I've honestly never have been a fan of this band, but by word of mouth decided after hearing a song from their YouTube video entitled "Ora Pro Nobis" that I'd decided to give the album a try.  I am quite impressed by the integrity of the musicanship.  This one hear is mostly slow ridden paced with occasional flare-ups in super intensity.  Measuring it on a whole though, it's pretty moderate/slow paced with an outstanding sense of flow and distortion laden ripping guitar.  The recording quality is superb, an album definitely in the ranks of a high rating from myself.

I didn't think that the band had a real ounce of talent in the lead department, but my assumption was flawed.  Not only do you hear true and original guitar riffs, the few leads that their are on this one are executed quite superbly.  An eerie overall performance by the band and hell yeah it is a great listen too, with skeptics included as myself as one.  Don't hold expectations of enormous flare ups in blast beating, while there are some drumming that's quite intense and guitar frenzies galore, as a whole album, the music is quite capitvating and overall evil in content and essence.
Only 3 members here, but several other musicians that added their vibe to the initial musical overtures.   Nergal initiating all of the songwriting including the lyrical content that I couldn't relate to, guitar riffs which dominated and vocals that and vocals that featured a similarity to that of Vader's.  The guest musicians seemed to flood this album to make into a complete jist of unridding evil intention not to mention their powerful monarch of extraganza.  It was mostly the music that drew me in because of its' overpowering ruse.

I don't think it was necessary to have so many guest musicians, they could've excluded them to make something that was not in need of this many contributers, but nevertheless, it made the album more than interesting to hear all of the differing sounds amidst that I never could relate to in previous releases that I heard from the band.  That's why I considered myself to be highly skeptical of this album, but that went away when I heard the whole thing on repeated listens to.  Absolute perfection in the goal to them to stick to the underground and remain their to rot lying stinking in the Earth.

Try out first on YouTube the song that I mentioned if you too were a skeptic of this bands previous releases and behold an experience never before hearing here sounds that just shot in originality and a recording of a meaningful extravaganza.  This was my contention after hearing this, music never before from them to be play in such an array of variety and deathly doom that was axphyxiating and wholly devilish musicianship.  I therefore cast to say that "The Satanist" is the best listen to from this year's first purchase of total Metal onslaught.  Let the experience music of great admiration here!

Rate: 90%

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

Since their formation in Germany of 1994, Dark Fortress have managed to complete 5 full-length releases. This current album has a new vocalist who goes by the name of Morean. He is briefly featured on their past release entitled 'Seance.' Their previous vocalist Azathoth departed from the band in 2007 due to personal reasons (source:http://thetruedarkfortress.com/bio.htm). The band decided to recruit Morean because of his lyrical and vocal abilities.

'Eidolon' has six members altogether. Morean (as previously mentioned) is on vocals, Asvargyr on guitars, V. Santura on second guitar, Draug on bass, Paymon on keyboards, and Seraph on drums. Celtic Frost's vocalist sings as a guest on the song "Baphomet." The band made a video that you can view on YouTube called "Edge of Night" (overall source: http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=180415). 

This full-length concept album falls under the category of melodic black metal. The reason why it is termed "melodic black metal" is because the music displayed here which feature guitars that carry with them an eerie/evil concoction of riffs, in unison keyboards, screeching vox, and warping bass. There are some blast beating drums as well as double kick, which goes along with the music. The entire release has a symphonic echo vibe to it.

In terms of the sound, there are some killer riffs which display some ultra fast picking melodies and leads. The guitars have a huge block of distortion to them. The bass on this release you can actually hear blended well with the music. Everything seemed to fit. That would include the production, sound quality, overall playing and huge display of talent!

There is a reason why 'Eidolon' is considered to be a concept release. This is because according to the band it deals with nine chapters that "describes the initiation, dehumanization, and unearthly rebirth of a transcending soul by mirror magic and astral projection" (source: http://thetruedarkfortress.com/bio.htm). The lyrics are difficult to grasp because of this subject. There are no cover songs whatsoever. The lyrical concept was chosen by Morean.

Dark Fortress shows an array of ability for this particular genre of metal. Everything seemed to fit well together. There are a few songs that are a little boring. But for the most part, 'Eidolon' is a fine piece of work. The words here are quite creative and the music combined with the concept are amazing. Don't miss out on this album!

Rate: 85%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected])

Cradle of Filth (COF) have come a long way since they first formed in the United Kingdom back in 1991. Originally, they started out playing death metal. Then, they have evolved into a gothic metal group and at present are playing extreme gothic metal with some hints of black metal influence. Dani Filth is the only original member left. The full actual title of this new release is "Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder -- The Life and Crimes of Gilles De Rais." It is a concept album researched and written by COF's vocalist.

The songs fit into the genre of extreme gothic metal and symphonic black metal. These categories are newer to the band. Their present style seems to fit well within these particular types of metal. There aren't too many bands that play this genre (extreme gothic metal). Cradle of Filth does a good job with properly executing it.

Sound-wise, it has some aspects of their previous release back in 1996 which is 'Dusk...And Her Embrace.' Dani's vocal outputs aren't as high-pitched as they were back then. There's a mixture on this album of high end vocals along side hoarse throat. Guitar by Paul Allender is superb. There were very catchy rhythms and leads demonstrated. No doubt this release outdoes their previous one which is entitled 'Thornography' (2006).

Many guest vocalists are featured, even Dani Filth's daughter on a few tracks. The other female vocalists are incredible especially on the song "The Death Of Love." Also, Doug Bradly as narrator gave the album an eerie sound to it. Keyboards by Mark Newby-Robson put Cradle of Filth into a more symphonic aura. It is thoroughly enjoyed this entire cast.

In terms of the words, there was a great display of intelligent lyricism. Reading through the lyrical content is very challenging because of the topic chosen. Surely it took a lot of research to touch on this 15th century serial killer, sexual deviant and Satanist Gilles De Rais. This album has no cover songs on it. All of the music is newly composed by the band as a whole. The limited edition digipack contains 10 bonus tracks.

The overall performance by the band puts it into one of Cradle of Filth's finest works. 'Dusk...And Her Embrace' is their reigning release. However, 'Midian' (2000) and their prior 'Thornography' (2006) are also great outputs. Favorite tracks on their latest include "Shat Out of Hell", "The Death of Love", and "Sweetest Maleficia."

Rate: 90%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected])

Formed in 1998, this Swedish act has managed to produce 5 full-length CD's. 'Demonic Art' is their latest onslaught. The only other album I've heard from them is 'Rusted Angel' (1998). I'd have to conclude that 'Rusted Angel' is a better release. However, I do like this new album a lot. The meaning of "Darkane" is a comes from two words: "dark" and "arcane."

The bonus CD features 3 new tracks so the whole CD clocks in to be almost fifty-one minutes. It also has a DVD to it. Their current line-up is Jens Broman on vocals, Christofer Malmstrom on guitars, Klas Ideberg also on guitars, Jorgen Lofberg on bass and Peter Wildoer on drums. Darkane has gone through some line-up changes since they originally formed.

This act used to play primarily melodic death metal. Their current genres are melodic death metal mixed with thrash metal. These styles seem to fit the album well. On their official website, the band shows their influences. If you go to their page, you'll see who their musical preferences are.

For the intro, there is a melodic piece that segues into track two. The guitars altogether feature heavy galloping riffs which demonstrates the thrash influence. The chorus sections are more on the melodic side. The music is pretty catchy. Best to play the album on a high blasting stereo so that you don't miss out on any of the riffs. The vocals feature high end screams along with clean parts, particularly during the choruses. The time signatures are all over the place. There's even some blast beats. The guitar leads are well thought out. Some are slow and melodic while others completely shred.

In addition, the music features several riffs per song which demonstrate their newer style. Most songs are definitely a combination of melodic death and thrash as I previously stated. It's a definite unique blend of genres. The guitars are what stands out the most for me. Most of the songs are heavily distorted but there are clean tone bits as well.

In terms of the sound quality, 'Demonic Art' is well mixed. You can hear all of the instruments in unison. The playing overall shows how talented this band is. The reason why I say this is because Darkane is not only able to mix two genres together, they are also capable of coming up with completely new riffs that totally dominate.

The lyrical themes are about psychology, inner struggles, and life. I think that they are well thought out and not completely nonsensical. It shows how diverse this band is. There are no covers on the new release.

I think that all of the tracks here I pretty much like. This release is quite awesome. Not only is the mixing good, but the songs are very catchy. Check out the songs "Leaving Existence", "Execution 44" and "Demigod" to come up with your own opinion!

Rate: 80%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

It's quite difficult to believe that this band has been around since 1982. They started as a punk rock band, which then became extreme grindcore and now are currently playing grindcore/death metal. This newer sound fits the band better. They've also gone through several lineup changes since their origin. On this new release, they feature Mark "Barney" Greenway on vocals, Mitch Harris on guitars/vocals, Shane Embury on bass/vocals and Danny Herrera on drums. 

The time signatures (tempos) on the music are all over the place. Some tracks start out with a groove style on guitars. Then, there are riffs that are heavily tremolo picked. In addition, a harmonic riff is also exhibited. Also, on some tracks there are a few cliche type of rhythms. However, some guitar riffs are very unique and catchy. There is only one guitar solo on this entire album. They really should've kept it out because Mitch does a better job on rhythm only. He did the writing on the bulk of the compositions. Shane wrote some of songs too though. There are 14 tracks which clocks in at almost 51 minutes in length.

For the overall sound, each instrument/vocals you can hear very clearly. Everything was mixed well. The guitar is thick, the drums blasting, the vocal outputs are mostly hoarse though some are screams and also some very little clean voice. The playing here shows that this band still has talent. They have not slacked off at all. They still know how to create intense/extreme music. Their age haven't gotten in the way of that whatsoever. They're still putting out quality material.

The lyrics feature topics such as political unrest, hate, aggression, and social issues. "Barney" wrote most of the songs. Though Shane wrote a couple and Mitch on one track. The lyrical content is rather interesting. They're not about death, dying, gore or anything else that's mindless. These words are actually intelligent. There is much admiration that I have for the songs. There are no covers on this album at all. All of the tracks are brand new.

In conclusion, "Time Waits For No Slave" is one hell of a solid release. Not every track was entirely innovative though. As I mentioned previously, there were some guitar riffs that were a bit cliche. But overall, Napalm Death composed some new awesome songs. 'Harmony Corruption' remains to be my favorite release of theirs however. If you're into grindcore/death metal, then do yourself a favor and pick this release up!

Rate: 80%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

This Finnish based band was formed in 1997. Their name came from a murder which occurred in 1960 at Lake Bodom. 3 out of 4 teens were stabbed to death but the murder mystery is still unresolved. On 'Something Wild', the band started off playing melodic death metal. However, 'Hatebreeder' was the first album that I've ever heard by them. It was wholly unique in my estimation and I've been a fan ever since. Their newer style of metal seems like a combination of melodic death and thrash metal combined. At least that's my opinion in regards to 'Blooddrunk' wholeheartedly.

There seems to be a lot of mixed opinions in regards to this new release. I disliked it at the start and now I'm pretty glued to it. It isn't a poor effort by the band to be honest. The music has unique melodic/thrash style riffs and the keyboards augment the guitars keeping that style that they are so well noted for having. 'Blooddrunk' to me is better than their previous release 'Are You Dead Yet?' because the riffs are catchier making COB sound more like their older material. That really seems like the jist of it.

I wouldn't consider the music to be in the genre of power metal at all. Again melodic death/thrash metal is more accurate. The crunch tone guitars and Alexi's screaming vocals leaves me to conclude that they're trying to sound a little different with their riffs/genres. The keys augment the guitar's "heavier" tone. I think all of the tracks are noteworthy. There really aren't any that I dislike. 'Blooddrunk' seems to capture me as being more of a mature release by the band. It doesn't fail in rating as an album in COB's discography.

Crunchier tone guitar is what they use here as opposed past releases. The production is solid with each instrument mixed quite well. The vocals are blended in good in addition to the music. However, the lead guitars aren't quite as "chilling" to hear. It seems like they've kind of digressed in that department. I consider the leads on 'Hate Crew Deathroll' to be catchier. Nevertheless, the sound still features the COB that I've always considered to be. This release is very noteworthy.

It's rumored that Alexi was fed up with people criticizing his lyrics so they aren't featured on the insert booklet. His vocals on this album are pretty much the same as on past releases. The back-up vocals by the band are also featured to give it more of a wholehearted effort augmenting Alexi's outputs. In terms of covers, there aren't any featured here on the US version of the album.

Despite all of the negative criticism 'Blooddrunk' received, I don't really think it's warranted. The reason is because I don't consider the band to have lost their edge that they held musically in past releases. I definitely consider 'Blooddrunk' to be a solid COB release. Just because they're trying to wedge in a "thrashier" sound to the music doesn't mean that they've just went to hell. As far as if they deserve to be written off as now piss poor musicians, I don't feel that way at all towards this release.

Rate: 75%

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected])

I'm new to hearing industrial/electronic type of metal... But this release has gotten me hooked! At first, my impression was that I could never really get into these styles. Though now I know I'm wrong about that! 'A Greater Darkness' explores many different changes throughout the entire album.

From the beginning, it represents a more death metal influenced type of sound. But wholly on this album the atmosphere is grim and filled with many different tempo changes. I'm not much into the electronic type of songs but I am still giving it a chance for me to get used to.

I haven't heard their previous releases... Though they've been around since 1989! Pretty damn amazing to me. I just heard about this band by a friend who's not into mainstream type of stuff. I'm not either really nor is this band.

Their writing style is kind of weird...some songs are pretty heavy with like I mentioned a more type of death metal sound to them. But then they linger into a more industrial type of reflection. The vocals vary from heavy throat to a more eerie tone. Pretty interesting. The guitars especially on 'Antidote' are brutal then there's fluctuations between that and the industrial sound. All of the tracks to me are good but just plain eccentric.

They sing about the apocalypse, technology, and hate. It's not mindless Satanic stuff that other bands sing about. Their songs are well thought out. I'm more motivated now to actually purchase their older material. I've heard some...it's a little different than 'A Greater Darkness' but for the most part really good sounding.

The riffs here are unique in that they are slow at times but pretty catchy. Especially the first song that I mentioned 'Antidote'. Wholly different type of work! There really aren't any solos just mainly rhythms... That to me is OK but I would just like to have heard some leads. I suppose they just wanted to focus more on the rhythm guitars.

Some songs are totally electronic which is an acquired taste to like I suppose. They mix it with a few songs yet others are only electronic. For the most part, they're mixed. I kind of admire this because like I mentioned it's not just one genre they're attacking it's a few throughout this entire album. Do yourself a favor and pick up this unique release!

Rate: 90%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

Columbian based band here shows some promise to their nine track release 'Rain of Fire'. The opening track has a Hitler speech in the background. This is how they are portraying their image. It's difficult to tell what genre of metal they fall in because most of it resembles death metal with a heavy thrash metal influence. Death metal is probably the closest genre that they represent because of the growling vocals, heavy/thick guitars and somewhat technical drums. The band calls their style as being "deathrash metal".

As for their lineup, Leo Pinzón takes charge on vocals, Alex Giraldo bass and guitars, Oscar Labrador drums session plus engineering and Johann Yate who solos are on the Skid Row cover of 'Slave to the Grind'. The length of this release slightly exceeds 45 minutes including the cover song.

Musically, the band poses to have some definite potential. Though thoroughly they need to design guitar riffs that are a bit more free flowing. They seem to be all over the place. The production is decent. Though this issue won't be the case if the band ends up getting signed.

Rate: 70%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

This band belts out some serious old school death metal in the vein of Cannibal Corpse. The songs are filled with all different time signatures and some even hyper blasts! The leads feature mostly sweeps, arpeggios, etc. Vocal wise it's Adam Scott (lead guitar/lead vocals) belting out some deep throat. Tom (rhythm guitar/vocals), Dave (bass/vocals) and Jim (drums/vocals) also contribute some high end screams for variety.

What I like about this album is that there is no compromise musically speaking. These guys are passionate about what they do produce which is this old school sound, gruesome lyrics, and awesome production. The music just flows with all sorts of riffs... I think that these guys will be around for a while belting out non-compromising works. I haven't heard their debut yet but I'm sure it's in the same vein of this release.

Guitars are way tuned down I think to B-flat to produce the lowest form of "death rot" as they call it type of music. The whole album is filled with tons of awesome sounds. One riff in particular sounds a bit like Slayer's

'Mandatory Suicide' at least the intro part of that song. It's what it reminds me of at least.

None of the lyrics are in this insert but you can read a few on their main web site. They sing mostly about gore, horror, etc. Amazing that this band has been around since 1997! Now with an awesome lineup they've produced some work which is definitely worth checking out.

After several listens to this album, I would say that Cardiac Arrest needs more attention from those into the Old School style of death metal. The reason is because a lot of bands over the years change their style and go to crap musically. Cardiac Arrest doesn't seem like a band that will follow this path. They're going to be around a lot longer than most of these style of bands.

Songs that are really worth checking out are 'In His Name They Spill Blood' and the title track. Honestly, I thought the whole album was killer. I'm just more into the guitar's sound than anything. Adam seriously shreds on

pretty much all tracks. I like the variety in the vocals too. It isn't just low end bellowing like old Cannibal Corpse via Chris Barnes era.

Rate: 90%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

For a debut release, Cardiac Arrest simply sticks with the old school death metal sound and conquers it. The album has all of the elements that make this genre sound revived again. I haven't heard this type of Metal from any newer bands really. It is a good refreshing sound to hear this being played as it is on here.

In terms of the riffs and music overall it sounds like B-flat tuned guitars by Adam Scott (lead guitar/lead vocals) who plays some complex rhythms as well as some slower ones too. So it isn't just blast beating by Jim Deabenderfer (drums/vocals). Their tempos vary. Dave "Amsterdamn" Holland (bass/vocals) makes a solid effort here as well. The leads by Adam are really awesome. I mean they're filled with arpeggios, speed picking, tapping, and whammy bar inductions that stagger the imagination.

The vocals are mainly deep throat by Adam spewing out gore filled lyrics with Jim and Dave on backup vox. Everything seems to fit here I mean the music, the production, etc. They don't play just boring death metal. These guys mix the blast beating with slower tempos that totally kick ass. I'm assuming that this was their goal here was to stagger the listener with sheer death rot.

All of the songs really deserve praise because these guys simply know how the hell to redefine old school death metal. Some of their songs which have some ghastly radio intros spewing forth inappropriate words which mixes well with what these guys sing about. That would be mostly horror, gore, etc. It's a shame that the album is just a bit under 40 minutes in length. I would've liked to hear a more lengthy sound of their music!

There aren't any songs here that are just mediocre. I'd say all of them deserve praise because the bass/drums/guitars are just awesome. It's amazing that they were able to fit in everything so much to a point to where all of it rules. Honestly, the first time that I heard this I was like "damn, I need to listen to this at least 10 times"! The talent these guys possess is incredible. The song titles are pretty brutal which fits with their death rot signatures.

Check out their MySpace page here: http://www.myspace.com/deathrot. You can also visit their main web site at http://www.cardiacarrest666.com/. Be sure to pick up this album first then their latest which is called "Cadaverous Presence". The reason is because "Morgue Mutilations" will give you some idea as to how these guys sound if I haven't already made myself clear about that. Once you get it, then pickup their latest.

This genre according to Cardiac Arrest will never die. I hope that they will inspire more bands to get in this kind of sound kicking yet again. Do yourself a favor and get "Morgue Mutilations"...You'll understand more of what I'm talking about. Way kick ass songs. Check out the track "Carnage Your Fate" on their MySpace page and you'll get a little gist of what I've been raving about in this review.

Rate: 90%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).