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VARIOUS ARTISTS
SOUND DEVASTATION LP REVIEW |
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This is a very fine compilation from the Sound Devastation
online eZine - Chris and Helen have done a great job in selecting a nice
cross-section of bands from the current UK underground rock and metal scene.
The CD gives a really good flavour for the quality of talent that is
continually emerging from these shores and gives these bands some much
needed exposure. On top of that, they are offering a great value package of
16 bands and an hour and a quarter of music, all for just a measly £3.
Anyone turning such an offer down must be completely bonkers!
01. OWINGTOTHIS "Blue Light
(Backs Me)". Searing hard-edged chugging metal that manages to juggle
anger with a quieter calm, spilling plenty of aggression with flat out
full-on, savage, screaming vocals in a song that last for over seven
minutes, slowly building to a climatic finish. It's true that it could do
with a little more polish, but they sound capable of doing something special
with a little more time and resource. News is that they have now signed to
Copro’s sister label - Casket - so let’s look forward to the album, because
it should be damn good! 02. BLACKENED
HEART SYNDROME "Woodland Creatures (And The Boys Who Hate Them)".
A fairly curious fast/slow romp through hectic metal territory, complete
with the requisite screaming vocals but unfortunately lacking any real
standout quality on this song. It’s powerful hardcore/tech metal with a zany
Dillinger-esque attribute but sounding a little
raw and crude, something that experience and better facilities will put
right, for sure. |
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 01. OWINGTOTHIS - BLUE LIGHT (BACKS ME) 02. BLACKENED HEART
SYNDROME - WOODLAND CREATURES (AND THE BOYS 03. NUMINOR - BLOOD/LUST 04. JAHSOMA - MAKE YOUR MIND YOURS 05. ALLERJEN - UNTIL ALL ARE ONE 06. DAYS AGO - FLATLINERS AS DECIEVERS 07. RED STARS PARADE - ZEMANOVA 08. PROFANE - SLEEP NOW COMPLETE 09. MEYERCURVE - PROBABILITY OF LOSS 10. NINE DAYS TO NO
ONE - GALA 11. I-REMAIN - BEAST 12. THE OCEAN FRACTURE - THALASSA 13. SHAPED BY FATE - TURN TO DUSK 14. JAIRUS - SABINA
IN THE DECIEVING 15. CUBIC SPACE DIVISION - HIGHER STATE 16. SIKA REDEM - CHAPTER ONE
Length: 1:16:09 (hrs:min:secs)
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03. NUMINOR
"Blood/Lust". A strained and strangely eerie song containing an
incredibly peculiar atmosphere. It’s certainly a little different and is
almost dark in feel, slightly bizarre, almost Alex
Harvey-esque in mood (but without his famous humour), maybe more
toward Zappa territory - that sort of crazy,
out-of-control feel. These blokes are pumping out some heavily shaded tones
of frustrated despondency. 04. JAHSOMA
"Make Your Mind Yours". Immediately you know this is a quality band
and what an awesome song! They show a very similar appreciation of
light and dark, of hard and soft, of aggression and peace that
Mahomodo once harnessed. They have that
limitless face melting intensity and also have the ability to accentuate the
power by occasionally softening the approach. At times they are just so
discordant, yet manage to carry a mega groove. Aggressive screams and
shouts with a play on tuneful melody and strong song dynamics are just some
of the facets that feature in this damn fine song, and you can only salivate
at the thought of hearing more from Jahsoma. 05. ALLERJEN
"Until All Are One". More straight forward metal with flowing,
punching riffs and growling vocals, this band take the brute force route,
but unfortunately with this song are singularly unimpressive. 06. DAYS AGO
"Flatliners As Deceivers". An attacking song from the outset, having
a basis around melodic vocals punctuated with screaming tantrums and such
great British-ness to the voice, the result is a piercing and aggressive
moment that is worthy of anyone’s time. 07. RED STARS
PARADE "Zemanova". A brooding, slow paced, lusciously atmospheric
affair with some incredibly screechy vocals and massive riffs, which
develops and simmers and bubbles, in peaks and troughs, distilling a brutal
and desolate landscape of pictorial sounds. It’s quite a lengthy,
progressive song with an epic quality and shows some welcome invention. 08. PROFANE
"Sleep Now Complete". Nice hypnotic start, smoothly dreamy, building
slowly into a most approachable and enjoyable chorus, with great use of
melody, a nice flow to the song and great musical melodies, it becomes quite
intoxicating. 09. MEYERCURVE
"Probability Of Loss" Comes across a little naive and basic, a fairly
unadventurous and straight forward rock song with some weak vocals.
Potentially a pleasant enough chorus though. 10. NINE DAYS
TO NO ONE "Gala Contemplating". A loud, shouty, screamy, aural
attack of nasty noisecore. Battered by a thudding bass line, hammering
drums, strong driving riffs, all of which take a turn for the darkside at
times; it’s menacing, no holes barred, scalping metal. Unfortunately, the
track is truncated on the CD and jolts you from the brink. 11. I-REMAIN
"Beast". Sounds like a cross between Exodus
and Vacant Stare, a crushingly heavy song, fast
thrash changing midway briefly into scary, thick, sludgy downtuned riffs,
taking the more traditional thrash route. With twin vocalists having
slightly different styles - one blazingly powerful and one scathingly
gravely - watch out for the full on screaming. 12. THE OCEAN
FRACTURE "Thalassa". A pleasant journey through a truly
intricate, emotion filled passage that begins with a very gentle paddle in a
tranquil pool before leading you into a meandering walk across a beautiful
landscape of molten rock. A building and poignant track that maintains an
emotive intensity throughout - this is a quality song with an awesome
atmosphere - building to a crescendo that ends in a fragmented stillness. 13. SHAPED BY
FATE "Turn To Dusk". A fast, chugging, metal soundscape,
interspersed with chaotic fretboard noise; it’s very heavy and gritty,
sounding like Botch and
Johnny Truant in a drunken brawl. This is another really good band
that would be great to hear more of.
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14. JAIRUS
"Sabina In The Deceiving Breeze". Charming atmospheric bubblings,
sweetly-charged jangley-guitar, great melodies that are laid back but always
pushing forward, giving an aural backcloth of rolling green hills that
terminate with a hidden cliff face. A band that shows acres more potential
than the promotion they receive - Hi Paul Bojarski of Skipworth who
promised an album review copy but sadly never delivered - shocking ;-) 15. CUBIC SPACE
DIVISION "Higher State". This song shows the brute force side of
the band. It has a melting vigour right through to it’s thundering zenith,
blasting aside most contemporaries with masterful ease in a classic
Entombed style. 16. SIKA REDEM
"Chapter One". An awesome band that has managed to display such an
awareness of intensity within the confines of melody, blurring the line
between soothing and severe into an aurora of mesmerising meltdown. Steals
the show in every aspect. Listen out for these blokes, they're exceptional. So, sixteen tracks later and on the whole this is an excellent album, with only the odd disappointment. A great piece of accomplished compilation and the best news is that they are talking about a follow-up - so roll-on VOLUME TWO.
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- Rigsby
(10th April, 2005) |
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