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- ALBUM REVIEWS -
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- A Forest of Stars [2008] Corpse of Rebirth -
Label: Transcendental Creations
Review by Mark Howitt
RATING: 7.5 \m/
A Forest of Stars is exactly as their name would imply, a gleaming gem amidst a vast sea of Black Metal bands. Corpse of Rebirth is indeed raw Black Metal, but its ambience is a cosmic journey. It is also much more than that, perhaps all existence as a whole contained in one album. The five tracks unleashed by the Forest are cleverly titled God, Female, Male, Earth and Matter, and the closing track Microcosm. Genius, simply amazing material that cannot be overlooked. This album is a must for anyone who is seeking original and refreshing material.
A gently weaving violin opens the album and sets the stage for what could become a personal favourite album of mine. Depressing, sombre, cascading, and gripping, this band knows how to create truly awakening Black Metal hymns. Darkness enshrouds the listener as raw yet structured ambience overwhelms the soul. Corpse of Rebirth is reminiscent of a marriage between Drudkh, Negura Bunget and older My Dying Bride but with vast potential to be much more than this comparison. In fact, performing violin, flutes and clean vocal duties is none other than Kati Stone of My Dying Bride herself.
The vocals of Mistur Curse are similar to that of Burzum or Bethlehem and at times perhaps it is a bit hard to get into but they are effective. Another weak point to the album is that some of the riffs seem to go on for too long when not necessary. There are more effective parts in the songs that could have been dragged on but it would seem that they chose to use some very bland riffs to repeat. It is as though you are on a long journey and to get to the next part you have to walk through a flat plain devoid of life for many miles. However, when the peak hits it is worth the wait.
The tracks on Corpse of Rebirth are quite lengthy, most clocking in at over thirteen minutes and the opening track a whopping sixteen and a half minutes. Regardless of length the tracks deliver and keep you wanting to hear what comes next even though at times some riffs drag on for a bit too long. Lyrics include topics of Victorian era influences and Occult based themes in which are quite fitting for the music that is backing them. Epic, atmospheric and psychedelic, A Forest of Stars is creating a stir in England and I can’t wait to hear how this band evolves down the road.
- ABSU [2009] Absu -
Label: Candlelight Records
Review by Mike Baricelli
RATING: 8.5 \m/
Where to begin…. This was one of my most anticipated releases for the new year. I’ve known about Absu for many years but haven’t listened to any of their albums up until last year when I finally heard Tara, and was completely blown away by its sheer brutality and perfect blend of thrash, speed and black metal. A classic album in my opinion. After hearing Tara I started listening to their past albums but they didn’t seem to compare to Tara. Still good, don’t get me wrong, but I’d say ‘’The Third Storm of Cythraul’’ is their best from the nineties, Tara was the mountain to climb, could it be conquered? Now eight years later they have returned with three new members and the mighty Proscriptor behind the kit and doing lead vocals, a technique that’s incredible and requires much focus considering the speed he’s going at.
The new Absu album immediately lashes out at you and doesn’t let go, something that put a smile on my face from the get go. It has the same venom as Tara but isn’t a carbon copy of it. Black metal riffs are more prominent but don’t worry, there’s a solid thrash/speed background and a great deal of atmosphere and ambience too which was used in past albums before. It is just used slightly more on this release but to a good degree and not too much or overpowering. The production is a tad cleaner which makes all the instruments shine thoroughly. A first for an Absu album is the use of electronica but to good use (at the ending of ‘’of the dead who never rest in their tombs are the attendance of familiar spirits’’ it actually flows well). There is also some guests on here like Blasphemer (formerly of Mayhem) who contributes a couple guitar solos on ‘’Night fire Canonization’’ and ‘’Girras Temple’’ also Equitant who does a 58 second ambient closer called ‘’Twix Yesterday, The Day and the Morrow’’, however this should have been part of a song instead of an album closer in my opinion.
Proscriptor does what he does best but to a simpler degree, he’s not all over the place like on Tara, more controlled and less off timing beats but they’re still in the mix, just not as much. He’s still very fast with his fills, double kick and blasts. This might upset fans of Tara era Absu since the drumming was just mindboggling, his performance here is amazing but a couple notches below Tara. His vocals have changed slightly… maybe taken a toll on him over the years, they’re raspy but I miss the goblin like screams of the past. Overall it’s not that big of a deal but they could have been better.
In conclusion is this better than Tara? No, but it’s a wicked album considering the eight year gap. My hats off to them and horns to the sky for making an album of this calibre after such a long hiatus. How many other bands do you know that have been gone for a certain period of time and have comeback to make a record worth owning? At the moment I can’t think of any, and that’s probably not going to change. I just hope that their next opus is not too far in the distant future.
- Adversarial [2009] Adversarial (demo) -
Label: Self Released
Review by Mark Howitt
RATING: 7 \m/
Adversarial is a new project from the GTA comprised of ex members of Lapidate, Dead of Winter and Sentient. The demo features no bass tracks however the offering does offer a great insight on what their next album might bring to the table.
Adversarial play dark Death Metal, which is bordering on the Black/Death cusp. This demo really takes me back to the early-mid 90’s when Black Metal was first looming its ugly head, still entwined within the clutches of Death Metal’s mighty grasp. Bands like Fallen Christ, old Belphegor, old Angelcorpse come to mind. The riffage is lunatic and the drums are constantly blasting. Vocals sound like they are spewed forth from Satan’s mouth himself and the raw production add to the overall darkness of the demo. The songs on Adversarial’s first release are very impressive, however there is still much room for this three piece to expand and evolve into something much more fierce and I believe it will happen on their follow up.
If you are a fan of old school Black and Death metal, then keep your eyes peeled for Adversarial. Only true death metal shall reign superior in a genre which has gone to the dogs and breakdowns.
- Axis Powers [2009] Marching Towards Destruction -
Label: Pulverized Records
Review by Mark Howitt
RATING: 5 \m/
Sweden’s Axis Powers return after their previous release “Pure Slaughter”, four years ago. Continuing with their themes paying homage to war and death, “Marching Towards Destruction” combines a Sludge/Doom fuelled tinge with classic Swedish Death Metal as apparent on previous works. The main difference with this release is the production, being crisp and clear as compared to the work on “Pure Slaughter”. This allows the songs to breathe a lot more, making the tracks much more audible and hard hitting. The songs displayed on “Marching Towards Destruction” are very easy to follow along with, and keeps a consistent pace throughout the entirety of the album.
The songs on this latest release do seem to lack something however, and that is dimension. After listening to the album I found myself not really impressed too greatly as there was no particular songs that really stand out from the other. Sure the songs are well written and have catchy hooks but there seemed to lack any climaxes or pinnacle points in the songs. Don’t get me wrong, the band is great at what they do but I personally enjoy notable attributes to be contained in at least a few songs on an album.
Axis Powers is comprised of members of another band, the more thrash influenced Suicidal Winds in which you may or may not be familiar with. Being a huge fan of Black Metal, I much prefer Suicidal Winds however Axis Powers is another creative outlet of these musicians. It is apparent that both bands are comprised of the same members however as the playing styles have obvious similarities. The only difference between the two bands is the drummer, but when you are playing underground music it is a proven fact that it is best to have multiple outlets of expression. Side projects will always be a popular thing in Metal music, however the similarities are too strong between these bands. There needs to be a drastic sense of separation in my personal opinion, one in which Axis Powers seems to need to expand on a bit more perhaps. Great band, better side project.
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