Nocturne - Guide to Extinction (2005)

Cost: around $1 (bought as part of a lot)
This CD is available for trade.

Not metal.  The band/album name and album art might indicate the possibility of metal, but as soon as I saw the band logo, I suspected it would be industrial or electronica (which is vaguely true).  

Most of the CD's first half sounds like female-fronted '90s alternative rock, with relatively minimal industrial and gothic influences tacked on.  In the later songs, they lose the overly sweet vocals and increase the industrial influences a bit, and it comes off like a mix of Bile, White Zombie, Hole, and a little bit of Marilyn Manson.   No thanks.

7000 Dying Rats - Fanning the Flames of Fire (1998)

Cost $1.00

Make no mistake, this album is first and foremost a delivery system for humorous and ironic songtitles.  In many cases, they even surpass Anal Cunt at it.  I was pleasantly surprised because while I expected a comedic novelty listen, which this certainly is, a couple of the straightforward parts are pretty good grindcore.  The pure grind stuff is broken up by all sorts of strange and humorous material, and the CD just gets weirder and weirder as it goes on.  The album as a whole is much less monotonous than old Agoraphobic Nosebleed, most AxCx (they're generally not as noisecore-sounding, although there are obvious influences and a tribute track called--what else--"Anal Cunt is Gay"), and Meat Shits (they're not as reliant on samples, although there are plenty--and I actually wish they had included more) material.  

Just some comments about the end of the disc..."Ozzy Looked like Bea Arthur on the Ultimate Sin Tour" is one of the greatest songtitles ever, and at just over 13 min. long I had high hopes.  Unfortunately it's a much-too-short cover medley of Sabbath's "It's Alright" and "Back Street Kids" with some Ozzy stage banter samples, and then 10 minutes of silence.  There are several untitled 4 and 5 second tracks--most of these are dedicated to studio foolery inspired by the lyrics to Venom's "Sacrifice," and later on Gus Backus' '60s hit "Der Mann Im Mond" is sampled.  Disappointingly, since the last track is listed as "99) Luft Balloons," I was hoping for the actual Nena cover, but it's just a short audio clip of some hockey commentators bookended by silence.

Worth the buck just for the Sabbath renditions and the vintage pic of Bruce Dickinson in his silly feathered "Powerslave" mask on top of the disc.

Heavy Metal Killers compilation (2009)

Cost: 99¢

Yep, another Earache compilation from the same store where I got the Thrashing Like a Maniac disc last month.  I'd say this is the far superior CD since even discounting the genre difference, it's a much stronger roster and less uneven musically.  But as with Thrashing..., it's somewhat disappointing there are so few demo/rare tracks.

Initially I thought Hospital of Death was a very out-of-place inclusion, since I think of them as a much thrashier band, but their track has enough traditional HM and power metal influences to fit in well.  The Cauldron track actually stands out rather negatively among the songs due to the noticeably slicker style.  Speaking of Cauldron, it finally hit me when listening who their nasal vocal style reminds me of so much--Halloween.

Forgive me for passing on doing a full track-by-track review, but there are only so many ways one can indicate "this song is pretty good" before the 'ol writing creativity dries up.

Old Grandad - The Last Upper (1999)

Cost: 99¢

This CD is available for trade.

Very old find I'm just getting around to.  This came from a store that gave metal/punk/HC its own separate clearance section, so it may have been a totally blind purchase, but I think I may have seen an ad/review in Pit or similar. I certainly did not know at the time that it was Erik Moggridge's post-Epidemic band.

Weird stuff for sure...to summarize the music, I think it's easiest to break it down into two general parts--there are noisier punk/HC/grind/speedcore elements, and then there are Sabbath-influenced groovy/stoner/sludge elements. These parts are arranged and mixed in various ways, but aside from the mellow final track, there's nothing that really deviates from those elements musically.   Vocals are all over the place--I'd say the most used are distorted punkish vox, but there are also various kinds of clean vocals, very Seth Putnam sounding vocals on the opening track, and even some guttural death metal vocals.

The humorous attitude and somewhat schizophrenic fusion of various styles reminds me of a more musically extreme version of what many of the so-called "alternative metal" bands were trying to do when mixing genres, though thankfully there's no funk crap here.  There are also some minor similarities to some of the more avant-garde grindcore and sludge bands which came later, although this seems more spontaneously silly and less consciously artsy.

Interesting CD as a listening experience, although the only tracks I came away liking to any extent were the last two--"Daly City Crackhouse" is spastic hardcore (those vocals at 2:15 crack me up), and aforementioned closer "Zero Sky" is kinda doomy and surprisingly contemplative.

Brother Von Doom - Relentless (2008)

Cost: 99¢

Silly band name, but better than I expected.  There are too many Slaughter of the Soul-inspired bands out there, but at least this isn't metalcore/deathcore masquerading as melodeath; the band largely--but not completely--avoids those kinds of sounds.  There's no clean singing of any kind, just high and guttural low vocals, but the vox seem quite forced, which don't doesn't mesh with the music all that well (sadly, they are somewhat reminiscent of -core bands).  The band is pretty generous with decent guitar harmonies, but things feel quite one-dimensional from song to song, and the disc lacks distinctive material (aside from the cool power metallish/"Mars, the Bringer of War"-esque intro).

Bloodsoaked - Religious Apocalypse (2014)

Cost: 99¢

This CD is available for trade. 

 

EP with some new tracks, a pair of covers, and some live tracks.  The new stuff is okay for nowadays death metal--it's not old-school by any stretch, but there's definitely some '90s Floridian influence in the riffs.  But I'm not a big fan of the blastbeating, and it's disappointing that there are no guitar solos (especially considering that Peter's guitar playing on the covers is very good).  The live stuff is just space filler so I'm not going to bother talking about it. 

That leaves the Cinderella and Ratt covers which are of course the main point of interest on the disc.  Other than the downtuning and DM vocals, both are played pretty faithfully, with the solos and lead work being especially well done.  Being the less metallic of the two songs, "Shake Me" doesn't translate as well, and the chorus sounds goofy with extreme vocals.  "You're in Love" isn't the first Ratt cover I would have thought of for a death metal cover (obviously "Round and Round" for the notoriety, or maybe one of the heavier cuts from the first EP like "Sweet Cheater") but the Bloodsoaked version works surprisingly well.

Taraxacum - Rainmaker (2003)

Cost: 99¢

Disappointing for the most part--I was expecting power metal (especially based on the pedigree of the band members), but this is melodic hard rock, with relatively minor metal influences here and there.

Ankhelgloknar - Mortuus Deus (1999)

Cost: $1.00

Not sure whether the stupid band name (and concept behind it, as explained in the booklet) are just childish attempts to seem obscure and nihilistic, or whether it's supposed to be a parody of black metal.  I suspect the former.

"Ankhelgloknar is destined to redefine the Black/Thrash metal category. The 6 piece European brood boasts a manic and violent style that will be sure to shred even the most jaded ears. The bands razor sharp vocals, screaming twin guitar solos and ballistic rhythm section will make this group a hit with true fans of this genre! The band, having honed their individual styles in various bands in various areas of Europe, seems to have found a dark and nefarious style that they can lay claim to as their own. They have formed a belief in the ancient arts taught by the religious pariah and their namesake "Ankhelgloknar" that feeds their musical sound and lyric style. This can be witnessed in their debut album "Mortuus Deus" which delivers it's deadly goods with over 60 minuets of unholy metal! These guys are scary and not recommended for the impressionable or faint of heart. They play with the convictions of their beliefs and it shows. Give them a listen....We dare you!"

Ironically, after all that cheesy hype, the band end up not even being black/thrash.  They don't seem to be European either--the vocalist is obviously the guy from the band O.C.D. on the same record label, so I expect at least some of the other members are too.

So imagine it's the late '90s, and you want to cash in on the black metal trend.  Except you've never really heard any black metal before, maybe just read a oversimplified text description ("raspy vocals and dark riffs").  You're in a groove/modern thrash metal band, so you figure if you evil things up a little, you can present yourselves as a black/thrash band.  That's pretty much what it feels like.  I must stress that the end result has very limited resemblance to anything black metal, so it's not the typical Cradle of Filth or Norwegian emulation you might expect from a bandwagon jumping band.

The songs are midpaced, with chuggy, groovy thrash riffs.   The longer songs sometimes have riffs closer to the traditional black metal tremolo style, but even then, in this context it doesn't really sound much like BM.  The guitar solos are interesting but inconsistent--sometimes they're more traditional shredding, other times they'll be discordant and squelchy.  The vocals are probably the oddest and most disconcerting thing here, as rather than any kind of extreme metal vocals, they sound more like an affected trollish voice you might find on a cartoon villain's henchman or lackey (the main villain would probably have a cooler, more ominous voice).  After getting used to them they were more weird than bad, although they often have a strange cadence.  The drumming seems like organic playing, but the sound (the snare in some tracks is annoying and industrialish) definitely makes me think they're triggered or an electronic kit.

There are only six tracks, but they're quite long--the shortest is 6:30, and three of them run almost 12 minutes or more.  The best stuff on the disc is the atmospheric parts on two of the longer tracks.   "Dead End" has a mellow, contemplative end section with acoustic guitar and chanting vocals.  The last half of "The Summoning" turns unexpectedly ambient with tribal drumming and almost mantra-like chanted vox (even better, the outro is another 5+ min. reprise of the "Dead End" ending).

So yeah, odd CD, and the overall listening experience reminded me much more of some kind of weird, dark progressive metal than anything black metal.  Completely stupid marketing for this.  Wish they had expanded on some of the atmospheric/avant-garde elements, but this ended up being unexpectedly ok at times for a buck.

Jacknife - Moment of Reckoning (2005)

Cost: $1.00

Mix of metalcore, modern thrash, and groove metal.  Initially I thought this was going to be better than I expected, since the opening track starts out as very thrashy groove metal.  As the CD went on, the breakdowns and metalcore elements began showing themselves more and more, and it became less of an interesting listen.  Vocals are a hoarse HC style, not my favorite but not as cheesily forced as Hatebreed/Pantera aggro vox.  There are also quite a few nice Swedish melodeath style guitar harmonies.  For more modern stuff this is alright since it's on the thrashier and more metallic side in terms of riffs.  However, it's that common problem again--the music is just enough to hint at potential and keep me listening, but ultimately there are far more interesting options out there.

Covered in Filth - A Tribute to Cradle of Filth (2003)

Cost: $1.00

Upon seeing this I immediately assumed it was a Dwell Records release...Except it's actually on Deadline Music (considering they're a Cleopatra sublabel, the tribute is thankfully light on gothic cheese).   The liner notes and band descriptions are laughable, a mix of corny overzealous attempts to seem metal ("Horns Up") and label PR hyperbole.

Note that for better or for worse, most bands did not attempt to emulate Dani's really high vocals.

1. Wehrwolfe - The Principle of Evil Made Flesh

Relatively straight up cover.  Guitars are upfront, so it sounds less atmospheric and more brutal than the original.  The guitar solo has been tweaked into something more technically proficient.  Vocals seem kind of monotonous.

2. Born of Thorns - To Eve the Art of Witchcraft

One of the most CoF sounding covers on the CD.  They decided to throw in some deep clean vocals that are more associated with later CoF--they don't sound out of place, but the original didn't have them.  Also, the heavy accent on the female narration at the end sort of detracts from the atmosphere.

3. Serpents Aria - Born in a Burial Gown

Ex-Fog/Fear of God.  Not bad per se, but lacks the atmosphere and subtlety of the original.  The vocals are buried pretty deeply in the mix and the keyboards are much simpler than the original.  Oddly, the first part of the song has some random guitar shredding.  There's more added guitar at the end, although there it makes sense as they substituted it for the original's synths.

4. Mirzadeh - Malice Through the Looking Glass

Musically this is one of the more faithful covers, although the main vocals seem a little off.  The mellow sections with piano are covered quite accurately, so this cover stays truer to the feeling of the original than most of the others. 

5. D.D.T. - No Time to Cry

Yeah, the booklet has some excuse for the "cover of a cover" thing.   This is Jim Dofka playing all instruments, with a vocalist who went on to do short stints in -core related bands.  I prefer the original Sisters of Mercy song to the Cradle cover, but as a cover of the CoF rendition this is extremely good.  I'm kind of divided on the main vocals, which work ok but are on the verge of being silly--they're too deep and kind of monotonous, almost like a mumbling parody of Type O Negative vocals.

6. Chronzon - Cthulhu Dawn

This band has a ridiculous write-up in the booklet, so honestly I was expecting an awful cover.   Some of the guitar parts towards the end don't translate well and sound more like generic chunky DM, but otherwise their cover is played pretty straightforward.  They actually have one of the better Dani-like vocalists and some of the best keyboards on the tribute.   There's also an added piano outro--it's more interesting than the ending of the original song, although it doesn't sound very CoF-ish.

7. Veil of Anguish - Summer Dying Fast

As with the Born of Thorns cover, very Cradle sounding.

8. Kaul - Suicide and Other Comforts
Starts out as if it's going to be some sort of mellow, deconstructed gothic rockish/almost ambient-like cover (far better than it sounds), but by about halfway through it becomes a more traditional cover.  One of only two bands that tried to do something creative/experimental with their covers.

9. Noctuary - The Black Goddess Rises
Keyboard-less (they use guitars for the melodies instead), but otherwise straightforward cover.

10. Lucifer - Desire in Violent Overture
Stripped down, simplified keyboard-less cover.  Not bad.  Actually, sort of sounds like something from The Principle of Evil... album like this.

11. Dark Army - From the Cradle to Enslave
Based on the band "bio"/write-up, I expected this to be crappy one man black metal.  Admittedly, it's probably the worst track on here, but it's not completely terrible.  The vocal effects and drum machine make it sound cheap (not in a good way), but the riffs and keyboard work are pretty solid for a cover.

12. Willow Wisp - The Forest Whispers My Name
Another very Cradle-like cover, not surprising considering the straightforward parts on their Full Moon Productions CD were CoF worship.

13. Kekal - Dance Macabre 
Starts out with a lengthy drum and bass intro bit.  "Dance Macabre" was basically a techno remix (of "Tortured Soul Asylum," I think?)...Here the techno is dropped and the meat of the cover sounds more like traditional CoF, albeit with strong progressive touches.  The least faithful cover on here, though much better than the original.