ABYSMAL FALL plays unholy Black Metal in the most evil way you can imagine. Their music differs a lot from the norwegian type of Black Metal. Why is it so? I think, 'cause American Black Metal bands are always open to use some Death and Thrash Metal influences to enlarge their music. "Spit in the face of christ" contains 5 songs filled with antichristian lyrics, of course. Their music mostly mid-paced one, though they injected there a few grinding drum parts as well. "May God Strike Me Dead" and "Sadist Christ" are from the sort of raw Black Metal pieces with high-pitched screams, while "Tears Of Blood" reminded me a bit MERCYFUL FATE here and there with its great guitar riffs. "Graven Image" follows the massacre and later on turns into their best song called "Born To Die". That one includes a lot of cool thrashy guitar riffs, some acoustic guitar inclusions and the most powerful drumming. According the bass parts they are remarkable all the way. So if you'd like to get a great Black Metal stuff with top quality sound then don't waste your time and write to ABYSMAL FALL!

This one is a very interesting release of the Russian R.I.P. Productions which contains 35 different songs from AGATHOCLES' early and not early periods. There are songs recorded in 1991, 1995, 1996 and 1997 as well. In the whole conception this material stands for the fast Mince Core assault again. These three guys - Jan (throat & bass), Dirk (guitar) and Burt (drums) - really know how to kick some ass with their raging Mince Core tunes which are mostly dealing with anti-political, philosophical, animal rights, etc. themes. The tape has a good sound quality and comes with a b/w cover which includes full lyrics-sheet and other additional infos. I can recommend this stuff to all the fans of Mince & Grind Core worldwide. It won't disappoint you! To get this 60 minutes long official cassette release you should send $4 (Europe) / $5 (World) to R.I.P. Productions!

Well, ANTESTOR is a band coming from Norway and dealing with Atmospheric Folk influenced Black/Doom Metal in their 11-song album. "The Return Of The Black Death" has nothing special within its songs. I must say it’s a very average material which sometimes very close to the way DARKTHRONE and ISENGARD stands for. Though the sound here is much better and more enjoyable but that’s not enough if ANTESTOR stands in the shadow of the above mentioned bands. However, it’s an atmospheric keyboard filled melodious stuff with lots of folk influences, doomy harmonies and nowadays clichés as well as the typical black shrieks, chainsaw guitar sound, etc. The lyrics are in Norwegian and in English as usual for bands coming from Norway. So to say this band jumped in the Black Metal bandwagon and I can recommend this material only for those ones who like to listen to another copy of DARKTHRONE’s "Transylvanian Hunger" or ISENGARD’s "Vinterskugge".

This is the first release of this Quebec trio called APHASIA. I got only their promo stuff which contains two songs from the four. The first tune "Seasonal Stowaway" is about 8 minutes long - full of rhythm changes, rolling double-bass parts and black-type screeches which are dominates in most of the vocal parts. There are growling vocals too but only for short period of time. Their material isn't fast mostly mid-paced. The second track "The Bright Sphere Of Forest" is a very melodic tune again with a lot of changes. I like both songs very much. Sometimes their music reminds me DARK TRANQUILLITY and early DEATH stuffs. Though they're pretty original band. It's an intense, aggressive, melodic and absolutely crushing Black/Death Metal material. The full EP lasts more than 25 minutes. There's no disappointing parts in it. Just pure aggression in the way it was supposed to be! If you like bands in the vein of European Black/Death stuffs then this is for you.

ASHES YOU LEAVE is a seven-men formation coming from Croatia and playing Gothic Doom in the way it was supposed to be. "The Passage Back To Life" consists of seven ultra slow Doom tracks with enchanting flute parts, violins and female vocals as well. Of course, these elements were used by tons of other Doom bands before but ASHES YOU LEAVE spice them with a big dose of folk elements which gave a special atmosphere to their compositions. Nevertheless, the band don’t forgot to mix some Death Metal tunes into their repertory too. Besides they don’t startled off to add some nowadays popular hard core motives to their stuff which is a bit unusual for Doom bands. Don’t you think so? So in general, if you like sorrowful Doom Metal in the vein of MY DYING BRIDE materials then this album will surely suits your taste.

Wow, this stuff surprised me a lot. Why? Because AURORA BOREALIS’ debut full-length CD represents a totally unusual and weird formulation of Death/Black Metal in these 9 tracks of unstoppable aggression. The band combines by the forces of the mastermind vocalist/guitarist Ron Vento, bassist Jason Ian-Vaughn Eckert and amazingly precise drummer Derek Roddy. Well, I try to make you clear their style, to this you should imagine how the mix of DEATH and CRYPTOPSY sounds together. However, AURORA BOREALIS is a quite original band without unworthy riffs, songs or whatever like that. Interesting fact, that their sound is more closer to the swedish line as well as their song-structures and Ron’s vocals which are mostly the high-pitched rasping ones. Songs like "Offerings Of Jade And Blood", "Aggressive Dynasty" or "For Your Comprehension" crush all your parts with its hyper fast drumming and extremely well-executed guitar riffs. On the other hand, songs like "In The Depths Of A Labyrinth" or "War Of The Rings" shows the complex and technical side of AURORA BOREALIS. And then I can add the song "Calm Before", this one actually an instrumental piece with cool acoustic guitar parts and special effects, which right after turns into my favourite track, namely "The Storm". In general, if you like Brutal Death Metal mixed with lots of melodic & memorable tunes, that’s it! It’s a flawless stuff with killer sound!

AVERSE SEFIRA is a quite active band. A few months ago I received their 2-song promo tape and now I have to present you their debut album "Homecoming's March". The band as always features Sanguine on guitars/vocals and Wrath on bass/vocals/percussives. "Homecoming's March" includes 7 extremely well-executed Black Metal tracks that are musically not far from their promo songs as those two tracks are featured here as well. The album starts with "Hymns To The Scourge Of Heaven" that is a great blasting Black Metal tune with lots of rhythm changes and hellish screams. It follows "For We Have Always Been" (a track from their promo) which is one of their best songs in my opinion. The vocal parts were rather thoughtfully done there. "Sentinel's Plight" is the next in row. It is about fast guitar riffs and brutal grinding drum parts. I'd also like to note its masterful intro which reminded me KING DIAMOND's style a bit, though. And what's more, there are intros to every song, so you'll get a bunch of weird special effects. Their fourth song "Pax Dei" is a mid-paced one filled with great sophisticated drum-work and majestic guitar harmonies. Then comes "Above The Firmaments Of Wrath". I would say it differs a bit from the rest of the tracks, because of the use of some clear vocal parts there. The 6th track is "Ad Infinitum" (the second one on their promo) and you know it's a great song. The album ends with the title track "Homecoming's March". It's their longest piece up to date almost 14 minutes. Crushing drums, complex riffs, screaming vocals, fast pace and a great outro what this tune is all about. In a word, I can only recommend you to get AVERSE SEFIRA's great 64 minutes long debut album!

When I had listened to AVULSION’s "Dimensions Of Darkness" CD first time I didn’t believe my ears. Because it has the old mood and music Death Metal bands played only in the period of 1990-1992. Nowadays people get accustomed to commercial shit like Hard Core or Punk for instance. And here we have a totally underground and non-commercial material. Generally their songs has a mid-paced orientation. The sound isn’t the best one I prefer to be for such an interesting material but who cares, the songs are great and that’s important. I like all the 8 compositions performed here. It’s somekind of nostalgy for me and give me the mood I felt then back in the late of 90’s. Deep growls, crushing cymbals, rolling drum parts, abstract solos - all this together combines the way real Death Metal is about. So who like old-school Death Metal albums, shall accept this stuff, who don’t like it - stay away. My favorite tracks are "Disgorged Entrails" and "Near Death".

This double CD contains a great insight into activity of the most brutal grindcore band ever, called BRUTAL TRUTH. Well, I guess you know what to expect there. It's like a collection of live, rare and unreleased stuff these four madmen done over 8 years of existence. Disc One shows how powerful and unique was BRUTAL TRUTH on the stage. This gig was recorded live at Annandale Hotel, Sydney, Australia in August 1998. You'll get 22 songs of pure grinding assault with tolerable sound! Disc Two has a special material, which based on rare, out-of-print and live materials culled from various 7" EPs, Japanese record pressings, and alternate takes. There's also a plenty number of cover songs from bands such as S.O.B., BLACK SABBATH, CELTIC FROST, AGATHOCLES, MELVINS, NAUSEA to name a few. It's something that every grindcore freak must to check out! By ordering this gem of grindcore history you'll get 56 songs in almost 144 minutes! Don't be a fool and order your copy right now!

This is the debut album of this Louisiana-based Death/Black Metal act. The members of it are I.N.R.I. - voice, Vrykoulak - guitars, Rekcilyssup - drums and Blasphyre Demiurge - synthesizer, vocals, samples. First of all, I must say that this band has a quite original sound, song-structures, vocal-style, lyrics, etc. No doubt, they’re on right path and do their own music in these 12 tracks. The sound is raw and a really underground-based one, though the synths makes it more quality. Their music is full of blasphemy, hatred and aggression which flows over every inch of their stuff. It is the most unholy stuff I’ve ever heard. Musically, the guitars brought the Death Metal themes and vocals gave the Black Metal touch to their music. There are a couple of incredible keyboard-based intros which add a special atmosphere before and after the songs. However, the keyboards plays an important role not only in intros and outros but in the whole stuff as well. The vocals mostly evilish screeches which sometimes sounds like hellish expiates of tormenting souls. There are some lengthy compositions like "Catholicon" and "Eve Bewitched" which are full of rhythm changes and blends majestic keyboard tunes with complex drumming. And last but not least I’d like to mention the great cover artwork which is another masterpiece by the Finnish painter Juha Vuorma. This killer stuff is a must for every die-hard fans of Death/Black Metal!

Here comes a very strong release by the Turkish goregrinders CENOTAPH. Their second album up to date features a killer mix of gore lyrics and complex grinding Death Metal. The band consists of Batu Çetin (vocals), Coºkun Kaplan (guitars), Bülent Izgeç (bass) and Cem Devrim Dursun (drums). Believe me, these guys are really know how to mix brutality and puked genital purulency together. There are 7 songs of pure blasting madness added with lots of weird yet inhuman intros. Musically they display a high level no doubt. I would say this is a flawless album, though some guitar riffs reminded me CANNIBAL CORPSE. Anyway, I can restly say they are quite original! The guitar riffs are sometimes sophisticated as well as the drum parts till the bass lines sound clear and remarkable. As for the vocals, Batu has a very deep and brutal voice which can destroy your ears right after their first tune. I guess, there's no need to say more. Buy this 35 minutes mega brutal goregrind carnage or die immediately!

The new Relapse Records "Contaminated" sampler contains 24 songs with over 70 minutes playing time. The featured bands are: TODAY IS THE DAY (w/ 2 songs), MORTICIAN (w/ 2 songs), EXHUMED, NILE, INCANTATION, NEUROSIS, CAVE IN, DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, COALESCE, BRUTAL TRUTH (w/ 2 live songs), CEPHALIC CARNAGE, REGURGITATE, NASUM, HEMDALE, BENUMB, SOILENT GREEN, AMORPHIS, MORGION, BONGZILLA, DEAD HORSE and WARHATE. For me were interesting to listen to such cool songs as "Serpent Headed Mask" from NILE (outstanding Death with elements of the Near East), INCANTATION's "United In Repugnance" (great old-school Death/Grind), MORTICIAN's "Fleshripper" & "Obliteration" (hyper fast Death/Grind with outrageous growls), CEPHALIC CARNAGE's "Cryptosporidium" (good technical Death Metal) and "Limb From Limb" from EXUMED to name a few. You see, Relapse Records is mostly into Death/Grind acts, though you'll find there some slower Doom bands as well as AMORPHIS, MORGION and CAVE IN are plus some brutal hardcore bands like DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and COALESCE for example. To all this, you should add the quite original photographs and computer graphics done by Wes Benscoter. I can only recommend this stuff! Remember, if you'll give a call to Relapse crew, then you'll automatically get this free sampler. Hurry up!

Well, well, well... This is the third chapter of mega brutal devastation of Canadian CRYPTOPSY. 32 minutes of pure blasting brutality is what these five madmen offers!!! It’s their most brutal album and consists of eight gut-ripping Death Metal tunes in the most brutal way you can ever imagine. CRYPTOPSY combines brutality with aggression and melodies with complexity. All these things makes their music original and variable. There are no bad points at all. "Whisper Supremacy" is a flawless and very well-crafted material which should be praised by all the fans of Brutal Death Metal worldwide! My fave tracks are "Faceless Unknown" and "Cold Hate, Warm Blood".

DAEMOS is an old-fashioned Thrash Metal band coming from San Diego. Its line-up consists of Vic Baddour on rhythm guitar and vocals, Eric Nunes on lead guitar, Jason St. Aubin on bass and Kevin Wood on drums. "Dying God" is their first release which represents the culmination of hard work during three years. It’s definitely a strong release and the output of these musicians can be described only by their professional skills in such music. They created the atmosphere of a very unique heavy sound here. The dynamic and complex riffing of the guitarists makes the bases of their songs. Musically, this three track EP is very closed to the METALLICA’s "Master Of Puppets" and "...And Justice For All" eras. However DAEMOS is better a lot. My fave song is "Two Deaths" with its intense song-structure and quite well-played solos. Nevertheless the tracks "My Dying God" and "On The Rocks" kicks ass as well. Fans of Heavy and Thrash Metal don’t waste your time to check this great material out 'coz DAEMOS is worthy of interest. Get in touch now!

In this 11-song album DEHYDRATED stands for technical Death Metal. The members of this band are Braòo Jurák - guitars, Vlado Pagáè - vocals and Peter "Pegas" Hlaváè - drums. These three guys with the help of two guest musicians made a quite professional stuff which musically closer to the works of such bands as DEATH and PESTILENCE. Their songs full of complex rhythm changes, breaks with amazing bass tunes. Otherwise, Pegas plays much faster like the ones in above mentioned bands and in that way their music is much brutal and aggressive. For example the songs like "Hate To God" or "Stallion" are based on crushing guitar themes with non-stop grinding assault. Vlado has a quite brutal deep-growling vocal-style which add some more brutality to their uncompromising Death Metal stuff. It's a killer product with superb sound quality! Buy or Die!

Straight from René (guitar/vocals) I received DEMENTOR's 3rd album, the masterful "The Art Of Blasphemy". Beside him there are Roman Calpas on guitar, Miro "Kerut" Kucej on bass and Milos "Holloshman" Hornak on drums. Well, let's see what they've done this time. After a short ritual-like intro of "Devil's Rebirth" the band initiates us into the most brutal dimensions of Death Metal with songs like "The False Faith", "Time For Death" and "The Eyes Of The Beast". Musically, they follows the path of "Kill The Thought On Christ" album, though their new songs are three times faster. I would say it's incredible how fast and precisely they can play, especially it goes to their new drummer Holloshman. I was in shock, when I heard his double-bass attacks first. This guy plays fantastic. Regarding the guitar parts of René and Roman, they've got a more complicated character with lots of breaks. Also, mention must be made about the professionally worked out bass parts of Miro and thoughtful solos executed by René, who responsible for the crushing growls as well. And what's more, through their lyrics you can get an all-sided lesson about the art of blasphemy. There's one majestic keyboard-based track called "Requiem To The Cursed Lust" in their repertory, which shows a new aspect of the band. Nevertheless, I've noticed some MORBID ANGEL and CANNIBAL CORPSE influences in songs "Waiting For The Death" and title track "The Art Of Blasphemy", but these are dwarfed by specific DEMENTOR songs like "Taste Of Dead Meat", "Gate Of Eternity" and "Love". To cut it short, if you dreamt about the essence of hyperfast Death Metal combined by powerful riffs, then wake up and buy this 32 minutes long flawless Death Metal masterpiece.

This band definitely has something special in its repertory even if their style fluctate between Doom and Black Metal. They successfully mixed and arranged the above mentioned styles together with adding some dark, gothic even brutal elements to it. All these ingradients plus the strange Arabian guitar motives creates the unique atmosphere DEMIMONDE stands for. The bandmembers are high-skilled musicians and they are seven: Ankhabuth the lead guitarist who brings the most weird and eastern-influenced parts till Jaacob and Kashtan responsible for powerful guitar rhythms and deep growls/clear vocals, the pleasant female vocals were performed by Tannya, her voice is beautiful and sounds quite enchanting as well as the keyboard tunes of D'aven which gives the so-called majestic atmosphere to their compositions and last but not least comes the rhythm section, Afagddu (bass) and T.o.n. (drums), whose works are worth of mentioning too, especially I like T.o.n's drumming which is complex and catchy at the same time. It's a fantastic Doom stuff with quality sound and thoughtful lyrics. If you into bands such as THEATRE OF TRAGEDY or THE GATHERING, then it's a must for you!

This is a CD I got from Radim of FORGOTTEN SILENCE and it surprised me a lot 'cause I don’t expected such a great material from this Slovakian quartet. "A Grand Magnificence" is one of the strongest releases of 1998. You can find here 2 brand new songs (Unpure Romanticism Part I and Part II), one re-recorded song (Try Not To Breathe), a cover version of HYPOCRISY’s "Reincarnation" track + the complete stuff of their third demo "...And There Came The Tears With Christ" with its re-mastered version. Interesting fact, that this 51 minutes long CD has been released only as a mini-CD. Their style called Mystic Occult Death Metal. And yes... This material can be characterized only by these words. The sound of the whole stuff is perfect, made in Exponent Studio. The guitars dominated all the time and brings majestic harmonies and mood to the listeners' ears. Sometimes keyboards are present to make the songs more colorful. The vocals are mostly growl-based with the little spice of high screeches as well. This excellent stuff was performed by four occult magicians: Roman Špatný (guitars/bass), Roman Filo (guitars/bass), Roman Laššo (drums) and Drahoš Gabriš (vocals). My favorite songs are "Heresy, Shadowsnight", both "Unpure Romanticism" and the cover of HYPOCRISY, of course. The cover came very close to the original one, though there were little differences in solo and some of the guitar riffs. All in all, it’s a strong and killer release which must be accepted by all the fans of Death Metal. DEPRESY represents you a new dimension of Death Metal, so keep your eyes on their forthcoming releases and order this mini-CD now!

DYSANCHELY's debut album features 8 songs into melodic Doom Metal stuff. These are quite well-structured tunes having two type of vocals mainly, clear female and deep growling male vocals. They recorded "Tears" at Exponent studio. So they got a top quality sounding, of course. But it reminded me a bit to DEPRESY's sound here and there. They also like to use Death and yet Black elements in their music. These links appeared in such songs as "Return To The Hall Of Ages" (quite complex one!) and "Shadows Of The Other World" for example. And then we have the traditional doom pieces in songs like "Centuries Of Inquisition", "Eternal Sleep" and "Tears" to name a few. In short, "Tears" is a decent Doom/Death Metal album.

This CD contains EVIL INCARNATE’s "Christ Destroyed" (tracks 1-6) and "Self-titled" (tracks 7-10) demos. At first I’d like to say that such an obscure, evil and blasphemous stuff I’ve never heard before. These four christ-haters created their unique way of devastating satanic Death Metal in "Blood of the Saints". All songs come with the same brutality and unholy riffing of Rob Rigney (christ destroying guitar) and Dave Dally (guitars and solos from hell), which makes the main basis of their destructive music. To all this you can add the blasphemic vocals of Michael Eisenhauer who also responsible for the infernal bass tunes. The drums were handled by Andy Vehnekamp of JUNGLE ROT who did a quite precise job for all the tracks. Meanwhile, he was replaced by John Boettcher (chaotic beats of destruction) whose face yet visible on the bandphoto of the CD-booklet. They used some awesome keyboard effects which gave a special atmosphere for songs like "Blood of the Saints" (this is my fave track) or "Dead Corpse of Jesus Christ" as well as some swedish-based riffs, for example in song "Raised From The Deep" I’ve found some UNLEASHED parts. To cut it short, this 33 minutes album is a quite original satanic stuff which I warmly recommend for all the fans of brutal Death Metal worldwide.

At long last it's the first band which can really make a sorrowful and melancholic Doom Metal stuff without nowadays clichés in this style. The members of EVOKEN are: John Paradiso - guitars/vocals, Nick Orlando - guitars, Steve Moran - bass, Vince Verkay - drums and Dario Derna - keyboards. "Embrace The Emptiness" is their debut album which contains seven adventures into the world of melancholy filled reality. These five musicians created the atmosphere I've always dreamt for. Such a slow music should be played only by this way. This 71 minutes long album has the best Doom compositions I’ve ever heard. The album begins with a pompous intro and right after turns into the slowly passages of "Tragedy Eternal". Then follows "Chime The Centuries End" and "Lost Kingdom Of Darkness" with its majestic harmonies. Soon afterwards comes my fave song "Curse The Sunrise" which is the longest piece of this album, it takes almost 13 minutes. Great song! Moreover, EVOKEN is one of the few Doom bands uses the keyboards only to make the proper mood for their songs. I like the cover a lot 'cause it expresses totally the meaning of the album title and the music EVOKEN stands for. This album gave the pure essence to listeners’ mind how real Doom Metal should sound like! It's a must for all the Doom Metal fans worldwide!