Written In Blood: October 1997

Promisques
Monarchy Of Evil
S.I.S.

I don’t know if I received this release because of crying last month about not getting any stuff from local bands, or if it’s just perfect timing on the band’s part, but I moved this release to the top of the heap. Promisques, an all-female, three-piece (Lori Medcalf — vocals/guitar, Jeanette Smith — drums, and Dena Turk — Bass) recorded their ten song CD, Monarchy of Evil at Sound Image Studio in Salt Lake. The music and vocals are extremely raw and seethe with evilness. Songs like “Satan Satan,” “Satan’s Victory,” “The Beast” and my favorite, “Satan’s Friend,” will have you running for your bible. 

By The Grace Of God
Perspective
Victory

The members of the band By The Grace Of God have a lot to say, and this band will be heard with the help of their latest release, Perspective. B.T.G.O.G. take lyrical aim at large corporations, as well as addressing other important issues of the hardcore scene. This band is definite no-nonsense, guitar-friendly hardcore, but they have also developed the melodic potential of the songs on this release.

Paradise Lost
One Second
Music For Nations

Paradise Lost’s sixth album, One Second finds the band reaching out for success in the United States. The release has opened well in the European markets, but time will tell here in the U.S. With the creative emphasis targeted at not repeating themselves, P.L. has taken some serious steps to change their sound and songwriting. Feeling like he’s done all he could with the guitar, Greg Mackintosh (guitars, keyboards) relied more on keyboards to add new dimensions to the band’s sound. The band also employed the know-how of the producer Sank to give their sound a boost in the technology department. I think this album is pretty good, and that’s after really disliking their last album. One Second is Paradise Lost’s brand of goth, energized with a pop-sounding feel.

Sleep
Jerusalem
London

This CD is even worse than the Cinderella “Greatest Hits” release that I reviewed a couple of months back. This album is one 52-minute song. It’s the same thing over, and over, and over… and over. Bar chord, bar chord, single note, bar chord, guitar trill (for a little flair — very little), bar chord, bar chord… every now and then the vocalist howls over the music, then back to the same thing.

(Hed)Pe
Jive

Each song on (Hed)Pe’s self-titled release is like a bomb that’s ready to explode, and in each case, they do just that. This Orange County-based band mixes hip-hop with hardcore, and has gone to great lengths to keep their music true to each genre. (Hed)Pe witnessed other artists mixing the two forms of music, but they wanted to stay away from the “predictable” outcomes many of the earlier attempts offered. This band incorporates the aggressiveness of hardcore into their music, while maintaining a true hip-hop groove and feel. The result of the fusion being what Hed(Pe) calls “G-Punk”.

Crisis
The Hollowing
Metal Blade

The month of October finds itself as the release date for Crisis’ The Hollowing. With the onset of the fall season, this is the perfect time for this album to hit the streets. Most of the lyrics of The Hollowing are in the first person, dealing with the evils, ghosts and darkness that we all feel at some point in our lives. Just as everything begins to die in the fall, Karyn Crisis looked inside herself and wrote about the death and despair she felt. Karyn also used the hope she gained from facing her own fears, learning that once they were confronted she could move on with her life. Musically, the band benefited from expanded musical freedom and numerous outside musicians. Roy Mayorga (Thorn), Chris Hamilton (Deadbolt), and Jason Bittner (Burning Human, Stigmata) added their drumming expertise to the album, while guitarist Norman Westberg (Swans, A/N) and vocal­ist Sammy Pierre Duet (Acid Bath) also got the chance to participate on the release.

Destroyed By Anger
Vulture Records

The band Destroyed By Anger has no use for things like subtle nuances. The band’s self-titled, debut album on Vulture Records is about as subtle as hitting someone’s fist with your face. The over driven, guitar-heavy music is pret­ty straight forward, and at no point could ever be accused of being a ballad. The tortured vocal style contributed by Jay (who also did work with Roadrunner’s, Suffocation) spews forth the band’s anti-conformist lyrical messages. So you want to get your grubby, filthy, little paws on this one – so you can listen to it for yourself, then write in and tell me how full of crap I am? Contact Vulture Entertainment P.O. Box 730 Coram, NY 11727. Maybe they’ll take your abuse, but I will not…bastards.

Silicon Head
Bash

Orphanage
By Time Alone
DSFA Records

I recently received a package from DSFA Records out of the Netherlands. Two of the CDs were from the bands Silicon Head and Orphanage. I picked those two to check out first because two of the musicians involved are in both bands (it seemed like as good a place as any to start). If these two bands have anything else in com­mon besides sharing Ervin Polderman on drums and Eric Hoogendoorn on bass, it would have to be that both bands are damn good. The band Silicon Head tends to be on the power metal side of the musical food chain. Their debut album, Bash, is heavy, but the band also took the time to add finesse to their perfor­mance. The technical level of the music exceeds the minimum required level which is good, though the guitar solo option of the festivities was negated — this is not so good. The band Orphanage mixes death and atmospheric metal to come up with something that at first seemed strange, but soon grew on me. The lighter sounds created by the keyboards, piano, and the “airy” singing style of female vocalist Rosan van der Aa inter mingle with the much more harsh sounds of the rest of the band. An unlikely mix, but it works.

Skrew
Angel Seed XXIII
Metal Blade

Adam Grossman is back with his band Skrew. Angel Seed XXIII, due out on October 21st, is the fourth album for Skrew — five if you count the last Angkor Wat album, Corpus Cristi, and the last time I talked to Adam he did so… It seems Adam had a whole new crew of scary little friends to help him out with this release (except for Jim Vollentine, keyboards). I guess Bobby Gustafson (ex-Overkill guitarist) didn’t make the grade. His name wasn’t anywhere to be found in the credits (back to pump’n gas for you, old man). The band continues on with their wall of distortion sound. The overall formula was pretty much the same for Angel Seed XXIII as it was for their last album, Shadow of Doubt. If anything is different it’s in the production. Angel Seed XXIII is a little more busy sounding. One really kickass thing about this band is that even though they have moved deeper into the indus­trial realm, the keyboards don’t dictate the entire song, as they sometimes do with this kind of music. Skrew songs still center around crunching, analog gui­tars and a human pounding actual drums. The keyboards are used to fill in the additional listening area, instead of com­pletely taking over the song. This isn’t one of those listen to once then file under “S” releases, you’ll have to let this one get under your skin for a while.

Extreme Noise Terror
Damage 381
Earache

After a hundred and one line up changes, Extreme Noise Terror are releasing Damage 381. The latest lineup shuffle being that between E.N.T.‘s Phil Vane and Napalm Death‘s Barney Greenway. The story goes that Phil left E.N.T. to join Napalm after Barney’s depar­ture. Barney then joins E.N.T. for the recording of Damage 381. After adding his vocals to the disc, Barney quits E.N.T. to return to the vocal position with Napalm, which was left vacant by Phil who quit to return to E.N.T. I guess when the dust settled, Phil, Barney and Dean Jones all got the chance to sing on the album, as all three were credited in the vocals section of the disc. Anyway, there’s enough grunting and growling going on here for all three of them. As you would expect, the rest of the band added the classic E.N.T. speed/grindcore sound to the release.

Civil Defiance
The Fishers For Souls

A-DAMN-MAZING. The fact alone that this band is unsigned boggles the mind. Let’s see…where do I start? This disc is really geared towards experi­encing, rather than just listen­ing. The band Civil Defiance is as unique as they are good. Listen with an open mind, as the multitude of styles and sounds will have you questioning if you’re listening to the same band from one song to the next. What makes Civil Defiance so good isn’t that they play so many dif­ferent types of music — it’s the pro­ficiency the band displays in everything they do. Some of the songs will remind you of the first time you heard an early Voivod album, others will transport you to a smoke-filled jazz club, while others sound more folk-inspired. For additional info write Ayres Rock Management 6655 Wilkinson Ave. Ste. 103 N. Hollywood, CA 91606. —Forgach

Read more Written In Blood from the SLUG archives:
Written In Blood: August 1997
Written In Blood: July 1997

Enjoying the nostalgia of the archives? Consider joining our community of donors!