Septic Flesh "Forgotten Paths" CD (Black Lotus Rec.)
Bad sound, brutal music…. Oh dear, Septic Flesh has had the displeasure of releasing their demos on
CD. As usual with demo recordings released on CD; you could bet your horse on that this is a total different band from today's incarnation of Septic Flesh. This CD is very much a Black/Thrash Metal record in the vein of Venom. The quality is pretty bad too. This CD is only for die-hard Septic Flesh fans. It has no value in today's world. The three live tracks are the only positive thing about this album. If this album has not caused some red faces in Septic Flesh, I wonder…..
** Lord Loch Lomond
Serenade "Plague Of Time" MCD (Golden Lake Prod.)
You have to give admire Serenade for their guts. Their music is extreme anti-commersial. Their releases are very unlikely to make them or their distributors much money. But they still hang in there. It is art for the sake of art they do. Not music for the masses.
"Plague Of Time" is 21 minutes of weirdo Death/Doom Metal. The music is both brutal and melodic. The music is a blend of Death Metal anno the '90 and Weirdo Rock anno the '70 (Vanilla Fudge is a good reference). Kind off, anyway because Serenade has their own unique style. This MCD consists of two new tracks and one old track. The quality is OK, but nothing more. Serenade's music is too weird for me to make any everlasting impression. Maybe next time…….
*** Lord Loch Lomond
Skyforger "Latvian Riflemen" CD (Mascot Records)
A difficult review, this one. Skyforger from Latvia has included Rock'n'Roll, Thrash Metal and Folk Music in their bombastic brand of Black Metal. The tempo/speed is never slower than fast. The music is OK, without being impressive. Most of it does not leave any kind of long lasting impression. I am not sure if I like or dislike this album. But I agree with myself that the quality is high throughout this album. You should give this album a chance and find out for yourself.
***(*) Lord Loch Lomond
Suffocate "Lust For Heaven" CD (Erebos)
A kind of a mix of Hard Core and Grind Core from Slovakia. Mix that with some Industrial metal and you have the picture. In many cases, this is a combination that works. But not for Suffocate. There is some OK parts of music on this album, but they are far between. I just feel that Suffocate is trying very hard, but they never get this bird of the ground. Their music is varied, but never good. I am sorry, but I do not like this album.
** Lord Loch Lomond
Suidakra "The Arcanum" CD (Last Episode)
This is Suidakra's fourth album. I have not had the chance to hear the three other albums, but if they are as good as this one; I have missed out on something good.
Suidakra do ultra-commercial Black Metal with one leg firmly rooted in German Heavy Metal. But the most notable influence on this album, is Skyclad. You can smell Suidakra's blind admiration of Skyclad on this album. The sound is therefore very Celtic folk music influenced. Which is not a bad thing because Suidakra has managed to deliver a hell of a good album with their mix of Germany and Ireland. All nine tracks are very good. The Skyclad cover ("The One Piece Puzzle") are outstanding, but their own material lack a couple of real killer tracks. Besides of this; Suidakra has delivered a hell of a good album. Not to be missed.
****(*) Lord Loch Lomond.
Super-Not "Phlegmatic Sun" CD (Yperano Records)
Super-Not from Canada has tried to create a stoner-metal album, with some elements of Alice In Chains, Kyuss and Metallica thrown in for good measure. I was stupid enough to listen to this album on the train journey to my day-time job and I fell asleep. I was four hours too late for work that day. Which sums up this album in a nutshell. There is nothing on this album I can say leave a kind of impression. It is just some uninspired riffs, with some highly forgettable melody lines thrown in for good measure. Super-Not has included The Doors classic "Break On Through" and they have even managed to make this song into a cure against insomnia. Nuff said !!
….but both my wife and her musician brother really love this album. Have I missed out on something here ?? We all have different opinions……
* Lord Loch Lomond
Surgical Dissection "The Inborn Malignance" CD (Erebos Prod.)
Slovakia has again spawned a damn fine Death Metal album. Surgical Dissection is very much in the Suffocation vein. Which means mid-paced, brutal Death Metal. The material is very good throughout this album. It sorely need a couple of killer and "signature" tracks. But overall; this is a good Death Metal album.
….and the name of the band is perhaps taken from Dead Infection's debut album ??
**** Lord Loch Lomond
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