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STILLBORN
Yesterday’s Blood 7”
(I Hate Records)
approx. 12min
New and upcoming label I Hate Records from Norrköping, Sweden dug
out something really obscure with this excellently designed 7”
containing two rare tracks of the mid-80’s underground Doom band
STILLBORN. Since I expect only few people to know anything about
this fascinating act I’d like to give you a short overview of
their career, which is summed up in the inlay of this bloody red
piece of Vinyl as well. STILLBORN were founded in Sweden in 1984,
gained cult status after numerous gigs in their home country and
Denmark and the release of the morbid debut album
“Necrospirituals” in 1989. Before that the band had recorded the
demo "Tounge The Thong" (limited to 100 copies), which
contained one of the two tracks featured on this EP, namely
‘Yesterday’s Blood’. The second song ‘Son Of Sodom’ is an
exclusive track and as great as the EP’s A-side, if not even
better. Both songs were remastered and offer a morbid blend of early
Heavy Metal à la BLACK SABBATH and Goth Rock / Wave like SISTERS OF
MERCY, who are a very obvious influence in the vocal department. It
might require the listener to invest some time to get into it, but
once you are in STILLBORN’s sinister aura will consume you...
Burning candles, darkness, macabre eroticism, the stench of
perversion, despair and hopelessness are captured in these two songs
and I am sure that bands like PARADISE LOST or ENTOMBED, who paid
tribute to STILLBORN, were attracted indeed by those fantasies and
imaginations the Swedes perpetuated musically and lyrically. Whoever
likes old Doom, really obscure sounds or simply does not fear to
open his ears for some atmospheric, quieter sounds should obtain a
copy of this limited EP (500 handnumbered copies) soon!!! Of course
it is not the typical Voices-stuff, but something really special and
really good. Visit http://ihaterecords.cjb.net to get “Yesterdays Blood” and be sure
to visit STILLBORN’s website http://biphome.spray.se/inghen/stillborn/ to find out what happened to the band in
the 90’s and check out some sound files.
Stefan Franke
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STILLBORN
Satanas El Grande
(Pagan Records)
30:02min
It
seems pretty obvious that Polish Death / Black satanists STILLBORN
had to stretch their debut album so that “Satanas El Grande”
clocks in after slightly more than half an hour. A 40 seconds
intro and a cover song strongly suggest so. But better short than
boring, eh? STILLBORN are quite some speed freaks and their rather
oldschool material jumps at you like a gorilla: fast, powerful and
merciless once it really gets mad. Actually, the most impressive
feature of these guys is their determination and their goal seems
to be not to take any prisoners. But although they don’t forget
to vary their pace, I find the record a little monotonous at times
because for my taste some of the riffs are slightly too repetative,
especially on the opener and on ‘Thousand Faced Bitch’. On the
other hand, STILLBORN come up with some really cool solos on the
title track and a F-U-C-K-I-N-G heavy part on ‘March Of
Armageddon Warriors’. Weird solo on there as well! Finally,
STILLBORN’s choice to cover ROTTING CHRIST’s ‘The Sign Of
Evil Existence’ is a bit different from the cover tunes one
usually expects or even fears and it pretty much sounds like a
STILLBORN creation this way, so thumbs up!
http://www.stillborn.prv.pl
Ramon Claassen
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STILLBORN
Manifiesto De Blasfemia Era
(Pagan Records)
36:03min
Already mentioned with their debut album “Satanas El Grande Era”
in Voices From The Darkside Polish STILLBORN are about to release
their 2nd CD called “Manifiesto De Blasfemia Era” again through
Pagan Records. Although I have the highest opinion about the Polish
Death Metal scene with such great and outstanding bands as mighty
BEHEMOTH, restless VADER or the sadly currently in everyone’s mind
DECAPITATED (rest in peace Vitek!!), I have to admit that STILLBORN,
though a pretty good and musically as well as technically quite
amazing band, still simply can’t compete with the aforementioned
bands up to this moment. The 11 tracks on this CD offer high speed
Death Metal, again played from highly skilled musicians, and
presented with 3 different vocalists who make the whole Death Metal
soup more varied and interesting. If you are a fan of Polish Death
Metal, technically outstanding, fast and brutal in the vein of bands
as BEHEMOTH (minus their Egyptian influences) I can recommend this
release to you. I’m sure we will hear more from STILLBORN in the
near future and if they will invest more into an own identity I can
imagine that they will be listed as one of the top names of Polish
Death Metal in the near future. Still they have to finish that
goal… www.paganrecords.com.pl.
Thomas Ehrmann
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STILLBORN
Esta Rebelión Es Eterna
(Dissonance Records)
25:38min
An excellent blend of INCANTATION, VADER and a dozen other brutal bands is what awaits you on the latest STILLBORN record. As I've said many times, there is no dishonor in copying so long as it is done with as much zest and zeal as possible. How many times have we heard the blast beat? How many times have we shuddered in disgust at the hundreds of bands who never cease to remind us why
Death Metal died in the first place? But, how many times have we heard bands who remind us why
Death Metal ever had a presence in the underground? STILLBORN is one of those bands. It also helps that they cover tracks by SARCOFAGO, HELLHAMMER, RUNNING
WILD and PILEDRIVER. Songs by these four masters of the craft won't ever sound tired, or poorly rehearsed. As for
STILLBORN's original compositions, they are written in, more or less, the same vein as the bands they cover. A formula that produces not originality, but affirmation.
www.myspace.com/naturalborndestroyers,
www.stillborn.pl
Nat Shapiro
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STILLHET
Domt At Have Sit Liv Forbrudt (MCD)
(Ordo Decimus Peccatum)
21:24min
I swear to you there are times when I would rather attempt to tear out my tongue with a pair of pliers than be here staring into the computer screen wondering what new spin I can run with this time to polish a turd that is STILLHET. Here then is their five song MCD of mediocre praised and arrogantly proclaimed sinister Black Metal from Norway. Fans of BURZUM and SATYRICON take notice! STILLHET (or 'Stillness' in English...) have all that you require to supplement your cravings for cold, dark, originality challenged Black Metal! You say you're tired of listening to those acts that built this style from the ground up and who've burned more churches or killed a much more noted and skilled musician in a fit of jealous rage or you're sick of hearing about the more fanatical fans of said bands that have attacked random civilians in the dead of night stabbing them in the back for whatever reason, rather than taking them on face to face. I give to thee then "Domt At Have Sit liv Forbrudt"!
It's the next best thing and might not get you a felony conviction, a prison sentence or the hangman's noose!
Contact: www.myspace.com/stillhetnorge
or ordo-dp@hotmail.com
Wes Rhodes
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STILL IT CRIES
Take Leave
(Twilight)
56:44min
"Have a nice life – see you never“ Hah? Never trust any
musicians! These were the last words from Ville of SENTENCED on one
of their last shows. And what do I have here? A new SENTENCED album?
What? This is not SENTENCED but STILL IT CRIES? Sorry, got it wrong!
While listening to this 3rd album of STILL IT CRIES I often have to
think on SENTENCED even though the band still doesn’t reach the
originality and uniqueness of them. One thing I wonder about is that
they still describe themselves as Gothic Death Metal, Gothic perhaps,
but I hardly discover Death Metal elements here at all. Perhaps
it’s because of the vocals from their singer Matthias Kupka,
don’t ask me. His voice, in fact, is the only thing which needs
improvement. The music here is very good, the acoustic parts, the
solos, the melody lines, the sound, everything is cool, but the
voice could be better. Well, if you are a fan of SENTENCED (starting
from the “Down” - era) I can recommend this album to you. I
definitely will keep an eye on them as I’m sure, with a little
improvement, especially the vocals) they could be a good follower,
but no replacement, of SENTENCED. On sale
here .
Thomas Ehrmann
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STINY PLAMENU
Odpadni Galerie
(Naga Productions)
61:02min
This band needs a new name like the Singaporeans ABVULABASHY or perhaps even more so. I have yet to hear of one so unintelligible and just phonetically goofy. What is that? STINKY PLA-MENU? Horrible. I mean of all the names a group can choose
from STINY PLAMENU is the one you all raise your fists in the air too?! Anyhow – obviously STINY are the hard-asses of the Naga Productions roster and PLAMENU, make their presence known as being ultra heavy, guillotine quick Black Metal. This CD is from 2005 and shows a moderate sense of musical knowledge as they try fuse Black
Metal with more catchy Metal and even attempt galloping Thrash within the first few songs. Not original by any means, but for Czechoslovakians who might not know any better this could pass as something beneficial or worthwhile to their country’s scene. As the CD rolls on, more eras of Metal are explored. I hear a lot of melodic MAIDEN approaches, an operatic female singer, some Doom Metal intricacies and more damned keyboards than the law should allow. That said from the band’s own Myspace site they quote their sound as “wastewater Black Metal“ while citing MARDUK, SIEBENBURGEN, SETHERIAL, DARK FUNERAL, PRIMORDIAL, THY LEGION and DISSECTION as their influences. Um…Wastewater?…Really? You decide…
Contact:
www.myspace.com/diveintothewastewater
or
www.stinyplamenu.mysteria.cz
or
www.naga-productions.com
Wes Rhodes
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THE STONE
Umro
(Folter Records)
52:46min
It's still very difficult for the East European Black Metal scene in general and the Serbian scene in particular to achieve something like an international reputation and even such bands as THE STONE with a remarkable back catalogue are deeply routed in their (national) underground. Originally formed in 1996 under the name STONE TO FLESH with a slightly different musical direction is "Umro" already their fifth release under the new banner THE STONE. But when it comes to quality and dedication "Umro" has for sure the potential to give them the chance to reach higher grounds. The band has never been a candidate for "innovation miracles" so all 8 songs are still offering Black Metal in the purest form slightly between the Norway and Swedish school of extreme music. But THE STONE are in the position to vary their songs to a certain degree that even six to eight minutes songs can still touch the listener. Especially the guitars are very often used to give the music a counter point so solos - even if their not really common these days -can be found on "Umro". I'm not really sure if THE STONE will reach thousands of new fans with this release but songs like
'Sam Krenuo…' plus the supporting outro / instrumental are just fucking great examples for pure underground Black Metal. For sure the best Folter Records
release since at least two years! www.folter666.de,
www.thestonehorde.com
Matthias Auch
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STORMCROW
Hell On Earth
(Demo 2000)
After zillions of corpse painted musicians that all claimed to be
the most evil and extreme throughout the last couple of years, it
certainly has become more and more difficult to establish a band
within the Black Metal scene nowadays. And the fact that STORMCROW
are hailing from Milan in sunny Italy probably won't help them too
much either (I suppose the opposite is a lot closer to the actual
truth here...). Anyway, these four blasphemous warriors recorded
their five song debut demo in Malibu Studio (a.o. Steve Sylvester,
Necrodeath etc.) in early 2000 and also went for a high quality
packaging (full colored glossy cover with lyrics and pro duplicated
cassettes) and their logo was designed by famous underground artist
Christophe Spajdel. Unfortunately their music doesn't live up to
all that as STORMCROW turn out to be just another faceless Black
Metal band with no own identity and an even bigger lack of a dark
and eerie atmosphere. This is just fast played, straight ahead Black
Metal, nothing more, nothing less. A more dedicated songwriting,
with bigger emotional input would be nice for a change if these
guys should seriously practicing what they pretend to preach. No
price mentioned, but feel free to ask for all further info at the
following e-mail address: darkplace@yacc.it
or check out the STORMCROW website at: http://www.stormcrow.it
Frank Stöver
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STORMLORD
The Curse Of Medusa (MCD)
(Scarlet Records)
36:48min
I can't stand this any longer! No matter how many useless bands
this scene will continue to spit out, there's always labels willing
to sign them. With Italy's STORMLORD it originally used to be the
infamous German company Last Episode that released both the band's
1998 Mini CD "Where My Spirit Forever Shall Be"
and their first full length album "Supreme Art Of War"
about a year later. And I bet nobody really cared about them
back then already. Now they are signed to Scarlet Records and the
first thing we get offered is a compilation of two new songs (that
will of course also appear on the next full length), two exclusive
tracks, a DEATH SS cover ('Baphomet') and two live tracks
(one of them being a horrible version of METALLICA's 'Creeping
Death'). Who really needs this???? I mean, c'mon – STORMLORD
are neither unique, nor totally aggressive, nor do they have the
right feeling for Black Metal (not even for "Epic Symphonic
Black Metal" as they prefer to label themselves...) – everything
they come up with is just based on a cheap sounding keyboard, while
the songwriting is predictable as fuck and definitely created straight
from the book of poor Black Metal songs. To top all the crap, they
have added pseudo heroic type, classical inspired choir vocals to
the material every now and then, which gives them a third rate RHAPSODY
feel. Brrrrr! Avoid by all means!!!
Frank Stöver
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STORMLORD
At The Gates Of Utopia
(Scarlet Records / SPV)
47:03min
Oh yes,
these guys are definitely from Italy! Like 99% of the Italian True
Metal Warriors, these Melodic Black / Death talents suffer from
a too dominant keyboard. Don't get me wrong: using keyboards CAN
improve a band's sound immensely, but if the music drowns in sweet
plastic it gets annoying. Sometimes this happens to STORMLORD songs.
Apart from that, their second full-length is a kick ass album with
a good balance of fierce brutality and kind of "epic"
melodies which sometimes makes me think of DIMMU BORGIR. This CD
combines elements of (dominant) Black, Death and "True"
Metal on quite a high level making the band sound original indeed.
Additionally, there is a great cover artwork by Joe Petagno (Motörhead,
Marduk, etc.) and although the keyboard problem is striking, the
guitars sound quite raw, so check it out anyway. www.stormlord.net
Ramon Claassen
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STORMLORD
The Gorgon Cult
(Scarlet Records)
45:18min
I see Nhashi’s point when complaining about STORMLORD and the
likes being bands nobody needs. I mean: come on – NICE Black
Metal!?! Where’s the sense in that? Imagine somebody really
singing on this album it might even hit the fucking charts nowadays!
BUT: doesn’t that mean that there are actually people out there
who actually do need this sort of music?!? And, to be honest:
I sort of like it, too. But don’t listen to me, I’m a Pop fan
anyway! A few words about the contents on “The Gorgon Cult”?
Alright, here we go: just like modern Pop music this doesn’t
really enter my brain and I wouldn’t be able to whistle a tune on
my way home but everything sounds highly professional: it’s got
groove, it’s got speed and the musicians are pretty impressive.
The keyboards are too present, though, and the occasional Death
Metal grunts are extremely poor: no aggression and unbelievably
sloppy. This is pretty annoying concerning the cover version in
particular: IRON MAIDEN’s ‘Moonchild’. A really strong
cover version, by the way, which underlines the aforementioned
problem of STORMLORD: good musicians but no recognizeable
songwriting in contrast to the masters. In fact, I’d like to have
my supermarket play STORMLORD for me because it doesn’t distract
me from what I’m doing. Nice Black Metal. Among other multimedia
stuff such as unreleased MP3s from side projects of the band members,
you’ll find a video included, namely ‘I Am Legend’ from the
previous “At The Gates Of Utopia” album. One might almost call
this mega professional if there weren’t those striking problems
concerning the timing: whenever singer Christiano Borchi opens his
mouth, his vocal lines are over already. I hope that’s not just
because my computer is so fucked up. Apart from that, the video
looks extremely cool with some really good zombie / gore action
going on which fans of George Romero will definitely appreciate. But
I suppose that’s not enough for Voices readers, is it? www.stormlord.net
Ramon Claassen
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STORMLORD
Mare Nostrum
(Locomotive Records)
46:57min
STORMLORD isn’t the most famous Italian band these days but at
least their 1999 Last Episode debut “Supreme Art Of War” is
worth an investigation on Ebay if you are fan of powerful keyboard
Black Metal. In 2008 the band found a new home in Locomotive Records
and their latest release “Mare Nostrum” is showing not a
completely different band but the aggression and pure power of the
old days had been replaced by higher musical skills and further
musical influences. So STORMLORD follows bands like SEPTIC FLESH and
ROTTING CHRIST on their quest to return to their roots and also
adding something new / unique to their music. Due to new influences
for example oriental parts, clear vocals and an overall reduced
aggression level the term Black Metal isn’t completely matching
for STORMLORD anno 2008 - it’s more a darker Heavy Metal but the
essence is still there, the Metal heart still pounding. Not an
essential releases but an interesting album for older and newer
keyboard (Black) Metal fans. www.locomotiverecords.com,
www.stormlord.net
Matthias Auch
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STORMRIDER
First Battle Won
(Karmageddon Media)
46:06min
To make a long story short, STORMRIDER are not – as their name
might suggest – “Raise the steel, kill the dragon”-style Power
Metal but a HYPOCRISY / AMON AMARTH rip off produced by Tommy Tägtgren.
Since it is bad enough that there are the originals (haha, just
kiddin’) I consider STORMRIDER superfluous yet fans of this kind
of music might love it. The Swedish band offers catchy Death Metal
with Black Metal elements, primitively written lyrics about waging
war against posers, medieval battles and Viking god Odin, blend
aggression and melody as so many other bands did before and come
across neither extremely good nor extremely bad. Does the stuffed
Metal scene of today really need releases like that? Additional
infos, sounds and stuff here www.stormrider.se
and here www.karmageddonmedia.com.
Stefan Franke
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STRANDHOGG
Ritualistic Plague (Evangelical Death Apotheosis)
(Pagan Records)
37:28min
No doubt about it, this is some of the most straightforward
Death worship out there. Not your usual melancholy-filled-and-full-of-resignation
Death, though. This is more like an angry assault of thousand Grim Reapers hurrying to finish their job. STRANDHOGG are a
Black / Death Metal band from Poland that, with their first album, create an atmosphere of total destruction of life. This is Black Metal in its heaviest form, a lethal combination of chugging Death Metal riffs, powerful breakdowns and precise drumming full of blastbeats. And when we get to the vocals we are crushed to a pulp with a triple (or even more) vocal attack, every vocalist trying to outshout the other as if desperately wanting to get his message through as soon and as clear as possible. Black Metal screams and shouts, echoing Death Metal vocals, Grinding guttural grunts - they all mesh together perfectly to drain the life out of listener. Production-wise everything is crystal clear and mechanically powerful, something Poland is already well known for. Songs are mostly fast, with a lot of song structure changes and the slower parts are used mainly to accentuate the mayhem that will unleash itself upon you in a few seconds. As there is no buzzing and fuzzing sound often found in Black Metal releases this will, without question, also appeal to fans of Death Metal (or, dare I say, even Grindcore). All in all, this is a strong first release for STRANDHOGG, and if you want this world to be a better place give this to you children to listen to. Also, to get the full effect from this album listen to it loud. A wild one. Take a listen and weep black tears:
www.myspace.com/strandhoggofficial,
www.paganrecords.com.pl
Branko Matijaševic
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STRANGULATION
Carnage In Heaven
(Demo CD-R)
7:27min
Wow, what a fantastic
demo! The three songs featured here contain finest brutal Death
Metal from Sweden comparable to older CANNIBAL CORPSE (especially
the session vocals done by Dennis of SPAWN OF POSSESSION / VISCERAL
BLEEDING remind me of Chris Barnes) or DEICIDE, but STRANGULATION
are definitely no copy, because they add their own straightness and
also a slight old school feeling to it. This is underlined by the
layout of the CD inlay too, which arouses associations with the
classic Swedish Death Metal acts GRAVE or NIHILIST, because their
first demos were also in this black & white style, very cool!!!
What is also great about this demo CD, is that STRANGULATION do not
make attempts at being extremely technical or innovative, but
concentrate on a direct impact and a powerful drive. The production
is also very good and makes “Carnage In Heaven” sound authentic,
energetic and nicely raw. If you are into Death Metal, no matter if
you prefer the old school style or brutal Death, you gonna love this
awesome demo, because it is somewhere in the middle. It is
absolutely done with heart and I can only hope that the
STRANGULATION guys get the chance to release a full-length CD...
fucking great!!! Now get your last few bucks together and send 4 US
Dollars, 4 Euro or 30 SEK to the address below! Helttunen,
Riksbyggevägen 12 B, 69144 Karlskoga, Sweden. Also check out their
website: http://listen.to/strangulation,
Email contact: Strangulation@hotmail.com
Stefan Franke
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STRANGULATION
Withering Existence (Demo 2003)
(self financed)
10:43min
Although the Swedish brutal Deathers first demo assault “Carnage
In Heaven” was not a perfect example for originality, it convinced
by concise and straight forward songwriting and the first class
Chris Barnes-imitator Dennis Röndum of VISCERAL BLEEDING. Now they
have a new man on the mike named Jonathan O.G. (does that stand for
“original gangster”?), who does an excellent job and also
reminds a lot of the former CANNIBAL CORPSE singer. Musically
STRANGULATION are also heavily inspired by the US Death Metal band
No.1, but add the typical Swedish down tuned guitar sound, which
creates an immense heaviness the American paragon unfortunately has
lost in the last couple of years. The four songs reanimate the
spirit of the late Chris Barnes-era stuff, especially due to the
natural sounding vocals, the skilful, diversified guitar play, the
gut-pounding drums and the structural mix of groove and blasting
aggression. In terms of production STRANGULATION took a big step
forward compared to the 2002 debut demo. “Withering Existence”
sounds extremely professional and has this deep, heavy and round
vibrancy that is absolutely essential for traditional brutal Death.
To sum it up, whoever enjoys an excellent rhythmical, catchy full
frontal slab of brutalizing Death Metal and prefers natural growls
to “oink oink”-gurgling should feel obliged to send 5 Euro / $
or 30 SEK to Juha Helttunen, Faktorivägen 12 A, 691 33 Karlskoga,
Sweden. MP3’s and additional information can be found here: http://listen.to/strangulation,
Email is strangulation@hotmail.com.
Stefan Franke
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STRANGULATION
Atrocious Retribution
(Retribute Records)
26:06min
After the two demo CDs "Carnage In Heaven" and "Withering
Existence", which were already good releases, here we have the
great debut album of this Swedish Death Metal warriors. "Atrocious
Retribution" is an excellent piece of ass kicking Death Metal.
Obviously those Swedish Death mongers have nothing new to offer. No
innovations, no originality, no musical revolutions... just nothing
new at all. Unless I'm very much mistaken, it's not their intention
to invent a new genre or something like that. But hey, it's nothing
wrong with that kinda attitude... on the contrary. To be honest it's
a damned cool attitude... as long as a band is able to create songs
with personality instead of being just a poor copycat and believe me
STRANGULATION definitely has the ability to create some fucking
great neckbreakers. STRANGULATION's way of Death Metal is well
executed and it is a rather furious and thunderous blend of fast
blasting and groovy mid paced stuff. I would describe it as CANNIBAL
CORPSE influenced US style Death Metal with some very few hints of
their Swedish roots. You can hear the musicians dedication to Death
Metal with every single note they play... As mentioned before you
shouldn't expect innovative song structures nor virtuosity here but
highly energetic in your face Death Metal with a proper production.
Yeah, the sound is pretty cool. It's quite raw and powerful but not
too polished and one can hear what the bassist has to say... By the
way, the vocals on the STRANGULATION debut demo "Carnage In
Heaven" were done by Dennis from SPAWN OF POSSESSION who really
did a great job, but Jonathan, the new vocalist (who already did the
second demo) comes very close to what I call a perfect Death Metal
voice. He sounds rather dark and brutal but still naturally and
predictable. My fave song on this album is 'The Strangulation' which
is a brutal hymn with an obscure and dark atmosphere. So, enough
said, if you really appreciate a mind blasting, brutal, non
compromising Death Metal assault you better should get your fingers
on this album... as soon as possible!!! Highly recommended!!!
Hacker
BACK
STRIBORG
Embittered Darkness / Isle De Morts
(Displeased Records / Southern Lord Records)
73:36min
In April 2005, Stephen O’Malley featured on his personal website (www.ideologic.org)
an interview with STRIBORG mastermind Sin-Nanna. He also recommended
some CDs out of the abundant yet highly confidential STRIBORG
discography. The whole feature aroused my interest, so I managed to
get hard to find records to make out my own idea about this obscure
Tasmanian act. Little did I knew then than STRIBORG name was
destined to be widely spread out with enthusiasm within some “well
informed” avant-garde circles, to the point the latest SUNN O)))
album (“Black One”) featured an homage to STRIBORG (with the
track ‘Sin Nanna’). No wonder then that “Embittered Darkness /
Isle de Morts” was picked up by Southern Lord Records (run by
O’Malley partner in crime in SUNN O))) Greg Anderson) for a
licensing deal in North America. For those not familiar yet with
Sin-Nanna’s vision, let’s say that STRIBORG is about an
avant-garde form of crude, cruel and primitive Black Metal, where
the rawness of the production plays the role of an auxiliary musical
instrument. Sin-Nanna claims his debt to the morbid and angered
visions of ILDJARN, so this is another clue to give you an idea
about STRIBORG creations. Concept wise, all the Sin-Nanna
inspiration comes from the landscapes of his native land, Tasmania.
This is another common points with his Scandinavian counterparts for
who the inviolate nature, full of mysteries and darkness, appears
like a constant source of creative ideas. Tasmania is reputedly a
very strange environment, where the rainforests could induce
irrational surge of fears; this is perfectly transcribed within all
the tracks written by Sin-Nanna, the Black Metal he performs is all
about fear and you can’t get out of a listening session of any
STRIBORG release without a disturbing and a foul aftertaste, like as
if you are contaminated by the poisonous presence of a black ghost.
The music encapsulated in “Embittered Darkness / Isle De Morts”
is very representative of the whole STRIBORG discography.
It goes without saying that Sin-Nanna performs all the
instruments; the compositions are recorded with primitive devices,
likely analogic four tracks machines like it was the case before.
The guitars produce a sort of static noise put way down in the mix;
the variations within any given track come from the percussions (I
can’t figure out if Sin-Nanna uses programmed or real drums or
even a mix of both), even the acoustic guitar is used like a
percussive instrument, a primitive tribal drum. The voice is
probably the most prominent element in the STRIBORG sound signature:
a menacing, rampant and sinuous croak, deeply inhuman in its nature.
Some primitive synths are to hear here and there, to build up some
ambient interludes; needless to say, don’t expect symphonic
arrangements but instead disturbing repetitive sounds. Note that the
“Isle De Morts” part of the CD is in fact the reissue of the
third demo of KATHAARIA, Sin-Nanna’s previous project before
STRIBORG.
On this, the music is less personal in the sense the
Norwegian influences are more obvious; yet, the music is fantastic,
extremely violent. Sin-Nanna’s vocals evokes Satyr’s ones here.
The pace is frantic, and the riffing no less crude than on
“Embittered Darkness”; the intro of this part reminds the
legendary one of the first BATHORY record (do you remember
‘Hades’?).
To summarize: STRIBORG belongs to this new wave of grim Black
Metal bands that surfaced these last five years in reaction to the
commercial and bankable heresies that CRADLE OF FILTH and DIMMU
BORGIR embody. This very underground Black wave rekindles with the
cold violence of the origins and find a source of inspiration in the
latest manifestation of avant-garde Metal and non-Metal music.
I think the entire STRIBORG discography is an essential piece
in any serious Metal collection. To read more about Sin-Nanna and
STRIBORG, investigate the 04/19/2006 entry of the website
aforementioned, and go also to the following: www.southernlord.com,
www.displeasedrecords.com
and finally to www.geocities.com/striborgfanpage
a site I suspect run by Sin-Nanna himself.
Edouard Vergriete
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STRIBORG
Nefaria / Tragic Journey Towards The Light
79:25min
(Displeased Records)
When it comes to the topic “sound”, I must admit that I am not a sound fetishist. The music itself is more important and accordingly, from my point of view, sometimes a harsh and rough sound fits more than some polished high-end production. But what STRIBORG are offering on this release is, even for a Grind and Noise Core fan like me, almost near to the edge of being unlistenable. Especially the second part of this release, the first STRIBORG album “Tragic Journey Towards The End“, which dates back to the year 1993. Ok, I know that 13 year old four-track recordings definitely do not sound like a high-end production, but even back in 1993 I would have labelled this sound as horrible. The first part, the current album “Nefaria”, got a better sound, but the music is just boring. There is more about playing Black Metal than just putting some drums, guitars and shrieking vocals together and the keyboard episodes totally lack of inspiration. Since STRIBORG are active for more than 13 years by now, I guess the man behind this band, Sin Nanna, is performing this style to produce some kind of art, but even on this aspect he fails. ABRUPTUM for example did a much better job to play not just music, but to be pure evil. So to cut a long story short - awful sound, boring music, poor concept.
www.myspace.com/striborg
Mirco Szymyslik
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STRIBORG
Ghostwoodlands
(Displeased Records)
49:21min
I had to listen to this one for a couple of times, before being able
to do a proper review. I could easily finish it telling you this
sucks and deserve to be buried and forgotten. But I will try to give
a deeper insight on the music of this one band. I have to use the
term “band” or “music” in a very loose way. Although they
have been going on since 1994, I suppose the one and only member
wakes up from hibernation once in a while, and in a couple of hours
in a cheap Casio keyboard, with a cheap drum machine, and a cheap
electric guitar (with a really whiny distorition sound, no powerful
guitar sound, that would kill the atmosphere) in a cheap recorder
with a cheap microphone, it is all done.
If the vocals are also done with a severe cough, add some
bonus points. This is supposed to be some sort of Black Metal with a
lot of weird “evil” noises and sounds mixed in between. One can
also tell there is supposed to be a “suicidal” atmosphere here.
While some info about the band claims influences from XASTHUR,
LEVIATHAN and VON, this release goes more towards the atmospheric
parts and leaves on a second place the Metal sound. Again “Metal”
used in a very loose way. To some, this might be a quite depressive
form of black art. In reality this kind of “bands” are just
nothing more than an image, to hide the lack of musical qualities. I
mean, the one and only member does not give interviews! I guess it
will be pretty tough to answer why you still make so awful
recordings after all these years. Ok, well,
the lousy and poor production does not help either. Metal is
supposed to be about loud guitars, not an under produced blur-like
sound and drums sounding like hitting empty cans. This makes me
think the “band“ tries to make the image, lyrics and overall
atmosphere to come first and the, back in there, the music. The most
bearable song is the one that gives name to this album, going on for
more than 10 minutes, that sounds like a trance invocation, and some
more traditional Black Metal riffs can be heard. Only here I can
hear some VON references, mainly for the simple and repetitive main
riff, but that’s it. I suppose there are people that might find
something interesting in this, but the few other “bands” that
are making a similar kind of music, at least take a bit more care of
the overall presentation of the product, meaning better production
and more interesting ideas. So, if you like to hear something
depressive, with a rehearsal like production, with a lot of sounds
and some really under produced Black Metal touches, there you go.
Although not exactly in the same style, bands like ONDSKAPDT and
SHINING (who also mix sounds and atmospheres with Black Metal)
create wicked masterpieces. As for STRIBORG, it makes me to
appreciate the “delete” function in my computer. www.displeasedrecords.com
Julian Nuñez
BACK
STRIBORG
Solitude
(Displeased
Records)
71:18min
STRIBORG have since their creation more or less been a
love/hate-thing. This will most likely not change with the new
album. When I had been introduced to this band by a friend from
Tasmania at the end of the 1990s, I would have never thought that
this band would attract the attention it later did. It was solid,
slow-paced Black Metal that to some probably would include too many
ambient or repetitive parts, but which was the right soundtrack for
certain moods. The problem with some of the old recordings was more
or less the production and especially the drum computer. While the
music itself has not changed that much (and although it is a bit
unfair to STRIBORG because Sin-Nanna's releases are partly older
than Malefic's) which is still in the veins of XASTHUR or the
ambient music ILDJARN released, this could easily be one of the more
accessible STRIBORG-recordings. The production has changed for good
– one can actually listen to this recording without greater pains,
and the songs itself have gained from this, as they breathe more
soul somehow. After all I was pretty surprised when I listened to
this, and would call this is the best STRIBORG-release to-date from
the ones I do have. Probably a good start for those unfamiliar with
STRIBORG until now. www.displeasedrecords.com
Nhashi
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STRIBORG
Autumnal Melancholy
(Displeased Records)
62:19min
And again STRIBORG, a term which really fits due to alone seven
re-releases of old material in 2007 (plus 1 DVD) but this time
Displeased Records is in the position to offer new material in form
of STRIBORG’s latest release “Autumnal Melancholy”. If I
confirm that nothing changed more or less the core message has been
transferred because for all die-hards out there which can’t live
without a further hour a dark, depressive, ghostly Black Metal
this is the most important fact. Sin Nanna is on the road
since 1993 and due to the fact that "Autumnal Melancholy"
isn’t the first STRIBORG album I review within the last six
months think that even if we talk about progress on a millimetre
scale this is one of the better releases by this obscure one man
band from down under. The release is splitted into 4 long typical
STRIBORG songs and 4 dark ambient “Elements” and the different
parts working more closely together which improved the vastness and
dark soul of his release (compared with old releases like
"Trepidation"). STRIBORG’s music as advised before is
still true underground and will definitely not be found in the next
EMP Mailorder catalogue on the first page but for all fans of
depressive Black Metal worth a try. www.displeasedrecords.com
Matthias Auch
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STRIBORG
Perceiving The World With Hate
(Displeased Records)
65:33min
Of the multitude of Black Metal bands who fall under the hotly debated "depressive" sub-category, STRIBORG are among the best. At least it should be. Sin Nanna, the man behind the entire thing is adept at what he does; make decent, slowly paced
Black Metal with a wondrous touch of the eerie and gloomy. This release, yet another in a long line of albums dating back to 2004, differs hardly at all from its predecessors. And yet, there's no reason for any STRIBORG fan to dislike what this album offers. Sin Nanna is highly talented when it comes to setting the mood. The tediousness of the songs is considerably lessened by the overwhelmingly negative void that saturates each and every song. With such effects, it doesn't make sense for Sin Nanna to use his voice at all, since the entire album breathes and moans along with him. Sadly, this otherwordly excellence suffers a dip in quality on the third track,
'Call Of The Redwood Forest', which sounds ever so much like a BURZUM rip off. And really, is there anything about 'depressive'
Black Metal that does not copy BURZUM or STRID? Interesting, Sin Nanna recruited Malefic of XASTHUR to record three keyboard tracks, each approximately 10 minutes long. They are: 'Origin
Of Paranormal Possibilites', 'Ethereal Moon' and 'Perceiving The World
With Hate'; a curious mix of LUSTMORD and French Black Legions Metal. With all these set in place, STRIBORG have unmasked yet another disturbing musical scar.
www.myspace.com/striborg,
www.displeasedrecords.com
Nat Shapiro
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STRIDENT
On The Aim
(self-financed / Israhellbanger Records)
31:07min
According to the info I received this is the first album released by
a Thrash Metal band from Israel. I find that a bit hard to believe,
I remember the band NAIL WITHIN releasing their debut album in 2003,
and although they had also some melodic Death touches, they were
Thrash (how the hell could I forget about that? Especially since
Mille of KREATOR, Robert of ASSASSIN and Tompa of AT THE GATES all
guested on that record - Frank). Oh, well. Let`s talk about
STRIDENT. I would hardly call it Thrash Metal in the purest way as
the sound is actually more Thrashcore. They remind me a lot of early
D.R.I., DISCHARGE with the obvious touches of MOTÖRHEAD, early
SLAYER and Bay Area Thrash like early DEFIANCE. Especially the
vocals have that strong Hardcore screamy touch. Now, to refer this
band to a similar actual outfit I would say that EVIL ARMY comes
close. But whereas EVIL ARMY has some really great memorable
riffs and songs, STRIDENT has very few of them. They try to make
things all to be intense, but at the same time, they tend to sound
the same, and after a few songs I get lost if it is the same track
or if I hit by mistake the “repeat” function. There are a lot of
“moshing” parts that yes, do refer to the oldschool of Thrash
Metal, but there are also a lot of Hardcore references, that at
times are so present that this actually tends to sound in these ears
more Hardcore than Thrash. And the lyrics, to top it off, are more
in that social awareness and anti-politics that can also be related
to the Hardcore scene (ok, ok, some Thrash Metal bands did that
too). The production is good for the style with up-front guitars,
still the rhythm section, sounds a bit weird, the drums have a
synthetic feel and the bass tends to get lost most of the time. So,
for being one of the first Thrash Metal efforts, I would say I was
expecting a lot more, taking in count this style has been available
for at least two decades. I must admit that this is also not a jump
on the retro Thrash thing, it does sound honest, but yet there is a
lot of road ahead to rise form the countless hordes that play a
similar style and do it with more accuracy. More info at: www.myspace.com/stridentthrashmetal,
www.israhellbanger.com
Julián Núñez
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STRIDSMENN
Stridsmenn
(Northern Silence Productions)
38:55min
Northern Silence are introducing STRIDSMENN with the words that the
spirit of the mid 90s is missing in today’s armada of new Black
Metal releases especially if it comes to the new generation of
Norwegian bands - a statement which I would sign with my own blood.
STRIDSMENN are heading from Norske and the band is heavily inspired
by the second wave of Norwegian Black Metal (without being musically
too predictable) and the terminus “relict of glorious former
times” is this time no exaggeration. Especially the use of the
acoustic guitar is connecting the band with cult acts like BORKNAGAR
or very early ULVER (the Head Not Found releases) and the nearly 40
minutes are like a trip to the black (and nowadays weak) roots of
this style. The only matter which amazes me is the fact that half of
the presented material has been released twice under the former band
name AUSTKRIGAR. The three songs were originally released in 2005 as
normal demo CD called “Saar…Boldvatn… Dod” and in 2006 the
identical material was used for the split album with ALTUS ULTIONIS.
So it’s definitely not the best idea - even if all three songs had
been re-recorded for this release - to start a so called “new
life” under the banner of STRIDSMENN if the only band member
Arnjeir seems to be forced to use such old material. Nevertheless
again a very good debut via Northern Silence and a proof that not
all hope is lost for the once so pride Norwegian scene. www.northern-silence.com,
www.stridsmenn.no
Matthias Auch
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STRIKER
Road Warrior
(Iron Kodex)
25:55min
It's been a while since I stumbled across a Heavy / Power Metal recording that
really catches my attention. STRIKER hails from Canadian lands and it has been a breath of
fresh air for the berserk of Death / Black Metal releases coming out from everywhere
during the last few years. STRIKER is a band that perfectly takes you back in time to the
80s at the time real Heavy Metal bordering speedy Power Metal overtones reigned supreme. Add some screamy
wails (damn this guy sounds a lot like Henning Basse of METALIUM fame), unmerciful
guitar riffing / soloing, simple but pounding drumming and you will get close to what
these guys are really up to! I love the cover concept of a biker being chased by
zombies, it sets the perfect scenario for a proper listening of this EP.
It is a shame this is just 25 minutes long given the power and passion contained
herewith. Do yourself a favor and keep on the lookout for their summer 2009 album.
STRIKER is ready to kill... full speed or no speed at all bitches! Contact them at:
www.myspace.com/listentostriker
Mario Cubero
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STURMGEIST
Manifesto Futurista
(Inhuman Music)
38:14min
Recently I met Cornelius of SOLEFALD and he described the third
attack of his side project STURMGEIST as “easy listening Black
Metal” – a description which I thought would never be applicable
for this band without borders. Everybody who knows STURMGEIST from
their first two releases via Season of Mist will expect everything -
in some way you can only expect the unexpected from them – but
never a true Black Metal album. The reason for this course change is
the lyrical background of “Manifesto Futurista”. The major topic
is the curse of humanity – war - and especially the last 100 years
which offer so many occasions for bloodshed and massmurder in form
of war or terrorism. So in some way this release is STURMGEIST ‘s
"Panzerdivison" version but which old fan will follow the
band to these grounds? The album offers 10 solid Black Metal tracks
on a high aggressive level with good sound and a nice digipack –
the limited version of 1000 copies is also signed by the artist –
but there is no need to deny the fact that every innovation is
missing. I prefer the more ‘coloured’ STURMGEIST releases with
musical and lyrical surprises behind every corner – the standard
colour on “Manifesto Futurista” is black and there are so many
bands which can offer a far more intensive shade. www.inhuman.no,
www.sturmgeist.no
Matthias Auch
BACK
SUBCONSCIOUS
Irregular
(Supreme Chaos Records)
44:42min
SUBCONSCIOUS from Ludwigshafen, Germany seem to be quite the old
stagers in the (Metal) music business: formed in 1990 as a Thrash /
Death Metal band, they released one demo in 1992 and two studio
albums in 1993 and 1995. In 1997 they split up and were put on hold
for five years. After their reformation in 2002 they released two
demos and now their third album. I understand that from 1993 to 1997
their musical style was quite different from their momentary
incarnation as a Progressive Thrash Metal outfit, namely some kind
of Crossover Metal, but it’s quite obvious that nowadays they
prefer listening to the technical songs by the likes of ATHEIST,
DEATH or CYNIC, who all seem to be strong influences on their
compositions. I’m impressed by their formidable instrumental
abilities, which allow them to form extremely elaborate songs. The
highly complex songs demand a lot of attention and need to grow by a
few time of listening in order to enjoy all the interesting ideas of
songwriting. SUBCONSCIOUS are prone to play more on the jazzy side
of things, so don’t expect some acoustic massacre or lots of
straightforward parts, but impressive performances of rhythmical
variations, technical riffs and solos. Unfortunately, the nine songs
on “Irregular” lose a bit of drive because of the rather thin
production, but that’s only a marginal deficit which doesn’t
ruin the whole record. To put it in a nutshell, if you’re
interested in progressive Metal music - not the brutal stuff
exclusively - give SUBCONSCIOUS a listen, they won’t invade your
ears instantly, but they will award your perseverance. From www.subconscious-metal.de
you can download a couple of songs from their early period to get a
first impression, although these songs are not representative for
their current efforts.
Christoph Göbel
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SUBCYDE
Subcyde
(Last Entertainment Productions)
43:34min
No rest for the poor wickeds... Here I am again, checking in what
our lovely western neighbours in Sweden can offer for our curiously
burning ears. SUBCYDE - this furious Swedish foursome cleverly
combines the grooviness of PANTERA with aggressiveness and heaviness
of Thrash Metal (does anyone like TESTAMENT here?), and the result
sounds actually pretty darn convincing and entertaining. Somehow I
think it's kinda ironic how much they tend to sound some certain
bands that people in general tend to compare them due to the band's
musical influences. Take for example a song called 'Testament' off
the plate, and one surely ends up noticing how incredibly much they
do sound like TESTAMENT. Antonio Ravina (vocals in SUBCYDE) even
seems to have some sort of inborn drive to spit his vocals out
nearly the same way in this song like Chuck Billy does in TESTAMENT,
so you can only imagine how powerful Antonia can really be with his
vocal efforts in the songs on SUBCYDE's self-titled debut album.
Also, my hat goes off sincerely for Ola, the 6-string holder of
SUBCYDE simply because the guy seems to have enough sharp ears for
some truly heavy yet tasteful riffs and rhythm changes in their
tunes. He sows wonderfully addictive and catchy riffs all around
constantly like that could be the only thing where he knows he's
very good at. And yes, he is - just not a slightest doubt of it.
Trying to find some weak spots off SUBCYDE's album is as difficult
as claiming Steve DiGiorgio doesn't have a clue about any proper
bass playing, so for your own curiosity's sake, just go and try that
thing out if you want to. SUBCYDE's true strength is based on the
band's amazing song writing skills to write some of the most
powerful and crushing songs that I've got a pleasure to hear for
some years. The band is another fine example why the Swedes do
dominate and rule the world by their absolutely vast invasion of
professional Metal acts, and why we actually need those damn Swedes
to satisfy our deepest needs for some absolutely passionately and
determinedly churned-out, fine Metal. So, here you are dear folks,
SUBCYDE. Enjoy!
Band: www.subcyde.com,
label: www.lastentertainment.com
Luxi Lahtinen
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SUBMISSION
Failure To Perfection
(Listenable)
43:47min
Listenable goes “Zeitgeist” !?! Pretty strange to see one of the last quality merchants in the business spewing forth something so obviously keen on following the footsteps of SOILWORK, DARKANE and the likes
(??? - SOILWORK started out on Listenable Mr. Gründig - Frank). So, what you get with the debut by this Danish five-piece is melodic and sometimes fast,
Thrash Metal very much in the vein like the aforementioned have established it in the late nineties. There is definitely some talent here, the playing abilities are beyond any questioning and Tue Madsen granted them with a sound that has to be called simply perfect. But I just HATE these stupid clean-voice refrains!! It’s the same shit that all these worthless
Metal-core acts come up with. I’m not all against clean vocals or melodic refrains but until now I’ve never heard any good vocal line or memorable melody in this genre. I really can’t help myself but everytime they come up with their boring and inconsistent refrains I get the feeling that it’s only done to make the music more accessible to a wider audience.
Cause there really seem to be a whole lotta dumbfucks out there who seem to enjoy this because it’s so very important to have something to shout along to in their oh so freaky and extreme
music. After all, despite of the undisputable potential of this band it’s modern approach shouldn’t appeal to many of the readers of this site anyway, but if your girlfriend should happen to like such stuff she’d be better off with this then with the latest ear-insult by IN
FLAMES. www.submission-ragecage.dk.
You may order it
here.
Torsten Gründig
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SUBREALITY
Endless Horizons
(Black Hate Productions)
25:06min
Impressive, very impressive! This output dates back to 1996, when it
was first released. Now it is re-released via Black Hate Productions, so
every one of you should be able to get this unique masterpiece of
gloomy and melancholic Dark Metal! Formed by members of DARK TRIBE,
SUBREALITY are no longer active, it is more or less a kind of
tribute to the old days and should show the roots and the musical
development of the involved musicians. On "Endless Horizons"
you will find five songs plus outro. Due to the short running time I
do not know if this one can be considered as a full-length album,
but that does not matter at all! The music is just so intense! All
songs are mid-tempo based, with slow parts. The sometimes melodic
riffs really arouse a dark, dim atmosphere, with a strong
melancholic approach. The vocalist is changing from husk shouting to
deep growls and clear chanting, even some spoken parts can be heard.
As I wrote above this album is unique, I can not tell you any band
which this music can be referred to. The only album that maybe can
compared to "Endless Horizons" is the all time classic
"Dance Of December Souls" by KATATONIA. The same dark,
depressive mood. Nowadays a lot of bands play Dark Metal and are
trying to create such a feeling by using lots of keyboards, female
vocals, orchestra or whatever. SUBREALITY impressively demonstrate
how to perform Dark Metal without anything than just guitars, bass,
drums and vocals. The sound on "Endless Horizons" is
rather rough, but it is suitable to set up this raw, melancholic,
dark, depressed vibes. So if you like the mentioned KATATONIA album
or if you are bored by the today's Dark Metal bands and their futile
tries to create something really atmospheric, then check out
SUBREALITY - "Endless Horizons" Highly recommended! Label
contact: http://www.blackhate.de
Mirco Szymyslik
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SUBTERFUGE CARVER
Deathcore
(Supreme Chaos Records)
54:58min
With “Deathcore” we get the debut record of this band from the
area of Stuttgart, Germany. The promo sheet writes more about their
success during contests then something about the music but the title
gives a good direction. Deathcore or Metalcore with a little bit
Death Metal is the musical direction I think. So you get the genre
typical mixture of screaming and growling and clean singing over
deep Thrash riffs and powerful drumming. And here I have to say
thumbs up for Alex Wiedhölzl and the variability of his vocals. The
riffs sometimes remind me a little bit of PANTERA and also
especially the beginning of song number eight 'P**** Gunner' sounds
a little bit like DOWN and Mr Anselmo; not only the riffing, also
the voice and melody line. What song number ten – 'Prelude To War'
is for, no idea. Short and unnecessary instrumental, which nobody
needs. Sorry. In the end the songs are all well arranged and the
musical skills are above all doubts covered by a very good
production of Andy Classen in his Stage One Studios. But this is not
really my cup of tea. Sorry again. So
if you are a fan of this genre you should risk an ear at www.myspace.com/subterfugecarver
or www.s-c-r.de
Stefan Hagmayer
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SUFFERAGE
Raw Meat Experience
(self-financed)
39:07min
Lately I
stumbled across SUFFERAGE opening for DESPONDENCY and DAEMONS
EMBRACE in Oldenburg, Germany. They’re from Hamburg and they play
a good portion of Death Metal. But there are so many bands of that
kind around so I’m going to try and find out if anybody needs
these guys. First of all they were highly sympathetic on stage and
pretty tight. Their female vocalist is probably one of the best ones
of her sex in this genre, definitely including Rachel from SINISTER.
What we get on "Raw Meat Experience" isn’t too exciting,
though. Pretty much what the average Death Metal band delivers
nowadays: really fast blasts, groovy parts, some oldschool
references (CANNIBAL CORPSE seem to be one of their favorites). On
the other hand, they’re a little more tight than the average demo Death
Metal band,
they play their stuff with passion and there are other bands under
contract that don’t even come close to the abilities of SUFFERAGE.
The songs DO kick ass. Pretty impressive drummer, a good production,
gory cover artwork and a strange sort of humor (?) expressed in song
titles such as 'I Hate My Cunt'. I guess I’m not going to
elaborate on this nay further. Then there are 2 older songs included
as live versions that don’t sound too good. Considering all of
these points I guess an underground deal might be possible in the
future. Until then: check out their homepage, download a few songs,
judge for yourselves and have a beer or two. By the way, before I
forget: something that counts against SUFFERAGE is the fact that
they consider Astra to be their favorite beer brand! The Spanish inquisition
is never at hand when you desperately need it! www.sufferage.de
Ramon Claassen
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SUFFERAGE
Bloodspawn
(Remission Records)
42:05min
After their debut-album ''Raw Meat Experience'' the German
Death/Thrash Metal band
Sufferage
is back with their second album called ''Bloodspawn''. You can
expect a well-done bastard of bands like
Sepultura
("Chaos A.D." era), some
Sinister,
even some older Swedish hordes (Grave)
and also a bit of
Morgoth
and
Pestilence.
The brutal voice of Jasmin Fleiner (yes, a female) is brutal and
even disgusting; it really sounds like a male. Not to forget it is
as powerful as fukk. As you could have already figured out, they are
absolutely in the brutal Death Metal direction, here and there some
Thrash influences are to be seen, too.
Sufferage
offer 11 tracks that are nothing but nice. Even with their
brutality, it is just nice music. Everyone outside should wonder
themselves if they want their Death Metal to be nice… Label
contact: www.remissionrecords.de.
Also on sale
here.
Hurricane
BACK
SUFFERAGE
Everlasting Enmity
(Remission Records)
58:06min
The Death Metal wrath of the brothers Fink, marches on! From the
mean streets of Hamburg, Germany hail these maniacs of American
styled brutal Death. “Everlasting Enmity”, the follow up to last
year’s “Blood Spawn” album, that I unfortunately missed. Is a
monumental collection (15 songs!) of sincere, aggressive brutality!
Not since the early ‘90s have I heard a relative new band from
northern Germany (SUFFERAGE formed in 2000) deliver so much gore
infested, ‘eadbanger friendly / pit inducing crunch. Not only
this, but this record also is the debut of the band’s new front
man, Sebastian Frohlich, and what a pair of lungs this man has!
Chris Barnes in his prime is Sebastian’s only equal. And without
question if there was an award to be presented to an upcoming Metal
band for most Inspired, this trophy should be handed to SUFFERAGE
now! Incredibly tight, proficient in every manner, coupled with a
professional sound and attitude that truly makes it a pleasure to
listen and review an act of this caliber. SUFFERAGE warms my black
fucking heart to no end! Contact: www.myspace.com/sufferagehamburg
or www.sufferage.de
Wes Rhodes
BACK
SUFFOCATE
BASTARD
Acts Of Contemporary Violence
(Revenge Productions)
36:19min
“One
of Germany's most brutal US-style Death Metal acts” says the
info-sheet, and I can only underline every fucking word. The debut
album of Suffocate Bastard
offers almost the best homegrown Death I have heard in a long time.
After two demos (of which the superb second one “Architects Of
Perversity” sponsored 4 songs for this actual 15 tracker as well)
they finally signed a deal with “Ludwigshafen Deathfest”
organizer Dani and his Revenge Productions and now deliever over
half an hour of mature brutality the American way. A blend of Disgorge
(CA) and Gorgasm says
the label; personally I would add a strong Odius
Mortem factor (“Devouring The Prophecy” times) to this
description regarding the vast amount of breaks and the overall
complexity of the material presented here. But anyway, this is by
all means the modern blasting Death Metal school represented by
Unique Leader Records and the likes, and it’s just damn cool (did
I already mention that?). Weird, sometimes slamming twin-guitar
work, killer blastbeats by ex-Castigate
drummer Thorsten Bertram (so everybody still remembering that band,
you know what you get here, just a few levels ahead…) and fine
guttural insanity, all clad in a professional and massive sound by East
Frisian soundwizard Jörg Uken at the Soundlodge Studio.
Professional artwork by Niklas / Infested
(another branch of German hopefuls by the way). Anything else? Yeah,
they already have a new vocalist called Brice, and if you haven’t
had the opportunity to catch these friendly fuckers live at several
Deathfe(a)sts already, get your ass up the next time! Highly
recommended for all fans of modern and ambitious US-Death Metal. www.suffocate-bastard.de,
www.myspace.com/suffocatebastard
Steffen
Ilm
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SUFFOCATION
Souls To Deny
(Relapse Records)
38:20min
This is probably THE most anticipated reunion album in the entire
history of Death Metal! SUFFOCATION, the masters of brutal Death,
have finally returned to the scene after an almost six year long
abscence. And even though they still know how to deliver brutality
in perfection times have drastically changed ever since their last
offering "Despise The Sun" reared its ugly head, and tons
of new bands have took over and / or brought SUFFOCATION's style to
a new level. Which means, that despite the undenyable musical
qualities of "Souls To Deny", I'm pretty sure that it
won't have the same impact on the scene as the guys used to have
back in their early days when "Human Waste" or "Effigy
Of The Forgotten" came out. So, let's face the facts: nowadays
we simply have tons of brutal bands that mix sheer brutality with
high technical abilities - from DISGORGE to KRISIUN to HATE ETERNAL
(just to name three rather different, yet like-minded ones) and
SUFFOCATION have become just one of this movement as opposed to
being the outstanding leaders they used to be. Don't get me wrong,
all of the eight featured new songs on this album are perfectly
executed and wellwritten examples of brutal and rather twisted US
Death Metal. But from a band like SUFFOCATION I simply expected a
little bit more and less safe sounding, yeah probably even with more
sickness incorporated instead of an album that easily could've been
done in a similar manner by a good handful of other skilled bands of
this particular genre. It simply lacks identity. Period. Solid, but
certainly not groundbreaking! It once again comes with another great
Dan Seagrave coverart though. The official release date in Europe is
May 19, so don't start to look for it earlier. For all further info check out www.suffocation.us
or www.relapse.com
Frank Stöver
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SUFFOCATION
Suffocation
(Relapse Records)
44:14min
Since I listened to the new album of the true fathers of brutal Death
Metal, SUFFOCATION, for the first time,
I knew this review would be quite hard to do, as it is almost impossible for me to say anything bad
about this New York gods. Anyway, I'll try to be the most objective I can. One thing is quite clear here, this one is more brutal and straight
into your face than its predecessor; in fact at the beginning I felt like they had recorded a less inspired
album (the first two listens didn't give me a good feeling), but the reality is that with a few more listens you see that the riffs are not so obviously melodic,
although still with a lot of melody and groovy as some on "Souls To
Deny". They are more twisted and technical and with a lot of variety
in tempo (as always), but especially heavy and groovy. The songs here are truly fucking
heavy, mainly thanks to Mr. Mike Smith, who is as brilliant and demolishing as always. The vocals are sometimes
just in the same way as on their previous works and in others a bit deeper too, but keeping the
wellknown style of Frank Mullen: understandable and not extremely guttural, but powerful as very few growlers in the whole scene. But one of the most
surprising things here, in my point of view, is the really good
production (even better than on "Souls To Deny"), so
well-balanced that any detail can be distinguished here (you can almost imagine how the drummer is moving his hands
in every second), and all of this as powerful as always. I cannot say much more here I think, those who like
Suffocation won't be
disappointed by these ten new tracks (if we forgive the intro), which will blast everything live, as they are clearly
composed for live shows. Perhaps some won't like the cover too much, as it is a bit different
to the ones they used to have, but it reflects the darkness within
(yes, ok, that logo with the S could have been removed, but the whole would
have been a bit empty). The gods are back! You may order it here.
More info:
www.relapse.com
Jeroni Sancho
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SUHRIM
The Cunt Collector
(Pulsar Light Records)
31:51min
It's kinda strange that the Belgium underground is still pretty much
overlooked when it comes to brutal Death Metal. For many years
already, people basically seem to focus on the American market now (with
a few exceptions to the rule, of course)... Well, ok – we probably
wouldn't have had such a healthy scene in general nowadays if bands
like MORBID ANGEL, INCANTATION, MALEVOLENT CREATION, OBITUARY, DEATH,
IMMOLATION and the likes wouldn't have started it all in such an
impressive manner. But there's also a lot of promising acts in
European countries these days – and Belgium is definitely one of
them! If you already checked out the two great "Face Your
Underground" compilations, by our dedicated fellows from
DeathMetal.be you'll certainly agree that the overall quality
overthere is very impressive! One of the bands that had been
featured on both volumes of that compilation is SUHRIM... and to me
they are also one of the most promising! They simply have the right
feel for this type of music, the necessary skills (no wonder,
because they have been around since 1989 already and released
countless of demos as well as two more CDs ever since) and a
crushing production to go hand in hand with it. Their varied
songwriting (with a healthy balanced mixture of fast'n'slower parts),
the cool riffing, powerful rhythm section and deeply grunted, yet
very cool sounding vocal delivery couldn't have been done any better
by any American act! And neither the bunch of spoken intros nor
their unnecessarily created "controversity" ("The
Cunt Collector", "Parental advisory – explicit
band!" etc.) do overshadow this quality in a negative way. The
only little letdown is the label's rather unprofessional printing of
the digipack's backside (a higher resolution would certainly have
helped here...). But that shouldn't stop you from supporting this
excellent band! SUHRIM simply delivers brutal Death Metal at its
best! Period! For all further info check out http://suhrim.deathmetal.be or contact the label through www.pulsarlight.net.
Frank Stöver
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SUHRIM
Unidentified Flying Bodyparts
(Hybred Records)
32:04min
After reading this band’s biography and the subsequent 7 demos that this band has released since 1991, the mere fact this act might of called it a day before this debut album was recorded and put to market, could
have simply been the natural course of things. SUHRIM might easily
have been lost to annals of time and forgotten about! Thankfully perseverance on behalf of the band’s members and for those fortunate maniacs at Hybred Records lucky enough to have heard this Belgian foursome, absolutely knew they had something heavy and demented on their hands with the Death Metallers SUHRIM. Constituting of old style brutal Death in the early ‘90s vein that’s body lingers to an overall sound that is akin to that of GRAVE in tuning, riffing and vocal delivery and yet altogether fused with enough of the band’s own originality and energy to take that generalized Swedish foundation onto the next level. This 2002 debut delivers twelve tracks of blistering, raw Death Metal supplied here in dose after brutal dose of lyrical infected blood and scattered cadaveric remains. Essential for those rabid fans of the
golden era of Death, SUHRIM is strictly for you! P.S. SUHRIM also gets a “thumbs up” from this reviewer for the addition of “Erik The Viking” comedic interludes within this CD. That movie rules!
Contact: Johan Antonissen, Beeckmanstraat Nr.3, 2170 Merksem, Belgium or
Johan.suhrim@telenet.be
or www.suhrim.be
or www.myspace.com/suhrimdeathmetal
or info@hybredrecords.se
Wes Rhodes
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SUHRIM
Happy Hour
(Shiver Records)
43:06min
The next official toe-tag in line for these Belgian masters of Death, their third album of blood soaked brutality! I tell you it is so refreshing to hear a band that has all its pistons firing at the same time! Incredible! As I used to think that only the
gods of old who were releasing records on Roadrunner, Century Media and Nuclear Blast in the day were capable of delivering album after album of memorable Death Metal. Those deities are not alone, not anymore! SUHRIM honestly re-create that esthetic that has been so sadly lacking within this genre spectrum for so many years and refuse to submit to anything less. A fact, that is more than appreciated, to this
Death Metal fan and avid album reviewer. Each CD of SUHRIM take yet another step forward in terms of musical evolution output without compromising any of the brutal sickness and gore infested compost that culminate to form the fetid, morbidious creations that are spat forth in vomited rage! Moving slightly away from their Swedish inspired foundation to a more English standard. Think CARCASS and some early NAPALM DEATH mixed in and I’d wager you’ll also get caught up in the swift terror that SUHRIM are assuredly known for throughout the EU. One aspect that is also not lost was the brutal recorded sound that the band received as a remix on their previous album “The Cunt Collector“. That sick sound was as closely adhered to on this album as a recording engineer could get. As SUHRIM opted oddly enough not to run with CCR Studios as they had for that notable remix, yet instead went to Studio Hertz / Bialystok, Poland. A risky move to be sure, yet actually worked out very well in the end. Favored songs ‘War’, ‘White Shark’, ‘Bonesaw’, ‘Opening Hell’s Gate’, and ‘Vomiting Blood’ accompany at total of fourteen tracks in total with a bonus
live fifteenth number entitled ‘Sudden Death’ recorded at SWR9 @ The Barroselas Metalfest 2006 in Portugal.
Here comes the pain – the bonesaw shall reign! Contact: Johan Antonissen, Beeckmanstraat Nr.3, 2170 Merksem, Belgium or
Johan.suhrim@telenet.be
or
www.suhrim.be or
www.myspace.com/suhrimdeathmetal or
www.shiver-records.com
Wes Rhodes
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SUICIDAL WINDS
Crush Us With Fire (MCD)
(No Colours Records)
18:24min
The Swedish
masters of raw blackened Thrash are back with a new MCD and it is a
really great release. Although the playing time is not that
excessive, the four new songs, the fantastic cover of one of Sweden’s
finest - GROTESQUE - and a dirty live version of ‘Ashes From A
Past Life’ are altogether very driving, rousing Metal from fucking
hell!!! No mid-tempo shit, no melodic fuck, just straight ahead
speedy stuff, aggressive screams, memorable song structures and an
oldschool feeling that summons memories of bands like good old
MERCILESS. In my opinion SUICIDAL WINDS took a step ahead with this
and the new songs are slightly better than their last full length
"Victims In Blood". Fans of SUICIDAL WINDS should be 100%
sure to get this MCD and who does not know about that Swedish bunch
of savages should find out now! "Crush Us With Fire" is
excellent. For more information check out the label’s website www.no-colours-records.de.
To contact the band use this email address: suicidalwinds@swipnet.se
Stefan Franke
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SUICIDAL WINDS
Total Death n' Live
(Pulverised Records)
43:37min
It’s not too often that you stumble upon a live-record by some rather small act deeply rooted within the underground. Even more so when it’s documenting a show you visited. Which is actually the case for my humble self with this new effort by Swedish Black-Thrashers SUICIDAL WINDS. As the album title subtly suggests it contains a cover of KREATOR’s ‘Total Death’ and their gig at last year’s “Festung Open Air” in Bitterfeld. Strangely enough I can’t remember anything about the concert. I’m not sure if the good ol’booze is to blame, but listening to the album another explanation comes to mind: the plain fact that there’s really nothing too special or memorable about their music. You can clearly hear their dedication and passion, but compared to masters of the genre such as DESASTER and especially DESTROYER 666 - which also played the festival – their songs are rather
mediocre. At least the sound is very unpolished and raw, no overdubs here. It really feels like being back on the festival area, standing in the rain amidst dozens of smelly headbangers, being hung-over as fuck in the lovely surroundings of the ever enchanting Bitterfeld. Golden memories indeed…but apart from such nostalgic sentiment there’s hardly a reason for you to pick this up, shouldn’t you belong to the rare elite of SUICIDAL WINDS
die-hards. www.pulverised.net
Torsten Gründig
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SUICIDAL
WINDS
Chaos Rising
(Pulverised Records)
45:07min
This is already record number four of these guys from Sweden. They
got together back in 1992 and are already wellknown in the Death
Metal scene, still serving oldschool Death Metal with influences
from Thrash and Black Metal. After the intro 'Slowly We Frost' (a
little hint to two wellknown bands), which starts slow and reserved,
the blast comes. 10 fine oldschool tracks, very well presented, no
doubts about the technical and musical skills of the guys. Michael
Johansson’s typical Death Metal vocals fit perfect to the
presented material. To achieve the perfect oldschool sound the band
recorded, mixed and mastered the album at the EVOCATION studio by
EVOCATION’s guitar player Vesa Kenttäkumpu. Throughout the
playing time there is little to less variation during the songs for
me, but for oldschool heads it’s the perfect record without too
much innovation and miles away from modern influences. For all
further info check out www.myspace.com/suicidalwinds
or www.pulverised.net
Stefan Hagmayer
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SUIDAKRA
Emprise To Avalon
(Century Media)
40:07min
On their 5th release German Black / Death band SUIDAKRA present
themselves as a naturally matured act. No cheap German sounding
parts, just pure music. Nowadays they don't have to hide from
international acts. What makes them special are the acoustic, sort
of 'medieval' parts they integrate quite skilfully. 'Emprise...'
doesn't have a real hit character, so it might not sell as well as
other bands' releases from that genre. On the other hand the record
doesn't start getting on one's nerves - a phenomenon I was haunted
with too often in the last couple of years. So if you're really into
this sound and if you'd like to discover rather than be gripped
right from the start: this album is definitely a so-called grower.
Cool. www.suidakra.info
Ramon Claassen
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SULPHUR
Cursed Madness
(Osmose Productions)
37:28min
Osmose Productions started at the forefront of the very late 80s - early
90s scene with some of the most amazing releases ever heard, some of those bands are still around
and strong, others just faded into obscurity. I'm not sure if it is just me but listening
to the latest releases of this label I honestly couldn't find anything worth of
attention or even good enough to spend money on a purchase. With SULPHUR I can safely
say that they are trying to regain their old faithful customers or at least make up
for their past failures. SULPHUR hails from Norway, are comprised of
ex - ENSLAVED / ex - AETERNUS members that got together around 2000
and have previously released two demos that no one cared for up to
now. Indeed, the label did a smart move signing them given their potential
and good sense to create pretty decent Death / Black Metal. I wouldn't venture to say they are pretty original or ground-breaking given the obvious
ZYKLON / EMPEROR influence but they surely are on the right path to shine by their own
light in the near future. In this album you will witness a band mostly dwelling in the
mid to fast tempos with very technical meets melodic riffing and interesting lead guitar
work. One thing to point out is the outstanding drum work that is the element that in my
opinion breaths life into the compositions, I'm not pretty sure Erik (ex
- AETERNUS) actually played in the album but given the god-like execution I wouldn't be
surprised he is the to blame! Very good but not essential, still one of the best few albums
Osmose has to offer lately. Contact the band at: www.myspace.com/sulphur666.
The CD is on sale
here.
Mario Cubero
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