Although The Blood Divine are a new band, most of its members aren't new to the scene. Take three members from black/metal outfit Cradle of Filth, the former singer from Anathema and a bassplayer called Steve Maloney and the result is The Blood Divine. Everyone familiar with Cradle of Filth, don't expect The Blood Divine to be a black/metal band. Their sound would be best described as doom/metal. Actually, "Awaken" strikes me as a cross between early Amorphis and early Anathema (doh!), with White's voice slightly heavier and a little less aggressive. It's clear that the band have a great deal of experience, and while being doom/metal oriented, most songs are quite up-tempo, instead of the traditional slow, doom-epics. Of course the slow, haunting songs can also be found on "Awaken", with the guitars and keyboards playing a big part in creating the mood. And then of course, there's also the standard additional female voice.
Although the songs (10) are strong and finished, Awaken lacks in the originality department. It certainly is a good, professional album, especially considering it's a debut album. But that also indicates the band haven't found their own sound yet. Still, with "Awaken", The Blood Divine show they definitely have potential. It's a worthy album and doom/metal fans will love it.
I don't so much as love Black Sabbath as much as love their contribution to the development of the genre we all now know and love. They certainly weren't afraid to try new ideas. It makes me wonder why Cathedral are. It's been three Lp's since the scintillating "Soul Sacrifice" Ep signalled the band's new up tempo groove based Sabbath riff formula. Nothing has changed. Sure there's a hint of an increase in the 70's "stoner" rock feel on a track like "Birth Machine 2000", but nothing as exciting as "Fountain of Innocence" or as awesomely heavy "Ebony Tears". When I go back and listen to "Forest Of Equilibrium" I'm reminded of the fact these guys were an awesome metal band, and I just don't know if they have the pedigree to turn themselves into a rock band, albeit a very heavy one. The pinched and poached riffs are familiar and heavy, but they just don't make songs appear out of no where. There's barely a hint of Doom on "SBM", something Lee used to pride the band on. If you want to compare this Lp to other "stoner rock" doing the rounds at the moment, well, any of FU MANCHU's Lp's just destroy what Cathedral have come up with here. Show more of that undoubted talent please Lee.
Although just released the Christbait material has been recorded for over a year now, but still displays the band's attention to detail and ability to incorporate various influences cohesively into their pummelling sound. Groovalacious for anybody needing a post-Kyuss fix, and surely brutal enough for all fans of the more extreme arts, the CD thankyou list just about sums up where Christbait are coming from: Kyuss meets Blood Duster is an appropriate enough hybrid. Saxophones on "Tractor Pull" invoke The Stooges "Funhouse", and the title cut does the same for Clint Eastwood. The band's "Yeast" Cd of about 3 years ago set a new benchmark for heavy production in the Australian underground, and the music on "Dirtypunkmutha" now does the same. If only this band could be heard by some of the others they worship, they'd also be spoken of in reverential tones.
Most Black Metal bands, and a few heads, seem to be perfunctorily inspired by the sword wielding histrionics of the '80's genre forefathers, Bathory. All of the Swedish masters media despised innovations have become sonic icons of the extreme end of Metal, and as with most much imitated acts, have become incessantly boring in the '90's through mediocre bands and their lack of imagination. Black Metal, like Thrash before it, is clearly coming to the peak of it's popular powers, and thus it's crossroads. Only the strong, most visionary acts will survive once this arc is complete, and Cradle Of Filth is up there at the head.
Like their contemporaries in Blackdom, the Blackheim helmed Diabolical Masquerade and Bewitched, Cradle take their cues from a wider variety of sources than most, primarily the late '80's thrash scene and early '80's Metal, including Maiden, Priest, et al, but also punk. Dead Kennedy's riffs stand out on "A Gothic Romance" in particular. But, as confirmed to me in a recent interview with Cradle drummer Nick, another huge influence on the band was the first two albums by mid '80's British Satanic thrashers Onslaught, a crucial band in the history of Blackness. Onslaught looked pretty much like any other straight up thrashers, such as the pre-boardshorts Anthrax, but covered their LP's in pentagrams and the like, and screeched utterly Crowleyian nonsense about Hell's hoards rising to bust caps in your ass. But they boasted the cleanest and punchiest BM production of the day, an admirable trait not lost on the latest additions to the Brit Metal roll of honour.
The production on "Dusk and Her Embrace" by Kit Woolven is the cleanest, punchiest ever in all of Black Metal, and therefore surely the best. It is made all the more impressive by the amount of effects and overdubs Cradle must have requested, with all of their Gothic predilections. Over the top is the only description for the scale and sheer amount of Hammer Horror piano tinkling, operatic wailing and vampiric candle lighting on "Dusk", and I love it. It's hard to imagine this stuff sounding better actually.
Now the only thing that remains to be seen for the band, now that they have seemingly recorded their masterpiece, is if they can, in the words of Robocop, "stay out of trouble". I personally don't believe these nice young lads could really be as fucked up in the head as their Norwegian counterparts, so it is a little beyond me as to why they persist with the blatantly offensive merchandise that is only going to get them into hotter water than they are now. Is it really worth risking a career over? If you want to hear the new LP, I suggest you buy it. The band, in a worst case but very realistic scenario, will need the money in a couple of years when they get out of the nick.
To say the metal genre has been plagued with sell-outs, unoriginality and plain old stupidity is a huge understatement, but don't worry, there is hope. Crisis' Metal Blade debut 'Deathshead Extermination' is a highly original and very 'fresh' album. It starts out with a very catchy instrumental which leads nicely into the first song with vocals; 'Working Out Of The Graves'. It starts out with pleasent sounding female vocals.... suddenly these inhuman Death Metal snarls start eminating from this same voice. Singer Karyn Crisis seems to be able to sing in every style and every pitch imaginable. Throughout the album she can go from a pleasent voice to a downright evil John Tardy-like bark from word to word. She is backed by a very compitent group of musicians; ex-Stalwart guitarist Afzaal Nasiruddeen, drummer Fred Waring and bassist Gia Chuan Wang (who had been training at the Manhattan Music School as a classical trombonist!?!?!). The music is not all that heavy (at least compared to other Death Metal acts such as Cannibal Corpse or Deicide), it's more melodic like Carcass' Heartwork only more emphasis has been put on originality and simplicity. Categorizing Crisis is a very difficult task, lyrically and vocally they are a Death Metal band, musically, they are unlike anything I've ever heard, the combination of the two is what makes this band so unique. The only category worthy of Crisis is; cool! If you like metal in any form, pick up this album, it will appeal to fans of all realms of the metal genre.
As a long time DANZIG fan, I'm really nonplussed about the great man's huge change in sonic, if not musical direction, on "blackacidevil". DANZIG at his best encapsulated the fury of punk, the bombast of metal, the spirit of great rock'n'roll, and the mystical, talismanic sexual energy of real blues. In my opinion, industrial rock lacks sorely in the latter two departments at least, and probably the other two as well. Glenn obviously has an admiration for Trent Reznor and his computerised rhythms, and has tried to incorporate them in none too subtle fashion with his own style of bluesy hard rock.
Apparently Joseph Bishara is the man we are to thank for the LP's "Keyboards and Programming". This has got to be a marketing decision surely. Traditionalist hard rock is hard enough to find on major labels at the moment without one of the masters of the form pandering to the American teenagers wallet driven whims. Everything about DANZIG stood out from the pack, right from that first wonderful, evil, rockin' LP. Rick Rubin's superb ear for heavy guitar, bass and drums enabled Glenn's voice to majestically enter the corridors of rock history, alongside Elvis, The Big O, et al. The production lumps "blackacidevil" in alongside NIN far too much for my liking, especially the single "Sacrifice", which could have been a "Downward Spiral" out take.
The most disappointing thing is that the songs are still there, I just have to struggle to hear them. The LP is probably the heaviest DANZIG since that chilling debut, and there 'aint no ballads here brother, just twisted sex power games and Glenn's maniacal vocal stares. And "Ashes" is a superb industrial funereal death march, played out to that classic murderous croon. I just hope that the DANZIG live show can stand up to the internal traumas of the last 12 months, and now this production. "Snakes Of Christ" with samples anyone? I wonder if John Christ is still playing for that TV show band?
Dreadnought moved across from Tasmania a while ago and began to build steadily on an already impressive live reputation. They ply a more traditional metal trade, but are far, far superior to most Australian bands such as Pegazus and Bad Karma, both of whom have independent CD's available of embarrassingly poor quality. Dreadnought have a much more ambitious plan of attack I'm happy to report. The opener "Dripping" is quite stunning. Yes, stunning! Yes I'm writing about a Melbourne band! The disturbing sample of the public suicide of that American politician a few years back is underpinned with some georgeous psychedelic metal reminiscent a little of the excellent Canberra band Alchemist's second Lp "Lunasphere". Second track "Distant" combines Teutonic metal riffs with some lush, spacey melodic leads. Boy this is good stuff. The CD provides me with no band info at all, so at risk of sounding like an uninformed git, I'll tell you the vocals switch between the crotch grabbing aggression of 90's metal and an almost peaceful melodic tendency. I like the balance, the old light and shade chestnut I suppose. For those of you on heavier drugs there's 22 mins of lapping waves and My Dying Bride-ish lilting piano at the Lp's end. What more do you fruitcakes want! I will repeat that most people who know me in Melbourne know I have very little time for most of our wonderful half arsed metal bands, but Dreadnought are in another league totally. For those of you on the Net who are familiar with the antics of Blood Duster, may I suggest you add these two world class CD's to your shopping list.
The Roadrunner hype machine has apparently kicked into overdrive in Europe over this latest edition to the label's roster of grunt, and with good reason. Floodgate have emerged from the ashes of late 80's thrashers Exhorder with a clear and purposeful agenda: to write heavy metal songs just like they used to in the olden days of about 10 years ago. Clean, powerhouse, catchy riffs, big melodic choruses and a no nonsense approach to production make this Lp a must for traditionalists and beginners in the world of hard music alike. On first listen the lp sounds conspicuously like the Down project of New Orleans stalwart Phil Anselmo and COC honcho Pepper Keenan. But this Lp recalls with a greater passion the triumphs of Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Nazereth and Blue Oyster Cult almost as if it were recorded, well, 20 years ago really.
The guitar sound has a metallic purity, a thickness that blends perfectly with the bands songwriting, and they exploit the union like no other band, except Sabbath of course. The real star of the record is vocalist Kyle Thomas. In Exhorder Thomas was required to do little more than grunt loudly, tongue in cheek, along with the bands slick but imitative thrash. Well let me tell you he is some find as a rock vocalist. His voice is deep and resonant, and he never stretches beyond his means. And as we know from his thrash past, he is capable of a mean arsed scream up with the best of them. He writes clever lyrics too, the highlight of which is the metaphorical, agricultural rocker "'Til My Soil", the soil of the mind that is. The first side of "Penalty" is nigh on sheer perfection. "Through My Days Into My Nights" is an obvious album highlight, with what is either a guest appearance or an incredible imitation of the screaming of Anselmo from Thomas. "Whole" will see a lot of younger accusing fingers point toward Down again, but it's basically a superior attempt at a "Planet Caravan". Side two is heavier and more aggressive, with "Imitation Salvation" standing out from the carnage as a stylish epic in the vein of Sabbath's "Megalomania".
I really believe Side One of this Lp is as close to the best I've ever heard in the entire sub-Sabbath genre of Iommi worship that shows no signs of abating. Floodgate have the songs to back up their screaming unoriginality, and a vocalist that puts them so far ahead of the strangled dog brigade it's not funny. And would you believe I still have only heard the promo tape.
For those of you Death Metal freaks wondering what has happened to the world's premier exponents of the genre, ENTOMBED, since their devastating crossover classic "Wolverine Blues" left the collective metal consciousness, prepare for a not totally unexpected surprise. Remember how "Wolverine Blues" combined the caustic and probably patented Entombed guitar sound with a punkier, dare I say it, rock'n'roll feel? Remember how Nicke Andersson began appearing in promo shots in KISS and MOTORHEAD gear? You guessed it kiddies, the side project is upon us, and how.
The Hellacopters feature Mr.Andersson on lead vocals and guitar on this magnificent punk opus. Apparently the band also includes members of seminal Swedish punks The Nomads. This does not surprise. "Supershitty To The Max" is a blisteringly under produced collection of ROCK spittle, the likes of which the West Coast surf punks couldn't play yet alone understand. The only real breeding ground for sounds such as this is the rural city of Geelong, about an hour from Melbourne. I don't know if Nicke Andersson has records by Bored!, The Powder Monkeys, Hoss or of course, God, but it sounds as if he ritually devours these bands at the breakfast table each morning. Each ferocious blast is accompanied by enough "Uh's" and "Ow's" to sink The Stooges debut. Believe it or not all of the above mentioned Australian bands had better production on recent releases than this snivelly, snot laden piece of rock grime. But as you would expect from a hardened Death overlord and his cohorts, the playing is exemplary and battleship tight.
This band seem so entrenched in the dirt rock ethos it'll be a wonder if Entombed actually get their new Lp out at all. The Lp version has an extra cut and the only extra on the CD version is a long written tirade about the evils of digital recording and the small shiny discs that go with it. Rock and Roll like this actually does take over world every night in small smoke filled clubs with carpet so beer sticky you need help to mosh. And all the kids whose eyes see something a little special in a AC\DC, Misfits or Van Halen logo will ensure real rock's survival into the next century. And maybe, just maybe, if The Hellacopters can get the support on a couple of Kiss shows in Europe…Nah…
Alot of metal bands have been emerging from the Scandinavian area the past few years, bands like At The Gates, Tranquillity, Amorphis, the whole black metal/InnerCircle scene, Edge of Sanity and Tiamat for example. One of them, In Flames, return to the scene with a brand new drummer, a brand new guitarplayer and a brand new disk. "The Jester Race" is the follow up of their debut "Lunar Strain", which was released in August 1994 on the Wrong Again label.
I don't know if there exists something as a typical Scandinavian sound, but listening to "The Jester Race" gave me a typical Scandinavian sound-idea. Although I don't think In Flames can be labelled as playing one standard type of metal. The sound of the CD is best described as death metal meets doom/gothic metal, but the death metal influences are more present than the doom/gothic influences, which is so often the case these days (for example, there are no female vocals and the keyboard isn't as prominent). The combination results in a powerful, melodic death metal disk (…what, melodic death metal?!!) Of all things, The Jester Race reminded me a little of Amorphis' Tales from a Thousand Lakes-CD, but much heavier and more brutal.
The songs are powerful and professionally structured. The vocals are certainly different. Fridén uses a kind of low screaming, almost black metal-like grunt, which really supports the sound. The guitars are harmonious and the drums are solid. On the whole I found the sound really innovating, though not in a progressive kind of way. I'd say In Flames prove with The Jester Race they are a band to look out for.
After their 1991 release Imperial Doom (featuring ex-Cynic guitarplayer Jason Gobel), Monstrosity's second release is titled "Millennium". Having recently replaced singer George Fisher with Jason Avery, "Millennium" does still feature Fisher (who's now singing with Cannibal Corpse). Monstrosity also changed their bassplayer (ex-Death bassplayer Kelly Conloy) and guitarplayer. Compared to their debut, Monstrosity have certainly grown-although it's not a really fair comparison since they've got a different line up. The only original members are drummer Harrison and vocalist Fisher (who is also no longer part of the band after replacing Barnes).
Quite incidentally, or perhaps not so, "Millennium" does strike me as very Cannibal Corpse-influenced. At least the guitars do, I noticed a lot of CC-like riffs (and an occasional West solo) but in general the guitars are more mature because Morgan tries to vary his playing techniques instead of sticking to the standard death metal leads. The drums are better, faster and tighter and the vocals not so monotone. The album itself can be best described as straight forward death metal. The result is a heavy, no bullshit-death metal CD. Millennium is brutal, it's not innovating or technical in a revolutionary way, but it's what most death metal fans want. Just plain death metal without any strings.
With Irreligious, Portugal's Moonspell release their second full-length disk. For all who don't know Moonspell, they're doom/gothic death metal. This implies mood-creating elements such as supporting female vocals, keyboards and synth-effects. This type of music has become very popular nowadays, with so many bands trying this type of sound, it's difficult to stay original and create your own sound. I wouldn't describe Moonspell as very innovating or original, but with Irreligious, Moonspell did manage to create a Moonspell-sound. The concept behind their sound and image certainly is original.
The songs are balanced. Some are more up-tempo, most have pace-changes, and others are slow, but never boring. Then there's this very vivid kind of haunting, vampire/Transalvanian feeling throughout the album. This is probably due to the Dracula-like accent of singer Fernando, but whether this accent is accidental or purely intended, I wouldn't know. The vocal style changes from haunting (a bit Steele, on "Bloody Kisses"-like) to deathgrunts to "normal" voice singing and is certainly very distinguishable for their sound. But also the lyrics suggest a vampire/full moon legends-influence.
Other than that, it's certainly a very professional disk. Irreligious starts with the very haunting intro perverse…almost religious, which is a good indication of the general mood of the album. The quite original Raven was certainly a surprise, and while in line with the rest of the songs, somewhere did provide a contrast. On the whole, Moonspell do know how to create a mood and "Irreligious" is solid proof of that.
After emerging to the scene in 1990 with a more death/doom oriented sound, over the years MDB have slightly progressed in to a more melodic, haunting kind of doom/metal, adding keyboards and electric violins to create the now distinguishable MDB-sound. This new sound became eminent on the albums preceding "Like Gods", "Turn Loose the Swans" and "The Angel And The Dark River". On "Like Gods" the band show they have finally grown into their sound. The CD show a mature and musically developed MDB. This style of music (doom/metal) sometimes has a tendency of becoming dull and boring, and to be honest, some songs of the earlier mentioned CDs I found to be just that. Not on "Like Gods", the songs are each masterpieces; the musical textures and arrangements are tight and solid. The lyrics are still sinful but Aaron's vocals have improved a great deal too. Where his voice sometimes went 'whining' on "The Angel", on "Like Gods" Stainthorpe shows he too has matured.
"Like Gods of the Sun" basically continues where "The Angel and the Dark River" left off. If you like doom/metal, if you love "The Angel and the Dark River", you'll adore "Like God of the Sun". My only regret would be that with this album, My Dying Bride could really hit it big…..
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Teufel's Tomb, Teufel's Aural Armageddon Metal Webzine and all information contained within these pages are © 1996 Zero The Hero Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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