Terrorizer Fear Candy Unsigned Edition Walkthrough

I picked up an issue of Terrorizer when I did the magazine reviews. Terrorizer was notable because it included two free sampler CDs. One of these was to showcase new or upcoming albums by established bands. The other was to showcase unsigned bands for a contest. I am looking at the unsigned bands album today to determine which of these bands I would most like to hear more from. Some of the bands are good, some are very good, some are bad, and some are fucking awful. Let's do this bitch.

1. BILOCATE: Not bad, actually kind of good. They play a sort of blackened death metal with some very melodic parts, including use of keyboards. The vocals are deep growls and they are fairly good for the genre. The guitar solo had a great tone to it. There are frequent tempo changes throughout. The music itself gives off an epic feel. The band is from Jordan of all places. I would be willing to check these guys out further.

2. COFFIN: This band plays a very raw form of death/thrash. It's fast-paced metal. The guitar tone is a little muddy, I think they were going for the Swedish buzzsaw guitar tone, but did not really succeed. The vocals are delivered in a staccato shout. This is not bad, but not something that hasn't been done tons of times before. I would want to see this band develop it's own sound before checking them out further.

3. MANUSCRIPTS: Bad name. I get the impression these guys are like 15 years old from their vocals. They play a sort of slow, sludgy doom metal on this track with some major hardcore influences present. Actually it's tough to tell which sound is more present. These guys should never attempt a guitar solo again until they become more competent. That was just painful to listen to.

4. VIRAEMIA: Yuck. Necrophagist clone, extremely technical death metal. The noodling guitars at the beginning give it away. I don't mind Necrophagist but some of the bands influenced by them take things to the extreme. No real riffs or melodies here, just overly technical guitar wanking. Very tedious listening.

5. TITAN: I can't tell what this is, some sort of progressive hardcore with metal influences I guess. It's not bad but there's not enough really here to capture interest. Space filler basically. Vocals are decent and the riffs are very heavy, but it's ultimately forgettable.

6. VERTIGO STEPS: This is not fucking metal. I don't even know what the fuck it is, it kind of reminds me of the song on Roadrunner United with the singer from Glassjaw. I hated that fucking song. This is no different. Overly saccharine sweet and going nowhere. Emo-ish vocals and lame guitar riffs. The name fucking sucks too. Oh god, the breakdown is horrendous. I couldn't even finish it, I had to hit the skip button. No thanks.

7. INTENTION: I can barely hear this song. It's essentially a fast hardcore song, maybe crossover if I'm feeling generous (I'm not after that last piece of shit). Bad vocals, bad guitars, sloppy. Short though, that's nice.

8. HELLISH OUTCAST: With a name like that, you pretty much know what you're getting into. Or not, this band is more of a death/thrash metal band, more emphasis on the thrash. Actually this is pretty good, especially after the last two atrocities. Extremely fast and blunt, but with hacking riffs and shouted vocals. I could get into these guys.

9. PROFANE PRAYER: Who guessed black metal here? Raise your hands. Very good. This one isn't bad either. Not just a Darkthrone or Mayhem clone, this has melody and good riffs. It's fast and intense. Pretty good, I'd like to see their full length.

10. DIABOLICUS: More black metal, this from Ireland I guess. Even faster and more intense than Profane Prayer. The vocals are awful though, I hate vocal effects. The riffs swirl around the pounding drums, achieving a bizarre melody in between vocal parts. If not for the vocals themselves, this would be really interesting.

11. NAETU: Even more black metal. Someone loves their early Immortal and 1349 albums. Extremely fast, even moreso than Diabolicus. This band also takes blastbeats to the extreme with constant blasting drums. The tremolo riffs are pretty well done. Not as good as Immortal or 1349, but it holds its own. Very interesting, I wouldn't mind hearing more from these guys.

12. BASEMENT TORTURE KILLINGS: Some reference to the BTK killer in Kansas I guess, and the song is called "Gore Bukkake" which presents all sorts of horrible mental images. I am not much of a fan of goregrind and this band does nothing to change that opinion. Next.

13. REVOKATION: Ah, intentional misspellings. Why is it always changing the C into a K? This band definitely has some slam in them. It's not a full-on slam death metal band, but they have some influences. They sort of combine Skinless with Devourment. It's a decent combination of brutal death and slam, so I am intrigued. I would be willing to hear more from this band.

14. GRIDLOCK TAKEDOWN: Horrible production values on this song. The band appears to be playing melodic death metal, but the sound is so muddy, it's hard to hear what's going on. No, now they're playing regular death metal. I'm not sure this band knows what they want to play. There's some talent here, I just wish I could hear it.

15. IMMORTAL EMPIRE: Could this name possibly give away the band's influences more? If this were a thrash metal band, they would call themselves Metallic Anthrax, if it were a death metal band they would be Cannibalistic Creation, hey those aren't bad, I'm gonna form a band. Yes, Emperor and Immortal influences are noticeably present here. At least they chose to be influenced by the earlier Emperor stuff. More horrible production though, the tremolo riffs sound very interesting, but they can't be fucking heard. The vocals are very high in the mix and the only things that can be heard well at all. Get some better production and I will listen again.

16. REPROBATE: It starts out with a nice lilting acoustic melody. Then it descends into some sort of attempt at industrial metal. Having heard Ayat last night, I know how good this genre can be. Having heard this, I know how bad this genre can be. This is just noise.

17. THE ENGINES OF ARMAGEDDON: This is pretty good stoner/doom style metal. Surprisingly the band is from the UK, not too many bands like this come from there anymore. It's become more of a Southern US thing. This band is heavy, I am definitely interested. Not enough good stoner/doom at all anymore.

18. I'LL EAT YOUR FACE: Charming. I don't even know what to call this. It's not terrible, but it's not good either. It's just drums and guitars, no bass, no vocals, nothing.

19. MORDANT: This is a decent way to end this thing. Mordant plays a form of groove/thrash heavily influenced by bands like Testament, Pantera, and Machine Head. The music is not particularly original, but it is decent, hard-hitting, aggressive metal. Not bad.

The bands I liked the most were Bilocate, Hellish Outcast, Naetu, and The Engines of Armageddon. Choosing between them is a little difficult. I probably prefer Bilocate or Hellish Outcast depending on my mood. I suppose I will go with Bilocate for today, but that may change.

There were several terrible bands here as well. However, none were as bad as Vertigo Steps. It was the only band I had to hit the skip button on. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard that song all the way through. Huh.