ECLIPSE was formed in fall 1993 on the ruins of local Death Metal band called SACRAL SUICIDE. On this demo, which is their only material so far, the band's line-up was Victor Nivikov (vocals), Vitaly Nevedrov (bass), Alexey Tjutchev (guitar) and Alexander Tonkoshkur (drums). "Celebration Of My Death" represents 10 extremely brutal Death/Grind songs which can crash your head with its intensity. Their music mostly based on the well-known American-type Death Metal riffing, which is about massive, brutal as possible riff-orgies with some wailing solos. Otherwise, some of the tracks were strongly influenced by early stuffs of CANNIBAL CORPSE and SUFFOCATION as well. The only bad point that the demo has a really shitty sound quality. Due to this, the anyhow sounding drums and bass tunes are drowning in the unbearable noise of overdistorted guitars and awesome deep growls.

"Journey Through Bizarre" is the first demo of this Brazilian Death Metal quartet. The members of E.S. are David and André on guitars, Nildo on bass/vocals and Paulo on drums. The interesting fact that the band was formed in 1990 and due to this fact their music and sound both in the way of traditional Death Metal. As for me I really appreciate what they done in this 6-track demo, which features all the great motives of old-school Death bands. Deep growls, killer double-bass, massive guitar riffs and well-structured songs is what they offers here. The songs are mostly mid-paced with lots of rhythm changes and quite sorrowful solos which reminds me a bit the solos of ASPHYX, while some of the riffs were strongly influenced by old deathmasters like OBITUARY and BOLT THROWER. There are not bad tracks at all and the sound quality is above the average. All in all, if you consider yourself a fan of old-school Death Metal I can only recommend this stuff.

ENS COGITANS is one of the leading Doom Metal bands of Russia. Its line-up consists of Oleg Alimov - vocals/keyboards, Sergey Ponkratiev - guitar, Dmitry Lobanov - bass/acoustic guitar, Roman Shmelev - drums, Dmitry Kezhvatov - guitar and Irene Rusakova - female vocals. This promo contains three tracks of emotional, sometimes gloomy but harmony-filled Doom Metal with lots of clear-sung and enchanting female vocals. However, there are some growl-based vocals as well but only for short time. The guitar-players' work is damn good, especially their solos remarkable. These songs came in a quite technical way and were supported by rather thoughtful orchestral sympho-oriented keyboard parts. To cut it short, this is a great stuff with top quaility, well-crafted songs and originality.

Well, this is the new 4-track demo of Russian doomsters ENS COGITANS. They changed their music to a more computerized and more melodious way, I think it's all due to their electro-metal side-project called OVERSUN. Musically, the main line of ENS COGITANS is still there but the mechanical sound of computer effects make it a bit boring and while after I get tired to listen to it once again. The only positive point is that the guitars are dominated all time. Vocals has only clear-sung. I guess it's all I could say here. If you like melodic computer influenced Doom, that's for you.

Another release comes straight from Belarus. EVTHANAZIA plays powerful Death Metal with the good use of keyboards. The band consists of Alex (guitars/lead vocals), Vitaly (bass/keyboards/backing vocal) and Yuri (drums). This 8-track material mostly based on technical guitar riffing and precise rhythm-section which makes their songs totally masterful. The keyboard parts plays a big role in their compositions and makes them as atmospheric as possible. Yet I can add the well-executed solos and quite interesting vocal-styles of Alex (deep growls) and Vitaly (thrashy and other-type vocals) which shows a colorful range of their musical abilities. My fave tracks are "Overdose" and the title track with its amazing song-structures. If I should compare their music to anything I guess it would be only PESTILENCE's "Testimony Of The Ancients" album. In a word, it's a highly performed, totally original and quite thoughtful material.

Eh, what a bandname? How do you think what is the style FILTHY FLESH stands for? I help you, they play Brutal Death Metal in the vein of American bands such as CANNIBAL CORPSE or DEICIDE for instance. "Victim Of Suppuration" is their first release which includes seven skull-crushing Death Metal songs. The band consists of Sergey Mosolkov on lead guitar, Mike on bass, Dmitry "Grindcore" on vocals and Sergey Minchenkov on rhythm guitar, who had left the band recently. Their music isn't very original but enjoyable. I like the guitarists' work so much but to tell you the truth there are no unknown riffs for me. Their songs came with a typical deep Death Metal grunt which influenced by a small touch of high-pitched screams here and there. It's great when a band so brutal as FILTHY FLESH but sometimes brutality isn't enough I mean I like when bands have their own original face in their music. And here we have less of this so-called original face. The second bad thing on this demo is the use of the drum-machine instead of a normal two-hands & two-foots person. Due to this fact the whole material has a synthetical sound. I don't like drum-machines at all. If they will change this two things in the future they'll be a worthy band and it's for sure. But now, I would like to recommend this stuff only for the Brutal Death Metal freaks who are mostly in the above mentioned American bands.

The second demo of F.O.B. includes 10 well-connected songs in old-fashioned Deathrash style. The members are Kouc on rhythm guitar & vocals, Benda on lead guitar, Tom on bass & backing vocals and Márty on drums. They show a mix between heavy riffs and variety of catchy vocals through the songs of "Fobia". There's everything professional beginning from the lyrics-wise, song-structures, solos, etc. and ending with the sound of the production. I can't say they've done something unique or even outstanding on "Fobia", but as for their music it's come straight from their hearts. Believe me, that's count nowadays. I like to listen to their tracks, because then I feel the same mood as back in 1989 and that's exciting. To do some compares, I'd like to mention the SEPULTURA influences in tracks such as "Dark Shadows" and "Last Journey". And what is more, there's also a live track called "Keep Achtung" as well as a cover of famous "Fogue" from J.S. Bach. I guess, there's no need to tell you more. The tape comes with full-coloured booklet, lyrics, photos and lasts over 50 minutes.

FORGIVE-ME-NOT was formed in 1996 by three guys, namely Miguel (guitar), Vic (bass/vocals) and Andy (drums). Their debut album "Tearfall" came in 1997, which contains 12 tracks of melodic Doom Metal with elements of Heavy Metal, however the band called its style as New Ultra Melodic Heavy Wave. Well, this 50 minutes long album is a quite melodic stuff with lots of influences of LAKE OF TEARS and SUNDOWN or something like that. Nevertheless, they covered some interesting ideas in their music as well as some weird ones too. The quality is above the average and the level of musicians is worth of mentioning. Of course, there are some keyboard parts and female vocals as well, but the music is still guitar-oriented. If you into the before mentioned bands then don't waste your time to get your copy of "Tearfall", which was released in MC format by russian label Magik Art Entertainment and comes with full-colour cover, lyrics, photo, etc.

"Spaceapple" is the second album of this russian Ultra Melodic Heavy band, which has a less complicated material like in "Tearfall" was. However, it's a strong release again where the keyboards and female vocals play an important part. Brought to the songs more melodies and making the material more atmospheric. On this album the band consists of Vic (bass/vocals), Miguel (guitars), Michael (guitars), Elena (keyboards) and Andy (drums). The female vocals were performed by Irina, who has a pleasant voice but nothing special as well. There are no bad compositions here though I must note the simplicity of guitar riffs which is a bit boring sometimes. In brief, these 10 songs are quite well-composed, arranged and has a totally professional sound quality. Check it up! In Summer '98 the band signed a deal with russian Metal Agen Records for 3 albums and this means that soon there will be released both "Tearfall" and "Spaceapple" in CD format too.

FRODMORTELL coming from Belarus and plays crushing Death Metal. The members of it are Andrew Prokopchuk - vocals, Max Gershankov - bass, Andrew Freymaniss - guitars and Denis Stchuchenko - drums. "Silence Land" is their first demo which represents a quite varied stuff in 10 well-composed songs. You can find there as fast grinding drum parts with ultra deep growls in the early Chris Barnes vein but such things as thrashy guitar riffs with cool yet melodic solos in the vein of 80's Heavy Metal bands. Their material fluctate from brutal death metal tracks such as "Disinfection" and "Children Of Full Moon" (especially this one is full of great themes and seems to me the strongest track of the demo) to complex ones like "Visions" with its abstract acoustic parts through some really melodic keyboard-filled tracks such as "Master Death" and "Death Road". Well, if you like the mixture of brutal and melodic Death Metal, that's it! The demo comes with b/w cover, photo and additional info as well.

F.O.S. plays Doom Metal in a rather monotonous way. There's nothing special even if they added some thrashy parts to their repertory. The band consists of Renat Beglov (vocals, guitar), Pavel Guminyuk (guitar), Roman Orlov (bass) and Roman Sokolov (drums). They combines typical doomy parts, clear and growling vocals with a few guitar harmonies and that's all. The music slow as usual but nothing outstanding. This 7-song demo can be the 1000th copy of early PARADISE LOST and MY DYING BRIDE albums (minus less originality and sound quality). If you search just for another Doom band to fill your collection up, then buy it! Though I would definitely not advise you this boring doomy shit at all. It's better to invest to an EVOKEN or FORGOTTEN SILENCE album for instance, that's for sure!

KALTES' debut demo "Starchariot" represents a great alloy of mid-paced Black Metal and elements of hungarian folk music. It was recorded by four musicians: Gergely Tauer - vocals, Tamás Fider - guitar/bass/keyboards, Attila Gyulai - guitar and Péter Kéri - drums. The main goals of KALTES are in the use of extraordinary clear vocals (besides the screams, of course), well-structured guitar riffs and atmospheric keyboards in these two long tracks. The title track "Starchariot" are more keyboard-filled one, while "Path Of Forces" combines some thrashy and acoustic guitar parts along with ritual-like drumming here and there. In short, if you claim to be a fan of pagan Black Metal, then order this almost 15 minutes long demo for only $2.

Putting this tape in the deck I was paralysed for a moment. A band coming from Moscow can play almost the same complex and brutal stuff as the mighty MORBID ANGEL, it's unbelievable. And if I add that the vocals were done by Maria (a female?!!!) you shall only admire MERLIN. So the members of MERLIN are Maria Abaza - vocals/bass, Alexander Ioffe - guitars and Nickolay "Energiser" Byckov - drums. First of all, I must say that the quality of their stuff is a way better than I heard from other Russian Death bands. There are 7 tracks of extraordinary Death/Thrash Metal mostly in the vein of beforehand mentioned MORBID ANGEL. But do not think those tracks are some kind of copies... On the contrary, all songs have a big dose of originality and come in quite thoughtful way. The vocals of Maria you can imagine after brutalizing Sabina's vocals (ex-HOLY MOSES) to the maximum, though even now this is not enough to get such a destructive female voice I suppose. Well, let's see the compositions. In some words it's too hard to describe them, but I think there's no need to tell you more, because it's a flawless stuff with fast, brutal yet melodic tunes. Alexander plays fantastic solos as well as rhythms without any false note. Nickolay who responsible for the non-stop grinding assaults and complex drumming overcame all borders of impossibility and truly can be a rival for Pete Sandoval of MORBID ANGEL, though. Tracks as "That's My Time", "I'm Glad" and "Die" simply rules. It's a perfect Death/Thrash album. Buy it right now before it's too late.

This is the second demo by this talentful Czech band, which defines their style as experimental positive music (??? - ed.). To give you a more wide picture on their music I can say it's something between the mix of Doom, Death, Gothic and jazz. Of course, it's only my view. The demo begins with "Coloured Harmony". This song has a great duet of clear female and male vocals. Then comes two songs "I Am Nobody" and "The Joy Of Fear" in the typical Death/Doom vein. The next one "The Touch" offers us something special with its eastern-based guitar riffs. "In The Shade Of Wind" follows it, which one was totally built up on acoustic guitar parts and enchanted female vocals. To cut it short, there are 12 doomy compositions in the most unusual way you can imagine. Concerning the sound, it's soft and heavy at the same time. Recently, the band preparing their new material, entitled "The Blue". But meanwhile I advise you to check out their "Dance Of A Mournful Clown" demo.

This is the new stuff of this Canadian electro/industrial Hard Core band. I don't like stuff like that at all. But I'll try to tell you something about it. So, this is a 7-song demo which isn't too far from its predecessor "Naughty Clowns" MCD. On this demo the band features Reverend Soul on vocals, synth and rhythm guitar, Steve Bisonnette on lead guitar, Michel Nastas on bass and Dany Gamache on drums. The music has more industrialized with lots of electronic samples again which make the whole material more noisy and not valuable. I can't say anymore about something I don't like, let the electro/industrial fans price it.

Steven also sent me their ruffmix 4-song promo "In Silence". It's their new material and they impressed me once more with their talent and brutality. This time they worked out a more professional stuff and also corrected the sound of the double-basses. The songs included there are "In Silence", "Dreamrock", "Imagery" and "Blind the Vision that Shatters". It's a full speed ahead Death Metal material in the modern interpretation of NEURAXIS. Vocals are a bit higher I would say screamy ones here and there. Concerning the new songs they remained the same complex as on "Imagery" album, though I felt these new ones more catching and pulsating. Well, the progression is more than evident on "In Silence". My favorite track is "Dreamrock" with its hyper fast double-bass attacks and enchanting guitar melodies. This is something you should check before it's too late! A flawless material with flawless musicianship for open-minded fans!

NIGHTSIDE is a five-men Death Metal band hailing from Italy. Its members are Davide Sacco - vocals, Simone Volpin - guitars & keyboards, Ivo Roccio - bass, Luca Ferrazzi - lead guitar and Matteo Calautti - drums. This promo tape contains three unbelievably well-composed melodic Death Metal tunes which are mostly based on swedish Gothenburg-type Metal. The promo begins with a beautiful intro and right after it turns into AT THE GATES-based guitar riffing of "Searching... I didn't Find" song. This one is full of complex drumming, clear and high-pitched screams with lots of great guitar melodies. The second track "Empty & Dryness" mixes some great acoustic parts with a few grinding beats. The last track "Prince Of Clouds" has the same aggressive but quite melodic song-structure with more grinding parts and variety of distorted and acoustic guitars. Matteo was cool enough and taped their "Rain Dance" song after this promo. It was written in the summer 1997 and shows their progression which reflects more melodies and clear-sung vocals in the basis of their songwriting. So if you prefer the Gothenburg-vein of swedish Death Metal, that's it.

Yeah, right! This is the new 6-track material of this Italian Death Metal quintet. Musically, the band remained as melodic as possible, though "Oneiric Reign" represents the band in a bit progressive way as before, due to the more confused song-structures, clear vocals and samplers. But do not think they're lost their Death Metal roots or something like that. Only transformed it to another dimension. You can find all the great motives of Gothenburg Death Metal there: rasping vocals, here and there spiced with grinding drums, technical guitar-riffing, splendid solos, etc. Plus they recorded a fantastic cover of swedish EDGE OF SANITY's "Black Tears". The demo has an excellent sound quality and comes with b/w cover and lyrics. I guess there's no need to tell you some more words. Check it and you'll understand!