Archives: Reviews

20 tracks from mostly Death Metal and Grind Core band. Avoiding to highlight notorious names such as DYING FETUS, NILE or HAEMORRAGE it’s woirth to mention the presence of almighty BASTARD SAINTS, Italian’s grind response to DYING FETUS, VIRULENCE, pretty dark, splatter Death Grind, a very Swedish Death sounding DARK RISE and SPAWN. Absolutely incompetent and indecent are ARCANA XII, CRACK UP and VIU DRAKH (intolerable vocals). Interesting approach is that of WARSPITE to Black/Death Metal but I need some more stuff and in particular recorded a bit better to

Although a conceptually original for sure the idea to have a two hands approach to a compilation sampler, there is very little interesting in these bands. I had to skip the first tracks after 1 minute each because they all mostly stick to the same genre which is equally distant from metal as to Albano e Romina or QUEEN, the only ones which for some obscure reason I succeeded in bearing the whole song in the first 10 tracks is BETZAIDA, which have flute pretty dominant in the songs which I consider one of my favourite instruments ever. BLOOTHORN actually is not the worst, but they’re absolutely mediocre and despite a good backing music with some early PARADISELOST reminiscence doesn’t strike very hard. ANATA are classic, rough Death Metal, with some absolutely avoidable melodies in between, which FURIOUS TRAUMA, vaguely on the same path, cleverly avoided. I also was surprisingly pleased by ANOREXIA NERVOSA, a band who I absolutely ignored, schizoid and weird, psychopathic and with a distant new school GORGUTS feel. Of the whole CD absolutely the ones to keep in highest esteem. Worst band sceptre deservedly go to NIGHTFALL and MISANTHROPE, human shits who should be denied to breath at all.

Another label-centred compilation, featuring 16 tracks by 12 different bands. 4 Death Metal bands (PURGATORY, COERCION, BRAIN DEAD, AGONY CONSCIENCE), one fun/grind/demented dand (namely BRB) and some more or less low level self called Black Metal stuff. Actually the brightest point in the comp are by SEIRIM, an excellent rude, abrasive Death/Black Metal band fast and ferocious as fuck and which I dig to the bone, and the great BRAIN DEAD and the even better Gore Brutish Death act AGONY CONSCIENCE, which sounds like some good American based Brutal Death Metal band with one of the crudest sounds around, gurgling vokills and downtuned sonorities (this band alone is worth a 9 believe me, I am already looking for their stuff). The rest of the comp is more or less canonical.

Oh well that’s a juggernout of a CD isn’t it? Never seen a compilation this long anyway, it spurts notes from every pore eheh. Well actually this CD was meant to be a show on the direction Wicked World would have taken from the beginning on, as it’s a sort of debut for the label, and probably had some sense only if you think the time it was released the label was just born. Two things escapes my reason however, first, only few of the bands contained are effectively signed on Wicked World/Earache, and second, if we want to justify it by thinking that they wanted to collect a sample of they music they were to propose, why are these soings so eterogeneus? I mean, you got the shitty thrash band THE HAUNTED (very weak late SLAYER clones) to begin with, follow up with a melodic death band, a pop/death and such as IN FLAMES, one of the worst bands I have the unluck to hear in the last few years maybe only second to SIX FEET UNDER: ARCH ENEMY (spit), then black metal, death metal, grunge, thrash… I cannot really see clearly what Wicked World intentions were at the time they thought of this comp, especially considering much of the matierial was just repressed and not a collection of rare versions…I dunno if I got the point they wanted to express but if this was really a statement of their intents in the music business, they had swayed a bit from mmy expectations. Luckily they actually released really excellent stuff (DECAPITATED above ’em all), but much of the music contained here, in this specific disc is either redundant and very easy to get, or plainly out of my tastes, and only deserving a note for the high quality digipack (very nice)

The unstoppable flow of compilation CDs and tributes have rapidly grown me bored if I’m to be honest, however to receive this one compilation in particular was far beyond any of my expectations. First and foremost this is surely the most successful and complete of all the long series of Dwell tributes, completely packed with great music and designed to very high level standards, starting from the cover which while very simple, takes out the favorite aspect of MORBID ANGEL’s personality, roaring hell fires and medieval demonic iconography, shadows of Ancient Gods and grotesque bas relief. Musically however, this comp ripples with amazing material performed by highest standards musicians (Ok, keep in mind these are MORBID ANGEL songs, they’re not straight to play at all…), among whose I counted at least half a dozen of the best musicians who were playing at the time of the release: DIABOLIC makes the most impressive of covers, in a way even more fierce and defiantly brutal than the creators, with “Rapture”, follows our European champions, CENTURIAN (the tale behind this song is murky, as Wim has told me they had recommended Dwell not to publish this song…), while ANGEL CORPSE perform a version of “Demon Seed” which, no kidding, is really better than the original one…. I say it all … this cover is something to peel your face with cruelty.. And then COFFIN TEXTS, HEADHUNTER DC which make em so much darker… WITHERED EARTH tunes “Day of Suffering” so low it grunts like a huge rock rolling down a stone passage although basically the song remains the same, then I was happy to see at least two Black Metal bands, both legends for me, acknowledge M.A.’s importance, both with very straight to the point covers, MYSTIFIER (a classic BM band for those who don’t know them) and BLACK WITCHERY (considered the best in USA right now, and therefore of Europe as well)… some other songs fall in the average range of good skilled imitations although lacking some personality, I shall name DRACONIS, DAMNATION, AURORA BOREALIS and EXMORTIS but what the fuck… if you want to get one tribute this year, that’s the one.