This was from the final issue of Metal Maniacs.
MY DYING BRIDE: "FALL WITH ME"
Starting things off in gloomy fashion with everyone's favorite doomsters. I am not a huge fan of My Dying Bride, though I do like them okay. This song convinced me to pick up this album so it is quite impressive. It's a little faster and heavier than some of the rest of MDB's stuff I had previously heard so it resonated with me instantly.
CRIMFALL: "WILDFIRE SEASON"
As you might guess from the band's name, Crimfall is a folk metal band. They also have elements of symphonic power metal in their music as well. It's a bit of a different take on things. Not too bad, but probably not something I would spend money on, although the closing minutes are pretty impressive.
HOLLOW: "SLAUGHTERING THE WICKED"
Sounds like groove/thrash metal. The drumming is pretty impressive, but most of the rest of the music is basic groove metal.
VERMEFUG: "THE GRATEFUL SHRED"
Vermefug is a thrash metal/crossover band. They definitely sound like a band out of the 80's and their vocalist has his punk sneer down. The gang vocals also add to the overall sound. They are competent at what they do, but I can't really see myself listening to a whole album of it.
DEATHRASH: "THRASH BEYOND DEATH"
Deathrash has been around for a long time, but have never really released anything other than a demo and the compilation that this came from. They sound a bit like early Overkill and I am completely okay with that because I love Overkill. The vocals are different which is not a problem. You don't want them sounding exactly like Overkill.
LION'S SHARE: "JUDAS MUST DIE"
I was immediately impressed with this heavy/power metal band. So much so that I went out and found this album. This song is not even the best song on the album. It's a damn good album.
MAY RESULT: "HOLD THIS WORLD IN THE HANDS OF SULFUR"
Kind of a stupid band name for a black metal band. May Result is from Serbia, which is not a country I would expect to hear much from. This is a somewhat melodic black metal sound that brings to mind early Dimmu Borgir, before the symphonic elements completely dominated their sound. It does make use of keyboards, but they are not too overpowering. This is pretty good actually.
AUTOPSY: "SEVERED SURVIVAL"
The editor's choice is from a reissue of an album from twenty years ago. This is Autopsy being Autopsy. Early death metal that is extremely fucking heavy. Excellent and somewhat underrated band.
THE PROPHECY: "BELIEF MEANS NOTHING"
Extremely impressive death/doom metal done in the style of the early works of fellow British bands My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost. I really enjoyed this one and will have to try to look further into this band.
FAITH FACTOR: "KEEP IT TRUE"
'80's style power metal with an obvious Christian message. The vocals don't really match up well with the music and get a little grating after awhile. I would probably pass. It's generally not a good idea to name-drop a bunch of much better bands in your song either, it just reminds the listener of who else they could be listening to instead of you.
CASTROFATE: "NIGHTMARES"
This is pretty decent modern-sounding thrash. It has just enough originality to the riffs and vocals to sound decent. I may have to look further into this band as well, being the thrash-head that I am.
BATTLEMASTER: "DEATH IS A WARM CUBE"
Kind of amateurish black/death metal band. Some decent ideas are present, but they are not fully fleshed out here. They have some promise and may be pretty good in a little bit of time, but not yet. The vocals are a little annoying too.
DREAMING DEAD: "STAIRS INTO THE VORTEX"
Dreaming Dead is a highly underrated death/thrash metal band. This is off their extremely impressive debut album which brought comparisons to the almighty Death. Elizabeth Schall is a terrific vocalist and an amazing guitar player. The Death comparisons are apt.
This was the last Metal Maniacs comp and they went out with a bang. I bought three albums because of the tracks included on this thing. Other than those, I was very impressed with the tracks from Deathrash, May Result, The Prophecy, and Castrofate.
I love My Dying Bride. They were one of the first bands I started listening to when I discovered the world of extreme metal back in 2005 or 6. His voice is just perfect for what they do.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm not sure what to think The Prophecy (listening now on Youtube). It's not bad, and it even has some of those guitar squeals MDB use a lot, a piece of the puzzle ignored by others aping the style. But I can't find any originality in it. I'll have to look into them further.