Goatwhore - CARVING OUT THE EYES OF GOD

The dark and evil quartet known as Goatwhore have just released their latest CD entitled “CARVING OUT THE EYES OF GOD”. Another step in evolution of their signature Louisiana Black Metal style, Goatwhore’s new album is heavier and even more blasphemous than the rusted carving blade they used to render their rival sightless.

“CARVING OUT THE EYES OF GOD” is Goatwhore’s 4^th full length release, and their much anticipated follow up to their highly successful 2006 Metal Blade release, “A HAUNTING CURSE”. This CD marks the band’s 2^nd collaboration with the engineering wizard Erik Rutan, from the infamous Manna Studios in Florida. The crystal clear production achieved allows us to hear those little intricate details like Zack Simmons drumming thundering triplet patterns and blistering blast beats that cut through the wall of rhythms laid down by Sammy Duet (guitar) and Nathan Bergeron (bass). Ben Falgoust’s wicked words snarl with diabolic fury, as his vocal patterns are delivered with a veteran’s precision and clarity. The overall effect is a CD that feels like a tribute to the Black Metal forefathers Celtic Frost, Venom, and Slayer, yet sounds completely new and unlike anything else released in 2009. Highly recommended for fans of the aforementioned bands, and to all ye malicious Metal Heads who thrive on metaphysical music.

Rating: 3 ½ Skulls

 Track listing:

1. Apocalyptic Havoc

2. The All-Destroying

3. Carving Out the Eyes of God

4. Shadow of a Rising Knife

5. Provoking the Ritual of Death

6. In Legions, I Am Wars Of Wrath

7. Reckoning of the Soul Made Godless

8. This Passing into the Power of Demons

9. Razor Flesh Devoured

10. To Mourn and Forever Wander through Forgotten Doorways

Sources:
http://www.myspace.com/goatwhore

http://www.goatwhore.net/

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE – It’s All Happening

IWRESTELEDABEARONCE’s new CD “It’s All Happening” is a whirlwind of violent riffing and screams that sporadically switches from electronica to jazz and all points in between, creating a unique listening experience that can be compared to an epileptic seizure. As painful as that may sound, it’s actually quite entertaining, and all the random elements work well together, especially if you like this kind of avant-garde music.

IWRESTELEDABEARONCE writes music with only their listening pleasure in mind and if they get a strong reaction to their music, the members of this band feel that they’ve done their duty. IWABO's new album manages to take their complex sound one step beyond, surpassing their previous release on many levels. Singer Krysta Cameron's vocals shine through in ways never before heard, while the music has been given the royal treatment it deserves with an excellent production that captures every subtle nuance. Krysta’s lyrics on this album are more spiritual, personal, and introspective than before.

Guitarist Steven Bradley comments, "We couldn't be happier with how the album turned out! …We went out of our way to expand our sound in every way possible, and this album is definitely more extreme in every direction than our previous EP. Also, we wanted to steer clear of an over-produced and lifeless sounding record, and I believe we've found a balance between all the electronics we use and a raw un-edited sound."

Rating: 2 1/2 Skulls

 Track Listing:
1 – You Ain’t No Family

2 – White Water In The Morning

3 – Danger In The Manger

4 – I’m Cold And There Are Wolves After Me

5 – Tastes Like Kevin Bacon

6 – The Cat’s Pajamas

7 – Pazuzu For The Win

8 – Black-eyed Bush

9 – Eli Cash Vs The Godless Savages

10 – See You In Shell

Sources:

www.myspace.com/iwrestledabearonce

http://www.centurymedia.com/us/

AMON AMARTH - "The Avenger" (Bonus Edition)

The Viking Warlords, Amon Amarth, have done it again! They’ve just re-issued their sophomore album, “The Avenger” in a two disc digipak featuring new liner notes from the band and tons of photos. Disc 1 is the entire “The Avenger” album re-mastered, and includes a kick-ass bonus track entitled “Thor Arise”. These classic tunes still hold up 10 years later, and they’re cleaner mix adds to the album’s adrenaline-filled feel. Disc 2 is Amon Amarth playing the entire “The Avenger” album, live! The concert is recorded exceptionally well, which really captures the band’s intensity, and their connection with their legions of fans. Amon Amarth will be re-issuing their first four albums throughout 2009, so pick this one up now before it’s gone, and be sure to keep your eyes peeled for future re-mastered versions of Amon Amarth’s music.

Rating: 3 skulls

TRACK LISTING:

DISC 01 (Remastered)

01. Bleed For Ancient Gods

02. The Last With Pagan Blood

03. North Sea Storm

04. Avenger

05. God, His Son And Holy Whore

06. Metalwrath

07. Legend Of A Banished Man

08. Thor Arise (Bonus Track)

DISC 02 (Live)

01. Bleed For Ancient Gods (Live)

02. The Last With Pagan Blood (Live)

03. North Sea Storm (Live)

04. Avenger (Live)

05. God, His Son And Holy Whore (Live)

06. Metalwrath (Live)

07. Legend Of A Banished Man (Live)

Sources:

http://www.myspace.com/amonamarth

http://www.amonamarth.com

MARILYN MANSON – The High End Of Low

Everyone’s favorite Antichrist, Marilyn Manson, has returned to the media spotlight with his latest release “The High End Of Low”. This new CD is a collection of misanthropic mayhem that covers a slew of emotions as we journey through an hour’s worth of new music. Songs like “Pretty As A Swastika”, “Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon” and “We’re From America” kick you right in the face with their punk-like feel (no doubt due to the return of Twiggy Ramirez), while tracks like “Four Rusted Horses”, “Running to the Edge of the World”, and “Into the Fire” really showcase Marilyn Manson’s ability to achieve that melancholic mood and really sing his heart out over mostly acoustic instruments.  There’s something here for everyone, whether aggressiveness is your attention-getter, or dark and gloomy is your poison of preference. Marilyn Manson has covered all his bases with “The High End Of Low”, a perfect follow up to “Eat Me, Drink Me”.

Controversial content is to be expected from the man who’s infamous for pushing people’s buttons, and it seems that Manson has even pushed his label, Interscope Records, to bleep out a line on the track “Blank and White”, where he sings "Let's shoot up the mall/The school/or the President of whatever/or whoever wants to fight". The censorship even appears on uncensored versions of the album, so expect to see a filthier version of this track in the near future from Mr. Manson.

Rating: 3 Skulls

TRACK LISTING:

1. Devour
2. Pretty as a Swastika
3. Leave a Scar
4. Four Rusted Horses
5. Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon
6. Blank and White
7. Running to the Edge of the World

8. I Want To Kill You Like They Do In The Movies

9. WOW
10. Wight Spider
11. Unkillable Monster
12. We're From America
13. I Have to Look Up Just to See Hell
14. Into the Fire
15. 15

Sources:
www.myspace.com/marilynmanson

http://marilynmanson.com/

Unholy- NEW LIFE BEHIND CLOSED EYES

New York’s misanthropic maniacs known as Unholy have recently dropped an new CD entitled NEW LIFE BEHIND CLOSED EYES that’s their most aggressive and unapologetic release to date. Combining hardcore with thrash and death metal, Unholy is hell bent on using their music to destroy the Earth, one town at a time.

This is the heaviest Unholy has ever sounded, unleashing 10 tracks of hard hitting hardcore that delivers the wicked lyrics, shredding guitar riffs, and those crushing cut-times that we’ve all been craving from this fierce five-piece. Inspired by the writings and art of Thomas Ligotti, H.P. Lovecraft, Joe Coleman, and Anton LaVey, Unholy let’s the chips fall where they may with songs like “The Blinding Light”, “No Faith” and “New Life Behind Closed Eyes”. Combining Jonathan Dennison’s unique songwriting style with Steve Caiello’s awesome leads, and Billy Price’s cavernous growl, Unholy has created their ultimate body of work that will surely be consider their pinnacle creation in years to come.

Rating: 3 skulls

Track Listing:

1- Seeker Immortal

2- Children of Eternal Sleep

3- These Wounds Never Heal

4- Into The Flesh of Another

5- The Blinding Light

6- Look To The Blood

7- No Faith

8- The Followers

9- Behind The Veil of Darkness

10- New Life Behind Closed Eyes

Sources:

http://www.myspace.com/unholy

http://www.prostheticrecords.com/

PESTILENCE – Resurrection Macabre

Pestilence, the Dutch pioneers of Death Metal, has returned with their first new record in over 15 years appropriately entitled “Resurrection Macabre”. Breathing new life into the long dead band, Patrick Mameli (lead guitars/vocals) has written his most brutal and technical album of his career.

In the late 80’s/early 90’s, Pestilence was one of those bands that was not only pushing the boundaries of speed and brutality, but they also managed to combine their adrenaline fueled aggression with laid-back harmony and melody, often incorporating Jazz/Fusion and synth-guitars into their complex orchestrations, a technique that for back then was ahead of it’s time. After 4 successful studio albums, Patrick Mameli felt the band had reached their creative climax and called it quits in 1994 due to irreconcilable differences between band members.

Fortunately the recent trend of old-school Death Metal returning to the forefront of the extreme music scene inspired Patrick Mameli to start writing Death Metal again and “Resurrect” the Pestilence name.  Calling on bassist extraordinaire Tony Choy (featured on their “Testimony Of The Ancients” release) and powerhouse percussionist Peter Wildoer, the 3 musicians set out to create an album that would top anything Pestilence had done in the past, yet retain a lot of the original brutality that had set them apart in the early years. The resulting release, “Resurrection Massacre,” has achieved just that and proves that Pestilence is not only back from the grave, but alive and kicking ass in full force.

“Resurrection Massacre” lyrically is more in the vein of "Consuming Impulse", focusing on real-life topics, while musically the new CD tends to sound more like a progression from “Testimony Of The Ancients”. “Resurrection Macabre” is available in a limited edition first print which includes three bonus tracks of re-recordings of classic Pestilence songs chosen by the fans (“Out Of The Body”, “Chemo Therapy” and “Lost Souls”). Additionally, there’s a track entitled “Dehydrated II” which plays like a re-envisioning of the well known opening track off of “Consuming Impulse”.

This new CD comes highly recommended for old school fans of Pestilence, and is a good place to begin exploring this band’s impressive catalog if you’ve never experienced their brand of brutality before.

Rating: 3 ½ skulls

 Track listing:
1.  Devouring Frenzy

2.  Horror Detox

3.  Fiend

4.  Hate Suicide

5.  Synthetic Grotesque

6.  Neuro Dissonance

7.  Dehydrated II

8.  Resurrection Macabre

9.  Hangman

10. Y2H

11. In Sickness and Death

Bonus tracks:

12. Chemo Therapy

13. Out of the Body

14.  Lost Souls

Sources:
http://www.myspace.com/pestilenceofficial

http://pestilence.nl/

http://www.mascotrecords.com/

GOD DETHRONED "Passiondale"

The Netherlands own GOD DETHRONED has just released their latest full length album entitled “Passiondale”. The new CD is an amalgamation of melodic death metal and balls-out thrash that marks GOD DETHRONED’s return to the more extreme and furious song writing style they had a decade ago .  

 

GOD DETHRONED features originator Henri Sattler on Guitars & Vocals, and veteran bassist Henk Zinger. Returning on the drums is Roel Sanders who had played on the “Grand Grimoire” “Bloody Blasphemy” albums, two of GD’s finest albums. Sanders contributes a lot to the faster and more aggressive sound of the new CD, as can be heard in tracks like “Under A Darkening Sky”, “Drowning In Mud”, and “Fallen Empires” where blast-beats and fast double-bass drumming are prominently featured. Also returning to work on the new CD is keyboardist Danny Servaes, who also played on the “Grand Grimoire” and “Bloody Blasphemy” albums. Servaes adds a dark aura to tracks like “Poison Fog”, “Behind Enemy Lines” and “Artifacts Of The Great War” with his atmospheric elements. And most impressive of all is the opening piece “The Cross Of Sacrifice” in which Danny Servaes creates a feeling of listening to the soundtrack of a war movie with gunfire effects, spoken word narrations, and creepy stereo whispers. New to the GD line-up is female guitarist Susan Gerl (formerly of MURDER SYNDICATE) who rocked the audition held after Isaac Delahaye left the band due to creative differences. Although Gerl does not officially appear on the new “Passiondale” CD, she’s been sharing the stage with the boys of GOD DETHRONED since March 21^st.

All the lyrics on “Passiondale” are loosely based on the events World War I, where each track is like short journey through time focusing on the grimness of the Great War. Many of the songs refer to the death-ridden town of Passchendaele where close to 900,000 casualties occurred. Songs like “Under A Darkening Sky”, “No Survivors”, and “Fallen Empires” offer no remorse with the lyrical recollection of the atrocities of all out warfare, screaming words like “9 million dead!”  But not all tracks are explosive on the new CD. The title track “Passiondale” for instance is a mid-tempo melodic song that opens with military style drumming and retains is slow and heavy feel throughout. Then there are tracks like “Poison Fog” and “No Survivors” that feature melodic singing in their bridges, a complete polar-opposite to the growls and screams heard through the rest of the CD. The final track, “Artifacts Of The Great War” is mid-tempo instrumental piece that fades in and out like eerie dreamscape, but never really goes anywhere. There are plenty of tracks that have a Slayer-like feel to them with their thrash drumming and dueling guitar solos, but all in all the new CD falls a little short of my high expectations for the return of the “Bloody Blasphemy” line-up. “Passiondale” is a step in the right direction for GOD DETHRONED in 2009, but it’s not enough of that old Dutch black metal feel to please this head banger.

Rating: 2 ½ skulls

TRACKLIST:

1- The Cross Of Sacrifice

2- Under A Darkening Sky

3- No Man’s Land

4- Poison Fog

5- Drowning In Mud

6- Passiondale

7- No Survivors

8- Behind Enemy Lines

9- Fallen Empires

10- Artifacts Of The Great War

Sources:

http://www.myspace.com/villavampiria

http://www.metalblade.com/english/artists/goddethroned/bio.php