Reviews

BORKNAGAR:”The Olden Domain” Century Media rec.
Borknagar is classified as a ”Supergroup” of sorts by their label century Media rec., which can kinda be true, considering their line-up and such, but musicwise, I can’t really agree that much. Wellplayed Deathmetal of sorts with Garms floating vocals on top make a quite interesting recipie, but i don’t really get carried away here. Melodic, haunting, yet failing to create a real atmosphere. At times Garms vocals make me think of the debut full-lengt of Arcturus, but the again, that’s not weird at all.  

DOMINION: ”Blackout” Peaceville / Music For Nations
Doomy deathmetal is delivered here from Brittains Dominion. Slow, female vocals, and sometimes the remind me abit about newer Entombed, without being too close to annoy. The riffs seems to go on and on sometimes though. Some cool vocalparts adorn this release, some duetts with both female and male vocals. I advice anyone into Doom/Death with a touch of Rock (???) to check this one out.

PERISHED  ”Kark” Solistitium rec
Norwegian Perished’s debut album is finally released, I’ve waited for this one for quite some time, actually, all the way since I heard a reh./promo-tape some years back. Then they played a very interesting kind of death metal, with quite a few Black metal influences, but with a true death metal sound, which frankly got me drivveling. The music in itself haven’t changed much on this release, they have incorporated a few fitting elements like some piano, strings and kettledrums, which create a marvelous aura at times. The vocals, on the other hand, seems to lay just too low over the mostly fastpaced riffs, which in my oppinion makes them get all out too tedious and, thus, they kinda strangle the whole listening-experience. You know, they are like Satyr’s (Of Satyricon), or perhaps comapable with krell’s of Bloodthorn, but they lay just too low in the background and are just too weaksounding, there’s nothing warlike about them, they just sound stressed and half-hearted. Other than that, I like this album quite much.

SADNESS ”Evangelion” Radio 1999 rec. / Mystic productions
Ahh, this album I did truly await! Their former albums are true magic! But, but! This is firstly not a new album in it’s own right; there’s only 4 new tracks here, and 2 remastered versions and a demotrack. The older material shreds, just soo primitive and yet sos full of atmosphere and auras. 2ndly, the new material ain’t at all what I expected, it’s, well, kinda pornographic (not by apperance, you moron!) and tainted, which you of course don’t get, right? But it’s bloody hard to explain, I for one don’t really approve for the new tracks at all. Check them out yourself if you think this sounds interesting; I for one ar lost for words…

ROTTING CHRIST: ”A Dead Poem”,  Century Media rec.
Akkh, this is great stuffs (As i read in a ’zine ages ago!), Greek Rotting Christ are now more Death metal than ever before! 10 great traxs of melodic Black death from these gods. Structured, tight, innovative, you name ’em, RC have’m! Get this one!! Only one drawback here, the sound is a little bit too plain and straight forward, a little more ’muddy’ mix, and with a more alive sound on the piano’s, I’d be a far happier man than I actually am!

BLOODTHORN ”In The Shadow Of Your Black Wings” Seasons Of Mist Rec.
This is trondheims-based Bloodthorns debut album, and the name of the game is metal of darker breeding. What distance Bloodthorns from most other bands of this genre is basically the structure of their songs; this band don’t spend many dimes on no-sence riffs just fooling around to make the transgression of the next riff possible, each riff is in itself a musical piece… you get what I mean??? Well, sorry for you, Gubbe! Their songs are also a bit longer than the average one of most bands today; a typical Bloodthorn-song is about 10 min. long. Of ingredients I can mention the following: A steady and fast-paced drummer, a female vocalist (+ the male ones performed by Mr. Krell of course), keyboards, and a broad range of innovative riffs. I would place them in the same genre as Thorns, Manes Limbonic Art and so forth, not that they really sound alike, but in that genre of music. By the way, most of their lyrics is written by a certain Torstein D. Parelius (henceforth known as Mr. 47 for obviuos reasons!).

The End Records:”…Until The End Of Time” The End Records
Ahem, this was quite a surprise, I’ll have to admit. The End records have put together a compilation-album here featuring mostly unknown or next to unknown bands, and what really struck me was the two bands Mental Home and Sculptured that’s featured here. Mental Home delivers atmospheric music with a grand touch; they have managed ta carve out their own individual path amongst the heavy forested trails of modern metal music: mid-paced, innavative use of the keyboards, and very atmospheric metal. Not too tight, and not the best sound available, but perhaps that’s what make me kick off on this. It reminds me abit about diminished times when a demo-tape was a grand step ahead for a band, something one really worked for and which brought fame (well??…) and fortune (Well, well??…) to the bands that managed to carve out their own chunk of wood. Not like today, when marketing and large labels can sell whatever they want To many of the small kids out there. Well, the other band I’d like to mention on this album is Sculptured, which delivers a kind of ethnic metal, I’d dare say they were from the south-western parts of Europe, perhaps Greece or the Balkans. Anyway, the ethnic touch really makes the difference here. Check out both these bands, and also give Odes Of Ecstasy a throughout listen if you get the chance…. Leave the other bands on this album; Epoch Of unlight (Ducktalish Blackmetal!), Nocturnal Mortum (Not too bad, one of the songs actually, but nothing to rave on about either), and finally Scholomance (BORING Black metal!).  

DISFEAR “Everyday Slaughter” KronH/Osmose
Nope, certainly not my cup of tea, Entombed meets a lousy punkband… what a party… Too compact and too little variations, too little substance in the music, only straight forward all the time…Nope!

IRON MAIDEN: “Virtual X” EMI
Iron Maiden is dead – let us all face it! With this album there should be no doubt about it… Iron Maiden as we all loved them is dead…. This album, well, it tastes like Sodom, not musicwise, you dumb cow, but the way they wimped out and just faded away… Bruce Dickinson is no longer a part of this once great outfit, and the new vocalist is really something, isn’t he… I doubt he even got energy enough for that long-souhght fart during his sessions with the microphone… this is boring, sleepy and extremely disappointing. No, it’s as I’ve always said, Maiden died with their awesome “Somewehere In Time” (They still lied thrashing about on “Seventh Son…”). All hail the dead King. Lets flail the Impostors…

REINCANTATION “Void” Repulse Records
Gawk, another Grindcore band (This time with some deathmetal influences, though) from masters of meaninglessness, Repulse rec. These guys seem to have listened to some older Bolt Thrower, without hitting it of on the right track…. The logo above is not theirs, of course, but I (Which have read a few logos during my time in the scene!) spent quite a few moments trying to settle for a meaning for their monicker. I finally settled down for Reincantation (I think that’s what it reads…?), you know, these splatter-influenced boring, unreadable shites that can’t be read, no matter how hard you try… So, the bottom line is, I took the liberty of making a new version for this publication… The fonts supplied with kind permission from Mr. Robocop.

GODFUCK 93:"Godfuck 93" (3" MCD)(northern darkness)
I really hate this electro avantgarde metal crap. This is Charles Blasphemy's (ex©Necromass) new band, and the music is a stupid, senseless and irritating mix between techno and metal. It's more satisfying to listen to a dishwasher than to this crap, and I really don't understand why Northern Darkness released this at all. If you want to throw your money down the drain, send $8 to Northern Darkness, P.O. Box 51, 10052 Bardonecchia (TO), Italy.

ANGEL CORPSE:"Hammer Of Gods" (CD)(osmose)
Retro©brutallity from these American dudes. I guess everyone in the underground knows about this act now, and are one of the better American black/death metal bands along with Equinox and Usurper. I guess they've released something new by now, so I won't say that much about this band. If you're into good, old and brutal death/black metal, this is the band for you. See the interview for more details.

BLUT AUS NORD:"Memoria Vetusta I..." (CD)(velvet music)
French metal have never been good, so Blut Aus Nord was a surprise. "Memoria Vetusta I © Fathers Of The Icy Age" is their 2nd album, and the band consists of the guys Vindsval and Ira Aeterna. Their brand of evil is pompous and epic, with lots of keyboards and cool riffs. It's not really original or anything, but it's just as good as most black metal bands with a hint of quality. It's so standard that this is a safe buy for all black metal fans.

MEMORY GARDEN:"Tides" (CD)(heathendoom)
Candlemass is "reunited" which is good, but they'll never be as good as the old days. But who cares when we got some new Swedes who are just as good as Candlemass were in the old days? Memory Garden plays doomy heavy metal the best way possible. It's heavy, melodic and they got really good songs and a very good vocalist. Even though they may remind you of old Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus, Memory Garden is not a copy. "Tides" contains 8 wonderful songs, from the heavy "The Rhyme Of The Elder" to nice ballads like "Blissful". They should have a new album out soon, but in the meantime, buy this one.

OLD WORDS NEW:"Upon The Hours" (CD)(self©financed)
These Norwegians started up in '93 under the name Silent, and has Lazare from Solefald behind the drumkit. Their philosophy is to take inspiration from everything and then create something new, which they in a way have succeeded in. They mix death metal with jazz, brutality with serenity and disharmony with harmony. The musicians are pretty technical, and there's a lot of changes in both time and music. I think they've listened a lot to Voivod and Atheist, and at times they kind of sound like a technical avantgarde version of My Dying Bride. Also the vocals are good, though he doesn't need the grunt vocals. Someone should sign this lot soon, and if you're interested, write to BjÀQÀrn E. Sundt, Camilla Collettsvei 15B, 4621 Kristiansund, Norway and ask for the price.

AURA NOIR:"Black Thrash Attack" (LP)(malicious)
Their debut, "Dreams Like Deserts", was great, but this time they really prove that their the kings of retro black thrash metal. There's of course a lot of inspiration from Destruction, Slayer, Sodom etc here, but they've found their own sound now. It's full speed all the way, and they've got so many great riffs here that you just can't sit still. Of course this is a trip down memory lane, but when a band does it as good as Aura Noir, who cares if it's been done before? The 10 songs here are simply excellent, so get it.

WITHERING SURFACE:"Scarlet Silhouettes" (CD)(euphonious)
Michael from Mighty Mag and Emanzipation Records band, Withering Surface", is out with their debut, and I was in fact a bit disappointed. Their demo "Unique" was really good, but they're sounding a bit too standard here. I don't know if it's the production or the songs, but it sounds too much like all the Swedish bands. It's well played and all that, but it's a bit boring and standard. Well, if you're in love with the Gothenburg sound, this is for you.

HANDFUL OF HATE:"Qliphotic Supremacy" (CD)(northern darkness)
Here's another Italian black metal band trying to be more evil than everybody else. It's full speed all the time which is a bit tiresome, and songs are totally uninteresting. There's some riffs here and there that is okay, but overall it's not good enough. Maybe they should use more time on the music, than the image (cool pictures). If you must have every black metal release on earth, send $15 to Northern Darkness.

AUTUMN TEARS:"Love Poems For Dying Children...Act I" (CD)(dark symphonies)
One man and one woman is behind Autumn Tears, and their music is inspired by classical music and bands like Dead Can Dance, Enya and The 3rd And The Mortal. The music consists mainly of keyboards and effects, and they've created some really nice symphonic, atmospheric and sad music. Both Ted and Erika sings good, and they're using a lot of nice harmonies. They also have enough variation so it's not that boring as many other keyboard bands. They've got some vocal help from the guys in December Wolves, and they really destroy the mood in my opinion. I hate it when someone starts screaming in this type of music. Well, this album can be ordered from Dark Symphonies, P.O. Box 547, Billerica MA 01821, USA.

HEMORRHAGE:"Grume" (CD)(morbid)
Spain is the home of grinding ultrabrutal death metal and Haemorrhage. These guys isn't the most brutal shit I've heard, but they're still not good. There's only speed and brutality here, and I don't find this that interesting. 14 songs with blood and gore is way too much for me. Actually, hitting myself on my toes with a hammer is more fun than this.

BABYLON WHORES:"Cold Heaven" (CD)(heroine)
Heroine is the newest sublabel of Misanthropy, and their first release is the debut of these Finnish death rockers. The band have produced some good and filthy rock'n'roll with a lot of gothic touches on their debut, and it reminds me at times of Danzig and Samhain. There's also some newer Paradise Lost feeling here, and a bit of good old Xysma. I really like Ike Vil's vocals, as they create a certain charm over the music. At times they're a bit repetitive, but overall is "Cold Heaven" a good release.

NATTVINDENS GRÀ"ÀT:"Chaos Without Theory" (CD)(solistitium)
It seems like the Darkwoods My Bethrothed is put on ice and that this is their new band. Well, they've improved a lot since their debut "A Bard's Tale". Not that much musically, but the songs and the playing are a lot better now. The music can be described as pretty heavy and emotional gothic metal, with energy and okay songs. Their vocalist, Wilska, did a terrible job on the debut, but he sound better now. They're almost a mix between Sentenced and Amorphis, though not as good yet. They can do this better, but "Chaos Without Theory" is a step in the right direction.

HADES:"The Dawn Of The Dying Sun" (CD)(full moon)
They've taken their time with this album, cause it's ages since their debut was out (almost as long as the last Funeral issue, actually). They haven't changed that much musically, which is a nice mix between Norwegian black metal and Bathory's viking era. The main difference from the debut is that they've improved a lot. There's also more inspiration from folk music this time, and they've also used violin, jewsharp and clean vocals here and there. All in all a good second offer from these vikings, and if they continue like this, their next one will be even better.

YEARNING:"With Tragedies Adorned" (CD)(holy)
This was a nice surprise from Finland. This novice band has released one hell of a debut filled with powerful atmospheric and melancholic metal. There's so many beautiful, sad melodies and great songs here. Also, the vocals are very good, and they use a lot of clean vocals too. It's not the best I've heard, but good enough, and all the vocal harmonies gives a good impression too. There's a lot of nice guitar harmonies, good acoustic parts, atmospheric keyboards and good arranged songs here. Everyone into melancholic metal should just get this one.

ENDURA:"Great God Pan" (CD)(elfenblut)
This is Britain's Endura's 5th album in three years, but their first on Elfenblut. What you'll get here is a lot of keyboards and sampling, which are used to create dark atmosphere, so we're talking about darkambient here. The positive thing about Endura is that you get a feeling of songs and not just dark sounds. The best parts are those which are influenced of classical music, and the songs with vocals. There's also a lot of boring parts here too, with only dark, rumbling keyboards. If you're into darkambient stuff, this might be something for you.

MYTHOS:"Dark Material" (MCD)(ktok)
There's been a lot of changes for these Finnish guys after their debut on Evil Omen. On this EP you'll find 4 new hard hitting songs of heavy, rotten, but melodic death metal with a lot of energy. Mikko's vocals are the filthy kind, and it fits in. "Dark Material" should be checked out if you're into filthy, but melodic death. $12 from KTOK Records, Kirkkokatu 59 as 9, 90120 Oulu, Finland.

TWIN OBSCENITY:"Where Light Touches None" (CD)(head not found)
Here's a nice surprise from Bergen, Norway. I've never heard of them before this album, and I really liked this one. They play melodic, dark, heavy and a bit brutal death metal with hints of black metal, and it's also quite original, varied and tasteful. They definitely have found their own style, which is almost impossible these days. Twin Obscenity's music is atmospheric and quite pompous, and there's a lot of great riffs here. The vocals are also varied and quite good. Latest news is that they've signed to Century Media, so while you're waiting for their 2nd album, buy this one.

EXHUMATION:"Seas Of Eternal Silence" (CD)(emanzipation/diehard)
Greece have born some great death/black metal bands over the years like Septic Flesh and Nightfall, and Exhumation is following in their path. Exhumation is now way near the before mentioned bands yet, but they play good and melodic death metal with a lot of synth. They probably sound a bit more Swedish than their county mates, and that's probably why they've recorded this album in Unisound (and of course Dan sings here). There's a lot of nice things here, but they have to find their own identity before they'll make it into the big boys league. Maybe next time.

BISHOP OF HEXEN:"Archieves Of An Enchanted Philosophy" (CD)(hammerheart prod)
Israeli black metal isn't what I listen to everyday, but these guys isn't that bad. There's a lot of keyboards here and also a lot of nice melodies, though a bit too standard at times. What really ruins the album is the shitty production. Sometimes you can only hear keyboards and vocals. There's almost no guitar at all on some parts. All music and lyrics are based on a story they've written themselves. Well, if you can stand the production, you'll get an hour with keyboard based black metal with a lot of melodies. Can be ordered for $18 from Hammerheart Prod., Seoul C.P.O. Box 8383, South Korea.

WÀ"ÀTTAMEZZ:"Kinky Bastard" (CD)(schnavvel records)
These guys started out as early as 1983 and after 10 years of drinking they managed to release their first demo. Now, after 4 new years of drinking, they released their debut album and the result isn't that bad. WÀ#Àttamezz plays powerthrash, and there's a lot of energy here. Behind the microphone you'll find Tommy Halseth from Atrox, and he does a good job. Not everything here are that good, but there's some cool parts here and there. The worst thing about the album is the awful female vocals, but apart from that, this is a pretty good metal album. Be a kinky bastard and get this album for $15 from WÀ#Àttamezz, BerkÀ#Àk, Norway.

IN THE WOODS...:"Omnio" (2LP)(misanthropy)
Finally, after 2 years of waiting, they released a new album, and it's way beyond any of my expectations. It really crushes their debut. "Omnio" contains 5 long and beautiful songs, which they must have worked hard with. The melodies are amazing, the songs are really good arranged and they've become a lot more symphonic. Fortunately, Ovl has dropped his screaming, and his clean vocals are just excellent. I really like his style, and there's some marvellous harmonies done by him and Synne. They've managed to experiment, and there's some nice progressive parts which has found it's way on the album. The title track is split in 3 parts, last for 25 minutes, and I dare to call it a metal version of Pink Floyd's "Echoes". "Omnio" is a very strong and varied album with a lot of atmosphere and contrasts, and every metal fan with some respect for themselves must have this.

HELHEIM:"Av NorrÀQÀn À$Àtt" (CD)(solistitium)
They've improved some since their debut these wannabe vikings from Bergen. They've slown down a bit, and that ridiculous hysterical screaming is also more or less gone, and that really helps. The riffs and arrangements are a bit better too this time, and again there's some piano, violin and jewsharp in between the metal. They've also tried out some clean vocals together with the usual female vocals, though that doesn't sound that good. "Av NorrÀQÀn À$Àtt" contains seven very long songs, and even though there's some cool things here and there, they tend to drag everything out till it bores you to death. A couple of songs are good though, but as a whole it's not good enough yet.

DETESTOR:"Red Sand" (CD)(dracma)
Italian Detestor has done the incredible thing and become even worse than their debut. Their death feel is gone and they've started playing modern aggressive metal with samplings and other idiotic things. They've tried so hard to become modern and popular, so they only managed to create garbage; and you throw away garbage.

FROST:"Contemplating Upon Change In The World..." (MCD)(self financed)
Good old thrash metal from Norway this, with a cool violin solo on the first track and an odd punk ending with the last one. The production isn't great, but it kinda fits in with the music. Frost isn't the best retro thrash band around, but they have potential cause there's a lot of cool riffs and nice feeling here. If you can't get enough retro send $11 to Lycanthrophia Distro, P.O. Box 526, 7001 Trondheim, Norway.

INDUNGEON:"Machinegunnery Of Doom" (CD)(full moon)
This is Weinerhall of Mithotyn's 2nd band, and this lot is a lot more primitive, though melodic and a bit rock'n'roll inspired death/thrash metal. Can't complain about the energy, but they could've thrown in a bit more variation. "Machinegunnery Of Doom" is a just above average release for everyone into raw and primitive metal, but don't expect a masterpiece.

FORBIDDEN SITE:"Sturm Und Drang" (CD)(solistitium)
These Frenchmen claims that they started out back in 1830, and I must say that I can't quite believe them. Anyway, enough bollocks from both them and me, over to the music. It starts out quit good, and then they destroys everything with amateur riffs and dull melodies. It goes like this throughout the whole album. First some really good ideas, and then nothing except lame riffs with no feeling or structure. The music can be classified as atmospheric death/black metal, but it's too bad that all the crappy riffs kills all the atmos. The best thing about that band is the female vocals, cause she's got a pretty good voice and it doesn't sound like every other band with female guest singers.

ENTIRETY:"In Caelo Omnia Acciderunt" (MCD)(northern darkness)
Swedish bands must be popular in Italy too, cause these Italians tries to sound like they're from Sweden. Well, apart from influences from Dissection and Dark Tranquillity, there's also some influences from Rotting Christ and the Greeks so there you have Entirety's originality. The music is melodic, well played, fast, aggressive and death metal, and I think Entirety has done a good job. Hopefully they'll do just a good job with a full length. $10 from Northern Darkness address if you dare.

WALLACHIA:"Wallachia" (CD)(velvet music)
I'm not a big fan of demos re©released on CD, and this demo is released as a full length debut from Velvet. Well, the sound is a bit better and so is the cover of course, and musically it's quite good, heavy and atmospheric black metal. The things I don't like here is the fact that the songs are too long, and that the vocals and the drum machine sounds like shit. I especially hate the vocals. They're supposed to release they're 2nd full length soon, so I hope that they'll do something about that then.

ARCTURUS:"La Masquerade Infernale" (CD)(misanthropy/music for nations)
This has to be 97's best metal album. I think Misanthropy did a smart thing by licensing this album to Music For Nations, cause it deserves all the marketing it can get. When it comes to the music, everything has improved. Arcturus has removed themselves from the black metal genre this time (except for the beginning of "Alone"), and they've created a unique metal album. Sverd must have had a hell of a job to write and arrange this album, cause there's so much going on here. The music is still majestic and symphonic, but this time they gone all the way and used a real orchestra. Hellhammer plays great as usual, the new guitarist, Knut M. Valle, does a good job, and Carl August Tidemann does two fabulous solos. Garm is the big surprise in the band, and he shows what a good vocalist he has become over the years. The man who really impresses me though is the guest vocalist Simon HestnÀ%Às. His vocals are really special and he sings over a wide spectre. His duets with Garm is amazing, and they create a great contrast. He also sings solo on the best track on the album, "The Chaos Path", and he does an indescribable good job here. It's almost like listening to a theatre act, and it's very exciting to listen to.  It's easy to hear that they've listened a lot to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and bands like Devil Doll, but Arcturus has created their own style. There's so much progression throughout this album and it crushes metal prog bands like Dream Theater when it comes to creativity and progression. If you thought "Aspera Hiems Symfonia" was good, you won't believe the greatness of this album. "La Masquerade Infernale" is a metal album for adults and people who appreciate real music. It's really a pity that the band is put on ice at the moment, but hopefully the band will rise again in one way. If you know of anyone who doesn't have this album yet, run out and buy it for them.

IMPERATOR:"The Time Before Time" (CD)(pagan)
Well, finally this classic is released on CD too. This album was supposed to be released on Deathlike Silence once, but after a lot of problems, it was released by Nameless Productions in 1990. It never sold that much, but most people who's been involved in the underground some time know about it. For those who doesn't know about this album, it can be described as good old death/black metal with strong influences from Slayer, Kreator and Bathory. It's really technical, with a lot of aggression and brutality. This re©release comes with a great booklet with a biography, lyrics, lots of pictures and two bonus tracks which were recorded in 1993. I think this is the best Polish album I've heard along with some stuff from Vader, so it's worth the money. They'll also record some new material now, so I'm really looking forward to hear that.

AETURNUS:"Dark Sorcery" (MCD)(hammerheart records)
This is a re©release of these Norwegians MCD from '95, with one bonus track. Musically, this is a death/black metal version of Bathory's viking era, with grunt vocals and dark melodies. It's maybe a bit boring at times and not that much variation, but it's not that bad either. There are of course some folk inspiration here too, and I must say I've heard that done better before. All in all there's 5 okay tracks here, but nothing to shout hooray to. Maybe their upcoming album will be better.

DEINONYCHUS:"Ark Of Thought" (CD)(supernal)
Marco Kehren's (a.k.a. Odin) onemanproject Deinonychus is now out with his 3rd album. I haven't heard his earlier works, but "Ark Of Thought" proves that he knows what he's doing. Musically this lies in the twilight zone between gothic and black metal, with a touch of claustrophobic doom. Marco has a weird song technic, which varies from sick screaming to low talking. At times it may remind you of Monumentum, but the music is quite different. On this album you'll get nice synth arrangements, churning cold guitars and atmospheric melodies. Is gothic and black metal your thing, check it out.

AVERON:"Serenity" (CD)(unisound)
This is a fine example on how crappy vocals can ruin an album. Swedish Averon could have been a good doom metal band with good, heavy riffs, but the whole thing is ruined because of a moron of a vocalist. Ola Persson should have been beaten up of every vocalist with respect for themselves and his own band. The band itself isn't that bad, and they've made some good tunes, but they're not good enough to take the attention away from the pig behind the microphone.

LEGENDA:"Autumnal" (CD)(holy)
When Sir Luttinen from Impaled Nazarene started up a new band, I expected some shitty black metal, but I was wrong. "Autumnal" is a great album filled with originality, gloom, atmosphere, melancholy and emotions, and there's also a lot of heavy power and energy in the songs. Luttinen has created beautiful emotions, good melodies, heavy and original riffs and he also got a good vocal. On this project he's brought with him Niko Karppinen who has played with Sentenced etc. The only negative thing I can say, is that there's not enough variations in the songs, but all in all this is a very good atmospheric death metal album.

THUBAN:"Zeitgeist" (CD)(northern darkness)
Italian Pollution has changed their name to Thuban, and they've also changed their style from death metal to atmospheric metal. They describe their music as "dark©emotional metal", and that fits pretty good. Thuban deliver some atmospheric and synthbased death metal, with gothic influences and black metal vocals. The vocalist is Tasos from the greek band Macabre Operetta, and they have also two session vocalist (one male, one female). "Zeitgeist" is an okay debut for the band, but it sounds a bit unfinished. They repeat themselves too much, and the production is way to weak too. It almost sounds like a pop album at times. Can be ordered for $15 from Northern Darkness.

COMPILATION:"Encyclopedia Pestilentia" (3CD)(velvet music)
French Velvet Music has aimed high and released a triple black metal compilation. Here you'll find 50 more or less unknown black metal bands mainly from Germany and France, but also a few from Scandinavia and the Benelux. Though, there's more quantity than quality here, and there's maybe 4 out of 50 bands that deserves any attention at all. 90% of the bands here are the worst crap ever produced on CD, and it's a real hell to listen through the whole thing in one hearing (I've tried it, and I got sick and tired and could listen to metal for 2 weeks after that experience). Another thing, I feel that Velvet could have made a hell of a lot better booklet for such a big compilation like this. If you love black metal and wants to check out all the really small bands, get this compilation and weep.

MAYHEM:"Wolf's Lair Abyss" (MLP)(misanthropy)
Bloody hell, what a comeback!!!! This is the most brutal and extreme thing I've heard in a while. Most of you have probably had high expectations to this release, and all mine were full filled. Mayhem sounds more mayhemic than ever! First time I heard it, it was very chaotic, but it's becoming better for each time I listen to it. Hellhammer surprises yet again on how fast he can play, and there's so many insane breaks here that he does in an amazing speed. The riffs are typical Mayhem, filled with intricate melodies and brutality. The music is so complex and brutal, and Maniac's vocals are the most extreme I've heard. It sounds like he's puking out his lungs, and it's impossible to catch the lyrics. It just has to hurt. The clean vocals aren't that unlike Attila's on "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" and it fits in perfectly. The four songs (+ intro) here are Mayhem at their best, and my two favourites are "I Am Thy Labyrinth" and "Ancient Skin". The one "negative" point is that you'll have to listen to it a couple of times to get used the intensity, but ones your used to, you'll love it. I can't wait till "A Grand Declaration Of War" is released, cause Mayhem has proved that their the best black metal band in the world. Personally, I think that Mayhem should be bought on vinyl, so search the world and try to get your hands on a vinyl copy.

CREST OF DARKNESS:"Sinister Scenario" (CD)(head not found)
Those who liked Ingar Amlien's (ex©Conception) mcd, will probably like this one too. Crest Of Darkness hasn't changed much, and the music is still heavy, dark and brutal. They can be described as a mix between the most brutal and dark thrash metal and black metal, with some Slayer influences. The keyboards are used to create atmosphere basically, so those of you who expect nice melodies will be disappointed. Amlien's vocals are very varied, and fits well in to the music which varies from midtempo atmospheric songs to harder stuff. The tends to be repeated too much though, and I don't find all the songs that interesting, but all in all, this is a pretty good release with not that many highlights.

THE EYE:"Supremacy" (CD)(velvet music)
The Eye is the 2nd project from Vindsval of Blut Aus Nord, and musically it's not that far from his original band. He calls this project as "misanthropic black metal", something which can be explained as cold, primitive and synthbased black metal. There's some atmospheric keyboard songs in between which is okay to fill the space of the album. "Supremacy" is an ordinary and quite simple black metal release. Nothing more, nothing less.

FORLORN:"The Crystal Palace" (CD)(head not found)
Sanrabb (Gehenna) and his merry men made a nice first impression on their mcd, and continues in the same style with this one. There's two songs from that mcd here, and the rest is new material in the same vein. The vikings and their time is the subject, and the music is very melodic and symphonic. Sanrabb does a good job behind the microphone, especially when he sings normal, and all the "viking" choirs are gives the album a majestic feeling. It sometimes remind me of Ulver's "Bergtatt", but they tend to repeat themselves too much. If they've varied a bit more, this would have been a very good release.

ANCIENT:"Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends" (CD)(metal blade)
There's been some changes since the last time in the Bergen©American Ancient camp. Kimberly and Kjetil is out, and Erichte and Jesus Christ! is in. They've also changed a bit musically, from playing typical Nordic black metal to more Cradle Of Filth like black metal. Ancient is not a copy, but there's some elements that are quite like Cradle Of Filth here. As Cradle Of Filth, Ancient has some good ideas and a lot of boring and standard ideas. The vocals variates from deep talking to high screaming together with some female vocals, like Cradle Of Filth, and I find them quite annoying. They've recorded the album in America this time, and the production isn't that great. All in all, quite usual black metal for the usual black metal fan.

OUIJA:"Riding Into The Funeral Paths" (CD)(repulse)
Repulse wouldn't say in the press©papers where this band comes from in fear that the world has prejudice against non©Nordic black metal bands, but I guess they're from Spain and they sound like any other black metal band in the year of 1998. The production is very good and the band knows how to play, but they're not really original. Ouija's brand of black metal is fast, melodic, with lots of keyboards, so they could be any one of the bands in the black metal jungle. Bands like Dissection, Cradle Of Filth, Satyricon and Dimmu Borgir has most likely been a huge inspiration, and Ouija sounds like a light mix of these acts.

SIGH:"Hail Horror Hail" (CD)(cacophonous)
The master's of avantgarde black metal is back with their 3rd masterpiece, and "Hail Horror Hail" contains all the crudeness, weirdness and strangeness you can imagine. Sigh has always been unique and original, and this time they have rock'n'roll as a basis for their black metal weirdness. Here they mix elements of jazz, swing, cabaret, rock'n'roll and classical music without making it sound stupid or unnatural. With Sigh, all this blending of musical styles sounds natural, and I just love the way they break barriers and try out new approaches on how to play music. Even though there's a lot of different musical styles here, it's black metal we're talking about in the end, and the atmosphere is very dark and haunting. It's just done in another way than usual.

UNCREATION:"Uncreation" (MCD)(black dragon)
What a drag. I haven't heard anything as shitty as this in ages. If this is Spain's best death metal band, then I don't want to hear the rest of them. Uncreation has childish songs like "It Up My Ass" and "Snuff©Movies", and plays ultra brutal and tragic death metal. I'd rather listen to Cannibal Corpse (yawn!) constantly for a year than a second more of this urine infested shit. Can be ordered from Repulse.

ALGAION:"General Emnity" (CD)(wounded love)
There's been some line©up changes at these Swedes since the last time, and I like the change. Since Peter Tagtgren is out, they've slowed down considerably, and the result is pretty original. Now they're playing heavy and dark death metal with a lot of melodic power metal influences, without sounding like a boring In Flames copy. Algaion has managed to use the 80's inspiration in another way, and the material is both exiting and good. The negative point is the vocals, which tends to be a bit annoying with it's mixture of grunting and shouting. The album has enough power and intensity to make your veins throb, and at the same time they have enough melody so it won't become boring that fast. I think "General Emnity" will be well received of both death metal fans and power metal fans, but they should do something with the vocals until next time.

MYTHOLOGICAL COLD TOWERS:"Sphere Of Nebaddon" (CD)(sound riot)
These guys are from the land of Sepultura, but the country is the only connection between the two bands. If I should compare Mythological Cold Towers to anyone, it has to be early My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost in the "Gothic" period. You know, really dark, heavy, slow and epic doom metal. The music is heavy and emotional with a lot of synth and sad guitars, and the vocals are in the boring death grunt style, though not very annoying. Mythological Cold Towers hasn't really done anything new or special on their debut, but they've done a pretty good job anyway. If you miss the old, atmospheric doom/death style, you want to get this. If not, buy something else.

STILLE VOLK:"Hantaoma" (CD)(holy)
Tom©ti©tom. Stille Volk is from the Pyrean Alps, and we're talking about folk music here. Stille Volk are three happy campers who likes to beat on kettle drums, play lute, flute and sing as there's no tomorrow. The idea itself isn't bad, but the result is more funny than good. There's some parts here that are okay, but on most of the album sound the band sounds like their having a music lesson in a kindergarten. They say they've used 35 different instruments on this album, which is good, and I believe that most of the material is supposed to be some ritual shit. Maybe I just don't understand the music, but in my ears, there's too much ridiculous drumming and shouting here with no point. If you're interested in folk music, check out Sweden's Hedningarna or Dead Can Dance instead of this.

VULPECULA:"Fons Immortalis" (MCD)(merciless)
The good old boys are back. Here you'll find one from Order From Chaos and one guy from Nepenthe, and this debut MCD was a nice surprise. Vulpecula is heavy, dark and original black/death metal with a touch of psychedelia and a feeling of old days. The overall sound of the MCD remainds me of releases from around 90/91, and the band has the same feel as those old bands had. You know, that special feeling that only that band had. I don't know if I'm getting through here, but anyway, "Fons Immortalis" has a lot of great and original riffs and a tad annoying vocalist. Get this MCD for 15,© DM (MCD)/ 12,© DM (10" vinyl) from Merciless Records, FrÀGÀhlingstr. 18, 97469 Gochsheim, Germany, and look out for the upcoming album.

APHRODISIAC:"Nonsense Chamber" (CD)(elfenblut)
Aphrodisiac is a twoman band consisting of members of Ved Buens Ende, DÀQÀdheimsgard and Fleurity, and when these two guys has so many good bands, then they don't need to waste time doing shit like this. They describe this project as "noise that leans towards music" and I totally agree on that description. What you'll get here is mainly white noise and idiocy, and it's hard to find any music in all the noise. Where the hell are the new Ved Buens Ende album by the way?

SCEPTER:"Metal Supremacy" (MCD)(self financed)
These Americans continue where they left off on their debut with this EP, and what we're talking about here is heavy and primitive retro metal. There's not much to say about the four songs here, except that Scepter isn't the best retro metal band. It's okay I guess, but nothing special. I don't know the price, but if you're into the retro trend, write and ask: Scepter, P.O. Box 388068, Chicago IL 60638©8068, USA. Merciless Records has re©released this MCD too.

NIGHTFALL:"Lesbian Show" (CD)(holy)
Some title. I was actually a bit disappointed when I first listened to Nightfall's fourth album. It sounded so damn straight and normal, but after I've listened to it for some time, it has improved some. Their not that atmospheric now, and they've become more rock'n'roll. I get a Paradise Lost feeling over the whole thing, if you know what I mean. The keyboards and the atmos is more or less gone, and the album is filled with basic song structure and riff based songs. They've become more or less straight ahead heavy metal without sounding too retro. Efthimis vocals have improved to the better I think, and the production is also way better that their earlier releases. That irritating drumsound is finally gone!! But I kinda miss some of the atmosphere, and I hope till go back to that on their next release.

UNNATURAL:"Throne Of Anguish" (MCD)(qabalah)
It's unnatural how much boring and unoriginal death metal Spain produces. Unnatural is better than Uncreation f.ex, but it's still crap. Hyperbrutal and deadly boring death metal the American way is what you get here. Female drummer, pretty technical, though very messy and totally uninteresting. If you love sheer brutality, get this from Repulse.

BURNING GATES:"Risvelgi" (CD)(northern darkness)
Pathetic and bad played gothic rock sung in Italian, doesn't that sound nice? No, it doesn't. Burning Gates has taken the worst of the worst in gothic rock, and produced one hour of stinking garbage. I really hate that winy and totally annoying vocalist who cries out his sorrow in Italian. "Risvelgi" is a worthless product for worthless people.

DESASTER:"Stormbringer" (MCD)(merciless)
German Desaster releases here an EP while their waiting to record their 2nd album. They try their best to combine Sodom, Kreator and Slayer with todays cold and primitive black metal, and the result isn't that good. It's too soft, and the "mideval" tune, "Emerging Castleland", is just comical. If you liked their previous work, you might want to check this out too for 15,© DM from Merciless.

VADER:"Reborn In Chaos" (CD)(hammerheart records)
It was nice to hear this again. Vader's good old demos, "Necrolust" (89) and "Morbid Reich" (90), are now released on CD, and their still strong in todays death metal scene. Here's raw and brutal death metal the way it should be, and these two demos crushes a lot of the really shitty death metal releases of today. The production might be a bit thin, but since the songs are so extreme and intense in themselves I can overlook a poor production. It comes with a nice booklet with lyrics and old photos, so if you don't know you're background or want to memorise you should get this.

COMPILATION:"Hellas Salutes The Vikings" (CD)(metal invader)
As far as I know, this is the first Bathory tribute ever, and it's released by Metal Invader Magazine in Greece. Here's 10 Greek bands doing their Bathory tune, and the material is taken from all the albums except "Requiem" and "Octagon" (there you see Quorthon; those albums are shit, and everybody except you knows it). Order Of The Ebon Land ("A Fine Day..."), Kawir ("Sadist"), Exhumation ("Enter The Eternal Fire") and Dark Nova ("Born For Burning") does a really good job, but the rest of them aren't worth mentioning. Their covers are really sad and pathetic. I don't know if this one is sold anymore, but write and ask to Metal Invader, 224 Sigrou Ave., 17627 Kallithea, Athens, Greece.

ZEPHYROUS:"A Caress Of War And Wisdom" (MCD)(velvet music)
Melodic, atmospheric and goth inspired black metal from Greece. Thin production, boring vocals, but the songs are all right. Maybe there's some hints of Necromantia here and there, but they're not a rip off. I wonder what these guys can do with a better production, and with a drummer (I really loath that drum machine).

PROFANUM:"Profanum Aeternum" (CD)(pagan)
I expected shit when this dumped into my mailbox, but I was wrong there. I've never heard of these guys before, but "Profanum Aeternum: Eminence Of Satanic Imperial Art" is this Polish trio's 2nd album. Profanum has managed to do something different in the overcrowded black metal scene. They don't use guitar, bass or typical metal instruments, but they build their music over synth and keyboard. The music is powerfully pompous, dark and melancholic, and symphonic and melodic. The negative side is the screamy vocals, and that the album doesn't last that long. Anyway, this is a good and different black metal release, so check it out.

VARATHRON:"Genesis Of Apocryphal Desire" (CD)(cursed)
Here's something to still our hunger while we wait on this Greek cult band's third album. Finally, Varathron's two demos ("Procreation Of The Unaltered Evil" (89) and "Genesis Of Apocryphal Desire" (91)) are released on CD together with 3 never before released tracks. This release is a must have for all those who doesn't have these two demos, cause Varathron's 2nd demo is a classic. The label has managed to fix some on the production, which is good when you think about the first demo, and finally we have the lyrics. The unreleased songs aren't that good, but it's cool enough. Anyway, the "Genesis Of Apocryphal Desire" demo is something every underground enthusiast should have, and it may also be some of the best work Varathron has done. Order it for $16 from Cursed Productions, P.O. Box 302, Elkhart IN 46515©0302, USA.

KVIKKSØLVGUTTENE:"Krieg" (CD)(head not found)
Necrobutcher and the guys from Vomit (Zathan and Det Skal Du Drite I) are back as good as expected on Kvikksølvguttene's debut. Just forget about originality, technical brilliance and melody, and expect hell, damnation and true death metal. There's a great Autopsy feel over the band, and their brand of death is filthy, dark and brutal. It's almost a shame that their vocals aren't as rotten as Chris Reifert's, but the overall attitude and feeling is the same. Songs like "In Den Arsch Gefickt", "Naglekamp", "Krieg" and the old Mayhem song "Ghoul" are great examples on how to play rotten death metal. If you miss the good old death metal feeling, you definitely get a hold of "Krieg" and their MCD "Gamlem".

MUNDANUS IMPERIUM:"The Spectral Sphere Coronation" (CD)(nuclear blast)
Strange that noone has thought about this before. These Norwegians started out as a pretty ordinary symphonic black metal band (Velvet Music re©released their demo, "Ode To The Nightsky" (which was again released under the name Nattefall) as a MCD last year), but they've now evolved into a really great symphonic and keyboardbased metal band with real heavy metal vocals. Jørn Lande from Vagabond and various other Norwegian heavy metal bands has joined the club, and his vocals really does the trick. The music is of high quality, and the album offers a shitload of great riffs and melodies. Bent's keyboard playing is brilliant, and I almost can't believe how good the vocals fits to the music. A lot of the songs are very heavy metal influenced, but there's still a lot of black metal influence here too. Along with the metal influences there's some classical influences too, without spoiling the energy and heavy metal power. Mundanus Imperium originally signed to Avantgarde Music who licensed it to Nuclear Blast, and Bent told me that they've fucked up the cover and the bonus tracks. The Japanese pressing is released the way it should've been in Europe, so if you find that one, get it. If not, and your a metal fan, get it anyway.

BEYOND DAWN:"Revelry" (CD)(misanthropy)
Misanthropy has released once again a masterpiece, and this time it's Beyond Dawn's 2nd album "Revelry". On "Revelry", the band continues where they left off on their debut "Pity Love", and they taken their special style a big step forward. They're less metal this time, but their music is still minimalistic and floating, dark and depressive, and filled with beautiful emotions and atmospheres. Espen Ingjerd is the only one who sings now, and he's become a very good vocalist. They've also used Dag MidbrÀQÀd's trombone a lot more, and I really love the atmosphere it creates. I find "Revelry" a much more mature album than "Pity Love", and it's one of the most unique releases of '98. Maybe I should call it metal's answer to Radiohead's "OK Computer".

ABRAMELIN:"Abramelin" (CD)(repulse)
This album was originally released on Thrust Records in Australia, but Repulse has done the good deed and made it available throughout the world. Abramelin plays brutal death metal the American way, and they've managed to do it a bit better than most bands in this genre. Their music is a bit more catchy that others, but they're still quite boring. They've managed to do at least one original thing, and that is to cover Dead Can Dance's "Cantara". I won't say that it's a good cover, but I find it quite amusing. The rest of the album isn't that amusing.

AMON AMARTH:"Once Sent From The Golden Hall" (CD)(metal blade)
Here's more viking death metal from Sweden, and this time in a bit primitive At The Gates style. In other words, typical Swedish melodic death metal with viking lyrics from these guys who already have released a similar sounding MCD called "Sorrow Throughout The Nine Worlds" on Pulverised Records in Singapore. I won't say that Amon Amarth is any worse than other Swedish melodic death metal bands, but they sound too much like all the others. I'm starting to become very fed up with all those Swedish bands that sounds alike, no matter how technical, hard and melodic they are. We've heard this before, only the cover is different.

LIMOBONIC ART:"In Abhorrence Dementia" (CD)(nocturnal art)
The two guys in Limbonic Art has managed to release a worthy follower to their debut, "Moon In The Scorpio". The production is better, there's more of everything and the song material is overall better this time. The keyboards are still in the centre of the music, and I really like their melodies and arrangements. The music is very bombastic, and one might get a feeling of listening to a dark and brutal symphony. They actually sound like Emperor gone classical. What else can one say than that this is one of the better symphonic black metal albums released in 1998. PS: Get the vinyl if you can.

GATES OF ISHTAR:"At Dusk And Forever" (CD)(invasion)
More melodical death metal from Sweden on Gates Of Ishtar's 2nd album. "At Dusk And Forever" is so typical Swedish as it can get, so it sounds like any other Swedish death metal release. If you can't get enough, get this one too.

AUTUMN VERSES:"Tunes Of Disconsolation" (CD)(solistitium)
It's not the most original thing these Finns are doing on their debut, but it's not that bad either. The genre is black metal with some influences from death metal and thrash, and everything is done in a very safe and predictable way. They've managed to vary some from the heavier, atmospheric parts to the fast and furious parts, but it's nothing mind blowing in what they do. There are of course some very good parts here and there, but as a whole it's not good enough. "Tunes Of Disconsolation" is a standard, but okay black metal release. Nothing more.

NEPHENZY:"Where Death Becomes Art" (CD)(black diamond)
This is a new band from Sweden, and fortunately they don't sound exactly like most other Swedish death metal band. Nephenzy plays raw and a bit primitive death metal with some melodies and heavy metal influences, but they're still quite standard. At least they're very powerful and aggressive, but next time they should try to stand out a bit more. A good start though.

OPERA IX:"Sacro Culto" (CD)(shiver)
These Italians really don't know how to limit themselves. Like their debut, "The Call Of The Wood", all the songs last over 10 minutes, and when they do that then the songs have to be very good to keep the interest up. This is not the case with Opera IX, and even though there are good parts here and there, it gets a bit annoying when there's so much bullshit in between.  There's a lot of atmosphere, good riffs and good keyboard playing on "Sacro Culto", but with so much fill in material in between, it's definitely not good enough. Next time, shorten down your songs and try to keep only the good parts in them.

KRABATHOR:"Orthodox" (CD)(morbid)
These guys has thrashed Eastern Europe quite a few years now, and their forth album is yet another brutal cornerstone. I really like their raw and unrelentless form of death metal. The power and aggression here is awesome, and one can get a feeling of being attacked by a rhino while listening to this album. "Orthodox" has the "hit in the face/kick in the ass" feel that a lot of death metal album don't have, and Krabathor has the gift of being extremely brutal without becoming extremely boring. What Krabathor lacks of variation and originality, they take back with power and brutality.

GODSEND:"A Wayfarer's Tears" (CD)(holy)
Gunder Dragsten has kicked out the "In The Electric Mist" line©up and recruited the guys who played on the debut again. Some of the feeling from the debut is back, but there's also a lot of new elements here. Holy has described it as "gothic progressive doom", and if you take away the word progressive, your pretty close. Dan SwanÀ?À sings as usual very good, and some of the song material is very good. Some songs are very heavy and groovy 70's rock and that's really great. Other songs, especially the title track (which is split up in five parts), has got a quite depressive feel and a very gothic touch. "A Wayfarer's Tears" is all in all a pretty good album (not as good as the debut), but personally I'd like it better if it had contained more 70's influenced rock and less gothic rock. As a bonus you'll find Godsend's old demo, which is a classic now.

ETERNAL AUTUMN:"The Storm" (CD)(black diamond)
The Swedes are fond of heavy metal. Eternal Autumn are very much influenced by Helloween, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate and Judas Priest, and their mix of 80's metal and today Swedish death metal is quite good. "The Storm" contains a lot of great riffs and melodies, good solos and harsh death metal vocals. I kinda fell for this album and all the killer riffs and melodies, and the energy just won't release it's grip on you. They're also very good technical, so Eternal Autumn is one of the better Swedish newcomers I've heard in a while.

KATATONIA:"Discouraged Ones" (CD)(avantgarde)
Strange how mellow Katatonia has become, and I must say that I was a bit disappointed in "Discouraged Ones" the first time I listened to it. After some time it has grown a lot, and I really like the feeling on the album. They've become totally gothic, and they sound a bit like a depressive pop band with heavy guitars. They might be called a metal version of Slowdive or something. As usual, there's loads of beautiful riffs and melodies here, and the whole album is very melancholic. The raw vocals are totally gone, which is fine by me, and I think it improves the isolated feeling in the songs. One negative thing which is that there's not enough variation in the material, but hey, not everything can be perfect.

THY SERPENT:"Christcrusher" (CD)(spinefarm)
The best Finnish black metal outfit are back with a worthy follower to their debut, and I think they've improved somewhat. "Christcrusher" is a catchy and emotional black metal album with lots of great riffs, melodies and keyboard lines. Half the album is very good, but the rest of the material tends to be a bit standard. Overall though, the album is far beyond the average black metal release, so black metal fans won't be disappointed with this one.

GARDENS OF GEHENNA:"Mortem Saluta" (CD)(shiver)
It doesn't happen too often that it comes good bands from Germany these days, but the Gardens Of Gehenna's debut has it's positive sides. These guys plays heavy and depressive death metal, with some hints of hell and damnation. There's something English over the whole thing (read My Dying Bride etc), but the Germans have found their own style I think. The album is produced by a guy from Das Ich who also has remixed one song if anyone cares. Gardens Of Gehenna might not be the best band in the world, but "Mortem Saluta" has enough good riffs and depression to be listed above the pile of averageness.

SCHEITAN:"Berzerk 2000" (CD)(invasion)
Scheitan is the project of two of the guys in The Everdawn, and I must say that this project isn't worth it. Their 2nd album is a mix of heavy metal, death metal and gothic, and it sounds quite boring. The songs are alike, the riffs are boring and the whole thing is standard.

BEHEMOTH:"Pandemonic Incantations" (CD)(solistitium)
This is what I call improvement. I've never liked this band very much and I've found them really boring and primitive, but these Polacs have managed to make a hell of a third album. It's fast, bombastic with loads of good melodies and keyboards. You know, raw and powerful black metal with lots of atmosphere just the way we like it. The production is great, so you can really test you speakers with this one. "Pandemonic Incantations" is a powerful, aggressive and mighty black metal album, so go and get it.

BENIGHTED LEAMS:"Astral Tenebrion" (CD)(supernal)
Alex Kurtagic's 2nd album is a good improvement from the debut "Caliginous Romantic Myth", but there's still some way to perfection yet. The album is, as expected, strange and mysterious, but the riffs, melodies, songs and production is way better this time. I'm not that fond of the use of a drummachine, and the vocals could still be better. Another thing is that the arrangements could have been better. Then again, there's so many original and interesting things here, and the man has a lot of very good ideas. I wish he could find a drummer and a vocalist soon, cause then Benighted Leams would've been very good.

BLOOD FOR BLOOD:"Spit My Last Breath" (CD)(lost disciples)
Hardcore isn't really my thing, but American Blood For Blood are just above the average hardcore shit. Their debut is hard, aggressive and powerful, but it's of course boring after a couple of songs. Hardcore fans will probably like this one.

SHADOWS OF SUNSET:"Reflections From Afar" (MCD)(fadeless)
These Finns plays atmospheric and melodic death metal, with a good portion of aggressiveness. They got good songs and good riffs, but the vocals sucks and the production could've been better. It seems that these guys can go a long way judging from the songs on this MCD, but next time they should do something about the vocals and the production. Can be ordered for $10 from Fadeless Records, P.O. Box 1288, 6501 BG Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

INVERTED:"There Can Be Only One..." (CD)(shiver)
Then it's time for some good old Swedish death metal anno 1990/91 again. Inverted hasn't jumped on the Swedish melodic death metal train, so they still sound the way they did on their earlier releases. Their 2nd album pounds away good old style riffs which are heavy as hell, dark as death and brutal as whatever, and there's enough power here to rock your shoes. Too bad the production isn't so good as it should've been, but if you miss the old Swedish style death metal, this is for you.

SUP:"Room Seven" (CD)(holy)
French Supuration has shortened down their name, signed to Holy Records, changed their style and now their 3rd album is here. Here they blend industrial, gothic, pop and atmospheric metal over a low shoe in a modern, light and cosy production. There are of course a lot of good ideas, riffs, melodies and emotions here, but I think that the overall product is too synthetic and smooth. It's sometimes hard to tell if I'm listening to U2 or a metal band, and half of the album just goes in one ear and out the other. The other half is pretty good, but the production destroys the feeling a bit I think. Listen to it before you buy it.

NOCTURNAL MORTUM:"Goat Horns" (CD)(the end)
Ukrainian black metal isn't something you find everyday, and this album (their second) was originally released in their homeland in 1996. The band uses 2 keyboardplayers, so it's no surprise that this is black metal the symphonic way. There's also some influences from their countries folk music, and I find the song material overall good. What really ruins the album is the poor production which destroys all the atmosphere. It's a shame that the production so poor, cause this would've been a very good black metal album with a great production. Their next album is recorded and the label has promised that the production is better on that one. Time will tell.

DARKEN:"Darken" (MCD)(defiled)
One guitarhero and one satanist are the core of this American band which plays very technical, melodic and dark death metal. There's some influences from heavy metal and black metal here too, and I really like all the good and technical riffs. I don't like the use of drummachine, and the arrangements could also have been better. The songs gets a bit messy with all this technicality, but I like the idea behind it. With some more work on the arrangements, this will be good.

CRYHAVOC:"Sweetbriers" (CD)(spinefarm)
Here's a quite new band from Finland, and they do their best to sound like Sentenced around the "Amok" album. Cryhavoc plays melodic heavy death metal, but they don't managed to come up with the really good riffs or the right feeling. This is just too standard, smooth and boring.

GLOOMY GRIM:"Blood, Monsters, Darkness" (CD)(holy)
This project contains members of Thy Serpent, Nomicon and Soulgrind, and they've tried their best to mix horror soundtracks and sympho industrial black metal. I find both the idea and the result quite good, and one might call it a black metal version of Ramstein. The use of drummachine and the extremely ugly vocals destroys the overall feel somewhat, but there's so many good melodies, riffs and bombastic atmospheres here so I can overlook the annoying elements. All in all, Gloomy Grim is probably the best attempt on industrial black metal I've heard.

ADORIOR:"Like Cutting The Sleeping" (CD)(head not found)
Cold and primitive black metal in the same style as early Darkthrone with a personal touch from Adorior. It's nice to hear that there's something else than Cradle Of Filth clones in the British black metal scene, even though Adorior's debut isn't the most original or exciting release. This is just cold and primitive black metal anno 1993, and nothing more.

PESSIMIST:"Cult Of The Initiated" (CD)(lost disciples)
Dark, technical, brutal and very American death metal isn't what I like the most, but Pessimist does a pretty good job on their debut. There's a bit Immolation and Incantation here, but Pessimist are maybe a tad more brutal than the beforementioned bands. The songs are overall okay, the riffing are shredding and it's brutal enough to bury your ears.

TYRANT:"Under The Dark Mystic Sky" (CD)(pulverised)
Nordic black metal played by a Japanese band is maybe a bit rare, and the strange thing is that Tyrant does it really well. If you mix together Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Old Man's Child etc with a small portion oriental feelings, then you'll have Tyrant. The music is fast, aggressive, very melodic and keyboard based, and even if they're not that original, they've produced a good debut. The melodies are good, so are the riffs and the production is powerful, and you'll have a good laugh at the ridiculous band photos. What more do you want?

FALL OF THE LEAFE:"Evanescent, Everfading" (CD)(defiled)
It's a very good debut this Finnish act delivers, and the music is very melodic and emotional death metal with some influences from folk, heavy and black metal. Some parts make me think of Amorphis' "Tales From The Thousand Lakes" album, but Fall Of The Leafe has found their own identity. "Evanescent, Everfading" is a high quality album and one of the most refreshing newcomers I've heard in awhile in the melodic and atmospheric death metal vein. Recommended.

SEPTIC FLESH:"A Fallen Temple" (CD)(holy)
I won't call this Septic Flesh's new album because this is a re©recording of their debut MLP "Temple Of The Lost Race" together with four new songs and two keyboard tracks. They've slowed down a bit on the new songs, and they're very well conceived. It's also fun to listen to those old songs again, and in my opinion, they haven't lost their magic at all through all these years. The new songs are maybe more mature, but I really like the old ones too. The keyboard tracks are beautiful and maybe the best pieces of music on the whole album.

PRIMORDIAL:"A Journey's End" (CD(misanthropy)
It took a long time to release a follow up to Primordial's excellent debut "Imrama", but this has been worth waiting for. The song material is way better, they've use almost only clear vocals, there's a bit more folk music here and they sound a lot more mature. The Irishmen has taken a big step away from the black metal image, and are now playing atmospheric, emotional, dark and high quality metal with Irish folk music influences. I'm really impressed. "A Journey's End" contains seven very good metal songs which will appeal to fans from everything between Bathory to Skyclad.

AMON GOETH:"The Worship" (CD)(nazgul's eyrie/supernal)
When reading the press info, I got a feeling that the labels don't think anyone will like this. Well, Amon Goeth (formerly known as just Amon) has caught my attention before, and I really liked their demo "Call The Master". The band is fronted by the Czech Dr. FÀ/À (ex Root), and the music is rock'n'roll black metal the good old way. In between Motorhead riffs and primitive black metal riffs, there's some more bombastic parts that fits very well in. There's a sort of an old feeling over the album if you know what I mean, and it's also so strangely put together in a positive way. I just like this, so give it a try.

ANATHEMA:"Alternative 4" (CD)(peaceville)
What a sublime release! This must be Anathema's best to this day. The songs here are very well written, the riffs and melodies are great and there's such a beautiful and melancholic feeling throughout the whole album. There's almost no traces of the longwinding riff©o©rama from the early days, and there's just well written melancholic songs left. Maybe there's a slight gothic touch here this time, but they've also been influenced somewhat by more progressive and symforock bands. One can hear a lot of Pink Floyd influenced parts ("The Wall"©era) and there's also some parts that reminds me of Voivod's "Nothingface". I'm glad that I don't have to name fave tracks, because I would've named all the songs on the album. I'll go into shock if they surpass this album, cause "Alternative 4" is a masterpiece.

OBTAINED ENSLAVMENT:"Witchcraft" (CD)(wounded love)
It's been a long time since we heard anything from this band, but now they're back with their 2nd effort. I must say that they improved a lot since the debut "Centuries Of Sorrow", and Obtained Enslavement has risen to the elite of the Norwegian black metal bands. "Witchcraft" is a powerful black metal album with great riffs and melodies, and I really like their symphonic sides. The keyboard parts are very good and it creates the personal feel Obtained Enslavement needs to stand out. "Witchcraft" may not be a unique and original release, but it's way better than a lot of the black metal releases today.

BAL©SAGOTH:"Battle Magic" (CD)(cacophonous)
They're thunderous, they're bombastic and they're more symphonic than ever these English swordsmen. I knew immediately what I was listening to when I first put Bal©Sagoth's 3rd on, cause there's noone else that sounds like this. If you're familiar with Bal©Sagoth's music, you know what I'm talking about. Everything you would expect from a Bal©Sagoth album is here. The bombastic keyboards, the powerful riffs, the symphonic song structure and Byron's theatrical way of singing. "Battle Magic" is an epic, extreme symphonic metal overdose, and I must say I can't get enough. Come on and join me, enter the epic and symphonic world of Bal©Sagoth!

GORE BEYOND NECROPSY:"Noise©A©Go©Go" (CD)(relapse)
What a waste of time. Japanese Gore Beyond Necropsy plays extreme and brutal grind core which is so fuckin boring and useless. Idiotically short songs and stupid lyrics and cover. Will this kind of music never change?

THE FROZEN AUTUMN:"Fragments Of Memories" (CD)(eibon)
Bands like Sisters Of Mercy, The Coctau Twins, The Mission and other synth/gothic bands from the 80's must be a big influence on these two Italian lads. I really don't like this at all. I loath the really bad drum sound, shitty programming and out of tune guitars, and the moaning vocals are also very annoying. If you're into the 80's synth/gothic bands you may like this, but metal heads should stay clear. Great cover though.

THEORY IN PRACTICE:"Third Eye Function" (CD)(pulverised)
Wow! This must be the best Swedish newcomer I've heard in a long time. The band is so extremely technical, powerful, progressive and intense, and the material is really strong. If you mix Slayer, Atheist, and the best of Swedish death metal you'll get Theory In Practice. The production is really powerful, and the technical playing, breaks, intensity of the band is just perfect. You just have to hear it yourself to believe it. "Third Eye Function" is probably the best death metal album released in '97, and I can't wait to hear their new one.

ODES OF ECSTASY:"Embossed Dream In Four Acts" (CD)(the end)
These Greeks have been listening to Therion, cause this album is a great metal opera though with a Greek touch. The orchestration is really well done, the vocals are good, and the riffs and melodies are okay. Maybe the female vocals are a bit too intense at times and some of the riffs are maybe a bit naive and childlike, but there's a lot of quality here too. I don't like the grunt vocals that much, but they're not that annoying. If you like the stuff Therion is doing you definitely will this, but next time they should work a bit harder on the melodies and stop using the grunt vocals.

CHILDREN OF MAANI:"The Veil Of Osiris" (MCD)(velvet music)
How many projects do this man need? Vindsval from Blut Aus Nord and The Eye are back with yet another one©man band, and it's not that different from his other projects. The music is quite primitive black metal with a slight oriental feel to it, but there's nothing really special here. If you like Vindsval's other projects, you'll probably like this too.

CHRIST AGONY:"Trilogy" (CD)(pagan)
Poland's oldest black metal band are still in computer land, but I think that "Trilogy" is a bit better than the awful "Darkside". They're not so much gothic this time which is good, and the material is just above the average. Their '92 demo is also included and in my opinion, it's the best thing on the album. I'm not that much into this high tech black metal thing, but maybe you are.

RUINATION:"Visionary Breed" (CD)(goldtrack)
I'm having a slight problem with this one. These Lithuanians mix straight heavy metal and atmospheric doom metal with a lot of melody, and by using recorders (flutes) and good melodic riffs, it doesn't sound that bad. What ruins the whole album is the lousy vocalist who can't scream nor sing. He totally sucks! The music is a bit standard too, but it could've been so much better with a good vocalist. It's a shame that the band lets this moron destroy their music, cause I think a lot of people would get into this album hadn't it been for him.

ASHES YOU LEAVE:"The Passage Back To Life" (CD)(morbid)
This album was supposed to be released on Norwegian Effigy Records (R.I.P.), but since they fucked it was Morbid Records honour to release it. Ashes You Leave hails from Croatia and they've been listening a lot to My Dying Bride etc. This is really heavy atmospheric doom metal with some folk influences, and like many bands in their genre they use not so good female vocals, violin and flute. Some parts, especially the ones with violin, are very close to early My Dying Bride, but the music is well played and has a good and melancholic atmosphere. Maybe they should add a more personal touch next time too.

PARAGON OF BEAUTY:"The Spring" (CD)(prophecy)
Is there no end to the gothic metal explosion? This German act sounds very much like all the other gothic metal bands, and I find their album quite boring. Yes, it's melancholic, melodic and probably very poetic, but it's not very good.

DARKLANDS:"Darklands" (CD)(heathendoom)
After a nice piano intro, this album goes off to a good and heavy doom metal mix between Type O Negative and My Dying Bride with cool The Doors influenced organs and a touch of Danzig rock'n'roll. Erik Barthold (drummer of Left Hand Solution) has a very good voice, not unlike Pete Steele's, but I find Darklands much more varied and interesting than Type O Negative. Darklands' debut album is a dark, heavy and melancholic work with a lot of good performances. Fans of heavy and depressive music will definitely get into this one.

ANASARCA:"Godmachine" (CD)(repulse)
Anasarca rise from the ashes of Vomiting Corpses, and I must say these Germans have released one hell of a powerful debut. This is brutal death metal at it's best, with a lot of variation and great riffs. Their style isn't far from Demigod's classic "Slumber Of Sullen Eyes" album or their labelmates Adramelech's work. I really like the way they mix the power and brutality with all the great melodies and catchyness, so I think this might be yet another death metal classic from Repulse.

ORDEAL:"Traumende" (CD)(eibon)
This was a nice surprise. Ordeal consists of Italian Gabrielle S., and together with 3 session musicians he's made a very good, melancholic and atmospheric album. Some of the atmospheres reminds me of Raison D'Etres', but you'll get a better feeling of songs (and not just floating atmospheres) with Ordeal (if you know what I mean). There's a gothic rock approach to the songs, but without the moaning and cheap sampling. Some parts of the album doesn't work out that good, but all in all, "Traumende" is a good relaxing album.

SAD LEGEND:"Sad Legend" (CD)(hammerheart productions)
Sad Legend is a new South Korean black metal act who's type of black metal is supposedly influenced by Korea's traditional music. I find their atmospheric and very melodic style good, but their not that special. The music is very melancholic with some great melodies and riffs, but it's not that different from other keyboard based atmospheric black metal bands. Anyway, if you're an Emperor or Dimmu Borgir fan, you'll dig this.

COMPILATION:"Presumed Guilty" (CD)(misanthropy)
On this very good compilation you'll find material from bands on Misanthropy and their sublabels Elfenblut and Heroine. The unreleased tracks are by Solstice, Burzum, Amber Asylum, Madder Mortem, Beyond Dawn, Endura and Monumentum, while the rest of the CD is filled up by Dream Into Dust, In The Woods..., Hagalaz' Runedance, Primordial, Babylon Whores, Mayhem and Aphrodisiac. Since Misanthropy has mostly high quality bands under their wings, the music is bound to be very good, and there's also enough unreleased material here to keep it real interesting. If you're going to buy only one compilation this year, get this one, but don't pay more than 7.99 (or equivalent) for it.

INCANTATION:"Diabolical Conquest" (CD)(relapse)
One of the older American acts of dark and brutal death metal are back with their 3rd album, and this is their best yet. It's dark, heavy, intense and very brutal, and the performances are great. They're still not as good as Immolation, but they're not far behind now. The bands experimental sides are also shown here in the 17 minutes song "Unto Infinite Twilight", but the rest of the album is Incantation as we know them. Dark brutality at its best.

ADMORTEM:"Ad Extremum Supplicium" (MCD)(noise solution)
Velvet Music has started a sublabel for death metal, and first out is French Admortem. I didn't expect to hear such high quality death metal from these guys since France rarely has the good bands, but this was a nice surprise. Admortem plays technical, melodic, but brutal death metal, and the riffs and melodies are very good. They're almost a death metal version of Iron Maiden in the song "Yog Sothoth". The rest of the material isn't that far from Cannibal Corpse, but more melodic. They also got a very good bassist. I'm looking forward to hear their debut album, so check this out while we're waiting.

RAVENTHORNE:"Malice In Wonderland" (CD)(avantgarde)
Ray Wells of Pazuzu has started a new band, and with Raventhorne he deals with atmospherical and melodic metal. The music is a sort of mix between mid©paced black metal and gothic metal with a lot of keyboards and melody, but I'm not that pleased with the material. The songs and melodies are too average, and I'm overjoyed with the drum programming. There's some good parts here and there, but overall it's not good enough. Listen to it before you buy.

MORTEM:"The Devil Speaks In Tongues" (CD)(merciless)
This Peruvian cult band are back with their second attack, and this is a piece of true mid©80's death metal art. From their start in 1986 they've been playing dark and haunting death metal, and on this platter you're served all the classic riffs, the brutal vocals and the good old dark death metal feeling. Among the twelve monstrous songs you'll find a great cover of Sacrifice's "Turn In Your Grave", and the rest of the album is just excellent. This IS death metal the way it was meant to be, so go and get it at any cost.

THE EMBRACED:"In My Dreams...I Am Armageddon" (CD)(aftermath)
These Norwegians should move to Sweden. The Embraced have listened a lot to At The Gates, Dissection, Dark Tranquillity and the rest of the brutal, but melodic death metal scene, and thus they sound like their inspirations. They're not that good though, but with some more practice on their riffing and melody lines they may become better. If you live for the Swedish death metal scene, you may send 130 NOK/$17 to Aftermath Music, P.O. Box 721, 7001 Trondheim, Norway.

ADRAMELECH:"Seven" (MCD)(repulse)
"Psychostasia", the debut of Finland's Adramelech was excellent, and "Seven" is a nice taster for their upcoming album. Here's three new songs of Adramelech's brand of brutal, but catchy death metal, and two songs from their debut recorded live. Their style isn't far from good old Demigod's, but I won't say they're a rip off. Look out for their upcoming 2nd album, and in the meantime get this one.

SATARIEL:"Lady Lust Lilith" (CD)(pulverised)
Melodic, well played, fast and catchy death/black metal are words that I choose to use when talking about Swedish Satariel's debut, and I must add that these guys have improved a lot. Their sound is definitely Swedish, with some hints of Dissection here and there, and I think "Lady Lust Lilith" will bring em up in the Swedish elite. The melodies, riffs, heavy metal influences and energy of this album are very good, and with the great Thomas Skogsberg production it's a far above average modern death/black metal release.

NOCTURNAL BREED:"No Retreat...No Surrender" (CD)(hammerheart records)
Retro death/trash is the name of the game, and Nocturnal Breed does a good job on their second effort. There's at least enough energy, power and classic riffs here to make any thrash maniac happy, and "No Retreat...No Surrender" is sure to be the new hit record on every metal party. Tex Terror and his gang knows what we want, so pick up this platter and bang your heads.

MAYHEM:"Live In Bischofswerda" (video)(misanthropy)
For those who haven't seen Mayhem live yet (including myself), this is a nice gift. The last concert video I saw of Mayhem was a bootleg of the infamous Jessheim gig which had a really terrible sound and picture quality. The Bischofswerda gig was Mayhem's first live performance in seven years, and I must say that this is probably the best Mayhem live performance I've heard until now together with the Leipzig gig. The sound is fairly good, though the drum sound is kinda crappy especially at the beginning. The filming is good though, but you don't get much feeling of any light show because the colours isn't that good. Anyway, you'll get some great Mayhem classics on video here in a good performance with Maniac cutting himself up, so order it now cause this will surely become a collector's item.

ABSU:"In The Eyes Of IoldÀÀnach" (MCD)(osmose)
Crappy production and crappy songs is what Absu gives us on their latest release. Four songs of pure hatred, aggression, speed and boredom, if you ask me. I've never been a fan, so if you are...

THINE:"In A Town Like This" (CD)
Thine's debut is a strange, but pretty good piece of work. Here you got a mix of groovy rock, heavy riffs, hammond organ, good male clean vocals, atmospheric metal, progressive influences, keyboards and female vocals, and it sounds rather good. Kay Field (vocals) and Keith Appleton (keyboards) from the debut Paradise Lost album has helped these four lads out, and I guess they have something to do with Thine's original sound. "In A Town Like This" is an exciting and interesting listening experience where you discover something new all the time, and it's a high quality and varied album. One thing though, it seems like they don't know where they want to go some times, but I guess they'll have a complete personality check until next time and sort that out.

MANGLED:"Ancient Times" (CD)(fadeless)
Netherlands Mangled have been around some time, and after nearly ten years of experience they've created their own personal style of death metal (or brutal grave rock as they like to call it). Their debut "Ancient Times" is a powerful and melodic death metal album with lots of good riffs and breaks, with a pretty good concept dealing with the ancient Roman civilisation. I really like the groove and feeling of Mangled's music, and in a way they're a brutal version of their countrymen Gorefest new style. Absolutely worth checking out.

VOIVOD:"Kronik" (CD)(hypnotic)
Except for Slayer, Voivod has to be my all time favourite metal band. These Canadians has had a great impact on me and surprised me, entangled me and entertained me for over 10 years since I first heard them, and I've spent thousands of hours listening and analysing their albums. Voivod's comeback in '95 was for me truly great and I really liked the new line©up with Erik Forrest as frontman, and "Kronik" is a sort of a compilation album of that period. Here you get three remixes ("Forlorn", "Nanoman" and "Mercury"), four previously unreleased songs ("Ion" is excellent) and four songs recorded live in Berlin. No other metal band has had the same power, energy and originality as Voivod, and the excellent playing of guitarist Dennis "Piggy" D'Amour and drummer Michel "Away" Langevin will always influence and inspire other musicians. Voivod will always be pure cult!

MINDROT:"Soul" (CD)(relapse)
Starting out in '89 as a crust/grind outfit these Americans have evolved into a dark and heavy industrial metal band in the vein of Neurosis and Eyehategod, though with a touch of gothic atmosphere and groove. I like a lot of their material, but after awhile they get a bit tedious. There's a lack variation here, but the good atmospheres and grooves sort of makes up for that. If you're into hard©hitting industrial influenced metal with dark atmospheres, you should give this a chance.

DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE:"Nightwork" (CD)(avantgarde)
Here's the third opus of Blackheim's soloproject Diabolical Masquerade, and this time it's out on Avantgarde. Produced by Dan SwanÀ?À who also plays drums here, "Nightwork" has become an intelligent, technical, dark, heavy, emotional death/black metal album with progressive tendencies. I really like all the great heavy riffing, breaks, strange twists and the beautiful melodies which are Blackheim's trademark. Sometimes you get a feeling of listening to a horror soundtrack, with all it's dark and twisted atmospheres. "Nightwork" is an original peace of work of high quality intelligent metal.

MENTAL HOME:"Black Art" (CD)(the end)
The fourth effort of Russian Mental Home is a masterpiece of atmospheric and melodic doom metal. The melodies here are really beautiful, and there's also enough variation and power here to make every listener interested throughout the whole album. Songs like "Under The Wing (Of Camayun) are excellent, which has both great guitar and keyboard riffs. I'm really amazed with the progression of this band, cause now they've truly found their own style. Together with the great songs you'll get a CD©Rom animation clip of the song "Pagan Freedom", so don't waste your time and get this masterpiece of atmospheric dark doom metal.

BABYLON WHORES:"Deggael" (MCD)(heroine)
Death rock is what they call their music and "Daggael" is a good continuation of their debut "Cold Heaven". Here's you get five new songs, a rework of "Omega Therion" and a video clip of "In Arcadia Ego". I still think they sound like a dark mix of The Cult, Danzig and Paradise Lost with a touch of gothic, and Ike Vil still has a great rock'n'roll voice. I'll have to say the same as the Misanthropy staff: "Hell©sinki Death Rock at it's best!"

COMPILATION:"Spinetingler" (CD)(spinefarm)
On this CD, Spinefarm has collected 13 of their bands, and the result is a collection of mostly high quality melodic metal. Unreleased tracks from Children Of Bodom, Eternal Tears Of Sorrow and Taneli Jarva (ex©Sentenced) new band The Black League, and the rest is familiar stuff from bands like Nightwish, Thy Serpent, Dark Tranquillity, December Moon and the almighty Xysma etc. All in all, an okay compilation, but there should've been a better booklet.

YYRKOON:"Oniric Transition" (CD)(velvet music)
Even though there's not much originality here, Yyrkoon must be one of the best French black metal bands I've heard. They play atmospheric and melodic black metal with keyboards, flute, good technical skills and lots of speed, and the song material is pretty good. As I said, it's not very original or anything (we have heard this stuff before quite a few times), but there's enough quality here to rate far above average.

BOLT THROWER:"Mercenary" (CD)(metal blade)
It's good to have them back. They've been quiet a long time now, and I'm really glad that this pause haven't changed them. Bolt Thrower sounds just the way we want them, and they're heavier than ever. They've got a new drummer and Karl is just a session member, but the rest is the same. I can't understand how they can come up with these heavy, hard©hitting thunderous riffs over and over again, and still make them sound so fresh. "Mercenary" contains nine songs in the best Bolt Thrower fashion, with all the dark melodies and heaviness required, so both new and old fans will love this. All praise Bolt Thrower, and let them continue like this for a very long time!

GROINCHURN:"Fink" (CD)(morbid)
I could almost not believe my ears the first time I heard the 2nd album of South African Groinchurn. I expect pointless and boring grindcore, and I got some great groovy, catchy and weird death/grind which reminded me somewhat of Carbonized's "For The Security" and early Disharmonic Orchestra. I really like their cool rock'n'roll groove mixed with their weird brand of death/grind. If you miss early Carbonized and Disharmonic Orchestra, get this.

SWORDMASTER:"Deathraider" (MCD)(osmose)
I wasn't that pleased with these Swedes debut full length "Postmortem Tales", but this MCD shows their on the right track. "Deathraider" contains five powerful and melodic death/thrash songs, filled with energy and good riffs. They've also included a cover of Roky Erikson & The Aliens "Stand For The Fire Demon". Be sure to get the vinyl version if you get this one, since it contains two bonus tracks.

LIMBONIC ART:"Epitome Of Illusions" (CD) (nocturnal art)
This is not the new Limbonic Art album, but re©recorded demo material which is in my opinion much better that re©releasing crappy demorecordings. Musically, these songs are just as good as the material on their two excellent albums, which means high quality black metal symphonies. Any black metal fan should get this one, and if you're not familiar with Limbonic Art then do something about that. The vinyl version comes an exclusive bonus track.

KILL II THIS:"Deviate" (CD) (visible noise)
Cacophonous has started a sub label, and first out is English Kill II This. "Deviate", their second album, is a hard hitting metal album with some industrial feelings, and in my ears they sound more American than English. Much of the material is in the vein of Machine Head (and all the other shit bands in the US modern metal style), but Kill II This is much more interesting with all their strange samples, female vocals, orchestration and influences from other styles (like grunge, rock'n'roll, soul, classical etc). "Deviate" is far above the average modern metal release, though I feel it lacks a bit variation (too many boring power riffs). If you're into modern metal you should get this, and death metal freaks might like to know that Barney (Napalm Death) does some backing vocals here.

OPTHALAMIA:"Dominion" (CD) (no fashion)
I've always liked Opthalamia, and now their out with two new releases. Necropolis Records has re©released their debut album, "A Journey In Darkness", under the title "A Long Journey" the way the band wanted it to be released, and No Fashion has released their third album "Dominion". The music is in the usual Opthalamian vein with lots of great and beautiful melodies, rock'n'roll and heavy metal riffs and many strange twists and turns. "Dominion" is as original, interesting and special as an Opthalamia album should be, and I hope it won't be their last.

CARPATHIAN FOREST:"Black Shining Leather" (CD) (avantgarde)
They've taken their time Nordavind and Nattefrost, but now their debut is finally here and it's just as good as expected. "Black Shining Leather" is raw, cold and grim black metal at it's best, and it's maybe the rawest and most primitive black metal release with a touch of greatness since Darkthrone's "Under A Funeral Moon". The heavy and melancholic "Sadomasochistic" is awesome, the faster songs are chilling and they've done a good cover version of The Cure's "The Forest". What more do you need? All those of you who have been waiting for this album won't be disappointed.

MORTUM:"The Druid Ceremony" (CD) (invasion)
Here's another new Swedish melodic death metal band for you, with not much new to offer. Mortum plays melodic death metal with a lot of 80's heavy metal influences, some female vocals and they play rather good, but they sound too much like many other Swedish acts. There are of course many good riffs here, but it doesn't help when they don't have their own identity or any originality. It's way too ordinary for myself, but an okay buy if you don't have anything else to spend your money on.

BIFROST:"Mythistory" (CD)  (hammerheart records)
I don't know much about this act, but I think they're from Holland and that they're into vikings. Bifrost plays pretty primitive death/black metal with a touch of thrash and with horrible vocals and shitty keyboards, and I must say that "Mythistory" really stinks. They're trying hard to be original, but that doesn't work out too well. It's sounds rather pathetic in my ears, so I advise you to keep clear.

MY DYING BRIDE:"34.788%...Complete" (CD) (peaceville)
I'm not sure what to say about My Dying Bride's new album. At times, Alan's new vocal style fits in pretty good, but it also gets very annoying at times. The music is much more mature in a way where it floats away with good riffs, dark melodies and good arrangements, but I don't like all the new samples that much. At one point they almost sounds like a US rap band or something ("Heroin Chic", a song I don't like). One thing that I'm sure of is that there are a lot of good stuff here, but there's also a lot of things I'm not sure yet if I like that much. Maybe I just need more time or maybe I'll continue to dislike half the album. Time will tell.

CANTARA:"Fields Of Everlasting Serenity" (MCD) (teutonic existence)
Netherlands Cantara (God Dethroned's Jens Van Der Valk's main band) have been around for quite some time, but they haven't been that active since their start in '92. In that time they've released two demos and one MCD called "The Dark", and now, Teutonic Existence have released five songs recorded between '95 and '97. Their style of death metal is varied, technical, melodic and powerful. They've definitely developed a personal style, and I find their material quite original and good. The riffs, solos and melodies are very good and technical, and they got a lot of breaks and different impulses in every song. The production is quite good, but could have been a bit better though, more powerful. Hopefully, this MCD will give these guys some attention from a major record label, cause they deserve it. Get this for only $10 from Cantara, c/o Jens Van Der Valk, Verbindingsweg 2, 9525 TH Drouwenerveen, Holland.