Prince of Darkness (1987)

Prince of Darkness is a 1987 supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter. While it's not one of his best, it does manage to generate enough suspense that I would recommend it, especially if you enjoy his other films.

***SPOILERS & PHYSICS***

Basically, a secret priesthood, the Brotherhood of Sleep, has been keeping a strange relic, an alien containment device, for thousands of years, though the device dates even beyond that. A dying man gives the key to the device's location, in an old urban church, to a priest (Donald Pleasance). Desperate for help, Pleasance implores Pr. Birack (Victor Wong), a noted expert of both applied and theoretical physics, to translate the ancient text of the Brotherhood and help stop the relic. Birack brings in some scientist colleagues, a translator, and his own advanced physics class, few of whom prove very useful, so that we can have an actual body count. The device starts to possess worms, insects, and homeless people, before moving on to the scientific team, and they start picking each other off. Mayhem ensues.

Prince of Darkness is all the more frightening for its implications than any actual scares. We see a dude consumed by beetles collapsing limb by limb, people spitting psychokinetic fluid into each others' mouths to possess them, and some decent if lame makeup work. The plot is extremely hokey. I will buy that Jesus was an alien here to give us the technology to stop the Anti-Christ from awakening through this demonic relic, but why build up all the powers for this demon if its sole purpose is to reach through a mirror and pull his daddy, Satan Sr. into the world? Seems like a waste of time to me. But alas, it's part of a 'prophecy', the shittiest plot device ever. Also, I noticed Satan's hand was big and red and clawed...much like the satan in the cartoon they are showing in an earlier scene. That was silly (but fun).

The acting is alright, but I could care less about the romantic leads played by Jameson Parker and Lisa Blount. More interesting are the regulars Carpenter brought in from his other films, like Victor Wong and Denis Dun (Big Trouble in Little China) and Donald Pleasance (Halloween). Alice Cooper has a small role as one of the possessed homeless folk that surround the church, and he's actually pretty good. The effects are interesting, but often the makeup looks lame. My favorite set piece was the chamber in which the relic was being held, surrounded by crosses and candles, but it was pretty much forgotten for the second half of the film. The Carpenter synth score is sufficient.

Really, the best thing about this film is that it has that same freakish direction and atmosphere which permeates Carpenter's better films. It's bizarre enough that you'll want to stay tuned and see what happens next.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (I've got a message for you, and you're not going to like it)

Therion - Of Darkness (1991)

If your attraction to Therion's music stems solely from their later work, which incorporates increasing use of choir and orchestra to create conceptual, gothic metal symphonies, then their earliest albums might be a little outside your comfort zone. But there was a time in which Therion produced some bleak and evil death metal, with only the barest hint at the band's future direction.

This hint comes in the form of synthesizers, which are used on the opening track "The Return" to create another level of atmosphere behind the dense and central guitars. The guitars are so thick on this album, broiling beneath Christopher Johnsson's reverbrous grunts, that you feel like you are drowning in molasses. "Asphyxiate With Fear" is a faster flurry of vomitous death metal, more in line with early, thrashing Pestilence. In "Morbid Reality", the Hellhammer/ Celtic Frost influence shines through the churning guitar rhythms, though it's faster to the point of grindcore. "Megalomaniac" has a good melody to follow, and "A Suburb to Hell" is one of my easy favorites, from energetic thrash to grinding disgust, and some haunting melodies thrown in there. "Genocidal Raids" is Hellhammer-inspired thrash that opens with a doomed atmosphere, and "Time Shall Tell" revisists this pervasive hybrid, with some sick leads. "Dark Eternity" ends the album with some beefy grooves.

Fighter, rider of the human rights
The killing decision is coming from behind
Disinter the background of this obscene hell
Discover the fear, the sickness and the death

Though charming enough for classic purists of the genre, Of Darkness is far from Therion's best work. The lyrics are average at best, and downright silly in some places. They range from the occult to the more relevant, social topics you'd find in thrash metal. McDonalds feed their cows with our children's lives. I knew there was a reason I liked to eat there.

You can hear the roots of Lepaca Kliffoth here, and the album holds its own against many forgotten peers of the age, but Johnsson and band would have grown bored writing more than a few albums like this, so the orchestral evolution of the band was a wise choice. It's pretty interesting to go back to this or Beyond Sanctorum, then explore the band's incrimental metamorphis through Symphony Masses and Lepaca Kliffoth to their later, diverse concept albums with all the guest musicians.

Highlights: The Return, Megalomaniac, A Suburb of Hell, Dark Eternity

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (exonerate your head)

http://www.megatherion.com/

Possessed - The Eyes of Horror EP (1987)

Seven Churches and Beyond the Gates have both earned Possessed a fanatical cult following, considered seminal works of 80s occult thrash metal and pioneering releases that led the genre into its next evolution (death metal). But The Eyes of Horror EP, which followed, is often left out of the conversation. Boasting a tighter coordination and cleaner production than their full-lengths, the five tracks on this release exhibit what Possessed might have become had their career forged on, solid thrash with some similarities to then-albums by Hallows Eve (in particular, Monument's guitar tone sounds a lot like this recording). The EP was recorded by guitar guru Joe Satriani.

"Confessions" begins with a forceful, grinding thrash rhythm swathed in Jeff Becera's charnel vocal tone. It's pretty memorable and vile, but you'll notice right away it's a bit polished up from the band's origins. "Eyes of Horror" is a slower groove with some nice rhythm work beneath the leads, and an unforgettable first verse (though the lyrics are admittably pretty weak).

I believe only the real
Walk through life on what I feel
Living my life from day to day
What's wrong, what's right, who's to say

The title track is the creepiest and best on the album, with a death metal visage implied among its churning guitars and quite a few catchy riffs. I really enjoy the chorus vocals, with the sinister echo. "Swing of the Axe" is a vicious track that recalls Slayer's Show No Mercy, and the final "Storm In My Mind" opens with some nice leadwork and busts out a nice mid-paced thrashing rhythm later on. The material here might feel more focused, but that steals away nothing from its dark nature. The lyrics seemed to be moving in a more personal direction, but the ability to write memorable, ominous rhythms is untouched. Most probably have this EP tacked on to their copy of Beyond the Gates, but it's worth hearing to any fan of evil 80s thrash metal, even those rare souls who don't care for the band's legendary full-lengths.

Highlights: Confessions, Eyes of Horror, Swing of the Axe

Verdict: Win [8/10] (sin after sin, your brains are crushed in)

http://www.myspace.com/666possessed

Tankard - Zombie Attack (1986)

I can think of only three reasons why this album did not become an instant legend and the band a household name.

1. Master of Puppets
2. Reign in Blood
3. Somewhere in Time

Granted, those are three great reasons, but nonetheless, Tankard's debut Zombie Attack stands as one of the most wild, fun releases in the history of thrash/ speed metal. Born of a punk furor, the album rages with fast paced anthems to everything one could ever dream: zombies, warfare, and most importantly: alcohol. The band was rather blunt as to their obsession with teh beerz, one need not look past their chosen monicker to realize their association with the finer things in life. Zombie Attack is a painfully underrated record, and I look on with horror when reading the takes of others on this seminal and spectacular work.

But I am here to set the record straight. This is one of the very best releases of this genre, ever. Every track is fun, with maniacal, raw riffing, absurd lyrics that are also awesome, and hellish energies. It takes only the first track, "Zombie Attack" itself, to engrave itself into your memory, with the horribly endearing intro and all. Leatherpunk fistfucking rhythms scream into being over raucous, pounding drums and the sneering vocals of Gerre, who is probably the pinnacle of human evolution. The leads burn out of nowhere, the bass is having a blast below, and you leave the track sweating and drinking for your life, with nine more to go! "Acid Death" takes no time in returning you to filthy speed with hilarious Satanic lyrics, and I mean hilarious:

The end is near we will fight
He is so cruel and likes the acid
Satan gave him the power to kill
Nobody thinks that he is the man
Who is killing without end

No, nothing is lost in translation. "Mercenary" follows, another barn burning splatter of dirty gutter thrust, the guitars creating an acrobatic funhouse pattern and the chorus is totally fucking punk. "Maniac Forces" uses spooky bell slaps and vocal choir synths to build a cheesy atmosphere, which is all too soon broken by furious blinding speed. HOLY FUCK. If you cannot smash a beer bottle on someone or something to this track, why be alive? Tankard separates the men from the boys, and then sends those boys off scurrying to the local parish. Next up we have the band's bible "Alcohol", western swing succumbing to another blitz of angry drunken fist fighting. "Tankard (Empty)" continues the theme with some bluesy swagger, and as you predict, yes it changes into something fast, with lightning bass and punkish rhythms.

We have come to slamdance tonight
Bangin' and bleedin' till the fuckin' end
Playing fast and running free
Stand up maniacs, you have to fight
We want to drink some fucking beer,
we want to drink some whiskey
Liver is broken down so bloody hard
I keep on drinking until I drop
Bang your head against the fuckin' wall
Show the damned whimps who we are

This album had me briefly flirting with the idea of joining a frat at University, that's how good it is. Tankard next unleashes their own "Thrash 'Till Death", long before the Destruction classic of the same title. "Chains" is a splatterfest of murder and mayhem via chain gang, "Poison" is a splatterfest of murder and mayhem when a man loves a woman, and "Screamin' Victims" is...well, a splatterfest about murder and mayhem. But what more could you need in 1986?

Zombie Attack is like the Fight Club of thrash metal. If you are a man, it will have an intrinsic value to your life. If you don't like it, you're not a man. And if you're not a man, listen to Ratt or something instead. I'll be over here, trashing up my local bar in a blinding berzerker barrage of testosterone and bad taste, waiting for the pavement to rise up and greet me with its cold, still embrace.

Highlights: everything until the inevitable hangover

Verdict: Epic Binge [10/10 +5.5% minimum] (scream and scream so horrible)

http://www.tankard.info/

Necrodeath - Mater of All Evil (1999)

After a 10 year hiatus, Italian thrash/death cultists Necrodeath were to return with a new record, and Mater of All Evil was the result, an energetic succubus lashing which took the morbid visions of their past and dialed everything well past the volume limit. This album is vile, with vocals dripping more hatred than a busload of mid 80s Kreator vinyls. And that would be the major influence for this band, Mille's brand of eviscerating snarl which sounds like it is choking on the blood of its latest victim. There are also some deeper grunting vocals that serve as a diabolical, well-placed counterpart.

Necrodeath was obviously not expecting anyone to survive this album, so the focus is more on completely destroying the listener rather than writing complex or entirely memorable melodies. The first two tracks are "The Creature" and "Flame of Malignance", and it feels like getting a pitchfork to the face multiple times, collapsing to the ground only to be trampled by the mobile infantry of the Abyss. "Black Soul" slows things down for a while...with some tasty acoustics...but these are not to last, as even this song transforms into a fistful of scorn that repeatedly batters you on the bridge of your nose. Tracks like "Hatred and Scorn" and "Serpent" provide you with more relentless havoc, but the album does thankfully pace itself out with some variation: the slower thrashing "Void of Naxir" and the moving, atmospheric "At the Roots of Evil" with some Slayer-ific melodies.

The fruit of shame that he'll give you is forbidden
Honour and glory to the original sin
Temptations of a future that nobody knows
Terrible keeper with inexpressible face

This is possibly the best thrashing Necrodeath has ever given through its career. Some might adhere to the classic tones of Into the Macabre, but really this is a bulldozer of an album worthy of even Bulldozer (the other creme of the Italian thrash crop). A swarthy, expert production, blazing guitars, and venomous lyrical spit make it worthy of any fan of black occult thrash metal.

Highlights: Flame of Malignance, Serpent, Void of Naxir, Anticipation of Death

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (in the mystery of Kaos, to the altar of the law)

http://www.necrodeath.net/

Fleshcrawl - Descend Into the Absurd (1992)

Germany has had its fair share of death metal, a solid if softspoken scene which has existed since the early days of the genre's transformation and genesis. But few of its exports have exploded onto the scene in quite the same fashion as the excellent Fleshcrawl. This band would go on to create many great albums with a clear Scandinavian death influence, but ironically, their debut Descend Into the Absurd, which was actually recorded in Stockholm, bears more of an influence from bands like Death, Bolt Thrower and Pestilence.

This is an album I'd advise listening to at full volume for its many nuances. On the surface a simplistic crusher, the muddy walls of infernal guitar are dominant and powerful as the album performs its namesake upon you. "Between the Shadows They Crawl" is a frightening intro, created through ambient synthesizers, before "Phrenetic Tendencies" grinds you up into chopped liver with its barrage of tinny drums and the meaty breadth of its riffing. The album is like being force fucked by a sludge beast risen through a conduit from Hell, in your local swamp. There is little to the riffs but raw power, and the band often slows down to a doomy crawl, i.e. most of "Perpetual Dawn", the first half of "Purulent Bowel Erosion", and much of "Lost in a Grave". Through the crushing chords, the band will often insert bloody melodic lines that add to the grief wrought by the album. Other great tunes include "Festering Flesh" and "Evoke the Excess", but you're best off to just press play and absorb all 54 minutes of this underrated behemoth.

This is not a technical band, they don't strive to impress you with their effortless noodling or random, sporadic tempo shifting. They exist to crush, like a slow moving juggernaut of lost souls that sucks up all the life in its path. Your sorrow is inevitable when faced with an album like Descend Into the Absurd, and it's a great example of 'slow and steady wins the race' in the death metal scene. I give this album high recommendations to fans of early Asphyx, or the plodding British Bolt Thrower, who also produced successful albums with this intent. Though Fleshcrawl will produce comparable records like the furious As Blood Rains from the Sky... in 2000, this debut remains one of their very best.

Highlights: Phrenetic Tendencies, Lost in a Grave, Festering Flesh, Evoke the Excess

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

http://www.fleshcrawl.net/

Deceased - Supernatural Addiction (2000)

Fearless Undead Machines (1997) was a pretty good horror metal concept album, from one of Americas best old school advocates Deceased, but three years later they would trump that release with the more melodic, classic metal tinge of Supernatural Addiction, which I consider to be the band's strongest work to date. If you're a fan of the band's earlier, heavier work, fear not, because the primal death/thrash metal roots are abundant. But the injection of pure 80s inspired NWOBHM melodies into the mix adds a depth to the writing which simply did not exist in large quantities prior to this.

Like the cover art implies, the focus of this album is to celebrate the more cerebral, psychological side of horror than the visceral corruption covered on Fearless Undead Machines. The writings of Poe, the classic ghost story, the dark black and white horror of silent film, all of these are inherent influences which translate well into the lyrics. "The Premonition" is a driving track with some soaring if haunting melodies, and King's Venom-like voice is at its peak, mixed in extremely well with the rhythm guitars and leads. "Dark Chilling Heartbeat" has a pair of fine, winding leads to intro the shuffling, somber tone of the obvious tribute to Poe's Telltale Heart. "A Very Familiar Stranger" is a raging roadster based on The Hitchhiker. Other excellent tracks on the album include the blistering "Frozen Screams", the morose and beautiful "Doll With the Hideous Spirit", and the fright fest "Chambers of the Waiting Blind".

Six days and still they starve him as they offer mercy none,
For the hate it brews within them from his past,
In his body there is panic as he senses dread approaching,
He starts screaming for this torture ride to end

Like some of the past records, Supernatural Addiction uses a different sort of lyrical approach from the typical metal album; where the words simply speak the narrative of each tale, organized into a rough approximation of verse and chorus. I wouldn't call them poetic so much as a death metal Rod Serling sitting by the fireplace, recounting visions of the macabre. The mix of this album is simply unmatched by anything else in the history of the band, and like its predecessor, each track is loaded with a slew of riffs to explore. Few artists can balance such an excellent array of influences as King Fowley and crew, thus Supernatural Addiction winds up another cult classic for the ages. Whether you enjoy the pioneering thrash/death metal sounds of Possessed or Venom, or the more melodic NWOBHM/power/speed metal of the 80s, this album has many a moment for you. While I have never found any of their albums to be perfect, they are easily one of the more consistent metal bands of the past 20 years.

Highlights: Dark Chilling Heartbeat, Frozen Screams, Doll With the Hideous Spirit, Chambers of the Waiting Blind

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (it's here and there and everywhere and all so hideous)

http://www.myspace.com/undeadmachines

Spawn of Possession - Cabinet (2003)

To the unprepared, Spawn of Possession's full-length debut was like a well timed ambush. Sweden was always (and remains) best known for its old Tomas Skogsberg guitar tones, the grinding and pummeling sound of formative bands like Entombed and Dismember, which transformed into the melodic dominance of At the Gates and In Flames. But there is another side to Swedish death metal, the technically infused brutality of bands like Visceral Bleeding, Anata and, now, Spawn of Possession.

Cabinet is a very surgical record, with precise strikes of technical death metal reflective of a great many brutal US influences. You can hear the Floridian roots to the sound, but Spawn of Possession was superior to many of their peers during the earlier 21st century. Cabinet is an acrobatic record, each track a collection of whirlwind riffing, a labyrinth of brutality that each listener must unravel one corridor at a time. It's thoroughly entertaining, even if there aren't a lot of extremely memorable riffs to die for. "Swarm of the Formless" and "Hidden in Flesh" are a colossal entry point, with so many guitars flying past that your head may twist of its neck if aren't expecting them. Deeper on, the album maintains its untiring level of busywork, with standouts being "Dirty Priest", "Inner Conflict", and "The Forbidden", but every track a lattice of technicality and inspiration.

A craft was brought to split the visions
Crawling naked on the floor, exorcist fleed for the door,
Tried to outrun the unclean whore
Possession in a wicked way, unholy powers drained the rests of it in pain
Followed the abomination
The light that was did disappear, it vanished into the thin air,
A dirty atmosphere
Possession in a wicked way, unholy powers drained the fucking soul in pain

The lyrics center on classic tales of occult/horror films, which is pretty cool, considering most tech death bands prefer a gore/medical theme to accompany their audio surgeries. The band's level of technicality is bewildering, and of course the mix needs to be crisp that all of these guitars can pop with the nuances of their frantic riffing. The leads on the album are creepy, and despite the thinness of the tones, there is an oppressive, dark atmosphere captured on every track. The vocals are similar to Glen Benton's lower, growling voice in Deicide. I won't claim Cabinet is a masterpiece of the genre, as there aren't so many individual, haunting tracks, but it's a tight 40 minutes of impressive, athletic brutality done well. Admirers of this album would also do well to pick up the followup, Noctambulant.

Highlights: Swarm of the Formless, Hidden in Flesh, Inner Conflict, The Forbidden

Verdict: Win [8/10] (scratching my skin from the inside)

http://www.spawnofpossession.se/

Metal Church - The Dark (1986)

My fondness for Metal Church begins and ends with the early David Wayne period, the very first two albums, before Mike Howe stepped in and Wayne formed Reverend with the rest of Howe's previous band Heretic. Oh, cruel irony. With Wayne's mad hermit vocals at the helm, and a deal with Elektra records (alongside Metallica, no less), the potential was enormous for this band. Alas, they sputtered out like a rusted pickup with bullet holes in the tank.

The Dark is notable for having several of the most memorable Metal Church tracks ever conceived, while the rest of the record is at least solid enough to entertain. "Ton of Bricks" is an amazing opener for the album, anchored with a brickhouse thrash rhythm and Wayne's terrifying pterodactyl voice. "Start the Fire" is simply one of the best metal tracks of the 80s, with a huge rhythm riff and vocals that channel Udo Dirkschneider almost perfectly. The guitar work is great, and the lyrics totally cheesy, comparable to Twisted Sister's "Burn in Hell" in both tone and atmosphere.

So you see that they're all going nowhere.
Everybody's staring into space.
Start the fire.
Bring down the hammer.
Start start the fire.
Burning on forever.

The other truly momentous track on this album is the titular "The Dark", with some excellent chugging guitar rhythms and creepy, fun vocal patterns. One of the better horror metal songs for its day, essentially a tribute to all the bad films produced in that era (Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween, whatever). Beyond these three monster tracks, there are some solid offerings in the doomy "Watch the Children Pray", the raging "Line of Death", "Burial At Sea", and "Western Alliance", none of which are quite so catchy.

The Dark is a balanced effort, despite the charisma of Wayne's vocals they never dominate the mix. The guitars are thick and insanely well produced, hell even better than on Master of Puppets the same year (though this album doesn't hold a candle to that all-time masterpiece of the genre). It has a lot of character, and though it's cheesy, it's a fun listen that I'd recommend to anyone seeking out gems of the 80s. This one wasn't exactly hidden in the back of the cave.

Highlights: Ton of Bricks, Start the Fire, The Dark, Line of Death

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (when will we draw the line)

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Desaster - Hellfire's Dominion (1998)

Desaster have always stood out to me as one of the better bands who can take the vitriol of black metal, mire it in brooding, old school Germanic thrash, and create epic, charging rhythms that might often feel familiar, but nonetheless immersive and powerful. Hellfire's Dominion was their 2nd full-length, and a clear improvement from A Touch of Medieval Darkness, but it maintains that albums folksy medieval aesthetic.

A glorious, brief instrumental (which sounds like Summoning) marches forth "In the Ban of Satan's Sorcery", with fast paced melodic chords over Okkulto's sloppy but memorable black slather. The guy sounded like he has rocks in his mouth half the time, and often emitted broken, unfinished snarls, yet I would prefer them no other way. "Expect No Release" begins with a slow sequence of chords over a Slayer-like riff, before the drums pick up into another epic rhythm. "Teutonic Steel" weaves a commanding folk rhythm into a forest of spikes and steel, and "Metallized Blood" features some guest vocals from cult thrashers Lemmy of Violent Force, Wannes of Pentacle, and Thorsten from Living Death.

Power chords come crashing down
Screams of frantic aggression
Only the true maniac souls
Can feel the Metal possession

The album only gets better from here. "Thou Shalt Be King" is a bruiser that creates some dark atmosphere through its rapid fire riffing, and the title track is truly a byproduct of the Netherworld, spewing harsh fires at every victim, eternal punishment for the damned. "Past...Present...Forever" is dowsed amazing riffs that are both proud and sorrowful, and "Castleland" is just glorious, an essential for fans of pagan or dark ages folk black. The album closes with the sad electrified folk melodies of "Across the Bloodfields".

Desaster have wisely recorded most of their catalog in a grim, timeless fashion, with raw but beautiful guitar work, scabrous and salivating vocals, and a dark environment. This is the perfect thrash album to listen to while wandering the rocky hills of olde, reminiscing the bloody signs of battle. It's quite good, and stands alongside Tyrants of the Netherworld as some of their strongest work.

Highlights: Teutonic Steel, Thou Shalt Be King, Past...Present...Forever, Castleland

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (words of holy can't break my spell)

http://www.myspace.com/desasterofficial