lundi 12 avril 2010

Demo reviews - W

WORSHIP (FRA) "LAST TAPE BEFORE DOOMSDAY..." Demo 99. Extreme Doom that is well done and transcendental with good sound of depression and majesty, good Death grunts but I don't like that speaking voice, sounds too much weak human... Fans of THERGOTHON, EVOKEN, ESOTERIC and other funeral deadly things should worship WORSHIP! It is maybe the first time I receive a Demoon of Doom like that from France with really good instrumentations, heavy guitars, keyboards & depressing, deranging melodies... All tunes were done in only one week, 100% well executed & recorded right in-the-kult! Listen in absolute underground darkness, I'm lighting a candle now...DOOM! IMPALER OF TRENDIES Prods: c/o MAXIMILIEN VARNIER, 161 AVE. ALSACE-LORRAINE, 52100 ST-DIZIER FRANCE. c3m.varnier@wanadoo.fr (last news is that Max commited suicide in June 2001... but the WORSHIP LP will see the light as he recorded the drums & voice before joining the beyond...R.I.Hell)

Demo reviews - V

VEHEMENCE (USA) "God shot" Demo 92.
VIOGRESSION (USA) Demo 90.
VIOLENT DIRGE (Pol) "Elapse" Tape LP 93 CARNAGE.
VIOLENT DIRGE (POL) "OBLITERATION OF SOUL" Demo 91 CARNAGE.
VISCERAL DAMAGE (SPA) "THE FEAST OF FLESH" Demo 2003. Another great band signed to Xtreem music: VISCERAL DAMAGE and it's a good choice! Plain goreful & guttural morbid Death Metal, juicy & bloody piece of rotting meat! The band has tunes similar to INCANTATION & IMMOLATION, this means that they're creating fuckin' obscure moods and real morbid surroundings, being much more from the CANNIBAL CORPSE style of brutalizations but a lot more underground & viciously skilled, ancient feelings of unholy hatred emanates from my mind while listening to them! VISCERAL DAMAGE are doing similar insanes tunes to the L.A. underground acts that occured now ten years ago, viscerally unrelenting, insane..., Evil!!! I love all the 5 tracks & intros, they each contain something that can make me kill someone, this is pure rage from down under, can't wait to hear the album: BUY OR DIE!!!!! sanburfr@euitiv.upv.es

Demo reviews - T

TALES OF DARKNORD (RUSSIA) "DISMISSED" Tape LP 99 R.I.P. c/o ALEX KANTEMIROV, CHELYABINSKAYA 14, VOLOGOGRAD 400120 RUSSIA. 2:5055/1.73@fidonet REST IN PEACE Prods: VLAD A. KOROLENKO, PO BOX 72, SMOLENSK-04, 214004 RUSSIA.
TESTIMONY (Hungary) "Thorn" Tape EP 99.
THRONEUM (POL) "OLD DEATH's lair" Tape LP 2002 MALEFICIUM. Damn, 14 tracks of Death Metal violence completely out of trends!!! The intro makes me think of Sadistik Exekution's "K.A.O.S.", more classic but still Extremes tunes are then played by THRONEUM which knows how to blast and create an utter insane ambience of in-the-Dark Death Metal! Slightly different from the Demo, they've gone a step ahead faster & tighter, very fuckin' Evil Metal, loud & heavy as Hell!!! I enjoy this terrible musical assault full of subtleties and completely unpredictable from "The Key" to "The Light And Cause" which is a bonus track. The right Evilution from the Demo, this is really what I was expecting from this band, what would you expect from a great Demo? But a killer LP for sure
THRONEUM (POL) "THE UNDERGROUND STORMS ETERNALLY" Demo 2000. The band sent in their Demo & after reading about their influences in their own Newsletter called "Extreme Dense Art" sent along with it, (which is a good one), I felt very hungry to hear their music! Imagine, a new band taking influences from forgotten Dark/Death/Black cultissim ancient Metal ones from Hell! It is so rare nowadays that it has to be noticed for sure! The first track didn't impress me that much, while their sound is intense & full-on, the whole lacks of fast aggression and tightness for me, got too much repetitive at times too but they're fuckin heavy, very similar to Australian MISERY with more of a Black Metal influence, I also think the bass is too up front mixed towards other instruments and lacks of darkened tunes (sometimes sounds fun...) but damn I enjoy the original style they create, the darkness of Black Metal mixed in the heaviness of Death Metal with an Evil raging voice of Apocalyptic feelings... the vocals are definitely great! That band sounds like coming from Australia with their own original style, successful at creating new ambiences & atmospheres, this has to be heard by all of you mighty readers & admirers of mid-paced Death! The last track is a bass instrumental that reminds me Devilyn too. Highly recommended to BUY OR DIE! c/o TOMASZ HANUSZKIEWICZ, PO BOX 66, 41-923 BYTOM POLAND. tomaszh@poland.com
TORTURE (Indo) "Terrible of century" Tape LP 2000 Colours.

Demo reviews - S

SADISTIS (Indonesia) "D.O.M.(Daerah operasi militer)" Demo 99 DEMENTIA.
SADISTIS (Indonesia) "The creation of god" Demo 97 EXTREME SOUL.
SANCTIFIER/KRUEGER (BRA/BRA) "IN MAYHEM & DESTRUCTION" Split Live Tape 2003 TIME BEFORE TIME. SANCTIFIER, this excellent old Brazilian band seems to be still active as their Live was recorded in 2000, 5 tracks to remember how great they are in their old Evil Death Metal style, they are one of those bands I still remember 10 years after they got their Demo out, I don't think they had released any album in all the years, so this is a band that will remain cult & even more now! BUY OR DIE!! c/o FABIO A. BRAYNER, R. ERNESTO S. LEAO 190 / 307, 54 400 250 PIEDADE, JABOATAO - PE BRAZIL. www.sanctifier.hpg.com.br As for KRUEGER, same spirit of old-school Death Metal, Live recorded in 1995, 5 trax including a cover of DEATH's "Low Life", excellentissim Death Metal band that gives all what I need: morbid vocals, leads, mid-paced drumming, and slashing dooming chainsaws from Hell... Definitely a cult tape of Brazilian Death Metal legions: HAIL DEATH METAL!!!!!! BUY OR DIE!!! c/o ADRIANO CAMINHA, C.P. 63031, 20753-970 RIO DE JANEIRO - RJ BRAZIL. www.krueger.com.br TIME BEFORE TIME Recs: c/o TOMASZ HANUSZKIEWICS, PO BOX 66, 41-923 BYTOM POLAND.
SARDOTICAL SCOUNDREL (MalaYsia) "Extinction by the birth control" Demo 99 NORTH POEM.
SCURVY (SWE) Demo 1 2000. This was recommended by my old Nounour$ from Poitiers and he has good taste for Death Metal as with such a tape dedicated to Charles Bronson, it can only be brutal of course. I must say that it sounds damn good to my ears, very crushing & heavy raw Death Metal to the bone & flesh, I can't say it makes me think about another band but it's done the American way, some riffs recalls old VADER & TERRORIZER anyway. Recorded by Fred Estby, some vocals are reminiscents of old MACABRE, so this is a Death/Grind Demo that will surely please the old-school fans, I like some of the riffs especially the beginning of "Deathwish". This is pure Death/Grind made the old-school efficient way with sick intros, catchy riffs etc. Good quality stuff that sounds brutal but why triggering drums so much?? I can't stand that, otherwise the Demo is pleasant to listen to. c/o JOHAN WALLIN, HAGVÄGEN 2K, 19440 UPPLANDS VÄSBY SWEDEN. FREDRIK ANDERSSON, LJUNGV. 95, 19460 U-V SWEDEN. http://come.to/scurvy
SEPTIC GRAVE "Beyond the" Demo.
SIKSAKUBUR (INDO) "The Carnage" Tape LP 2000 EXTREME SOULS. Blasting Death Metal a la early SUFFOCATION like it is the rule in Indonesia! This one not only blasts all the time but also includes dark atmospheres & feelings with memorables riffs. Quite technical & brutal without compromise, this band is good & deathvastating, definitely highly recommended to all those who love the American/Canadian style of brutality: BUY OR DIE!
SLASHING DEATH (POL) "Kill Me Coz I Have No Hope" Tape LP 91 CARNAGE.
SLAUGHTER THOU (AUSTRALIA) "INDISCRIMINHATE" Demo 2000. Wow! This is some Extremely speed exhausting Death Metal tunes from the land of kangaroos! This one reminds me very old MORBID ANGEL, MESSE NOIR and MARTIRE a lot, fast as Hell, same production, unrelenting quick technical riffs at the speed of light and possessed grunting vocals, solos from beyond the soils of the dead and pulverizing drumming! Really sounds apocalyptic and deathvastates anything that crossed their path! BUY OR DIE!
SLAUGHTER THOU (AUSTRALIA) Promo trax... Heavier sound and compositions for these five other tracks with more screaming vocals and still combined with grunts as well in the vein of older DEICIDE materials. I'm not sure from when it has been recorded but judging by the style, which is a little less extreme than above (more in the ARGHOSLENT style sometimes), it certainly was recorded before the "Indiscriminhate" Demo...? It was a good recording of total Death & Chaos anyway! Highly recommended aggression, hatred... BUY OR DIE!!!
SPARAGMOS (Pol) "Invitation from host of wrath" Tape LP 92 METAL MIND.
SPAWN OF POSSESSION (SWE) Demo. No other infos concerning this band but I don't care! The intro is fuckin' Evil and the music as well, it reminds me of first DEVILYN album, a lot of quick vicious riffs & technical like NILE, this insane Death Metal mixture is welcome to my ears. The band reached a good & impressive level as they sometimes took influences from MORBID ANGEL & CANNIBAL CORPSE, not a kidding band for sure! The four tracks really rules as they're dark, resounding like many old Swedish bands from the unforgotten past, the solos made my arm's hairs standing up with a thrill running down my back like if that was Trey…This is a sign that the band is extremely great at creating something their own, morbid & Evil Death Metal from Hell, BUY OR DIE!!!!!!
SPLATTERED CADAVER (USA) Promo 99. Two new tracks that are a little more brutal than their already damn good Demo! Newer influences such as Repudilation, Disgorge etc...also reminds me EXCARNATED from Australia. Fans of true heavy pounding American Brutal Death/Grind can only fall in love with this as it contains all essential ingredients to BUY OR DIE!!! jalecher@aol.com
STILLBORN "Mirrormaze" Demo 99 Pigtail.
SUPREME LORD/CHTON (POL/NOR) "TWO TALES OF TERROR" Split Tape 2003 TIME BEFORE TIME. Let's start with SUPREME LORD that got here their "Death Metal Beast" Promo 2003 re-released onto this Split Tape from Hell! And they're damn excellent bringing fast & extreme pounding Evil Death Metal, excellent production that shreds anything and heavy as the hammer of Thor crushing your cranium of Death! This is brutal & heavy, tight & right to the point, no weak signs in these three tracks, they make me think of old INIQUITY & old KONKHRA with such powerful beats but more Evil with some real obscure parties like some MORBID ANGEL/VIBRION venomous tunes... That's really sounding like nothing else but very personal and convincing, professional! This band deserves a mighty deal à la hauteur de leur musique: BUY OR DIE!!! www.supremelord.com rjash@wp.pl CHTON on side b were a little similar just a little less heavy but very powerful too, their two tracks were originally released as their self-titled Demo 2002. I noticed more of IMMOLATION influences by some riffs in track two and that of course is very promising, I'll be very curious to hear more from these nordists: c/o TORSTEIN PARELIUS, KVITSTEINVEIEN 42, 7027 TRONDHEIM NORWAY. www.chton.com TIME BEFORE TIME Recs: c/o TOMASZ HANUSZKIEWICS, PO BOX 66, 41-923 BYTOM POLAND.

Demo reviews - R

RECTUM (Fin) "Enforced prick" Demo 92.
RELENTLESS (SWE) "Experiment In Excrement" Demo 2001 BUTCHERY. Damn good Brutal Death Metal band from Sweden! I was surprised by their MORTICIANesque heaviness & their CANNIBAL CORPSian musicianship! The scene in Sweden is slowly changing for the better and that is a good thing finally! This is brutal & inhuman Death Metal like I love to hear, the solos should be mixed much more in front because they get drowned behind other instruments but that is the only thing to complain about!
RETRIBUTION (USA) "Third world" Demo 99 M.D.C.A.
RIPPED APART (USA) "SEVERED LIMBS" Demo 97. Here's something cool & old-school; fast & ripping Death Metal that reminds me SKINLESS and old BOLT THROWER, old SEPULTURA as well with some good leads of Death! Sounds intense & apocalyptic at times, while all the riffs were surely already tried by many other bands in the old days, it's good to hear a band that keeps that ancient feeling these days, that's exactly how it must be done! These guys convinced me completely, true Death Metal malevolence, heavy, raw & brutal, morbid as Hell! BUY OR DIE!
ROTTING CORPSE (Guatemala) "Pain to pleasure" Demo 95 AMERICAN LINE.

Demo reviews - Q

QUEIRON (BRA) "HERITAGE OF WAR" Promo 2000. New assault by QUEIRON leaving absolutely nothing for the weak with this (only one!) new track which is long, a dark, fast one in the vein of REBAELLIUN & KRISIUN with more breaks and changes of rhythms, it creates a complete warlike ambience and an obscure mood with strong feelings, excellent raging obscure vocals filled with disgust and hatred, a breath of real vengeance! Good rising solos from below, blasting drumming and raw guitar sound. The songwriting is not the typical repetitive one we're all used to hear anywhere, each change of riffing bring you somewhere else in the battle of Armageddon...! True Apocalyptic Death Metal survives & rises with all those skilled bands from Brazil, guardians of this precious heritage of the cult and continuing exploring more extreme from where the ancients left! Hail Death Metal, Hail QUEIRON, Hail Brazil of Death!! BUY OR DIE!! c/o MARCELO GROUS, RUA HERMINIO JOSE PANSERINI N°21, B. PADOVANI CAPIVARI / SP CEP 13360-000 BRASIL. queiron@bol.com.br

Demo reviews - P

PARALYSIS (USA) "Plegia" Demo 90.
PENIS LEECH (ITA) "Eternally Encrypted" Promo 2000. Very raw deaf heavy sound, the band obviously tried to do another clone of Suffocation-clones and succeed! Stop mocking, they're good brutallers anyway, it just sounds too much like SUFFOCATION but they also got the same qualities as all those Indonesian warriors playing that kind of Brutal Death Metal nowadays and they can do solos! So this promo is very, very, very SUFFOCATION influenced and well played, just needs to find some extra money and get a little better sound next time. If you don't care about originality but looking for a brutal & skilled band very close to SUFFOCATION's own style, PENIS LEECH is definitely sure to please you!
POSTMORTEM (Estonia) "Bloody justice comes" Tape LP 96 SOUNDLESS.
POSTMORTEM (ESTONIA) "The call of the sea" Demo 98.
PROFANE (HOL) "REQUIEM" Demo 94.
PURULENCE (CAN) "Atrocious Execration" Demo 91. Old Demo again from a band who got signed to Adipocere for a 7" & a Split CD with Amaymon and then disappeared some times after... That was raw & heavy, haunting & dooming like the old bands from Finland or Sweden that flooded the scene in early nineties, PURULENCE also had that old MORGOTH spirit engulfed in their brutal thrashing tunes, blasting & pounding at mid-paced Death Metal obscurity...!
PUSTULATED (Switz) "Pustulus" Demo 92.

Demo reviews - O

OBDUKTION (GRE) "Break......the silence" Demo 2000. That sounds cool & old-school Death Metal in the old U.S. veins, this is by far better than other Greek bands I have heard. The riffs sometimes are really too generic but they also perform good solos. The band still needs to practice as they revealed too much mistakes within this two-song Demo, a little melodic and epic Death Metal, this is promising.

Demo reviews - N

NECROFOBIA (Equador) "Omnipotence" Demo 98.
NECRONOMICON (CAN) Demo 92.
NECROST (Rus) Demo 2000 SOUND AGE/C.D.M.
NUCLEAR MASS MURDERERS (FRA) Rehearsal session 2004. Guys from Ossuaire Distro are doing this 22 tracks/20mn noise garbage, sort of (trying to be!) Grind, Black War Metal Noise, nothing serious of course but they wanted me to review their shit done with a tape recorder so here it is: I stopped listening after track #11!

Demo reviews - M

MANGLER (RUS) "Are you ready for something like that" Demo 99 BLACKSMITH.
MANTRA (INDO) "Fragment Of Vengeance" Demo 2000 BASID Ent./KGM. Another Death/Grind apparition from Indonesia, this isn't bad but I'm bored of too much bands playing this style trying to do what Devourment achieved, MANTRA aren't sick enough yet in my opinion but this is promising, I just hope they'll go for something more personal next time, fans & freaks can try a listen with this no problem! The vocals are original, not the typical guttural frog vomit, it's just a stronger & deeper voice, a SUFFOCATIve one... The music showed some limits in creation anyway but it is well rhythmed & blasted.
MASTECTOMIA (POL) "SUBCALLOSAL AREA" Promo 99. Grind from Poland... This European country has an awesome Death Metal scene but when it comes to Grind, it's hard to find out an extreme, truly brutal band and MASTECTOMIA is unfortunately no exception...and undoubtedly the same thing is happening in many other countries. Old DEAD INFECTION alike, really too fucking classic & déjà-vu. While they play it well with an acceptable level, they can't keep pace and I can't see them becoming a new revelation, I will let this for the freaks of this average & repetitive childish style. c/o MAREK PLEBAN, REYMONTA 1/23, 18-400 LOMZA POLAND.
MENTALITY (Slo) "Teonanacatl" Tape LP 2000 IMMORTAL SOULS.
MESSIAH PARATROOPS (Fin) "The other gods" Demo 92.
MORBID SAVOURING (FIN) "AUTOPSY LUST" Tape EP 99 HARBINGERS OF VAGINAL EXCORIATION. Finland definitely awakes to brutality again like it was the case in early nineties! MORBID SAVOURING performs a Death/Grind style that is not excluding the old NAPALM DEATH, old MORTICIAN influences but with a real drummer and the so old NECRONY & IMPETIGO, in fact it's more Grind than Death as the songs (18 in total!) are all short & right in the pussies. The Porno-Gore imagery reminds me of the MEAT SHITS too, so you know what to expect now, the sound is raw & grindy, the band has qualities & is morbid enough to be able playing tight which is something required especially when playing such basic/repetitive tunes at the speed of light! The band isn't that original as many sound like that today but the professional cover & artworks are good, you know those collages like Carcass did but in the vein of Extreme Masturbation, this means with b/w porn pix inside, a world full of cunts! This one's not fun and offers some good moments of Extreme & wild blasting Grind the way I dig it, that's how it must be done! BUY OR GRIND! c/o VILLE PYSTYNEN, SÄNKIKATU 9, 53500 LAPPEENRANTA FINLAND.
MORBIFIK (INDO) "GRADUALLY KILLED IN TORTURE" Tape LP 99 ALUZZA. Second time featuring in my Zine with a new effort and better performed than the previous Tape, it now sounds like the old & now cult TERRORIZER, very similar! The old raw sound, putrid vocals and good quality of intense old-school Grindcore, nothing really new nor groundbreaking but that’s damn well played from the heart & souls, they obviously give themselves 100% into what they do, not some lame craps kidding on grindnoise garbage, this is going somewhere and doesn’t sounds childish or trendy, this is brutal & devastating, just how Grind must be: Extreme. As you might know now, I’m not too fond of Grind styles, many bands are disappointing and aren’t as great as some people want us to believe..., but I enjoyed the fact that MORBIFIK don’t repeat themselves over & over with the usual trendy blast-beats, they have many more to offer: breaks, twists & turns, unholy accelerations within their structures that don’t sound hardcore/punk like so many do, plus the use of some fast Death Metal riffs & unpredictables arrangements helped to get more pleasure off the music, making it more extreme & original than the average and filling me with an intense malignant power. Sure the band has to work again some aspects but I mainly detected a great potential in this new effort, this has to be heard ‘coz they are on the good way to win many new Grind/Death fans worldwide, support them!
MORPHEUS (USA) "Corpse Under Glass" Demo 92.
MORQUIDO (JAP) "Human Bretzel" Demo. I like hearing stuffs from Japanese bands, they’re always surprising & original but this one's pretty average Grind/Death and does not deserve a good review…I won't remember of them after some weeks.
MORTAL DECAY (USA) "Brutalizing Creations" Demo. Humph, this was certainly a great Demo, unfortunately I have a real bad deaf sound, certainly copied from a copy of copy of copy... but this will not alter my judgement, that was in the same spirit of the previous Demo only more technical & twisted, a foretaste for what then became "Sickening Erotic Fanaticism". I must tell that this Demo had an ultra-heavy vibe, a production similar to INSATANITY and very memorable riffs!
MORTAL DECAY (USA) "Grisly Of Aftermath" Demo. We couldn't find this brutal Demo out there, only had to get it from tape-traders just recently! It was a great morbid & guttural Brutal Death, deep Zombie-vocals (better than Avulsed) like Impetigo & Repudilation and definitely very original, catchy materials, obscure sound & dark moods like old HYPOCRISY's "Osculum Obscenum", it's always better discovering it late than never!!
MORTAL SLAUGHTER (POL) "Destiny" Tape LP 91 CARNAGE. Poland has always been a Death Metal country breeding tons of excellent bands with true underground feelings, MORTAL SLAUGHTER was one of them with their Slayerian kind of Death Metal with more insane vocals a la Evil Chuck Schuldiner (RIP!) and music a la HOBB'S ANGEL OF DEATH. No needs to say that this style will rule forever! Some cool arrangements here will be forever remembered, such as this instrumental similar to MORBID ANGEL's "Desolate Ways", Hail MORTAL SLAUGHTER!
MOTOR DEATH (INDONESIA) "DESPAIR" Tape 98/99 EXTREME SOULS. Grinding Death Metal band here with quick technical riffings like Suffocation but with different vocals, they sound like Barney. Abusing the blast-beat drummings like in old Brutal Truth and old Cryptopsy, sometimes gets boring because of that linear blasting spirit, all songs seem to be the same... That was not an easy listening but the band is real good & professional, very tight in hyperblasts, they really know what they do. All Grind/Death Metal fans should try these newly spawned infernally intense unrelenting brutallers! Not for pussies, BUY OR DIE! c/o RATNO / YANA, JL. TAMAN SARI ATAS No. 9 A / RT. 04/RW. 14, BANDUNG 40116, WEST JAVA INDONESIA. EXTREME SOULS Prods: PO BOX 7665, BDSE 40286 BANDUNG, JAWA BARAT INDONESIA. espstaybrutal@mailcity.com

Demo reviews - K

KAAMOS (SWE) "CURSE OF AEONS" Demo 2000. Finally back with a new release, 5 tracks Demo of pure obscure & truly intense Raw Death Metal the ancient traditions! As long as there are bands like that in the scene, I'll keep going eternally! Soulful with excellent dark feelings and rising leads from Hell, unrelenting blasting spirit of mortal punishment riding the spines of the dead, dooming embodiment of unholy deathsecration, seems that this has been made for me only, pure excellence! If any of you consider that SADISTIC INTENT, DIABOLIC, MORTEM & OSSUARY INSANE are the best oc-Cult underground Death Metal bands you could hear these days, then you can welcome KAAMOS as well without hesitations, they crush & kill with supremes feelings & emotions! One of the best Demos this year that fills me with morbid energies, BUY OR DIE!!! Send $5 to: BOX 605, 13626 HANINGE SWEDEN. kaamos@kurir.net www.kaamos.nu
KABAK (EL SALVADOR) "Mala Praxis (Surgical Poetry)" Demo 99 AMERICAN LINE. From the chainsaw intro, you'll immediately imagine what kind of music they play: gory Death/Grind, not super-fast but very in the trend of American bands these days. The recording revealed some mistakes as the band has to mature again, it's not tight enough for what they do in my opinion, it lacks of professionalism... Just another semi-brutal band among plenty others.
KADATH (GER) "Face Your Death" Demo 94. It's cool to hear this! That was a damn cool Demo of plain grinding Death Metal with a morbid voice, classic but well played right in the tradition: true Death Metal!
KARNARIUM (SWE) "BREAKING THE MANACLES OF MALKUTH" Demo 2000. This is a good sounding Demo of total old-school Death Metal, quite morbid, heavy and brutal, performed with skills. They remind me of some old American bands but can't remember which ones... Old raw sound from Hell, guttural vocals & screams, this is certainly recorded Live and really sounds great to me! They're tight & obscure, Evil, sometimes recalls the old days of IMPRECATION & other sordid brutal things like DECREPIT or INCANTATION, old CANNIBAL CORPSE... The atmosphere is dooming at times and I like that! Despite of a really bad, cheap cover art & logo, the recording is very well done, right in the true spirit & tradition: raw as Hell, dark and intense, obviously not for trendy ears! BUY OR DIE! c/o JIMMY EDSTROM, FJADERHARVSGATAN 79, 424 66 ANGERED SWEDEN. c/o PATRICK CLARKE, TITTERIDAMMSH. 17, 424 68 ANGERED SWEDEN. leatherkoffin@hotmail.com funeralwhore@antisocial.com
KRISIUN (BRA) Live in CLERMONT FERRAND 17/12/98. Don't search for it, I got it through my one & only tape-trader from Hell! That show was absolutely not promoted at all as it happened in a bar and I heard about this event maybe only the day before or after it happened so I couldn't prepare to take a day off soon enough in hope getting there & meet my Brazilian warriors, fortunately I got this great recording which has a good sound so I can imagine how intense was that hellish demonic night of the seas of abominations!!!!! CHAOS & VICTORY!!!! HAIL DEATH METAL!

Demo reviews - I

IMMORTAL DEATH (Swe) "When all is lost" Demo 92. Cool Thrash/Doom band here with loud speaking vocals and solos, that was really original and sounding a little like HOBB'S ANGEL OF DEATH and old TIAMAT, try it!
INCINERATOR (SWE) "THRASH ATTACK" Demo. The title speaks for itself! And it's not one of those shitty modern thrash but damn old-school the way it was conceived to shred forever! Bringing you 15 to 20 years back in the scene when bands of that nature were successful, a real classic style but never gets boring and I'm sure that true fans will hail them again in 15-20 years: BUY OR THRASH!!!
INCRUST (BRA) "THE BLOODY ART OF TORTURE" Demo 2001.
INFAMY (USA) Demo 2001. How a band like INFAMY can not be much more recognized than what it actually is? Listen to their darkened & twisted tunes the way ancient gone but not forgotten bands like ENTETY, DEMOLITION, SADISTIC INTENT were playing in early nineties: Los Angeles Death Metal rules! Riffs were truly coming from another dimension and the vocals from beyond the maze of Death! Unfortunately I don't get the whole Demo, just 2 tracks but I'll for sure be in quest of a full version soon: BUY OR DIE!!!
INFESTATION (USA) "Visions Of Repulsion" Demo 92. Vocals: Mike Disalvo (now singer for Cryptopsy), featured in the line up of this cool Demo of Morbid & punishing Death/Doom Metal, it was like SORROW & a little similar to old Loudblast's "Disincarnate", very heavy & oppressing stuff! He had a lot better voice back then, a good death grunt, at least that's my opinion because I don't like his voice with Cryptopsy!
INSISION (SWE) Promo 2000. Just got the first track recorded from a very close friend to let you all know what it's all about: this is fast and technical Brutal Death, very crushing and catchy in the CANNIBAL CORPSE american style with something Evil, an obscure hatred like in LUCIFERION and DEFACED CREATION, blasting spirits of Armageddon... Finally the band sent in the whole tape so I have three more tracks to review! This is better than "The Dead Live On" MCD out some times ago, they improved as musicians and the vocals are more obscure, in the vein of IMMOLATION now! Only the drummer & guitarist remained from the previous release, only getting a new vocalist & a bassist. This is a good change, the musicianship is getting even more twisted & complex for a damn interesting & brutal Promo tape with excellent production. Sweden's melodiocrity now declines, and returning back to the real underground attitudes can only be a good thing! BUY OR DIE!!! c/o THOMAS DAUN, BIRGER JARLS G 75, 113 56 STOCKHOLM SWEDEN.
INTERMENT (FIN) Demo 90.
INTERNAL DECAY (Swe) Demo 92. Here comes the intro of atmospheric horror like it was the rule in early nineties and followed by original Death Metal with a ton of catchy riffs and mega raw sound from Hell, doomy, obscure and deadly tunes, fuckin' memorable with some synths here & there to definitely bury you six feet under the underground soil, that was simply when Sweden had a huge underground Death Metal scene!

Demo reviews - H

HARASSED (swe) "Desire of exploring the afterlife" Demo 92. First I loved the intro, then the music appeared to be real good too, thrashing Death/Doom Metal, morbid & heavy tunes with a real strong voice, all songs are very well written & memorables with riffs turning in your mind even some years after. A classic of punishing & soulful Death Metal atmospheres haunting & dooming like Torchure, Viogression… This is a superb Demo that I will certainly transfer to CD for eternal listening, if you can find it somewhere: BUY OR DIE!!!
HEADHUNTER DEATH CULT (BRA) "BRAZILIAN DEATHKULT LIVE VIOLENCE ...14 YEARS OF BRUTALITY" Live Tape Recorded June 9th 1995 at Itabuna/BA Limited to 100! ETERNAL FIRE Prods. Great sound on this one and the Tape is also professionally released, colored cover with the entire history of the band since 1987! Yes, they started at the same time as great cult bands such as VADER, IMMOLATION, DEICIDE, CANNIBAL CORPSE and so on! Who could believe that they had released two albums before "...And The Sky Turns To Black... (The Dark Age has Come)" (reviewed elsewhere!). So it's now 15 years old that their Death Metal is blasting the spirits of abominations upon Brazil of Death, old-school fucking rules, I'll repeat that sentence 'till death!!!!!!!! Old-school fucking rules and it's not going to decrease. It's of course in the vein of their second LP "Punishment At Dawn" that came out on Cogumelo Recs in 1993. Total darkness & hate, pure Death in the old VADER's vein with a more Evil voice from late 80's traditions like old NECROPHAGIA's "Season Of The Dead"!! This Live Tape is a damn excellent initiative, I'm 666% into it, Evil Death Metal, Rise Up Immortals, BUY OR DIE!!!!!!!! c/o SERGIO BALOFF BORGES, PO BOX 548, AG. CENTRAL COMMERCIO, SALVADOR/BAHIA BRAZIL. baloff@ig.com.br ETERNAL FIRE Prods: c/o K. VALLOT, 16 RUE DE LA SENTE FLEURIE, 28600 LUISANT FRANCE.
HEADMEAT (BEL) "Homicidal Intent" Demo 2001. Never heard of this before, let’s see what it’s all about... The intro is fuckin’ bizarre, then the music comes with a raw sound and it’s like an american Death/Grind band, the drums blast fast & pounding like old Cryptopsy. This is not exceptionally great nor that original but the band is good, some of the riffs remind me of Infester & Fleshgrind’s “Holy Pedophile” Demo but this is faster and not so evil. It was maybe too much predictable and completely in the new trend of brutal stuffs, I was looking for much more originality from them but it’s ok, damn good & promising brutal band, true brutallers look no further: BUY OR DIE!
HOLY DEATH (POL) "Megido" Promo tape 93 METAL NIGHTS. The intro arised slowly like a farewell storming earthquake, painful screams of mourning & desolation then followed... This was very Doomy Death Metal like DISEMBOWELMENT, a sound from the deepest caves with real sordid ambiences, very original band, I can't stand why nobody talked about this Polish phenomenon!? Slow Morbid Metal, depressing & agonizing with mega-heavy tunes, that reminds me of another band also from Poland, this was MYSTIFICATION if I remember well... I consider HOLY DEATH as a very good & underrated original Doom/Death band from Hell.

Demo reviews - G

GHOR (FRA) "ESTOMAC" Demo 2000. This is in the same funny generic style as Flatulation reviewed above, it's repetitive, boring and the sound is crap, the musicians did invented nothing in this and the teenage cartoon intros made it pathetic. I can now say that I hate the funny & kidding french death/grind scene completely!! I have not heard one real good & serious Death/Grind Demo (except now for DIKTAT!) since Abyssals '94, Disgust '97, Sufficide '98 and Fate '98. Where have gone the real Death Metal ones, where are the dedicated souls & devoted musicianship with obscure spirits? This has no balls, it's really below the average and sucks, I can't support this trendy shit. Kids should practice and develop a thousand times more mature style than that in my opinion, or everyone will get bored soon and won't support the french bands anymore, me first. c/o THOMAS BOIVIN, 65 AVE. MARCEAU, 93130 NOISY LE SEC FRANCE.
GHOST (POL) "REKNOWN" Promo 98. It was unbelievable that a band like GHOST still exist! Remember that excellent album "The Lost Of Mercy" out in 94, they were really into that old-school obscure Death Metal passion, did they change? No way man, they keep going with true spirit right in the Death Metal tradition! Old-school & classic, familiar tunes echoing through soulful emotions & dark feelings of utter Death possession with disgusted grunting vocals from the grave! That's a really good surprise, this is not for trendy ears guarantee! BUY OR DIE!
GODZILLA (Indo) "Permanent insane on disfigure governments mindless ulcerate decision" Tape LP 2000 EXTREME SOULS.
GOREOPSY (SLO) "INTENTIONAL DISFIGURATION" Tape EP 2000. Here comes a very professional Tape from East Europe, as you might imagine, this is brutal stuff! Only two members, one do the vocals and the other one performs guitars, bass & programming. Doesn't this makes you remember of another band from Spain with that similar approach to brutality...? Yes, CHRIST DENIED reminder a lot! GOREOPSY is maybe more groovy, like DYING FETUS & REPUDILATION (RIP!). There's some of the most guttural voices you could imagine as well as the most heavy twisted Death/Grind music & sound the American way of life has to offer these days with great production. This deserves a BUY OR DIE! c/o MIROSLAV PITAK, OSIKOVA 11, 010 01 ZILINA SLOVAKIA. corpus@post.sk DEVOID OF BLOOD Zine: c/o JURAJ KRAJICEK, NEDEDZA 109, 01302 ZILINA SLOVAKIA. devoidblood@post.sk
GRENOUER (Rus) "Grave head" Tape LP 99 SOUND AGE.
GURKKHAS (FRA) Adv. Tape for upcoming album "Engraved In Blood, Flesh & Souls" out in march 2000 on MASSACRE Recs. This is a Thrash/Death Metal outfit from ex-D.A.B. and a potent job. Technical, fast, weird riffs and extreme raging gut-spewing vocals, once again I got a really bad, cheap recording, why can't you get a decent stereo to make sending promo copies out, vieille saucisse? I appreciate & enjoy it for that all the musicians are fucking tight and obviously giving themselves 100% into what they do. Some arrangements & riffs are very similar to CANNIBAL CORPSE and the thrashing intensity reminds me of NOKTURNEL in some ways. That is definitely very good and brutal, I'm looking forward to hear the CD and make a definite opinion, it pierces my ass! c/o J.F. REY, 10 RUE DES CAPUCINES, 22300 LANNION FRANCE

Demo reviews - F

FLATULATION (FRA) "AUTOPSY D'UNE INTOXICATION AU CHILI CON CARNE" Demo 99. No needs to tell that this is another funny amateur project from france consisting of basic Death Metal tunes with drum machine and cup-the-mic vocals... The riffs are old-school rooted, old INCANTATION alike and MORTICIAN sounding due to the programmings & vocals, the scato-pictures did nothing to me, they aren't extreme enough. Their music has some interesting parties while they do offer absolutely nothing new, it is well played and convincing with good arrangements. It would be better seeing them taking the music more seriously and dropping out all those fun intros from french movies. Forming a real extreme band seems not to be comprehend by french guys unfortunately but I guess it's another thing...lazyness of talentless musicians could be one of the main reasons for sure! Turning Death Metal as a joke is a real shame to me, the scene does not need this. c/o DAVID DECOBERT, 55 AVE. DES PERVENCHES, 93370 MONTFERMEIL FRANCE.
FUNERAL SPEECH/OBSTETRICAL PALSY/MORBIDITY (Rus/Rus/Rus) Split tape 2000.
FUNERUS (USA) Promo tracks from Demo 94. I just got two tracks from Jill McEntee's own band FUNERUS Demo 94, this is old and so is the sound, in the old swedish low tuned tradition, it's way similar to ROTTREVORE and MYTHIC also rawer, it grinds & crushes with an obscure vibe, a morbid mood that I crave a lot! I don't know if the Demo had more than two tracks but if you can find it somewhere in the underground, you must jump on it like mad!! The band is still practicing and probably busy at writing new songs, so stay tuned to: www.funerus.com

Demo reviews - E

E.C.T. (Fin) "Life is death" Demo 92.
ECLIPSE (RUSSIA) "SYMPHONIYS OF PATHOLOGICAL LOVE/CALLING OUR DESIRE" Demos 96/98 BLACKSMITH. I rarely got the opportunity to hear some Death Metal from Russia and it's good to see that definitely everywhere is Death! Not a super-fast band but they blast decently and doesn't sounds cheesy nor funny, very catchy and brutal enough to please the worldwide Death Metal fan-base 'coz very American sounding, not moshing but technical materials, definitely skilled and interesting band. Just the sound is a little poor & deaf but that's ok with me as long as there's good materials recorded that surrounds it...
EMBALMED SOULS (BRA) "BECOME VENGEANCE, BECOME WRATH" Demo 99. Great second Demo! Very fucking dark & morbid raw sound, heavy as Hell sounding like if that was recorded in a cavern! Ultra guttural voice in the old Gorefest's "Mindloss" vein but lower, old-school tuned, sort of old Celtic Frost but more haunting & dooming horrorful music this way of IMPETIGO, HARDWARE, Mortician, Mythic, Derketa, Decrepit, My Sovereign, ASPHYX & Disembowelment with those slow and deadly beats...! Without using any special effects, this band can create various sordid atmospheres, plus this Demo was recorded Live, this shows more their abilities to create their own style of Dark/Death/Doom Metal with a crude, direct sound that will tear your soul apart! Once again a very long Demo and pretty inspiring tunes were captured, enough to engrave a remembrance in the flesh & soul of the listener!! The cover art by Wes Benscoter is one of the most bizarre & weird ever seen, long live the arts of Death! BUY OR DIE!! c/o PAULO, QI-05, CONJ. "I", CASA 85 - GUARA I, BRASILIA - DF 71020-094 BRAZIL. embalmedsouls@zaz.com.br
EMBALMED SOULS (BRA) "JOURNEY THROUGH BIZARRE" Demo 97. Pretty standard & classic dooming, Dark/Death/Doom Metal that reminds me the old days of darkness, I enjoy this a lot but it could be better played in my opinion, they're just good at their game and there's again a step with the sound to see them becoming excellent. If you can't get bored of late 80's/early 90's Death Metal classics, then I recommend to take a listen to EMBALMED SOULS' long Demo, good trip in DOOM!
EMBODIED GRIEF (GER) Demo 2001. Death Metal with some evilness, very twisted with bizarre breaks, this sounds like if that was recorded Live, lots of cool memorables riffs. This is definitely very original, if only the voice could be less hardcorish, it will be great as it's sometimes similar to Gorguts, not all the time as the band is totally unpredictable and I can't say they're influenced by a particular band, I would say they're influenced by many underground Metal styles, so this is for open-minded Metal freaks, very promising!
ENTHRALLEMENT (Bulgaria) "The scarlet difference" Demo 99 Dark Mist.
EPITAPH (USA) Demo 91. Very cool Demo of true burning Death Metal from Tampa, this sounds like old MONSTROSITY & old DEATH but more doomy like old MORGOTH & old OBITUARY for the vocals, original leads & twisted ambiences, they were as great as the aforementioned bands, the damn great sound of Morrisound studios never failed even for the Demo recordings! Tom Morris was responsible for this great job but also because the band was as fine as professional too, three tracks that will forever stay in the anals of the underground!
EPITAPH (USA) Demo 92. Another Demo by EPITAPH showing a more experimental stage, a step ahead from the previous one, more unpredictables arrangements and technical abilities... Damn this band had great feelings & potentials to rise among bands like DEATH, ATHEIST, OBITUARY, NOCTURNUS & MALEVOLENT CREATION, these two tracks were certainly a foretaste for an upcoming album but unfortunately never seen anything released by EPITAPH but was it released at least...???? That's the eternal question burning within me!!
ETERNAL DARKNESS (SWE) "Ceremony Of Doom" Demo 1 / 90.
EXCARNATED (AUSTRALIA) "GENITAL GALLERY" Demo 99. Those dark Death grinders are back with a second brutal onslaught still with drum machine but also faster and more technical than before. As of now, their style is comparable to CYANOSIS' "Bludgeoned" Demo with the ROTTREVORE, MORTICIAN, MYTHIC and old GRAVE's undergound heavy sound, it rips & shreds! Far more brutal than their debut! This is damn good to hear them evolving more extreme, they also got 4 new tracks ready to record now with more darker lyrics: "Autistic Dementia", "Purging The Earth", "Bred To Brutalize" and "The Ugly (Caustic Thoughts)". They will also be doing the Slayer classic "Kill Again". Can't wait to hear for more brutal tunes from these guys, excellent improvement! BUY OR DIE! PO BOX 5407, MORDIALLOC, 3195 VICTORIA AUSTRALIA.
EXKREMENT (FRA) "FROM THE DEEPEST OF ASSHOLE" re-release of Demos 95-96 FWP. I'm a lot suspicious concerning this band… First the name isn't really interesting but I remember of a finnish band that was called EXCREMENT and it was interesting musically, so let's give it a try! Well, unfortunately that's some boring melodic-hardcore-punk-goth metal with synths & drum machine, it's well done but such buffonery doesn't inspires me. Just the sound reminds me a lot of Demos from early 90s when the huge melodic trends invaded the scene, it frankly isn't my taste at all. At least I'll give them credit for that their name relates to the content and is truthful: pure shit… c/o THOMAS BERNOLLIN, EN BOUT, 71700 TOURNUS France.
EXORCIATE (USA) "Dead molestation" Demo 92. Quite brutal & heavy Death Metal Demo, at the time it was recorded, it sounded really brutal like old CANNIBAL CORPSE and old IMMOLATION, morbid and truly obscure like no bands do today, sometimes makes me think of a little less extreme version of ENTETY, damn good Demo!
EXPOSED GUTS (GER) "ULTIMATE GORE ASSAULT" Promo 99. This Thrash/Death band sounds like old INHUMATE. They used a Mortician alike drum machine for this promo but they said that they got a human drummer now, the mix is not well done for that all of the songs don't have the same production and the music is very classic and predictable... I'm not into this basic stuff, it seems that I have already heard this a thousand times, this is boring and forgettable, avoid it. c/o MARKUS LEMPSCH, OP'N SPITOL 22, 59065 HAMM GERMANY.
EXTERMINATE (CHILE) Demo Rehearsal
FEASTING BLOOD (GER) "DEATHFUCKED AND MURDERED WORLD" Demo 2001. c/o RONALD AMMANN, DIETRICH-BONHOEFFER-WEG 4, 88094 OBERTEURINGEN GERMANY. skinfather666@yahoo.com

samedi 10 avril 2010

Demo reviews - D

DAMNABLE (POL) Promo Reh. 2000. Do they return as brutal as they were on "Inperdition"? That's a question that burns in me! The answer is: not really... Still very extreme & brutal as Hell, tight as fuck, etc. Just imagine SUFFOCATION faster and more grinding, unrelenting with the same professional quality! This band can kill and bury many brutal US Death/Grind bands, they have an awesome potential of apocalyptic energies, simply incredible, inhuman and supreme! That rehearsal is a must, it sounds ten times more brutal than some newer albums out these days!! The raw energy proves that they don't cheat and don't betray with this recording, it is really how they sound Live!! If you had doubts about their performances, thinking that in studio they could arrange it to make it faster, you wrong completely because DAMNABLE is a real true Brutal band! These 4 tracks pulverizes all that has been done until now, they now reign supreme on my Throne of Grind Eternal!! BUY OR DIE!!
DAMNATION (POL) "DEMONSTRATION OF EVIL" Tape 2003 TIME BEFORE TIME. There's been a while I haven't seen anything new from DAMNATION since "Coronation" MCD, no signs of life... This tape is a reminder of their early days, including "Everlasting Sickness" first Demo feb. 93 and "Unreleased Rehearsal" recorded in feb. 94. 6 trax on a-side & 9 tracks on b-side including intros/outros on pro b/w tape & cover. The die-hard fans now knows from where to get their unholy Evil underground stuffs, DAMNATION is a cult Dark/Death Metal band and so is Time Before Time recs, this tape of course is interesting for the maniax and all true Death Metal fans everywhere: BUY OR DIE! TIME BEFORE TIME Recs: c/o TOMASZ HANUSZKIEWICS, PO BOX 66, 41-923 BYTOM POLAND.
DEAD CONGREGATION (GRE) "PURIFYING CONSECRATED GROUND" Tape EP NUCLEAR WINTER. Fuckin' cool, true Death Metal that sounds a lot similar to KAAMOS & old MORBID ANGEL! Pure Evil Death that rages with intense riffs & great obscures feelings that old bands like SADISTIC INTENT and IMMOLATION are now known to be famous when creating such doomed atmospheres! I quickly changed opinion about Greek bands as I only received a couple of crappy gore death demos bands that were amateurish and so I didn't care about the scene from down there but DEAD CONGREGATION reconciles me completely! Obscure & professional Death Metal from the dark side, this Demo turned me on and I felt so excited that I played it constantly for a while! If you're into DARKNESS ETERNAL & INCANTATION, IMMOLATION, KAAMOS, etc. this will rule your world for 666 centuries, as real underground Death/Doom Metal never dies! Excellent quality pro tape, etc. BUY OR DIE!!! www.nuclearwinter.cjb.net
DEATHEVOKATION (USA) "BLOOD" Demo 2005. Taking their name from the first song on Dismember's 1988 Demo and having such an excellent Medieval intro to their songs somewhat like first Sinister or Massacre, Demolition…, you might only say that this band is made for you! And it is with old-school spirit that DEATHEVOKATION write their music, heavy & doomy Death Metal in the likes of old BOLT THROWER, EXCRUCIATE, EPITAPH (Swe), UNLEASHED, old AUTOPSY… Obscure and oppressing with some acoustic guitars the Canadian way and occasionally old Swedish melodic riffs. When the trend is about blasting faster & faster or trying to be the most technical fiends in the scene, there will always be bands like DEATHEVOKATION showing the new comers how it must be done: from the heart comes true Metal and from the heart comes "Blood"! These guys play with their own souls and the result is nearly 25mn of old Death Metal spirit excellence like you haven't heard in years & years, so hail them, horns up & BUY OR DIE! c/o GOTZ VOGELSANG, 8118 LA JOLLA SHORES DRIVE, LA JOLLA, CA. 92037 USA. guts@deathevokation.com www.deathevokation.com
DEATH VOMIT (RUS) TAPE LP 93 METAL AGEN/MOROZ. I reviewed this in issue #5, but it's so good that I reiterate! Death Metal can't be purest than what DEATH VOMIT played, all old-school freaks will agree with me, this contains all the essence of a damn forgotten tradition: blasting & thrashing all around! There was real great obscures arrangements & solos into this Cult Tape of Death! Plus, they were truly original, you can feel influences from DEATH, NAPALM DEATH, VADER, CELTIC FROST, SLAYER, NECROPHAGIA... All the fuckin' best of the old times!
DECAYED (POR) "LIVE 9/9/99" Live Tape 2000 IMPALER OF TRENDIES. This is very professionally released with pro-printed b/w cover and pro dub tapes. I remember this band had a good CD "In Lustful Mayhem" '95, I know they had some other releases out since then but this is the only thing "new" I got to hear from them, thanx to Max of I.O.T. for sending this. This is Black Metal, fast & Extreme, completely unrelenting and breeding pure Chaos & Destruction, hateful and Dark as Hell's carbonization. The band now uses a drum-machine and this Live recording shows exactly what they sound alike, they're tight & Evil and the sound is great, better than some other "official" recordings! Parts of Classical music can be heard between the 7 songs, the last one being played backward and fucking heavy & abrasive, in the vein of old mighty Sadistik Exekution, EVIL! A great piece of total underground blasphemy highly recommended to all real Black Metal fans. V.S. JOSE, R. L. CAMOES, AT ARCOS, PENEDO 2775-235 PAREDE PORTUGAL. signofevil@rocketmail.com
DEFACING (CHILE) "THE BEGINNING OF HUMAN CRUELTY" Demo 2003. Newly signed on Xtreem music, this Chilean band is fuckin' awesome, brutal & Extreme, they remind me of AGONY CONSCIENCE by their intensity and they do leads as w-Hell!!!!!!! I consider them more original & precise than all of the DEVOURMENT, DISGORGE (US) and BRODEQUIN, DYING FETUS clones, they sure know what they do and there's something more in the voice, not the typical pitbull barkings, DEFACING are real Extreme & incredibly disgusting in every aspects and most of all fuckin' brutal as all Hell, awesome band and that is only a 4-tracks Demo that crushes many other brutal Death/Grind albums! They'll for sure win supreme respect in the scene after this: BUY OR DIE!!! cajarton@yahoo.com
DEMIGOD (FIN) Demo Reh. 10/09/91.
DESANCTIFIED (USA) "MANIFEST IMPERIUM" Demo 94. An old Demo is always welcome here as long as it blows away many newer pretentious bands that failed to sound awesome and as this one's completely unknown, this was another good reason to talk about it for sure!! I must say this isn't one of the most tight nor best Demos of all times but there's something in it that appeals to me... May it be for the haunting vocals or the sound of the Deicide-alike guitars/drums & apocalyptic speed of light leads, this band had something unique talking about Evil & guttural atmospheres. Not far to be a perfect destructive Brutal Death Metal Demo in my opinion, this simply must be heard!
DETRIMENTAL (USA) Promo tape 98. Only 1 tx... but that's enough to forge a solid opinion! Brutal Death, new-school with a shredding raw sound almost saturated, it's very pounding, groovy-technical & twisted like REPUDILATION, keep an eye on this grinding-as-fuck band!
DIKTAT (FRA) Demo 2000. Here's a real surprising french band that doesn't sounds like the actual trend of funny grind porn gore noise that's happening these days. It's real Brutal Death Metal here, played with rage & skills, intense & captivating with their above average musicianship, technical level and most of all, they're original, tight & really extreme & fast! Argh! That was a real cool surprise to see it arriving in my mail box unpretending to be the best like it is so often the case now... DIKTAT deserves to be acclaimed, I suppose there's a lot of work & many practices hidden behind this Demo because it's excellent!!! I can't compare them with other bands, they're quite unique at what they do, many twists & turns give their compositions a touch of pure excellence, good strong vocals and all the musicians did a great job, there are many solos as well, so I'm filled up with full of talented dark energies to close this review by a BUY OR DIE!!! This is the perfect band that the french scene was in need of for years. (At least, I would say that they are our french SUFFOCATION, Live they killed!!) c/o ALEXANDRE GODEST, 24 RUE CASTAGNARY, 75015 PARIS FRANCE. nicolas@musiciens.com
DION FORTUNE (Swe) "Black ode" Demo 93.
DISINFECTED (INDO) "MELTED" Tape LP 2000 EXTREME SOULS. Another Indonesian warrior playing in the old CRYPTOPSY, old DEICIDE & old SUFFOCATION veins, many blast-beats and very fuckin' raw sound, it sounds a lot like the Canadian Death/Grind hyperblasts styles and this is well played, the tape is extremely professionally made as always from Indonesia, this is definitely a trademark of non-disappointment! The vocals sometimes don't fit with the music in my opinion, a more enraged vocalist could make the whole thing sounding better because he sounds not inhuman enough for me! I also like those solos from the crypts, another good barbaric band in the brutal scene, "South Of Heaven" has been revisited to their sauce and it has to be heard, great haunting song! Fans of old SUFFOCATION won't be disappointed, BUY OR DIE! PO BOX 49, UB. 40600 BANDUNG INDONESIA. utahgetih@lycos.com or: ad-bleed@mailcity.com E.S.P.: PO BOX 7665, BDSE BANDUNG 40286 INDONESIA. www.extremesouls.com
DISINTER (PERU) "Unborn" Demo 97. This is always a surprise to discover a new band especially from Peru where I only know MORTEM! Cool to see that they aren't alone in their country to play old-school Evil Death Metal, abundant flows of leads in what can be considered as an intro-track started this darkened ceremonial! The bass was too up front with the drums in my opinion but this gives more reliefs to their catchy rhythms & basic/primary & barbaric Death Metal from the caverns. The sound is quite good and the band plays well, they also offer some sombre arrangements, they aren't as great as MORTEM but they sure are on the good way to follow this same path. The music is well varied and gets even more interesting at each new song coming in through the speakers of Death, the vocals are plain Evil grunts & screams..., my ears had to adapt this uncommon diabolical discovery, definitely enchanted by what I have heard, BUY OR DIE!
DISPLACED PERSON (JAP) Promo tape. This includes "Motive" and "Hurry Up And Appear Outside", certainly two of their latest releases. The style of DISPLACED PERSON is modern Thrash/Grind/hardcore trendy with those shit vocals that I dislike. The music is very basic, linear, repetitive and sounds like all the other bands in this boring style with sometimes experimental industrial tekno sounds. Very powerful and brutal but not extreme enough, I need a plus. c/o NORIO KUMAKAWA, 3-8-12 MOTOOUKUBO, NARASHINO CHIBA 275-0012 JAPAN.
DOMAIN (Mex) "Deadly torture to the rot self" Demo 99/2000 AMERICAN LINE.

Demo reviews - C

CAPHARNAUM (USA) Demo. Don't know when this got released but fuckin' deserves to be reviewed, believe me!! The only info I have is that the drummer was 15 years old at the time, this detail puts more values onto this Demo, let me explain why: the band is a damn brutal & technical Death Metal one and their skills equal the unholy gods Suffocation!! They're more original than a simple clone, a lot of memorables riffs & moods are expressed through the songs a bit in the vein of Kataklysm, you see, with all those quick riffs & melodies, they're absolutely unpredictable, it's like Atheist playing Brutal Death Metal a la CRYPTOPSY's first album with many, many breaks & change of rhythms, this rules the underground, no trendy dyingfetus tendencies! Also detected some traces of…DEATH!! I really don't know if they're still going but this Demo is a genius Death Metal creation and if any of you is lucky enough to find this out somewhere in this world of shit; BUY-OR-DIE!!!!
CEREMONIUM (USA) Demo 93. Old Death/Doom, that band had their first album out on Fadeless Recs in Holland (featuring Craig Pillard on bass) and a new one features in the CD section but let's focuse more onto that Demo: basic Death Metal at the speed of Doom, this means slow & oppressing, morbid grunts with some tranquil melodic riffs, raw heavy sound from Hell like old INCANTATION but definitely slower & more calm, very deadly & haunting Death/Doom, pure underground!
CEREMONY (HOL) "VICTIMS OF MORBIDITY" Demo 91. That was the old CEREMONY who had a one & only cult album out on Cyber Music in 1993, this was a recording before "Tyranny From Above" and fucking ruled by its complete Death Metal devotion! Just listening to the brief intro did let you know that it will be a crushing Death Metal following in the old DEICIDE vein, the guitars were unrelenting like an old DEMOLITION HAMMER, old MALEVOLENT CREATION recording, the drums blasting and bass-boiling resounding from Hell with rising leads and possessed horrorful haunted vocals...
CHRONIC INFECTION (Mex) "Forens diagnosis" Demo 99 American Line.
CICATRIX (Pol) "Eviscerated" Demo 99.
COFFIN TEXTS (USA) "Tomb Of Infinite Ritual" Promo 2003. Dark Death Metal splendour's coming back with three new tracks of pure twisted evilness, that's how Death metal must be played! Remember of early MORBID ANGEL and ANGELCORPSE forever? Check out COFFIN TEXTS, these 3 new tracks are completely different from their first album but I found no words smart enough to describe how I like them, truly in the vein of the aforementioned bands so BUY OR DIE!!!
CONVENT (POL) "VERITATIS SPLENDOR" Demo 98 HEADACHE. Were you dreaming of a band who can combine the morbidity of old DEAD INFECTION, KINGDOM OF THE LIE & IMMOLATION...? Brutal & pounding, unrelenting grinding obscure Death Metal to the flesh of the dead! If you can’t find the Demo, it has been re-issued within their CD “The Truth Revealed”, see review & BUY OR DIE!
CONVULSE (FIN) "Resuscitation Of Evilness" Demo III 11/90. Finland had great bands in early nineties playing fuckin' raw & putrid malignant Obscure grinding Death Metal with great dark feelings & moods, CONVULSE was one of them and this Demo showed that particular Finnish style with down-tuned-to-hell guitars, solos, & brief haunting dooming keyboards always tear my soul apart with a thrill running down my back every time... No matter what people could think of these old Demos, they were true to the real underground spirit!! Remember of DEMIGOD...? CONVULSE Demo was kind of similar in their way, this is a great one!
CORPSE GRINDER (BRA) "NECROREALISM" Demo 98. This is an easy listening, cool Death Metal band that don't go at the speed of light but is very old-school rooted like most stuffs from early 90s full of catchy riffs, simple & memorable mid-paced music a little doomy & melodic at times. That reminds me a lot of bands that could appear on comps from that period. Old SAMAEL-alike but a little faster, this has good grunting vocals, gound sound and definitely well played with a morbid mood, for old-school & die-hard fans only!
CORPSE GRINDER (BRA) Live Tape 99. Recorded Live at MONSTERS OF POCOS FEST 24/01/99. Same as above, the sound is good just the bass is mixed too up front. Contains all tracks from Demo 98 + "Actual World" & "Rotten Human Carcass" (that song is very similar to old AUTOPSY) also contains "Against The World" UNLEASHED cover. In fact the band playing Live is more similar to old AUTOPSY than on their Demo 98! Morbid old-school Death Metal never dies! RUA SANTOS SILVA 338, 37750-000 MACHADO / MG BRAZIL.
CORPSE MOLESTATION (AUSTRALIA) "DUNGEON REHEARSALS" Tape 2002 TIME BEFORE TIME. This band is much more known under the name of BESTIAL WARLUST now! Yes, that was before the time of B.W., two rehearsals: 03/04/93 & 10/1991 and two Live tracks in Melbourne 22/09/92, a total of eleven tracks including intro/outro. I will always love the old raw rehearsal sessions by all the Death Metal bands, that's where the true spirit dwells: in the maze of unmixed, unmastered Chaos!! If you worship BLASPHEMY, look no further as CORPSE MOLESTATION were damn brutal & Evil at their early days, this is an infernal gem for all underground collectors & maniax, lim. to 500 copies on pro tape & pro printed colored cover: official, BUY OR DIE!! TIME BEFORE TIME Recs: c/o TOMASZ HANUSZKIEWICS, PO BOX 66, 41-923 BYTOM POLAND.
CRANIAL TORMENT (GRE) "DEATH IS RISING" Demo 99. What is this again? Low tuned Death Metal from Greece... This is a little better than Atavism, by this I mean the musicians are capable of playing a little tighter mid-paced materials...but this is really average and too much repetitive, basic riffs all the time and I just feel like listening to a band that could have recorded this in 90/91, fuck ya, year is now 2000 and I need more brutal, more extreme stuff because CRANIAL TORMENT just stagnate in a pitiful predictable & basic linear Thrash/Death Metal cliché and for a third Demo, it's really bad and weak. Under the average and disappointing. c/o BILL BENAKIS, 32 PARADISION ST., PERISTERI 12136 ATHENS GREECE.
CREMATION (HOL) "Sempiternal Hatred" Demo 99. Great sound on this Demo, the band performs Epic Death Metal with a strong raging voice but with some generic melodies the swedish path…That's in the vein of ARGHOSLENT & VASTION but the band should try again & work some more times their so predictables arrangements…I won't say they are bad but just I was looking for something different, I remember of Cremation from Canada, they were fuckin' Evil & twisted, obscure… Well, this band from Holland is good but their name could make the reader waiting for a lot more brutal stuff which is not the case, just ok Warrior-Death Metal.
CRITICAL MASS (FRA) Demo I 2001. c/o MARCHAND YOAN, RUE TALON, 21290 BURE LES TEMPLIERS FRANCE.
CRUCIFIRE (AUSTRALIA) "UNBLESSED UNTO HATRED" Demo Tape 2003. Said to be formed by ex-ENCABULOS and the result is a fast & morbid Death Metal attack with crushing and heavy obscures tunes the old-school gates! Old Grave similarities heard here but played at the Krisiun's speed, that's what CRUCIFIRE makes me think about and it's a compliment. Evil Death Metal from Hell are these three tracks that I will recommend to all those who stay true to the roots of ancient Death Metal. Actually only a couple of bands are playing this style nowadays, who are they? I believe Kaamos, Verminous, Repugnant and a few others can rescucitate the forgotten past through their music and you can now count on CRUCIFIRE to enlarge the ranks of the ones who brandish with pride this unrotten style: swedish Death metal flag of hate: BUY OR DIE!!! c/o STEVEN PO BOX 1648, GEELONG VIC, AUSTRALIA 3220. crucifire@hotmail.com DARFIEND, PO. BOX 77, DONCASTER VIC, AUSTRALIA 3108. thedark.1@lycos.com
CYANOSIS (USA) "REBIRTH" Demo 95 HARDKNOCKS. This was out before "Bludgeoned" Demo and also licensed by Hardknocks recs. Very heavy & morbid, Brutal Death Metal, total zombie-fuming tunes, ultra-deep guttural vocals from the grave, one ton pounding drums & toxic sulfuric leads of Death! Mainly mid-paced & catchy like old Avulsed but a lot heavier, more original & occasionally grinding the bones to the Gore like Embalmer! Savagery prevails in self-mastership of heaviness under blasting control, this was perfectly insane & smelling sort of a dooming desolation... BUY OR DIE!

Demo reviews - B

BESTIAL MOCKERY (SWE) "WAR: THE FINAL SOLUTION" Demo 2000 IMPALER OF TRENDIES. This is some good raw Black Metal tunes in the old vein, a little thrashy/heavy and aggressive, totally out of trends but has too much of these punk/hardcore beats & riffs, sometimes these are really disgusting for me. The band is good at what they do anyway this just isn't my cup of blood & war. I'm not fond of this today, maybe you will. LGH 462, SVEDJESTRÅKET 4, 45172 UDDEVALLA, BOHUSLÄN SWEDEN.
BEYOND SERENITY (GER) "PRODUCT OF CIVILISATION" Demo. Interesting Demo of fast and catchy as fuck, tight raw old-school Death Metal with a thrashing speed a la old SLAYER, old VADER & old MASSACRA, very efficient and memorables riffs, they'll slash your neck! It also has an old Napalm Death and Master vibes with blast beats and unholy accelerations, their old heavy & deaf sound is also not of this time, more from the eighties, you know, loud drumming and ripping/eviscerating guitar sound with a crushing bass from Hell! That's damn well produced right in the tradition to keep the cult of the dark feelings alive! The vocals are very original, similar to the old Vader Demos but higher and a little more roaring for better raging effect! It is quite excellent to hear that they do not seem to have recorded this Demo in the nineties, it really sounds like an old Demo of 15 years of age, same pounding nuclear atmosphere, not some bullshit retro-thrash! True fans of ancient Death/Thrash speeding holocaust might adore this band forever, BUY OR DIE!!
BLASTER PAIN (Bra) "Thou art pain" Demo 2000. Brazil has a famous underground Death Metal culture, here comes BLASTER PAIN with a 3-song Demo of fast & technical Brutal Death a la old CANNIBAL CORPSE and some other old Deicide & Tampa's bands. This is well played and contains some generic & predictables riffs but I think in the future they'll try more extreme structures because it's very promising & sounds really professional, they showed here that they got the potential to grow more famous, some arrangements remind me of Luciferion and the Diabolic's "City Of The Dead" Demo but devoid of leads, anyway very catchy and obscure, the songs are long, this pleased me very much, a cent per cent pure Death Metal Demo, BUY OR DIE! a/c FABIO, R. OSVALDO DE ANDRADE, 193/438 ATUAL, CEP 09894-070 SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO S-P BRAZIL. blasterpain@hotmail.com www.metalprovider.com/blasterpain
BLEEDING (BELARUS) "Donors" Demo 2000. A brutal Death band with an everage sound but they're original, not revolutionary but they got uncommon riffs and they don't try to go at the speed of light, they're much more focused on bringing weird atmospheres within their songs than to blast & blast all the time. The influence is obviously smelling the CANNIBALesque CORPSovitch syndrome very much, some quick technical riffs & similars arrangements proved it. They also remind me of old UNDERCROFT's Demos too. Just another good band in the underground, for the CANNIBAL CORPSE fans of course!
BLOODSHED (FRA) Demo 2000. I heard them on a comp tape few months ago that did not make me forget about their name, here's a complete Demo to make a definite opinion: the sound is very heavy and haunting like early Incantation's recordings and so are the vocals too. Musically a mix of Death/Grind, old-school styled that doesn't mean they can't go fast, they do the job pretty well and you sometimes feel like listening to an old Napalm Death or old Massacre recording. Their game is tight, heavy and crushing with a decent mix. Really good first effort, each song is different from the other and they all captured that old-school morbidity, this sometimes reminds me of INNERFEUDS at some points and it's a fuckin' cool Demo but I'll wait for a better sound, promising anyway! c/o SEBASTIEN ESCALIER, 26 AVE. GAMBETTA, 34500 BEZIERS FRANCE.
BLOODY SIGN (FRA) "DYONISOS CONTRE LE CRUCIFIE" Demo 98. I'm listening to it after listening to their "Estonian Sessions" MCD, I checked it out from an MP3 trader… It was already a damn promising Demo! Fast and Brutal with rage and hatred, the band was already very tight and ready to hit the underground scene with their Dark Death/Black fury! No doubts that in 1998, there were not so much bands in France that could top with their own brutality, a killer & ravaging/consuming Demo!
BUTCHERY (USA) "Necropsy pROfane" Demo 92. Some fast & ripping Death Metal tunes here with a damn raw sound, not really essential but played tight with some grind influences here & there, had its moments and can only please the real Death Metal freaks into old CANNIBAL CORPSE & MASSACRA.

Demo reviews - A

ABSOLUTE DISGRACE (BRA) "CONDEMNED" Demo. c/o SATWAN, RUA DESEMBARGADOR DARIO LINS 60/502, NOVA SUICA 30-460-260 BELO HORIZONTE - MG BRAZIL. c/o MARCIO, RUA GAMA CERQUEIRA 371, JARDIM AMERICA 30430-360 BELO HORIZONTE – MG BRAZIL.
ABYSAL (POL) "Primal Chaos" Demo 98. Don't take them for our french band (rip) called like that with one "s" more, this one's from Poland and brings very haunting obscure Death Metal, just listening to the intro makes me travelling through the beyond, I literally left my body & flesh for reaching higher dimensions... I'm now into their music, a real "Primal Chaos" where sounds of agony awakes by crying guitars and Evil Death Metal, the old-school traditions appeared in a raw vibe from below. I'm sure this sound might turn some people off, it's very raw and thrashy and all the songs start with haunting, Evil intros, I love that and they are famous at creating them!! Unfortunately I'm a little less enthusiast about the music but it's original anyway.
ACCESSORY (Ger) "Within the mind" Tape LP 92 TOXO Tape/WEST VIRGINIA.
ANAL VOMIT (PERU) "SUDAMERICA BRUTAL" Demo 98 HURLING METAL. c/o ROY ELGUERA B., URB. EL PACIFICO MZ. E – LT. 15, LIMA 31 PERU.
ANGEL'S DECAY (Slo) "Victims of belief" Demo 99 AKNE.
ANTROPOMORPHIA (HOL) "Bowel Mutilation" Demo. Here's an old Demo, just here to remember that Death Metal in the INCANTATION vein ruled before all the mosh shit & hardcore fusionning "modern" styles...! And what is now called "dark metal" is just a melodic pussy juice compared to the old Death Metal bands, they were heavy, pounding, dooming & brutal with fuming atmospheres from Hell & raw sound from below... had a similarity with our french CATACOMB but more convincing, obscure, brutal, yet melodic & atmospheric. All in all, this was the real Death!
ANVIL OF DOOM (SPA) "DIED BEFORE DAWN" Demo 2003. A Spanish band that do some kind of Heavy/Black Metal, very melodic and also using synths here & there... I must say that it isn't my cup of Metal, whilst they do it pretty well, it contains too much normal & banal tunes for my taste (should I say "trendy"??) and didn't get any pleasure at listening to these boring tunes, simply not for me but will please a larger "normal" Metal crowd. hugoaod@hotmail.com www.anvilofdoom.com
APOPLEXY (Slo) "Monarchy of the damned" Tape LP 2000 AKNE.
APROSOPY (Ger) "On the brink of disaster" Demo 2000.
ARKHON INFAUSTUS (FRA) "IN SPERMA INFERNUM" Demo
ASKALON (POL) Promo 98. Yeah! As said in my previous issue, this band kills and I finally found the entire 3-tracks promo (thanx, cousin!), imagine old GORGUTS, old SUFFOCATION & old GRAVE, old CRYPTOPSY's speed with the apocalyptic NILE's sound, yes it's another supreme & extreme Death Metal release from this land of darkness & terror!! Vocals are a little similar to LUCIFERION and there are many leads as well to enhance their unrelenting skills, the result is as dark as brutal and professional as Hell!!! I fucking love this band 'coz they shred, they're simply perfect & ready to gain new hordes of Death Metal demons with leads worldwide, but are they still going? That's a brutal question burning in me, if anyone knows something about this ASKALON phenomenon, write me immediately! This is undoubtedly the absolute best & most inspiring band's promo in the world, triple-BUY OR DIE to them!!
ATROPOS (FRA) "...LA FILEUSE DE MORT..." Demo 2000. Seems that the intro is taken from Nazxul's CD-outro, raining/storming stuff... Well, this is Black for the highly trendy shrieking vocals and Heavy Metal for the music which is well constructed and reminds me of old MISANTHROPE & NIGHTFALL. This style is too atmospheric and boring for me, I guess I have heard this melodic style too much these last years, so I don't give a fuck about ATROPOS. It's time to reveal more extreme Metal bands than that, don't you think so? For fans of this style only. c/o GERALD MILANI, 34 LA ROQUE COURBIERE, 13680 LANÇON FRANCE.
AUTUMN LEAVES (DK) "Hope springs eternal" Demo 95. This was a good melodic/epic Death Metal Demo in the vein of the old bands from Sweden & Finland, CENTINEX alike with old DOMINUS similitudes. The album that appeared then wasn't that great, that's why I'm talking about this Demo in case some of you asked.
AVULSION (USA) Promo 99 IMPALER OF TRENDIES. Old AUTOPSY sounding and also more cryptic and Dark/Doom/Death Metal is the law here! DISEMBOWELMENT/DETERIOROT/SYMPHONY OF GRIEF resounding from Hell, guttural vibes from beyond, this is greatly obscure as old INCANTATION and completely Evil, DOOM!!!! I also like that semi-Black Metal vibrations in track 2 with its fucking sordid & morbid Death grunts, a little too repetitive for me but good disgusted feelings are trapped inside the flesh of the song, extremely raw, heavy sound & depressive tunes of the Dead that are inspiring and welcome in my head... The 4 first tracks were recorded Jan. 3rd 1999 and 3 others recorded Live Nov. 1995 at Wreck Room-Atlanta, GA. Great feelings, keep you posted on this. c/o EVAN MARCH, PO BOX 48829, ATHENS, GA. 30604-8829 USA. avulsion1@msn.com
AWFUL (ITA) "ABSOLUTE REIGN" Demo 99. I finally met the ultimate Demo!!! Imagine the intensity of old NUCLEAR DEATH & KRISIUN mixed together, you've got AWFUL!!! No cheesy stuff here, this is extremely apocalyptic!!! Sounds like noise at first but once you'll adapt your ears to their particular furious sound, you'll see what it's all about: pure Hell, fast & unrelenting, Evil like SADISTIK EXEKUTION but with the extreme flow of IMMOLATION's fastest aggressions! Unreal, this sounds ungodly & inhuman, completely!!!!!! There is just 3 little breaks in the last song, the two others seem neverending & unstoppables!! A total of three tracks assault that left me some greatly impressed feelings about that band that I never heard of before, not even suspected the existence of such Extremely & Intense Nuclear Metal energy! This blows away all other Demos in this section, this is definitely not for the weak! Absolute BUY OR DIE to them!!!! c/o MICKEY PICCIONE, VIA VANZATI 2, 20054 NOVA MILANESE (MI) ITALY. or c/o VANNI CASATI, VIA MAGNI 15, 22044 INVERIGO (CO) ITALY. or c/o MAX BIANCHI, VIA FERRARI 19, 21040 ORIGGIO (VA) ITALY. awful1@tin.it SOTHIS Recs: PO BOX 14, 21045 GAZZADA (VA) ITALY. www.sothis.homepad.com

Splits & Comp CD reviews - Z

ZARATHUSTRA/INFECTED DISARRAY (UK/UK) Promo CD-R 2001. There's two members in common in these two bands and that's practically the same style of music: Brutal Death the US vein, ZARATHUSTRA having an old-school heavy sound like Skeleton Of God and also got some new-school twisted mosh riffs and blasts and damn important thing: they do solos which is a plus for me! Their two tracks are from "Embracing This Deformity" CD said to be out soon… As for INFECTED DISARRAY now, 3 tracks from "Disseminating Obscenity" CD also said to be out soon and being more aggressive than the first band, more grinding vibes and rawer sound in the vein of Devourment, Disgorge, Brodequin, etc. Both bands were good and worth checking out for brutal freaks only!

Splits & Comp CD reviews - W

WOMB/DISCIPLES OF MOCKERY (USA/USA) Split CD 2000 NECROHARMONIC. twocount@bellatlantic.net www.necroharmonic.com/disciplesofmockery NECROHARMONIC: PO BOX 1271, KEARNY, NJ. 07032 USA. www.necroharmonic.com
WURDULAK/GORELORD (USA/USA) "Creature feature" Split MCD 2001. Killjoy from NECROPHAGIA features in both bands, let's hear what it's all about: WURDULAK sounds very old-school Metal with newer Black Metal influences, catchy stuff for sure but repetitive a lot! As For GORELORD, the difference is that it's faster and heavier, more Death Metal with a high voice and death grunts, I prefer this last one, of corpse! It's really impure sounding and more inspiring in the Deicide path but more haunting & doomy with a sound a la Malignancy!

Splits & Comp CD reviews - V

VAMPIRIC MOTIVES/NEUROPATHIA (JAP/POL) Split CD 2000. Heavy stuff! VAMPIRIC MOTIVES isn't a black metal band as the name could mistake it, it's fuckin' heavy & Brutal oppressing Grind/Death with drum machine like MORTICIAN. The voice is mega-guttural and scorching. The music is like some old DEAD INFECTION tunes and old GRAVE mixed together, very good! It's said that there are all members of CATASEXUAL URGE MOTIVATION in this band, and it's musically very similar, very obscure/destructive Grind and not funny, I like that a lot, BUY OR DIE! NEUROPATHIA came in with some more classic Grind tunes with harmonizer including all those screaming murderous intros etc... Not bad but this isn't the kind of Grind I do like the most today, for all old CARCASS, MALIGNANT TUMOUR & old DEAD INFECTION, SQUASH BOWELS-addicts. For freaks only.

Splits & Comp CD reviews - U

UNVEILED/TRAUMA (Malaysia/Indo) Split CD 2000 PSYCHIC SCREAM. Gory or not gory? UNVEILED performed an old-school Death thrashing Metal with guitars upfront and that wasn't bad at all, brutal raw & simple like if that was recorded Live in the studio and sounding Evil like NUNSLAUGHTER but faster like old MASSACRA, good band, I will keep an eye opened for their next release. As for TRAUMA, they're really good too, heavier & lower vocals, more in the old-school Grind/Death category sounding like old AVULSED but faster and definitely more brutal. Cool Split CD especially for UNVEILED, I'll keep their sound in mind!

Splits & Comp CD reviews - S

Scream forth blasphemy - Tribute to MORBID ANGEL CD 2000 DWELL
SEA OF TRANQUILLITY/PAX MORTIS (USA/USA) "DEAD OF WINTER/DEFIANT" Split CD 97 CURSED. SEA OF TRANQUILLITY is an old band I was familiar with their Split 7" with Num Skull and PAX MORTIS had also an old 7" called "A World Of Thieves". It's great to see both bands on one CD, 6 tracks for SEA OF TRANQUILLITY that delivers excellent punishing thrashing technical Death Metal that reminds me the Morrisound recordings of late eighties: rage, fast & right in your face, if you dig old stuffs like CANCER, MALEVOLENT CREATION (first two albums), EXHORDER, XENTRIX… This band's for you! PAX MORTIS was a very original band with a crude raw sound, really had something special mixing some synths like Nocturnus making it their own style but being more twisted in the obscure Thrash/Death genre than many others, this remains a very original band to me worth listening for sure! Highly recommended Split CD that won't disappoint the most open-minded undergrounders: BUY OR DIE!
SINISTER/MONASTERY/GODLY BEINGS/HOUWITSER Split Demos CD MASTERCULT.
STARGAZER/INVOCATION (AUSTRALIA) "HARBRINGER/H.A.S.T.U.R." Split CD 2000 DIES IRAE. Finally released on CD, STARGAZER tracks were written from '93 to '95 and recorded in 1999 for this release! It contains true Metal of high quality and originality with their own sound, influenced by all that is Metal from the dark sides such as Death & mostly Black Metal, this is really something new to hear especially the arrangements, they're anti-clichés and unpredictables like ARGHOSLENT, DESCEND or INVASION, kind of Speed Death/Black Metal with many changes in structures and 100% pure Metal spirit like it should be made! BUY OR DIE! c/o DENNY BLAKE, PO BOX 182, INGLE FARM, 5098 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. INVOCATION tracks were more Death Metal oriented, good Death grunts and fast accelerations within more mid-paced and slow Death Metal that can be technical at times too in the vein of MORBID ANGEL, definitely an original approach to refresh this style, sometimes dooming and insane... As well as STARGAZER, they're completely unpredictable and kept me interested from intro to outro, their own atmosphere is quite unique too, at least two great original Extreme Metal bands on one CD is a great gift for my ears! Thanx goes out to Don of Martire for sending in this CD, BUY OR DIE!!! 70 RICHLAND AVE., 4108 BRISBANE QLD AUSTRALIA.
STRANGULATION/FATAL (FRA/FRA) "DUAL EXPERIENCE" Split MCD 99 Self-prod. STRANGULATION is a good Thrash band and offered here 3 tracks of catchy Thrash Metal, efficient & convincing with a professional production, if you like Thrash, this is a good one to look for. c/o GUYOT JONATHAN, 4 RUE DES FOUGERES, 56860 SENE FRANCE. Mgt: c/o AGNES L'HOSPITALIER, 23 RUE DE COËTLOGON, 35000 RENNES FRANCE. undergroundunity@hotmail.com FATAL are quite different and not my cup of Metal. Sort of speed Thrash-Core with really bad vocals (imagine Tom Araya singing with a french-core accent... too bad!). Too much affiliated with the fucking trend as many many bands do that kind of fusionning metal now. There were some good catchy riffs anyway just the vocals did ruin the music in my opinion which has a bit of old-school vibes. BP 708, 76060 LE HAVRE CEDEX FRANCE.
SUFFOCATION/PYREXIA/CRUCIFIX Split Demos CD MASTERCULT.

Splits & Comp CD reviews - R

RAZORBACK: A HOG WILD TALE OF TERROR Comp CD #2. Damn great second issue full of more Brutal Death/Grind bands!! With DERANGED, ENGORGED, MACHETAZO, INTENSE HAMMER RAGE, IMPALED, MURDER CORPORATION, LAST DAYS OF HUMANITY, DRAWN AND QUARTERED, REINFECTION, SCRAPE, BIRDFLESH, MENTAL ABERRATION, GOREROTTED, UNHALLOWED, SKOURGE, VASTION, FLESHTIZED, EXPOSED GUTS, CRYPT, TERATISM, BLOODY GORE, INCARRION, NEOPHYTE, GODLESS TRUTH, CIBORIUM. Highly recommended to all those who like me are in perpetual searching for new bands that will fit in with their unholy & Brutal Extreme Metal collection! RAZORBACK Recs: c/o BILLY NOCERA, PO BOX 321, FARMINGVILLE, NY.11738 USA. wnocera@aol.com
REQUIEM OF REVULSION (Tribute to CARCASS) CD 2001 DEATHVOMIT. This is cool to see something like that happening, a tribute to a Death/Grind Metal band, it's pretty uncommon! REGURGITATE started the intro to "Genital Grinder", then ROTTEN SOUND performed an awesome "Reek Of Putrefaction". Other highlights were EXHUMED performing "Exhumed To Consume" of course, DISGORGE (MEX) with "Hepatic Tissue Fermentation", GENERAL SURGERY, NECRONY, IMPALED, AVULSED...well many others paid hommage to the one & only CARCASS with different sound quality and those mentionned here were the best coverers in my opinion! If you care a lot for the old CARCASS materials, this is a great reminder of how brutal they were before changing style completely!

Splits & Comp CD reviews - Q

QUEIRON (BRA) "Immortal blood of victory" Split CD 2000 MUTILATION. (from split w/ MENTAL HORROR). I only wanted to review the QUEIRON part because I already got "Extreme Evolutive Trauma" from MENTAL HORROR on CD with two bonus and I already reviewed it twice, so... QUEIRON have here three tracks to punish the unbelievers of Death Metal! Raw sound, Evil spells, damned old-school energies with darkened leads, all this with a Demo sound that is absolutely not for trendy ears, early MORBID ANGEL remembrance as well as old DEICIDE, KRISIUN & DIABOLIC, only more engulfed in the darkside, insistant with long & varied songs, not boring at all and very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very iiiiiiinnnnnttttteeeeeerrrrrreeeeeeessssssttttttiiiiiinnnnnnggggg!!!!!!!!!! They dwell from where the true Death Metal is: no clones, no bullshit, only plain, pure intense Death burning & flowing from their own Darkreation... BUY OR DIE!!!

Splits & Comp CD reviews - P

PARRICIDE/PATOLOGICUM/DEFORMED (POL/POL/POL) "CUT YOUR HEAD BEFORE THEY DO" 3 way split CD 2003 CRUDE ENT. Three Polish bands having each 6 tracks recorded Live. As I already know the two first by now, I'll explain more my opinion about DEFORMED: seems to be an early dyingfetus inspired band, the vocals are shit and the trendyingfetus style isn't for me anymore, pass away from this, just take a listen to PARRICIDE that rules this split!

Splits & Comp CD reviews - O

OBSCURE INFINITY 4-way Split Tape 2004 NIHILISTIC HOLOCAUST. This is rare to get an ear on a comp tape by now! This consists actually of three french Demo bands and the almighty DARKLORD's first Demo CD "By the Force Of Sacred Magic Rites" from Australia which I got the original for years now, …I'd rather ask myself why Gab chose this band's old recording to fill the 60mn tape… Opening act is CARMINA but unfortunately my dubbed copy has a real bad crappy waving sound, anyway they're pretty much interesting as they remind me of newer Immolation/Morbid Angel a lot: BUY OR DIE! c/o MICKAEL CLERGEOT, 2 AVE. DU PRESIDENT WILSON, 78520 LIMAY FRANCE. http://carminagrind.free.fr Then comes AMETHYSTE and their Gorguts/Morbid Angel-esque Death Metal, three tracks that shows this band is ready to rush on the underground like their masters as they already left ten years of existence behind them and are doing great solos, this is the Promo 2003 that they offered here, simply damn heavily professional & excellent: BUY OR DIE!!! c/o PAT, 2 RUE CEZANNE, 35 RESIDENCE BLERIOT, 62480 LE PORTEL FRANCE. www.amethyste.zik.mu Third strike is called ATROPHY and a great skilled brutality emanates from the first notes, they can recall sometimes Cryptopsy from the "None So Vile" epoch but with more original vibes and definitely more technical and with weird solos & structures, something really uncommon, I'm impressed!! This band rules, it might probably be the most original from this brutal package, and maybe from France! So much breaks & changes twists & turns... incredible revelation, I'm addicted! Skilfulness & abilities are sometimes making the difference, fans of Intervalle Bizarre and Alienation Mental might rejoice with ATROPHY: BUY OR DIE!!! c/o FREDERIC DEVESA, 131 PLACE ST-LEGER, 73000 CHAMBERY FRANCE. www.atrophy.free.fr At last DARKLORD from Australia ends the tape with their cultissim obscure brutality of ten years of age and I'm really a huge fan of this Demo having an old cavernous sound like their country mate Disembowelment (rip!) filled with unholy solos from Hell and infernal drum-machine deathvastation, low pitched growls of darkness... Simply something that newer fans can't get into and this of course rules! The band has also an album out by now and rather different from what they were doing on this Demo, so if you care: PO BOX 869, GLENELG, 5045 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. http://darklordfff.tripod.com

Splits & Comp CD reviews - N

NOVEMBER TO DISMEMBER CD comp NIGHTFALL/TERRORIZER. This starts with MALARIA which is a famous Brutal Death/Grind band! They got the same sound as DAMNABLE's "Inperdition" just a little less extreme but also very twisted, killer! BUY OR DIE! PO BOX 6022, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55406 USA. Then came THE UNHOLY... to be honest, this is shit & crap, avoid this! FROM THE DEPTHS now performing fairy Heavy/Black Metal, very Maiden influenced like those trendy Swedish bands... This isn't for me but it's a good one for those who like this style, it's a well varied song structure with synths. Fuckin' PROPHECY annihilates the two previous bands with their heavy Death Metal a la old DYING FETUS & some unsanes atmospheres, BUY OR DIE! CORPSE GRISTLE Recs: 3521 OAK LAWN AVE., SUITE 666, DALLAS, TX 75219 USA. DEFILED; those samouraïs know how to get fast, twisted, brutal & original, you'd better let your hands grasping their two godly albums of technical & fresh Death Metal the true way, not for the weak! BUY OR DIE!! PROMISQES reminds me a nameless band from Poitiers in which I did perform guitar for 4 rehearsals but never had the time to grow at this level unfortunately! This is grinding Satanic Death Metal with a twist, good raw stuff. c/o LORI HEMPHILL, 2728 HUNTERS CT, OGDEN, UT. 84401 USA. http://members.tripod.com/pandoraenterprises/promisqes.htm GREY SKIES FALLEN has a melodic/atmospheric style that doesn't attract me particularly... It's just too much predictable & simple for my own taste, boring! UNBLESSED arrived with a famous fast Death Metal tune, very intense and complex including many moods and original, unpredictables arrangements, I can't tell they're sounding like someone else 'coz many variations irradiate the song, sure some riffs call out to me! BUY OR DIE! 855 MT. KATAHDIN TRAIL, ALPHRETTA, GA. 30022 USA. ANAL BLAST of course kicks asses with crushing brutal Death/Grind, nothing really original but well performed with a good production, BUY OR DIE! TOURETTE'S SYNDROME is the only band to have 4 tracks in the comp due to the short timing of their songs (the shortest is 0:33 & the longest is 0:51!) let me tell you that it's Grind with a shit sound, you can't hear the guitar sound and not all the song had the same sound, this sounds like a big joke, I'm not into this buffonery... SINTURY and their classic new school Death Metal a la DYING FETUS helps set off the level after this buffonery! Very catchy stuff and a good one. PENTAGORIA offers a very refreshing bloodshower with their excellent original Raw Death Metal a la WITHERED EARTH with weird moods & feelings, BUY OR DIE! PO BOX 23111, RICHFIELD, MN 55423 USA. www.badassphil.com/pentagoria S.A.T.A.N. seem to play with drum machine and its too predominant programming for that I can't hear the other instruments apart the vocals, just when it calms the beat, I can hear the whole SATAN thing and I can say now that this isn't very interesting, the track being too repetitive and devoid of good structures. The leads are cool anyway, in the vein of Acheron. SARCOPHAGUS had the most gentle sound in the comp, not made to disturb your neighbours, volume is lower than all other bands and the style is somewhat IMMORTAL alike & atmospheric Black Metal, old Satyricon alike... REVEREND POKY BUNGE sounds like old Impetigo & Macabre but even worse, it's not convincing to me. INVEIGH is sort of an industrial trendy repetitive power Metal band with rap-core vocals, approximately same riff from the beginning to the end, this sucks & incompetent to write a good riff that hasn't already been used before... Old Obituary was more technical than your trendy shit! Another such a band is INNER FEAR, modern & trendy style that doesn't contain any dark tune, just some repetitive riffs that million amateurish bands can do at their first rehearsal. FALL, is this band better? ...mhhh... yes & no! They're more underground but the basic gentle Grind tunes a la DROGHEDA do not inspire me that much... MASOCHISM's Death/Grind sounds old-school and is bringing back some old Macabre similitudes. c/o JUAN TORRES, 10104 RUTLAND VILLAGE EAST, AUSTIN, TX 78758 USA. masokzmo99@aol.com ANAL BLAST ends again with another song of Scato-Grind/Death, short but efficient! NIGHTFALL/TERRORIZER Recs: PO BOX 6022, MINNEAPOLIS, MN. 55406 USA. vagvemp@aol.com

Splits & Comp CD reviews - M

MASTERS OF MURDER Free Sampler THE PLAGUE/HAMMERHEART. Featuring all the good Death Metal signatures on this label such as: MACABRE, BROKEN HOPE, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, SEVERE TORTURE, AETERNUS & mighty THRONEAEON! Just DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER were unknown to me and the reason is clear: it's not a Death Metal band! Otherwise, if you're not familiar with the other bands, you can check out the reviews somewhere else in the Zine, they're all covered here. All bands appeared with two tracks from their most recent albums, that's a good view about what the label has to offer if you're not familiar with these bands, contact them: THE PLAGUE: PO BOX 277, 6300 AG VALKENBURG THE NETHERLANDS. wilko@hammerheart.com or promo@hammerheart.com www.hammerheart.com

Splits & Comp CD reviews - L

LEGION OF THE SCROLLS #13 CD comp. This is the worse comp I've ever heard, there's too much jokes in it and nothing good, apart for the ESOTERIC song, the rest sucks and isn't Metal at all! Burn it at the stake, this loser shit shouldn't exist in the scene.

Splits & Comp CD reviews - J

JESUS ANAL PENETRATION/ONI (AUSTRALIA/AUSTRALIA) Split CD 2001 DEAD BY DAWN. First off, I had the surprise to see that there's a multimedia track with videos, bios & pics for each band, just insert this disc into your PC and you'll get the flash! J.A.P. offered here a brutal slab of blasphemic Death Metal with some grooves & blast-beats à l'américaine! Raw underground production & moshing the bones of jesuschrist with an appreciable dose of old BAPHOMET, old INTERNAL BLEEDING & old DYING FETUS. A powerful blast to slay the Beast that is in you! PO BOX 551, ELISABETH S.A., 5112 AUSTRALIA. warbred@hotmail.com www.geocities.com/jesusanal As for ONI, this features the tracks off their Promo 2001 and I still think 666% what I have written about it! But which band do I prefer you may ask? Well, it's simple: ONI for sure rules by their technical approach & definitely their unpredictables twists & turns makes their side pretty much more interesting & impressive in a completely different Evil Metal style compared to J.A.P., not saying that J.A.P. sucks, they simply can't compete with the immonde Lord ONI!! Chaining fast & mid to slow moments, they really captured the Morbid Spirit & a true Metal essence flowing deep in real skilled Extremities, if I had a label, I would sign ONI without hesitation, 'coz this THE perfect band: BUY OR DIE!! (I just find too bad that the Japanese outro cuts before the total fading end...) PO BOX 238, FINDON 5023, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. onitengu@hotmail.com http://on.to/oni www.deadbydawnrecords.cjb.net