cd reviews

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN
Alchemy (Dream Catcher)

Track
01. Blitzkrieg
02. Leonardo
03. Playing With Fire
04. Stand (The)
05. Wield My Sword
06. Blue
07. Legion of the Damned
08. Deamon Dance
09. Hangar 18, Area 51
10. Voodoo Nights
11. Asylum

Never known as the most diverse or commercially accessible recording artist around (well, not outside Japan, at least), YNGWIE was still able to deliver rasonably enjoyable albums troughout the late '80s and most of the '90s, even when he would change his bandmembers like most people change their underwear. At some point, however, the fire and passion that always existed in his music dissipated, and he began regurgitating his ideas in a way that turned off even his most ardent fans (hence his diminishing popularity in the Far East). His eleventh studio album (by my count), Alchemy sees the return of vocalist Mark Boals to the fold (14 years after his appearance on Trilogy)and a switch to a more "uncommercial" direction, one that was intended firmly to recapture some of the excitement of YNGWIE's early recordings. Unfortunately, YNGWIE's efforts fall well short of the mark, with his substandard attempt at rehashing the neo-classical complexity of his first couple of albums sounding contrived and not entirely effective. As superbly performed as the likes of "Leonardo" and "Playing With Fire" are, they simply sound like they were thrown together in a hurry, and they lack the spark that made 's earliest output so special.

If you're a die-hard YNGWIE MALMSTEEN fan, you probably already own this record and love it for what it is. The rest of us, however, will want to spend our dollars elsewhere.

- Borivoj Krgin
AC/DC

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Deluxe CD/DVD Set Includes:

-3 Bonus Tracks
-DVD of 10 In-Studio Videos
-Expanded Artwork

Their ninth offering, 'Korn III -Remember Who You Are,' is their first effort for brand new label home, Roadrunner Records, and it bursts at the seams with that very feeling that defined the band from the get-go. Each song unleashes an uneasiness reminiscent of Korn's earliest and most unbridled material, but there's also a modern refinement that's epic in its execution. Korn definitely don't lose sight of their roots on 'Korn III - Remember Who You Are,' but they also venture into uncharted darkness. All that truly matters is where they're going. The album strikes a balance between their past and their future, as it finds the band reuniting with producer Ross Robinson, who manned the boards for their first two records, all the while joining forces with Roadrunner Records, the world's leading rock label. With 'Korn III - Remember Who You Are,' it's their time...

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
There are few artists that need no introduction, but Sweden's Soilwork are definitely one of them. Their reputation as one of the country's finest exports (aside from mustaches, meatballs and Swedish fish) is well-deserved. Few bands have properly melded the aggressiveness of thrash with genuinely catchy choruses with such impressive results. Before you start name-dropping the latest metalcore sensation, let us just get one thing straight: Soilwork did it first and continues to do it better! Soilwork, their name itself a nod to their journey from the ground up, have followed in the footsteps of countrymen like In Flames, Meshuggah, Arch Enemy and Dark Tranquillity. Now with the return of guitarist and founding member Peter Wichers and a invigorated sense of purpose, The Panic Broadcast is the strongest album in their aresnal since the groundbreaking Natural Born Chaos in `02. Limited Edition CD/DVD includes a bonus song, Extended Studio Footage, High-Definition Drum Video, Photo Gallery

SOILWORK
Sworn to a Great Divide (Nuclear Blast)

SOILWORK sounds like SOILWORK at this point — whether that's a good thing to you or not is another story, but the fact remains that you could pick this CD out of a lineup in about three notes. For all the talk of returning to form or getting heavier, the band still builds what amount to chrome-dipped AOR songs, verse/chorus/verse pop tunes driven by the vocal melodies and made incidentally heavy by the guitars. For the most part, this makes for some pretty predictable music, to the point where this many albums into the band's career, it can be hard to care.

But if they're working from a comfortable groove (who said "rut?"), they're at least putting a lot of high-gloss texture onto the same old skeletons. These songs are produced within an inch of their lives and performed flawlessly, and it sounds like they still care even when they're busting out an utterly paint-by-numbers cut like "I, Vermin" or "20 More Miles". The solos are good, the riffs sound great (even if you don't remember them five minutes after the album ends) and "Speed" Strid does both his "yelling death metal guy" and "guy from TEARS FOR FEARS" vocals with conviction and power (I actually checked the liner notes to make sure that wasn't Chuck Billy supplying the occasional bellow, such as the chorus of "The Pittsburgh Syndrome").

While there does seem to be a self-conscious effort to make things marginally heavier here, it just means a few more death metal vocals and a few more musclebound riffs in a few verses. Too much of "Sworn To a Great Divide" is squandered on formulaic tunes too beholden to the band's already-established sound to seem fresh, and not clever or inventive enough to make them interesting despite that fact. Even the token throwback thrash song, "The Pittsburgh Syndrome", seems a bit forced and obvious, a hook upon which to justify the "back to the roots" claims, but without the vicious edge that propelled "The Chainheart Machine" or even "Natural Born Chaos" into glory.

"Sworn to a Great Divide" has a pleasant, mildly enjoyable sound, but it all kinda dissipates into a fine mist after the record ends. Glimmers of the band's creative fire pop up here and there, like in the surprisingly emotional solo of "20 More Miles" or the halting attempt at a moody atmosphere in "Sick Heart River". But this is ultimately the sound of a band wearing out their own blueprint, too ensconced in their Gothenburg-lite world to shake off the torpor of the studio and jam out something with, if not blatant originality, at least a little bit of metal heart to it. Very professional, in a not so good way.

- Keith Bergman

NEVERMORE
The Obsidian Conspiracy (Century Media)
"The Obsidian Conspiracy" is not "This Godless Endeavor". Few albums are. It is however another mighty release from the Seattle stalwarts. Again demonstrative of their unique crossing of thick 'n blistering power thrash and dark melody, the new album offers fans plenty of the familiar with a smattering of expansiveness.

The most notable aspect of the group's seventh full length release is a much more concise method of composition. Most songs are in the four-minute range — only the closing two exceed five minutes and opener "The Termination Proclamation" is just over three — and offer an immediacy that was previously uncharacteristic of the band's recordings. That is not to say that the material is one-listen candy for the ears, but it does tend toward a relatively more accessible sound, at least compared to the dense layers of past works. Opener "The Termination Proclamation", is a definitive example and reminiscent of 2000's "Dead Heart in a Dead World", while the melodic factor is boosted to a new level on tracks such as "Without Morals" and "Emptiness Unobstructed".

A handful of songs, in whole and in part, are demonstrative of those aforementioned expansive qualities. A ballad-esque track called "The Blue Marble and the New Soul" with its chilling piano is a beautiful standout. The acoustic, though still ominous, passages of "She Comes in Colors" and the comparatively heavier "The Day you Built the Wall" offer a stunning contrast as well. In both cases, rays of light are conspicuously absent. Let's face it; the one certainty is that Warrel Dane's lyrics will never be recommended as an uplifting cure for dreary days of rain.

Much of the remainder of "The Obsidian Conspiracy" is pure aggressive NEVERMORE with those always monstrous riffs and the outstanding, passionately performed, guitar solos of Jeff Loomis, the closing title track in particular a metallic beast of gargantuan proportions. "The Obsidian Conspiracy" may not be mentioned in the same breath as albums like "This Godless Endeavour", "Dreaming Neon Black", or "Dead Heart in a Dead World", but it is further proof of NEVERMORE's inability to manufacture an inferior product.
1. The Termination Proclamation
02. Your Poison Throne
03. Moonrise (Through Mirrors of Death)
04. And the Maiden Spoke
05. Emptiness Unobstructed
06. The Blue Marble and the New Soul
07. Without Morals
08. The Day You Built the Wall
09. She Comes In Colors
10. The Obsidian Conspiracy


- Scott Alisoglu

OV HELL

The Underworld Regime (Prosthetic)
01. Devil's Harlot
02. Post Modern Sadist
03. Invoker
04. Perpetual Night
05. Ghosting
06. Acts of Sin
07. Krigsatte Faner
08. Hill Norge
The lengthy and complicated GORGOROTH legal battle was the messiest of messes that left one wondering what good would ever come out of it. One album that emerged from the smoke and ashes of the dispute was originally intended, in one form or another, to be a GORGOROTH and then a GOD SEED album that ultimately turned into "The Underworld Regime" from a Norwegian black metal superstar outing called OV HELL. Featuring bassist King Ov Hell (GOD SEED, ex-GORGOROTH), vocalist Shagrath (DIMMU BORGIR), drummer Frost (1349, SATYRICON), and guitarists Ice Dale (ENSLAVED) and Teloch (ex-GORGOROTH), "The Underworld Regime" is an able-bodied effort, probably even better than some of the naysayers expected. Adding to the oddity, what previously may have been considered a strange pairing, the album is released on Prosthetic Records. However, with the release on 1349's "Demonoir", among others, the label has been broadening its horizons.

With the kind of lineup listed above, the potential for heartbreaking disappointment was high. Fortunately, "The Underworld Regime" throws a lot of connecting punches that won't thrust them into the upper tier of the black metal elite, but will easily endear them to fans of traditionally based, updated and compositionally sound black metal. Rather than taking a route that blast beats 'em all and lets the horned one sort 'em out, the album pairs speedy staccato ripping with song-based arrangements that are allowed to breathe, leaving room for the listener to discover new favorites with every spin. Songs such as "Devil's Harlot", "Post Modern Sadist", "Acts of Sin", and "Invoker" offer loads of pointy riffs, Frost's percussively dexterous drumming, and wise use of atmospherics (choral bits, hellish gang vocals, etc). Shagrath's croaky vocals are one of the highlights; the feelings conveyed through his delivery have a way of chilling to the bone and forcing the listener to pay strict attention. Most interesting is the way the spikiness of the riffs, combined with Shagrath's vocals, are reminiscent of IMMORTAL, to a certain extent coming off more potent than what was heard on "All Shall Fall". Take it with a grain of salt and call it sacrilege if it makes you feel better, but it's true.

Assuming OV HELL is able to stabilize and distance itself from the trauma of the past, the potential for future blockbuster releases is vast. As it stands, "The Underworld Regime" is a convincing starting point and a pretty good black metal album.


- Scott Alisoglu

01. Bloodbath & Beyond
02. Rise Of The Fallen
03. Great Depression
04. Lethal Injection
05. Kingdom
06. Jeffrey Dahmer
07. Off With Their Heads
08. Vulture Culture
09. Mega-Doom
10. Counter Sabotage
11. Soulfly VII

Those of you that have been paying attention lately have noticed that Max Cavalera has been on quite the roll lately. Since reclaiming his roots on the thrashfest that was "Dark Ages", Cavalera seems to have really re-embraced the violent side of his musical heritage. Along with "Dark Ages", its follow-up "Conquer" and his reunion with his brother Igor for the punk-fueled CAVALERA CONSPIRACY album "Inflikted" are arguably the heaviest Cavalera-penned releases we've heard since the glory days of SEPULTURA. Thank the metal gods for consistency as the newest SOULFLY drop, "Omen" sticks faithfully with the current trend.

As expected with any SOULFLY release, "Omen" carries a common bond with everyone of its precursors in that we're treated to Max's trademark gruff bark and straightforward (and often repetitious) style of riffing. In other words, if you're a SOULFLY fan, there's plenty here to go nuts over. If not, I doubt "Omen" would do nearly as much as "Dark Ages" to change your mind. The absolutely explosive opener "Bloodbath And Beyond" immediately grabs your attention with a relentless punk/thrash attack. One of the album's two guest spots (save for Max's sons who appear on covers of LED ZEP's "Four Sticks" and EXCEL's "My Life, Your Life" on the bonus addition) comes from THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN vocalist Greg Puciato. The track, "Rise Of The Fallen", while reserved, does step outside of the box a bit with the typical SOULFLY bulldozer groove flavored with some cool cyber-sounding licks courtesy of guitarist Marc Rizzo and a touch of sitar that leads into a plodding death metal-esque section. Surprisingly, Puciato's agonized voice fits quite well alongside that of Cavalera's. Tommy Victor (PRONG, DANZIG) lends his guitar talents to "Lethal Injection"; a tune that could have easily come from PRONG's back catalog.

Overall, "Omen" is the aggressive, go-for-the-throat side of SOULFLY on a rampage. While there's not a lot we haven't heard from the band going on here, the disc is not without its golden moments. The interplay between Cavalera and Rizzo (who once again provides plenty of impressive examples of lead work) during the mid-paced "Kingdom" adds a nice twist to the SOULFLY norm. Nothing fancy, but it works well; a statement which could summarize "Omen" as a whole. Tracks like "Jeffrey Dahmer", "Vulture Culture" and "Off With Their Heads" are fairly straightforward in delivery and repetitive in nature. They definitely won't be going down as the most memorable tunes Max has ever written, but they do well to get the blood flowing. Despite a hit and miss mid-section, "Omen" ends on a strong note with "Mega-Doom", which adds an air of moodiness to the mix without sacrificing the any of the aggression offered by the tracks that surround it and "Counter Sabotage"; a song that the unbridled angst of the album's first song, while adding fistfuls of groove and guitar pyrotechnics. Of course, what is a SOULFLY record without another addition to eponymously-titled instrumental to close the show. This time out, Rizzo taps into the soul of Andy Summers (THE POLICE) for a pleasant foray into the world of mellow jazz. A nice calm after the storm.

Say what you will about SOULFLY, but Max and Co. have always been able to produce quality material; even if his vision has changed more than the band's overall sound. "Omen" won't go down into the annals of history as his best effort, but I will rank it among his hardest-hitting. Admittedly, I do kind of miss the ethnic/world beat element we've heard in the past, but the fist-pumping rage-aholic in me dug the shit out of the no-frills, destruction-minded approach taken on "Omen". Slice it up as you like; "Omen" is bound to leave a trail of broken and bruised bodies in its wake.


- Ryan Ogle