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Apollyon Sun
Attention Deficit Crackdown De Glaen |
In this page |
| Hard Noise | Apollyon Sun "God leaves (and dies)" (Mayan rec.) |
2.Reefer boy 3.The cane 4.Concrete satan 5.Bedlam and blind
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Raise your hand, among you metal and stuff like that listeners, those that havn't ever heard about Celtic Frost before ? The only ones that I justify are the "newbies" in this music sphere because Thomas Gabriel Fischer & Co. haven't been out with a decent album in a long time, but all you that are 25 or elder can't have ignored the Frost phenomenon. Everything has been said and written about them, that they were Supreme in their "obscure" and decadent sound stuffed up with rock at the begginning of the '80's and have influenced hundreds of famous bands and "characters" around now, or that they had lost their minds (and faces...) in the transition between '80's and '90's with an identity crises that brought them towards that easy listening fm hard rock, much more popular in those days as Glam with all it's lipstick, hairy chests e and shocking spandexs on their album covers (those were the great days, mayby just for the reason that I was 10 years younger....) achieving depressing results ! At this point yoiu might be asking yourself the meaning of all this Celtic Frost intro in a Appolyon Sun review ?The answer is that the sinister mind behind this new dark-wave-industrial-band is no one else than Thomas Gabriel Fischer. That's right, he's the man, and dark-wave-industrial is the game in "God leaves (and dies ....)", or that's what I heard from it. What's that you're saying ? It's an opportunistic commercial movebecause these sounds are pretty trendy ? Maybe, but I must say that at least "this" sound is alot closer to the real CF spiritthan all that crap I heard from the band in the late 80's; and what a result ! "God leaves (and dies...)" is one of those albums that I love to call post-nuclear, a perfect soundtrack for a movie between the cyber poetry in Blade Runner and the emotional rythm of The Crow, with atmospheres sometimes dark, minimal and introspective, others hyper-technological, gripping and dancy (or headbanging if you prefer). The tracks are very well produced and the pyrotechnic Bedlam and blind will set you jumpin' in the middle of your room like loonatics. For the rest, who cares if during Refeer boy the volcals trace a sort of M. Manson sounding song, or if every now and than you'll forget that this isn't the new Ministry cd. The chorus's and bats of these cyber-tunes will make you sing and dance for weeks....what else do you want ?! |
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| Crackdown "Rise-up" (Diehard) | |
2.Ten 3.Keep it in the family 4.Knife 5.Bury 6.Pride 7.Three days rain 8.Emptiness 9.A place
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Great. After their debut album for the tiny label Freak Out, Crackdown release this second full-lenght on the Danish Diehard that is trying to renew it's rooster signing up new and interesting hardcore-acts (as Barcode). It's straight and mean hardcore that these guys punch out, sometimes pretty near to the American band Biohazard. Another thing that relates these two bands is a special guest's presence on this album, Evan Seinfeld, singer of Biohazard. And with him a large piece of the staff that actually works with Biohazard and you can tell throughout the whole album. Produced in Brooklyn, the band's tracks are excellently colored and powered in recording phase. Crackdown will throw up all their anger on you, building a sky high sound wall with simple but efficacious guitar-work, and the rest of the band dose a great job too (including the new bass-player Andreone that takes Dima's place); the lyrics are closely stuck to everyday shit but don't ever exaggerate in demogagy and rhetoric. The song that is worth the cost of the whole cd is "Knife" a melting-pot in Neurosis mode, not as cerebral and heavier than Biohazard. These guys are surely destined to become the Italian leading post-hardcore (that's the way I love to call it) pand, or post-metal as the official press says. One thing is sure, Crackdown have what it takes to explode beyond our frontieres. Lets hope that the up-comming tour with Earth Crisis and Barcode brings 'em some more attention. As I said: GREAT ! |
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| Alexander/Manring/Skolnick "Attention Deficit" | |
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Michael Manring is surely the number one bass player around, or at least he's one of the few that is able to write amazing totally instrumental. After beginning as a solo instumentist, in studio, he started a new series of side-projects of wich the two major ones are: on one side he fullfilled his acustic taste and ability in Aerial Boundaries of Michael Hedges and on the other in 1994 release Thonk, a bright and colourful electric album. That album featured many "metal" big names two of which are now back again with him, the ex Primus drummer and ex Testament / Savatage guitar hero, Alex Skolnick; the explsive result is Attention Deficit, where all three musicians have a decent spotlight: this isn't a Michael Manring solo album, it's Attention Deficit. Of course being an electric fusion project, the whole album is heavilly imbueded of Allan Holdsworth's sound. All three set aside the melodic lenearity of Thonk and Tim Alexander's noisy groove invades every track, letting out every single thing that a REAL drummer should have for the next millenium. Skolnik's skin change is marvellouse, with his unique but simple refrains, at the same time familiar and disonant. Manring gently dosa measures his greatness. If compared with other three member bands as Primus, Rush, Area, Pastorius, mainly based on a bass-drum osmosis, in this album there is a complete union with the guitar sessions too: far beyond the tipical esasperation of riffing . Excelent. |
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| De Glaen "Due" (Sony) | |
2.Duedue 3.Duetre 4.Duequattro 5.Duecinque 6.Duesei 7.Duesette 8.Dueotto 8.Duenove
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Sony itself moved for the second album from florentine De Glaen; the fans could name it "due" ("two") or white album. And we can consider that as their effective white album, not just because of its cover: we got a less gloomy work than the previous one, especially more directed. Everyone will still talk about influnces coming from Primus, Living Colour's Stain etc. etc., but if we talk exactly about style, this record shows that De Glaen has potentiality to stand out by the noisy atmosphere, an atmosphere so overworked to have become heavy: lots of bands come out as they were potatoes, and the scene is hard to be followed too. Who'll blow up outside of this mud? That could be De Glaen, for 3 motives at least: they easily absorb different schemes, including post-rock stuff (listen to the "qual è la fragranza..." coda), avoiding to adopt one as norm: then there is Francesco Baroncelli's charisma; and even a sensation, that the trio is becoming a real united band. People already knows De Glaen individual technique, they can move from bridge to bridge finding each other on memory, but...But they still miss "the" track, "the" idea, "the" intuition for the explosion. "Due" is really a good record, it let you keep listening, and it's not less valuable than other stuff with 15-20000 sold copies; but maybe it's dull for the composition. it would take those 5 or 6 notes that get you saying: "oh, yeah, now i've got De Glaen". The trio is 26-27 years old and has good improving margins. So let's still follow these kids, however one of the best underground italian bands. |
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