This is the kind of album that’s hard to review… well because it’s so awesome, i know, i know, so instead of going on a rant fest and just saying good things about everything, i’ll just give a quick and dirty review, i’ll try and talk about the things i like the most and a bit of the background.

Well Fredrik Thordendal’s Special Defects is basically a solo project of … well … Frederik Thordendal, the lead guitarist from the best band in the world… Meshuggah (well at least i think so, muahahah) and one of the best in the world in my opinion… ohhh well gotta stop with the ranting, so the Sol Niger Within crew is: Thordendal on the guitars (and pretty much everything else…), then Meshuggah buddy drummer Tomas Haake on vocals …. yeah vocals hehehe oh and Marcus Persson as well with some vocals, Morgen Agren on the drums (from the progressive rock band Kaipa), Jerry Ericsson on bass, Mats Oberg on keyboards and Jonas Knutsson on the saxophone.

This solo project was completed, pretty much after Meshuggah’s - Destroy Erase Improve, so in a lot of ways it borrows from it, so you got the polyrhythmic calc metal, with all the niceties, the difference is that instead of being greeted with a standard Meshuggah tracks we are given a more experimental trip that combines those features with complex jazz elements and eerie atmospheric sections… its difficult to explain, well let’s just say it, that if this was a Meshuggah album i would say it has 5 Meshuggah tracks and 8 strange interludes, strange but not bad, it kinda all works together, it’s catchy and combines well the rawness of metal with some weird softening undertones.

Well it’s not all flowers and happy bunnies, all this stuff sure does bring a strange pace to the album, and sometimes it feels it’s just played out too long, but i think it works pretty well, its one of those albums you have to listen to it to believe it. Also note that there are at least 2 distinct versions, the original 1997 one and a 1999 remix with better audio and extra tracks, the album has 26 tracks (some a couple of seconds long…) but it works pretty much like one big track, anyway it’s supposed to be one big song and you should listen to it like so, so both versions are pretty much the same, also the mp3’s here, the first is basically the first 2 tracks, “The Beginning of the End of Extraction (Evolutional Slow Down)” and “The Executive Furies of the Robot Lord of Death” (yeah funny track names), both together are about 3min long, and the second is one of the extra tracks from the 1999 version.

Yeah i know it’s weird, strange and somewhat kinky and of course the taste for Meshuggah does enhance the experience… but what can i say i like it ^_^.oO( NO, i love it )

Somewhat Official Site? Myspace Fredrik Thordendal’s Special Defects

Fredrik Thordendal Special Defects - Sol Niger Within First 2 Tracks
Fredrik Thordendal Special Defects - Missing Time

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Destruction Ritual is Krieg’s acclaimed full-length… but I would say it is pushing it a bit too far calling this a ‘full-length’ recording: 4 of the songs are included in The Church and I believe most of the remaining songs are re-recordings of old demo tracks. But okay, let us call it a new album for the moment and move on to what Imperial (guitars, vocals, effects) and Duane Timlin (session drummer) brought forth, with a little help from Judas Iscariot’s Akhenaten in the engineering of the album.

The oh-so-evil hymns in the CD are Destruction Ritual, To Wander The Stars…, The Ancient Dwells Beneath, As Graveyard Rites…As Darkness Fell, Coldwind Flame, The Immaculate Whore, Suicide Amidst Katharsis, A Crumbling Shrine, Black Ash Snowfall, Enhanced Soil Where Fierce Battles Once Raged and Still Waters Shall Remain Their Tombs.

As a (direct) result of these being old tracks re-recorded, the general feeling is that Krieg remained faithful to the original raw, hateful, fast, brutal and grim BM roots. There are no keyboards, no nice melodies, no warm feelings here. That is the good thing about this album (in addition to the interesting intro. Even though intros have become almost standard and the everyday cliché, I liked it all right). At least one does not have to put up with all these ‘happy black/pink metal clowns’. No bass was used on the recording of this album. The production is good (for the raw standards one would have in mind). I would even say it is better than most raw releases of late. The only flaw is the low (almost inaudible/incomprehensible) guitars.

The album is not that varied. In a way, I guess it does have some of the typical American Black Metal (if there is such a thing) touch, because I could not really place this album in Europe. The main difference being the better played drums. The highlight of the album is definitely the double bass pedal technique. One word of praise to Duane!

It is tiring to see all these ‘true BM’ bands, whose only claim to fame is to say they are evil and trendless and ‘fuck posers and sissies’. I cannot really say Krieg are much different in that respect: after all, it has become the next big trend to say ‘Fuck trends’, so basically whatever one does in the music scene nowadays is a paradox in the least (or a very big stunt). A paradox which is enhanced when looking at the booklet. There are of course no lyrics (I am not sure no one needs them anyway) and the cover is as usually very interesting (mostly for its simplicity). HOWEVER, for someone who shouts ‘Death to Mankind’ and ‘We hate you all’ all the time, Krieg have a seemingly HUGE thanks-list, occupying the inlay (for a clearer picture, you should know the black/white booklet has 4 pages). Quite striking.

It has become increasingly difficult to differentiate between all these raw bands and give each their own personal characteristics. Krieg do have their own touch, in a way sounding like a faster version of Judas Iscariot (with a different guitar sound, WHEN you can actually hear it). ‘Destruction Ritual’ is clearly an album which is not for the masses, mainly because it sticks to the same basis from beginning to end (a polite way to say they might get boring). I am sure their ‘fans’ will forgive them for that.

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Acheron should be a reference band as regards music and ideology to a number of (satanic) Death and Black Metal bands out there. I have not exactly been a regular follower of the band, but I do recognise the importance (or lack thereof) of Rebirth: Metamorphosing into Godhood.

I was expecting something good – with the experience Mr Vincent Crowley, Michael Estes and Kyle Severn [also known as The Unholy Trinity] have been gathering through the years (since 1988), both on an ideological and musical level.

The first track is okay – inverted readings set the mood for the ritual that is to follow. And the album does have some sort of energy and high moments, often going mystical and other times, plain evil. Xomaly and The Kindred are obviously wreaking havoc from the first second – and some other songs have the occasional highlight that make the album worth the listen. Proof that the Acheron sound has not only matured with time, but also found a way to express its own identity.

The production is not bad – in fact, it is heavy and gives the album a powerful edge. But… it could have been better. Sometimes – quite often, in fact – the album tends to become monotonous, because there is a sound of ‘sameness’ in the songs that does not allow the listener to fully appreciate the offering. The album is listenable – I have heard far worse, but… with a teaser like Xomaly, I was expecting a bit more. The 9th Gate was also disposable, but Acheron should know what they are doing.

All in all, Acheron should not disappoint the diehard fans with this album, but I really think they have written more enticing music in the past. The fact remains that the Satanic word is spread through and through.

Official Site www.acheron666.com

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I could say i have a sort of love/hate relationship with grindcore, mostly because when its well made, it’s completely and utterly awesome, but most of the times its just an amalgam of noise and not in the good sense, also i could say i have the same feeling with electronic music in general, so when Aaron Specter’s Drumcorps pulls this “Grist” saying it’s a mixing of grindcore and breakcore… i tend to take it with a grain of salt.

It all starts up with “Botch Up and Die” and it’s pretty grindcore, kinda of a homage to Botch, with the eccentric guitars over a grind blast beat, its not only amusing but quite groovy, nicely done, “Down” is kinda dance meets noisecore with distorted samples and guitars into the mix, okkk, “Pig Destroyer Destroyer” has some nice drumming building to a slowed down chopped distorted noise filled beat … are we making fun of Pig Destroyer?, is this supposed to be a compliment or a satire, anyway it all builds up to a distorted guitar breakcore fest, mixing real life drumming with beats and distortion….

“Terrible Things” tsss is a kind of atmospheric interlude to build up “Forgive and Forget” going heavy on the guitars and groove breakdown, pretty awesome beats and catchy samples, it all works pretty well, even with the constant distortion and changes of pace (i guess it’s the point…right), it all goes flat at about 2/3 in… letting it die with echoes and guitar feedback, then it goes into “Grainbeast” that just builds on that feedback… working as another interlude to “Saddest RMX” and back to a more pure form of grindcore, great variety of beats and of mixing them up, but yet short simple and to the point, i liked it, “Incarnate” brings us home to … Amen Break land, old school beats and simple samples…. that get worked up and mingled into some form of breakcore thrash metal, pretty good, i like the old school feel… you can even headbang in the end muahahah

“Worse” starts with some drum work to some spaced out samples, well it feels like another intro to “Time” that builds from the last track into a smooth beat guitar work, that is until it goes all out into grindcore planet, what i like about this is that even when something doesn’t sound that good… it doesn’t matter, since nothing stays on loop for long, and the diversity is very well mixed together… then the last track “Grist” again gives a toned down funky beat … joined later with guitars and sampled vocals, still pretty groovy, the track goes on with different mixing of the same samples, giving them more speed or power, but keeping the same rhythm, it’s pretty nice, until it eventually dies down.

One things is for sure, you have to listen to this from start to finish, at first i tried a couple of tracks and i didn’t know what to think of it, now that i’ve listen to it a couple of times, i can say that this is one funky album, its good for the headbanger metal head that likes it hard and fast, and good for the breakcore noisecore crowd, i enjoyed it… so if your into this kind of music or you want to try something with a bit of an aftertaste, than give this album a go ^^

Official Site Drumcorps
MySpace Site Drumc0rps

Drumcorps - Botch Up and Die
Drumcorps - Forgive and Forget

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