MUSIC REVIEWS VIII - Music - http://maxpages.com/aeazine/MUSIC_REVIEWS

Lecherous Nocturne Promo 2002 Independent
This Colorado based death metal band are taking the genre in a few interesting directions. There are three songs here Lecherous Nocturne say are unmastered tracks set to appear on their upcoming full-length. From the guitars and vocals I gather their influence lies somewhere between death metal, black metal and gore, with a lot of their own ideas thrown in. The tracks offered on this promotional release can be summarily described as bizarre. Which for me earns them points in the originality department. “Consider the Following” is not even fully underway when a brief keyboard interlude and then a long break inexplicably show up out of nowhere in places you wouldn’t normally expect them to appear. After the track resumes with more abrupt start-stop action that was there in the beginning, there’s another long space of silence suddenly emerging from in between the guitar riffs. Then there’s a contrast with death metal and black metal vocals while the song continues, and more short breaks with whispered vocals in the later pieces. What’s going on here? But at least they’re making a conscious effort to do something that differs entirely from everything else we hear out there, and I have to give them credit for that much. This does make me interested in what the band have in mind for the full-length. If they do more stuff like this promo, I might really enjoy it. Write Lecherous Nocturne at PO Box 566, Idaho Springs, CO 80452.

Slitherym Slitherym Independent
Slitherym appear geared toward combining extreme metal with college alternative. Many of the ideas invented for this recording sound as if they work well enough. There’s a solid guitar sound in the compositions and the production tightens everything up nicely though the vocals could have more consistently come across as aggressive, sounding more fitting for a college radio oriented band. It would be interesting to see how the band decides to fuse these influences together. Write via email to info@slitherym.com or log on to www.slitherym.com

Illogicist Polymorphism of Death Independent
Though Illogicist refer to themselves as death metal my first impression upon hearing their CD was that it’s more rooted in progressive and classic thrash metal than brutal death, with intricate and melodic guitar progressions running smoothly along with the musicianship. The vocals struck me as being more rasping in the vein of old school black metal. The drums complement the guitars while the percussionist keeps the time admirably; still the sound there could have been improved on. Illogicist are seeking a label deal and I’d imagine they’d get one with Nuclear Blast or Necropolis. Contact Illogicist c/o Luca Minieri at Via A. Berthet, 8; 11100 Aosta; Italy or email illogicist@illogicist.com

Homicide Hagridden Where Angels Work Independent
I honestly believe after listening to Homicide Hagridden that they’d do better with much more originality and I suggest they try hard to find their own direction. Too many thrash bands tried to copy their heroes in the eighties and in my opinion that’s what contributed to the demise of the thrash scene. The musicianship on Where Angels Work is good but the band is emulating Metallica and Slayer a little too closely, especially the vocalist whose style sounds too dependent on Hetfield and Araya. The drums could use some tightening up along with the guitar progressions in some places although there are a few interesting riffs here and there. Aside from this I do think there are some interesting and original elements the band have as in their name and cover artwork for instance they could use to develop their own sound if they would dare to take a chance with it. But as for this EP I think it would have been more enjoyable if they started out that way.

Kor-Lokt Drowning Streets Independent
Consisting of one track that was independently recorded and produced in the band’s private studio, Drowning Streets is a promo release offering a preview of what is to appear on Kor-Lokt’s upcoming full-length album. The band are based in the local Long Island thrash/death metal scene, including in their ranks ex-Disfigured vocalist Joe Reilly and Brian Wishin who was previously involved in Mangled. Using a play on words taken from Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 Vietnam War film Full Metal Jacket, the band contribute a new subgenre to extreme music, referring to themselves on the back cover as “Fully Jacketed Metal” complete with black and white images of implied violence such as bullets and handguns. On the CD there is an interesting range in influences, from Pantera to Primus to death metal to jazz and Latin percussion, and enough of these influences show themselves on record. In spite of the thin production of “Drowning Streets” its musicianship is consistently tight with a heavy guitar sound and quick double bass drumming, and you can hear each instrument played as clearly as the vocals, which are mostly deepened to go with the guitars but on occasion soar to the gargling-on-vomit level somewhat like the vocal style Tom Angelripper of Sodom had on In the Sign of Evil. I couldn’t make out the words as much here, and I would have liked to hear a few more songs with the lyrics included to get a better sense of where Kor-Lokt are coming from, but I’m sure they’ll be including more on their full-length. If interested in contacting Kor-Lokt write them at 22 Sprucewood Drive, Levittown, NY or email jreill12@optonline.net.

GB Arts The Lake Independent
The Lake is a concept album recorded in a similar vein to eighties’ power metal epics. It has its good points but overall this is one of those albums I can’t exactly figure out. The first song, the title cut “The Lake” which starts off with a haunting piano-guitar lead in and an opening riff with intense keyboard accents, leads you to believe that this album is going to be strictly an excursion in darkened power metal, but immediately after the song draws to its conclusion things turn toward progressive rock despite the same sound levels in the production. While they are talented musicians I really had a hard time relating to what was going on here and found the material too inconsistent, mostly for the reason I mentioned above. GB Arts probably wanted to infuse power metal with more of a progressive edge; for me the differing aspects in the band’s makeup seem to be playing against each other too much. This especially owes to the guitars and keyboards which, while at times working together well during the harmony sections, sound as a whole as if they’re far removed from one another and that they would work better sticking with their respective styles. The vocals had more range than the spoken word parts in between the songs that I thought sounded too flat and emotionless. There were some acoustic sections on this album that I liked hearing that reflected the mood of the first song, including the one at the beginning of “My New World.” I just thought there should have been something more solid, whether they should have focused more on one style or did a better job combining them together. It just seemed too disjointed for me.

The Fallen Sector 7-G Independent
This is basically a fusion of power and death metal with hardcore overtones. The demo was released back in 1999 thus I am at a loss to describe how the band sound today. Plenty of crunching guitars, hypnotically repetitive sections and tortured vocals sounding vaguely like the singer of Crowbar. As no lyrics came with the package I don’t have a concept of what’s being said here although I could make out a few occasional bits and pieces of maintaining inner strength in the face of adversity. The production is clean enough that I could fully appreciate their heaviness. To contact write The Fallen at 26701 Quail Creek #190, Laguna Hills, CA 92656

Cephalic Carnage Lucid Interval Relapse
As far as I’m concerned, Napalm Death’s Scum will forever be the best grindcore album ever released, no matter how many bands expand on what they started back in the day, but even so I think Cephalic Carnage are really starting to rub off on me as one of the most proficient contemporary grindcore bands. I’m not going to say they’re the genre’s answer to Slayer just yet, but they’ve always been dedicated to straining the perimeters of their musicianship, at least for as long as I have been listening to them. Lucid Interval sees them broadening their songwriting perspective further still while naturally outdoing just about anything they’ve previously done. To give credence to how this style has changed and improved since its simplistic origins, those who debate whether grindcore can mature beyond its perceived scope should give a long listen to “Anthro Emesis,” a complex exercise in how many sections the band can provide one song with while putting forward a history lesson about ancient Rome far more offensively decorative than any overly romantic picture they’ll show you in the movies these days. The multitude of effects the band use are as integral a part to their sound as the eccentric guitars they furnish their songs with and as always the blasting is as frenetic as ever. “Black Metal Sabbath” with its spoken word intro and Norse feel is another high point; this is probably meant as tongue in cheek but the band show how well they combine black metal riffs with Sabbath overtones included later on. Then they change styles two more times with “Cannabism.”

Reprobation Undoing Creation Forever Underground
The prelude to “Done” depicting a confrontation between a persistent Jehovah’s Witness and an irritated homeowner provided a bit of comic relief to the songs defaming religion on this album, probably because I have the kind twisted sense of humor to appreciate something stuck between songs eating away at the facades of Christianity that may be interpreted as comical to some listening. At first I thought it was a gun discharging but at second listen it was a door slamming in the religious fanatic’s face. You’d usually expect such a thing to be featured on grindcore albums, but again there’s a sample the band too from Full Metal Jacket they include at the end of “The One They Hate” that fits their music on a more serious level. While jamming plenty of time changes into half an hour, Reprobation’s Undoing Creation is graphically sacrilegious; a cross between Nile and Deicide is one way I would describe the lyrical content; The guitars sound like the driving force behind Reprobation’s brutality, utilizing techniques similar to bands like Incantation as quite a few Kerry King-esque leads added for emphasis. The band alternate between low and high pitched vocals frequently during their songs, sometimes during the same line, but the low-pitched vocals could use more work to fit the music more appropriately. The CD offers a CD-ROM program designed by Twan Sibon of Brutalism graphics advertising the staff and roster of Forever Underground.

Beheaded Recounts of Disembodiment Forever Underground
The lead-in intro to Recounts of Disembodiment doesn’t last very long, but it is interesting as it depicts a unique vision of perdition from Beheaded’s perspective, in which the souls of the departed are apparently hooked up to some electronic torture device, suffering soundlessly as more souls are seen kept in storage from a distance and the only sound you hear is the otherworldly machinery chugging along in subdued noises. I hope this is an accurate perception on my part, though they may have envisioned something altogether different. “Broken Thoughts Of Righteousness” follows this introduction in the proper mode a CD’s opening song should, containing catchy guitars, continual double bass drums and guttural lead vocals, all enveloped in unambiguous production. The piece also reiterates the imagery suggested by the intro and the art adorning the album cover if you picture it all together. But then, the subsequent compositions reveal this hell was created by those seeking to destroy what the band identify as human expression, and those cast down have become increasingly angry over the eons of their imprisonment, and plot revenge upon their inevitable return. A fine concept that’s told well.

Hell-Born The Call of Megiddo Conquer
From a label based in the United Kingdom comes a blistering slab of Polish “war death metal” that’s not to be confused with what’s coming out of Sweden these days. Granted there is some stuff that reminded me of Swedish death metal, but this is much less melodic, prompting remembrances of the time when Destruction and Sodom exhibited demonic warrior imagery with black leather and bullet belts, promising the demise of heaven through rudimentary yet viciously irreverent lyrics. Hell-Born tapped into my subconscious on the same primal level as the classic death metal bands from the eighties did when I first encountered them, but while those bands had to steadily grow on me, I find myself able to gravitate toward this band a good deal more readily. Hell-Born have a far distance to travel before reaching the pinnacle Vader achieved in their career, but they should definitely should hold onto the primordial character they bring to their music as it gives them the drive necessary to leave an impression. Recommended to aficionados of metallic blasphemy of any and all kinds.

Dimentianon Dimentianon Independent
This isn’t “the band formerly known as The Forgotten,” in case you were wondering. After releasing L’Aldila, which was received well for a CD released by a Long Island black metal band, The Forgotten disbanded and reorganized to emerge with a fresh concept, innovating their style to encompass more European inspiration. The vivid images of violent behavior, human mortality, murder and suicide presented with ghastly detail appear to have been made more palpable on the foretaste Dimentianon offer of the upcoming album they plan to release later this year entitled Seven Suicides. The new band surpasses the old by a mode you can detect immediately, where the impressions given of bloodshed and carnage cut through the fragile shell of existence, familiarizing you with their dreadful reality replete with hopelessness and looming self-exacted decease. On a level all their own, the band take what Type O Negative were doing in terms of putting across comfort in gloominess on a tangent not many would have expected, aiming to make pictures of self-mutilation an art form. The birth cry of Dimentianon resulting from The Forgotten’s sacrifice to oblivion is an industrial sounding feedback-laden intro leading into “Self-Inflicted Abuse” with chaotic, accent-heavy riffs calling to mind what Abazagorath are doing lately along with some breaks in the action taking the song in different directions. These appear in greater quantities in “Soulless Extinction” and “Dead and Forgotten,” offering promise of what to look forward to when we hear more from the band.

Nitch Listen Independent
A post-hardcore band hailing from Manhattan and the Bronx, Nitch sound like they’re aiming for the college alternative audience. Their approach is more hard rock/metal than punk with lead vocals sung over crunching guitars and influences including early Black Sabbath and Rage Against the Machine, with greater emphasis on the hip-hop aspects of the latter. The promotional copy of Listen was sent to me by drummer Carlito Rosas and it does seem to have potential to appeal to their target audience as anything released by other bands playing the same thing. While reviewing the songs a few times I began to perceive a rumbling bass sound that reminded me of the bass refrains used by Bold and Youth of Today in their songs which endowed their formula with a certain street level hypnotic factor. The guitars hearken back to those bands in some places as well. Joey Reyes’s vocals come across slightly stronger when they’re accompanying the band’s hip hop influences in “False Hope” and “Echo in the Alley” than when they’re sung; in the latter case they personally strike me as too “emo” sounding. Nitch’s current email address is Good4back@aol.com if you are interested in contacting them.

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