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Sick Seed - The Great Corrupter - 31-Oct-09 08:50 AM
This is truly a landmark album. Ive heard all of the previous Sick Seed material, but I was not prepared for The Great Corrupter. The tracks here truly exceeded my expectations, surpassing all previous SS material. Each track is filled with tiny details and slow manipulations that reward attentive listening. The songs all revolve around a few main sounds; a synth line, the vocals, mic feedback, and what sounds like a seriously fucked up guitar. The sound is always evolving, truly progressive, each sound taking center stage and then retreating. The delivery is slow and deliberate, carefully paced for maximum destruction and malice. The vocals never over power the mix, but remain ever menacing. The first half is a little more experimental. Verbanntes Land writhes, with an almost tribal mixture of bass and percussive elements, while Plague Area is almost static, thick with tension. The two biggest standouts for me are Snow Fell, an unconventional and dramatic Skrewdriver cover and The Most Hated Crime of Them All which uses a piano mantra to the most sinister effect. Despite the varied sounds used, the consistent approach and atmosphere truly create an album experience. This is essential not just for fans of that special Finnish sound, but all for anyone into Power Electronics. Dont sleep on this, because with quality like this it will be gone fast.

Deathspell Omega - Fas – Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum - 11-Oct-09 04:22 PM
A masterpiece through and through. Fas expands upon the style established on Kénôse, increasing the brutality and the complexity of the arrangements. Many reviews seem to focus on the seeming chaos and randomness, but there is no chaos here. These songs are structured much like classical music, containing many shifts, repeated motifs and an overall sense of movement and development. The lyrics provide the backbone for the arrangements, the drums and guitars are built around and accentuate the lyrics. When reading the lyrics and listening to the music simultaneously the chaos disappears and it becomes clear all of the seemingly unrelated parts actually exist to amplify the power of the lyrics; to create the drama. The Repellent Scars of Abandon and Election and A Chore For The Lost are two of DsOs finest moments. Seething with loathsome hatred for God and life, these are some of the most menacing riffs and vocals ever committed to tape. The artwork and packaging are top notch too, illustrating the fall of man into the most loathsome state. All hail Deathspell Omega and the end times.

Tatamax - Fairy Glen Appearances - 20-Aug-09 01:30 PM
This is why SKAM used to by the best IDM / Electro label around. This tape is summation of all the best aspects of the SKAM sound. Haunting ambient pads, glitched-out funky-fresh beats, and constantly evolving alien rhythms. The barb wire and concrete silhouettes on the cover of the tape matches the jagged sound. It reminds me of those really old Apple computers, split open stacked ten feet high in some industrial dumpster. As the last traces of electricity dissapate from the circuits, a dying drone can be heard.

Bizarre Uproar - Purification - 27-May-09 11:53 AM
A new release by BU is always a treat. Purification is less of the scathing metal abuse, shrill high frequency production, and fast loops of the past few years. Instead, the sound is somewhat similar to the newest tape releases and side projects like Xenophobic Ejaculation. The first track and also the longest is full on abuse. Low end rumble, flanger effects, and explosions of feedback and vocals. It really heats up towards the end, all relentless feedback. Track 2 and 3 feature Ms. Uproar on vocal duties as well. Call and response, male humiliation and dominance. Heavy on the bass and reverb. Superb. The next couple of tracks each contain a certain main element; bass, low end distortion or high frequency attacks. The tracks are progressive even, building into themselves into monsters of tension and violence. And fuck, the last track is totally brutal. Working from high frequency onslaught into a final burst of violence. The production on this album is really nice. Its not clean at all which I like, it sounds more like it was all recorded straight to tape. Its spacious and suffocating at the same time. Overall an awesome, 1st official, BU CD full length.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Converge - The Poacher Diaries - 13-Apr-09 02:00 AM
The Poacher Diaries was my intro to ANb and one of my first Converge CDs. I love this split, plain and simple. Its not perfect, but it doesnt matter. The production for both bands isnt really up to standard. While most people seem to think it really mauls the Converge side, I think ANb actually suffers more because theres just not enough bass. However, I have no problem overlooking this because the song writing is just murder. Seriously with a song like Mantis to start this offering of unrelenting metal fury, you know the whole album is going to kill. ANb really uses the samples so well here, giving the tracks more variety and atmosphere. Pentagram Constellation and Infected Womb have this extra level of viciousness that shreds with such intensity, you just want to bash your skull into a wall.
And the Converge side is just fucking ridiculous. Easily some of their best material. The production gives the band a whole new sound. Its not dark and creepy like their first two albums or raw and caustic like their later albums. Its not even really between those two styles, its hard to explain. Locust Reign is a fucking metalcore/grind anthem, the breakdown is just unrelenting and crushing. They Stretch For Miles and Minnesota are both slightly psychadelic in flavor, especially with the Fear and Loathing sample in the first. Very different material from Converge. The ultimate highlight of the album from either band is My Great Devastator. This could be the heaviest Converge song, right next to Love As Arson. The lyrics, the breakdown, the drumming are all spot on.
Converge and ANb are really different bands, but if you like brutal metal with unique approach both bands provide. The art is also worth mentioning, combining the drug blasphemy of ANb with the failed romance style of Converge. It really suits both bands.

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