
EBOLIE:
- I Like The Old
Snuff Better Than The New Snuff (2004, EP) A short EP, 2 songs
are from their new album "Elevation Into Disintegration" album, and the
last 3 are demos from various members of the band, usually using drum
machines. If you have this EP, it was probably free, so no worries, I
don't think I'll ever need to put it into my CD player again.
- Elevation
Into Disintegration (2004) From the name and cover artwork, it's
obvious this band has a bit of a silly side to it. But other than the
odd sound clips, record scratches and odd funk inspired bits, this is a
pretty straight forward grindcore band. Fans of Cephalic Carnage and
Blood Duster know what to expect. The songs are fast, fun, angry, but
there's nothing much here to distinguish the band from all the other
guys. Maybe if their sound clips had a theme, or maybe if the songs
stylistically were a little more coherent. But I'm sure there's lots of
people who will enjoy the variety, and from a performance perspective,
Ebolie are top notch musicians. A fun album.
- Let
Loose (2006, EP)
EIGHTEEN VISIONS:
- Until The Ink
Runs Out (2000)
- The Best Of
(2001)
- Vanity
(2002) The album before their "breakthrough" release
"Obsession" shows a much heavier, rawer and angrier Eighteen Visions.
However, I still think I prefer their new album more. Why you might
ask? Well, it's obvious that one of the elements to the band is the mix
of sung and screamed vocals. So while this album may be heavier, the
clean vocals they do have are just not done as well as the stuff off of
"Obsession", and hence I'd prefer an album that is slightly less
heavier but good sounding clean vocals vs heavier and bad sounding
clean vocals. Of course, neither are as good as a heavy album with no
clean vocals. :) On the music front, some nice heavy riffs here. And a
few of the softer songs / intro are neat, like the album closer "Love
In Autumn" has that Devin Townsend Ocean Machine feel to it. The
production is good, although ever so slightly muffled, and the vocals
sound sort of far away instead of in your face. Overall, it sounds a
little like one of Chimaira's demos, with Chimaira going heavier in
later releases and this band going slightly more "poppier". While some
early albums are only worth getting because you want to see where a
band began, this album has enough good songs to make it a worthwhile
purchase on it's own, just don't expect perfectly polished perfection.
- Obsession
(2004) A wide, wide range of influences can be heard in Eighteen
Visions, from musical styles such as metal, punk and alternative to
bands like Deftones, Chimaira and Filter. But they manage to boil it
all down into something very much their own. It's obvious the band can
write a great vocal harmony as well as a devastatingly heavy riff. A
good example would be 'I Let Go', which has a happy, almost Green
Dayish punk feel to it (with the required choral vocal harmony thing
going on), then you have something like 'Tower Of Snakes' where you
have this tremendous chugging riff, screamed vocals with doublebass and
even a Chimaira-esque squawk to boot. Each songs has very much its own
character, and are well written. If you're a metal purist who hates
clean vocals invading your screams, this band will not be for you, but
if you're into bands like the Deftones or Filter but with a little bit
of added heaviness, these guys are worth checking into.
- Eighteen
Visions (2006) The thing I liked about Eighteen Visions was
their mix of styles. What happens if you take super heavy guitars and
screams and mix it with harmony in your vocals? The answer was their
last album. This album is different. What if you have harmony in your
vocals and mix it with...well...nothing. You get BonJovi, or Motley
Crue, or Whitesnake, or something like that, and that's basically what
this album is. Will it get them laid by tons of hot chicks? Sure. Will
it get them a good review from someone who was expecting angry music.
No. I mean, hair bands were fun in the 80s, and for nostalgia purposes
I still get a smile listening to that stuff now and again. But why oh
why would the band decide to unheavy themselves? They had a nice mix
going on and now they've gone all light, it's just disappointing. A few
of the songs are semi heavy, the intro 'Our Darkest Days' is cool,
'Black And Bruised' has a good bit in the bridge, but most of the
material is just too commercially viable, like 'Broken Hearted', I can
almost hear David Coverdale singing the lyrics right now, or
'Tonightless'. This reeks of executive interference. "Come on guys, it
doesn't matter if the song is good, just as long as we can play it on
the radio and people can dance to it during their prom". Anyways,
personally I have to give this CD a miss, and I hope on their next one
they get back to some heavy songs.
ELEMENT:
- Aeons Past (2007) Brutal technical death metal in the same vein
as Origin, Deeds Of Flesh or Spawn Of Possession. The riffs are
generally complex, but there's plenty of more straight forward moshing
bits too. And there's a few nice spacey acoustic bits to give the
listener a short break from the madness. Their furious instrumental
'Dying Suns Descend' is one complex song (and tons of fun to listen
to), and I find myself listening to their serene album closer 'Within
Singularity' again and again, it reminds me a bit of Joe Satriani's
'Midnight', but a little more eerie. The production is decent, but
perhaps a bit more bass next time would round out the sound. Also, this
is a short album, only about 30min long. Impressive debut from the
band, we'll see what direction they take in the future.
ELEMENTS:
- Another Point (1997) A four track debut CD from this Quebec based
band.
They try and cover a lot of styles in this CD, black metal, death
metal,
death vocals, screaming vocals, shouting vocals. The variety keeps
things
interesting, but sometimes interferes with the songs. The production is
pretty
good and the musicians are obviously talented, I suppose the style
falls
within the technical death metal genre. An above average CD, but
nothing
spectacular yet.
ENCABULOS:
- Abandoning The Flesh (2000) I guess the closest connection I can make here
is
Bolt Thrower. Imagine their "Warmaster" album, but with slightly
noisier
but thicker production and more blast beats. In fact, the band takes
their
Bolt Thrower roots one step further with the best rendition of
"Cenotaph"
I've ever heard (even better sounding then Bolt Throwers version of the
song.)
But despite the slight unoriginality, I have to say this 5 song EP is
pretty fucking amazing. I mean, Bolt Thrower's last album wasn't very
good, so why
not hand the torch to a new band? If you miss that good old wall of
unending
sound, and really high quality riffs, check this album out, you won't
be
disappointed.
END OF ALL:
- Paradise Burning (2004) Somewhere in the no mans land between
grindcore and death metal, End of All combines some of the best stuff
from blood duster (some of their groovier riffs and short songs), bands
like Cephalic Carnage (changing riffs and styles on a dime), guitar
trills a la Cannibal Corpse, and some good old country and western (in
an evil way) to create something that truly can be described as all
their own. What really puts this stuff a head above the other grind
readily available is first the songs, which definitely each have their
own character (as opposed to being too similar and hence repetitive),
the skills of the band, which are all top notch (the guitars are tight
and the drummer can be super fast on the double bass), and the
excellent production. The speed at which the band jumps between
something blindly fast and something very slow or melodic is crazy
considering how smooth and natural they make it all feel. The band is
very eclectic without being too corny (like I always felt Cephalic
Carnage was). And of course, you have to have the evil sound clips at
the beginning of each song to make it all work. Although honestly I
feel some of the sound clips are a little long, and you keep wanting
them to get back to the music, instead they have to squeeze just one
more line in. Top notch madness, grind fans should definitely check
this out.
ENTOMBED:
- Left Hand Path (1990) The sound is less bass heavy than on
Clandestine,
but it still has all the elements that makes the band great. Long
songs,
good riffs, a massive sound.
- Crawl
(1991, EP) Basically some odds and ends, and a few tracks off of the
upcoming Clandestine.
Still a worthy buy.
- Clandestine (1991) Amazing riffs, they combine death with a
little
touch of blues. Their patented 'Entombed sound' is godly, and spawned
about
a zillion copy-cat bands. This tone rivals even Bolt Thrower's wall of
sound.
- Stranger Aeons (1992, EP)
- Hollowman (1993, EP)
- Wolverine Blues (1993) Well, I won't say this is a bad album, it's
just
not entombed. The band has dropped the death metal thing and gone sorta
hardcore,
like Corrosion Of Conformity or motorhead. Which means messier sounding
guitars,
slower drums, and, gasp!, groove!!!! Some good songs, and overall
decent,
but I wish that the band had chosen to do a name change or something,
because placed beside masterpieces like Clandestine, there's just no
comparison.
- Out Of Hand (1994, EP)
- To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The
Truth (1997)
- Monkey Puss (Live In London) (1998,
Live) 10 of Entombed very best songs from their first two albums. Only
one
problem. While the song list may be impressive, the performance isn't.
This
has nothing to do with bad production, the production is actually
decent,
it's the songs and how they are played. The guitar tone is bone dry
with
no reverb of any kind, and it sounds totally thin. Notes are missed
with
an alarming frequency, time signatures are violated, the drummer does
his
best to hold the rest of the band together, but entire rhythm parts go
by
without a single proud note. Their thunderous wall of sound on their
recorded
albums becomes this paper thin transparent sheet. All the finesse you
hear
on the records is gone. I'm sorry, this CD is a disappointment.
EVANESCE:
- Secure The Shadow (2006)
Melodic death metal in a very similar style to Obscenity or
Benediction. It's no surprise this band is from London, everything
about their sound and riffs reminds me of the hayday of british /
european death metal in the early 90s. Productionwise, the sound is big
and distorted, although perhaps a bit far away sounding. The music
isn't too fast, isn't too slow, but stays the middle with mid paced
double bass, some umpa-beats, and a few breaks for the guitars to get
all melodic on us. Vocals are raspy midrange gargles. While the style
is a little retro, I have to admit I enjoyed this cd, it had just the
right level of nostalgia, catchy riffs and good groove. A shame the
band has since broken up, making this their final CD. But enjoy this
offering as the last chapter in a band many of us never got a chance to
know.
EXHALE:
- Die Inside (2004, EP) A
little side project with Sordid members Johan (guitars) and Karl
(Bass), and new guys Gustav (drums) and Ulf
(vocals). This is a short 3 song EP reminiscent of Nasum / early
Carcass / Misery Index. Imagine Nasum's Inhale / Exhale but the songs
aren't as short. The production is good for a demo, although not
polished enough to be a big studio release. For such a short EP, it
actually does a good job of grabbing your attention, and the end riff
to track 2 (natural harmonic sweeps with chunky stuff) is really
killer. If you like Misery Index or Nasum, I highly recommend picking
this EP up.
- Prototype
(2006) Good old fashioned high quality grindcore. First off, don't
expect a big departure from their earlier EP, this cd contains those 3
songs re-recorded and the other new tracks fit right in. The production
has gone up a notch, it's definitely less muffled and more in your
face. If there was anything to suggest it would be maybe a few more
overdubs or something on a future cd to thicken the sound up a bit. But
as it is, it's very raw and angry. Great drumming, good riffs, medium
length songs and tons of energy to keep your ears locked to your
headphones. With Nasum's "Grind Finale" coming out this same week,
you'd think this would be a bad time to release a grindcore album, but
no, this cd is definitely worth the cash and more, so don't overlook
it, you'll be sorry if you do.
EXHORDER:
- Slaughter In The Vatican
(1990) While the name rang a bell, I never actually listened to the
band, and decided to take a peak when a reader recommended them to me.
You basically get exactly what's advertised, some good old school
thrash in the style of Dark Angel / early Testament and Slayer (leaning
more towards the Dark Angel realm). The mandatory yelled vocals, plenty
of fast rhythm guitar playing, super fast solos and umpa drumming.
Productionwise, it's pretty muffled unfortunately. But the band tries
to make up for it performance wise with 8 fast and furious songs, and
they certainly succeed in the energy department. The liner notes refer
to this as one of the most overlooked and underrated bands, and while I
agree that this cd is very good and deserves some attention, it also
doesn't have anything on it that other bands haven't done long before
this cd was released. Still, if you want some good old school thrash,
you can get this CD and "The Law" in a double CD set for one low price,
and it'll be worth the price.
- The Law (1992)
Pretty similar to their last album, although some of the songs are a
bit slower and groovier this time (more Pantera like, especially Kyle
Thomas' voice), not quite as all frantic all the time. But the slower
pace does allow for some more memorable and catchy songs, so what they
lose in speed is gained in good riffs. Also, the production has a bit
more highend to it this time. Otherwise, the two albums are pretty
similar in style. The title track is definitely the best on the album,
really good solid riffing here, and they also do a cover of "Into The
Void" by Black Sabbath.
EXHUMED:
- 7" Excreting Innards (EP)
- 7" Accidental Double Homicide vol.4
(EP) Comp
- 7" Tales of the Exhumed
(EP) Split with Retaliation
- 7" Totally Fucking Dead
(EP) Split with Nyctophobic
- In the Name of Gore (1995,
EP)
Split EP with Hemdale
- 7" Blood and Alcohol (1996,
EP)
Split with Pale Existence
- Chords of Chaos (1996, EP)
4-way
Split CD with Ear Bleeding Disorder / Excreted Alive / Necrose
- Gore Metal (1998) This stuff sounds exactly like old Carcass.
Not
only do the dual vocalists sound just like Steer and Walker from the
famous
grindcore band, but everything else reminds me of "Reek of
Putrefaction".
The noisy but thick production, the bursts of speed, the chaotic riffs,
the
mangled corpses and butchered people in the album booklet. This is not
progressive
metal, this is the very beginnings of grindcore where bands were less
worried
about the riffs and more worried about intensity so strong that the
skin
gets ripped off your face. Even with this incredible lack of
originality,
I have to say I enjoyed this CD a lot, because it's done well, and does
actually
have a few catchy riffs along with the usual noisy tremolo picked wall
of
white noise. Fast and powerful drumming, intense vocals and good songs.
If
you dream of the days of early Carcass and wish they'd produce an album
like they used to in the good old days of intense grindcore, then get
this CD, you'll love it.
- Slaughtercult (2000) Another new album from Carc...er, I mean
Exhumed.
You know, maybe it's ok that Carcass started releasing crappy albums
before
they broke up, because there seems to be no lack of other bands ready
to
pick up the torch (Impaled being an extreme example, and, of course
Exhumed).
Now that I've set the stage, specifics: this cd doesn't do anything
that
wasn't done on their last cd. On the positive note however, that means
it's
still really high quality work within the confines of the style they've
given themselves. More noisy guitars (as in white noise wall of sound),
more blasts,
more dual vocals, more gore and guts. The songs tend to all blend
together
with virtually no change in speed or volume level, but it's intensity
level
gets an 11 out of 10, no one can claim these guys have mellowed. Not
much
more to say really, if you liked the last album, you'll love this album.
- Anatomy Is
Destiny (2003) While I still prefer some of the songs off their
first album more (namely tracks 1-5), the songwriting on this release
has definitely gone up a notch from their last outing. As in, I will
actually listen to this one every once in awhile, while Slaughtercult
very rarely makes it way to my cd player (not because the album is bad,
it's just nothing spectacular). Production wise, a fine album, pretty
balanced low and high end, certainly less messy and noisy than Gore
Metal. I don't know, there's no particular reason for me to love this
cd, I mean, there's no single thing I can point to and say "Hey, that's
really cool, that's why I love this album", it's pretty straight
forward in all respects and pretty similar to their previous two
albums, and yet it does seem to have that certain spark of magic,
whether it's the songs, the brutal precise execution, whatever it is, I
do have to admit to enjoying this cd. So stop whatever you're doing,
sit back, and take a good strong listen to some very angry people play
their very angry music.
- Regurgitated
Requiems: Garbage
Daze Re-Regurgitated (2005, Covers)
EXISTENCE:
- A Higher Form of Hatred (2001, Demo) This 5 songs EP is a must buy if you're
into
groovy death metal. Very technical riffs, lots of tapping riffs in the
Dying
Fetus / Cannibal Corpse style, squawks and plenty of palm mutted chunky
stuff
as well, hardcore'ish vocals. For a demo, this has great production,
really big bass sound and good high end. No mids to be found. And the
songs are just
killer, they stick in your head even after a single listen. The pits at
these
guy's concerts must be great, the music really gets you moving. What
can
I say, excellent material.
- The Darkest Light (2001) Same basic style as their EP, this is a full
length
though. Overall, quite nice, not quite as focused as their EP, probably
due
to a larger number of songs. The sound isn't quite as raw, but better
sounding
overall. I do sorta miss the razor sharp treble on the guitars from
their
last release though. We need to get these guys signed.
- Promo
(2001, Promo) 3 tracks, again, great songs, productionwise the drums
are sounding really good, but they need a thicker guitar sound in
there. A hidden 4th track
features feedback, and a 5th track is an old country song speaking of
the
virtues of texas.
EXMORTEM:
- Souls Of Purity (1993, Demo)
- Labyrinths Of Horror (1995)
- Dejected... (1997, Promo)
- Dejected In Obscurity (1998)
- Berzerker Legions (2001)
- The Pestilence Empire (2002)
- US Berzerker Campaign (2004)
Their 3rd album "Berzerker Legions" plus 6 bonus tracks (pest campaign
bonus ep section). If you know Malevolent Creation (especially "In Cold
Blood" era), you know Exmortem. Same style of tremolo picking, fast and
loud blasts and double bass, and the vocalist sounds a little like
Jason Blachowicz. Of course, for any of the old readers out there, you
know I loved "In Cold Blood", and so while not unique (I could also
draw parallels to Krisiun's "Conquerors of Armageddon" album), this
band gets high points in my book for capturing some of that vibe, and
just overall writing some good songs (a few slower riffs may have
helped break the songs up a bit more) and performing them with plenty
of anger and ferocity. The production is good, with that wall of sound
thing going on, maybe a little more bass on the guitars would have been
good, but it's only a small nit. The first 3 of the bonus tracks are
live, and sound great, really, really well recorded, no "guy in the
crowd with a mic" here. The final 3 tracks (including an autopsy cover)
are all well recorded and generally in the same style as everything
else. Well worth the cash.
- Nihilistic
Contentment (2005) Their last cd reminded me very much of
Krisiun, straight ahead, lots of blastbeats and doublebass, not a lot
of variation in tempo or style but good solid riffs. So when this cd
arrived, I was basically expecting the same thing. Well, I can honestly
say the band seems to have branched out a bit. It's not a total
makeover, but this cd incorporates a lot of disharmonic elements to the
riffs in the style of post-"Covenant" Morbid Angel, Gorgut's "Obscura"
or Immolation's "Close To A World Below" (especially Immolation, the
way they tremolo pick higher notes, each guitar doing a different note
slightly out of tune with the other guy). So while the album's core
remains in the style of their previous album, this extra spice
immediately makes the album far more diverse and brutal. Production is
again really great, the pacing of the album keeps things from getting
boring (with a carefully placed slow song and another well placed
interlude in between the blast fest). If I had to pick a nit it's that
some of the later songs on the album sound possibly a little too much
like Immolation, so it's not the most original of material. But I'd
have to rate it better than their last album, which was already really
good, and fans of good solid death metal should definitely get this
ASAP.
EXPLODING ZOMBIES:
- Several Severed Heads (2000) While the name of the band is somewhat
unusual,
what we have here is the usual splattering of gargly death in an
Exhumed
/ Disgorge / early Dying Fetus style. But the lack of originality
beyond
their name and song titles ('Swampinstein?') should not detract from
the
cd, which is well produced and plenty of fun to listen to. No subtly,
no
accoustic guitar breaks, just a lot of pummeling guitar riffs and vomit
style
vocals, a perfect soundtrack for those of you who enjoy killing zombies
with
chainsaws. Let the bloodfeast begin!
EXTOL:
- Burial
(1998)
- Mesmerized
(1999, EP)
- And I
Watch / Human Frailties Grave (2000, 7inch)
- Undeceived
(2000)
- Paralysis
(2001, EP)
- Synergy
(2003) Truly a band that's greater than the sum of its parts. While all
kinds of parallels can be drawn to other bands, including Arch Enemy,
Martyr, Invocator, old trash bands from the 80s, the band Death, all
the
influences mix together into a very cohesive style. As usual, good song
writing is at the core. The guitar work on this album is fantastic,
very, very tight alternate picked stuff, very precise while still
retaining power. In fact, the whole production on this album is top
notch, each instrument can be heard very clearly. The vocals are angry
screams for the most part somewhat reminiscent of Chuck from Death, and
then frequently some clean male / female vocals that work in the music,
if you have some strong aversion to this kind of stuff, you may wish to
stay away since it's used pretty frequently, but it really didn't
bother me too much. Very technical, not to the point of overkill, the
songs are certainly memorable and catchy despite all the crazy time
signatures. Overall if you're a fan of any of the bands mentioned
above, this is good shit and I highly recommend checking the band out.
- The
Blueprint Dives (2004) In a word, disappointing. Their previous
album, while it had plenty of sung vocals in it, was a masterpiece of
complex, razorsharp guitarwork, a fantastic combination of thrash and
something more melodic. This album is all melody with almost no thrash
elements at all, very little intensity, and little complexity. Most of
the rhythms are just held chords, what happened to all those fast
complex riffs? As a melodic album, it's not bad at all, I think some of
the vocal harmonies are very cool sounding, and even catchy and
somewhat inspired, but without some more aggressive stuff to play off
of, there's no contrast, this is just happy music. Ok, there are still
some shouted vocals, but they're not nearly as prominent, and with the
slow uninspired guitarwork, it all seems to fall a little flat. If
you've been waiting for a nice melodic / progressive album, check this
out, but if you're looking for something as intense as "Synergy",
you'll have to keep waiting.
EXTREME NOISE TERROR:
- Radioactive (1985) A split album with Chaos UK.
- Peel Session I (1987, EP)
- Peel Session II (1987, unreleased EP)
- A Holocaust In Your Head (1987)
- Peel Session III (1987, EP)
- Phonophobia
- Retro-bution (1995)
- Damage 381 (1997) A good overall album, riff oriented death
metal
with clear production. However, nothing on this album really stands
out.
The song writing is good but not spectacular, the guitar sound is clear
but
unmemorable, the drumming is good but not...well, you get the idea.
Would
have probably been more original in the late eighties, but not in '97.
Enough
good riffs to make it worth listening to.
- Being And Nothing (2001) Ok, forget everything about the last album.
The
new ENT is just that, a terror. From the opening scream and blasts,
it's
obvious this band has found that untapped energy that was missing from
their
last album. This album reminds me a lot of Diabolic, no holds barred,
brutal,
brutal grind / death. The riffs are great and really stick in your
head,
the intensity level is an 11, with enough slower parts to completely
avoid
the monotonous tag. The drumming is fucking insane, blasting, fast
double
kicks, it's all here. This is a sick, sick album, and while sorta hard
to
find, a definite must buy.