Lollipop Magazine

Gorefest – Rise to Ruin – Review

October 19, 2007

Pretty much La Muerte Part Two, meaning that it’s classic Gorefest: Simple but punishing riffs, varying tempos, political lyrics, and bad-ass breakdowns.

Electric Wizard – Witchcult Today – Review

September 1, 2007

They’re British doom/drone, distortion-heavy for the sake of being distortion-heavy, and the reverbed vocals make non-hit Sabbath tunes sound chipper.

Benea Reach – Monument Bineothan – Review

April 20, 2007

Ex-Extol guitarist Christer Espevoll’s new outfit, Benea Reach. Monument Bineothan is a stainless steel, massive pillar of majestic metal.

Abigail Williams – Legend – Review

March 18, 2007

Five-song EP from a Gothenburg-style Phoenix four-piece. Thrash gallop and blastbeats, blackened shrieks, keys of terror, and guitarwork like Emperor.

Pro-Pain – Age of Tyranny – Review

March 1, 2007

15 years deep, and Age of Tyranny is quite possibly their most interesting release in years. I heard harmonies, I heard elongated solos, I was impressed.

Destruction – Thrash Anthems – Review

January 1, 2007

Re-recorded German classic thrash tide-over release (with one new track tacked at the end). Over 20 years at it, and they can still thrash it up.

To-Mera – Transcendental – Review

November 20, 2006

Female-fronted dark/prog metal. Angelic vocals, tight starts’n’stops, a bit too choppy and “we’re good, huh?” for me.

Blut Aus Nord – Mort – Review

November 20, 2006

Nightmarish soundscape black metal. Sounds like a horror movie from a room away on a stormy night, and the music often sounds like a cat walking across a piano.

Insomnium – Above The Weeping World – Review

November 20, 2006

Consistent and listenable from end to end, with some interludes and keys to keep it interesting. Nice leads, scary whispers, no sissy singing or orchestration.

Sinister – Afterburner – Review

July 7, 2006

Blood-gushing blast beats, inventive riffs with plenty of weird pull-offs and note intervals, counter rhythmic grooves that shake the senses.

Ihsahn – The Adversary – Review

June 9, 2006

Peccatum crossed with Emperor, stitched together by the occasional and brief prog metal tendencies of either of those that might be described as mainstreamy.

Grand Magus – Wolf’s Return – Review

April 21, 2006

Whereas the first two Grand Magus full-lengths were doom with a bit of classic rock and metal, Wolf’s Return is a classic metal album with just a hint of doom.

Scum – Gospels for the Sick – Review

March 3, 2006

Puree of Casey Chaos (Amen), Samoth & Faust (Emperor), Cosmocrator (Mindgrinder), and Happy Tom (Turbonegro) tastes sour, when it should be extreme metal gold.

Crowbar – Lifesblood for the Downtrodden – Review

October 21, 2005

This is truly Southern stoner rock: Mostly mid-tempo jams with trippy, gruff, echo-heavy vocals, and riffs that breathe and stretch out well.

Enslaved – Isa – Review

September 30, 2005

Heaps of praise for this forward-thinking original Norse black metal “Viking” band, Enslaved, now with three beloved, multi-dimensional albums in a row.

Entombed – Unreal Estate – Review

June 13, 2005

In 2002, much respected-metal veterans Entombed played as the pit orchestra for some kinda fuckin’ ballet. This is the CD document of that live extravaganza.

Callenish Circle – Forbidden Empathy – Review

June 13, 2005

Two discs of tedium and mediocre metal.I expected more from Callenish Circle. Both Flesh Power Dominion and My Passion Your Pain were fast, thrashy metal albums at their finest.

Grand Magus – Wolf’s Return – Review

June 8, 2005

Swedish doom rock done right. Strong, clear production. Unlike a lot of “stoner rock” stuff, this has energy, strong vocals, and a few melodies will stick.

Octavia Sperati – Winter Enclosure – Review

June 7, 2005

Female-fronted Gothic metal is as common as a cold, and even good bands are a dime a dozen, cuz a sweet voice and some plodding riffs are about all it takes.

Chuck Schuldiner – Zero Tolerance – Review

May 30, 2005

Many fans will force themselves to sit through these two discs out of respect for Chuck, but the man deserves a much better retrospective than Zero Tolerance.

Over Mars – Affliction, Endocrine, Vertigo – Review

May 12, 2005

Sparse, dark, piano tinkling and a guitar noodle that creeps in periphery. The droning thunder is front-loaded, so you can chill by CD’s end.

Debris Inc – Review

March 28, 2005

Stoner doom too stoned to try very hard or produce very well. Respected musicians from St. Vitus, Trouble, Eyehategod/Superjoint/Crowbar, Goatsnake/Obsessed.

Slumber – Fallout – Review

March 16, 2005

Doom, with no apologies for atmospheric keyboards, angelic counterpoint to the monster bellow, and piano and acoustic guitar tinkering amidst droning guitar.

Dismember – Where Iron Crosses Grow – Review

December 1, 2004

Still got that “classic” Swedish death sound: Unmistakably gnarly guitars, fuzzy production, semi-melodic riffs (but not Gothenburg melodic), and quick tempos.

Zyklon – Aeon – Review

March 8, 2004

Samoth and Destructhor have created a record where the songs have self-contained logic, the guitar tones are robust and bottom-heavy, and where Trym’s drum vibe is thick and warm.