CD

Crowbar are considered to be the real inventors of the 'doom-core' genre, combining the heaviness of doom metal and the breakdowns of hardcore. Their first release back in 1992, Obedience Thru Suffering, set the tone for a whole new range of bands to arise from the depths of metal and hardcore. The album was an inspiration for many people to pick up an instrument and start making heavy music without following any rules. The record has been out of print since 1994, but now, the band re-released their debut masterpiece.

Like I already had expected, the official first album on Nuclear Blast Records is showcasing an improvement over the previous albums. Musically they haven't changed anything, but the songs sound more accessible, more mature and the production also has more crunch to it!  Stylistically they still reside in the NWOBHM and US speed metal of the eighties.

I do really appreciate the things Swedish band Grief Of Emerald has done since the second part of the nineties. Their characteristic Scandinavian-influenced Black Metal did always convince because of the nice symbiosis in between melody, aggression and persuasion, and the members’ craftsmanship is impeccable. Unfortunately, Grief Of Emerald have not been able to reach the upper top because of the overflow on same-minded bands, among which several that are at least as convincing, and probably slightly better.

This is their fifth studio album since this Swedish band was formed in 2004.  And as before they’ve made a fine album.  Not that it brings anything new to us. Far from that. This album, as were their previous albums, is chock full of stereotypes and clichés of the genre.

Actually their music can best be described as a mix of Manowar, Iron Maiden, Sabaton, Judas Priest, and maybe I could name a few others.

Some bands can be so obscure, there's hardly any info to be found on 'em on the Internet. Here's another case.

Deplorable how little info one can find on the Internet about this London based British band! From what I've been able to piece together, the band was formerly known as a quartet under the name of Death Cigarettes until the latter part of 2009, when original singer Maya and guitarist Andy decided to take on a new rhythm section.

Usually I have a hard time with sludge music, and especially the ongoing flood of sludge metal bands is more than I can take. But Moghul (great name) do manage to capture my attention. At a first glance, the two songs don’t sound too spectacular, but the more time you spend with them, the more fascination evolves from this psychedelic doom foursome. Attentive listening reveals how multi-layered the music actually is. The CD contains 2 long tracks running between nine and thirteen minutes and subsists on countless mood swings.

Opium Warlords, the brainchild of Sami A. ‘Witchfinder’ Hynninen (whom you might know from e.g. Reverend Bizarre, Spiritus Mortis, Armanenschaft, Lohja SS, Punisment, KLV and several more), return with We Meditate Under The Pussy In The Sky, a five-tracker that lasts for thirty five minutes. We Meditate … is a mainly instrumental record, with an approach rather typifying to Svart Records.

Based in Madrid, Spain, this band was founded in April 2005 when keyboardist Sergio López and guitarist Jose Manuel Torres met each other through a very popular Internet music forum. Influenced by the likes of Epica, After Forever and Nightwish, their desire was to start a European female fronted Symphonic Metal project. So, with that in mind they first went in search of a rehearsal space, and then went on the lookout for the additional members to complete the line-up.

As most of you might know already, trash metal isn’t my cup of tea.  Which implies that I have suffered enormously listening to this album. This is trash metal at its purest form. Fast, aggressive.  And to make matters even worse the lyrics – I guess they’re English? – are understandable. The drummer is trying to beat the world speed record I guess, but that’s about it.

Why this album, originally released in 2007 had to be rereleased is a mystery to me.