REVIEWS 2010
MORE REVIEWS
2010-01-06 13:00:50
DREAM EVIL: In The Night - CD
This Swedish melodic heavy metal band have been around for a while now, and I still haven't figured out if I should take them seriously or not. The music is really good, but some of the lyrics are really silly. I should admit though that I haven't payed that much attention to them during the last years .. I got "The Book Of Heavy Metal", and I had a few songs after that album on my last computer, and I actually saw them live here in Borås a couple of years ago.
I can hear pieces of ACCEPT ("Bang Your Head") and even Michael Jackson ("See The Light"). Fun! And even though I said that some lyrics are really silly, they're (as usual) a tribute to heavy metal (most of them at least).
I guess that if you're a fan already, this won't dissapoint you. And if you're a fan of melodic heavy metal and haven't checked 'em out yet, it's definetely worth a try, 'cus after all it's a damned good album!
dreamevil.se
2010-01-06 16:17:41
IHSAHN: After - CD
RONNY'S JAZZ TRIO decided to record some chaos metal, and named the band IHSAHN. I don't have a clue why. I would go as far as saying that I prefer Michael Jackson and Madonna before this.
But honestly, it's probably supposed to be some kind of progressive metal, but suddenly there's a saxophone which makes it sound like jazz to me (not in every song though). I don't really know what to think about this, so that's probebly the reason why I don't get it. It was better than 1349's latest at least..
The man behind this album is the former EMPEROR vocalist/guitarist Ihsahn, so I expected black metal of course.. But why should you do what people expect you to do?
ihsahn.com
2010-01-06 16:20:13
ASPERA: Ripples - CD
Melodic and progressive metal performed by 5 20-year old dudes from Skien in Norway. Maybe a little too complicated stuff some times, but it seems like it's some kind of trend to be as complicated as possible these days. Not bad at all though. At least they're not as weird as some other proggresive bands seems to be. They got the melodies and they know how to play.
The weird thing is that 1 of my favorites is the ballad "Reflections", who's only 2 minutes. The other songs are around 5-8 minutes.
The band was formed with a different lineup as ILLUSION in 2005. But last summer they changed the name to ASPERA.
Worth checking out!
asperaofficial.com
2010-01-06 16:23:49
DARK FORTRESS: Ylem - CD
Black metal from Germany....seems like they've been around for a while and released a couple of albums already....I've been listening to this album a couple of times now, but I still can't come up with anything to say about it, and that's really not good....the music isen't that bad, even though I've heared it all before....it's not just pedal to the metal all the time, there's also a couple of heavier songs, and that's good....hm........
thetruedarkfortress.com
2010-01-06 16:43:23
CAUSING CHAOS: Long Way Back To Life - MCD
I have been listening to this CD several times now, but I just dosen't seem to come up with anything intresting to write about it....weird but true.
It's some kind of modern metal with a band from Sweden anyway, and the music is pretty o.k. No more no less (but they're at least more intresting than this review). 5 tracks in approximately 19 minutes is what you get.
causingchaos.se
2010-01-09 13:42:47
TROUBLEMAKERS, TRUBBEL, THE WOLF VERINE at Trägår'n in Borås, Sweden on January 8, 2010
First gig this year, and the last gig that the club Bastards arranged.
First band out was the local band THE WOLF VERINE, and they was obviously at the wrong place at the wrong time, as they played some kind of progressive/psychadelic '70s rock, and the other 2 bands was punk rock. And I can't say that I was too impressed either, but it was so damned cold on the first floor, so I went up to see them anyway.
TRUBBEL was new to me, and they was really good! Some kind of '70s punk rock in Swedish. I would really like to hear more of this band, 'cus I forgot to buy a CD with them. But if anybody in the band happens to read this, please send me a CD for review!
Well, TROUBLEMAKERS are always TROUBLEMAKERS, and they always deliver a damned good punk rock show, and so they did this time too. They mixed old and new material, and everybody was satisfied. It was a couple of years since I saw them last time, so it was great that I finally got the chance again. They play in their hometown Göteborg tonight at Henriksberg together with MIMIKRY, but I think I stay at home and watch TV instead, hehe. Too old to
party hard, 'cus you have to drink of course, hahaha!
troublemakers.se
2010-01-17 12:31:52
RAMONES: Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Book
First time I heared RAMONES must have been around 1989/1990 I guess. I was at my little brother who had became a punk, and he had the "Rocket To Russia" album and the song "We Want The Airwaves". I really liked some of the songs - "I Don't Care", "Do You Wanna Dance?" and "We Want The Airwaves" - and it wasen't until later I got the whole "Rocket To Russia" album. In 1993 I visited Hultsfredsfestivalen (Sweden's largest festival at the time) for the first time, and I got the chance to see RAMONES live.
This is a pretty heavy book with a lot of text and photos, so if you're thinking about reading it you better be a big fan of RAMONES, 'cus otherwise you will definetely get tired of it. It took me about 2 months to read it, and I see RAMONES as 1 of my favorite bands (even though there's a lot of other favorites too).
It's all written in English by a Finnish dude who calls himself Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone. Sometimes his English is a bit weird though, but who am I to judge?
This book is a little like a really fat fanzine, 'cus it mainly consist of plenty of interviews with surviving members and various other people in the music scene. There's a little too many not so intresting people that is interviewed towards the end of the book, but that's just how nerdy this book is. So, like I said in the beginning, for big fans (fanatics). I was a little surprised that so many metal artists was RAMONES fans though.
Well, after all it's a damned good book, so it's definetely worth checking out!
ramones.kauhajoki.fi
2010-01-24 13:56:39
WASTED SAINTS: Promo - MCD
WASTED SAINTS is a rock 'n' roll band from Göteborg, Sweden that's been around for about a year, and they have stupid names like Fred Fingers (bass), Little Jesus (drums), St Marcus (guitar) and Fizzy Licious (vocals).
The first track is a faster rocker with a pinch of sleaze in it. Not so bad. Reminds me a little of Norwegian rock 'n' roll punks GLUECIFER actually.
Next song is slower, and reminds a little of MONSTER MAGNET for some reason (there's probebly something better to compare with, but I can't remember the name right now). O.k., but not much else..
The third melody is a heavier thing, I don't really know how else to describe it. Not the best song I thought when I heared it the first time, but it has actually grown and become really good!
Well, what can I say about the whole EP then? First times I felt like it wasen't the best stuff I've heared, but o.k. anyway. But now that I've heared it a couple of times it's not so bad at all. You have to give it a couple of listenings.
wastedsaints.com
2010-01-24 13:59:00
CRYSKNIFE: Mythos - CD
CRYSKNIFE is a long-running project with the Tom and Steve Campitelli brothers, but this is their first full-lenght CD. They're from the States and play some kind of heavy rock. Unfortunately they don't manage to do that many good songs, so this album dosen't give me that much.
The only good song is "Unraveling", so maybe they should concentrate on singles instead, as you only need 1 song to call it a single nowadays.
Hope they have fun at least, even though it wasen't my cup of tea.
crysknife.com
2010-01-24 14:09:30
AHOORA: Awkward Diary - Download album
They must have sent me the wrong album, 'cus this is nor metal or punk. There's so much synthesizer that it sound more like some alternative synth, or a mixture of Björk, DEPECHE MODE/KRAFTWERK and some famous symphonic/progressive rock band that I can't remember the name of.
The most intresting thing about this band is that they're from Iran, and have to release their music illegally. Too bad that their music wasen't any good then, but to not let them have their music released legally is a bigger crime though..
ahoora-band.com
2010-01-31 11:35:57
SISTA SKRIKET, CIVIL OLYDNAD, MONARK X at Allegården in Borås, Sweden on January 30, 2010
As we (me and my little brother) were there already when they opened, we had to wait for over an hour before the first band started to play, which was MONARK X. They play some kind of Swedish retro punk rock that is really good on CD, but I don't really know what to think about this gig, maybe it was the bad sound, I don't know, but I felt like they were better on record than live. The best song (and 1 of the few I actually reconized) was "Hultsfred City". A o.k. gig anyway.
I wanted the next band to start playing at once after MONARK X had played, but hell no, they obviously wanted to bore people to death through waiting. And as it was an all-ages venue, there wasen't any beer to entertain yourself with - Damned boring!
Next band was CIVIL OLYDNAD. I thought they played typical Swedish trallpunk, but this was a little harder, more like early STREBERS and ASTA KASK. I really liked it! Best band this evening.
Well, then you had to wait again - Why?! - before the last band, SISTA SKRIKET, finally entered the stage. They kicked off with a punk song, and the singer jumped around like he was crazy. Nice with that kind of energy when there wasen't more than maybe 10-15 people in the audience. SISTA SKRIKET was actually better than I expected, and delivered both old and new material, which ended up in a good mixture of punk rock and new wave.
Sad that there wasen't more people, very weak! Especially when entrance was as cheap as 20 kronor (about 2 Euro).
Where did all the Borås punks go?
klubb033.se
2010-01-31 13:55:18
IMPULSIA: Expressions - CD
Melodic hard rock with both male and female vocals. The male vocals are handled by ex-CANDLEMASS vocalist Johan Langquist, and the female vocals are handled by Robin Beck. There's also a couple of other musicians involved in this project, like Victoria Theodore (Stevie Wonder) on piano, Tomas Broman on drums, Swedish pop artist Pandora is singing on 1 song and Pontus Norgren (HAMMERFALL) is doing a solo, and was also co-producer/engineer during the
recordings of this album.
When Robin sings it reminds me of hard pop like HEART, but I think people into EUROPE, TREAT and even BLACK SABBATH with Tony Martin on vocals will like this album. That's at least what I feel it's a mixture of, and it's a really good mixture for sure! There might be a few too many slow ones though.
I know that song "Layla" from somewhere, but I can't remember who did it. Damned good anyway!
Yeah, this was really good stuff indeed!
myspace.com/impulssweden
2010-01-31 15:51:52
SPiT LiKE THiS: We Won't Hurt You (But We Won't Go Away) - CD
They kick off with "Sex, Drugs & Heavy Metal", but the funny thing is that they don't play heavy metal. And they don't play punk rock or pop punk, as I expected, either. No, this is true '70s glam rock! So if that's what you're into, you should really check this out.
The fact that they're a glam rock band dosen't stop them from sounding a bit like THE CRAMPS in "Dead Girl Walking" though. "Pussywhipped" and "Hunt You Down" sounds more like some kind of heavy new wave rock or something, and those 2 songs are actually boring and doesn't deserve to be on this album.
This is what they call the "Ultimate Edition" of their debut album from 2008, which was released in a limited edition. It includes a bonus track entitled "Sweet Transvetite" and a bonus video of "Sex, Drugs & Heavy Metal".
Too bad that it seems like just half of the album is really good, while the other half is pretty boring stuff. 14 tracks are almost always 4 too many..
spitlikethis.com
2010-01-31 15:54:28
JÄRNMALM: Ur Gruvan - MCD
I don't really know if I like it or not. Some kind of Swedish pop punk with whining vocals, that reminds me of DIA PSALMA and VARNAGEL. Some people would probebly call it trallpunk, but it's a little darker than the typical Swedish trallpunk, so I prefer to call it pop punk instead.
I like the background vocals from bassist Vicky in the opening track "Nu", more of that please! Well, I guess it's not so bad after all, but it's not like it makes me want more. 5 tracks in 15.42 minutes is just about enough for me.
jarnmalm.com
2010-01-31 15:57:01
HALVFABRIKAT FICK OSS ATT GÖRA DET 1999-2009 - 7" EP
Swedish punk/hardcore label Halvfabrikat Records celebrate 10 years with this compilation, which consist of bands on the label doing covers of other bands on the label. And the bands are END OF ALL, M:40, GRACE.WILL.FALL, AKTIV DÖDSHJÄLP, PROTESTERA, PASSIV DÖDSHJÄLP and LIVSTID.
Halvfabrikat has released a lot of good records during the years, mainly 7" EP's, so this initiative was really fun. Most bands on this release is doing a good job, so it's definetely worth checking out! But act fast, 'cus there's only 300 copies made.
halvfabrikat.net
2010-02-14 12:26:44
FINNTROLL: Nifelvind - CD
I'm not a big fan of medieval/pagan metal or folk metal, but FINNTROLL actually works just fine. Probebly becuse they're more aggressive, and not just humpa-humpa, lalala, if you know what I mean?
FINNTROLL was formed by original singer Katla in 1997, and his the one to blame for the Swedish lyrics (they're from Finland). He was unfortunately forced to leave in 2002 due to problems with his vocal cord. Tapio Wilska replaced him, and in 2006 current singer Vreth stepped in (his the only one who can speak Swedish by the way).
"Nifelvind" is the band's fifth album, and I've only heared a couple of songs here and there before. It's a good album, so it will probebly not dissapoint the old fans.
finntroll.net
2010-02-14 12:31:07
AMERICAN DOG: Mean - CD
Really cool blues-based bikers hard rock. I usually don't listen to Southern rock, which I suppose this is called, but this was really good! They even do a cover of BLUE ÖYSTER CULT's "This Ain't The Summer Of Love".
This trio has actually been around since 1999 already, and are from Columbus in Ohio, U.S.A. They have released 4 albums so far. Why it has taken 5 years since the last album is unknown to me though.
I look forward to hear more with this band in the future. Definetely worth checking out!
myspace.com/americandog
2010-02-14 12:33:32
DARK TRANQUILLITY: We Are The Void - CD
Most of the tracks are melodic death metal, but "Her Silent Language" actually sound like a synth song with growl, while "Arkhangelsk" sound more like black metal. Nice with some variation.
DARK TRANQUILLITY have been around for 20 years now, and I've seen them live 2 times at least, but I've never got any album with them. I guess this album isen't so bad after all, but it would have been more fun if I could remember any of the songs. Fans of DARK TRANQUILLITY will most likely not be dissapointed anyway..
darktranquillity.com
2010-02-14 12:36:11
OLD MAN'S CELLAR: Wines & Swines - CD
OLD MAN'S CELLAR was born as a project in Modena, Italy about a year ago, but is now a full band.
I would call the music melodic '80s heavy metal, but it also reminds me of THE DARKNESS sometimes, especially the
vocals. So for those who miss THE DARKNESS, this might be a good substitute. "A Beer To Say Goodbye", sounds like a ballad with a '90s duo that I forgot the name of.
I think they're really good, and if I'm going to name a favorite, it would be the second track, "Amber Lights". They're definetely worth checking out!
myspace.com/oldmanscellar
2010-02-14 14:28:06
GBG PUNX: 2009-1985 - CD-R
As you might have figured out already from the title, this is a collection of both old and new material with this punk veterans - 22 tracks in approximately half an hour. It was released 9 months ago by Delirium Tremens, and I don't know why it took so long before anybody sent it to me. This is not everything they've done though. There's also a damned good full-lenght CD, entitled "Vad som retar mig", that you also must have to complete your discography.
I had heared most of the stuff before, but there was also some songs that I haven't heared earlier. All songs are really good anyway, and I diden't expect anything else either, so I'm satisfied with this collection.
It's been more or less total silence during the last years (no update on their website in 3 years!), but I just read on their MySpace page that they're recording a new album - finally! Hopefully they will do a gig once in a while too, 'cus that's always entertaining as the singer is pretty wild (he took down some pictures at a place as he thought that would be best, so they woulden't break when the gig started, haha.. and it was a pretty wild gig, so that was a good idea actually).
Well, this is a must have, just like the full-lenght I mentioned earlier, and I really look forward to hear the new material.
gbgpunx.net
2010-02-20 13:11:07
NINJA DOLLS: D.I.Y. - MCD
Long time since I got anything with this band, but here's at least a limited edition (only 100 made) EP to tease us for the upcoming album. Since last time (we talk years) they have got themselves a new vocalissa, and for some reason I think I like her voice better (not that the difference is that big).
Last time I heared them they had actually became a little unintresting, but now they're really back on track again, 'cus these 4 tracks are really good stuff indeed! Especially the first track, "You're A Monster", is a favorite.
If the rest of the album is this good, I'm definetely a ninja fan again (not that I ever gave up).
What do they sound like then you might ask? Well, I would simply call it pop punk. Maybe with a touch of the '50s, after all they're from a Swedish small-town.
Act fast or wait for the album.
ninjadolls.net
2010-02-20 13:13:30
ASHES: The Griever - MCD
Why these 4 Swedish men have a DVD case instead of a usual CD case is a mystery, but it's probebly just to get more attention. And I guess they succeeded, 'cus it made me wonder if it actually was a DVD.
The music is '80s heavy metal, and they've been around for about 4 years. This EP is produced by no other than Mats Levén (THERION, KRUX, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, TREAT), and he also plays keyboard on the title track. And even though they claim that they've found their own sound, I've heared it all before. But it's really good stuff, so there's no use to complain at all!
ashes.se
2010-02-20 13:16:10
GORILLA BOMBS: - Demo
This is the new band with some of the members from HEADLESS MARINES, and it reminds me a little of them, but even though they we're a really good band, I think GORILLA BOMBS are even better! Seems like they've cut the grunge and just play melodic punk rock nowadays, and that's a really good move. Isen't there even a touch of NO DOUBT? Dosen't really matter what they put in their cocktail as long as it taste this good.
4 tracks in 8.40 is all we get here, but it's definetely a must have! Gimmie more!
myspace.com/gorillabombs
2010-02-20 13:18:29
POISONBLACK: Of Rust And Bones - CD
There's a new poison in town, and it's called POISONBLACK and comes from Finland. The band includes SENTENCED singer Ville Laihiala, and this is their fourth album. That information might make somebody happier, but I'm just as stubborn as before..
How am I going to describe this then? Maybe simply as some kind of heavy, melodic metal? But sometimes there's a touch of grunge in the brew too.. And there's way too many slow parts/ballads. Nah, it dosen't really sound like my bottle of vodka. Too melancholy I suppose.. "The Last Song" sounds like METALLICA during the '90s, and the rest sounds like a heavier version of HIM, but more metal than goth. In other words cock sucker blues.
poisonblack.com
2010-02-28 14:53:39
DAWN OF SILENCE: Wicked Saint Or Righteous Sinner - CD
Melodic NWOBHM, you probebly already know what it sound like and if you like it or not, so I guess I don't have to drop any names here. This is the kind of stuff I grew up with, so I'm on as it's almost as good as all those bands from the '80s.
O.k., I guess I can't avoid dropping a few names anyway, so here we go: HAMMERFALL, IRON MAIDEN, DREAM EVIL and WOLF is what I hear when I listen to this album.
It all started back in 2000, and DAWN OF SILENCE has released 4 demos between 2002-2005. In 2006 their debut album, "Moment Of Weakness", was released.
Good stuff!
2010-02-28 14:56:18
EKHO: Among the Shadows of Erebus - Demo
This band comes from Israel and call their music "extreme heavy metal/folk", but I think it sounds more like symphonic black metal. And the sound quality is like it was recorded in the '90s when you released demo tapes, but that's a little charmy actually. The vocals isen't really the best.
Nah, this wasen't really my kind of thing, but somebody else might like it..
myspace.com/ekhofficial
2010-02-28 14:59:16
WOLF, DISDAIN at Henriksberg in Göteborg, Sweden on February 27, 2010
After a dinner at Solrosen that diden't taste as good as I wanted, I went to Henriksberg. I was pretty early, so it was still pretty calm. People was just chilling out with a beer, and the DJ seemed to prefer hardcore/metal instead of old school heavy metal, which would have fit a lot better (he played a classic once in a while though).
DISDAIN was the first band out, but by that time I was already a little drunk (play earlier! HaHa!), so I'm not really sure about how good they was.
As far as I can remember WOLF did a really good gig, but they diden't start until midnight, so who knows? It's a great old school heavy metal band anyway, so if you haven't checked them out yet, do it now!
Sorry for the short and not too exiting review (better luck next time?)..
wolf.nu
2010-03-07 15:01:39
NATION DESPAIR: Ruins - MCD
Death metal from Tempere in Finland, that I diden't really get the first time I heared it. Isn't Tempere more of a punk nest by the way? Whatever.. After a couple of listenings NATION DESPAIR finally sink in, but unfortunately they sounds too much like any other death metal band out there. It's o.k. for the moment anyway, and that's always something, isn't it?
myspace.com/nationdespair
2010-03-07 15:25:34
HIGH ON FIRE: Snakes For The Divine - CD
The vocals reminds me of MOTÖRHEAD's Lemmy, and this American trio sounds like a mixture of MOTÖRHEAD and BLACK SABBATH. They have a really fat sound that I really like, even though it took a couple of listenings before I got into it.
It's also really heavy, which makes the songs long. Most songs are around 6 minutes, some are even as long as 8 minutes. But it actually works, and it's not that bad after all.
Mainman in this band is Matt Pike from the cult band SLEEP, and this is HIGH ON FIRE's fifth album. The band was formed in 1998. Jeff Matz from Seattle speed punks ZEKE play bass, and the drummer is Des Kensel. Enough history!
Worth lending a ear to, that's for sure!
highonfire.net
2010-03-07 15:31:19
MALTE X: Dom Säljer Dej Ändå - Single
Nowadays you just need 1 song to call it a single. In the old days you needed 2 songs. Anyway.. MALTE X are more or less veterans by now. It's a Swedish punk rock band singing in Swedish, and to be honest I haven't paid too much attention to them, just heared a song here and there. Most of the stuff I've heared have been pretty o.k., and this song isen't so bad either. And for once it's a song that isen't about sex or alcohol, who use to be the typical subjects for this band. I think that makes it even a little better.. Not that I have anything against sex and alcohol (too bad that I only get 1 of them, but that's another story).
myspace.com/maltexxx
2010-03-13 19:10:10
MAMA KIN at Sticky Fingers in Göteborg, Sweden on March 12, 2010
I got MAMA KIN's first demo for review many years ago, and have been following them ever since. Now they have finally released their debut album, "In The City".
I diden't really reconize the first songs MAMA KIN played, so I thought it might be the other band, VANITY BLVD., even though it sounded a lot like MAMA KIN. But after a while they played a song that I know, and after that there was no more doubt. They did a really good show, but the cover of "Hysteria" by DEF LEPPARD was pretty unexpected (which probebly was the point). The only thing I have to complain about is that there was no background vocals in "You Belong To Me" (I mean the ooh parts).
MAMA KIN could be described as a melodic sleaze rock band, and comes from Karlstad, Sweden (where everything is expensive). This was actually the first time I saw them, but hopefully not the last.
There was supposed to be another band playing, VANITY BLVD., but I don't know if they ever got to the stage, 'cus I had to leave to catch the bus back home.
mamakin.se
2010-03-14 14:27:57
CARACH ANGREN: Death Came Through A Phantom Ship - CD
This progressive black metal band was formed in Limburg, The Netherlands in 2003. Music wise there's nothing new under the sun (that finally has started to shine here in Sweden again). Pretty good stuff though, with a lot of violin.
In "Al Betekent Het Mijn Dood" it suddenly sounds like QUEEN for a minute. A little funny and unexpected. But otherwise you know what you gonna get, and you know if you like it or not. Worth checking out anyway..
Here's another exemple of a band that I diden't like in the beginning, but has started to like after hearing it several times. I guess you never shall dismiss something before you heared it at least 2-3 times.
carach-angren.nl
2010-03-14 14:30:48
IKUINEN KAAMOS: Fall of Icons - CD
The shortest song is 7.46, and the longiest is 16.43, so if you're into long and heavy extreme metal songs, this might be the perfect piece of cake for you. I'm a little sceptic though, I've heared it all before, and it wasen't that intresting. The third song, "In Ruins", is a little slower and actually pretty good.
As the songs are so long, there's only 5 tracks, but it's definetely a full-lenght anyway.
This Finnish band has actually been around already since 1997, but wasen't signed until 2005. They still look like high school kids though, hehe.. (who dosen't?).
ikuinenkaamos.net
2010-03-14 14:37:52
MAN.MACHINE.INDUSTRY: The Hunt (Radio Edit) - Single
I was never really into Thåström's LOVE PEACE AND PITBULLS, a few songs was o.k., but not much else. MINISTRY had a couple of good songs though. And now you might have figured out that this is a industrial metal band, and that's not a genre I listen to too often.
This song is actually not that intresting to me. And just to "terrorize" me a little more, Close-Up Magazine just had to include this tune on their compilation CD with the latest issue. A possitive thing about that though, is that it sounded just a little, little bit better on my stereo than on my computer....weird.
Fans of industrial metal shouldn't be dissapointed though..
2010-03-14 18:53:11
SOMNAE: Forever More - MCD
This is a trio from the States who play heavy but melodic metal with deep growl vocals. 3 tracks in 15 minutes.
I don't really know what to think about this.. It's o.k. while you listen to it, but you forget it as soon as it's over, so there's no lasting impression. I don't know why the vocals have to be so deep, I'm not really a friend of that. It might have been better if he had just screamed instead, but on the other hand it would probebly have been too obvious to do that. It's not bad though, I've heared worse than this.
No matter what I think, if you're a fan of heavy music you can always try it for yourself.. And if you happens to look for deep reviews about all and nothing, sorry, but go somewhere else!
somnae.net
2010-03-14 18:54:43
MUZL: - CD
This Danish band makes me think of VELVET REVOLVER for some reason, maybe a little PEARL JAM too, and a bit of what I think STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and ALICE IN CHAINS sounds like (haven't heared them that much). In the beginning I thought it was like testosterone rock without balls,
BUT after a couple of listenings they convinced me that they're actually really good! And they seems to be good at what they're doing, so there's no reason why you
shouldn't check them out. Especially if you're into heavy rock like the bands mentioned above.
muzl.com
2010-03-20 13:26:27
VADER, DIVINE CHAOS, AS YOU DROWN at Parken in Göteborg, Sweden on March 19, 2010
It's very unusual with early gigs, especially when it's at a bar/restaurant....but anyway.. As I get it AS YOU DROWN had already played, and DIVINE CHAOS started when I arrived. Turns out that they were from Borås, Sweden and had been practising for a month. I'm not sure if they had practised for this gig for a month or just been around for a month, but they seemed to be good at what they were doing, even though I diden't really fall for their death metal with hardcore vocals. It diden't suck, but growl instead!
After that it was time for VADER, which I've only have heared a couple of really good songs with here and there. For some reason they diden't seem to play any of those songs though.. They warmed up with a heavier tune, but after that it was the usual pedal to the metal death metal, which is on the border to black metal. Really good stuff, but to be honest there wasn't that much variation.
vader.pl
2010-03-21 14:08:19
CRUCIFIED BARBARA at Sticky Fingers Top Floor in Göteborg, Sweden on March 20, 2010
When it says 21.00 on the ticket I don't expect to wait 3 hours before the band start playing! I got very irritated on that. And just as that wasn't enough, soon after the concert a guard wanted to throw me out 'cus I was too drunk (how come?!). I was going to leave anyway, so I guess I actually could thank him for picking up my jacket. I almost started to like Sticky Fingers again, but now I don't really know what to think.
How was the concert then? It was damned good indeed! These chicks know how to deliver a good rock show. "Jennyfer" was performed without Mats Levén this time, but that worked just fine too. They also performed their "schlager" hit "Heaven Or Hell", and it wasen't so bad.
CRUCIFIED BARBARA seems to be classified as a sleaze rock band for some reason, but they're not a sleaze band, it's heavy hard rock on the border to metal.
crucifiedbarbara.com
2010-03-27 17:34:07
F.K.Ü., DIE HARD and CHAINSAW at Henriksberg in Göteborg, Sweden on March 26, 2010
There was many choices to make this evening.. First of all I had to figure out if I actually was going to go to Göteborg at all, or just stay home and relax. But I decided to go anyway, and when I arrived around 21.20 (which I thought was early) CHAINSAW had already started to play. There was 3-4 people shaking loose infront of the stage, the rest of the audience was taking it easy. CHAINSAW was really good, old school thrash metal. Too bad
that they just had t-shirts and no records though (please send something for review!).
Next band was the only band I've heared before, as I got their MCD "Evil Always Return" for review a couple of years ago. DIE HARD play satanic thrash/black metal that reminds a lot of VENOM (where did you think they got their band name from?), and they look cool and act cool on stage. The music is also damned good, so in other words a damned good band, even though there could be more variation. The bassist drank Jack Daniels between the songs, but suddenly a guard found out and took the bottle away and shook his finger like "that's not allowed".
Sweden huh? Fucking communist country! Great show anyway!
Last band on stage this evening was F.K.Ü. They look like a mixture between AMON AMARTH and a black metal band, but play crossower like D.R.I. and similar bands....funny. They were damned good anyway, and they have a new fan in me, that's for sure! The audience was headbanging a lot in the beginning, and my glass of beer got smashed to the floor (shit happens), but soon after that they were pretty calm, so the singer asked an old guard who was there if people wasen't allowed to shake loose. His answer was pretty funny, it was something like: "They're allowed to dance, but this is the most disgusting I've ever seen". Everybody smiled and it became the joke of the gig. After that it was a hell of a headbanging, and even pogo dancing for the rest of the show. I don't really know why the singer spoke English between the songs though, after all they're from Sweden just like all the other bands.. They really know how to deliver a good show, that's for sure!
A good night with 3 good bands ain't bad after a week of working, but after the show the place turned in to some kind of "gay rock" venue. Couldn't they continued with the thrash theme? Or at least play some metal? Weird!
moshoholics.com
2010-03-28 14:53:27
DISKONTO, ANATOMI-71, MOTÖRBREATH, PROTESTERA and Jan Hammarlund at Underjorden in Göteborg, Sweden on March 27, 2010
Jan Hammarlund was the first to enter the stage this evening - An old dude with just an acoustic guitar and mainly political songs. It was actually pretty good, but it wasn't like I felt that I have to buy a record with him.
PROTESTERA was just as political correct as I expected, and talked about important things between the songs. But it was good stuff they had to say, so it was o.k. with me. And their music, crust punk with male and female vocals, was a lot better than the EP I got for review several years ago. It's almost like I should take a closer look at this band..
This time I didn't miss MOTÖRBREATH, like I did last time I was going to see them at Underjorden. Their rock 'n' roll crust punk isn't bad at all, and they did a really good show, just like every band this evening. But even though I like their music, I havn't got any records with them yet. Another band to put on the get list.
There shouldn't be more than 3 artists, 'cus I guess I started to get drunk and tired when ANATOMI-71 started to play. A damned good crust punk band, that's for sure! But for some reason I don't remember much more than that they ended the show with my favorite "Ta Din Jävla Glimt I Ögat Och Lämna Mig Ifred". I'm sure that they did a good job anyway..
The last band was hardcore/punk veterans DISKONTO. And what is there to say? They delivered a really good show, but why do they never play "Åttioett" anymore? I don't know how many times I screamed for it, but no.. I guess they just want to play political songs, and that song isn't that. Well, I guess I'll survive anyway..
No more Göteborg trips for at least a month, unless something really interesting happens. I've been going there 5 times this month!
punkillegal.com
2010-03-28 15:38:05
GREED: Burn It Down - CD
A band name like GREED and a title like "Burn It Down" makes me think of a hardcore or crust band. But then you see a rally car on the sleeve, which makes you think of testosterone rock 'n' roll punk (more well-known as action rock) or high speed punks ZEKE.
And well, testosterone rock 'n' roll punk is actually a pretty good description. For some reason I think about underground bands like HATHOR, APES IQ and WEASELFACE. Bands that I suppose most of you never heared of, but I can really recomend you to check them out. GREED will probably join those bands on the unknown rock 'n' roll parade, as they don't have what made me love bands like BACKYARD BABIES and THE HELLACOPTERS about 12 years ago - hit potential! That doesn't mean that it's bad though.. No, it's good, but it's just not much else for some reason. Where's the variation for exemple?
It feels like the whole production is too clean. I want this kind of stuff dirty and raw, with distortion and concentricity. Albums like "Supershitty To The Max" and "Payin' The Dues" by THE HELLACOPTERS, and of course "Total 13" by BACKYARD BABIES, that's the stuff I'm talking about!
Not bad, but better luck next time..
greedsweden.com
2010-03-28 15:40:00
VIOLENT DIVINE: Release The Hounds - CD
Now this actually dissapointed me big! On the sleeve it looked like it could be a thrash- or death metal band, but hell no! Out of the speakers comes some melodic, modern metal that makes me yell "what the fuck?!" instead of the "hell yes!" I expected. A very sad story, huh?
As you can understand I wasn't too exited the first time I heared this CD, and for some reason I can't really swallow my dissapointment. O.k., it dosn't totally suck, but this just ain't my bag. I've heared it before, but I just can't remember what band it was....probebly something like PAPA ROACH I suppose. But I have to admit that songs like "For The First Time" and "Asleep" have hit potential.
Put this band in an filthy expensive studio with a famous producer, and they will become the MTV rock band they sound like they wanna be. Another scenario would be that they don't give a shit about that, and become rawer and even heavier. But after all, it's their decission to make, not mine. And there's always plenty of kids out there who like this kind of stuff, so who am I to judge?
violentdivine.se
2010-03-28 15:42:27
Steevi Jaimz: Glam Damnation - CD
This sounds like it was recorded in the '80s. Steevi Jaimz is a former member of British sleaze rockers TIGERTAILZ, so there's no wonder that it sound like it does. Another reason is that the songs was actually written between 1982-1990, but was remastered for this CD in 1998.
Well, one thing is damned sure - Fans of sleaze rock won't be dissapointed! This is really good stuff, almost a must-have....almost, as 13 tracks is almost always 3 too many (unless the songs are around 1-3 minutes). Among the best songs are "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof", "Take Me To The Limit", "Gods Will Fly" and "Talk Of The Town".
Well, what are you waiting for? Buy it now!
steevijaimz.com
2010-04-02 20:16:33
THE GUV'NORS: The Pint Of No Return - CD
Rock 'n' roll with a touch of Oi!/street punk and punk rock. This band comes from Denmark, and it sound like they're a good live band when you have had a couple of beers. The lyrics focus on everyday problems, drinking, girls, fun and football.
"Striptease" sounds like something heavier with TURBONEGRO. And "40 Fat And Finished" is really good. But 16 tracks? That's a little too much.. I get full already after 5 songs! Maybe they should concentrate on EP's instead? Or maybe I shouldn't listen to the whole album at once? That's also an option..
The band was formed in 2001, in 2003 their debut album, "Highroller", was released. Since then they've released 2 7" EP's and this album, "The Pint Of No Return".
SLADE drummer Don Powell is doing a guest-star performance on this album (I don't know on which song(s) though).
Not bad at all, so street punks and rock 'n'roll punks unite for a couple of beers and take a listen to THE GUV'NORS.
theguvnors.dk
2010-04-02 20:18:49
OCTOBER FILE: Our Souls To You - 2-CD
This album comes in 2 versions - Part 1 is produced by John Mitchell, and Part 2 is produced by Justin Broadrick (GODFLESH). And unless you're a hardcore fan or a extreme nature, you won't listen to both CD's at once, 'cus the music is pretty heavy and extreme industrial metal. And even though I don't listen that much to industrial stuff, this is actually good. Well, except for "Our Souls To You (Part 1)" then, which is totally worthless! That song is by the way thankfully not included on Part 2 (Mr. Broadrick seems to be a clever guy).
Which version is the best then, you might ask? Well, to me it's not such a big differance, maybe a little more distorsion on Part 2, which makes it a little rawer. But in the end both versions are just as good. And as far as I know you have to buy both versions anyway, so then you can make your own decission, 'cus you're going to buy it, right?
octoberfile.com
2010-04-02 20:22:52
MÖGEL: Ditt Elände - Download/CD
I don't know what happened to the CD that the drummer promised me, but as it's available for free download from their website, I could just as well download it.
This is MÖGEL from Borås, Sweden and not the chick band from Stockholm. They've been around for 25 years now (with a break during the late '90s to early '00), and they celebrate with this collection with re-recordings of old and newer songs. They actually got the original singer, called Tob, back in the band to handle the vocals. They focus on material with Swedish lyrics, and there's even a previously unreleased track (I haven't figured out yet which song that is).
MÖGEL is always MÖGEL, pretty melodic punk with an striving to be fast and raw, and it's usually really good stuff. This release is no exception from that, so it's definetely worth checking out. It was a long time since I heared some of these songs, so it was fun to hear them again.
mogelpunk.se
2010-04-02 20:26:17
ESKATOLOGIA: - Promo CD
ESKATOLOGIA is a band from Göteborg, Sweden, and they've been around since 2007. The band features ex-members of xBINGOx, KRISSITUATION, PERSONKRETS 3:1 and ZILCH!.
The first song, "Empty Eyes", is taken from an upcoming 7" EP - You could think that a combination of such good styles as crust core and metal would work excellent, but in this case I just get confused. It's hard, heavy, screaming and totally uncompromising chaos all the time, and I can't really get a grip on that, while some others probebly tribute it to the skies.
The second tune, "Lever I Skuggan", is from an upcoming split 10" EP with DISTRESS - A more straight crust core attack, and much better than the first track. That's the kind of stuff I like!
And the last track, "När Döden Visar Sitt Ansikte", is exclusive for this promo - Another crust core song that is pretty o.k.
I'd really like to like this band, but honestly I don't know what to think about them after hearing these songs. I'm willing to give them another chance though, 'cus after all it was just the first song that wasn't so good.
myspace.com/eskatologia
2010-04-02 20:29:56
TRIPTYKON: Eparistera Daimones - CD
After CELTIC FROST broke up mainman Tom G Warrior had to continue his mission with a new band - TRIPTYKON.
This is really heavy and slow metal, but still with a raw sound. There's much grinding on the same chords, and not too much variation. And to be honest with you, I diden't really expect anything else either. Not that I heared too much with either HELLHAMMER or CELTIC FROST, but I suppose this will definetely satisfy fans of those bands.
But you should know me by now, I'm a whining old man (even though I look young and sexy), so of course I'm not so easily impressed as a fan is. Most songs isn't so bad after all, but on the other hand some of them are way too long! And that kills my interest in the songs, and that's not good at all. So I'm very split about this album. But I'm at least happy that it didn't suck as much as the song I heared on their MySpace page a couple of years
ago.
This stuff will probebly scare the shit out of your younger sister or brother, maybe even your parents. So if that's what you're looking for, this is it!
triptykon.net
2010-04-02 20:35:01
TUHKAUS: - Demo
This was a couple of "funny Santas"! All the info I got from this band was a little note that said: "Hello! Here is TUHKAUS demo for review", nothing else! The post stamp was from Turku, Finland. Nothing at all written on the CD-R and a blank sleeve. This is the way you should NOT do it! You can at least write the name of the band and the title (if there's any) on the sleeve or CD, and the titles of the songs wouldn't be too bad either (not that I speak Finnish, but anyway). But I know, people are extremely lazy nowadays (I see it everyday at work). This makes me lose the inspiration to review this band already before I even heared them, and that sucks.
But when I put the CD in the player, I see that there's 16 tracks in 19.41 minutes. So I think that this might be something after all, 'cus good old Finnish raw punk is usually good. And TUHKAUS actually play raw punk with a vocalist who scream like a maniac. It's not bad, I've heared worse, but 16 tracks of this is a little too extreme. It's worth checking out though, but unfortunately they didn't include any post-, e-mail- or website address, so I don't have a clue how they thought that anybody would get their demo. Maybe you can find it on some torrent or something similar..
Not the most clever band when it comes to promotion....or maybe they just forgot to include all the information I want?
2010-04-11 16:23:38
NO HAWAII: Snake My Charms - CD
It's like they want to do too much in 1 song, 'cus there's like 3-4 songs in 1 song. Some parts are o.k., but that's always destroyed by something not so good sooner or later....like when a dude is babbling in what I think is Spanish for several minutes, totally useless!
I know already that other reviewers will raise this band to the skies, and I can never figure out why when that happens. Just becuse they can play good, it dosn't necisserly mean that they're actually good. But I'm a little impressed that they actually can remember their songs, 'cus for me it goes in through one ear and out through the other.
The music is a crazy mixture of metal, rock, hardcore and emo. So if that's what you're looking for, go ahead and try it.
nohawaii.com
2010-04-11 17:34:44
SNUTJÄVEL: Falköping Hardcore - DVD
Fun that people send DVD's too, but it could happen more often though.. The only weird thing with DVD's is that you watch them once, and then you let them collect dust before you watch them again in a distant future. It's not like a CD or MP3's, that you listen to over and over 'til you get tired of them (more or less).
Anyway.. What we get here is a documentary about the Swedish punk band SNUTJÄVEL, made by Peter Asp. They have also included all their EP's, as well as some previously unreleased songs. And it's definetely worth checking out, 'cus it's a really good DVD. We get the chance to follow the band when they go to Stockholm and back for a gig, which is mixed up with a few words from the members and some other people. Could have been nice with the story about the band too, but I guess we can wait a couple of more years for that, 'cus this band won't
give up for a long time.
snutjavel.com
2010-04-11 17:42:39
DIVINITY: Singularity - CD
Technical death metal.. "Embrace The Uncertain" sounds more like modern melodic metal though.. Mathematics metal is it anyway.
I never liked mathematics in school, so I find it hard to get this kind of music. It's o.k. as background music though - Just let the boys play while I do something else.
When the album is over it makes me think: "Are they done playing now?", (and I'm not talking about instruments). But why take the easy way when you can take the hard way? Hope they have a lot of fun at least.. Personally I prefer the old school, like ENTOMBED's "Left Hand Path" - That's a real classic!
divinity.ca
2010-05-02 10:49:21
ELOA VADAATH: A Bare Reminiscene Of Infected Wonderlands - CD
Soft intro, but maybe a little bit too long?
This is yet another one of these symphonic & progressive black metal bands. There seems to be plenty of them out there today, and I'm not sure if ELOA VADAATH got anything new to add to this genre, 'cus it's like I've heared it all before (more or less).
That doesn't mean that it's crap though, 'cus they got some good tunes here & there. But sometimes there's just too much violin & sometimes even opera vocals, like in "Elysian Fields" for exemple - and that's not good. The only song where the violins works perfect is in the title track.
These Italians formed this band in 2006, and this is their first album.
myspace.com/eloavadaath
2010-05-02 10:57:48
LOCATORS: - CD
This is a Danish trio with members from GORILLA ANGREB and NOCROMANTIX. But LOCATORS dosn't play either punk rock or punk-a-billy - this is good old garage rock instead.
It's a little lame though, as most songs are mid-tempo. There should've been a couple of faster songs where they go nuts like THE SONICS did. That would've been great.
It's also pretty predictable, as you know already after 3-4 songs where it's going, and there's no suprises at all.
But this is good stuff though, but not exactly a classic that people will hunt for on eBay in a couple of years.
....and if somebody have any MP3's with GORILLA ANGREB, please send them to me! I had a really good EP on my last computer, who sadly crashed.
myspace.com/locators
2010-05-02 11:05:51
TREVOLT: I All Hast - CD
A southern Swedish band that reminds me a lot of BAD RELIGION, and there's also a touch of Swedish trallpunk. But just as I thought when I was listening to BAD RELIGION in the '90s, there's not that much variation between the songs. So 17 tracks are a few too many, even if it's a damned good album.
Fans of BAD RELIGION, trallpunk and melodic punk rock in general should love this CD. I really like it anyway! But maybe I should add that they sing in a southern Swedish dialect called Skånska (if anybody has anything against that).
I look forward to hear more of this band!
myspace.com/trevoltpunk
2010-05-04 16:02:45
Steve Hackett: Out Of The Tunnel's Mouth - CD
Oh please, what is this? Some dude who's been in GENESIS with a new solo album that suck old man's cock!
Seriously, how the hell did this end up on a metal label? Not that I'm totally blocked for other genres than metal and punk, but it has to be good to be intresting, and this isn't intresting at all according to my opinion! This dude is definetely done! ....at least in the world of rock, 'cus this is absolutely
NOT a rock album!
Might be intresting for GENESIS fans (like the Karl-Bertil Jonsson look-a-like at Lilla Krogen), but as you've figured out already, I don't belong to that category.
insideout.de
2010-05-04 16:05:09
UNITOPIA: Artificial - CD
After so many records that suck, I thought that now something good must come at last, but it doesn't look too bright here either.. Some kind of laid back melodic and progressive rock, and as you might know already, that's not exactly my favorite genre. All ain't shit that is progressive though, but this really bores me! I gave up already after 6 tracks.
insideout.de
2010-05-04 16:07:13
VAPORIZER: Straight Edge Bullshit - Demo
A raw punk rock band from Borås, Sweden (the city with the most stupid people) who seems to have something against straight edgers (people who dosen't drink alcohol). No wonder when there's members from VECKANS KLUBBA, GATANS LAG and KÖRSBÄRSFETTERA - who all sing about drinking. It's 3 damned good bands though, and if we put them in a blender we get a tasteful drink called VAPORIZER. But we also get some perfect music for this summer's barbecue, beach and park parties.
Well, it might not be totally perfect.. It's good as long as the woman is singing, but then there's this macho man who have to shout here and there, and that disturbs me. Just becuse of that I would go as far as calling this macho punk as a matter of fact. But it's definetely worth checking out, that's for sure!
myspace.com/vaporizerband
2010-05-04 16:10:50
VON BØØM: Punkrock Terrorists - CD
I think I heared this Swedish punk band for the first time on some Really Fast compilation or the Varning För Punk!!! compilation sometime in the '90s. But VON BØØM started in 1984 already, and split up in 1989. In 1995 a new line up was formed and a demo was made, but it wasn't until the summer of 2004 that the band was back for real.
I can't say that I've paid that much attention to them through the years. I had their split with MOTÖRBREATH on my old computer (who crashed as you might know), which had a couple of good songs here and there.
Their music is labeled as crust punk, but I would prefer to call it street punk/hardcore instead. 'Cus to me it's like a mixture of old-school hardcore/punk, Oi! and British punk.
There's plenty of good songs on this album, and it's good variation on the material too, so they definetely get the thumbs up from me.
myspace.com/ekeby
2010-05-08 13:43:57
BLOOD OF KINGU: Sun In The House Of The Scorpion - CD
What kind of shit is this? They just mangle on the same chords all the time and make a hell of a noise. Not the most entertaining black metal I've heared (not that I think they're here to entertain, but anyway..).
Not for me, thanks!
myspace.com/bloodofkinguband
2010-05-08 13:46:09
KIVIMETSÄN DRUIDI: Betrayal, Justice, Revenge - CD
These damned piano intros! What are they good for? Nothing!
What this Finnish gang is doing is some kind of extreme metal mixed up with opera vocals here and there. There's also a medieval touch to the mixture. And I guess it works in most cases, as most of their material is really good stuff. "Seawitch And The Sorcerer" is the best track on this album.
Yeah, I would recomend you to check this out, no hesitation about that.
kivimetsandruidi.com
2010-05-08 13:47:51
MAN.MACHINE.INDUSTRY: White Trash Devil In A Jesus Christ Pose - CD
A full-lenght with these Swedish industrial metallers wasn't exactly something I looked forward to after hearing their single "The Hunt", but I guess it works after all, 'cus it's more like Marilyn Manson than MINISTRY. They actually aim at making real songs, and not just a hell of a noise, like many other industrial bands seems to do.
Their version of IRON MAIDEN's "Running Free" is a bit funny and very different from the original, and definetely not something I expected from an industrial band. But it just show that they got good taste.
This machine should have all chances to succeed in the world of industrial metal, so if that's what you're into, check them out at once before everybody else does.
myspace.com/manmachineindustry
2010-05-09 16:47:39
NEVERMORE: The Obsidian Conspiracy - CD
Some kind of progressive metal I suppose?, but pretty hard/heavy and not as nerdy as progressive rock bands use to be. After all, this is metal. I've read about this Seattle quartet here and there, but I've never heared them before. Which might sound odd to some people, as they've been around already since 1991 and released 6 full-lenghts before this album. But hey, you just can't pay attention to every band on this planet.
The first 4-5 times I heared this album I thought it was pretty boring, but suddenly I found out that it wasen't so bad after all - "That song is pretty good, and that song isen't so bad either" - kind of.. After hearing it some more I found out that at least half of the album is good, maybe even more. So I guess I can recomend you to get this album, but if you're not already a fan, you might have to give it a couple of chances before you decide if it's good or bad. Unfortunately you'll have to wait a couple of weeks, as it's not released in Europe until
May 31 (probably later in North America).
nevermore.tv
2010-05-09 16:50:43
HEAVEN SHALL BURN: Invictus - CD
As I said before: These damned piano intros! What are they good for? Nothing! Piano and violin are
NOT metal at all! Of the records I got to review lately, this must be the third with a piano intro. No wonder that I'm getting tired of it!
But after that little torture they start to rock, or rather thrash, 'cus it's thrash metal we get from this band. They actually reminds me a little of ARCH ENEMY, so some people will probebly call it extereme metal....but who cares? Same thing more or less. HEAVEN SHALL BURN are really good, but they doesn't seems to have the same hit potential (if we can speak in those terms here) as I think ARCH ENEMY have. Doesn't really matter as it's a must-have for true thrashers!
"Given In Death" is a little different from the other songs. Nice with some female vocals there too.
myspace.com/officialheavenshallburn
2010-05-09 17:00:40
BANAL ANAL: Simpel Illusion - Download
So, Swedish punk band BANAL ANAL is back with just 1 original member and 2 former members of ABNORM (where I sang, hehe). What we get is 2 new tracks and 2 old tracks, and it sound like in the old days - hard punk. It's only the first track, "Simpel Illusion", that's a little different from the others.
The songs are pretty long for being punk songs, 2.30-3 minutes. I wonder what Marko (guitar) and Bergman (drums) think about that? They used to complain a lot when a song with ABNORM was longer than 30 seconds, hahaha!
Good stuff indeed! These songs and all previous releases are available for free download, so what are you waiting for?
banal-anal.hemsida24.se
2010-05-09 17:02:16
BROKEN BONES: Fuck You And All That You Stand For! - CD
Isn't the title of this album pretty childish for coming from middle-aged men? This band has been around for a long time now, and is probably most well-known for having DISCHARGE guitarist Bones in the line up, but I've actually never heared them before, and this is their ninth studio album.
It sound a lot like DISCHARGE, VARUKERS and similar hardcore/punk bands, so there's nothing new. But good old stuff can also be good, and this ain't so bad at all. I like it!
Definetely worth checking out if you're a fan of DISCHARGE and VARUKERS. But unfortunately you'll have to wait to June 7 before it's released in Europe, and if you happens to live in North America you'll have to wait 'til July 13 before it's released.
myspace.com/brokenbonesukhc
2010-05-29 15:49:26
CIRCLE OF DEAD CHILDREN: Psalms Of The Grand Destroyer - CD
Heavy beginning, but after a while they finally start to grind. They deliver 15 tracks, and most of the songs are around 1-2 minutes, so it works with so many songs (for a change). But there's both longer and shorter songs, so it's not just pedal to the metal and a hell of a noise all the time, which is good.
I've had this for a while now and can't really figure out if I like it or not, and can't come up with that much else to write about this CD, so I guess.... Well, check it out yourself if you're into grind. You'll probebly love it to death!
By the way.. How about a title like "When Human Compost Stains all Earth and Repels the Messengers of Love"? The longiest grind title of the year?
candlelightrecords.co.uk
2010-05-30 17:30:07
CANOBLISS: Man Is The Enemy - CD
Just like I wrote last time, this reminds me of SYSTEM OF A DOWN, even though they have their own things baked in. Unfortunately they're not as good as SYSTEM OF A DOWN, but it might be worth to check out CANOBLISS anyway, 'cus they're not bad at all. The first times you might just hear 2-3 good songs, but after a while there's plenty of good songs on this album - like "Hit The Floor", "Comatose", "No Angel", "Tools Of The Trade" and "Earth A.D.D." for exemple.
This San Diego, CA based band should have all chances to succeed, 'cus they really know how to play this kind of stuff (they've been aroud since 1997 already). But the question is if it actually will happen..
Give it a try!
canobliss.com
2010-05-30 17:33:19
MERIS: Abandon All - CD
This must be the band with the most luxurious promo pack! They even translated the letter into Swedish with some program - HaHaHa! It was a couple of years since I got the last recording with this San Francisco band, but now they're back with a full-lenght.
It's some kind of heavy, modern metal, but they must have developed a bit since last time I heared them, 'cus then I was ready to hear some more, but now I'm not that impressed. The funny thing is that I can't really point out what's wrong. It's just not that intresting, that's all. They really seems to try though, and that's always something, but not enough.
It works as background music, but definetely not at a party. So, cocking: O.k. - Beer drinking: No!
By the way, is it really so clever to not have either the name of the band or the title on the front cover?
merisband.com
2010-05-30 17:35:50
THE BRISTLES: Reflections Of The Bourgeois Society - CD
An old Swedish Oi!/punk band from the '80s that reunited a couple of years ago, and their old stuff was honestly not that interesting to me, even though it didn't suck. Now on the other hand they seems to be more angry and they play faster, and they're much more interesting nowadays.
I wouldn't go as far as calling this album a classic, becuse it's definetely not, but it's a really good album and worth checking out at least. But who came up with the idea that somebody should talk Skånska (a southern Swedish dialect) in the last song? Not the best idea when all lyrics are in English.
myspace.com/bristlesofficial
2010-06-10 19:10:41
ANGELUS APATRIDA: Clockwork - CD
Damned good thrash metal that reminds me of early MEGADETH and ANTHRAX, so old-school thrash metal mixed with NWOBHM is what we get on the menu then. The last song is a IRON MAIDEN cover - "Be Quick Or Be Dead".
This band is from Spain and has been around since 2000. So far they've released 2 albums by themselves - "Evil Unleashed" (2006) and "Give 'em War" (2007).
"Clockwork" will be released in Europe on June 21 and internationally on June 22. The album will be followed by shows in Spain and a European tour with SKELETONWITCH and WARBRINGER in August/September.
Worth checking out!
angelusapatrida.com
2010-06-10 19:14:30
WITCHERY: Witchkrieg - CD
This Swedish group has been around since 1997 already, and have an all-star lineup that consist of Legion (ex-MARDUK, DEVIAN) on vocals, Patrick Jensen (THE HAUNTED) on guitar, Rickard Rimfält (SÉANCE) on guitar, Sharlee D'Angelo (ARCH ENEMY, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS) on bass and Martin Axe (OPETH, BLOODBATH) on drums. And just if that wasn't enough, among the guests on this album are Hank Sherman (MERCYFUL FATE, FORCE OF EVIL), Gary
Holt and Lee Altus from KREATOR, Andy LaRocque (KING DIAMOND) and Jim Durkin (DARK ANGEL).
This is their fifth album, and the first album with Legion on vocals. In the bottom it's heavy thrash metal, but there's also elements of death-, black- and even heavy metal. And this is really good stuff, so it's of course worth to get!
European release date: June 21, International release date: June 22
myspace.com/witcherytheband
2010-06-10 19:16:30
SONS OF LIBERTY: Brush-Fires of The Mind - CD
I expected some kind of extreme metal, but what do I get? Some political, heavy metal that reminds me of QUEENSRŸCHE and ICED EARTH. Well, I guess that works too, even though it's not exactly "Operation: Mindcrime" quality. This is actually Jan Schaffer's (ICED EARTH) new band, so then all pieces fall to 1 place. The press release states that: "Schaffer's goal for this project is not to sell records, t-shirts, and concert tickets, but rather to use the historically-relevant band name and resource website www.sons-of-liberty.net for the purpose of spreading awareness about the current state of affairs worldwide." He is obviously trying to make a statement here, and this album has been available for free download for some time now, but the question is if anybody care or if they just will listen to the music?
It's a really good album though, so I would really recomend you to listen to this. And if you would happens to be more aware about things, good!
EU release date: July 12.
sons-of-liberty.net
2010-06-10 19:20:26
INSIDIOUS DISEASE: Shadowcast - CD
Old-school death metal with a line up that consist of Silenoz (DIMMU BORGIR), Jardar (OLD MAN'S CHILD), Tony Laureano (ANGELCORPSE, NILE), Shane Embury (NAPALM DEATH, BRUJERIA, LOCK UP) and Marc Grewe (MORGOTH). They've been around since 2004 already, but it's not 'til now that their debut album comes out (on July 12 in Europe).
This is definetely something you should check out! It's not like they discover the wheel again, you've heard it all before, but that's the way I want it at least. Do I have to say anymore?
myspace.com/insidiousdisease
2010-06-12 15:08:08
ANACRUSIS: Hindsight - 2-CD
This consist of ANACRUSIS' 2 first albums - "Suffering Hour" and "Reason" - re-recorded. 22 thrash metal songs. Talk about thrash metal overdose!
Unfortunately I don't have any information about this band, so I don't have a clue when these 2 albums was originally recorded. It seems like this is a self-released product anyway.
This sounds like really good stuff, but when there's 22 songs it's way too much at one time for me.
puresteel-records.com
2010-06-12 15:10:29
METALLY INSANE: Rock Until We Fall - 7" Single
A heavy metal project with Chrisafis Tantanozis, drummer in the power metal band CRYSTAL TEARS. It's released on a limited hand-numbered edition of 525 7" in orange/black splatter vinyl, so I guess you better be fast if you want this.
This is the first release from this project, and it's not a bad song, but it's a little boring that there's 2 versions of the same song, when there should be 2 different songs instead. But maybe next time?
There seems to be several singers, but maybe he's just having different voices? I don't know that much actually, as there's not that much information (Pure Steel Records strikes again), so let's just end this review here..
puresteel-records.com
2010-06-12 15:13:40
SALEM: In The Beginning... - CD
The first thing I notice is that the singer actually is singing and not scream singing, like most others do. This makes it very melodic, like BLUE ÖYSTER CULT. But after a couple of songs his voice gets a little stronger though. It's definetely true New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, no doubt about that!
I suppose that this is some kind of re-release, 'cus it sound like it was recorded in the early '80s, and there's as much as 17 tracks (and you should know by now what I think about that). But I wasn't really sure as Pure Steel Records dosn't seems to be interested in giving us reviewers any informaton about the bands. So I took a look at "Encyclopaedia Metallum - The Metal Archives", and it turns out that there's 9 (!) different bands named SALEM. But there was 2 from UK and 2 from U.S.A., so I figured out that it's probebly 1 of the U.K. acts. Luckily it was the first band I checked, so I didn't have to search for too long. It turns out that this band was formed in Hull, UK in 1980, and they released a couple of demos between 1981-1983. It looks like they have reunited like so many others, but I havn't really figured out if this is a collection of old demos or re-recordings.
It's hard to name any favorites when there's so many songs, but fact is that as far as I know there's no bad songs at all on this CD. So if you're into NWOBHM this is really worth checking out, 'cus this is really good stuff!
Release date: June 25.
salemband.co.uk
2010-06-14 17:58:56
BAIL: A Bolt From The Blue - CD
Heavy rock isn't exactly my kind of summertime blues, but there's a couple of good songs here, that's for sure. I don't listen to stoner rock and southern rock that much though, so it gets a little too boring when it's so heavy. The faster tracks are o.k. though. But I guess that if you're a fan of those genres you might like this stuff.
This trio have been around for a while now and seems to know what they're doing. It might sound like they would be from the States, but they're actually from the Netherlands.
Hm.. I don't know what else to say.. Might fit better in a beer drenched rock bar?
bail.nl
All other reviews from 2010 are unfortunately gone..
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