MESS AGE „Self-Convicted”
Mess Age is the name of a death/thrash metal act out of Poland on Conquer Records. The vocal work is your standard spoken with a growl style, it fits the release perfectly, while the drumming and bass tracks keep the pace heavy.
KIJU „Nothing To Play For”
Italy’s Kiju are playing self-described neothrash, so fundamentally it’s a new breed thrash or what could easily be bunched in with the nu-metal craze, mixing thrash and hardcore. In researching the CD, I read a few reviews relating Kiju to Korn.
KINGDOM COME „The Best Of Kingdom Come/The Millennium Collection”
Kingdom Come's rise to glory was short-lived. After Lenny Wolf released two CDs with Stone Fury for MCA with guitarist Bruce Gowdy – also see Unruly Child – and various bassists and drummers, Lenny formed Kingdom Come with Danny Stag (lead guitar), Rick Steier (Rhythm Guitar), James Kottak (drums) and Johnny B.
KREATOR „Live Kreation”
Live Kreation is easily one of the best concert releases from 2003 along with Symphony, Alive IV from Kiss, but Kreator and Kiss come from two different areas of the metal/hard rock history. Kreator, coming from the German thrash explosion of the early 80s fix better amongst Destruction and the live release Live Without Sense (1989).
HOFFMAN, WOJCIECH „Drzewa”
This release is an all-instrumental disc from guitarist Wojciech Hoffmann who was recorded most of his work in the polish thrash/speed metal band Turbo. The work of Turbo is somewhat obscure, especially in North America (I've never heard it myself).
JADIS „Fantastic”
Jadis are a progressive/classic rock quartet from the south of England, and they have actually been around in various forms since the mid-80s playing throughout Britain, England, at the Hammersmith and Marquee Clubs. Throughout the years this is actually their 10th release, but Fantastic (2003) from Inside Out Music just might prove as their breakthrough.
GORY BLISTER „Art Bleeds – Promo”
What I have here is a simple three-song promo from a death metal outfit Gory Blister from Italy. The three songs, Anticlimax, Art Bleeds and Comet, come from Gory Blister's Art Bleeds CD which was actually released in 1999.
FROM BEYOND „Thrashin' Machine”
From Beyond, THRASHIN' MACHINE, bang it up hard and fast with thrash played the way it once was in the past with this 5 song, 20 minute and 11 second EP. With Tom Angelripper styled vocals and a guitarist who resembles Schmier of Destruction, THRASHIN' MACHINE is bound to wreck some necks.
ETERNAL DEFORMITY „The Serpent Design”
Eternal Deformity plays tremendously varied death/doom metal with lots of keyboards adding perhaps a gothic touch to their sound. Their original style has earned this group from Poland numerous spots in various underground printed ‘zines and a fair amount of positive press on the web.
EVERGREY „Recreation Day”
Evergrey continue on in 2003 with their fourth release overall, and the second available in North American markets. Recreation Day once again emphasizes dark and often progressive metal inventiveness from this Swedish outfit who rest somewhere in the power and progressive metal realm, but still in a league of their own.
EXHIBITION „The Sign Of Tomorrow ”
After recording two CDs with Seven Witches, Second War In Heaven and City Of Lost Souls, and also working with the independent act Overlorde, Bobby “Leather Lungs” Lucas has appeared with Exhibition on Limb Music/SPV. But Exhibition's origins don't lie within Bobby Lucas; the formation actually began after the progmetal outfit Eternity X from New Jersey disbanded during 1998.
DUST TO DUST „Sick”
I actually became aware of Dust To Dust from the Capcom video game (head to head fighting) Heavy Metal Geomatrix which used a handful of songs off D-T-D's self-titled debut as a soundtrack along with material from other artists from the Sanctuary/Metal-Is roster Halford, Megadeth, W.A.S.P., Entombed and a few others. Prior to the game I had a sampler CD containing a few tracks off Dust To Dust's debut, but I never really paid much attention to this group before the game.
DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND, THE „Accelerated Evolution”
Perhaps the highest profile Devin Townsend project at this moment is Strapping Young Lad whose 2003 self-titled Century Media release has been gaining write-ups in many metal magazines worldwide including the May '03 feature in Metal Maniacs. This solo release showcases music from the hardworking mastermind in a dense creation encompassing progressive hard rock and taking it to a new level.
DIO „Stand Up And Shout The Anthology”
Yet another Dio compilation from Rhino/Warner Brothers with the last compilation The Very Beast Of Dio (on the same label) only three years old. But as always, Dio anthologies are fairly similar.
DOMAIN „Gat Etemmi”
GAT ETEMMI is actually the third recording from Domain, a Black/Thrash metal band lurking in the metal underground, calling Poland their home. Starting out under the name Pandemonium, three demo recordings were released before morphing into Domain, naming the first release PANDEMONIUM.
DRAGONFORCE „Valley OF The Damned”
Dragonforce, a London England outfit formerly known as Dragonheart (A name change came about to avoid confusion with other bands using the Dragonheart title), play up-tempo power metal at its technical best. Track 1 'Invocation Of Apocalyptic Evil' is a short 13 second intro, while 7 out of the 8 remaining songs are tremendously fast with melodic (and high at times) vocals from ZP Theart, intricate guitar interludes from Herman Li and Sam Totman, harmonic keyboards from Vadim and solid drumming from Didier.