Zero Mentality is a band with elements of punk and hardcore, a little like U.S. bands Agnostic Front or Bad Religion Featured on "Invite Your Soul" are gritty vocals, hard-driving riffs with occasional leads, some creative surprises including instrumental intro and outtro and a duet between singer Ben Fink and vocalist Anette Ellesgaard on the nint...

26/02/2009

Satans Penguins have a very fresh and original sound and "Bloodlust of the Warpenguins" has something to offer for fans of black doom and prog metal, avant garde and art rock alike. The use of instruments such as the saxophone and tablas would necessitate the term "avant garde." Feral vox of disdain and anguish, guitar tremolos of anguish and regre...

26/02/2009

IRA -- not associated with the Irish Republican Army. I think IRA stands for "I Rock (your) Ass". Anyhow, they do that. This thrash band from Northern Italy has played with such big-name bands as Carnal Forge and Novembre and they list influences such as Carcass and Death (their 2001 three-song EP "Urna" was dedicated to Chuck Schuldiner). This dem...

26/02/2009

After listening to The Handshake Murders, almost obligatory comparisons need to be made to bands Meshuggah, The Acacia Strain and A Life Once Lost. It's the whole syncopated time signature meets southern rock groove riffs meets mid-ranged screams of disgruntlement. The end result is a brutal beating that will numb you of your senses. The band sum u...

26/02/2009

Subterfuge carver is groove oriented death metal with elements of jazz. They sound like Pantera minus pyrotechnic leads but with creative percussion like Slipknot. Subterfuge Carver has won local awards including 1st place on the BeSonic-metalcharts with their song "Equals" and have a decent amount of live experience including an appearance at Wack...

26/02/2009

Machine gun drums, industrial strength guitar riffs and peel-out squeals, in your face growls that ain't gonna takes no more. These are all qualities that make death metal fun, and these are all part of the dynamics that are present in "A Litany For The Deads" by Dead Twilight. Dead Twilight list bands such as Nile and Incantation as influences. Th...

26/02/2009

Yeah, Vixen singer Jenna Sanz-Agero sounds a little like Natalie Merchant with a little more rockin' edge, yeah baby, yeah! First song, "Anyway" is pleasant. Nice melodic guitar line, good chord changes. The second one, the title track is nice, good vocal harmonies in the chorus -- watch that boner bass note -- ouch!! -- but overall -- hey yeah, i'...

26/02/2009

Raw black metal with chaotic guitars buzzing all over the place, lunatic rasp, hail snare power and fuck the low end! The racket Lucifugum make would give even Beelzebub a headache! This one is definitely not for fans of the latest Dimmu Borgir record, but if you like it raw, then come and drink the poison that is "Involtation"!!! There are only...

26/02/2009

"Rock the Rebel, "Metal the Devil." Hmm ... I guess so but but what does that have to do with this band because Volbeat are neither. As opposed to sounding metal, they sound very commercial, maybe like if Metallica and Godsmack got together and tried their hand at making a bad 38 Special album from the early 80's. This album is technically profi...

26/02/2009

"Rage Of Fire" is a mixture of old and new heavy metal styles. It is the debut album of Redkey, two of whose members, vocalist Thomas Rettke and guitarist Sascha Paeth are former members of Heavens Gate, a metal band who were popular in the late 1980's. "Rage Of Fire" is a fusion of power and melodic metal somewhat akin to Judas Priest and other NW...

26/02/2009

With their follow-up to 2004's full-length CD "Sempiternal Consecration," Luna Ad Noctum have really done it this time. THE UNHOLY CREATION MADE FLESH. In the vein of Cradle of Filth and Agathodaimon, "The Perfect Evil In Mortal" is an aesthetically pleasing assault on all that is good. Everything comes at you at a pretty fast pace. Walls of guitar...

26/02/2009

A heavycore band, not unlike BYD or DEP but with a few Brian Wilson harmonies mixed in there, a little jazzie influence, but they will kick it back into a brutally dissonant mode that will prevent any feelings of true specialness to grow!! N.A.M.E. are heavy. Seriously, they will kick your ass. Their name stands for "New Approach to Martyrs Express...

26/02/2009