A
B C D
E F G H
I J K L
M N O P
Q R S T
U V W X
Y Z
Grade
Scale adopted at MetalKings.com (starting from the lowest)
1
- Shite
2 - Could be worse
3 - Could be better
4 - Damn good
5 - Killer
4/5
AD
INFERNA
L'Empire des Sens
2002
SilverRecordsdust
melodic black metal
So what do we have here? Some pretty good, atmospheric sympho-black
with the main base, if I'm not mistaken, located in the republic of
France. Excellent arrangements, wonderful record quality - tip-top,
y'know. Some of the most diehard fans of the genre are likely to be
found climaxing in mini-orgasms while listening to this CD, but the
rest of the public is not really to be bothered. I mean, with the likes
of Anorecxia Nervosa or even Seth in the presence, Ad Inferna look if
not pale, than at least uninteresting. I understand that these guys
did do their best, but with the genre itself being all worn-out, it
just doesn't work anymore. (Troll)

4/5
ADORNED BROOD
Erdenkraft
2002
Moonstorm
Records
folk metal
Although I cannot call meself a major fan of this controversial
genre, I have to admit that Adorned Brood have excellently coped with
whatever they've tasked themselves with. I mean, at least the end result
here to me sounds much more attractive and convincing than, say, the
two latest works by the renowned Irish Cruachan, which sounded pretty
boring and nagging, imho. Certainly no thrashing and bashing is to be
found here either, but after all these assets do not belong to folk
metal, do they? At the same time the Germans have managed to find a
perfect point of balance between the melody of traditional music and
all-out metal aggression, without falling into inevitable dissonance
- the curse of the larger part of bands in this style. The 50/50 poured
heavy guitar riffs and acoustic inserts on guitar and flute live here
in almost ideal harmony, making the release attractive for both genre-fans
and those, who are still making their first acquaintance with it. (Troll)

4/5
ALGHAZANTH
Osiris - Typhon Unmasked
2002
Woodcut
Records/CD-Maximum
fast melodic black
Should anyone choose to carry out a statistical research of the
most unpronounceable names in black metal, Finland - although it would
positively lose in the nomination for the 'ultimate tongue-twisting
moniker', which would have to be England's only Ungl'unl'rrlh'chchch
(yep, you've got that right) - still Suomi would most likely win the
contest in 'most ugly names per capita'. This fact, curious as it is,
however, does not really take s any closer to the subject of the review
does it? Musically Alghazanth represents quite ordinary and inline melodic
and atmospheric black metal, which does not stand out from hundreds
of thousands of other bands in the genre, where speed and aggression
live in perfect harmony with mellowness and melody, where each musician
knows exactly what and how to play, and where you have very little room
left to use your own imagination. Good, but rather soulless. The only
major bonus of the CD is to be found around 3'50" of track #9, which
is none other than Megadeth's 'Symphony of Destruction'. (Troll)

4/5
ASHES TO ASHES
Cardinal VII
2002
DVS
/ CD-Maximum
atmospheric thrash-doom
Pretty interesting I have to say. Well, I mean the genre category
alone, which I just took the liberty to invent for a more or less exact
description of this Norwegian band, already sounds quite intriguing,
doesn't it? (oh yes, modesty has always been amongst me top-10 virtues).
So, the musical material represented on the album, as has been mentioned
afore, a synthesis of thrash and doom metal riffs, abundantly spiced
with atmospheric keyboard arrangements, grand piano inserts, etc. The
production of course could of been much better but this, I think, is
more of a matter of financing for the musicians than anything else.
Although I still have to maintain, that real drum sound would of suited
Ashes to Ashes a helluvalot better. In any event, not everyone may afford
recording in the super-duper expensive likes of Sunlight, Morrisound,
Fredman, Abyss, and Finnvox. After all this does not spoil the impression
from Cardinal VII and that's the only thing that counts really. (Troll)
4/5
ASTARTE
Quod Superius Sicut Inferius
2002
Black
Lotus Records/CD-Maximum
black metal
Uk-uk-uk! - as the goat-horned demond from Andzjei Sapkowski's book
smartly noted just before felling down yet another peasant girl in the
backyard. I'll admit (and let them call me sexist) even if I didn't
like this record like at all, I would have still given it a very high
mark, simply because the three charming divas that comprise Astarte
have melted me stone trollish heart with their unearthly beauty. And
I don't care if their drummer is a guy, they didn'[t even put his photo
in the CD inlay (suits the bastid right). Well, let's get back to business
though, for to my greatest delights, it has turned out that the three
enchantingly pretty Greek goddesses do know their way around their instruments,
and they know it well too. On the whole 'QSSI' mostly reminds the works
of Opera IX of Cadaveria epoch but less boring and exaggerated (I still
have to point out for the sake of justice, that Astarte aren't gonna
die of being too laconic either). A totally good record although not
too originals. (Troll)

5/5
BEHEMOTH
Zos Kia Cultus (Here And Beyond)
2002
Avantgarde
Music
death metal
You know what I love Behemoth for? They know how to surprise! And
the best part about it is that, no matter what you think of each of
their upcoming albums there's no guessing. I am sitting here now listening
to 'Zos Kia Cultus' for the first time, and I am already trying to predict
what the next album would be like, where Nergal would take the ship,
he'd been driving for almost 15 years now. And although he himself did
recommend that I take at least 20 spins before coming up with any sort
of an opinion, somehow I already know, that each next listen would just
nail 'Zos Kia Cultus' deeper into the core of my death-metal-slashed
brain. So… and here's where the real fun starts cuz Behemoth belong
to the scarcely populated category of bands whose creations are almost
impossible to describe verbally. The mind-blasting avalanche of aggression,
that stick out a sharp and hungry blade from every song on the record,
rolls down on the listener as a hundred thousand tons of cold and killing
ice rushing down the slope of an ancient mountain. The practically total
absence of a steady rhythm, endless tempo changes, and head-snapping
riff turns, masterminded by the crazy genius of Nergal, provoke in the
listener's mind a timeless loop of images of destruction, annihilation
and death. Life is an illusion, a myth, a dream that only exist in the
dead brain of a dead God. (Troll)

3/5
CALEDONIAN
Acolyte
2002
Darkwind
Records/CD-Maximum
doom/dark metal
Put together Amorphis and Orphanage and you gonna get Caledonian. Yep,
that easy, no gimmicks or tricks and other bullshite. High-quality,
atmospheric doom-dark metal, with a classic combination of clean female
vocals anfd deep male growling, mid-weight guitars and decent keyboard
arrangements. That's it. Couldn't have added more, even if tried really-really
hard. (Troll)

4/5
CONSTRUCTDEAD
Repent
2002
Cold Records
melodic death
"Repent!" - I hear the pleading voice of the winged girl, standing
on her knees and looking at me from the cover. "Repent, or you gonna
deal with those guys" - I hear her add as I open the first page of the
inlay and see a pump-muscled, hairy monster, whose sight does not predict
anything good. Yep, these guys know where their methadone and steroids
are. You gotta repent, willingly or not. Yes, yes, I repent, I've never
loved Swedish death metal, and I do not love it anymore now either.
But I do like those guys, and not just because I cannot tell where their
shoulders end and their head starts, but also because they know how
to right and play kickass music, and they do it convincingly and with
class. A wonderful mixture of all the best elements of the Goethenburg
and Stockholm schools, in the best traditions of Hypocrisy and Corporation
187. (Troll)

3/5
DECAPITATED
Nihility
2002
Earache/Wicked World/Soyuz
Music
Death metal
Frankly speaking, I did expect a lot more from this particular band.
Especially considering their debut record, which was 'Winds of Creation'.
Yes I might sound like the classic underground saying - 'the first demo
was better…' - but it is the truth in this case, unfortunately. Well-made,
extremely professional, outstandingly driven, intense, and aggressive,
and sad as it is idea- and faceless. What Decapitated actually did was
making an exact copy of Morbid Angel - a feat, which in itself is already
a compliment to their composing and instrument-handling skill, but for
Kthulu's sake - who needs another Morbid Angel? Well, yes I personally
do, cause Angel are my top-favorite band in the genre, but let us at
least try to be objective. And the truth is that despite all the bonuses
of this record, I could not possibly rate it at higher than '3' for
down-and-out absence of originality and new ideas. Well, if Decapitated
choose to continue in the same key in the future, I'd probably be their
biggest fan, but they are highly unlikely to attract the interest of
those, who ant to hear something new. (Troll)

5/5
DERANGED
Plainfield Cemetary
2002
Listenable Records
grindeath
Deranged rules! All the way! J Here we could have pretty much put
a full-stop to this review, however, if to me personally everything
was clear about this band already two years ago when their debut record
appeared on the market, my devilish intuition tells me there still might
be a chosen few amongst our readership, who were ignorant enough to
miss the wonderful chance of familiarizing themselves with the creations
of this magnificent Swedish trio, which means I'd better back up on
my opinion. Very well then, let's play the 'imagine' game. Imagine three
brutally sick perverts whose wild fantasy could be compared only to
the early opuses of the likes of Chris Barnes and instrumentalist techniques
and composition talents could have easily competed with the best of
the best in the field. Imagined? Now multiply the result by 10! Add
to this a 100% of loyalty to the genre, a potential to find non-standard
ways, where everything seemed to have been pretty obvious, an amazing
preciseness and exactness, and - most importantly - an infinity of love
to what they're doing. Impressed? Now get off your lazy ass and get
the motherfucker! (Troll)

3/5
DOMINION III
Life Has Ended Here
2002
Napalm Records
dark wave
The folks from Napalm Records have always been major fans of such
like projects, take for instance Summoning, or Kroezweg Ost, or Ice
Age. Atmospheric, meditative sounds, which can hardly classify as melody,
beautiful female vocals magnificently delivered by Elizabeth Toriser,
gothish electronic passages, and the angry screams of Tharen - the gey
who designed the whole thing - that suspiciouly remind those of Protector
of Summoning. In short if this type of music is your thing, you might
as well give it a try, if it's not however, move along and don't hold
up the line. (Troll)
5/5
DOMINIUM
Psycho Path Fever
2002
Metal Mind
Productions/CD-Maximum
doom
The first thing that strikes the ear on this particular album is the
totally brilliant sound quality. Frankly speaking, I really did not
expect something like that from a relatively unknown East-Euro act.
I mean just listen to the acoustic guitar in the very first track! Then
again even the most magnificently recorded sound isn't worth a twopence
if the material itself leaves too much to be desired. Luckily, Dominium
do not have that problem. Well-thought compositions, splendorous keyboard
arrangements, complex riffology that swiftly goes from My Dyring Bride
to Cynic, Atheist and Voivod, and last, but surely not least, carefully
designed and implemented vocal parties. If nothing else, this work sound
impressive at least because of the fact that with the very first chords
you understand how much effort and love have been put into each and
every song. Granted, as with any thinking band, you'd have to give 'Psycho
Path Fever' more than just one or two spins to fully appreciate its
majestic beauty, but who said that was a drawback? (Troll)

3/5
DORN
Schatten der Vergangenheit
2002
CCP Records/CD-Maximum
death/black
If earlier in the day one-man bands used to be something extraordinary
and you could really count them with the toes on one foot, currently
the phenomenon has entirely lost its novelty, and no one is really surprised.
Pretty much the same as with German lyrics, which one can use without
the fear of being labeled an ultra-right radicalist or neo-nazi. So
from this point of view as well, Roberto Liebig from Frankfurt upon
Oder, who is the mastermind behind Dorn, is just your regular metal
guy. The basis of Roberto's works is to be found in the standard mid-paced
black-death metal, with multiple keyboard inserts and screamo-growling
vocals. Nothing new whatsoever, but it's still pretty good. (Troll)

4-/5
ENTHRONED
Carnage in Worlds Beyond
2002
Napalm Records
black
Crush to dust, pound into crumbs, cut into small slices, grind to
pieces, burn to ashes, desecrate and devastate, and pee on it from above!
That's the contents of the black metal for dummies crash course which
the Belgian Enthroned has presented on their latest release. I guess
this is exactly the way carnage in world beyond should look like in
the opinion of the band. I agree, such a modus operandi is quite impressive
and effective, though not entirely new. Neither is the material recorded
on the album: standard second-generation black metal with a serious
incline towards death metal, pretty interesting and melodic solos and
ultra-fast blast beats. All of this would of been jolly wonderful, had
it not been for completely illiterate and naive lyrics. I am not going
to bore you with a lengthy and detailed analysis with examples, but
believe me they are very funny indeed. Especially if you compare them
with the cover of Morbid Death's 'Diabolic Force', originally recorded
in 1989, when you come to understand that over the past decade metal-heads
did not learn compose lyrics that would have at least a tiny bit of
sense in them. Norsk Arysk Black Metal! RRRAH! (Troll)

4/5
EWIGHEIM
Mord Nicht Ohne Grund
2002
Prophecy
Productions/CD-Maximum
gothic
No matter if you like gothic or not, if by a cruel twist of fate,
you find yourself holding this CD do not look into the middle of the
inlay under any circumstances whatsoever - unless you wanna puke. I
mean, for gossake, can anyone please explain to me what kind of a fucked
up sickhead would put a picture of age- and fungus-eaten feet of some
weird old lady, whose face fragments are to be found on the cover artwork,
into the middle of the inlay?! Yaiks!!! In fact, if you want my opinion,
do not look into the inlay at all, all of the lyrics are in German anyways,
and apart from them there're only pictures of body parts of the same
old lady there. Musically 'MNOG' reopresents a pretty much standard
mixture of gothic and gothic-rock with a tearsheddingly sad male vocals,
keyboards "a-minore', and other joys of life, that make the world go
round for most of the politically correct goths on the planet. Metalheads
are not invited unless they wanna hear a bunch of heavyish distorted
riffs here and there. (Troll)

3+/5
FINAL BREATH
Mind Explosion
2002
Nuclear
Blast
death thrash chaos
At first site it does not even look that bad - fast, wicked, technical,
but as luck would have it its a train en route to nowhere. Not even
because it's too monotonous, but simply because there is nothing to
associate with. No intrigue. Yes, these guys obviously did do their
homework very attentively listening to the classics from Death to Sodom,
but instead of coming up with something of their own, they just pulled
some nice licks and bits from all of their favorite records, glued them
all together and made a record. The result turned out to be pretty well-made,
but unconvincing, because already at about track 5 your hand would unconsciously
move towards the FWD button, to see if there is more to it than this,
or we just gonna continue banging like that no matter what, just for
the sake of Destruction, Violence and Mayhem. That's called Fist Banging
Mania, folks. (Troll)

5/5
THE GREAT DECEIVER
A
Venom Well Designed
2002
Peaceville/Soyuz
SMDM alternative
The hypertrophied activity and boiling energy of Mr. Tomas Lindberg
could hardly be compared to anyone but his fellow-countrymen Peter Tagtgren
or the infamous Dan Swano. However if the latter two, in most of the
cases, have become and still are the initiators and leaders of a thousand
of new projects, than Lindberg's case is mostly that of a guest-singer.
Having already marked his territory in Lock-Up and the Crown this year,
Tom has considered this result as positively insufficient of his honorable
title of every-barrel's-plug and decided to make an appearance in the
Great Deceiver. The end-product has turned out to be pretty funny, and
strange as it is - rather interesting. Lindberg's trademark angry voice
made an amazingly cool mixture with the largely alternative musical
material in the vein of Pyogenesis and Soundgarden. This unlikely marriage
as a result has become the key factor in providing the CD with a distinct
face of its own, which, in the author's humble opinion, is in turn the
key requirement of success. The hit of the album is I guess the fast
and upbeat 'After Us the Flood' - a bitter lament a-la Machine Head.
(Troll)

4/5
HAMMERFALL
Crimson Thunder
2002
Nuclear Blast
heavy metal
When this Swedish band first appeared on the metal skies 5 years
ago, no one was likely to foresee the overwhelming success of their
hyperbolizedly naive, indecently cliched, 1000-times before heard heavy
metal in the wake of the new millenium. But it worked! And today listening
to their latest effort, we understand that despite what all the evil
tongues may hiss about the absence of perspective of this funny dinosaur
of the 80ies, the public can't help but love the charming creature,
so up yers. No matter how stupid the Swedes may look in their unbelievable
leather outfits, armored to their neck in heroic spikes and metal, welding
a plastic hammer in their hands - the fans would still buy their albums
and attend their shows, and as we all know from the Murphy's laws -
if it's stupid but works, it ain't stupid. On their new album Oscar
Dronjak and his brothers of metal decided to step away from the Euro-power
speedway, that the band's been following for the past two albums, and
turn back to the epoch of 'Glory to the Brave' which once brought Hammerfall
their unprecedented success. The canonic new wave of British heavy metal
made in Sweden which we hear on 'Crimson Thunder' lives… 'and never
died!' - add Hammerfall convincingly smashing the hammer against the
table. (Troll)

3/5
HIMINBJORG
Haunted Shores
2002
Red Stream
a kind of a mix between viking metal and smdm.
Frankly, I do not know which genre category this CD belongs to,
but is it really that important? The melodic mid-tempo hymns, that tell
the tales of drakars, feats of heroes of the past, and other nonsense.
Partly the creations of Himinbjorg remind Finnish guitar rock (a certain
Finnish type of rock music somewhat alike with brit-pop but better).
I cannot say it's bad, but it certainly ain't amazing either. The recording
quality leaves a huge lot to be desired. This could have worked in the
early nineties, but today low-budget just doesn't go. Shame though,
because the songs are really not that bad. (Troll)

2/5
JUDAS ISCARIOT
To Embrace the Corpses Bleeding
2002
Red Stream
true black
G, I thought that type of thing was not fashionable anymore! Fuck
yes, it is! Yessir, some guys still got a pair of aces up their collective
sleeve. The funniest thing about it is, if you take somebody like Dimmu
Borgir their recording is done in an expensive Fredman Studios, where
one day of work, even with all the discounts gonna cost you some 500-600
euros, add the mixing and mastering - also a pretty dear pleasure, inflate
the budget to pay for the services of a symphonic orchestra, get a fashionable
designer to do the artwork, and there you go. On the other hand, we
have the likes of Judas Iscariot who record everything in the guitarist's
daddy's garage in a couple of days, process everything themselves in
Cakewalk, then scan some silly lithograph from a book they'd stolen
from the city library and that's it really. And the best part about
it the price for the 2 CDs in the store would be exactly the same. So
who is ripping whom off here? (Troll)

4-/5
KATAKLYSM
Shadows & Dust
2002
Nuclear Blast
death
You know, what was bad about Bolt Thrower? No, not the monotony,
because those who love the band, love it exactly for what it does best.
No, the bad thing about Bolt Thrower was that they were alone and irregular
when it came to record publishing. Now this drawback has been compensated
for. Because now we also have Kataklyzm. Of course it does not sound
exactly like BT (because it's too fast most of the time), but it's still
pretty good and in very many ways similar. The phat, meaty guitar sound,
military themes in the lyrics, mean vocals, and in all very pleasing
and commendable. Of course there easily could have been much less melody
and balalaika-like riffing, and more viscosity in the sound, but even
these little trifles do not spoil the overall impression. Recommended
to all lovers of Swedish death, bolt-o-fans, and pretty much anyone
else who may be interested in this type of music. (Troll)

3/5
LEAD WEIGHT
Penetrator
2002
CD-Maximum
death
Lead Weight, if my memory serves me right, have become the first
ex-USSR-based release of CD-Maximum, who have previously been only involved
in the licensing of foreign records. This is surely a good thing, as
any other good starting. And I sure hope that in the future the company
will continue developing this branch of its business. Let us not get
carried away, though - Lead Weight. From the very start it becomes totally
clear that the guys carefully and attentively did their homework, having
studied through all of the Chuck Shuldiner albums starting from 'Human'.
Well, very commendable it is, for one can hardly imagine a better role
model. Moreover this fact is an evidence of good taste, and even more
importantly, a sign of serious musical abilities. This, however, is
just one side of the story. The other side is that taking a genius as
a basis of one's own creations, a musician has to understand he will
always be subject to comparison with the works of the said genius, and
that, me friends, is already a different matter. With Lead Weight we
also have to face a pretty poor sound quality, which put together, unfortunately
leaves the band with only three points out of five. (Troll)
3/5
LOVE LIES BLEEDING
Ex Nihilo
2002
CCP Records/CD-Maximum
black
I personally am f the opinion that a review should reflect the essence
of the musical material represent don the CD there are many way to accomplish
this some would dissect every little note in each composition others
would try to accomplish the aforementioned goal through comparative
analysis third would simply go with describing their own emotions provoked
by the listening to the disk and me being a highly-opinionated and a
completely crazy motherfucker without a slightest trace of modesty would
follow into the steps of the genius Irish writer James Joyce and attempt
to show the reader what is he in for with the CD by the review itself
are you not surprised that so far you have not found one single punctuation
sign in this text remember the last chapter of Ulysses that's right
my dear and want to know why because this is exactly what is waiting
for you on Ex Nihilo five songs the shortest of which is six minutes
thirty seconds long and the longest drags along for twenty and a half
minutes and all though the music of this francophone trio is pretty
interesting and cool appreciating it would prove to be as hard as reading
through this stream of consciousness that is about all I had to say.
(Troll)

3-/5
MALEVOLENT
CREATION
The Will to Kill
2002
Nuclear Blast
death
Well, I'd say I've expected a lot more from Malevolent Creation.
I don't know why but somehow I thought that Phil Dfasciana and the crew
could have come up with something a lot more interesting, at least earlier
in their career they did. Did they get old, or is it me who has become
more demanding, but while once MC used to be one of the best for me,
today after the release of the 'Will to Kill' they've become one of
the many. Especially if compared to much younger bands from, say, Sweden
- for example Insision or Vomitory. The album was not salvaged even
by the guest appearance of James Murphy (ex-Agent Steele, ex-Death,
ex-Testament) on 'Assassin Squad' - which sad as it is, has nothing
else to offer, but James' solo. As to the rest of it, MC 2002 is a typical
example of unimpressing, faceless Florida death metal, performed with
superb quality, but suffering of a total idea and individuality deficiency.
(Troll)

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MESHUGGAH
Nothing
2002
Nuclear Blast
psychedelic death
Each night they come to me. Strange shapeless bits of flesh with mirror
eye-balls, in which I see a pain-broken face of madness. The features
are very familiar. But they are twisted and I cannot remember where
I'd seen them before. And have I? A black hole from which I hear crazed
screams and moans of the suffering. I havew heard these voices all my
life, but I cannot remember where they cam from. Hunger. In these voices
I hear the endless, unquenching hunger. Strange, shapeless bits of flesh
with black mirror eyeballs and hungry spit-oozing stinking mouths. Oh
they haven't been fed for a long time. A very long time. Probably, for
eternity. And now they want to eat. They always do. That is their essence,
their raison d'etre, their illusion of existence. Tear it into pieces
with razor-sharp tooth-blades and devour… food… Strange shapeless bits
of flesh with crazed black mirror eyeballs, in which I see hunger and
fear. An abyss, a universe of fear. Each night they come to me…
P.S. If you have not understood what I meant then you haven't heard
the latest Meshuggah yet. (Troll)

4/5
MIND ECLIPSE
Chaos Chronicles
2003
More Hate Productions
black death
When
I heard the intro to the new album of this Yaroslavl-based act the first
word that crossed my mind was 'creepy' - for creepy it truly is. You
may also develop the epithet to spine-twisting and goosebump-giving,
or probably even creep-giving - the essence would still remain the same.
I mean I did catch meself peeking unconsciously into the dark corners
of the room as I was listening to it. But let us get to the album though.
The first thing that needs to be pointed out is the excellent sound
quality (which the band is eternally grateful for to Arkady Navaho).
No, really,
seriously the sound rules so much that even those parts, which under
other circumstances I would have most likely called dull and boring,
start to sound pretty cool and interesting (a notice to the band: hey
guys, Arkady does deserve yet another case of beer from me personally).
The musical material too, as it seems to me, has undergone some serious
improvements compared to the band's previous effort, becoming more diverse,
dense and, for lack of a better word, pronounced. This way or other,
this time I really cannot come up with any suitable musical comparison
for Mind Eclipse which in itself is already a very good sign.
(Troll)
5/5
OPETH
Deliverance
2002
Music
for Nations
music
The fact that Opeth are one of the greatest contemporary bands needs
no proof really, for they themselves are already a proof. Having started
their career not so long ago through delivering a debut record in 1996
at Candlelight Records, Opeth has instantly earned itself a reputation
of a complex, thinking band, whose musicians boast ideal taste, demonstrate
virtuoso instrumentsalism, and write excellent compositions, which have
complete ideas, integrity, exact consistency, and - most importantly
- originality. However the main paradox about the Swedish quartet in
my opinion is that, with all the intricate complexity and brain-snapping
non-standardness Opeth have never fallen into redundant boredom - the
curse of most other bands in the field (I mean take Dream Theater for
instance, these guys I can only listen to for about 5 minutes (yes,
fuck you too) after whic me brain falls into a deep lethargic slumber,
which can only be broken then with the early works of Napalm Death or
Cannibal Corpse). And that mind you with an average song length of 10+
minutes. The second paradox of the band is that not on one of their
six albums so far you would find a single weak song. Once started with
this or that composition the Swedes would polish and furnish it up until
the moment when there is nothing to add or cut away and the song becomes
a separate entity. This we'd seen on 'Morningrise,' 'Orchid,', 'My Arms
Your Hearse,' 'Still Life,' last year's 'Blackwater Park' and the latest
'Deliverance'. Well, that's it, now you only have to listen to it. (Troll)

4-/5
PANDEMONIUM
Insomnia
2002
JCM Records/CD-Maximum
melodic death
Imagine that Tarja Turunen has finally parted ways with Nightwish,
and is replaced with a charming duet of Mika Luttinen and David Vincent.
Yes, I understand this is like the worst wet dream ever, I mean for
me too, but not for the guys from Pandemonium. The funniest thing about
it is that despite all the seeming grotesque, this metal Quazimodo has
turned out to be quite nice and pretty. And all though it is highly
unlikely that I'd ever become the biggest fan of this funny Swedish
band, I still gotta admit that considering all the other talentless
melodic death acts, these guys look pretty cool, if not to say fresh
and intriguing. Sincerely recommended to all SMDM fans, as well as all
the lovers of Nightwish - hey guys, you better start getting used to
what your favorite band may sound like without Tarja, just in case,
y'know. (kidding) (Troll)

5/5
RAISE HELL
Wicked Is My Game
2002
Nuclear Blast
deathrash
At last! Don't know about you, but I have been longing to hear the
third album of this, as they say in ice-hockey, young and promising
Swedish act, before I reached the end of their second effort (which,
by the way, was sitting in me personal play-list for about 4 months).
So no wonder, that when forming my regular Blast order on Soundcheck.ru,
I put Raise Hell #1 on the want-list. But let's put things in order.
The new 'raiseheller' record spins off with a replay of the cult John
Carpenter flick 'Helloween' followed by some 45 minutes of bloodbath
in the best traditions of Hollywood and independent horror. Rivers of
blood, axed-off heads, stripes of meat hanging from the guitar-strings,
and splashes of brain and guts flying all over the place from-under
the drumstick heads. And, all though the new album does not have the
hit-likes of 'Babes' or 'Not Dead Yet', it still has the neck-snapping
slashers like 'In My Cell' and 'Devil May Care'. To put it all short
- Fucking Killer!!! (Troll)

3/5
RIGER
Des Blutes Stimme
2002
CCP Records/CD-Maximum
Black/viking metal
What's in an album? An extremely good-looking artwork with an unreadable
band-logo. Contents - a not too expressive black/viking metal with acoustic
inserts, occasional death metal licks, German lyrics, and a good lot
of neat ideas, that'd been carefully implemented. The hit of the record
is surely the swinging 'Auf die Ahnen!' - all in all, an entirely decent
album, which would undoubtedly win the heart of all the genre fans,
although still it is far from Thyrfing. (Troll)

4/5
SATYRICON
Volcano
2002
Moonforg/Capitol
Records Norway
black
Last time we heard from Satyricon was in 1999 when the band released
their most controversial, and, in my opinion, their best to date 'Rebel
Extravaganza'. Over the past three years they did put out a live video
under the title of 'Roadkill Extravaganza' and a compilation devoted
to the Satyricon's 10th anniversary 'Ten Hors - 10 Diadems', but that
was nothing new. As to the recent release, that one has become a logical
continuation of RE, both musically, and production- and sound-wise.
Of course, there is a bunch of new tricks and pulls here, but nothing
super-unexpected or amazing. This might be explained by the novelty
effect, which we got from the previous album, or the move to EMI Norway,
but, this way or other, 'Volcano' did not have the impact on me, which
it should have had. A high-quality and even record, but that's about
it. The ultimate hit of the album is undoubtedly the lean and mean 'Fuel
for Hatred'. However let us hope that Satyr and Frost will still surprise
us in the future and more than once. In any even although 'Volcano'
did not outdo it's predecessor, it was not any worse either. (Troll)

5/5
TROLLHEIM'S GROTT
Bizarre Troll Technology
2001
Woodcut
Records/CD-Maximum
black metal
To be quite honest, writing a review on a CD which came out in 2001
in the end of 2002 is pretty silly, but it's just their name and the
name of the album, which definitely make them something special for
me. Yes I am partial here, but I can't help it. All though I still have
to say that even if we detach ourselves from those two totally beautiful
and brilliant names and assume a completely unbiased approach to the
musical material (which, as you all understand, I won't do) even in
that case you would have heard nothing from me but enthusiastic shrieks
and exalted grunts. I mean just try to imagine a mixture of the Kovenant,
Dimmu Borgir and Finntroll with a Mayhem attitude! Couple this with
an entirely smart image, considerable composing talent, amazing instrumentalism,
solid Finnish sound quality and, lastly, a flawless sense of a good
song. Fucking A! (Troll)

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VINTERSORG
Visions from the Spiral Generator
2002
Napalm Records
avantgarde prog
As drunken millionaire Dudley Moore was saying in the Arthur movie
trying to put together an ashtray he'd just broken 'That's all very
difficult.. hic…" It's all too difficult even more so, since, for shame,
for shame, but I have to admit that I missed the previous works of the
current Borknagar singer. Which means, discount my ignorance and illiteracy.
The first impression that I received from 'Visions…' was that this music
was made for musicians, at least more for musicians than for the listeners.
The material presented on the album was most likely extremely interesting
to play and record, but, by the same token, unspeakably hard to listen
to and appreciate, as with any progressive - and methinks there very
little room for argument that this is progressive, largely. Drawing
musical parallels from other bands is also pretty useless, for if I
start with Death's 98 record, and continue with, say late Amorphis,
and then add some Mr. Bungle, I then find myself in a total dead-end,
and refuse to understand what is going on. Anyways, generalizing all
of the above, 'Visions from the Spiral Generation' is much easier to
listen to once, than trying to put in a verbal description of any sort.
I give up. (Troll)

4/5
WARHAMMER
Curse of the Absolute Eclipse
2002
Nuclear Blast
dinosaur black metal
Well, strictly speaking, it's quite hard to believe that this masterpiece
was created in the beginning of the third millennium, because judging
by all its parameters it's like 20 years late. The battle, dirty black
metal in the vein of Bathory, Celtic Frost, and Venom, with an absolutely
primitive composition structure, not too clever and complex riffs, and
the sound standard which roots straight from the 80ies. Moreover, true
as they are, the boys stick to the good old 80ies image too: worn out
jeans, bullet-belts, spiked bracelets, etc. However, strange as it may
seem, it is pretty catchy… Catchy despite the complete outdatedness,
childish simplicity and seeming naivete. Well, not quite, because Warhammer
are everything but naive. Surprisingly, notwithstanding all of the aforementioned,
the band does not provoke a condescending smile, moreover, on the contrary,
listening to the 'Curse of the Absolute Eclipse' you can't help showing
respect to the trio that had the guts to go against the grain and time,
and record something like that in 2002. If nothing else, Warhammer do
everything with an ultimate conviction and that alone deserves a cordial
hats-off to the band - respect! (Troll)
4/5
WEENA MORLOCH
KadaverKomplex
2002
Trisol Music
industrial noise wave
You know, I've always been surprised how the majority of industrial
bands totally fail at using the endless potential they have at their
hands. I mean the technical capacity of the genre allows one to do pretty
much whatever he wants and wishes, giving the composer an infinite field
for experimenting and searching, and none the less the larger part of
records made in this style of music become boring already in the middle
of the second track. Of course it always can be just me, but still.
I mean I really like GGFH, but at the same time, I fail to see what's
so cool about Ministry, Die Krups and Nine Inch Nails. Let us turn to
Weena Morloch though. The album spins of with a pretty standard industrial
composition that utilizes all the placeable cliches, then turns to popesque
new wave on track two, and already on the third track KadaverKomplex
becomes typical noise, and a pretty good one mind you. The stylistic
merry-go-round continues all through the rest of the record, Alexander
Kaschte - the mastermind behind all the erm... music, if I may use the
word… on the record - jumps from industrial to noise, from noise to
dark wave, and from dark wave back to industrial with an ease that is
nothing but amazing. Pretty cool, eh? (Troll)

4/5
WURDULAK
Severed Eyes of Possession
2002
Season of
Mist/CD-Maximum
black metal
Yes, this one is yet another of those CDs which you oughtta buy
even if you couldn't care less about black metal or what not, you still
oughtta buy it just for the sake of the cover. Forget all of your Cannibal
Corpses and Carcasses with their comics like drawings and silly rotten
flesh mosaics. These pictures would only scare preschool kids really.
However when the master of bloody bacchanalia and epatage, Sir Killjoy
(Necrophagia, Eibon, Viking Crown) takes over he means business and
he means it big fucking time. Indeed the nun nailed through her mouth
and throat with a wooden stake to the cross and her eyes pecked out
by the crows is damn worth every other monster and horror-picture ever
to endorse the baddest possible underground gore act. What I am amazed
at is how these guys managed to get away from the censors and other
social and religious committees and agencies with it. Well, anyway the
late Euronymous of Mayhem, who has by the way become the subject of
dedication hereof, would have definitely been happy with this cover.
Well, in fact I think that the musical content would have been a pleasure
for him too. The rather primitive and exceedingly wicked true black
with two singers, none others than Killjoy and Maniac of Mayhem, a lot
of blast-beats, intricate guitar riffs, and a total fucking darkness
atmosphere. Well, the only thing Euronymous could be upset with here
is the mixing - the way it turned out, its all too clean and tidy -
you could even hear every instrument, which sucks... (Troll)

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