Deinonychus

Insomnia
[My Kingdom Music]

      It was great to see Deinonychus released another work, and truly a great one at that. Slow and somber guitars slowly progress through the CD to a faster pace. The death metal vocals, reminiscent of the glory days of the genre, are superb and full of emotion. The keyboards, not overly done, add further to the superb nature of this release. CD's like this aren't released every day, or every year. But if there were more Deinonychus' there would be. A pleasure from beginning to end.

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Deathkey
 Operation 14 f 13
[CDR]

      'This is war...' So begins the audio chaos which is this CD. First, let me relay to you a message from it's creator, describing the work... 'It is not meant for pleasure. It is a weapon... To use against someone at maximum volume is to utilize this weapon... Use this CD to terrorize, NOT to listen to. ' This is a chaotic mesh of static, screams, interference, and many indistinguishable sounds. Despite what its creator said above, I recommend you place it in the CD player at your next family gathering on maximum volume. Or perhaps if you are a social butterfly, at the next party you attend. You'll make lot's of friends. But the key is V E R Y loud. Let them appreciate the... the... well, you'll see. Lastly, when the world ends, and armageddon is knocking on the door of your bombshelter, turn on the radio, LOUD, this will be playing as you die!

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Project Morfeo

Dicotomia
[Trostlos Records]

      This CD starts interesting... the first track paints a deep tapestry of atmosphere...keyboard driven ambience... light clean vocals...however, it goes down from there. After this begins the 'gothic' style male vocals. Much of the rest of the CD wouldn't be half bad, musically, but the vocals ruin it for me. If only they could have done a whole CD like the first track. Now that I would like.

Bury the Pariah

Sociopathic Undergarment
[AcidVictim Records]

      Described as technical death/hardcore, I'd say that fits this band well enough. Bury the Pariah are fast, technical, and have a fairly brutal sound. The vocals range from death metal growling to a screeching scream. Not bad stuff, but nothing ground breaking. Musically, however, they are quite proficient. Much more than your average band. Worth checking out.

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Deadhole

Curse of the Ghoul
[AcidVictim Records]

      Hailing from the Eastern United States (Maine), this band is fucking brutal! A dirty, fast and brutal sound mixed with violent, deep gutteral vocals. Lastly, the back of the horribly photocopied CD lamely proclaims anti-Grishnackh/Burzum sentiments. It is really quite interesting that Varg can have such an impact so many years later on the scene. So much that people would save space on their CD's for him. HA!

Mortal Wish

Dez Crânios Humanos Em Vossa Oferenda
[Philosofic Art's Records]

      From Brazil, Mortal Wish are a very interesting black/death band with a lot to offer. While many of you probably haven't heard of them, they've released over ten demos and releases since 1999. Brazil, and South America in general have always shown they have a lot of very good bands, but suffer from poor distrobution. Nonetheless, what makes Mortal Wish so interesting is they have a unique edge, while keeping to the black metal base. Their sound and melodies are interesting, not your typical speed, screeches, and every song sounds the same black metal. Very Recommended.

Lucifixion
 As Evil as Me
[self-release]

      Lucifixion is pretty straightforward death metal with female vocals thrown in. I must say, sometimes this mix works, but here... it doesn't, for me at least. The female vocals sound amateur and flat, totally lacking emotion, maybe they could have recorded them better? Pass the next CD... this ruins it for me.

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Martial Barrage

Call of the Serapheum
[Sinister Sounds]

      Martial Barrage return with another relentless assault of black/death! If you haven't heard them yet, you should, this is modern classic stuff here. Everything you've come to love... the aggresion, pounding drums, and violent sound. Very well done and ready for your unworthy consumption.

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Midnight Syndicate

Out of the Darkness
[Entity Productions]

      Out of Darkness is a compilation of Midnight Syndicate's best tracks re-recorded from the CD's 'Midnight Syndicate,' 'Born of the Night' and 'Realm of Shadows (1994-1999). It also contains some of Edward Douglas' early horror film scores. First, I'd like to say it is hard to improve on already superb original material, and to be honest, both versions sound great to me. The newly released material is a great addition to the library, containing previously unreleased tracks and two tracks written for the horror films 'Journey into Dementia' and 'The Dead Matter.' This release is especially good for those of you who have yet to hear one of the most talented bands in the genre, giving you a sample of some of their older tracks. You owe it to yourself to get this!

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Necrowitch

Into the Temples of Nar Matarru
[Apocalyptic Armageddon Records]

      I don't know much about this band, other than this three song CD contains some very good raw and heavy black metal. This could easily have been recorded in the glory days of black metal, with its no-frills approach. Nothing to complain about here, other than it is only three songs, leaving me hungry for more! Keep an eye open for this band. Fantastic stuff!

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Le'rue Delashay

The Revelations of Wave and Form
[Theatrikil Productions]

      'Le'rue Delashay has been composing dark classical orchestrations for over a decade, and has over a dozen releases available to date.' Wow. And it shows. This is awesome stuff here. Hard to believe this is the first CD I've heard of over a dozen releases! Better late than never. This is expertly woven dark symphonic ambiance. The biggest question is why the sole artist behind this mind blowing work isn't world famous. That's the underground though. Often times it is better that way. Our best kept secrets. We can have these talents all to ourselves! In all seriousness, this is impeccable. Flawless. Perfect. You will not find better than this!

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Solace of Requiem

Utopia Reborn
[Ruptured Silence]

      Ahh... death metal in the classic style. Technical and brutal audio violence and energy at its best. It's great to hear it done right. It even features guest backing vocals from Brett Hoffman (Malevolent Creation). If you're hungry from some quality death metal, Solace of Requiem have what you need.

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Alioth

Channeling Unclean Spirits
[Starlight Temple Society -CDR-]

      This is a re-release of a demo from 2002, but had a very limited distribution of cassettes. The music of Alioth on this demo is rather straightforward fairly raw death metal, with two tracks of the five being purely acoustic instrumentals. Overall this is a promising demo, but nothing too groundbreaking. They plan on releasing another demo entitled 'Beneath the Swamp,' which was written not long after 'Channeling Unclean Spirits.'

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A.I.D.S.

Syndrome of the End Approaching
[Serpens Caput -CDR-]

      A.I.D.S. begun in 2004, and this contains tracks from then and now. Apparently the original material was never released, only to friends. Demand from the few who heard it prompted Tophetarath (the sole band member) to release it publicly... was it worth it? Well, if you like an extremely chaotic mesh of black/death. What I liked most about it, ironically, were the strange intros starting many of the songs, which unfortunately, the later tracks lack. There are a lot of good elements here. Take out some of the chaotic 'speed for speed's sake' and it would be all the more interesting.

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Absentia Lunae

In Umbrarum Imperii Gloria
[Serpens Caput -CDR-]

      Absentia Lunae began in 2002, and released their debut, 'Marching upon Forgotten Ashes' in 2004. This eight track release is limited to 400 copies, vinyl only. 'In Umbrarum Imperii Gloria' is a powerful piece of black metal. Angry and violent vocals shine throughout. Musically, it ranges from slow to mid-paced, creating a very worthy sound and atmosphere. Weak sounding drums don't detract too much, a problem so many black metal bands suffer from. Not quite a reason for you to go out and buy a record player, but it's a damn good start!

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Dol Amroth

The Hero's Harp
[Cassette]

      Here is a band that never ceases to amaze me. How can a band be so great and so unknown. After many releases, still on cassette, still without a label, still without distribution. However, to me, it is part of Dol Amroth's undying charm. The poorly printed covers hide magic. A mirage shrouding an oasis of atmosphere, creativity, uniqueness and talent. They keep my cassette player alive! I cannot recommend this band more to you.

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