Casey Jones: The Few, The Proud, The Crucial

Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, Casey Jones play a straight forward, no nonsense straight edge hardcore. The songs are short, fast and in your face with tons of anthemic shouts, pit dancing breakdown, sing along choruses and strong stance of “just say no”. TMNT references noticeably absent, the band incorporates a number of samples from pop culture such as Family Guy or The Karate Kid, which adds some fun and humor into the mix on their debut "The Few, The Proud, The Crucial."

There are plenty of simple, yet catchy riffs that play nicely with the sound, as well as some melodic rhythms to help create some nice melodies along the way. The breakdowns tend to be the focal point of the majority of the songs, which is nothing out of the norm, but they don’t seem tacked on for the sake of staying true to the mantra of the hardcore sound. The bass guitar can be heard plucking around in the background, which is always a nice layer to be heard in this kind of hardcore.

The drumming is fast and plays along with the guitars, adding enough force to make themselves known, but otherwise, they’re rather vanilla in flavor. The vocals tend to stay in the realm of straight up screams and don’t try to deepen into wither deathcore or beatdown core sounding vocals, which allows them to fit perfectly with the sound and tempo of the album.

If you’re into the scene, this is a solid pickup. If you’re a casual core fan, I’d recommend this album, as it’s nice to see a more classic hardcore punk sound style in the 2004, not to mention, it’s a pretty solid effort of Casey Jones’ part.  

Highlights: “Just Another Day in the FLA” “Strike Hard” “Pigs is Pigs”

Rating: 3

Betrayer: My Twisted Symphony

When it comes to heavy metal from Israel, bands such as Orphaned Land or Melechesh are often mentioned, but, like any other country on this M class planet, there many acts that slip under the radar. Betrayer happen to be one such act. Hailing from the city of Ra'anana, Betrayer play a brand of thrash metal with a heavy influence of melodic groove metal and a dash of death to complete their sound. After a few demos, the band released their sole EP in 1998 titled “My Twisted Symphony”

This music on this little EP (5 songs (one being an instrumental) and clocking in under 19 minute) is structured around medium paced riffs that for the most part border the edge of thrash and death metal. Although the riffs offer a heavy dosage of chugging, there are a number slower, down tuned riffs that hook the listener and serve as nice “stop and go” style of tradeoffs between the tempos. Even though the leads may not be anything groundbreaking, there are some nice rhythms that develop within the songs, which either culminate into a short, but catchy guitar fill or an interesting solo, both of which fall within thrash sounding territories.

The drumming is blissfully simple. Adding a steady supply of double bass kicks that flow in the background of each song, that unfortunately, never show off anything other than vanilla sounding beats. The same can be said for the bass, as, you can hear it, if you seek it out, but it isn’t featured enough to make an impact. I must say though, that the use of keyboards as a nice layer to the overall sound. Often, the keys kick in behind the guitar solos to give off a vibe of dissonance that plays very nicely with the guitars. A good example would be on “Battles Within” or Gardens of Memories” Yishai Sweartz vocals leave a lot to be desired, as they seem to lack much enthusiasm and tend to sound more muffled than perhaps the harsh and gruff sound he was shooting for.

All in all, “My Twisted Symphony” may not have garnered enough interest to move forward with their career as sadly, this would be their final output. Despite some of the flaws on vocals, drums and production, I felt the guitars showed a lot of promise, that with a little more work in the studio, could have fine-tuned their sound into something more. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out as they were intended. I can’t say this EP has a lot of replay value, but the potential was there and I think this is definitely worth a listen for fans of the early to mid-90’s thrash.

Highlights: “Garden of Memories” “Battles Within”

Rating: 3

A Perfect Murder: Unbroken

The early to mid-2000’s was prime time for hardcore and metalcore bands alike to gain the attention of record labels looking to capitalize on the movement. One of the bigger labels of the time, Victory Records, had a strong stable of stalwarts during this period and sought to add to their growing roster by adding Canada’s A Perfect Murder.

Much as any era in the metal continuity, be it thrash, death or glam, you will inevitably have a number of bands that simple copy the formula of what’s currently popular and try to emulate the sound as best as possible. This was no different during the Core era, where it seemed out of the dozens of new albums being released each month, only a handful stood out amongst the rest. A Perfect Murder happened to be one of those standouts, as they added enough flair to their metalcore sound, giving their music its own identity.

Yes, the music on “Unbroken” is first and foremost metalcore and with it, a number of breakdowns will be present. That being said, it is a trademark of the genre, but there are other layers to their sound that will appease both the core crowd and metalheads alike. The most noticeable influence would be the groove sounding guitars ala Pantera on a number of their songs. Not only that, but there are elements of thrash to be heard here as well, which reminds me a bit of Machine Head around the time they released out “Through the Ashes of Empires”.

The double guitar approach works very well for A Perfect Murder’s style. We receive a hefty supply of heavy, chugging riffs steeped heavily within Pantera sounding grooves, but there are also a number catchy, melodic riffs as well. The rhythms add a nice layer to the metal aspect of their brand of metalcore, incorporating well timed guitar fills and sections that serve as an interchanging of sounds to bolster said metal aspect. The mixture of riffs provides a nice ebb and flow of sound that allows for certain segments of songs to carry the metalcore aggressiveness commonly heard at the time, while the rhythms help the songs transition seamlessly into melodic passages that keep them from getting stale. There are also a number of well executed solos to be heard, that may not shred your face off, but do provide a nice splash of thrash metal to the overall sound. Now, solos in metalcore is not completely out of the norm, but generally those who incorporated them into their albums tended to have a more distinct sound and a stronger replay value. (God Forbid, Shadows Fall). In any case, the solos are a welcome addition to the already strong foundation most of the songs are built upon.

Carl Bouchard channels a great deal of anger and contempt through his vocals, which have a nice raspy sound when he shouts. (shouts being the majority of the vocals) Many times on this album, his voice sounds very comparable to that of Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed, carrying the same hatred fueled aggression of the legendary hardcore icon. The drums provide a steady rhythm through the album and have a very tight sound to their beats, but otherwise, they do not make a lasting impression, but provide more than enough power for the metalcore sound. The bass can be heard, playing right along with the guitars in the background, which is hard to detect at first, but once you hear it, the sound comes through. Production wise, aside from the bass, everything sounds clean and crisp. No one instrument hogs the limelight, while Bouchard’s vocals never seem overbearing.

As I said, in 2004, you could have easily stumbled across any number of rinse and repeat core acts going with the flow and trying and strike gold. However, as the popularity of the sound began to wane, those who were unable to distance themselves from sounding like just another face in the crowd, quickly became an afterthought. Fortunately, A Perfect Murder’s blend of groovy metalcore served as a nice intermediate sound to please those both in the core scene, but also draw the interest of metalheads who enjoyed a heavy dose of chugging grooves and thrashy solos. Either way, this was a nice find at the time and still holds up well today.

Highlights: “Possessed” “Another Day, Another Plague” “Save the Clock”

Rating: 3

40 Grit: Heads

40 Grit emerged from the San Francisco Bay area, forming in 1996 and releasing their first album in 2000 titled; Heads. Being the year 2000, Nu metal and alternative/radio metal had all but taken over the mainstream scene and as such, record labels began pumping out as much material as possible, even traditionally metal based staples such as Metalblade Records (which is who released this album).

As for Heads, the music here consists of large, groove laden riffs akin to Machine Head or Skinlab. The drums offer the bare essentials in the rhythm department and provide just a glimmer of spunk to the overall sound. The song structures are simple and rely on catchy leads and metalcore like vocals, which best resemble Matt Holt from Nothingface. Most songs are built on a mid tempo baseline that slowly broods until the chorus hits and the energy explodes. It’s a basic formula for the successful Nu/alternative metal acts at the time such as Spineshank or Powerman 5000; Nothing groundbreaking, but the genre wasn’t meant to be as much. It’s simple, catchy and has replay value. A successful formula for a record deal at the time. All in all, not a bad listen if you enjoy the genre.

Highlights: “Fade Into You” “Serving Time” “Spit”

Rating: 3

X-Cops: You Have the Right to Remain Silent...

So a few members of the legendary band GWAR decided to put together a side gig, only the lead singer and guitarist switched roles. Well, there’s more to it than that, but that is the major headline you will see when you read about this band. Anyhow, X-Cops carry over the humor from one band to the other, only the music is pretty straight forward crossover whereas GWAR was a combination of various genres.

As for the music on “You Have the Right to Remain Silent”, we get a fast paced, energetic and of course, humorous album. The songs play very much like GWAR; catchy riffs and bombarding drums set within a humorous setting, capturing the nature of the band. They carry the pace of the album, never allowing the listener to become bored with their brazen sound, and quick tempos. In addition, there are a number of short, but shredding solos spliced into the songs that help blend the hardcore vocals and thrash music into a cohesive sound. The drumming is handle by none other than GWARS’ Mike Dunn, so if you’re a fan, you’ll know what to expect. The drums are just as important as the guitars, playing side by side with them to create a catchy and memorable rhythm for most of the songs. As for the vocals, Casey Orr (Beefcake the Mighty) has a nice set of pipes for the crossover sound. Now, he’s dabbled in some additional vocal duties in GWAR, but here, he’s finally turned loose and shows off his ability. He has a gruff tone to his voice, but not so harsh that you cannot understand every word he sings. He exudes just enough anger to get the point across, but just enough fun to keep in line with the ideals of the album.

“Cavity Search” and “Barbells” display the classic GWAR formula, as they both hook the listener with their riffs, while the drums create a nice rhythm, allowing the vocals to focus on the elements of humor. ‘Welcome to New Jersey” is more vintage crossover focused on the fist-pumping music more than anything else. Many of the songs follow suit however, not every song has the same captivating effect.  Songs like “Zipper Pig” and “Paddy Wagon Rape” tend to get lost in the humor and as such the music become an afterthought forcing the riffs to become dry and the drums stale. Also, there is a cover of Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”, which they add enough of their own twist to not only respect the source material, but give it a new sound.  

All in all, for fans of GWAR or crossover in general, you can’t go wrong checking this out. I can’t say that this blew me off my feet, but it was memorable, which goes a long way with a humorous band such as GWAR. You may not find any classic tracks or groundbreaking material on this album, but I’d be willing to bet you’ll have a good time and get a kick out of the classic GWAR mentality.

Highlights: “Welcome to New Jersey” “Cavity Search” “Barbells”

Rating: 3

Zeroed: War of Liberation

Of my many random albums that I acquired via a closing record store on Ebay, “War of Liberation” by Zeroed happened to be one of those albums. Not much is known about the band (at least from what I can find), but Zeroed hail from Germany and play an old school style of death metal. Now, given that this album was completely (and still is) under the radar, I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, I’ve always attested to the notion that, when it comes to heavy metal music, sometimes the most unknown albums can quickly turn into hidden gems.

Clocking in just a hair over 27 minutes (not including 31, 4 second blank tracks before a 2 minute hidden track) “War of Liberation” is a short blast of death metal. The thing I noticed immediately about this album was that, even though it was a very underground release, the production was top notch. The moment the opening riff on “Black Song” began, I could tell that this would not be some basement produced death metal. In fact, as the album continued, I found myself more and more impressed with the music as a whole. There are plenty of death metal chugging riffs to be had, but there are also many catchy, more melodic riffs are present as well. The band members only identify as letters (FF on vocals), but OM dose a very nice job altering between the old school sounding rhythms and melodic solos. The drumming here is pretty straight forward, but in a good way. JZ offers both a furious display of blast beats and double bass, while some songs (“Ered Ruft”) he plays a more, plodding doom style of percussion. The bass is very noticeable throughout the album (kudos to the production here), especially on the song “Erde Ruft”. Vocal wise, FF (along with JZ on additional vocals) has a, I hate to say standard sound, but that is the only way I can describe them without devaluing their sound. Good for the record, but I can’t say they stand out in my mind.

 Overall, Zeroed’s “War of Liberation” fits the exact definition of what I would call a hidden gem. It’s b no means a stellar release as it has its faults. Not every song on the album is as memorable as other, some suffering from a vanilla death metal sound. That being said, there isn’t much to complain about on “War of Liberation”. Again, not perfect, but for a completely unknown, random acquisition, I was more than happy to have this fall into my lap. (As of this post, the album is on YouTube. Give it a listen and hear for yourself)

Highlights: “7^th Plague” “Ered Ruft” “Black Song”

Rating: 3

Kadath: Chasing the Devil

Kadath is a relatively unknown brutal death metal band from Germany. Forming in 1994, the band put out a few demos and splits before releasing their debut, “Cruel!”. They would release one more full length, “Chasing the Devil” in 2002 before disbanding afterwards.

“Chasing the Devil” is my only experience with the band, one that I obtained via a bulk purchase on Ebay many years ago. This is a concept album about, Andrei Chikatilo aka "Rostov Ripper" or the "Devil of Rostov", a Ukrainian serial killer. The concept is about brutality, inhumanity and barbarism, which can easily sum up the sound that Kadath put forth on this album.

Coming in at about 31 minutes (2 of which are an outro) this album is short and intense. The music is pounding death metal with an extra side of brutality mixed throughout. There are plenty of head banging riffs to be heard and some nice rhythms help keep the songs fresh as they progress. The drumming is a non-stop pounding of madness, that although won’t win any awards for originality, they certainly get the job done in assaulting your ear drums. The same can be said about the vocals, standard for the sound, but effective all around. I also have to point out the production, which is crystal clear on this album and well done.

Upon my first listen, I deemed this album as just another copy and paste death metal band, but it much more than that. Again, this album won’t win anyone over for any new ideas or concepts, but not every album needs to be groundbreaking to be enjoyable. This is by no means a perfect album, but it has its moments. It should at least have a little more exposure than what it seems to have, or lack thereof, in the metal community.

Hightlights: “False Confession” “The Devil of Rostov” “Thirst for Revenge”

Rating: 3

iwrestledabearonce: Ruining it for Everybody

iwrestledabearonce play an eccentric blend of mathcore that takes a variety of sounds, genres and elements and mashes them into one sound. Sometimes, such a unique and bizarre concept can pay off and sometimes it will fall flat on its face. I can’t say much for the rest of iwrestledabearonce’s discography, but on “Ruining it for Everybody” I would say the formula works for this particular album.

The overall theme on this album is simply to create a chaotic experience, but making it enjoyable to those who appreciate such chaos. This style, to a certain degree, is nothing new as bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Between the Buried and Me and Fear Before the March of Flames have been doing it for some time. The use of harsh and clean vocals, as well as female singing is present. As are blast beat, technical time shifts, electronic sound effects, synthesizers etc. Basically, everything but the kitchen sink has been added into the mix on this album to create music cacophony.

One of the things I enjoyed about this album was, Krysta Cameron’s voice. Aside from the obvious harsh vocals, I thought her cleans were beautiful. They were one of the aspects I was looking forward to in each song. Songs like “Break it Down Camacho” and “You Know That Ain't Them Dogs' Real Voices” show off her range nicely. As for the rest of the music, it’s hard to pin point any one aspect that stood out, which is kind of the idea behind this style, but the drumming and constant shifting of guitar tempos was not only noticeable, but also well done. To be noticed among the wall of sound must account for something.

For me, this style of comb-noise works in small doses, as long as it’s catchy and has some kind of memorable qualities to be redeemed. “Ruining it for Everybody” indeed has its moments. Perhaps not enough for me to say this is some sort of mathcore masterpiece, but I can’t image fans of the bands I mention above not at least getting some enjoyment out of this album. It’s bizarre, but that’s how they wanted it and they accomplished creating the sound they desired.

Highlights: “You Know That Ain't Them Dogs' Real Voices” “Break It Down Camacho” “Gold Jacket, Green Jacket”

Rating: 3

Forestwind: Seasons

Forestwind is a relatively unknown outfit from Finland, playing a simplistic style of atmospheric black metal. Their debut album, “Seasons” is, I suppose, a concept album about the seasons of weather.

Now, technically, this is atmospheric black metal, but I would say in name only. This sounds more like up tempo dungeon synth combined with goth vibes with elements of black metal thrown on top. To further my claim, you’ll notice that the most important sound on this album is not black metal. In fact, it’s not the metal at all. The key component here are the synths used to create the atmosphere for each song. As for the actual metal portions, well, the drums and guitars are easily heard and are by no means washed out of the sound, but that’s about the main purpose they serve. Both sounds are essentially there to add the most basic element of metal possible. The same could be said about the vocals. Wanderer, the sole artist of the band, has a very vanilla voice, especially when it comes to black metal.

With that being said, the goal of the album is to set the mood of each season accordingly through the use of the music. To be honest, bland guitars, drums and vocals aside, I really enjoyed the dungeon synthesqure sound each song had to offer. Although I don’t think that the goal of finding myself in the middle of a snowy field or feeling the warmth of the summer sun on my shoulder was achieved, the atmosphere the synths create do have the ability to capture its listeners in general. As for those drums, guitars and vocals I just brushed aside, well, I stand by my descriptions, but when focusing on the synths, those blander elements play nicely as a distant backup to the main attraction.

All in all, “Seasons” is nowhere near on par with other atmospheric black metal release from artists such as Fellwarden or Darkspace. To be honest, I’m not so sure it was intended to be labeled as such, because I’m sure, Wanderer could have easily added more elements of a black metal sound to his project to give it the depth it lacked. I still think that the synth playing was his true intention and the other elements were simply added to keep things within the metal circle of sorts. Personally, I’d like to see what Wanderer could do be just focusing his talents on creating a dungeon synth album. If he could capture the essence from “Seasons” and put it into a dedicated synth oriented album, I think it would sound great.

Highlights: “Spring” “Winter”

Rating: 3

Impetigo: Horror of the Zombies

Impetigo may not have gotten the same exposure as the Florida death metal scene or Cannibal Corpse, but they were also an early pioneer in the death metal scene. For only having produced two full length albums, the band has grown a cult status among death circles, which is not shocking considering the brand of their music.

Impetigo play gore drenched, sample laden death metal in vain of Mortician and Cannibal Corpse. I don’t need to describe the lyrical content, as I’m sure you get the picture. As for the music, “Horror of the Zombies” has a very low distorted, groovy sound as it trudges along. The riffs are heavy, but don’t fall into the recycled category as they vary nicely from track to track. The drumming is spot on with a brutal sound that never takes a back seat to any other instrument. The production can be attributed for such sound, but where it really shines is in the bass department. The bass is very noticeable on “Horror of the Zombies”, something I would not have expected from an early, underground death outfit. The vocals are what you would expect from this type of death metal; gritty, ruff and deep growls (They even remind me a bit of Exit-13 on songs like “I Work for the Streetcleaner”). They, along with the rest of the instruments, play nicely together (another nod to the production) each adding the filthy sound Impetigo set out to inflict on their listeners.

My biggest gripe with this album are the use of sample. I have nothing wrong with the use of samples in general. I think they can serve as a nice intro, add a specific sound mixed in the music or even serve as a segue between sections of a song. That being said, when a sample continues for over 20-30 seconds, to me, it loses it’s a ability to bring anything meaningful to the table. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel that when a killer song ends and I have to listen to a clip of a movie for 80 seconds before the next killer song begins, I get a little annoyed. Maybe, I’m just impatient, but I stand by my opinion.  

“Horror of the Zombie” may not be a landmark album compared to “Scream Blood Gore” or “Eaten Back to Life”, but I feel it’s an album of historical significance in the early years of death metal. Impetigo’s debut, “Ultimo Mondo Cannibale” is probably more cult, but also more in landmark territory given the year of its release. In any case, this is still a nice slab of gruesome death metal that I think most fans would at least enjoy.

Highlights: “Boneyard” “Defiling the Grave” “Staph Terrorist”

Rating: 3

Rumpelstiltskin Grinder: Buried in the Front Yard

Thrash metal with just a hint of crossover and a sprinkle of death, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder's debut, "Buried in the Front Yard" is a fun and entertaining album. Musically, the thrash on display here is done very well, as it's not just shredding riff after riff, but rather a variety of thrash sounds ranging from speed assault to a more technical vibe. Song's such as "Grab a Shovel (We've Got Bodies to Bury)" and "Let the Fools Cheer" show off these abilities from and center. However, not every song benefits from such abilities and sadly, more than a few songs here are simply not memorable, but by no means horrible. The humorous lyrics and themes remind me of GWAR at times and I do think their sound fits the lyrical themes as well. Thrash and crossover fans wouldn't be upset to give this a listen as they might get a kick out of this release.

Highlights: "Grab a Shovel (We've Got Bodies to Bury)" and "Let the Fools Cheer", "Stealing E.T."

Rating: 3

Charred Walls of the Damned: S/T

Hype. Probably the best description I can associate with Tim “The Ripper” Owens. When Rob Halford stepped away from Judas Priest, the hype for his replacement was none other than The Ripper. When Matt Barlow left Iced Earth, the hype returned with The Ripper filling in. The hype surrounding Yngwie J. Malmsteen looking for a singer? You guessed it. So what am I trying to get at? Well for starters, I enjoy Owen’s voice, I always have. I think Ripper era Priest was a respectable showing given the circumstances. I loved his work with Iced Earth, Beyond Fear and Winters Bane. So of course, when I learned that there was yet another band that would feature The Ripper, I was hyped. (See. I tied it all together). Jokes aside, I had no doubt that Owens could front another outfit, and I was excited to hear with Charred Walls of the Damned would offered.

Charred Walls of the Damned play a style I simply call, “Powerthrash”. It may not be an actual genre, but I view it much like Viking or Speed metal (descriptors rather than categories). Anyhow, the music on “Charred Wall of the Damned” reminds me of the style of Iced Earth; power metal to the core, but with enough heaviness and thrash elements to give it more grit than a standard power metal outfit.  The riffs chug along throughout the album providing a simple, yet powerful base, while creating some nice melodies and a few decent solos along the way. The drums provide a steady dose of double base and pounding strikes while the bass provides an excellent supporting role that any good album should incorporate. The Ripper’s voice may not be as high octane as I was expecting, but the song writing on this album did not call for endless Priest style wails (although he does wail often), so they are more than adequate. The production is spot on, highlight each musician’s talents while not overshadowing or phasing one out in favor of another. Songs like “Blood on Wood” and “Creating Our Machine” really show of the bands potential and are always a couple go to songs when I think of the band. So what’s my gripe?

Well, none really. I enjoyed Charred Walls of the Damned”, but I suppose due to the hype, I was expecting somthing more. This was the equivalent to going to a five star restaurant based on Zagat’s recommendation, getting a nice bottle of wine, the special of the day and a decadent dessert. Everything was set up to be a first class experience, but at the end of the day, the wine was just tasty, the meal was just filling and the dessert was just tasty. Not, mind blowing, but not regrettable either. Maybe I had set my expectations too high for this debut, or perhaps advertising did its job, but at the end of the day, I was just satisfied with an album I expected to be blown away by. I can’t say I was disappointed, as there is plenty to enjoy on this album, but I can’t I was impressed with what this “Supergroup” (another overly hyped term that I will no doubt, bring up in the future) had produced.

Highlights: “Blood on Wood” “Creating Our Machine” “From the Abyss”

Rating: 3

Spineshank: Strictly Diesel

Of all the Nu-metal bands out there, Spineshank is far and away my favorite. I've always loved their industrial touches they add to their music, the raw aggressive approach to their instruments and Johnny Santos' vocals. "The Height of Callousness" and "Self destructive Pattern" get regular listens to this today. However, those two albums of gold would be sandwiched between two lackluster releases in comparison. "Strictly Diesel" was released in 1998 and is as you would imagine, Nu-metal to the bone. The music on this album is nowhere near the level of the following release, staying true to a more simplistic, minimal technique formula with a little hip hop and electronics thrown into the mix. I might even go out on a limb and say that many aspects of this album could be called progressive Nu-metal? I guess, I'm address the issue, that some songs have a less aggressive tone at the start and build into their choruses. Maybe? Either way, this is not a bad album. It's not gold, but it's not trash either. The music here, aside from sounding exactly like it the era it dropped in, is raw and untapped in ability. In many of the songs, you can hear the combination of harsh and soft vocals they would begin to fine tune on their next two releases, but on "Strictly Diesel" they seem just a bit unrefined. The guitars and drums are incredibly vanilla in flavor, but not imitation vanilla if you get my drift. In their defense, I will say that the vanilla approach works for this album, because if Santos would have tried to belt out the vocals used on either of the following releases, this album would be abysmal. Instead, they played the correct balance needed to achieve their sound and his vocals. Again, the use of electronics adds an underlying industrial sound, which adds a nice layer to the overall atmosphere, but they would really learn to use it in the near future. The cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" shows off the best aspects of their style, giving it an interesting change of sound. So, all in all, this is not the greatest of Nu-metal albums, nor is it Spineshank's best, but I would recommend it for those wondering what Nu-metal was all about. It's a nice start to a mildly successful stint the band would soon create for themselves.

Highlights: "Stove Bolt" "Intake" "Where We Fall" "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

Rating: 3

Killing Joke: Killing Joke (2003)

Certainly one of the major influences of all industrial rock and metal alike, Killing Joke has had a long and successful career. They were one of the major influences in my favorite band of all time, Fear Factory, which is what lead me to listen to this particular album. Some might call this pseudo-metal, as there are certainly more elements of industrial rock on display here, but it's a hard hitting album nonetheless. There are some tracks that are more love them or leave them, but others songs like "Asteroid" or "Implant" dial up a nice punch of metal inspiring head banging. Although this release was well into Killing Joke's career, I can easily see the affect they had on bands such as Fear Factory, Nine Inch Nails and even Ministry.

Highlights: "Total Invasion", "Asteroid", "Implant"

Rating: 3

Zonaria: The Cancer Empire

Zonaria play a classic sounding melodic death metal, merging catchy melodies and harsh vocals as many others have done before them. On "The Cancer Empire" the band displays their ability to do so in a very nice offering, albeit one that we've seen time and time again. Much like any genre, bands that compile music of a particular sound, but fail to leave their own distinction sound on the listeners, tend to get slapped with a clone or poor man’s version of a particular band. Unfortunately, this is the case with this "The Cancer Empire". First and foremost, the music here is played very well. There are plenty of excellent riffs, pounding drums and decent vocals, so their ability is not the issue. The issue here is that this sounds like Hypocrisy, which normally would be a good thing, if this was a Hypocrisy album. But, this is a Zonaria album and as such, fails to leave the listener with that notion. Comparisons aside, I may have been disappointed that the band failed to leave their own brand on my brain, but overall, I was not disappointed with the music. There were a number of playlist worthy songs on "The Cancer Empire", songs that sound similar to other bands, but are still enjoyable nonetheless. The majority of points taken off of this album come in the form of originality, not skill or the final product of sound. Fans of melodic death should give this a listen and once they get past the obvious connections to prior swedes, I think you'll enjoy a number of songs.

Also for NES nerds, am I not wrong for thinking the opening of the song “Crowning King Cancer” could have been part of the Heavy Barrel soundtrack. Something about it got me thinking about that game.

Highlights: “Slaughter is my Passion” “Crowning King Cancer” “Contra Mundum”

Rating: 3

Stompbox: Stress

Get up, come on get down with the sickness.... Oh wait, this isn't Disturbed, but man, the riff from the opening track of "Stress" is almost, well, I'll let you decide. Anyhow, Stompbox play a heavy sounding alternative metal with some progressive elements and grunge mixed in. Upon first listen, I didn't pay this album much mind, but after a few additional listens, I began to hear the progressive and heavier elements more clearly and appreciated the sound much more. I like grunge and alternative metal, but they’re not my go to genre of choice, I always like to come across one that slips under the radar. Fans of the transitioning sound metal found itself in during the early 90’s will definitively get a kick out of this, but I think anyone looking for a slightly less heavy, more hard rock oriented sound would enjoy this as well.

Highlights: "No Woods...No Backstage Pass!", "The Making of Pump", "Now What it's Worth" "Forever (In Blue Jeans)"

Rating: 3

Rain Paint: Nihil Nisi Mors

Rain Paint hail from Finland and play a style of gothic metal that incorporates elements of death and doom. The element of their sound, however, seem to be more sporadically used, appearing more individually, as opposed to infusing those elements into a single sound. For instance, the song “Forbidden Love” is deeply rooted in the sad, gloomy nature of gothic metal, but the following track “Rain Pain” is an almost, doom/death metal song with hints of gothic metal added. This formula, seems to persist throughout the album creating a struggle for which genre the bands wants to play and can sometimes become off putting. The kicker here is, both their goth sounds and doomy death sounds are quite good and if they could have merged them into one cohesive sound, it would have made for a very interning listen.

 Aleksi Ahokas has a nice range he displays on vocals. His gothic style elicits emotions of sorrow and regret, while at times he’s able to reach a higher pitch, which adds a nice variety to both the sound and atmosphere of the songs. He also has some very deep growls and guttural tones, that really remind me of Jonas Renkse’s from October Tide. The best showing of his vocal combinations is brief, but can be heard on the track “Death Drive & Fear”. For the most part it is a quicker paced song, with slower gothic passages and near the end, a thick, doomy death metal passage kicks in and adds a nice punch to the song, but sadly in ends shortly after its introduction.

The guitars are generally on the slower to mid-tempo side of the scale, chugging along and creating a depressive mood for each song. The riffs offer a blend of groove and slow plodding chords that give way to some nice solos and guitars fills. At times, the guitars add a sudden burst of melodic overtone, which almost adds a little cheer to the sound, but then, in true gothic fashion, the slow pace returns and the worlds darkness once more.

The drums have both an almost hard rock sound to their makeup as well as a more traditional doom metal sound. At times, they play with an up tempo pace, pounding and crashing away, while at other times they are slow and plod along with a sludgy pace. In any case, they provide an adequate rhythm for most songs and have a nice crisp overall sound. The bass also carries a nice sound throughout many of the songs. The low rumbling of bass chords can be heard bouncing away behind the leads and rhythms, which adds a nice complementary sound. Keyboards are indeed present on many of the songs, but I find they do not overtake any of the songs, nor do they stand out. They simply add a little depth to the overall atmosphere.

Overall, “Nihil Nisi Mors” is a nice little find for Gothic metal fans, but there's enough death/doom to satiate one's hunger for such. It would be interesting to see what Rain Paint might accomplish if they could manage to blend their sounds together a little more harmoniously, but at the end of the day, there’s some potential to be heard on this album.

Highlights: "Forbidden Love", Rain Paint" “Death, Drive & Fear”

Rating: 3

Prostitute Disfigurement: Left In Grisly Fashion

I remember, years back, perusing through the old Unmatched Brutality distro and seeing untold numbers of putrid death metal and goregrind bands that I couldn’t even fathom existed. One such band happened to be, Prostitute Disfigure. Now, I would imagine, the band has drawn some interest based on such a heinous name alone, which I know caught my eye. After listening to a few tracks online, I decided to take a chance on the album “"Left in Grisly Fashion"

"Left in Grisly Fashion" is a straight forward offering of brutal death metal that is as vile as the band’s name. Of course, when discussing brutal death metal, terms like vile and disgusting are not necessarily bad labels to garner. Prostitute Disfigurement set out to create a very dark and disturbing album, one that was destined to both shock and impress whomever dared listen to their album. I will say, that their mission was accomplished.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this album. I figured this would be another single chord guitar chug fest, with programmed drums and regurgitation vocals for ten straight songs. However, this is one of those times, I was glad to be wrong. The first thing you’ll notice on “Left in Grisly Fashion” is the level of musicianship from the band.

With two guitarists, Prostitute disfigurement create a twin assault of monstrous riffs and crushing rhythms that hook the listener, convincing them that they are in store for a talented display from the guitar work. Now, we’re not talking Maiden level of harmonizing or leads, but as I’ve found with other brutal death metal bands (Frightmare for instance) these guys know they’re way around their instruments and you’ll hear a high level of talent throughout the album.

As for the drums, again, I was happy to hear that they were not programed infinite blast beats with no substance. The drums here really add a nice layer of depth to the brooding atmosphere of the album. The speed of the blast beasts and double bass is always on display, but they are varied in a way that play in unison with the duel guitars. At times, the match the rhythm of the guitars, which create some melodic bridges before choruses, while at other times, they are unleashed to create a world of hurt that each song is immersed within.

Of course, no one can understand what the singer is saying, but that's kind of Brutal death metal's shtick, so as long as you know that going into this, it shouldn't be a problem. They are super deep and downright scary sounding, which again, only help the band live up to its gruesome allure.

Unfortunately, the album does suffer from a lack of creativity on a few songs. With ten songs clocking in at just over 29 minutes, I felt that a few songs near the end such as “Shotgun Horror” and “In Deaths’ Decay” needed more substance, as they fall into the “just another brutal death song” category. However, songs such as “Left in Grisly Fashion” and “The Corpse Garden” show the band’s ability at creative songwriting, so they more than make up for a few blemishes.

I know many consider brutal death to be more of a novelty genre and given how many bands out there play a very uninspired brand of this music, I understand why. However, bands like Prostitute Disfigurement prove that not all brutal bands are alike and that some of these guys can actually play some interesting and compelling music.

Highlights: "Left in Grisly Fashion", "Body to Ravage", "The Corpse Garden"

Rating: 3.5

Watchmaker: Erased from the Memory of Mankind

Watchmaker play a kind of blackened crust with its grindcore elements being at the forefront of their sound. "Erased From the Memory of Mankind" is a pretty intense slab of speed and fury. Perhaps not as blistering as Rotten Sound or Pig Destroyer, Watchmake knows how to make some pretty frantic music themselves. Drums blast away from the opening seconds while there are some decent riffs to be heard behind the wall of distortion and screams. Overall, a great experience to listen to as a whole as with most grindcore releases. This will certainly satiate any grindcore/crust hunger one may be experiencing. 

Highlights: "Scaffold of Deception" "Swept From All Existence" "Falling Upwards"

Rating: 3

Rude: Soul Recall

Death + Autopsy= "Soul Recall" Now, is that a bad thing? From a fan of OSDM not at all, but the problem is, we've heard this recipe for a long time, up to and including the recent retro revival of said OSDM. Worship aside, you can certainly hear the talent within many of the songs on "Soul Recall", but it seems that they played it safe sticking to the script and knew they wouldn't fail, at least not in the sound department. Songs like "Soul Recall" and "Haunted" show a homage to the greats that came before them, but also allows their talents to be put on display. Sadly, not many songs on this release follows suit and becomes more emulation of what has already been done. All in all, not bad by any means, but it's been done before and again and again.

Highlights: "Soul Recall", "Haunted"

Rating: 3