CDs/LPs - DEMOS - OLD STUFFS - FANZINES - GIGS
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OLD STUFFS:

ACHERON (Australia) Deprived of afterlife Ep'91. CORPSEGRINDER Recs.
Emerging from a forgotten past that was drowning in my wombathorium's most hidden and truculent fields, some good tunes of deadly old obscure brutal death revives and remind me how much Brutal death was cool 10 years ago!
This ACHERON has nothing to do with the American boring "occult" death band, not at all, what we are talking about is the early incarnation of ABRAMELIN who had to transgress from Acheron because of their American homonym.
The music had encrypted all the underground elements I enjoy in real Brutal death: the riffs were quite simple but heavy, right to the point, and catchy. The band wasn't too technical and staid focused on writing good tracks being a nice melting pot between fast parts, old school death, and some cool doomy melodies. Some mistakes and approximations were there, but mostly for the execution of tracks.
ACHERON then remind me of early EXHUMED's fast beats, death metal patterns and heavier moments (Sounds very similar to the killer split with HEMDALE!). They also had obscure melodies and brutal guitar pukes à la old IMMOLATION (1st album) as well as old school guitars à la DEATH/ MORGOTH, while few mid placed patterns could sound like old NAPALM DEATH or eventually old MORTICIAN.
Some other unholy iniquities from the past could have been a part of this deadly melting of obscure energies: ADRAMELECH, DEMILICH, ROTTREVORE (For the doom!). The dead brutally revives! Brutal fucking crushing death metal! With soulful feels of doom and a real sense of brutal morbidity.
Some will complain and say this band has grown old in parts... The answer is simple: if you don't like old school death and old brutal death don't read this zine! There are fairly enough (!!) webzines covering your fave gothobitch and crapcore superstars!
ACHERON wasn't all the beast, but this Ep remains enjoyable and suprisingly efficient in 2004. This good old ACHERON has many pussybilities to please and kick the heavy ass of the old EXHUMED/ old IMMOLATION fans who never say no when an horny beer rings at their padded door.
http://abramelin.live.com.au

AGONY (Swe) The first defiance LP'88 UNDER ONE FLAG.
There are some albums you discover several years after their release, and few listenings are enough to feel there was some potential! And it's the case with this AGONY LP which seems to have somekind of a small cult status in the Underground! AGONY played a fine Thrash metal that was mostly fast and thrashing! (Ah, it's needed for thrash metal) but with few melodic touches. Their tracks and riffs were thought in a cool enough way that remains entertaining nowadays. Nothing original here, but it was packaged with enough aggression and some classy melodic touches! Their thrash metal that tends to good old speed metal reminds me the first years of EXODUS! METALLICA! And there's even some good old MEGADETH hidden in some tracks! Some riffs and vocals really sound like EXODUS on "Bonded by blood"! Ah, the most melodic riffs I was talking about before, but also some more Heavy metal influences on riffs or few riffs and leading melodic riffs remind me a bit of good old IRON MAIDEN! And a mix of old MERCYFUL FATE/ KING DIAMOND! I also want to say I hear similarities with the first PESTILENCE years ("Malleus maleficarum", but not the following...) for some Thrashing riffs and harmonized guitars.
Those who enjoyed CARCASS' "Heartwork" album, and especially the track "Buried dreams" might have a little surprise while listening to the 8th track of this LP.
"The first defiance" was a fine Thrashing metal LP full of cool riffs and more than decent musicians! The metal heads who still spend hours listening to great albums such as "bonded by blood", "Ride the lightning" or "Darkness descends" may find here a cool piece of vinyl to add in their playlist! Especially if the burning energy of metal is still flowing in their quarters!

ALTAR (Hol) Youth against christ CD'94 DISPLEASED.
I got in touch with ALTAR's music in 1995 through reviews, searching for another super Death metal band... the style was in a decline epoch at this time while metal was buried by Power metal, Machine Head/ Pantera and alikes... But no, ALTAR wasn't a super Death Metal band! Mostly cool or Ok stuffs but nothing really great.
Their style was Brutal death metal with SINISTER touches (less technical) or thrashing SEPULTURA influences ("Beneath the remains") overall.
Something didn't sound very right in the blasting drums that were too fast... and I think it was too much rigid and mechanical.
Some tracks' structures could have amplified the aggression of some nice parts while it only slower the intensity of the thing. Some half shorter tracks with the same riffs would have been ways more impressiveness!
To conclude, they had some nice ideas, but all wasn't very good. It seems to me they were signed too early even if they sound professional!
http://www.displeasedrecords.com

ANGUISH (Fin) Ground absorbs Ep'91 OBSCURE PLASMA Recs.
Panic, anguish, the livid ground takes over your body and mind! Hallucinations! Uncontrolled resurgence of self inflicted hatred! Morbid schizoprenic immolation! The process of self-suffocation has just begun.
This old ANGUISH Ep wasn't fuckin' A class. 2nd Zone Death metal, but I've found in here some cool stuffs worth the bloody review! This was Death thrashing metal with a bunch of heavy and mid placed riffings, plus or corpse some punch beats the old Death metal way! On the level of riffs' obscurity, I remind the CADAVER's 1st LP "Hallucinations", as well as some old CANCER's morbid tunes! There's some very old SEPULTURA in here! Nothing really mortuary ground opening, but the tracks were constructed in a cool way, and the drummer did some cool stuffs!
Some Heavy riffs sounded like the good old times of totally Death metallic DEATH and OBITUARY! The most thrashy parts could remind of KREATOR when these Germans bastards were still young and enthusiastic as fukk! (Now scream "Pleasure to kill"! "Pestilence"! and "Under the guillotine"!!).
So, that was a quite nice Ep. It can be cool for old school maniac bastards, but nothing was really great and it was somewhat to "clean" to awake some real old school Death metal nostalgic anger!

 Nathaniel.           

AT THE GATES (Swe) With fear I kiss the burning darkness CD’93 PEACEVILLE.
I've never been a fan of AT THE GATES! Even if their last album "Slaughter if the soul" offered some music that was more direct and efficient sounding, it always lacked some really deep ideas and crushing emotions. On this album that dates back to 1993, I could say the music of the band was more experimental.
Their style was somekind of techno Death/ Black metal with few thrash touches. There are a lot of breaks, and some riffs and melodies were thought in a different way than the usual bands of this time.
Unfortunately, it was thought with the head only, it doesn't result from inner agglomerations of deep dehumanized thoughts that explode in total Death metal excellence, when some inspired bands expurge their feasting on blood through obscurius creations.
There are still some classical punching beats, double bass drums, some breaks (less for the style) could remind of DEATH's "Individual thought patterns" and some more jazzy touches (especially on drums' beats) can remind you of ATHEIST. On a bloody matter of riffs, I could quote some quite melodic ones mixing some melodic tremolos of DEATH, some Black metal induced melodies (with two guitars harmonizing the stereo spectrum) and some more classical Death metal riffings. There are a few blast beats thought.
The whole was very complex and mat be interesting for this reason (especially for musicians), but I don't enjoy 95% of it was it's only notes and notes and complexity without real inspirations and emotions.
Anyway, there are two tracks that quote my attention bound in the blizzard beast! It sounded a bit more catchy and a smaller will of demonstration in riffs would have made of these two ones some all the long pretty nice ones!
Now I've said everything, my mind is empty and my guts are speechless, it's time for a super lame conclusion! Ah Ah...
AT THE GATES was so a quite original band that have marked some guys, but something really special lacked on the two or three albums I heard of their beginnings. If you're a big fan of Techno death, you may try it, this isn't the same style but the structures may turn on darkness your metallic brain.
Later on, the band split up and some members joined THE HAUNTED for simple quite direct Death/ Thrash metal purposes...
http://www.zenial.nl/html/atthegat.htm

ATHEIST (Usa) Piece of time CD’90 Active records.
From the noisy and blurry beginnings of a little band named RAVAGE, here comes a band that has the most contributed to establish a real musical credibility for Death metal, a music that was very much denied by the whole of the metallers before. Being hyper precise, technically beyond reproach, even when it's (very) fast, ATHEIST crucifies at once the big crowd of followers and creates some new standards for the scene of Florida.
Leaving a good part to the epileptic leads or to a particulary twirling rythmic section, "Piece of time" introduces ATHEIST to the level of the very vey big names of Death metal, and this without sacrifying anything from the Brutality of Floridian Death metal.
No need to hold forth, it kills a lot! Essential!
http://www.atheist-music.com

Pierre                 

ATROCITY (Ger) Blue blood Ep'89 NUCLEAR BLAST.
Uh… The hardcore punk looking cover wouldn’t help a maniac collector of Death to detect this Ep in a second hand market ! But the music of the German techno Death heads had nothing hardcore, it was ever quite technical and techno Death thrash like with many breaks and experimental stuffs, as well as enigmatic and bizarre riffs.
Some blasts were here also. Even if I’m not a fan of this style, that lacked of real energy! I can say this Ep was less efficient than their first album while it was less fast and complexly articulated. And there were many bizarre parts and average stuffs… « Hallucinations » was better as it was Ok! This Ep is in the same lines than the first LP, but they spent too much time on average or hesitating parts, there were less quite surprising breaks and their tracks’ structures were improved later in their original sense of demise. That could be heard they were still a young band!
This is an Ep that will become decorative in my collection, nothing worth a real intense listening (and it has grown old). Only a quite nice one for very big curious nostalgics, or insane 90’s Death metal maniac collectors who must own everythings from this epoch!
http://www.atrocity.de

ATROCITY (GER) Hallucinations CD'90 MASSACRE
This band was really bizarre and uncommon. They offered us a piece of Techno death with lots of brutal death metallized riffs.
Some nonsense bizarre complex calculated sounding breaks are mind loosing if you’re not concentrated on their stuff. Free jazz influences are obvious but it’s melted in some brutallized distorted riffs and as it’s also mixed with some technical vicious ripping moments and more classical old school death metal riffs, it’s doesn’t sounds unpleasant.
There are some pure blasting moments of brutality with memorable sounding riffs,  so it remains listenable for non technodeath specialized brutaller.
By moments if reminded of old MORBID ANGEL (« Altars of madness » and « Blessed are the sick ») for some grinding moments, slow heavy vicious sounds and hellish riffs; there are very small touches of old school doomy death metal (AUTOPSY and OBITUARY), and a few induced influences old ATHEIST. MASTER could also be quoted for the raw energized old shcool riffs (and for the vocals on the 4 live bonus tracks on the CD). But most of it is brutal/ technical influenced.
The GIGER cover fits well their bizarre stuff.
This is not a CD I’m fond of but they tried to be original at their time and I respect them for that.

ATROCITY (Ger) Blut CD'94.
ATROCITY's style has always been complex, original and bizarre! (In their Death metal years to be right). On this album released in a time when Death metal was week in terms of big releases, their style was different. They were here ways less complex than on their previous ones as the music on this CD was almost mid placed all the time! It was somekind of mid placed Death metal meets heavy Thrashcore, power metal and heavy thrash riffings. But there's always a good amount of bizarre breaks! As you can see it's quite varied but the whole remains always dark tuned and heavy.
There's a nice little obscure mood on this album, and some bizarre melodies that were based on discordances for a part of it were nice. Some riffs in here are in a kind of modern heavy Death metal.
Nice blasting chorus on "I'm in darkness", this is the only fast track if I remember well, it's more in their previous style.
Some quite catchy riffs are bound between more technical and differently thought/ simple power metal, thrashcore riffings. There's nothing exceptional here. Notice a few acoustic tracks that makes me think about some medieval themes or some obscure nights' acoustic sessions of the forgotten. The whole concept of this album was based on the Count Vlad Dracula or on some obscure medieval histories.
To be honest I discovered ATROCITY with this CD and I was surprised when I heard their previous recordings! This isn't their most interesting album, but there are some nice parts. I remember I was quite stuck into this one a few years ago, while I was in a quite obscure and bizarre trip! If you feel obscure, bizarre sterile and cogitates about the inner schemes of human behavior, it may fit to your head!
Well, this isn't an excellent album, but they tried to be original in another way and it was rather cool!
http://www.atrocity.de

ATROCITY (USA) Infected/ The art of death LP’91- CD’01 POWERAGE/ PLASTIC AGE D.
These are the two first CDs of a ’91 band not to be confused with german techno Death Metallers now evolving in totally different musical landscapes.
1st LP : The band sounds a lot like old grinding REPULSION (USA) on their « Horrified » LP for the raw guitar sound, the riffs, the vocals and some leads holocaust epileptic crisis. ( + The lyrics are totally in the same tonality). This is mostly Grinding Death with punk influences and it must have been a good underground and really extreme release at the time. Due to the different quality of the recordings, it seems there had been more than two recording sessions.
On the 2nd LP, some tracks are really more intense, ATROCITY sounds totally like REPULSION and are still valid and crushing nowadays.
They sound also like old NAPALM DEATH ( «  F.E.T.O » , « Mentally murdered » EP), INCUBUS (« Serpent temptation ») for some grinding parts but also old S.O.B ( « What’s the truth » LP, split EP with NAPALM DEATH).
A cover of the band is printed on the little mirror and it’s quite cool as it represents a gory/ « Butchered at birth » version of the « Ying and the yang », while the CD playing you’ll be able to see the two butchered and rotten babies melting in one and drinking each other’s vomit.
It was a cool band for its time, but unfortunately their stuff has grown old!

AUTOPSY (Usa) Fiend for blood Ep'92 PEACEVILLE.
Steve Di Gorgio is back, and Autopsy strikes a come back to the style of its first album, but it's not really passionating for this reason! The hostilities begins with an almost Grind track of an only 30 seconds length. The doom parts are still here, but it's not anymore to the basis of the tracks, so one doesn't feel as much the need to sleep. Anyway, "Fiend for blood" is only a pale copy of "Severed survival", and there's not much to say about this Ep except this: if you're searching for releases that reminds you why there's the word "Death" into Death metal, then you'll hardly find something better, if it's not the first GRAVE Lp. But I wouldn't cross the path of saying "Fiend for blood" is a good release. For playing it a bit from time to time, why not...
http://www.zenial.nl/html/autopsy.htm 

Pierre        

BENEDICTION (Uk) Dark is the season MCD'92 Nuclear blast.
Premier E.P du groupe, qui succède à The grand leveller, un album dont il suffira de rappeler qu’il est lui aussi absolument minable. Dark is the season, bien que guère plus enthousiasmant que ses prédécesseurs, est cependant supportable. Le groupe donne toujours dans le death metal originel, qu’il a enrichi d’une petite pointe de mélodie qui donne souvent, le chant y étant pour beaucoup, l’impression d’avoir affaire à une version cheap de Bolt thrower ou des débuts du doom anglais. Pas étonnant en tout cas que Dave Ingram ait fini chez eux. Et comme vous avez surement peu de temps à perdre et moi aussi, tout ce qu’il y a à savoir de Dark is the season tiens en ceci : vous l’écouterez deux fois à tout brûler avant d’aller le revendre.  Le seul avantage de ce E.P sur les deux premiers albums, c’est que le supplice prend fin plus vite.

Pierre             

BENEDICTION (Uk) Transcend the rubicon CD'93 Nuclear blast.
Troisième album pour le groupe de death anglais le plus pathétique que le monde ait connu avec Confessor. Mais aussi incroyable que cela puisse paraître, Trancend the rubicon n’est pas un album particulièrement mauvais. Certes on sera bien en peine d’y trouver un morceau vraiment génial, mais on ne nage plus dans le ridicule le plus total. Benediction n’a pourtant pas fait évoluer sa formule, mais Transcend the rubicon est tout simplement mieux fait, et si l’album fini vite par saouler, le début (les deux premiers titres surtout) se laisse écouter sans sourciller. Et puis la vie reprend ses droits et l’on se rappelle qu’il y a beaucoup mieux que ça à écouter. Mais on aurait pu trouver pire manière de gaspiller son temps.

    Pierre         

BENEDICTION (Uk) The dreams you dread CD'95 Nuclear blast.
Désespérant. Ce groupe est tout bonnement désespérant. Après un album correct et un E.P anecdotique (The grotesque) mais dont le morceau titre était excellent, Benediction trouve le moyen de retomber dans le mauvais death anglais de pacotille. La musique est toujours incroyablement convenue, les vocaux rappellent toujours le Napalm death des mauvais jours, et on a peine à supporter un morceau jusqu’au bout. Benediction a visiblement essayé d’évoluer vers un son plus “moderne ”, en misant plus sur le mid tempo, mais ralentir la cadence ne suffit pas à acquérir la puissance, surtout avec un chanteur aussi mauvais. Résultat des courses, la seule chose qu’on attend de The dreams you dread, c’est qu’il se termine, et seuls les morceaux les plus rapides, où la nullité des riffs saute moins aux yeux, demeurent raisonnablement audibles. Surproduction, surproduction…

Pierre         

BESTIAL WARLUST (Australia) Vengeance war till death CD’94. MODERN INVASION Recs.
It would be too easy to begin this review with some bestial words to invoke the war spirits from the hellish depths, and so many “black death” zines vomit their bile a bestial way that I’ll try no to drift too deep in pure klok fukking bestiality and carnal flesh lapidations.
I noticed a lot of bands claim to play “war metal”, black death metal and affiliates, but few finally achieve to have the same feeling of red-eyes bestiality, blood-filled battle and burning revenge; This first album contains a really hot and simply bestial atmosphere!
I always had problems to decide if these Australian were Death or black metal, at the time it was very different from both styles, the first was globally into the American or European genres, the second already got infected by Norway crap… Maybe they simply took influences from different earliest sources of the styles…
There was something occult inside, a stagnancy between space and time in the riffing that helped to turn your mind towards the imagination phase. The quite “deaf” and full of echo guitar sound brought a bit more of this “occult” thing, when the whole “chaotic” yet quite heavy production didn’t make it sound like ugly barbarians in the middle of a battle camp. I remember some peoples thought it was noise at the time, but it was probably due to this deep underground production, almost all-the-way blasts and chaotic leads that appeared like in the middle of nowhere and made it more fukked.
Well, many current bands fail at this point, because trying to make the most noise often doesn’t create the same atmosphere (When it creates ones)… BESTIAL WARLUST always had riffs, including epic and quite catchy ones that evoked a terrible fall into an atrocious war or some moments of pure revengeful craziness.
I didn’t speak about the vocals that sounded quite personal, for the time, not grunted neither screamed, it was at the middle of both; I always wondered if some weren’t sucked (With the impure air to go in the inside of the throat), it sometimes sounded like a terrific ghoul or some bestial phantomatic ghost, when it didn’t sound exactly like a fucked up beast.
The sixth song in particular (“Holocaust wolves of the apocalypse”) had a different style, since the riffing was really close to the fukked up and mental-illness-loving genre of SADISTIK EXEKUTION, maybe not as complexly structured, but the same mental disease is here! It’s the only song they had in the SAD-EX genre as far as I know.
The best songs in my opinion are the first couples, as the intensity and feeling is stronger and deeper. The following ones are still cool, but globally seem to be one or two scales under and sometimes contain more regular riffs.
Later on, the band did another good album, it was a bit different because of a better production and some thrash influences, but globally it was the same.
They also featured an exclusive song on the “Headbangers against disco” Ep compilations, but I was less impressed.
And then they split up; Went to form other acts and play in this or that band, but none pushed me to care, at least at the same point. Rumors of reformation circulated, but nothing apparently occurred.

BEYOND POSSESSION (Can) Is beyond possession Lp'86. ROADRUNNER.
I ordered this Lp in a second hand music market. The cover and back cover drawings looking strange and quite rotten, I imagined some kind of necro early Death metal, or even some drunk HELLHAMMER alike stuffs... Wrong!
What BEYOND POSSESSION played was some kind of crossover, with some thrashy songs almost tending to sound like some US Thrash metal. It could eventually remind of very early SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, some POISON IDEA or a zest of old NUCLEAR ASSAULT...
The music was quite well built, with a bunch of well-placed variations. For the time, I must say it was neat sounding complex structures! There were few blast beats. It sounds quite fresh and not dried out, even if on matters of heaviness, power and aggression they're far behind today's standards... This style seemed to be called "Skatecore". Notice the bass guitar had a clear and quite 'metallic' sound.
Nothing catchy or really emotional I would remember inside, but even if it was a strange surprise, the music in itself isn't bad. For a 1986 release it even sounds quite energetic.

BLOODFEAST (Usa) Face fate EP'87. NEW RENAISSANCE.
Here's where a part of the CANNIBAL CORPSE's style on their first LP entitled "Eaten back to life" comes from! Yes. You understand right! The death thrash metal Cannibal created during their very first years of existence weren't very personal (even if it was efficient! Ah!) And I can bet on the fact BLOODFEAST would have had a good place on the Death thrashing throne of this time if a release such as the "Face fate" MLP were better promoted!
This was fast fuck thrashing death metal with a bunch of energy and punching beats! This reminds me the thrashing aggression of POSSESSED, old DARK ANGEL, NECROPHAGIA with fucking hellish screams or leads! (And maybe some ASSASSIN or DARKNESS). BLOODFEAST had the typically heavy splattering riffs that made Cannibal Corpse famous, but most of the bloodfeasting stuffs were fast, with some real casket crushing riffs! Their vocals weren't guttural, but rather harsh, thrashing and screamy. (From hell!!)
Check a track like "Blood lust"! If you aren't thrilled you can forget Death, Thrash and everything metal since it has the balls!
BLOODFEAST was a very good band that had a good place in one of the first killer underground Death thrashing wave! "Face fate" is a hard to find MLP, and according to what I listened to it's one of their best stuffs! So move your fucking arse and search for this good piece of aggression! Instead of waiting for the next crappy "Make-up-flat-ass" Black or death metal release. HAILZ BLOODFEAST!
http://www.drinktheblood.com

BROKEN HOPE (Usa) Swamped in gore CD'91 GRINDCORE INTERNATIONAL.
Hell!
I've been waiting for years to be able to listen to this one! And finally I uploaded it on Win Mx! And I'm quite surprised as it's different from their other releases! More simple and Brutal!
The 1st track "Incinerated" begins with a TERRORIZER like riffs, then follows some splatter Death metal à la CANNIBAL CORPSE "Eaten back to life", to morbidly evolve in some heavier Death metal à la old OBITUARY.
The second track "Swamped in gore" is very much into the primal OBITUARY's "Slowly we rot" style both for the riffs, the drums and the way the vocals are placed (it's grunts, not screams like Tardy).
The remaining of the album follows the same old Death metal vein à la old OBITUARY, with touches of old DEATH.
A good amount of it is mid placed, there are not so many blasting moments.
In my opinion it must have been a fucking cool album at the time, but I think some tracks sound old or too long nowadays. It can be a nice listening to see the evolution of the band or to fill some holes in your metal knowledge. And all the more it was released in an epoch when a lot of excellent and style determining stuffs were released, it can be cool to have a better view of the whole Death metal aura of this time!

CANCER (UK) To the gory end CD'91 RESTLESS.
CANCER was a basic Death metal band strongly influenced by DEATH « Leprozy » for some of the riffing in tremolo, the way some crust like drumbeats are applied on a tremolo riff and of course for leads. But there are also DEATH influences nearer of the « Spiritual healing » album for a few small arrangements, and a little touch in the vocals. This is in the old Death meta lstyle of this time, I mean a bunch of bands played it back then, more or less trying to copy the Masters of Brutality! But CANCER were more decent than a bunch of other 'trendy' bands.
Some very old MORGOTH (1st MLP) could also be found for some riffs , more arrangements, the way leads sound and are placed on a riff.  Some  disgusted and denying life vokills had a litle something do to with the 2nd MLP of the old German obscure Death godz (R.I.P) , there’s also some SEPULTURA’s « beneath the remains » for the most thrashing and heavy parts that are supposed to be played with the fucking guts, but also for some guitar arpeggios used for intros with background saturated guitars. Vocals could also remind a bit the old swedish thrashers MERCILESS.
It was an Ok album but nothing really exceptional. For the fans of the bands mentionned above: old DEATH meets MORGOTH first epoch with thrashin’ heavy parts à la real SEPULTURA. Big fans of old DEATH who are searching for old stuffs in that vein may find some nice stuffs in the old CANCER back-catalogue!

CARNAGE (SWE) Dark recollections CD.
I was strongly into this one when I was totally burnt into Death Metal and it’s quite cool the album is rereleased as I’ve never had the possibility to find it ( better late than never).
The album has gone a bit old with time ( it’s not the 1st ENTOMBED «  Left hand path » that still crushes : great sound + music full of energy, la PATATE !) but it’s still good! Old school Death metal with an obscure feeling of Death! Some punching and crusty riffs and some fucking killer riff that will impale you on the Altar of Death if you're at least a bit into the old school!
Most of the guys of the band has played in DISMEMBER later on and it’s more or less the same kind of ruling old school Death Metal, even if I prefer CARNAGE than DISMEMBER (CARNAGE was less Melodic and more obscure than Dismember!)
One of the guys handled the guitar into CARCASS and the SPIRITUAL BEGGARS).
The Dan Sea Grave painting cover is still good! There are also some bonus demo tracks on this rerelease. Still a good one, after all these years! And anyway, CARNAGE sounds better than most of the actual Old school Death metal bands who try to go back in the 90's! CARNAGE had the fucking feeling of Death! And the inner will to kill! Fuck and Die!

CATHEDRAL (Uk) Forest of equilibrium CD'91 EARACHE.
Radical change of musical style for Lee Dorian who recorded some months ago the excellent vocals' parts of the NAPALM DEATH's "Mentally murdered" MLP! (As well as some unreleased tracks for a LP that were later released on the "Death by manipulation" Compilation).
In the very early days of CATHEDRAL's stuffs couldn't be found any aggression, Grinding stress, Grindcrust riffings nor hallucinated or Brutal vocals!
The music was a total Doom/ Death tending to depressive sorrow. The vocals were more sung than anything else (sounding like long complains), but it was quite hallucinated.
One point that quote my attention are the lyrics, while Lee Dorian had humanist, realistic, and progressist texts in NAPALM DEATH, his writings in early CATHEDRAL ride the opposite point and tend to masochist, quite decadent topics as well as more imaginary subjects... I'm curious to know what motivated a so big change both in the lyrics and musical style! Was it a 'normal' reaction to an overabuse of rebellion and aggressiveness? Maybe the guy thought it became useless...
But let's comeback to the Doom of CATHEDRAL! This was very slow, Doom, with some nice riffs, but I'm not so fond of it. There are some nice parts, including some that could have been very good with a little something more, but it lacks something definitive that would make it sound like anything else than somekind of demos. Old school and full of dusk cover.
I didn't care that much for their following stuffs, their second Lp was fucking slower and far more doomy (If I remember well), they later started to include groovy 70's influences and stuffs...
This album had some nice parts and it's quite interesting to see the obvious musical evolution of an Ex NAPALM DEATH member! Good For the fans of Napalm!

CEMETARY (Swe) An evil shade of grey CD'92 BLACK MARK.
Before being a melodic Death/ Doom/ Heavy band à la PARADISE LOST (3rd to 5th CD epoch), CEMETARY was a Swedish Death metal output in its very first years!
Their style was very much in the old GRAVE, DISMEMBER, CARNAGE war lines but with more melodies anyway.
There was some nice parts but the whole was very much (too much) in the old Swedish style, I can't avoid thinking about CARNAGE in some mid placed riffings while some punkish Death metal beats and riffs rather reminds me of DISMEMBER. Some more melodic riffs also remind me of what EDGE OF SANITY did on their first CDs, I'm here thinking about their most melodic parts that weren't so metal influenced.
Some tracks could have been better constructed though... sounds a bit too much as riffs pasted the ones behind the others without any real highline.
So it wasn't that bad, but I've got the feeling they rather followed the bigger bands in the style as CREMATORY may have been a band cast in this time's Swedish Death metal trend!
Do not misunderstand me, it can be cool for nostalgics to listen to this CD, but for me it remains quite cool/ Ok only as some bands that influenced them were far better and as I still discover some old bands that are really inspiring and original!
http://www.interphase-online.com

CEREMONIAL OATH (Swe) Carpet CD’95 BLACK SUN.
This band played a style I've never been fond of: a melodic Death/ Thrash that's quite soft. I'm trying to open myself to these style a bit more, but this isn't Ceremonial oath that will maintain a bit of this little motivation!
Their style sounds too much cliché and ever heard to maintain my attention! All these riffs and stuffs remind me a lot of old IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA, IN FLAMES and others... this is the kind of riffs a lot of band that begin to play this still use one day or another! In parts it sounds too nice in my opinion! The vocals are screamed. Notice and IRON MAIDEN "Hallowed be thy name" cover that brings nothing new than screamed vocals and looses most of the energy of the original one! I've listened to "A real dead one" (Excellent Iron Maiden live album with a part of their oldest classics!) so much time I can't consider the Ceremonial Oath try as a decent tribute! An uninteresting album! It seems to me the band has split up... but who cares?
Ha Ha! I’ve just read some guys of this band formed HAMMERFALL later! What a joky coincidence! Ah Ah…

CHAOTIC YOUTH (Uk) Sad society Ep'83 BEAT THE SYSTEM.
Emerging from the first punk wave that did a lot of bullshits in the minds of the so "politically correct" English "well thinking" bitches, CHAOS UK was a total old school punk band. Understand mid tempo punk with don't give a fuck riffs and vocals in the same "Fuck off" inspiration!
I discovered them on an old compilation of the "Beat the system" label that released a lot of punk Eps at the very beginnings of the style. (One way system, External menace, Death sentence, The fits...) Even if the tracks of CHAOTIC YOUTH weren't the fastest, those were the only ones that standed out more than 20 years later! It remains energetic enough for my Death metal Brutal head to remain awake in pain and anger! Ah!
Well, there aren't many ways for comparison according to my "vast" punk knowledge... a riff sounded a bit like the most punky riffs of NIRVANA.. It wasn't bad for it's time, the fact I find some real energy in it so many years after shows it wasn't shit!
But will this review be useful? Ah! Fuck off! Isn't it were a part of the metal came from? (VENOM, SLAYER...) fuck off!And the influences of punk on your so moulded and normalized Grindcore is obvious! Ah!

COMECON (SWE) Megatrends in brutality CD'92 CENTURY MEDIA.
Even if this one counts ENTOMBED’s growler as a vocalist, this is not the best COMECON album. There are two great songs will tremolo riffs à la old MORBID ANGEL that are nearly perfect and totally intense from the beginning to the end.
But the oher tracks aren’t as exciting. It’s a kind of a bit old sounding death metal with some original touches for some bizarre harmonies I think no other band than COMECON used. Also some blast parts here and there and also some more hardcorish/ crust moments were included.
This album that keeps for me a taste of dark carbon and corrosion is worth being copied as a Cdr. It’s better for you to buy their « Converging conspiracies » album.  

COMECON (SWE) Converging conspiracies CD’93 CENTURY MEDIA.
This is the best COMECON album I've heard.
A big part of the music sounds PESTILENCE influenced and this is certainly due to the presence of Martin Van Drunnen as Vocalist/ bassist as their previous album "Megatrends in brutality" contains only one PESTILENCE sounding riff.
The PESTILENCE like parts goes from the Tremolo guts pucking riffs à la "Consuming impulse" to the more vicious and thought ones of "Testimony of the ancients". I could also quote the "Testimony..." album for some nice ideas about the songs constructions and organization and some little stuffs you doesn't hear at the first listening.
Martin Vocals' are still so reminicent of a scorched earth and still transpose very well his sufferance (not so many vocalists achieved to sound so aggressive, tortured and expressive at the same time).
There are also a few riffs in the vein of DEATH ("Human") but their style isn't bound to Death metal as they've got lots of other influences and they seem to listen to a lot of different musical style. I could find some touches of Indus, metal and Hardcore punk also. Do not misunderstand me, the whole is well done and doesn't sounds boring for a Brutaller, I'd even say it'd be refreshing. There are some really original parts for their style and even 9 years later it doesn't sound old! Even the cover is cool and fits well the atmosphere of the CD. Get it at yer second hand CD store, you won't regret it!

COMECON (SWE)  Fable frolic CD’95 CENTURY MEDIA.
This is the only COMECON album I don’t enjoy and it’s by far the less inspired and expressive!
This one sounds just too forced and calculated to be interesting… While their two other CD releases had some really catchy, Brutal, intense, original and discordant riffs, as well as very good tracks and bizarre melodies that awake and incrust your mind, this one is only quite boring with a few cool or quite aggressive riffs.
And the presence of Marc Grew (MORGOTH’s vocalst) won’t help them that much… it was recorded in a time when he didn’t scream in his excellent Death metal vein and MORGOTH weren’t Death metal anymore (even if it was still a good band). So who cares about this one?
Instead check “Megatrends in brutality” if you want quite obscure and original Death metal or eat up “Converging conspiracies” if you’re a PESTILENCE fan.
Only big COMECON fans may find it cool…

CORONER (Swi) Punishment for decadence LP'88 NOISE.
Who would have imagined a so skillfull and talented thrash metal band would appear at this time? Not me since I was too young for this...
CORONER offered us with "Punishment for decadence" their best LP, full of excellent aggressive thrash metal and so fucking technical riffs you can only shit your pants! For one of the first time thrash metal was technical and efficient at the same time! They knew how to masturbate their guitars in the efficient way! (One can appreciate it without being a guitarist or whatever!!)
A special note for the track "Arc lite" and its good classical music and old Heavy metal influenced themes. Excellent obscure metal feeling and state of mind! Contrary to a lot of technical bands, they maintained the interest in their compositions, and it was aggressive!
A special greetz to the bassist/ vocalist who didn't play with a mediator, on some riffs the right hand's fingers break some bones! And I've heard from trustfull sources he was impressively tight during gigs at this time!
Tom Warrior (CELTIC FROST) didn't help them for nothing! (He sung on their "Deathcult" Demo and taught them some important things to know about gigs, etc)
Intelligent lyrics, very good musicians, original and efficient music, what else could a thrasher  have needed?      

CORONER (Swi) No more color LP'89 Noise.
They have had such a great development since the 1984 "Deathcult" demo with a certain Tom Gabriel "Warrior" Fischer. CORONER had already the embryo of what it became on the first and all times classic album "R.I.P". And one can feel an amazing but huge improvement on the second album "Punishment for decadence". But "No more color" is nothing but a pure awesome piece of cult techno-thrash metal, as it was called back then. This time the production is really devastating thanks to the work of a young producer called Scott Burns (you remember this guy? Yeah, he used to produce good bands before producing exclusively country music bands nowadays...). CORONER has always had this amazing guitar work that can’t be heard anywhere else. Tommy "Baron" Veterli is what we can call a riffman. But what´s great with him, it´s that the music is ultra technical, with a lot of tempo changes, complicated melodic lines, and ultra fast aggressive rythmics, but without being boring at all, nor loosing its efficiency in any ways. One can compare him to Chuck Schuldiner in a way. And such musicians are really few in the world of extreme metal. Just listen to the thrilling introductive riff of the song "Tunnel of pain" or the majestuous "D.O.A" and if you don´t get cramps in the finger when you try to replay these riffs on guitar, then you might be a good guitarist! Ha! Yeah, CORONER really proposes its masterpiece with "No more color". But don´t get me wrong, when I say that, because every album released by this band is absolutely worth the listening. That’s a real pity that these geniuses never received the recognition the deserved and split up because of money interests... What´s also cool with CORONER is the artwork, always far from the thrash metal clichés, but still having a real deep meaning. The same goes for the texts. I guess that every fan of thrash metal should already possess at least one album of this incredible band, and if not, then I strongly advise you to get a listen on the three first albums in order to give an orgasm to your ears! And of course, people interested in good musicianship can’t go wrong by picking up a CORONER album. Enough said. Join the CORONER cult or die, because this band still kicks all the new wave of Swedish thrash metal deeply in the ass! hahahahahaha!!!! Listen to the masters.

Nathaniel.

CREMATORY (Swe) Unknown netherworlds of the exordium Bootleg CDr MASTERCULT Recs.
Emerging from the infernal pits of darkness, the monstruous morbidity takes its perverse course, human shall find no cure! No escape from this tremendous asphyxiating void of morbid death! ENGULFED IN THIS INFERNAL VOLKANIK SODOMY, YOU FUKKING DIE!!
CREMATORY was pure obscure and morbid death metal in the ancient Swedish way! Not only influenced by killer bands such as NIHILIST and CARNAGED, but also ripping under the flag of the tremendous heavy vicious morbidity of old CARCASS, CREAMTORY stood for pure obscure Death metal darkness!
The riffs were total Death! Obscure, Deaththrashing, and overall morbid! Grave crushing cadaveric metal! The rhythmic aspect was varied, evolving from total Doom, to mid placed corpses asphyxiation, punching chunks putrefaction, to blasting Uber Alles! Moments of pure Doom were morbidified by darkened yet simple keyboards that gave the touch of an ancient mysterious taste of monolithic dust! (As well as in the early THOUSH SHALT SUFFER years!)
The guitars were fucking low tuned, making the riffs quite unhearable by moments, but who gives a fuck when it sounds even more morbid and brutally inhuman!! CREMATORY sounds darker, more morbidly inspired and stronger than a bunch of "Thrashy metal" bands who tried to copy the Swedish style back then! Ok, I understand some guys will find it quite old or else... but if you think CREMATORY isn't good enough for you and you claim to be another of these "Old school newbies", I have no other choice than saying FUKK OFF!
The Demo'90 "the exordium' was the more Doomy and death metallish, while the Demo'91 "Wrath..." offered a bunch of more blasts and the Demo'92 "Netherworld" was more like a strong Death grind with doomy touches!
The 4th Demo "Nether..." was somewhat cleaner, and the guitar work was more worked. The style of the band sounding like some blasting BOLT THROWER meets doomy ROTTREVORE. Their tracks also had some few European Death metal like riffs (PESTILENCE). The tracks were fulfilled with a bunch of riffs and changes
As I told you before, the old school Swedish Death metal mark was fucking strong! There was your typically Death punching and Crusty parts, but also the mid placed somewhat punk influenced drums... Some moments, and especially the vocals, reminds me of old BOLT THROWER, when the English bastards were playing War metal Death grind with strong visions of war! Mid pitched like vocals that teach and tell the visions of a third darkened war and let you see the extinction of mankind!
Of corpse there were some errors in their tracks, and some average riffs, but anyway you'll die a long Brutal death! And you have no other choice than to fuck off and die!
The German CREMATORY can fuck off since to use this morbid flesh burning and ancient hellish moniker, you have to play obscure, deadly and morbid metal! Tiny ass-licking-keyboards and happy guitar melodies doesn't help much! Ah! CHAOTIC SODOMY AND BURNING OF YOUR INNER FLESH!
The production of these demos wasn't the best, but at least it kept the doom and total heaviness of low tuned monstruous death metal guitars that lacked on CREMATORY's "Denial" MCD! This MCD is allright, but it sounds too "tight" and clean.
To clear things up, this bootleg includes the following stuffs:
"The exordium" Demo'90   (4 tracks)
"Wrath of the unknown" Demo'91   (4 tracks)
"Netherworlds of the mind" Demo'92   (4 tracks)
"Mortal torment" Demo'89   (1 track)
"Live in rinkeby, Sweden 04/11/89"   (3 tracks)
Ok this review was almost totally subjective, but you're still free to FUKK OFF AND DIE! CREMATORY will be very "cool" for Ancient Swedish Death metal maniacs! The others can Fuck off!

CREMATORY (Swe) Unknown netherworlds of the exordium Bootleg CDr MASTERCULT Recs.
is the first review I did for the CREAMTORY bootleg, I did a better one coz this first one you may read lacked of deepness... but you are still free to FUKK OFF AND DIE!!
No! this CREAMTORY has nothing to do with the German synths and melodies based life "Metal" band! Even before some German gay goth pop artists thought about playing metal, some Swedish possessed evil minds decided to create a band to perform the most obscure kind of Death metal for its time!
Before everything started to severely Grind in the heads of some actual accidented REGURGITATE members, these bastards were into total old school Death metal obscurius!
This bootleg released by Mastercult that seems to become a definitely cool bootlegs dealer includes the 4 demos of the bands ("The exordium" Demo'90, "Wrath of the unknwon" Demo'91, "Netherworlds of the mind" Demo'92, "Mortal torment" Demo'89) as well as a live in Rinkeby, Sweden, 04/11/89.
Death metal in the total doomed and pure style of the beginnings! A la NIHILIST, CARNAGE very old GRAVE! With some CARCASS riffings! Soulful keyboards that sound fucking obscure and total old school as in the very beginning of THOU SHALT SUFFER! Some actual bands such as REPUGNANT, FNEBRARUM and even KAAMOS have got some similarities in the style, they may have taken CREAMTORY as an influence.
Unless you are totally into old school Death in its purest form, you won't enjoy this old school gem! For ultimate fans of CARNAGE, ENTOMBED(old), DISMEMBER(very old), GRAVE(old) only!

CRUSHER (FRA) Corporal punishment CD'92 SEMETARY.
Premier album de l’une des fiertés hexagonales du début des 90’s, qui porte malheureusement un peu trop la marque de l’époque. Et c’est peu de le dire. Alternance de doom et de passages supersoniques, mélodies bien glauques et ambiance on ne peut plus morbide, corporal punishment est un parfait échantillon du death millésime 92. A tel point que les membres de Napalm Death eux mêmes n’hésitaient pas à y voir le plus grand espoir européen.
Le problème avec ce genre de disques, c’est qu’aujourd’hui, les passages les plus rapides sonnent terriblement mous, et que le climat oppressant que distille la chose ne suffit pas à tout rattraper, d’autant plus qu’on le retrouve dans presque toute la production de l’époque. Un disque “ aussi inutilement extrême qu’extrêmement inutile ” avait conclu Alain Lavanne à l’époque, par une des formules lapidaires dont il avait le secret. Le trait est certes sévère, les groupes moins méritant que Crusher se comptant par centaines, mais assez adapté. Ceci dit, cet album rappellera quelques agréables souvenirs à tous ceux qui ont vécu l’époque et demeure un de ces “ classiques ” du métal français qui ont fait comprendre qu’il était temps de dire adieu aux complexes d’infériorité. Désuet, mais loin d’être ridicule.

Pierre         

D.A.M (Uk) Inside out Lp'91.
I remember we were young, my metal neighbor and me when this bastard bought this CD! We were into CARCASS, ENTOMBED, MORBID ANGEL, NAPALM DEATH and other more extreme bands when he had the opportunity to lay his hands on this CD for a few bucks only!
I remind it sounded quite old, and it sounded bizarre to me since I didn't know this kind of old Thrash metal.
Their music was somekind of mix between old TESTAMENT and HELLBASTARD. You've understood it's was old bay area like Thrash metal with a few melodies on riffs (a bit like what EXODUS did on their most heavy thrashing parts of their 2nd and 3rd Lps).
It may sound a bit like the English thrash metal band SABBAT, from what I remind from this now buried band from which emerged the "folk metal" band SKYCLAD. Some riffs and some parts were quite cool and catchy, but contrary to some excellent bands like POSSESSED, DARK ANGEL, METALLICA (very old) or EXODUS (old) it has grown old a lot.
Their tracks included a good amount of speed metal lyrical riffs though, this is what made their style quite cool! (Throw away these catchy lyrical riffs, and D.A.M would have been only a 4th zone Thrash metal band that plays only for neighbors and friends).
This style has grown old a lot, and their compositions that were both aggressive and melodic weren't excellent and memorable, even boring in parts.
Their style isn't that good sounding nowadays... So I'll say it was Ok for its time, but apart from the big nostalgics who wants to live again the past, I hardly see someone enjoy it nowadays.

                                                                                       Nathaniel

DARKTHRONE (Nor) Soulside journey CD'90 Peaceville.
Recorded in the Sunlight studio with Thomas Skogsberg, in 1990, I guess that you won’t be surprised if I tell you that this album sounds totally like a Swedish death metal band of the good old period, will you? It’s fun to read the old interviews, because in an interview of 1989 in a Norwegian student radio, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto are saying that they play Death Metal, but not like everybody, as they withdraw their influences from bands like DESTRUCTION, HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST, SLAUGHTER and the likes. And if you take the excellent old Finnish zine Blazing Corpse from 1991, DARKTHRONE is now playing Black Metal, even on the "Soulside journey" lp... Because the lyrics are quite dark and tend to have an affiliation with Satanism. But I won’t enter the discussion about such subtleties, and only try to present you an album that’s certainly quite different of the later works in the DARKTHRONE´s discography. Actually, this album sounds really pretty much like old AUTOPSY, old PARADISE LOST, with a kind of NIHILIST/ENTOMBED grain in the production... Funny no, when you know that the two first bands where also on Peaceville records? But I didn’t say that they proposed any copy of the aforementioned bands at all. It’s just the same kind of morbid and dark Death Metal (Oups, I categorized it at least! hahaha!). As a matter of fact one can hear that these guys knew already really well how to compose efficient and good songs. The riffs aren’t that technical, but the drum work is quite rich and diversified, and the band really manages to capture a really morbid and loud atmosphere. For a first album, it’s a good promising work. And titles like "Accumulation of generalization" or "The watchtower" show a convincing band at work. But everybody knows that the band parted ways with the bassist Dag, after the release of the album, as he wanted to go in a more progressive way. You all know the way DRKTHRONE choose to take with its second and controversed release "A blaze in the northern sky"... But that’s history. Anyway, for the Death Metal fans and the curious new comers in the Death/Black Metal scene, I think that this album is worth the listening.
http://www.darkthrone.no

Nathaniel.              

DEAD KENNEDYS (Usa) Plastic Surgery Disasters LP'88 MANIFESTO.
In the style, here's a reference! Jello Biafra had some theatrical vocals (denying the human stupidity of this time) and a cynical touch that's in a spoken delirium with well underlined words on some choruses! Some vocal's choruses are branded in my metallized head by abuse of Brutal death! Ah Ah! On the second track "Terminal preppie", there's a saxo that does a nice little chorus, and that catch your mind (the kind of stuffs that were later used by bands like DOG EAT DOG for the choruses (even if I could have found a more convenient comparison)).
But the whole album isn't in a classic punk rock style, because they included the good and well well felt variations that made their tracks alive, while remaining coherent. They were playing a punk rock with seventies rock touches that totally sounded ironical in this context: at the first sight some 50's/60's riffs can sound happy but it gives more valour to their style.
The lyrics are very sensed and still actual nowadays  ("Forest Fire", "Government Flu", "Well Paid Scientist" ...).
Some tracks still have got a bunch of energy ("Nazi Punks Fuck Off") and even a bunch of years later we can feel some real rage.
A good amount of tracks are memorable, recommended!

                                                                                      Nathaniel

DEATH (Usa) Human CD' RELATIVITY.
Après Rick Rozz, c’est avec tout ce qui reste de Massacre que Shuldiner s’engueule (au point de ne pas partir avec eux en tournée…), avant de repartir sur la lancée de Spiritual healing avec un nouveau line-up de tueurs (Sean reinert, Steve Digiorgio, Paul Masvidal). Le moment de la consécration est donc arrivé : Death a enfin un batteur digne du niveau technique de son cerveau, qui atteint des sommets. Si la musique, comme le chant, se rapproche du thrash (obédience Coroner pour la technique, celtic frost pour le côté plus groovy), elle retrouve l’immédiateté des débuts, alors qu’elle n’a paradoxalement jamais été plus complexe et technique (la section rythmique est à vous dégoûter de faire de la musique), flirtant même parfois avec le jazz du génial Al di Meola (l’intro du morceau d’anthologie de l’album, « Lack of comprehension », est très marquée par son style caractéristique). Mais les structures sont bien plus efficaces, et Death enchaîne les plans, en évitant de s’endormir dessus, ce qui était le plus gros défaut de Spiritual healing, et surtout de Leprosy, et comme par enchantement, ça donne (enfin) envie de bouger. Des morceaux plus courts et efficaces, bien que tout aussi raffinés, Shuldiner et ses sbires frôlent cette perfection que rêve d’atteindre un groupe sûr de son art, ambitieux, mais jamais chiant.

Pierre             

DECREPIT (Usa) Acrimonium CD'97. DISMAL Recs.
Keep on digging in the past, and exhuming some old and almost forgotten albums, to unbury what could have been or seemed to be cult.
This album is quite surprising, and you could interrogate Satan about 3 points of spike, to know what really happened.
First of all (and probably the less important): the visual aspect. While the cover painting looks cools for its time (even if a mix of read and bleu isn't often a cool thing...) and can remind some IMMOLATION Lps, let's have a look in the booklet; first surprise: the band members are full of face paint... What happened? Did they turn their underwears outside down towards the north pole of evil or what?
Then you insert your penis in the electric vagina, and you realize 28:26 minutes is quite short to have a good and deep phallelujah party (That was the second surprise, you premature ejaculator).
The first and best song "In thy name" reminds me a lot of old BRUTALITY (The cool opening riff and all the screams and growls) with some old IMMOLATION/ INCANTATION obscurity injected. A shame the middle part isn't as cool, because the song could have been really cool, but this slower minute remains ok.
The second song is heavier. The beginning keeps an obscure aura à la IMMOLATION, and the little overwhelming high-pitched guitar that makes it quite occult wouldn't have disfigured an old BRUTALITY tune. Then follows an Ok variation between Death metal and death black. But something lacks as the emotional regime decreases, and a melodic riffs isn't that cool. An Ok song that could have been better:
Third one: while it begins like old MASSACRE/ DEATH, it totally turns into fast black metal... Well! What happened? The face paints were enough?? Even if these black metal riffs might sound good for fans of the north pole evil, it's too common and everheard for my south pole of Death metal tastes. Argh!
Hopefully, there are few strange and obscure sounding impious Death metal touches saving the song from being a total loss.
The 4th song is an ok/ quite cool cover of BLOODFEAST ("Face fate").
The 5th song is a quite common Death metal song in the INCANTATION, IMMOLATION vein (drinking too much isn't good). Even if nothing sounds bad, there's nothing really outstanding or no strong occult vibration of doom. It's just a song.
The last one is another song between death and black metal that do not bring much; there's even some riffs I don't like (too "positive" and "black metal happiness in sorrow" if you see what I mean).
All in all, I'm disappointed by this average album: Apart from the 2 first songs (and eventually the BLOOD FEAST cover) there's nothing outstanding from other bands of the time, or emotionally burning. I even think the band should have released a shorter, but totally killer Ep (or MCD).
Of course some guys will enjoy this album during its entire length, because the music is correctly played and an atmosphere is present from almost A to Z, but I'm more and more convinced about the fact the metallers who enjoy this kind of sulfurous and quite occult Death metal do not have the time to listen to 6 albums everyday, and need to search for the best of the best, and not to eat anything as long as it seems "cooooooool"! So, they'd probably continue anywhere else their search for really asskicking riffs!
It's an average album. Well, as well as every DECREPIT release, there are both good, average, and not cool moments. Only the biggest voracious fans of Death would need the entire album, others could beg and leech few Mp3s from here and there...
http://www.myspace.com/decrepitohio

DECREPIT (Usa) The wake Ep'94. PS Records.
DECREPIT is an obscure moniker that lies forgotten in the past of American Brutal death, even if the band was quite influential for some more famous bands (or at least was an active part of the old Brutal death scene and evolution).
This Ep helped DECREPIT to rise above the average level of it's previous demos, that were quite brutal for its time, but also quite boring thanks to its doomy heaviness sounding old nowadays.
This Ep introduced DECREPIT to catchy and remindable riffs (Listen to the first doomy guitar of "To rise again", it's almost haunting) and their music sounded a bit more energetic and groovy. The reincarnation was mid-placed or heavy for most, following the rhythms of the heavy fat bastards. Similarities could be easily drawned between the heaviness of DECREPIT and old HEMDALE, early EXHUMED (heaviness, accelerations and leads), or even moments of old MORTAL DECAY and early DEEDS OF FLESH. It was definitely Brutal death for wood-cuters!
The snare drum wasn't something of my liking, it was too high-pitched to kill and murder the high-flying angels... a bit like HEMDALE or old CRYPTOPSY. The first song "The wake" have gained a nice little cult'n paste status.
In 2005, some of their riffs could sound average, and not efficient enough to murder your annoying bitch in massive explosions of blood and malignant semen; some songs could be betterly structured to breed the suffering, but hell in hell it remains a cool Ep for big fans of Brutal death who like it mid-old-styled and heavy. It's not necessarily something to own at all cuts, but at least worth few listenings if you like it heavy and pounding in your big slimee ass and wanted to understand better where the current Brutal death has evolved from.
After this quite cool Ep, DECREPIT recorded a last album before splitting ep. I didn't really listen to the deepness of this one, but what I heard could let me imagine it was the very best DECREPIT ever recorded.

DEFECATION (Uk)  Purity dilution LP NUCLEAR BLAST.
Now that Mitch Harris is reviving DEFECATION, it may be a nice time to do an old review! And I'll review their new album in ten years to keep on the kult of reviewing old skool stuffs! That's it! I'll wait at least 5 years before reviewing each stuff when it'll be almost forgotten... to own the ultimate pleasure to make the readers able to remind and discover some old and buried stuffs! Ah!
About DEFECATION it's a fucking shame the Harris brothers didn't unite again in the name of Grind, what I've heard of the new Defecation stuff didn't do much for me... but lets come back to the old times!
From the first track "Megaton" that's full of disgust for a shit life and made me trip on my existence during smoke fiestas and more solitary trips, to the good grinding parts and other mid placed/powered/ sick of existence riffings, it remains a quite good release 13 years after the pressing day. Sounds like some Crust/ Grind/ Death à la NAPALM DEATH ("Mentally murdered") meets old S.O.B and old School GrindCrust bands.
Mick Harris still owned some good drums' breaks and good destructive grinding moments. There are a good amount if fucking cool riffs here. This isn't an essential release, but rather a cool LP for old school Grind/ old Napalm Death fans to put on the turntable a few times a year!
And the burning heads who needed more of the "F.E.T.O" found a cool Lp to satisfy their needs here!

DESTRUCTION (Ger) Live without sense CD'89 STEAMHAMMER.
This is probably not the best DESTRUCTION album to review, but this live release is the one I know the best since it made me discover the great thrash metal of DESTRUCTION some years ago!
I was totally in the most brutal kind of death metal and the most morbid form of "old school" death metal, but these DESTRUCTION tunes anyway hooked me on the altar of German speed metal since it was very good and inspired! Anyway DESTRUCTION sounded far greater than a bunch of underground bands I was into! Ah!
Some of their speed thrashing riffs sounded totally 'magical' and super catchy! It's still a pleasure to put an attentive and attracted hear on these!
I don't say that to bash the early releases of SODOM and KREATOR who both had some really good and strong thrash speed tracks, but I think DESTRUCTION's music was always a bit over the top of these two ones on a strictly musical point of view. DESTRUCTION's best tracks had some very emotional and catchy riffs assembled in tracks that sounds well and very logically constructed (That wasn't always the case of Kreator and Sodom). Plus the band had some real thrashing maniacs of guitarists who weren't only fast but also had a real sense of catchy riffs and great melodies. And let me tell you for this time they were surely some kind of super thrash metal guitarists!
I personally feel like DESTRUCTION weren't as extreme and destructive as some other full of hate and anger formations, their compositions were full of energy and controlled aggression (Plus I have some nostalgic feelings towards these, but it's surely a subjective thing. Great tracks like "Curse the gods" or "Thrash attack" were probably not nostalgic back then).
One thing that was really cool with this CD: as I spent hours listening to DESTRUCTION in a rotten walkman during endless walks, the guitar lines and drum patterns were perfectly tight! The production was also very good for a live album: tight, clear and powerful enough. (The band had some tightness problems on their first recordings, mostly for drums, but all is allright here!).
Since this album was recorded while the band had a bunch of albums in their patched bags, the set-list includes compositions from various eras of the band, so it can be considered as a good best of (Not the very best of... but uh! it's allright!). So you have the pleasure to listen to some good thrashing classics like "Curse the gods", "Mad butcher", "Eternal ban", "Bestial invasion", as well as more 'evolved' pieces of thrash metal that would tend to some kind of 'techno thrash metal' (better said technical thrash?) by moments. (I must say I'm not the biggest fan of these).
I might be wrong, but I think the band plays the theme of the "Pink panther" movie at the end of "Mad butcher". This theme didn't appear on the two studio recorded versions of "Mad butcher".
And yes! It could be felt in the good old mood and energy some of the most speed metal like riffs has these German bastards were beer maniacs! Ah!
Some of their early riffs were almost good old speed metal ones à la "Kill'em all"!
Allright, you probably all know DESTRUCTION's music with more or less details, but it was needed to add some words about them in this zine! And some bands are/ were so inspired it's always a good thing to spread a few more alcohol-teased words about them! CURSED BY METAL!!
http://www.destruction.de

DEICIDE (USA) Deicide LP'90 Roadracer.
AMON nous avait pondu 2 démos prometteuses (87 et 89), et
DEICIDE n´a fait qu´enfoncer le clou depuis 1990... Dommage
que ces gars aient perdu presque tout intêret après leur "When
Satan lives". Ce premier album éponyme, à la pochette qui fait peur tellement elle est mystique, a jeté un pavé dans la marre.
Rarement depuis VENOM et POSSESSED on avait entendu un groupe sonnant aussi satanique et déjanté. La rapidité de la batterie, la précision des riffs et les soli hallucinants ainsi que la voix blasphématoire du sieur Benton confèrent à cet album un côté unique. "Carnage in the temple of the damned", "Sacrificial suicide", "Blasphererion" sont des titres qui bottent encore des culs en matière de death métal, n´en déplaise aux hardcoreux déguisés en death métalleux qui pullulent dans la scène actuelle. DEICIDE nous offrait du blast beat bien utilisé, qui servait la musique, et qui n´était pas là simplement pour se la jouer brutal. Non, il y a aussi un très bon travail de composition. Les riffs s´enchaînent très bien et sont hyper efficaces. En plus, une ambience bien malsaine arrive à se dégager du tout, malgrès la rapidité des compos! Cependant, je trouve que les titres avaient plus de classe sur les démos, mais je ne vomis pas sur cet album pour autant... Il le fait encore bien dans mes haut-parleurs. (Mais pourquoi Roadrunner est devenu aussi merdique?)

                                                                                        Nathaniel

DEMILICH (Fin) Nespithe CD 93 +"The fourth instructive Tales... Of decomposition" REPULSE.
Yeah, DEMILICH is one of the most extreme Finnish bands from the beginning of the 90´s, together with FUNEBRE and DEMIGOD, it’s maybe the deepest voice ever heard in the whole Death Metal history. Shit, this stuff is fucking awesome, really strange and complex at the same time, while staying very musical. In fact, this band still sound fresh nowadays, and shows a high level of technicality and musical knowledge through its compositions. This mid tempo/doomy death metal is one of the heaviest ever heard, but nothing is boring. Maybe sometimes one can feel a CARCASS influence from the "Necroticism..." period, but DEMILICH sounds like nothing else, though it’s typical and absolute Death Metal the way it has to be. If you don’t feel the urge to hang yourself on a dead tree after having listened to "Nespithe", then you are a real death metal fan! hahahahahaha!!!! This is so technical, doomy, morbid and fluent at the same time, that it may easily please each fan addicted to utter deathcrushing brutality delivered by ASPHYX, DEMIGOD, FUNEBRE, ENOTAPH (Mex), CARCASS, MORTICIAN and the likes.
On the 91 demo, you can hear approximately the same stuff than on the cd, but a bit more "primitive", if one may say so. And here, the voice is a bit higher in the mix, so you can hear it very well, and forever wonder how the fuck this guy is able to grunt like that. I would say that the intro of CARCASS´"Symphonies of sicness" could remind me a bit the kind of low and grunted vocals one can hear in DEMILICH. Really amazing and morbid to the bone. If it’s too loud, you´re to old! hahahaha!!!!
http://www.repulserecords.com

                                                                              Nathaniel.

DETERIORATE (Usa) Rotting in hell Tape LP'93. JL AMERICA.
Here's another old rotten tape I've found back in my old school Death metal mess! A lot of cool forgotten stuffs lies here, it would deserve more fucking time and soulfull old school reviews! But it's unfortunatelly impossible... AArghh!
I remind I thought some parts were a bit catchy even if the whole wasn't great sounding... it's one more time the moment to confront my remembrances and old beliefs.
And I must say I've listened to a lot of CDs, demos and extreme releases since this time... so some arrangements and variations on a given riff that sounded cool or quite efficient just seems "normal" now.
They had guitar riffing in the Death metal style with thrashy influences à la old SLAYER/ old SEPULTURA. Death metal riffings à la old IMMOLATION with small MORBID ANGEL touches on tremolos (this kind of stuffs were over abused later...). Simple Death metal riffs à la old DEATH, OBITUARY.
Their Death metal was mostly mid placed with a good amount of heavy thrashing influences coming from what became later the American Brutal death style, understand no moshing, groovy or hypertechnical as fuck riffs but typically heavy ones with double bass drums... It awakens more cool memories than what I thought it would! Cool Death thrashing occurences reminding me of old PESTILENCE!
It was pleasant to check it again some years after... but there's nothing excellent here, just an Ok band with correct songs and a quite old feeling.

DISGRACE (Fin) Vacuum horror; horror vacuum MCD'94 CRAWFISH Recs.
Well, this stuff is really groovy like even if the names of the band and of the release could have sounded extreme.
This is some "extreme" metal between old HELMET, ELEVEN PICTURE (if you know the band) or even hardcorish touches with some almost stoner moments ant 70's groovy rock influences... nothing especially groovy in fact as most of it sound as the mechanical parts of new NAPALM DEATH in terms of rythms...
I like a bit the groovy stuffs when there's a fucking overdriven as hell guitar sound such as on ENTOMBED's "Wolverine blues" or even a few of "To ride shoot straight and speak the truth", but here it's a normal sound with average riffs! Could I say they take a bit of everything's clichés and mix it altogether to make something "new"? Possibly!
It's just average stuffs and their style is too much between two styles. Take some real positions if you're still playing music!
http://www.geocities.com/disgracefi

DISHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (Swi) Not to be undimensional conscious LP'92 NUCLEAR BLAST.
After their quite blasting bizarre Death metal beginnings, DISHARMONIC ORCHESTRA turns to something more... well... personal? It's bizarre Death metal that mixes a bit of everything in this sound that's almost Swedish (GRAVE and co...).  Some Doomy leads à la very old PARADISE LOST, some old school Death, some fusion, some Melodic Death, some discordant riffs... It's a bit the mess in these tracks even if nothing sounds shitty, and it's tight.
There are a few nice parts as well as some cool tracks, but even if this is different music, my vinyl that lies on the old school pile is almost unused! Yep, I never listen to it.  They had some nice tracks' titles such as "The return of the living beat". Cool MLP title. Funny background photo: their brains must be totally crushed and washed to act this way! Ah Ah!
This band was good to be known, and listened to sparedomly, but their stuffs weren't good to own...
I won't do you the favor to say "Yeah! It was fucking original! Personal! Excellent!! Yeah!! Bye or die!! Buy it now!!" as some zines and webzines would have happily opened their shitty mouths. This band released short life CDs in my opinion!
http://www.disharmonic.com

DISHARMONIC ORCHESTRA () Pleasuredome CD’93 STEAMHAMMER.
This is an old one but I wanted to review it.
There are :
- Powerfull heavy riffs à la old SODOM ( « Agent orange » and «  Tapping the vein »).
- Sorrowfull and high pitched epic harmonies in the vein of PARADISE LOST’s « Shades of god » and « Icon » LPs.
- Fusion/Jazz/techno Thrash drumbeats.
- Ternary rythms and riffs à la BATHORY’s « Blood fire death » ;
- Vocals à la ATROCITY(Ger)’s « Blut ».
- Acoustic parts in the vein of the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
- Some few 70’s influences.
- Some few variating bass lines that are sometimes mindcontrol escaping.
- A bit of TYPE O NEGATIVE for vocals.
- Some cooler arabian themes
A chorus reminds me of NOFX/ GREENDAY melodic punkers. The sound mixing overdriven bass and guitars on some heavy riffs is very powerfull and reminds me of ENTOMBED’s « Wolverine blues » album.
This is a strange album, it’s quite varied and reminiscent of some old bands, but beware of any compulsive metal order! This is really strange stuff by moments with some bizarre parts and unconventionnal structures! I wouldn't say I really like it but rather it sounds interesting... If you're into unconventional bands from the end of 90's who tried something different on an extreme metal highline, you may find something of your interest here. But beware!

DISMEMBER (Swe) Like an everflowing stream LP'91 NUCLEAR BLAST.
In these times when Death metal was so inspired, when a good part of the emerging bands where at least cool; emerged from the ashes of the excellent old school Death metal band CARNAGE a new incarnation burnt in flesh and reveled through the eyes of the dead: DISMEMBER!
The several hymns to Death severely burnt on this chaos Breed of a vinyl were very good and very inspired in the style (the first side is pure fucking excellence while the 2nd side isn't bad!) Expect totally old school Death metal with loads of carnal leftovers, punching Death metal drumbeats and a good sense of the lacerating riff!
The band also included a bunch of good sorrowful melodies that made a part of their personality (ENTOMBED was more brutal and less melodic! More punching and right in your poser's face!)
One more time the Swedish corrosive and eroded sound was a part of the carnal autopsy, making the Death metal of these young Death metal bastards more aggressive!
I know some guys doesn't like DISMEMBER that much because it was "too melodic"... Open your putrid eyes and listen to the first side of this cult LP! It includes some riffs with a so obscure and morbid feeling a true Death metaller can only enjoy this! If you don't see the abominations of desolation through this sickening art, I can do nothing for you!
Good heavy riffs that were full of heaviness!  The beginning of "Dismembered" is so simple but inspired melancholy and desolation! The music of DISMEMBER also owned some punk influences as some Death/ Thrashing parts shad a sense of the punching punk energy!
One more time Nicke Anderson (who had something fucking special in these darkened years of desolation and fucking Death! He composed almost all the tracks of ENTOMBED's first LP and many more!) did some great appearances: he did the leads on this Lp and drawn the logo of the band! Fuck! There was some fucking cult melodies of the dark and sickened here! I had so many thrills and death chokes on this CD in my Death metal youth! How can't a Death metaller enjoy it? Needless to say it was one of the 20 best Death metal releases of this epoch (89-91) when Death metal meant something else than being Brutal, gore, satanic or anything... there was at this time a feeling of composition I hardly find back in nowadays' releases! Seems like the planet stopped to turn in the minds of some talented musicians and metallers!
This is the only DISMEMBER release I really enjoy! The following didn't do that much for me as I remained empty in front of these walls of morbid corrosion! Unfortunately, the stream hasn't been flowing endlessly...
http://www.dismember.net

EDGE OF SANITY (Swe) Unorthodox CD'92 BLACK MARK.
With "Unorthodox" EDGE OF SANITY started to offer something really good and almost exceptional for some tracks!
The track "Enigma" is fucking excellent with a lot of riffs that will make you thrill at the very first listening! (If you're into "varied" Death metal). From the opening tremolo Death metal riff, to the following well felt cleaner part, to the next Death metal riff, this track was very good in a varied Death metal style that included both moments of Death metal energy and more melodic feelings. All of this with nice breaks and ideas threw in at the right moment!
But let's talk again about this track "Enigma" as it's the best one on this LP! The old school Death metal riff that begins at 4'22 is submitted to an excellent and so powerful heavy variation few seconds later! Then around 5'17 the same Heavy riff is overlined by good sounding high pitched heavy thrashing guitars! And at 5'25 a very powerful and heavy riff comes and crushed both your skull and your denied torso!
This LP was full of obscure Death metal riffs with a will of building something quite original. In parts their Death could remind of NECROPHOBIC in a more melodic vein, but there was some old DISMEMBER or even old ENTOMBED (more melodic) that may be quoted... Nice Doom or new gothic influences!
Beautiful cover that made me dream and imagine the gate to another world that seemed strange, and in which slavery prevailed!
This wasn't one of the most Brutal release of its time, but the goal of this CD wasn't the extreme brutality. It was a very good CD. This isn't the best EDGE OF SANITY release as some of their albums that followed were so full of inspiration! ("Purgatory afterglow" and "Crimson"!) But I'd advice it to those who enjoy old school Death metal with Swedish influences and who aren't against some melodies and little varied influences in their Death!
home.swipnet.se/~w-25731/music/eos

EDGE OF SANITY (Swe) Purgatory Afterglow CD'94 BLACKMARK.
Il est de ces chefs d’œuvre que personne n’avait vraiment vu venir. Puragtory afterglow est de ceux là. Car si un avertissement sur le EP précèdent annonçait un retour à Unorthodox, rien ne pouvait laisser présager que le sympathique petit groupe suédois allait se métamorphoser en grand nom du métal avec ce quatrième album quasi parfait. Car Edge of sanity a subi cette mutation qui de tout temps à transformé le plomb en or : pour la première fois, les riffs tuent. L’influence d’Entombed est toujours aussi énorme, mais en mélangeant son death rock à des mélodies d’influence thrash et speed et à des lignes de chant mélodiques proche du goth, Edge of sanity se crée sa propre identité, sans rien perdre de sa violence. A vrai dire, Of darksome origin est certainement leur morceau le plus rapide, et l’influence punk est toujours bien là (Blood-colored), Suède oblige. Et pour la première fois, ça groove, ça donne envie de bouger, ça reste dans la tête. Du vrai bon death en somme. Et un album majeur dans l’élaboration du son suèdois actuel.

Pierre     

ENTOMBED (Swe) Left hand path LP'90 EARACHE.
Excellent old school Death metal that takes both from the old good Thrashing speed metal bands and from the punk Hardcore scene to develop it's own style! Incredibly crushing, heavy and aggressive sound! This fucking guitars where over corroded and saturated, how the fuck did they get a so great sound? Some riffs sound ever more tremendous with this pure Brutal sound! Fuck hell, the drums are so heavy in some slow parts!
Quite simple but full of feeling Death metal with an overwhelming feeling of Death that can only make you thrill and brutalize if you're a bit in extreme metal! Riffs such as the opening one of "But life goes on" are simply fucking catchy at  the very first fist in your face!! You know immediately some riffs will be definitely burnt in your skin until you die! Moments of pure groovy attractiveness and Brutality, perfect for a dark pit! Ha ha ha! Excellent punching death metal beats everywhere! La patate!! Wicked or melancholic melodic touches that makes it more varied and interesting. The track "Life goes on" is the perfect example of how heavy, brutal and monstrous sounded their style!
I remember the first riff of "Abnormally deceased" fucking blew my mind with the fucking heavy tom rumble when I heard it the first time! Some tracks doesn't stop punching the ancient Death metal beats it becomes so full of frenesy you can only run all around the room and scratch your head on every walls! All the more the drummer had a very good style! Both varied, expressive and fucking efficient!
Excellent pure Death metal vocals the way it should always have been sung: brutal, guttural, and fucking deathly! That screams in every ways!! AAAAAAARRRGHHHHH!! This guy, Nicke Anderson was more than a metal head! Read: he composed most all these DEATH METAL tracks from the NIHILIST epoch to the first years of ENTOMBED's days, did some leads on the first excellent DISMEMBER release, it seems to me he also did the logos or both DISMEMBER, ENTOMBED, CARNAGE and surely some other stuffs I don't remember!  It's sure this guy had something very special at this time!! Those who think it's not enough technical; complex or blah blah... take this spiked fist in your ass! If you don't enjoy "Left hand path" you simply don't know what true old school DEATH METAL is! And by the way you don't know what Death metal is...
This is by far their best album!! Full of excellent ideas and deep obscure creativity! Even if their next LP "Clandestine" was more developed, "Left hand path" had the fucking Death metal feeling only a few bands had at this time!! AAAARRRGHHH!!
http://www.entombed.com

ENTOMBED (SWE) Hollowman MCD'93 EARACHE.
This MCD was released at the same time than « Wolverine blues » but for some reason I prefer it than the mentionned album. There are here some death metal touches not so far from the « Left hand path » album with the old death metal drumbeats while « Wolverine blues » is mostly heavy death with corrosive and eroded rock influences.  Some good catchy riffs that you’ll remember are also present here, plus the whole is correctly articulated. There are a few more or less uncommon elements for ENTOMBED here: for example there’s a riff à la RAZOR (an old canadian speed thrash band) that’s melted in a death metal drumbeat mania. So, this is a cool MCD but ENTOMBED will never match again the excellence and intensiveness they once had on their godly « Left hand path » album that was pure energy at every levels.

EUCHARIST (Swe) A velvet creation CD'93 Wrong again.
Old death metal with some swedish influences that reminds me of the ALTAR/ CARTILLAGE Split CD, but it includes way more melodic ideas... it's so melodic it looses in any power it could own and the typically death metal lacks in real power compared to the bands of this time!
By moments it's almost melodic thrash metal with melodic doom touches... would sound like old LOUDBLAST if you see what I mean! It reminds me also of some old TIAMAT stuffs when they were into their Death metal era, and some old EDGE OF SANITY may be named also.
The production would also have needed more brutality and strength. I usually don't point much the negative points of the production if it's decent, but here it's too much polished for a Death metal band, too nice sounding guitars that could have been ways more aggressive and impressive if recorded in the right way with a 4 tracker! Ah!
I've got a quite nostalgic feeling for the old stuffs, but here it's just a common as fuck release that will drown in the abyss of forgotten CDs I don't regret! It can be ok for fans of very melodic stuffs... but the good old feeling isn't here!

EXODUS (Usa) Live Bootleg 1983
I downloaded this bootleg, I even don't know if a proper CD or CDr exists! One more time you will shit your pants!
Read: EXODUS live in 1983 with Kirk Hammett on guitars!!
Thrashing speed metal between "Bonded by blood" and "Kill'em all"!
And there were some riffs that were found later in the first METALLICA's recordings! As the typical bootlegs recorded at this time, the sound lowers and sucks by moments, but that's not a problem as it's cool to listen to this!! And every riffs are hearable!
It also reminds me a bit of DARKNESS's "Death squad" LP but this one were released some years after... Ah!
Some of these tracks weren't released on any pro CD, a shame you can't listen to this! Ah Ah!
I even don't imagine the reaction od the EXODUS guys when Kirk left them with his riffs! What a mess it should have been on their tracks... It's nice to hear Kirk Hammett brought a good part of the melodic aspect in METALLICA! (both riffs and leads). Bang! Bang! Bang!

                                                                                        Nathaniel

EXPULSER (Bra)/ BRUTAL DISTORSION (Bra) Bootleg split tape.
Since this split Lp initially released in 1990 on MAGGOT Records is currently sold for abusive prices on the web, some had the right idea to release a cheap bootleg tape!
The side of EXPULSER begins slow and heavy with some satanic keyboards reminding of good old KING DIAMOND! The follows an all-fast Death thrashing inferno reminding of old SARCOFAGO and some (very early) SEPULTURA. It has what sarcofago fans need to be beer-kicked: the old school frenetic blasts, some nice high-pitched screams and skizzzs and fast guithards! Of corpse this grown quite old, but it won't be a problem for the fans of the style since the right atmosphere and some cool riffs are there.
The side of BRUTAL DISTORSION also begins with nice keyboards that sound like if a wedding was brutally devastated by drunk thrash maniacs! Screams, carnage and rapes of your wife everywhere! Ah Ah! BRUTAL DISTORSION doesn't sound as fast and nervous as their metal brothers in alcoholicism, they rather follow some old school thrashing metal with few hints of Death metal, and punkish speed metal. Could sound like some old SLAYER ("Hell awaits") very early SEPULTURA, some good old Germanic thrash, early AGENT STEEL, with few heavy riffs à la BOLT THROWER, and mostly death metal vocals. Not so entertaining after a while, and quite predictable in parts, but a nice band as well.
A message to the unknown beerdrinker behind this tape: keep on bootlegging cult and unfindable old releases and selling it for ultra cheap prices! Fuck the music business and lazy bidders of the greed! Let the metal scream!

EXUMER (GER) Possessed by fire LP'86 DISASTER.
Forgotten old school thrash metal between the lines of old KREATOR/ DESTRUCTION and with some DARKNESS and ASSASSIN touches here and there. There are also some influences of very old SLAYER  (First LP only).
Some riffs sound very much german speed/thrash influenced and reminds me mostly of the old KREATOR’s « Pleasure to kill » and 1 st LP.  Some vocals’ choruses really sounds good, by moments the riffs aren’t too far from crossing the threshold of memorability, some ideas show a will of originality and to build a real musical personnality, and the way the songs were done doesn’t sound old but rather efficient in 2002.
This album was really worth the listening at the time as this band was a real and serious underground onslaught.
If you’re discovering old Thrash/ speed metal and start to be bored with the old cult KREATOR, DESTRUCTION and SODOM albums, try to check it out in a second hand market. All the more it is far more cool to get it on a good old vynil.

          Gab               

                                                                                      Nathaniel

FERMENTING INNARDS (GER) Drowned MCD'94 INVASION.
This band sounds like a weaker version of old CARCASS (« Symphonies of sickness ») that would have eaten some 90’s black metal and more doomy darkened influences, to say the best!
There are also touches of the first DEAD INFECTION for some grind parts, old CATHEDRAL/ MY DYING BRIDE (« The thrash of naked limbs ») and SEVENCHURCHES for the doom/ depressive side, old PARADISE LOST for slow Death metal moments and doomier aspects... but apart from some purely comparative reviewing aspects I didn't find much really interesting... It's ok and quite nicely produced, tightly played and articulated, but the thirst remains intact as the blood still hasn't  emerged from the abyss! More deepness into your Death!
MUCUPURULENT could also be noticed for some touches of bizarre sounding goregrind fun. A riff sounds a lot like a CARCASS riff to the point it could be seen as a stolen one, and a good part of the music sounds a lot like the heavier/ bizarre parts of the old cult cynical goregrind band.
To conclude: this album is done in a professional way but offers nothing that hadn’t been heared anywhere, and unfortunately I didn't found any real feeling... Unfortunately.