RECENT REVIEWS BY EVIL MATT

ULVER – SHADOWS OF THE SUN
They just don't make Ulver fans any more diehard and loyal than I, but I really didn't enjoy "Shadows of the Sun," their most recent effort. One of the things that I always loved about Ulver was that they did something completely different with each album they released. "Shadows of the Sun" does not stray from that trend at all, but the road that Ulver took with this album is just depressing. "Shadows of the Sun" is a very low-key, sad, and boring album. Most of the tracks run together, with little to distinguish them apart. Ulver utilizes a lot of piano and dreary soundscapes for this album, and it leaves the listener with a general sense of melancholy. While this was most likely the band's point, it just doesn't make for an enjoyable listen. Now, if I were in a suicidal state of mind, or even had an aura of general sadness around me, maybe this album would have been a bit more enjoyable. But to follow up a great album like "Blood Inside" with this artsy-fartsy sad-bastard music is quite a shame. The Ulver boys are definitely talented, but they really need to get some anti-depressants or spend more time with their shrinks, because "Shadows of the Sun" is an extremely disappointing listen. It puts you in a sleepy mood if you're not depressed, and would make you want to slit your wrists if you are depressed. Not exactly the kind of album to put on if you're relaxing at home and don't want to think about all the wrongs in your life, unless you enjoy living with bad vibes and depression all of the time. The only standout track from "Shadows of the Sun" is a haunting cover of Black Sabbath's 'Solitude.' If you thought that song wasn't depressing enough, just wait until you hear the Ulver version. Unfortunately, one cover song does not make a whole album great. Here's to the hope that Ulver's next album will be something that I can be excited to listen to, rather than lethargically enduring. (EVIL MATT)
THE END RECORDS/JESTER RECORDS
www.jester-records.com/ulver, www.myspace.com/ulver1


MINISTRY – THE LAST SUCKER
Forgive me for doubting Al Jourgensen's claim that "The Last Sucker" is Ministry's final album, but regardless of my suspicions, Ministry definitely go for the gusto on their final release. A true Ministry fan could not ask for a better offering from Al Jourgensen and crew. Joining Al on this album are such notable characters as Paul Raven (Prong, Society 1), Sin Quirin (Revolting Cocks, Society 1), and Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory, g//z/r, Ascension of the Watchers), who all add great authenticity to Ministry's already established sound. "The Last Sucker" closes out the "I Hate the Bush Administration with Vehement Passion" trilogy started off with the "Houses of the Mole'" and "Rio Grande Blood" albums. "The Last Sucker" doesn't feature as many political samples as found on "Rio Grande Blood," but the samples found on the track 'Death and Destruction' are enough to satisfy all the Bush haters in Ministry's fanbase. Even though the "I Hate Bush" shtick has worn thin by now, it's nice to know that Al Jourgensen doesn't give a fuck, and will damn the man for as long as he wants to. Another added delight to this album is a blazing cover of The Doors' 'Roadhouse Blues,' which gives Jim Morrison a true Al Jourgensen makeover. Even though most cover songs like this tend to suck, this track is one of the highlights of the album. As a final grace from the Ministry camp, we get treated to the final track "End of Days (pt. 2)", which features a sample from Former President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell speech to the nation, where he warned our great nation of the inherent danger found in the growing military/industrial complex. This track is a fitting and most proper end to the trilogy of albums, and really leaves the listener with probably the most sophisticated Ministry album to date. If Ministry has truly come to an end, then I give Al Jourgensen much respect for going out with a bang. (EVIL MATT)
13TH PLANET/MEGAFORCE RECORDS
www.thirteenthplanet.com/ministry, www.myspace.com.ministrymusic


DEVIN TOWNSEND PRESENTS – ZILTOID THE OMNISCIENT
Devin Townsend never disappoints. Whether you're a fan of Strapping Young Lad or any of his solo projects, you just know that Devin is going to give you an album that is crushingly heavy and entertaining. His puppet-project Ziltoid is no different. Wait, did I just say, "puppet-project?" Well, that's the case with Devin Townsend's latest opus. Having gotten himself into the art of puppetry, Devin Townsend has created an alien puppet called Ziltoid the Omniscient. Ziltoid hails from the planet Ziltoidia, which is located at the far reaches of the Omniverse. Ziltoid has come to our planet searching for the best fuel in the Omniverse…coffee. Ziltoid wants our finest coffee beans and nothing more. Now, if that isn't an outline for the most absurd puppet show ever, then I don't know what is. Furthermore, Devin's "Ziltoid The Omniscient" album could be considered to be the soundtrack to said puppet show. Yes, Devin actually plans on making a real live Ziltoid puppet show to take on the road. This would all seem like a really bad April Fools joke if we weren't talking about Devin Townsend. But we are, so none of this should really come as a surprise to any Dev-head. Regarding the actual music found on "Ziltoid The Omniscient," it's quite good. If you're a fan of any SYL album or The Devin Townsend Band, then you'd be a Ziltoid fan without question. Ziltoid stands out from Devin's other projects though, due to the Ziltoid banter thrown into the album. It doesn't take away from the music at all, but rather makes "Ziltoid The Omniscient" seem like a concept album from start to finish, with a definite beginning and end to the story. And trust me, if you understand the joke at the very end, then you will appreciate Ziltoid that much more. People who aren't into Devin Townsend might not get the point to Ziltoid, but those of us who are fans of Devin's warped mind will definitely be screaming "Ziltoid!" from the top of a mountain, with a handful of coffee beans poised to the sky, waiting for the coming apocalypse. Ziltoid has given us five Earth minutes to prepare him the finest cup of coffee. I think we should get started! (EVIL MATT)
INSIDEOUT MUSIC/HEVYDEVY RECORDS
www.insideoutmusic.com, www.hevydevy.com, www.myspace.com/ziltoidtheomniscient


SAMAEL – SOLAR SOUL
You'd think after 15 years of being a diehard music fan, I would learn my lesson about buying CD's with advertisements all over the cover telling me how great the album is. Take Samael's latest album, "Solar Soul," for example. When I bought this CD, it was emblazoned with a sticker that claimed, "This is Samael's best album since 'Passage'!" Every time I see such a sticker on a CD, I am always let down by the actual product. Always. It never fails. Alas, I decided to pick up "Solar Soul" anyway, just because Samael has always been one of my favorite industrial/metal bands. Well, wouldn't you know it…this CD is the scientific equivalent of sucking balls. It's really a shame too, because the artwork in the booklet is really beautiful and the rest of the packaging was done very nicely. But, this was all done to cover up the horrible stain left by the actual music of course. Samael has always been known for evolving their sound from album to album, but that just didn't happen with "Solar Soul." Instead, Samael moved backwards and reused all the same elements from their past 2 albums. The end result is an album that sounds like it's full of b-sides from superior albums, thus making it quite boring. I find it excruciatingly hard to believe that bands such as Samael who do crap like this are so popular in Europe that they just have to keep churning out the same damn album over and over again, like the pop stars here in America do. Honestly, don't people get sick of the same tripe over and over again? Well, I certainly do, and that's why I think "Solar Soul" really, really sucks. As it stands now, Samael is just going through the motions. You don't need to be onboard for this at all. This is one Samael fan, signing out. (EVIL MATT)
NUCLEAR BLAST
www.nuclearblastusa.com, www.samael.info, www.myspace.com/samaelofficial


DHG – SUPERVILLAIN OUTCAST
Well, here we are…8 years after the release of Dodheimsgard's excellent "666 International" album, we finally get a new release. Not only has the band shortened their name to DHG for schematic purposes, they've also put out one of the biggest disappointments of the year. As one of Dodheimsgard's biggest fans, I have to say that I was extremely let down by "Supervillain Outcast." Now, you may ask why such a devoted fan of Dodheimsgard would lampoon the band's latest opus. Well, it's not that this album is bad per se, but it's rather a step backwards in the band's evolution as opposed to moving forward. "Supervillain Outcast" sounds like it should have been the follow-up to the "Satanic Art" EP, not "666 International." This new album isn't anywhere near as chaotic as "666 International" was, nor is it as interesting to listen to. Out of the 15 tracks on "Supervillain Outcast," only a few tracks stand out as being creative. The rest just sounds monotonous and contrived. Fans of industrialized black metal bands such as Aborym may find this album to be enjoyable, but those of us who were big fans of the bands last opus will most likely be disappointed in this release. Now I know it's hard to top your crowning achievement, but after 8 years, you'd think DHG would have come up with something a little more innovative. Instead, they released an album that greatly fails in comparison to their previous work. If you were a big fan of "666 International," then do yourself a favor and don't waste your money on this album. If you want a killer DHG album, go with the album they released almost a decade ago when they were still called Dodheimsgard and knew how to create the craziest, most balls-to-the-wall black metal ever recorded. (EVIL MATT)
MOONFOG/THE END RECORDS
www.myspace.com/dodheimsgard, www.moonfog.no, www.theendrecords.com


SKINNY PUPPY – MYTHMAKER
Skinny Puppy has always been one of the forerunners of the industrial music scene. Influencing many great bands such as Ministry, Front Line Assembly, KMFDM and Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy are and will always be innovators to the scene. Having reformed after a lengthy breakup in 2003, Skinny Puppy is back again in 2007 with yet another great release, "Mythmaker." This time around, Skinny Puppy doesn't rely on politics as lyrical fodder as much as they did on 2004's "The Greater Wrong of the Right," but they did copy the sound of that album in many ways. Basically, if you liked "Greater Wrong of the Right," then you will like "Mythmaker." Skinny Puppy faced a lot of flak from fans when they released "Greater Wrong of the Right" because it was a departure in sound from the early Skinny Puppy albums. What a lot of these so-called "fans" didn't (or wouldn't) realize is that recording technology has changed drastically since the '80's, so OF COURSE the newer Skinny Puppy material is going to sound different. "Mythmaker" is in the same league as "Greater Wrong of the Right," for it sounds like the logical progression in the new Skinny Puppy sound. So, what is so different about latter-day Skinny Puppy? Basically, the keyboards are much darker and epic sounding, yet at the same time have a touch more of pop sensibility. It's not quite "heavy," but the music is definitely synthetic and bleak. You'll never hear this stuff on the radio, but the new Skinny Puppy material is a lot catchier than their earlier material, and less focused on noisy simplistic synths. Also, the members of Skinny Puppy are no longer degenerate heroin addicts, so the music comes across as being more disciplined and professional. All in all, "Mythmaker" has seven really badass songs and three filler tracks. It's not the best Skinny Puppy album out there, but it's pretty close. This album could have been a lot worse. (EVIL MATT)
SPV USA/SYNTHETIC SYMPHONY
www.skinnypuppy.com, www.spvusa.com


ESTRADASPHERE – PALACE OF MIRRORS
This album was certainly a surprise. After hearing the track "Smuggled Mutation" off this latest release on a compilation, I was compelled to check out the full-length. What I found was some of the most insane and abstract forms of music ever. Heavy metal can't even hold a torch to the insanity found on "Palace of Mirrors." Musically, what we have here is a steady mix of classical string arrangements, jazz, a small touch of metal, and other oddball instrumentals. Now I know that might sound a tad strange in writing, but when you listen to this album, it all comes together and makes perfect sense. At times sounding like the soundtrack to an old Clint Eastwood spaghetti western film and other times sounding like avant-garde jazz mixed with metal undertones, Estradasphere prove that they are music geniuses. They have somehow managed to take the most beautiful music in the world and mixed it with crazy, borderline unlistenable noise, with the end result being "Palace of Mirrors." There are no vocals of any kind on this release, and each track on the album sounds different from the others. This is the kind of album that has to be listened to in one sitting, with no interruptions or having your iPod set to shuffle mode. This is the concept album of all concept albums, and to not listen to it track by track and in order would be a great disservice to the listener. Even though this album couldn't be classified as metal in any way, shape or form, most fans of dark chaotic music and those who appreciate classical and jazz should find comfort with Estradasphere's "Palace of Mirrors." Check them out, if you think you can handle it. (EVIL MATT)
THE END RECORDS
www.estradasphere.com, www.theendrecords.com


HEAD CONTROL SYSTEM – MURDER NATURE
Fans of Arcturus and Ulver take note! Garm is back with a rock band, doing what he does best. Head Control System isn't quite a metal band, but it's nice to hear Garm singing for a more rock-oriented group, as opposed to the more electronic-based albums Ulver have been creating lately. Don't get me wrong, I love Ulver's electronic albums, but a lot of people (including myself) have been clamoring for Garm to return to something heavier for a long time, and this is what we've got. Head Control System is the brainchild of Daniel Cardoso, a metal musician from Portugal. Garm is merely a session member here, but his voice really adds another level to this release. The music found on "Murder Nature" could best be compared to Tool's "Undertow," Pearl Jam's "Ten," and mixed with a touch of Queens of the Stone Age and latter-day Katatonia. The early grunge scene greatly influenced Cardoso's writing for this album, and those influences of grunge, metal, and stoner rock bleed throughout "Murder Nature." Add to that the wonderful vocals of Garm, who has finally gotten his falsetto voice to a point where it's no longer annoying as hell to listen to when he hits those high notes, and you've got one of the best dark rock/metal albums to come along since the last good Katatonia and Anathema records came out. At the moment it's unclear whether or not Head Control System is a fully fledged band or more of a side project at this point, but one can hope that Garm and Cardoso stick together for awhile, because the music found on "Murder Nature" is close to what fans of Garm's early music career have been waiting for. There are no black metal screams or wails anywhere on the album to please the black metal elitists, but Head Control System is still plenty heavy and definitely worth a listen whether you're a Garm fan or not. (EVIL MATT)
VME/THE END RECORDS
www.headcontrolsystem.com, www.theendrecords.com


MYSTICUM – LOST MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
Remember these guys? Well you should. Originally signed to Euronymous' infamous Deathlike Silence Productions, Mysticum were one of the forerunners of the original Norwegian black metal scene. Due to the murder of Euronymous, Mysticum never released an album on DSP, but were quickly picked up by Full Moon Productions in 1996 and released the classic "In the Streams of Inferno" album. Following that, Mysticum simply disappeared. Then 2004 rolled around and Mysticum was back again, this time on their own label, Planet Satan Revolution. The first release on PSR was of course, "Lost Masters of the Universe." This is not an album of new material, however. "Lost Masters of the Universe" is a collection of Mysticum's old demos, along with the other b-sides that originally appeared on Necropolis Records' "Nordic Metal: A Tribute To Euronymous" compilation, as well as tracks that originally appeared on split 7"'s with Ulver and Audiopain. Those who already have bootleg copies of Mysticum's old demos should still look into "Lost Masters of the Universe" though, for all the tracks from the demos are remastered and sound much better than how they sounded on those old tapes. The only tracks that still sound slightly muddied are the ones from the "Medusa's Tears" demo. Apparently, Mysticum had lost all the original master tapes for these demos, so the post-production work for "Lost Masters of the Universe" had to be done from existing copies of the demos. Fortunately, only the "Medusa's Tears" demo is somewhat lacking in sound quality. Despite that, this is a worthy collection of songs for Mysticum fans. Granted, most of the tracks on this CD are available on their "In the Streams of Inferno" album, but it's nice to hear the original incarnations of these classic songs. Mysticum were innovators to the black metal scene. Bands such as Aborym, Dodheimsgard, Red Harvest, and any other black metal band that mixes industrial elements to their music owes a debt of gratitude to Mysticum. They did it first and they also did it the best. It's been three years since the release of this demo collection and Mysticum still claim to be in existence, so let's hope a new release will surface in the near future. All hail Mysticum! (EVIL MATT)
PLANET SATAN REVOLUTION
www.mysticum.com, www.planetsatanrevolution.com

Are you in a band? Do you think your music is worth more than the plastic it's pressed on? Do you want to find out for sure? Do you want my evil ass to review it for you? If you answer YES to any of these questions, do yourself a favor and send whatever music you have to:

Evil Matt c/o Dirt Culture Zine
782 S. Grand Hwy.
Clermont, FL. 34711