MUSIC REVIEWS
(December 2011)
BASTARD PRIEST - GHOULS OF THE ENDLESS NIGHT
(8 track CD) PULVERISED RECORDS
BASTARD PRIEST was formed back in 2002 out of Sweden. These guys have grown a lot and
really are starting to build a huge following. The band merges together many elements of Thrash
Metal with Death Metal. They have a really thick heavy Death Metal style that is low ended and
gritty and dirty sounding. The guitar riffs and structures is where the majority of the Thrash Metal
influences come into play. They have a bit of a groove that you find in Thrash Metal at times but it
is a lot thicker sounding and heavily influenced by Death Metal. The vocals are done on a low ended
some what groggy Death Metal growl style. These guys have really improved on their sound a lot.
This is one of the better Death Metal bands to emerge out of Sweden in the last decade. Fans of old
school Swedish Death Metal will love these guys!!!
www.BASTARDPRIEST.com
BESTIA - KIIMME SURMATALUE
(17 track DVD) HEXENREICH RECORDS
I used to distribute BESTIA's demo release back in 2001 and I'm glad to see these guys are still
going strong and creating their brand of True Estonian Pagan Black Metal. This DVD was released
in 2010 and contains live performances from the band. The first part contains two different gigs
recorded live at Club Tapper in 2009 & 2010. The second part contains selected video material that
span from 2003 to 2009. The band has changed a little bit over the years with old members leaving
Metal and Folk Metal but still stay true to their roots of Pagan Black Metal. With the band being
from Estonia, I will probably never get to see them live so this is the next best thing!
www.metal.ee/BESTIA
BESTIA - RONKADE PARVED
(11 track CD) EVIL DISTRIBUTION
"RONKADE PARVED" is BESTIA's second official CD release to date which came out in 2009.
As mentioned above, these guys have been around for a long time starting in the late 90's. They have
gone through a lot of changes in members and in sound over the years. They still stick to their roots
of True Pagan Black Metal music, but have added in some new elements along the way. The band
has taken some of their influences from Death Metal, Thrash Metal and Folk Metal and blended it
into their brand of Black Metal. I have kind of followed the bands progression over the years and
really like the new direction they have gone in. The music still maintains that dark brooding Black
Metal grittiness, but the new elements add much more depth to the bands sound. The vocals are a
groggy slow to mid paced Black Metal growl. I don't know many bands from Estonia, but if these
guys are a representation of the country's scene I can't wait to discover more bands from that area.
www.metal.ee/BESTIA
(Available through BEOWOLF PRODUCTIONS)
CADAVEROUS CONDITION - BURN BRIGHTLY ALONE
(13 track CD) STARRY
CADAVEROUS CONDITION has gone through some major changes over the years. The band
hails from Austria and has been active since 1990. The band started out as a Gore Grind band and
has since progressed into a Death Folk band. This is them combining elements of traditional Death
Metal with Neo Folk music. The band has a very killer sound that really pulls you in. The Death
Metal parts are done in a more modern Death Style mixed with traditional old school Death Metal
influences. They add in a very cool grooved out vibe through out most of their songs which takes it
almost into a Thrash Metal style. The Neo Folk parts come into play when the band slows things
down a bit and go in a more melodic and acoustic direction. I really enjoy when bands take Death
Metal in new directions and these guys definitely have and it works perfectly. All open minded
Death Metal fans should check these guys out. They are an amazing band and I will be searching out
their past releases in the near future.
www.CADAVEROUSCONDITION.com
FALLSTAF - BASTARD SONS OF A PURE BREED
(11 track CD) Self Released
"BASTARD SONS OF A NEW BREED" is the debut CD release from these metallers out of
Montreal Canada. The band comes out with all guns blazing and playing their creative new style
they call "Brass Metal". This being because they have a trombone player in their band. They
combine many elements of Hard Rock, Thrash Metal & Hardcore with a trombone thrown in the
mix. This is something I haven't heard before. It's like a Ska band that kicked out the entire Brass
section and let the trombone player stick around. The thing is that these guys make it work. I really
dig the aggression that pours from this band. This is where I hear most of the Hardcore influences
coming into play. The grooved out crunchy riffs they inject into the songs is where you can see the
Thrash Metal present. The vocals ranged from loud aggressive screaming, to mid ranged thick vocal
growls down to slower more melodic Hard Rock / Metal clean vocals. These guys are a lot different
than most bands out there and I really dig what they are doing. Check them out before they get
really popular and there are tons of clones of them popping up everywhere.
FLESH ENGINE - WALKING THE AETHER
(15 track CD) Self Released
Philadelphia's FLESH ENGINE release their first full length album entitled "WALKING THE
AETHER". These guys have been in the scene for a few years now and have gotten better and better
with each new release. They are one of the newer leading bands from my old hometown area in
Pennsylvania. These guys play old school Thrash Metal with some injections of Doom & Death
Metal influences mixed with in. They have a lower ended Thrash Metal sound which kind of has a
dirty sludgy feel which is where I hear the Doom elements. They also mix in the Death Metal with
some of the faster and heavier parts. The foundation does lie within the Thrash Metal genre though.
At times you can hear touches of Modern Metal peaking through as well. The vocals are done in a
style that would be a mix of
CROWBAR meets SACRED REICH. This is a great new release from
these guys which has shown how much the band has progressed since the birth of the band. Fans of
CROWBAR, MACHINE HEAD, SODOM, BLACK SABBATH, SACRED REICH &
DESTRUCTION
should all pick this album up and crank the volume loud and often!!!
www.FLESHENGINE.com
KEROSYS - RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE
(6 track CD) Self Released
KEROSYS is a new London England based band. These guys play a mixture of Melodic Death /
Black Metal music. The music is done in a very technical way with lots of Thrash Metal type
elements present through out the songs. It does take elements from old school Death Metal, which is
where a lot of the faster more aggressive parts are, but it's much more. The Black metal influences
are not as in the for front. The vocals is where I hear a lot of the Black Metal, cause they are throaty
& groggy type growls. The songs structures have a bit of a Black Metal mixed with Progressive
Metal. They are well orchestrated, but very technical at the same time. The guitars are where I hear
some of the Thrash Metal influences, but mixed with Progressive Metal as well, because of the tight
cleanness of the sound. These guys blend together many different Metal influences and come out
with a very impressive debut release. If this is what the band has to offer from the start I can't wait
to hear what they deliver us next! One hell of a Metal release, sure to please fans of many Metal
genres!!!
www.myspace.com/KEROSYS
MFM - MIRRORS FROM THE MIND
(2 track CD) COLLECTIVE BRAND MUSIC
MFM is a weird Experimental Art Performance Project by David Stanely Aponte. It is a one man
project that he has composed, recorded and performed himself. The music is more of a sound scape
with weird sounds and noises that are distorted and mixed together. It's more of a performance Art
project than anything else. There really is no singing, just the sounds placed through out. This is
only two songs on this release, but the first track is 32 minutes and the second track is 19 minutes
long. I know that a lot of people won't be able to get into something like this, but it's weird and
strange enough that I really dig it. David and I have been writing for a while now and I know he is
an artist from the postcards he sends me and this is just another extension of his art. Check it out!
http://MFMsound.bandcamp.com
SCYTHIA - ...OF EXILE
(10 track CD) Self Released
Coming out of Vancouver Canada is SCYTHIA. This five piece band plays a combination of Folk
Metal with Progressive Metal. This band is truly amazing. I love this insurgence of new Folk Metal
bands from all over the world.
SCYTHIA has been around since 2008 and have proven to be one of
the next leaders of the Folk Metal scene. They have a very ancient sound with modern Metal
touches. The combination of a raw powerful Metal sound with intricate and Progressive Metal
mixed with ancient and medieval worldly music is blended together so perfectly. I was really
expecting these guys to be from Russia or Scandinavia, but that is because of the bands influences
and lyrical themes. The name
SCYTHIA is  an ancient empire spanning from the Caucasus through
Russia and into eastern Scandinavia. The vocals are a blend of Folk, clean melodic Metal and faster
more Thrash/Death Metal type vocals. I am so amped to have heard this band I want to get their
first release and can't wait to see what they put out next. One truly amazing band and release!
Highly recommended for anyone who love Folk Metal music!!!
(4 track CD) Self Released
SHADOW VENGER is a solo guitarist out of London England. He is also the guitarist for the
Melodic Death / Black / Thrash Metal band
KEROSYS. He describes his guitar playing as "Bruce
Lee Guitar". This meaning that the music is about self expression, so he uses what ever style
necessary to honestly express himself. Bruce Lee said he had a style of no style. This holds the
same for
SHADOW VENGER, as his music is rooted in Metal, but it is so much more. He easily
melts together Progressive, Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Classical, Hard Rock and more together to
create his sound. This is some very impressive music that is some what similar to what he does in
KEROSYS, but also quite different. I look forward to the full length album, cause this is very cool,
plus he plans to have guest vocalists instead of just being instrumental. Check out this very talented
musicians solo project and his other band
KEROSYS.
www.myspace.com/SHADOWVENGER