Metal Review's Latest Reviews

Burning Skies - Greed.Filth.Abuse.Corruption

[5.0][5.0][5.0]

Burning Skies do the death metal/hardcore/thrash thing better than most I’ve heard lately, and have released a cracker of an album in Greed.Filth.Abuse.Corruption. For those unfamiliar with this UK band and thinking they might be just another ‘deathcore’ outfit, think again. Far from being a bunch of upstarts clumsily throwing together second-rate death metal riffs and basic mosh parts, Burning Skies have developed a ferocious, modern death/thrash attack with a subtle hardcore influence in a similar way to The Black Dahlia Murder. Greed.Filth.Abuse.Corruption is tight, brutal and intense from beginning to end and should be extreme enough for a good lot of you.

From the moment album opener “Warhate” unleashes its violent torrent of death guitars and thrash drumming, the power and precision of Burning Skies is brought into sharp focus. Significant here are the ‘breakdowns’ which aren’t the simplistic chug-chug type but instead groovy, down-tuned passages that sou [Continue reading on Metal Review]

Written by: Michael Roberts

© 2008 Metal Review

Klabautamann - Our Journey Through The Woods (Reissue)

[5.0][5.0][5.0]

First of all, I don't consider myself a fan of the jollier, Humppa-styled metal released by bands such as Finntroll or Korpiklaani, so I approached this album with a fair bit of caution due to the playful nature of the artwork adorning the cover. Two cartoonish woodland folk standing atop a boulder and surveying a vast forest is a pretty good indication that you're about to be hit with a fair bit of grinnin', twirlin' and bouncin'. I soldiered on, however, mostly because I have a great deal of respect for what Vendlus Records has done in the past, and also because one of the two men steering Germany's Klabautamann happens to be Florian Toyka of the impressive avant-death metal outfit, Island.

Originally self-released in 2003, Our Journey Through the Woods is indeed a rather sunny affair, but it's nowhere near the beer-soaked ditties produced by either of the Finnish bands mentioned above. For one thing, Klabautamann's brand of black metal is sans any sort of traditional folk instrumentation, save for the abundance of [Continue reading on Metal Review]

Written by: Michael Wuensch

© 2008 Metal Review

E.V.P. - Postmortem Canticles Of Necromancy

[5.0][4.5][4.5]

I’ll admit this up front: I’m fairly easily creeped out. Not easily grossed out, but easily creeped out. When I was a little kid, I remember playing this game with my cousins where all of us would sit in the dark, and my cousin Gina would make us think of the scariest stuff we could think of, and it would freak me out every time. I’m glad this album wasn’t playing then because I would’ve pissed myself. (Also, credit where credit is due: my cousin Gina passed away in 1991, and I owe her this: she was the biggest Ozzy fan you’d ever meet. She introduced me to Ozzy and Sabbath and more. Without her, I literally would not be on this site today. RIP, kid. We miss you.)

I’ll also admit this: those last two ratings on the chart above are a shot in the dark because this is ambient music. While E.V.P. is one of the most interesting, accessible and musical of these groups that I've run across—"groups," "individuals," whatever the proper term would be--Canticles is still more [Continue reading on Metal Review]

Written by: Jeremy Witt

© 2008 Metal Review

Saving Grace - Behind Enemy Lines

[5.5][4.5][4.0]

Synopsis:

Quick, name a decent Christian hardcore/metalcore band from New Zealand.

Nothing?

How about Saving Grace and their impressive, pummeling, if by the numbers debut, Behind Enemy Lines.

Review:

While Parkway Drive seem to generally rule the Australian metalcore scene (a scene I’m admittedly not overly familiar with, so forgive me if the previous statement is a broad generalization), especially with the demise of Ikilledthepromqueen, it looks like Saving Grace could be elbowing in on their reign with this record, a solid mix of As I Lay Dying styled dual Swedish melodies, sans clean vocals and some hefty hardcore chops.

Admittedly most readers of this site have already moved on to another review, but for those still interested, I recommend this Kiwi quartet as they are very good at what they do, even if it does sound like a mish mash of the Facedown Records roster (which would be a perfect US label for them).

Armed with a stout produc [Continue reading on Metal Review]

Written by: Erik Thomas

© 2008 Metal Review

Iced Earth - The Crucible Of Man

[5.5][5.0][5.5]

A couple months prior to December 2007, I was given the opportunity to interview Tim 'Ripper' Owens, then-vocalist of Iced Earth. I have always had an immense amount of respect for Tim since his tenure in Judas Priest and Beyond Fear, and frankly the "Gettysburg 1883" trilogy from The Glorious Burden would not have been nearly as touching as it was for me were it not for Tim's amazing and colorful vocal delivery. Suffice it to say, I was nervous as hell to pick up the phone when Ripper came a-calling, but all in all, Tim's probably one of the calmest, coolest guys it's ever been my pleasure to interview.

When I write interviews, I'm always terrified that I'm going to make an ass of myself in front of someone who I dearly respect. Tim was kind enough to dispel any doubts or fears I might've had; hell, prior to the interview even starting, we just chatted for a minute or two. He even admired my enthusiasm to speak with him at 6:30 in the morning, and he was fucking stoked that I was an actual fan of his "e [Continue reading on Metal Review]

Written by: Kris Yancey

© 2008 Metal Review

Jesu - Why Are We Not Perfect

[5.0][4.5][5.0]

New Jesu EPs are always a source of excitement for me. Aside from the fact that they're one of my favorite bands and I love their music, I can’t think of any band that seems more comfortable in the EP format than Justin Broadrick and co. Sure, Jesu and Conqueror were both great full-lengths, but it’s this project’s EPs, specifically Heart Ache, Silver, and Lifeline that have really shown us all the full genius of this band.

Why Are We Not Perfect features three new songs that were originally released as a split with obscure artist Eluvium last year, along with two remixes of said songs. The release kicks off in amazing fashion with the beautiful “Farewell,” which has become one of my favorite new Jesu numbers and is easily the saving grace of this EP. The song begins with spacey samples and a simplistic drum beat only to burst into an orgasmic mix of melodic bass playing and soothing electronic textures, topped off by the always mesmerizin [Continue reading on Metal Review]

Written by: Chris McDonald

© 2008 Metal Review

Azrael - Obdurate/Unto Death (Reissue)

[2.5][2.5][3.0]

I hate black metal albums like this.

First of all, this isn’t even an actual album, it’s an EP and an old demo slapped together under the guise of a full length. Striborg, another band that I loathe, is also guilty of this deceptive practice and it really bugs the shit out of me. It's fine if you don’t wanna spend the three weeks it probably takes bands like this to write some songs, but don’t try and tell us that this is a "new" album when it's really just a glorified compilation. All in the name of the whole “release as many things per year as possible” game I guess.

There’s no intensity here. None. Zero. In terms of sound, Azrael plays much like a buzzier Xasthur, complete with repetitive plodding tempos, totally irrelevant vocals, and a complete lack of focus. Even when the horrible blasting comes in to try and lend some weight to the material, it comes off as sluggish and uninspired. The guys in this band can call their music “psychadelic” and “avante-garde” a [Continue reading on Metal Review]

Written by: Chris McDonald

© 2008 Metal Review

Into Eternity - The Incurable Tragedy

[5.0][4.0][6.0]

Canadian progressive/power/melodeath band Into Eternity continue their revolving-door line-up (new second guitarist, new drummer) and release this, their fourth record, and a logical follow-up to 2006’s The Scattering Of Ashes. Still in place is lead guitarist and mastermind Tim Roth’s array of ever-changing fleet-fingered riffs, the whole of The Incurable Tragedy drenched in guitar heroics and tempo shifts. Also still on board are Stu Block’s truly impressive multi-octave vocals—his ability to jump from death growl to the soaring highs of "Battle Angels"-era Warrel Dane is almost unmatched. (Dane and King Diamond and, of course, Halford come to mind as possible contenders, although none of them have ever ventured into prolonged growling and rasping like Block does.) When all is said and done, fans of the previous record will be happy because, honestly, not too much has changed.

Hence the title, The Incurable Tragedy is a concept record about terminal illness, drawing inspirati [Continue reading on Metal Review]

Written by: Jeremy Witt

© 2008 Metal Review

Khold - Hundre År Gammal

[5.0][3.5][4.0]

A new Khold record is, well, a new Khold record. Fans of the band know what to expect by now, as they've been rocking to the same groove ever since the slightly-grimmer, slightly-cooler Masterpiss of Pain debuted some seven years ago. This, the band's fifth album, is perfectly in line with expectations: it's stark, it stomps, and it's slicker than ice - but that may be a detriment. Hundre År Gammal's content rarely sticks.

Those new to the band may be drawn to their inherent oddity. Khold certainly don't carry the typical imagery of the genre (this band did spawn from the ashes of Tulus, themselves atypical BM fashion-plates), and their attack is off-kilter as well - it is simultaneously laid-back and face-chewing. They bring the snarl and the spite in spades, but adhere to a leaden, trenchfoot formula that rarely changes course. Like a mechanized, supershined Darkthrone, Khold are heavy on groove and repetition. Vocalist/guitarist Gard steers the ship, spitting Abbathian gargle with a
Written by: Jordan Campbell

© 2008 Metal Review

Dagon - In Desolationem Per Nefandum
[4.0][4.0][4.0]

Being that Texas black metal would suffice as a big enough draw for this band to enjoy attention despite their music, were it not for the existence of (the superior) Averse Sefira. So they're left with their music and their cool name. Black metal bands score big points in my book for having cool names, and the coolest in some way tend to reference either mythology or Satan - think Marduk, Gorgoroth, etc. Dagon take their name from one of the first short stories published by H.P. Lovecraft (a very metal author) and manage to pack both mythology and evil into their monicker. (The story came out in 1917 and focuses on a sailor who sees and is plagued by the sea-deity Dagon who emerges from the depths). But it's best not to judge a book by its cover (speaking of which, this album's cover is another strong suit of the Dagon's presentation), or a black metal band by its name. Sadly, then, I've got to inform you that In Desolationem Per Nefandum could and should be a lot better than the decent album it is.
Written by: Keith Fox

© 2008 Metal Review