Artist: Mortiis Title: “Soul In A Hole” Label: Earache Records Release Date: Genre: Dark/Ambient/Industrial Metal Rating: 3/5
Mortiis is a performer who totally shifted gears from his original beginnings as bassist for Black Metal titans Emperor. When he decided to go solo he would not follow in the footsteps of Isahn and company and instead pursued the Dark, Ambient and more Industrial side of the Metal world. This DVD captures a full concert of Mortiis, the group as they deliver a set that covers most of his releases, and is filmed in London, as a part of “The Unlimited Grudge” European Tour from 2004. As you watch, you will see Mortiis garbed in his garish outfit and goblins mask as the performer was rarely seen without it over the course of his career. He is quite energetic and bounds about the stage with fervor and intensity. The sound of this is good but like most Ambient and Industrial groups, they tend to follow certain grooves on a continuous basis. It can become boring for a non-fan who might watch this. Visually, this is very standard for a release and on the dark side in terms of lighting that is used. Lots of deep blues and reds, which make the effect a little less enjoyable. This stuff is great in a live sense and quite dramatic, but hardly comes across the same on a video in my opinion. Essentially, you need to be a fan of Mortiis to be anywhere near impressed by this as it’s the kind of release that is geared more to the core fan base. There are a lot of close up shots and side angles, and as the performance runs its course they inter-lace it with band footage taken from the dressing rooms as they band prepares for the performance or directly afterwards. Continue reading “Soul In A Hole” by Mortiis→
Artist: Decapitated Title: “Organic Hallucinosis” Label: Earache Records Release Date: 2/7/2006 Genre: Death Metal Rating: 4/5
Decapitated is probably one of the best purveyors of the Technical Death Metal bands around these days and it shows very well on their newest album “Organic Hallucinosis”. The band’s raised their personal bar of musical acumen with this one especially in the way the drums and guitar riffs are laid down. It’s done in such a fashion that one might assume that fans of Fear Factory will find quite a bit of their influence on this release – there is a strong industrial meets technical metal vibe that is happening on all the songs. Vocally there are some reminders of Behemoth but that is where the comparison ends. The membership roster finds Vogg (guitars), Covan (vocals), Martini (bass) and Vitek (drums) putting their all into it. The bands oldest fans might miss Sauron (vocals who left in 2005) a little bit but this is too good a release to hang on to that sort of thing. Songs like “Revelation Of Existence” and “Day 69” stuck out the most for me based on the displays of musical ability performed. Bands like Decapitated help to change the way this kind of music is accepted and make it more acceptable to greater audiences this way. This edition is a limited edition dual disc which makes it all the more appealing for the bands fans. Side one is the audio, but side two is a full concert DVD that brings a performance from B.B. King Blues Club (New York City) right into your living room. Songs featured on the DVD are as follows: three Dimensional Defect, The Fury, Nihility, Negation, Lying And Weak, Spheres Of Madness and Mother War. Filmed at one of the bands support appearances, the 35 minute set from 7-11-2005 captures the band at the best and onstage in front of an intense crowd. Continue reading “Organic Hallucinosis” by Decapitated→
Artist: Deicide Title: “The Stench Of Redemption” Label: Earache Records Release Date: 8/22/2006 Genre: Death Metal Rating: 4/5
I went into this record not knowing what to expect since I never really followed the career and music of Deicide – all I did know was that despite my limited knowledge of them that they were one of the more respected of the Death Metal bands in the US. “The Stench Of Redemption” is an album that will remind you of what makes these guys get the level of respect in the genre that they do. To define this as one of the most pummeling albums I have heard in recent memory and indeed it is, would be an understatement. It is as brutal as Hell in terms of lyrical content and the subject matter which was to be expected of them and this has always been the case with Deicide. The band is also a little different for those who have not paid attention to recent goings on in their life as the Hoffman brothers are no longer part of the roster of members and sadly this would not be an amicable split for the group. Yet, instead of suffering the losses, the remaining two enlisted the talents of Jack Owen (former of Cannibal Corpse) and Ralph Santolla (former of Iced Earth and Death) to fill the roles and this would be a great match for the music they would record for this album. The two are a perfect compliment to the blast beat drumming of Steve Asheim and the guttural growls of bassist/singer Glen Benton. It seems quite clear that the band with this new membership has found a new level of life breathed into their cause and perhaps this will intensify their musical reach in the larger Metal arena as well. The band truly approached this album with a pissed off manner and it shows on every track from start to finish. Just listen to the albums title opener, “Death To Jesus” or “Homage For Satan” to know that they mean business more than ever before with this one. The whole thing is loaded with the hate-spewing anti-Christian and Satanic lyrics that are clearly not for the faint of heart or overly pious. It reminded me of how I first viewed Slayer’s “Reign In Blood” as the level of lyrical and musical brutality was along the same lines. I think the album will impress a lot of the Extreme Metal fans due to the execution and technical skills showcased on the recording. The band even does a cover of the Deep Purple song “Black Night” which while a great song, is a weird choice for a Death Metal band to attack. Its largely unrecognizable and blows right by you in minutes but I guess for a Death Metal version of Classic Rock it was done pretty well. Continue reading “The Stench Of Redemption” by Deicide→
Artist: Morbid Angel Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY) Opener: Behemoth, Krisium Date: 4/9//2006 Label: Earache Records
This was going to be a concert for the record books for not only would we be finding ourselves in a sold out room for Morbid Angel, one of the true legends of Death Metal; but we would also be finding the appearance of the devastating Behemoth from Poland and the skull-crushing power of Krisium. I remember seeing many of these bands on their own and feeling my bones shake in my skin so I was not sure that I would be able to handle the three of them together in one sitting. Given each group is of some note I wanted to give a little commentary on each individually for maximum metal effect. Read on if you dare – you know you want to. Continue reading Morbid Angel @ B.B. King Blues Club (4/9/2006)→
Artist: Hate Eternal Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY) Opener: Krisium, Into Eternity, Jungle Rot Label: Earache Records Date: 6/26/2005 Genre: Death Metal
B.B. King Blues Club was set to shake once again as the band Hate Eternal rolled into New York with a handful of other Death Metal groups in support. For this performance they would be joined by Krisiun from Brazil and Into Eternity as well as Incantation, All Shall Perish, & Jungle Rot. Clearly the audience would be getting a lot of bands for the money and given that aspect I must admit that I was very disappointed in the attendance for this show. B.B. King Blues club has two setups, one with tables and the other without. When the club has tables setup it holds 650, without its at about 1000. Suffice it to say the lack of tables made the room very open and I was informed that no more than 400 people came. Continue reading Hate Eternal @ B.B. King Blues Club (6/26/2005)→
