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.

Paralysis - Architecture of the Imagination (2000)

This sounds like Nevermore. A lot. Everything from the guitar work to the vocals is a very close copy of the first couple Nevermore discs, but a little "less". The production is less heavy, the guitars are less technical and flashy, and the vocals are less polished. It's a decent disc, and there are some good riffs and cool passages, but it's really hard for me to recommend it when it steals so heavily from another band.

Swallow the Sun - Plague of Butterflies (2008)

I found out about these guys from a radio sampler a friend of mine sent me. It had a bunch of crap on it like Motorhead and Clutch, so I wasn't expecting much, but I listened to it all, and Swallow the Sun's "Losing the Sunsets" from this album really impressed me. So when I saw this 60-minute EP for $9 while getting birthday gifts for my wife (Lacuna Coil and UnSun), I picked it up. I've listened to it a few times, and I'm not as impressed as I was, but it's still a pretty good disc.

This album consists of 1new 35-minute track (broken into three parts) and an unreleased demo from 2003. The new song is much more impressive, reminding me most of Shape of Despair, but faster and mixing some almost black metal elements in. Their demo is a little rawer, more in the style of mid-90's doom/death like Crematory, and reminding me of the slow sections of Amorphis' The Karelian Isthmus. It's a pretty decent offering, but I'm pleased with the direction they've taken.

You can check out the title track from the demo and an edit of the title track of the EP on their MySpace page.

Pestilence - Resurrection Macabre (2009)

I didn't expect to really like this album, given that the only previous Pestilence album I like is Spheres, and I'd heard they weren't going for that kind of sound again. Well, I wasn't surprised. This seems to be more like their early albums, with simple straightforward riffing and song structures. About the only bright spot for me are Mameli's guitar solos, which may not be that appropriate at times, but at least provide some interesting melodic ideas. I would have preferred some of the more abstract/creepy/experimental sections a la Spheres incorporated into the riffs, but oh well...

Tactics - The Master Plan (1987)

This is a pretty average thrash demo from back in the day. I didn't really find anything exceptional about it -- the riffs were pretty generic, the singing was decent but typical, and the playing was solid but unexciting. For 1987, it would have been a pretty good demo, and I'm somewhat surprised that they were never signed. But it doesn't hold much to interest me now, save for their cover of Deep Purple's "Burn", which I enjoy for nostalgic reasons (though they do a decent job of covering it).

Loincloth - Demo (2003)

Formed from the ashes of NC's Confessor, Loincloth are an interesting band. Their style is all instrumental metal, mostly focused on mid-tempo syncopated rhythms and stop/start riffs. Although I hear a little Confessor, I'm most reminded of Virginia's Actual Time. The playing is solid but not very challenging; most of the complexity is in the arrangement and the individual parts aren't very technical. The last track, "Noise International", is my favorite, as it's the heaviest and fastest track, and therefore the most distinctive. Unfortunately, there isn't enough diversity here to really make this a great demo. It's also a little short (just shy of 12 minutes), but I suppose it's better to be too short than too long).

Black Mass of Absu - Demo (1995)

This is an interesting demo. It's described as "Atmospheric Black/Doom Metal", but it reminds me most of Portal's Seepia and Outre, which I've seen described as "Lovecraftian horror". I think that's about right. They don't really have guitar riffs, just a twisted jumble of guitars, drums, and screamed/growled vocals. BMoA are doing much the same thing, but include keyboards in their sound and are somewhat more coherent. Oh, and they did it eight years earlier. Obviously, the playing here isn't really an issue -- this is all about aesthetic and atmosphere. And the demo-style production really helps produce an evil sounding atmosphere. Although this isn't really the kind of thing I usually like, I did enjoy listening to it, though at almost 50 minutes, it is about 20 minutes too long.

The band is probably broken up by now, but you can find one of the songs from this demo ("Strangled By the Tail of Lucifer") at a MySpace fan page.

Distemper - Pure Ugliness (1990)

Distemper hailed from Atlanta, GA and played a pretty standard blend of metal mixed with hardcore, reminding me a lot of Nuclear Assault (especially in the vocal department). There's not a lot to say about this -- it's pretty generic and standard and the production is what you'd expect from a demo. Given that this was released in 1990, it's a little dated even for the time and doesn't offer much for metal fans today.

You can check out four of the five songs here on their MySpace page.

Cornucopia of Death - Demo (1990) and Nip It in the Bud (1991)

This is an interesting pair of demos. There are a number of really terrible aspects to them, and yet they have a few good qualities as well. First, the bad. The lyrics are probably the worst aspect. They're embarrassingly juvenile, featuring song titles like "Enema Nurse" (which the singer mispronounces as "emena") and "Suck My Floppy Disk", and references to "doo-doo" and "pee-pee". The singer is equally bad; his style is more talking than singing. And the guitar solos are terrible -- seemingly just scales as fast as the guitarists can play them mixed with blues licks. Most of the music is pretty standard thrash for the time: simple and repetitive, which constrasts oddly with the more punk style of the singer, lyrics, and guitar solos. And then, just when you have it pegged as worthless, the guitarists throw out some novel riffs with progressive touches and harmonized guitar parts. If they could concentrate on these parts and make a serious demo, it would have been pretty good, though not exceptional for 1991.

Nip It in the Bud is the better demo as the playing has improved and it seems a little more serious, though the production is a little rougher and too trebly. I'd like to know what the two guitarists (Joe Smith and Scott McEllhiney) went on to do. It wouldn't surprise me if they found other projects, as they weren't bad.

Longings Past - Meadows of Maseilya (1993)

Longings Past were a band from Michigan, and released a couple of full-length albums in the early 90's. This one is their first album. Their music is described as "epic heavy metal", which isn't really my style. I'm reminded of Fates Warning's No Exit, but they never really go in a progressive direction, instead preferring instead to keep the music simple and light. This places a lot of focus on the vocalist, which unfortunately isn't a good decision as he isn't good enough to carry the album by himself. To make things worse, they try to cram too many words in each stanza, leading the vocalist to sing at almost a rap tempo, which doesn't really fit with the music at all. I suppose their might be a market for this, but I find it completely uninspired.

Artmania - stART (2007)

So this was billed as "Progressive/Gothic Metal", which piqued my interest. But I should have paid attention to their website's URL: art-band.ru. Then I probably would've figured out that by "progressive" they mean artsy-fartsy instead of what I would consider "progressive": adventurous and complex. But the base of their sound is "gothic metal", which really should be interpreted as "female-fronted metal", most similar to Nightwish. This isn't really bad per se, and fans of the style might find something to enjoy (if they aren't bothered that everything is sung in Russian). But there's nothing here that's even remotely interesting to me.

This album is freely available from their website.

Crionic - Different (1993)

This is some really good melodic/progressive thrash from the Czech Republic. At times they're pretty straightforward thrash/speed metal but they throw in a lot of melodic and progressive sections to keep it interesting. The production is excellent, with even the bass having a prominent part. The singing is of the atonal shouting style that was in vogue at the time. It's not great, but it doesn't detract that much from the music either. On the other hand, the guitar solos are a weak point -- they're not very well thought-out and are mostly blues-lick based and therefore not very appropriate for the music.

The best song is the instrumental "Irritating Inertia", but the whole thing is good. Why they heck didn't these get signed? For 1993, this would've been awesome. Heck, even now it's pretty cool. With some better guitar solos this could'a been a contender.

It's available as a free download from the band's website, along with most of the rest of their discography, which I will undoubtedly be reviewing in the future.

Enslaved (Ger) - Where is the Meaning? (1994)

This is not the same Enslaved that I reviewed three weeks ago. These guys were from Germany and played uh... well, generic mid-90's thrash/death metal. If it weren't for sharing their moniker with a much more famous band, they would probably already have been forgotten. There's not much that's remarkable about this batch of slow-to-mid-paced death metal, and I'd rate it as somewhat below average even for the time.