ADVERSARY
“We Must Be In Hell” (promo CD)
Cursed Productions
rating: 4 of 6
What surprised me most of all, almost all the reviews on this CD I’ve read so far drag it into shit, defining ADVERSARY as “garage-level, pathetic death metal”… Don’t believe that! Even though I have discovered plenty of shortcomings here, this four-track MCD is enough intriguing and pleasant to listen to. ADVERSARY’s style is mid-tempo diabolic death metal with variety and a bit strange vocal lines (which get somewhat irritating at times). No keyboards, no programming, just plain brutality. Although, I feel I should tell you that this trio have enough brains to make their compositions’ sound above the average, putting enough diversity in them. When it comes to drawbacks, these are vocals (in the first turn). Secondly, ADVERSARY needs a fairly good studio, since I believe that “We Must Be In Hell” would sound thousand times more impressive if it was recorded in a place like Abyss or Sunlight (or their US analogues)… however, don’t get me wrong, the sound on this effort is quite enjoyable. Check out “(We Must Be) In Hell” and “The Holocaust” as well as the opening “Suffering” with these triple vocals (could it be an invention??). All in all – good.
Email: cursed@sbinet.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

ANIMA IN FIAMME
“Anima In Fiamme” (promo CD)
rating: 5 of 6
ANIMA IN FIAMME is led by Ferruccio Milanesi, bass and keyboard player for ARGINE. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard the latter band, however I can say for sure that ANIMA IN FIAMME is worth attention. This promo comes with six tracks of ambiental / industrialized diversity; the first one, “Ferite”, is more on a dark / noise / industrial side, whilst both, the second and the third ones, take us in a neo-classical journey with pseudo-operatic male voices, violins, organ and cello, reminding me a bit of what ANGIZIA could be if they weren’t metal. Furthermore, we have yet one more version of “Ferite”, the same dark, agonizing and grim industrial, although this time incorporating few symphonic elements. Much better than the opening track, that’s for sure. Ok, in the end this duo grants us a chance to enjoy their cover of FIRE+ICE, “Michael”. Truly astounding. As Ferruccio told me, at the moment they’re concentrating on more neo-classical stuff, and I guess it’s a right move. Overall, this CD strikes as highly impressive and non-typical effort, that’s why I believe that ANIMA IN FIAMME has a bright future…
Email: milanesi@lycosmail.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

BANSHEE
“Growing Into The Rotten Garden” (demo)
rating: 6 of 6
This tape has definitely has a chance to become the best demo of the issue! BANSHEE’s music is truly weird… weird the way I like it. “Growing…” comes with four really long tracks of utterly dark and anxious form of art, which is, however, different from all of it’s descriptions I’ve got myself acquainted. This is some kind of progressive and experimental, even somewhat vanguard at times, twisted form of black metal with absolutely sick voice and perturbing atmosphere. Sometimes it’s calm and slow, however calm in… erh… ‘funeral’ way if you get what I mean, sometimes it’s almost ravaging… Luca, the singer, varies his singing parts from tranquil yet somber recitatives to distorted shrieks; absolutely inhuman if you want my opinion. No doubts, it’s very difficult to find any similarities, since BANSHEE (what a surprise!) appears as highly original act… however, let me dare to take such names as IN THE WOODS…, ABRUPTUM, VOIVOD and BURZUM. Not mix it into one and you’ll get a slight picture of the way BANSHEE sounds. But hell, what am I saying?! Pure nonsense, I suppose. Why? Well, the answer is utmost simple: this talented quintet cannot be compared to anyone… I sincerely wish ‘em to get a record deal in the nearest time to come… being really surprised due to the fact that BANSHEE managed to sell only 200 (or something like that) copies so far… All in all, excellent work, so check it out!
Contact address: Mario Bove / via Franchetti, n 4 / 84091 / Battipaglia (Sa) / Italy
Phone: +39 828 309789
Email: mbov@battipaglia.peoples.it
       Bansheegard@freemail.it
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

BLACK COUNTESS
“Child Of The Demonic Moon” (demo)
rating: 6 of 6
No doubts, BLACK COUNTESS deserved to get a top place in “Russia’s best newcomer” charts! No way I could expect to receive such an exciting stuff, especially taking into account the fact BLACK COUNTESS comes from Ulyanovsk, the city which was never known for it’s metal scene (actually, this band is the first one coming from Ulyanovsk I’ve ever heard). First of all, I must admit that this tape (also available in the shape of CD-R) is pro-done when it comes to every single thing. The cover, the inlay, the sound… By the way, that’s what really surprised me – Russian underground acts were always known for their careless attitude to recording place and stuff. Ok, let’s go further on: musically, BLACK COUNTESS appear as perfect amalgamation of black and doom metal, sometimes heavily reminding me of early CREMATORY as well as GRAVEWORM. The same kind of rather brutal yet melodic (no pussy shit, though!) blackish doom with keyboards. The singer simultaneously growls and shrieks, while some recitatives also take place. Unfortunately, they didn’t manage to find a suitable drummer, so, obviously, it’s a computer who cares for all the drum tracks here, although nothing bad in it, I believe; at least it sounds almost similar to real drums. As to musicians… well, all of them possess splendid playing skills, so you won’t discover any drawbacks in terms of music while listening to “Child Of The Demonic Moon”; however the lyrical canvas really sucks. In fact, their English is quite enjoyable, but this idea behind the band… the one regarding vampirism and all that erotic crap… Well, I guess you should be, a) EXTREMELY good in English, and, b) undoubtedly a good POET, in order to comprise any CRADLE OF FILTH-alike verses… While these “lyrics” sound really naive and somewhat even funny at times. You know, I was close to hysteric laughter while reading their “poetry”… What a chance for “true” black metal kids! One more band whose name may be put into their “death list”, heh heh… Anyway, musically this demo is superb, so I guess they should work hard in terms of promotion, since it’s really a pity if they won’t gain the popularity and status they deserve. Therefore, support these guys and contact ‘em in order to purchase “Child…” – you won’t regret, believe me. Even if RAKOTH are much more original, BLACK COUNTESS is my fave Russian band at the moment anyway…
Snail mail: c/o Roman Liskov, P.O.Box 4556, Ulyanovsk, 432063, Russia
Email: faceward@mail.ru
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

BLACKLODGE
“Prince Of Dark Cellars” (promo CD)
Blacklodge Creations
rating: 5 of 6
French people were always known for some kind of completely another way of thinking – especially when it comes to that land’s metal scene… Let us recall FOREST OF SOULS, FORBIDDEN SITE, SCARVE, MISANTHROPE… These bands are somewhat unique, no doubts. And so is BLACKLODGE. This is a one man project (brought to life by Saint Vincent, who's also responsible for SAINT VINCENT and HURLEVENTS), defined as “weird electric black metal” by it’s creator… and this definition fits here perfectly. It’s definitely “electric”  when it comes to BLACKLODGE’s sound and the use of e-guitars is not what I’m talking about… it’s just the sound, the sound in general. This promo includes three songs taken off this band’s debut CD, “InnerCells”, as well as a CD-Rom track with BLACKLODGE’s homepage (so you don’t need to spend your money surfing the Net, heh heh). Ok, what about comparisons? Here they are: BURZUM (circa “Filosofem”) and “Battles In The North”-era IMMORTAL, perhaps mostly due to those distorted, hateful, inhuman shrieks. The music is quite diverse melody- and tempo-wise, with drummachine, which sounds extremely weird, almost techno-alike at times. Keyboards are also very weird, even a bit avantgardistic. In the whole, this is very personal work, if you get what I mean. Moreover, it’s exciting. And it’s BLACK.
Email: saintvincent@caramail.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

CASTRUM
“The Leading Spirit Of Medieval Tortures”
Metal Force
rating: 5 of 6
No, Croatian vampires (also carrying the name “Castrum”) are not what I am talking about now. This CASTRUM comes from Ukraine and differs a lot from it’s namesake, both musically and lyrically. Basically, “The Leading Spirit Of Medieval Tortures” is a compilation of their earlier demo works and rehearsals. The first four tracks come from “Flames By Impiety” demo (recorded back in June 1996), appearing as quite raw (especially, in terms of recording) yet technical, mid-paced death metal, rather unorthodox I’d say, even though I don’t like the keyboards’ sound. The next three tunes were taken off “Pleasure In The Deeds Of Horror”, and these are the best ones. Sounding quite similar to early ANCIENT RITES, though still being enough original, these songs are (fairly) well recorded, synth-spiced at times, with somewhat special sound and approach to music. At least, I can’t recall any either Russian, Ukrainian or Belorussian band we could compare CASTRUM to. Furthermore, this time keyboards sound enjoyable, even taking into account the fact there’re only few of them. Then we have one rehearsal track, the freshest one, if talking about the times recording took place. It’s not bad, however I believe better studio is a necessity. In the end, there come “Burial Of The Affection” rehearsal demo, featuring more five compositions. Not bad as well, especially that instrumental tune… Seems like I tried to tell you what “The Leading Spirit…” is all about musically, whilst lyrically it might be a perfect crib if you’re going to have your medieval Europe’s history exam next week. In general, atmospheric, recognizable dark death metal is what we have here. Not your everyday DM, you know.
The only correct mailing address:
Kornel Kontros
Yarockaya str.7
88000 Uzhgorod
UKRAINE
Email: cornelius@kontr.uzhgorod.ua
http://come.to/castrum (The official CASTRUM web site)
http://castrum.tripod.com/encomium/ (ENCOMIUM - extreme underground webzine)
http://castrum.tripod.com/ (Another official site of CASTRUM)
http://connect.to/the.realm (The realm of death metal)
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

ELSEWHEN
“Gates Of Time” (promo CD)
rating: 5 of 6
Hmm, surprisingly Hellas become a new Mecca for power metal bands… Here’s one more of a kind, even though I’d more likely reckon ELSEWHEN to some kind of a cross between power and progressive. This CD-R features four songs of highly impressive, atmospheric and perfectly (yeah, just perfectly) performed stuff, however I feel it becomes too muddled sometime (well… even too often). I believe, these guys should have make their stuff a bit more complex in terms of composition and song-structures. And yes, invite someone to play second guitar, since even if Stavros is an outstanding guitarist (even though he seems to be a solo maniac!), he needs a certain individual to supplement his playing. But that’s what goes for shortcomings. As to this promo’s highlights, these are brilliant vocals which are, actually, nearly amazing. Chris has extremely powerful voice, more of a low-pitched, than “classical” power metal falsetto. Furthermore, the musicians are all almost perfect… hmm, why “almost”?! They ARE perfect. Each of them. Secondly, the music in the whole is enough atmospheric and well-composed, even somewhat innovative… And lastly… well, what “lastly”? I know not. I guess, I’ll just be waiting for the new effort from this talented quartet.
Email: elsewhen@yahoo.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

EMBITTERED
“Degenerator” (promo CD)
rating: 4 of 6
… and once again. Swedish death metal from Denmark. Totally Swedish, I should admit. Ok, I always considered DARK TRANQUILLITY to be more black metal, so let’s compare this one to WITHOUT GRIEF. Anyone’s to dispute? Ok, good. “Degenerator” is a second release from these young (that’s what their photo tells me) Danish guys, appearing as fast-paced, technical and melodic death metal. Aggressive, brilliantly performed and executed. Rather diverse, well arranged, coming with highly exciting lyrical canvas. But anyway, more variety is what they need, that’s for sure… Lots of tempo changes and alike stuff is not what I’m talking, you see. EMBITTERED needs something different, which could make them to stand against a background of AT THE GATES / IN FLAMES / DARK TRANQUILLITY clones. As a verdict: this five-song promo CD will definitely appeal to you if you’re into Scandinavian melodic metal (with an exception for the Finnish bands, of course). Otherwise, if you’re extremely tired of this “invasion”, pass it by.
Email: embittered@sol.dk
       embittered@909mail.dk
(review by Herr Stalhammar)
 
GRIFFIN
“Conquers The World” (demo CD)
rating: 5 of 6
This is a relatively young band coming from Norway, now signed to Season Of Mist… I guess, their debut album will be already out when you read these lines. GRIFFIN is comprised of former ATROX and BLOODTHORN members, however don’t expect any doom or black metal this time. GRIFFIN’s style is groovy modern thrash metal, similar to that of METALLICA (“… And Justice For All” and “Master Of Puppets”-era), although a bit less complicated (which is only for good, I think), also featuring double bass, hammond organ and flute; everything’s skillfully played. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? Furthermore, GRIFFIN definitely is a highly original band, they doesn’t sound neither archaic, nor they try to follow this so-called “thrash revival”, y’know. And in the end, let me add few words regarding this CD-R (coming with almost a perfect sound, by the way). First of all, the best song off it is “The Usurper”, whilst the closing track, “Bliss”, strikes as most weird one, differing a lot from others featured on “Conquers The World”. You wonder, what kind of difference I mean? Uhm, listen to it and decide yourself, man. One thing I know for sure: GRIFFIN has a bright future, even though thrash metal is not that popular nowadays, so you’ll have to give ‘em some attention they deserve.
Email: johnwangberg@c2i.net
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

INCENDIUM
“Incendium” (demo CD)
rating: 4, 5 of 6
We have few purely outstanding works in the shape of demo or promo effort this time, as well as plenty of worthy and promising acts who, despite that they’re far from the greatness of f.ex. MUTINY or BANSHEE, still manage to create something undoubtedly unorthodox and exciting stuff. Such is Finland’s INCENDIUM. This is melodic doomy death metal with somewhat black metallish atmosphere and obvious HM-influence, featuring powerful growling-alike vokills as well as extremely impressive “clean” voice, tight riffing and pleasant violin parts (even though they’re a bit too “straight-forward”, if you get what I mean (with an exception for the “Far Away” track, which is, by the way, one of the best tunes off “Incendium”). The sound is good, and the originality is also present here, so the only thing that sucks is the design… but who cares anyway?? Ok, now you wonder why didn’t I give ‘em at least ‘5’ of ‘6’, right? Aha. Y’know, something’s missing here, and I don’t really know why… Perhaps, the compositions lack commonness? Don’t ask me. Better pick up this CD-R, it’s worth your money. And yeah, check out the interview with INCENDIUM next issue.
Email: incendium@iobox.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

IN FIERI
“Promo ‘99”
rating: 4, 5 of 6
Melodic black metal from Italy, reminding me of latest works by IN FLAMES at times. This promo CD consists of two tracks, lasting for 18 minutes in the whole, although, despite their length, these tunes don’t get boring or anything like that. Both, “The Inner Path” and “Misshapen Chaos”, are quite various musically, also featuring certain diversity singing-wise (typical black metal screams are being supplemented by “clean” male voices (good) as well as the female ones…) The arrangements seem to be highly impressive to me, while production isn’t that perfect though still enjoyable. Well… more likely – good. By the way, finally I figured out what band is the most similar sounding to IN FIERI! LATHEBRA is the name… or is it IN FIERI who sound similar to LATHEBRA? Doesn’t matter anyway. This is good piece of well-arranged, well-played (all those other “well-…”s) gothic black metal. I guess, this band has a bright future if they’ll manage to keep their works as exciting as this one.
Contact address: Ale Marongiu / Via La Malfa n 2 / 07100 / Sassari / Italy
Email: everythingisruined@yahoo.com
       Isildur99@hotmail.com

JAAPORTIT
“Kauan Koskematon” (demo)
(provided by Noitavasara Distribution)
rating: 5 of 6
Calm, tranquil and soothing, yet bewitching and somewhat mesmerizing ambient is what we have with JAAPORTIT. You know, when I’m listening to this MC, I immediately fancy myself being alone in a small house within the wintry forest; sitting near fireplace, having some whisky, with old, staunch dog lying near the legs of mine. This is not the kind of stuff to chill you, but it’s still extremely atmospheric. In contrast to most contemporary so-called “dark ambient” projects, the individual behind JAAPORTIT contrived to spawn all pro-done creation. He’s really good in creating arrangements, even though all compositions sound quite similar to each other; however, this kind of music is not the one where you have to be diverse. Besides aforesaid, it’s not monotonous at all, as it often happens with young Tolkien-fans eager to create suchlike stuff. Well-produced, coming with a nice looking artwork and layout, this cassette should be yours. At least, this is one of the best non-metal works I’ve heard lately (especially on demo level).
Email (JAAPORTIT): tuomasma@freenet.hut.fi
Email (Noitavasara): noitav@hotmail.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

KALTES
“Starchariot” (demo)
rating: 4 of 6
Hungarian black metal. Not the kind of stuff I listen to everyday, mostly due to the fact it’s rather difficult of access. Can you recall any BM acts coming from that State? Ok, yeah, we have SEAR BLISS. And of course – TORMENTOR. PLASMA POOL as well (even though it’s not black metal). That’s all, I fear. Anyway, here’s a tape lying and awaiting it’s verbal autopsy… “Starchariot” is the first offering from this foursome and it’s quite enjoyable. Two really long tracks of something I’d describe as sort of leisured pagan black, reminding me a bit of Bulgaria’s ZARATUSTRA, especially in terms of guitar passages and the way they’re executed. These guys managed to reach certain level of diversity, varying tempos quite often (however, most of melodies sound similar to each other) and adding shaman-alike “clean” singing, pretty much close to the one by Alex Kurtagic. Ok, enough comparisons. Perhaps, KALTES aren’t that original, but they’re recognizable enough and that’s already a good thing nowadays. Surely, they need to work hard in order to get ‘6’ of ‘6’-rating, although I guess you won’t spend your money in vain purchasing this tape.
Email: kaltes@freemail.hu
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

KARNA
“Angelland / Strange Eyes Of The Abyss” (demo)
rating: 4, 5 of 6
Why, why, why does it happen that all these tapes and CD’s I get always demolish all my expectations??! I KNEW that KARNA will be pagan black metal or something like that, however what do we have here?! Pagan? Not at all! Black metal? Well yes… but I wouldn’t say it’s black at 100%. “Angelland…” features definitely weird material, kinda astral ambient / black / industrial stuff. It begins with some anxiously whispering voices, then turns into some sort of perverted sounds’ collection, although it’s not your noisy and incomprehensible BRIGHTER DEATH NOW-wannabe. No. It’s a way more exciting, although far from being perfect. Well, in fact it’s rather hard to describe what this tape is all about; one thing I can say for sure – I haven’t ever heard anything like that coming from Russia. A revelation? Shut up. It is not. But it’s still damn interesting… although again, I must admit that “Angelland…” is not the kind of stuff I will listen to every day.
Email: xyster@mail.ru
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

KHARADRAI
“III – Hexapteron” (demo)
Meat Hook Productions
rating: 5 of 6
Finland seems to be a new motherland for talented men working in the fields of so-called dark ambient. At least, JAAPORTIT is great. That’s what I think. And that’s what I consider KHARADRAI to be. As far as I know, this is their (or his?) third work so far, however I haven’t heard the previous ones, so I can’t do what I like to do most: to compare. Ok, nevermind, let’s get rid of putting comparisons in each single review and talk about this concrete tape… The concept behind KHARADRAI strikes as really weird one, and, honestly speaking, I can’t really get into it, so… I’d better leave it alone. What else…? Ah, the music. It’s ambient. The one which could be a perfect soundtrack for certain creepy horror movie whose plot mainly deals with the subject of Space. If someone would like to make yet one more “Alien” sequel, tell him to pick up “Hexapteron” in order to put it instead of some shitty soundtrack. All the tracks off this effort are very well crafted (structurally, I mean), being quite anxious and grim, featuring some pseudo(?)-industrial sfx’s here and there but still staying that good ‘ol ambient with only few alien (hmm…) influences. And hey you, it’s not symphonic. And that is good. Perhaps…
Get this tape from Meat Hook Productions (wille@pp.htv.fi)
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

MISANTHROPY
"Human Hatred"
Ctanic Records
rating: 3 of 6
"Totally raw and hateful blakc metal from Colorado inspired by hate, evil and darkness! Extreme underground malevolence fueled anger and hatred towards a bastard filled, virus infected and pathetic existence!"... Hmm... This is much better than DESASTRIOUS, anyway.
This demo CD (lasting for only 9 minutes, by the way) starts with a semi-instrumental track (sorry, I couldn't make out what are the song titles, since I own a heroxed promo copy), which is actually quite good. It confused me a bit, though. You see, this tune sounds like a melodic thrash / heavy metal with some BM screams in the background and an easily recognizable programmed drumset. The second one is much worse, I fear. Basically, it's extremely raw BM with extremely irritating sfx's (?), however the whole stuff gets better with the next composition - the best one here, along with opening instrumental. It's also raw and somewhat anxious, although, even if the whole demo CD sounds pretty amateurish, I should say that Sean (guitars) and Ed (vocals and programming) are not bad when it comes to their playing skills; at least, it's far from complete incomprehensibleness most of these "oh so true, raw and evil" bands offer. Anyway, "Human Hatred" ends with semi-instrumental tune as well. All in all, they have some chances to gain certain recognition in the underground, however these guys should work really hard in order to make their second offering enough exciting so I could rate it with at least '4' of '6'.
Email: ctanic@hotmail.com
       goatlord333@yahoo.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

MORIA
“Minas Ithil” (promo CD)
rating: 4, 5 of 6
This is very young foursome emerging from Sweden, and I must admit this three-track promo CD (despite the fact it’s appearance sucks) is worthy enough to give it a listen. “Kvadet Om Leithian”, “Skuggbruden” and “Nattmaran”, all of them sound exciting, being mostly either slow or mid-paced, tranquil though grim black metal with some keys and chant-alike female (and some male, I guess…?) voices in the background, reminding me a bit of the works by their country-mates, SIEBENBURGEN. All songs are rather similar to each other, in the same time somehow being different. Different enough to lack any kind of dullness. Talking about their playing skills and sound quality, I’d say both seem to be pleasant, even though, of course, we can’t compare them to f.ex. HYPOCRISY or MARDUK (ha ha). Guess if I will recommend you this effort or not? The latter? Wrong you are. MORIA definitely deserves to be noticed, so email ‘em at <moriacave@hotmail.com>. Furthermore, expect the interview next issue…
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

MORITURUS
“Confrontation Of Opposites” (demo)
rating: 1 of 6
This is what preceded KARNA… I hope you noticed that I said “this is what…” instead of “this is the band…” – because I would never dare to define THIS HORROR as a band. You know, MORITURUS is equal to CHAOS DIVINE – it’s the same fucking NOISE! And you can’t understand a shit in this pseudo-musical chaos. “Confrontation Of Opposites” (b.t.w., released back in 1995) begins with horrible intro, which appears as utterly insane guitar-performed howling, then comes the song which may be defined as harsh and raw black metal if talking ‘bout style… something close to TODESKAMPF and others of that ilk, you know. And after that… oh, gods and devils, it’s undescribable! I’ve got a headache after just few minutes listening to this crap. Please, don’t make me to go on with this review… (Herr Stalhammar)

MUTINY
“Guilty As Charged” (promo)
rating: 6 of 6
“Faded Pages” (demo)
rating: 4, 5 of 6
Let me write a so-called “combined” review this time, since I believe it might be better to write a common review on both works. MUTINY is a rather young band emerging from the ancient land of Greece, while their style is… heavy metal. Surprised? Yeah, the same with me, since I got used to the fact that Greece spawns only black metal and grind- / hardcore, while DARK NOVA is (was?) one and only Greek band playing heavy metal. Well, despite my bad expectations, “Guilty As Charged” (coming with surprisingly tremendous design… especially taking into account the fact it’s only a promo) turned out as unbelievably splendid effort (in contrast to “Faded Pages”, but… later about that). It features two tracks (both last approx. 15 minutes) of majestic and sublime cross between heavy and power metal (REALLY heavy, not some pussy crap, y’know), coming with astounding arrangements, brilliant high-pitched vocals and magnificent guitar work… well, the sound is great as well. Furthermore, I would even dare to say that MUTINY contrived to attain the border of originality and cross it (the right way, you see… reaching it’s very heart). Nevertheless, “Faded Pages”, the older recording, comes with a worse sound, and… You have three tries to guess, ladies and gentlemen! Surely, the songs themselves are worse as well (while the last one, “Inner Mirror”, made me to think of it as of someone’s cover… am I right, Agis?), although nothing bad in it. It just shows the band's improvement throughout time, don’t  you think so? Moreover, in the whole, this demo is not bad at all – it’s only rather weak in comparison to “Guilty As Charged” which is brilliant work in my view… Check this band out now!
Contact address: Agis Krimpenis / Platonos 12 / 111 47 Galatsi / Athens / Greece
Email: mc95042@central.ntua.gr
WWW: http://members.spree.com/mkefalakis/mutiny/default.htm

NOCTURNAL DECAY
“Withered And Dying” (demo CD)
rating: 2 of 6
The same problem as with synths on “Loekr Inn Niflheim” by DESASTRIOUS. I mean horrible slips with timing… Let me say for one more time: using sequencer won’t harm anything! Generally speaking, musically this CD-R appears as an attempt to create some kind of “sympho-black metal”, however these guys fail miserably. They’re not bad as musicians (and keyboards sound nearly great, by the way… sometimes), however I completely don’t like these amusing pseudo-black metal squeaks, as well as “tadak-tadak-tata-tadak-tata”-sounding drummachine. Extremely childish, you know. All in all, I don’t like this work at all. Anyway, if you wish to get a headache, order “Withered And Dying” – personally I don’t know if anything works that good to grant you a huge hangover-alike feeling.
Email: Gods_Of_Decay@hotmail.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

SEPULCHRAL SECT
“Eclipse” (demo)
rating: 3, 5 of 6
I have listened to this tape for a couple of times, however I still can’t recall what I was listening to… Yeah, as I remember, this one-man project comes from Italy and it’s melodic black metal. Not commercial, though. Rather good sound (at least, for a demo level), nice musicianship, enough variety, synths (although, there’re not too much of them), female voice here and there… Some kind of a “black metal ballad” all way through, heh heh… Well, all in all, this is not bad at all, but… It seems like I’ve heard this kind of stuff for hundred times… I don’t know, maybe I should listen to this tape once again…?
Email: Sects@Tiscalinet.it
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

SOILS OF FATE
“Blood Serology”
Empty Vein Music
rating: 6 of 6
Ultra-guttural, almost inhuman vocals; tight riffing; fast and surprisingly technical drumming… This is what SOILS OF FATE are all about. This young (at least, judging by their appearance) trio comes from Sweden, whilst this tape is their second offering (of course, if I’m not mistaken). Honestly speaking, I don’t really know what to add here… Ok, the sound is great, so is the layout… Hmm… Actually, I haven’t had a pleasure to listen to such a killer doze of pure death metal for a long, long time… This is just perfect, you see. Plain and brutal as fuck, yet well thoughtout. Too bad that there’re only three songs here, since I wish to hear more… and so will you. Email this brilliant act at <strippedhumanity@hotmail.com> and order “Blood Serology” right now! And yes, expect the interview coming in the tenth issue.
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

SOLAR SIGNS
“Wait Me At Dusk”
Pre-release demo tape ’99
rating: 5 of 6
I’ve got two tapes and three demos that evening that have been sent to me by someone of KARNA – although I still don’t know if these bands have anything in common… Well anyway, let me tell you that “Wait Me At Dusk” is almost a killer recording (despite their bad English, heh…)! It begins with nearly a power metal-sounding instrumental tune, based on stunning guitar leads and clanging bass, while the title-song obviously signifies that SOLAR SIGNS would like to be considered a black metal band, at least lead vocals make me think of them this way. All the seven tracks featured on “Wait Me At Dusk” bring some undoubtedly exciting (moreover – tremendous!) cross between melodic black and plain heavy metal, enough diverse and intriguing. Besides BM vokills we have few lines spoken by certain female person namely Khuta (who’s also responsible for those harmonic key-sounds), and again few lines with a low-pitched voice, this time by Sheff, the guy who programmed the drumset. By the way, drumsprogramming is one of the few things that spoil the whole recording somehow… however… should we care ‘bout this kind of shortcomings? My answer is “no”. As I said above, guitar passages sound absolutely brilliant, furthermore, the sound and producership appear as surprisingly pleasant ones… All in all, this is a killer effort, so get it now!
URL: http://solarsigns.da.ru
Email: xyster@mail.ru
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

SONS OF CHAOS
“Songs From The Apocalypse” (promo)
Brutal Force Records
Rating: 4, 5 of 5
More plain US death metal, although I wouldn’t say it’s so thoughtless as most of their countrymates’ efforts use to be. This tape seems to be some kind of a promo of an upcoming CD (?), thus it includes only two songs to give you a chance to taste SONS OF CHAOS. Well, this trio delivers well-played… well-produced… hellishly brutal and lacking boredom… Shit, seems like I was saying all this crap for thousand times till now, however tell me if I can act another way?! You see, I get lots of packages with rather typical death metal, and I still like it anyway, although it’s always hard for me to write a good review… Anyway, if you wish to get something that will rip you from inside, email this band at: sonsofchaos@hotmail.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

SUHRIM
“Gore Is The End” (promo CD)
rating: 4, 5 of 6
Hmm… Let me say “hmm…” once again, ok? You see, I don’t really know what to say here. I’ve just reviewed SONS OF CHAOS’ tape I received yesterday and here comes SUHRIM, musically being pretty much similar to those US dudes. But ok, re-addressing you to “Songs From The Apocalypse” review (heh heh) would be unfair to SUHRIM, I believe. Ok, this CD-R comes with seven tracks of a cross between death metal and grindcore, and it seems like these guys have a good sense of humor – just listen to the closing track, “Check The Penis”… You’ll definitely have a good laugh! Anyway, their approach to music is undoubtedly professional. Fast-paced stuff, two vocal lines… Well, this is not original, however, since I’m into such kind of stuff, I could care less. Recommended.
Email: johan.antonissen@pandora.be
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

SUNCHARIOT
“Harvest” (promo)
rating: 4 of 6
This one turned out as a disappointment to me. “Utterly melodic, “Harvest” is filled by the magnificent and dolorous Russian folk atmospheres, created by the enchanting flute parts and live choir appearances. Without doubts, it is going to be the most epic and grandiose album ever released by any Russian underground band”. Well, well, well, I really doubt it… I wouldn’t say that “Harvest” is a big step ahead since “Betrayal Light Of Fertile Ground” demo… At least, that one was really impressive despite out-of-tune flute passages. As to “Harvest”, it’s just regular black metal effort, really good and really atmospheric – and I like it due to the latter fact. Choirs appear here and there, as well as the flute parts… But… there’s nothing special here, anyway. SUNCHARIOT managed to stay original, and I really respect them for that – however they DID NOT manage to create anything impressive or innovative. Mediocre release (furthermore, production sucks really bad. I bet, they could find a better studio). At least, “Harvest” wasn’t worth such a long time of composing it…
Email: stiv@don.sitek.net
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

SUSPERIA (ex-SEVEN SINS)
“Illusions Of Evil”
Edgerunner Records Intl.
rating: 4, 5 of 6
Perhaps, some of you were wondering “where have Tjodalv gone?” from time to time. Well, here comes the answer… SUSPERIA is the band where he plays drums at the moment. Furthermore, it seems to be kind of (almost) all-star combo, since it as well features Cyrus, the guy who worked with SATYRICON and OLD MAN’S CHILD + two fairly unknown persons, namely Athera (vocals) and Memnock (bass). Well, the music is melodic, mostly fast-paced black metal, almost lacking keyboards. In order to conceive the way they sound, one may simply refer to OLD MAN’S CHILD (the latest one). So that’s it. Production is great (read my lips – G R E A T!), so are the musicians (well, it would be a huge surprise if they weren’t so good), however the singer should quit singing in a “clean” voice now! He’s good in both, shrieking and husky voice, but those clear vocals sound like an incomprehensible howling, utterly disgusting! So guess why I dropped few points in rating this CD-R, huh? Anyway, they’re signed to Nuclear Blast now, so let’s look what the future will bring for this band…
Email: tjodalv@c2i.net
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

UNHOLA
“Mina Olen Tie” (demo)
Meat Hook Productions
rating: 3 of 6
More good black metal the way Finns do it. Oops, I meant “it could be good black metal”. Musically, UNHOLA provide us certain doze of mostly mid-paced, quite aggressive and well composed black metal and I can’t tell you anything regarding lyrics, since they’re in Finnish. So, the overall result is good (once again – musically!). The sound is good, musicians are good. But… the singer IS SO FUCKING BAD!!! His pseudo-hysteric “shrieks” made me laugh – and cry when I realized that UNHOLA could get a brilliant review only if vocals were better. No, not better, more likely – absolutely different. I don’t know if this guy can sing (scream) at all or not, but they definitely should do something with his singing manner! Otherwise, it’s worthless. Although, if you wanna laugh a bit, get this tape…
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

WALPURGIS
“And Then There Shall Be None…” (demo CD)
rating: 4, 5 of 6
It’s always hard to review works like this one. It’s nothing good and nothing bad, you see. Melodic black / death metal with atmosphere, incomparable yet non-original. Furthermore, unmemorable. If you’d like to discuss this sestet’s playing skills, let me simply tell you that they’re undoubtedly talented musicians. And yes, the sound quality is nearly great (at least, for a demo level). A cover from MAYHEM, all-time classic “The Freezing Moon”, strikes as tremendous one. The layout is splendid as well. Hey, what should I add??? This is very good work if we would judge it as demo only, however in order to reach anything they should add a certain doze of originality, that’s for sure. And yes – more diversity, please.
P.S. It could get ‘5’ of ‘6’, though… if all the songs would be as stunning as “Restless I Shall Die” and “Attack Destroy Arise”.
Email: walpurgis@online.be
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

WOODS OF BELIAL
“Baxabaxaxaxaxabaxaxaxaxa! 666 Yndstr Draconis” (demo)
Meat Hook Productions
rating: -
See the title? What would you expect from a band who names their demo in such a sick way? Yep, the music should be sick as well. And it is. If my memory doesn’t deceive me, the guys at Meat Hook defined it as a weird mixture of DARKTHRONE and ABRUPTUM – and, perhaps, they were right. WOODS OF BELIAL’s style is extremely queer, odd and perturbed industrialized black metal, rather vanguard to say the least. Strange sounds, depraved vokills, truly mystic and in the same time troubled atmosphere… Brrrrr! If this tape was longer, it would drive me insane. Or perhaps just give me a headache. DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS WHEN YOU’RE HAVING A HANGOVER.
Email (Meat Hook): wille@pp.htv.fi
(review by Herr Stalhammar)