| INDIGENT - INDIGENT (Indie) |
| Created by Richard Tomsett, Indigent is a solo technical Death Metal project from Hampshire, England. This one man Death Metal band blew me away right off the bat with the kind of riffs you might find on Death's "The Sound of Perseverance" or Nevermore's "Dreaming Neon Black". The music on this 5 track CD is so incredible and well put together that it just makes it that much harder to describe in detail. Riff madness is all over the disc as Indigent explodes from track one "Disgust" with a prog/death style riffage. The vocals near the end of the track remind you of Dani Filth (Cradle Of Filth) with it's high pitched octave screeches. The Progressive style on this CD will grab hold of you and make you an addict for life. Such a rush, it's hard to believe how good it is as I have listened to it so many times that I've lost track. Richard and this project Indigent is the best thing to come out of the U.K. since Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. That truly shows what I think of this CD overall and how quickly Indigent might just make some serious noise as they start off Underground and work their way up to the surface. Do yourself a favour, order this CD today from Indigent's Website. A must have for all Heavy Metal fans. Metal Mike....................................................................9.5/10 |
| MURDER CYCLE - 3 SONG PROMO (Indie) |
| Murder Cycle returns with a new demo and vocal sound all the way from the state of Kansas, U.S.A. This time the band has added new vocals to this disc and that does make quite a difference on the overall product. Musically the band doesn't stop as much for any melodic change of pace as they did on the last Promo CD. That I felt kind of ruined things for me. The vocals on the last CD sounded more suited for a punk band than a death/grincore metal band. Now they've redone the song "Quick Fix" and with the new vocals things sound better as they attack your ear drums with pure death grind havoc. Murder Cycle just rips it up with 3 songs that should be classic's in the bands future repertoire. For more on the band go to their website. Metal Mike.......................................................................7.5/10 |
| BLOODSHOTEYE - WITHOUT ANY REMORSE (Galy Records) |
| With all the amazing Heavy Metal bands that come from Southern Ontario not all get noticed right away. Some can make quite a good name for themselves and develop a new following just in one night. Bloodshoteye who come from the Southern most part of Canada known as Leamington, Ontario will have no trouble at all securing legions of canadian and other fans worldwide. The band now release their debut CD "Without any Remorse" and what a fierce, blistering wake up call this is. Death Metal might not have been born in Ontario but it sure has found a home here. With every guitar riff and double bass kick drum on this CD you notice quite a unique vocal display put forth by none other than the bands only Metal maiden known as Chronica. Tracks such as "Pieces" and "Death's Sweet Revenge"(This should have been the name of the CD) mosh and mesh very well on W.A.R. Another very good thing to mention is the help of Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God) on tracks "F.U.B.A.R" and "Bad Trip", an excellent idea to have sort of a raging duet with Chronica. Bloodshoteye gives you that swift kick in the ass you once deserved and without any remorse from these Canadian metalheads as their debut CD is bound to get noticed as a favourite for all in 2004 and beyond. Metal Mike.......................................................................9/10 |
| HELGOR - HELGOR (Indie) |
| Helgor who come from the Netherlands, bring us an extreme death metal experiment with this self titled CD. This has more bad points than good. First off, this is a terrible recording. I can't hear the background rhythm section at all. The drums, which come from a drum machine sound so weak it's very obvious right away. I like the vocals until the unpopular "sounds like someone is in serious pain" background vocals come up. This lead singer grunts almost as well as Korey from Canadian death metal band Rotting. If this was more of a Technical Death Metal band then it might peek my interest more. The different styles of metal isn't bad, but it's seriously overshadowed by the rest of what I mentioned above. Right now it's not up to par. Maybe in the future Helgor can put it all together and hopefully get a better recording out of it. Metal Mike..........................................................................3/10 |
| FEVERED DREAMS - THE FALLEN (Indie) |
| Kick ass Arizona Thrash Metal!! That there explains just what Fevered Dreams is all about as these four guys release their latest CD titled "The Fallen". Fevered Dreams erupts with some of the most intense riffs, vocals and lyrics to come out of the midwestern United States. Tons of influences come to mind when listening to Fevered Dreams. Metallica, Sepultura, and Megadeth are just a few worth mentioning. The best combination of headbanging fury comes from tracks 4, 5, and 6. The Title track brutally attacks you with it's speed and riff mania as this sets off a chain reaction for the rest of the album. "Betrayal" is an even bigger rush than the title track with an old school thrash lesson at the speed of sound. Track 6 "Not afraid anymore" will do the opposite and put fear into anyone. Angry lyrics stacked all over the place on The Fallen. The band, after many lineup changes since it's birth in 1996 have given their all on this CD as evidence by not just the product but from what they preach as well. Blood, sweat, tears (And maybe some beers) went into this as they wanted to make something that people would notice upon listening to it. I can tell you that the band does not lie when they say that. Anyone can see just from first listen that if you want something done right, you can do anything if you put your mind to it. A little passion doesn't hurt either. Fevered Dreams is loyal to Heavy Metal and going in the right direction. Results come from within. It's time for you to witness it first hand. Metal Mike..........................................................................9/10 |
| BLOOD OF CHRIST - BREEDING CHAOS (Skyscraper Music) |
| The Purveyors of Epic Dark Metal Blood of Christ return with somewhat of a new direction to go along with the same old brand of chaos. Out is lead vocalist Conan Bulani and taking his place at the mic is the bands bass player Dan Hulse who unplugs his bass for the band to recruit another. This makes room for the band to hire bass player Greg Idasz the newest member of Blood Of Christ with brothers Jeff and Jason Longo's duties staying the same. With the new addition firmly in place, Blood Of Christ who recorded "Breeding Chaos" before Greg Idasz came on board clean things up with much finer melody and guitar riffs. The tempo slows down just enough pretty much on the entire CD yet the band experiment with many different eclectic sounds which is noticable when comparing it to their previous release "As the rain gently falls". Highlights on this CD include the Title track, "Lost in the darkness" and "Murdering a Storyteller". as much as I enjoyed those tracks I tip my hat to the band for throwing in a drum solo as one of the tracks "Drums of Autumn (Sayduke)" which reminds me of the good old days of when solo's were still honoured. Breeding Chaos clocks in at a little over 109 minutes which will take a few listen's for all hardcore B.O.C. fans to get used to the bands cleaner fresh sound as compared to previous album "As the rain gently falls". Some may think it's a little too long with with 16 tracks in total, others may feel this album has been long overdue since the bands origin almost ten years ago. You be the judge...as Blood of Christ choose their own destiny as the possible new Innovator's of Violence. Ready to lead you on a brand new path of destruction on the Dark Metal scene. Metal Mike........................................................................8.5/10 |
| STATION ELEVEN - PROMO 2003 (Indie) |
| Here is a 2 song Promo from Station Eleven who hail from beautiful Greece. What we get here is a crushing pair of songs full of hate, anger and plenty of frustration built up. Put it all together and you get some seriously impressive Heavy Metal bound to get worldwide attention. Station Eleven who have been together since 2002, mix death/thrash metal to complete an awesome and energetic sound. Melodic and death growls vocals scream and bleed on the track "Pain". I can't wait to hear more music in the future from Station Eleven. This band is gonna make some serious noise, starting Underground. Metal Mike..........................................................................8/10 |
| RED LIGHT RIPPERS - DEMOLICIOUS (Indie) |
| Out of the gutter, back for another attack. Toronto's Red Light Rippers return with their latest 6 song Demo full of sleazy type Street wise Hard Rock N' Roll. Demolicious which was recorded in just 24 hours is a product of some serious rockin' energy you dont find just anywhere. This shows just how tight and focused the band is. Red Light Rippers absolutely smoke, not just on CD but on stage as well. Guitarist Staci T Rat has put together an amazing group which is a must see live. They click so well together on stage that it's hard to believe they haven't been playing together for very long at all. Proof is displayed on the track "Freakshow" with it's fat chords and blues type licks. I love this song! and when I saw the band perform this track live, it's sheer power shakes the foundations no matter what the venue. Serious fans of 80's and early 90's hard rock acts such as Love/Hate, L.A.Guns, Faster Pussycat and Pretty Boy Floyd will dig Red Light Rippers no problem. If you miss the days of guitar driven rock and roll then Red Light Rippers should be your cup of tea or maybe even bottle of whiskey. Either way, Toronto has found a new Rock and Roll Icon to look out for in the future as something this good deserves more than just a second look. Give them a try, It's all worth it to see and hear them. Check out the band's website for more info. Metal Mike............................................................................9/10 |