Movies And Metal

Archive for the ‘Music Reviews’ Category

Quick history lesson for those that don’t know – Burzum is a one man black metal project from Norway who were/are very influential in what has become known as the ‘second wave of black metal’.  That one man is Varg Vikernes – a.k.a. Count Grishnackh – who was jailed in 1994 for the murder of fellow black metal musician Euronymous, guitarist with the also influential Mayhem.  Since his incarceration, Vikernes has become a sort-of poster boy for far-right political groups, given that he is partial to the odd fascist outburst and has a rather confrontational attitude that ensures that anything that bears his or the Burzum name always attracts interest.  Whilst Vikernes has always kept his far-right political views out of his music, it is a rather difficult task trying to listen to this album without bearing in mind the events that led to it, although if you can keep the two things separate then there is a lot to enjoy here.

Completely disregarding the ambient directions of his two previous albums, Vikernes has returned to the raw and grimy black metal with which he made his name back in the early 90’s. Although this will be a move welcomed by most of the black metal faithful, it can be a bit of a double-edged sword; on the one hand, making a new album that sounds like it could have been released straight after the 1994 release of Hvis Lyset Tar Oss means that the new material will sit nicely with much of Burzum’s groundbreaking early releases. On the other hand, there is the argument that says there is very little progression in the music, and that with the black metal scene Vikernes helped shape all those years ago having moved on, to some it may sound slightly anachronistic. That said, the new-found maturity in Vikernes’ vocals does lift the quality of the songs above a lot of his previous works, the adolescent screeching of old replaced with a throatier growl and even some clean, whispered vocals. 

If Burzum’s first (i.e. pre-prison) handful of releases did nothing for you then Belus won’t change your mind, but if black metal is your thing and you can look past the controversies and troubled history, then Belus can be viewed as a great album and one that’s more than worthy of a look.

Rating: 8/10

Standout Tracks: Belus’ Død, Sverddans, Keliohesten.

For Fans of: Cradle of Filth, Darkthrone, Ragnarok, 1349, Abruptum.

For more information on Burzum go to: www.burzum.org

Burzum’s new album ‘Belus’ is released on March 8th 2010 via Byelobog Productions.

Click on images to purchase album.

Buzzov*en were one of those underground bands from the late 80′/early 90′s who, along with bands such as COC, epitomised the hardcore ethic and released a slew of albums, singles and EP’s that are still looked upon today with a nostalgic lump in the throat. 

Recorded after what is seen as the band’s landmark album – the Roadrunner-released ‘Sore’ in 1994 – ‘Violence from the Vault’ consists of five tracks of raw-as-sushi sludge/grind that probably say more about the band than any of their other, shall we say, ‘proper’ albums.  Combining southern metal riffing with hardcore angst and even a touch of Godflesh-style bleakness, the songs themselves are pretty unremarkable in terms of structure – ‘Nod’ is a sixteen-minute funereal dirge of doomy moaning and scratchy noises – yet they are all played with a spirit, a middle finger to any trends or any kind of mainstream acceptance, that many bands try to achieve but few really manage.

Often mentioned in the same breath as New Orleans sluggers Eyehategod, Buzzov*en were seen as originators in a scene that would certainly be a lesser one without them.  That said, this album would only mean something to those who were there at the time, as it’s hard to see what all the fuss would have been about from these five recordings.  A useful historical document rather than an essential listen.

Rating: 3/10

Standout Tracks: Mainline.

For Fans of: Eyehategod, Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar, Napalm Death, Down, Sick of it All.

Click on album cover to purchase.

British doom legends Cathedral’s ninth album The Guessing Game sees the band in familiar territory, with the same hip-swivelling grooves that have characterised most of their output since 1995’s The Carnival Bizarre, but with a few stylistic tweaks here and there.  First track proper Funeral of Dreams contains pretty much everything that makes Cathedral great - mellotrons, proggy time changes, stomping psychedelic instrumental passages, a healthy dose of what sounds like sixties and seventies kids t.v. theme tunes (they aren’t, but there’s a definite Magic Roundabout vibe throughout) Lee Dorrian’s distinctive vocal groaning, including some neat spoken word breakdowns that for some reason bring to mind Bill Bailey on one of his musical experiments – and is all executed in the band’s typically eccentric style.  There seems to be an emphasis on throwing a few curveballs just when you think you know where each song is going; for example,   La Noche del Buque Maldito starts off all weird and trippy before kicking in with one of the most upbeat tunes a so-called doom band has ever produced.  That said, there is plenty of traditional Cathedral fare on offer here too; Edwige’s Eyes pounds and grinds (and even contains the riff to Black Sabbath’s Hole in the Sky) like it was 1993 all over again.

The production, again courtesy of Down/Crowbar collaborator Warren Riker, is a bit slicker than their last couple of albums, but as there is so much going on here with regard to layers of sound then a bit of clarity is most welcome.  With the band having been going for over twenty years, and this line-up (completed by guitarist Gaz Jennings, bassist Leo Smee and drummer Brian Dixon) together for fifteen, there’s still no shortage of ideas on how to twist the band’s core sound and keep things fresh.  Still innovative, still relevant and still brilliant, this is a cracking album from one of the UK’s most unique and underrated bands

Rating: 9/10

Standout Tracks: Funeral of Dreams, Death of an Anarchist, Edwige’s Eyes, Casket Chasers, La Noche del Buque Maldito (aka Ghost Ship of the Blind Dead), Requiem for the Voiceless, Journey’s into Jade.

For Fans of:  Black Sabbath, Corrosion of Conformity, Danzig, Sheavy, Church of Misery, The Resurrection Sorrow, Candlemass, Heaven & Hell.

For more information on Cathedral go to: www.cathedralcoven.com

Click on images to purchase.

Ever since the classic Danzig line-up disbanded in 1994, it could be argued that the bands output has been, at best, patchy.  1996’s Danzig 5: Blackacidevil was a pretty terrible cacophony of industrial bleeps and forgettable songs, whilst 1999’s Danzig 6:66 – Satan’s Child had a few glimmers of hope, but ultimately failed due to a lack of a proper guitar player (frontman Glenn Danzig himself handled most of the guitar duties) and a severe lack of the atmospherics of old.  Danzig 777: I Luciferi and Circle of Snakes followed and nodded towards a more traditional Danzig sound, but it all seemed to be too little too late.

And now we get Deth Red Saaoth.  Along with the Evil Elvis, the band now feature former Prong guitarist Tommy Victor, Glenn’s former Samhaim bandmate Steve Zing on bass and ex-Type O Negative drummer Johnny Kelly, so the band’s pedigree is without question.  And it doesn’t take very long for opening track Hammer of the Gods to put you back in those early 90’s glory days, with Glenn’s clean, bluesy vocals underpinning one of the most stomping cuts that Danzig (the band) have done for some time (it could also be said that the heavier end of Rob Zombie’s output would be a good reference point, but let’s remember who was doing this first).  Second track The Revengeful does lean towards the band’s latter output with its pinched riffing and clunking pace, although it’s still better than anything from the previous few albums.  It’s also on this track where the album’s most obvious flaw starts to reveal itself, and that is the uneven production job, courtesy of Mr. Danzig himself.  There just seems to be very little oomph in some of the songs when you expect there to be some, and Danzig albums with little in the way of dynamics have become a bit too commonplace in recent years.

Anyway, regardless of sound issues, there are a few faith-restoring gems to be had here; lead single On a Wicked Night oozes an erotic swagger that has been sorely missing for a long time, and sounds a little like classic The Cult before Glenn’s powerful pipes crank the song up a gear, whilst Pyre of Souls: Incanticle sounds like it’s straight from a movie score, with the main man harmonising over a strummed acoustic passage before the song’s part two – Pyre of Souls: Seasons of Pain – kicks in with it’s epic, brooding verse and wicked guitar solos.

Overall, Deth Red Sabaoth can be called a huge step in the right direction rather than the complete return to form that many were expecting.  Much like Ozzy Osbourne’s recent Scream album, it starts off well and ends solidly but somewhere in the middle there’s a bit of a lull where some of the songs start to sound like filler material, or could even be labelled self-parody.  Considering the combined talents of all the band members there is a sense that they seem a bit underused here, but hopefully that will remedy itself if the line-up can stick together for a while and then maybe, just maybe, Danzig will become a cohesive unit that can make consistently great albums again.  On this showing, they’re on their way but not quite there yet.

Rating: 6/10

Standout Tracks: Hammer of the Gods, Rebel Spirits, Black Candy, On a Wicked Night, Pyre of Souls: Incanticle, Pyre of Souls: Seasons of Pain.

For Fans of: Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne, The Misfits, The Resurrection Sorrow, Heaven & Hell, Type O Negative, Paradise Lost, Volbeat, Black Sabbath.

For more information on Danzig go to: www.danzig-verotik.com

Click on images to purchase Deth Red Sabaoth.

Although L.A. cybermetallers Fear Factory have released several albums since their still-brilliant 1995 masterpiece ‘Demanufacture’, they’ve never quite managed to recapture what made that album so appealing.  Steadfastly refusing to repeat themselves, 1998’s ‘Obsolete’ turned down the (forgive the pun) ‘mechanized’ approach of ‘Demanufacture’ to give the band a more ‘organic’ feel, whilst 2001’s ‘Digimortal’ veered dangerously close to nu-metal territory.  Since then there have been two other albums released under the Fear Factory name, neither featuring founder member/guitarist Dino Cazares nor either album being any more than a pale imitation of what went before.

Returning with a new line-up featuring a returning Cazares and ex-Testament drummer Gene Hoglan, ‘Mechaized’ is the sound of a band giving in to the inevitable and making an album that will please long-time fans and hopefully give a new generation an idea of what all the fuss was about in the first place.  Recalling the fury and dynamics, along with the mechanical sound and cold feel, of ‘Demanufacture’ without being a carbon copy, there are still a few stylistic tweaks and a renewed sense of creation and invention throughout the album, but most importantly there are songs here.  And not just one or two catchy reminders of past glories but a whole album’s worth of Fear Factory in full flight, mixing death metal brutality and industrial harshness with some (but not too many) haunting melodies, along with their trademark bass drum/rhythm guitar thrashings. 

Cazares return has no doubt been the biggest influence on this album, as his guitar is definitely more technical and still the heart and soul of the band’s sound, whilst Hoglan’s drumming is quite simply astounding – replacing the human drum machine that was Raymond Herrera was never going to be an easy feat, but Hoglan’s speed and precision are almost inhuman.  Tracks like the thrashing ‘Oxidizer’ and the brutal ‘Fear Campaign’ certainly equal anything from the band’s past, and given time the whole album should hopefully give the band a new benchmark by which to measure future releases.  Overall, this is a pretty spectacular return to form from a band that, in a just world, should have been hitting the commercial heights of fellow metallers Slipknot and Korn.  Hopefully their time is now.

Rating: 9/10

Standout Tracks: Mechanized, Fear Campaign, Powershifter, Oxidizer, Controlled Demolition.

For Fans of: Divine Heresey, Slipknot, Machine Head, White Zombie, Sepultura, Testament, Slayer, Godflesh, Pitchshifter.

Click on album cover to purchase.

For more information on Fear Fractory visit: www.fearfactorymusic.com