KARL SANDERS:

• Saurian Meditation (2004) As advertised, Nile band leader Karl Sanders performs a full cd of semi traditional egyptian influenced music, similar to the intros found on any Nile album (sans the crazy death metal part that usually follows). Originally I wasn't going to pick this up since one of the cool bits about Nile is the contrast between the intros and the crazy metal, without the crazy metal, would the album just be boring? Well, more ambient, certainly, the pace of this album could not be described as fast by any means, but then again, the album is called "Saurian Meditations", so brutal speed isn't necessarily conducive to meditating. Anyways, after dismissing the album, I then figured later on that some spooky egyptian style music may be the perfect thing to listen to at 3 in the morning after a hard night of craziness, and in that respect this album delivers. Expect lots of repeating droning passages, acoustic guitar, traditional/tribal drumming, choral chanting, and with just the hint of distorted guitar now and again. The album is 10 long tracks, and I pretty much enjoyed all the songs except for track 2, 'Ishtar', which is 10 minutes of a very repetitive riff, and these clean melodic vocals that I quite frankly find annoying, you may wish to press skip once after the first song. Like Apocalyptica, if you can enjoy something heavy and spooky performed with traditional instruments rather than the usual wall of distortion, I can certainly recommend picking this up.

SAPROGENIC:

• Demo 2001 (2001)
• Wet Sound Of Flesh On Concrete (2003) While still a little rough around the edges, this gargly death metal band shows a lot of promise. Most of the issues in fact are with the production, otherwise, this is some killer material in the vein of Malignancy, Disgorge or Disavowed. Songwriting, as usual, is the key, and Saprogenic writes damn good songs. Ok, now to the rough parts, the guitar sound is not very good at all, it's very, very muffled. Like, take your favorite album, turn bass up to 10, and turn mids and high to 0. Not just like 3 or 4, I mean 0. The drums thankfully don't suffer this same problem, however, the treble of the drums along with no treble in the guitars leads to a very uneven mix. But I do recommend taking the time to just accept the fact that the recording isn't perfect, since the riffs are well worth it. One tiny tiny issue as well is while the drummer is obviously very skilled and quick, the double bass work could be slightly more even and precise. However, looking at the band photo, these guys seem pretty young, so they have plenty of time to work on these issues. Well worth a listen and I can't wait to hear their second album.
• Ichneumonid (2006) Wow, the band went from way too much bass to perhaps not enough. Amazing how these things flip flop. But honestly, this is a far better mix for the group, while a little extra bass would have been nice, this is far more even handed than their debut. Otherwise, what you'd expect, garbage compactor vocals, lots of blasting, fast double bass, style wise these guys would probably fall more into the Deranged or Severe Torture category with this new release. This is high quality death metal, nothing too new or innovative, but decent riffs, good performance, and plenty of anger.

SARKASM:

• Incubated Mind (1991, Demo)
  
• Inner Flame (1992, Demo)
• Advanced Tape (1992, Demo)
  

SATARIEL:

• Thy Heavens Fall (1994, Demo)
• Hellfuck (1995, Demo)
• Demo '96 (1996, Demo)
• Lady Lust Lilith (1998) This band never seems to quite figure out what they are. Touches of symphonic, black and death metal. Black metal screamed vocals mixed with singing. Jackhammer blast beats and then mid-tempo rock drumming. But after considering the constant shifting of styles from one moment to the next, I have to admit it works more often than not. These guys are definitely angry, and they can write a good song as well as a good riff. The guitar tone is huge (sounds like old Entombed), and the production is good, but a bit noisy at times (but that's a prerequisite for black metal). If you like black metal, but also enjoy some good technical death metal type riffs, check out this band, they might have just what you need.
• Promo 2K (2000, Promo)
  
• Phobos And Deimos (2001) Improving on the formula from the last album, this cd is tighter, a little more symphonic in parts, and overall more polished. In a style where I'd say Arch Enemy is the current king, this band gives them a good run for their money with some pretty spectacular song writing. Also, there's some decent variety here without sounding all-over-the-map as in their previous album. For example, vocal wise, you find a mixture of gargled vocals, high pitched screams, group shouting, and some more operatic singing parts like any of Yngwie's singers (which are a bit cheesy, but not so much so to detract from the overall goodness). Drum wise, instead of a constant barrage of speed, this guy holds back until the perfect moment to hit you with a double bass passage or a blast beat, which makes them that much more effective. Guitar tone is thick, wall of sound kinda thing. Arch Enemy fans owe it to themselves to check these guys out.
• Hydra (2005) What the hell happened? I mean, Satariel has always had melodic elements to their music, but this is way out of wack. Guitarwise just about every riff is a held chord, like held for a bar, then a new note held for another bar. Drumwise everything is mid-tempo, 4x4 time. No blast beats. Barely any double kicks. Certainly nothing complex beyond keeping time. I doubt the drummer even worked up a sweat. And while there are still a few raspy black metalish vocals, most are the sung stuff. I mean, it's not like most of the album is like this, the entire album is like this (with the possible exception of 'Nihil Juggernaut', but that's only one song of ten). Where's the anger? The intensity? The energy? I can totally imagine the band performing this will simultaneously sipping tea and sitting on couches. A huge disappointment, avoid at all costs.

• Inscribe (2001) Combining many of the best elements from death metal and hardcore, there's no rapping to be heard here, but a strong groove mixed with double kicks and tremolo picking. Vocals are mid and high pitched screams. It's hard to pin any sort of label on these guys, they have the rushed pace of Deranged, mixed with some groovier parts, and some screaming reminiscent of Nasum. Production wise, everything is clear, the sound is a little loose, but it gives it that live unpolished feel that probably works with their style. The band managed to mix a lot of influences into a coherent sound that's pretty damn vicious.

• Translucence (2000) While it has some Scarve like elements, this album is definitely the first infant steps for the band. First off, the vocals on this album are very different from their later releases, far more power metal than the death metal growls of later albums (think any of Yngwie's vocalists). Second, the riffs are generally more straight forward. But the spacy atmosphere is the same, and there are some good songs here. I especially dig many of the atmospheric breaks. Not as unique or strong as their 2nd and 3rd albums, but still some good songs worth checking out.
• Luminiferous (2002) While similar to their "Irradiant" album, various elements have been accentuated or played down. For example, the Meshuggah like clean guitar stuff is not as evident on this cd. There are still clean breaks, they're just even more spacy with extra keyboards, wailing guitars and thickly distorted held chords as their primary ingredients. And the sung vocals are even more prevalent here (although they do still have plenty of standard death metal growling too, just not as often). Thankfully, due to the very odd nature of the chord progressions, the clean vocals still manage to remain spooky and disturbing. Otherwise, the same sort of material, a huge, huge production with tons of layered instruments (the mix is only slightly inferior to their later album). The main two things I love is how dense this music is, and how odd the chord changes are, it makes it interesting to listen to while simultaneously brutal on the eardrums due to so much going on. Highly recommended for any fans of sci-fi / techno metal.
• Irradiant (2004) Sort of a cross between Meshuggah and Strapping Young Lad. Now hold on a second, I know what you're gonna say, "Not another meshuggah clone!!", but no, these guys aren't really clones. Generally a Meshuggah clone copies Meshuggah's complex stop-start rhythms and strange time signatures. Scarve on the other hand does stuff similar to Meshuggah's clean breaks, the spacy acoustic parts with melodic distorted guitar solos overtop (in fact, Fred Thordendal makes a guest appearance for a guitar solo). The more aggressive rhythm parts tend to be more like a standard death metal band. Speaking of rhythm, the guitar sound is huge on this album, tons of overdubs, they manage to use reverb without making the sound muddy or too echoey (just like Strapping Young Lad's "City" cd, which happens to use the same producer used here, Daniel Bergstrand). Also, the band uses two vocalists, one death metal growler, and one who does sung vocals that sound somewhat similar to the guy from Slapdash, ie, it's sung, but it's not "beautiful" singing, it's more raw and fits in with the overall vibe to the music. Basically, if you want something that's got the big sound of SYL, the spacy guitars of Meshuggah, and just some damn good and memorable songs, check this band out. A digipak version has 2 lives tracks as well.
• The Undercurrent (2007) Quite similar to their previous release, with a few extra twists. Scarve still have plenty of super thick distorted guitars, clean and screamed vocals, blasts and double bass. The thing that's a bit different here is the song structure. On previous releases, the band was a bit more song oriented. It was easier to tell specific songs apart, there were some really strong standout riffs, and the structure of the songs were a little more straight forward. These songs are less distinct, they tend to blend together as though the whole album were one long complex song. At first listen, I wasn't super impressed, but something kept me coming back, and after multiple listens I have to say I'm digging this album more. It's not conveniently packaged for your consumption, it's not easy to process. With all its winding melodies, intricate drumwork and almost overly distorted guitarwork that creates a dizzying wall of sound, "The Undercurrent" is just that, the sound grabs you like a riptide and pulls you out to sea. Like a nightmare or a fever dream, this album is complex, dense, and not to be understood as much as it's there to be experienced. I think overall I prefered their other two albums, but this CD is something I can see getting better with age.

• Procreating Mass Carnage (1994, Demo) Similar to their 'Perversion' demo. Good riffs, great production, low guitar, bass and vocals. Good quality, but not very original.
• Inherent Perversion (1995, Demo) The production on this CD is surprising good considering this is just a demo band. They obviously sunk a lot of money into this album, and in the end it was probably worth it. The band won't win anything for originality, but they do provide lots of brutality and several cool riffs in a traditional grind/death style. The guitars are low and the bass is huge, and as I mentioned, the production is excellent. Now they just need to work on setting themselves apart from the other bands in the genre.
• Destined To Fail (1998) Nothing new here, just powerful, angry death metal. The production is very powerful, possibly a bit muddy, but you won't notice because you'll be too busy picking your teeth off the floor after the sound slams you in the face. Some nice riffs, hooks and catchy phrases (catchy in the sense they stick in your head and won't go away easily), the band can be really tight at times without losing a certain live and spontaneous quality to the sound. The songs shift from fast pace blastathons to slower, more epic sludge fests. Some nice serene intros with good use of keyboards and acoustic guitars. Not the best death metal CD of all time or anything, but definitely up there on the list for stuff I've heard in the recent past.
• Indulgence In Masochism (2002, comp) Their first album and two demos compilated into a single CD on their new label.

• Fornever Laid To Rest (1992) Relatively unmemorable death metal. Good songs, good drums, good vocals, but nothing spectacular. The production isn't bad.
• Saltrubbed Eyes (1993) This album is a real departure from the first, mainly due to an incredibly distorted bass, which is very prominent in the mix, giving them a very distinctive sound (although it also makes the mix a bit muddy). The guitar and drums are also great, these guys just hammer away at every song as though their life depended on it.

• Bestial Devastation (1985, EP)
• Morbid Visions (1986, EP)
• Schizophrenia (1987)
• Beneath The Remains (1989)
• Arise (1991) It's fast and furious, lots of strong riffs, quickly and accurately performed. It's tame by today's standards, but a revolutionary album when it first came out. The production also needs more bass.
• Third World Posse (1992, EP)
• Chaos A.D. (1993) Powerful production, the thing that really sets this album apart from others is the tribal influences. While staying true to the Sepultura style, they've added lots of tribal drumming (thank to Igor) and haunting acoustic breaks. It's metal music from the Amazon, raw and unpolished. Excellent song writing helps keep it all together.
• Roots (1996) A little more tribal, a little less metal, great song writing, and some of the strangest noises to come out of a guitar ever. The tone is muddier and noisier, but the sound will smash you around like a sledge hammer.
• Blood-Rooted (1997) An album that includes bonus tracks from the Chaos A.D. and Roots sessions, some demos, and 7 live songs (mainly songs from Chaos A.D.) There's nothing mind blowing here, just good songs, and lots of what makes Sepultura such a classic band. Live or studio, the production is great, and the vibe is even better.
• Against (1998) Sort of "Roots", but the singer doesn't have an accent anymore. After all the turmoil when Max Cavalera left the group, the question was, would the rest of the band stick together? The answer, yes, replacing the brazilian vocalist with newcomer Derrick Green. Does he do a good job? Yes, because he doesn't try and replace Max. He does his best to add his own variety of angry shouting (and the odd spoken word segment) to the mix, and it works in general. As for the rest of the band, it's still Sepultura, that mix of thrash and tribal beats, with acoustic songs and speedy punkish riffs. Nothing terribly revolutionary here, some weak songs, some strong songs, generally the performance is good. Anyone who liked "Roots" and the direction the band went with that CD should like this album.
• Nations (2001) Well, it sounds like Sepultura, but there's just no intensity to this album. Where before they'd mix more quiet parts with angry parts to provide mood and variety, the "angry" parts to this CD just lack any true anger, there's no heart to this stuff anymore. Just when a song might be getting heavy they quickly switch to a more atmospheric riff that just ruins the pacing of the songs. No originality, no intensity, I didn't like 99% of the riffs on the album, the production isn't all that good. Sorry, I'll have to qualify this as a must miss.
• Chaos DVD (2002) Three of the band's old videos all on DVD now. It all starts with "Under Siege: Live in Barcelona", which is a full live concert from the "Arise" period. While the music is well produced and performed, it seems like 0% of the time was spent matching the sound with the visuals, Max is screaming when he's obviously nowhere near a mike, toms are pounded while igor is on the ride, it's a pretty big mess. It might capture some of the "abstract" feeling of being at a sepultura concert, but for me capturing a concert should be a more faithful representation of the music. Maybe close your eyes and just enjoy the music. Next comes the "Third World Chaos" video, originally released after "Chaos AD", which has very little live music, but a lot of music videos. While as a general rule I don't like music videos, I'll admit Sepultura do a good job of them, videos for 'Arise', 'Territory' and 'Refuse / Resist' are all nice visual collages with some killer music mixed in. Finally, a short 20 min video called "We Are What We Are", which shows 3 videos from the "Roots" session. Each video has a 3-4 min interview with band members discussing the making of the video and the ideas behind the songs, which is pretty cool. Anyways, while I wouldn't necessarily label this DVD a "must have", any sepultura fan will probably find enough goodness in here to keep them happy, or if you already own the 3 videos, here's a nice way to get them all together on one disc.
• Under A Pale Grey Sky (2002, Live) The last concert with former vocalist Max Cavalera, recorded in Brixton England, 96. You get 2 CD, 28 songs, 2 hours of Sepultura at the peak of their game. The set list is fantastic with plenty of older and newer material, just about every song that made them great is here, recorded and mixed to perfection, and played with conviction. If I had any critique it's I got tired of Max introducing just about every song with either the name of the songs or a memorable line from the lyrics. All fans of the band must get this CD.
• Roorback (2003) After a short intro, track 1 "Come Back Alive" hits you with a ton of bricks. Wow, is this a missing bonus track from Chaos A.D.? Well, no, since this isn't Max singing, but it bodes quite well for the rest of the album. By track 5, I'm still waiting for the album to fall on it's face, but thankfully it never does. Overall, a lot of good songs, a little filler here and there, but lightyears ahead of "Nations". It's the lowness and experimental nature of "Roots" with the guitar tone of "Chaos A.D." Perhaps the best explanation would be this, "Chaos A.D." / "Roots" is the pinnacle of the band, "Against" is somewhere on the slope down, "Nations" is the lowest valley. "Roorback" is now on the slope upwards again, they're not at the top of their game again yet, but definitely headed in the right direction, so I'm excited about the future. The band has managed to prove that they are not irrelevant in today's music scene, they still do have something to offer, and, well, that's just a comforting thought, Sepultura is back.
• Dante XXI (2006) I went into this cd with pretty low expectations. Yes, their last album kicked some serious ass, but I'd heard a preview song or two off this cd and they were ok but not great. I wasn't not interested in the cd, lets just say when the album arrived in the mail, opening and playing it wasn't the first thing on my list. But maybe the low expectations helped, because once I did put this cd on and it was actually decent, talk about a big surprise! The first thing that struck me is how energetic the music feels again. The first 4 tracks or so are just speedy, Igor is doing fast stuff on the drums again, and the frantic pace really grabs you and pulls you into the album. By track 5 or so, things slow down for the middle of the cd, but they keep things interesting with a few out-of-the-ordinary riffs whose originality sticks with you, and makes you want to listen to them again (like the first riff in 'Fighting On'). Things speed up again a bit toward the end with 'Crown And Miter', and then closes with 'Still Flame' which is again slow, mostly traditional instruments and a nice spooky song, but would have probably been better as an intro to a big powerful closing number instead of being the closing number. Song writing wise, better than their last, still no "Chaos AD" or "Roots", but a worthy CD from the band, and a few really memorable songs which could go down as Sepultura classics. Don't delay like I did, this cd is worth your immediate attention.
  

• Butchery Of The Innocent (1998, Demo) More grindcore/death with all the usual elements (low vocals, blasting, double kicks). The production is fuzzy (it's tough to tell what notes the guitar hits frequently, and sometimes the drums congeal into a giant mass), but I have to admit, the recording level is really high which adds to the ferocity of the band. These guys certainly know how to play their instruments, maybe just a little more time to work on better riffs, tightness and production is needed to catch my attention. To contact 7th Child write to 7th Child, Flat 4, 6 Summerhill Road, Dartford, Kent, DA1 2LP, United Kingdom.
• Bled To Death (2000, EP) Well, I said in my last review that they needed to spend more time on tightness and good song structures (and catchy riffs), and apparently they did. This short but intense 4 song EP is a good slab of low guttural death. Super low gargly vocals, some memorable riffs, they manage to groove a bit more without sounding wimpy, the mix is good too. Fast drumming, and while the guitars are still a tiny bit messy here and there, you can definitely hear what they're playing now. The band keeps that slightly out-of-control feel, as opposed to razor sharp precision, which works for this kind of music. If you're into the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Gorguts or Iniquity, you'll certainly like this as well. Will be interested in seeing how they hold up when they finally release their first full length album.

• Promotional CD (2002) 3 song promo. Highly blasting death metal, but still musical enough to have songs you can follow (vs the random riff syndrome of say someone like Disgorge or Decrepit Birth). If I had to draw comparisons, I'd probably say something like Soulreaper, Brutus, or the more intense parts of Nile without the egyptian influence. Vocalwise, a mix of styles from lower gargles to higher pitched stuff that sound a bit like Carcass. Lots and lots of impressive riffs, this is probably one of the best promos I've ever heard, it goes for the throat and stops just a moment before you choke. This whole Promo is available for download in mp3 form from the band's site, so go to it.
  
• Chronicles of a Sickness (2003, Split) 4 tracks from the band. This time, just about all the vocals sound like Carcass, but thankfully the rest of the band sounds more like Divine Empire, Dying Fetus or Malevolent Creation. This mixture allows the band to escape from the Carcass clone band competition dominated by Impaled, Exhumed, etc. The first 3 songs are intense blast fests with a number of really good stand out riffs. Track 4 is far more sonically complex, it starts with a spooky acoustic vibe, goes into a sort of flamingo thing (while evil vocals are whispered overtop) and switches over at about the 3 minute mark into something highly distorted and angry. I miss the variety to the vocals, but we'll see where the band decides to go when they get their chance to record their first full length album.
• Violentia Imperatrix Mundi (2006) Debut for the french thrash / death metal band. Sometimes when you have several prominent demos, a band's debut can be a little anti-climatic. Afterall, you've already heard a lot of the material, and you already have a few releases to compare it to. While the songs on "Violentia Imperatrix Mundi" don't suffer from this comparison, the production unfortunately does. Their original Promo CD just had more body to the sound. A great example is the song 'Omega Dei'. On the promo the trill part at the beginning sounds like an army of buzzing bees. On their debut there's just too much treble, not enough bass, and very few overdubs, making the trill sound somewhat weak. Thankfully when the guitars get down to the low palm muted stuff there's still some thickness there (like at the end of the song with the riff that progressively slows slows down), but I wish they would have recaptured that promo sound as opposed to what they have here. Songwise, some great material, and only a few duplicates from their earlier releases. As well as good songs, there's some neat keyboard / samples which lets the material stand out a bit from the crowd. The vocals also have some of that variety back. In general, weaker production, but certainly still decent enough to enjoy, some great songs. Well worth grabbing, but I hope with their follow-up they've worked out a few of the kinks.
• Archetype Of Natural Violence (2008) So this album is their debut album "Violentia Imperatrix Mundi" completely rerecorded from scratch. So it's the same songs, although there are plenty of tweaks like new intros, different bridges, different effects. The production on the album is louder and more in your face, but with a slight loss to the lower end and reverb the band had going on in the original recording. I can't really say which is "better", they're both great, just different from each other. If you can't find the original recording, get this one instead, this is a great album. If you have access to both, take a listen to the difference on their myspace page and see which sounds better to you.
  

• A Display Of Those Defiled (2003, EP) Quite a surprise actually, I look at the back of the cd and see a group of what look like 15 years olds. Maybe 17, tops. And yet, the band seems to have skills beyond their years, both on their instruments and with some kickass memorable songs. How did kids this young learn how to write such good riffs? And why are they so angry? Oh wait, they live in Ohio. Ok, that explains it, seems like Ohio must be a sucky place to live considering how many furious death metal bands come from the area. Glad I've never lived there. Anywho, this band smashes you over the head with some serious firepower, imagine Suffocation on speed. In fact, that's just what happens on track 5 of this EP, their cover of Liege Of Inveracity is very good, slightly faster than the original, and this band really makes the song their own as opposed to trying to do the song the way Suffocation already did it. The first 4 tracks are original material and very good, lots of tremolo picking followed by slow sludgy riffs, and some serious good squawks. Imagine something like early Skinless or Malignancy, but with the speed of something like Deranged. Production is quite nice, there's some serious overdubs going on here to achieve that big ballsy wall of sound, perhaps slightly messy, but it doesn't bug me, it sounds like their style vs it being the fact they can't play cleanly. Vocals are super low, toilet bowl sort of stuff. These songs are pretty long too, like 7-8 min long. The album ends with 2 demo tracks, both of which have pretty bad production (the guitar is clear but the rest of the band is nonexistent in the mix). Anyways, an impressive first release, I can't wait for whatever comes next.
  

• Baptized... (1998, Demo)
• Pray For Nothing (2000, EP)
• Feasting On Blood (2000) Similar to Cannibal Corpse's "Tombs Of The Mutilated", although possibly more energized, propelled forward by some very fast blasts and double bass. Again, while taking no points for originality, the songs here are memorable, and the music is solid and well played. For fans of the genre, this is definitely worth owning.
• Lambs Of a God (2001, EP)
• Butchery Of The Soul (2002, EP) A 6 song EP, the first track is from their "Feasting on Blood" album, then tracks 2 and 3 are the entire "Pray For Nothing" EP, 4 and 5 are the entire "Lambs Of God" EP, and the last track is a cover of a Cannibal Corpse song. There's also a video track. Overall the music is all good, varying production levels but all of them are clear. And this is a nice way to collect two hard to get EPs, so I'd say it's worth the cash.
• Misanthropic Carnage (2002) For people familiar with Iniquity's "The Hidden Lore" album, this cd has a lot in common, the low trills and tapping riffs, the squawks, the solid solid riffs that stick in your brain. Since I've compared Iniquity to Cannibal Corpse, one could also draw that parallel here (not to mention the censored album cover art brings to mind the "Butchered at Birth" artwork), although this album has a lot more fast blasting to it. Vocals are low (although not ungodly low) and gargled, with very little variation from phrase to phrase, much in the same style as Disavowed. The band may have trouble differentiating themselves from many of the other bands out there doing similar stuff, but overall I really like the songs, and think connoisseur's of the style will be pleased, so check it out.
• Blood Letting (2005, Live/Demo) This live / rare tracks album is divided into 3 parts, first is 9 live tracks from a show they did in 2004, then a Pestilence cover song, then the album finishes with a remaster of their "Baptized..." demo. First, the live material, pros: the songs are well performed, and the recording quality for such a small band is excellent, with a seriously good mix (obviously a soundboard recording). Cons: the crowd is pretty non-existent, and the songs are pretty much identical to the songs off the albums. But still, I was impressed with how professional sounding the recording was, and the songs are great, so it's still plenty of fun. The Pestilence cover is good. The demo is also good sounding for a demo, although it still certainly falls into the demo category. If you haven't been introduced to this band, I'd go for one of their albums over this recording, but if you're a fan of the band, I can see you enjoying this cd.
• Fall of the Despised (2005) No real surprises here, another impressive set of songs from an impressive group. First off the production has the same general feel as "Misanthropic" but it sounds like a sock has been taken off the microphone revealing the real tone of the instruments, a definite step up. But to me the nicest thing on this cd are the riffs, they use some rather neat sounding chord progressions, but they're injected into a reasonably straight forward song framework, so it's not progressive enough to lose the people who just want to hear music in straight 4/4 time, but different sounding enough to avoid becoming run of the mill material. This album also has a few more slow songs (or slow parts to the songs), which work really well as contrast to the faster blasting stuff. Throw in a few odd sounding slow tunes like Morbid Angel, a few low trills like Cannibal Corpse, and you get a very satisfying death metal experience. Recommended!
• Sworn Vengeance (2007) If you liked their last CD, you'll like this one as well. Same general feel, fast stuff, slow stuff, interesting riffs that aren't too complex, great production. Lots of great head banging material. A little too short if you ask me, with many of the songs under 3 minutes. A special edition of the CD comes with a Cro-Mags cover and an Entombed cover ('Eyemaster' off their "Wolverine Blues" album.) Overall I think I preferred the riffs off of "Fall Of The Despised", but this is a close second. Definitely enjoyable.
  

• To Ashes (1997, 7inch)
• Somber Eyes To The Sky (1998)
• Of One Blood (2000)
• Deadworld (2001, EP)
• Fear Will Drag You Down (2002, comp) Contains the "Deadworld" EP and "Of One Blood" album.
  
• The Art Of Balance (2002) Old school thrash in the style of early Anthrax or Invocator with just a touch of Arch Enemy / In Flames. Vocal wise, the singer has three modes, death metal low growl (which he used infrequently), hardcore screams (half the time), and then sung vocals which sound almost identical to Belladonna from Anthrax (especially when he does the multiple voice singing). Guitar wise, it's riffs upon riffs upon riffs, I mean, that's what thrash is all about right? And the riffs are good, plenty of memorable songs here, especially 'Thoughts Without Words' and 'Destroyer Of Senses'. Again, think anthrax for the general style of the chunky stuff, and then they use the two-guitars harmonizing fills that folk like Arch Enemy are known for. Productionwise, everything is clear, although the guitars are ever so slightly muffled. Overall, a kick ass album if you're getting a little burned out on death metal and want a good injection of catchy thrash guitar.
• The War Within (2004) Similar to their last album, although the guitars have a little more thickness to them this time (more overdubs maybe?) They're still a little muffled, and the extra power does add a little more noisiness to the songs overall, but not in a bad way really, it gives everything a more intense vibe. As for last album's comparison to Anthrax, whereas the vocalist still sounds like Belladonna, the guitarwork is much closer to early In Flames this time (the heavy In Flames, not the newer slightly lighter stuff). While there are a few acoustic guitar breaks on this album, the heavy riffs are definitely the focus, and provides plenty of opportunities to mosh. Basically a slightly louder, more produced version of the "Art Of Balance" with again, some good memorable songs. A Digipak version contains a bonus DVD with 2 bootleg live performances (both horribly recorded), 1 more official live recording (contains footage from many shows and extra stuff, so it's more like a music video really), 2 guitar lessons and a drum lesson, all of which are really good if you're a musician, since they play the songs at speed and then slowed down so you can really see what they're playing. Highly Recommended.
• Fallout From The War (2006, Rare) First off, I really hate how this CD is being marketed. It's been hailed as the "New Shadows Fall" CD, but it's really not. It's 6 songs made from riffs that were never completed during the "The War Within" album, 2 re-recorded old Shadows Fall songs and 3 cover songs. Now I know the band is leaving Century Media and so I can see the label now: "Oh shit, the band is leaving, lets say that this is a new cd so that we can generate more interest before they go". But I'm gonna review it for what it is, basically a b-sides album, and in that respect it's excellent. The first six songs are good, although you can definitely hear where some of the new songs came from. Like a riff in the middle of the song 'In Effigy' is almost identical to a riff from 'The Light That Blinds', or the bridges from 'This Is My Own' and 'Act Of Contrition' are almost the same, that sort of stuff. But with that caveat, these songs are strong, just missing that final level of song writing polish. Tons of great doublebass work from Jason, and some nice guitar riffs. The old songs are good as well (never heard the originals, but these are apparently slightly reworked). I've also never heard the 3 songs they cover before, so I can't compare them to the originals, but it's neat to see some more obscure songs covered, and they're fun to listen to. This cd is worth buying but just don't judge it as a new album.
• Threads of Life (2007) I was a little worried about this album after I heard the new single 'Redemption'. The songs is once of the most derivative song I have ever heard. The opening riff, the verse riff, the chorus, every single riff, chord progression and vocal harmony was identical to songs off the band's other albums. It was like listening to a medley. But I've seen that pattern before, one badly picked single can ruin an otherwise decent album. Unfortunately, in this case, the single WAS a good indication of the rest of the album. "Threads Of Life" just misses that umph, the songs are all sort of hohum, nothing too fast, too heavy, too angry. It just lacks energy. There are a few decent songs, I sort of like the light songs like 'Another Hero Lost' and 'The Great Collapse', I just wish they were being offset by some super heavy material. There are a few good riffs, and fans of the band will probably enjoy this CD, but there's just nothing here to get me excited, no moment of incredible brutality, no super complex drum riff, no super moshable guitar riff. Average album, I like "War Within" and "Art Of Balance" way more.
  

• Angels Of Distress (2002) You're feelin blue, no light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, it's time for some doom! Track 1 is a 6 minute dirge that has the usual goodness, symphonic keyboards, slow 20 bpm drums, multilayered guitars holding single notes for abnormally long times, and highly distorted vocals add a nice touch. Track 2 is more symphonic in nature, a little too melodic for my liking, tracks 3 and 4 seem to have the same theme, and track 5 is mostly keyboards. I definitely like track 1 a lot, but the other stuff is more ambient and didn't hold my interest too well. Perhaps slightly too keyboard dependent, if the band placed a little more emphasis on the guitars in the later tracks of the cd, I'd have to give it a higher score.
  

• Sickbox (2003) If you've heard some of Chimaira's demos, you'll know what to expect from this self produced / released album. The first riff is a perfect example of their style, thick detuned chugging guitars mixed with squawks, and midrange screamed vocals. Productionwise, this has plenty of bass, and a good crunchy sound, it's not 100%, but this is well done for a self financed album with only maybe 5% extra polish needed to be considered a totally professional release. The main standout thing on this album are the riffs, which are awesome, very angry with some odd time signatures and a whole ton of groove. The songs aren't quite as tightly written as they could be, and so it takes an extra few listens before this collection of awesome riffs really starts to gel into songs, and not just one long full album song. But that's the kind of thing that gets cleaned up as a band's songwriting matures over several albums. As a start for the band, this is a strong foundation to grow from. With the band's website apparently gone, I do hope the band hasn't broken up. This cd is very difficult to find, but if you're a Chimaira fan or just love groovy angry metal I'd highly recommend doing whatever's necessary to find a copy of this album for your collection.
  

• Beyond Human (2005) Old school thrash in the vein of early Testament with death metal vocals. It's all very well done, but I'm sorry to say it doesn't really do it for me. The band is very proficient, and they do have a few of standout riffs, like the break-down in 'One Step Closer' that's both fresh sounding and highly moshable, but a lot of the material is pretty generic sounding thrash without anything to make it stand out from the stuff we've all heard before. Not much else to say, I'm sure this cd will find an audience, as I said, these guys are good musicians and obviously have a lot of intensity, but without a new twist on the old standards, it's just not going to grab me the same way in 2005 that it would have it it had been released in 1985.
  

• Cross The Styx (1992) Pretty similar to their later albums, in all respects (that's good, they're consistent as well as a great overall band), although the production is ever so slightly noisier and not as skillfully EQed, but still professionally done.
• Diabolical Summoning (1993) Another great album. The production is quite clear, and has plenty of treble and low end. Lots of blast beats, double kicks, alternate picking, tremolo picking, and growling. Great song writing with lots of memorable riffs. Nothing super original, however, it has just the right combination of elements to make this album a fine example of death metal done exactly the way it should be.
• Hate (1995) A little touch of black metal mixed with death metal. Nothing terribly new or inventive, but it's well worth a listen. Very technical stuff, and performed with a lot of finesse (well, a death metal type of finesse anyway). Excellent musicianship, lots of aggression.
• Bastard Saints (1996, EP) Five tracks in a similar vein to their last CD. Still brutal, but the tracks are a little too similar to various songs on "Hate". Still worth buying, the cover art alone is probably worth the price.
• Aggressive Measures (1998) As the title states. Another excellent album from the masters of precision and aggression. The riffs are razor sharp, distorted, yet crystal clear, you can hear every note perfectly, it's almost inhuman the precise picking these guys have. Some of the best production I've ever heard, they really spent that extra time getting the perfect sound from all their instruments. The riffs are well thought out, and song writing is excellent. Great blastbeats and double kicks, the vocals are lower than before, but it works with the songs. It's short (about 30 minutes), but there's no fat here, everything is good, there are no bad songs or mediocre riffs. Very impressive, I really can't think of anything they could do to this album to make it better.
• Creative Killings (2001) Not quite as classic as their last album, but still a great addition to the sinister collection. All the usual elements are here, precise picking, clear blasts, great production. A lot of classic sinister riffs that stick in your head. Unfortunately, there are also a few filler songs that I just couldn't get into. But I wouldn't say they detract from the good songs, they just mean you're not going to have another perfect album like their last release. And my only other critique is the vocals, their new vocalist does a fine job with a mid-range growl, but her performance seems to be too hoarse and monotone, not enough contrast. There needs to be more highs, more lows, more variety of some kind, hopefully something that can be worked on for their next release. A few points off for the shortcomings, but still worth owning.
• Savage or Grace (2003) The first thing that hit me after putting this album on is "what happened to the sound??" What with such a razor sharp guitar tone on the band's previous albums, I was shocked when I heard this muffled guitar tone. Upon further investigation, looks like Bart the guitar player is gone, Aad is now the only remaining original member to the band. While that's not necessarily the reason the album is muffled, it does sound like probable cause. Now with Rachel's muffled vocals, and the muffled guitar tone, it just detracts so much from the performance that I have trouble deciding whether these songs are any good. Ya, I guess some of the songs are decent (although they have some pretty pointless guitar solos over them), but the sound is just so undefined and messy that I just don't want to listen to them. Sorry, I just can't get into this album, while I certainly won't write off the band, there's better spots to put your money right now.
• Afterburner (2006) A strong beginning, but runs out of steam a little too quickly. The album opens with a swift kick to the nuts, super fast guitars and blasting, and the old Sinister seems to be back. Not only is this closer to the band's older material in terms of the vocals (thanks to former Sinister drummer Aad, who sounds a lot like the band's pre-female vocalists), but also the guitartone is all crunchy again, think "Aggressive Measures" style. But the album falters a bit, especially in the middle, where they go for a slightly more melodic approach. Basically, when they pump out super fast and tight rhythms, they're great, but when they try and add guitar harmony and melody, it just sounds uninspired and out of place. Better than their last 2 albums, but still not nearly as consistent as their "Hate" or "Aggressive Measures" cds. Still worth checking out though, a few of these songs are great.
  
• Prophecies Denied (2007, DVD) Live DVD with a 60 min performance from the band in 2006. First off, the lighting and camera work are top notch, absolutely professional, from the visual quality of the video down to the pacing of the camera switching. The sound is also excellent, with maybe just a bit too much reverb on the guitar, but it's very slight. My main issue with this DVD is the lack of old songs. Most of the songs are from their last few albums, which haven't been as strong in my opinion. When the band does do an old tune, like 'Enslave The Weak' or 'Cross The Styx', it's awesome. Especially when they end with 'To Mega Therion', talk about intense, if that track was an indication of all the songs in the concert, this would be one of the greatest death metal DVDs ever. But most of the DVD is the newer material, so it just doesn't strike me in the same way their older stuff does. Also, the band needs a bit more stage presence. It may just be that the stage was too big, but I wish the band would thrash around a bit more. Maybe it's just that two of the main guys are bald, so there isn't as much hair flying around :) The DVD also includes a 20min interview with the band, which is very detailed, and includes stories about pretty much every album they've done. And the band is brutally honest, admitting that some of their albums were a little weak, which is really difficult to admit, and I commend them for their honesty. They also have a dozen bootleg live tracks whose quality is generally good, again though, song choice, all the songs are the same songs that are part of the 60 min main show. If you're a fan of the band's earlier material, this may not be the best DVD for you, but if you like their newer material, then there's plenty to love here, it's a well produced well executed show.
  

• Graveyard Classics (2000) Tribute albums are certainly not a new thing, Slayer's done them, Napalm Death has two, but the thing I really like about this album is they pick some very unusual songs. Yes, they have the Venom cover, Exodus and Accept. But then they do a cover of ACDC's 'TNT' (they even have the mandatory aussie shouts in the background), 'Smoke On The Water', and the Hendrix classic 'Purple Haze'. There's just something both funny and brutal about hearing Chris Barnes in his usual monotone death metal growl shouting "scuse me while I kiss the sky"! It's nice to see a band give tribute to some of the "lighter" influences, remember, Hendrix was considered really heavy for his time. But his music was never as heavy as this! I went into this album expecting to be laughing the whole way through, and yes, there's that element of humor, but beyond that, this album is pretty decent just from an album perspective, a band taking the classics and successfully warping them into a different genre very successfully. It certainly brought a smile to my face.
• Commandment (2007) I have to admit I never really got into Six Feet Under. It wasn't that I didn't like them, I just never heard anything of theirs that got me excited enough to purchase one of their CDs. Well, a few tracks from this album crossed my desk and I decided to give "Commandment" a spin. The music is simple structurally, but very enjoyable. The band's got a more Obituary / Bloodbath vibe going on, songs that aren't too fast, but are heavy on groove. Also, the production is really nice, big and thick on the guitars and everything else nice and clean. And Chris Barnes on vocals is always fun, he has a good variety of odd and gargly sounding voices. This may not be much of a review since I don't know anything about what the band has done before this cd, so those of you who are diehard Six Feet Under fans are in a better position than me to judge. But I can certainly recommend picking this cd up if you always thought of giving the band a try, especially if you're a Obituary fan. It's nothing spectacular or revolutionary, but a good collection of heavy tunes.
  

• Bound, Gagged and Blindfolded (1997) Mixing shades of Machine Head, newer Testament, Tool and Alice In Chains, Skinlab is a step back towards a more classic metal style, and yet it still manages to be modern and brutal in it's approach. Fans of slow, plodding groove based metal will find lots to like, a few faster parts too, but that's not really the focus. Production is great, lots of bass, lots of clarity, guitar tones shift from heavily distorted to clean interludes. Vocals are usually yelled. The style does tend to get a little formulaic once in awhile, but overall, a good solid album.
• Eyesore (1999, EP) See Nerve Damage Review.
  
• Disembody: The New Flesh (1999) Very similar to their 1st album, except the songs are possibly even more formulaic, very structured verse, chorus, verse chorus type stuff. They are also now sounding even more like Machine Head, but considering Machine Head's last album wasn't all that good, I've decided I won't complain. This band is doing what Machine Head should be doing, the softer more melodic parts of this album are NOT interfering with the songs keeping a high level of intensity all the way through. And again, some really nice riffs here that'll stick in your head. I said it last album, and I'll say it again, a good solid piece of metal.
• Revolting Room (2002) Again, running through my head again and again, this is the album that Machine Head should have released but didn't. Ok, I promise, no more Machine Head analogies in Skinlab reviews. As an album this thing kicks some serious ass, picking up where the last left off. After a great start with 'Slave The Way', probably the best song on the album, tracks 4 and 5 aren't very good, so I got worried, but then in track 6 the band strikes back with a killer clean piece (with a heavier chorus), and then back to speed for track 7. The rest of the album remains reasonable slow and plodding, it might have been a good idea to add a few more faster songs towards the end of the album, but it's just a small nit. So other than a slightly blip in the middle of the album, everything else is great, same style you've come to expect, simple song structures, but plenty of power, screaming, and riffs that will stick with you. The usual big, chunky bassy but clear production. Plenty to like if you're a fan of the band.
• Nerve Damage (2004, Rare) 2 discs of rarities from the band. Disc 1 starts off with two new tracks, track 1 'Losing All' is ok but lacks intensity and is a little derivative of songs I've heard before. Track 2 is much much better, 'Beneath The Surface', which has an interesting main verse riff and some anger to it. Then there's a number of demos and alternate mixes from the band, all of which are pretty similar to the album versions, and as such really isn't all that exciting. There's one techno-remix of 'Slave The Way' which starts cool, but instead of going super heavy like some of the Fear Factory remixes, it gets sorta heavy, you figure it's about to get super heavy, and then all of a sudden ends unexpectedly. Then there's the "Eyesore EP" which is a few alternate versions of songs, a live track, and a cover of Brujeria's 'Pito Wilson'. Even though I prefer the Brujeria version, this version is good too, and is sung in english, so it's good if you ever wanted to know what they were really singing about (unless of course Skinlab changed the words). Disc 2 starts with some more demos, none of which are too noteworthy. Then 7 live tracks from San Francisco, which have decent production, but not great, the guitars and bass feel sort of far way. And there's very little crowd noise. In conclusion, I just don't know, maybe it's because I've been reviewing a lot of "rare and live" albums recently, but it seems like anybody these days can get a group of demos or different mixes and a few live tracks together and release an album without really considering whether this rare material is worth releasing. I know, no one is forcing me to buy this, but honestly, as far as my recommendations go, there's really not much on this cd that will persuade me to put it into my cd player again, so I'd have to say this is only for the superfans.
  
• Skinnedalive! (2008, Live) Decent live album, but overall I'd give it a miss. The song choices are good, the production quality is excellent. The main issue is that all the songs on this live album are identical or slightly worse than the stuff on their studio albums, and really doesn't give much in the way of something new. The format of the songs are the same as the album versions, the sound is almost identical, the only differences are errors like the flubbed double bass part in 'So Far From The Truth' or the missing background vocals from 'Slave The Way'. You get a little bit of banter from main man Steev, but that's not worth the cash. Hardcore fans will probably like this, but I'd wait for their new full length CD coming out later this year or buy their older studio albums if you're missing any of them.
  

• Demo 1994 (1994, Demo)
  
• Progression Towards Evil (1998) I had actually not given buying this album much thought since I had assumed it wouldn't be as good as "Foreshadowing". You know how it is, second album is really great, first album is good but not quite there yet. Well, I'm glad buying that band's DVD made me curious, because this album kicks some serious ass. It's actually very similar to "Foreshadowing" in style and production, and hell, you gotta love any band that uses soundclips from the farting preacher. But when it comes down to the actual songs and riffs, these guys aren't gimmicky, just really good material. And it was nice to hear Bob Beaulac on drums again, since I feel his drumming style is much more appropriate for the band than John Longstreth's was (don't get me wrong, John is a drum god, but their 3rd and most recent album is probably their weakest next to these two). Highly recommended.
• Foreshadowing Our Demise (2000) Pretty standard death metal, with sickeningly heavy slow parts, some faster parts here and there, and a touch of groove to keep things interesting. Low gargly vocals, big thick guitar tone, this stuff sorta reminds me of Iniquity in style, maybe a touch of old Broken Hope, or Deranged from their "High On Blood" album. Not much else to say, the production is good (although ever so slightly bottom heavy), the songs are catchy, not much originality, but a good solid piece of cake.
  
• From Sacrifice To Survival (2003) While I'd never heard of the band before, one sure-fire way to get on my radar is get a shit hot drummer in for your album, John Longstreth from Origin sure as hell fits that bill. So I pick up their previous album "Foreshadowing Our Demise", and the new album comes a few days later. The first thing I was struck with in comparison with their previous album is how the production has flipped, being possibly a little top heavy this time (even though there's still some decent low end in there, so don't worry). Style wise, while their faster stuff is certainly a bunch faster (which was sort of assumed considering their new drummer), it's not all that different than before. Hence, this album has the same advantages and disadvantages as their last album, you have some good music, but nothing specifically to throw it into the must buy category. Fans of the band will enjoy this album certainly.
• Skinflick (2004, DVD) About 105 minutes of concert footage, interviews and behind the scenes stuff. The format of the DVD actually works pretty well, they show a live song, then go back for 2-4 minutes talking with the band, or showing them in the studio, or showing them doing weird shit. The behind the scenes snippets are short enough to not become boring while adding some spice to the concert footage. The first concert they show clips from was from their "Foreshadowing Our Demise" tour, and has excellent sound quality, everything is clear and powerful. I like the video quality they have too, the show comes off very professional (lots of cameras, good cutting) but has a little bit of a dirty feel to the picture which works well with the music. The second concert they pull footage from is from their "From Sacrifice To Survival" tour, and that quality isn't as good, the bass is way too loud, the guitar and vocals are soft, and the drumming is almost non existent in the mix, which really sucks. The rest of the DVD is a bunch of random live shows, one song each, some good sounding like Japan, some bad sounding like a few California shows. Plenty of strange humorous bits, like moshing with a tree or the "suck the dildo for a free tshirt" competition. And hell, you gotta love random groups of Japanese youth showing up in weird places singing Skinless tunes. I didn't hold much hope for this DVD when I bought it, but it actually ended up being really enjoyable, both from a music perspective to just pure entertainment. Definitely recommended.
• Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead (2006) Something old, something new. First the old. Their old drummer, Bob Beaulac is back. But damn did he speed up! I mean, on the upper part of the kit he's grooving along like he normally does, but his double kicks have gotten twice as fast! Did he just practice a whole lot in order to keep pace with John Longstreth? (who performed on their previous cd) Is it studio enhancement? Is he now cybernetic? No idea what the story is, but his doublebass is suddenly ridiculously fast, and somewhat mechanical sounding. In all honesty, for the songs, I feel he could have stayed his usual pace and everything would have been fine (yes, I am in fact admitting that a little less speed would be ok). But as it stands, he certainly gives the band an excellent foundation to stand on. Also new is vocalist Jason Keyser (brother of bassplayer Joe Keyser), although he sounds very similar to their previous vocalist, so from a vocal perspective nothing too new to report. Other than those changes, this is far closer to the style they set on "Foreshadowing Our Demise", which is fine by me (especially with the bass heavy production again). Some really nice songs, decent groove, plenty of anger, excellent production. All around a really kick ass album, a step up from their last album I'd say. I expect a lot of repeat listening on this one.
  

• 240.25 "Actual Reality" (1996) Sort of a cross between COC and Meshuggah, these guys have some really great riffs, super powered chunky guitar sound, good song writing, strange time signatures, they have some serious groove going here. Actually, they sound a bit too much like Meshuggah and COC to be considered terribly original, but still a great album.

If you don't know who these guys are, you must be very new to metal. Although I never really liked Slayer's sound, it's indisputable their impact on the thrash / speed metal genre, as well as the fact that they have written some of the most classic metal songs of all time.

• Show No Mercy (1983) This is where it all began. Even though Tom's high pitched shrieks and the bands clothing and eye makeup will scream glam, but there's something more here. An anger that metal of the day just didn't understand. Combining elements of punk and metal, Slayer started a revolution by being faster and more violent than any other band on the circuit, and this is the first bomb hit. Great songs, ok production (hey, it as '83, give them a break'), can you say classic? I knew you could.
• Live Undead (1983, EP) A nice little live EP with songs from their first two albums. The live sound is quite good, although I do own the remastered version, so that might explain the good production. The crowd sounds don't mix with the music very well though, as in it sounds like the crowd was recorded separately in another room and then mixed in with the music (sounds like a small crowd too, but the band wasn't as popular back then as they are now). Anyways, another good CD, if you own all the other Slayer albums, you might as well get this too.
• Haunting The Chapel (1984, EP) Nice little short EP, 'Chemical Warfare' and 'Captor Of Sin'. Fifteen minutes of blinding speed and pure aggression.
• Hell Awaits (1985) While many of the songs on this album are unmemorable (remember, a bad song from Slayer is still pretty damn good compared to others), it starts off with 'Hell Awaits', and that alone is worth the price of admission.
• Reign In Blood (1986) Any album that starts with 'Angel of Death' and ends with 'Raining Blood' by definition has to be good. The entire album is just unbridled speed, 30 minutes of non-stop go-for-the-throat playing. Who cares if there's no bottom end to their sound. A must have album.
• South Of Heaven (1988) More high quality metal. Great songs, great production, no surprises here just Slayer doing what Slayer does, and doing it well as usual.
• Seasons In The Abyss (1990) Probably the best Slayer album of all time. The production is very soft with little or no bass at all, but it's clear, and has some of the best Slayer songs ever. I mean, the album opens with 'War Ensemble'. Need a I say more?
• Decade Of Aggression (1993, Live) This album is probably a good introduction to the band, they play all their classic songs, and the recording quality for a live show is pretty clear. Slayer overdose!
• Divine Intervention (1994) The closest they've come to replicating Reign In Blood. This album is short, with lots of mids, fast double kicks, and lots of great riffs. There really is no innovation on this album, just good, solid, Slayer doing what they do best.
• Undisputed Attitude (1996) Various punk cover songs.
• Diabolus In Musica (1998) We were all afraid that the kings of metal had mellowed, but now that the album is finally out, I see my worries were totally unfounded. Has the band changed their style? Slightly, but there's no question that this is still Slayer, all the elements are there like fast double kicks, Tom's voice, and their trademark tremolo picking and harmonized riffs. The riffs still sound like Slayer, but everything got heavier and more powerful. And every once in awhile they pull off these really unslayer-like but heavy riffs that just make you turn you head and go "wow!". Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks. All around a great album which Slayer fans should love, and maybe some people who never cared for the band will find something to like as well. Listen carefully and listen often, it gets better each time I hear it.
• God Hates Us All (2001) Well, the old Slayer is back. Although this new release does include some of the nu-metal influences that made the previous release a bit uneven in terms of song structure, this album streamlines, takes the best of older slayer and the new heavier riffs and combines them into a singular force. And fuck that force is pissed off. While the previous release was a lot heavier than normal slayer, this album is just more vicious. The screams are angrier (that's one of the first things I noticed, Tom just gives it all he's got on these vocals), and in general the songs are a lot faster. A few riffs here and there have complex doublekicks and chunkier-sounding guitars, but they flow with the usual tremolo picked hooks (the staple of Slayer's original style) much more smoothly. The faster stuff on the album reminds me a lot of "Divine Intervention" for some reason. In general, this is old slayer mixed with today's great production values mixed with 5% more groovier riffs mixed with angrier but classic style Araya vocals. The results are well worth the wait.
• War At The Warfield (2003, DVD) Recorded in 2001, this is from the Band's God Hates Us All Tour. While there are many songs from that particular album on this DVD, I'm impressed with the variety we get, in the end, I don't think there's many classic Slayer songs missing from this show. First off, music wise, the sound quality is great. Only complaint would be they may have wished to mix the crowd in a little louder. Instead, during cuts we get complete silence, which is great for a studio recording, but not necessarily ideal for a live CD/DVD. Performance wise everything is very tight, Jeff and Kerry are just monsters, down-picking at the speed of light with both their heads banging like madmen. Tom's vocals are great, although he does avoid the high notes on a few songs, most notably 'War Ensemble' at the beginning, which got me worried, but then he screams just fine in 'New Faith', so I figured maybe he just needed to get warmed up, but then he avoided the high notes again on 'Seasons In The Abyss' later in the show. Ah well, other than those two songs, the vocals on every other songs are fantastic. This is one of Paul Bostoph's last live performances with the band on drums, and he does a good job with all the songs. Video production wise, the director does a good job jumping from camera to camera at exactly the right pace, a few clips are a little jittery, like they reduced the framerate from 30 fps to 10 (I always felt a director might be doing this effect specifically to mask the fact that the video doesn't synch with the music properly), but that effect either doesn't happen as often after the first few songs, or I got used to it, and it no longer bugged me. 19 songs, 90 minutes, no real extras, just simple and to the point, it's all about the music. It's nice to finally have a Slayer show on DVD, and it was worth the wait.
• The Soundtrack To The Apocalypse (2003, Boxset) 5 Disc set covering best-of and rarities of the band. Disc 1 is all best-of, if you already have the albums (which you do, don't you?), you won't need this. Same for the first half of disc 2. The last 8 songs are rare stuff, such as Slayer's cover of 'In-a-godda-da-vida'. Also several soundtrack songs and unreleased bonus tracks from the japanese versions of "Diabolus" and "God Hates Us All". A lot of cool songs in here that could easily have been on the albums, probably the best material on this boxset. Disc 3 is a lot of early demos, recorded for example in Tom Araya's garage, live tracks that are slightly different from their studio counterpart, and just plain old live tracks of classic slayer tunes from various places and at various times. Sound quality is all over the map, from good quality to not so good. Next comes disc 4, the dvd, filled with live material. Unfortunately, just about all the live material is recorded pretty horribly. I know, a lot of it was from '83 long before the band had any money to record things properly, but regardless, I found myself skipping through a lot of the songs because they're badly videotaped and sound thin, far away or muffled. Just about the only decently recorded thing on the DVD is "Bloodline" live on ESPN with Dave Lombardo. Also a short interview with the band about "Diabolus In Musica". A special disc 5 (which is only available in the uber boxset, not the regular one) is a live show from California in 2002. The recording quality on this show is very good, not only is the band clear and well mixed with plenty of low and high end, but you can still hear a bit of the crowd during the show, which I'm always a fan of (it is a live show afterall, removing the crowd removes some of the excitement.) Definitely a good set with most of my favorite tunes like "War Ensemble", "Raining Blood" and "Angel Of Death", and a new song or two like "God Hates Us All". Only critic of the live show is if you have their "Decade Of Aggression" live album, you already have many of these songs live. Anyways, to sum up, if they released the 5th live cd and the 8 rare tracks off disc 2 as a separate deal, I'd say this is a must buy, but considering the price of this boxset, and the quality of a lot of the material (and the inclusion of a lot of stuff you should already own), I'm not sure, I'd probably only recommend this for the diehard fan.
• Reign in Blood Live: Still Reigning (2004, DVD) Coming only a year after the band's official live DVD, I kind of questioned the idea of releasing another live Slayer concert, even with a concert as cool as this one where the band pulls a Dream Theater and plays one of their classic albums from start to finish, in this case, probably their most classic album, "Reign In Blood". In the end though, I'd actually recommend picking this DVD up, and waiting awhile on "War At The Warfield" if you haven't already gotten it, since I think this DVD is far superior. First off, Dave's back on drums, which is always cool. Next, the main concert is only 30 minutes, which is perfect since it's fast, to the point, and intense. The DVD also contains another 30 minutes of other songs, for those of you that feel that "Reign In Blood" simply isn't enough. And a 15 minute documentary, which is a little bit of history, but mostly discussing the live show. The sounds is great, and video quality and camera switching is great. It's close to 20 years after the band did the original "Reign In Blood", and the group is still as fast and brutal as ever, I mean, we all know they're getting older, and yet they're still as angry as they ever were. Perfect for any slayer fan.
• Christ Illusion (2006) After a 5 year wait since their masterpiece "God Hates Us All", the results are above average, but unfortunately not a classic. It's the riffs really, the production is great, and band is in top form and certainly angry sounding, but the riffs just sound too generic, a few seem recycled from Slayer songs past. In interviews they said that they've been sitting on these songs at least 2 years before recording them, so my guess it's that the songs were overworked, refined to the point where many of the happy accident got dulled down. As an artist, there's a point where tweaking the painting goes from improving it to making it worse, and this album sort of strikes me in that way. But I'm trying to not be too down on this, it is a good album, and I can certainly recommend that people should buy it, it's just I was hoping for something a little more. As it stands, "Christ Illusion" is a decent album that certainly will please, but I don't know if it'll have much of a lasting impression on you.
  

• Slipknot (1999) Once you've heard Korn there's really no reason to hear a band "that sounds like Korn", and yet I kept coming across people who said "dude, listen to Slipknot, they're fucking intense." So, I bought the CD. The result: I can see why they get lumped in with Korn (especially since the vocalists from both bands sound identical at times), but where Korn sort of whimpers and whines, Slipknot screams. You get about an hour (longer if you have the version with bonus tracks) somewhere between Korn and sepultura's "Roots" album, mixed with a Morbid Angel riff or two, and super fast double kicks thanks to the drummer from Anal Blast. The songs are catchy, and yet hard on the eardrums due to the screaming, growling and gargling of the vocalist, and after a few listens, you start to realize that commercial success or not, these guys are the real thing, they are pissed and they can play their instruments. The band consists of 9 members, including a DJ, and two percussion players, so expect some samples and some rap metal stuff going on, as well as experiments in harsh frequencies, but I'm starting to think these guys are what Korn should be. Apparently their next album is going to be closer to death metal, which isn't that far a stretch considering the band spends most of their time deep into the 200 bpm zone. This band isn't for everyone, and they have a ways to go before they've achieved a completely solid vision of what they want to do, but they look real promising. Lose the stage costumes though, only Gwar is allowed to do that.
• Welcome To Our Neighborhood (1999, Video) A very short video (20 min), containing about 5 minutes of interview footage with the band about what they do, two live songs, and one music video. The live stuff sounds fine, but too many "fun" filters were used on the actual video, making it look more like a music video then an actual live performance. Sorry, when I see a live video, I want to see a camera, and the band, not a bunch of neat computer effects. But for the low price of like $5, the video is entertaining enough.
• Iowa (2001) Well, here it is. The band surprised us with their debut, a nu-metal band with nu-metal popularity, but what is this I hear, death metal screams, double kicks? So exactly what direction is this band going? Rap? metal? Death? I think it's safe to say after this new release the band doesn't care how you classify them. I mean, you'd think after they became "trendy" they'd try and write more rap songs or become more like limp biz-quit or something, you know, cater to the general population so they could make more money. But instead the first song after a sorta sucky intro starts with blast beats and a death metal inspired gargled scream. Sounds like these guys are for real, and are willing to do whatever it takes in the name of brutality. All the songs on the album are pretty damn strong, with a few standout gems like 'People = Bullshit' and 'The Heretic Anthem'. The slower songs are still catchy without sounding like ripoffs of previous material. Basically, if you liked their last album, it's in the same vein production and style wise, with a slightly stronger emphasis on the deathy side of things (less rap bits, less alternative influences). Will the band remain popular with this new album? Who the fuck cares. It's obvious record sales have little to do with this phenomenon. Just 9 pissed off guys and 14 good songs.
• Disasterpieces (2002, DVD) This live DVD features the band performing in London, England, in front of a very large arena crowd. The camerawork is pretty damn good, and while it tends to cut around a little too often, for some reason it didn't bug me as much as it has with other live videos, probably because it helps capture the feeling of complete chaos being on stage with 9 guys thrashing around must be like. The sound quality is also excellent, with everything from the kickdrum to the audience easily audible but not stepping on each other. My only real beef is that every 3 songs or so they stick in these 3-4 minute segments showing the band preparing for the show, or playing with their masks, or roadies wiring shit, it sorta ruins the flow, you have all this intense aggression, and then the mood gets interrupted. Also, some of the crowd interaction stuff is kinda annoying, I mean, how many times do I really want to hear Corey yell "Get the fuck on the ground!" The good parts include some nice DJ solo bits between songs, an interesting drum solo (interesting in concept possibly more than the solo itself, but still cool), and of course, even with all the mayhem going on, these guys manage to play 15 great songs with virtually no mistakes. Also on the DVD all their music videos, and a new song, which they also perform live. All in all, there may be a little filler on this DVD, but hell, we have a fast forward button, the 70 min or so of good stuff make it a must purchase for any fan.
• Welcome To Our Neighborhood (2004, DVD) DVD release with a few extras, nothing terribly new. Good if you want to update your video to a DVD.
• Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (2004) I have used the term hit and miss to describe albums before, but in the grand scheme of things, this is the very best kind of hit and miss album to have. Mainly because it hits an awful lot more than it misses. And the misses are such misses, that totally not listening to them is an option you won't feel bad about at all. In fact, in this day and age of modern technology and cd burning, I highly recommend taking this cd and burning a copy for yourself with tracks 1, 2, 6, and 11 removed, and you will have a super kick ass (although admittedly slightly shorter) Slipknot album in your hands. Track 1 and 2 are basically just unaggresive and boring. So don't bother listening, and don't judge the album by these songs. Jump immediately to track 3, which starts with a low thick riff, followed quickly by blast beats a plenty. Plenty more heaviness and anger to follow, until track 6, which is this acoustic piece which is just not terribly good, something about the guitar mixed with some strings and the vocals just remind me of the beetles for some reason, not my thing. Then more anger and good headbanging material, track 11 is like 6, miss it. Track 13 is really cool, which the main riff is reminiscent of the last track of Iowa, the song is much shorter, more focused, gets way heavier, and just has this unsettling and grotesque feeling to it which I love. The album ends on a mellow note, might have been better to end on something super fast, but overall a decent close. Overall sound wise, pretty much what you'd expect from the band, the guitarists have been practicing too, there's some very fast alternate picked solos that are really cool, shredding without the wankage. I had been afraid from reading interviews with the band that this album was gonna blow, since they started using words and phrases that I normally associate with a band right before they become soft. But in the end, there's a lot of fantastic material here, I give this album about a 7 or 8, if you remove those 4 songs, a 9 or a 10.
• Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) Australia Tour Edition (2004) Special 2 CD version of the album. The first CD is identical to the original album, the 2nd CD contains 7 rare tracks. The first two are new songs from the Vol 3 sessions, and are great songs, although the mix on them isn't quite as good as the original album. Then you have an edited version of 'Vermilion', which isn't really all that exciting. Then you have an extended version of the album closer 'Danger - Keep Away', the extra parts really don't add much to the song. Finally, 3 live songs from various shows, 'Disasterpiece', 'New Abortion'  and 'People = Shit'. The production on these are great. For the casual fan, this CD is probably not necessary, but the 2 new songs are really good and the live tracks are nice, so I can still recommend this, even if you already grabbed the original album.
• 9.0: Live (2005, LiveCD) While 3 albums are not really enough to warrant a live album in my opinion, at least the band only released it as a CD and didn't also release this as a DVD. After all, the band already has 2 DVDs out, they don't need a third one, and they didn't release it, so for that I have to give them some respect. This 2 CD set does have a good selection of songs from all 3 albums, and the recording quality-wise is well mixed and powerful. And you can hear the crowd too, which is always a bonus. Also, this album starts off in one of the oddest ways I've ever heard a live cd start (I won't ruin the surprise). Maybe a little too much of the vocalist talking, but it's only minor. What can I say, if you're already considering buying this album then I can recommend getting it, it's exactly what's advertised, 24 tracks, great production and a good performance. But it probably won't get a lot of replay on my stereo, just because it doesn't offer too much that the 3 albums don't already offer.
  
• All Hope Is Gone (2008) Like their last album, some good songs, some not so good songs, with sadly I think a bit too much of an emphasis on the not so good. Overall this album is a lot slower than their first 3. Slow is not necessarily bad, as long as it's backed up with heaviness. Some of the songs achieve that heaviness, and some don't. The album starts strong with a good opening track 'Gematria', although it's a little derivative of 'The Heretic Song'. Despite a few fast parts, 'Sulfur' seems to lack energy. Thankfully the chorus has an interesting chord progression. Same with 'Psychosocial', at first it seems like an ok song, but then the chorus kicks in, which has a nice disturbing sounding chord progression, then the chanting and pounding drums really kick in (I can imagine this as an excellent song to mosh to). Probably the best song on the album. 'Dead Memories' is kinda midpaced, and never seems to go anywhere, no interesting hook, odd riff, very bland. Same with the next song 'Vendetta'. 'Butcher's Hook' almost suffers the same fate, but again, thankfully has an interesting chord progression in the chorus. 'Gehenna' is a slow quiet song that's decent, but not spectacular. Things get cool again with 'Wherein Lies Continue', which is nice and heavy (super low guitars). 'Snuff' is an acoustic piece that starts off like 'Vermillion Part 2', and I actually like it a lot, it's a very sad song, the lyrics are especially good. The album ends with the title track, which is not the best song the group ever wrote, but it's powerful and sure to work really well live. A special edition includes 3 extra songs, none of which are must haves, and a DVD with a short making of. I don't know, I still think I have to recommend buying the album, or at least specific songs off itunes, but this is right on the verge. Definitely the band's weakest album to date, overall I wish they'd gone heavier, faster, more brutal, rather than what has happened here.
  

• Ode To Silence (2006) Imagine Nasum playing Slayer riffs. That's about the best description I can come up with. This band has song structures and some riffs that remind me of Slayer, but are played with more blastbeats, and a vocalist who sounds vaguely like Mieszko, former vocalist of Nasum (RIP). Some of the riffs also have a rock sensibility to them, reminiscent of later Entombed or Blood Duster, but don't worry, there aren't too many of them. The songs are good, although I found them a little repetitive, like you can almost see the band talking "Ok, we play this riff 4 times, then this riff 8 times, then this riff 4 times." A song really gels when you forget about the song structure and the song just feels like a single entity, I don't feel the band is quite there yet. The most standout thing really is the drummer, he does a good job of coming up with some unconventional beats in spots, it really shows that he's trying to do something a little different. All in all, this album comes across as a high quality demo, all the pieces haven't lined up yet, but the group shows a lot of promise, they just need to smooth out the edges a bit.
  

• The Sound That Ends Creation (2005) Ok, I'll admit it, I miss Rob Zombie. I miss him so much that when something vaguely zombie comes across my desk, I can't help but take a listen. Society 1 is one part White Zombie, one part Type O Negative, one part Corrosion Of Conformity (with maybe a touch of Slipknot). Basically it's groovy, it's danceable at times, it's all about writing a memorable song with a catchy riff and vocal melody in between 2 and 4 minutes. It's sometimes very heavy in a metal sort of way, sometimes it's very rockin in that old 70s kind of way, sometimes it's very goth. Not every song is great, your skip finger will be required, but songs like 'It Isn't Me', 'Bleed' and 'Lord' have strong metal roots and good crunchy riffing. And even the more rockin parts of the album again remind me of that cheesy but groovy Rob Zombie sensibility that I've been missing (songs like "I love her, but she's dead' may not be great literature, but at least it's fun to listen to). I know Mr Zombie's having a good time making films, but please oh please come back soon with a new album. Until then, maybe this will at least in a small part fill that empty hole. But only if you're prepared for an album that's fun with no pretense of great art.
  

• Pain...Has A Face (1997, Demo) Sounds a lot like Cannibal Corpse from their "Butchered At Birth" - "Tombs Of The Mutilated" days. The first comparison is due to the vocalist, who sounds just like Chris Barnes, low, and completely unintelligible. Some of the riffs have the same feel, and just the overall song structure, very straight forward americanized death metal (although the band is from sweden). The sound quality is good for a demo, but a full studio recording would help. A little more work on the songs would help as well. 4 Tracks. A good start, we'll see where the band ends up.
• Blood Serology (1998, Demo) A newer 3 track demo from the band. Yup, they're still doing the Cannibal Corpse thing (lots of squawks in this release as well as the usual stuff), but their songs are sounding a lot better, with some very catchy riffs that stick in your head. Production is slightly improved, again, getting the band signed and into a big studio would improve things, but the instruments are still clear and well played. Lack of originality aside, these are good songs and I think the band has what it takes to get somewhere.
• Sandstorm (2001) The first two bands they thank are Vomit Remnants and Dying Fetus, and that gives you a good idea of where they are coming from. This album sounds a lot like VR in fact, mainly because they use an electronic drum kit. But forget about the comparisons for a moment, and what you have is a really good album. Low vocals, fun tapping riffs, squawks, fast double kicks and blasting, good production, and lots of brutality. With the demise of Dying Fetus (well, the demise of the Dying Fetus we knew at least), we need some good bands to fill the void, and Soils Of Fate will do nicely. Highly recommended.
• Crime Syndicate (2003) This is definitely the month of the clone band. As my last review indicated, this band is heavily influenced by Dying Fetus, and this album certainly borrows it's sound from "Purification Through Violence", but without the midrange vocals to give it a little more spice. With a name like Soils of Fate, you'd expect something a little more "Satan and his Minions" lyric wise, instead it's all about crime, money and murder, not that you'd be able to tell since not a single word on this album can be deciphered. I sort of consider that a detractor in this case, low vocals are cool and all, but perhaps a bit more variety is in order, as it stands the vocalist is a bit too muffled and monotone, like Chris Barnes from "Tombs Of The Mutilated". Music wise however, clone aside, this album is choke full of great memorable riffs, good production and great performances. So while it may sound like I'm a bit down on the vocals and the "originality factor" of the band, I still highly recommend this cd, these guys know how to write a good riff and play it like they mean it. The album ends with a cover of Suffocation's "Devoid Of Truth" which isn't different enough from the original to be a huge selling point. If you like Fetus, SOF will give you the goodness you're after.
• Highest In The Hierarchy Of Blasting Sickness (2005, Demos) 9 Tracks, 1 new song, 3 songs from their "Blood Serology" Demo, 4 from their "Pain...Has A Face" demo, and one live Internal Bleeding cover song. See the reviews above for the specifics, the live track is pretty poorly recorded. The one new track has Kevin Talley of Dying Fetus fame on drums. It's a good song, very similar style to their last album. If you have their demos on tape and want them on CD, it's worth getting, but otherwise this comp album doesn't have any specific gem that makes it a must have.

• Promotional 7inch (2001, Demo) Fans of Suffocation, Gorguts or Cannibal Corpse (circa early 1990) should like this. While nothing revolutionary, these guys play good strong oldschool death metal with enough originality in the riffs to keep it interesting. The mix is decent for a demo, lots of squawks, fast picking, the vocals are midrange growls. The band has some newer mp3s available on their site. Definitely worth a listen, what can I say, I dig the songs.
• Armed To Their Grinning Teeth (2004) Low gargled death metal in the same vein as Skinless / Dying Fetus / etc. Sordid (formerly called Sordid Death) hits you across the face right from track 1, proving immediately they can write a killer song. And I really dig this production, it's still missing that last little 5% of polish, but it's miles ahead of their demo and the guitars have this really vicious crunchy scooped sound which just rips through you in the best possible way. Style wise, plenty of chunky parts and fast picking, squawks, some blasting and double bass, but nothing super fast. Highly, highly recommended.
  

• The Darkening Of Days (1999, Demo) You really have to read this review all the way through to get the full picture, in much the same way you have to listen to the whole album to get the full picture. I'll explain, I heard the very first riff on the album and I'm going "Oh geez, not another band that sounds like this." The riff was a sort of half hearted european power metal garage band thing that sounded rather unoriginal and certainly not very intense. The riff was repeated several times, and then all of a sudden, it switched to this darker, chromatic based chunky riff, and the double kicks started up, and, well, the songs just kept getting better. Good thing I didn't stop listening after the first riff. Although from Ohio, the band does have a certain European flavor to it that's tough to nail down. Style wise, I can't really directly compare the band to anyone, maybe some mild shades of Altar, Arch Enemy, Obituary and a few bits that sound like old Demigod. The guitar riffs are mid paced with some alternate picking and slower chunky parts. Many of the riffs contain more melodic areas, again, a staple of swedish death metal (are you sure you're from Ohio?). Drumwise, a good combination of double kicks, a few blasting areas, mainly Slayeresque bass-snare-bass-snare at about 200 bpm. Vocals are very high pitched, whiny and raspy. The production is good for a demo, well mixed with just a hint of muffled sound on the guitars. Overall, a very good cd, the band is tight, focused and talented, and the cd is well worth listening to all the way through, in fact, definitely listen to it all the way through, this is not a band who can be classified after a single riff, and they've got some serious potential for next time around.
• Blissfully Damned (2000, EP) EP from mp3.com contains 7 tracks, several demos of songs from their previous album, 2 live tracks, and two new tracks. The two new tracks are quite good, but at least one of them will be on their new promo (and probably on the new album), I don't know, get this if you already have their earlier demo, or else get the demo first.
• Bleeding Darkness (2001, Promo)
  
• Agony’s Lament (2002) Taking bits from classic Slayer / Testament / Invocator-esque thrash/speed metal and fusing it with the swedish sensibility that has made Arch Enemy so famous, Soulless releases what I guess would be their first full length cd. Basically, if you like Arch Enemy, you'll like this, the guitar riffs are of a similar style, and the vocalist has a high pitched raspy voice not unlike Angela's. The riffs are good stuff for the most part, and the performance is tight, my only real critique is while you can hear all the instruments just fine, the production is ever so slightly muffled, hopefully something they can work on for their next album. Overall a really good release for fans of the genre.
• Betray The Light (2004, Demo)
  
• Forever Defiant (2007) Exactly what you'd expect from the band. The main difference is that the production on this cd is much better than on their previous album. It's clearer, with plenty of bass and high end, and a really strong kick drum. Otherwise, very much in the same vein, the high pitched shrieked vocals, the thrashy rhythms, lots of quality riffs (a little less Arch Enemy this time, a little more old school thrash like Testament). And you get 15 songs, which is a lot of music (2 are bonus songs). If you're a thrash-aholic, Soulless is one of the few modern thrash bands putting out anything worth listening to, so I can certainly recommend picking this up.

• Written In Blood (2000) Really good quality swedish technical death metal. I'll say right off the bat, this is an excellent album, mainly due to just solid, solid song writing, great hooks, great riffs, just well thought out songs. The overall sound reminds me of Oppressor's "Agony" album or something from Brutality, with vocals reminiscent of Carcass in many places. The main vocalist is does a pretty good high range rasp, thick guitars with a good combination of low and high end tremolo picking and slower chunkier parts. Drum wise, this guy is really great, nothing too fancy (some really nice triplets on the double bass in areas), but the drumming is very well integrated into the songs, making any particular track an entity all it's own, a real cohesive whole. Some slower and more melodic interludes keeps things varied, but doesn't detract from the overall pace of the album. Will be very interested in hearing more from these guys in the future.
• Life Erazer (2003) Ok, so it's your birthday, you're all excited, it's time for the cake, it shows up, and yet the icing tastes kinda funky, has it gone bad? Did mom accidentally put goat cheese in it? Now you realize the cake inside might be really tasty, but you're totally put off by the icing, and you lose your appetite. Unfortunately, that's the way I feel about this album. Let me explain. After a short symphonic intro, you are immediately pummeled by superfast triggered blast beats (the drummer's obviously been practicing). Ok, so that's cool, even though the drums were fine before, but then you notice the guitar sound has a lot more midrange to it, which in my opinion weakens the sound, no more nice thick low end and crisp high end, good-bye wall of sound. The vocals aren't nearly as clear as they were before, and I mean that in a "the microphone was malfunctioning" kinda way, maybe they just layered too many effects on top or something. Anyways, as you may be able to tell, I'm not too happy with the production on this album, in the same way I wasn't happy with the production switch between Oppressor's "Agony" and "Elements Of Corrosion". The album does have some good songs and riffs, but the weak production just takes so much away from the band I'm having trouble getting past that and enjoying the album for what it is (I'll keep trying though). I'm still a huge fan of "Written in Blood", so maybe my hopes were just set too high, but I really hope the band gets back on track next album and gets their sound back. Maybe they'll be like Suffocation, weak production on their 2nd album but then they roar back with a super thick sound on their 3rd album. There's always hope.
  

• The Forbidden (2000, Demo)
• Church of Deviance (2001, Demo)
  
• Cabinet (2003) Technical death metal in a Suffocation / Gorgasm style. Lots of fast alternate picking, buzzsaw tremolo picking, classical inspired riffs, divebomb solos, fast harmonized passages, squawks, double bass and quick blasting. Pretty standard midrange vocals. The riffs are complex while remaining catchy, and the songs are actually quite memorable, like the most recent Deeds Of Flesh recording. I actually have several more albums I wanted to review this week, but for some reason I've been unable to remove this album from my cd player. While nothing super original, there's just something about it, I reach the end of the album and start all over again at the beginning, without the will or desire to put something new in there. This is some good shit.
• Noctambulant (2006) "Noctambulant" starts off at the same spot their last album ended, more complex drumming, super complex riffs, super precision. A few slower songs than on "Cabinet", and thankfully a number of acoustic intros to break up the album a bit, such as the super atonal acoustic part at the end of 'Sour Flow' or the intro to "In My Own Greed". I guess if I had a complaint it would be that the album needs a few more "hero-riffs" if you know what I mean, a few memorable catchy riffs that help break up the album even further (catchy in a death metal sort of way of course, we're not talking pop songs here). Thinking back, I'm not sure if the first album really had much of that going on, but the uniqueness of the sound sort of made up for it. Now that their second album isn't as unique, it needed stronger songs to compensate. They made a good effort, but it's not quite 100% there yet. Multiple listens do help though, after the 3rd of 4th time the wall of complexity melts away a bit to reveal some structure to the chaos. Overall, a little too similar to their previous album, I wish they'd moved forward a bit more, but still a decent cd, and if you really loved "Cabinet" there's certainly plenty of riff craziness here to keep you amused.

• Demons Run Amok (1997)
  
• An Expression Of Repressed Violence (1998)
  
• Carved From Empty Words (2000)
  
• A New Darkness Upon Us (2003) Stampin' Ground is Slayer with hardcore vocals. Not just sorta Slayer, but really Slayer, down to the chord progressions and every detail. Now you know me, I like originality and hate clones, so I really tried hard to hate this album (this is where you imagine me with my face scrunched, fists pointed towards the ground, eyes closed repeating "I hate this, I hate this"), but you know, I don't know if it's my mood today or what, but I really enjoyed this album. This is about as good as any modern thrash is gonna get, with some really catchy although derivative riffs, great production and good energy. I mean, Slayer has been postponing and postponing that new album, so fuck it, I'm gonna enjoy this instead until the kings return. If you're a fan of Machine Head (old Machine Head, not the newer stuff), The Haunting, or "Diabolis" era Slayer, you'll find plenty to like on this album.

The brainchild of Vancouver native Devin Townsend, Strapping Young Lad is industrial, it's death, it's experimental. It's damn hard to classify. But it sure is brutal.

• Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing (1995) A very experimental album, this is Devin in your face. Lots of wacky songs, crushing grooves, weird sounds, weird samples, the album doesn't let up for a second. Intense.
• City (1997) Less experimental than their first album, this goes right for the throat with a more straight ahead metal approach (think Fear Factory mixed with Nine Inch Nails). A very thick sound, with tons of overdubs and instruments, and reverb that reaches to the heavens. Cascades of digitally induced noise are mixed with inventive riffs, Devin screaming his head off, and Gene Hoglan (ex-Death) on drums. How could you go wrong?
• Live In Australia - No Sleep 'Till Bedtime (1998) A good addition to any SYL fan's collection. Hey, we get to hear Devin screaming in front of thousands of people! I do wish they'd included a few more live tracks (we only get 7, one of which is an intro). I like the live version of 'Home Nucleonics', it has a lot more double kicks than in the studio version. Gene still impresses, but he does seem to miss a kick or two during the album, which is a shame. There are also a few overdubs (which Devin admits to in the liner notes). The production almost rivals the studio recorded versions. To finish the album, we also get the studio tracks 'Japan' and 'Centipede', up until now only available as japanese bonus tracks to the band's previous albums.
• Limited Edition Tour EP (2003, EP) First the contents, this EP contains two new tracks from their new selftitled album: 'Devour' and 'Aftermath', 'Oh My Fucking God' from the "City" album, 'In The Rainy Season' from "No Sleep Till Bedtime" and a previously unreleased Live version of "Detox". While it may be unfair to judge their forthcoming album from just these two tracks, well, I guess I'm gonna do it anyway. Basically, both songs are really good, but they fall more into a Physicist vein than SYL. Big balsy metal, but just not as intense. Strapping Young Lad was all about this crazy maniacal aggression, real anger, real pain, fury unmatched by anything I've ever heard elsewhere. Like being dragged by a bullet train at 500 mph through broken glass and lava. I mean, Devin was a troubled lad, and it showed in the music. Now Devin's all better, and while he's certainly enjoying the energy that metal can provide, that angry streak is gone, and so in my opinion it's not really SYL. Listening to this EP makes it very obvious, if you compare the 'Aftermath' vibe to 'Oh My Fucking God', you'll instantly hear the difference. Having said all that, I repeat, these are good songs, both with very memorable riffs that we've come to expect from Devin and great double bass work from my main man Gene. Anyways, I'll get into more details once I hear the full new album, who knows, maybe there are still some balls to the wall songs on there, I'll let ya know. Otherwise, all that's left to talk about is 'Detox', which is well recorded, although the bass drum stands out a little too much from the rest of the mix. But otherwise cool.
• Strapping Young Lad (2003) One of the greatest disservices you can do to yourself is to listen to this album once, conclude it's not as good as "City", and then never listen to it again. Devin warned us, and we should all take heed, this album is not "City" 2, it does not have the same level of maniacal violence found on their previous record, that side to Devin is done with, instead, what we have here is a big ballsy heavy metal release. Like Physicist, it may take several listens to start catching on, but the elements are all still here, memorable songs, thick production value with keyboards, tons of guitar layers, and Devin's unique vocal style. And to note there are a few crazier songs on the album like 'Dirt Pride' or some parts of 'Relentless', although the rest of the songs usually fall into the metal opera category that we've seen on Physicist, but a lot darker. So if you're in the mood for something a little more straight forward from HevyDevy, this is sure to please if you leave your preconceptions at the door.
• Strapping Young Lad Import (2003) Japanese version of the album, contains a live version of "Underneath The Waves" as a bonus track. The production is good, with everything clear in the mix and certainly loud. My only complaint would be that Devin leaves out like half the vocals on the song, I assume because it's the last song of the night and his voice is tired, but that begs the question why include this on a cd instead of another song from the same concert? Anyways, if you're a completist, you may want to grab this, otherwise, I'd give it a miss and would recommend just pick up the regular version.
  
• "For Those Aboot To Rock" Live At The Commadore (2004, DVD) Live show from the band, 14 songs, about one hour. This is definitely a professional package, high quality camerawork from a whole ton of cameras. A bunch of the concert uses split screen, frequently one large window and then 3-4 smaller windows showing other band members, so you can basically watch whatever musician you want for most of the concert. Usually I don't like this sort of thing, I find the technique distracting, but for whatever reason it works on this DVD, my hats off to the director for pulling that one off. Sound wise, it's great, although the treble on the guitar is mixed a little low, I think the sound would have been a little more ferocious if the guitars had been a bit louder. Also, when the music starts, the crowd noise gets pulled to 0%, and I generally like some crowd noise in the mix. Performance wise, plenty of goodness to be found, I always enjoy watching the ambidextrous antics of Gene, and Devin's very goofy on stage, running around and yelling random profanities, although sometimes I'd prefer him to just sing the songs how they are on the CD :) Most of the concert is stuff from their most recent self titled album, with a few key songs from "City", one day I hope he releases live performances of some of his more rare songs like 'Underneath The Waves' or 'AAA'. There's also about 10 minutes of interview footage, although not too much in there beyond the band discussing how extreme they are. Overall, it's a fun concert, maybe not the best SYL performance ever, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
• Alien (2005) Ok, ok, I think I have finally come to the realization that I will never hear a "City 2". That era of Devin is over, his life is not like that anymore, and so his music won't be either. I had hopes for a bit after hearing the first single off this album 'Shitstorm' which is just as crazy, fast and blood-curdling as 'Oh My Fucking God' or 'Home Nucleonics', but it turns out there are really only 2 fast songs on the album. Now that that's out of the way, this really is an awesome album, and now that I feel I've finally come to grips with never getting a "City 2" I can move on and enjoy. Since there's a lot of variety here, here's a brief blow by blow. The album starts with a slow plodding anthem with some super distorted/demonic Devin vocals, followed by a medium paced song with a whole ton of samples going on. Really Devin should be the conductor of an orchestra, Satan's orchestra that is. Next comes 'Shitstorm' which is probably the best song on the album, but the next song 'Love' has a really amazing chugging riff, evil bends, and some great vocal harmonies. 'We Ride' is the second fast song, which has an inventive main riff and some wacky guitar solo stuff. Then we have 'Possessions', which is a slow but ultra heavy piece. Then the pace slows down a bunch with an acoustic ballad (?) probably more appropriate for Ocean Machine, or Pink Floyd. It's a good song, but seems kinda odd on a SYL record. Then another acoustic intro followed by two more big balsy metal songs. The album ends with an electronic noise piece, which I'm sure most of us will skip after hearing it once. Overall this album is better than their self titled 3rd album, and has a lot more variety to it, taking bits that sound like Ocean Machine, Terria, Infinity, Physicist, etc. In fact, the only thing that really makes this a SYL record instead of one of Devin's solo projects is the stronger tendency to be heavier. Fantastic production as usual, a lower than normal guitar tone, and way more keyboards and samples than anything the band has done since "Heavy...". This album will be in my daily rotation for quite some time to come, and will certainly make my top10 list of the year if not the number 1 spot.
• Alien Import (2005, CD + Bonus DVD) The regular album, also includes a bonus DVD which contains the entire 20 min "Making Of Alien" Documentary that Century Media had on their site for awhile (also contains the 10 min tech talk, but you can't jump to that immediately, you have to fast forward through the "Making of" first). As documentary's go, it may not be super polished or ultra professional, but it gets into a lot of good topics from how the band recorded to gear and technique information to the meaning behind some of the songs. Also contains the video for "Oh My Fucking God (Live)" from their recent DVD release "For Those Aboot To Rock". Considering how much good info is in the documentary, I'd recommend this to any fan of the band, no question.
• The New Black (2006) It was once said in an interview that no two SYL records are alike, and that's certainly true for this album. If I had to describe it, this is the silly SYL album. And that would only be a bad thing if it was unintentionally silly, but with song titles like 'You Suck' and the inclusion of a studio recording of their joke song 'Far Beyond Metal', it's obvious that Devin meant it to be this way. But the silliness doesn't mean this isn't heavy. It's like, you know how some people get soooo mad it becomes comical? That's sort of what this album is like. The songs are so fast, so angry, and yet so wacky, filled with lots of "Niah Niah" stuff on guitar, silly lyrics, even a horn section in a song. Imagine 'Bad Devil' from Devin's "Infinity" album, but about 50 times faster. Or something closer to their debut album "Heavy As a Really Heavy Thing", but with a more live sounding band. A few notes, first, lots of guitar solos on this album, super fast sweeps and tapping licks abound. The song 'Far Beyond Metal' includes vocals from Oderus of Gwar (since it was his lyrics that Devin ripped off in the first place) and that's a lot of fun. And holy fuck is Gene playing fast on the double bass for the song 'You Suck', which may be the best song on the album. But there's plenty of other fast and heavy pieces to keep the ear interested, and some really interesting riffs that stick in your head. A digipak version of the album contains a very short new song called 'The Long Pig' and a Melvins cover, both worth having, although probably not worth putting the money down for a second time if you already bought the original recording. As far as albums go, their "City" album and "Alien" are still their best work, but this album has got some killer songs and is just damn fun to listen to. Can't wait to hear what Devin comes up with after he takes a much needed break.
• City Enhanced (2007) This reissue of the album contains 5 bonus tracks. First, despite being remastered, I cannot tell a single bit of difference between the original and this recording (even when a/b'ing them in itunes), so if you're thinking of buying this because you think it may be remixed or something, don't. The album first contains the Japanese Bonus Track 'Centipede', which is a great song, but it's been readily available on other releases before (including the Live EP "No Sleep Till Bedtime"), so it's not that new. Following that are 4 demos, 3 are songs on the album, 1 is a new track, which is more a collection of experimental noises than songs. The 3 album demos contain scratch vocals (before most of the lyrics had been written), and a drum machine. These are definitely demos, not finished songs, but I really loved listening to them, since they give a little inside look into some of my favorite metal songs of all time, what with slightly different arrangements. For the hardcore strapping fan only, but I am one, so personally I recommend getting the cd.

• Foul (1997, EP) I was first introduced to this band on the Grrrr! compilation, so I picked up the EP, and it's pretty damn good. These guys sound a bit like Fear Factory, except without the keyboards. Lots of strong riffs, tons of reverb gives them a huge sound, but they still remain chunky. The drummer really knows when to bring in those double kicks for full effect. And tons of vocal textures, like growling, screaming, shouting, group chants, all kinds of good stuff. Well written, to the point, get a copy. Now! More than worth the $5.

• Acts Of Contemporary Violence (2007) This might as well be the new Disgorge album, but you know what, that's cool with me. Disgorge hasn't released an album in 3 years, so I'll listen to these guys instead. All the Disgorge staples are here, complex time signatures, lots of blasting, super tight guitarwork, guitar squawks, low vocals (although not quite as low as any of Disgorge's usual vocalists) and excellent musicianship. Of course, all the disadvantages are here too, the songs are so complex that they become sort of unmemorable. But if you consider the album one giant song, you certainly do feel brutalized after listening to it. Don't expect anything unexpected or catchy songs, but in every other way, this CD satisfies the target audience. Good stuff.
  

• Reincremation (1990, Demo)
• Human Waste (1991, EP) A