Helloween-Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part 2 1988 Noise Records

The album starts off with some Medieval-ish intro called "Invitation", then bursts gracefully into "Eagle Fly Free", a fast-paced Power Metal song. I almost forgot how awesome Kiske's vocals were before I just put this on. The guitars are full of melody, and harmonizing very much like the almighty Maiden. "You Always Walk Alone" even sounds like it could be on "Somewhere In Time", especially with the layered guitars in the intro. Who could forget the classic track, "I Want Out"!? If Germany has an "Iron Maiden", it's definetly these guys. "Rise And Fall" sounds pretty happy but it's still a really cool song, despite the vocal part that sounds like Journey, in the chorus. If you pass this in a store, PICK IT UP! It's obviously a classic by my standards, and it sure as hell beats Blind Guardian or Hammerfall. And the production is killer.

Rating 8/10 -Erik

Reverse Reality- Self-titled Demo 2001

In April 2002, before I left for California, I went with my girlfriend to this show that her friends in Circus Of Destruction were playing at, in some church hall, and upon arrival, onstage was this band, plugging in and tuning up, and I noticed the guitarist/vocalist (who goes by the name "The Wizard", probably Sabbath-derivative) looked a hell of a lot like Lemmy from Motorhead (one of their main influences). So I thought this band might be pretty cool, so I stayed at the front of the stage and watched the show, after which, I sat down and spoke with Wizard and bassist Mike Marshall. Mike ended up handing me this demo...

It's well-produced, very clear but very raw, like Motorhead. The lyrics seem a bit cliche 'ala "sex, drugs, n rock n roll" but they definetly fit the southern-tinged punk-metal shred on the demo and in their live performance. Their musical inspiration comes from Sabbath, Motorhead, Mountain, Govt. Mule, Grand Funk Railroad, Kiss, Deep Purple, etc. and I personally think it really shows, especially the grittier stuff. Definetly a good drinking CD!

If you wanna get your hands on this, contact Mike at 610-522-9661 or MikeM2607@aol.com Reverse Reality- Self-titled Demo 2001 -Erik

Treachery-There Will Be Blood (demo)

This 4 song demo was mailed to me by bassist Eric Boyd, after I met him at a Deicide/Morbid Angel show in late 2001. He describes them as "Progressive Metal", but it comes off more like mid-late 80's Philly Thrash Metal (actually, the band is from Lancaster, PA).

The CD starts off with a track called "Necropolis" which is reminiscent of such 80's thrashers as Nemesis, and Nuclear Assault. The guitars (played by Evan Wooley) sound slightly detuned on this one, and there is no solo.

"Price Of The Martyr" comes in a bit slower, but picks up in pace after a minute or so. I'm starting to notice the vocalist, Aaron Hendren, seems to hold back a bit, not really belting it out. It's kind of just an angry thrash-growl 'ala Annihilator. After 3 minutes or so, there is a clean section with light vocals over it, sort of atmospheric, which is a nice change in pace and mood.

"Treachery" starts off with a very Di'anno-era Iron Maiden feel- single noted guitar/basslines, similar to "Phantom Of The Opera". It seems to keep the Maiden influence within the rest of the track, but it's still aggressive and thrash influenced.

"Blood", the demo's closer is probably the fastest track on here, almost reminiscent of old Slayer, yet with the vocalist still holding back a bit.

This isn't the most professional demo I've heard, but there is definetly potential for the band to grow, and become something a lot more memorable. Time will tell.

Contact: Treachery- P.O. Box 9022, Lancaster, PA 17604-9022. E-mail: kingdiamond13@slayerized.com or Mach5224@aol.com -Erik

TERARISM Ex Infernus

Root Of All Evil Records 2002

This 4-song CD was given to me at the New Jersey Metal-fest, and I haven't poured over it much, but then again, it's not gonna take me several listens for me to get used to this material, as there really isn't anything subtle about it anyway.

"Resurrection Denied" starts the CD off with a sampled dark classical piece, then it becomes your average, every day Christ-raping Black Metal. I'm not too fond of this so far.

"Hate" features a bit more atmosphere then the previous track, featuring arpeggiated chords, slower tempo, melody, odd guitar noises, and a strange solo.

"Children Of Scorn" is pretty typical, with the exception of odd timing.

"We got a fucking Christian out there! So we're gonna murder him with 'Resurrection Denied' "! screams the vocalist on the live version. This actually doesn't sound too live, very quiet crowd.

Contact: E-mail: LordOrnias@hotmail.com Teratism, P.O. Box 794, Hopkins, MN 55343 U.S.A. www.teratism666.com

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Beyond The Embrace-Against The Elements Promo CD 2002 Metal Blade Records

I remember these guys standing out a bit at the Metal-fest, and now that I've got the promo on, I know why.

They have a mixed sound, relying mostly on a somewhat In Flames vibe, with vocals slightly reminiscent of Anders from In Flames, mixed with Pepper Keenan of C.O.C. and a "Black Album"-era James Hetfield. The middle section on "Release" features a clean riff, jumping into the heavy/melodic parts that defy their sound.

The production and performance is very tight but could be beefed up a bit more for a better sound. I don't know where these guys are from, but the sound is very akin to what the Gothenburg, Sweden bands are doing. The vocal melodies on "Against The Elements" have an almost Nu-Rock hook to it, but I won't complain, as they use it very tastefully, and make up for it with all the harmonies, melodies, and a slight Power Metal influence. I'm quite impressed here. I think these guys've got something going.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Chrome Locust-"New World Disorder" Promo CD 1999

I know this is a bit old and I've had it sitting around for a couple years, but I found myself going through my promo/demo CD rack, looking for the massive amount of stuff I got from going to shows, and from the NJ Metal-fest, and found this again. It only has one track, mentioned above, and it's from the full-length debut, simply titled "Chrome Locust". I came across a few small articles about this band over the past few years, one mentioning some sort of Punk influence, but to me, it sounds like a modern day Witchfinder General or Budgie. It's a very short song, and it's similar a bit to Black Sabbath's "Hole In The Sky". One of these days I'll get my hand on the album and review that, so look forward to that next year (LOL). One thing I gotta point out, I love the use of the wah pedal on this! If you are a fan of classic Doom, I don't see why you wouldn't like this, it's great!

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Within Another-4 Song Demo-2002

Tracklisting: 1. Conflict With Reason. 2. Resolution. 3. Dwelling. 4. Written In Water

To introduce you to the band, they are a progressive metal trio from the New York area.

"Conflict With Reason" opens the demo with a clean riff but after about 20 seconds, bursts into a distorted section, with melodic twin-harmonies, and powerful vocals, full of passion. There are quite a few time chances but it doesn't make you lose interest, which is very rare, as I'm not a fan of prog-metal bands. There is a bit of an Iron Maiden feel to this one in some aspects, which is definitely a good thing. The drums are very complimentive to the technical riffing overtop. One poor thing about this so far is that the bassist's volume is very low.

"Resolution" starts off distorted and rather slow. This definitely isn't what I think of when I hear the words "prog-metal" because I'm actually digging this! The bass is more apparent on this track and I gotta say, I'm quite impressed. It follows the guitar lines on certain parts, but does it's own thing as well, with it's own separate paths which is unconventional of most bassists.

"Dwelling" is a more atmospheric song, which is cool by me, because I tend to favor ballads and atmosphere. The timing isn't really changing as much as the other tracks do, but if it did, it wouldn't suit the song as much.

"Written In Water", the last track, comes in with a slow Steve Harris-like riff, followed by a guitar and a distorted vocal sound, without having to do the cliche growl. I've noticed with the last 2 tracks, that the guitarist has a similar taste for melody as ex-Megadeth axeman, Chris Poland (see "Return To Metalopolis" review by yours truly).

Thanks for the demo guys, I admit, you're the first band under the "prog" tag that I've enjoyed.

Contact: http://www.geocities.com/withinanother/withinanother. html

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Hallow's Eve-Death & Insanity -1988-Metal Blade Records

I still remember the first time I was exposed to this band through The Best Of Metal Blade Vol. 3 via "Speed Freak", and the track really stood out.

The material on this is roughly in the same vein, although that song isn't on this album. This is pretty much mid-tempo American-styled Thrash Metal with some catchy choruses and riffs. "Lethal Tendencies" was an instant favorite of mine, with it's slow, bleeding, crunchy riff, and barbaric vocals, with tales of starvation and misery. "D.I.E" comes across a bit crossover-ish with shouted gang vocals. The title-track is probably the catchiest track on the album, but don't play it more than 5 times a week or you won't be listening to this album for a few more months. Oldschool thrashers may wanna check this out.

Rating: 7 of 10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Lord Blasphemer-Tales Of Misanthropy, Bloodlust, And Mass Homicide- 2001-(Demo)

“Bestial Bacchanal” starts us off blasting through with some oldschool Death Metal and a horrid scream as if ass-rammed by a demonic force. The leads are a bit wild, going through fast, frantic runs, the vocals a raspy growl, the bass playing dirty and distorted, the riffs fast and raw, and the drumming all over the place. The lyrics are intelligible in some parts! Now how many DM bands can you say that about?

“Bloodbaths Of The Mental Inquisition: Karmageddon” comes off a bit reminiscent of Morbid Angel. This one is quite faster than the last. I can sort of see a bit of German Thrash influence in this band already.

The other tracks, “Mutations With Bloodlust In Their Eyes”, “Cursed By The Spirit Of Thorn”, “Spiral Caverns Of The Occult”, and “Wading Through Amulch Of The Dead”are pretty similar in style and structure to the aforementioned tracks- heavy, fast, loud, and raw. This stuff makes for good pre-show listening before you sit around with your friends and watch “The Evil Dead” or “Demons” or something.

If you wish to hear something by them, you can contact them at: Lord Blasphemer,1573 N. Milwaukee, P.M.B. # 506, Chicago, Ill. 60622.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

TESTAMENT - THE LEGACY - ATLANTIC RECORDS,1987

This was Testament's first record. They were originally called Legacy ( or was it, The Legacy?), but there was another band with that very name, so they just used it as an album title.Awesome,heavy, technical thrash fucking metal. This is one of my favorite Testament records.this is just full of great songs, some being a bit cliche at times, but they've obviously outgrown that, and the music is too damn good for anyone to really care about the sometimes stupid lyrics( try and tell me " Curse of the Legions of Death" doesnt make you smirk).The production here is pretty raw, but thats how I like my old school thrash, so this is a plus in my book. The riffs on this record are great, and Alex Skolnick's guitar work is both savage and elegant at the same time.This guy is a virtuoso, you all ought to fucking now that. Randy Rhoads used the guitar solo as a very precise and well planned way to showcase technical virtuosity, and so does Alex Skolnick. If you look at Alex these days, it's hard to even imagine him playing music this heavy( I hear he's into jazz and what not nowadays).Eric Peterson is obviously no slouch either, anyone who's heard Testament or Dragonlord can tell you that.

The main thing I like about this record, is Chuck Billy's voice.On this record( and throughout Testament's career), he pretty much utilizes every metal voice imaginable.This man can sing any kinf of metal, which I think is really great. He has his thrash voice, his hard rock kind of voice, his death metal voice, and even a high pitched screaming power metal voice.And what is really great, is that he sounds good using any voice he chooses, and one of the htings I like about his death metal voice, is that it's brutal, but still understandable, and kind of earthy you might say. This guy can really truly sing, he has a talent,enough said.He brings a lot of diversity to the band with his voice.

Well, again, it's late, and I'm tired, so I'll wrap this up.this is a thrash metal classic, you fucking need this.Fuck, any Testament album kicks ass( yes, even The Ritual), so no matter what album you get, be assured you wont be dissapointed, but "The Legacy" certainly isnt a bad place to start.Enjoy.

Review by Will Jordan

ANTHRAX - SOUND OF WHITE NOISE - ELEKTRA RECORDS,1993

I fucking love this album. Dont get me wrong, I'm obviously a big fan of old Anthrax( look at my e-mail adress), but this kicks the shit out of anything they've done with Joey Belladona( except for Among the Living and Spreading the Disease).This was the first Anthrax record to feature John Bush on vocals,whom they acquired from Armored Saint, and this marked their departure from straight ahead thrash metal to something that focused a little more on melody, but was still heavy none the less.

This album is just so fucking cool.Sure, its not thrashy or anything, but who cares. These songs are all well crafted,heavy and most importantly, memorable.John Bush brings a hightened sense of drama and emotion to the band's music, and the music compliments it quite nicely. The lyrics seem to be of a more street wise kind, and so does the music. Not like hardcore or anything, but you get the point.I mean, they went from stuff like "Soldiers of Metal"( which fucking KILLS by the way) to stuff like "Potter's Field" and "Packaged Rebellion".You make the comparison. This is just really great stuff. I can listen to this album over and over again, and never get bored.Perhaps you could say Anthrax just developed their own kind of metal on this album, who knows.Some of these songs have their thrashy moments though, like "100 Points of Hate" , but a lot of this stuff is more melodic, slower, pounding songs.No matter what you call it, it kicks ass. I'm probably paraphrasing this a bit, but Scott Ian said something like " we wanted a frontman that would grab the audience by the balls.....", and John Bush does just that. It's late right now, and I'm quite tired and running out of things to say.This is a great fucking album, so give it a chance and buy the fucking thing. 10 out of 10.

Review by Will Jordan

Nasty Savage-Indulgence & Abstract Reality- (Metal Blade Records-1994 Re-release)

Those who do not know who Nasty Savage are, their name fits their sound. Their sound is based on speedy rhythems, technical drumming, morbid vocals, and the occasional falsetto. This is definetly one of the more underrated Thrash Metal bands of the time and for any Thrash collector, this is well worth checking into. The only thing this is really missing is more catchiness, or songs that get stuck in your head. The closest thing we have to that on this double-offering is "XXX" which reminds me of that one part in the Possessed song, I forget which one it was, but where Jeff goes "666!!!". One of the better things about this album is it's tight yet still very raw production. Buy or die!-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

HELL HAMMER-Apocolyptic Raids-1983-Noise Records

The infamous Hell Hammer...pre-cursor to the equally infamous Celtic Frost...this is the stepping stone to that band. Despite Tom Warrior claiming now at days that this is shit...when it was released,this made Venom look like Iron Maiden or Raven as far as sound and song quality went.

"Triumph of Death" is easily one of the funniest things ever put to record. Just music and Tom Warrior screaming like he's recieving a spiked dildo up his ass and a barbed wire catheter at the same exact time. Everything else here needs no explanation...speedy Venom-sounding metal with Tom Warriors famous mumble-singing thing.

The liner notes explain about Hell Hammer and how they evolved into Celtic Frost. Big fucking deal...nothing special...just a filler because the music here is decent at best. Not bad,not good...right in-between suck and godly. Rating=4/10 Review by Chris O'Brien

EXCITER-Long Live The Loud-1985-Combat Records

Exciter's third album is probably the bands most brutal output to this day. This album is a no-bullshit thrashfest which shows why I am so fucking disappointed with recent Exciter material.

Lets face it...if Dan Beehler didn't sing these song,they wouldn't be as powerful as they are. I saw Jacques Belanger sing some of these songs last year at the Metal Meltdown...and while he was good...he couldn't touch Beehler as far as maniacal screaming goes (shit...few can.).

But what about the songs? Like I said before...a thrashfest of epic proportions. "I Am The Beast", "Beyond The Gates of Doom", "Victims of Sacrifice", fuck...and the slower songs "Born To Die" and "Wake Up Screaming" deserve to stand side by side with the best of Exciter's material. John Ricci's soloing is truly excellent,Dan Beehler's vocals peeling paint off of walls,and Alan Johnson's bass...truly a gift from the gods of thunder. All three elements combining to create one of the greatest thrash albums ever made. Again...BUY OR FUCKING DIE! Review by Chris O'Brien

MANILLA ROAD-Crystal Logic-1983-Roadster Records (Re-released on Iron Glory in 2001)

Oh my fucking god...this is an awesome fucking record...one of my new favorites...and definetly my favorite work of the band (judging from what I own...six records).

The combination of doom,NWOBHM,and hard rock combine to this album rather diverse. Listen to the opener "Necropolis" and tell me it sucks. I'll slap you so hard across the mouth that it'll disintergrate your jawbone. Fuck it...the doom-fest "The Riddle Master" will crush your bones into a powder so fine you could sell it as fake cocaine. Absolutley brutalizing music with Mark Shelton's trademark creepy/nasally high vocals make this an album that must be heard to be believed. This album is filled with killer material...such a strong fucking album cannot go un-noticed. BUY OR DIE! Review by Chris O'Brien

DEICIDE-Deicide-1990-Roadrunner Records

Why are you reading a review of Deicide's first album on this site? Mainly,because it's my damn site so I can do as I damn well please,but also because I have been listening to this album alot latley.

Blasphemy in musical form...desecration of god in short but sweet little package which all serious death metal fans must own. This album is before Glen Benton's "I hate god,fuck the catholic church,blah blah blah" bullshit REALLY got old (just in case you're wondering,it got old aound "Serpents of the Light"...album four for you non-death metal fans.).

The music is cool,any band that sings about The Evil Dead ("Dead By Dawn") is cool with me. The song "Deicide" has a wicked fucking riff that destroys almost anything in it's christ-raping path and the lyrics are surprisingly pretty cool. The Jim Jones "Cult of Guyana" inspired "Carnage In The Temple of the Damned" is a perfect example of why death metal (and this band) still exists. Just about every song here has something cool about it...and at this time,Glen Benton's vocals were actually pretty cool (and I don't care what the fuck that guy says,he has his voice treated by vocallisers.)

This is a perfect death metal album in many respects. Short...to the point...no filler...no bullshit...just attack,retreat,and wait for the next strike. And despite his attempts,Scott Burns doesn't fuck the sound of this up too much. If you hate death metal,this definetly won't change your mind...however,if you're looking for a good point to get into the whole death metal scene,start with this album...it almost rivals Morbid Angel for awesomeness.

Review by Chris O'Brien

V/A-New York Metal 84-1984 (duh!)-Rockcity Records

Ever wanted to know what the New York heavy metal scene was like in 1984? Obviously,someone wanted to know,otherwise,this compilation wouldn't exist. I am from New York,and I have heard of some of these bands before,so some of these names are very familiar to me.

You're probably saying right now "Shut the fuck up,asshole. Is it any good? Should I spend my cash on this if I see it?" Well...how about I break down each track with a small explanation,Ok? GO!

WARHEAD-"Whore"-Decent at best. Not great,but not TOTALLY abysmal. CITIES-"Still of the Night"-Again,decent at best. I know this band had Twisted Sister's drummer in it,but I don't know if he was playing on this song. Considering that I can hardly stand Twisted Sister,his absence here would be a benefit to me. TAKASHI-"Live To Rock"-Glam-sounding shit! VIRGIN STEELE-"Guitar War 84"-I hate this kind of guitar hero,listen to me cram scales on scales to show how good I am,kind of bullshit. Pass. VIRGIN STEELE-"Virgin Steele"-Ugh...this band's recent stuff is pretty cool,but this song kinda blows. TEAZER-"Day Zero"-The first song on this comp I can honestly say I enjoy. Sounds like NWOBHM which is cool with me. BLACKLACE-"Damn Cheater"-Hard rock with female vocals. Not bad...but not really metal-sounding either. OVERKILL-"Feel The Fire"-The only band (other than CITIES and VIRGIN STEELE to my knowledge) to release an album after this comp. This is a demo version...and it is fucking awesome. I love OVERKILL...this song is an excellent reason why. DEATHSLAYER-"Journey for Light"-I REALLY dig this song for some strange reason. The vocals are pretty cool,the riff is decent,and the sound is obviously demo quality,but at least it sounds clear. FRIGID BICH-"We Rule the Night"-At first,I thought this was just so that David DeFeis could get on this comp again (he has two songs here already. I thought it was the VIRGIN STEELE song of the same name.). This is probably my second favorite song on this album next to the OVERKILL song...the sound is dirty,the vocallist has a cool voice,the music is really cool.

All in all...four songs I enjoy on this out of ten songs. There's your rating! Review by Chris O'Brien.

Stormwarrior-Possessed By Metal-2002-Dream Evil Records

Stormwarrior are a band from Germany who are playing metal in the tradition of the early power metal bands like Kai Hansen-era Helloween,Running Wild before their pirate bullshit,and any traditional metal band that had a record on Combat in the mid-eighties.

The two songs on this 7"(Seven Inch) vinyl,"Defenders of Metal" and "Heavy Metal Fire",are anthems of metal played by a band who truly believes in what they are singing about. You can hear their passion come through the speakers and draw you into this piece of work which they have crafted.

The sound on this is kind of what you would expect from a band who have done only demos so far. The guitars are loud,the rythym section is tight,but the vocals are what might turn people off to these guys. They sound a bit death metal-ish (mainly the fact that they are very deep sounding...not growly),but I think they might have used vocal effects on it. Oh...and they are loud,too...a little too up front in the mix. Oh well...everything can still be heard,but I hate it when people mix shit too loud for the good of the product.

I happen to like this seven inch a whole hell of a lot. Seeing that this is the first official Stormwarrior release which isn't a demo (at least to my knowledge),it isn't bad...and if Dream Evil could put out a CD of this band with a more polished sound,it would definetly be a good thing. Check this out...it's worth it.

For ordering information,check out the Dream Evil Records website at http://dreamevil.topcities.com or write to

Dream Evil

P.O.Box 666

Villesse(Gorizia)

C.A.P. 34070

Italy

Review By Chris O'Brien

Hobb's Angel Of Death-Inheritance -1995-Def Records

This band hails from the land of boomerangs and kangaroo's (that'd be Australia for you dumbasses). This is only their second album, as their first was a self-titled in 1988 on Steamhammer, which Sodom were on, if I recall correctly.

Quite a bit odd stuff here. I can see it appealing to fans of Kreator, but this stuff has odd intro's to the songs. Some creepy shit. Acoustic stuff. Synth stuff. The atmosphere given from this album is very apocalyptic, and Satanic. Lots of time shifts in here. That drum sound is horrid though. Maybe that's why I was thinking "a bit of Kreator"? The thing I really like most is this is pretty creative, when compared to most other Death-Thrashers' albums. Definetly worth your money, but I wouldn't call it Godly. Kudos to The Record Spot on Torresdale Ave.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Deteriorot- In Ancient Beliefs -2001-Repulse Records

This New Jersey-area Death Metal outfit seems to be influenced by Florida's DM bands, like Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, and Deicide moreso than any other bands. They have their slow break-downs but for the most part, this is pretty fast material, often-times using blast-beats. "Unholy Return" stands out, as it is a very slow, lumbering Doom-ish slab of Death Metal. "Fallen Misery" (now playing on my CD player) is also very similar to that. But once again, another band that suffers from being faceless, meaning, they don't maintain their own identity, or at least take a stab at diversity. For those of you bigger DM fans than I, you may appreciate this a bit more. I don't necessarily think it's bad material, just another case of, "yeah yeah.... we know you guys dig Morbid Angel...".

Now onto the packaging... The cover artwork is great, I think. It's got some orange-ish sky with some ancient-looking pillars and monolithic stones. There are no lyrics in the booklet, but then again, this is their promo copy, for Metal-loving anuses, such as us at U. F. But it does have a little story inside, about how the band came to be what they are today. Good artwork, good lay-out, average production, average DM. Add some outside influences in there, for good measure, and I think you guys would stand out a bit more.

Contact info: Deteriorot c/o Paul Zavaleta; 185 Paterson Ave.; Paterson NJ; 07502 USA. E-mail: Deteriorot@aol.com

Site: http://deteriorot.hypermart.net/

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Circus Of Destruction- Shallow Water Blackout -2001-American Filth Records

I was introduced to this band through a friend, J. L. Glover, who is now managing the band. She was involved (that's not what I mean, gutter-mind) with two of the members (Bill Wytish-bass, and Jim Belisle-vocals) during the late '80's, early '90's period, when they were both in the Thrash-esque band, Anathema (not the big-name "Doom" band). This material is quite different from their old band's...

After hearing this album a few times, and catching their jam session one night, a week or two ago, I can see what Glover meant, when she told me that they are better in a live setting. This material is a bit confusing to me. It's quite hard to draw their direct influences up, probably because the guys are each into their own thing. The drummer, Matt Tajc is moreso influenced by the classic Metal bands, from what I gathered: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Rainbow, Dio, etc. Bill is more influenced by industrial-type stuff, like Ministry and (*starts to shake visibly) Marilyn Manson (although Bill resembles Silent Bob), and classic thrashers and trad. metallers like Metallica, Slayer, and Iron Maiden. Guitarist Gary Hancock is more influenced by bands like Pantera and Fear Factory. Jim, I can't tell you who he's influenced by, but his vocals are slightly like a cross between Phil Anselmo and younger Chuck Billy. In my opinion, the strongest part of the band's sound is Matt's drumming. When I caught their jam, he was all over the place on his kit, utilizing a double-bass pedal, doing all sorts of rolls and fills. He's definetly one of the better drummers I've met and seen in a jam-setting. Also, he has the closest taste in music to mines. Suprisingly though, the oldest member (Gary) is into the more modern stuff, and the youngest (Matt) has the more oldschool influences.

The guitar/bass is detuned, and there are a bit of dynamics in the band's sound, going from clean, melodic intro's/interludes to sludgy, and fast rhythmic pounding. In my opinion, the band sounds really tight and well rehearsed, but would sound a lot stronger with more oldschool influences. Oh, and if you come across their material, don't fully judge them til you see them live.

For contact: American Filth Records; 261 Northpark Dr.; Levittown, PA 19054. Review by Erik Chrupalyk

FAITH NO MORE-THE REAL THING-SLASH RECORDS,1989

Man, what a great fucking album, and to think I only stumbled upon this band by chance.I remember when I was quite a bit younger, my mother wouldnt let me watch MTV (thanks mom!), and so I remember visiting my old friend Tommy's house and he happened to be watching MTV, and they were showing the video for "Epic" by FNM.Now when I was that age, all I ever listened to was Metallica, nothing else, just Metallica. But anyways, I noticed Jim Martin was wearing a Metallica Cliff Burton tribute tee shirt, and so I thought in my very simple manner " hmn, that guy likes Metallica, so this band probably kicks ass". So a few days later, I go and get the tape at Asylum I believe it was, and I come home, listen to it, and grow tired of the album after "Epic".

Fast forward a few more years. I start playing guitar, get into all kinds of bands like Venom,Napalm Death,Megadeth,Saxon,Uriah Heep, and all these other bands I had never really heard of, save for the ones my dad would talk about from time to time. So I rediscover this album lying around in my room somewhere and decide to give it another listen. Holy shit.This was unlike anything I had ever heard of at that time, and it still has that effect on me. This album just knocked me on my ass, and it was very refreshing at the time I rediscovered this because all I was into for the most part was thrash metal, and anything else that was fast, and it was just a really welcomed change of pace for me compared to everything else I had heard of up untill that time.Simply put, nothing sounds like this, this band is it's own animal. I guess people would call this stuff "funk metal" or whatever,but to be honest, its a lot of things. It has elements of metal,punk,jazz,lounge music,funk and a little bit of rap I suppose, but who cares about the rap part of it, I myself wouldnt even consider it to be rapping all that much, although it does have a pretty similar vocal pattern, but I could care less, Mike Patton rules. Besides, its not like he's saying " bling bling i finna fade yo ass biotch dats real cuz". Aside from the "rapping", Mike Patton sounds really great overall. He pretty much has a sound for any emotion you can think of, and the music on this album encompasses all sorts of emotions and atmospheres, from being totally fucking pissed( i.e Surprise!Your'e Dead) to who knows what else. This album is just it's own entity, and you cant really put a label on it. For instance, there are a lot of various classifications people use to descirbe how heavy somehting is, like " it's heavy because it's fast", or "it's heavy because it's super angry and technical", but FNm is it's own kind of heavy.Not sure what to call it, but hevay nonetheless.

To sort of wrap things up here, this is a truly great album.These guys were amazing songwriters, and this album is a prime example of their abilities.No filler material on this album whatsoever, just great songs. Hell, they even throw in a Black Sabbath cover for good measure( War Pigs if you must know).

What a fucking shame these guys broke up.I'd recommend this album in a heartbeat. If you want to buy it, go ahead and buy it, if you dont, then dont, i'm not your fucking boss. Should you choose to buy it, I think you'll be quite impressed.Go ahead and get the damn thing.

Review by Will Jordan

Vulcano-Live! 1985, 1998 Cogumelo Records

These guys never really got the recognition they deserve. They are from Brazil, and after being exposed to earlier Sepultura and some of the Sarcofago material, I'm not suprised, as this band has similarities with both bands. A description of their sound? Hmm... You can call this Black Metal, but throw away all preconceived conceptions of what a BM band is supposed to sound like, or look like. They don't wear corpsepaint, for one. They just have that Possessed/Venom/Bathory sort of look to them. Also, this stuff isn't degenerated as are most of the European and North American BM bands. "Fallen Angel" even breaks out with this classic doom interlude. And some of the leads are like, a less-schooled Kirk Hammett even. The vocals seem more influenced by Possessed than anybody else. Attitude, hellacious mayhem, oldschool HEAVY FUCKIN' METAL influences... This is what should be dominating the BM scene! Not mindless "I'm so evil I only eat human scrotums for dinner" stuff.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Megadeth-Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! (Re-release)-2002 Loud Records

This is the version of the album that Dave Mustaine and company wanted to originally be released, but ran into troubles with cash (heroine problems at the time, and small funding), and record label executives. This features a modified version of the original-intended album cover, which features the classic style Vic Rattlehead artwork, with the skull being lapped over bones and blades, chained to them, and the classic Megadeth logo in some rusty sort of color.

The original 7 tracks are all remastered and remixed, which gives them so much more power. Still just as raw, but now you can actually understand Mustaine's vocals better, and the mix doesn't sound like high-end mush. The guitar tracks are clear as fuck too.

This also has the original bonus track that was deleted from most copies of this album. My other copy doesn't have it. This one features their cover of "These Boots", which was written by Lee Hazelwood, and recorded by Nancy Sinatra. The downside? Lee found their cover of this offensive and forced them to bleep the curse words. Wasn't the Sinatra family involved in the mob? And some 21-ish year old blonde kid in 1985, armed with a guitar is more dangerous? Also, the lyrics aren't printed for this, so you don't even know what is supposed to be said during those bleeps.

This also has 3 brand new bonus tracks, which are once-unreleased (officially) demo versions of "Mechanix", "Last Rites", and "Skull Beneath The Skin". I already had the later two, on some rare Metallica boxset, and they were labeled Metallica-"Rock Me" and "You And Me". Raw, garagy, but seemed to have been touched up with studio wizardry.

Also, I thought this was pretty interesting, but ex-Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland (first 2 albums) came along and did the fixing-up on these tracks in the studio with Dave Mustaine.

This also features liner notes, with explanations, track by track, by Mustaine himself, and more liner notes about the album as a whole, by Mustaine and Anthrax' own, Scott Ian.

This is a godly release, buy or die! Rating: 9 1/2 of 10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Decieverion- Demo 2002

This 3 track CD of melodic Death/Black actually suprised me. I was expecting ultra cheesy typical Black Metal, judging by the demo sleeve, but when I put it on, it turned out to be very Dissection-esque. This stuff is a lot more mature and intricate than most other bands in the Death/Black vein. But at the same time, they need to look towards other bands for influence. You can trace the entire band's sound straight to Dissection alone. The only real difference is, this band doesn't get as ethereal/majestic as Dissection, nor do they get as extreme. Great shit, nonetheless. E-mail: Decieverion_PABM@Hotmail.com. And where the fuck did they get my address, by the way?

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Vonkull- (Demo)

Tracklisting: "Fucked Up", "Emanon", "Chrushing End" (that's how it's spelt on the CD), "Wastelands", "Confined To Logic", and "Broken Promises".

I met two of the guys from this band at the Judas Priest/Anthrax show, in between the two band's sets. There really isn't much info posted on their promo CD, except for the band's contact info and track listing, so I have no clue when this was recorded. These guys formed in 1995 in Florida, and moved up to Delaware in 1996.

The production is pretty damned good for a demo. It could pass for an album. Hell, it's even better than some albums I've heard, production-wise. The band have a classic American Thrash feel to it, ala Sacred Reich, Nuclear Assault etc. The instruments are all played fine, and the vocalist isn't bad, but he seems to be holding back a bit, having a hard time letting it loose and belting them out with full force. Sorta gives you that nostalgia for the days of Headbanger's Ball eh? Good shit, if you wanna contact the band... Vonkull2@aol.com and Vonkull.iuma.com.

For booking info: 302-369-6285, 410-398-8795, or 302-834-0457.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

CANNIBAL CORPSE-VILE-METAL BLADE RECORDS,1996

This was their first record with former Mostrosity vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher after the departure of Chris Barnes to form Six Feet Under.I never really thought Chris Barne's voice was all that great, he sounded rather dry and whispery when he would growl, and he sounded like a prissy 7 year old girl when he screamed, but as far as the music is concerned, I always favored Barnes era Corpse to the newer stuff.This record isnt all that bad, at least the vocals sound a lot better, for this kind of music anyway.While George Fisher is without a doubt fucking brutal,this album still isnt very memorable or anything like that. It has it's moments though.Insanely technical, very very fast, tons of blastbeats, and the typical death metal gore lyrics.I still listen to this every now and then, but it's no Rust In Peace by any means.If you see it in the used bin for a few bucks, go ahead and get it, but I wouldnt pay 15 or 16 bucks for it unless I were a die hard Corpse fan.If it helps, the newer Corpse albums have only gotten better with each release after this, though I still prefer The Bleeding to this.Pretty cool I guess.

Review by Will Jordan

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN-FIRE AND ICE-ELEKTRA RECORDS,1992

I've always considered this to be Yngwie's "pop" album, much like Risk was for Megadeth.A good part of this album is really cool, but some of the songs sound like asshole party rock or stupid "I'm masculine because I'm sensitive" type songs.Overall, the musicianship is great. I dont need to tell you how good Yngwie is, his talent is undeniable, and the vocalist is alright as well, nothing special, kind of typical power metal vocals. As far as riffs go, not all of them really stand out, but these are the kind of solos that make you stop and say " how the fuck did he do that?".When he chooses not too sound all poppy or sensitive he fucking tears it up, like on "Forever is a Long Time" or "No Mercy", and the intro to the title track is killer, and some of the slower dirges like "How Many Miles to Babylon" are good as well, but when Yngwie wants to suck, he really sucks.A lot of these lyrics reek of cheese, but who cares.Did you get into Malmsteen because of his majestic lyrical insight? As always Yngwie's guitar work is great as usual. Despite being Yngwie's worst album ever, it's surprisingly good for being at the bottom of the heap.This has to be one of the best worst albums ever.Go ahead and get it, made for a good listen.

Review by Will Jordan

VARIUOUS ARTISTS-PUNK GOES METAL-FEARLESS RECORDS,2001

The day I got this, me and my friends Kyle & Tenacious B were at this little record store in downtown St. Pete called Daddykool's, which is a punk/alt/emo/hardcore place for the most part, but it also has some metal stuff here and there. Tenacious B pointed this out to me because he didnt have enough cash to buy it, so I payed for half of it and bought a Styx cd and an Enslaved cd for myself, and in return Tenacious would burn me a copy of the cd.I'm not really sure why this is called a punk tribute to metal, I mean,New Found Glory is on it, so it cant be that punk, and there's only a few actual metal songs on here, the rest is mostly hair band covers or classic rock. Out of all the bands on here, I had only heard of about 4 or 5 bands(The Aquabats,Guttermouth,The Ataris,New Found Glory, and AFI), and I only liked AFI. A lot of these songs are without solos, and without some of their original more "technical" parts. Some band called Divit covers "Breakin The Law" by Priest, and AFI does a pretty cool cover of G&R's "My Michelle", and Bigwig do a fairly good cover of Slayer's "War Ensemble", although they kinda brake down into a clean toned bluesy part, but at least the song has fairly accurate soloing and riffing, which is more than I expected from any punk band. NFG's cover of "Heaven isnt too Far Away" by Warrant sucks as expected.A sucky band covering a sucky song by another equally sucky band, nuff said there.

Strung out does a fucking awesome cover of Ozzy's "Bark at the Moon", great riffing and soloing, and it sounds a bit faster and more aggressive as well.This one Really surprised the hell out of me. Link 80 does an ok cover of Metallica's "Harvester of Sorrow".They change the riffs around a bit, add some sort of brass instrument punk and hardcore type vocals, and they leave out any parts of the song that are too technical for them.Still sounds pretty cool though. The band Dynamite boy covers AC/DC's "TNT".....wow, didnt see that one comming(hint of sarcasm).Then there's some band called RX Bandits that cover "Holy Wars" by Megadeth, and holy shit does it suck, they take out anyhting too technical for them and they add some brass instruments and add some reggae stuff to it.Yuck. This guy's voice is utterly fucking stupid too.Also a few songs from White Lion, Motley Crue and Poison.Oh, and the cover of Skid Row's "Youth Gone Wild" is also fairly good, and both Ozzy covers still have their solos intact(!!).

Dont pay any money for this, if you want it, I can have Tenacious B burn a copy for you, but this really isnt anything I'd pay more than a few dollars for, and the only band that I know enough about to recommend from this cd is AFI, I fucking love those guys.No one sounds like these guys, so be sure to check them out.Anyways, proceed at your own risk.

Review by Will Jordan

Metallica- Jason's 2nd Gig -1997-KTS Records

This is obviously an unofficial, bootleg release, and it makes me wonder if Metallica will take these labels to court too. "Sue 'Em All" guys, right? haha!

The sound quality varies a bit on this. For the most part, it sounds like a really warped tape, and you can tell it's a crowd recording. This was from the "Master Of Puppets" tour. I believe this was an unannounced show though. This was the beginning of the end. Sure they made a classic like "...And Justice For All" after this, but Metallica were the Untouchables before this, and when listening to this live material with Jason (not that I blame him for all of it), it's easy to pick on them. Loss of focus onstage... They must have started "Master Of Puppets" 4 times before actually playing the song through, solidly. Jason's bass part in "For Whom The Bell Tolls" has NO DISTORTION, NO WAH. What the fuck?! What a fuckin' idiot. It has probably the rest of the band's idea though, knowing them. Another thing to bitch about is them being so predictable, with their setlist. This is pretty boring I think. It gets better soundwise towards the end though. It also features "Battery", "Sanitarium", "Am I Evil?/Damage Inc.", "Creeping Death", "Whiplash", "Seek & Destroy", Kirk's guitar solo, and some compilation track of riffs and little musical interludes the band has worked on. It was labeled as specifically 1982, but judging by the band's distortion on some of the riffs, I think some of them may have been from a few years forward.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Kreator-Terrible Certainty -19870-Combat Records

This sounds quite a bit different from the Kreator material I'm used to (which is their somewhat recent cover of Venom's "Witching Hour" and a copy of "Renewal" on cassette). The vocals are raspier. The material is definetly better than that on "Renewal". There are some wicked guitar harmonies on this, wild leads, blast beats... It's actually starting to remind me a bit of the '80's Sepultura material.

Rating: 6 1/2 of 10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Forced Entry-Uncertain Future -1989-Combat Records

The album opens with "Bludgeon", which features a melodic lead in the beginning, and ends up a somewhat fast Thrash song. One thing I've enjoyed about Forced Entry is their high level of musicianship, and they know how to use it (in other words, they don't display a vulgar display of musicianship, such as Dream Theatre etc.).

The production is tight as a virgin's pussy. I never even heard of this producer either. He should have more recognition for this shit. Rick Parashar ring a bell?

Compared to the other Forced Entry disc I reviewed, this one is pretty much in the same vein, but better.

Rating: 7/10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Benediction-Transcend The Rubicon -1993-Nuclear Blast Records

Benediction, another band that gets labeled "Grind", even by themselves. This whole "Grind" thing, I think, is pretty rediculous though. Every time I hear a band that people call "Grind", I just think "yeah okay, tell me how this is fucking different from Death Metal". It's not.

Regardless of the stupid little genre tag placed on this, it's quality material. I'm not really into the vocals, as they are typical brutal Death Metal-style, but the production and the instrumentation on this make up for it. The drumming fits everything perfectly, which is something you usually won't hear, coming from my mouth (or keyboard). I think I just may be prejudiced against drummers sometimes. The riffs are crunchy, low-tuned power chord skull-fucks! I'm pretty sure it's tuned only down to D or C#, for those of you who play guitar/bass. The leads actually have melody to them too, and you usually don't see that with bands this extreme. I didn't think too much of this at first, then I turned my volume up to 10, and said "holy fuck!". So if you come across any Benediction, make sure you fuckin' crank it!

Rating: 7 1/2 of 10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Bathory- Blood On Ice -1996-Black Mark Productions

I've ran into quite a few metalheads who never really got into any black metal post-Venom, or just never liked Bathory. That's when I recommend this album. The long lost album (it was being recorded over a period of a few years, I think, and finally released in '96. Feels so long ago, seeing the ad for this in Metal Maniacs)...

I think this could have more appeal to Power Metal fans actually. It sort of has an Iron Maiden-meets-Manowar type thing going on, but with a moderate Black Metal feel, moreso towards the standard Bathory guitar sound. The vocals are clean for the most part (maybe there is a small section with screeching vocals?).

I was already exposed to "The Lake", "The Stallion", and "Gods Of Thunder Of Wind And Of Rain" due to the "Jubelium Vol. 3" CD. These other songs are somewhere between those and that of the songs on "Hammerheart" I think. Highlight: "The Woodwoman".

Rating: 9/10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Saxon- The Eagle Has Landed Part 2 -1998-CMC International

Ahhhh... Saxon... SO FUCKING CLASSIC! If you can put down your Darkthrone and Malevolent Creation albums just for one second, and think back fondly to the 1980's, when most of us were kids, and remember what some of the music sounded like, and what the metalheads looked like, you might recall a Saxon song or two, or remember your older cousin wearing a Saxon backpatch on his denim jacket.

They were always a great band, and always will be. Hell, they started in the 1970's, and this live album was recorded in 1995 and Biff's vocals STILL sound the same! Still capable, to this day, of rocking a stadium with memorable, catchy, and nostalgic Heavy Metal anthems, the way bands DON'T make them these days, not even the Power Metal bands. If one band can put me on a nostalgic trip for the 1980's, although I haven't heard them at the time, it's Saxon. Just the spirit of the band makes you wanna stop being so serious and angry and dismal for a bit, and just pump your fist and sing along, all cheesy in your Thunderbird (the car, ya know?).

Let's get off the time warp now, and realize that this was 1995! Great sound here, crystal clear, yet raw and loud. The band manage to play the songs very similar to the original recordings, but modify some aspects to their current sound, which basically is just tighter and a bit more distorted. The set-list left a bit to be desired, I must admit. I'd have been satisfied totally if they did the entire "Denim And Leather" album! We do have a tasty lil morsel here, for you Yngwie Malmsteen fans. He guests on the title-track of that very album, with a guitar solo. The only other track off that album is "Princess Of The Night". I'm not familiar with most of these tracks, because I only own 3 Saxon albums that were released at the point of this recording. By the way, this is a double album. The only other track I'm familiar with is "Crusader", which was done with excellence. But where is "Motorcycle Man"??? "Just Let Me Rock"??? "Midnight Rider"??? "And The Bands Played On"???

Anyways, this is a great live album, and if you can appreciate Saxon, then this is a must-have. In my opinion, it goes right up there with live classics like Holocaust-"Live- Hot Curry and Wine" and Iron Maiden-"Live After Death".

Buy or die!!!

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

New Wave Of British Heavy Metal '79 Revisited-(1990 Metal Blade)

Finally! This has been sought out by me for half a decade, and thanks to Alex from the AOL Metal Chat, I now possess this masterpiece of a compilation!

Featuring liner notes from Geoff Barton (who dubbed the scene it's name) and Lars Ulrich (if you ask "who?", then you shouldn't be here), in the albums sleeve, this double disc is a time capsule for some of the movements greatest bands and memories.

This has a very rare version of Iron Maiden's "Sanctuary" which was recorded in late 1979 for the BBC's "Friday Rock Show", but never released prior to this. The lineup features: Paul Di'anno on vocals, Steve Harris on bass, Doug Sampson on drums, and Dave Murray and Tony Parsons on guitar.

Actually, I was already familiar with most of these tracks by the time this finally landed in my hands. Blitzkrieg's "Blitzkrieg", Diamond Head's "Helpless" and "It's Electric", Holocaust's "Death Or Glory", Trespass' "One Of These Days", which was also on the "Metal For Muthas Vol. 2" compilation, Venom's "Angel Dust" which I am listening to now, Jaguar's "Back Street Woman", Angel Witch's "Extermination Day", Vardis' "If I Were King", Praying Mantis' "Captured City", Black Axe' "Red Lights", A II Z's "Treason", Witchfinder General's "Witchfinder General", Girlschool's "Demolition Boys", Hollow Ground's "Fight With The Devil", Weapon's "Set The Stage Alight", Samson's "Vice Versa", White Spirit's "Cheetah", and Saxon's "Motorcycle Man". Damn, I bought this for 10 songs I've never heard, and 1 obscure version of a song I've been familiar with. Of those 10, we've got "Sledgehammer" by Sledgehammer, "Killers" by Tygers Of Pan Tang, "I'm No Fool" by Gaskin, "Leaving Nadir" by Witchfynde, "Getcha Rocks Off" by Def Leppard, "White Lightning" by Paralex, "Don't Need Your Money" by Raven, "Ambitions" by Dragster, "S.S. Giro" by Fist and "Eye Of The Storm" by Sweet Savage.

Although I was born at the end of this movement, I sort of feel there, in spirit when listening to this stuff. Basically everything I want to say about this, is said by Lars in the liner notes. As Lars, I can appreciate the innocense in the metal scene at the time, before using genre tags was so over-done. It was just HEAVY METAL back then, be it the sonic sludgery of Witchfinder General, the noisy, fast-paced, grunting Venom, the built up frustration of Holocaust 'ala "Death Or Glory", or the Led Zeppelin gone "Kill 'Em All"-type-sound of Diamond Head. Back before the trends were aplenty, back when bands were unique and original, and not just clones of big-name bands. This double album is worth your cash, if you are into classic metal, then make sure you own this.

Rating: Best Compilation Ever Released

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Forced Entry- As Above, So Below -1991-Relativity Records

Very few bands can pull off using technical playing, and actually sounding good with it. Forced Entry are one of them. The vocals of Tony Benjamins are sort of a shouted, Thrash Metal style, which suits the music, because for the most part it is Thrash. The production is fine, utilizing razor-sharp guitar distortion, full-sounding, pounding drums, and bass with full clarity. If you are into Atheist, Megadeth, and later Death, then you should be able to get into this, to some extent.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Perverseraph- Savage Messiah-1997, 1998-Gothic Records

The record label makes me wanna throw up, haha! These guys are from my hometown (that'd be Philadelphia, PA). I've met these guys on July 4th, 2000, and you can read about that in my Bloodstorm-"Death By The Stormwizard" review, which speaks of when I met both bands at the time. I finally found this CD at some record store (the Record Spot, I believe it's called). Featuring Alex Bouks (guitar and vocals), formerly of Goreaphobia, and Frank Gamble (drums), also of Bloodstorm, this 4-song disc is full of speedy blastbeats, distorted noise, and crushing power chords. The vocals sound like Alex, err...Shaitan, I should say, has been crucified by his throat or something... Ouch!

Anyway, for contact, Perverseraph; 5010 Ditman St.; Philadelphia., PA 19124 U.S.A.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Sepultura-Morbid Visions/ Bestial Devastation -1985, 1986-Roadrunner Records

I wish Sepultura would have gotten more recognition for this stuff, than their weaker material like "Roots" and "Chaos A.D.". This is some wicked, wretched, noisy, fast, raw metal here. Alongside other Brazilian acts like Vulcano, and Sarcofago, old Sepultura blended thrash, death, and black into a mayhemic blurry of speedy sound, like Possessed, but uglier. I wish I could force all the little mallrat nu-"metal" nerds who adore Soulfly to listen to this shit, as I beat them with a shovel, muahahahaha!!!!

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Angel Witch-Live -1990-Metal Blade Records

This is a great live album, but it does have it's downsides. One being that here and there, in the middle of a song, the band seem to lose focus a bit, and go off on some musical tangent, with riffs that aren't in the song, or to have the audience sing along, while vocalist Kevin Heybourne just sits back and plays guitar. That is one thing about live performances that really urks me. But other than that, I really found nothing wrong with it

The setlist is killer, featuring mostly songs from their debut/self-titled album, with the exception of "Extermination Day" and "Flight 19" (err... was that on the first album?). We've got the classics here, "Angel Witch", "Confused", "White Witch", "Angel Of Death"...

The production is crystal clear, yet nice 'n heavy. Kevin's vocals sound exactly the same as on record, only you can tell that he sacrifices a bit when playing live, due to the fact that he only gets one shot, whereas in the studio, if he fucks up, he can just redo it.

Great artwork, great sound, great set-list, above average performance...

Rating: BUY OR DIE!!! Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Hypocrisy- 10 Years Of Chaos And Confusion -2001-Nuclear Blast Records

This double-disc anthology is a bit to grasp, as it showcases the band throughout their career, going through changes in sound and production, and while listening to the second disc, which is full of demos, and one "new studio song", I am sort of glad Hypocrisy have evolved into a more sophisticated beast. Still capable of delivering the blow, but this time there is more thought behind that swift kick to the jaw. When comparing the demos from 91-92 to the first disc of collected songs from their albums, you are glad they've changed from their earlier days to become what they have become, adding more depth to their music. The demos are pretty much just typical brutal death metal, massively lacking originality. And that "new studio song" sounds more like Mallcore gayness than Hypocrisy. What the fuck is going on here Tagtgren?

Only having "Hypocrisy" prior to this collection, I am now exposed to so much more now. "The Fourth Dimension" belongs on that very album, as do random other tracks on the first disc. The more ethereal, melodic, atmospheric stuff is the more original-sounding material here. This is well-worth your cash, as though it only costed me $18.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Beherit-The Oath Of Black Blood -1992-J. L. America

Beherit have more a reputation as a Black Metal band, but this material sounds more like Death Metal. Deep, bass-y production, and a low gutteral growling voice. I guess it's the more Satanic-sounding topics here? There is a bit slower stuff on this... Damn... ugh... That about wraps it up here. Nothing special; you aren't missing out much here...

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Bloodstorm-Pestilence From The Dragonstar-1999-Soul Sold Records

This is definetly an improvement from "Death By The Storm Wizard". The production is so much clearer, yet still keeping everything raw and hellacious. Things still seem a bit one-dimensional here, basing this on pure, distorted, wicked black-thrash-death, but I am starting to notice a bit more different influences on this, whereas "Death By The Storm Wizard" seemed more like a straight-forward early Bathory influence. "Successor To The Plague Gods" sounds more influenced by bands like Venom, Hellhammer, and early Celtic Frost, moreso than Bathory, although the vocals are Bathory-ish. This is probably the stand-out track, being the most "catchy" (does that term apply to stuff this heavy? just checkin'). And for the first time that I've ever heard, Bloodstorm features a lead! With a lot of the riffs on this, I am sort of reminded of Possessed- "Seven Churches" a bit. The Lovecraft-ish lyrics are still here too by the way. Good shit here.

Rating-7/10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Anvil Bitch-Rise To Offend-1991-Kraze Records

I am borrowing this album from an old friend of the band, J. L. Glover, for those involved in the Philly-area metal scene circa late 80's-early 90's, you might know her name.

Mildly fast Thrash stuff here, which sounds influenced by Exodus (Bonded By Blood) and Onslaught (In Search Of Sanity). The lead vocals are pretty clean and the vocalist (not noted here) does the occasional high-pitched scream.

The drumming is pretty much your standard Thrash drumming, but has a sort of bad sound to it, probably due to low budget production.

The songs tend to be extremely short, which is odd for a Thrash band of this style, and they don't show much diversity. I wouldn't call this godly, but I wouldn't say it sucks. It's just not anything groundbreaking, or new. But for those drunken, rowdy nights with your friends, throw this album on and you're all set to go.

The status of this band: currently disbanded, and became 2 other bands, but if you wish to contact any of these guys, try to contact me, and I'll talk to a few of the people who were involved with these guys at the time, and see if I can help you get a copy.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Exciter-Blood of Tyrants-2001-Osmose

Ugh...why man...why!

Get Dan Beehler back behind the kit and sing,get Allan Johnson back on bass,and release the next TRUE masterpiece of Exciter-metal. These guys used to be so fucking great...but this is just "The Dark Command" part 2 and the same flaws still exist...lackluster songs,horrible choruses,and just plain boredom. And again...a few songs stand out...not nothing truly great...and I didn't expect this from Exciter again.

If you could somehow record the feeling of apathy...it might sound like this.

Rating-3/10-Review by Chris O'Brien

Overlorde-2000 demo-2000 (duh!)-Self Financed

I picked this CD up at Powermad this past year,and while I had heard of this band,I never heard them before. So...before they hit stage,I figured "OK...I'll pick this up and give it a listen when I get back to the hotel room" and probably forget about it.

Well...it's about six months later and I love this fucking thing. The songs here are well played,well written, and it is really worth the price. "Blackness" kicks it off and from then until the end of "Metal Madness",you're under this bands spell. My favorite song on this is Blackness...but "Hell Have No Fury","Ogre King",and the aforementioned "Metal Madness" are excellent in their own right. The real standout here is the vocal performance of Bobby Lucas (ex-Seven Witches)...goddamn...what a fucking killer voice this guy has. Easily one of the best voices in power metal today barnone.

I have this band linked on our "Band Links" page,so go check it out...you won't be disappointed. Better yet...if you get the chance to see this band live,you owe it to yourself to check them out and get crushed.

Rating-8/10-Review by Chris O'Brien

Tyrant-Legions of the Dead-1985-Metal Blade

Man...what is it with these Metal Blade albums from the mid eighties I've reviewed today? I don't know...but this album is definetly the bottom of the fucking barrel...that's for damn sure.

The production sucks,the songs are a bit too long,and is that Nigel Tufnel from Spinal Tap playing guitar on this? Oh...and what a cover...these guys standing around in a cemetery...POSING AROUND A FUCKING OLDSMOBILE! At least the car is good looking...but I have a question. Now...if you call your album "Legions of the Dead" and shoot a photo for the album in a cemetary...wouldn't it make a slight bit of sense to pose in front of a hearse?

But I don't buy albums because of the cover (hey...I bought this,didn't I?)...I buy them for the songs...and this album is full of forgettable ones. In fact,they are so forgettable that I can't tell you the names of them...the only one which I truly enjoyed from start to finish was "Warriors of Metal" because I like Nigel's riff in it. Also,the vocallist doesn't know if he wants to sing high or low...he sucks at doing both,but if your going to suck at something,suck at one thing at least. The rythym is alright...but Nigel and the schizo vocallist ruin this for me.

If you like to torture yourself by listening to crap (which I do from time to time so that I appreciate the stuff I like enven more)...pick this up along with "The Gruesome Years" by Impaler...they both pretty much suck the same.

Rating-2/10-Review by Chris O'Brien

Sodom-M16-2001-SPV

Sodom are a band I enjoy,but am not a die-hard fan of (despite halving about half their albums.). I always thought of Sodom as being the "weakest link" of the German Thrash Trimulative (Kreator is number one, Destruction two)...but despite that feeling,this album is pretty fucking rockin'.

Lets put it this way...if you hear the song "Napalm In The Morning" and don't start headbanging or even singing out the chorus...then you have some problems...because the song is a masterpiece...along with just about everything on this album. Other notable songs include "Among the wierd cong","Little Boy",and the title track,"M-16".

The only problems I have with this album are that it is a concept album (about the Viet Nam war. I assume they got alot of info from books and things like that, but how the fuck do you write a concept album about an enitre fucking war which waged for seven years? Don't ask me!) and why did they include a version of "Surfin' Bird"? God...I HATE that fucking retarded song...and Sodom doing it is rather horrible (not like their cover of the godly Thin Lizzy's "Cold Sweat". THAT'S a fuckng great cover.) Other than those few problems...this album is kickass.

Rating-7.5/10-Review by Chris O'Brien

Kreator-Violent Revolution-2001-SPV

What a comeback album. This is easily the best album the band has done since "Coma of Souls" and that ain't bulshit. The album kicks off with "Reconquering the Throne" and it sets the course for the entire album...old-school Kreator with a bit of experimentation (no...not techno bullshit or gothich depressingly slow "My Dying Bride" worship). If the song doesn't convince you that Kreator is back...then you were never a Kreator fan in the first place and you should be lynched for denying this band.

Other kickass tunes here are "Servant in Heaven,King In Hell","Bitter Sweet Revenge","Ghetto War", the title track...and just about every song here is a masterpiece.

Alright...you might not take this review seriously. If you know me well,you could say I'm a "mark" for anything put out by this band...in other words,I like almost EVERYTHING Kreator has done (except for Endorama. Had it and returned it the same day. Didn't even bothering copying it...why waste the blank tape?) and this is no different...so of course I'm going to hype this album...but this album truly is a kickass expression of old-school thrash and a dose of true Kreator for other marks like myself. BUY OR DIE!!!!!

Rating-9/10-Review by Chris O'Brien

Nasty Savage-Nasty Savage-1985-Metal Blade

This album fucking rules. Nasty Savage fucking rules. If you don't have this,go get it. What the fuck are you waiting for? Don't read my mindless bullshit...get the fuck off the computer,and get this album by any means. Kill your friend for his copy,kill your mom,steal some cash,and buy this album. Sell your car and buy this album.

Alright...don't kill your mom (unless she refuses to give you cash to buy this...and that's if you don't have a job and live off of an allowance) and don't sell your car...but I am dead serious...this album is a great piece of art...and if anyone tells you different,they can go to hell.

The playing,the production,the songs...it's all there. Kick-ass songs like "Fear Beyond The Vision","Metal Knights","The Morgue", and "Dungeon of Pleasure" are excellent examples of the power the U.S. metal scene had in the mid-eighties. I have absolutley no problems with this album...one of the few I listen to almost every day (or when I find the time). YOU NEED THIS!

Rating-10/10-Review by Chris O'Brien

Hallows Eve-Tales of Terror-Metal Blade-1985

Looking from the laughably bad cover of this album,you might be compelled to put it back on the CD rack and forget that you have ever seen the fucking thing...and if you were to do that...YOU'D BE A FUCKING IDIOT!

This album is an under-rated speed/thrash metal feast...but I can see why many people might not know about it. When Metal Blade was re-releasing everything under the sun a few years ago (for example,EVERY Metal Massacre album and other albums which no-one bought the first time around. I'm suprised "Easy Prey" by Predator didn't see the light of day again.) I think this might have been re-released as well. Seeing as how I found the tape cheap (and I listen to my walkman more than my stereo),I didn't expect much from it.

The first song "Plunging to Megadeath" is pretty fucking wicked with the vocallist doing a kinda proto-death vocal over it...growling and letting me music speak for itself. On the next song,the vocals are a bit higher up (this guy could hit the notes easily) and the music is still rip-roaringly awesome speed metal. "Horror Show" and "The Mansion" combine to make the end of the first side one of the greatest album sides in speed metal history. "There Are No Rules", a punk-influenced song,kicks off side two convincingly, then comes "Valley of the Dolls",a short instrumental which leads into "Metal Merchants" and finally, "Halows Eve winds the album out.

While I enjoy the metal,there isn't nearly enough of it here...in other words,this album is pretty short. The sound isn't all that great either...like a really good demo sound to it. Overall...I like it,despite the short running time and production problems. I wasn't too keen on picking this up in the first place (and if I didn't buy it cheap,I wouldn't have)...but I'm glad I did.

Rating-8/10-review by Chris O'Brien

Onslaught-in search of sanity -1989-ffrr records

They covered Angel Witch!!! This features the Angel Witch classic- "Confused", which is sped up a bit, but performed just fine. The vocals are that of Steve Grimmett, of Grim Reaper, and he is obviously more a Power Metal singer, in contrast with this Thrash Metal band.

This is some pretty tight shit here, and a lot of the songs are pretty long, ranging in about 7 minutes, which is perfect for me. "Blood Upon The Ice", "Confused", and the title-track are the highlights. Get this if you like classic Thrash/Power Metals. It kinda reminds me of the bands on the "Demons" soundtrack.

Rating: 7/10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Morbid Angel-covenant- 1993-giant records

Pretty extreme Florida death metal here. I'm sure 1/5 of you reading this probably already own this, but I felt compelled to review it anyway. Now that I'm listening to this, I recall them playing quite a few of these songs live when I saw them in December. That would be "Rapture", "World Of Shit (Promised Land)", "Pain Divine", "Angel Of Disease".

Although this was co-produced by Flemming Rasmussen, the production is NOTHING like the Metallica album(s) he did. It isn't all that good here. The guitar sound is pretty weak if you ask me, but the feeling is there, and that's what matters most. It seems this album/band have influenced hundreds of other bands, because over 75 % of Death Metal bands I hear, seem to attempt this material, and end up sounding redundant, boring, and a dime-a-dozen. I'd like to see Morbid Angel try something new, their style has been ripped by others way too much.

Evil, aggressive, yet well-put-together stuff here.

Rating: 7/10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Marduk-obedience- 2001-century media records

I was first exposed to the sound of Marduk via their contributions of "In Conspiracy With Satan" and "Women Of Dark Desires" on the No Fashion Records "Tribute To Bathory". The latter track was so full of aggression, and the performance was like beating somebody over and over again on the head with a 20 pound mallet. It was great. I sought out for some Marduk, and while this is a good album, the writing behind it doesn't match up with that of Quorthon's (Bathory). Another reason I decided to buy this was because of the cover of Celtic Frost's "Into The Crypt Of Rays". The lyrics to "Funeral Bitch" are pretty cool. They sort of remind me of the scene in "The Dunwich Horror" where Wilbur Whately has the girl atop the stone table, ready for sacrifice.

The last 3 tracks are all live. Now what is with Death/Black Metal vocalists speaking in the style of their vocals, to the crowd between songs? It's like, "alright man, the song is over. Stop growling now.", muahaha!

Rating: 7/10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Sarcofago-rotting -1989 congumelo records

One word to describe this album... "RAAAAAWWWW!!!". The drumming (courtesy of M. Joker) on this is like, you gave Speedy Gonzalez cocaine, and really pissed him off. The vocals of original Sepultura vocalist Wagner Antichrist are wild, frenzied, and wretched as all hell. I'd consider this Black Metal, but in a more Venom-derivative way. You really can't compare this to what is generally known to Black Metal today. Hellacious, balls-out mayhem! I've never heard a band this raw and noisy. When you get trashed and wanna thrash, put this album on.

Best track: "Sex, Drinks, & Metal". That about sums it up like "Women, Leather, & Hell".

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Dio-holy diver- 1983-Warner bros. records

To be honest, when i first heard Dio, I wasn't a fan. I was given a copy of "Strange Highways" and I didn't like it, and I taped over it. Then I heard some song on WYSP's "Rockers" radio show, and it was some melodic thing about flowers or something, and that further created more distance between me and Dio material. Then I heard "Holy Diver" a few times, and it kind of grew on me. And upon seeing the video for it, I was like "whoa! This is fucking classic!". Indeed it is.

Featuring Vivian Cambell, formerly of Sweet Savage, it's no suprise there are some ass-kicking NWOBHM-ish riffs in here. The Halford/Dickinson-ish vocals of Ronnie James Dio make the music that much more full of passion. His vocal range and harmonies are incredible. This may be a bit cheesy to most, but hey, it's classic '80's metal, and I love it, and there's nothing wrong with a little cheese. It's just bands like Manowar and Grim Reaper that take it too far. Buy this, it's GODLY.

Rating: 8/10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Dissection-storm of the light's bane -1995-nuclear blast records

Combining the speed, power, and ferocity of German Thrash acts like Sodom, Destruction, and Kreator, with the uneasy melodies and harmonies of the Danish Mercyful Fate, and the epic Black Metal of Sweden's (homelands of Dissection) Bathory, Dissection stormed onto the scene with a dark, dismal, melodic, yet crushing sound in the mid-90's. I still remember when this album was new, although I didn't own this until recently.

"Night's Blood" is a fast neck-wrecker at first, but slows down with an acoustic passage, only to return to distorted tones, and Godly melodies. This is very much like some of the Hypocrisy material. "Unhallowed" is a demonic, melodic, atmospheric Black Metal delve into sonic sorcery!

This sort of thing may not hook you right away, but given time, this will blow you away. It even defeats Bathory material. I'm stunned with this. Fans of Death, Black, Thrash, and Power Metals should be able to get into this, as it combines aspects of all 4.

Oh, and the lay-out/artwork is enough alone, to kill for (nevermind the pun, haha! Yes, that was a reference to Jon's jailtime for his murdering of a homosexual).

If you hate Black Metal, let this guide you into it. This is not pathetic Willow Wisp-ish stuff.

Rating 9/10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Saint Vitus-c.o.d. -1992-hellhound/nuclear blast

"C.O.D." stands for "Children Of Doom", just in case you are all wondering. This is very much like Witchfinder General or Black Sabbath. The title track is a very doom-y anthem, as you'd expect. "Planet Of Judgement" is an eerie, slow, sludgy slab of doom, with a somewhat Celtic Frost vibe. I forget what Frost song it sounds like... The eerie thing, is the way the vocals follow the guitar-line, and give the guitars a very vocalistic quality, very much like Black Sabbath did with "Electric Funeral".

This material didn't catch onto me right away, suprisingly. It grew from listen to listen, and as I listen now, it starts to sound more like the two afore-mentioned bands than I realized. Every song filled with dreary passion, and stomach-churning, twisting guitar riffs, and clean vocals. This is definetly worth your money. Hats off to Rock N Roll + on South St. for my first ever Saint Vitus album.

Rating: 8/10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Destruction- the anti-christ- nuclear blast records-2001

Ahhh!!!! Damn good album full of hellacious, anus-ripping Thrash Metal! Out of the big 3 German thrash bands, I think Destruction have impressed me the most (sorry Chris, hahaha!). The production job is perfectly done by Peter Tagtgren, of the Hypocrisy camp (who make GODLY music). This is one of the few exceptions to the whole thing I tend to dislike about most thrash/death/black metal bands- - - "not enough versatility within the band's music". DESTRUCTION DOESN'T NEED IT! I mean, through-out their career they do, but they can actually pull off an album full of pure aggression, like most other's can't. There are no classical-esque passages. There are no bluesy solos. There are no jazzy scales. PURE FUCKING THRASH METAL! You see? Oh, and what is with these German thrashers, and their similar vocals?

Best songs: "Thrash 'Till Death", "Nailed To The Cross", and "Bullets From Hell".

Rating: 8/10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

BRUCE DICKINSON-THE BEST OF BRUCE DICKINSON-SANCTUARY/METAL-IS 2001

Well, the title pretty much spells things out for you right off the bat, this is "The Best of Bruce Dickinson".Thirteen tracks, two of them all new, and the rest being various songs spanning his solo career.

Not bad.Not bad at all.If you are unfamiliar with Bruce's solo work, and want to a hear a little bit of each album, this definitely aint a bad place to start.Bruce's albums have only gotten better and better with each release. His solo work started out a bit light hearted and in the traditional, straight ahead hard rock/ heavy metal vein, but have gotten a little darker, a little heavier, and a little more serious with each release( listen to Tattooed Millionaire and then throw on something like Skunkworks, or The Chemical Wedding and you'll see exactly what I mean).

Well, as I was saying, each of Bruce's releases always manage to top their predecessors, at least in my opinion, and judging by the two new tracks, it looks like his follow up to The Chemical Wedding will be no exception."Broken" sounds kinda Maiden-ish,and dare I say it, kinda Papa Roach-ish( well, Papa Roach ripped off Maiden in that one song they did, something about a resort i think it's called....Hell, I dont know), but I could give a rat's ass.The song is great, Bruce's voice is great, nuff said. The other new song "Silver Wings", is also a great song, nice & heavy, jus the way I like it. Well, there isnt much else I can say about the guy that hasnt been said before.Man, what an unbelievable voice, just fucking great, he just puts so much power and feeling into his voice, I mean, the guy's got a gift.This definatly would not be a waste of money, so go ahead and get it. Also some nice liner notes by Bruce.Ok, stop reading this and buy the album.

Review by Will Jordan

SEPULTURA - BESTIAL DEVESTATION/MORBID VISIONS - ROADRUNNER RECORDS 1985 & 1986

This is a combination of their first record( more like an EP, which was a split with Overdose) and their first full length, Morbid Visions.

Well, the first 8 songs are from Morbid Visions, and....um..., well, at least it isnt Soulfly.The production is pretty damn raw, like Hellhammer or early Sodom, and this can be good or bad depending on how you look at it.Max's vocals on this suck....a lot, and his vocals on the Bestial Devestation portion are better, but not by much.Probably Max's worse vocal performance ever....wait a minute, forgot about Soufly.Ok, I feal a little better about this album now, but Max still hurls up a big steaming pile of shite on this one.

A good majority of the music on Morbid Visions sounds the same, some of it is ok. I saw Sepultura perform "Troops of Doom" on their "Under Siege" home video, and it didnt sound too bad live( they also re-recorded the song for the Schizophrenia album)."War" is an alright song too, sounds like they just flat out stole a riff from Slayer's "Hell Awaits".They also seem to borrow a little from "Die By The Sword" on the song "Crucifixion".So, it's safe to say that they borrow a little from their influences at the time, like Slayer, Hellhammer and Celtic Frost( Morbid Tales, Morbid Visions, c'mon).

Now, on to Bestial Devestation. This is definatly better than morbid Visions. Max's vocals still suck, but the guitarwork here is an improvement compared to Morbid Visions.This of course is Sepultura's first actual release, so one might think that they would get better on the second album, but this wasnt the case.Anyways, the songs dont all sound quite so similar on this portion, and the guitar solos are a little better.Keep in mind this was before Andreas Kisser joined the band.I'm sure this is something a die-hard Sepultura fan would get, but it really isnt all that great.Nothing you would pay more than 10 or 15 bucks for, ya know?Your money would be better spent on say, Schizophrenia or Beneath The Remains,but it's a somewhat interesting( and funny at times) listen to see how they went from this to Against and Nation or whatever the new one is called.

Review by Will Jordan

AT THE GATES - SLAUGHTER OF THE SOUL - EARACHE 1995

This is considered by many people to be not only a triumph for Swedish metal, but ATG's finest( and unfortunatly, their last, aside from a compilation and a re-issue or two) release to date. Hmn, where to start.Well, the vocals of Tomas Lindberg were one of the things that grabbed my attention first.Yes, it's fair to say he's a death metal singer, but instead of seeing how low he can grunt or how loud he can bark, he just seems to ride on his emotions, therefore comming across with a little more conviction in his voice than say, Chris Barnes or Will from Mortician.He sounds somewhat acidic and raspy, but very pissed , on the border of lunacy.

Now, Lindberg's conviction would be a waste if he were singing something like AC's "Kyle From Incantation Has a Moustache",but luckily, this is not the case. The lyrics on this album add to and help Lindberg's case.

The music on this album is quite melodic, but stil manages to come across pretty damn vicious.Having a guy like Tomas Lindberg will more than likely help to make someone's music sound heavy, but even if these songs were all just instrumentals, they would still crush.Very technical guitar work,and not to bad on solos either.Of course the best solo on this album just happens to be the one that King Diamond's Andy LaRocque contributes to the song "Cold".Just a great,complex, yet pissed off sounding solo.

Well, there isnt much else I can say.Lots of creative ideas going on here, and without a doubt something worth getting, seeing as I couldnt really imagine many people being disappointed by this.Check it out people.

Review by Will Jordan

Human/Chopcore-Split Demo CD

Tracklisting: Human-"Emptiness", "Suicide", and "Far From Expired";

Chopcore-"Bloody Little Mess", "Your Dream, My Loss", and "Twentyninethirty".

This starts off with a very interesting Possessed intro. The vocals are dueling, one a very low death metal growl, the other a somewhat thrash-metal voice, or kinda like Quorthon 'ala "Immaculate Pinetreeroad 930". Clean but agonizingly screamed at the same time. The lead guitar is very Egyptian-sounding, and is often-times harmonized. This band BETTER get some recognition, because out of the few unsigned bands I've heard lately, these seem to be the most talented, along with Kadath (Oklahoma Thrashers) and Powercage (Classic Power Metal from Norway). Very Dave Lombardo-influenced drum rolls in here. Every member in this band stands out, except for maybe the bassist (I always had a hard time picking out the bassists in the mix). This is all from just the first song. Now the second song blew me away! This is very much like "Solitude", "Planet Caravan" (Black Sabbath, respectively)-type melodic, ethereal kind of songs. You really can't even say this is a metal song, which to me, is friggin' great. I think it's great to see a metal band do a song that's not metal (long as it's not sell-out material, which this is not). I can see different influences in this, being soundtracks, Pink Floyd, Type O Negative (with the melody)... The vocals are all clean on this. This is their best work as far as what I've heard on this. The last song is a Death/Morbid Angel influenced crunchy blaster (CRANK IT MOTHA-FUCKAS!).

Chopcore (I'm pretty sure I've heard of them in the AOL metal chat before) come off very sludgy and slow on their opening song, "Bloody Little Mess", with stupid hardcore and death metal vocals. I don't like this band so far at all. They try to be intricate by throwing some stupid sounding clean riff, in the middle of this fast part, and the timing is totally different. The lyrics are something like "...and you in that pretty little dress! I wanna fuck you!". The second song, I let play for like 20 seconds, and already it sucks and sounds too stupid and very much like the first one. Talentless... The third song, isn't even on this, hahahaha! For some reason, this is on 8 seperate tracks. They have lil soundscapes in between some songs, and in between both bands. If Human weren't on this CD, it'd end up in the trash

Contact: Human @ 609-561-8590

Chopcore @ www.geocities.com/chopcore or Chopcore@hotmail.com

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Anhedonia-2001 Demo

Ahh... Metal show freebies... Gotta love 'em. My first impression was, "oh great, another standard brutal death metal band in need of creativity", but the second song made me think "hmm... maybe they have something different brewing in this, after-all". "First" starts off with a clean guitar section, which anticipates you, and leaves you with an un-easy feeling. It has a beautiful, yet dreadful guitar lead over it, then all the sudden, the black/death riffing comes in, and turns the song around. "Sworn To None" starts off with a very Venom-ish guitar riff, but the song itself is more a fast, angry Deicide-ish plunge into death. The lead guitar on "Unsaved" is very excellant, and makes me wish the vocalist would try a few different things, to give this band more flavor, and make them stand out a lot more. "Nerotoxin" starts off sounding like a beefed up version of something on "Peace Sells..." but steps into more familiar territory once again. Interesting stuff here, and I hope they continue using outside (of death/black metal) influences. If they did, they'd surely stand out in the scene.

Contact them at (717)-295-1064 or www.anhedonia.tv

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Divine Rapture-Promo Sample 2001

Track Listing: 1. "Affliction"; 2. "Funeral Mist"; and 3. "My Demon, Your Dove".

This was engineered and mixed by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel) at Dimensional Sound Studios, in Tampa Florida. I was given this at the Morbid Angel, Exhumed, Deicide, Zyklon show on Dec. 16th, '01, by a member of the band (Mike, I hear his name is).

It doesn't seem to cover much ground, or feature much diversity, it's basically standard brutal, Florida-influenced death metal (although the band are located in Chester Heights, PA area). You've got your blast beats, occasional harmonies, single note passages, wild leads, and deep growling. They definetly have talent, but personally, I think they could use a bit more dynamics, meaning clean guitar passages, clear vocals, and a bit more melody. Check them out at www.divinerapture.net

Contact: Divine Rapture

P.O. Box 159

Chester Heights, PA 19017 USA

Email: info@divinerapture.net

Review by Erik Chrupalyk