Originally published in ‘zine issue #2, 1991
Armored Saint A Trip Thru Red Times
This is a great home video. There’s bootleg footage included, as well as live production songs, rare clips, and the band’s first music video, all hosted by the current lineup. On top of all that, this video is a retrospective of the Saint, going all the way back to the early ‘80s, as well as a tribute to the late Dave Prichard. Ths was finished before the new album came out, so none of that is here, however. Definitely pick up this super home video!
(by Editor) ■
Battery 7″
(Deadlock)
D.C. straightedge hardcore with a catchy feel and emotion is what’s on this four-song 7″. I picked this up, and all the other hardcore 7″es in this issue, at a Cro-Mags show in Washington, D.C. and it’s good stuff. The Battery vinyl comes with a poster with the lyrics on one side. The production is good as well as the songs. $3 to Deadlock.
(by Editor) ■
Beyond Description 1990 demo
This Japanese band’s third tape is an excellent example of “intense metallic hardcore,” as the group refers to itself, and I agree with it. Beyond Description has undergone lineup changes since recording it, however, and Hideyuki Okahara (the one to write to) is the only original member left. The tape has rough production and the music is really catchy and jamming. Get it for $3. (Japan)
(by Editor) ■
Cannibal Corpse Butchered at Birth
(Death)
Holy smoke, I’m blown away! The second album from Cannibal Corpse is totally brutal, grindy, soaking in gore, rotting death metal. The packaging is too disgusting to believe, let alone the actual music. The lyrics, in the bleeding mind of lyricist/vocalist Chris Barnes, are collectively a concept about dying. Take this album more seriously than the first one, Eaten Back to Life, which was a lot of sick fun in itself. Butchered at Birth has a dark tone to it, which is very effective. Buy and be thankful.
(by Editor) ■
drift again 7″
(Network Sound)
This hardcore 7″ is also available on cassette and it’s four songs of mid-tempo heaviness. The tone of the music is rather dark and the lyrics are very figurative, but both are effective. Nothing incredibly gripping but still good stuff. The packaging includes lyrics and the production is also strong. $3 to Network Sound.
(by Editor) ■
Exempt Wake Up
This is a Swedish band whose members aren’t originally from Sweden. After releasing the Tomorrow’s Exemption rehearsal, Exempt came out with the Wake Up demo which is packed with original, well-constructed, unpolished death/thrash. The band cites such influences as Kreator, Bolt Thrower, and Sepultura, and puts them to good use. The music and vocals are quite entertaining and I recommend picking up this nicely packaged tape! $5. (Sweden)
(by Editor) ■
Forbidden update
You’d expect to find an established thrash band such as Forbidden [with an] album review [here], except that the band doesn’t have a new album or an album contract for that matter. Forbidden parted ways with Relativity Records after recording two albums for then-Combat, Forbidden Evil and Twisted Into Form. Now the group is shopping for labels with a new three-song demo which isn’t available for purchase. I was fortunate enough to hear the material and it is really spectactular. So keep an eye out for Forbidden. It’s still out there and must be signed very soon!
(by Editor) ■
Forced Entry As Above, So Below
(Relativity)
This is an above-average release. It’s very heavy and powerful. Choice cuts are “Macrocosm, Microcosm,” “We’re Dicks,” and “Bone Crackin’ Fever,” which has a killer riff that sticks in my head. The lyrics are all printed with the tape, except the songs “We’re Dicks” and “How We Spent Our Summer Vacation,” but you can send away for the lyrics to those. Why didn’t they print them? Censorship sucks.
(by Nick Teta, Jr.) ■
Fury Resurrection 7″
(THD)
Fury is a killer straight edge hardcore band. The group’s 7″ has rough-but-full production, which also applies to the performance. The music is angry, frustrated, and energetic, with six songs in all. Definitely check this band out! For $3 (plus 2 more outside the U.S.), it’s a steal!
(by Editor) ■
Goo Goo Dolls Hold Me Up
(Metal Blade)
Too happy for my taste. The music, lyrics, band name, and album cover are all happy. It’s really depressing. I’ll give it a 3.
(by Nick Teta, Jr.) ■
Grave Into the Grave
(Century Media)
Holy begeebees! I was taken aback, nay, aurally set upon by the sound waves shearing at me from the stereo as the Grave CD spun away. You may remember Grave from its famous Sexual Mutilation and Anatomia Coporis Humani demos, with which the band garnered itself a reputation as a very brutal, original, and above all heavy outfit. The new album is no exception. Plodding riffs, solid production, grooving deathy songs, everything you’d want is on this album. Buy or never forgive yourself.
(by Editor) ■
Impetigo Ultimo Mondo Cannibale
(Wild Rags)
Impetigo is as sick a band as it is odd. The group’s sound has elements of grind, metal, hardcore, and a sickly goofiness that really catches you off guard sometimes. This last bit is quite evident in the intros for some of the songs, which seem to be taken from what must be classic horror/exploitation films. This produciton is strong and the bass guitar sounds good, which for me is a revelation! What else can I say but that Impetigo plays catchy music which is harsh and interesting to hear. And the band has a new EP out called Faceless, which contains two new songs and three tracks from the album. The new stuff is also great, so check it out as well!
(by Editor) ■
Inverted Tales of Estaban
Truly a great effort from a young Satanic death metal band. Inverted has the talent for songwriting that’s straightforward, interesting, containing complex arrangements, and really hella fast and grindy and heavy and in your face! Blaah! This is a solid demo with a professional cover and strong production. The only downside is that the band needs to work on being tighter, but this isn’t a major thing. Definitely this is a band worth writing to! (Sweden)
(by Editor) ■
Morbius Realm
Now this is some heavy, grade A, 100% D natural-tuned death metal. The Realm demo is muddily produced by Doug “Butane” Martin but still has the aggressiveness of the band intact. There’s lots of doomy and crunchy parts to sink your teeth into. A comment made by a friend that I fully agree with is that Morbius has a kinda “Swedish” death metal sound. For $5 you should check these guys out. Hey, with a song called “Encoffination,” you can’t go wrong. (USA)
(by Editor)
Mythic Rehearsal Tape ‘91
Containing two former members of the goddesses Derketa, this new all-female death metal outfit is definitely worth looking out for, lest you be run through by its formidable musical strength. The material on this three-song tape is very original and fresh and is meant to prepare the masses for the coming of Mythic’s first studio demo, to be released in the coming months with all-new songs. The lyrics are certainly not your average death/gothic fare and the execution on the rehearsal is raw and powerful. For $3 in the U.S. and $4 overseas (cash only), this is a total must-have! (USA)
(by Editor) ■
Napalm Death Death By Manipulation
(Relativity/Earache)
Awright! This EP is a must have for the Napalm fans that don’t mind the last album. It features the new Mass Appeal Madness 12”, which consists of two new songs in the Harmony Corruption vein (very excellent tunes—really brutal) and two old songs re-recorded with the newer lineup. Also there’s the previously available Suffer the Children 12” and the classic Mentally Murdered 12”. The Mass Appeal Madness songs, I must again stress, are super duper! Check it out.
(by Editor) ■
Nausea Crimes Against Humanity
(Wild Rags)
[W]ith Oscar Garcia on vocals, the band kind of sounds like a slower Terrorizer. It has its fast moments also. The music is excellent, but the only problem is the production. The snare drum sound bothers me and the guitars are not loud enough, but I love the vocals. the lyrics consiste of political issues. Nausea is back with a powerful crunch.
(by Nick Teta, Jr.) ■
Nuclear Death Carrion for Worm
(Wild Rags)
Nuclear Death’s new one, the follow-up to the godly Bride of Insect, is a total over-the-top gore slinging, noise spewing, horrifying piece of work. The only demo song on the album is the bonus track from the Caveat demo package, “A Dark Country.” The production on the album (which features a new drummer) is grating and the lyrics are incredibly shocking. The all-out hatred on this thing is too much! A must have!
(by Editor) ■
Pestilence Testimony of the Ancients
(RC)
After the departure of Martin van Drunen to Asphyx, Pestilence enlisted Cynic bassist Tony Choy for the Morrisound studio sessions to come up with the new album. It’s a concept work based around the quest for the truth of existence, so the lyrics are kind of gothic and the like, and sung by guitarist Patrick Mameli.
It’s not another Consuming Impulse, which certainly is fine by me. The new material incorporates keyboards and clean guitars in places and the heaviness is dissipated in favor of a more catchy, melodic approach, while still retaining that death metal tone. In between all of the songs are short instrumentals to bridge the tracks together. It’s a good album on its own, but one should keep an open mind when listening to it because the Pestilence sound has undergone some changes.
(by Editor) ■
Putrid Exhumation
Holy smoke! This is a totally super four-song death metal demo with lyrics included. The production is solid also. About the band, Putrid has been going since late 1990 with a vocalist and a vocals/guitarist along with the customary bass/drums rhythm section. Exhumation is the band’s first demo, which was recorded in May of ’91. But the group is also planning on releasing a 7” in the hopefully near future.
The music on the demo consists of heavy death metal, mid-tempo some of the time, but also fast and grindy in some places and doomy in others. The vocals are good also, as well as the lyrics. There’s very catchy riffs that really jam. This is great stuff and surely worth looking into! $4 Europe and $5 elsewhere and cash only. (Finland)
(by Editor) ■
Silence Vision
This intense thrash band has released a CD and tape that contains nine blistering, technical, heavy tracks. Specifically, there’s the original, remastered Echoes of Damnation demo (which contained a re-recorded track from the band’s first tape from 1989 when it was called Necrosis), plus three additional tracks. The CD has strong production and precise musicianship as well as professional packaging with lyrics. This band shouldn’t be missed! Write! CD $10, MC $7. (USA)
(by Editor) ■
Terrorizer World Downfall
(Relativity/Earache)
A classic Earache Records album re-releaased; no collection is complete without this. It features members of Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, and Nausea. It is reminiscent of Napalm Death’s sound, but unfortunately this band is no more.
(by Nick Teta, Jr.) ■
Unleashed Where No Life Dwells
(Century Media)
B natural and proud of it! What can I say that I haven’t said already? Unleashed is indisputedly godly. Totally heavy and horrid, powerful and memorable, and everything else that a seriously death-like band is. These Swedes really know how to turn skulls into powder. Get it or … not experience the music of Unleashed.
(by Editor) ■
Various Artists Words to Live By, Words to Die For
(New Age)
This compilation contains some rad bands for sure. Side A kicks off with Mouthpiece’s “Hold Back” (a powerful song), drift again’s “Drag,” which is a little harder than the 7″ stuff, and Turning Point’s “My Turn to Win.” Outspoken’s “Start to Live” (another energetic tune) begins side B, followed by Counter Punch’s “No Second Chance” (also a hard song) and Undertow’s “Hidden.”
The production for the most part is strong and the packaging is professional, with a booklet included that has all the lyrics and live photos of the bands. The bands are great as well, telling positive messages and kicking out straight edge hardcore. Get this; it’s $3.50 well spent!
(by Editor) ■
Photo: Beyond Description (courtesy Hideyuki Okahara)
