Cryptopsy – Blasphemy Made Flesh

Pre-1994 Death Metal’s dystopian discharge of sobering glimpses into the eschewed nature of reality left in its wake veritable visions of death, fire and unprecedented destruction. Given the release date of Blasphemy Made Flesh, we conclude that this album best represents a near last ditch effort on the part of the primordial fire that is death metal to burn with the glory of years past amidst an ominous yet inevitable decline in quality.

A refreshingly explosive album, the intensity of Blasphemy Made Flesh reveals an unrelenting desire to exhume much of the prerequisite spirit necessary to create a genuine death metal record. Exuberant, joyful and multifaceted Blasphemy Made Flesh employs indefatigably demented and blistering motifs and phrases to create omniscient and nihilistic visions of the perennial struggle between victim and victimizer. In so doing the listener is effectively reminded of this one eternal fact- that wolves lie in wait among the unsuspecting. Exploited down stroke technique combined with the resulting texture compounds this experience leaving one with the impression of being violated both physically and mentally with a blunted weapon. Left battered and bruised the listener is urged to synthesize and understand the presented raging struggles and their psychological implications.

However, despite the pummeling and crushing riff-work an acknowledged necessity of contrast is utilized to create ambiguous moods of contemplation from whence the deranged seemingly view the hideous work wrought upon their most recent victim. In addition to this, the rhythmically dynamic nature of this record fosters the development of a structurally complex album as Cryptopsy utilize a tactful rhythmic precision that through its capacity to delicately change the complexion of motifs, somewhat rivals the expert precision of Suffocation. It is in fact here that we discover much of the vaunted complexity of Cryptopsy, where motifs are manipulated via rhythmic dynamics, and while this may come across as tedious and perhaps overused to some, such technique creates an interesting layer of ever shifting context which listeners are challenged to follow and to interpret. These elements combined with an esoteric yet absurd and morbid sense of melody make this album a twisted and cryptic work whose seemingly contradictory elements point to higher level from whence this work must be contemplated. Although some tracks lack a consistently coherent narrative and may seem erratic at times, expert use of technique, brutality and vision combined with a haughty and commendable sense of ambition makes this work enduring and enjoyable.

-TheWaters-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6MYNceWgzc

No Comments

Tags: , , , , ,

Hell’s Headbangers Compilation Volume 3

Hell’s Headbangers Compilation Volume 3

1-2. Destruktor – Embrace the Fire/Nailed: At the core of this band beats a heart of NWOBHM sensibilities, although it is enwrapped in a melodic death metal influenced power metal shell, like Seance covering Helstar covering Holocaust.

3-4. Shackles – Coiled in Sin/Iron Crosses: Continuing the NWOBHM theme, this band come have come straight out of industrial England during the mid-1970s except for the fast strumming and death metal vocals; these are anthemic, heavy-hitting tunes that are easy to hum. Fans of Judas Priest’s “Painkiller” take note — this band uses a similar mix of fast riffs and dramatic anthemic choruses.

5. Trench Hell – Southern Cross Ripper: This track could have come off a Diamond Head record, and shares a more intense version of the sensibility that band shared with Metallica and Blitzkrieg, in that this is high speed NWOBHM with melodic underpinnings and lots of fast strumming like the first Metallica album.

6-8. Dishammer – Bomb In the Womb/Smoke Of Death/Wish Of Suffering: No compilation would be complete without a Discharge tribute band, and an unusually metalish one here. The first track uses the same riff that graced not only Discharge but vaulted Disfear to prominence as the premiere track on “Soul Scars,” and other tracks are similar, probably best described as Discharge with small doses of Carcass and Autopsy in the rhythm section.

9-10. Manticore – Our Will Is His/Feast Of The Beast: This speed metal/black metal hybrid exceeds most USBM by keeping true to an idea per song, but gets lost in developing those ideas, so you end up with circular songwriting like the waning days of bands like Destruction, Artillery, Assassin and Nuclear Assault.

11-12. Profanatica – Black Cum/Christs Precious Blood Poisoned: Backing away from the more complex and melodic style of “Profanatitas de Domonatia,” Profanatica attempt to relive the days of their split with Masacre by reducing their music to its bare elements, but in doing so, lose a lot of their momentum. We don’t love you for making basic offensive statements, Mr. Ledney, we love you for making idiot savant metaphors of great clarity, both musical and lyrical.

13-14. Havohej – Kembatinan Premaster/Pious Breath: These tracks continue the Havohej experimentation from “Man and Djinn” that involves sampling noise to use in lieu of guitar, by using it like guitar. The difference isn’t great from standard black metal attic production of intense distortion, but the songs while ritualistic are mostly repetitive and never achieve the distinctive song structures of early Profanatica.

15-16. Arphaxat – Potrait D’un Pretre Debauche/Le Pacte Diabolique: This band makes another attempt to approach black metal as if it were a 1980s genre, taking a hybrid of Angelcorpse and Funeral Mist and giving it the distinctive percussion and catchy choruses of middle 1980s speed metal like Sodom.

17. Hunters Moon – A Light In the Abyss: Seemingly inspired by the first Immortal and second Burzum albums, this track consists of a trudging part, and a sweeping melodic part that resembles both “Call of the Wintermoon” and “Snu Mikrokosmos Tegn.” It’s not bad but the song doesn’t grow from this state, just cycles until it works itself up enough for a small explosion and foot-tapping, fist-pumping final chorus.

18-19. Atomizer – A Song to Swing To/All Disfigured and Blue: One of the more unusual things to cross my desk, these two tracks sound like The Smiths doing their version of a tribute to later Bathory; on both the vocals lead each piece like a small opera, with black metal and heavy metal riffs duking it out for support. Not everyone will like the style but this is a far more sensible direction for an indie/metal hybrid to take than the wishy-washy metalcore-cum-shoegaze/emo crap they’re pumping out of the US Northeast.

20. Atomic Aggressor – Bloody Ceremonial: During the early days of death metal, there were more bands that took this approach where a chanting hoarse voice entirely guides the music, so that an infectious rhythmic chant organizes the guitars and drums around it instead of being an instrument supporting the guitars. The problem is that this reduces music to a chant and compresses the development of the rest of the song.

21-23. Nunslaughter – Born In Hell/Power of Darkness/You Bleed: Nunslaughter is basic death metal with a heavy punk influence, a lot like Master but uptempo and charging like the first Death album. These tracks seem to be taken from different recordings and vary in quality, but expect ripping two chord riffs and hummable choruses.

You can get this CD from Hell’s Headbangers Records for free with any order. In their words, “FREE CD IN EVERY ORDER (included upon request – only valid for orders containing CDs, Vinyl, Shirts & Tapes). Simply add it to your shopping cart, you will not be charged any postage cost.” In addition, all Hell’s Headbangers compilations are streaming free online at the HHR website.

No Comments

July 21st 2010 – Inquisition, Vancouver, Canada

Situated at the edge of the notorious East Hastings St., where the filth and grime of Vancouver gravitates, the little dive bar known as Funky Winker Beans was to play host to the Columbian black metal duo, Inquisition. While it usually boasts a motley crowd of hipsters and various scenesters, tonight it would be assaulted by a crew decoratively attired in combat boots, bullet belts, balaclavas, even fur hunting caps (the guys in Blasphemy also made their appearance).  Contrasting the sickness of the outside locale with a barbarity of our own, the environment was quite prepared for the night’s festivities.

Radioactive Vomit

Opening the show, Radioactive Vomit seized the stage with an appropriate aggression, advancing forth into standard blasting war metal procedure. Obviously not set out to transcend the bounds of convention in the immediate future, this band nevertheless play a competent grinding affair in the vein of post-Blasphemy black metal, perhaps being more inclined to the singular darkness of Archgoat. One cannot accuse Radioactive Vomit of progressing beyond the first dimension of musical creation, but that straight-forward imitation proved to be the perfect formula for introducing the forthcoming acts.

Mitochondrion

The second of three B.C. bands playing tonight, Mitochondrion are a three-piece hailing from the province’s capital, Victoria. Instead of simply marching in the solid tradition of their metal forebears in the Ross Bay Cult, Mitochondrion elect to string together an articulate death metal that is actually quite unique in its vision, in its titanic aura that exudes some nefarious mystery. The ‘typical’ Mitochondrion track moves from an incessant vocal and percussive onslaught to a period of reflection and meditation, and then to a relentless storm that finishes in a brilliant rush of deep, throaty riffing and climactic songwriting. At times doomy, at others ferocious, Mitochondrion are a nascent band that has already advanced far in their development, which showed tonight in their surprisingly long performance (I believe that they had the longest set of the night). Mature and uncompromising, Mitochondrion were in full control, giving us a death metal that was as intelligent as it was brutal; despite a slight sound problem with the guitars, there was never a flagging moment throughout their lengthy show.

Gyibaaw

Crawling out from the frigid bitterness of Prince George, Gyibaaw descended upon the city in direct support of Inquisition, headed by lead guitarist J. Pahl who masterminded the entire tour. While not entirely death metal, black metal, nor entirely ‘war metal’ either, Gyibaaw are quite successful in not succumbing to ‘clonedom’, being able to combine elements from the past and make them into something that fits what they are trying to accomplish. A band that could probably be best described as ‘organic’, Gyibaaw summoned their brand of ‘Tsimshian war metal’ with a natural candour, playing with a fervent conviction that spoke to the youth and the spirit of the performers. Although they played a somewhat shorter set, we were not at all disappointed with the talent and the charisma that makes a band like Gyibaaw worth experiencing.

Inquisition

Image DetailMost would think that a bassist is an indispensable component of any metal band; Inquisition disagree. Far from the average live band, these two Columbians consider themselves quite adequate at performing between themselves, minus a bassist, despite their reliance on a strong rhythm section, something which was notably present during their ‘ritual’. The music of Inquisition is fairly straightforward, with a steady, pulsing rhythm occasionally giving space for an eerie melody to shine through the tempest; it is simple, almost formulaic, but the key timing and the pure quality of the melodies are what really gives life to the compositions. Anyway, the most important thing for Inquisition to accomplish in the live setting is to invoke a real sense of the ritual, to make manifest the strong feeling of darkness prevalent throughout their post-thrash metal albums. With an identifiable aura of black villainy (achieved using only the scarcest amount of corpse paint), and with a loud, flawless manipulation of their respective instruments (irrespective of the audience’s cries of ‘get a bassist!’), Dagon and Incubus succeeded in demonstrating the nocturnal power of their music through the medium of stage, conquering any doubts that might have been made along the way. On a more personal note, I was most pleased to hear a favourite of mine played, namely, ‘Empire of Luciferian Race‘, off of the seminal Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult album. Although it ended up being a bit of a shorter set, Inquisition nevertheless came out strong, and, with at least one new song amidst a number of staples, surely made lasting impressions upon everyone in the audience, bassist or no bassist.

-Xavier-

No Comments

Tags: , , , , ,

Compilation: Destruction of the Heavenly Realms Volume VI

Deathgasm records, like most old school labels before it, puts out a low-cost compilation of the bands on the label or distributed by the label. Their sixth volume of the series contains some of the newer and more exciting metal in the old school style.

Various Artists – Destruction of the Heavenly Realms: Volume VI

1. Diabolic – Evil in Disguise: This is charging death metal that most resembles a cross between Mortem and Vader; the song has two main riffs with budget riff variations, a blistering solo, and doesn’t vary its high intensity drive.

2. Infinitum Obscure – Messenger of Chaos, I: Combining Dissection/Sacramentum style melodic metal with instrumentally adept American power metal like Helstar, Infinitum Obscure come up with a winding, pleasant tune that still manages quite a few martial rhythms.

3. Azarath – Invocation: Blending ripping fast-forward war metal of the Angelcorpse variety with bluesy solos and high speed fills like technical modern death metal bands, Azarath keeps the approach of an older speed/death metal band like Destruction but with updated technique.

4. Nominon – Undead Beast: Despite all the death metal trimmings, this track is basically later Sodom — complete with ultra-catchy chorus and noodly solos — updated with a bit of the slick pop trimmings the Swedes do so well, which makes it easy to listen to but hard to want to hear again.

5. Avenger – The Birth of Muse: Unsung because of low drama, Avenger created the template that all Slavic droning black metal uses, and like a better version of Drudkh or Nokturnal Mortum this song cruises through abrupt riffs and high-contrast, loping beats with fluttering melodic riffs to match. Good but not exciting.

6. Kult Ofenzivy – Jaky jsem nalezl Duvod?: High speed simple melodic riffs under a croaking black metal vocal like Immortal, with songwriting like a simplified Gorgoroth or Emperor, this band makes pleasant noise that varies little between start and finish.

7. The New Plague – Welcome to the End: Fast melodic black/death with riffs that pick a basic chord progression and then work around it with longer phrases to escape the inevitability of such an obvious approach; as a result, this seems to be evading whatever truth it wanted to convey, although its competent songwriting includes humor.

8. Semargl – Cult of the Crucified: People compare this band to Emperor, but it makes more sense to say they’re a lot like Kreator with keyboards and black metal riffs, but a bouncier, less furtive version. Many of these riffs have been a staple of melodic death metal bands for fifteen years and haven’t gotten better.

9. Quinta Essentia – Formative Evasion: This odd melodic band chose to incorporate many elements of power metal, including a chanted/cleanly sung passage that’s intriguing yet too pop to keep going for long; it reminds me of Pyogenesis merged with Blind Guardian.

10. Abominant – Evil Inside: Abominant is the ultimate anonymous band. Their CDs pop up everywhere but no one can remember what they sound like. A start — Fallen Christ with every other riff being a melodic fill stretched to carry two rhythms at once, with the frenetic drumming of Krisiun and bombast of later Vader.

11. Cystic Dysentery – Parastic Demise: Blasting frenetic deathgrind in the Unique Leader style, this track shows good judgment in its pacing and a powerful balance between melodic riffs and purely percussive ones, but like most of this style is often too overwhelming in lightspeed repetition of similar ideas for regular listening.

12. Manticore – Praising the Whore…On the Altar of Darkness: Generic death/black metal played at high speed of drums and strumming but relatively mid-paced speed of chord changes and transitions, this track is sticks to a basic verse/chorus style with a few chaotic deviations, reminiscent of Krieg.

13. Nominon – Night of Damnation: The retro-Swedish death metal bands are expert at taking a standard pop song and dressing it up with death metal techniques so that you think you’ve found another Carnage, but on repeated listens, you realize it’s the same generic heavy metal that’s been around since 1974.

14. Nex – Exit: This wanderlust instrumental conveys a sense of melancholic adventure through careful shifting between different forms of a handful of melodic riffs, each riff shape becoming a repeated figure on a chord progression, slowly building a mood. Whispered death vocals guide it.

You can get this compilation at Deathgasm Records for $5.

No Comments

Pyrrhic Victories: A Brief Study Of Artistic Decline

1. Introduction
2. Sepultura – Arise
3. Metallica – Master of Puppets
4. Coroner – Mental Vortex
5. Morbid Angel – Covenant

Written by Pearson, Devamitra and ObscuraHessian

Introduction

All historical events at some stage pertain to a barrier, or a Rubicon that when crossed marks a watershed in the life cycle of an organism in which an achievement cannot be matched in terms of it’s overall qualities. In particular instances, these successes are such that what succeeds can only be a steady decline, or an outcome that pales in comparison to the glory that prevailed at a particular stage of time. This feature aims to give insight into some known examples of the ‘Pyrrhic Victory’ in the metal genre and give light to releases that represent strengths of once great acts, and at the same time foreshadowed artistic saturation.

A common thread that seems to run through these turning points in the careers of metal bands is the apparent contradiction between a musician’s personal evolution and the progress of the musical style into more authentic and expressive forms in service of the concept. We all understand that a maturing musician is not going to be satisfied with the same apparently simple techniques he mastered upon his first year of guitar practice for ages. He probably has musical heroes he is looking up to and he always wanted to learn that Eddie Van Halen or Ritchie Blackmore solo.

Vital musical forms rely on creativity, spontaneity and message over matter. It is the curse of the artist that often the best of their work is at the behest of youthful lunacy and drunken madness, the early recordings where they grasp at the straws of vision without quite having formulated the techniques for achieving them – so they improvise and as Nietzsche would say, “give birth to a dancing star“. ‘Human‘, ‘Tales from the Thousand Lakes‘ and ‘Heartwork‘ are all perfect examples of a band with the full arsenal of accumulated weapons, evolved to near its maximum potential in knowing exactly how to compose all the contemporary forms of metal, from death metal and grindcore to pop progressive, even soft rock.

But here comes the paradox. Instead of sounding updated, the recording sounds more dated every passing year, because what has happened is that the band has incorporated a plethora of archaisms to a sound that used to be cutting edge. The bludgeoning dark tremolos of ‘Leprosy‘ that used to climax in nearly atonal solos become melodious post-modernist “cut up” riff salads; the doomy Wagnerian grandeur and slow movements reminiscent of historical battles in ‘The Karelian Isthmus‘ is stealthily exchanged with stoner rock and circular meditations that happen after a couple too many smoked joints; the to-the-point socio-anatomical parody of the hilariously grotesque and twisted ‘Symphonies of Sickness‘ gets discursive and bloated with instrumental worship, as if the band suddenly turned from anarchists into voters. The core question would be: did the band think these are more sensible ways of composition and a better illustration of the topic at hand – or did they forget the composition and the topic altogether in the name of randomly generating “music” with cold technique?

Sepultura – Arise

Coming off the back of the raging, deathly, speed metal of ‘Beneath The Remains‘, Sepultura stay true to the compact musical execution that began making itself clear on the ‘Schizophrenia‘ album onwards. There is more variation in pace, with the lower tempo compositions often resemblant of the riotous and anthemic cycles of of ‘Beneath The Remains’ played out in suspended animation. The introduction of the now ‘tribal’ meme that first makes itself present in Sepultura’s music introduces itself through in various songs, and whilst here it is applied in a more than tasteful enough manner it sometimes gives the idea that whilst this indicates an ‘open-mindedness’ to the average listener, on deeper insight it gives light to the possibility that the band by this time may have been starting to run short of creative ideas. Whilst this is a very good record by Sepultura, prevailing characteristics get the upper hand, and in a year where speed metal had long had it’s glory days, and death metal attaining new peaks of aggression in a period of artistic blossom, it’s no surprise looking back that the dumbed down and singularly ‘angry’ mosh-fodder that was ‘Chaos A.D.’ would suceed this work. –Pearson

Metallica – Master Of Puppets

A controversial pick, Metallica’s excellent third album fulfills the incorporation of progressive themes but seems to crystallize them to such an extent that no more creative spark would emanate from their later works. Cliff Burton’s presence in the unit, and his bridging of neo-classicist influences into their progressive speed metal was a defining feature of what many hessians and metallers saw to be the main component of their excellence. Having let this seep in on ‘Kill Em All‘ and fully realise itself on ‘Ride The Lightning‘, ‘Master Of Puppets’ steps further towards punchier and anthemic songs, with a steeping emphasis on percussive, palm-muted rhythm riffs which are the dominant motif in the album’s musical execution. This is structurally still in the exact same mould as ‘Ride The Lightining’, in that despite a different order of where songs are, we get aggression in ‘Damage Inc.’ and ‘Battery’ where there was once ‘Fight Fire With Fire’ and ‘Trapped Under Ice’. Songs such as ‘Sanitarium’ continue a rock music inclined sense of songwriting that continues what started with ‘Fade To Black’ and inevitably foreshadows the growing commercialism of Metallica on later releases. The excellence of ‘Orion’ also signals a continuity shift that began with ‘Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)’ and fulfilled itself with the ‘Call Of Ktulu’ instrumental. This is a great album that solidifies the importance of Metallica in the genre’s history, though the death of Cliff Burton and the lack of creative steam that ensued signalled the artistic decline that came in 1988 with ‘And Justice For All…’. –Pearson

Coroner – Mental Vortex

While the speed and thrash metal boom was crumbling all around in the wake of Seattle and LA-based clothing styles storming the nation, a few European stalwarts lingered on the fringes and while some of them didn’t dare to take up the arms for intricate, narrative death metal, they were influenced by its vicious aggression and psychedelic subject matter. Coroner from Zürich, around Tom G. Warrior‘s circle of the tyrants, never became a vastly recognized or influential name in extreme metal but superceded most of its peers in technicality and consistency, releasing a discography of five albums ranging from the raging “R.I.P.” to the eclectic “Grin“, where the fourth one “Mental Vortex” is where the playing abilities peak but the ultimate purpose of the band is starting to wane. When the idealism of youth fades and with it the spontaneous power of iconographic assault, the only avenue left for speed metal to challenge the moral preconceptions of hypocritical generations was to turn to psychology and explore lies and paranoia in the internal spheres, cutting up joy and sadness into fusion-esque rhythm riff salads (with the timing of an atomic clock) cut up from brilliant small pieces akin to Burroughs’ or Gysin’s style of literature. Such a hectic style provides an engaging rhythmic tension for this album, arguably one of the last triumphs of the entire genre, but it’s also cold and calculated like a scientific experiment. The vastly more popular but not much better Carcass realized essentially the same things many years later on their hit album “Heartwork” and ended up on the pages of guitar magazines, while Coroner was already entombed to the mausoleums of Noise Records’ speed metal roster. –Devamitra

Morbid Angel – Covenant

Among the most ancient, recognisable and influential cults in Death Metal’s history, Morbid Angel’s tale of decline is a prolonged one, and raised continuous questions about the band’s creative state, as though their instruments were being channelled purely at the whim of the Outer Gods. The Floridan giants finally resisted the unearthly impulses that once guided them to create powerful statements of occult awareness bound up with a Nietzschean sense of overcoming and will-to-power, such that with the releases of ‘Gateways of Annihilation’ and ‘Heretic’, the band fell victim to triviality. Incremental lapses in quality can be traced back to much earlier albums however, with the departure of guitarist Richard Brunelle being the first to impact the legendary line-up responsible for two of the finest Metal albums ever recorded, meaning that ‘Covenant’ would initiate the band’s slow decay. In addition, Morbid Angel’s growing populist tendencies were perhaps never more commercially viable than at this time, with the production left in the hands of Fleming Rasmussen, and not one but two music videos filmed to promote the album. Brunelle’s exit would mean that Trey Azagthoth would be fully responsible for filling the suffocating mix with his trademarked guitarwork, to the surprising detriment of ‘Covenant’s sound wherever the album’s conceptual direction becomes overwhelmed by a one-dimensional bluntness. Characterised by unfocused and uniform phrasing and only held in place by Pete Sandoval’s tightly militaristic drumming, the latter half of the album demonstrates little of the dynamism that could be heard on every one of their preceeding songs. The spiritual inversion of Morbid Angel, a transvaluation of religious language to re-vitalise and Paganise the path of transcendence and condemn the submissive and world-denying, corrupt parasites turns into an unaltering, blind rage that’s summarised by the lyric of ‘God of Emptiness‘, “So, what makes you supreme?”, setting a blueprint for the band to follow on ‘Domination‘ and the hordes of imitators that were given an undeserved license to record by virtue of Death Metal’s growing popularity. ‘Covenant’ in this sense is not dissimilar to Deicide’s Pyrrhic fall from the adept demonology of ‘Legion‘ to the dumbed-down ‘Once Upon the Cross‘, though Azagthoth’s wizardry would earn Morbid Angel some redemption with the primordial dance of cosmic energies to be heard on ‘Formulas Fatal to the Flesh‘ before finally digging their own grave without cursing their own reputation quite as badly as the truly shattered idols from the golden age of Death Metal. –ObscuraHessian

No Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The best concert you probably never went to

a_day_of_death-flier

The two authors of Glorious Times, a book dedicated to the early speed metal/death metal years of the metal underground, were once writers for far underground zines. But they were also fans, and as most fans do, over the year they accumulated experiences and artifacts.

On their blog the old schoolers have written about the A Day of Death festival from 1990, which was an early death metal festival in the style of Michigan Death Fest or Maryland Death Fest, but featuring all the old school bands because back then, they were the new school and scraping by to survive.

Not only do they give us a review of each band playing, but they also offer a CDR of the event — two songs each from Autopsy, Repulsion, Incantation, Cannibal Corpse and Deceased in either lossy MP3 format or lossless FLAC format if you want to burn an exact original. This is quite a treat as live material from the time is quite rare, because next to no one thought this death metal thing would take off.

Check out the lineup:

  • Radiation Sickness
  • Lucifer’s Hammer
  • Deceased
  • Suffocation
  • Goreaphobia
  • Incantation
  • Mortician
  • Disharmonic Orchestra
  • Cannibal Corpse
  • Immolation
  • Baphomet
  • Repulsion
  • Autopsy

The scary thing is that most of these bands have come back and are recording or touring. Amazing how time flies past and yet people remain essentially the same. I would kill to be able to go back in time to this show, however, as it was during the formative days of one of the few modern music genres worth writing about.

Check out the blog post and consider downloading the CD-R. It’s worth it, if for nothing else the glimpse of this time, but the sound quality isn’t bad and the music is vital from the most intense years of these bands.

No Comments

Tags: , , , , ,

Cannibal Holocaust

This is by no means the easiest of films to watch. It has numerous flaws and executions within the film that would provoke one to make immediate criticism, for example the sub-par, almost at times robotic acting and unimaginative script, and what could indeed be labelled a lack of cohesion (could this be due to editing and censoring? I am not sure), Cannibal Holocaust never ceases to shock and provoke, as well as provoke immediate questions of ‘who are the real savages?’ and how people might want to generally assess their modern, non-organic way of living.

For those unaware, the film centers around an anthropologist who is searching the wherabouts of a film crew, lost and presumed dead after having gone on a expedition discovering primitivist tribal cultures, and the alleged cannibalism associated with it. Upon retrieving a camcorder containing reels of film that entail the ill-fated decline and fall of the expedition, the anthropologist then returns to the United States, to show the footage to the executives of a major television station. As each reel is played off, we see the young crew begin as arrogant, gung-ho, civilised and white skinned carefree adventurers, with little or no respect for a habitat that is not, and will never be their own. As the film footage progresses, we see the crew make contact with the native tribespeople, and imposing their presence on them in a harsh manner, committing beatings, tortures, arson and rape, whilst filming their deeds, which they attempt to justify on the grounds they are more civilised than they. As the title of the film partially implies, the predators surely but quickly become prey, each of them killed barbarically and ritualistically. In between the pausing of the reels, the executives of the television network are convinced that the celluloid they witness would indeed make for good viewing ratings, to the anthropologist’s objection that such a thing is exploitative and in bad taste.

The film is at times unsettling, and we see many obvious critiques of how life, substance and nature are valued by the modern ‘civilised’ human being. One easily gets the impression at times that the intrusion of camera, gun and machete wielding Westerners into isolated, indigenous land is a metaphorical allusion to the ills of colonialism. The film also questions the bloodthirsty sales appetite we see in the modern media, ‘blood equals ratings’, which is too often seen when a mainstream newspaper is more than happy enough to make their own material gains from anothers tragedy. As I have illustrated in the opening paragraph, this film is badly executed in certain avenues, and when viewed it is easy to realise this. The real-life killings of animals are stomach-churning, and will alienate many. The depictions of sacrifice, abortion, rape, castration, mutilation and torture are profoundly realistic and shocking, they give a raw attribute to the film that very little in the cinematic world will ever match.

The most redeeming features of the film are the soundtrack by Riz Ortolani, which utilises rather dated synthesisers alongside a string orchestra, often interspersed with music that sounds not too dissimilar to Italian religous music, with arpeggiated acoustic guitars playing upbeat music that adds a brilliantly sarcastic touch to an otherwise grim and unrelenting series of violent acts. The usage of hand-held camera is very effective. As opposed to films where every scene is portrayed from a multi-angle perceptive, we see absolute realism for the most part, and is done in a non-perfective, improvised fashion that otherwise contributes heavily to making the film for the most part, very convincing. Cannibal Holocaust is flawed, yes. But it is a triumph of the cold, efficient will. Unlike the humoured (but still excellent) Dawn Of The Dead, Cannibal Holocaust is the work of the cynical sociopath, and seems to metaphorically imply that when one reaches or exceeds a certain threshold of excess, be it due to ignorance, lust, greed, self-indulgence etc, there is not even the vaguest chance of redemption. In a sense, the message of this film is an all-out war against the modern way, and the belief that furthering it to those who are otherwise unwilling to accept it is nothing short of a disastrous consequence. The film also suceeds in that it doesnt moralise about the issues it raises, and also leaves the film open to many possible interperatations. Overlooked by critics for its very bad acting, reviled by the politically correct, adored by much of the exploitation crowd, here is a film which holds truths and meanings beyond a framework that would isolate and sicken many.

No Comments

Tags:

Were the good old days really better?

Jason Netherton from Misery Index thinks so. In a provocative essay, he argues that the old days were better because:

1. The scene was incredibly tight knit and the friendships were earned.
2. The MP3 (had not yet arrived)
3. The mainstream had yet to commercialize death metal.
4. The unity.
5. No one ever expected anything from being in a death metal band.

Worth reading. For the record, I agree with him: before the genre became a means to an end unrelated to the music (money, popularity, status) it was a goal in itself — to make killer metal of this new type — and all of us got caught up in it. Now it’s another genre like any other, about where hardcore punk was when death metal got birthed.

No Comments

Divine Eve – Vengeful and Obstinate

divine_eve-vengeful_and_obstinate

Divine Eve‘s Vengeful and Obstinate is a three-way cross between Entombed, Motorhead and Cathedral. More technically adept than most doom metal, it alternates between two-chord riffs that are pure surging rhythm and longer, plodding, doom riffs that reduce your soul to ash. On top of the thunderous doom melodic guitar leads both echo and play with the melodies of those long riffs, opening up the sonic space of the album to more possibility.

No Comments

Tags: , ,

Satan – Court in the Act

Hailing from Newcastle, the same turf as fellow Geordies Venom, Satan’s debut album offers a more finely executed and grandiose vision of the NWOBHM, and on Court In The Act they deliver a masterwork that arguably represents the peak of the style. Each composition is defined by intricate rhythm and lead guitar work, and a pacy ryththm section that has all the momentum of an up-tempo take on Stained Class by Judas Priest. A very well tamed vocal retains a mostly mid-range croon throughout songs, unleashing semi-operatic falsettos wherever necessary to give greater punctuality to the conclusions of riff cycles. On repeat listens Court In The Act can bring about various comparisons, with the proto-speed metal gallop of Judas Priest, the melodic noodling of Iron Maiden and an anthemic niche shared by Angel Witch. Witchfinder General also comes to mind, albeit lacking the Black Sabbath influence that informed said act.

Melody and song structure here is flawless, and unlike many albums of the NWOBHM there is no real incohesion or disruption halting the flow of compositional prowess. Quite an archaic use of notation that makes great use of pentatonics, yet moderates the restraints of blues and R&B music, has something more in common with European music of centuries past. If one were to imagine listening and removing the aesthetics of the modern band-set up, and replacing the electrical distortions of the guitars with perhaps harpsichord or sole acoustic guitar in it’s place a bridge can more or less be established as an imaginative transition to a modern form of music. One of the absolute best releases of traditional metal, this is highly overlooked and highly recommended.

Pearson-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6G3K84tRH8

No Comments

Tags: , , , ,

Classic reviews:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z