LABEL FULL LENTGH ALBUM REVIEWS
PENTACLE - “…Rides The Moonstorm” 1998 CD (Damnation Records)
I was a very happy puppy to receive this, I love this band (as evidenced with their positive review in issue # 1 and interview in # 2)!! The only way I could be happier would have been if Damnation, would have sent me the double vinyl version. Beggers cannot be choosers as they say! Before even listening to this I rate Pentacle as one of the best ever out of Holland, among such bands as Asphyx, Achrostichon, & Sinister/Monestary. Pentacle have altered their sound slightly and have come out (production wise) with a sound very close to early Celtic Frost without ripping anything off. This band is made up of metallers that were around when metal exploded and started Pentacle itself in the last part of the ‘80’s. They start things off in fine fashion with a killer intro, it is an excerpt from an audio bootleg from the 1985 World War III festival in Montreal, Canada where Tom Warrior yell’s “Let’s go crazy!” Then the music kicks in, pure cult thrash/death metal from the heart, played with utmost conviction. This is what Celtic Frost may have sounded like had they carried on with the style of their first couple releases! The production compliments the music beautifully, clear and raw. Due to the heavy suffocating & distinctive guitar tone from start to finish the songs have to work that much harder to identify themselves from one another, luckily Pentacle is up to the challenge. God, I can’t believe this still, I am getting some of the same feelings I had when I first listened to stuff like “Morbid Tales”, “In The Sign Of Evil”, and “Fear No Evil” !!! Only one listen is needed to “Yielding The Scepter Of Flesh”, “For I am Chaos!” and “Scythes” to feel the excitement lit by this album! I cannot end this without mentioning the cover of cult Chilean undergrounders Pentagram on their “Spell Of The Pentagram”. If you can listen to this song and not headbang then don’t look at me and call yourself a metalhead!!
Damnation Distribution, Hoge Larenseweg 55, 1221 AK Hilversum, THE NETHERLANDS, Band contact: Pentacle, Franse Hoef, 5531 PD Bladel, THE NETHERLANDS
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CALL ON THE DARK 2 - “Compilation Album” 1998 CD (Nuclear Blast America)
Woo hoo! A gothic/dance/industrial compilation. Just what I need, geez this blows! The bands included are: Mandanus Imperium, Autumn, London After Midnight, Type O Negative, Therion, Moonspell, Left Hand Path, Ever Eve, Lacrimosa, Switchblade Symphony, Love Like Blood, The Gathering, Tiamat, Dreams Of Sanity, Clan Of Equinox & Christian Death. One thing I will give NBA is they have stuff on here from other labels to give people who like this a good selection of bands. Let me see the song/band I like on here is…ummm…The Gathering track is OK, but that is it! The packaging and layout are stunning (yes, I found something good!). Chant after me G.I.L.!, G.I.L.! (Goth is lame!). Nuclear Blast America, P.O. Box 43618, Philadelphia, PA. 19106, USA
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OSSUARY INSANE - “Demonize The Flesh” 1998 CD (Galdre Records)
There has been quite a bit of talk about Ossuary Insane and now I see why! O.I. are surely one of the best death/grind outfits in the scene today. One listen to this album and you will know why as “Demonize The Flesh” will rip you a new asshole. O.I. have a knack for writing as heavy as steel brutal material with a ton of foreboding, passion and pure emotion to separating themselves from the pack. A perfect example of this is the brutish and cruel “Imprecari” with it’s grinding chaos but breaking thru it all is catchy riffing and structure and all the while reeking of a lurking, uplifting militaristic crass atmosphere which I am very much enjoying. Brilliant track! The lyrical content resides heavily as anti-christian, as this excerpt duely highlights “In The Name Of Christian Scum, All Will Burn In Hell’s Flame…” Cantor Celebrant’s vocals are sick mid-range comprehendable sharp, caustic growls straight from the pits. The guitar work by Der Prophet is also of note as some sections of music other bands only wish they could pull off! Also inlcuded as a bonus is O.I.’s great 3 song (bringing the total to 10 at a running timeof 48 + minutes) “Fallen To The Pits” ’95 demo remixed for your enjoyment. Utterly recommended!! I sent this band a interview in October ’98 and after months of wait still nothing - a pity. Ossuary Insane, P.O. Box 22094, Eagan, MN. 55122, USA or Galdre Records, Dresdener Strabe 3, D - 15232, Frankfurt/ Oder, GERMANY
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LOST SOULS - “Fracture” 1998 CD (Nuclear Blast America)
Pppfffftt…Put Machine Head, Meshuggah, Fear Factory in a blender and get wannabe’s Lost Souls. Generic crap and I am getting so thoroughly disgusted this boring style of Canadian Assault termed ‘jump metal’.
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BREACH - “It’s Me God” 1998 CD (Prosthetic Recs.)
Oh hey, loook kids! It’s the angst ridden hardcore band from Sweden trying to be the next Machine Head/Coal Chamber/Korn/Skinlab. Trendy ass motherfuckers! Prosthetic Records, 6230 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 128, Los Angeles, CA. 90048, USA Website = www.hallucinet.com/prosthetic
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HAEMORRHAGE - “Anatomical Inferno” 1998 CD (Morbid Records)
Yes! Killer grindcore with heavy death metal influence played with immense energy and conviction - in short it will tear you apart! The compos are to the point sick, heavy, and brutally catchy with super disgusting and tortured vomitous vox. All death/grind fanatics feast your ears on this 14 track ball of phlemetic mayhem! Morbid Records, Postfach 3, 03114 Drebkau, GERMANY
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PEGAZUS - “Wings Of Destiny” 1998 CD (Nuclear Blast Records)
This album was a nice surprise and threw me off guard a bit. This Aussie outfit play a very clean classic ‘80’s heavy metal in which I hear influences of bands like Warrior, Iron Maiden, Manowar, Savatage (“Hall Of The Mountain King” era), Halloween and maybe a slight mixing in of Demon, Thin Lizzy or something in that range. Pegazus love epic riffing and uptempo, epic sounding songs with flavorful, classy guitar solos. The vocals are great piercing, siren like as they glide across the air with a silkiness. Vocalist Danny Cerati brings vocally bands like Manowar, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Gothic Knights and Lethal, not gruff just clean textured vocals. Pegazus are great musicians who have put together a great album that all heavy metal maniacs of old can shake their studded fist to as they sing along with the catchy choruses. Brilliant!!
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CRYPTOPSY - “Whisper Supremacy” 1998 CD (Century Media)
Well, my Canadian brethern have come back with their 3rd album and first for Century Media. The bio mentions the departure of vocalist Lord Worm but fails to mention that after the material to the second album was written guitarist Steve Thibault (one of the main songwriters and now manager) also departed the fold. Wonder if Steve still writes with them? I wouldn’t know as I have a promo copy with no liner notes. First off, I don’t think Cryptopsy can ever top their amazing debut album “Blasphemy Made Flesh”. New vocalist Mike Disalvo (ex-Infestation) is very good with his deep, heavy death growls. I miss Lord Worm, I imagine Cryptopsy is really gonna miss him live as he really commanded a crowd and it was fun watching him eat earth worms. But, I must move on as Cryptopsy did. The boys come back with another great technical and intricate and lightning fast tempo changing death metal mindfuck! Did I mention the drums yet? They are as per usual phenomenal and the best in the death/grind genre. Flo is a human whirlwind, go see them live and experience first hand what a I mean - God!! This will please all extreme brutal death/grind fans. Cryptopsy show again why they are considered one of the best there is in the genre!
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BETHLEHEM - “Sardonischer Untergang Im Zeichen Irregligiouser Darbeitung (S.U.I.Z.I.D.)” 1998 CD (Red Stream Records)
Ahh, Bethlehem after purchasing ‘96’s “Dictus Te Necare”, I was completely by their unique blend of morose, melodic black metal and entirely whacked vocals. S.U.IZ.I.D. is no exception to this with even more odd flavoring thrown into the mix such as female vocals and spoken word passages with the addition of new member Cathrin Campen. My only complaint with this new album is new singer Marcus Losen who replaced the old vocalist Landfermann desperately it seems in some parts to emulate Landfermann’s unique vocal style and comes off sounding quite stupid at times. This is otherwise an entirely depressing album sure to put a damper on the most jovial of moods. Red Stream, P.O. Box 342, Camp Hill, PA. 17001 - 342, USA -JEFFREY KUSBEL
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KRIEG - “Rise Of The Impaled Hordes” 1998 CD (Blood, Fire, Death Records)
Extremely raw, caustic and lawlessly, hateful American black metal sums up the music of Krieg. They blend acidic riffs that cut into you like a rusty knife leaving jagged, gaping wounds. The drumming is pretty repetitive but manage, to do the job and the vocals of Lord Imperial are maniacal, insane, and emotional as he goes from spoken passages to agitated shrieks. Said vocals really are the only thing that separates this band from the average black metal hordes. Available for $12 US from Deathcult Distro., c/o Bernard Asquin, 9830 78 Ave., Edmonton, Alberta, T6E 1N3, CANADA
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RITUAL - “Demonic Winter Metal” 1997 CD (Wild Rags!)
Sloppy, talentless, black metal with repetitive drumming and passable vocals. The keyboard playing is worst of all, very amateurish as Grimace the grand blackened wizard of the golden arches! “Demonic Winter Metal” from sunny and happy, winterless California.
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GORGOROTH - “Destroyer(Or About How Philosophize With The Hammer)” 1998 CD (Nuclear Blast Records)
Gorgoroth are a bestial entity and with “Destroyer” they have created a intoxicating, caustic record of obscure rage! I became familiar with this band when I tape traded for their hellfire of a ’93 demo “A Sorcery Written In Blood”. Then went on to enjoy their straight lightning forward blitzkrieg of a debut LP “Pentagram”. Since them I had kind of lost track of them (as they did of themselves as they went through a number of member changes including the departure of Emperor’s Samoth). The cover features a naval destroyer class battleship with a corpse painted figure juxtaposed on top. Gorgoroth are not your average black metal band. They have a very distinctive (recorded in a tube) guitar sound, implementing more traditional metal riffing with their black metal attack. Also they are not afraid to throw in a few doomy parts, which compliments the acidic vocal strikes and overall bombastic open sea naval war metal!
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THE GREAT KAT - “Bloody Vivaldi” 1998 MCD (Thomas Public Relations)
Anybody remember that old Great Kat video “Metal Messiah” from the late ‘80’s? Well, Kat is still doing the same old shtick you know “I am a god, I am your master, you are my slave blah blah blah…” Her last few releases she has taken songs from classical composers and re-does them for violin and electric guitar. This time it is Vivaldi and Sarasate. There is no doubt Kat, the Juliard grad is a virtuoso on her respective instruments. The 2 new songs on here are fast (speed is always good by me) but here it never really goes anywhere. Like her last release a couple years ago this weighs in at a whopping 7 + minutes! She’s talented, she looks good in skimpy leather and a garter but seems to be constantly treading an already well beaten (by herself) path. T.P.R., 775 Park Ave., Suite # 222, Huntington, NY. 11743, USA Email = greatkat@greatkat.com website = www.greatkat.com
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HIMINBJORG - “Where The Ravens Fly” 1998 CD (Red Stream Records)
This is an interesting find for Red Stream. With a choice production backing them, Himinbjorg present some of the best emotional and blazing metal in recent memory! Similar in sound to acts like (early) Ulver, Immortal, Dark Funeral, and a bit of Marduk. They posses a flair for creating brooding yet uplifting atmospheres of sound that will soon release itself from your grey matter. There are acoustics and keys in spots but are utilized in such a way not to force themselves ahead of the structure or beyond the materials general intent. I can fully recommend this to fans of brutal atmospheric black metal that will inspire visions of battlefields filled with pagan pride.
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VARATHRON - “The Lament Of The Gods” 1998 MCD (Pagan Records)
The mighty legends Varathron return! This new stuff is a bit different than the old material. It is a simpler and stripped down but still in very dark. The new vocal style is a rolling growl/whisper and reminds pleasently of a raspier version of the vocals Mortuary Drape used on their superb ’92 MCD “Into The Drape”. The keys are used as an accent and don’t bother me, which is nice. The Mercyful Fate cover of “Nuns Have No Fun” is a surprising but welcome addition as Varathron slap their stamp all over it with good results. I don’t enjoy this direction (a sort of atmospheric blackened heavy metal) as heavily as the old stuff. But, after this release I can safely still call myself a fan. Varathron, c/o Necroabyssious, P.O. Box 1265, 451 10, Ioannina, GREECE
