Written In Blood: Hard Music for a Hard World

Cannibal Corpse
Vile
Metal Blade 

Cannibal Corpse grinds on with or without formervocalist Chris Barnes. Though I wouldn’t consider myself a C.C. historian, I would say the writing of the lyrics is right in step with the earlier recordings of the band. Sick that is. The song “DISFIGURED” is about a person so revolted by his own appearance. It’s safe to say he does something about it… “I see an image of disfigured evil. I’ve skinned myself alive. Dripping with blood and blistered by fire. The face I hate erased.” That’s track four on the album. That’s two tracks after track two, or three tracks after track one. It both precedes track five and follows track three. It’s two songs before track six, though it’s seven tracks from being the last song on the album. Though, I could never really be sure where the track is located on the album until William Athey has checked over my work. Get on with it buddy boy. Look for VILE to be in stores on May 21. —Forgach 

Vinnie Moore
Out Of Nowhere
Mayhem

All right you guitar nuts, listen up. Vinnie Moore’s latest album, Out Of Nowhere, was released on April 16. I’ve seen this guy live a couple of times around the Delaware area. He’s from Newcastle, DE, and I moved from the state’s capital Dover about two years ago (hey, at least I’m not from California!). Anyway, Vinnie Moore’s music is amazing live or on disc. Unfortunately, instrumental music usually only has limited commercial success. Unless of course you have a big nose and play a flute or saxophone (whichever it is?). Most of us need some damn message crammed down our throat before we’re interested. Have you ever read most of the lyrics out there? If you haven’t, don’t worry you’re not missing much most of the time. Vinnie Moore’s music speaks volumes for itself. 

Near Death ExperienceJourney Into Darkness
None of the Above

What in the hell?? Near Death Experience is made up of ex-members of the band Sorrow. The CD doesn’t have any guitars or vocals, just “ominous synths and super heavy percussion” (that’s what the front of the CD says). I don’t have a bio on the band, but I would bet it’s the former guitar players of the band Sorrow. It sounds like guitar players that got a hold of a couple of keyboards. “Hey man this sounds cool! Check this out!” That’s probably the beginning of the discussion that got them kicked out of their last band. Gee, I wonder who got a new Casio keyboard for Christmas. I know at some point in our lives, all of us guitar players have tried to make noise on a keyboard and thought to ourselves “I could do this.” But good-god, none of us actually took the time to record it. This is bad, bad, bad. 

TRUTH ABOUT SEAFOOD 

Forbidden it isn’t. Slayer it isn’t. Paul Bostaph….it is? That’s right metal fans, former drummer of the metal kingpins Forbidden and Slayer has taken a different road. Truth About Seafood, Paul’s new band, also features Jeff Minnery on guitars/vocals and Brad Daane on bass. The material on this disc goes from fun, funky, groove tunes, to songs that analyze the human condition. All musicians involved in this project are stellar, though the purpose of this band doesn’t seem to be to showcase any one talent. Personally, I must say as a guitarist, that Jeff Minnery’s solos are great. You can tell the songs are recorded live, so to think what this guy could do with punching in and out, and a couple over-dubs is scary. Apparently, the band recorded back in ‘92 or ‘93 (the bio and CD say two different times) but the project sat on the shelf until Paul’s commitment to Slayer was up. I have a feeling if this one flys, we’ll be hearing a lot more from these guys in the future. I hope so. 

Crisis
Deathshead Extermination
Metal Blade

New York City’s Crisis has just introduced their second release, Deathshead Extermination on Metal Blade. The band’s intense style, and Karyn Crisis’s unique vocals, set this disc on a course to blast you senseless. I must say that after just a listen and a half I don’t really get it quite yet, though I plan to listen again. The band uses its diverse ethnic backgrounds and many life experiences to form a very different sound. The band sports natives of Indiana, Pakistan, and Taiwan. The band also contains a classically trained violinist, and architect, a student of jazz percussion, and a symphony trombonist. Anyway, the band has come together from opposite ends of the earth, with varied backgrounds, and has recorded some pretty spooky stuff. 

ALL SOULS AVE.

All Souls Ave. is releasing a brand new CD. I ran into Jeff Alleman, guitarist for the band, while he was dropping off a stack at the CD Warehouse. I’ve seen the band live a couple of times, but it took our conversation that day for me to really realize that A.S.A and All Souls Ave. are actually the same band. My powers of perception astound far and wide. Being newish to these parts, there’s much I need to learn about local talent, but from what I’ve seen so far A.S.A is one of the best bands I know of in the area. Their self titled CD is really top-notch. Intricate riffs, mature song structure, and a pro recording job should position this band for national attention. Check this CD out. I’m sure it can be purchased all over town. It will be the one with the big hand on the front cover. If you haven’t seen the band live yet, now’s the time. 

A.C
40 More Reasons To Hate Us
Earache 

40 More Reasons to Hate Us is the latest release by the band A.C… a fair title as far as I’m concerned. For those of you that don’t know, the A stands for anal and the C stands for…well let’s just say it rhymes with runt. (Hey back off, I’ll bet someone’s mom reads this magazine!). The CD not only has 40 songs, but also includes a duet with Philip Anselmo of Pantera, and a bonus track. This band has pushed the extreme so much, pure noise has taken the place of anything that would be used to define this as music. Maybe I’m just behind the times, but if this is the future of music, then I’m going to be digging out my old April Wine albums. I have a feeling A.C’s musical objective would come across much better in a live setting. Though, I’m sure a tour in support of a release with seven songs having profanity right in the title, three songs having violent content in the title (including track three — “Kill Women”), three songs dealing with homosexuality in the title (four if you include track 22 — “Johnny Violent Getting His Ass Kicked By Morrissey”), a song about deportation, five songs with the word “dumb” in the title, and a song titled “Van Full Of Retards”, well I doubt this band would dare come to Salt Lake. Consider the challenge, A.C. —Forgach

Read more from the SLUG Archives:
Napalm Death
Home Alive: The Art of Self Defense