BALL ONE STRIKE TWO
Sinbad Productions Inc.
rating: 5 of 6
"Over 140 minutes of HARD MUSIC"?! Are you kidding?! Hey man, do you have any idea of how I should review it??? Ok, let's just say it's definitely a good compilation (obviously coming in the shape of double-CD), featuring mostly heavy metal acts, with few exceptions of course, such as BRUTAL ORGASMO (hmm, I wonder how do these guys perceive "brutal orgasm"? just curious, y'know), a death metal outfit, as well as URANUS, the ones who may be easily reckoned to the genre of black metal, and so on and so forth. Actually… let's just mark out the most impressive (both positively and negatively impressive, you see) acts off each CD. So; when it comes to the first one, I'd name MYSTIC FORCE (rather memorable and exciting blend of prog mixed with heavy metal), GOOSEFLESH (interesting approach to hardcore, that's for sure), LAST CHAPTER (featuring SOLITUDE AETURNUS' Robert Lowe at the microphone… so you know what to expect here, don't you?), David LaDuke (hard and groovy rock'n'roll with pretty annoying vocal lines), HYDRA (Japanese "true to the core"-kind of heavy metal), VORTICE CREMISI (an intriguing mixture of hard rock, stoner and doom metal the old way), Rusty Cooley (simply tremendous piece of instrumental music), and yes, BRUTAL ORGASMO who are actually not bad, delivering pretty average though still somewhat impressive death / thrash sort of metal. Off to the second chapter; BATES MOTEL doubtlessly appear as the kind of band to be noticed, coming up with surprisingly anxious cross between hard rock and… guess what? Heavy metal, of course. Ok, what do we have next? Voila, this is PAIN MUSEUM, yet one more example of how pathetic rap and hardcore's fusion is. When I hear stuff like this, I'm starting to crave for literally washing my hands off, if you get what I mean. If this compilation consisted of the combos like this one, I'd just flush it down the toilet, since this kind of, let me dare to say "music", doesn't deserve even to be reviewed. Ooph… Fortunately, we have URANUS next, and once again "fortunately", "The Untamed Legend" appears as a pretty good piece - sort of early ROTTING CHRIST-worship, y'know. PSYCHOTIC WALTZ aren't the ones to be ignored, as well (and that's obvious). Oops. Seems like that's all. See you. (Herr Stalhammar)

IN SEARCH OF WEIRD TRUTH…
Weird Truth Productions
rating: 5,5 of 6
This one has been brought forth the light by Japan's neophyte label (at least, I consider it neophyte since this comp is only the fourth release of theirs), and should I say that it's definitely a success? At least, almost all of the bands who took part in this venture, appear as pretty impressive ones. The CD… oops, sorry, the tape starts with a couple of tracks by BLOODY GORE, and I guess we couldn't expect anything but death / grind. At least, the title says it all, I believe. APOCALYPTIC RAIDS, the next ones to torture your ears, also may be easily stylistically defined if we'd recall where they've taken their moniker from. Well yes, it's total HELLHAMMER-worship, although a bit different from what f.ex. WARHAMMER come with. More likely, it's an exciting mixture of early HELLHAMMER, early CELTIC FROST, NECROPHAGIA and USURPER, finely executed, and vocally a bit different from all the bands just mentioned above, since Necromaniac growls instead of shouting or screaming or whatever. Ok, then we have GNOME, slow atmospheric black metal featuring utterly insane shrieks and a certain dose of originality, at least I haven't heard anything like that before. When it comes to comparisons, this one reminds me a bit of HURUSOMA, early COUNTESS and Russia's ROD, however GNOME still manage to sound the different way. Quite a pleasant acquaintance. As to SERENADE… Well, you'd better check out the review on their latest MCD featured elsewhere in this or previous issue. In short, this is regular doom / death metal; I obviously prefer their earlier works over the "Plague Of Time". Enough with these Scottish mongrels, since MOURNING SHADOW is something more than just a regular doom metal act. Yes, this is doom, ultra slow doom metal with a 666% blackish atmosphere, being incredibly grim as well (and unfortunately averagely executed). If WINTER delivered even more slow and torturous music, most possibly it would sound like this. Gloomy and mystic, MOURNING SHADOW would be the best soundtrack at your funeral, believe me. VORACIOUS GANGRENE… Well, the same advice as in case with SERENADE. Check out the review on their latest CD, it might work better than discussing one and only tracks this comp comes with. For those who still want to know, they're one of the best French death / grind combos. BEAST PETRIFY is the next one, representing mostly fast-paced black metal, a bit (yes, exactly "a bit"!!!) similar to the Swedish school, though still much more various and surprisingly no less technical. 7TH MOON appears as an excellent gothic doom metal act, featuring enchanting female voice accompanied with male growls and musical versatility. NYARLATHOTEP… What the hell is it? Perhaps, weirdly arranged grindcore?? No, more likely a mixture of NAPALM DEATH, ABRUPTUM and MARDUK, if you are capable of conceiving such an amalgamation. Finally, we have yet one more band emerging from France, and this time it's WORSHIP, ultra-slow doom / death, dark and torturous, perturbing and anxious, even slower and gloomier than the earliest works by CATHEDRAL, atmospherically reminding me of Swiss MORDOR (R.I.P.?). Kinda strange to see such a band coming from the shores of France. Nevertheless, despite that their "Solicide And The Dawning Of The Moonkult" is quite good, this duo is really far from attaining a status of "original" band. It's enjoyable, though. Enjoyable for those who're going to cut their veins tonight…
Website: http://members.aol.com/nyar
Email: nyar@aol.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

MOSCOWALLICA
"A Russian Tribute To METALLICA"
Painkiller Publishing
rating: 5 of 6
Rather interesting and refreshing compilation. Starting with "The Call Of Ktulu" interpreted by the band of mine, ROSSOMAHAAR, (of course in a brilliant way, with lyrics (and obviously vocals) added), it also hides a couple of jewels, a couple of rather good covers, and a couple of crappy ones. Let's start with the latter. These are without doubts, BONEY NEM / ZHUKI with an absolutely disgusting (and seemingly drunken) parody on "Enter Sandman", as well as RUSTY BULLETS with a eunuch singer performing no less eunuch tune, "Mama Said". Fuck them anyway. You'd better don't listen to 'em. Otherwise… Headache guaranteed. Ok, the road goes further on - and leads to AZEROTH's uniquely sounding sympho-black metal interpretation of "The Thing That Should Not Be" and SULTAN's performing "Fade To Black" in a gothic / doomy way, featuring female vocals (I wish this girl could sing the same way she looks like… i.e. awesome). Together with ROSSOMAHAAR, CHRONICA ("For Whom The Bell Tolls", played almost identically to the original composition, though still different) and ASHEN LIGHT ("Dyer's Eve" the sympho-black metal way (much worse than AZEROTH, though)), these are the best covers off this CD. Neither E-ZONE's prog / doom version of "Harvester Of Sorrow", nor TRANSYLVANIA's hardcorish "Fuel" excited me. The same goes for LEGION's weak pseudo-heavy / thrash-alike crap ("Enter Sandman"). And what really made me angry, is the way NORDREAM interpreted "Battery": industrializing it, as well as adding repulsive female voice… Blleeeaaauurrghhh! Nevertheless, we still have a couple of quite good tunes here, such as KOMA's orchestrated and simultaneously surprisingly brutal, sarcastic view on how "Nothing Else Matters" should sound alike, DAI's aggressive and thrashy (almost similar to death metal) "Wheleper I Messiah Roam" (some kind of medley, as you see) and finally, BLACK OBELISK's bleak cover of "Seek And Destroy". All in all, this is highly intriguing compilation, so check it out. You won't regret… I guess. (Herr Stalhammar)

OVERLOAD 2
"Tribute To Metallica"
Dwell Records
rating: 4 of 6
Ok, here we go once again, with yet one more tribute CD brought forth the light by Dwell Records. And let me be short this time, ok?
MYSTIFIER "Phantom Lord" - surprisingly reminding me of MOTORHEAD, this one has been executed in a black / thrash way. Enjoyable.
KRABATHOR "The Four Horsemen" - if METALLICA played death metal, it would sound exactly like this.
SOLARISIS "Nothing Else Matters" - almost a death metal ballad (or semi-DM…??) with keyboard lines replacing few acoustic passages. Actually, one of the most exciting interpretations off this CD.
NEW EDEN "Ride The Lightning" - nothing really special, and almost identical to the original tune.
LAST CHAPTER "Escape" - quite average, and also very similar to the way "Escape" was originally performed; listenable only because the song itself is a killer one.
SOULLESS "Motorbreath" - a mixture of heavy and black metal with absolutely hysteric vokills, this is what SOULLESS (check out the review on the latest CD featured elsewhere in the previous issue) came up with. Not bad.
NOCTUARY "Leper Messiah" - I expected this one to be much more impressive (perhaps due to the fact NOCTUARY's latest offering is no less than a masterpiece). All the same, but with a black metal voice.
FROM THE DEPTHS "For Whom The Bell Tolls" - this one appears as a black metallish interpretation as well.
DIABOLIC "The God That Failed" - musically mid-paced death metal with a thick enjoyable sound execution, vocally crossing the borders of thrash and hardcore, though.
ABOMINANT "Battery" - violent black / death, nothing more nothing less.
BLASPHEMY DIVINE "Welcome Home / Sanitarium" - black metal ballad- alike tune, and probably the worst cover here, due to the fact vocals appear as utterly ridiculous ones.
COFFIN TEXTS "The Call Of Ktulu" - nothing really special. I'd prefer to give a listen to this tune interpreted by METALLICA themselves.
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

PRECISE REALITY
Volume One
Blacksmith Productions
rating: 3,5 of 6
Too many compilations to review this time, don't you think? Nevertheless, the time has come to cover this one, so… Seems like Precise Reality is comprised of the bands only of the Khabarovsk origin, however that's not what we should really care about, right? This one is quite good, beautifully packaged and designed, although when it comes to drawbacks, I'd mark out the lack of info regarding the bands who took part in this venture, such as email address, etc. Ok, NAILSTAGE are the first ones to torture my ears. Actually, they definitely succeed in it with their raw atmospheric black metal in the vein of early EMPEROR. The sound execution is also pretty far from being top-notch (4,5 of 6). CATALICON come up with mid-paced doomy death metal, exposing a couple of nicely swallowed harmonies as well as enjoyable attempt to perform a solo (4 of 6). PARACELS deliver melodic death metal with sometimes utterly depraved rhythm-section. Nothing really special… (3,5 of 6). PROCESSOR. Well, it's groovy death metal, reminding me a bit of… KORROZIA METALLA, Denmark's CYBORG and Russia's MASTER. Rather pro-done, at least when it comes to musicianship, coming with weird yet impressive vocal lines. At least, these guys aren't cloning anyone, therefore '4' out of '6'. GRIZZLED IMPRESSION appear as impressive death / grind, interrupted with acoustics and few weird harmonic structures, varying from slow to mid- and fast-paced passages. You know, these guys remind me of two now defunct Moscow's bands, BOSCH and PHANTASM, a lot (4 of 6). DISFIGUREMENT is a mid-paced death metal, a bit similar to early CANNIBAL CORPSE, suddenly transforming into what we use to define as "grindcore"; rather unmemorable though still surprisingly intriguing. A promising band, that's for sure (4,5 of 6). THEISTIC INFERNO are the next ones, also appearing as the band rather difficult to be described. Starting with poorly performed, out-of-key male and female "clean" voices, it later develops into sorrowful yet serene, melodic death / grind (?!) with "almost-can't-hear-you-man" grunts and hysteric pseudo-blackish weeping, featuring surprisingly cheerful (!) synth-lines placed in the background, as well as few attempts to come up with guitar leads… Finally, let me admit that the sound execution leaves a lot to be desired (3 of 6). COLUMBARIUM… Isn't it the band whose demo (all instrumental) I've reviewed a couple of years ago? Most probably, "yes" is the answer. What are they up to now? Well, nothing really good. Musically, this is melodic though still hauntingly brutal thrash, later turning exactly into what I was expecting for: a worthless attempt to come up with a very own blend of pseudo-techno-thrash… Not that good, in my opinion. This is what MEKONG DELTA would sound alike, if they sucked. Not a complete failure, but… (3 of 6 (only thanks to the musicianship)). INSIDE DEAD deliver rather anonymous death metal with GOREFEST-alike vocals (far from sounding THAT impressive) (3 of 6), whilst HEXEN's "God Of Hatred" turned out as death / grind with nearly horrible production (especially when it comes to guitars) + few "clean" chant-alike singing. This band could be good if they'd find a better studio, since while now it's only a headache (2 of 6). EDIP'S CUP also deliver death metal with few black metallish elements, structurally being a bit weird piece. Fast-paced, harsh, and nothing really special, with an exception for the fact it's comparable to Austria's LOST DREAMS (3,5 of 6). The next ones, ANTI-BODY CULTURE, appear as sheer fucking nonsense. Musically sounding like some twisted and a bit industrialized (no samples or synth-lines, though) techno-death, mixed with hardcore and rap… Well, this is worth the listen. But only ONCE (1 of 6). Finally, we have STRESS, thrash metal act with lyrics in Russian (quite enjoyable ones, by the way), whilst the singer reminds me a lot of ARIA's Valery Kipelov, even though this guy is really far from beating Valery, at least when it comes to vocal department.
If you wish to grab your hands on this tape, email Andrew at <black25smith@mail.ru>
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

THE PLAGUE
"The First Cuts…"
The Plague / Hammerheart Records
rating: 5,5 of 6
Since I'm not acquainted with The Plague's releases, I consider this compilation an excellent piece. I guess, it's a worthy representative of what The Plague's (ex-Fadeless Records) roster deals with. Actually, it was supposed to be an all-death-metal comp, however I wouldn't say that all the bands represented here, are 100% death metal. Nevertheless; it starts with a track by LOWBROW, a killer US death metal outfit, a synonym for "DM at it's best". DIVINE EMPIRE are the second ones, being less death metal influenced, more likely delivering an outstanding mixture of most extreme metal genres, black and death metal. And well, yes, they definitely succeeded in this attempt. DIABOLIC's "Ancient Hatred" appears as incredibly fast-paced though still incredibly well thoughtout piece of grinding DM, whilst THORNSPAWN aren't the ones who should be included in this CD. These guys are 666% black metal, mid-paced, featuring hammering drums and absolutely depraved vokills along with a stunningly anxious atmosphere. As to others… Well, I'm getting a bit tired telling you about all the bands featured here, therefore let's better mark out the most worthy ones. These are: BROKEN HOPE (no comments), NECROPHAGIA (no comments, as well), THRONEAEON (pure DEICIDE-worship), INVASION's self-elaborated form of perturbed and atmospheric, yet hellishly brutal black metal, and of course VOMITORY, one of the Sweden's premiere death metal acts. Summing up, I'd say that this CD definitely is the one to check out - at least, it's worth checking out for those who haven't yet made themselves acquainted with The Plague's roster. (Herr Stalhammar)

THE REAL UNDERGROUND
Volume I
Autumn Productions
rating: 4 of 6
I'm a bit tired of reviewing compilation CDs (isn't there an enormous number of them this time??), so please forgive me for I will be short in case with this one. Featuring bands of exclusively (?) French origin, "The Real Underground" is quite an enjoyable experience, also being rather variable (even too much, perhaps) when it comes to stylistic orientation of the bands featured. Most of them appear as the ones easily reckoned to the genres of industrial, trance and acid (or whatever), whilst the ones which have to be marked out are: GRIMORIA (probably the worst black metal act in France) and IN LUPUS PACIS (industrialized death / black metal with a uniquely weird approach to compositional aspects; therefore: excellent).
Website: www.multimania.com/autumnprods
Email: autumnprods@multimania.com
(review by Herr Stalhammar)

UNDERWORLD Compilation
Parts 1 & 2
rating: 1 of 6
These are two CD-Rs coming with 1st and 2nd issue of Philippines' Underworld zine, and honestly speaking, they suck. The first one features mostly grindcore / death metal acts (GORE BEYOND NECROPSY, WARSORE) as well as few experimental ones (EQUIMANTHORN) + a couple of BM hordes (NOSFERATOS, ELD). Strangely, but there're 17 tracks featured here, whilst only 14 of them are indicated in the track list (by the way, the last tune (don't know whose one is this) perhaps is the only one we should pay attention to: dreamy and tremendously idearich mixture of dark ambient and dark wave, supplemented with bewitching guitar leads). Alas, when it comes to the second part, it's even more worthless. I still can't really understand how did this guy manage to turn MELECHESH's "Assyrian Spirit" (originally well performed and executed) into the wall of senseless noise… Actually, I'm pretty tired of reviewing this crap, so let's stop wasting time - both yours and mine.

VAWS, Volume I
V.A.W.S. Musicfactory
rating: 5 of 6
Oops. It looks like it's pretty difficult to say anything regarding this CD. At least, it's pretty difficult for me, since I'm not really into this kind of music, and therefore I simply can't judge it the way I judged black metal efforts. Nevertheless, VAWS comes in the shape of unpretentiously and in the same time beautifully designed digipack, featuring 14 bands (projects?) and 14 tracks, stylistically varying from triphop to EBM, dark electro and nearly black-alike industrial. None of them is a failure, therefore it looks like VAWS definitely isn't a rhyme for "boredom". Picking out the best ones, I'd name "Mark Oh introducing Flash" (a bit similar to DE INFERNALI), ICON OF COIL, TOLCHOCK (what about "Sortir"...? Anyway, it's the darkest one here), KIRLIAN CAMERA and ARZT + PFUSCH. (Herr Stalhammar)