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Written by Liu
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Friday, 23 April 2010 17:42 |
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E1 Music
Overkill is one of the longest standing stalwarts of the 80's thrash metal boom. Along with peers Metallica and Megadeth, Overkill was releasing genre-defining classics that stand strong even today, but unlike those two other bands (and countless others), Overkill never strayed from their core metal sound. They did shift to a more groove-orientated sound, but they were still undeniably metal at a time when it was almost taboo to even utter the word. Despite sticking to their guns, it's hard to deny that the band's output in almost the last two decades has been spotty at best. With Ironbound however, the band has set out to reclaim their throne and show everyone else just how to do a proper thrash album in 2010.
The Green And Black sets things in motion. It's a meaty 8 minute slab of pure thrash goodness that any fan would eagerly eat up. All the hallmarks of 80's Overkill is present here: flesh tearing riffs, a titanic bass sound and Bobby Blitz's venomous vocals. This first song should be enough to put back the faith in any fan who lost interest in the band long ago. Next song is the title track. This is a battle cry for thrash fans everywhere, forged in metal and speed. If you can't pump your fists in the air to this song, chances are you are an amputee. If you can't headbang to this then take off the neck brace. Why'd you think Dio gave you a neck to begin with? To wreck it of course! |
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Last Updated on Friday, 23 April 2010 18:57 |
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Read the full review [Overkill - Ironbound]
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Written by Liu
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Saturday, 20 March 2010 12:18 |
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Candlelight
The drama surrounding Fear Factory is seemingly neverending. Dino Cazares is back in and Christian Olde Wolbers and Raymond Herrera are now out (though technically still band members; lawsuit pending). It has been a while since Fear Factory released anything (the last was 2005's mediocre Transgression), so the band wanted to hit hard with Mechanize.
Mechanize is exactly what longtime Fear Factory fans want from this band. They've always had a sterile, mechanical feel to their songs, as if they were constructed piece by piece on an assembly line. This would be a negative to most bands, but Fear Factory embraces this attribute and makes it a cornerstone of their music. Replacing Herrera with Gene Hoglan was probably the wisest choice, as neither can really be called "organic" in their drumming style. The return of Dino Cazares is also a plus, though Christian Olde Wolbers, who took over the guitar duties in his absence, got his cues from Cazares anyway and it seemed like he never left in the first place. |
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Last Updated on Saturday, 20 March 2010 14:11 |
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Read the full review [Fear Factory - Mechanize]
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Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars |
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Written by Philip
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Thursday, 18 March 2010 20:58 |
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Candlelight Records Having come a long way from their powerful beginnings, Blut Aus Nord are no less powerful and ambitious today than they were in 1993. Though, referring to Blut Aus Nord as "they" or "them" may be technically incorrect even if there are multiple members of the band. To my knowledge, Vindsval is still the sole creative force behind what started as a one man band known as Vlad to later be renamed to Blut Aus Nord. Since there is now a full band, I will continue to treat it as a band rather than a singular artist. If their current sound is any reflection, they've grown from purveyors of raw, epic, hauntingly evocative black metal to purveyors of less raw, equally epic, and perhaps even more hauntingly evocative black metal with albums such as The Work Which Transforms God and now their seventh full length, Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars, which show a stunning command of the advanced ideas hinted at in earlier works.
It's a complex spiral of darkness and mind-altering layers of ethereal, cascading webs of trance-inducing melodic movements and soundscapes that makes this album what it is. Drums that, though they are reported to be performed by a human, sound a little too mechanical to my ears to beleive in any human intervention aside from programming, are similar to what we heard in The Work Which Transforms God. They provide a strong rhythmic base, but offer no flare or attention-grabbing moments, allowing the listener's attention to be fully given to the beautiful and ominous opus of constantly changing progressions of dark melodic themes explored in great depth by Vindsval and company. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 19 March 2010 18:06 |
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Read the full review [Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars]
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Written by Philip
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Thursday, 18 March 2010 11:56 |
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Debemur Morti Productions Arckanum's latest full length has been out almost a year now and I'm only now getting around to it. This is actually the first in a series of reviews I'll be doing about a year or so late. I'm a bit slow, sometimes.
Arckanum released a stream of albums in the mid to late 90's and then did a bunch of random small releases for 10 years until Shamaatae decided to do a full album again. That's not this album. This is the next album, after that one. I won't pretend to know how you might go about pronouncing this album's name unless you want to call it "eleven similar runes", or something. As far as I can tell, it's just an acronym for the titles of the songs on this album, all of which happen to start with that precious rune that looks like a p.
I didn't even know this album was coming out. I saw it in stores a few months ago and picked it up, remembering my love for Fran Marder and Kampen years ago. I must say, I was overall pleased with what I heard. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 18 March 2010 21:14 |
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Read the full review [Arckanum - ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ]
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