Released in 1991, ‘Gothic’ is the second studio album by British gothic metal legends, Paradise Lost. I didn’t like the bands’ first album, finding it too gothic, growly, doom and gloomy, but perhaps things have developed on from there with this follow-up album?

Nope. Not really. 

There’s no doubting the impact Paradise Lost had on the British death/doom metal scene in the early 90’s. But this music just isn’t for me. I find it too dreary. Too depressing. Too boring. The endless, guttural growling ruins everything for me. The guitar work has improved since their previous album, but not enough for me to really dig any of the tunes. 

It’s listenable, in the background, and mainly because it’s only 40 minutes long! But overall, this isn’t for me. Their later stuff, which incorporates keyboards and more melodic vocals are more my thing. I’ll stick to those instead. 

My first experience with New York brutal death metal outfit Dehumanized came through their 1996 "Terminal Punishment" demo tape (4/5) back in my mid-1990's tape trading heyday & it made a significant impact on me, receiving regular replays over the next couple of months. I was a huge fan of the New York BDM sound at the time & these five guys offered a very solid example of it without ever really pushing the leaders of the scene like my very favourite metal band ever Suffocation. Dehumanized's debut full-length wouldn't land until my interest in metal was already tailing off during the late 90's so our paths wouldn't cross until a good decade later. The experience was similarly positive though & "Prophecies Foretold" & I have exchanged blows several times since then, appearing to enjoy each other's company quite a bit. When I first heard the record in full though, there was something a little fishy about it. You see, halfway through the tracklisting I started to get a strong feeling of deja vu & there's a good reason for that because the final four tracks are essentially an untouched version of the "Terminal Punishment" demo I'd enjoyed so much as a kid. The first five songs sound vastly different to the demo though which gives "Prophecies Foretold" a bit of a split personality. Both personalities are certainly worth knowing but I hold a slight favour for the demo material.

The new material that kicks off the album sees Dehumanized taking on a sound that splits the brutal & conventional death metal styles, never quite deciding on where it wants to reside. There's just as much Disincarnate & (dare I say it) Neuropath in their sound as there is their New York counterparts with a stronger melodic component & a little more nuance & tempo restraint being shown. The demo material is pure New York BDM though with those signature palm-muted slam riffs in strong effect throughout. The vocals are more gutteral & the tempos whiplash between slow & chuggy, hardcore-inspired Dying Fetus style slams & light-speed blasting. It doesn't appear as if drummer George Torres was using triggers as the kick drums sound fairly messy due to the disparities in their sound. Surprisingly, Torres is the only member of Dehumanized that I recognize from other projects, having contributed to slam death metallers 420 & Artery Eruption as well as BDM legends Skinless over the years. Frontman Jerry Barco's vocals differ quite a bit between the two releases too, being more gutteral on the early material with the brand-new songs all sporting a brighter production job.

Regardless of the split personality, I still really dig "Prophecies Foretold". It champions everything I enjoy about death metal & arguably does it better than they managed to do on either of their subsequent albums. Don't let the terrible cover art fool you. There are easily enough chunky riffs & spasmodic blast beats to satisfy your average brutal death metal nut included here. 

For fans of Internal Bleeding, Pyrexia & Mortal Decay.

The long running Norwegian black metal band, Dimmu Borgir, have made a habit of writing and releasing high quality, powerful music. And Grand Serpent Rising is no exception. When the music hits and this album begins its "Ascent", it travels far and wide at a blistering pace. The guitar riffing is filled with energy and intent, the bass lines are super strong and give the rest of the instruments room to breathe, the percussion work is superb, borrowing from the classic black metal of old, while also having room for some ear splitting moments as well (i.e. "Repository of Divine Transmutation"). The symphonic backgrounds are also splendid; parts of this album have little callbacks to the great Emperor and the dynamic influence the symphony plays on Prometheus. 

That's all the good stuff. Unfortunately, while Dimmu Borgir keep their songwriting chops in top form, they've also kept their piss poor structure for an album in the same shape. I've like Dimmu Borgir albums before, and I can point out individual songs from Puritanical Euphoric Misantrhopia, or Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, and Abrahadabra that stand out, but you won't catch me listening to any of those albums in full anytime soon. This band has consistently pumped out overbloated albums for over three decades and it seems like with Grand Serpent Rising, that trend is getting worse! This is not helped at all by the bands always on full speed aggression that they continue to pump out album after album. It's hard to deny the quality of the music found within this album, but songs like "Recognizant" and "Repository of Divine Transmission" could have been so much better if, either the songs themselves had been trimmed down, or the album as a whole.

Best Songs: As Seen in the Unseen, Silk Minnes en Alkymist, The Exonerated, Shadows of a Thousand Perecptions

For Fans Of: Septicflesh, Rotting Christ, Enslaved

Death and Mayhem (D.A.M. for short) hailed from the northwest England seaside town of Morecambe Bay, which is not far from where I live. I can remember seeing them in the various metal mags back in the day advertising their wares, with the mascot that reminded of an unmasked Dr Doom from the Marvel comics, but somehow, I never got around to hearing them at the time. With this being my month for a nomination in The Pit, I thought there was no better an opportunity to sample their debut album from 1989. Human Wreckage scrapes a 50% mark on Metal Archives, but we all know how bonkers people’s opinions can be, right?

Well, Human Wreckage starts off well enough. Opening track proper, ‘Death Warmed Up’ sounds a lot more alert than the title would suggest. Some rugged chops and a decent solo make it a finer opener indeed. The first criticism is hard to ignore as an issue though. The drums are way too far back in the mix, relegated to more of a supporting role as opposed to a central driving position in the mix. This certainly helps the guitars and vocals to shine. However, it adds a timidness to the edges of what I am listening to. Riffs and vocals can only go so far as to flesh out a song, and without the firm skeleton of the percussion department things soon start to sound a little wishy-washy.

Some of the song writing is also unfortunately questionable. When they slow down the pace on Prophets of Doom, the cracks do start to show. The track at times sounds like it is falling over itself and this a theme that recurs sadly over the course of the rest of the album. It is as if D.A.M. exhaust their song writing prowess after three tracks. When they go slower, it really is a mistake. ‘Infernal Torment’ would only work with a Dave Mustaine style sneer on it, and Jason McLoughlin ain’t no MegaDave unfortunately. It is only really the late Mark “Elly” Etherington’s lead work that saves Human Wreckage from being a complete car crash at times. This is their debut album, coming just a year after their demo, so some leniency is perhaps well entertained in reviewing this album. However, as feature releases go, I have picked better.

I've pretty much just fallen off from alt-metal after my recent departure from The Gateway. I've moved away from alt-metal bands and even some bands that mix the genre with others like metalcore and industrial metal. When this Mushroomhead album XIII ended up as a Gateway feature release, I thought I would give this band and album another go. And I have to say...

I still enjoy this! The experimentation I can admire when blended with the accessibility they've gained after their first 3 albums that were self-released. I've considered Mushroomhead a standout band in alt-/nu metal, and revisiting this excellent album made me restore that thought.

Opening track "Kill Tomorrow" has some of the stoner-ish vibes of early Black Sabbath given a more anthemic alt touch. "Sun Doesn't Rise" is the first single, a commercial yet metal banger with a catchy chorus sung and growled by vocalists Jeffrey Nothing and J Mann, respectively. The band gains some strength in "Mother Machine Gun", which has some moody piano. Then we have some smooth emotion in "Nowhere to Go". And some heaviness in "Becoming Cold (216)".

"One More Day" is more of a gothic-sounding power ballad with violin and female singing, the latter performed by Devon Gorman. That's the kind of experimentation I love that they didn't have too much of in their underground releases, though the earlier heaviness would carry on into subsequent tracks in this offering... "The Dream is Over" is so d*mn brutal with guest vocals by Meshuggah vocalist Jens Kidman. "The War Inside" explores breakneck speed which makes another highlight. "Almost Gone" has more of that old-school Sabbath twang in the riffing which I don't mind. "Eternal" is more focused on speed and roars. A little tiring but still great.

"Our Own Way" is the most melancholic track, with nothing but sorrow in the piano, guitars, and vocals. I love it! Though it's only surpassed by the 8-minute epic "Destroy the World Around Me". The doomy drama of that track I think should've ended the album right there. However, it is followed by the one track I find somewhat weak, track number "Thirteen". It sounds a little too creepy and almost comes out as filler. And I'm not too crazy about their cover of "Crazy" by Seal, though it's still OK.

If this album ended with that 8-minute epic, I would've consider Mushroomhead's XIII a perfect album enough to make me reconsider abandoning all of alt-metal. Still the majority of this release has satisfied me. Who knows if I might revisit their later albums someday? Well, never say never!

Favorites: "Kill Tomorrow", "Sun Doesn't Rise", "One More Day", "The Dream is Over", "The War Inside", "Our Own Way", "Destroy the World Around Me"