Dungeon - Fortress of Rock (1985)

Most would associate the name Dungeon with the Australian power metal band, who had a reasonably lengthy and successful career as one of the few acts from that nation to truly delve into the style. This Dungeon, however, is an American super obscurity who fall into the category of 'so bad they're good'. Yes, Dungeon are either the worst Savatage ripoff in history, or they just happen to have some similar taste in song titles and imagery. I like to think the answer is the latter, for while they've got a dirty hard rockin'/metal tone not unlike a Power of the Night or Fight for the Rock, and a dash of added gloom akin to Sirens or The Dungeons are Calling, the vocalist is a little higher pitched than Jon Oliva and the riffs are not quite so well thought out as Savatage.

The thing is, Fortress of Rock is an immensely enjoyable parody that has no idea its actually a parody. The vocals and hooks are fucking hilarious, and the use of the narrator in the band's namesake "Dungeon" alone is enough to buy a copy of this, because you will not stop laughing, forever. Musically, the band are not entirely slouches. The guitarist writes some cutting, groovy passages akin to Savatage, Judas Priest and influences that make a lot of sense, and the bassist and drummer are pretty good all things considered. The vocals are an acquired taste, because he's another of those guys that takes it a little too over the top, his inflection one of the very punchlines that warm my cold metal heart. But he's not really 'bad', just a dash daft. How could you really take it seriously, anyway, after seeing the band hanging on the wall of some executioner's subterranean den, on the cover?

"Under a Rock" leads the charge through the Fortress of Rock, and the chorus of 'we came from under a rock' is instantly memorable as an emblem of unintentional humor. The riffs are fairly groovy and competent, and it sounds pretty fresh, mixed well, with some nice little shrieks at the end of phrases. The solo breakdown is decent, with the inevitable dual lead tracked and the uplifting bridge back into a third verse/chorus. The bass is surprisingly funky and fresh throughout, which was not the case for a lot of these metal bands in the 80s. "Dungeon" itself opens with some glittery, thick acoustics, soon joined by a hilarious vocoded, pitch shifted narrator who spouts some of the most ridiculous fluff prose I've ever heard on a metal record. Seriously, record this and send it to someone as a phone message. It's that good. The metal track that accompanies this absurdity is another mid-paced tune with some spry spikes of lead twisted throughout, not bad.

The album does get quite better as it proceeds, through the mean and dirty "Infernal Regions", which clearly sounds like old Savatage, with shining, popped off chords at the end of the verse phrases and a very dire vocal set which reminds me of a less bruising Cirith Ungol. Following, "Permanent Wish" has some interesting use of guitars that rattle off at the end of each rhythm line (they do this on a number of songs), and on "Eternal Contract" the vocal goes perhaps a little too shrill, which is hilarious despite itself. "Witches Brew" is honestly a tight instrumental piece with some decent leads and a clear Iron Maiden/Judas Priest influence, while "Season of the Witch" is just fucking bad ass, another song that fuses Savatage and Cirith Ungol. Other tracks I'd recommend are the smutty "Screen Queen", and the awful "Smash Palace" which closes the record with some lackluster backing vocals and cheesy ass lyrics and vocals like 'ain't no wimps allowed at the smash palace!'. The latter is recommended more for its ironic qualities than actual qualities, though. You were warned.

It is almost impossible for me to cast Fortress of Rock in a truly negative light, because it's just fun heavy metal which seems highly out of date by this point. If a band were mocking 80s metal as a genre, then this is what they might sound like Dungeon, but this was the genuine article, and many of the riffs sound rather good, though they're not exactly original nor unique for the time period. Hey, they're better than shit like 3 Inches of Blood. Unless you like higher, shrill vocalists, you might be turned off by the performance of Buddy Hughes, but if you enjoy Jon Oliva, Udo Dirkschneider, or even Lizzy Borden, you will not be dismayed. Experiencing Fortress of Rock is like watching a bad sci-fi movie late at night stoked on dopamine, you're going to enjoy yourself, there's just no escaping the viral purity of what this band laid down to tape in their limited existence. Just make sure you're sharing it with the best of friends.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

Deathrow - Towers in Darkness 7" (1992)

Nothing beats a good old arcane eye/crystal ball/bat-demon to grace the cover of your first 7" single, and only single. Deathrow wanted to presumably celebrate the arrival of their 4th album Life Beyond with something special, after 3 years of silence, so they put out this limited edition record with an album track "Towers in Darkness" and two bonuses that were not available elsewhere. Privately I would love to tease myself into believing that these unreleased tracks would somehow counteract my disappointment with the band's final full-length. One of them is actually fairly good, but the other suffers too much from the similar vocals which would dominate much of Life Beyond.

First, of course, there is the A-side, "Towers in Darkness", which is one of the better and more diverse pieces musically on Life Beyond, with some slowly bludgeoning chords that work their way up into a nearly 5 minute sequence of acceptable riffing, even if its not at a Deception Ignored level of polish and punctuation. The vocals and lyrics do conspire to bring down the house, though, especially those like the following:

We have elevators, we have terminators
We have Arnold Schwarzenegger
We have batman, Superman, Spiderman
These are all heroes we want to be, to falsify the world we see

I get the point of the song, and its not a bad one, but compare this to the better phrased, blunt reality of Deception Ignored and it feels a little 'street' and silly. "Somewhere in the Night" is thankfully a superior tune, with over 4 minutes going into it, slowly rising and falling through a series of epic riffs that are easily the match of anything on the full-length it accompanies. The vocals are hardly a forte here either, but they are probably the most acceptable of the band post 1989, with a slight tinge of the whiny madness that Milo espoused on the band's masterpiece. I can't see why this would be omitted from the full-length, since you'd figure the better material should end up there. "We Can Change" seems pretty pithy compared to the other two tracks. There are nice guitars, good bass lines and some great piano here (not the first time they've visited that approach), but the vocals are a little lame and most of the thrash riffs, like the descending pattern in the post-chorus, are very pedestrian and uninspired.

Only a small population of listeners would be exposed to Towers of Darkness. It's limited print run would see to that. But I wonder if there were any, like myself, among those numbers that heard this and pulled the disc off their record player, hurling at a wall. I wonder just how many copies have survived through the years. Did this material spread fear among the fan of either the band's blood curdling, frenetic early speed/thrash phase or their sole flirtation with perfection some years prior? It would have fucking terrified me, and forced me to sleep with a gun under my pillow, one eye open. I did not hear this when it came out though, nor the full-length Life Beyond, so my sleeplessness was at least delayed for a few years. There's really not much value in the single, since one of the tracks is available on the album, one is forgettable entirely, and the other is just pretty good. What I'm saying is a few points for the exclusive material, take a few swigs of something stiff to forget all the pain that this inspires, and call me in the morning.

Verdict: Fail [3.5/10]

Deathrow - Life Beyond (1992)

In many, many years of listening to metal music, there are few albums which have left me so polarized or betrayed as Deathrow's 1992 finale Life Beyond. The brilliant Deception Ignored had me baited with anticipation for years, and to be truthful, I did not hear this right away. I simply had no access to it, and it was released through some small new label, rather than Noise. I'm not sure how you could let such a band go after hearing such a masterpiece, but then I am more of taste than purse, and the band were clearly far above the heads of most listeners. So it wasn't until the later 90s that I got to check out this long awaited beast, and man was I pretty disappointed. Let me qualify that this was partially due to be being a royal fuckhead, and expecting ANYTHING to live up to their 1989 work of obscure genius is like expecting to win the lottery. It was not going to happen. It's never going to happen.

Now, Life Beyond is still a technical thrash album. It's more of Deception Ignored than an attempt by the band to return to their earlier roots on Satan's Gift or Raging Steel. It's actually a more aggressive work than Deception Ignored, as far as the thick smear of guitars performing riffs at blazing speeds, but I feel like it's so much more American sounding, like the 90s Exodus albums or bands that were trying to adapt and modernize, maybe the later Defiance and Devastation records that came out in years relative to this. 1992, thrash was already written off, but people were still producing it, and Deathrow were just another band who fell victim to the changing tides. This was the end, so the band felt like going down thrashing at least.

The big issue I have with this is the relative dearth of quality, enveloping riffs, which the former album was loaded to the eyeballs with. Most of Life Beyond is a frenzy of showy, fast moving matter which impresses due to the bouncing fragility of the precise rhythms, but only for a moment once the listener is not recalled through any of the melodies. The vocals here are just average at best, Milo returning to a tone more reminiscent of Satan's Gift but with less of a standout accent. There are gang shouts and the vocals in general have a more urban feel to them, and that's just not what I want from the shadow of the band's former clinical, surgical brilliance. This is not the Deathrow of the asylum, but the Deathrow hanging on the street corner spraying graffiti on the local pimp's Cadillac.

What moments of brilliance occur here, generally do so because they bring back the 'feel' of Deception Ignored. One example is the intro to "Harlequin's Mask", which is graceful, fluid and melodic until the dumb verse arrives with corny sounding vocal patterns. For fuck's sake, if they just took off the vocals it might be a good song, but it sounds wholly moronic. "Homosapiens Superior" has some mighty riffing at around 2:00, and really the whole thins is pretty good, with less embarrassing vocals. "Reflected Mind" is fairly loaded with good quality riffs and I like the use of the keyboard atmosphere, but once again some of the vocals are a bummer. The namesake "Deathrow" starts with some dumb, plodding thrash but picks up into something almost worthy of the prior album, and "The Remembrance" is tight, just not exquisite. There's also "Towers in Darkness", which the band had released as an obscure single. The riffs in this one are pretty worthwhile, but the vocals are fucking silly and awkward, especially the lines about superheroes.

So frustrating! Perhaps Deathrow thought the cornier vocal approach would reap them a few distraught Anthrax/M.O.D. fans or encroach them upon a more groove-metal, urban audience, but the music is still far too tech/thrash to carry that supposition very far. Life Beyond has at least a dozen or so quality riffs buried about it, but these are too often spoiled by other elements in the songs. A few might pass for 'b-sides' to Deception Ignored material, and the guitar work is not necessarily any less technical, but I am left with a giant hole of disappointment in my conscience. One area in which the band has improved is the bass and drums, both are very well wrought here, in particular the better bass playing which some have cited as a flaw on Deception Ignored (though it's not at all). Most of the lyrics completely miss the damned mark, where I enjoyed them last time out. This is the least entertaining of all the band's records, and even though there is some pure, virile thrashing to make the neck sore, and an overall impressive level of musicality, it stinks of not only jumping the shark, but rubbing it the wrong way, until the wrists and palms bleed and you're surrounded by a whole school of the toothed beasties (aka the 90s) which sucks and slurps you down into oblivion.

Et tu, Brute?

Verdict: Indifference [6/10] (what we get is a piece of cake)

Deathrow - Satan's Gift a.k.a. Riders of Doom (1986)

Satan's Gift is the debut of Germans Deathrow, and quite a far cry from the direction the band would later develop into. This is rough, rugged speed/thrash metal with heavily accented vocals of a mid range. None of the complexities of the band's magnum opus are present, although the band could still write a pretty mean riff that helps propel the material forward. You can definitely hear a US influence from early Metallica, Slayer, or Possessed, combined with the first few works of Destruction or Sodom, but despite all this, the band didn't really get a heap of attention. Fortunately, they were on Noise Records, benefiting from the best roster ever in 80s metal, so they developed a peripheral audience among fans of other acts like Tankard, Vendetta, Coroner, Voivod and the like.

Though the album was originally called Satan's Gift, it is also known as Riders of Doom, after being banned and re-released with a new title/cover artwork. Considering the times, this is not such a surprise for a few random metal albums to be targeted, especially when one has an image of the devil holding some bloody organ of the savior, the crucifixion in the background. Actually, this guy looks a little like Kreator's mascot in the 80s (another Noise Records band), and the cover kind of sucks, so I actually prefer Riders of Doom. This was not the first Deathrow record I was exposed to, that would be Raging Steel, but listening back I feel like the two are at the same level of composition and viral, raw power German energy. If you fancy one, chances are you should also dig the other, and ultimately I prefer this debut slightly.

"Winds of Death" is a 2:30 minute instrumental which sets up a moshing battery of slower rhythms, while chords stretch across their taut surface. This is just a tease, because the title track "Satan's Gift" then explodes at a far greater speed, and we hear Milo's dark, early vocals, which sound pretty sloppy but endearing, almost like a crossover/thrash voice. The riffs are dirty and frenzied, but they're not entirely hooky, nor is the chorus. Instead you've got a comparable style to a Vendetta, Tankard, Exodus or Razor of the times. Just good, friendly, violent fun. "Riders of Doom" continues this hyperactive blitz of manic speed/thrash, reminding me quite a lot of Hell Awaits-era Slayer, especially the way the chords change and the vocal patterns squirm, you feel like you're about to hear the words 'Homicidal Maniac' at any second. "Hell's Ascent" is a little more melodic at first, almost Running Wild style but then yet again transforms to burst attack mode. I love the solo sequences after 2:00.

Speaking of 'attacks', the next piece is titled "Spider Attack". That's one of the best song titles I've ever seen, and totally fit to the 80s innocence of this record. It also kicks ass, but by this point, the band playing at the same speed in every song (at least chunks of the songs) has become a little redundant. At least here the riffs are slightly cooler. "Slaughtered" sounds like a great hybrid of early Slayer and Destruction, but with increased levels of shredding madness, and "Violent Omen" has great guitar work also, though the slower, plodding thrash rhythms are less than desirable. "Dark Tales" opens with an elegant, clean brooding guitar passage and then once again, a blitz of welcome but predictable speed, interlaced with some intricate guitar spasms. The band really went all out here, probably one of the fastest records of its type, at least from Germany. The closer "Samhain" was the band's former namesake (they recorded several demos under that name), and no surprise its another fast as fuck volley of black arrows targeting the listeners' eardrums.

If you're a big fan of crazy ass, hyper 80s thrash like Dark Angel, Slayer, Razor, and so on, I think Satan's Gift would truly appeal to you. The composition is quite straightforward, though the band do contribute some killer hooks at times. I'll be honest, this is like crude oil that has yet to pass a refinery, but if you love that insane edge like Evil Invaders, Darkness Descends, Hell Awaits or Bonded by Blood, this is a grim, blood-dripping paradise. On one hand, it's the heaviest and fastest Deathrow record, but this is a band capable of so much more, especially in the vocal area (wait until you hear what Milo would sound like in but a few years). I don't love it or live it as often as many other records of its type, but a minor cult classic here if you are in dire need of speed.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (they know that they have to die)

Deathrow - Deception Ignored (1989)

Deception Ignored is one of the most anomalous recordings in all of European thrash, because it's both one of the most brilliant and under-appreciated efforts of its nature, a feat of technical thrashing wizardry which takes a massive influence of classical composition, and incessant complexity and unending stream of killer, structured riffs that have rarely if ever been rivaled since. Surely they were not the only band of their type in this period: Watchtower, Coroner and Mekong Delta all exhibited a similar level of competence and originality (the latter, fellow German band being the closest in style). But of all of these titans, counting among my favorite bands, it is Deathrow who stood out the most for their frightening, clinical approach to the material which places the listener into a labyrinthine vortex of riffs, sounds and imagery...at least on this album.

Yes, Deception Ignored is a major step-up from the bands previous work, Satan's Gift and Raging Steel, which were fun, aggressive excursions of a more rugged speed/thrash nature. It was as if an alien, advanced culture landed among a tribe of primitives and spread the seeds of technical renaissance, because this album is heads above anything else the band have released in quality and songwriting. I've heard some complaints about the production, and sure, for the 21st century it might not be the top tier of studio sound, but the guitar tones still some brilliant and the vocals shrill, exciting and unique as they scream and cavort through clinical topics of drug use, society, and politics. It's amazing just how much the cover art to this record stands out as an icon of schizoid, demented thrash aerobics, because you can easily close your eyes when listening and imagine a room full of pale, laughing faces, almost alien as they surgically separate each emotion and tactile response from your brain and nervous system, a dissection of every fabric of your being. This album is a true trip to the psyche ward, or the asylum, a harrowing journey which will stun you repeatedly. I've been listening to it for over 20 years, and I still discover new bits of wondrous, paranoid melodic riffing and atmosphere all the time.

Part of the reason this record stands separate from the previous work is the addition of guitarist Uwe Osterlehner in the second guitar slot, replacing Thomas Priebe. Together with the veteran Sven Flügge, they create an impressive wealth of textural, woven riffs that catapult the album into any tech thrasher's dreamwork. The riffs occasionally remind me of Metallica's opus Master of Puppets, but drawn into a more frenetic cyclone of inspiration. I quickly lose myself here without fail, on every spin, because of their twisted psychosis, like trying to escape a straight jacket while studying a piece by Escher simultaneously. Combined with Milo's adaptation to a more nasal, whined vocal tone that he used on the band's prior records, his popping bass narrative and the solid, rigorous storm of Markus Hahn's drumming, this is one team of cosmonauts that should have been hailed the Ludwig Mozart of thrash. It's really that good, believe me.

I could write a textbook on almost any track on the album, but I'll try and spare you from the torture and myself from the inevitable fallout. "Events in Concealment" swells to the fore with a complex introduction to the band's lattice of unsound mental exercise, thick banks of twisted chords that erupt into an epic thrash gallop around :35 into the song. Any Metallica fan would be banging his head by this point, but there is so much more to come, including little whirs of melodic gloss amidst the thundering bottom end, grooving drums and Milo's slicing tone. Even the title of this song is fucking excellent, and when the band explodes into the playful little melodies around 1:30 your shorts will be wet with the thick, viscous discharge of conception. The storm alleviates only to be rejoined by the epic, glistening melodies that arise to announce "The Deathwish", with some of the most beautiful, complex riffing I've ever heard in all of this genre and beyond. Bursts of mesmerizing rhythm collapse into scaling, descending patterns of chaos that feel like a surgery gone wrong.

"Triocton" shows another face to this band, that is the ability to compose amazing piano segments. The intro is but a moment long, but incorporates several seasonal shifts in key striking that morphs beautifully into an organ tone before the gallivanting, schizophrenic thrash begins, a barrage of exciting, jump out of your skin guitar riffs that fully fills out the 8+ minute bodice. It's like a virtual, instrumental ballet of aggression, with more quality guitar elements than appear on most entire metal albums! Not once do you feel a lack of vocals, despite the length of the composition, and that's a top honor. Not many bands could pull such a vision off. "N.L.Y.H.", which is short for "Never Lose Your Humor" (a motto I have lived by ever since losing my nuts over this record when it came out in early '98), grounds the record back to the earthly parameters, a shorter, 3 minute assault of thick, choppy thrash, but just as busy in its writing as most of the more ambitious sequences. It flows wonderfully into the tearing, frightening melodies that rip "Watching the World" open wide, a cautionary work of machine-like precision thrash with all the sentimentality of a satellite eye, focused and ready to kill. For fuck's sake, the riffing behind the vocal verse is just unbelievable. Too few bands put this work into their actual guitars, and it provides an eerie immortality to the record as a whole. The chorus is one of the more memorable of the band:

We are so clever and arrogant
It's in our hands to change everything
Who's watching the world?

That is all that needs to be said, my friends. The solo in this one is like a charging German war symphony over a surge of artillery fire, and after this, one of the most ambitious and fine tuned performances in the entire genre of music: "Narcotic". The flange over the intro riffing, after which a sequence of thundering muted melody bridges us to a bass sequence, and then the mockery of the verse rhythms, which play with your mind like a cadre of demented clowns with syringes full of every drug and ill humour in all of existence. Have you ever had a bad trip? This is the thrash version of that. The vocals are off the hook here, Milo opting for a mix of his mid range and higher, phantasmal tones that are brilliant alongside the punch of the strings. Of all the songs on the album, this is the most considerable at over 9 minutes, and the most involved. Fans of modern tech thrash like Vektor should absolutely start here, because Deathrow was doing it decades ago. Other points of light include the guitar rupture around 3:00, and the elevating desperation around 6:40. It's as if Deathrow plotted out an entire substance abuse nightmare with which to string along the listener.

Encircled and trapped by ourselves
We're enslaved to mass productions
Self-deception from a better life
Our behaviour brings corruption
We buy a pig in a poke
And we drown ourselves in the garbage

"Machinery" manifests through some lite, jazzy guitars that exhibit even more of these players' strengths, and then a jackhammering bass line explodes into an industrial-strength flower of mind fucking fervor, another testament to 100% riffing dominance, and some superb vocal melodies, woven in and out of the track's bleak, futurist lyric landscape. The chorus where Milo screams 'We're just wheels, in a great machinery' will NEVER cease to reverberate up and down this listener's spine, and the haunting array of mathematical, punchy rhythms deep in the track are just as thoughtful as anything else on this album. The CD and cassette include an added, worthy beast in "Bureaucrazy", with yet another blitz of solid, turbine guitar work that waltzes through playful solos as if they were playing violins from the devil's symphony pit. I am glad the label popped this one on there, because it truly rounds out the experience with a shorter length and some serious, serious fun.

Deception Ignored is a testament to human achievement in extreme music, but unfortunately the multitudes were so uninspired and uninterested in anything with this level of ambition. What truly stuns me is that I've read the band themselves consider this their worst album, preferring the more honest and pedestrian pounding of the first two. Guess what, Deathrow: you are wrong. Wrong I say! It's a pity you never realized exactly what you had with this! Now, I can see how this would fly are over the layman listener's head, but to those out there that can appreciate its captivating maze of rhythm and fruitful, important lyricisms that all stand just as relevant today as decades past: you are goddamn lucky men and women. This is brain-thrash, mesmerizing and easily could be used to replace mind altering drugs of any stripe or flavor. The production is not so dry and clinical if you listen with good headphones or stereo, for the bassy chugging of the mutes helps give it a broad spectrum of fingers to reach into your body cavities and extract vitality.

It's quite clear that autothrall is a fanboy of this particular album, and in fact it is my favorite single German thrash album in all history, exceeding my favorite works by Tankard, Kreator, Sodom or Destruction with ease. But then, this is the very sort of media for which a diehard worshiper should exist! Surely, those bands have all got some perfect records that I will forever hold dear, but this just goes high and above the top for its day and age. Mekong Delta was crude by comparison, and even Watchtower's Control and Resistance, as much as I love it, is just not as consistently perfect. It was a sad day for me when these Germans released the follow-up, Life Beyond, which only exhibited a fraction of the brilliance on parade here, and thus I was quick to rationalize this as an anomaly, a cosmic event, a singularity in demented execution that I was just never going to hear again in my life. This is as 'desert island' as they get, and I hope I never have to live without it.

Verdict: Epic Win-jection [10/10] (the aim we should all reach for)

Disgusting - Disgusting EP (1996)

A year after the lackluster debut Shapeshifterblues, Norwegians Disgusting would produce one more release through Head Not Found records, a self-titled EP which focused on a more intense iteration of the band. Stylistically there is not a huge boost or difference between this material and what you'd find on the full-length. The band seem to use the same, underwhelming production values that sound like a glorified demo or rehearsal. Granted, some bands can really make this work. Disgusting is not among them. You've also got the same variation of death/grind riffs and clean guitar sequences that play towards the psychedelic span of the cover image (which is quite interesting, honestly).

"Immemorial" christens the effort with a blazing trail of muddy death/grind, vocals alternating from the same low guttural pitch to the relentless, distorted rasp while forgettable riffs flurry beneath. The drums are pretty fast, but I just don't like the sound, and when they break out into the Sepultura-like wailing siren guitars in the bridge, you feel like you've just entered the Norse equivalent to Roots. "Undivided Impulse" uses a lengthy clean sequence with flowing bass and some bluesy leads with a pretty bland tone, picking up into an explosion of metal fusion before the baleful groove riff at the end with grind screaming over it. "Fall Feeble" transitions from crunchy doom to a thrashing death blitz with semi-sweet riffing that actually benefits from the raw buzz and bristle of this guitar tone. "Kannibaal" is a mess of dull death, grinding riffs that attempts to pick up the intensity from the prior song, then break it down into a morose breakdown of big chords and searing leads, only to become monotonous in short order. The outro track is even worse, with ultimately futile chords over a slow beat and some snarling.

Disgusting is not an improvement over Shapeshifterblues, but just more of the same fusion of death, grind, slower doom/sludge riffs and duplex vocals, given a 'thoughtful' side through the occasional use of the clean guitars. I counted perhaps one worthwhile riff on the whole EP, that being in "Fall Feeble", and the rest not even remotely compelling to the ear. It's a shame, really, because there were just so few Norse death metal bands of note, their strength clearly across the gulf of extremity on the shores of black metal. LJ Balvaz' other band Cadaver was far better than this, as was Molested, or the debut of Darkthrone A Soulside Journey, so stick with those.

Verdict: Fail [3.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/thetruedisgusting

Disgusting - Shapeshifterbirthblues (1995)

The surreal, haunting cover vortex to this obscure Norse death metal record truly hints at something 'different', especially when used in conjunction with the interesting title Shapeshifterblues, but really, Disgusting were a fairly standard act for their day, with a mix of gargled Florida-style death metal, higher pitched snarling vocals which oft remind of early metalcore, grind, sludge or black metal, and perhaps a slight hint of progressive nature that doesn't live up to the visual expectations. It doesn't surprise me that Disgusting were unable to stand out from the crowd in 1994, because they did not even really stand apart from the few Norwegian peers they had in this style, like Molested.

It'd be nice to think of this as some incubator band, with members moving on to other extreme projects, but that's not really the case here. Lasse Johansen (LJ Balvaz), who had already performed in Cadaver, still wallowed in obscurity by the mid 90s, and most of members of this band formed a punkish group called The Rabiators. Aside from the use of acoustic segments, which might have felt more novel in the mid 90s as opposed to today's spree of progressive death metal acts centered around Opeth's inspiration, there are very few moments of interest. The riffing isn't exactly hack, and the band do not shy away from a use of melodies when it suits the material, but they very rarely leave any impact on the listener, due to the lack of decent production and infectious note patterns.

Thus, all their attempts at branching out into a more progressive, folk tinged variety seem to fall below the radar. "Fuch-sia" incorporates a bluesy, drifter solo in the midst of its rambling clean guitars and dull chords, like a sandbar amidst the shallow and unmemorable death metal riffing. "Me and My Mind" is chunky, with some grinding and thrashing explosions where the vocals shift from guttural to snarling like a grind band. "My Shade" features some reeling, swinging rhythms that unfortunately do not produce attentive note structures, and "Voluspa" seems at times like a dull Bathory 90s Viking track with different vocals and popping bass. The album picks up for some of its finer, aggressive songs only at the end, with "Shapeshifterblues" and "Gasp At Your Final Breath", but even these fail to really deliver much meat. "Slimy" might be the single most interesting piece, an interlude of glinting acoustic guitars that dissolves into a primal sludge bass backdrop behind a montage of cussing samples.

Few things thrill me more than the veneration of a great, classic death metal gem, but this album is simply not such an occasion. Points for trying to spread themselves out into a more pensive, intelligent alternative to the more direct brutality of their peers, but the music simply is not of the quality to back up the intentions, and the record quickly becomes tiring, with only a few moments of intensity that tend to manifest as a solo or a single riff in the midst of mediocrity. The production of the record is pretty loose and organic, but does little service to the guitar tone or the way the chords interact over the cleaner drums or the vocals.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/thetruedisgusting

Crows - The Dying Race (1991)

Considering the line-up involved, the deal through Century Media records, and the fact that by 1991, power and speed metal was only coming alive, not descending into a state of hibernation like its nearest neighbor thrash, it's very surprising that the German band Crows did not make a larger splash with their debut and sole album The Dying Race. With Leszek Szpigiel (Wolf Spider, Mekong Delta, Scanner) fronting the project, Frank Bankowski (Angel Dust) on bass, Bernd Kost and Bobby Schottkowski (both once of Sodom) involved, the talent was immense, and they coupled this with some fine songwriting that straddled the margin between progressive power/thrash and traditional German speed metal.

In addition, this was one of the better sounding records of 1991. Clearly much effort was put into the balance of instrumentation, the effective reach and range of the vocals, just the right reverb, tasteful solos and even a half-decent cover illustration. Crows had been formed a decade earlier, produced a number of demos through the 80s, and cycled through a number of other members (mostly Angel Dust alumni), but here they finally had pulled their act together and produced something enduring. With great sadness, like the proud native donned upon its face, The Dying Race never even took off. Perhaps too many people had their heads up their butts this year, listening to "Sad But True" or "Silent Lucidity" for the gazillionth time. Perhaps the band and label just failed to force it out far enough that the metal anglers could snap it out of the stream. Regardless, we historians of the obscure must honor its untimely passing by foisting it upon the unknowing, hoping the spark will finally catch the wire and explode.

No time is spent by Crows on grand introductions, instrumental tangents or nonsense. The band went in to record 8 of their best compositions, and the first to emerge from the studio womb is the excellence of "The Frantic Factor", a track which mixes the slight progressive touch of a Fates Warning or Mekong Delta with traditional riffing, lovely tapped leads and an urgent metal sadness diluted through at least six tasteful guitar constructions. The lyrics are quite simple, almost minimal, but effective, with a cryptic modesty that cultivates imagery appropriate to the leaden melodic bliss of the writing skills. "Too Proud to Fight" offers a more standard, fist pumping pace with a huge chorus, despite Lezsek's silken, thin tones, with a slightly aggressive tail to them that occasionally reminds me of Heretic and Metal Church's Mike Howe, albeit far more melodic. "We Are the Storm" is even more approachable than either of these, with superb spikes of melodic surging through the wonderful vocal hooks and raging rhythms, which were nearly complex for this genre.

The Crows will simply not let you go, as they bust out the roving of "Four", which I shit you not, seems like a delicious median between old Fates Warning, Omen and Iron Maiden. "East of Eden" is a more bombastic, urgent piece with driving, thrashed melodies ala Metallica glossed in cautionary melody, and "Change the Border" takes this even further with playful guitars over a rhythmic tech thrash verse reminiscent of Lezsek's other bands Wolf Spider or Mekong Delta. "Insanity Defense" uses further, slower movement and chugging/melody breaks to highlight the chorus, and though it's arguably the worst track on the album, it maintains the listener's interest with a bridge dowsed in synthesizer. The title track caps off the album with some excellent riffs and wild leads that mix the band's American prog-metal influences with some winded Euro thrash of taste, and you've just been successfully throttled for almost 37 minutes.

You didn't hear an album like The Dying Race every day in 1991, and today you simply don't hear anything at all that can so wonderfully mix an array of influences into a cohesive, fresh feel. Whether you appreciate any of the members' constituent acts, or simply a good hybrid of power, speed and progressive metal, there is something on offer for you. This record should be dredged up from its rueful slumber and thrust in the face of everyone who might appreciate it, because its really quite amazing, with a slight exemption in "Insanity Defense". If only we had been blessed with a follow-up, who knows just how fucking amazing it might have been. Whether your bag is Fates Warning, Queensryche, Omen and Lethal, or German melodic speed like Scanner, Rage and so forth, this is absolutely something you must hear.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (faint resignation)

Cast Iron - Leather & Metal EP (2008)

Had Finland's Cast Iron arrived just a few years later than they did, the time might have been ripe for them to cash in on the new wave of old school heavy/speed metal that is currently trending, led by the excellent Enforcer and followed by a bunch of rather average bands. Cast Iron sound exactly like Running Wild circa 1984-87, and seeing that the legacy of Kasparek is always spreading to new and young audiences, they would have fit right in with every other worship band. The vocals sound almost exactly like Rock'n'Rolf, the song titles like "Preacher of Evil" and "Out from Hell" reek of tribute, and the mix of speed/power material and mid paced rockers creates an identical feel to a Gates of Purgatory, Branded & Exiled or Under Jolly Roger, though the Finns provide a little busier guitar work, only natural after 20+ years of stylistic evolution.

Leather & Metal would be the only Cast Iron release, originally intended as a handout for shows, later released through Thunderknights in an official format. Normally, I would just pass of on such an obvious ripoff, but I have for many years starved for just such a sound, and to that effect the Finns are more than successful. "Out from Hell" opens with a bang, the vocalist shrieking like a harpy (yet another little development on the Germans' original sound) while the guitars rage in a seriously Running Wild chord progression. The chorus is infectious, and if you can't bang your head to this it's unlikely I'll be asking you to prom. "Running from the Law" is more like a "Raw Ride" or some other mid paced track, perfect for chewing a toothpick as you stroll down some city street, wanted by the local authorities but drunk and not giving a fuck. I enjoyed the reverb on the vocals in the verse and melodic guitars in the bridge. "Preacher of Evil" runs a similar course, with slightly better guitars, and the title track is slower and more precise, like a "Beggars Night" or "Land of Ice" from Under Jolly Roger.

You're not here for lyrical brilliance, and Cast Iron offer nothing but generic 1984-worship. In fact, you've got no other motivation to track this EP down unless you simply want more of the same that the superior German band had to offer in that period. Cast Iron do this style well enough, and the raw production of the release is charming, but I'm not sure if they could have thrived with a continued career, unless they expanded upon their sound to incorporate other influences. I would never recommend it above the influence, of course, so if you have the spare pieces of eight and do not own Running Wild's catalogue up to about 1995, you are better off to spend there. But if you rue the day Rock'n'Rolf stopped making killer music (around 1995) and the pirate galley finally jumped the shark, and seek a return to the glorious past, these Finns will welcome your nostalgia with open, spiked armbands to the high seas and mean streets.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (I'm a bastard, raised in sin)

http://www.myspace.com/castironheavymetal

C.O.E. - Metal (2000)

S.L. Coe is one of the more frustrating frontmen in German speed and power metal history, because he had the habit of turning up for one great album by a band, then exiting the stage and studio and moving on to the next project. This was the case for Scanner's Terminal Earth, Reactor's Farewell to Reality and Angel Dust's To Dust You Will Decay. I'm not sure whether the guy is just hard to get along with, he's afraid of commitment, or if he set out in the first place to simply serve as a temporary 'mercenary' vocalist of sorts in various projects. It's a shame, really, because it means we've not been exposed to more of what he can do with those vocal chords. He can shriek like a banshee, and he's got that acquired accent which might turn off some fans of the clearer, English-first vocalists, but if you appreciate the character of German metal vocalists, he's not one to miss.

C.O.E. is yet another one-shot in the man's career, an album on which S.L. expands his talents beyond just the microphone to the writing and recording of guitars and bass. The generic titled Metal is the product of his toil, and this and the rather bland girders and 80s logo work of the cover do not exactly ramp up expectations for the quality. He's joined here by various members of the band Morbid Jester, a decent German power/speed metal act of their own right, in addition to some additional studio guests. The music produced here is not a long haul from his work in other bands, and purely targeted towards the fan of melodic German metal, but the incorporation of synthesizers adds a level of modern power/atmosphere that you wouldn't have found when he was with Scanner or Reactor. I was not completely taken in by Metal, but I did feel it was a positive follow-up to his earlier career works, and a confirmation that the guy was still alive, well, and interested in this format.

The C.O.E. project is similar to most other German power metal in that it features a series of anthems with flighty, melodic mute picking and massive chorus parts. I found the album to remind me of some of Gamma Ray's mid-period, stronger work like Somewhere Out in Space, though S.L. does not have the excessively nasal tone of Kai Hansen. I would also compare it to a more matured translation of the debut Scanner record, crash landed on Earth, with the extra mood offered through the keyboard atmospheres. Morbid Jester's Gates to Valhalla (which was produced by Coe) is also not far off. Coe is not the shrieking diva of yesteryear, but here he approaches with a measured restraint, and he's clearly still 'got it' by the year 2000.

My first spins of the album did not reap much in the way of an audible reward, but through the years I've gone back and eventually developed a fondness for a number of tracks. "Iron Sword" introduces a balance of shredding and keyboard fills with spikes of melodic intensity, falling somewhere on the spectrum between Scanner and Stratovarius. I really enjoyed the fast muted picking in the bridge, where it echoes a Helloween/Gamma Ray aesthetic, but it isn't the best of the record. "Warrior" is far more apt to turn heads with its pumping, mid-paced saturation of glistening guitarmonies and memorable gang shout verses: don't be afraid, warrior don't be afraid, don't run away. It really captures the essence of medieval, heroic gloss that one would seek in epic power metal, and the tiny acoustic segue is tasteful, after which Coe belts out some of his most raging highs around 2:45. "Stargate" features fine leads, multi-tracked chorus and lyrics about the film/TV show of the same name.

The thrills don't end there. "Burning the Witches" has some savage, thrash-like verse rhythms and an excellent, soaring chorus, despite the unfortunate choice of 'burning witches, holy bitches' in the lyrics. The ringing melodic tones that eclipse "Slavian Symphony" are tantalizing, "Fate Keeper" has some good leads, and the final track "Holiday in Hell" is also tasty. I didn't really care for the churning, groove metal rhythms used in the verse of "Have a Drink On Me", nor the rather gaudy cover of Guns'n'Rose's "Paradise City", but neither is enough to defecate on the work as a whole. The lyrics are pretty dumb on a number of tunes, but not beyond redemption. The mix is adequate, considering it was largely home brewed. You can hear everything with due clarity, from Coe's silken throat to the hammering melodic leads, bumping bass and drumming.

Metal does not have songwriting at the level of a Terminal Earth or To Dust You Will Decay, and frankly S.L. Coe just doesn't go as crazy with the vocals, which was what made him notable to begin with. He's still a good singer, just don't be expecting his over the top antics. This solo effort is better than a lot of the low and mid-level Euro power metal efforts to arrive through the signing spree of the late 80s (labels all vying for their next HammerFall or Rhapsody), but its hardly a landmark for the style. C.O.E. was most likely a love letter to the rare fan of the man's work, and to that extent I derived some pleasure from hearing it. I just wonder what the man is up to these days, aside form production work. I always wished he had found a home and stuck with it, because he had the potential to hang with some of the best: Scheepers, Dirkschneider, Deris, Wagner and Hansen.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (wait for the stroke of fate)

http://www.truemetal.org/coe/