CORPSE CARVING Tracks 1-12
Tracks 13- 22
BONUS TRACKS
CORPSE CARVING: Tracks 23-29
MINCER: Tracks 30-32
Still under the very common belief that hardly anything good or even decent comes out of Italy… At this point, we WELCOME YOU TO PROVE US WRONG, ITALY. At first, I was feeling a little bad because the first thing I noticed about this cd is that, you can’t understand what is being said. Although, the music is somewhat decent on Corpse Carvings end. I could do a track-by-track account of things here but, I won’t for two very simple reasons.
1) In as fluid a form as possible, these songs are almost identical all the way through, give or take a few samples from movies such as “From Hell”.
2) There are 32 tracks on this split cd. Thirty-Two.
Back to the issue with the lyrics, yes, damn right you cannot understand what is being said. This becomes an issue until you flip through the booklet, which says, “No vocal effects or Even lyrics were used on all these recordings.” It makes the entire single syllable action make sense! (In a cave-man kind of way) I actually think all of these tracks (yes, all 32 of them) are the same song slightly tweaked a little. It’s not too noticeable where one bands music ends and the other begins. Between Corpse Carving and Mincer, this is basically one big migraine. Again, the music for at least Corpse Carving is bearable, but nothing about Mincer is. Still, no lyrics, just a gruntingly raspy croak-like belch of noise. This entire set of Mincers, sounds completely machine done. No actual instruments can be heard at all… Well, maybe a strung-out prostitute with the ability to strum a few chords with her big toe as she twitches on the floor into a coma while lying beside a guitar. Hey, this cd does have a nice cover layout and design. That’s something…
****
I don’t know what to say about this. A 99 year old grandmother could move faster than what this music accomplishes. There are 6 tracks on this cd, all agonizing to listen to. Really, I am stifled. It’s slow; it’s far from being impressive. All tracks sound exactly the same. The only thing I have gotten from this cd is, the songs intros all sound like the music that you would hear in some B-rate vampire movie. Lyrical content consists of words borrowed/ taken from Crowley himself. So, what we end up with is, music that has, in its most obvious right, had absolutely no thought put into it. Nothing. Upon track 4, I am still horrified that such shit can be released and actually be something someone expects people to listen to. And yeah, Granny flew past us way back there at track 3. And yet, here we are, droning about awaiting the finish of this cd. It’s not a high recommendation from us. While we appreciate that Death Frost are doing what they love, it’s just simply, not for us. It left one of our listeners sitting on the floor saying "I feel like I have been violated."
Yeah, we all do...
****
Highly energetic black metal. There is no place for the typical assumption that all black metal is poorly recorded when it comes to this cd. “Religious Suffocation” comes to us in very high quality, raising the standards for the general production of black metal. This 9 track cd also comes highly charged with lyrical content both powerful and well thought out. From the greed of humankind to our shameless inability to be anything but destructive and one-sided. There is no ass-kissing anywhere on this cd. Of course we love that! However, there are downfalls here. There are many riffs and such reminiscent of some very well known bands. ( Buy the cd and figure it out) We really don’t care about that though. This is not your typical “shock-value” bm release. It contains content with straight-forward views and direction. Nothing left to say here. If you see this cd, pick it up. It’s not money wasted.
****
Recently, we were submitted a 5 song mini cd entitled 'Asunder The Surface’. This is what death metal is supposed to be! To the letter it is perfection. It has been what seems like an eternity since we have heard vocals this controlled and strong. It is an absolutely great production. This entire outfit of musical-mastery leaves nothing left to be perfected that the ear can hear. It’s strong and aggressive and precisely what you want to hear when you put a death metal cd into your cd player. There is not a boring moment to be found on this 5 track cd. Sol Asunder have masterfully managed to weave death, black and melodic styles throughout this cd. On behalf of Cryptic Chamber as a whole, anyone who finds themselves into death metal would be absolutely mentally malfunctioned to not want to get their hands on the ‘Asunder The Surface’ cd.
****
The vocals are very hit and miss here. Firstly, you have the "garage" messy growl-like vocals followed immediately with some old wanna-be 80's vocals. Almost the 'happy macaroni and cheese' kind of thing. The music for track one is fairly simplistic and most unimpressive. In all honesty, upon placing the cd into the player, it gives a very promising impression...but that goes away quickly. Track two is more musically inclined. Both vocals and instruments work very well together. This track sounding more particularly melodic black than power metal. To this point, whatever the band is trying to do here musically, is rather confusing. I have to say, while the 80's vocals are extremely annoying, the drums in track fours intro are very good. But again, if vocalist Akira Shishido would focus more on the heavy vocals, this would be a pretty tight outfit.
Lets take the mullet, for example. Even in the 80's, the whole " Business in the front; Party in the back " thing wasn't really working. It's 2005. Instead of trying to recreate the past in order to avoid the present, which frankly, is what some musicians tend to do, (ie: guys looking like chicks and wearing just as much make-up and hair shit with their soft ass lyrics) why not create an entirely new sound, instead of hanging onto things like the vocals I have gone on and on about. As far as blunt opinion, the way this band sounds now is just not enough for me to want to spend money on.
****
BLACKMARKET BODYPARTS
This is what we call a “ blur kit ”. This means, we have received lots of random songs (dates old-new) and information relevant to what is immediately available. This in no way effects how we deal with a band or their package. However, due to this not being in form of a proper cd, we have reviewed each available song.
The Dead Body Man -
This ones quality isn't that great. It’s annoying actually. Possibly, because it’s an ICP cover. Enough said.
The Shining -
This is a nice quality. The song drags a bit due to a slight monotony. It opens with this sleepy nightmarish guitar twang. There are two strands of vocals going on here, which compliment each other very well. One being an almost thrashy sound and the other being considerably black metal. All in all, musically speaking, this has a very 80's feel with a unique darkness to it.
Midgets Who Murder Transvestites –
Firstly, this title does provoke quite an entertaining image, doesn’t it? Hey death metal again! Kind of Deicide-ish. ( Kind of ) This song is all over the place, it works. It’s oddly entertaining for a song that doesn’t have a lot going on and is only 2:09 long.
Decaying Next To You –
Back to thrash. Rowdy…choppy… yeah. I hate this song . The singing parts in this are horrible. They rip this song completely apart. Just doesn’t help maintain a good flow. It actually just sounds like this band couldn’t be bothered even recording this one.
Perdition Pt. II –
Starts with a brilliant acoustic forward. Very simplistic with a matched for sound guitar interruption. There’s some singing here which reminds me a bit of Fates Warning. That’s a bonus in itself. The guitar walks all over this song in a very fine form. Nothing here is overstated. It’s all pieced together so well. This song is on the edge of doom. Not heavy by any means, but fantastically constructed. A scattered scream and a solo with a few rough tones make this one of the best songs we have received from a band in a long time. The solo in the middle is a bit stretched, however, In its 6:50 time, this song flies past you in a seeming few seconds.
****
The beginning of this cd is very atmospheric with its simple but intriguing keyboard. Almost like some sort of murder mystery theme. It is really an unusual format of music. The vocals remind me somewhat of COF. There is a lot of energy to be found here. This is more in the vein of some of the better produced and put together black metal. The instruments are not short of great. In all actuality, all instruments seem to be doing entirely different things. But, they form well together to create a very impressive collection of music. The vocalist has the ability to hold one hell of a note, which is rather staggering. ( He probably passes out a lot ) But again, it is COF similar, but far more listenable than that. Some of the tracks, (track 3 for example) sound a bit like a carnival gone mad. My only issue here is that some of the songs are far too long. While they are all very good and well put together, there is such a thing as too much. And we all know, too much of something can sometimes get boring very quickly. This cd is what you would expect modern day black metal to sound like. It's well produced and strong. But, as with most black metal, it's not something you would want to listen to in your car. This cd is an easy one to leave on repeat... Its worth a purchase.
****
PLAINFIELD GHOULS
This is very obviously recorded in some back alley sewer. We don't know a lot about this band. Actually, we know NOTHING about them, being it was an anonymous submission that came with no information whatsoever. What we do know, is that these guys are apparently in Ayr, Scotland and are Misfits fans who think that the music they are doing is highly original on their part. (Not happening) Here's what I am getting from this. I won't even bother getting into the whole "track this or that" b.s. All of these songs sound EXACTLY the same. But why not be a bit less vague ? This music is so so very boring. Let's start with the guitar(s), (I don't know how many there are because WE RECEIVED NO INFORMATION) If there is more than one guitar here, then that's just fucking sad. Two cents says you can figure out what I mean.
Now, I don't know for sure if the drummer is indeed the victim of an amputated leg, but it sure as fucking shit sounds like he may be missing one if not both of them. I think if you tied a drum stick to a convulsing monkeys ass and set him by a drum set, he would probably sound a bit better. Onward... the vocals are shit. The vocalist could have a very permanent cold or just constantly want to vomit. Whatever the case may be, he sounds a bit viral, I don't know. Whatever it is, let's just recommend that he not give up his day job. Hell, if anyone in Ayr is reading this, somebody get these guys some jobs because musically, I don't think they are going any farther than wherever it is they find themselves right now. Not in the real world anyway. Although, I am sure there are some nice skanky little pathetic children who just want to hang onto some silly band with no talent as much as the band probably wants to hang onto them.
Let us mourn...
****
NECRODEMON: ALLEGIANCE TO THE END
“Great Lucifer, hear us, Give us the power...”
Well, kind of silly to start with. After all of the nonsense chatter in the beginning, the music is completely monotonous. It’s really hard to like anything about this stuff. But, if you like thrash mixed with fuck knows what then ( death/ black metal??? ), maybe it's for you. (Wait a minute, I have a visual…) Picture that little fat hairy guy from Grim Reaper… the vocals sound exactly like the Grim Reaper guy looks...There just doesn’t seem to be a hell of a lot of thought or creativity put into anything here. All of the music seems to be on a default few riffs. It’s altogether boring. This is what I would expect from some guys who are maybe about 14 or so years old. It’s unimpressive to say the least. I am sure there are a ton of labels that would jump on this band, hell, look at some of the shit on the market right now. But, It’s not our thing. By track four, you’re already under the assumption you have made it all the way through to track ten. Agonizing. There is great potential for this band to actually be creative and better master the vocals. Whether or not they intend to do so is their issue. Maybe break up the sound a bit. There is, however, a peek of creativity in the start of track six, but it doesn’t last long enough to keep me from hitting that skip button.
Look, it’s a review , our personal opinion which does not reflect that of anyone else. It’s not some form of religion or concrete text that need be read too much into. Creative criticism is all it comes down to. Each band makes music that feels right for them and we commend that… we just don’t have to dig it. So, to our readers, buy the Necrodemon cd and see if it’s something that may spark an interest with you. To each his own, right?
