Ben's Reviews

Opeth goes big with another flawlessly executed example of genre defying beauty.

The critical and commercial success of 1999’s Still Life album meant that Opeth had not only a lot to live up to with their next release, but also a big opportunity to take the next step in global popularity. It was therefore unsurprising that the band decided to recreate much of the same working conditions they experienced for the fruitful Still Life sessions. That meant once again entering Studio Fredman on August the 10th, 2000, having had minimal rehearsals and with no lyrics written whatsoever. While this lack of preparation was due to unforeseen circumstances for Still Life, they were so happy with the result that they repeated the process intentionally this time around. Mikael had spent a couple of months at a friend’s house in the countryside forming riffs and basic structures, but much of the work to complete the writing would need to be done over a period of seven tough weeks in the studio. For the first two weeks the band slept in a little room within Studio Fredman that had four beds, but since there was no shower available, the guys started to really stink by about day ten. Mikael is quoted as saying “the smell in there was overpowering to say the least! Then again...for us it’s a natural way of recording....you gotta be filthy and disgusting to be able to release the pain”. They did however rent Mikael Stannes flat (from Dark Tranquillity) for the last five weeks, so I assume any benefit they were getting just couldn’t outweigh the negatives.

While Opeth were in some ways trying to repeat the positive results of yesteryear, there were some clear changes afoot that would affect the outcome. For the first time in their history the band went into the studio with a title chosen. The album would be called Blackwater Park, a name chosen after the German 70’s progressive rock band of the same name. Åkerfeldt has always been obsessed with obscure 70’s progressive rock (Still Life was named after a British rock band from the same era) and while Opeth may not have taken too much influence directly from the band Blackwater Park’s single release, he has suggested that knowing the title beforehand gave them direction in some small way. Another change between releases is that Blackwater Park was set to be released on yet another new label for the band. After only one album on Peaceville Records, Opeth signed an agreement with American label Koch Records (now known as E1 Music). I can’t find much info on why this change occurred, but I can only guess that the move was an attempt to crack into the American market, which is something previous albums had failed to do. After spending time on Candlelight and Peaceville, this would be Opeth’s first venture out onto a non-metal specific label, albeit one that also distributed Cradle of Filth. These differences are of course minor in the scheme of things, but the involvement of Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson certainly was not.

A month prior to recording Blackwater Park, Mikael had been having dinner with Wilson and they began to discuss the idea of the Porcupine Tree legend producing the upcoming album. Wilson displayed interest in the idea and after hearing some of Mikael’s demo material, agreed to travel to Sweden for the job. The idea was not for Wilson to oversee the entire seven weeks recording, but to come in midway through to make suggestions and add an alternate perspective. In fact, by the time he arrived at Studio Fredman, Opeth had already recorded the drums, rhythms, bass and acoustic guitars, leaving Wilson to produce only the clean vocals and guitar leads. It’s therefore pretty hard to understand how he made such a significant difference to the Opeth sound, but Mikael has stated that Wilson had “an immense impact on the recording” and that he took the band into “a new phase”. He suggested numerous “fucked up” ideas that Opeth would not normally have considered, including “strange noises for guitars and voice”, and yet they decided to implement pretty much all of them given their respect and trust for Wilson as a producer and musician. One of the most obvious influences can be heard on Drapery Falls with the so-called “telephone voice” often found in Porcupine Tree showing up in Opeth for the first time. On top of this, Wilson contributed some vocals, piano and guitar to the album, making his twelve day input into Blackwater Park invaluable.

When Blackwater Park was released on the 21st of February 2001, it was obvious immediately that Wilson’s involvement had caused a shift in Opeth’s sound, but that adjustment was more to do with production values than song structure. Opeth’s fifth album has a fantastic sheen to it where every part of the experience comes to life in crystal clear clarity, without reducing the metallic force. There was nothing particularly wrong with the production on previous albums, but Blackwater Park just feels ultimately more professional from start to finish, which when combined with slightly less intricate arrangements and storytelling (no drawn out, ever-shifting epics and no mood-controlling concepts), unsurprisingly resulted in Opeth’s most successful release and one that doubled their popularity overnight. All the elements that make Opeth so breathtaking are still present, with acoustic guitar mixed with highly atmospheric riffs, passionate growls switching seamlessly to emotionally moving clean vocals, and an often surprising progressive tendency that impresses on a musical level while never sacrificing “the song”. Wilson’s efforts would have all come to naught if the underlying creations weren’t awesome and Blackwater Park has eight memorable and awe-inspiring pieces at its disposal. So much so that comparing the least impressive moments on the album to attempts by the numerous clones that have popped up since merely highlights how far above the pack Opeth really are.

Speaking of highlights, there are four or five tracks here that deserve extra mention, and stand as some of the best examples of what Åkerfeldt and co are capable of. The Leper Affinity opens with some of the heaviest sections on the album before taking the listener through the whole Opeth repertoire of gorgeous leads, perfectly executed changes in tempo, atmosphere galore and even an elegant piano outro, but it’s Bleak that stands out as the album highlight for me. Mikael’s guttural vocals have never been better than they are right here and the lead guitars are simply breathtaking in combination. By the end you can’t help but feel a bit drained, which makes third track Harvest even more welcome than it would have been in any context. Opeth had already created brilliant acoustic ballads on their last couple of albums (Benighted and Credence), but they outdid themselves here. Harvest is stunning, not only a testament to Mikael’s ability to move the listener, but a fine example of how talented he is as a clean vocalist, despite what some naysayers out there might have you believe. The other track I’d like to pinpoint is Dirge for November, which is basically four minutes of hypnotic, melancholic bliss bookended by truly sumptuous acoustics. Although I’ve made some attempt above, I don’t believe Blackwater Park is an album that can be described in word form. It’s a magnificent piece of work for which the only true comparisons come from the band’s own body of work, and one you really should have in your collection.

An album that moves me immensely, diSEMBOWELMENT is an experience unlike any other!

I've always been proud of my country. Australia is a fine place to live and considering our population size, we hold our own in the sporting arena. We've produced many famous actors that have made it big in Hollywood ranging from Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman to Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman. But one area we are most definitely lacking in is the realm of metal music. The metal scene in Australia is appalling when compared to the US, the UK, and pretty much anywhere in Europe or Scandinavia. Of course, there is the occasional diamond in the rough, such as Destroyer 666, Mournful Congregation, The Amenta and Alchemist (I wonder how many of you reading this, own anything by the above bands?!) Anyway, the point is that there is only one metal band that makes me extremely proud to be Australian and that band is diSEMBOWELMENT. Transcendence Into the Peripheral is diSEMBOWELMENT's one and only full length release, but it's the only one they ever needed to create. No other band has ever managed to replicate what they produced here and since they never even tried themselves, it will always remain a unique and treasured piece of work.

This is death doom metal of the highest order! But I'm not talking about gothic, romantic death doom such as My Dying Bride would produce. I'm talking funeral doom levels of despondency and minimalism combined with full throttle blast beats and perfectly placed double bass kicking. Out of all the bands labelled death doom, there is none more appropriate than this one as both death metal and funeral doom are combined into an exquisitely dark hybrid of cold, sorrowful, desolation. It's hard for me to explain how much this music moves me. It just about brings me to tears at times through pure emotional connection and I simply don't want the album to end. It's the kind of album that I want to show friends and family so that they too may experience the wonders of diSEMBOWELMENT, even though there's not a chance in the world that a single one of them would find anything that they remotely enjoy. After all, the drumming is at times so minimal, you're not sure when the next beat is going to arrive. Then at other times it comes at you in a barrage of aggression and brutality. The vocals are sickeningly low and guttural at times and then tortured and angry at others.

The riffs are low tuned and repetitive with a production that almost leaves them behind while still making your speakers shake. Even the gorgeous (how did they find that guitar sound!?) melodies that counteract all the darkness beneath seem to have an almost alien presence of their own that fills the listener with a sort of unease. There are not all that many people on this planet (and I'm not trying to be elitist here) that can enjoy this type of music. But those that can are in for a journey unlike any other. Every track is amazing so it's difficult to pick out highlights, but I don't think any move me more than Your Prophetic Throne of Ivory, The Spirit of the Tall Trees and Cerulean Transience of All My Imagined Shores. I might sound like some sort of marketing guy for the band (unlikely since they disbanded 15 years ago) or even an overly patriotic individual looking for something to claim, but honestly, this is one of the very best albums in my extensive collection of metal and I damn well want to tell the world about it. If you can cope with the more depressive sounding side of extreme metal, then do yourself a favour. You need to experience this!

Satyricon's most ferocious and epic album that contains some truly classic tracks.

While I had no reservations in giving Satyricon’s debut album Dark Medieval Times a full 5 stars, I wasn’t quite as convinced by the follow-up The Shadowthrone. The band’s direction had shifted slightly more in favour of folk influences which took a little bit of consistent enjoyment away for me. It was still a good album with many fine moments, but I hoped that these Norwegian’s would produce something a bit more focused and blacker for their next recording. As it turned out, Nemesis Divina (which means Divine Nemesis in Latin) gave me the exact sound I was eager for, being the most ferocious album Satyricon would ever produce. It would also be the last true black metal album the band would produce before they began adding more industrial and, dare I say, mainstream aspects to later recordings. Thankfully, they unleashed this wonderful piece of destruction for their fans before the unavoidable and controversial shift in sound.

Satyr and Frost are present as usual, with the only change in line-up coming with Kvelduv (Nocturno Culto from Darkthrone) taking the place of Samoth on guitar. The switch meant that Satyr took over bass duties to go with his vocals and lead guitar. I don’t know how much Kvelduv had to do with the writing process on Nemesis Divina, but there’s no doubt that his entrance resulted in a far more vicious sound. Frost is at the top of his game throughout this album. His blast beats are furious (not to mention perfectly executed) and he adds variety and power to every part of Nemesis Divina. It’s really the album where he put his name up next to the likes of Hellhammer as one of the very elite drummers in black metal. Satyr’s vocals are also at their most venomous, remaining almost completely decipherable while giving every word absolute conviction. Yet there’s no doubt that the reason this album is so gripping is due to the cold, yet majestic riffs. It’s like a tutorial on how to perform black metal riffs with classic after classic coming at the listener with endless intensity. The band may have simplified their sound stylistically, yet the underlying structures are quite complex, shifting in velocity and tone regularly.

With all the praise I’ve been spraying around over the last couple of paragraphs, it may seem a given that I’ll give Nemesis Divina full marks. Well I have to say it hasn’t been that clear cut. There are a few fluffy moments that really stand out as breaking the mood (the folk/piano piece at the end of Forhekset in particular) and the closing instrumental Transcendental Requiem of Slaves is basically a collection of (admittedly decent) leftover riffs clumsily flung together. Yet despite these flaws, there’s no doubt in my mind that the album contains some of the absolute best material recorded not only by Satyricon, but in black metal in general. The Dawn of a New Age, Mother North and Immortality Passion are just incredible examples of epic black metal, created by three individuals firing on all cylinders. Simply put, if you like black metal in the slightest, Nemesis Divina damn well should be part of your collection.

Stunning, creative and disturbing. Written in Waters is an essential piece of music for anyone openminded.

Written in Waters is not the type of album you can listen to just once, then make a judgement. It's so unique and creative that it takes a few times through just to come to grips with. All the members of this band would go on to take part in other wonderful black metal projects such as <code>, Arcturus and Dodheimsgard, and it's clearly apparent by looking at that list of bands alone, that these guys are simply not happy to restrict their musical ambitions to genre norms. But Ved Buens Ende would have to be the strangest entity of them all and possibly the most cherished (along with Arcturus), building up a huge bunch of dedicated fans despite only ever releasing one full length album. To be honest, it's all we ever needed, and I personally don't see how they could ever have topped what they produced here.

This is not easy music to describe. It's undoubtedly black metal at times, but then very far from it at others. Singular, discordant chords are combined with snaking, transfixing bass lines, perfectly executed and highly creative percussion and crooning, haunting vocals. There's a huge emphasis on the bass during the slower parts, which gives the whole thing a very un-black metal sound (think jazz). But then somehow it doesn't seem out of place when the black metal sections kick in. There's something rather disturbing and morbid about even the lightest of pieces on Written in Waters, which is why I think even the most hardened black metal fan can still appreciate the eclecticism on show here. I can't rave on enough about the musicianship by all involved. Each instrument (including the vocals) is played in an adventurous, experimental way, yet the band managed a subtlety that avoids so many "avant-garde" creations.

Despite all this creativity, Written in Waters hardly puts a foot wrong. I must admit that third track It's Magic doesn't quite achieve what it's going for, but all the other 8 tracks are stunning. Highlights are I Sang for the Swans, You That May Wither, Den Saakaldte and Carrier of Wounds. Written in Waters is one of those albums that makes us metalheads extremely proud. When the inexperienced out there attack the music we are so passionate about for being one dimensional or aggressive nonsense (and many try to do so), we can relax with the knowledge that bands like Ved Buens Ende (along with so many others) have produced immensely intelligent and ground-breaking music that's comparable to anything else out there. If you've experienced and found joy in artists such as Fleurety and Arcturus, Ved Buens Ende should be an essential part of your collection.

Deserving of its cult status! Full of intensely dismal yet utterly beautiful funeral doom metal.

I try hard not to be affected by the underground cult status of albums when reviewing them. So many times, I have come across releases that are considered cult classics, only to find that their status has more to do with the controversial or unique circumstances surrounding their creation, rather than the quality of the music itself. Worship’s Last Tape Before Doomsday seemed a perfect candidate for this, containing all the attributes that generally lead to cult status, to the point where I couldn’t help but be sceptical prior to listening. Before I disclose my own personal judgement of the album, it’s worth exploring the origins of Worship for anyone out there not yet familiar, and the reasons why Last Tape Before Doomsday is such a curiosity for so many. The band was formed in Germany early in 1999 by vocalist and drummer Max Varnier (aka Fucked-Up Mad Max) and guitarist Daniel Pharos (aka The Doommonger). At the time, Max was the editor for French zine Ocean Morphique as well as a member of black metal band Kult and death metal band Beer Vomit, while Daniel was the guitarist for little known doom band Somber Serenity. Within only a few months, the duo recorded a four-track demo called Last Tape Before Doomsday, which as the name suggests, was released in very limited cassette form by Max’s own Impaler of Trendies Productions label.

That’s right, this highly loved album, which currently sits at number three on the all-time funeral doom metal charts on Rate Your Music, was in fact never intended for official release at all. However, the positive response to the cassette led to it being re-released in 2000 by Japanese label Weird Truth, yet once again it was cassette only and limited to 300 hand-numbered copies. You’d have to think that by this stage Worship were known only to the smallest minority in the metal scene, which suggests that what occurred on July the 23rd 2001 had nowhere near the impact that it would have given Worship’s status today. During a trip to Canada, Max Varnier committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. It’s always difficult to tell in hindsight if an occurrence like this increased the interest in a band or whether the popularity growth would have transpired regardless, but Last Tape Before Doomsday’s rise unquestionably picked up from this point. Belgium label Painiac re-released the demo on vinyl in 2002, changing the name appropriately to Last Vinyl Before Doomsday, which was limited to 400 copies, before Weird Truth released Last CD Before Doomsday in 2004, this time limited to 500 copies. Worship’s rise to recognition was finally complete when Last CD Before Doomsday, which contains a bonus track titled Keep on Selling Cocaine to Angels, was given an unlimited release in 2006.

So, we’ve got a previously little-known extreme doom demo, with a gradually increased release through more and more accessible forms of media, by a band whose front man took his life a couple of years after recording. If that doesn’t demand cult status, then I don’t know what does! Thankfully, this treasure does in fact live up to all the “worship” and is yet another case where I owe the people of Rate Your Music a case of beer. Worship really had a point to prove with this release, seemingly choosing to create the antithesis of where so-called doom metal was heading at the time. Bands such as My Dying Bride, Anathema, Paradise Lost and Katatonia had all moved on to more progressive, more gothic or more alternative pastures in recent times. Mad Max and The Doommonger seemed determined to bring back the doom and Last Tape Before Doomsday is one of the most gut-wrenchingly crushing and beautifully emotive albums I’ve had the pleasure of submitting myself to. For a demo the production is not too shabby at all, with a chunky guitar sound, powerful vocals and a perfectly adequate drum sound. Even when things get quiet, the minimalistic acoustic and piano sections have an incredibly dense atmosphere without sacrificing clarity in the slightest. Its only inaccessibility comes from the fact that Worship play extremely depressive and sinister sounding funeral doom.

Opening track Whispering Gloom is without doubt the highlight of Last Tape Before Doomsday. Its gorgeously dark melodies, moody slower sections and Max’s passion filled, guttural emissions, make for an emotionally draining yet entrancing experience. Most lyrics on the album are in German but it makes absolutely no difference whatsoever, which is testament to both to Max’s performance and the sheer extremity of his style. Probably the closest comparison I can make to this sound when thinking of more modern bands is Johan Ericson’s Doom:VS, which has a similar vibe and use of varied techniques without sacrificing the doom for even a moment. Second track Solicide and the Dawning of the Moonkult is just as epic, if perhaps a little less memorable, as is the comparatively swift percussion driven Eclipse of Sorrow that recalls the more violent side of the apocalyptic Winter. Final track Worship is the deal-clincher for me. A monolithic beast with about one drum beat per minute (slight exaggeration in case you’re wondering) and a truly magnificent guitar melody (if you can call it that given how gloomy it is). By the time these fifteen minutes of blissful despondency, including the eerily hypnotic ambient central interval, have run their course, there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that Last Tape Before Doomsday is worthy of its lofty position in funeral doom metal history, and I only regret that doomsday took so long to descend upon my world in the first place. Essential for all lovers of funeral doom!

An immensely ambitious and classy epic that deserves every bit of praise it receives.

Early Edge of Sanity albums were hit and miss to me. While each album has some great material, they all contain some misadventures, and try to fit in too many ideas that lessen the impact of what is otherwise great death metal. After Purgatory Afterglow, I’d pretty much decided that Dan Swano and co. needed to cut down on creativity and focus on doing what comes naturally. As it turns out, they did the opposite and took on the most ambitious project of their career, and I couldn’t be more grateful. There are not many instances of metal bands creating one album length track and pulling it off. There are a few funeral doom efforts (Monolithe comes to mind) but that style of music is so drawn out, with minimal instrumentation, so it isn’t that much of a stretch. Meshuggah have done it too, but their efforts don’t really return to common themes and instead branch off onto numerous tangents. The only band I can think of that has managed anything like what Edge of Sanity produced here is Green Carnation and it has to be said that 2001’s Light of Day, Day of Darkness owes an awful lot to Crimson despite bearing no resemblance to death metal.

The Story: Humanity is dying. Not due to the environmental impact of our ways, but for the simple fact that we can no longer procreate. I’m not certain that the reasons for this are ever explained, but the result is that human civilization is close to extinction. Miraculously, the King and Queen of Earth manage to have a female child just when all seems lost, but the Queen dies during childbirth. As would certainly be the case, this miracle daughter is seen as a sign that God wishes for the continuation of our race, yet the girl passes into teenage years while the population diminishes to desperate levels. After the King passes away, fighting commences as many vie to become his successor. The remaining people of Earth are not happy with the man who takes the crown, so they convince the child to lead a coup. While preparing to lead her forces, in a Faustian moment, she accepts the temptations of evil to gain magical powers. These powers allow her to slay the illegitimate King and take over as ruler of Earth. Yet despite being the one that would bring humanity back to its former glory, she betrays them and kills the elders, causing the people to rise up against her. They neutralize her power by blinding her and place her in crimson fluid.

OK, so the above won’t win any literature awards. But it does mean the listener is going to experience a rollercoaster of emotions including loss, hope, betrayal and revenge. Even if I don’t listen carefully to the lyrics, which are generally perfectly intelligible, I can often tell where I’m up to in the storyline through the tone of the music. In the end though, the following of the story is not remotely important when it comes to enjoying Crimson. The music will have you completely immersed for the entire 40 minutes and the more you dedicate to it, the more it will bear fruit in return. There are so many stunning riffs that cross the whole spectrum of metal and the album even reaches outside the boundaries of the genre without breaching the tone or quality. After several listens, I started to recognize which sections were approaching and to look forward to the return of my favourite themes, such as the pure death metal movement that is unleashed around the 5 minute mark or the wonderful melody that is introduced around the 12 minute mark. No matter which sections you get the most enjoyment out of, chances are the band return to them at some point, which makes for a personally satisfying yet stunningly varied experience.

The production is flawless which isn’t surprising given Dan’s involvement in the recording process himself. While he certainly can play all the instruments on Crimson himself (he pretty much does for the sequel), I think the album benefits from the playing styles of all involved. It’s the same line-up that performed on all previous Edge of Sanity albums accept that Dan now adds guitar to his normal vocal and keyboard duties. This means there are three guitarists performing throughout the album with Sami Nerberg on the left, Andreas Axelsson on the right, and Dan in the centre. The result is a lush, full sound that is given further diversity through acoustic sections and guest leads by Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth. Dan’s death growls are filled with passion and remain entirely comprehensible at all times. They’re certainly powerful, but then they’re not too extreme, meaning progressive metal fans that are not necessarily into death metal have been able to find a lot to enjoy on Crimson. In many cases, Edge of Sanity (along with Opeth) have convinced these fans to broaden their accepted musical criteria, which can only be a good thing. Once again, Mikael adds his recognisable clean voice and growls at regular intervals, which are brilliant as usual.

I’m not sure what caused Edge of Sanity to attempt this project. Maybe Axelsson and Swano came up with the storyline and figured the only way to do it justice would be a full-length concept album, which just ended up being one track. Or perhaps they simply wanted to challenge themselves, to see whether they could possibly keep a listener enthralled for 40 continuous minutes, while structuring the whole experience around several recurring themes. Either way, not only did they succeed in this task, but they managed to produce one of the very finest pieces of work in the world of metal. Crimson is the type of album that not only gives me immense enjoyment on a personal level, but it also fills me with a certain sense of pride. While my affection, not to mention obsession, towards metal music is never in doubt, monolithic albums like Crimson make me extremely proud of this passion, rising far above the reach of any of the constant flow of criticism that is so often directed its way. The album is currently in the top 5 death metal albums of all time on Rate Your Music and I for one won’t be arguing with that position. It’s ambitious, classy and downright astonishing from start to finish.

Well-crafted mid paced black metal with an industrial edge. This is Samael's best work!

While I certainly enjoy Samael's first two albums, there's no doubt that Ceremony of Opposites is where they really lifted their game. It's immediately apparent that the production level is far superior than what came before it, with a fantastic, crunchy sound and clarity for all musicians involved. But perhaps what's not immediately apparent is how much it differs musically from Worship Him and Blood Ritual. Ceremony of Opposites still has the classic slow to mid paced riffs and drumming, along with keyboards for atmosphere and Vorphalak's distinctive black metal vocals. There's still nothing particularly technical about anything the band do and thematically, things haven't shifted at all. But while on paper it sounds like just another Samael album, it’s something much, much more.

Vorphalak's riffs are both heavy and extremely catchy, making the entire album a memorable experience. His vocals still contain that unique accent that created some awkward moments on earlier albums, but he appears far more assured of himself here. Xytras' drumming is much more aggressive without ever approaching any sort of high speed. He brings in some double bass kicking at times but never anything resembling blast beats. Still, each beat is incredibly precise and intense and it's all a perfect example of when restraint is far more effective than flashy extravagances. One of the biggest changes for this album is that Xytras didn't perform keyboards on it, with a guy called Rodolphe taking over. It's strange that this occurred as Xytras handled this aspect on every album prior to this one and every album since, but it certainly gives Ceremony of Opposites its own unique flavour. His little flourishes add greatly to every track and give tracks such as Baphomet's Throne a life of their own.

Ceremony of Opposites is very possibly the best album this Swiss band would ever release, with only Passage coming close in my opinion and most of their newer material disappointing greatly. It's 36-minute running time seems to fly by and while I can easily attach words such as memorable and catchy to this material, it never comes across as soft or even particularly melodic. It's just well-crafted mid paced black metal with an industrial edge and great atmosphere. Highlights for me are Black Trip, Celebration of the Fourth, Baphomet's Throne, Flagellation and the title track. If you want to find out what the black metal side of Samael was all about before they went purely industrial, this is a great place to start.

After an incredible debut album, Morbid Angel had a seriously difficult task to try and outdo it. After all, Altars of Madness was by far and away the most intense and brutal death metal album ever released back in 1989, just dripping with classics from start to finish. While it's arguable whether Blessed Are the Sick is a better album than Altars of Madness, it's most definitely another brilliant, classic release that once again upped the ante for evil sounding death metal.

The production got a big boost from the debut, with the guitars, drums and vocals all much heavier and crunchier this time around. Dave's vocals are much more guttural rather than raspy. Pete Sandoval's drumming is out of this world and the riffs on just about every track are just jaw dropping! But what really stands out on this album is the level of intensity and excitement. Tracks such as Fall From Grace, Brainstorm and Unholy Blasphemies just make me want to go crazy and jump around smashing things. They are pure unadulterated darkness and energy and I love them immensely.

But what's also so great about Morbid Angel is their variety. While the above songs smash everything at high velocity, others such as Blessed Are the Sick are slower and crushingly heavy. Then there are brilliant instrumental pieces that are clearly created by talented musicians rather than just tacked on for the sake of filling time. Doomsday Celebration and Desolate Ways are moving pieces of work that I can listen to separately for pure enjoyment and In Remembrance is a perfectly fitting end to this amazing album. Essential!!!

I'm going to say it right here! This is Pestilence's best album! No, I'm not suggesting that their previous albums weren’t great, because they absolutely were to varying degrees. But Spheres is an amazing achievement both technically and musically and I simply cannot understand why there are so many metal listeners out there (the band included) that consider it to be a failure. There is no other album that sounds like this one, and in a genre filled with bands that sound almost identical, that should not be ignored. It's utterly otherworldly in atmosphere, compellingly original, technically superb and above all, damn entertaining!

I guess I find it difficult to read some of the reviews on here that label this album things like "pretty much a stinker" and "Cynic-lite". But what I find more difficult is the way the band themselves (now that they have reformed) calling this release a failed experiment and promising not to put any of that overly technical, jazzy, electronic shite in the new release. They were clearly passionate about this stuff at the time and turning their backs on the albums fans 15 years later is insulting.

OK, so I've got all that out. I feel better now! Honestly, if you do enjoy progressive death metal such as Atheist and Cynic, then Spheres should be at the very top of your listening list. The riffs are insane, the solos are exquisite, the vocals are first rate, the lyrics are intelligent and thought provoking, the drumming is brilliant, and the bass work is utterly god like. Tracks like Mind Reflections, The Level of Perception, the beautiful Personal Energy and Demise of Time are jaw dropping, but to be honest, the whole 33 minutes is magical indeed. Don't be fooled by the rating, Spheres is massively underrated and one of my very favourite albums!

I purchased this album as soon as it came out and loved it straight away. I didn't know it at the time (it was my first experience with the band), but Overkill had really tightened the screws with this release. Their albums have always been fun but prior to Horrorscope, they just lacked a little consistency in my opinion. Albums like Years of Decay and Taking Over are fan favourites (and I enjoy them), but I found them to be slightly hit and miss. When the band put their heads down and structured their tracks, they always impressed me, but occasionally things got a bit silly and the wheels fell off somewhat. Horrorscope finds the band in awesome form and they clearly spent a whole heap of time making sure everything was tight and worthy.

Bobby Blitz's vocals also improved dramatically on Horrorscope and while he's still an acquired taste, there are far less awkward moments that make me cringe. The guitar sound is great and the production in general is top notch. I think some of the bands finest tracks are on this album with Coma, Horrorscope, Live Young, Die Free and Soulitude topping the list. Overkill have released an amazing number of albums of the years (15 at last count!) but I see this as the highlight of a long thrashing career.

I've listened to this album several times over the past few weeks. I have to say that the first few times I did, the album just kind of passed me by without really grabbing me. That may seem strange, particularly as this is rather brutal death metal with a great, heavy production. How could an album so intense not keep my attention and allow my mind to wander? In hindsight, I think there are two answers to that question. Firstly, there is virtually nothing catchy about Onward to Golgotha. No massive hooks that you'll be humming through the day. The lyrics are indecipherable for the majority, so you won't be singing along any time soon. It's crushing, oppressive music that relies on pitch black atmosphere and low tuned, damn heavy musicianship. Secondly, I think I found something rather comforting in all this morbid filth. I've found myself pondering life and all its intricacies while Incantation give me a good sensory battering simultaneously. Maybe it's the nostalgia of a time when death metal was much more exciting. When overproduced clones hadn't all but destroyed the scene.

Anyway, I'm glad I kept at it, as Onward to Golgotha is a massive album and once given the time, will start to connect as it was intended. The band that comes to mind the most is Immolation, particularly the dark twisted riffs and extremely low death growls. But Incantation also have a doom element that shows up throughout some of the longer tracks that almost sounds like funeral doom in its oppressive nature although it never reaches that level of plodding minimalism. Tracks like Christening the Afterbirth remind me of death metal era My Dying Bride with all the guitar squeals, but Incantation is a far heavier affair than those British legends. In the end, I highly recommend this album to any old school death metal fans out there and look forward to checking out some of their other earlier albums. Highlights for me are Rotting Spiritual Embodiment, Christening the Afterbirth and Deliverance of Horrific Prophecies.

Pure Holocaust indeed! Extremely cold black metal the way it was intended.

It has always been rather difficult for me to listen to Immortal without having images of a whacked-up Popeye on vocals, knocking back cans of spinach in between each track. While you'd think that this image might ruin all atmosphere and darkness that this album would otherwise contain, I seem to be able to get over it long enough to enjoy what is a legendary album in the black metal genre. Pure Holocaust is a perfectly fitting title for this release as most of it moves at a relentless speed. Even when the rhythm section slows down a tad, Abbath continues his double bass kicking and blast beating as if the guy simply couldn't stop if he wanted to.

Immortal may have been hugely influenced by Mayhem, but they certainly added their own flavour to the genre. The Viking battle element in the lyrics and song titles is matched by the cold, epic feel in Demonaz's riffs. Immortal have always known how to create an extremely icy atmosphere and it's there in spades on Pure Holocaust. Despite my comments earlier, I think Abbath's vocals, no matter how silly they may appear to outsiders, are frickin’ awesome and perfectly suited to Immortal's sound. As mentioned earlier, his drumming is powerful and relentless, but it must be said that it's also a bit messy at times. Quite often I am distracted by a slightly out of time beat here or there that the band clearly didn't care about at the time of the recording.

Flaws aside, Pure Holocaust is a great example of black metal played the way it was intended. Raw, aggressive, and damn cold. Unsilent Storms in the North Abyss is one the greatest tracks the band ever put out (even though unsilent just isn't a word, nor would you ever consider a storm to be silent in the first place) and A Sign for the Norse Hordes to Ride isn't far behind. While there will always be those that do not understand why this album is so good, I recommend anyone that likes their black metal extreme to go check this out. Here's hoping the reformed Immortal will head back into the studio shortly.

I've always been part of the camp that thinks Exodus are overrated. I think the main reason for this is that I prefer my metal to be dark and for the most part serious. What Fabulous Disaster proves without a doubt is that Exodus know how to create fun, but ultimately silly, thrash metal. There are obviously heaps of fans out there they crack open a beer and jump up and down, moshing their head to this stuff, but I guess I'm just not one of them.

Once again, I enjoy a few tracks like Fabulous Disaster, Like Father, Like Son and even The Toxic Waltz in a strange way, but overall, I find most of the album to be average. Open Season, Corruption and Cajun Hell just pass by without grabbing my attention, and Low Rider and closer Overdose add perfectly to my collection of cover versions I really could have done without, particularly as Zetro's vocal style sounds almost identical to AC/DC's singer Bon Scott. Overall, I think that Exodus play decent thrash metal that's easy to listen to while never really reaching the quality of some of the better bands like Slayer, Metallica, Coroner and Kreator.

Another crushing Bolt Thrower album that takes their war theme into the modern era.

I don't ever expect Bolt Thrower to change all that much between releases, nor would I want them to. Their crushing mid paced death metal is somehow unique due to very particular playing styles and boundaries that these Brits put in place very early on in their career. Any move away from these limitations just wouldn't be Bolt Thrower anymore. But what all this means is that the band must make minor adjustments along the way to stop things becoming too repetitive and somehow, they manage to succeed in this task consistently. 1992's The IVth Crusade a massive album and a difficult one to follow up, but ...For Victory easily matches it and is considered by many to be their best release.

There's a slight shift thematically once again. While their first few albums were drenched in fantasy battle and historical crusades, ...For Victory finally focuses on modern warfare with devastating results. Importantly, the band manage to capture all the excitement of war, without neglecting the serious and shocking results of their chosen theme. Nor do they lack respect for those that have been unfortunate enough to have lost their lives in battle. As usual, Karl's vocals are fantastic, as is Andy Whale on drums. But what's obvious when listening to this album is how single-minded and tight the three guitarists are. By this stage, Barry Thompson, Gavin Ward and Jo-Anne Bench have been in the band together around 7 years (they're all still there today!) and their styles complement each other incredibly well. I don't listen to individual performance when listening to Bolt Thrower. I listen to a single unstoppable force that crushes everything (including me) in its path.

Every track has great riffs, but the highlights for me are without a doubt Remembrance, Lest We Forget and the brilliant title track. It's quite simple with Bolt Thrower. If you like any of their other albums, then you're going to love this one. If you didn't enjoy The IVth Crusade, then ...For Victory is unlikely to win you over. For us long term fans, it's just another awesome release in a long line of death metal goodness.

After Warmaster streamlined Bolt Thrower's rampaging sound, The IVth Crusade took it one step further. This album is Bolt Thrower in absolute prime form, with track after track of monstrous, riff-based death metal. While these Brits have never been about shredding wildly or technical brilliance, they still manage to create masses of atmosphere and a level of excitement through crushing force of weight. The band were working completely in union by this stage, like a singular moving wave of death metal.

It's true that Bolt Thrower haven't really branched out at all in their entire 20 years in existence, but then no-one else really sounds like they do. They have a completely unique approach that works wonderfully well. With tracks like The IVth Crusade, Icon, Embers and Spearhead, I'm certainly not complaining. I'm still not sure I can give this release 5 stars as much as I'd like to. The tracks do start to get a bit samey towards the end and the leads are not all that fantastic. But I'm nit-picking what is a monumentally awesome album and essential for anyone into extreme metal.

I started listening to The Rack, expecting to be blown away by another great early 90s album. I have to say I've been left a bit underwhelmed. But before I get into that, I need to state that I find it hard to understand why this is being voted as death doom metal (for its primary genre) by so many fans. Yes, The Rack occasionally slows down and touches on atmospheric, slightly doomy sections. But for most of its running time, it's straight forward death metal all the way. It certainly doesn't resemble death doom metal bands like My Dying Bride or Saturnus in any way, shape of form. But I'll stop being pedantic about silly labels and move on.

There are a bunch of good riffs throughout The Rack, particularly on the 9-minute title track. I do find much enjoyment to be had within Vermin, Diabolical Existence and Evocation. When the band add small touches of melody, things start getting interesting. But there are also quite a few tracks that leave me feeling a bit empty. It doesn't help that I find Martin van Drunen's vocals to be fairly grating at times. I didn't completely enjoy his work on Pestilence either although it’s hard to put my finger on why. Then again, there are heaps of fans out there that think he's great, so I guess it's each to their own.

The Rack is a mildly entertaining album that has a few tracks of note. But when I compare it to other albums of this ilk from the early 90s, it doesn’t quite match up. In my opinion, this is not an essential album. A good album…but not essential.

A controversial yet undeniable classic that set the bar for metal intensity.

Reviewing Slayer’s Reign in Blood album is probably a bit pointless. After all, the album has received so much recognition and praise over the years that me adding my own five cents isn’t going to make much difference. We’re talking about an album that received plaudits such as: Kerrang! Magazine described it as “the heaviest album of all time”. Metal Hammer Magazine named it “the best metal album of the last 20 years”. Stylus Magazine added “the greatest album of all time”. Over two decades later and the recognition just keeps on coming. It came in at number 1 in Terrorizer Magazine’s reader’s poll for “most important album of the eighties”. It’s even included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, a very big deal considering how shunned metal usually gets in such lists. When guitarist Kerry King was asked why Reign in Blood is so special to so many people, his answer was "If you released Reign in Blood today, no one would give a shit. It was timing; it was a change in sound. In thrash metal at that time, no one had ever heard good production on a record like that. It was just a bunch of things that came together at once." After witnessing Slayer perform the entire album live at the end of their set list in Sydney a few months back, I can safely say that Mr King is wrong. This wasn’t just right time, right place. Reign in Blood is as fucking awesome today as it was in 1986!

Let’s take a trip back to that very year and see how this classic album came about. Slayer’s previous album Hell Awaits had been a huge success and the band’s producer and manager Brian Slagel knew that there was every possibility that their next release could hit the big time. Rather than continue with the low budgets and not particularly advanced recording equipment that his own label Metal Blade Records could offer the band, Slagel aimed high and began discussions with several larger scale labels. One of these labels was New York based Def Jam Recordings, but when founder Rick Rubin expressed interest in Slayer, Slagel was reluctant due to Def Jam being primarily a hip hop label. When drummer Lombardo was informed of the interest from Def Jam, he tried to make contact with Rubin on his own accord, eventually tracking him down through Def Jam’s distributor Columbia Records. He convinced Rubin to attend a Slayer concert where he clearly made the decision that he needed this band on his label. He would eventually track the band and Slagel down at a European music convention, where he persuaded them to sign with Def Jam Recordings. This decision was key to the success of Reign in Blood as having a major label recording budget combined with the fresh perspective of a producer with no previous experience with metal resulted in an album vastly different to any that had come before it.

Once Reign in Blood was finally released on October 7, 1986, it was immediately met with enormous critical praise, but Slayer would face controversy both prior to and following that release date. Columbia Records refused to distribute the album due to its graphic artwork and lyrical content, with Rubin eventually distributing the album through Geffen Records. Even Geffen were fearful of backlash and purposely left Reign in Blood off their release schedule for fear of negative media attention. (For more info on this controversy and its impact on the public and band, see the sidenote at the end of this review.) Slayer’s target audience, being fairly used to litigious content in their albums, were unfazed, and were blown away by the clarity, precision and power of the new material. King later remarked "It was like, 'Wow—you can hear everything, and those guys aren't just playing fast; those notes are on time'" which is arrogantly put but bang on the money. The production was so good that it became apparent that the chaotic and frenzied nature of Slayer’s music was in fact incalculably talent-filled, controlled aggression. Every element of the band is performed at high speed with a natural technicality that never feels forced, just brutally organic. But this increase in production is by no means the only shift in the Slayer sound.

The band had become bored with the predictable structures and repetition of riffs that filled their previous albums, as well as those by thrash metal legends Metallica and Megadeth. They decided to cut the excess off, leaving only the most intense material and not giving the listener any chance to relax. This method resulted in a ten-track record with a running time of less than 29 minutes, but Slayer fit more into this short period of time than most hour-long epics could dream of. Each track joins onto the next one seamlessly making Reign in Blood play like one solid half hour of awe-inspiring thrash metal ferocity. Opener Angel of Death runs into Piece by Piece which in turn becomes Necrophobic and before you know it you’re half way through an album of exceptionally recognisable classics seemingly without blinking or taking a breath. Hanneman and King lay waste with a continuous flow of awesome riffs and mind-blowing leads, Lombardo puts in a performance for the ages with flawlessly efficient yet crushingly potent drumming, while Araya hollers atrocities at a hundred miles an hour while remaining completely in command of proceedings. Each member of the band is in their prime and by the time the drool worthy title track breaks off into an apparent rain of the red stuff, you’ll be grinning ear to ear and desperately reaching for the play button again...and again...and again...

Sidenote: As mentioned earlier, Reign in Blood’s release was delayed due to concern over its lyrical themes and graphic artwork. The album cover was designed by Larry Carroll, who was known for his political illustrations for media such as The New York Times. It’s depiction of Hell, complete with a goat-headed Satan performing a Hitler salute and being carried on a throne surrounded by fire, severed heads and the impaled, was highly controversial and overtly satanic. To make matters worse, the subject matter, particularly the lyrics of opener Angel of Death, also provoked allegations of Nazism. The track describes the horrific acts of Nazi physician Josef Mengele, who was dubbed the Angel of Death due to his surgical experiments on patients at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. These acts included experimental surgeries performed without anaesthesia, transfusion of blood between twins, the sewing of bodies, isolation endurance, gassing, injections with lethal germs, sex change operations, the removal of organs and limbs, and abacination (where the victim is blinded by having a red hot metal plate held before their eyes), most of which are described in Slayer’s lyrics. The song caused outrage amongst Holocaust survivors and the public in general, with the band being labelled Nazi sympathisers and racists.

These labels would follow the band throughout their career and they’ve continually had to defend their use of the material. They’ve stated numerous times since the release of Reign in Blood that they do not condone Nazism and are merely interested in the subject. Hanneman was inspired to write the lyrics for Angel of Death after reading several books describing Mengele and his various forms of torture. He says the reason there is no mention in the lyrics that what Mengele was doing was evil is because he didn’t think it necessary. Surely that was obvious to everyone right?! As flimsy as this defence is, it certainly would have stood up better if the band hadn’t attempted to capitalise on the controversy by adding an eagle to their logo that distinctly resembles the Reichsadler (during Nazi rule, a stylised eagle combined with the Nazi swastika was made the national emblem by order of Adolf Hitler in 1935) for their early nineties releases. Check out the cover of Decade of Aggression if you’re not sure what I’m talking about. Hanneman also placed SS stickers on his guitars and wrote the song SS-3 for Divine Intervention which speaks of Reinhard Heydrich, the second in command in the Schutzstaffel, so if Slayer wanted to clear their name and rid themselves of this negativity, they certainly went about it the wrong way. I guess there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

A classic album that epitomizes everything that is black metal. Damn essential!

Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album was and is much more than just another black metal album. This release (and the band behind it) has a history attached to it that makes for fascinating reading (including murder, suicide and church burnings) and probably more than any other album, epitomizes what black metal was truly meant to be. Now I'm not one of those guys that says black metal should remain "true" and should never venture out into more experimental realms. Personally, I think that all genres become stale unless they broaden their influences and become a little adventurous at some point. Nor am I someone that encourages anti-authoritarian or anti-religious actions (despite my skeptical nature). But right from the outset, this wonderful little genre we call black metal was designed to be evil, inaccessible and morbidly atmospheric. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is all of those things and has an incredible aura attached to it that's difficult to describe.

First and foremost, I think Euronymous was simply a genius when it comes to writing malevolent, cold, black metal riffs. Every track on this album has multiple cracking riffs and I wish so very much that he had been able to continue his musical vision and not been cowardly slain by Varg. Hellhammer's drumming is incredible to say the least and while every performance he has ever produced is worth listening to, I think this one is the one he will be remembered for. It's strange to read that Varg's bass lines were lowered in the mix after he murdered Euronymous as I can't say it had all that much effect. They are usually quite audible throughout the album and are certainly of a high quality. Which brings me to without doubt the most controversial aspect of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Attila Csihar! I'll be the first to admit that Attila's vocals are incredibly strange and at times just downright ugly. When I first heard the album way back in the mid 90s, I was put off so much by his performance that I couldn't listen to the album at all. But slowly over time I came to accept them and then somehow, to love them. Perhaps it has a lot to do with the fact that the man has since performed for many other bands and it's just a matter of getting used them. Or perhaps they're just so spasmodically strange, that it takes quite a few listens to come to grips with. Either way, these days I can't imagine this classic album with any other vocalist and I truly think his creepy, chaotic style suits the backdrop perfectly.

There are no bad tracks to be found and it's difficult to pick out highlights, but I think my personal favourites would be Funeral Fog, Freezing Moon, Pagan Fears, Life Eternal, Buried by Time and Dust and the title track. As silly as it would be to call De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas underrated (it's considered a classic by thousands all over the world), I do think it is occasionally harshly judged due to the vocals. I highly encourage any black metal fans out there that haven't yet experienced this wonderful piece of history, to make sure they don't dismiss it too easily. It's slight inaccessibility (from a vocal point of view) only adds to the package and in my opinion, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is one of the very best albums extreme metal has to offer and a near perfect example of a style that makes my life so much more enjoyable!

An album of intensity and complexity, but one that fails to match the emotion and grandeur of past releases.

Emperor’s first two breathtakingly grand albums had set such a high standard that the prospect of matching them, let alone surpassing them, must have been daunting for the band to say the least. Their debut In the Nightside Eclipse had pretty much singlehandedly launched symphonic black metal and while scores of bands tried and failed to emulate it, Emperor went and upped the ante with the immense Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. In the years following its release, I along with thousands of other fans, were hanging out for another mesmerising wall of sound black metal masterpiece, as though it were just a given that Emperor would eventually produce it. It was just too hard to fathom that they could let us down, with Ihsahn, Samoth and Trym seemingly too gifted and ambitious to produce anything but pure atmospheric gold. The only change in line-up since Anthems had been recorded was bassist Alver leaving the band, but considering Ihsahn was more than capable of taking his place in the studio, and that Alver’s performance was all but inaudible on the previous album, the loss was unlikely to have much of a negative impact. When IX Equilibrium was finally released on November the 23rd 1999, I picked it up and raced home, heart literally pounding in anticipation while I ripped the plastic off.

Did IX Equilibrium live up to my expectations? The short answer is no, but then I wonder how many albums actually could. When you expect a band’s new album to be the best thing you’ve ever heard, you’re very likely going to be let down. To my initial disappointment, Emperor did not attempt to make Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk Part II, and the resulting album is a very different beast indeed. Seemingly taking inspiration from their death metal roots, yet with a completely modern sound, IX Equilibrium is a black metal album that’s more interested in flummoxing the listener with a swirling cacophony of riffs and incessantly mind-battering percussion than creating any sort of meticulously constructed mood . The outcome is an album that lacks the epic atmosphere and consistency of previous albums, yet once you get your head around the sheer madness of it all, there’s still a heck of a lot of genius on offer. If you focus on what these musicians are doing with their instruments, you can’t help but feel a certain level of respect. It’s clear that Emperor, and in particular main songwriter Ihsahn, are no longer able to restrict their creative sensibilities to standard black metal fare, with constant shifts in velocity and playing styles kicking in regularly, rarely allowing the listener to settle in for the ride for long.

The above description likely makes IX Equilibrium sound like a difficult album, and I guess it is to a degree. The main issue I have with it is not the complexity however, but with the lack of emotion that it induces. While there are some tracks that I really enjoy such as Curse Ye All Men, Of Blindness & Subsequent Seers and in particular Decrystallizing Reason, the rest of them are merely impressive without moving me substantially like Emperor’s material normally does. Probably the only track that doesn’t really work for me at all would be The Warriors of Modern Death, which seems to be a throwback to Bathory-like epic metal, complete with Hammerheart replicated dodgy leads. I can appreciate what they were trying to do, but the positive variety it offers is outweighed by the sheer contrast to the rest of the material. Is IX Equilibrium still worth the four stars I’ve given it despite my qualms? Well, it’s still Emperor, with all the class that the name suggests. The majority of the album is still miles ahead of what the bulk of the scene could muster, and the pure intensity and intricacy of it all holds considerable merit despite the difficulties. The negative tone of this review is perhaps given proper context then by knowing that I gave the first two albums five stars with no hesitation whatsoever and place them towards the very apex of black metal masterpieces. IX Equilibrium is just a bit disappointing in comparison.

A swirling labyrinth of intense black metal, Anthems is one of the elite metal albums.

After the Reverence teaser EP demonstrated that Emperor had overcome their line-up issues and formed a devastating new unit (Ihsahn, Samoth, Alver and Trym), I was very impatient to see what these Norwegians were about to let loose. I figured whatever the end result, it would undoubtedly be highly ambitious, yet I was not prepared for just how intense Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk would turn out to be. In the Nightside Eclipse was a brilliant album, but its symphonic black metal seems like easy listening compared to this beast. Emperor pulled out all stops for Anthems by cranking the production up to extraordinary levels, with the symphonic aspect fleshing out massive metal compositions. I have to admit that the first couple of times I experienced this album, the sheer chaos and complexity of it all was just too much to take in. I knew it was something incredible immediately, and that the apparent chaos was somehow masterfully controlled, but with all the aspects of the band intertwining at such high velocity and with such abrasiveness, my poor brain was just struggling to keep up. Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is an extremely loud album that wants to make your ears bleed, but if you don’t mind the loss of blood, there’s immense masochistic pleasure to be experienced here.

A major point of discussion for the album has always been the production. In theory, it may not sound that unusual to give each instrument exactly the same volume in the mix, but in reality that can result in an impenetrable wall of noise. Emperor was very lucky to get away with it here and at times I’m not sure they really should have. The guitars, drums, keyboards and vocals are all extremely loud and clear, but given that drums in general are far more dominating as an instrument in general, they threaten to suffocate the whole recording throughout. There are two main reasons why this doesn’t stop Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk from being critically lauded as one of the most important black metal releases ever recorded. Firstly, Trym’s drumming performance is outstanding! His blasting is ferocious and he keeps things varied and intense for the entire running time. Secondly, black metal never demanded that all instruments be audible at all times. There’s always something new and impressive jumping out of the production, giving the listener multitudes of things to grab hold of. Majestic keyboards, kick ass riffs and Ihsahn’s vicious vocals all fight for attention resulting in a blissful labyrinth of glorious darkness. This may sound frustrating on paper but each time you listen to the album it will make more and more sense until the collective genius becomes apparent.

Ihsahn’s vocals are vastly different to the high pitched shrieks found on In the Nightside Eclipse. His technique is now much lower and more venomous, but he also adds clean vocals regularly to good effect. His clean style can sound a bit awkward and pretentious at times, but they fit nicely enough within the tone of the music. His performance on With Strength I Burn in particular makes for an album highlight. The guitar techniques are also startlingly different to the debut with very few riffs going for the hypnotic black metal effect. Ihsahn and Samoth instead produce a constant flow of time changes and a general level of complexity not normally associated with black metal. There are quite a few early signs of the progressive take that Emperor would utilise on later albums, but Anthems remains firmly grounded in black metal. The keyboards still consist mostly of choir-like gothic backdrops, but there’s an extra level of classical sophistication which was expected after the Opus a Satana instrumental on Reverence. Ensorcelled by Khaos is a good example of this increase, with the symphonic aspect combining beautifully with the bass for a seriously grand outcome. You may have noticed that this is the first time I’ve mentioned the word bass. That’s because poor Alver got left behind in the cacophony of sound. Undoubtedly a shame, but he does raise his hand temporarily during the album’s less intense sections.

Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk starts off calmly enough with the Alsvartr (The Oath) intro building up magnificently. The transition into the complete savagery of Ye Entrancemperium has to be one of the most exciting moments in metal, and just when you’re thinking how brutal it all is, they step it up further with Trym launching into violent blast beats and Samoth and Ihsahn unleashing an awesomely killer riff. The infamous Euronymous gets credit for the opening riff which he wrote for an unnamed Mayhem song, but I’m fairly sure it would have sounded nothing like it does in the hands of Emperor. Other highlights include the still amazing Loss of Curse and Reverence and the absolutely monstrous With Strength I Burn, the latter which showcases all the elements that make this period Emperor so impressive in one 8 minute epic. Special mention should also go to closing instrumental The Wanderer. While the majority of versions of the album now come with the Reverence EP tacked on the end, I can’t help feeling that this negates the power of The Wanderer as a closing track. After the complex maelstrom that comes before it, it’s soothing yet haunting melodies are the perfect come down. Of course you’ll want to get another fix before too long, because Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is an incredible experience by one of black metal’s elite bands.

As a teaser for the approaching masterpiece, Reverence eased our concern that Emperor's best might be behind them. Excellent stuff!

It hadn’t been all fun and games for Emperor since 1994’s brilliant In the Nightside Eclipse album. The band seemingly had the black metal world at their feet and fans were fervent to see what these Norwegians would produce next. But as is the case with many black metal bands of this era, the apparent commitment of the band members went far beyond the music itself, which inevitably resulted in some time behind bars. The band’s guitarist Samoth was sentenced to 16 months in prison for arson after being found guilty, along with Varg Vikernes (who would also be charged with the murder of Mayhem’s Euronymous and several other arson counts), for his part in the burning down of Skjold Church in Vindafjord. To make matters worse, drummer Bard G. Eithun (aka Faust) was convicted of the murder of a homosexual man two years after the crime and was sentenced to fourteen years in prison (of which he would serve just over nine). With half the band out of action, bassist Tchort (who was also arrested a couple of years earlier for burglary, knife assault and grave desecration) also departed the band leaving Ihsahn to ponder what might have been.

It didn’t seem all that likely that Emperor would be able to remain a force, let alone produce anything close to the quality of their debut. Yet hindsight shows that this is the perfect example of “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”. Once Samoth was released from prison, he and Ihsahn set about trying to find replacements for Tchort and Faust, with more desire than ever to take Emperor to the pinnacle of black metal music. They handpicked Alver from Dødheimsgard to perform bass duties and, in what turned out to be a brilliant decision, drummer Trym from Enslaved. If there was ever any doubt that Emperor’s new line-up could deliver the goods, the Reverence EP would wipe them away in no uncertain terms. The Loss of Curse and Reverence displayed Emperor at their most epic, inimitable and close to impenetrable best. In Longing Spirit showcased a newer, more refined Emperor, full of the same grand atmosphere in a less chaotic form. Finally, Opus a Satana proved that not only could Ihsahn maintain the band’s majestic tone without the need for typical metal instruments, he had musicianship skills far surpassing the average black metal performer.

The new Emperor was compositionally more sophisticated and we all knew that it wouldn’t be too long before we held something truly special in our hands. Trym had added a terrifyingly brutal element to the band and the whole production was given far more punch while losing none of the wall of sound effect that their work was renowned for. This release was always intended to be a teaser rather than an essential piece in Emperor’s history, with both The Loss and Curse of Reverence and In Longing Spirit both set to hold a place on the planned full length Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk release later in the year. That would have left only the instrumental version of Inno a Satana (entitled Opus a Satana) as the only real reason for fans to track the Reverence EP down. The band’s decision to leave In Longing Spirit off the album soon changed that, but the fact that pretty much every version of Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk contains both In Longing Spirit and Opus a Satana as bonus tracks these days means it should not be difficult for anyone to own these tracks in some form or another. You should too because it’s…well, it’s Emperor!

Complex and majestic symphonic black metal from the mighty Emperor. A definitive moment in metal music.

In the Nightside Eclipse was recorded in July 1993. Emperor had already made a name for themselves by this time, and miraculously done so purely through their musical output alone. They would soon become far more famous for all the wrong reasons, but it was their Wrath of the Tyrant demo and split album with Enslaved that were causing waves of excitement amongst a growing legion of black metal fans. The line-up had only one change between the self titled EP and In the Nightside Eclipse, with bassist Mortiis leaving due to an apparent loss of interest in metal to be replaced by Terje Vik Schei (aka Tchort). Tchort had previously played guitar for Green Carnation back when they were a death metal band in the early 90s before spending two years in prison for burglary, knife assault, and grave desecration. One can only assume that Samoth and Faust found a kindred spirit in Tchort, as the two of them were currently unidentified fugitives for crimes they committed in 1992 (Samoth burnt down churches along with Varg Vikernes from Burzum and Faust murdered a man for making homosexual advances towards him). Both of these men would eventually be convicted of these crimes, but not until they’d played their roles in one of extreme metal’s finest moments.

In the Nightside Eclipse is an astounding, landmark black metal album. Not content to simply replicate the likes of Dark Throne and Mayhem, Emperor took black metal in a whole new direction. They almost single-handedly created the symphonic black metal subgenre and did so with a level of complexity all the imitators can only dream of. From a purely metal perspective, the album is chock full of fantastic full throttle drumming, mesmerising majestic riffs and violently magnificent vocals. With these aspects alone, I'm pretty sure Emperor would have been onto a winner, but it's the symphonic element that takes their music far and above your average black metal band. In the Nightside Eclipse is like a macabre opera of dark genius, with swirling backdrops and rousing gothic compositions. The sheer wall of noise effect can initially be quite confronting, but once it sinks its claws into you, there's no escaping the grandiose brilliance that is Emperor. It’s the type of album where you stop focussing on individual instruments within seconds and let yourself get swept away by the all-encompassing whole. The riffs often don't even get front line attention and play second fiddle to the keyboards, but Emperor knew exactly when to give them centre stage with the symphonic elements intermittently withdrawing to allow the guitars to shine through.

If you listen to In the Nightside Eclipse and concentrate on the symphonic aspect alone it’s not particularly impressive from a musical point of view. Fairly simple B grade gothic horror movie ooooohs and aaaaahs kick in intermittently that could so easily have come off as cheesy and weak in someone else’s hands. It’s due to Ihsahn and Samoth’s song crafting skills that these effects don’t just work, but bestow already fantastic black metal with a huge dose of epic. Ihsahn deserves credit for his vocal performance also as his effective spoken word and full throated, high pitched black metal shrieks give the impression of complete conviction and malice. I am the Black Wizards and Cosmic Keys to My Creation and Times were the highlights of the self titled EP and both are included here in re-recorded fashion. They still stand out as high points on the full length, yet Into the Infinity of Thoughts and Beyond the Great Vast Forests are just as superb. Emperor would go on to create three more massive albums before calling it a day, but I think only 1997's Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk can come close to matching this amazing debut. There's no doubt in my mind that this deserves the full five stars and I imagine I'll still be cranking this up when I'm 60 and being swept off my feet in a rush of black metal magic.

The first official Emperor release showcases majestic symphonic black metal of the highest order.

There was a lot of label interest in Emperor after the Wrath of the Tyrant demo spread through the underground. The band was at one stage signed to Euronymous’ infamous Deathlike Silence Productions, but for one reason or another never actually released anything for it. In the end it was newly formed label Candlelight that would be fortunate enough to get Emperor onto their roster and the band set about getting something recorded officially. Samoth realised that his percussion skills were not his main strength, so Bård G. Eithun (aka Faust) was recruited as a full time drummer, allowing Samoth to move back to guitar. Ihsahn, Samoth, Mortiis and Faust entered the studio “under the December full moon anno 1992” where they would record seven tracks in total. Five were re-recordings of tracks found on the Wrath of the Tyrant demo (Ancient Queen, Night of the Graveless Souls, Witches Sabbath, Lord of the Storms and Wrath of the Tyrant) while I am the Black Wizards and Cosmic Keys to My Creations and Times were brand new Emperor compositions. There was almost enough material to release a full length Emperor album but the decision was made to choose the four best tracks and release a self titled EP instead. They made the right choice too as the tracks they chose are of the highest quality.

Most fans would know the Emperor EP as part of the split Emperor / Hordanes Land release with Enslaved that was released in June 1993, but it was also released as a separate vinyl 12” EP a month prior. The split is considered a classic black metal release, being the first official recordings of two of the most prominent and remarkable bands to come out of the Norwegian black metal scene. The striking album cover that adorns both versions of the Emperor EP is a wood engraving by French artist Gustave Doré (1832-1883) called Death on the Pale Horse, which is actually one of many bible illustrations that Gustave completed over his career. It might seem strange for Emperor to attach anything related to the bible, but the verse the illustration represents is from a rather morbid Revelation verse that certainly doesn’t seem at odds with black metal. “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” It wouldn’t be the last time Emperor would utilise Doré’s work, nor would they be the only black metal band that would use his material, but more on that another time.

The versions of Ancient Queen, Lord of the Storms and Witches Sabbath recorded in this session would eventually be released in a separate vinyl 12” EP in 1994 and while they are still enjoyable and far improved from the demo, none of them come close to anything here. The obvious highlights are the new tracks I am the Black Wizards and Cosmic Keys to My Creations and Times which shows just how quickly Emperor were improving their song writing. There was simply nothing as majestically wonderful in the world of black metal released prior to this. The level of atmospheric mystery and wonder that Emperor could create with their wall of sound is unrivalled and they’d go on to record a couple of the greatest extreme metal albums ever using the blueprint that’s present right here. Night of the Graveless Souls and Wrath of the Tyrant are of a slightly lesser quality, but the better production, far superior drumming, higher prominence of keyboards and the fact that Emperor had finally realised that performing black metal with down-tuned guitars does not get the ideal result mean they are far superior to the demo versions. They alone make this EP well worth tracking down in whatever format you can get your hands on, even if you own the In the Nightside Eclipse album (which includes both of the new tracks re-recorded).

Further info: The members of Emperor were incredibly prolific in their early years. I’m not just talking about recording music here as there’s nothing particularly impressive about the amount of albums they were releasing. It’s just that somehow these guys managed to find the time in between writing and recording black metal to run around the neighbourhood doing all sorts of nasty things to buildings and people. Between recording the Wrath of the Tyrant demo in July 1992 and the Emperor EP in December 1992, Samoth and Faust would both be heavily involved in burning down the ancient churches of Norway. It is known for certain that Samoth, along with Varg Vikernes (of Burzum fame), burnt down Skjold Church in Vindafjord on September 13. More seriously, on August 21, a day before he assisted Varg and Euronymous (of Mayhem fame) burn down Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo, Faust stabbed a man named Magne Andreassen to death for making sexual advances towards him. Neither Samoth nor Faust would be convicted of these crimes until 1994 when the shit hit the fan in Norway, allowing them to record some of Emperor’s most important material as unidentified criminals. You could say these guys took their beliefs seriously. A little too seriously perhaps?!

I initially struggled with this album. I think the main reason for that is the production. I don't know whether it's just my copy, but the sound is muddy and lacks the clarity that this album could really have done with. But I pushed on, as the music seemed decent. Well, Mind Wars has grown on me to the point where the production issues don't bother me too much. This is thrash / speed metal from LA, and these guys can certainly play. Every track contains ripping riffs and memorable song writing and there's a level of excitement and intensity throughout.

One of the reviewers below mentioned Iron Maiden, which may sound strange when we're discussing a rather up-tempo thrash album. But I can hear some galloping Maiden riffs in Holy Terror's music, even if they are played at twice the speed (check out The Immoral Wasteland for pure Maiden). I can also hear Sabbat (the thrash metal band, not the Japanese black metal outfit) on a couple of tracks, but then they released their albums around the same time as this, so can hardly be considered an influence. Thankfully, the vocalist for Holy Terror doesn't sound all that much like the massively overrated Walkyier from Sabbat. In fact, Holy Terror's Aaron Redbird is quite an amazing vocalist and his hardcore like rambling and high-pitched melodies take these already solid shred fests to great heights. Highlight tracks for me are Judas Reward, Debt of Pain and No Resurrection but this is a consistent album that I'm glad I checked out.

Another step up in maturity for Death, Spiritual Healing is an underappreciated display of courage.

Given the band’s tumultuous history, it’s not surprising that the line-up between Leprosy and Spiritual Healing had changed. By the end of 1989, Chuck and second guitarist Rick Rozz were constantly in conflict, with the end result being that Rick was removed from the band. Chuck later stated the main reason this occurred was due to Rick’s unwillingness (or inability) to progress as a musician and given the band’s progressive ambitions, they needed to find a suitably talented replacement. James Murphy was that man. These days Murphy is a metal legend after being involved in albums by Obituary, Testament, Cancer and Disincarnate, not to mention several mostly instrumental albums released under his own name. His lead guitar work is brilliant and the ease at which he performs it highly admirable. At the time Chuck handpicked him to join Death, he was known only for his connection with thrash metal bands Agent Steel and Hallow’s Eve, yet had very little studio experience. That was all about to change though, as in the summer of 1989, Chuck, James, Terry Butler and Bill Andrews would enter the infamous Morrisound studio to record Spiritual Healing. It’s worth noting that this was also the first time Terry Butler had performed on a Death album, as Chuck performed bass on Leprosy despite Terry being listed as such on the album sleeve.

While these four musicians knew what their ultimate goal was at the time, it’s safe to say that many of the band’s fans did not. Death’s previous album Leprosy was a genre classic. It gave death metal an unprecedented brutality while still remaining entirely memorable and entertaining. All eyes were on Chuck to see what he’d unleash next with most fans expecting something even more brutal and shredding. Looking back, it’s not particularly surprising that a lot of these fans were a bit disappointed with the end result, but I believe this response had more to do with expectations rather than the quality of the material. Death chose to evolve away from the raw, vicious approach of their earlier albums and take on a more technical and mature style. The gory, violent lyrics were gone, replaced with social commentary regarding important issues such as abortion, religion and genetics. The ferocious, thrashy production of yesteryear was replaced with a clear Scott Burns driven, instrument focused sound this time round. Above all, the musicianship in general stepped up a level of technicality with exquisite leads and varied time signatures combining with the more standard death metal trappings. Chuck would expand on this over the next few releases of course, but Spiritual Healing deserves credit for getting the evolution well and truly off the ground.  

It needs to be said though, that Spiritual Healing is not a flawless effort. As you would expect for a band trying to break new ground, not everything clicks the way it does on later albums such as Human, Individual Thought Patterns and Symbolic. For all the fantastic guitar work by Murphy and Schuldiner, drummer Bill Andrews is an obvious weak point. He does tinker with odd timings and there’s some nice double bass kicking, but in general his performance is simply too monotonous for an album with such a progressive attitude. Terry’s bass is adequate enough, but pales in comparison to the jaw dropping work of the session musicians Chuck would call on for future albums such as Steve DiGiorgio. Weaknesses aside, the song writing is totally compelling, with top riffs pumped out consistently throughout. Chuck’s vocals are powerful and venomous yet entirely decipherable which is perfect for the lyrical content and musical style of the album. Chuck stated prior to the release that “we believe that we can turn a few more people into death metal with this record and change a lot of people’s minds about what death metal is supposed to sound like”. I believe they did just that, and tracks like Living Monstrosity, Altering the Future, Spiritual Healing and Genetic Reconstruction sit perfectly well amongst the best work in Death’s discography. An underappreciated album!  

Sidenote: Spiritual Healing is the third and final Death album to contain artwork by Edward J. Repka. The artist is undoubtedly more known in the world of thrash metal where he’s made a strong resurgence due to the recent thrash revival. I think the three covers he produced for Death are among his best work. He brilliantly nailed the themes of each release and, despite his easily recognisable style, gave each piece entirely distinctive looks. One thing that makes Repka’s covers so unique is his use of colour. The purple of the skeleton’s robe on Scream Bloody Gore, the pink of the sky on Leprosy, the variety of blues that characterise Spiritual Healing. These are colours not often associated with death metal and yet they’re all so striking while taking nothing away from the morbid edge so necessary for albums of this genre. The cover for Spiritual Healing is the best of the three, mostly due to the way it presents its message so clearly with both humour and realism. The smugness and near psychotic worship of the faithful are juxtaposed by the sheer terror of their subject. The cash is placed so precisely to remind us of the healer’s true intentions. I feel disgust at the truth of it and yet laugh at the painting’s satirical tone. These characteristics are prevalent through nearly all of Repka’s album covers and it’s fantastic to find the man still cranking them out.

A fantastic lineup created some immensely ripping black metal, but it's too short to be essential.

On paper this is a dream black metal line-up! Samoth (Emperor, Zyklon) playing both forms of guitar, Ihsahn (Emperor, Peccatum) on keyboards, Frost (Satyricon, 1349) handling drums and Draug (Dodheimsgard, Thorns) performing vocals. It doesn't get much more legendary than that! It's certainly the sort of supergroup we'd all like to have had around for quite some time to see what they could come up with. Unfortunately, all we've got to show for it is this 3 track EP, which also happens to run for a total of 11 minutes. That doesn't sound like a particularly noteworthy release and yet somehow Blood Must be Shed has become an underground, cult EP. I think there are numerous reasons for that, and the names involved is only part of the puzzle.

It's not at all surprising that this little piece of history was extremely controversial upon its release. Naming your band Zyklon-B, which was a delousing agent used to kill prisoners in concentration camps in Nazi Germany, is not going to please everyone. The band have stated that their intention was never to associate themselves with racial hatred or Nazism, but with a band name like Zyklon-B, lyrics that seem to encourage war and destruction, and a nuclear explosion adorning the cover, it's pretty tough to be completely convinced. I can't recall black metal ever really attempting to be politically correct, nor would I want it to, so I'll forgive these individuals for their perhaps immature thematic decisions.

Enough about the history of the release, what's the music like. The short answer (and that's all there really is) is that Blood Must be Shed is a ripping black metal release with three full tilt tracks filled with blistering riffs, orgasmic drumming and chaotic, insane vocals. There's enough venomous intensity contained within these 11 minutes to fill a full-length release, and all three tracks have a certain level of chaos associated with them. Frost's drumming is top-notch as usual and Samoth's riffs are pure black metal gold. Ihsahn's keyboards certainly add a bit of atmosphere to proceedings but they're nowhere near as dominant as on an Emperor release. Draug is without doubt the least famous of the band members, but I've always been a fan of his work. His shouted, unrestrained performance here is entirely fitting for the musical mayhem surrounding him.

All up, Blood Must be Shed is certainly worth checking out for those interested in black metal's long, fascinating history. More importantly though, it's a damn fine EP that you can listen to 2 or 3 times in a row to get a good fix. There's no denying though that it's stupendously short, and for that reason alone, I just can't give it more than 3 and a half stars. The music is worth more but the EP itself simply isn't, no matter how many drooling fans it may have.

Fairly competent, easily digestible band that plagiarises Soilwork to an unacceptable degree.

There are way too many melodic death metal bands around for me to keep up with these days. Back in the nineties I was really into releases by the likes of At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames and Soilwork, all of which came from Sweden. But somewhere along the line a few of these bands decided to either throw in the towel (At the Gates) or go down a path of commercialism I just didn’t have a taste for (In Flames and to a lesser extent Soilwork). These regular disappointments led me to unconsciously give up on the sound and focus on other genres for a few years where things were a little more interesting and consistent. That means there are numerous popular acts today that I’ve given very little attention to, including Insomnium, Be'lakor, Mercenary and Scar Symmetry, all of whom I intend to check out in the coming months. All the above being said, I’ve decided to cut my modern melodic death metal teeth on Finnish band myGRAIN for the simple reason that they have a new album that’s just come out this year. Having absolutely no idea what the band sound like or who they might have been influenced by, I began by researching their background with a particular interest in how they decided it was a good idea to give their metal band a name closely related to a really bad headache.

As it turns out, there’s no impressive intellectual explanation for the moniker, with guitarist Matthew stating the following in an interview. “myGRAIN, that sounds pretty good, it just came out of nowhere and I thought it was a good name”. He went on to explain that “it’s not a negative thing to refer it to as migraine, like the headaches, it’s just you have ‘my’ and wheat and oat ‘grain’, so it’s meant to be positive.” In a moment of inspiration, vocalist Tommy gave the decision real clarity when he added that “And the grains are growing in our own field!” So there you have it! There can be no denying that owning grains, and indeed growing them in your own field, is an immensely positive idea, and since having it explained to me in such inspiring form, I’m stunned that no-one else has used the name for their band. Now that I’ve finished taking the piss out of them, what else did my research unveil? Formed in 2004, myGRAIN rose from the ashes of a progressive rock band named New Science Band, in which Tommy (vocals), Resistor (guitar) and Matthew (guitar) had all been part of. Deciding they wanted to create “rough metal with melodies”, they recruited DJ Locomotive (formerly of Terrorwheel and at some point associated with black metal band ...And Oceans) and started writing material.

This line-up, along with session bassist Jonas Kuhlberg, was responsible for a three-track demo in 2004, which is now readily available to download on the band’s website. Shortly afterwards they brought keyboardist Eve Kojo (formerly of Embers Left) into the fold, and in 2005 myGRAIN recorded a second demo entitled The Red Frame (also available on the website). It’s at this point that Jonas decided to join the band full time and Spinefarm Records contacted them to ink a deal, resulting in a full myGRAIN line-up (Tommy – vocals, Resistor – guitar, Matthew – guitar, Eve – synths, DJ Locomotive – drums and Jonas – bass) entering Sound Supreme Studio in November 2005 to record a debut album. Orbit Dance is the result, which was eventually released on April the 12th, 2006. With all that historical information out of the way, let me tell you how my re-introduction to melodic death metal is going. The same as it was when I departed, I’m afraid! I’m stunned at just how much the music on Orbit Dance sounds like the Soilwork I set aside around 2003, with any slight differences reminding me of other bands prominent around the same time. When New Science Band folded and these three friends decided they wanted to play “rough metal with melodies”, what they really meant was “Soilwork are fucking awesome man! Let’s start our own band and do exactly what they’re doing!”

Orbit Dance contains eleven tracks that follow a very old and strict formula. You know the one! A synth assisted intro attempts to give each track its own identity before heavy yet simplistic riffs, mid-paced drumming and typical Swedish half-growled vocals kick in. Once the verse has run its up-tempo course, the band shifts down the velocity for a sort of pre-chorus that still utilises aggressive vocals, before finally giving way to a cheesy, admittedly catchy clean chorus that destroys any aggression and energy the track once held. It’s an old blueprint that undoubtedly works well in a live environment where kiddies can bang their heads in short bursts before singing in union, all while updating their Facebook and Twitter accounts on worship-raised iPhones. Despite my disgust at how little myGRAIN progressed a sound that was close to a decade old already, I have to shamefully admit that a few of the tracks on Orbit Dance manage to hit their mark and get stuck in my head in spite of my attempts to despise them. Opener Plastic and W.I.F. are not too bad and just about every track has at least one section that works in a harmless, easily digestible sort of way. In the end myGRAIN’s debut has done nothing to make me regret spending so many years all but ignoring this style of music and I’m not particularly confident that their other albums will change my mind.

"Brave Yester Days" is the first of two Katatonia compilations (the other being "The Black Sessions") to be released in consecutive years. But the two releases do not cover the same ground at all. "Brave Yester Days" covers the earlier period of the band between 1992 and 1998, whereas "The Black Sessions" covers everything from 1998 through to 2003. Both compilations are spread across two compact discs and include rare and unreleased material making them worthy of attention for any fan of this melancholic Swedish band.

This first compilation is of value for fans of the band during their death / doom period. It includes some of the classic tracks off "Dance of December Souls" and "Brave Murder Day". Since those tracks are readily available and most fans will already have them, the interest really lies in the rare and unreleased material, of which there is plenty. Firstly, there are 4 EPs included in their entirety, all of which are extremely difficult to get your hands on these days due to their limited release. Those EPs are "Jhva Elohim Meth" from 1992, "For Funerals to Come" from 1995, "Sounds of Decay" from 1997 and "Saw You Drown" from 1998. All of these EPs are well worth listening to for various reasons. "For Funerals to Come" and "Sounds of Decay" are of particular interest, as all the tracks on each were not released on full length albums, whereas "Saw You Drown" is worthwhile due to the original album being limited to only 1500 copies (it sells for hundreds of dollars on Ebay!). On top of all the above you get 2 tracks that were on the War Compilation in the very early 90s as well as a previously unreleased track called "Untrue" that was originally intended for the "Sounds of Decay" EP. This track is fantastic and I'm not sure why it was left off in the first place.

Is "Brave Yester Days" worth your hard-earned cash? Well, it depends on whether you own any or all the above EPs. If you don't own them and you like the band’s earlier, heavier sound, then this is essential. But even if you do, there's over 2 hours of great Katatonia music on here for the price of a single album and it flows well due to the tracks being set in chronological order. It's a great snapshot of a band evolving from a raw, aggressive, yet melodic band into the suicide rock that they play today.

The "Teargas" EP was released prior to the "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" full length album. It contains only three tracks and runs for only 14 minutes and therefore doesn't sound like such good value. Well there are a couple of reasons why that initial assumption isn't correct. Firstly, each of the three tracks found here are great. Secondly, two of the tracks can only be found on this EP as they were not included on the upcoming album. Well, that second statement was true until very recently. But more on that later!

The title track turned out to be one of many great songs on "Last Fair Deal Gone Down". Since it can be found on that album, it's of little interest when reviewing the Teargas EP, although it did serve its purpose at the time which was to be a taster for what was to come. The production had taken another crunchy, more metallic step up since "Tonight's Decision" came out two years earlier and Jonas' vocals are a little stronger than they were previously. All in all, things looked promising that the forthcoming album would be a good one, and that turned out to be correct.

But it's the other two tracks that were of more value. Sulfur is just a fantastic Katatonia track! It covers so much of what the band do so well and combines it all into a six-minute ripper. It starts off with tender acoustic guitars and harmonised vocals before cutting loose with two consecutive beautiful riffs. The verses are suitably depressing and desolate, while the chorus is both powerful and passionate. If Sulfur has of been released on "Last Fair Deal Gone Down", it would have been up there with "Dispossession" and "Tonight's Music" as one of the best songs on the album.

March 4 is not quite as good as the rest of the EP's high standard, but it's also a worthy listen. These tracks are the first that the band put out with Daniel Liljekvist on drums and what a difference he made. There's so much more percussive variation than in the past and March 4 is a great example of this modification. I think this track plays it a little safe to be honest with the very typical Katatonia riff and weepy vocals. It's just made interesting by Daniel's presence.

So, is it worth tracking this now rare EP down? A year ago, I would have said definitely for the track Sulfur alone. But now that the entire EP is available on the compilation "The Black Sessions", which is far more readily available than "Teargas", I'd have to say it's only for the Katatonia fan that must own everything. And yes, that would be me!

One of the great tragedies in this world is that the band Cynic only managed to release one album before splitting up. Their combination of death metal, progressive metal, jazz and mysticism formed a truly breath-taking album called "Focus". It's an album that makes my jaw drop in disbelief every time I hear it. Why do I bring all this up? Because Aghora contained three members of Cynic at the time of this self-titled album. That's reason enough to get excited for me and while it would be incorrect to expect Aghora to play music in the same style as the previously mentioned band, at least you can be assured that you will get fantastic musicianship and a high level of creativity.

Aghora play progressive metal that is more in line with Dream Theater than Cynic. All members of the band are wonderfully gifted musicians, and yet this album never enters the realm of pretentiousness that can often go hand in hand with this form of music. In particular, the brilliance of bassist Sean Malone and drummer Sean Reinhert really stand out. I must admit, I rarely praise the work of bassists. In so many cases, I find it difficult to focus on what bassists are doing. Whether that is due to my lacking musical education, or more to do with the habit of four stringers being relegated to the back-row, I'm not entirely sure. But Malone's work on this album is captivating!

The vocalist plays a major role in Aghora, with female vocalist Danishta Rivero doing a more than decent job. Her vocals have an eastern sound to them that fits in perfectly with the sound. She is not aggressive in any way, nor is she operatic, but simply sings very well throughout. If I am to complain about any aspect of her performance, it would have to be her range. When she sings high, it doesn't sound very convincing and there are a couple of awkward moments.

Every track is beautifully crafted, although I must exclude the 11 minute "Jivatma" from that statement. It appears to be highly improvised, lacks the structure and class of surrounding tracks, and in my opinion detracts from the flow of "Aghora" as a whole. But highlights are aplenty with "Immortal Bliss", "Satya" (check out that bass line!) and "Kali Yuga" really catching my attention. This is an album that lovers of progressive music will surely dig, and I'm ecstatic at the revelation that Aghora have just released its follow-up after a 6 year wait. I for one will be checking it out.

Winter were so far ahead of their time! While doom had been around in various stages ever since Black Sabbath recorded those first, down-tuned chords back in 1970. Bands such as Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Trouble took that sound, dropped most of the rock and roll, and gave it a metallic edge. Others such as Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus gave it an epic, majestic atmosphere complete with operatic vocals. But it was Winter that took everything doom and made it something so much more sinister and darker. The invent of death metal had progressed the boundaries of morbid curiosity throughout the late 80s, and Winter took this oppressive aggression (and a huge dose of Celtic Frost) and placed it within the framework of doom. The result was by far the most depressive, apocalyptic sounding album the world had ever heard.

Joe Gonclave's drumming is so very minimal yet every beat serves an absolute purpose. While he does step up a gear at times, for the most it's a plodding yet destructive performance. Stephen Flam's guitar sound and John Alman's bass are both filthy and raw, quite often taking a backseat to the vocals and drums in the mix. The riffs are simple yet effective, creating an eerie, desolate atmosphere that runs right through the album. Funeral doom owes so very much to this album and it's no coincidence that Thergothen and Esoteric would release their first albums shortly after its release. The highlights for me are the amazing opening track Oppression Freedom (an instrumental that Esoteric would take a massive influence from), and the hugely crushing Goden. Into Darkness is a fantastic slab of death doom metal and should hold a place in the collection of any fan of the darker, more crushing side of extreme metal.

Alright, this is my first experience of Whiplash. I have to say first impressions (i.e. before I pressed play) were not good as that album cover is truly atrocious. Quite possibly one of the very worst attempts at artwork I've ever seen. But I decided not to let that get in the way of my listening experience and moved on. The result is that I've found Power and Pain to be an entertaining early thrash metal album, if not the classic that many below are suggesting.

The influences are all over this release. If it wasn't obvious from their name that they got into Metallica's debut album, then some of these riffs will ram the message home. But more than anything I can hear Exodus, more specifically their Bonded by Blood era sound. In other words, it's insane thrashing madness most of the time with some aggressive vocals. The problem for me is that I don't think Bonded by Blood is all that amazing, and Baloff's vocals grate on me so very much. The good thing here is that Portaro's vocals are much more enjoyable and at times quite venomous. Tracks such as Stage Dive and Last Man Alive are memorable more for his catchy vocal patterns rather than any impressive musicianship.

When I put Power and Pain into context of 1985, I have to say this was a very decent attempt to join the likes of Metallica, Exodus, Overkill, Slayer and Anthrax at the top of the US thrash metal pile. It's certainly worth cranking up for a bit of the old ultra-violence every now and then. Highlights for me are Stage Dive, Last Man Alive and War Monger. I notice they're about to release a brand-new comeback album too. Let's hope they hire an actual artist this time round.

The first Watchtower album didn't do an awful lot for me. The musicianship was perfectly decent, but I found the vocalist to be extremely annoying and the production to be rather underwhelming. I'm pleased to say that the second album is a much better offering, but I still don't love it completely as it falls down in the same areas as the debut.

The musicianship is still great, in fact it's gone up a notch. Extremely progressive metal with some strange timings, great riffs and good solid bass work. The middle section of the album is damn impressive with The Fall of Reason and Control and Resistance being awesome examples of dark progressive thrash metal. I can hear Into Eternity when listening to The Fall of Reason and considering this was released over 10 years prior, it's ground-breaking.

But the same vocalist is around. He's better on this album than the debut but he still sounds ridiculous on occasion, with his high pitched classic heavy metal squeals getting on my nerves. There are also some tracks that don't quite meet the brilliance of the previously mentioned epics. The shorter tracks such as Instruments of Random Murder, Hidden Instincts and Dangerous Toy all have nice sections but flounder in others. Finally, the production is much better than the debut, but still lacking the clarity that music of this quality deserves. All up I'd say this is an important, enjoyable album but let down slightly by the above flaws.

This is one of the very earliest releases to contain such a progressive form of thrash metal. The drumming is impressive, the guitar leads and riffs are technically and musically challenging, and the bassist is doing some really interesting things throughout. The band deserves some credit for being a fair way ahead of their time.

Unfortunately, there are two things that stop this album from being a classic in my opinion. Firstly, the vocalist is not very good. His high-pitched style, while used a lot back in 70s and 80s heavy metal, just doesn't work very well with this style of music. It's very off putting and distracting, and I feel something a bit more aggressive and less showy would have made this sound very different indeed. Secondly the production is crappy. It's not often that the bassist can be heard far above the rhythm and lead guitars, but this is the case here. Some of these riffs deserve front row attention but they are left floundering behind the admittedly awesome bass work.

All up I'd say this is an important album, but probably not something everyone should run out and purchase without checking it out further.

I'm rather torn when it comes to Tormentor's cult demo / album Anno Domini. On the one hand, this album is massively important and it’s hard to argue how influential it was to a scene just getting started. But on the other hand, listening to it today is not as entertaining as I'd hoped. While Bathory's albums still manage to move me over 20 years later, Anno Domini is more of a hit and miss affair.

Back in 1988, there had not been too many bands that had dared to take what Bathory started and push it a step further into the abyss. Tormentor created ferocious black metal with a massive dose of thrash, that certainly stood out from a very small pack as far as pure unadulterated wickedness. While obviously influenced by Quorthon and Venom, there's something truly feral about this release. A sort of chaotic madness that's missing from almost everything recorded since the mid-nineties. I guess a big reason for this is the inclusion of scene legend Attila Csihar on vocals. His accented style is both bizarre and hugely effective and it's easy to see why Mayhem plucked him up for the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas recording after Dead...well...died.

Unfortunately, there are just not enough great moments on the album for me to label it anything other than important and cult. I enjoy Tormentor I, Heaven, Damned Grave and Apocalypse well enough, but the majority of the other 9 tracks range from extremely awkward to merely average. Most of the shorter tracks, such as Anno Domini, Transylvania and Trance are forgettable and even the classic Elizabeth Bathory comes across as a slightly clumsy (yet admittedly memorable) attempt at an epic, thematical piece. All up I guess this album certainly deserves its place in history alongside Sarcofago's INRI, and so I can't be too harsh. But I just don't think it holds up all that well today and, in the end, that's when I'm writing this review.

Extremely raw yet pioneering funeral doom metal both crushingly slow and beautiful.

There are often arguments regarding who exactly was the granddaddy of each metal genre. Was Bathory really the main instigator of black metal or were Venom the ones to kick it off? Should Death be considered the pioneer of death metal or did Possessed beat them to the punch? But when it comes to funeral doom metal, there's never any doubt that Thergothon were the instigators. Their debut EP was released in 1991 and the only band I can come up with that even remotely resembled this insanely and destructively slow doom metal would be Winter, whose 1990 release Into Darkness can certainly be considered an influence here, if not exactly funeral doom metal. The fact that it took Thergothon 3 years to follow up Fhtagn nagh Yog-Sothoth with a full-length album and yet no other band followed in their footsteps in between, shows how far ahead of the pack Thergothon were.

But rather than focus on how important Stream From the Heavens is historically, I've spent the last couple of weeks finding out just how good it is. The production is bad, but I can't say it lessens the experience at all. The guitars are for the most part just a buzz of distortion. The drums are kind of distant and murky, as are the growling vocals. But then occasionally some other sound will filter through (such as the beautiful acoustic guitar on The Unknown Kadath in the Cold Waste) and the effect is damn blissful. While the band tend to plod along in an extremely down-tuned abyss for most of the album, there are little melodies and clean vocals that transcend the darkness without ever letting go of the truly despondent atmosphere. It's pure funeral doom metal the way many bands still play it today and a great listen 15 years later after its conception.

Even though I obviously have a lot of praise for the album, I'm not going to give it full marks. I think funeral doom has taken further steps since and bands such as Skepticism, Esoteric and Shape of Despair have exceeded this initial blueprint in terms of production and song writing. But I will always be thankful for any band that helped to put this wonderful style of music on the map and find Stream From the Heavens to be a satisfying listen in its own right. Highlight tracks are Everlasting, Yet the Watchers Guard, The Unknown Kadath in the Cold Waste and Who Rides the Astral Wings. I see Peaceville has reissued this important relic once again this year, so it seems likely to remain the underground treasure that it is for a long time yet.

I'm completely torn on this album. On the one hand, it has some quite decent melodies and thrash riffing that I enjoy. On the other hand, it has Martin Walkyier's horrible vocals and a bunch of boring and awkward elements. Martin's vocals ruined what was otherwise decent thrash metal in the band Sabbat and his work here is just as irritating. His unfortunate lisp and tendency to sing repetitive song structures while emphasising one syllable at a time is just plain infuriating.

Anyway, if I can ignore him for long enough, tracks such as The Sky Beneath My Feet, The Cradle Will Fall, Skyclad and Terminus all have great sections that I enjoy. Unfortunately, while I see it as a good quality for a band to have variety and experimentation, tracks like The Widdershins Jig, Moongleam and Meadowsweet and moments throughout most other tracks just don't sit well with me. I'm sure this album has an appropriate audience that would find this amazing, but I can't see this as anything more than merely OK.

Tremendously creative and unique album that overcomes some awkward misadventures.

Immense Intense Suspense is an album that showcases just how few boundaries the art of extreme metal has, despite what the outside world may perceive it to be. Bands within these genres very rarely have monetary or fame goals in mind when creating their music and so have a freedom unknown to the popular and mainstream. The knowledge that one will always be among the underground (as 99% of extreme metal bands are and always will be) must surely give them the strength to please their own musical curiosity without the concern of mass failure. That curiosity was obviously rather high amongst these Dutch maestros as one thing’s for certain… you will not hear another band like Phlebotomized.

Trying to describe their music to others successfully is near impossible due to its bizarre and schizophrenic nature, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway. Immense Intense Suspense is first and foremost a death metal album. It's got a chunky and raw death metal sound, which is totally at odds with almost all other influences to be found here. Extremely guttural death growls, a rather filthy bass sound and intense blast beats are combined with exquisite violin and flute, progressive keyboard passages and clean male / female vocals to form an utterly spasmodic yet entirely captivating album.

The only other band I can come up with that remotely resembles this would be Maudlin of the Well, but Immense Intense Suspense contains a lot more death metal than the often-cutesy approach of those US eccentrics. But if you're into Maudlin, then it's possible you're open minded enough to enjoy what Phlebotomized have to offer. Beneath all the brutality on display is a level of beauty and talented musicianship that overcome any awkward misadventures, of which there are quite a few. Each track has me switching between complete worship, wide eyed disbelief and grimaces of confusion. But considering how courageous this music is, I will forgive Phlebotomized for getting the odd section wrong. Barricade, Dubbed Forswearer, In Search of Tranquillity and Mellow Are the Reverberations are the most consistently brilliant tracks to be found here, but all 9 tracks contain sections of genius. I love this album and recommend it to any metal fan out there that's not afraid to venture out from the more safe and generic blueprints.

As a final note, I played Dubbed Forswearer to my very un-metal girlfriend (she does share my love of the melancholic though) to see just how at odds all these influences were to someone outside the scene and her response surprised me somewhat. She suggested that while the classical and progressive elements were much more to her liking than the death metal, they still contained an element of haunting morbidity and fit the musical context much more than I might realise. I may have to trust her on that one as I rarely venture outside minor key driven music, so this is about as bipolar as my listening journey gets.

An album filled with creativity and wonder, and a fitting finale for the unique Pan.Thy.Monium.

Today, the 11th of November, is Remembrance Day. It’s a day to commemorate the sacrifices made by so many soldiers and civilians during the First World War. Exactly (to the day) 91 years after the war ended, countries within the Commonwealth remember those that lost their lives by upholding a minute silence. As worthy as this token of respect is (and I don’t wish to downplay it), it is certainly not the only minute of silence we should spend pondering the departed. After all, it has now been 13 years since Pan.Thy.Monium left us behind (with a very fitting minute silence to end their existence) and their exodus is still mourned by multitudes of fans around the universe.

This Swedish death metal band isn’t particularly easy to describe. If I manage to portray their material as anything other than completely insane, then I’ve failed in my task. For starters, the band is made up of members Derelict, Winter, Day DiSyraah, Mourning and Aag. Thematically their albums follow the battle between the fictional (is there any other type?) Gods named Raagoonshinnaah (the God of Darkness, Rain and Emptiness) and Amaraah (the God of Light). This third and final full-length release appears to be both a celebration of Amaraah’s victory and a token of respect for the now vanquished Raagoonshinnaah. In reality, Pan.Thy.Monium was formed by the Swanö brothers (Day is Dag, DiSyraah is Dan) during a particularly confusing and difficult time for Dan. He decided to explore and release his feelings, no matter how strange or puzzling they were, into musical form. The outlet is both baffling and extraordinary and Khaooohs & Konfusion is undoubtedly the band’s masterpiece.

Khaooohs and Konfusion is a cocktail of exquisite melodies, brutal death metal, bizarre saxophone outbursts, extreme guttural vocals and abstract keyboards. Yet what should result in a chaotic jumble of strange ideas makes for one of the most captivating and unique experiences available to metal fans. The listener originally never really knows what’s going to come next and the tracks rarely return to previously travelled ground, preferring to tangent off in new directions without ever losing the outlandish tone. I’m certain most first-time listeners (I know I did) would find the whole thing a bit bewildering, yet strangely compelling. With each subsequent spin you’ll pick up new treasures, whether it’s great drumming time changes, a beautiful lead, or one of numerous awesome riffs. I don’t believe vocalist Derelict is saying anything, instead spewing out indecipherable vomits at regular intervals, but as with most extreme metal releases, it’s all about the atmosphere. Thankfully, Pan.Thy.Monium has atmosphere in spades and they certainly produced something very special indeed with this album.

Dan would release his magnum opus (one track Edge of Sanity album Crimson) literally 12 days after Khaooohs and Konfusion. One can assume that the demons he battled and defeated during the recording of the Pan.Thy.Monium material needed to be exorcised before he could produce such an important and monumental epic. While I’d certainly give Crimson the full marks it deserves, I can’t quite hand out the same rating for this album. For starters, it only actually has two real tracks, being the 11-minute opener The Battle of Geeheeb and the 14 minute Thee-Pherenth. Both are astounding and make this album essential on their own, but these 25 minutes are not quite enough to warrant full marks. The third track Behrial is an entirely keyboard driven ambient instrumental that’s quite rousing and uplifting yet doesn’t have the impact of the first two behemoths. Still, Khaooohs and Konfusion is a thoroughly enjoyable release that warrants multiple listens to really appreciate the creativity and talent involved. I feel a bit sad every time the final minute silence (suitably titled In Remembrance) brings the bands existence to a close. Lest we forget indeed!

A very competent continuation of Dissection's work that's just a bit monotonous for classic status.

Naglfar have never really received a lot of attention, despite releasing multiple decent melodic black metal albums. I think the main reason for this is that the band have never really produced anything particularly original, creating slight variations of what Dissection had already produced earlier. All that said, they were certainly one of the earliest bands to follow in the aforementioned Swedish legends footsteps, and their debut release Vittra is considered by many to be their very best piece of work. I'm certainly not going to argue with that judgement as it is most definitely an entertaining and at times beautiful album, but there is something slightly missing from Vittra that would take it to the next level for me.

All the ingredients are there for a classic. Numerous great and very melodic black metal riffs, light touches of keyboards that effectively add atmosphere and depth, perfectly venomous, raspy screaming black vocals and relentless, powerful drumming. But despite how good all of this sounds, Vittra just gets a bit...well, boring after a while. It's hard to put my finger on why the album tends to pass me by while only occasionally demanding attention. Most of these tracks on their own make for entertaining experiences, but overall, the album just isn't very memorable. All I can put it down to is that things start to become monotonous after about 3 tracks. Jens' vocal style repeats similar patterns repeatedly, the previously mentioned tasty melodic riffs all tend to seep into each other and the drumming doesn't do anything to stand out, taking the most efficient and least interesting route from A to B. I guess it's just one of those albums that you'll completely love or just not hugely connect with, but I'm not sure any fan of melodic black metal could really hate it.

Despite my obvious struggles with Vittra, I'm still going to rate the album well and I have every intention of giving it a few more spins to see if I can make that connection that has so far evaded me. When I force myself to concentrate on what's going on, it's almost always decent, and at no stage can I consider any track to be a failure. For this reason alone, I have no hesitation in recommending fans of Dissection give this album a listen or two and will give it 3.5 stars for now.