Abominator-Nuctemeron Descent
(Osmose/PHD, 2004)

As far as chaotic and raging metal I don’t think anyone does it better then the Aussies. I’ve been a big fan of Abominator for a long time and they definitely don’t disappoint on this new cd. The band specializes in high speed, chaotic black metal mayhem that relies on simplicity to get the point across. You won’t find any three minute guitar solos or any unnecessary wanking of any kind. It’s straight for the throat throttling from beginning to end.

If you are a stickler for big budget productions and no mistakes you definitely won’t be a fan of Abominator. The all out speed assault of the band makes for a noisy listen that pummels you into submission. The band does have the odd slow moments, but for the most part this is blasting, blasting and more blasting. There is the odd thrash tempo riff too, which adds a different dimension to the sound. Essentially it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before but I don’t think this band is about reinventing the wheel. They just want to play metal, salute the devil and get drunk. What more could you want from a band anyway?

As you could probably imagine the vocals are raspy shrieks that actually feel a little bit restrained. You definitely can’t understand a word he’s saying, but they aren’t as extreme as humanly possible. He’s giving his throat a good beating, but it’s not throat tearing shrieking. There are some overly processed death metal vocals every now and again that sound fucking sick. It’s like the devil himself was fronting this band. The vocals definitely add to the energetic nature of the band and are top notch in my opinion.

The production is plain and simple. It’s nothing special really, and that’s what makes it work for this style of music. You can hear the instruments, and that is all that matters. Studio polish just wouldn’t make any sense for this band. Sure, they are on Osmose and could probably go to one of the trendy studios and pump out an album that sounds like every other band, but why the hell would they want to do this? Compared to most bands these days they lay them to waste.

I’d definitely say Abominator has their own niche in the war metal genre. It’s nothing new, but they don’t clone anyone either. If you are unfamiliar with this band, I’d say that if you are into bands like Angel Corpse, Blasphemy, or Conqueror you’ll be able to get into this.

The Agony Scene-s/t
(Solid State, 2003)

I was expecting this to be metal tinged hardcore, but this is straight ahead Swedish influenced metal with a bit of hardcore energy thrown in for good measure. It's nothing new, especially these days with the large amount of bands playing this style of metal. The Agony Scene are just a little bit different though. They don't really rip off any band in particular, and just seem to be playing the style because they purely enjoy it. The vocals are also a lot more venomous then most of the bands trying to play this style. They somewhat remind me of a cross between the singer from At the Gates and the singer from Cradle of Filth. It's a throaty scream, but it's much more high pitched then what you'd probably expect.

It's pretty easy to rattle off comparisons. They definitely are similar to bands like In Flames and older Soilwork, but they also have some slower chugging riffs that are reminiscent of what you'd expect from a band on Solid State. I'm definitely into the fact that these guys are amazingly tight and definitely know their way around the instruments. It doesn't sound like a hardcore band trying to play metal. To sum up The Agony Scene's style would basically be this, Swedish death metal butting heads with thrash metal, with a little bit of modern hardcore thrown in for good measure.

The main complaint I have about this cd is the fact that they decided to cover Paint It Black. It's a great song, but come on it's been covered to death. They do a great job with the song, and it's probably one of the best I've heard of it, but it's definitely been done before. I'd like to hear a band try to beef up one of the many other classic Rolling Stones songs. That'd definitely be an interesting thing to hear.

It's pretty easy to recommend this album to fans of the Swedish style of death metal. Particularly the fans of the more upbeat thrash influenced bands. It's a heavy album from a young band that with time will definitely find their own voice. They are definitely already on the right path.

Alexisonfire-s/t
(Distort, 2002)

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this album. I had heard a lot of people saying these guys were good, but that didn’t prepare me for how good this band truly is.

I’m not sure what you’d really call this band; I would lead more towards rock mixed with hints of pretty much everything. They have some hardcore sounding parts, metal sounding parts, and lots of melody and screaming. Some people might call it screamo, but I hate that word, so I won’t use it.

The thing that really makes this band shine is the combination of clean and harsh vocals. Sure, it’s nothing new for metal, but these guys have a clean voice that is typical of emo, combined with the main vocal style, which is harsh screaming. It makes for a very emotional and interesting listen. Lyrically the band is also very interesting, but even after reading the lyrics it’s sometimes a bit hard to figure out what the songs are even about.

I’m not going to bother with any comparisons, because well I think this band doesn’t sound much like anyone really. If after reading the review this sounds like a band you’d be into, run to the record store and try to find this album. Did I mention this band was Canadian?

Allegiance-Hymns of Blod
(Mercenary, 2003)

This is one of the many bands that I’ve heard of but never heard. I’d say that for the most part you are usually disappointed hearing bands you have read about a lot for the first time, they usually don’t live up to what you’ve heard, Allegiance doesn’t disappoint.

If you’ve lost all faith in black metal, just take a listen to Allegiance. While many bands have plunged into mediocrity, and new bands are just following overused formulas, Allegiance is a black metal powerhouse that demolishes the average. Epic song structures butt heads with harsh blasting and cold melodic riffing. It’s Viking influenced war metal at it’s finest.

As far as bang for your buck goes, you’ll get your moneys worth on this cd. It’s 14 songs and runs just over 63 minutes long. I don’t think I could really sit for the entire album, but as far as Viking inspired black metal goes it doesn’t get any better then this.

All That Remains-This Darkened Heart
(Prosthetic, 2004)

I thought that Swedish tinged hardcore had reached it’s full potential with the last Killswitch Engage album, but All That Remains have come back with an album that no only propels them to the front of the pack, but also shows the band progressing considerably as well. You’ll still recognize the band, but things flow much better now and this simply put, is an amazing album full of melodic yet vicious metalcore.

I guess the safe description of the bands sound would be a combination of Gothenburg death metal and US metal core. They have the melodic, thrash tempo riffing mixed as well as melodic guitar solos that totally bring to mind bands such as At the Gates, or The Haunted. But drawing from the metal core genre, they also have a great deal of breakdown riffs and play with an amount of energy rarely seen within the metal genre. While on the subject of the breakdown riffs, I’m impressed that instead of trying to make them as heavy as humanly possible, they actually have quite a bit of melody running throughout them. It’s not just chugging on the open E string and then throwing in some dissonant notes at the end. There is much more thought put into the songwriting with this band.

I just mentioned songwriting, and damn can these guys write a good song. I think this is where the band reminds me of Killswitch Engage. Stylistically they are a bit similar, but I’m talking more about the fact that both bands write amazing songs that are both memorable and still heavy as hell. Catchy choruses have never really been a part of extreme music, but All That Remains integrates them flawlessly. The chorus to The Deepest Grey for instance, is instantly gratifying. The moment you hear it, it’ll be stuck in your head. Don’t make that sound like these guys keep things simple, that is very far from the truth. These guys can play their instruments and they aren’t afraid to show that. They just have figured out how to keep things memorable as well as interesting musically.

I am extremely impressed with the vocal performance on this album. Phil the singer is all over the place, and every vocal approach he uses sounds amazing. The main vocal style is along the lines of the voice you’d expect, the more harsh scream, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. He also uses a more typical hardcore voice, with a bit more growl, and then there are the clean vocals. Let me tell you, clean vocals can be the weak link for a lot of bands, but this guy can sing. He isn’t hiding behind the production either, he has an amazing voice and quite a bit of range as well. There is even variety within the clean vocals, so vocally you hardly ever know what to expect next.

This is one of the few albums that comes along that I could just go on and on about. With every listen you’ll discover something new that you might not have picked up on the first time. The songs are full of little nuances, and are some of the best written songs that I have ever heard combining the Swedish sound with US metalcore. When 2004 reaches an end, this one will definitely be on my top 10 list, and probably still in my cd player as well.

Apostasy-Cell666
(Black Mark/PHD, 2004)


I honestly tried to listen to this with open ears, but my god this is the biggest Dimmu Borgir rip off that I have ever heard. For reference think of Hecate Enthroned. They really wanted to sound like Cradle of Fitlh and they succeeded. The main difference was that Hecate Enthroned played interesting music that just wasn’t original. Apostasy is both boring and unoriginal. I could overlook the blatant plagiarism if this wasn’t incredibly boring, but it’s not so I can’t. If you think that Dimmu Borgir is possibly a bit too exciting then by all means check out Apostasy.

As I Lay Dying-Frail Worlds Collapse
(Metal Blade, 2003)

I was totally fucking blown away by this cd. Imagine a cross between At The Gates, Iron Maiden and Thursday. Yea, I know it sounds a bit different, but trust me it works. They have the all out speed riffing of At the Gates, the melody and harmonies of Iron Maiden, and emotional riffs and clean singing along the lines of Thursday. It's one hell of a combination that totally knocked me right on my ass.

The great thing I find about this band is that it could totally appeal to both death metal fans, and hardcore fans. It definitely is metal, but it has a hardcore-esque energy, and of course the Thursday-esque parts link it to the hardcore scene as well. The band will basically appeal to anyone into fast, energetic and emotional music.

Frail Worlds Collapse is one hell of an album. From beginning to end, the energy never lets up as the band rips, blasts and shreds through 12 breakneck songs. It definitely has an album feel to it, it definitely wouldn't be as good with any of the songs omitted. That's not to say that you couldn't listen to individual songs, there definitely are some stand out tracks, but the entire album is definitely worth listening to. There are a couple of times where they repeat riffs that are fairly similar, but it's not a big deal, pretty much every band does it.

The vocals and vocal patterns are what really draws me to this band. They have some very memorable vocal hooks, great lyrics, and even some choruses. There are definitely quite a few songs that you will have stuck in your head when the album is over. The third song Forever is unbelievably catchy, yet still heavy and powerful. It's proof that you can still write heavy music and have it be catchy and memorable as well.

The only real complaint I have with this album lies in the production. I think they definitely could have benifeted from a much beefier sounding production, especially in the guitars. It sounds great, but it could use just a bit more thickness to make it go from just sounding good, to sounding crushing.

Simply put, this album destroys and this band ranks up their with Darkest Hour as the best bands playing Swedish influenced metal in the US.

Asschapel-Fire and Destruction
(Crimes Against Humanity, 2003)

Simply put, this fucking rips! I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the album name, but being on Crimes Against Humanity, I knew it would be fast and furious. I definitely wasn't disappointed. Asschapel are straight ahead go for the throat hardcore punk with more then just a little bit of metal in their sound. Fast power chord riffs, are followed by extremely heavy riffs with guttural roars spitting over top. You could almost say there is a bit of a thrash type vibe running throughout the bands sound. It's almost equal parts Discharge, and equal parts Venom in delivery. That said, I'd say Asschapel are definitely a fairly unique band though. It's a genre that's been done before, but they really don't sound like any one band.

Did I mention before that this band is fucking HEAVY? Seriously, forget about all of the tough guy moshcore bands around. This band is heavy without resorting to chugging on a downtuned low E string. It's all about a tremendously huge guitar tone, loud distorted bass, and pounding drums to shake your face off while you rock. The vocals add to the chaotic nature of the band as well. For the most part they are incredibly throat ripping rasps, but they also use the odd guttural death growl from time to time. It's great to see a band being heavy without resorting to any of the many cliches being thrown away these days. You can rest assured you won't hear one damn Swedish death metal sounding riff on this album, and that my friends is a good thing.

I seriously wouldn't have asked for a better production for this album. It's heavy, yet has a raw quality to it that definitely suits the style of the band. It's tight and powerful without being overproduced. I'm definitely glad they didn't opt for an extremely raw production. It might fit some crust bands, but these guys have way too much metal influence in their music to have a sloppy and raw production. It sounds fucking good, so play it loud!

If the idea of Venom butting head with Discharge or Doom sounds appealing to you, check out Asschapel. Now all I have to do is figure out exactly what the name means....quite an interesting name.

A Static Lullaby-And Don't Forget to Breathe
(Ferret, 2003)

Sometimes even if you go into an album expecting to be blown away, you're expectations can still be totally blown to shreds. A Static Lullaby's debut album will hit you once in the chest, and then kick you in the face while you are laying on the ground trying to regain your composure. They'll sooth you into submission with melody on second, and then they have you right where they want you and proceed to rip your head off with some of the most vicious screaming I've ever heard.

For those of you looking for a heavier version of Finch or Taking Back Sunday, look no further. These guys may be melodic, but when they chose to be they can be downright vicious as well. It's mind boggling how smooth the transition is as well. A lot of bands try far too hard to do too much within their music. A Static Lullaby does do a lot, and it doesn't sound forced at all. It's not like a typical hardcore band trying to throw in emo parts to fit in more with what's going on right now.

All I can say is this, you have to listen to this album loud. If you don't find yourself getting swept up in the music, or thrashing your bedroom, you must be a robot and have no emotions what so ever. From beginning to end, this album will suck you in and keep your attention until the last note has erupted from your speakers. If you are jaded about the current state of the hardcore scene, one listen to this album will convince you that there are still great bands and albums to be found.

The production courtesy of Steve Evetts gives this album a very original sound. While the band does have some elements similar to other bands, the rough and raw production helps them stand out among the pack. The guitar sound is utterly monstrous, and every nuance and melody in the riffs rings through clearly. And let me tell you their is a lot going on in the songs, they aren't just simple three chord songs.

If you are looking for an amazing album full of emotional and agressive music that doesn't subscribe to any of the latest trends, And Dont' Forget to Breathe is an album that you need to hear as soon as possible. This one is definitely in the running for best album of 2003.


Asterius- A Moment of Singularity
(Cruz Del Sur, 2003)

It’s few and far between that a metal album comes along that totally blows the top off a genre and creates something that could truly be called original. It’s like a combination of power metal, black metal, with possibly a little bit of industrial and even some moments that remind me of pirate music. Yea, I said pirate music. You didn’t hear me wrong, It’s like Nevermore, Iron Maiden, Cradle of Filth and King Diamond mixed into one hell of an interesting metal listening experience.

The main thing that makes this so unique is a very diverse vocal approach. At times the vocals are soaring in an upper register similar to Bruce Dickinsen or the singer from Nevermore. Other times it’s a raspy half scream, with a lot of middle ground between the two. There are a lot of sections with vocal effects, or just spoken parts, shouted parts, and pretty much anything you could think of.

I like the fact that you don’t know exactly where the band is going to go next. Blast beats and thrash tempos seem to explode seemingly out of nowhere. For the most part is it mid-tempo though, which a lot of variety though. There are quite a few quiet moments, but the band for the most part is very heavy, and isn’t afraid to make things complicated.

The only real problem I have with this band is that it’s not the catchiest band ever. A lot of the songs do sound pretty similar. Not necessarily because the riffs sound similar, but just because most of the songs don’t seem to feature a predominant chorus to help the songs stand out from one another. Then again these guys don’t really follow any of the set formula’s for songwriting so it’s kind of expected that they’d not use the verse/chorus/verse formula.

If you think metal has no originality left to be discovered think again. This band is definitely ahead of it’s time, and hopefully it’ll get the audience it deserves. If you are looking for something different, check out Asterius.

Attila Csihar-The Beast Of...
(Southern Lord, 2003)

I'll be honest with you, I like Aborym, Tormentor, and the album Attila did with Mayhem remains my favorite Mayhem album, but the rest of the bands this guy has been in aren't exactly right up my alley. I'm not a big industrial or electronica fan, so the tracks by Plasma Pool pretty much just make me scratch my head. It might be good for what it is, but I'm not informed enough about the style to have an opinion. As is, I just don't like it or get it. The song from Korog was a bit of a surprise. It's sloppy and almost a combination of rock n roll, death metal and industrial. The recording is a bit lacking, but it's an interesting track from a band I've never even heard of before getting this collection cd.

Fans of Mayhem may want to pick this up just for the alternate mixes of Cursed For Eternity, and Freezin' Moon. You know what though, the album versions sound better, but these versions are quite a bit more raw. Still, I'm sure Mayhem completists will want to pick this up.

This one is definitely for a select group of diehard Attila fans. I'd say that if you are new to any of his bands this would be a good place to start, although I'm not sure if these are actually the best songs any of his groups had to offer.

Autopsy-Dead As Fuck
(Necroharmonic, 2004)

When it comes to creepy atmospheric death metal, no one has ever topped what Autopsy did during their career. They had their fast moments, but what really set them apart were the horror dirge riffs. The riffs that you couldn’t stop from getting under your skin and making you feel uneasy. Obviously this isn’t a new Autopsy record, it however is a collection of live recordings from the early 90’s. If you are a fan of the band, this is what you’d call an essential purchase.

Autopsy was never the tightest band. Even on their recordings they had their share of sloppy moments. It’s no different here, but the band does sound pretty damned good. They put in an energetic performance, that while still rough around the edges, sounds like vintage Autopsy. The sound quality pretty much sounds like it was taken directly from the soundboard, and because of this it sounds pretty damned good. The only complaint that I would possibly have is that the vocals are mixed too loud. Everything takes a back seat to the vocals.

There are actually two sets included on the cd. Both are pretty close in terms of sound quality, with the latter half of the disc possibly being just a bit tighter sounding. While a lot of live recordings sound sterile and almost studio like, you can definitely tell that this is a live recording, keeping every nuance of the bands sound intact. If you missed out on seeing the band live, or are just curious to find out what they sound like live, this is a great disc to pick up.

While some labels would be content just throwing together some lame booklet, Necroharmonic took the time and put together a great booklet for Autopsy fans. You’ll find tons of pictures of the band, some of which show them backstage with one of the biggest bongs I have ever seen in my life. It’s taller then some of the band members! If you are a fan of the band you’ll appreciate the effort that went into this release!

This one comes very highly recommended for fans of Autopsy. If you haven’t heard the band yet, I wouldn’t really recommend this to serve as your introduction. That makes me wonder though, what death metal fan hasn’t heard Autopsy?