all the way through,
definitely tuned lower than your average 7 string. The drums are, well,
as it says on the back of the album, total blasting time 31:41. But the
thing that keeps this from disappearing into the mess of everything
else out there is the band's ability at assembling a reasonable song
structure so the songs aren't just a never ending collection of random
bits and pieces, and having some killer riffs that get your attention.
Like Spawn Of Possession's first album, the riffs, production and
performance win out over the fact you've heard this kind of stuff
before. So personally, I gotta give this the thumbs up.
BURY YOUR DEAD:
- Color Of Money (2005) In the hardcore style of Lungbrush
or a heavier Corrosion Of Conformity, this band bashes the listener
with some seriously pummeling riffs. A mixture of more rockin material
and start / stop chunky riffs, the band keeps the aggression level high
all the way through. Vocals are shouted (as the genre defines).
Production is perfect, the mix is well balanced. A few oddities do help
define the band such as the fact all their songs are named after Tom
Cruise films (films that seem to have no connection to the songs or
their lyrical content), and all band photos show them in tuxes, I
wonder if they perform in that gear? Ok, so it's not the most
mind-blowingly "wow, I've never heard a song like that before" kinda
deal, but it's well executed, and it'll make you want to scream "Fuck
You!" to the person sitting next to you and give them the finger. And
isn't that feeling worth the purchase price?
- Beauty
And The Breakdown (2006) Exactly like their last album. And
that's usually a bad thing, but for some reason I just don't care in
this case. Fuck progress, just smack me with thunderous riffs, pounding
drumming and hardcore shouts. Oh sorry, there is a difference, instead
of all the song titles being named after Tom Cruise films, it's all
notable quotes from Fairy Tales. Otherwise, it's the same stuff, great
riffs, tons of energy and anger. Not much else to say. Definitely buy
this.
- Bury
Your Dead (2008) A bit of a departure for the band. While all
the core elements are there (tight start stop rhythms and hardcore
vocals), they've added some dare I say "melodic" elements, whether it
be sung vocals or spooky keyboards and samples. Some of the songs work
better than others, I like the first track 'Sympathy Orchestra', the
wailing keyboards add to the mood of the song. But the singing in
'Fever Dream' is just lame. I assume they added this extra stuff
because they wanted to try something a little different (their last 2
albums were pretty much identical), some may say they've sold out, but
I can't imagine adding these melodic elements gaining them any real
popularity with people who like lighter music. So in general this album
is a mixed bag of good, soso and bad songs, it may be worth listening
to the whole album and then buying just the songs that you enjoy.