Various Artists Sonic Excess Sampler
Earache 2002
By Russell Garwood
Featuring many of the artists on not only their, but also Elitists and Wicked Worlds, sizeable rosters, Earache publicise this compilation as Extreme music for Extreme low price. At only £1 (1.50) for a sixteen-track CD featuring bands like Insision, December and Decapitated they dont lie!
The CD opens to the sound of Dillinger Escape Plans Monticello from the metalcore groups 1998 debut. Having recently toured with System Of A Down, the band can only get more popular, as can Mortiis who contributes Parasite God. Taken from his latest album, The Smell Of Rain, it shows a marked change in direction for the loveable (and cute) troll away from the ambient of old towards EBM. Next comes more metalcore in the form of Autonomy; Was It Worth It is a catchy track, primarily because of the two vocal layers it is unsurprising the song has become a live classic. This is followed by Diecasts Singled Out a fusion of hardcore, (nu)metal and rock, taken from their latest album Day Of Reckoning and which also appears on the soundtrack to the computer game Ultimate Fighting Championship. Linea 77s Potato Music Machine from last years album Ketchup Suicide is a short lasting let-up in pace before seminal thrashers The Haunteds Bury Your Dead.
Track seven, Decembers Waiting For Rain, was taken from their latest album The Lament Configuration and is probably one of the heaviest tracks on this compilation. Next comes the first death track on the album, courtesy of Decapitated. Spheres Of Madness (from the album "Nihility" has odd time signatures and grinding guitars which help create an impressive, technical track. December Wolves follow with the sensitively titled Porn Again Christian (taken form Blasterpiece Theatre. The darkly humorous blackened thrash has many electronic elements and samples, while following track Got It From Blake, by Rabies Caste, takes quite a different approach.
Userpers anthemic Warriors Of Iron And Rust is a homage to the metal lifestyle and Insisions My Fever is death in its extremist form. Elitists Rakoth comes next, donating Fear (Wasnt In The Design) a melodic masterpiece from the re-released Planeshift album. The sole representative of prog metal for this collection is Without Faces I and I taken fromnot their latest, but their debut album. The second black metal song (if you can call it that) is Ephel Duaths The Embossed from "rePhormula", an intriguing and rewarding song. The album is closed by a demo track from the masked metal band The Bezerker an interesting taster.
At £1 this is less than a cup of coffee, a low risk way of finding new music, and with such a range theres something for everyone, even if you dont know it yet
Earache 2002
By Russell Garwood
Featuring many of the artists on not only their, but also Elitists and Wicked Worlds, sizeable rosters, Earache publicise this compilation as Extreme music for Extreme low price. At only £1 (1.50) for a sixteen-track CD featuring bands like Insision, December and Decapitated they dont lie!
The CD opens to the sound of Dillinger Escape Plans Monticello from the metalcore groups 1998 debut. Having recently toured with System Of A Down, the band can only get more popular, as can Mortiis who contributes Parasite God. Taken from his latest album, The Smell Of Rain, it shows a marked change in direction for the loveable (and cute) troll away from the ambient of old towards EBM. Next comes more metalcore in the form of Autonomy; Was It Worth It is a catchy track, primarily because of the two vocal layers it is unsurprising the song has become a live classic. This is followed by Diecasts Singled Out a fusion of hardcore, (nu)metal and rock, taken from their latest album Day Of Reckoning and which also appears on the soundtrack to the computer game Ultimate Fighting Championship. Linea 77s Potato Music Machine from last years album Ketchup Suicide is a short lasting let-up in pace before seminal thrashers The Haunteds Bury Your Dead.
Track seven, Decembers Waiting For Rain, was taken from their latest album The Lament Configuration and is probably one of the heaviest tracks on this compilation. Next comes the first death track on the album, courtesy of Decapitated. Spheres Of Madness (from the album "Nihility" has odd time signatures and grinding guitars which help create an impressive, technical track. December Wolves follow with the sensitively titled Porn Again Christian (taken form Blasterpiece Theatre. The darkly humorous blackened thrash has many electronic elements and samples, while following track Got It From Blake, by Rabies Caste, takes quite a different approach.
Userpers anthemic Warriors Of Iron And Rust is a homage to the metal lifestyle and Insisions My Fever is death in its extremist form. Elitists Rakoth comes next, donating Fear (Wasnt In The Design) a melodic masterpiece from the re-released Planeshift album. The sole representative of prog metal for this collection is Without Faces I and I taken fromnot their latest, but their debut album. The second black metal song (if you can call it that) is Ephel Duaths The Embossed from "rePhormula", an intriguing and rewarding song. The album is closed by a demo track from the masked metal band The Bezerker an interesting taster.
At £1 this is less than a cup of coffee, a low risk way of finding new music, and with such a range theres something for everyone, even if you dont know it yet
), but in a small kittenish way... like King Diamond!
