ABSURDUS
No Heaven In Sight
(Candlelight)
Another outstanding Finnish band has hit the scene – Absurdus.
Half-expecting some kind of retro trip after the aptly titled “Ad Absurdum
(One Hell of an Introduction),” I was pleased to see that classic thrash
metal is merely an influence for this bunch, not a way of life.
“On The Way To Hell” blasts out with power, catchy riffs, gruff
but lovable vocals and a definite vibe of excitement, a formula that is
repeated throughout this album. One band that comes to mind is the
UK’s thrash masters, Sabbat, with some definite hints of “A Cautionary
Tale” here and there. The production is good enough to let you
hear everything that is going on, yet raw enough as to not hinder the power.
The only place the band started losing me was “Life is Agony,” where
they take a more mid-paced approach. The plodding riff just never
takes off and leaves you wishing for a return to the speedy material that
makes up the bulk of No Heaven In Sight (a great album
title, mind you!). It’s a temporary lapse, though, as Absurdus
quickly right themselves to finish off the album with a rousing rendition
of Motorhead’s “Bomber.”
This is one of those albums that doesn’t have really memorable songs
on the first listen, but somehow keeps you interested throughout and coming
back to it again and again. Anyone looking for the spirit and energy
of classic 80s thrash, fully transformed into a 90s space, definitely get
ahold of this disc.
[Daniel Hinds]
WAGON CHRIST
Tally Ho!
(Astralwerks)
I have been getting into IDM recently for the same reasons I loved noise-rock
bands like Steel Pole Bathtub and the Pain Teens,
and industrial bands like Skinny Puppy and SPK-- these musicians
are able to harness and control musical chaos. Machines and distortion
are tamed to emit bursts of noise held on a short leash that could break
or be let go at any point. While Wagon Christ don't use as
many distortion pedals and has replaced all the guitars and drums with
more synths and drum machines, the effect is quite similar: what comes
out of your speakers seems like pure mayhem, but mayhem guided to a purpose.
The purpose here is (in a nutshell) dance music-- often times the tracks
on this disc are backed by a fairly tame, groovy hip-hop/dance beat.
In fact, the opening track is little more than that and a few unobtrusive
samples. But then the track "Crazy Disco Party" comes on,
shakes the beat around a bit and this odd, sickly distorted voice narrates
the whole deal. And the title track "Tally Ho!" is pure brilliance,
an excellent mixture of Aphex Twin and the Carl Stallings Project
(think
Warner Brothers' cartoon music). Goofy, bleepy, with a great
bassline that might have at one point been live.
"Juicy Luke Vibert" is absolutely vile and offensive and great.
Imagine a recording of our hero, Luke Vibert (I assume) doing his best
impression of a porn-movie narrator who gets a little too involved in the
movie. Take this recording, on tape, and wad it up like it was a
piece of paper. Toss it into the dumpster only to rescue it right
before the garbage collectors arrive, smooth it out a little and play it
back. We're talkin' terrible.
"Player Piano Hata", like many of the other tunes on this disc,
involve a slew of exotica samples thrown over wonderfully constructed beats.
Again, the rhythms on Tally Ho! tend to be a little tamer
than, say, Aphex Twin, but many of the fills are just as buzzy and
disjointed and apt to make your heard turn to the speakers and say "Wow".
If you don't want whiplash, then face the damned speakers.
[Laird Sheldahl]
GARDENIAN
Two Feet Stand
(Listenable)
Another slab of modern, melodic, Swedish death metal to feast upon. Gardenian
deliver the goods, with ten tracks of intense, hard-edged metal mayhem,
that is tempered with a fine edge of melody and technical skill.
The foursome are very good at keeping things brutal (the title track
kicks things off with a roar) and generally speedy without losing control
of the proceedings. The vocals are deep and harsh, helping to solidify
their death metal credibility, though they do experiment with some clean,
near-prog vocals on the excellent “Flipside of Reality.” Elsewhere,
the band breaks out some acoustic guitars to start off “Netherworld,”
a
beautiful instrumental more in the classic heavy metal vein. It’s
the little things that count with Gardenian and they do a great
job of giving the album variety and each song its own character. “Murder…”
flies out of the starting gate with a cracking little speed riff before
diving into the usual Gardenian crunch. Album closer “The
Silent Fall” mellows things out, reminding me quite a bit of some of
Skyclad’s
early ballads.
Listenable were wise to snap up Gardenian, who have delivered
a thoroughly enjoyable album. The production is thick and crunchy,
more so than the likes of Dark Tranquility, and the band wisely
chose not to overdo it by offering up ten solid tracks instead of 15 or
16 hit-and-miss like too many other bands.
[Daniel Hinds]
JAGUAR
Power Games
(Neat Metal)
In 1982, as the NWOBHM began to taper off, Jaguar unleashed what
is quite possibly the rawest and best album of the era. I first read
about this disc in the old fanzine Metal Mania and immediately wanted
to get a copy. Easier said than done, but I did finally track one
down at The Record Garden (back when it was a metal store) and was
thrilled that the hype wasn’t undeserving. Taking elements from all
over (Sabbath, UFO, Saxon, Motorhead, Maiden), Jaguar came
up with a formula that was unique and electrifying.
Opening with the devastating “Dutch Connection,” Jaguar immediately
set the stage for the rest of the album. Plenty of up-tempo rhythms,
clean but powerful vocals and one of the rawest (and best) guitar sounds
ever laid down. It’s right up there with Venom’s Welcome To
Hell in intensity – sheer power. And Jaguar knew how
to mix it up, too, with near-balladic moments like “Master Game,”
the epic-like “Rawdeal” and plain old fun rockin’ metal (“No
Lies”). With bands like Exciter and Anvil just
starting to get the whole speed metal movement underway, Jaguar
were fairly forward-thinking, too, with some very speedy moments on
“Prisoner” and “The Fox.” As a bonus, Neat has
tacked on the awesome pre-thrash frenzy of “Axe Crazy” and two other
bonus cuts.
Though it claims this CD has been “remastered,” it sounds like it was
mastered from a copy of the LP. Still, it’s not bad at all, and still
captures the intensity I remember. The production is raw but perfectly
suitable for the music. Another plus is the excellent booklet, which
includes the band’s original bio, plenty of photos and all the lyrics.
Sadly, Jaguar followed this disk with a complete change in direction,
opting for a sub-Foreigner AOR approach, thus ending their careers
prematurely. Still, Power Games is a definite classic
of the NWOBHM scene and a must for anyone into the likes of Diamond
Head, Holocaust, or just great old-fashioned metal.
[Daniel Hinds]
MARILYN MANSON
Mechanical Animals
(Nothing/Interscope)
This is the third full-lengther from the notorious Mr. Manson + crew and
the first one that I can actually say I enjoyed. Believe me, it was
as much a surprise to me as anyone... Thankfully, MM has altered
course from the goth/industrial direction he had been heading and jumped
full-on into the 70’s glam-rock arena, mostly to good effect.
No marks for originality, as Manson gleefully plunders David
Bowie’s past for both image and song ideas, but I do give credit for
incorporating it all into his own style instead of the other way around.
There is no doubt this is a MM album – it’s just taken from a different
angle than the others.
Of course, this is still not doing much for me, as I’ve never had much
patience for Bowie’s over-indulgent style (heresy, I’m sure, but
whatever). Thankfully, MM has come through in the songwriting
department and delivers some thoroughly memorable tunes that actually rock
for once. Whether it’s the more mid-tempo groove of “Dope Show”
or
the title track, or the more frenzied retro-rockers like “Rock is Dead,”
“New Model No. 15” and “Posthuman.” These are my favorite
cuts, utilizing all of the band’s strengths. The more mellow moments
tend to be a bit too ponderous, though there aren’t any terrible cuts on
this album either.
Mechanical Animals just feels more natural to me than
previous Manson releases. It’s still not groundbreaking or
anything, but it is a good, solid album and, if you never liked MM,
at least give it look-see.
[Daniel Hinds]
GORGUTS
Obscura
(Olympic/Slipdisc/Mercury)
Ah yes, Canada’s very own death merchants Gorguts are back!
I remember these guys from the death boom in the early 90s, as they stood
out by playing a more intelligent and technical version of brutal metal
than most. After a few years of silence, they have roared back to
life with Obscura, twelve-song slab of convoluted intensity
unlike anything I’ve heard before.
The death metal elements are still the foundation, from the throat-rending
growls and pummeling drumming to the high-speed riffing and complex arrangements.
That latter element is where Gorguts have really gone overboard.
Take away the first three elements and this could be some kind of avant-garde
jazz or prog-rock release, with all kinds of quirky rhythms, off-beat change-ups
and unusual time signatures. It makes it very difficult to differentiate
one song from another, however, with only “Clouded” really standing
out, due mainly to it’s slow-as-molasses speed and 9+ minute length.
Like a lot of very technical music, Obscura requires your
full concentration or else it just collapses into a whirlwind of noise.
This is a difficult album to review. On one level, it is thoroughly
impressive and energetic to boot, but at the same time you have to be somewhat
masochistic to be able to take the sustained assault of the entire album.
It is definitely one of those CDs I have to be in the right mood to listen
to. It’s a rare mood, but when it strikes, Obscura
fits the bill pretty damn well.
[Daniel Hinds]
WHALE
All Disco Dance Must End in Broken Bones
(Virgin)
I didn't hear these folks back when they were supporting Blur on
tour, but I understand a bit of a stylistic change has taken place.
What this disc offers is some mostly electronica-based music with ethereal
female vocals and occasional grunge guitars, not terribly unlike Sneaker
Pimps or Garbage. The first track, "Crying at Airports"
is
the definite winner here, with its orchestral synth arrangements that rival
Hector
Zazou in his more pop-music moments. The rest of the album skirts
many different styles, even getting fairly grungy as a male punk-rock vocalist
jumps in a few tracks, but never quite reaches the same plane of musical
edginess that first track nails on the head. Too bad.
[Laird Sheldahl]
DEEJAY PUNK-ROC
Chicken Eye
(Epic)
He may at one point say "I make rap music because I never liked disco,"
but don't believe him. Deejay Punk-Roc makes some dumb and
funky disco. Chock full of TR808s, polysynths and synth-toms
(those awful synthesized drums never fail to remind me of BattleStar
Galactica), this music will make you giggle and... oh... well...
wiggle. Most of the tracks are up-tempo instrumentals (perhaps with
a vocoded or sampled lyrical line) that build a catchy beat right off the
bat. The groove never varies much. Chopped-up lounge-jazz samples
are thrown in (somewhat like Amon Tobin's style) and there are a
few nods to the Beastie-Boys' loop-a-flute-as-infinitum trick, but
for the most part Punk-Roc's style is fairly distinct: dancy, stupid
(in a good way, like disco-funk), French. Can you trust a French
musician?
By far my favorite aspect of Punk-Roc's tunes are the opening
samples--i.e. "calling all cars, be on the lookout for a mean motherfucker
carryin' a black beatbox... last seen at Cool-Mart aisle 6, his name is
DeeJay
Punk-Roc and he's bad".
More info: http://www.deejaypunk-roc.com/
[Laird Sheldahl]
AGATHODAIMON
Blacken The Angel
(Nuclear Blast)
Agathodaimon are a German outfit who have only been around since
’95 but managed to land a deal with Nuclear Blast for this, their
debut album. While it does show some marks of a young band, it is
nonetheless a solid recording and shows definite potential.
Mixing up elements of black metal and goth, Agathodaimon tend
to steer close to mid-tempo most of the time, with lots of sweet but mournful
keyboards offsetting the sore throat vocals. The blackened vocals
are probably my least favorite element of the band, made even sadder by
the fact that the band’s original vocalist was unable to get into Germany
for the recording, thus they had to get a replacement. They’re not
the worst vocals by any means, just a bit monotone and tend to undermine
the power (and beauty) of some of the tracks.
Musically, I would also like to see the band be a little more adventurous
in the future. Like I said, this is a good album, but it’s also a
rather safe album. The fifteen-minute “Near Dark” is one of
the best cuts on here, using some female backing vocals to good (subtle)
effect. Another favorite of mine is “Ill Of An Imaginary Guilt,”
which starts off sounding like AC/DC’s “Walk All Over You”
(I kid you not) before twisting it into a truly evil, heavy riff that nearly
approaches Hellhammer territory.
Agathodaimon haven’t tried to outreach their abilities or copy
any other bands’ style. Even with my great love for comparing bands
to other bands, I am hard-pressed to think of anyone in this case – maybe
a bit of early Dimmu Borgir in the riff department or Hecate
Enthroned’s atmosphere, but that is reaching. The production
is good, clear and very suitable overall.
It’s cool to see a band in this genre come out of Germany and I think
Agathodaimon
could do well in appealing to some of the goth community that has no interest
in the more extreme black metal outfits.
[Daniel Hinds]
HOOVERPHONIC
Blue Wonder Power Milk
(Epic)
Lush electronics along with the standard rock four-piece are utilized here
to construct psychedelic pop songs. At times this CD reminds me a
bit of GusGus (down to the rotating male/female vocals) and at other
times the Cranes-- especially the track "Out of Tune".
However, Hooverphonic never strive to incorporate dissonance and
rawness as do the Cranes. In fact, Blue Wonder Power
Milk is pure lushness throughout, with ambient vocals, spacey guitars
and quite a few violins dominating the mix.
[Laird Sheldahl]
SHAMPOO
The Greatest
(Toshiba-EMI)
Something about Shampoo has always struck a chord with me.
The music harks back to a (real or imagined) time when pop music was fun
and energetic, not dreary and uninspired like so much of the chart fodder
these days.
Shampoo is Jacqui and Carrie, two Brit girls who
don’t try to hide their accent as they sing and rap their way through upbeat
bouncy cuts “Viva La Megababes,” “Boys Are Us” and the classic “Trouble,”
which you may recall from the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers soundtrack
a few years ago (heh, or you might not...). This Japanese-only collection
is culled from the duo’s two full-length releases, plus some B-sides.
Strangely, it seems like these B-sides are the more guitar-oriented, rocking
numbers, such as “Bouffant Headbutt” and “Excellent.”
The album cuts are all well chosen and include all the band’s hits, including
the wonderful “Girl Power” – a concept later lifted by a certain
other girl-pop outfit…
It remains to be seen if Shampoo can outlive their youthful exuberance
and sustain a music career, but for now, if you’re looking for some fun
British pop music with a punk attitude, you can’t do better than Shampoo.
[Daniel Hinds]
VANILLA ICE
Hard To Swallow
(Republic)
You may have heard, Vanilla Ice has gone Heavy Metal. The
editor told me his new style was kinda like Korn, and I'd have to
agree. Plodding beats, chunky guitars, with Vanilla rappin'
over the whole deal like he's some gansta rap star. Quite a resurrection,
I must say.
If Vanilla Ice ever opens for Marilyn Manson, then I tell
ya you'll be hearing a lot more of this album.
What I appreciate here is nearly every song has Vanilla growling
"Ice
Ice Baby" like he's fronting Napalm Death or something, either
that or the original line was looped and distorted to sound more like Skinny
Puppy. All in all, the production is pretty damned good, there's
a lot going on behind the fairly derivative music and lyrics. Vanilla
Ice doesn't seem to be out to prove his rebirth as an Artist (lucky
for he, you and I) but as someone who can sell records to (a new set of)
youths. I for one am somewhat sickly interested to see how he does
this time around.
[Laird Sheldahl]
ARMAGEDDON DILDOS
Speed
(BMG)
This German duo started out as a Nitzer Ebb-ish EBM outfit many
years back and have steadily evolved into well-rounded, electro-pop/rock
band. This is their fourth full-length release and probably the most
‘commercial,’ though only in the sense that melody has come to the forefront
and they seem to have concentrated on writing catchy songs. In terms
of catering to trends or altering their style, the Dildos seem to
have no interest.
Many have been critical of the band’s introduction of guitar circa their
Homicidal
Dolls release, a complaint that has never made any sense to me.
The electronics have always been the core of the
AD sound and it
remains true on this album, too. I attribute it to the general narrow-mindedness
of certain electro fans, but it makes even less sense with these guys than
in most cases. Whatever – their loss.
AD keep alive their energetic, dance-floor approach with such
great tracks as first single “We Are What We Are,” “Escape” and
the driving “1989/99.” Elsewhere, a more synth-pop element
creeps in, particularly in the smoothed-out vocals of songs like “I’ll
Be There,” culminating in the very Depeche Mode-like album closer
“Condemned To Cry.” Lyrically, the band run the usual gamut from
interesting if overly simplistic socio-polical commentary to fairly tasteless
sexual depravity (“Sexmonster”), but the music has always been the
reason to buy a Dildos album anyway. The production is solid,
if a bit overworked, and the mix of guitar and electronics is spot-on.
Speed
is modern synth-pop and EBM with an edge and an emphasis on song-writing.
While it may not be as ultimately satisfying as the previous two releases,
it is a more than worthwhile album.
[Daniel Hinds]
BEWITCHED
Pentagram Prayer
(Osmose)
While this is billed as something of a retro-black metal album (and the
vocals certainly fit that description) the song-writing and riffs are much
more in line with classic metal bands like Ozzy and Dio.
I mean, listen to the opening riff to “Hallways of Hell” and tell
me it doesn’t sound like “Bark At the Moon” gone bad. Other
reference points would be early Exodus and Hallow’s Eve,
both musically and for the blatantly crude satanic imagery and lyrics.
I like Bewitched. They may lack originality, but they are
skillful in their choices of styles to lift and combine them to create
a reasonably distinctive style of their own. Plus, I think they are
getting better at disguising their inspirations – no obvious Mercyful
Fate riffs this time around!
The vocals are harsh, but in a good ol’ fashioned, Tom Angelripper
or Mille Petrozza way. While not as blatantly tongue-in-cheek
as, say, Inferno, songs like “Sacrifice To Satan” and
“Hellcult Attack” leave little doubt that Bewitched is more
about having fun than seriously worshipping any unholy entity. The
production is good for this type of music, with nice sharp guitar riffs
and a good overall mix.
Bewitched seem to only get better with age and Pentagram
Prayer is most decidedly a fine addition to any metal collection.
[Daniel Hinds]
NOCTURNAL RITES
Tales of Mystery and Imagination
(Century Media)
With the current revival of classic heavy metal, Nocturnal Rites
deliver a fine slab of highly-melodic metal with fantasy themes, soaring
vocals and the twin-guitar attack you’ve come to expect. While there
are some definite Maiden moments, especially the galloping basslines,
a good deal of this disc also reminds me of Riot, esp. the current
Riot
sound. Opener “Ring of Steel” wouldn’t be out of place on
Inishmore,
with it’s classical-tinged speed metal approach. Elsewhere, on “Test
of Time,” vocalist Anders Zackrisson even manages to conjure
up allusions to Rhett Forrester’s more restrained moments from the
glory days.
Much like HammerFall, Nocturnal Rites are more concerned
with writing catchy, melodic tracks than trying to out-heavy everyone else.
Nils
Norberg delivers some beautifully fluid leads throughout the album
and the rest of the band are no slouches either. One thing I appreciate
about Nocturnal Rites is they don’t get too far off into prog territory,
preferring to focus on the songs rather than trying to impress everyone
with their abilities.
If I had to lodge one complaint, it would be the same one I have with
HammerFall
– not enough power! The production is a bit thin and the music and
vocals are so melodic, they tend to dilute the heaviness more than I would
like. Still, this is a minor complaint and it is much preferred to
the bands that take the “no melody, ultra-heavy” approach, which is fine
too, but has been driven into the ground. Nocturnal Rites
play heavy metal with finesse and beauty, foregoing the usual ‘evil’ disposition
of so many bands. Tales of Mystery and Imagination
is an album with class that makes for a nice change of pace.
[Daniel Hinds]
PETER MURPHY
Recall
(Red Ant)
Hmm...Peter on Red Ant. Wait, isn’t that the same label
as Love and Rockets have now and the label that the most recent
My
Life with the Thrill Kill Kult release was on (the one that subsequently
dropped them after that album due to poor sales, or so the rumor goes)?
The first thing I noticed was who produced the EP, none other than Sascha
and Tim of KMFDM, then after giving it a listen to I came
to the conclusion that this melding of minds is a good thing. Four
tracks on this are completely guitarless and for some reason the ‘subtle
industrial’ approach works for Peter. The fifth is a version
of track 3 with a guitar and piano, sounds much more like ‘classic’ Murphy.
Once again, Peter ‘the father of Goth,’ has proven to at least this
fan that he is and always will be a musical chameleon, ever changing yet
constant in sound.
[A. Nocturna]
LEAETHER STRIP
Anal Cabaret (EP)
(Metropolis/Zoth Ommog)
Here it is, the Leaether Strip tribute to Soft Cell.
While the tribute thing is well out of hand, this five-song EP comes from
a true love for an inspirational band rather than the usual sad nostalgia
or trend cash-in. This is, indeed, a tribute, not just a collection
of covers.
I’m not sure if it is that Claus Larsen’s work has improved over
the years or I have just learned to appreciate it, but his work as both
Leaether
Strip and Klute has become some of my favorite output in recent
times. His interpretations of these tracks is excellent, keeping
their spirit intact while stamping the LS sound all over them in
the process. All the tracks are good, though “Sex Dwarf” and
particularly “Insecure Me” are really impressive. Claus’
patented basslines and heavily-distorted voice rip through each song, but
he never loses the melody.
Yet another fine-quality LS release to follow up the brilliant
Self-Inflicted.
[Daniel Hinds]
DISMAL EUPHONY
Autumn Leaves – The Rebellion of Tides
(Napalm)
This is the third release (2nd full-length) from this Norwegian outfit
and it makes for a nice diversion for those looking for something different
from the usual black and gothic metal out there. The band start with
the usual black metal elements popular of late, such as grim vocals, soaring
female vocals, atmospheric keyboards and a mix of folky and metallic guitars.
From there, however, the band start adding new elements to really create
their own sound. To begin with, the songs all have fairly unique
structures, always twisting and turning but never losing focus. Add
to that a penchant for spacey textures and the occasional neo-psychedelic
bit of experimentation and you’ll start to get an idea what to expect.
And then, just when you start to feel comfortable with their style, they
throw in “Splendid Horror,” a complete tangent that incorporates
programmed beats, treated vocals and oddly-processed riffs. Further,
this track leads into a lengthy bonus-track that is a bizarre mix of beautiful
acoustics and tripped-out vox and effects.
While much of the material on Autumn Leaves is slow to
mid-tempo, they do speed things up at times, such as on “Carven,” or
the excellent “In Remembrance of a Shroud,” though they turn right
around and break it down to a melancholic acoustic passage without batting
an eyelash. The males vocals are decent, if a bit unspectacular,
but the female vocals really shine, such as on the short but sweet “Spire.”
This album isn’t perfect. The production is good but could be
better and some of the tunes aren’t as memorable as others, not to mention
the rather lacking cover art and haphazard packaging in general.
Still, there is much to like about Dismal Euphony and I was glad
to add this disc to my collection. Goth fans who might be looking
for something a bit more extreme are well-advised to give Dismal Euphony
a spin.
[Daniel Hinds] |
