Nokturnal Mortum - Twilightfall (1995/2004)

As the earliest documentation of their existence, 'Twilightfall' marks the beginning of one of the most remarkable careers in the black/folk metal genre. Originally released in Cassette format back in ’95 under the Nocturnal Mortum name (The special K came later) it would seem even in these early days Sataroth, Xaarquath, Wortherax, Munruthel and Varggoth (all former members of Suppuration) were able to craft together some intriguing dark music.

The first noticeable thing about 'Twilightfall' is that the music is largely more death metal based and worlds more melodic sounding than future endeavors from this band. In fact one of the most pleasing aspects of this demo is the beautiful melodic and basically traditional sounding guitar solos that are present on songs like, 'Autumn Opposition,' 'Glass Coffin,' and 'On the Wings of Scarlet Sunset,' which truly had me raising an eyebrow at these guys proficiency. In an odd sort of way parts of this demo sound influenced by Dissection and early melodic death metal bands, though the music is a bit slower and generally moves at mid-pace and even shows some doom metal elements throughout the recording. Varggoth’s vocals are performed in a low growl and blackened raspy style, which is obviously a bit different from the vocals he'd lay down for the 'Lunar Poetry' demo the following year and everything that followed.

Interestingly a lot of elements that play major parts in future recordings of Nokturnal Mortum are already present on this early demo; symphonic keyboards, folk influences, Pagan/Slavonic pride lyrics as well as occasional female vocals and acoustic guitars appear. Of course they are not as used as they would become on future and present work, but they are there and I can only imagine they were one of the first bands to include all of this in one recording. The production, although possibly remastered on this rerelease, sounds decent enough for a mid-90's demo, somewhat muddy but certainly listenable, though the volume is fairly low.

'Twilightfall' will definitely come as a surprise to anyone that has familiarized themselves with 'The Voice of Steel' or really anything the bands released for that matter, but to me that's just one of the exciting things about discovering a band that's got several releases behind them.

Epitimia - Faces Of Insanity (2012)

Formed in 2008 within Saint Petersburg, Russia, Epitimia is the collective work of Alexander Machtakov (guitars & bass), K. (vocals) and M. (drums) and 'Faces of Insanity' is the bands third full-length release.

Featuring lyrics in their native Russian language, Epitimia offers up a strange variation of black metal that has its fair share of depressing qualities, but also a strange sense of deep beauty buried within as well as the more creepy shades the genre is known for. The music generally moves at a normal to mid-pace range with an abstract and interesting production that almost makes it feel like the whole thing is cloaked in fog. The guitars generally have a buzzing raw vibe and the bass is mostly buried under the fuzz, though it does sneak out here and there as well some slower doomy and acoustic parts can be found. I also pick up on a few progressive or post-ish sections and even a few clever flat out rockin' riffs and leads are within. The vocals are all over the place and range from somewhat normal raspy screams to occasional grunts and to more mentally deranged shrieks and a cleanly sung part is also tucked in as well.

I find that the first five songs are fairly decent with enough class to stand out, however the album takes a serious turn towards excellence by the time you reach, 'Epikrisis V: Rorschach Inkblot.' Opening with an odd and catchy indie rock-ish riff, the song eventually delves towards a much blacker territory with a lot of post-ish traits sticking out as well with just an immense atmosphere behind the whole song, while, 'Epikrisis VI: Leucotomy' has a central riff that reminds me of early Katatonia as well another riff that comes and goes that tends to remind me of Akira Yamaoka's guitar work on the Silent Hill video game soundtracks, which in case you're not familiar means there's some menacing vibes abound on this song. 'DS: Shizophrenia' starts out calmly, but picks up the pace soon enough with a well placed and solid main riff which carries the song through periods of misery and lunacy as well as a fantastic solo near the end. The ninth and final song, 'Lethe' features the strongest post sound with an underlining melancholy vibe throughout and closes with some ambient/noise attributes.

By no means a pure black metal release, 'Faces Of Insanity' offers up a lot and I've found this one takes several spins before it all sinks in. However once I really let the album get under my skin I was able to pay more attention to the not so obvious parts the album featured. All in all though if you dig black metal with a little spice and some occasionally remarkable guitar work then definitely look into this release.

Barathrum - Legions of Perkele (1998)

I'd always heard that Barthrum's fourth record, 'Legions of Perkele' was a turning point in the bands career to a more cleaner, more mature and faster rockin' sound. Ideally, I would own those first three albums so I wouldn't even have to open this review with such rot, but they've never been re-released and they tend to go on eBay for obnoxious amounts of money. Whatever.

After a short intro, 'Revenge by Magick' comes fourth from my speakers and it becomes vividly clear through this cut and the following song 'Angelburner' that Demonos Sova and minions set out to create one of the most appealing fist pumping, sing-a-long, headbanging and beer swigin' records ever committed to tape. Anathemalignant's guitar work is furiously catchy and well played mid-paced work with infectious riffs galore, while the heavy bass guitar work of both Demonos and G'thaur adds a thick heaviness that accents both the guitar and Demonos' raspy howls perfectly.

I love the way, 'Dark Sorceress (Autumn Siege)' starts out on a slower darker note, but just becomes groovy and memorable as all fuck, while 'Last Day In Heaven' is an instant banger. 'The Force of Evil' opens with a superb main riff and interesting male crooning that comes and goes throughout this mostly slower tune. The title track in particular is my favorite as it opens with a simple bass riff and an odd spoken part and seems casual from there but at nearly the two minute mark the action heats up and I swear one of the coolest, most headbangable and rockin' riffs ever wrote rears its ugly face from the pits of Hell. The lyrics are also admirable and semi-autobiographical and fan appreciative in character. The last two songs are technically bonus tracks as they are re-recordings from the 'Hailstorm' and 'Infernal' records. Both are great, but 'Warmetal' in particular is one of raddest songs this side of Perkele, with insane amounts of energy and enduring riffs, this song is simply masterful in its skull splitting devastating delivery. "Black, Destroyer, Master, Of Fire, Greatest, Warrior, Demon, On The Earth... Warmetal... Warmetal... WARMETAL!!!"

Its my plan to acquire everything Barathrum created from this point onwards and have some sort of drunken Barathrum shindig since this records just begs for it and much of what I've heard after these days has the same vibe. In any case, hold the horns high, take a swig of your favorite ale and put your arm around your metal buddies - We are part of Legions of Perkele!

Behexen - By the Blessing of Satan (2004)

Since its release in '08 I had been telling myself that Behexen's third album, 'My Soul for His Glory' was their masterpiece, largely because that record felt more diverse and atmospheric, yet I was thinking this without even owning their sophomore release, 'By the Blessing of Satan.' I changed that a few months ago when I stopped into the Kvlt Shop in Helsinki and finally picked up a physical copy of this monstrous release.

Right from the start its all out war on this release as thunderous riffs, pounding drums and bellowing shrieks straight from fucking hell echoe throughout my living room. 'By the Blessing of Satan' and the following six songs all rely greatly on pummeling relentless blasting that is remarkably well infused with semi-melodic and occasionally very catchy riffs. The production is outright lo-fo and trebly, though every instrument is clearly heard and yet each instrument is heavily distorted too. The music utterly explodes out of my speakers in a loud murderously dark manner, while the vocals are delivered in a shrill poisonously abominable style.

I absolutely love the terrifying scream that opens, 'Sieluni Saatanan Vihasta Roihuten' and the bludgeoning chaos that ensues afterwards, but curiously enough some slower dirge like parts can be found in this one that are creepy and insanely atmospheric in their delivery. 'Black Metal Baptism' starts out slowly, but unleashes hell soon enough with a eerie lead riff and also a brilliant solo near the end and another calmer part following, then after the sudden ringing of a bell utter disarray enfolds once again - I adore this damn song! 'Watchers Of My Black Temple' features a mostly slower tempo throughout, occasional chanting, a wickedly dark atmosphere and both slightly gorgeous and melancholic riffs, while 'Under The Eye Of Lord' has these riffs that are totally headbangable and colossal in their conveyance. Generally speaking though, the whole forty seven minute album is immense.

'By the Blessing of Satan' is simply magnificent due to the pacing and flow of the album as well with tons of appealing riffs, the appropriate darkened mood and the members overall performance being that of perfection its challenging to find anything negative about this record. I'll still stand by, 'My Soul for His Glory' and say its a great record, but this one is a perfect black metal record.

Sleestak - The Fall of Altrusia (2011)

In the Land of the Lost TV series (1974–1976) the Sleestaks were green humanoids with both reptilian and insectoid features; they have scaly skin with frills around the neck, bulbous unblinking eyes, pincer-like hands, stubby tails, and a single blunt horn on top of the head, and bear a resemblance to the hypothetical "Dinosauroid". Sleestaks often communicate with a hissing sound that rarely changes in characteristics.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin Sleestak are a four piece band of humans; they have fair skin with hair on their heads, fur on their chins, five fingers, no tails nor horns and they communicate with their own brand of psychedelic Stoner/Doom Metal that's ever changing in character, size and shape and 'The Fall of Altrusia' is their second album from 2011.

Comprised of seven individual chapters, 'The Fall of Altrusia' plays out as one continuous free flowing fifty minute piece of music that features swirling proggy keyboards alongside an ever changing style of stoner/doom metal, psychedelic rock and sludge that takes me on an empyrean journey through space and time. From slow, nearly ambient moments to heavy headbanging parts, totally tripped out psychedelia, desperate dirges and utterly epic mind bending excursions - Sleestak is simply fantastic!

Vocals appear in both a cleanly sung manner with plenty of echo attached as well as a shouted/growled style not to distant from most sludge artists, but generally vocals and lyrics are kept to a minimum. The lyrics in question also do revolve around the Land of the Lost series, which I probably saw as a child, but have long forgotten since.

Since the album plays out as one long song its sort of hard to pick a favorite, but, 'Chapter 1 - In The Beginning' is quite an excellent and engaging song since it feels like it has everything the albums has to offer and prepares the listener for the adventure ahead perfectly, while, 'Chapter 3 - The Prophecy Of The Great Sleep' shows off strong sludge and psychedelic traits all at once as well as just a totally rockin' Black Sabbath jam at the end of the song. The seventeen minute beast, 'Chapter 6 - The Marshall Prophecy' is also stunning with so much going on and the last song, 'Chapter 7 - Pakuni Shaman Chant Of The Altrusian Moth' is mostly calm, but features words in some strange language, I'd guess a language from the series. Generally though the music is beautiful, well composed, catchy and absolutely ablaze with passion.

Recorded by both the band and Shane Olivio at Bobby Perus Recording Studio in Milwaukee, the sound is pristine and dynamic and allows space and enough room for all the instruments to shine through brilliantly. I point this out simply because it seems like most Wisconsin metal-related artists almost always have a lo-fi production, but that's not the case here at all as this is professional in ever way and to think that Sleestak are an unsigned band too. The layout of booklet is minimal, but interesting enough and the included stickers will find a place on my car's bumper later on as well.

Sleestak has been writing and playing live for nearly a decade now, but only released their debut, 'Skylon Express' in 2010, which to me shows that they know the value in rehearsing and mastering their craft before bombarding the masses with just another release and fortunately here on their sophomore effort they sound absolutely glowing. Definitely a band I'll need to catch live soon too. More generally speaking though if you like any combination of early Porcupine Tree, Yes and Pink Floyd mixed with Clutch and Black Sabbath then you'll want to add this album to your collection immediately.

Falkenbach - ...En Their Medh Riki Fara... (1996)

I have a rather interesting memory connected to this album, which dates back to the summer of 2001 when I bought it from a vender, Resistance Records, a pro-white label based out of West Virginia at the Milwaukee Metalfest. If truth shall be told I never had any interest in white power music, though I did listen to a lot of NSBM around the time simply because it felt more rebellious than Satan, but then again I was just a stupid twenty year old kid at the time.

In any case, I was buying it simply because I had already purchased Falkenbach's second album, '...Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri...' a few months earlier and had enjoyed it immensely and obviously I wanted to hear everything the band had available at the time. Unfortunately somehow Falkenbach got clumped into this pro-white culture, and I'm assuming simply because the band had Ásatrú imagery and lyrics in the early days. After purchasing the album I was handed a booklet detailing their goals and was thanked for joining the movement... fuck, man, I just wanted some music.

Past life experiences aside, '...En Their Medh Riki Fara...' is Falkenbach's debut from '96, released on kvlt label No Colours Records from Germany and it just so happens to be band mastermind, Vratyas Vakyas' finest creation to date too. In these earlier days Falkenbach was a bit more black metal themed, as almost all the vocals were venomous shrill shrieks of terror and some speedier moments can be found, though the music is mostly mid-paced and carried strong epic viking metal touches. Clean vocals and choirs were present of course, though where later works almost made exclusive use of them they are a bit more subdued on this debut. Majestic though sometimes hooky (I mean, just listen to, 'Asum Ok Alfum Naer...' for example) keyboards are used frequently as well as many appearances of acoustic guitars.

Interestingly I find that the album is a bit more guitar driven than later works, there's no wild solos, just soaring grand riffs, especially on the song, 'Winternight,' which is pure Bathory worship and by far the albums highlight. I like the whole thing though, 'Heathenpride' is a Pagan metal masterpiece to say the least and songs like, 'Laeknishendr' or '...Into the Ardent Awaited Land...' feel like the most viking metal to my ears, even though viking metal really wasn't even a genre at this time, so call it whatever the hell you want.

Its strange to think that Falkenbach (much like Windir after Valfar's death) would go on to become one of the biggest bands within the viking/folk metal genre, but what can I say other than the quality of the first two recordings speak for themselves. I don't believe this album has ever been re-released, but if you should happen to find it do pick it up, because its definitely Falkenbach at their best.

Bones - Bones (2011)

My first experience with Bones, the new band from Jon Necromancer, Joe Apocalyptic Warlord and Carcass Chris (all former Usurper members) was a few months ago while watching them tear the hell out of Reggie's Rock Club during their opening slot at an Autopsy gig. I was impressed enough to pick up the album immediately after they left the stage.

Much like the recent output from Scythe, Bones brings some totally old school metal to the table, though not exactly the same style. Bones is a fair mix of death and thrash metal with some strong crust punk influences, which basically results in heavy energetic songs, head banging galore, fist pumping and just total metal devastation from start to finish.

Carcass Chris' unleashes riffs that sound reminiscent of thrash metal and punk, sounding brutal and pummeling, but very fluid in their delivery, which means a mosh pit is imminent as well as plenty of fun to be had. Only one guitar is used on the record and while the bands sound could benefit from a rhythm guitar it still at least adds something of a vintage vibe to the material and I like the way the solos are channeled into just one speaker too. Jon Necromancer handles the bass and vocals and while I don't hear his bass doing anything overly special I do like the fuzzed up distorted feel it has, very old school, while his vocals are mostly delivered in a shouted/semi-growled manner, though his cohorts do join in as well. Joe Apocalyptic Warlord's drumming is also fantastic, sometimes totally furious, but generally just going for the d-beat style of playing.

The songs are all fairly straightforward, I mean were not talking anything super complex or technical, this is just old school music played in this modern age, man! What can I say though, I love the breakneck energy these tracks hold, especially on songs like, 'March of the Dead,' 'Apocalyptic Warlord' and the rather Motorhead-ish sounding, 'Lonely Death.' '666' is also quite catchy and one of the bigger highlights on this beast.

'Bones' as a whole is damn enjoyable and nine songs long and thirty five minutes in length it feels like the perfect amount of time to spend with a band like this. It will definitely be interesting to see where they go from here, because after hearing both this and Scythe debut one thing is clear to me; Ex-Usurper members do not fuck around! Great record.

Sodom - In the Sign of Evil (1984)

During the nearly thirty years that its been since Thrash metal was established as a metal sub-genre it hasn't exactly evolved much, though its interesting going back to the initial early years of the genre and seeing the small developments it made. If you go back to '83 and listen to the debuts from Slayer and Metallica you're ears bare witness to high octane aggressive music that has tons of energy and an underlining sort of party-ish atmosphere to it, but within a single year of these early examples of thrash the genre would began to twist and turn in a most violent and dark way.

Sometime in 1981 three maniacs from Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany who choose to perform under the names of Angel Ripper, Grave Violator and Witchhunter and to collectively be known as Sodom released, 'In the Sign of Evil' in early May of 1984 to an unknowing thrash metal scene worldwide.

After a short intro, 'Outbreak of Evil' slowly builds up and rips out of your speakers in an absolutely violent, demonic, hasty and raw way unheard of at the time. Angel Ripper growls and rasps out words of blasphemy an evil while Grave Violators heavy guitar and Witchhunter's sloppy pummeling drum work levels you. Its an all out battle from the first song to the last as characteristics of Venom, Motorhead, Slayer and perhaps some punk all come together as one devilish assault of the senses. 'Sepulchral Voice' and 'Blasphemer' are just pulverizing fast evil tunes completely unheard of at the time, while 'Witching Metal' is slightly less intense and shows more obvious Venom traits, but is nonetheless enjoyable in my own opinion. The final song on the EP, 'Burst Command Til War' brings back the more primal wild side once again with an absolutely crazy echoing hellhole of insane voices during the chorus.

Since this was Sodom's first official release after their two demos its obvious that the band was just trying to blast the listener away, but at the same time they took thrash to new territories and also set black metal music in motion too. Of course, Sodom would get a hell of lot more technical and more straight forward thrashy by the the time they released, 'Persecution Mania' in '87 and their masterpiece, 'Agent Orange' in '89. Nevertheless, you know me, and I love all extreme pioneering metal no matter what sub-genre it belongs to and I can say without hesitation that both, 'In the Sign of Evil' and the bands '86 debut, 'Obsessed by Cruelty' fucking rule!

Silent Path - Mourner Portraits (2012)

Silent Path is the solo side project of Saman "Count De Efrit" Nu, whom hails from the unlikely location of Tehran, Iran. Its interesting to receive a release from an artist from this area, especially since I recently read an article about another project from this area that had strong anti-Muslim/anti-Quran lyrics and how this person literally had to remain a 100% unknown due to the simple fact that they'd be executed if the government caught wind of it. Mr. Nu however has a completely different lyrically path, but nevertheless I can't help but wonder if Saman faces some criticism or even threats based off of the fact that he's playing uncommon music for his region?

In any case, 'Mourner Portraits' is his debut album, although it was originally completed in 2009 and sent to some 'zines, but a deal with a Latvian label fell through and the album was shelved until recently when Canadian label, Hypnotic Dirge Records decided to release it.

Musically this album is depressive black metal with doom characteristics as well as backing keyboards and a rich foreboding atmosphere. When I listen to this album I'm reminded of artists, such as; Xasthur, Nortt and perhaps even Burzum around the 'Filosofem' era. The earlier mentioned atmosphere is dark, sorrowful and in a way smothering, while occasionally mere glimpses of hope arise from the rich guitar melodies, calm acoustics and unusual keyboard parts.

The production is raw, but the volume is still fairly audible, yet the guitars have the expected amount of treble and reverb attached, while the drum work is rather dynamic in sound. The vocals tend to range from strangulating raspiness to grunts, spoken parts and I believe some sampled voices. Speaking of samples you can also find samples of rain and thunderstorms mixed within and put to great effect too. In fact, the first time I listened to the album and heard the samples in, 'Forgotten Sounds' I actually thought it was beginning to rain outside my window.

I've always felt that albums of the more lengthy and depressive black metal quality tend to sound like one big song and this one is really no different. However I can say that I really do enjoy the Burzum-ish qualities in, 'Filth of Mankind' as well, 'Epic Suicide' stands out with the acoustic section near the end of the song, and 'Unwritten Story' is an interesting one simply because the piano melody sounds reminiscent of thee ol' Christmas chime, 'Jingle Bells.' A coincidence, I guess, I mean he is from Iran after all and they don't deck the halls with boughs of holly there... I don't do that either.

All in all though, 'Mourner Portraits' is a solid effort from start to finish and with a fantastic grim cover artwork and great booklet that's sure to please all fanatics of this genre... and of course its always interesting hearing music from exotic places too.

Viogression - Expound and Exhort (1991)

From the late 80's to the mid 90's a lot of exceptional and greatly overlooked bands arose out of Wisconsin, namely; Phantasm, Dr. Shrinker, Dusk, Accursed, Cyanosis, Morbid Saint, Realm, Morta Skuld, Acrophet and Viogression from Milwaukee. Formed in '88 as Apocalypse but quickly changed to Viogression in '89, in '90 both the 'Perception Blur' and 'Execution' demo tapes were released and then with a slightly re-vamped line-up the debut album, 'Expound and Exhort' came in '91.

Most listeners will quickly make an Obituary comparison after hearing this album and while the influence is there I think that connection is mainly made due to vocalist Brian DeNeffe doing one hell of grand John Tardy impression. In all actuality the two sound quite different musically. Viogression's style varied between mid-tempo death metal to slow and gloomy doom/death, but there are several moments of pure energy and blast beats to be found as well. The production is thick and quite heavy, suffocating in the best way imaginable, though the overall volume is a bit low.

Throughout the album a lot of more eccentric characteristics can be found too; 'Maggot Synod' has an off break of guitar effects, voice and moans of pain in the middle of the song, while 'Puritan Flame' is a short acoustic piece with samples running over it. 'Fragmented Carcass' & 'Limb From Limb' also have both a sample and keyboard introductions, while 'Choir of Loudun' & 'Choir of Loudun - The Chanting' are short instrumental pieces with maniacal chanting mixed in.

Since the overall flow of the music is ever changing, 'Exbound and Exhort' can be a tricky record to get into initially, but after a few spins it really starts to set in, especially the faster moments are totally killer and headbangable. Both guitarists Leon Schendel and Bryan Jaeger create some pummeling and hard hitting riffs as well as some superb solos, while drummer Barry Jaeger (Bryan's twin brother) pounds the hell out of the drums and Ed Lockerman's bass work adds to the heaviness.

After the release of this album Viogression briefly toured with Death and Pestilence around the USA, but they're American label Kraze folded and the band had to withdraw after a few dates. The band would go on to release, 'Passage' in '92, but further insult was added by the simple fact that the album was released unmixed by Tombstone Records who happened to be a complete rip-off label that didn't promote either album at all. Viogression would soon disband, but the Passage line-up would start Medusa Oblongada in '94 and the band would go on to release just one self titled EP in '95.

I've known Bryan for years since he nowadays works as a tattoo artist (and has done several tattoos on me) and it was always interesting hearing stories about the old days and funny stuff about Death's Chuck Schuldiner and Pestilence's Patrick Mameli. The last time I spoke to him about Viogression I was told the band is back together these days with a different line-up, with an EP being written as well as a possible re-release of this album. In the meantime though check out this old and unfortunately forgotten death metal release.

Mystifier - Wicca (1992)

I've always admired the early Brazilian underground metal scene which was home to such satanic tyrants as Sepultura, Sacrofago, Vulcano, Holocausto and the mighty Mystifier. Formed in '89 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil the cities historic name is Cidade de São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos (City of the Holy Saviour of the Bay of all Saints), which may have served as extra inspiration to create an unholy black metal band. After two demos and one single between '89 and '91, Mystifier unleashed, 'Wicca' in '92 to an unexpecting crowd.

Comprised of nine blasphemous hymns, 'Wicca' offers up violent utterly aggressive black/death metal that's mostly played at breakneck speeds and with plenty of juvenile chaoticness and sloppy musicianship, yet as you know from my past reviews that I always enjoy bands like this. Black metal at the time was still a new thing, often times still showing traits from the death and thrash metal genre, but its not hard to see that these guys were on the same path as evil grave desecrating goat warshipers, such as, Blasphemy, Samael, Beherit, Von and Profanatica.

Featuring an abysmally raw production and the occasional backing keyboard enhancement, 'Wicca's' songs are heavily blast beat driven with a thick bass sound but more thin sounding guitars while wicked low growled/raspy barking screams lead this ceremony of evil. With the drummer almost always blasting it creates a hypnotic feel of sorts, but some slower doomier sections can also be found that sound absolutely malevolent. There isn't really any single song that stands out and blows me away, but the album as a whole has a gripping and occult feel that always keeps me coming back for more.

Its no secret that there are many second wave black metal bands that got overlooked either due to being on a small label or simply because of their location, which is obviously the case with Mystifier. Nevertheless, Mystifier carries onwards even today and thankfully at least nowadays many cult labels are re-releasing old gems and exhuming classic evilness like, 'Wicca.' If you have any interest in early pioneering black metal or any of the bands above then do yourself a favor and familiarize yourself with the demons known as Mystifier.

Metal Parties

Something I regret not doing when I was younger was having more metal parties with my friends. I remember are usual thing back then was just going to bars and attempting to fill the jukebox with whatever metal we could find. It sort of worked, kind of, but when a great heavy hitting song was followed by a rap, pop or country song it kind of killed the mood. Plus I'd be damned if there's a decent bar in all of Milwaukee, Wisconsin that's even slightly decent and filled with interesting people. Yep, that's right, no metal/rock bars around here. Looking back I think one reason why we were always stuck going to bars was simply because we were young and some of us lived with our parents and such and we didn't have our own places to destroy with drunken metal mayhem.

Perhaps another reason why some sort of organized events never took place was simply because I wasn't social enough to get something together, but somehow within the past couple of years I've opened up a bit, met a lot of great people from around here and actually helped put together some fun parties. The first proper one was back at the end of 2010, a new year's gathering, which I dubbed, 'Joe's Non-stop to Midnight Metal Massacre.' I should point out though that we went far past midnight, in fact last year we went until 4 AM. Since then its been a semi occasional thing to just have friends over at my place and get drunk, share tunes and just thrash around like a bunch of metal idiots. Its not the sort of thing you can do all the time since the alcoholic life style doesn't always fit with me, but there's always new/old music to share as well sometimes you've just got to let go of everything and go crazy.

Yesterday was my birthday and both myself and a good friend hosted a party, which he dubbed, 'The Great Joepocalypse.' It turned out to be a real thrill since we cooked out, drank and blasted metal loudly into the cool afternoon skies and through the night until just slightly past 3AM this morning. I was happy since a lot of friends showed up, even a few from out of state down in Illinois and I'd like to think that everyone had a fucking great time... well, despite the hangovers some may have had.

I had originally conceived a nearly fifteen hour playlist, but of course we didn't last long enough to get through the entire thing. Below however is the list of what we listened to for the duration of the party. The playlist wasn't in any specific running order, just on shuffle, but this is it from the first song to the last. Feel free to look through it and decide if its the sort of music you'd want to get drunk with. Also enjoy a shot of me and two of my buddies (I'm the one on the left).

Black Sabbath - TV Crimes (4:44 PM)
Dr. Shinker - Dead by Dawn
Led Zeppelin - Good Times Bad Times
King Diamond - Arrival
Megadeth - Victory
Celtic Frost - Eternal Summer
Iron Maiden - 22 Acacia Avenue
Megadeth - Skin O' My Teeth
Architects Of The Aftermath - Victim
Sadus - In Your Face
Year of the Goat - Of Darkness
Venom - Witching Hour
Dark Fortress - When 1000 Crypts Awake
Black Sabbath - Children of the Grave
Napalm Death - You Suffer
Grotesque - Blood Runs From The Altar
Sepultura - R.I.P. (Rest In Pain)
Megadeth - Last Rites/Loved To Death
Barren Earth - Forlorn Waves
Cathedral - Enter the Worms
Death - Altering the Future
Dismember - Soon to be Dead
Skid Row - Midnight/Tornado

Megadeth - Tornado of Souls
Sepultura - Morbid Visions
Obituary - Slowly we Rot
Atrophy - Things Change
Holy Terror - Distant Calling
Gehennah - Rock'n'roll patrol
Survivors Zero - Thorns of Rapture
Sepultura - Stronger than Hate
Bones - Good Die Young
Impaled Nazarene - Satan Wants you Dead
W.A.S.P. - Locomotive Breath
Sleestak - Chapter 3 - The Prophecy Of The Great Sleep
Trouble - Mr. White
At the Gates - Suicide Nation
Bonded by Blood - Theme From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Napalm Death - Negative Approach
Blind Guardian - When Sorrow Sang
Hypocrisy - Inseminated Adoption
Morbid Angel - Lord Of All Fevers & Plague
Carnage - The Day Man Lost

Havok - Prepare for Attack
Mayhem - Necrolust
Judas Priest - The Ripper
Kyuss - I'm Not
Possessed - The Exorcist
Tokyo Blade - Lightning Strikes (Straight Through The Heart)
1349 - Sculptor Of Flesh
Necrophobic - Awakening...
Megadeth - The Disintegrators
Gehennah - Bang your Heads for Satan
Sahg - Downward Spiral
Sepultura - The Curse
In Flames - December Flower
Cathedral - La Noche Del Buque Maldito (Aka Ghost Ship Of The Blind Dead)
Judas Priest - Breaking the Law
Pentagram - Much Too Young To Know
Amorphis - Black Winter Day
Iron Maiden - Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)
Black Sabbath - Hole in the Sky
Pentagram - Forever my Queen
The Black League - One Colour Black

RoutaSielu - Kaipaus
Carcass - Carneous Cacoffiny
In Flames - Upon An Oaken Throne
Iron Maiden - Déjà Vu
Testament - Souls of Black
Pentagram - Live Free and Burn
Mantic Ritual - Panic
Iron Maiden - Wrathchild
Heaven & Hell - Eating the Cannibals
Recipients Of Death - Necropolis (City Of The Dead)
Sepultura - Infected Voice
Green Carnation - Just When You Think It's Safe
Judas Priest - Diamonds and Rust
Overkill - Rotten to the Core
Autopsy - In the Grip of Winter
Judas Priest - (Take These) Chains
AC/DC - Touch Too Much
Finntroll - Trollhammaren
W.A.S.P. - Cries in the Night
Insomnium - The Elder
Black Widow - In Ancient Days
Gehennah - Bitch with a Bulletbelt

Black Breath - Feast of the Damned
Mercyful Fate - A Dangerous Meeting
Judas Priest - A Touch of Evil
Ophthalamia - Deathcrush
Ghost - Ritual
Morningstar - Diehard Rocker
Rotting Christ - Full Colour Is The Night
Melechesh - Leper Jerusalem
Motley Crue - Live Wire
Behemoth - Slaying The Prophets Ov Isa
Testament - Electric Crown
Devil - Time to Repent
Gehennah - Bulldozer
Ancient Rites - Mother Europe
Metallica - Trapped Under Ice
Iron Maiden - Wildest Dreams
Pentagram - Treat me Right
Sodom - Don't Walk Away
Type O Negative - Blood & Fire
In Flames - Episode 666
Kingston Wall - I'm Not the One
Testament - Practice what you Preach
Sodom - Witchhammer
Kreator - Extreme Aggressions
Moonspell - Alma Matter
Moonsorrow - Kylän päässä
The Obsessed - Inside Looking Out
Black Sabbath - Die Young
Nachtmystium - Nightfall
Grim Reaper - Rock & Roll Tonight
Kreator - Pleasure to Kill
Anthrax - Lone Justice
Pentagram - When the Screams Come
Enslaved - Fenris
Death - Scream Bloody Gore
Demons & Wizards - Dorian
Sigh - Messiahplan
COC - Señor Limpio
Darkthrone - In The Shadow Of The Horns
Summon - Of these Sins...
Warbringer - Living in a Whirlwind
Black Sabbath - Snowblind
Watain - Reaping Death
Beherit - War Command
Vader - Silent Empire
Black Sabbath - The Law Maker
Iron Maiden - Running Free
Barathrum - Legions of Perkele
Megadeth - This Day we Fight
Skeletonwitch - The Despoiler Of Human Life
Toxic Holocaust - Metallic Crucifixion
Venom - Poison
Candlemass - Crystal Ball
Slayer - Altar of Sacrifice
Absu - Transylvania
Impiety - Torment in Fire
CCR - Lookin' Out My Back Door
Insomnium - The Day It All Came Down
Destruction - Release from Agony
Black Sabbath - The Mob Rules
Municipal Waste - Trapped in the Sites
Megadeth - I Ain't Superstitious
Guns N' Roses - Buick Makane (Big Dumb Sex)
Sahg - Pyromancer
S.O.D. - Sargent "D" & The S.O.D.
Nokturnal Mortum - Україна
Cathedral - Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)
Arsis - Elegant And Perverse
Sentenced - The War Ain't Over!
Indungeon - Die in Fire
Lazarus A.D. - Last Breath (3:13 AM)

Yes, we really played that many songs.

As a final note I recommend if you have your own place (an actual house works better over and apartment, obviously) and some good metal buddies then try throwing some parties. I think you'll find its a fun and rewarding experience and just a great way to spend an evening.

Marduk - Those of the Unlight (1993)

Marduk's second effort, 'Those of the Unlight' marked a significant change in their sound from Swedish style death metal to a more fuller black metal sound, though still quite different from the Marduk most know from the mid-90's onward.

Musically, 'Those of the Unlight' is fast with some blasting and dissonant parts, though many calmer mid-paced sections can be found as well many melodious pieces. Largely a guitar driven record it has its worth of appealing and catchy riffs throughout its eight songs, as well many songs have utterly killer solos (Wolves, On Darkened Wings and Burn My Coffin, for example), which was something that disappeared soon enough from Marduk's sound. The duo of Magnus "Devo" Andersson and Morgan "Evil" Håkansson created an interesting mix of both pleasing melodies and harsh abrasive black metal licks, which in my own opinion was immense and why the band ever opted for a single guitarist is beyond me.

The bass guitar of Roger "Bogge" Svensson is also present at times during the chaos, sometimes even standing on its own, though the albums production would generally be considered lo-fi and the overall volume is very low, which means you'll have to turn the volume up considerably to hear everything properly. Joakim "Af Gravf" Göthberg's vocals remained the same on this record and its a fairly standard early 90's raspy black metal howl, while his drum work is fairly decent too.

It may come as a surprise but all eight songs on the album really stick out, the three aforementioned being the best since those solos really are marvelous, but the driving force and pure energy of 'Darkness Breeds Immortality' & 'A Sculpture Of The Night' can't be denied either. I've also absolutely always loved the instrumental, 'Echoes From The Past,' which starts out slow and rather melancholy if I do say so myself and slowly builds to be one heck of an epic jam by the time its seven minute duration expires. You'll never hear these guys make a song like this one again.

All in all, 'Those of the Unlight' is a true classic of the genre and definitely the best of the early years of Marduk. If you've only heard the newer stuff or albums from the late 90's then definitely look this one up. I'm told the re-issue corrects a lot of production flaws, but since I keep it grim, cold and old I rock the vintage pressing from the early 90's.

Raise Hell - Holy Target (1998)

By the mid to late 90's there was a fuck load of bands that had set their sights on either copying or trying their best to one-up Jon Nödtveidt and the mighty Dissection. Curiously, all of these bands were of Swedish birth too; Sacramentum, Vinterland and Mörk Gryning to name a few. In '95 four maniacs from Stockholm set out to do the same, originally under various monickers they settled on In Cold Blood and released the, 'Nailed' demo in '97, but once again quickly changed names to Raise Hell and released, 'Holy Target' through Nuclear Blast Records in '98.

'Holy Target' is full on, 'Storm of the Light's Bane' worship with some minor groovy thrashy parts too. All nine tracks blast away chaotically with plenty of energy, heaps of roaring fast double bass drums and some seriously catchy and memorable riffs and solos throughout this forty two minute effort. Songs like, 'Raise the Devil' or 'Holy Target' are Raise Hell at their fastest and most Dissection-ish where you can also detect some Bathory and Teutonic thrash characteristics as well. You could chalk it down as being a mere rip-off, except for the fact that it completely fucking rules! Others like, 'Legion of Creeps' or 'The Red Ripper' are equally commanding and colossal in their delivery and if you're anything like me its likely you'll be bangin' like a maniac to these numbers. Some songs like, 'Black Visions' even show some Dark Funeral traits due to the relentless blasting.

The Abyss Studios production is clear, crisp and dynamic as always and the drums and guitars are produced brilliantly, especially the drums which absolutely explode out of your speakers. The bass is a bit moderate and not really heard much, but not really a necessary instrument while the well performed but typical sounding raspy screams lead the charge during this battle. You also get a classic Necrolord painting on the cover of jets shooting missiles at a church. Burn, mother fucker!

Raise Hell was quick to change their style to some sort of party blackened thrash on subsequent releases and even moving towards a purer heavy metal style on their last outing. 'Holy Target' however is one of many great melodic black metal records which came out in the mid to late 90's and if you can find it definitely get it!! Personally I found this on eBay recently for $1.50! Score!

Shelf Eradication

I'm feeling entirely too drained today to write even a semi-decent review, therefore I'll share an incident with you, which happened a little over five years ago.

As you can see from the title of this post and the photos that I've posted that I managed to completely obliterate my CD shelf. Oh, but how did this tragic event take place you ask? Well, if memory serves me right I was having one of my meth addict like cleaning days, which eventually lead to me moving all the furniture in my apartment around too. It was my desire to move my CD shelf from one point in my living room to another, unfortunately I got lazy about it and thought I could move the entire shelf without removing any of the CDs.

Y'see, I'm the sort of person that has his collection perfectly alphabetised and I didn't want to be bothered with taking some/most off and having to get them in the proper order again. So basically I crouched down and attempted to drag the shelf to the new place. Not expecting the task to be such a chore, I seem to remember getting about five, maybe, six feet from the original placement when suddenly I heard a crash and my downstairs neighbor shouting, "What the FUCK?!" I stood upright and then and only then realized that I had completely fucking killed the shelf.

My initial worry was that it might have crashed down on one of my cats and smooshed them to ground chuck, but fortunately that wasn't the case. No, the only damage came to my movie shelf and two DVD box sets, which were the 'Pinky Violence Collection' and an anime called, 'Boogiepop Phantom,' both boxes being somewhat rare and sought after these days. Amazingly not a single jewelcase, CD or cassette was injured in any way... but the shelf was dust, completely ruined.

I don't really know what my emotions were at the time other than being pissed off at myself for being so lazy. Of course an entire shelf was ruined and since they cost over $100 I was upset I'd eventually have to go and buy a new one, which knowing me probably happened the very next day. But, hey you live and learn, right? Since buying the new shelf I haven't moved it and I don't suppose I will in less I'm moving some place entirely new. So, in the end if you ever feel some random need to clean your entire house plus move the furniture around then do take caution. Them shelf's are just not too stable.

Agalloch - Whitedivisiongrey (2011)

Released in early 2011 and limited to just 500 copies, 'Whitedivisiongrey,' the two disc compilation from Agalloch essentially serves as a re-release of two old EPs titled, 'The Grey' & 'The White.' Personally I own both of these EPs and bought them when they were originally released in '04 and '08, but the appealing digibook edition, which also came with some exclusive bonus tracks was hard to resist.

'The Isle of Summer' kicks off 'The White' in style with lightly strummed melodic acoustic guitars alongside some brief electric guitar as well. 'Birch Black' is one of the strongest songs on this EP with hastily plucked acoustic guitars and invigorating electric guitar and heavy bass, plus with percussion assistance from Markus Wolff of Waldteufel, while 'Hollow Stone' is highly atmospheric and cold sounding ambient piece. 'Panthiest' is similar to the opener although this particular song features some non-word vocals and is considerably longer as it slowly builds to epic proportions over its seven minute length.

'Birch White' is a very simple and straightforward neo folk song very much in the vein of Of the Wand and the Moon. The whispery vocals, warm acoustic guitars and accordion make this a real treasure to be hold even if it is typical of the genre. 'Sowilo Rune' is truly the highlight of this EP however with its beautiful melodious acoustic guitars, heartbreaking piano and light synth work. John Haughm whispers lightly over the music in the beginning, but his vocals fade quickly as the melancholy and beauty wash tragically over you, whilst, 'Summerisle Reprise,' which is basically the first song, but just played on a piano instead of acoustic guitars closes out the original EP. There's also an assortment of samples from 'The Wicker Man' spread throughout the EP too, which eventually lead me to buying the movie. I still remember watching the movie for the first time and getting a kick out of how much that movie influenced the neo/dark folk scene. A great film, might I add!

The final and exclusive track on this disc is a cover of, 'Haunting Birds' by Finnish folk band, Nest, renamed here as, 'Haunted Birds.' At almost triple the original length, this track is in the familiar Nest style, which essentially consists of nature samples, light percussion, highly atmospheric synths and elaborate kantele, which is a traditionally plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland and Karelia. I was and have always been a big fan of the original and likewise a huge fan of Nest, so its quite amazing to hear this cover, especially since Aslak Tolonen always creates such unique, atmospheric and exquisite music.

The second disc is the two track, 'The Grey' EP, which features a re-worked version of the song, 'The Lodge' that originally appeared on the bands second full length album, 'The Mantle' back in 2002. The other track is a remix of 'Odal' by Jason William Walton (Bass guitar) under his other band 'Nothing.'

The re-worked version of ‘The Lodge’ was at the time something really different for the band as it was their first foray into post rock/metal song structures. Although I've always enjoyed it, this version doesn’t seem to bare too many similarities to the original since it’s a lot faster and about eight minutes longer. Not to mention this version has only electric guitar and fast drumming, whereas the original was mostly acoustic guitar and had only some light percussion in the background. Overall it’s really quite a pleasing song that builds and builds as it progresses and it was a regular in their set list around that time too. This song also marked the first appearance of new drummer C. Greene, who stuck with the band until '07 when Aesop joined.

Finally three exclusive songs can be found afterwards. 'Nur.Noch.Asche (Allerseelen Shadow Remix)' is a remix of... well, I have no idea which Agalloch song, but features fast acoustic guitars, random weird industrial sounds, samples and some odd synths for a little over four minutes. 'Dunkelgrauestille (Allerseelen Pale Companion Remix)' is no less weird, in fact sort of similar and again bares no resemblance to the original, which is, 'In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion.' Both are odd, but strangely appealing at the same time, but what else would you expect from Gerhard Halstatt. 'A Desolation Song (TWC Aleutian Mix)' closes out this release with a nearly thirteen minute variation of, 'A Desolation Song.' Again, very little if any fragments of the original can be found as this acoustic song is changed into a kraut rock/ambient sort of piece, which is comparable to artists like Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and Steve Roach. Even though its different it sure is an impressive piece of music that happens to close out this compilation perfectly.

Saint Vitus - Born Too Late (1986)

Its sort of interesting the way music has always had that tendency to be retro, even albums from the 80's like, 'Born Too Late.' Saint Vitus was utterly different for their time. I mean when you look back to '86 images and sounds of thrash and classic heavy metal come to mind, as well death and black metal were making their first tiny baby steps, but these guys were turning the clock back years, to the early 70's to be precise and were drawing influence from vintage Black Sabbath recordings. In a way its a total middle finger in the face of everything else that was going on at the time, because it had no commercial appeal whatsoever, especially in their home town of Los Angeles where cock rock was running amuck. Even the simple cover of this record was the opposite of all other bands out there.

Kicking off with, 'Born Too Late,' this ultra slow heavy doom anthem moves at a painfully slow pace for its entire duration, but has a clever solo, which honestly sounds odd amongst the crawling bass guitar and drums, whilst 'Clear Windowpane' turns up the tempo a bit to a sound somewhat reminiscent of Black Sabbath's, 'Master of Reality' or 'Volume 4,' while 'Dying Inside' is another sluggish number, a bit longer though quite similar to the opener that has lyrics about alcoholism and trying to quit the habit.

Flipping the LP over (I've been on a vinyl kick lately... if you haven't noticed) we come to, 'H.A.A.G.,' which is another faster one again similar to classic Sabbath with superb lyrics, good energy and flow and a infectious main riff that's sure to stay in your mind after listening. 'The Lost Feeling' and the last song, 'The War Starter' again return to the gloomier slow territory.

Sluggishness and pain drive this record, retro for its time, a rebellion of sorts and a brilliant record to boot. Saint Vitus could have certainly completely ripped off those early Sabbath records, but they just took the basics and slowed them down even more. The solos, although impressive, sound bizarre and out of place amongst the already mentioned lethargic music, but it works in a way that makes it sound atmospheric and different. Wino's voice is full of ache and gruffness, but it matches up perfectly with the music and lyrics about being an outcast, drugs, alcoholism, sorrow and war are also brilliantly wrote.

'Born Too Late' is traditional doom in its purest form, not much speed and not a whole lot of groove, but waves of slowness and words of wisdom. Definitely one of Saint Vitus' finest statements and surely a classic of the genre too.

Scythe - Beware The Scythe (2012)

After the split of Chicago, Illinois metal legends, Usurper in '07, the four remaining members formed two new bands. Jon Necromancer, Joe Apocalyptic Warlord and Carcass Chris formed Bones and released their debut last year, while Usurper founder Rick Scythe created Scythe and released their debut through Primitive Reaction earlier this year.

'Beware The Scythe' is an odd album since it literally offers up various forms of metal and changes from song to song, although all of the songs tend to have an old school vibe surrounding them. You get a lot though, the Celtic Frost vibes are mostly always there, but you can also find plenty of thrash, death, black and even a few doom-ish parts on this LP. 'The Iron Witch' kicks the album off in a high octane thrashing death-ish metal manner that's not too distant from Rick's past work with Usurper, while, 'Mastermind' is a bit more mid-paced, but retains a similar enough sound, but with a sung chorus, rather than anything growled or screamed. The title track is probably my favorite as its quite catchy and fun throughout with a number of rockin' and totally energetic headbangable riffs and even a cool little clearly sung part that just screams pump your fist and headband like a mother fucker, which then leads into a bad ass solo to boot. 'Tyrannical Stranglehold' is another mid-paced number that shows off a few different influences and vocal styles and even has an acoustic guitar present.

Three of the five songs on the other side of LP are remakes of Nightshade songs (Rick's side project) and left overs, which were meant for Usurper, but were never recorded due to the break up. 'Tunguska Death Ray' is another full on thrashy song with black and death metal style vocals that just plain rocks, while 'Opus Dei Of the Dead' and 'Eye of the Crow' sound similar enough, total energy and good vibes, but Opus has a more guttural vocal approach during the chorus that matches up well with the raspier vocals. 'Talons of Steel' is more or less Usurper, obviously, thrashy and in your face, where as, 'Planet of the Humans' is a bit more hard hitting, epic in a way, but it sticks to the same formula and doesn't have the random tempo or genre changes like the other songs.

As a whole, 'Beware The Scythe' is a solid debut effort in my eyes and ears. The vocal, tempo and genre shifts can make it feel like an uneven ride, but between great riffs, killer solos and tons of energy and just simply great song writing the whole thing works out perfectly. Definitely worth checking out for the Usurper fans, as well as those that just dig something new that sounds old.

Scorn - Vae Solis (1992)

I remember picking up the debut LP from Scorn, 'Vae Solis' about a decade ago not really knowing what to expect. Well, I knew that Mick Harris (Formerly of Napalm Death) was involved and at least this particular album was metal, while the band would turn to an ambient/electronic/dub/whatever the fuck project afterwards.

While I do enjoy 'Vae Solis' it is however one record that's quite hard to describe due to its experimental and mostly original sound. Random bits of thrash can be found, twisted ass weirdness that reminds of early Swans (I'll just assume you've heard Filth), pounding drum beats, repetitive doomy heaviness, freaky synths, pulsing bass, samples galore and industrial metal vibes fairly similar to Godflesh (and other early industrial metal bands), which is fitting since Justin Broadrick played guitar on this album. Nik Bullen's vocals are all over the place too; sometimes simply speaking while other times shouting and it seems on various occasions effects are placed on his voice too. Interestingly the album seems to start out rather powerful, but slowly gets calmer and as you near the final songs things really start to chill out a bit towards ambient experimentalism.

In description is just sounds like a bunch of crap that doesn't work and maybe it doesn't, but the album holds some sort of sedative quality to it that just seems to grab a hold on me every time I toss it on the turntable. There's a sense or urgency and anger on the early songs, but by the time you reach the sixth song, 'Thoughts of Escape' it feels like things begin to move in a darker relaxed direction. 'On Ice - Heavy Blood' offers up more noticeably melodic synths, throbbing bass guitar and clear singing, which may be an indication of where Scorn went from this album. By the time, 'To End' is finishing up its just pure spacey ambiance.

In the end I have no idea how to precisely talk about, 'Vae Solis,' which means this is sort of a bullshit review, but in all seriousness this is an interesting album that will either blow you over with awesomeness or just bore you to death. I'm somewhere in the middle. Hypnotic stuff, for sure!

Soulreaper - Written in Blood (2000)

After the demise of Dissection in '97 due to Jon Nödtveidt's accomplice to murder conviction, guitarist Johan Norman and drummer Tobias Kellgren quickly formed a new band with bassist Mikael Lång, vocalist Christoffer Hjertén and rhythm guitarist Christoffer Hermansson. Initially the band went under the simple name of Reaper, but due to another band already using it the band became Soulreaper, which is obviously one of Dissection's most classic songs.

The bands debut, 'Written in Blood' is a fiery explosion of old school sounding death metal quite similar to early Morbid Angel with some occasional moments of Dissection-ish black metal melodicism. Although more uptempo than say MA's, 'Blessed are the Sick' or 'Covenant,' it still feels like the gloomy yet aggressive style of Trey Azagthoth is all over this beast, while the slower songs and parts almost sound like rips from that record. The vocals generally stick to a raspier style, honestly not too different from Mr. David Vincent's, with only a few moments of lower growliness.

What makes the album a bit interesting are the parts that have riffs that sound like left overs from, 'Storm of the Light's Bane,' and Tobias' drum rolls sound remarkably vibrant and similar in style to Ole Öhman's work on said album. Curiously the song, 'Satanized' is a cover version of an old Nödtveidt project from '91, which was originally also covered in '96 by Decameron, which three of the members of Soulreaper played in at various points.

So, obviously Soulreaper didn't cover much new ground with this album, but despite all that its an exceptional affair of blasting death metal that clocks in at just a little over thirty five minutes. The music is hostile, energetic and totally headbangable, while the overall musicianship is highly impressive. The production is hollow and massive with plenty of echo to it, which in particular makes the drums sound explosive and dynamic, which is just how I prefer drums to be in death metal.

Soulreaper would release a split and EP in '02 and one final album in '03 called, 'Life Erazer,' which I've been told is slightly better. Since these days Tobias hasn't done much other than playing on one Wolf album, two albums with Seventh One around the time Soulreaper quit and some brief live work with In Flames in '05. Whereas Johan completely disappeared after disbanding, but reappeared in recent years with both Deletion and Trident.

Sigh - A Tribute to Venom (2008)

During the past twenty plus years Sigh's made a career out of reinventing themselves on each new release as well as just being one of the most diverse and weird bands out there, ever. They've also made it a known fact since the early days that they are huge fans of Venom, in fact way back in '95 they released an EP called, 'To Hell and Back: Sigh's Tribute to Venom,' as well they've had a few Venom covers on various other EPs, live recordings and splits too.

In 2008 Mirai's super sexy girlfriend, Dr. Mikannibal joined as the bands new vocalist and this EP simply titled, 'A Tribute to Venom' was released to introduce her and yet again pay more homage to Venom. The EP comes as a 12" blood red vinyl with the artwork etched into it, as well it conveniently also contained a CD version of the EP.

'Black Metal' kicks off the EP with blaring sirens, thunderous explosions and an evil voice introducing Sigh. On this one all covers (except one) are kept utterly true to the originals, save for maybe Miss Mikannibal's voice, which is a bit on the raspy side, but otherwise these are totally spot on covers. The production is loud, dynamic and warm, but still with an old school vibe and feeling within the guitars. There's also just a shit ton of fun and good energy spewing out of these songs that just makes them all the more enjoyable.

'Die Hard' really sticks out for some reason and I'm almost inclined to say that I like this version even better than the original, while, 'Countess Bathory' is great, especially love how much emotion is placed on the vocals. The other four songs are fantastic too, 'Schizo' is totally fun to rock out too, as well as 'Teacher's Pet' & 'Witching Hour,' which have always been Venom songs I've enjoyed a lot. The cover of 'Mayhem with Mercy' is actually the one song that the band tweaks around a bit and its changed to an epic soundtrack-ish keyboard piece, which frankly is way cooler than Venom's. The early mentioned, 'Black Metal' is exactly what you'd expect and its great too.

'A Tribute to Venom' is surely a must for Sigh and Venom fans and personally I remember I bought this vinyl from The End Records for just $3 a little over two years ago when they were having a sale. Fucking deal, baby!

Carcass - Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious (1991)

It goes without saying that Liverpool, England's Carcass are without a doubt one of the most influential bands ever. From the early gorgrind blasting devastation of, 'Reek of Putrefaction' & 'Symphonies of Sickness' to their more melodic death metal direction on, 'Heartwork' and eventually death 'n' roll on their final album, 'Swansong,' these lads were ahead of the best and influenced the rest. It is however their third statement, namely, 'Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious,' which I think has stood the test of time has the bands finest creation.

Released in late '91, Jeff, Ken and Bill welcomed the Swede, Michael Amott from Carnage to the group a few months earlier and with him the four created an album with substance and finally took their music into a more serious, complex and interesting direction. The format of minute long blasts of noise had already ended on the previously album, but the style was largely the same, just with longer songs. On Necroticism all of the songs are over five minutes in length as well the music is more purely death metal based, its more melodic in character, solos are all over the place as well as a shit ton of samples before each song and only a little bit of grindiness from their early work is present. The music itself often shifts from slower parts to full on chaotic sections and then of course the parts where they just show off with the solos and melodic riffage.

For sure one of the most awe-inspiring aspects of this release is Michael and Bill's guitar work, which is just riff after riff of bludgeoning, ripping, grindy death metal pandemonium from start to finish, as well as the aforementioned melody and solos, which are simply some of the best ever heard in the death metal genre. Ken also gives his finest performance behind the drumkit with some serious genius playing that's filled with interesting and skillful fills as well as the much needed blasting you'd expect out of this genre. And what can you say about Jeff and Bill's totally influential vocals, which range from raspy shrieks to low guttural roars, often trading off with each other and those lyrics are sick as fuck in an absolutely well thought out and intelligent manner.

Songs like, 'Corporal Jigsore Quandary' or 'Pedigree Butchery' are absolutely loaded with awesomeness, while others like, 'Incarnated Solvent Abuse' has one of the most catchy leads ever and 'Carneous Cacoffiny' is pretty much one of the best death metal songs you'll ever hear. I also love the way in the booklet the band isn't content to simply write, 'lead by: Steer or Amott,' instead we get, '(lead: viscous residue snorting by M. Amott)' or '(lead: Gross disorientation by W.G. Steer),' which is pretty damn cool if you ask me. Likewise the artwork and booklet layout in general is pretty bad ass looking.

On the negative side I wish the production was a little more dynamic as the overall volume is fairly low and the bass is mostly unheard, but perhaps these issues have been corrected on the recent reissues. Personally I'm reviewing this from the '95 re-issue that came with the, 'Tools of the Trade' EP tacked at the end of the album.

In the end its all sewn together and complete as surely one of the best and most influential albums ever in death metal and even though the band would change dramatically by the next album and eventually break up in '95, they left legions of fans and inspired musicians who would carry the scalpel in their wake. If you missed it, do yourself a favor and check out, 'Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious.'

"Death is no Escape!!"