Attention all extreme metal fans: You can find your fill of high-quality grindage and noise. Australia delivers again . . . but even better! After hearing some slight variation in quality on the Godspeed compilation, I was expecting a letdown or two on this one. Not so! The bands, Ethereal Scourge, Screams of Chaos, Embodiment, Metanoia, and Vomoth all turn in impressive performances -- and they're all captured with sonic quality.
Ethereal Scourge has a terrific crunch and a knack for good time changes. It's like classic thrash with grind vocals. This band will impress you with its tightness.
Screams of Chaos is the one-man project (with help from his friends) of Mortification video producer Neil Johnson. Mixing drama with a concept, his three-part overture is called "The Plague." The first part has a metallic industrial-style attack and a story line. Very cool. Part II is more atmospheric and ballad-like. Part III jumps back into frenetic industrial mode a la Circle of Dust -- complete with some talented bass tapping. Truly jamming! I'd love to see the short film available for this project.
Embodiment tackles their music with authority, attitude, and a wall of sound. These guys wail! The leads scream. The vocals are of a wide, breathing grind variety. One thing I really like about this grindcore music is the groove sensibilities thrown in. Truly a commercial death metal band (Aarrgh! I bet Embodiment would hate to hear that!) Too technical for their own good, these guys are totally hot.
Metanoia creates an ominous, doomy mood with its song intros and dives head first into progressive jamming under a bellowing grind vocal. Musicians will dig the intricate jamming and talent displayed, while those vocals will limit the band's appeal to grindcore crowds, but this crowd will embrace the band as creative and authentic. A noteworthy song is "Eternal Destruction," which starts off with some cool Aboriginal Didgeridoo playing and flies into 100 mph snare blasting.
Vomoth, like Horde, takes on the eerie and wailing style of black metal (an annoyingly extreme style of music for mainstream headbangers) from the opposite lyrical angle. Befitting to such an extreme genre, the lyrics make no bones about the power in the blood of Jesus and the weakness of demon spirits to God's power. You need to hear this cut if not just for the education about this genre. I think the general vocal style was created to emulate Hollywood's most sinister demon vocals.
It's amazing that Rowe found five acts of extreme competence and style. This album shreds! To order, send $16 to: Rowe Productions, PO Box 339, Mentone, Vic, 3194, Australia.
