SARPANITUM – DESPOILMENT OF ORIGIN
Gather 'round kids, we're about to go back to a time before the scourge of Christ fell upon man to a land called Sumeria, where war and honor were a part of life and gods of varying dispositions were worshipped by a most proud and astute people (too bad they weren't aware of the horrors that would befall the region two millennia later). Telling this glorious tale is Sarpanitum, whose name comes from the goddess who would have the privilege of marrying the great god Marduk. The legends are delivered in the form of fierce and technical blackened death metal, with plenty of hypersonic blasting and mixed vocals to deliver the ancient lore with inexorable force. Not since early (and I mean EARLY!) Kataklysm has a band taken on the subject and delivered it with such intense ferocity, in my not-so-humble opinion. ZI DINGIR ANA KANPA! (FA)
GALACTIC RECORDS
www.galacticrecords.co.uk, press@galacticrecords.co.uk, www.sarpanitum.com, www.myspace.com/sarpanitum, andy@sarpanitum.com
KORPIKLAANI – TERVASKANTO
Well whadda ya know, all I did was blink and here's another Korpiklaani album in my lap! Honestly, this is the type of scenario where if you happen to like a band, especially one that may be deemed a bit more niche than standard fare, you'll be looking forward to each and every album that at this rate it's probably safe to speculate will come out on an annual basis. This next set of words might sound a bit contradictory, but it works and thus so be it; essentially more of the same of unique, original, and very creative in a market where such words seldom apply to bands, Korpiklaani's super-catchy rollicking good time celebrations of drinking, nature, and Nordic heritage (no, it's not "racist", so all you liberal trash shut the fuck up and go worry about some of society's ACTUAL problems!) are always welcomed with open ears on my end! (FA)
NAPALM RECORDS
www.napalmrecords.com, nathan@napalmrecords.com, www.korpiklaani.com, www.myspace.com/korpiklaanioffi
SEPIA DREAMER – THE SUBLIME
It's too bad that most people only know the word "sublime" as the result of some mall-pop band, as it can certainly conjure up cerebral images of open-ended interpretation within a person's psyche (think of staring at a painting in a museum and trying to make sense out of it on your own terms). The ethereal and layered music of Sepia Dreamer is definitely one that shifts moods from up to down with four lengthy tracks sans any vocals and arrangements that shift around to everything from neo-classical segments to bizarre prog-rock chunks on a moment's notice. This is both soundscapes for funerals and for sipping scotch and puffing on cigars. Discerning tastes will find much to appreciate here. (FA)
GALACTIC RECORDS
www.galacticrecords.co.uk, press@galacticrecords.co.uk, http://pwnt.co.uk/sepia
WITCHTRAP – NO ANESTHESIA
Fists are flying, heads are banging, and beer is being chugged in the sick realms of heavy metal hell that are Witchtrap's! These rabid metal bastards know how to thrash n' bash like it was 1984, and the sound quality and CD design prove this ever more so! I love me some basic, down to earth metal with no frills and a passion that know no boundaries, and Witchtrap are doubtlessly such a band! The banner of metal flies high and Witchtrap are the heralds of that very message! The back of the album booklet says it loud and clear: "HEAVY METAL MANIACS! WATCH YOUR BACK… …WE ARE HERE TO THRASH!" (FA)
HELLS HEADBANGERS
www.hellsheadbangers.com, throneoffire@hellsheadbangers
GRENADE – THE HOWLING DAMNED
OW-OOOOOOOOOOOOO! Wait, that's a werewolf howl, nevermind. This album will however make you howl with utmost glee, as it's one of those gems that pops up oh so few times a year and just floors you! Grenade brilliantly and lavishly mix death and heavy metal to create an extremely classy and magnificently produced piece of metal artillery. Leaps and bounds above any joke band riding this heart wrenching (for many of us, at least) metal bandwagon of late, Grenade prove that conforming is for the weak-minded and have no agenda other that to provide mortals the most crushing and sinister form of metal man can create! At times neither fast nor slow, Grenade's sounds is right there in between the legendary sounds of 80s classic metal and 90s nascent death metal. You owe it to yourself to experience this modern underground masterpiece firsthand! I've said it before, and I'll say it yet again, Australia is producing some of the best metal these days, with many bands fusing sounds from each genre and creating a style entirely their own. Sadly, it seems Grenade's status is currently is limbo, as their website mentions. Let's hope they can continue in another form, for it would be a damn shame for them to leave our world with so little material! (FA)
HELLS HEADBANGERS
www.hellsheadbangers.com, throneoffire@hellsheadbangers
HORNA/BEHEXEN – SPLIT CD
This is a very succinct release; there are no frills to doll it up, and no bullshit to cheapify what it stands for, dirty and uncompromising black metal viciousness! Horna gives us four tracks our some pretty raw and purposely under-porduced maggot-infested vile blackness and Behexen raise hell with slightly more polished (yet still and understatement) and a bit lengthy triple-dose of metal from the deepest abyss! It appears that this material had been released in 2004 on a small independent label evidently run by Shatraug of Horna, and Moribund took the initiative to now have it see the light of day in America. Well that light is about to fast become extinguished away, as both band's shroud of perpetual darkness is about to befall mankind's feeble ways! (FA)
MORIBUND RECORDS
www.moribundcult.com, orders@moribundcult.com, www.legion-horna.com, www.myspace.com/thetruehorna, shatraug@grievantee.com,
www.kolumbus.fi/anniina.sade
HORNA/MUSTA SURMA VIHAN VIODET
It looks like Moribund is really intent on pushing Horna material. Well I don't blame them, everything so far has been damn good and there is a wealth of material to dig up and release domestically. Much better than some of the complete and other crap other labels have "re-released and repackaged" over the years if for no other purpose than to reach the mallgoing youth of today! This is actually an amalgamation by Moribund of two different splits the band did together earlier in the decade, a heck of a good deal for the consumer indeed. Expect just about more of the same from Horna, but call me crazy, it's almost as if there's a hint of death metal in some their tracks present on this one. I seriously doubt I have an imagination THAT vivid! Musta Surma is a very low-key, mysterious band with tempo changes and very high-pitched vocals that might bring early Gorgoroth to the mind of some. Put the iPod to rest for now and give this a spin in the old CD player and see just how awesome the Finnish black metal scene was at the turn of the century and how it's blossomed into one of the more venerable ones within the archives of the underground! (FA)
MORIBUND RECORDS
www.moribundcult.com, orders@moribundcult.com, www.legion-horna.com, www.myspace.com/thetruehorna, shatraug@grievantee.com,
www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip
MORSURE – M.A.D ET ACCELERATION PROCESS
Well this is interesting; here's an obscure 80s heavy/thrash band I've never heard of (those do come up every so often) yet they still have enough merit to warrant a premium release with a thick as hell booklet and more photos and anecdotes than you could imagine! You know, it's always a great pleasure finding out about things like this, as no doubt there were plenty of bands that existed under the radar while the likes of Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica were stealing all the thunder (only to become disasters and utter jokes years later). Hailing from France, Morsure's demo and full-length are married together for 14 tracks of blazing fast, sometimes technical, and downright dirty sounding classic metal that'll get you fist waving and head banging until it detaches! The odd snap-crackle-pop in production only adds to the nostalgic mood of this hellish ride, as do the often hokey lyrics, typical of many European bands at the time that sang in English. This is the type of rare gem that literally jumps out of any collection on a shelf. Your friends will wonder what the heck it is, and when they hear it they're sure to become believers! (FA)
HELLS HEADBANGERS
www.hellsheadbangers.com, throneoffire@hellsheadbangers
2 comments:
You know dude, you've really got to learn to form an opinion.
Yeah, really! Where do I start? ;)
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