REVIEWS ARCHIVE - D |
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DACIA + THE WMD
"Dacia + The WMD" (MTM Music - provided by Zink) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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I have never heard of this band or the members before, even if several of them have been musicians in various "famous" bands. Well, a very aggressive sounding female vocalist is fronting this music and the album starts off well, with an earhanger, where after they play a sing that I simply has to turn away from at several occasions because it's so horrible. 3rd song is pretty good and then comes another killer (in the bad way). It seems like the whole album is built this way - good song/bad song, and even if Dacia (the vocalist's name) is singing ok at some points, she's also trying to half rap, half punk her way through some of the tunes. This is a very wrong decision, as it sounds like an infantile attempt of sounding as tough as possible. Use the singing voice in stead, as it sounds 729647281 times better. Oh, did I forget about the duet with Lemmy from Motörhead? Hmmm….I wonder who came up with an idea like that? To my surprise, he's actually sounding mellow, and it goes well with that song and Dacia's voice. I can't really recommend this album though, as it sounds too unfinished both in writing skills and ideas.
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Lars
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DANKO JONES
"Sleep Is The Enemy" (Bad Taste Records - provided by Bonnier/Amigo) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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Last year Lars had the pleasure of reviewing Danko Jones' "We sweat blood" album, and he apparently didn't like it (since he gave it a 1½ point review). I'm gonna do one better, as I'm gonna take away ½ point and just reward this crappy release with a 1 score. It's rock, not metal - it's boring, not interesting - it's on the way to the trashcan, not a keeper.
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Claus
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DANKO JONES "We Sweat Blood" (Bad Taste Records - provided by Bonnier/Amigo) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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What a load of crap……! Danko Jones is a mixture between old Kiss, Nirvana and Green Day. Again one of those bands that does not at ALL live up to the names just mentioned. The music is extremely simple and gets irritating to listen to within 5 seconds of every song……and the record label actually has the balls to call this band a "phenomenon"!! No wonder they are called Bad Taste Records.
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Lars
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DANZI, DANNY "Danziland" (MTM Music - provided by Target Distribution) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Danny Danzi is the name of this forgotten Hard Rock musician who has been playing for Sentinel who has been out touring with bands such as Cinderella. Later he formed the band Passion Passion who stayed together for 6 years, and also opened up for Cinderella, Brittny Fox, Heavens Edge and Tangier. In 1999 Danny decided to release his first debut album "Somewhere Lost In Time", where he performed all the instruments by himself plus the singing. Later Danny decided to put together a band and tour around the world; this was mostly studio musicians and a couple of borrowed musicians. Now he has finally found his own musicians to complete a whole line up for his band. The music that Danny plays is as before mentioned Hard Rock with a little metallic touch in the guitars. There is nothing that I can complain about in the music as a whole, but please Danny find yourself a singer who has the perfect touch to the music. To be totally honest, he does not have the voice that is required for a Hard Rock band. This would have been a superb Hard Rock album if there have been the right singer, but unfortunately this is not the situation.
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Benjamin
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DARKANE
"Layers Of Lies" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 5 out of 5 points - |
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Holy goddamn motherfucking cow!!!! I have just heard the album of the year so far. Darkane is releasing another high-velocity-aggressive-smack-in-the-face speed thrash album (3rd or 4th, I don't really know). I never heard anything by this band, but I am sucked in big time. Imagine the technicality and punch of Slayer on speed, add atmospheric choruses a la Fear Factory on "Demanufacture", throw in a lead singer that sounds like a Russ Anderson from Forbidden, when he is maddest X 10…then you have "Layers Of Lies"! I can't get the CD out of my CD-player, even when I have just received the new Shadow Gallery and bought the new Bruce Dickinson myself. It simply is stuck there. Why, you ask? I'll tell you. Because Darkane has just caught up on what the last 20 years of aggressive thrash/speed metal is all about. Because Darkane kicks the face in on ALL (repeat: ALL) their colleagues within this genre. Because Darkane has kicked my balls up into my stomach, making me able to do the high-pitch I haven't been able to reach for the last 10 years. And finally because Darkane is the most welcome surprise to me for the last 3 or 4 years, with their extreme tightness and innovative song writing. You REALLY need to go out and listen to this album, just once. You will be hooked, and together we shall bang our heads, whenever Darkane drops by to play live. To quote John Travolta in "Broken Arrow": "Goddamnit, I'm on a rush"…
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Lars
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DARK AT DAWN
"Dark At Dawn" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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This band sounds like a mixture between slow Iced Earth and older Iron Maiden with some punkish stoner riffs thrown in here and there. The main difference is that the lead singer ruins a lot of the songs with his extreme guttural half barking, half singing version of a Matthew Barlow, gone extreme bass. He IS able to sing, which he proves on some quiet parts (where he's using a clean vocal-style), but on most of this album, he simply sounds forced into a mixture of growling and bass-opera. It ruins the larger picture as the music is well done, yet not that technical and therefore easier to play tight. It's deep, groovy, melodic, tight and most of all energetic. However, those vocals do not belong in the music.
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Lars
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DARK AVENGER "X Dark Years" (Scarlet Records - provided by Target Distribution) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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The Brazilian Power Metal band Dark Avenger has returned with a 30 minutes mini CD. The X stands for 10 years within the metal scene - from their early years and until now! In between they have released two full-length albums, "Dark Avenger" and Tales Of Avalon". The mini CD contains one re-arranged song from the "Dark Avenger" and two completely new songs "Utther Evil" and "Unleashed Hell" both songs indicates that they are very talented the genre within. Especially Marion Linhares is a singer with a great voice he can manage to high pitch, sing dark, sing high and sound like a true copy of Bruce Dickinson, this is easy to recognise on the song "Unleash Hell". But, besides being talented musicians, there is still a long way for Dark Avenger to be among the top Power Metal bands. Nevertheless I'm looking forward to hear the entire new album in the near future.
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Benjamin
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DARK FORTRESS
"Séance" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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This is my first, and hopefully last, encounter with German black metal band Dark Fortress, which according to the info sheet is supposed to be the new hope of German black metal. Granted, these guys are a bit better than most any other German black metal band I have heard, but this doesn't equalize quality in my book. Besides the good atmospheric keyboards which sounds like it is set to repeat on tracks where it is present, and the awesome artwork there is nothing positive to say about this band. The music is generic, the vocals are absolutely dreadful, even for a black metal act, and the instrumentation is simply as uninspiring as can be. This album is useless, and I wonder why a prominent label like Century Media ever got the sick idea to sign these guys. And to put the dot above the i, the nick names of the musicians in the band are among the most ridiculous in the history of black metal.
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Mads
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DARK MOOR "Dark Moor" (Ariseecords - provided by Arise Records) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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I was deeply surprised to find myself liking Dark Moor's last album "The Gates Of Oblivion". I remember thinking "Yeah right…. a Spanish band in Rhapsody clothes…I wonder how well that will sound". Anyway, I was blown away by that album, because of it's fantastic melodies, virtuosity, female screaming vocals etc…Now, Dark Moor is back after some turbulence, with a lot of coming and going's in the band. Enrik and Anan are the only 2 members left, since the last album, and in my opinion these 2 guys were obviously not the ones inventing all those beautiful and enchanting melodies. This self-titled album is but a shadow of "The Gates Of Oblivion", both musically and vocally. The new singer Alfred Romero does a good job, but he's not as outstanding as Elisa Martin was. He's just one of many other high-pitch-no-balls men, who are able to scream from here to eternity with their castrato voices. The cover artwork is pretty cool, although it is a little bit too much inspired by a certain German band, whose name is almost the same as the American tradition where kids are begging for candy! I'm positive towards this release, but I'm not convinced. I'm definitely sure that the next album by Dark Moor will be an album that screams unity much more than this one. And I do hope for the bands' own reputation, that they get someone to read their lyrics and credit lists before printing the cover. If you insist on singing in English, you need to do it properly, sound-wise as grammatically. Well, give this album a spin and expect fast epic power metal, but with hopes of better stuff to come.
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Lars
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DARK NOVA
"Sivilla" (Black Lotus Records - provided by VME) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Dark Nova is a band that has existed since 1987, and I wonder why I never heard of them before? This album, "Sivilla", is actually quite good listenable Power/Prog, with a lot of great compositions, and of course some interesting rhythms, which adds depth to the music. There are still some things missing on this album, and to start with the production could have been better, and the voice of Michael Choulakis becomes very much a pain in the ass the longer your hear the album. Sometimes he hits the tone, while other times he is total out of tune and does not follow the music, and that becomes very annoying. But the bottom line for this album is that it is a good disc if you are able to forget about the production.
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Benjamin
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DARK SUNS
"Existence" (Prophecy Productions - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Dark Suns remind me of a straightforward darker version of the now former Danish band Behind The Curtain! A kind of heavy metal meets Coldplay. The lead singer has this crying way of singing which could be cool, combined with the moody guitars and the atmospheric guitars, but really isn't, because he doesn't vary the singing to also be "normal" once in a while. Imagine a mixture of the lead singer of Coldplay and Depressive Age! As written, the music is pretty gloomy and dark (which is the way I like it), but it lacks that kick in the face that would make it more than "just another album to review". Its kind of Pain Of Salvation having taken acid and gone on a major depression. I do think that this disc would grow on me, given a lot of spins to sum up on all the small details in the music and so I'll give Dark Suns the benefit of the doubt. The album could've been cut down with 2 songs though.
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Lars
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DARKWELL
"Metat(r)on" (Napalm Records - provided by Target Distribution) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Darkwell is what I would describe as a Gothic Metal band with balls even though that the lead singer is a female (Stephanie Luzie). I must confess that Gothic Metal never has had the high status in my collection of CD's as I have always considered the music as extremely boring and too dark! But yet again you change opinion and style the older you get, and this album is actually quite listenable! Darkwell does not do what most Gothic bands do; locked in the genre as it were 10 years ago. Instead they dare to put some more progressive elements into their music, just like Sinphonia did when they existed. I would also be so bold as to say, that the production could have a little more edge to it, as it easily becomes very annoying to hear the drums sound like the have been recorded in a big warehouse, and secondly the guitars could have had a bit more crunch as they sound a bit too descant compared to what genre that Darkwell plays. Finally the voice of Stephanie Luzie becomes boring, as she does not experiment more with her voice even though that you can hear that she has a lot more to offer! Anyway, this is some of the most daring Gothic band that I have heard in a long time, even though there is something missing, so from me it is a thumb up.
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Benjamin
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DARREN SMITH BAND
"Keep The Spirit Alive" (MTM - provided by Target) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Classic hard rock done by Darren Smith (vocals & guitars here, formerly the drummer of Harem Scarem), Mike Hall (guitars, ex-Killer Dwarfs/Helix), Stan Miczek (bass, ex-Honeymoon Suite) and Pat Carrano (drums). Definitely not bad, and it has a good vibe to it. Reminds me a bit of Van Halen in their Sammy Hagar days, and that's not a bad thing at all. There's absolutely nothing new to it, but it's well done and above all quite entertaining. A good disc to have spinning in the background when you just need to relax.
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Claus
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DA VINCI
"Da Vinci" (MTM Music - provided by Zink) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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I guess Da Vinci is the Norwegian underground hard rock band that never amounted to anything other than a small hit or two on their local radio station back in the 80's… right? Now MTM has decided to reissue the so-called "classic" debut album, simply titled "Da Vinci". Everything about this album is wrong - from the stupid bandname, the horrible cover artwork, the oh so slick production to the cheesy lyrics … let's just state that I'll never be a Da Vinci fan, and even if I had heard it back then in 1987 I would have hated it. Not even similar Danish bands such as Harlot or Skagarack were nearly as "gay" as this. Come on, this band has absolutely no relevance today (and probably didn't have back in the 80's either).
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Claus
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DARZAMAT
"Transkarpatia" (Metal Mind Productions - provided by Metal Mind) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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This is "vampire metal" - or if I should describe it more clearly, then it would probably be along the lines of orchestral, bombastic black metal infused with female vocals and an erotic atmosphere. Yeah, we all know how horrible it sounds on paper, and with their god-awful German counterpart Umbra Et Imago in mind, it's no wonder that Poland's Darzamat comes across as one of those bands you never really needed to get aquainted with in the first place. It all sounds so ridiculously forced - the male vocals have no real life, the female voice is straining and often out of tune, the drums are changing from a boring slow pace to a faster-than-life beat all the time, and the guitars are drowned in the synthetic keyboard patterns. Andy La Roque has produced this, and it really has to be one of those "okay, I get money for doing this, so I might as well do it, without investing any interest and energy"-jobs (in other words: it doesn't sound good at all). Now, let me just quote some of the things said in the official band biography the label sent me: "extraordinary", "interesting", "world-level sound", "superb arrangements", "incredible vocals" and "full of emotion and passion". Blaaah … if I want something that fits these off-the-wall descriptions I'd rather bang my hand against an empty paper-bag fifty times.
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Claus
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DAY SIX
"Eternal Dignity" (Progman Records - provided by Progman Records) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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I'm not convinced about the qualities of this release, sorry. I've heard plenty of people talking about how great it was, and that this was one of those up-coming bands to watch out for. Well, I disagree! Day Six is playing a mixture between progressive metal and old school prog-rock, with influences spanning from Deep Purple to Dream Theater, from Black Sabbath to Pink Floyd. Does this make it a good album? Naah … it makes the album very confusing and the horrible demo-production doesn't help either. The songs are long … very long … and after a few minutes each of them starts to become boring. The band really need to learn to cut the songs shorter on focus on the quality instead of quantity. With a better production, a more focused song writing and a bit of luck, I'm sure we'll hear from this band again sooner or later, but for now they are easily forgettable.
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Claus
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DEACON STREET
"II" (MTM Music - provided by Zink) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Wow, another project by Tommy Denander! As if he didn't already have enough to do with Radioactive, AOR, Sayit and whatever else he's been getting his hands onto … Deacon Street is a true "all-star" project with such well-known guests as Reb Beach, Steve Morse, Bruce Gaitsch, Marty Friedman, Stan Bush, Daniel Flores, Thomas Wikström and Tony Franklin. Since Tommy Denander always has been connected with AOR/Melodic Hard Rock it can't come as a surprise that this is yet another AOR album with the occasional hard rock riff (listen to "(Kill Us) On Another Day") thrown in for good measures. Although I find this a tad more exciting than his Radioactive project, I can't find much reason for me to like the music of Tommy Denander - it's not a personal thing against him, I'm sure he is really nice and able to drink a lot of beers with the guys - but all his projects ends up sounding more or less the same and they just don't appeal to my taste.
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Claus
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DEAD POETIC
"Vices" (Century Media - Provided by EMI) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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Why I got to review this album I don't know, because I really don't like this kind of music. Dead Poetic is 90 Heavy Rock'N'Roll in the American style. Think Incubus, Deftones and then add a lot of High School rock acts that the US bombards the world with, and you have their sound. They offer nothing new and nothing exciting at all. I always considered this kind of music to have its target group directed towards young studying wannabe intellectuals, sexually confused whiny male bitches with sophisticated, yet heavy clothes. To be fair then I do like some elements that a band like Deftones delivers, and I respect them for being original and all that, but Dead Poetic does absolutely nothing for me. I am having problems hearing any quality in this band. Their "My mom is such a bitch, and I am such a rebellious teenager" music pathetic to these ears. I am through with this album, and I pray that I never have to review something like this again. Thank you.
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Mads
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DEAD SOUL TRIBE
“The Dead Word” (Inside Out / SPV – provided by Target) - 1½ out of 5 points – |
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Oh how the mighty have fallen … once Buddy Lackey was a creative genius, who almost single-handedly pushed forward the boundaries of progressive metal, when he introduced melancholy into progressive metal. With Psychotic Waltz and their left-over-hippie-culture inspirations, Buddy established himself as one of the greatest singer/songwriters and, quite importantly, lyricists ever in metal. Those days are long gone, and when Buddy Lackey decided to move to Europe, and change his name into Devon Graves, things HAD changed. Only 4 years ago the first Dead Soul Tribe album was released, and I honestly found it to be a brilliant mixture of prog-metal past and future … to this day I still believe that disc was awesome. Over the next years Buddy … sorry, Devon … has released albums with a more consistent pace than the ongoing scandals in the White House, and with “The Dead Word”, we’re already up to album #4. Yup, we all know it’s impossible to create four brilliant discs within such a short time, and even for Mr. Graves it’s an impossible mission. As mentioned, the debut was awesome, but already on the second disc I began to loose interest in Dead Soul Tribe, and where the third disc just bored me to tears, this fourth venture is one heck of a sleeper disc. Occasionally we find spots of brilliance (such as the deeply melancholic “A Fistful of Bended Nails”) but most of the time it’s repetitive boredom moulded over the same riff again and again. The press have compared the latest DST discs to Tool … I wouldn’t know, as I’m not familiar with that band … but if it’s anywhere near as boring as this, I’m glad never to have spent my time bothering with it. Okay, I’m done ranting – no need to spend more time with DST.
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Claus
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DEATH ANGEL "The Art Of Dying" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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So Death Angel decided it was time for a comeback. The question is; do we really need another reunion like this? The answer is, even after having listened several times to "The Art Of Dying", still hanging in thin air. I'd like to say "yes", but honestly there are just too many lousy songs on "TAOD" to justify 100% the reunion of one of the most prominent thrash metal bands of the late 80's / early 90's. If all songs were as good as opener "Thrown To The Wolves" I'd immediately welcome this return with open arms, as this song has the same quality as where Death Angel left off with "Act III" 14 years ago, but unfortunately not all songs have the same thrash metal approach, but instead venture into a punk/rock/metal territory I'd say fit better with a band like Hellacopters, than an outfit like Death Angel. Okay, to the band's justice I'd say that if they did a 100% carbon copy of either "Act III", "Frolic Through The Park" or "The Ultraviolence" I'd probably wouldn't embrace that with open arms either - we do want some new influences in our music, right? Death Angel 2004 is a mixture between the old school thrash we'd come to love DA for, and something new (and not necessarily well-functioning) - and as that I'd say we have to give Death Angel a chance to prove their material in a live setting. I'm not completely convinced by "The Art Of Dying" … yet.
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Claus
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DEATHBOOT
"You Scream In Pain When I Crush Your Balls" (RAWH Production - provided by Rawh) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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12 songs lasting a total of 18:28 - I guess it's a safe bet that this is either going to be punk or grind core, right? Yup - Deathboot is a Swedish grind core act, and honestly not a very good one at that. Okay, I do like some grind core (old school Napalm Death, Carcass, Cryptic Slaughter, Wehrmacht and stuff like that always kicked my ass … in a good way), but there's no way I'm going to let Deathboot crush my balls, no matter how much they'll promise to make me scream at doing so. This album (or EP) just isn't doing it for me; the production is sub-par, the vocals irritate me (it's like the singer can't decide if he wants to scream or growl), and the songs are too punk'ish for my taste. I guess this would be much better if you liked stuff like The Exploited, Ramones or other punk bands, because that's the basis of the songs, and with the added death metal expression the grind core mixture comes to full flow - I just prefer it the other way around, with the death metal parts being the basis of a good grind core song, so in short terms Deathboot doesn't move me one bit.
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Claus
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DEATHBOUND
"To Cure The Sane With Insanity" (Dynamic Arts Records - Provided by DAR) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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This re-release of the Finnish All-star death/grind metal act Deatbound feat. members from The Duskfall and … And Oceans a.o., which did sound to be quite promising since I imagined the sound would be combined with those two bands in particular, but Deathbound simply plays old school death/grind metal. What is wrong with that you might ask? Well… nothing, I just think there are acts I prefer listen to many times over these. There is no doubt that the guys in the band are talented musicians, but most of the compositions sound alike, and the riffs sound to be recycled a lot. Besides I don't see the point in re-releasing an album, and then not correct the flaws that are to be heard production wise. It sounds muddy and often is big mess to these ears. But if you are a big fan of old school death/grind metal then Deathbound "To cure the sane with insanity" shouldn't disappoint. I, for one, just want more when listening to this genre.
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Mads
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DEATHLESS "The Time To Be Immortal" (CD-Maximum - provided by CD-Maximum) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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Deathless plays Death Metal with influences from Thrash, and was supposed to be melodic?? If I was a record company I have told them to stop wasting my time! I know that this album is a reissue with tracks dated back to 1997 & 1998, but I sure as hell hope that the new material is improved otherwise I pray that the band doesn't exist longer? Okay to be honest there are some elements that are quite listen able but the only problem is that Deathless keeps on repeating themselves, and they do that on the entire album which easily becomes very annoying. The production on this album is quite okay, but there is still a long way for the band to reach the level of the MeloDeath Metal bands nowadays.
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Benjamin
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DEATHSTARS
"Termination Bliss" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Rammstein with melodic keyboards and an attitude of S/M. That's Deathstars. Pretty original and unoriginal at the same time. On short terms, it sounds quite interesting, but after 6 songs, it tends to sound exactly like the previous songs. Imagine how it sounds when you reach song number 10. Having said that, "Termination Bliss" is definitely a good sounding product, and if you like the genre (goth, tech, electro and dark metal) you will not be disappointed in spending your money on this album.
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Lars
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DEATHSTARS "Synthetic Generation" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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When you look at Deathstar's cover you think: "This has got to be some kind of black metal with all that black and white paint in their faces and latex/leather outfits". But when you put on the disc, the first thing that comes to mind is a more violent and voluminous version of Rammstein. In other words, Deathstar can mostly be defined as an aggressive industrial metal band, with very hard pounding and heavy guitar riffs that seem to have only one purpose; to rip your insides out. A dramatic keyboard lies just beneath the surface and give the music a mystical and atmospheric approach, and the vocals are mean and aggressive. At times the music is quite melodic as in the song "Syndrome" for example, but unfortunately that's it. "Synthetic Generation" could use some more melodies in the music to give it more life, and it is obvious that these guys are more than capable of producing grand songs with melodies and depth, so I hope to here more of that on their next album.
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Martin J
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DEBASE "Unleashed" (Noise/Sanctuary Records - provided by Target Distribution) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Slow non-complicated Paradise Lost/Metallica influenced Swedish doom stoner-rock. That must be the closest I can come to a description of this. Debase is releasing their 3rd album, this time on Sanctuary, but this is my first encounter with the band. I am not really impressed. I have heard through the album a couple of times now, and none of the songs have stuck to my head. Actually I can't remember one single refrain. I take it as a sign that the band just doesn't have the ability to create interesting songs, and deliver something that stands out from the massive amount of releases today. I have noticed one interesting thing though: the production is absolutely world class. Perfect crunchy sound and nice blend of all the instruments.
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Lars
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DECAPITATED
"Organic Hallucinosis" (Earache - provided by Target) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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In all honesty, I don't know much about Decapitated, except that they are a Polish death metal band. Well, with a total fresh mind to it I set forth on listening to "Organic Hallucinosis". The first thing that strikes me is that this band isn't just a standard death metal band found in the local rehearsal-studio, but rather an entity of extremely skilled musicians. Just take a quick listen to the drummer, and you'll immediately reckognise that we here are dealing with a guy who knows how to play very complex patterns at ferocius speed. Holy shit, this drummer is amazing, and together with the bassist he makes sure that Decapitated twists and turns the rhythmic foundation around several times every song, creating a very progressive touch to it all. But he isn't the only one in the band with musical talent; the guitarist sparkles with some awesome leads, not far from the ones Jeff Hanneman delivers in Slayer or even what good old Chuck Schuldiner delivered in Death back in the days. The vocals are cool - not entirely death metal growls, but a bit more "easy-listening" and thrash-metal inspired. It's hard for me to say that Decapitated sounds like this or that, but I would probably say that a prog-version of Morbid Angel, a more aggressive Dies Irae or a thrashier version of Cryptopsy is the best describtion I can give. In other words: get this album if technical death metal is anywhere close to your liking! Get it now!
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Claus
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DEF-7
"Mosura" (selffinanced - provided by Def-7) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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To be honest, I'm getting tired of reviewing unsigned bands - I really don't think we should have a so-called "demo-section" at this webzine, so in the future there's absolutely no need for unsigned bands to send it their material. However, I'm doing an exception here on Def-7, only to make sure that the band understands how stupid it is of them to send out such a far-from-finished product to anyone within the business. The music itself draws on some pretty cool inspirational sources, as I hear both Down, Corrossion Of Conformity, here and there parts of Soundgarden, a bit of Trouble, and some heavy Pantera as well. But, having the right "heroes" just isn't enough to make a good album. And here's what the band should pay attention to: 1) try to blend it all to your own sound WITHOUT stealing parts from the other bands too obvious, 2) when blending it, try to get a flow in it, instead of just making it sound like parts coming well together, 3) make sure that all musicians are at the same level - a good rhythm guitarist doesn't hide the fact that the guy can't play leads, and if your singer sucks don't expect a good drummer or a mediocre bassplayer to cover up for that, 4) don't spend time and money on printing up CDs when you package it with a really bad cover art, and 5) don't send out the disc with a handwritten letter on a torn-off piece of paper, it just look amateurish. My advice to Def-7 and MANY MANY other bands mailing us CD's: stay in the rehearsal room till you're 100% sure you're album is perfect, and only then you should contact media people and/or labels. And when you do it, make sure the package looks and sounds appealing.
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Claus
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DELIRIOUS
"Made For The Violent Age" (Armageddon Music - provided by Target) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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German thrash metal that actually has its moments. Fast and furious, and with very aggressive breaks…just as Bay Area thrash is supposed to sound (would that be Bremerhaven thrash, when we are talking Germans??). The biggest problem for the guys is that they are not tight enough. The vocals are too far from the beat sometimes and the drums/guitars are not always in sync. When you play this kind of music, everything needs to be as tight as a fly's asshole, when having gulped 2 dl of laxative. If you are not that tight, it can be heard immediately, and it is sad, as Delirious actually have a lot of good songs. Well, with a little more practising in the rehearsal room, this can be bettered.
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Lars
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DELUSION "The Tragedy Of Regret" (Ravenhurst Records - provided by Ravenhurst) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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A CD with a horrible cover artwork and horrendous sound doesn't hold the greatest chance of becoming my CD of the month, and Delusion certainly isn't in the top 5 either. The music is melodic semi-prog metal, with a very cool singer, which reminds me strongly of the first singer from The Quiet Room. The music is actually pretty ok, but every time a new song begins, my toes are crawling towards my heels because of the more than pathetic try at making a good sound. Please make that studio engineer/producer find a new job, or get me some kind of filter that takes away the bad sound. Delusion could be a band for the future in the music business, but if they keep up this sound, they will be forgotten faster than you can say: "How much wood, would a woodch…. etc".
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Lars
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DEMONOID
"Riders of the Apocalypse" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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What happens when Therion goes death metal? No, wrong! You don't get an angrier version of Therion. You don't get the well known bombastic and symphonic parts that Therion does. You get god damn brutal, solid and aggressive death metal. And with that said, I must firstly say that this is one fine disc. Demonoid manages to reach deep down into my own personal abyss, and dig out those aggressive feelings I can't find an outlet for in my own 'perfect' progressive metal world. Demonoid provide the, in my opinion, often primitive death metal genre with a very fine glimpse of what the 'outside world' has to offer. By that I mean the way Demonoid perfectly turns traditional, aggressive and punching death metal guitar riffs into actual musical melodies and, at the same time, adding amazingly great thrashy elements throughout the entire album. And the guitar solos … boy, do they hit the spot! Let me just say that this music sends wonderful musical shivers down my spine. Demonoid is so full of energy and lively guitars, and of course with damn tight drums to support it, that my body still rocks hours after the last song on their current release "Riders of the Apocalypse" is finished. The only problem I have with this disc are the vocals. Yes, the music and vocals are equally brutal. Yes, they are scary. And yes, they are as vocals normally would be on a traditional death metal record - I just don't like it. But to Hell with that. Get your ass out and buy this record if you have just the slightest of taste for aggressive thrash/death metal with melodies.
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Martin J
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DEMONS & WIZARDS
"Touched By The Crimson King" (Steamhammer / SPV - provided by Target)) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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I kind of knew that we'd get all the leftovers from Iced Earth, with another lead singer upon it. D&W sounds like a less good mixture of Iced Earth and Blind Guardian, hence my deep wonder, why this cooperation is necessary. Hansi Kürsch is really trying to do his best, but his over-produced vocals cannot save the image of an album that has been written a lot of times before by the hands of Jon Schaffer. ALL of his riffs have been heard before in different songs in Iced Earth (except maybe for the intro to the song "Dorian" and the cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song"), and it is pretty sad to see a man who thinks so highly of himself, not being able to develop his music into something that would be less "recognizable". I know it's a good thing in the business world to have a strong brand that you never get away from as a concept, but in the musical world, it's considered treading the waters somewhere in the middle of the pacific, when you are releasing the same album over and over again (At Vance, Axenstar, Mystic Prophecy). The production is neither ok. Kürsch's voice is much too high in the sound, and he actually manages to overpower the guitars, even if they themselves are pretty well represented because of the lack of keys. There is an extremely dry sound on this album and I believe that it sounds a lot like the first one, so if you were a fan of that one don't read anymore, just buy the album. For me though, it's all about waiting for another Blind Guardian or Iced Earth album…they don't mix very well, if you ask me.
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Lars
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DESTINITY
"Synthetic Existence" (Adipocere Records - provided by Adipocere) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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I do not know how I should define this French metal act. Actually I can't say anything bad about it, nor can I find the words to praise this record. On few occasions there are some great melodies, and on others it sounds a bit unstructured, as if it was not meant to be the way it comes across!?! The style has been described as "Thrashened Extreme Metal" by the record label, and someone help me out here?? What the heck is that, hmm … a new style of metal? Nevertheless, I see it as combination as thrash/death meets elements of black metal; but hey okay, if you wish for it to have another name, be my guest.. Well another thing to notice about "Synthetic Existence" is, that it's actually quite good, everything taken in consideration. They do have some great melodic plays a la the Swedish Melodeath bands, and more is added to that, with some dark keyboard layers from one time to the other. An okay album.
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Benjamin
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DESTRUCTION
"Inventor Of Evil" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
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Destruction is slowly finding their way back to the top of the thrash metal genre - with "Inventor of Evil" being their 4th album after their reunion back in 1999, the German thrash metal pioneers are delivering their absolutely best disc since 1988's "Release from Agony". I really liked "Metal Discharge", "The Antichrist" and "All Hell Breaks Loose", but "Inventor Of Evil" is just miles ahead of any of them. In fact, I might as well have given this disc a top-rating, if it wasn't for the fact that their earlier discs such as the aforementioned "Release From Agony" and "Eternal Overkill" was even better. "Inventor Of Evil" has some extremely good songs, such as the brilliant "The Calm Before The Storm", the superb "Dealer Of Hostility" and "Alliance Of Hellhoundz" (which features guess performances by the entire who's-who-of-heavy-metal: Biff Byford (Saxon), Doro Pesch (Warlock, Doro), Sharath (Dimmu Borgir), Bjorn Strid (Soilwork), Paul Di Anno (ex-Iron Maiden), Messiah Marcolin (Candlesmass), Mark Oseguda (Death Angel), Peavy Wagner (Rage) and Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy/Pain). Now, if this is not METAL, then I don't know what is ...
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Claus
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DETONATION
"An Epic Defiance" (Osmose Productions - provided by VME) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Detonation is a band that has existed since 1997, but under a different name "Infernal Dream"! The band was meant to be a side project, but they all realised that the music deserved better. Detonation have through the period of 1997 and to now released self titled mini cd "Lost Euphoria", afterwards to decided to enter the studio again to make a promo cd in hope for them to get signed! They finally signed a deal with Osmose Production for the release of "An Epic Defiance". The music reminds me of the old "In Flames" mixed with thrash of the eighties. Detonation has a great melodic approach to their music, and they are great at making a variation of each track on the cd. But unfortunately they easily have the tendencies of becoming very old fashion with some of the riff throughout the whole cd. But nevertheless the music has a great potential in the future, and I'm looking forward to their next release to hear the development of the band.
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Benjamin
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DEVIL DRIVER "Devil Driver" (Roadrunner - provided by Bonnier/Amigo) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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I'm not buying into this - it's not everything that comes out these days with a heavy downtuned guitar, a pounding groove and a screaming and halfway growling singer that has to be good. Sorry all you fans of the Nu-Metal scene, but just because you guys are able to see the bands on MTV, doesn't necessarily mean that they are any good. Devil Driver is an example of this; definitely a part of the Nu-Metal scene, but more leaning towards the hard-hitting corner (think Disturbed, Coal Chamber, Machine Head) than the soft-stuff (Linkin Park, POD etc.), as it does hold a certain thrash and even black/death metal edge to it. The songs are boring and I couldn't remember one single part of it, even after several spins of the disc. Although, I do have to admit that the guys can play their instruments, which perhaps isn't that big a surprise since both singer Dez and drummer Johnny have been members of Coal Chamber. I'm sure this band will end up being shown on MTV day-in-day-out, and the album will be selling tons of albums - heck, next year they'll most certainly be playing the big stage on Ozzfest, while 100.000's of youngsters are screaming out the lyrics to the songs, and the band will probably also have a tent there, where fans can get the band name / logo branded into their forehead. Young kids nowadays … tsk tsk tsk …
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Claus
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DEVILDRIVER
"The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand" (Roadrunner Records - provided by Bonnier/Amigo) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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If anyone remembers my review of the last (debut?) album of Devildriver, they would also remember that I talked about how stupid the whole nu-metal scene (or metalcore or whatever you wanna call it) appear to me, and how horrible I thought that specific album was. Now I'm getting myself another shot of the Devil's own medicine with "The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand", and I'm finding myself actually digging this big-time. Say what? Yup - this shit is actually really good! So what happened over the past 2 years? Did I suddenly wimp out and started appreciating a music style I by nature should detest, or did Devildriver actually read my review and decided that they wanted to make something I would like? Okay, it's probably neither, but instead the nature of evolution taking it's toll on both of us - I've begun to lessen my ignorance and my prejudices towards this genre (sell-out!!!! Yeah, I can hear all of you screaming …) and on the other hand the guys in Devildriver has begun to create better (in my opinion) songs, that are extremely melody- and guitar-driven. In fact, the guitar-parts are so damn well written that you find yourself stopping whatever else you're doing just to listen to them. The leads are awesome, the harmonies are brilliant and it all mixes together in an album, where songs like "Sin & Sacrifce", "Driving Down The Darkness", "Before The Hangman's Noose" and especially "Hold Back The Day" kicks major ass, and immediately propels the band into the same class as KillSwitch Engage in my opinion (and yes, I really dig KSW). If Devildriver had just a tad more melody and some progressive stuff injected to their sound, they'd be quite close to a band like Into Eternity as well. Not bad. And, before I forget it, the production on this album is huge, in-your-face and superior to the production on 99% of what else is out there right now. Colin Richardson (you know, the guy who a.o. propelled Machine Head to stardom with his superb sound) is the guy responsible for this, and I'm totally in awe of the production on this disc. It's almost as if one can feel that fury that lies in our maker's hand.
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Claus
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DEW-SCENTED
"Issue VI" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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"Issue VI" is a little step back from the greatness of "Impact". I really loved the Slayer worship on "Impact", even though it was hardly original, but with the new disc it seems as if even the guys in Dew-Scented themselves have had enough of the Slayer'ness. Thus, "Issue VI" is a tad more death metallic in sound, and not quite as influenced by classic thrash metal - this is more "Dew-Scented" all around. Not that it makes that big of a difference, since the furious guitar solos, the pounding drums and the German shepherd barking is still the main ingredients in the sound of Dew-Scented 2005. Once in a while I guess we all need our dose of aggression, and "Issue VI" perfectly fulfils my lust for a gentle smack in the face, a swift kick in the balls, and a ton of bricks thrown into my back :-)
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Claus
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DEW-SCENTED "Impact" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Is this the new Slayer album? Nope, sorry … instead it's the new disc by Germany's thrash metallers Dew-Scented, a band that although having been around for quite the longer part of the last decade, hasn't really been able to grab my interest for more than a couple of good songs per disc, but now hit full-front with "Impact". Furious thrash metal in the vein of Slayer, (meaning fast guitar solos, aggressive riffs, quite technical drumpatterns, and a vocalist who sounds like he is the re-incarnation of a German Shepherd Dog. Listen to the guitar solo's on "Destination Hell" and tell you don't hear Hanneman/King in there - or listen to "Acts Of Rage" and try to convince me that the drummer here never heard of Dave Lombardo. Heck, "One By One" could have been a song from any Slayer disc between "Reign In Blood" and "Season In The Abyss" if you ask me. Musically the band has not only been stealing from the Slayer-archive, but it does seem as though the Scandinavian scene with it's At The Gates, Hatesphere and The Haunted, has had some input on Dew-Scented's sound nowadays. Anyway, who cares if the band borrowed a bit here and there? As for a real thrash-metal assault, you'll have to look far for something as direct as "Impact".
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Claus
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DEZPERADOZ
"The Legend And The Truth" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 5 out of 5 points - |
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A concept album written upon the life of Wyatt Earp immediately makes me think about Kevin Costner - the 8 double hero of his own movies. What Kostner is not able to, Dezperadoz are! This is no less than a contender for album of the year of 2006!!!! The music is a mixture of Country n' western and Heavy metal a la Metallica and a bit of Judas Priest. I know that sounds strange, but it works 100%, and with a lead singer that sounds like a mature mixture between Ian Astbury and James Hetfield, nothing can go wrong. The laid-back feeling of the drums and bass, combined with the heavy and crunching guitars make a perfect foundation for the lead singing and the solo's, that are right in your face. The riff's in the music are cunning and well-thought out…I really can't out a finger on anything. I have closed my eyes several times during the listening of this album and found myself in the middle of the fucking prairie in the USA 125 years ago!! It is rare that a band captures a feeling of a place/event in time so precisely as Dezperadoz have done here. The fact that they have the balls to do a song like "Rawhide" (listen to the song for yourself, and you'll know what I'm talking about) is beyond the borders of normal thinking in music, and THAT's why I move up to top character. Dezperadoz dare, they do everything perfect, they have a message and if you don't check this band out, you are an asshole!
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Lars
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DGM "Hidden Place" (Scarlet Records - provided by VME) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Italian metal band DGM is back with their 4th album, and this time it's by far their most progressive effort so far. Okay, when I say progressive, you'd immediately start thinking of Dream Theater, Queensryche, Fates Warning and so on, right? Well, in the sense of DGM this would have applied fine to their previous releases, which were moulded somewhere between Dream Theater and Symphony X. But with "Hidden Place", DGM has chosen to expand their own genre by incorporating things that to my ear definitely doesn't sound like heavy metal, but more could be found on an album by Deep Purple (the guitars), U2 (the melodies) or even Sting (the vocallines). It's melodic pop, it's hard hitting heavy metal and it's intricate rhythms worthy of a prog metal band. But overall it's the sound of a band struggling real hard to be unique, and only succeeding at it 50% of the time.
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Claus
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DGM
"Misplaced" (Scarlet Records - provided by Target Distribution) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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The new album from DGM has really shown that the Italians are still in the game of Heavy Metal. "Misplaced" has a new drive to the music that you haven't seen in a while from any Italian band. The new album "Misplaced" has a lot of energy in the music and great guitar and keyboard chases, which is without any doubt the trademark of this album. Secondly the singer Titta Tani (NECROPHAGIA and DAEMONIA) is one of the best singers that I have heard, great voice and great melodic tunes that he fills in just right so the music doesn't become that boring! Speaking of boring; you should realise that the music is typically Italian Power Metal, not much excitement to be traced if it hasn't been for the guitar / keyboard chases, which without any doubt uplift the music! There is however one song that is of a really high standard; "Amazing Journey". This song is without any doubt the best performance of DGM ever... This track contains it all; great passages with progressive elements and great chorus to uplift the track to a high standard! I would dare DGM that they should try to keep up the appearance and make a whole record of the same high standard as this song has. I do have to say, that it is not to be concluded by my review that the rest of the album sucks, it does just not have the same high standard as "Amazing Journey"!
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Benjamin
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DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
"Riders On The Storm" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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The Horsemen of the Apocalypse are back with another album of "melting-pot metal". They take one part death, one part folk, one part heavy, one part black, one part prog, one part thrash, one part goth and one part psychedelica, mix it all together, and ends up with a product that is unmistakenly Die Apokalyptischen Reiter's own style. I can understand and respect those who believe Die Apikalyptischen Reiter to be the next saviour of the metal scene, but at the same time I have to state that I personally don't get anything from this … well, except perhaps some anxiety attacks. This way of orchestrated chaos is very ennerving and it does test my patience - I find it to be too-much of a good thing, and although I appreciate the band for being so openminded and experimental I honestly don't like the outcome that much.
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Claus
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DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
"Samurai" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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I don't understand the idea with this band. Is it a joke band? Are they trying to blend every genre of heavy metal into one mix and put it on one CD? Are they making fun of metal … and them selves? Or do they just not know what kind of metal they actually want to play? DAR ranges from everything from doom to death, over grind to reggae, from modern hardcore to what I would call german-metal-bierhalle-stimnung. Almost every genre within heavy metal is to be found on this album, and I don't really know if that's cool or not. If these guys are serious, they seriously need to find their own style (or maybe it IS their style not to have one?). Anyways, DAR delivers an OK, but still mediocre, presentation of all these different genres, and I guess that's the most positive thing I can say about this band.
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Martin J
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DIECAST
"Internal Revolution" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Melodic thrash/metalcore with obvious references to Killswitch Engage is how I'll describe Diecast. I'll admit I've never listened to the band before, but friends of mine have told me that they remind quite heavily of KSE and I can now wholeheartedly agree to that. Especially the clean vocal melodies of Paul Stoddard are very close to those of Howard Jones of KSE - a very melodic voice that isn't far in delivery from Mike Patton (Faith No More). But there's also some serious Chimeira / Slayer riffing in the thrashy parts. The melodic songwriting however is clearly this bands force, and it's evident in several of the songs, that the band has a certain feel for hard rock compositions. Oh, I also need to mention that the song "Fractured" is more or less a rip-off from Within Temptation's "Stand My Ground" - not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a bit too obvious where it's lifted from. There's a lot of good melodies on this disc, and I'm definitely gonna spend a lot of time with it in the next few months. The question however is whether or not it's an album with a long-time relevance. I'll probably find myself listening to KSE's "The End Of Heartache" rather than "Internal Revolution" whenever I want to listen to something within this style.
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Claus
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DIO
"Master Of The Moon" (SPV - provided by Target Distribution)) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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There's a saying in Heavy metal land (if anyone knows where that is?), and it goes something like: "Whenever DIO opens his mouth, gold flows…". Ronnie James Dio is the incarnation of Heavy Metal at the same level as Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Dickinson and Ritchie Blackmore, but he does have a slight problem: He hasn't made a top-dollar album since the 80'ies. All the releases of the 90'ies were rather bad, not to say utter crap! Though Dio and band has crawled a little bit up the ladder again with first "Magica", secondly "Killing The Dragon" and now with "Master Of The Moon", you always hunger to make him do another "Last In Line" or "Holy Diver" album. This is also what I miss on this new release - the ability to go epic, and use some keyboards. Ok, there's a keyboardist listed in the line-up, but I certainly don't hear much of it. The most of "Master Of The Moon" is plain rock'n roll songs, that are mostly kept alive and going by Ronnie's vocal performance, and that is just not good enough in today's market, where 75.000 bands battle for the audience, that keeps getting smaller and smaller - EVEN if your mouth spits honey and gold. The production of the album is the same production that DIO has had for millennia - the crisp and clear guitar, the pounding drums and the fantastic vocal side. I just miss the atmosphere of the keys. May I take the opportunity to highlight the front cover for this album…it's simply fantastic. If you are a fan of Ronnie James Dio's voice, then you need to buy this. However, I'm glad I have my reviewer's copy.
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Lars
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DIONYSOS "Sign Of Truth" (AFM Records - provided by Nordic Metal) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Dionysus is a new founded by band by x-members of various bands. The founders are Ronny Milianowicz (ex-Sinergy) and Johnny Öhlin (ex-Nation) who managed to get German singer Olaf Hayer also known from Luca Turilli's solo debut where he made a fantastic performance. Dionysus plays the genre melodic power metal, which they master quite well. But nevertheless the music reminds me of a mixture of Metallium & Primal Fear, the only thing that separates Dionysus from the before mentioned is that Dionysus has a more melodic touch to their music. This is particular noticed by the way the breaks are performed, which has the tendency of reminding me of Balance Of Power - especially the start of "Pouring Rain" is a typical Balance Of Power thing. Well, back to the judgement of the CD; there is actually not a poor song on this album, the only thing missing is some self-independent thinking, and they can archive great things in the future to come.
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Benjamin
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DISBELIEF
"66Sick" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Phew ... another album by Disbelief in less than a year or something (it seems like it anyway). The last one didn't do much for me and this one doesn't either. It's pretty brutal death metal that goes in one and out the other, without having one single refrain or riff sticking to the mind. I don't know why people are praising this band so much, but I'm not one of them. If you are a particular fan of death metal and its kind, I suppose you want to check the disc out though.
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Lars
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DISBELIEF "Spreading The Rage" (Massacre Records - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Obviously hailed and praised by the masses and the press as well, Disbelief attacks my loudspeakers with their 5th release. I have no idea, if I'm ignorant or massively different than other people, but I really fail to hear this extremely talented stuff emerging. To me it sounds like 12 totally alike songs….mostly slow drum patterns, with a lot of layers of melodic guitars and bass. Topped by a growling guy, that has a cool growl, but grows boring in the long run, this album normally can't reach no more than a mediocre point from me. However, it's perfectly carried out within the genre and that's why I go beyond the mediocre point. It just doesn't give me any chills…..
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Lars
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DISHARMONIC ORCHESTRA "Ahead" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 0 out of 5 points - |
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Ten years ago Disharmonic Orchestra was the "big thing" on the Austrian and German metal scene with their obscure blend of thrash and psychedelic stuff. It was weird, but not really any good. Now the band has returned, and they don't sound much different from back then. Mixing a lot of genres may have worked in the 90's, but nowadays this is just crap.
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Martin P
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DIVING FOR PEARLS
"Texas" (Atenzia Records - provided by Atenzia) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Apparently this band made one album 15 years ago that was well received on the melodic hard rock scene. I honestly can't remember them … oh well, I guess that's not really the important thing here anyway. However, what's important is the fact that "Texas" is the album with which Diving For Pearls are trying to return to the scene with, and the album that should be their best shot at the contemporary hard rock scene. Will they succeed? Naah, I doubt it. While "Texas" have some good tunes here and there, it's too often crowded with mediocre hard rock / AOR songs, that doesn't really flow. Musically you could put them in a box somewhere between Extreme, Def Leppard and later-day Danger Danger … just not as interesting as any of the aforementioned.
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Claus
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DOC HOLLIDAY "Good Time Music" (MTM Music - provided by Target Distribution) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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Yeehaaa I feel like want to catch a cow, and run away in my truck that belongs to the convoy! These are some of the few things that strike my mind, when I listen to this new album from this old Hard Rockers DOC HOLLIDAY. I have never heard of the band, which is a bit strange when they been existing for more then two decades, and have played together with bands such as MOLLY HACHET, QUIET RIOT, BLACK SABBATH and U.F.O, but yet again it is not that strange!!! This band has properly been playing the same 3 chords that they know for these 2 decades they have existed. It is not that the music stinks "but it does", it is more that the product delivered by DOC HOLLIDAY is a repeat of it self. But one thing is sure if I was a trucker or something like that I would have been worshipped this band, but I have to face reality and put an end to my misery while I'm listening to this crap, and put it very simple: THIS BAND DOESN'T FIT IN, IN ANY METAL MAGAZINE, WEBZINE OR RADIO....
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Benjamin
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DOKKEN "Japan Live '95" (T&T / Sanctuary Records - provided by Target Distribution) - ½ out of 5 points - |
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I tried to find myself a way out of reviewing this album, but without any luck. Any album with Don Dokken, George Lynch, Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown deserves some kind of recognition in my book, as I've been a fan of Dokken since the mid eighties, when they were one of the greatest melodic heavy metal bands around. George was known for being a top-notch guitarist and Don had the nicest voice … soft as silk. Well, apparently the days of playing in the big stadiums are gone for the foursome, and therefore they've decided to document what was probably their last big tour; Japan in 1995. Listening to this CD makes me realize why it has gone so much downhill for the band, and why they aren't really doing much these days (except releasing an old live recording!!!). Don sings like SHIT - his once so awesome voice is now completely gone - George plays totally without inspiration - and Mick doesn't even deserves his nickname "Wild" anylonger, as he sounds totally bored behind his drums. Another thing that irritates me about this live disc is the fact that 11 out of the 14 songs already were featured on the bands previous live albums ("Beast From The East" - 1988 and "Live From The Sun" - 2000), and in much much much better versions than here. Nope, I don't see any reason for the band and label to release this live-shit, and I don't see any reason for you to buy it. Save your money on something else.
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Claus
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DOKKEN
"Hell To Pay" (T&T / Sanctuary Records - provided by Target Distribution) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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There once was a time … but that time just isn't now. Dokken is back with his album no. one million three hundred and forty, and it's just a boring rendition of old metal/hard rock riffs, and nothing else. Even Don's voice is lacking the energy it had previously. Naaah, my time is too valuable for this disc.
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Claus
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DOMAIN
"Last Days Of Utopia" (LMP Music/ SPV - provided by Target) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Hmmm, Domain is an old band back from the eighties, that got together again in 2001 with the release of the album "One Million Lightyears From Home". Since then they have release another album "Artefact" and now their 3rd opus since the break is ready. "Last Days Of Utopia" is a concept album - a concept that I shall not comment further on, since I don't have any lyrics to support my vision of it totally. The music is a mixture of Dream Theater, Royal Hunt, Dream Theater, Queen, Dream Theater and a bit of seventies rock opera's. It's pretty decent, but does not go further than that. When parts are directly stolen from Dream Theater, I get off the bus. It's irritating that some bands need to copy parts from the kings of progressive metal and show that "we can also play this". Having said that, I also must give credit to the playing skills of Domain, and their ability to keep things flowing throughout the entire disc. The lead singer, Carsten Schulz, has a strong voice that easily matches most of the vocalists out there today. I'd recommend that you give this disc a listen, as it might grow on you.
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Lars
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DONAHUE, TIM
"Madmen + Sinners" (Frontiers Records - provided by Bonnier/Amigo) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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I'll give you a choice here (actually, Tim Donahue and Co. has given it to you): Take the real deal, a.k.a. Dream Theater, or take this clone, which is approximately 50% of the stuff that Dream Theater delivers in quality. Choose yourself. Donahue has teamed up with James LaBrie, but has not succeeded in exploring the talents of this fine vocalist. I have never been the biggest fan of LaBrie, but in his priority band, they have a special gift of getting 200% out of him every time they make an album. Donahue has gotten 30% or less. The guitar sound is a mixture between Pantera and Nirvana, and that simply doesn't mix with a LaBrie performance far far from his best. Yepp, there are moments on this album of true progressiveness, but they are so far apart that I can't honestly get over a mediocre character here.
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Lars
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DORNENREICH
"Durch Den Traum" (Prophecy Productions - provided by Prophecy) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Heralded in the German media as one of the leading acts in dark/neo-folk/ambient-black metal, Dornenreich is a band that have been around for a good deal of years now. Ok, calling Dornenreich a band is a far stretch, considering it's basically one guy, Eviga, writing and performing the entire album here. Musically we're talking about a very dark and intense form for music, which blends acoustic passages with black metal, industrial sounds with energetic guitar riffs and overall lives and breathes on creating an atmosphere of eerieness. I'm probably just not able to grasp the whole idea behind this, as it to me becomes more of a mess to listen to, than something specifically artistic. It's not a disc for everybody, it is aimed at a very select audience, and I'm sure that those people will appreciate it. For me it's too bleeeh …
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Claus
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DORO
"Warrior Soul" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Doro Pesch is an institution in the heavy metal scene. Back from the early days with Warlock to her long-spanning solo career, she has released around 859 albums, and been on the German charts with most of them. Why? Don't ask me, as I've never found her anything special. To be fair, the old Warlock discs were quite okay back then, but her solo albums have always sucked, and here in 2006 "Warrior Soul" doesn't do anything to change that fact. Doro's voice is still sounding like a female version of Blackie Lawless with a horrible thick preusser-accent. All of "Warrior Soul" is mid-paced heavy metal with nothing really interesting going on, but at the same time not really over-the-top bad (except for the punk tune "Ungebrochen"). It's one of those albums that I most likely will never listen to again, unless I have friends over who want to hear it, and that's why I'll give it a 2-point rating.
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Claus
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DRACONIAN "Where Lovers Mourn" (Napalm Records - provided by Target Distribution) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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Boring, boring, boring, boring, BOOOORING!! But this doesn't mean that Draconian's debut album "Where Lovers Mourn" is bad. I know it sounds strange, but when you're keeping in mind that Draconian play gothic/doom metal, they really do an excellent job. In my opinion, this is the very definition of that particular genre, and they master it to perfection. I really get a sad feeling when listening to this disc and I just want to stay inside and watch the autumn and winter go by, not talk to anyone, feel sorry for myself and perhaps slit my wrist in the bathtub. One thing is for sure; this is the exact opposite of Happy Jazz!! Draconian mix sensitive female vocals with aggressive male vocals, and combine it with heavy, melodic and melancholic guitar riffs. If I was a gothic metal fan I wouldn't hesitate to give this album 5 out of 5 points, but I'm not, hence the 1½ points. Finally I just want to say: "God damn this album is depressing and boring to listen to". By the way, did I mention this album is boring?
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Martin J
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DRAGONFORCE "Valley Of the Damned" (Noise/Sanctuary - Provided by Nordic Metal) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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It's apparently about time that Sanctuary got their own Stratovarius/Rhapsody clone, now that both Nuclear Blast, LMP and all the other big ones have their copycats as well as the originals. So here goes; another band that is so firmly rooted in the overly symphonic speed metal that it's almost enough to make me puke. Naah, it really ain't that bad, and to be totally honest with you, I actually liked the previous demos of DragonForce (back then known as DragonHeart). But over the years this genre has become so tiresome and one-minded, that the gap of time gone since DragonForce first entered the scene till "Valley Of The Damned" finally can see it's release, has erased all value of interest for me. I'm simply fed up with bands sounding alike, and it takes something out-of-the-ordinary to keep my interest for more than 5 minutes. DragonForce don't have that "special something" that can make me sit through "Valley…" repeatedly, and although the musicians are quite good (with guitarist Herman Li being a true shred-faster-than-the-speed-of-light guitar-heroes) it doesn't hold up for a lack of songwriting-talent. Also, it also do annoy me that the production on the demo's were of higher quality than this release which obviously have taken lots of time and money to complete. Bwaaah, I'll go for the demo's if I ever want to listen to DragonForce again; they can keep their fast-paced speeed/symphonic metal to themselves - I've still got better discs to listen to with new Stratovarius, Kamelot, Rhapsody etc etc albums on my shelf.
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Claus
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DRAGONFORCE "Sonic Firestorm" (Noise/Sanctuary Records - provided by Target Distribution) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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I'm trying hard to come up with a good excuse for giving this album more than 1 point in score - after all this band IS being released by a big company, so there's got to be something of interest to it (otherwise, why would such a well respected label as Sanctuary want to work with them?). I've finally come to the conclusion that the guys in the band actually can play their instruments very well and they are able to look cool on pictures, so there - that's it. But besides that, what Dragonforce are offering us here on their second album is run-of-the-mill speedy power metal full of clichés, way-to-fast soloing, Mickey Mouse like vocals and songs that are too long to keep the interest of the listener. I'd take Sonata Arctica, Gamma Ray, Stratovarius or Thunderstone any day over this. Dragonforce just gets on my nerves.
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Claus
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DRAGONLAND
"Astronomy" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Many times I have heard good things about Swedish Dragonland, but "Astronomy" is the first time I actually listen to this band. All can say is that I know I have been missing out, because Dragonland is a very interesting melodic metal band that differs from the many European metal bands in the same genre. There are many interesting compositions, which have some similarities to progressive metal. The instrumentation is extremely controlled, and they keep on challenging the listener with some haunting and beautiful melodies. The album opens a bit dull, but from there the first awesome track is replaced by the next and each with their specific sound so that you really can pick the songs from each other. Vocalist Jonas Heidgert has a very pleasant voice, and he knows where his limits are, and he delivers a powerful performance all the way through the record. I really like how all instruments have their saying in the music, and you get really dragged in by the virtuosity by the players. This especially works well when the keyboards and guitars are duelling. Like so many other melodic power metal bands Dragonland makes a go at an epic, and the classic 3 part method is used, but unlike so many other they get away from this with their honour intact. They understand that epic does not necessarily mean grandiose. Where Dragonland separates from the crowd is the diversity in their music. To give an example of this then first take a track like "Cassiopeia" that has some angelic female vocals on it, and then compare it to the song "Antimatter" which is much more thrashy in its approach and also has some growling (weak growling, but growling none the less). One tune has folky influences, another a very progressive vibe but they go away from their very melodic sound with awesomely crafted very melodic choruses. Dragonland - "Astronomy" is a very good album indeed, and I will be sure to check out their back catalogue, because I can only bow my head in shame for not checking out this band before, because they really give some serious competition to Symphony X. I would actually go as far as to say this album is more consistent than any album aforementioned band has ever done (what??? Blasphemy! Red). Essential in any melodic power metal/progressive metal fans collection.
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Mads
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DREAMAKER "Human Device" (Arise Records - provided by Arise) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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I do hope that this style of music will soon be long dead and gone. Hammerfall/Rhapsody inspired "power" metal, without any kind of nerve and inventions. The music consists of chords, attitude and bad Spanish accent from lead singer Elisa Martin. Nothing to write home about.
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Lars
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DREAM EVIL
"United" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Sweden's clichee-metal act #1 is back … nope, I'm not thinking about Wolf or Hammerfall … I'm of course referring to Dream Evil. On this, their 4th full length disc, Dream Evil delivers yet another slab of pure 80's rock'n'metal armageddon, born like the phoenix from the ashes of the classic german heavy metal wave that exploded somewhere between Scorpions and Accept. "United" is actually a good title for this disc, as it's all about getting the true-heavy-metal-headbangers together and have them shape a future where heavy metal can be recognised by the broader media (nope, I'm not buying into any theory that the lyrics of Dream Evil actually have a deeper meaning!). We've now already heard this formula (the clichee music and even more clichee lyrics) on 3 full length albums, one CD single and one mini CD from Dream Evil - have they even evolved just a little bit over time? Not really, the only changes in the band are that guitarist Gus G is out as is drummer Snowy Shaw, and it hasn't changed a thing. If you're able to appreciate a band that is soooo clichee, and are able to get past the "fun"-aspect of it, then Dream Evil is about as good as it gets within the genre, and "United" is the disc that could get you and your friends in the mood for a real evening of heavy metal. If you however expect something really serious and thought-provoking, then you probably should look elsewhere.
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Claus
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DREAM EVIL "The Book Of Heavy Metal" (Century Media - provided by Target Distribution) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Cliché heavy metal! That's got to be the best description of Dream Evil, right? Take Accept, Helloween, Europe, Hammerfall and a large dose of Scorpions, and you'd be able to predict how "The Book Of Heavy Metal" sounds like. It's not a bad album, I can honestly say that, but the irritating thing about it is, that it more often makes me laugh and smile rather than nod in acknowledgement of something good. It's THAT cliché! Singer Niklas sounds more like Klaus Meine (Scorpions) than I thought possible, and since a vocalist is always what makes the first impression stick out, I can't help but comparing this new Dream Evil album with Scorpions 80's hits. When Dream Evil are at their most popish moments, it's kind of like hearing "Savage Amusement" over again, and when they are more akin to "Blackout" or "Animal Magnetism". Is it good? Well, at least it's quality songs - well written, well performed and of course superbly produced. Is it something original? No way!
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Claus
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DREAM EVIL "Children of the Night" (Century Media - provided by Target Distribution) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Dream Evil is finally out with the mini CD "Children of the Night" including a video clip. They have waited so long to do this and now it's a reality. But as much as the band have waited themselves, as much disappointed am I. When I first heard Dream Evil's debut "Evilized" some 2 years ago, I was thrilled and astonished by the energy, power and melodies, but after their second release "Dragon Slayer", and now this mini CD, I realize that Dream Evil will not evolve within the genre. Sure the music is still energetic and powerful, and even though "Children of the Night" contain previously unreleased material, I've heard it all before - on "Evilized as well as on "Dragon Slayer" - but I guess it must be Dream Evil's lot in life.
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Martin J
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DREAM EVIL "Evilized" (Century Media - Provided by Nordic Metal) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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This is heavy metal - 100% unspoiled true heavy fucking metal all the way \m/\m/\m/ Just like with the debut of this Swedish/Greek band everything here has been heard many times before, and most likely will be heard again on future albums by other so-called "true metal" acts. But the real force of this album is not the oh-so-typical renditions of everything-classic in heavy metal, but instead it's the pure joy and entertainment value of the songs, the atmosphere and the spirit. And for once (in these hard-tested times with a billion ridiculous metal-clones) it's actually FUN to listen to an album so blatantly ripping off anything worthwhile in this genre. Manowar, Accept, Europe, Hammerfall, Iron Maiden, Helloween and so on - yes, the comparisons to be found inside of "Evilized" are floating in millions … no gazillions … but who cares, as long as it's this good. Alongside Lost Horizon, Dream Evil makes Swedish heavy fucking metal fun to listen to ... again.
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Claus
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| ** DOUBLE REVIEW FEATURE ** | ||
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DREAMLAND
"Future's Calling" (Dockyard 1 - provided by VME) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Another Power Metal band - no surprise - how can they continue to pop up from around everywhere? I ask myself that question over and over again, without ever getting an answer … Well nevertheless congratulations to Joacim Cans (Hammerfall singer), for actually doing a quite okay job on this one (he found and produced the band - and helped them get their record deal). But eventhough they have this big-name metal-dude behind them, doesn't change that the music is boring to the very end. Only a selected few good moments on this record raise the interest, and ultimately there's absolutely nothing that I could stand to hear a longer period of my life :-D
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