JUSTIN’S METAL REVIEWS W/C
25/02/08
VIRGIN BLACK / REQUIEM –
FORTISSIMO
Wow this is one hell of an album, these guys are from
Australia, Adelaide to be precise and their brand of Doom laden Gothic Metal
with Symphonic tendencies is one of the most powerful, sombre and haunting
things I have heard in ages and believe me I have heard some Metal in my
time.
Their sound is at times similar to My Dying Bride, (which
for me is no bad thing) but where they differ is their use of Classical
influences and even Operatic type female vocals and all this is done with some
of the best Doom Metal guitar riffs since the last MDB album. The guys vocals are pure Death Metal and
their use of the Adelaide Symphony is pure genius, the songs are slow,
deliberate, haunting and despite all that’s going on there is plenty of Melody,
space and atmosphere a plenty, just list to the opening track “The Fragile
Breath” and you will hear exactly what I mean. For me this is one of the most,
powerful, emotive and inspiring CD’s that I have heard in a long time, the last
time I head something as good as this it inspired me to write a song called
“Beauty In Darkness” and that sums up this CD
perfectly.
Also listen out for the 11 minutes epic that is “Darkness”,
the superb use of Orchestration on “Silent” and the awesome “God In Dust” you have to hear this band and if you tune into my
HFM shows I can grantee you will hear at least one
track.
WEBSITE http://www.virginblack.com/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 44 mins + 7
AMAZING TRAKCS
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY / INFLIKTED
It’s been a long 12 years since the Cavalera brothers Max and Igor played together in Seputltura on the Roots album and although both brothers
have had success with their respective bands (Soulfly
and Sepultura) this to my mind is the best the guys
have done since then.
The music is as fierce and as uncompromising as they used to
be and its impossible not to like track like “Heart Of Darkness”, “Must Kill” or
the brutal title track “Inflikted” or the manic
“Sanctuary” as they are played with such conviction and passion that you just
get caught up with it. You cant
help but wonder just how big Sepultura would have
become if the brothers hadn’t have fallen out and as much as I love Soulfly and Sepultura both have
suffered from the split.
If you liked Sepultura up to Roots
and like most of the heavier Soulfly track then you
cant fail to be impressed with the Cavalera
Conspiracy, also listen out for; “Terrorize”, “Thee Doom Of All Fire” and
“Ultra-Violence” an essential buy for all Metal lovers the only restriction I
have is the language on some tracks restricts the track I can play on the
radio.
WEBSITE http://www.myspace.com/cavaleraconspiracy
& http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/
DOWNLOAD
“Inflikted” &
“Sanctuary”
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 11 BLISTERING
TRACKS
DEATH ANGEL / KILLING SEASON
Is Thrash Metal still a viable genre in the 21st
Century or is it just living off former glories? well
one listen to the new Death Angel album will answer the question and leave you
with no doubt, Thrash Metal still has what it takes to bang
heads.
Its bee a long 4 years since “The Art Of Dying” but believe me when I say that the wait is well
worth it with the quality of material on offer here but then again Death Angel
always had quality. Their brand of
Thrash is a lot like the cover of the CD, at first glance it appears simple but
effective but when you look closer at it there is a lot more going on in the
background than you first thought, just take listen to the first track “Lord Of
Hate” or the superb closing track “Resurrection Machine” and you will see what I
mean. The one thing that Death
Angel brought to the Thrash genre was a better sense of dynamics, unlike some of
their contemporise who had a tendency to be a bit one dimensional, they were not
afraid to use acoustic guitars or have slow passages, similar to Testament in
many ways.
This is yet another fine album from a veteran Thrash band
that shows there is plenty riffs in the old dog yet and they still have
plenty of good songs in them
yet. Listen out for; “Sonic Beatdown”, “Dethroned”, “Soulless” and “God Vs. God”. If you
buy the Digi pack you get a free DVD of Death Angel
Live In
WEBSITE http://www.deathangel.com/ & http://www.nuclearblast.de/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 47 mins + 11
TRACKS