Coprofago - Unorthodox Creative Criteria (2005)

A long time ago, I got some mp3's from Coprofago's 1997 release Images of Despair. It was moderately technical thrash, reminding me a little of bands like Red Tide, and although it wasn't great, it showed some potential. Unfortunately, that potential is now gone, as the first half of this album is pure Meshuggah worship and the second half is aimless, meandering jazz fusion. I can't figure out what they were trying to do here. Instead of merging jazz with metal as Cynic did over a decade ago, they just tried to clone Meshuggah and staple a jazz fusion album to the end of it. They're undeniably good musicians, but like Tandjent, they waste their time ripping off another band's style. I have no desire to listen to any of these songs again -- I've heard it all before. What a shame.

Their MySpace page has a few tracks from each half of this album.

In Battle - Welcome to the Battlefield (2004)

In Battle's Rage of the Northmen (1998) is an under-appreciated black metal album IMO, but their debut (1996) does nothing for me. This, their third full-length album, sees them moving away from black metal and towards death metal, but it retains some elements of their previous works. The music is still fast and brutal, with just enough melody to avoid being a boring Marduk/Dark Funeral clone. The playing is tight and the production is crystal clear. And there are a few standout tracks, my favorites being "Eldjättar" and "The Blood Divine", which incorporate more than average melody and some intricate guitar work. But a lot of the songs are somewhat boring; fast and aggressive yes, but nothing that's really noteworthy or memorable. So ultimately, I see this as a step backwards for them.

Their MySpace page has one song from this album ("sworld", a.k.a. "Scorched World"), and the best song from Rage of the Northmen -- "The Destroyer of Souls".

Orgone - The Goliath (2007)

A band describing themselves as "Experimental / Progressive / Metal" should be right up my alley. Unfortunately, despite an impressive list of influences (Penderecki, Xenakis, Abigor, Gorguts, King Crimson, Neurosis, etc.) and some good musicianship, this album mostly just annoys me. The band I'm most reminded of is Psyopus, who they seem to copy quite efficiently. But at other times, they focus on a post-metal sound that serves as a nice balance for the over-the-top technical sections. However, these sections don't seem to be their forte, so this is basically a mix of a sound that annoys me and a sound I sometimes like but isn't done that well. That said, I find the mid-paced sections the strongest -- this is really where the band find an original style. Focusing on these sections would be a great improvement as far as I'm concerned. Sadly, I don't hold out much hope for this on their next album.

Their MySpace page has one of the more subdued (and better) songs, "Vomited Hyacinths" from this album.

Desecrator - Demo (1998)

This is billed by the band as "melodic progressive death thrash... from Jamestown, NY", and I suppose it's partly true. I'll take them at their word that they really are from Jamestown, NY. But melodic? Not really. Death/thrash? Well, more like late 80's thrash with gruff death-lite vocals on the first and last track, and punky clean vocals on the second track. And progressive? Aw hell naw; not even close. This is about 10 years too late to be relevant, and even then it would have been sub-par. Strangely, it seems the band are still active, and released their first full-length album in 2004. Based upon this demo, I have zero interest in checking that one out.

Requiem - Demo (1994)

There have been many different bands named Requiem over the years. This one is from upstate NY and as far as I know, this demo was all they ever put out. That's a shame, because it's actually pretty decent. It's traditional heavy/prog metal, with good use of keyboards, standard galloping riffs, melodic guitar solos, and melodic vocals. The main problems I have with this demo are that it's missing something that would really make it stand out. For example, the vocals are relatively boring, as the singer has a pretty limited range. He does okay with what he's got, but he seems to be limiting their music. In addition, aside from a few faster instrumental passages, most of the music is pretty laid-back and quickly forgettable. The playing and production are competent, but again not exceptional. Ultimately, this demo isn't great but it shows some promise, and I'm disappointed that they never seemed to go anywhere after releasing it.

Somnus - To Return the Crimson Skies (1997)

This is a decent demo of black/gothic metal, similar to Cradle of Filth's TPoEMF. However, it isn't as well done in several respects. First, the songs are a little simplistic and repetitive, and I haven't heard any riffs that really impress me. The production is also a little raw, especially the guitar tone. And the playing is sloppy at times, but this can be forgiven somewhat as this is a demo. That said, I did enjoy this. I'm generally a fan of the style, as long as it avoids being overly theatrical and schlocky, as this does (and CoF haven't done since Vempire). Also, the vocals are well done (especially the female vocals) and their style isn't a complete clone of CoF. In addition, the latter songs (especially the title track) are much better than the earlier tracks. I'm not sure that I'll ever listen to it again though.

Conquest - Demo (1988)

This is pretty ordinary thrash from 1988. Decent for back in the day, but doesn't hold a lot of interest for me now. The singing is pretty typical of the time, with mostly snarled lyrics punctuated by the occasional high-pitched shriek. The riffs are pretty standard and repetitive, and the guitar solos are fast but pointless. The production is above average, though.

What's really notable about the band is that they're still around and producing music. They had another demo after this one, and have since released five full-lengths and two EPs. Who know you could make a career of being mediocre? Some samples of their newer stuff is available from their MySpace page.