The Kirby-Such as cancer is this life (Mvmt.1,2, and 3)
(Doll-House Recordings, 2004)

I was actually expecting this band to be a great deal heavier then this, but this is definitely a pleasant surprise. While the band does have heavy moments, this is much more technical and comes across like indy rock with hints of metalcore. The guitar riffs are rarely power chord based, instead opting for either odd chord voicings or note based runs.

Very rarely will you ever hear something that could be considered typical. The only really typical moments are when the band kicks into full distortion for the heavier and scream filled moments. This is obviously where the metalcore influences come into play. These moments are actually fairly uncommon though, possibly three times throughout the three songs that make up this EP. To a certain extent these guys remind me of a more technical and less pop punk Boys Night Out.

Vocally this band is fairly laid back. Caustic screams will meet your ears every now and again, but the main vocal style is actually almost new wave sounding if that makes any sense. It’s very calm and fits the somewhat jangly nature of some of the songwriting.

If you are expecting breakdowns and Swedish riffs, you’ll definitely be disappointed. However if you are looking for a technical and well written EP that shows what one of the most promising bands right now has to offer, then The Kirby is a band you need to look into.

Blastmasters-Demo
(Demo, 2004)

Honestly the name is very cheesy, but damn if this isn’t an amazing demo of brutal and dark death metal. Comprised of members of Unholy Ghost and Diabolic you know that this isn’t going to be a low speed affair. They are called Blastmasters after all!

As you can imagine this is fast, and I do mean fast. It could easily be described as a cross between Diabolic with death/grind. It has that dark feel, but it’s just insanely fast and absolutely unrelenting. They bring in just enough of the classic Florida sound as well to keep things catchy. One comparison that seemed a bit obvious right from the start was Terrorizer. Now this isn’t as grindcore, but I definitely hear a lot of similarities in style. This is of course a bit more modern sounding, but fans of classic Earache grind should be able to get into this with no trouble.

For a demo this has an amazing production. It honestly sounds better then most professionally released death metal albums these days. It would seem preposterous to me that these guys haven’t been picked up yet by a label. If they remained unsigned I really have no faith in death metal anymore because this is an utterly ripping demo of the highest quality.

Lifend-Inner Scars
(Cruz Del Sur Music, 2004)

I remember the bio calling this band death metal, but I don’t really hear it much to be honest. This band is indeed heavy, and they have moments of blasting, but this is a band that has a lot more to offer then just blast beats and growling. Just like many bands on Cruz Del Sure, Lifend is somewhat quirky, and very original. And also just like usual I have a very hard time putting the music into words...

Let’s start with the base of the sound. They have heavy guitars playing somewhat melodic yet heavy riffing that is somewhat along the lines of more rhythmic power metal or possibly black metal at times. There are many times when keyboards are brought in, and the vocals are either somewhat operatic female vocals or a more harsh male vocalist. The bands sense of melody is very unique I would say. The riff will be heavy, but the singing will be clean with odd keyboard accentuations. You could almost say that there is almost a futuristic vibe running throughout the bands sound. Many of the synth runs are best described as sci-fi oriented, which only reinforces the futuristic vibe of the band. There may be the odd riff that might seem a bit typical, but chances are the layering on top of it will make it sound unique.

There are times when the production can get pretty busy sounding. There is everything from syths, acoustic guitars, saxophones, and pretty much everything in between being put into the songs. For the amount of layers there are they manage to keep things together quite well, but I do have a bit of a complaint about the guitar tone. It’s just not thick enough. Some of the more involved riffs end up sounding a bit weak because of the thin guitar tone. The acoustic guitars sound phenomenal though. So if they thickened up the guitar tone on future releases it would make a world of difference.

I would almost say that this band sounds a bit like early Ebony Tears but with much more electronic influence added and less Swedish style picked guitar runs. Like all bands on this label it’s really a matter of taste. Lifend isn’t easily digested and that’s what should draw you to them. They aren’t playing by the rules and have crafted an interesting metal album in the process.

Polterchrist-Engulfed by the Storm
(Season of Mist Records, 2004)

Black metal influenced death metal is usually heavy on the black metal and light on the death metal, but Polterchrist totally shakes the foundation of the metal sub genre. Engulfed by the Storm takes elements of black metal, death metal, thrash and even good old heavy metal and combines them into an incredibly energetic and enjoyable album. There are few metal albums played with this much conviction these days. You can visualize the band banging out these songs while listening. These are about as easy to get into as extreme metal can be, and catchiness is often overlooked in this style of music.

Basically you can expect a lot of blasts, and guttural roars, but the band also uses quite a few more mid-tempo and rhythmic riffs. Even during the blasting sections they have a unique sense of dynamics and will use little fills to make each of the blasts stand out. There is nothing mind numbing about this album at all. Even the longer blasts stay interesting due to the interesting riffing and catchy vocal patterns. It seems obvious to me that extreme music can still remain very catchy and very listenable. Polterchrist also seem to realize this. They are undeniably heavy, and have enough blasting and harsh vocals to please any death metal fan, but the music is just put together extremely well and stays interesting for the entire duration of the album.

The production is pretty much perfect. The guitars are heavy and full, but don’t overpower the mix. Even the fast riffs stay clear and nothing is lost in the mix at all. The drums are perfectly placed in the mix and never lose themselves during the blasting. The snare is always front and center and ready to pound you. There possibly could have been a bit more bass guitar in the mix, but that’s a pretty small problem when you look at the big picture. The big picture is that this is an awesome sounding metal record, plain and simple.

The name might have you thinking black metal, but it mainly boils down to the fact that this is an excellent metal record. Forget about the subgenres because this borrows from pretty much all of them. It might be a bit too varied for some people, but I personally don’t think they stumble once as they explore different tempos and levels of heaviness. This has as many curveballs as it does blast beats and extreme metal albums that keep you on your toes are hard to come by these days.

Lilitu-The Delores Lesion
(The End Records, 2004)

The hot bed for melodic metal surely is Europe, but Lilitu is right up there with even the best bands of the genre quality wise. Melodic guitar riffs meet with harsh vocals, wrapped up in well written songs that aren’t afraid to step outside of the box. There is a definite rock influence that shows through in some of the guitar solos and even during a few of the riffs as well.

I’d say that easiest way to describe these guys would be a cross between In Flames and Him. Surprised that I said Him? Trust me, it surprised me when they kicked into a chorus with vocals reminiscent of Him. I’ll tell you what though it really worked. It adds a completely different dynamic to the album, but they manage to not over do it. The melodic choruses aren’t in every song. But the songs themselves are varied enough that they don’t need to use the choruses to great lengths. The music itself throws you enough curve balls. Just when you think that this is a slow band, they’ll throw in a blast beat. Each song introduces new elements and it stays interesting until the very end.

For the amount of layering that this band uses I’m definitely impressed with the production. There are usually numerous guitar layers, keyboards, male vocals, female vocals, and even more. They managed to keep everything balanced, and the mix is even across the board. I was a bit worried about the keyboards coming through a bit too much, but they aren’t used to be a front row instrument, they seem to be more in the background to create atmosphere.

It’s rare these days that a band playing melodic metal will hit on anything new. Lilitu sound essentially isn’t new, but the elements they add to the Swedish melody and incredibly memorable songwriting makes this a hard album to ignore. Fans of In Flames and Him in particular will right away see how great this band really is.