Dead Orchestra - Global Lobotomy (1992)

 

Cost: $1.00

This is an old find from 10+ years ago, and should have been one of the CDs I got from my very first visit to the same store that produced the June 22, 2013 haul.  Unfortunately, well...I accidentally left it at the store.  The dollar CDs there were in floor level cabinets, with some overspill stacked up on the floor. So while amassing my purchases, I was placing my to-buy stack on top of the CD stacks, and I inadvertently left a couple of the bottom CDs behind, including the Dead Orchestra disc (and of course it was the best disc out of the 20 or so I found that day). I only realized after the hour long drive home, but luckily it was still there when I went back a few weeks later.  That particular store has been gone for a few years, so I wanted at least one post to commemorate one of my first finds there.

 

The album is a great dollar bin find, although personally I think it falls somewhat short of being extraordinarily good.  The foundation here is quite technical thrash/crossover, and they certainly love their speed.  At the beginning I didn't make too much of  the meatier Exhorderesque riffs they'd throw in here and there, and I figured a lot of the speed was due to Cryptic Slaughter or similar influences.  But it's impossible to ignore the times when the vocals get quite evil  (on "C.C.V." they're quite Cancer-like) and they're playing total deaththrash passages.  I try to avoid moaning about wasted potential or should-have-dones since that's all hypothetical, but I do think some of my slight disappointment comes from the overall inconsistency with the presence of some of the more generic crossover stuff.  The extreme parts make me long for a pure deaththrash album; had they devoted themselves entirely to speedy tempos, they could have also given Sadus some heathy competition.  Then again, for a buck I'm not complaining either...

Bomberos - Hate (2004)

 

Cost: $2.00

Only picked this up due to the Mayhem connection (Maniac is the singer here) and not the actual music, which is punk. Even as a bargain bin find, this wasn't a particularly good value considering there's less than 10 minutes of music on the disc.

The music itself is fairly aggressive but lacks any noteworthiness for me and comes across as inoffensively generic.  Maniac's vocals don't do it any favors, as they're almost too laid back and unenthused (especially ironic considering I thought the Deathcrush MLP vocals bordered on being too hysterical/shrieky and not evil enough for my taste) in contrast to the energetic songs.  After hearing "Midnight Ride" it suddenly clicked that they're some sort of attempt at a Jello Biafra style.

Vulture - Vulture (2008)

Cost: $2.00 

Ended up buying this after seeing "doom" in the Myspace link listed in the booklet, although I was initially a bit cautious due to the logo aesthetic and lack of band photo.  Unfortunately rather than being straightforward doom metal, the doom that does exist here is very diluted by stoner rock and Southern metal influences as well as some unnecessary modern touches.

In fairness, there are some okayish slow parts, but the pleasing heaviness of the guitar tone just made me wish they'd dispense with all the unmemorable bouncy, rockish riffs and worship Sabbath more.  Vocals come in three varieties--a sort of gruff style I mentally associate with Southern metal but also sounds a bit like Lee Dorrian at times, relatively clean vox, and occasional guttural DM vox.

Just out of curiosity I checked out some tracks from the band's sole full length from 2012.  It's far sludgier and bleaker which makes it marginally more interesting than this mini CD as a whole, although the very forced vocals and overall sound also make me draw unfavorable comparisons to some of the more generic Relapse sludge signees.