Once breathing under the moniker DE PROFUNDIS (I still wonder why it is that Symphonic BM and Goth bands seem to choose this name), AD INFERNA play a not very innovative variant of symphonic BM. Generally speaking, there are a number of obvious (DIMMU BORGIR, CRADLE OF FILTH, EMPEROR) and other not so obvious influences. The first time I heard the CD, I even thought there were some LIMBONIC ART touches to it, but fortunately or not, AD INFERNA never come close to what the Norwegian duo create.

Magistralec Ouverture is a quite long intro to L’Émpire des Sens. Some might consider it way too long. Others might praise it for the interesting arrangements. My personal opinion lies somewhere in between ~ I quite like the arrangements, but agree to it being interesting only at first listening sessions.

Votre Déchéance is not quite as aggressive as I had imagined ~ there seems to be at least one instrument (be it the guitar or keyboards) that cuts all the aggressiveness.

By the third minute of Mon Âme Noire I had already surrendered to the calmer part of the song ~ though I would gladly do without the female vocals.

In To Enter the Tragic Symphony, keyboards tend to become interesting every now and then.however, there is the problem of the too obvious COF influences, also in vocals.

The album features two guest musicians: Marco B. of OBSIDIAN GATE, who performs the orchestral introduction of L’Émpire des Sens and Robynne of DAEONIA, who performs the female vocals. Furthermore, a cover version of FALKENBACH’s Balturs Tod has been included and is sung by ex~SETH’s Vicomte Vampyr. Definitely one of the highlights of the album (or is it because I adore the original version?), alongside the title track.

Not generalising to the band as a whole, I would say the biggest problem with L’Empire des Sens is that this debut album sounds too much like DIMMU BORGIR and CRADLE OF FILTH, which comes as a result of keyboards and female vocals being close to the above mentioned bands’. AD INFERNA could definitely be more original. After a while, I get the impression I have to listen to the CD to the end for reviewing purposes only, that is to say: the album has a tendency to become boring ~ which is not a very healthy feeling.

Musicians are good, but somehow somewhat ‘artificial’. Although the album is above the average, I would not consider it that striking. There seems to be something lacking. Future albums might help overcome the absence of this vital element.

Myspace Ad Inferna

// Click Here To Make a Comment

Well who are Straighthate, well they come from Greece, uhhh nice place for a vacation, but who cares who they are, we are here to talk about their latest album, that they gave me a copy, how nice of them heheh, called “Indigenous”, the music fits into a kinda “Death Grindcore Hardcore Metal” thing, just like they say on their website, again, how nice, lets check to see if the music is nice as well, shall we.

I guess Indigenous is plagued by some of the same shit that plagues this kind of music, after a while it all seems the same, it doesn’t feel like its really a band problem as much as a musical genre problem, there are only so much ways you can blast away, well anyways it all starts off from “Middle Class Kidds” with the all too smoothing blasting and growling, its kinda quick and simple grindcorish track, not too bad, “Cannibalistic Society” is more a hardcore grind with nuances at the end, “Higher” starts up with … i don’t know some kind of movie sound sample with people struggling while Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane Starship sing “White Rabbit” on the background… what? higher? hey not all hippies were high hahaha, well anyways it then goes into blast hardcore and kinda keeps like that till the end, still with a nice pace to back it up, “You’ll Never see Heaven” starts off slower more verging on the hardcore side, still with intermittent blasting and then back to the full on blasting grind, till halfway were it kinda goes to more a death mood, humm a bit spliced together but still nice riffs and interesting listening, “Ethnocide” is a bit of a 2min throwaway track blasting half way to more growling and more blasting.

“Curse the Unholy Corpse of Jesus” is another kinda mess of track, and not in a good way, the vocalist seems to be everywhere on this one… txaaa you don’t need to growl all the way through, sometimes not talking makes a bigger impact, let the music speak for you, “Stench of Immortality” is back on the hardcore side of things, and a much better listen, kinda reminds me a bit of hardcore punk, well with the added screaming howls, finishes on a more moody groove, solid track, “Company Car” moves us back into the griding and blasting, kinda standard stuff, “Procreate” is a bit groovier hardcore grind track that finishes with a guitar lead, cool, now “Isolator” kinds starts a bit techie but grows back into full blast grind, “Kollapse” is a bit of more groovier kind of death hardcore metal, i liked it, mostly cause it has a bit of everything and still sounds pretty distinct from the rest of the the album, “Which One of Us is Gonna Die First” again starts off with more hardcore metal and kinda goes on… but well you all know what i feel about 15min tracks, unless they are going to do some groundbreaking stuff, then they mostly suck, this one is ok with some not that good parts… still about half way it stops for the “ethereal” sounds and the low guitar number finishing with some talk that gets lost on someone like me that grabs a cd to listen to music not to someones thought agendas… boring, especially for re-playability… skip skip.

From production values, lets say its ok, a bit muddy at times, still even though most tracks aren’t awesome, there are some interesting ones, also cause most tracks keep it short it listens well as a whole even when they start a lot of tracks with interesting and groovy intros and then blast away until the end, not following through, uhhh also i found the track names quite charming heheh, so what can i say of “Indigenous” humm like i said above this genres are a bit difficult to move beyond what is expected, even if you fuse and mash them together like Straigthate intended, i would say that this album is a solid album for those genres, these guys know theirs chops, this isn’t some garage shit, so if you are into hardcore or grind, be sure to check them out its a pretty sweet listening, but if you are looking for enlightenment, fish elsewhere ^_^

Myspace Straighthate | Video for Ethnocide

Straighthate – Higher
Straighthate – Stench of Immortality

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

// There Are At Least 3 Comments, Click Here To See

Meshuggah “Obzen”, ahhh it just flows out so sweetly, well here we go, first of all i would like to say, kind of like a disclaimer that Meshuggah might be my all time favorite band, so please take that into consideration with the review to this piece of shit… wait… maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, i get this very strange vibe, just like with Tool’s 10000 Days, that the hype did not help at all, well lets start from the beginning, Meshuggah hail from Sweden and play “normally” a form of metal i like to describe as math metal (just like there is math rock) even though i like to call it calc metal, but if you want a more precise category i would say progressive death/thrash metal (wikipedia decided to call this avant-garde metal or experimental metal, but well we all know wikipedia is apparently filled with a bunch of crack heads that think that editing a piece of text on a website makes it true, fuck them), and their new album is out and its called Obzen, we have previously reviewed their albums Nothing and Catch 33, so lets get into it, shall we.

Obzen, is a shambled of an album … its not a “this doesn’t make sense” in a good way, its a “what the hell were they thinking”, i always expect new stuff or weird stuff from them, very little is ever normal and as such i find it very refreshing and enticing, but even in all the madness there was always something coherent, something that made sense, they were like Matryoshka Dolls, were each layer was different but it all fitted perfectly and therefore it made sense… now this “album” (if i should call it that) is like me getting tracks from their different albums and making a best of, sure there would be great tracks but it would all sound like shit together.

Well, I wont be talking a great deal about each track, no point really, the first 2 tracks, “Combustion” and “Electric Red” have nothing in common with the rest of the album, they sound like refreshed thrash metal, while “Bleed” (the single by the way… remember what i said about the 10000 Days single…) has nothing to with the rest of the album, its a mind blowing track with Tomas Haake doing a freakish double bass drum work that makes me lack the words to described it, it all sounds like white sound from a television… i would buy the album just for that track … but this inconsistencies go further, also the over abuse of “commercial” sounding ruses like slowing down or stopping a song to build it up again… cause i counted… they used it 7 times (that i noticed) almost in every single track, you know at some point that they will pause for some micro shitty interlude, I’ve got no problem with that, but it has to make sense… but overusing it is like Linkin Park making micro intros for every single shitty track they put out (sorry just went and saw one of their live shows and they sucked a bit).

“Lethargica” is next and the name fits the song, its kinda an OK track, with no big highlights it kinda drags on, now the title track “Obzen” is another beast, much more innovative and a bit of a headbanger with a more stop-goish groove going on with loads of highlights… “This Spiteful Snake” is an intricate groovy track, but still lacking, it doesn’t seem to go anywhere and ultimately it just feels self indulgent (trying to fit every single thing into it), “Pineal Gland Optics” we get a straight back to back speedier groove, again great quality and musicianship but with nothing else to add, “Pravus” is pushing again the silliness, its interesting, but not that audible, its a mishmash of musical techniques than music, we finish with “Dancers To A Discordant System”, that starts pretty mind blowing heavy and groovy (why didn’t they do this on some of the other tracks is beyond me), but then it gets into a certain pattern and although pretty good, it wasn’t nothing to call back home.

I know, maybe i expect too much, but like every Meshuggah album it takes a certain amount of time to really start understanding the music or a album, so i took that time, but after the 100th listen, these things still bug me like hell, i was expecting a lot of different things, i was expecting “Bleed”, but no, i get this best of (when their EP I, was the right way to do a Best Of) and then you join things like the freakishly moronic cover art that looks shitty and reminds me of the endogenous Marilyn Manson of Mechanical Animals, were at least he went over the top with it (in a good way), while with Meshuggah its just silly.

Ahh i wont drag this too long, they said in a interview that this was the first time they really had the time to make a album, and not be in a hurry, well then i hope for the next one, they’ll have to make it over a weekend, for sure we would get a masterpiece, this is above all a disappointment and will rarely fit my Meshuggah everyday playlist, don’t get me wrong, all this ranting should be taken with a touch of salt, the production is pretty much on the mark, and there are some really cool tracks (“Bleed” is Beyond Awesome), but i do expect a lot from this band, and I’m sorry to say but this time it feels, they over promised and under delivered, and that to me is a shame.

Official Site Meshuggah.net | Myspace Meshuggah | Vidcult Bleed Video

Meshuggah – Bleed

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

// There Are At Least 6 Comments, Click Here To See

Uhh Melechesh, even though i was going to review this, still someone had to tell me i HAD TO REVIEW THIS ONE, so ok… here it goes, Melechesh hails from Jerusalem but its actual headquarters are in the Netherlands, playing a self titled “Mesopotamian Metal”, well i don’t know about the self titled genres… a bit more and well see a bunch of bands saying ohhh no we play “Manhattan Death” or Amazoniancore hehehe, so for everyone that finds that silly, we’ll just call it a fusion of Black Metal with traditional Middle Eastern instruments, well lets have a listen, shall we.

Humm we start things off with “Rebirth Of The Nemesis” and it starts off pretty well i do feell its black metal with the garish voice and slowburn, but this is one groovy track, combining blasting and more groove oriented passages with some pretty impressive guitar and drumming work, very fresh approach… finishing it up with a very black metalish with a all male chorus, great show, “Ladders To Sumeria” hummm i don’t know … starts off like humm dont know… pretty simple i guess… then onto black metal bashing, again with clean vocal chorus, it reminds me of the kind of ethnical trickery that SOAD does pretty well (even though sometimes to excess), but it does bring some fresheness to this weird track, sounds something between hardcore/metalcore and black metal, still a solid entertaining track, “Deluge Of Delusional Dreams” ok… maybe its me but another strange start… maybe im expecting black metal and getting something different, we get strange funky riffing that goes into a metalcorish groove, ok… its cool, then the black metal comes in, with the vocal and double bass and riffing, with again some clean vocal chorus, about 2/3 way it changes into something else… kinda another groove guitar blast combo, entirely more ethical riffing, well well although already pretty formolaic, still its a pretty good listening until now, above all else it has a lot of groove.

“Touching The Spheres Of Sephiroth” starts off diferently, much more by the book black metal, well and it goes all the way through, humm a much diferent beast than before, much more focused, “Gyroscope” starts with some guitar work, then bass, then into a cool almost etchnical riff, then drumming and now a fool blown ethnical riff, humm its pretty nice, it feels black metal but not quite there, pretty cool track, “Double Helixed Sceptre” again a slow start, then a more electric riff to a blast beat and … damn some weird riff drum combo…. that brings to the black metal, and again the weird riff drum combo, this is one hell of a track and we haven’t got half way, very original, humm with voice it slows down a bit… and again back to black metal and the clean vocal chorus, and about 2/3 it goes into full blow black metal again… humm very interesting track, “The Scribes Of Kur” is a clean middle eastern instruments interlude, “Leper Jerusalem” is going again a bit into the Metalcore/Hardcore camp, then if slows down into a groove and its pretty much that, still a solid tune.

“Sand Grain Universe” is a much speedier track, still into the same black metal groove, just speedier, i kinda like it a bit better than the normal… slower kinda hehehe… and this track does it credit, loads of blasting and etchnical riffing with some slower tempos to enphasise on the higher speed, nice balance and again nice groove, “Emissaries And The Mysterium Magnum” starts of into a bass guitar combo, then into a blasting riffing and a toolish muffered vocals in the background kind of thing, this all stops with the vocals into a cutted riffing style, pretty cool, still this track has a weird tempo, with a pretty sweet guitar solo (especially because if fits into the mood) and then finally it ends with the… kinda obvious ethnically infused instrumental only “Extemporized Ophtalmic Release”.

Someone said it was kinda like Nile, humm dont know about that, sure there is a over enthusiasm with the themes and the ethnical instruments, and that kinda drags it a bit down… i think a band never wants to be fixed into a planet, when they should be aiming for the universe… but oh well, to each its own, and dont get me wrong, this wasnt the first listen but i did went in thinking it was black metal/death metal kinda of a Nile thing, and it sure isnt, they are 2 diferent beasts, and although i do like Nile, seems Melechesh will have a place there as well, if not because of the grooviness and little tidbits everywhere of musicianship and originality that i do enjoy ever so much ^_^

Official Site Melechesh | Video for Genies, Sorcerers and Mesopotamian Nights

Melechesh – Rebirth Of The Nemesis

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

// There Are At Least 2 Comments, Click Here To See

VAHLADIAN are not coming from Valhalla, although they certainly seem to be heading that way. September 1999 watched the planting of a seedling that blossomed in May 2002, by establishing a line-up consisting of Alberto Cases (bass), Alfonso del Corral (guitar), Carlos Ribes (guitar), Jlián Campos (drums), José M. Cebrián (vocals) and Pablo Barrios (keyboard).

The self-titled debut was recorded at the Torre de Marfil Studios (Valencia), produced by VAHLADIAN and mastered at El Cielo de Madrid (ARS AMANDI, amongst others).

The particularity in VAHLADIAN lies chiefly in the fact that the average band member’s age does not exceed twenty, yet these Spaniards achieve much with their playing and song-writing skills, for the present opus features ten tracks of Spanish-bred melody, presenting a mixture between Power Metal and the more complex Progressive Metal. Musically, VAHLADIAN are very heavily influenced by IRON MAIDEN, whereas vocals remind Spanish Heavy Metal, and ANGRA, RHAPSODY or METALIUM. The opener Áureo Lamento is very well accomplished and happens to be my favourite, but most songs have that necessary amount of catchiness that will make you hum some of the songs by the end of the first listen. Por la Sangre, Vida is not bad either. I do admit, however, that hearing ‘Puños de Acero´ instead of ´Fists of Steel´ is somewhat anti-climatic, but that is a constant. The band sings in Spanish only.

VAHLADIAN also invited Jorge Salán for the guitar lead in Lágrimas Negras Parte 2. the end result is very pleasant indeed. Then there are lots of moments throughout the album where you sometimes feel you went 20 years back in time (such as the beginning of Reinas de la Oscuridad), which is very good indeed.

For first timers, Vahladian is fine and very much worth the listen.

Official Sites Vahladian.com

// Click Here To Make a Comment

Oh dear… this is one those albums thats hard as hell to review but oh so fun to listen to… if that doesn’t abode well for Car Bomb (nice name by the way… kinda appropriate) i don’t know what will, so Car Bomb is what i would call a Mathcore band, following the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan and Psyopus… so lets have a look see.

It all starts off with a bit of a bang with “Pieces of You”, you kinda get a picture right away of what this is all about, the music is a bit more cut and paste than The Dillinger Escape Plan, i mean they have smoother transitions, unlike Car Bomb were most of the time you see cuts between segments in the music, its not too bad cause the segments are pretty rockin, but still … cut and paste, “Gum Under The Table” comes next and a kind of fused death fuzzed metal groove going on into a electronic passage into a hardcorish kind of breakdown… and then… might i say a Meshuggah big wall of sound break… humm very nice.

Well i wont bore everyone by examining every track, suffice to say all of them seem and sound very fresh, they all follow this constant cutting and are very much founded into a more hardcore and harsh foundation, but again with loads of different stuff going around, maybe the most notable track for me is the very awkward “Best Intentions”, the rest is kind of a blazing blur of blasting and jazzing.

So… ok… is it good? txaaaa, i don’t know, like i said above this kind of music is difficult to give it a heads up or down, these boys have skill, but i do understand why a lot of people might not like it, its a bit too cut up, they barely capitalize on good grooves, i guess they seem to be in too much of a hurry to play something else, so yeah if you like weird technical metal maybe Car Bomb is just the right fit.

Official Site Car Bomb (great domain by the way)

Car Bomb – M^6
Car Bomb – His Eyes

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

// Click Here To Make a Comment