OLD DEMO REVIEWS PART 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASTARTE SYRIACA Promo CD - 2004 Astarte Syriaca comes from Italy and this is their latest release, a promo CD which includes four songs and twenty seven minutes of music. Astarte Syriaca plays progressive metal in the vein of some great progressive metal bands of the metal scene, like DREAM THEATER and PAIN OF SALVATION. This promo CD begins with a great progressive track with the title "Northwind", this song has some really nice keyboard parts and of course the guitar work is remarkable. It is always hard to review progressive albums but Astarte Syriaca from the first second takes you to the progressive world that they have created with this release of theirs and you forget that your job is to actually write a review. After you hear their stuff quite many times, you will see that most of the songs are based on the keyboards and I must congratulate Alessio for the incredible work he has done. Besides that you can hear a very clear sound so you will have the chance to hear clearly all the instruments and the production is really good. The fans of progressive metal should check this out. Official Site: www.astartesyriaca.com E-mail Band: info@astartesyriaca.com Antonis Maglaras ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DAMAGE DONE Stories Never Told... (Promo CD) "Stories Never Told" is the final result of feelings being transubstantiated into words and notes... That's the best and most adequate description of Damage Done's effort and this is what makes it more precious and vulnerable.I think it requires great craftmanship and having a clear vision of how exactly you want to sound in order not to destroy the emotions created. The band seems to be fully aware of all these and thus they have created an excellent piece of dark and melancholic music with strong tinges from the alternative rock scene. The dual clean vocals performed by a man and a woman give birth to an ocean of thoughts and images that can either make you feel sad and depressed or make you more decisive and strong. It depends on each person's perception I guess.Despite the fact that their notes and lyrics can mean a different thing to every person, the truth is that it will surely appeal to all the fans of melancholic and atmospheric music. Their music might be calm, but it's not powerless or without nerve. It's got everything it needs to get straight to your heart and touch its unfathomless core. The band has also shot 2 video clips and they are now shooting a new one plus they are searching for a record deal. This demo CD costs 10 € only, so don't lose the chance to come across a great and talented band! Email: teolixx@hotmail.com Christine Parastatidou ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHATTERED Behind The Wall (Spreadit Agency) If you want a fair share of brutality and sickness and you're heavily into the hardcore stuff, then perhaps you should check this band out. Their strongest part is definitely the majority of fuckin' heavy riffs while their weakest point comes whenever the melodic vocals fill in the compositions. The lead solos don't seem to do exactly the thing they are upto, but I think with harder work they will surely improve! Generally, they surely need to work more and harder, but they absolutely have some really strong moments!Hopefully, we'll have the chance to hear from them in the future and their next stuff will be even better! Site: http://www.shattered.it Dimitris Pantsiopoulos ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- G.L.A.S. 18 G.L.A.S. from Italy has offered me some of my most relaxing moments this summer. Their music is calm, but full of emotions nevertheless, leaving you with a bittersweet or a rather melancholic taste in your mouth. All the 6 compositions that are presented here have great melodic lines that are enriched and supported by a talented singer with an emotive voice. The production is very good and helps and serves the compositions to reveal their absolute and true character. Their sound is close to melodic rock/hard rock and it's ideal for radio stations. I believe that if G.L.A.S. is supported correctly can win lots of airplay time with their songs. If you are fans of melody and you like the feeling of calmness created before the storm breaks, then give G.L.A.S a try. They surely deserve your attention... Site: http://www.glasweb.it Email: glasweb@libero.it Christine Parastatidou ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIGHTING WARRIORS Dextera Dei - The Tale Of Iarus - Demo 2005 When RHAPSODY released thier first album, after a while the labels signed many bands from Italy that played in the same way. Most of them didn't release a second album, because they didn't have anything interesting to add to the scene. Lately, however, I haven't received or listened to any new symphonic power metal band from Italy, till about a week ago, when i got in my hands Fighting Warrior's demo. The group moves on the classic path of this genre, but they also have some progressive moments that reminded me of DREAM THEATER. They might not be very original, but I have to admit that they have some really nice ideas and I have enjoyed listening to their music and especially the song "Stop Crying", which is by far their most complete composition. the band also has a female vocalist, Cinjia Di Martino, who reminded me of DORO mainly and JUTTA. The only thing that the band needs to correct is the production. The guitars play some very good and fast riffs, which lose their intensity because of the weak sound of the demo. Closing I have to add that in the 4 tracks of their demo Fighting Warriors narrate us an epic story, but we will learn more about that in the interview that we will do with them... Contact the band:fightingwarriors@supereva.it or their management for more information: emanuelegentile@sicilyonline.it Nick "William_Kidd" Parastatidis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AIRHEAD Suicide Note (Spreadit Agency) I have just recollected the parts of myself after listening to POWERFUL, when Airhead (they also belong to Spreadit Agency's management) stroke me! Their hellish and furious thrash metal makes no compromises and destroys everything that stands in its way. Ther are inspired by the 80s thrash metal, both from the German and the U.S. metal scene, but they have a modern and crystal clear production. Their rhythm section breaks bones and they have also done a great job on the solos. One other thing that impresed me is that Airhead are not afraid of creating a long duration thrashing songs that have a lot of variety and won't bore you at all. No more to say, just grab their demo and turn your house into a mosh pit!!!Contact with their agency:SPREADIT AGENCY, C/O TEO FAVARO, P.O. BOX 53, 30030 MARTELLAGO (VE), ITALY. Email: teonzo@shapeless.it. Band email:airhead@infinito.it Nick "William_Kidd" Parastatidis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POWERFUL Super Metal (Spreadit Agency) By reading the title of their demo, you might think that these guys have their minds above their heads. But as we always say, don't judge a book from its cover. Powerful is a very talented band that plays heavy/power metal and knows the way to create amazing metal compositions. In their music, you will find the seeds of JUDAS PRIEST, AGENT STEEL (just check the "powerful" song) and also the song "Fighting To Learn" will take you back to the glorious days of ICED EARTH. however, the songs that nailed me down are the mid tempo "Listen To Me" with which the band pays tirbute to CANDLEMASS and "Screams Of Blood", where MANOWAR meet RUNNING WILD. Their music is really great, because all the members of Powerful are very good musicians. First of all, the singer can sing in anyway he wants and there were times that he reminded me of JAMES RIVERA. Finally, the other guys do a wonderful job with their instruments and you will listen to some bery good sols. Ending, the production is very professional standards. I believe that all these elements are good reasons to make you check them out. For more info you have to contact with their agency: SPREADIT AGENCY, C/O TEO FAVARO, P.O. BOX 53, 30030 MARTELLAGO (VE), ITALY. Email: teonzo@shapeless.it. Band's email:powerfulsm@yahoo.it. Site: http://www.powerfulband.com. Nick "William_Kidd" Parastatidis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RIDDLE OF MEANDER Pandemonic Holocaust - Demo 2005 Riddle Of Meander seem to come from another era, from the first days of the Norwegian and Greek black metal scene. If you check their thanks list out on the booklet of their demo, you will understand that the new trends of black metal don't move or touch them at all. This demo includes 2 songs that have a long duration (the first one reaches the 7 minutes and the other one exceeds 11 minutes of running time). The first composition, which bears the title "Pandemonic Holocaust" is a mid tempo song that carries on the legacy of early ROTTING CHRIST ("Non Serviam" era) and VARATHRON along with some DARK THRONE elements. The second and final xomposition, "Within Majestic Shadows" moves on the same tempo with the previous one, but here you can also find influences from the "true" MAYHEM, as the band indicates in the booklet. Another thing that I have noticed is that the second track has a better production, which is clean, but also "dirty" and "rotten" at the same time, if you know what I mean, and fits perfectly to Riddle Of Meander's sound. I am sure that the friends of traditional old school black metal will enjoy listening to this demo. The band, as they informed me, has already got new songs ready for their upcoming demo, which they will release pretty soon. The CD costs 5 € and the tape 2.5 €. The band also accepts trades and you can reach them at the following address: NICK KISKIRAS, P.O. BOX 70818, 166 10, VOULA, ATHENS, GREECE or via Email: RiddleofMeander@hotmail.com. Nick "William_Kidd" Parastatidis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GRENADE Demo 2005 Our friends Grenade play guitaristic black metal without any keyboards and with heavy thrash metal riffs. Their material is inflammed, full of energy, they have fresh ideas and they are "hungry" for good music. Plus the guys have managed to form a very tight and well functioning band. Their guitar melodies are stormful with nice, imaginative themes and with interesting solos whenever they are needed. Their skills and technique move on good levels filled with interesting changes without tiring us at all. The vocals are mainly black metal screams with some "deeper" and more guttural parts that bring chills to your spinal chord! I am waiting for a full official release from Grenade in the future and I bet it will be really good! George "Death Dealer - Echoes From Erebus" Kefalas ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANGELKNIGHT Rage Og Angels - Demo 2005 Some of you might already know them from their participation in the Greece Attacks metal compilation. The band from Larissa plays heavy/power metal with some epic elements. From the lyrics I read I have the sense that all the 5 songs included here, narrate a concept story. The influences of the group seem to come straight from bands like IRON MAIDEN, ICED EARTH, ACCEPT and RUNNING WILD. The compositions on this release are very good and I think that the friends of classic metal will enjoy them. My personal favourite songs are "Saviour Of Our Wolrd" which has a RUNNING WILD oriented riff) and "Now It's Your Call" (their best composition on this CD and the most complete one). All the musicians that form the band are capable and talented, but the singer needs to work some more on his voice. By listening to the songs you have the sense that he narrates the lyrics and not sings them. Sorry, but I think it kind of spoils the whole atmosphere and I'm not implying here that he must quit or anything, but he just has to work harder and I'm sure that on the next Angelknight release everything will sound even better! "Rage Of Angels" is a good demo for the fans of power metal, but I am not sure if it can convince the labels to sign them. Yeap, it's a tough world out there... Support the band and email them at: Hyperpsychoangel@yahoo.gr Contact: ANGELKNIGHT, GRIGORIS GRIGORIADIS, 11 KARATHANOU STR., 41222, LARISSA, GREECE. Nick "William_Kidd" Parastatidis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LINCOLN LOVE LOG 4 Hits From The Bong - Promo CD I have presented Lincoln Love Log's release "Illnoise 2-Piece BBQ" in the releases section, which was a gathering of the band's works so far along with some unreleased material. Now "4 Hots From The Bong" is the band new promo EP, which will be soon officially released via Doomphonic Recordings and like the title says it consists of 4 tracks, one of which is a live recording from the band's westcoast tour in 2004. The sound they reveal here is even more extreme and straight forward than their previous recordings and reaches clearly the boundaries of grindcore metal, always remaining of course in their favorite LO-FI sound. The vocals are brutal and guttural, the compositions are short and really aggressive and they vary from mid tempo to uptempo blastbeats. Despite the fact that this is a more "normal" recording, the band's sound is still weird and unique. So, you know what you have to do... Here's the band's site: http://lincolnlovelog.home.insightbb.com/ Christine Parastatidou ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BABYLON Tales Of Doom - Chapter I (Demo 2005) Apart from all the trends that rise from time to time in the U.S., in my opinion there still remains a paradise for those who demand to isten to good and top quality heavy metal. The artist behind Babylon seems to have a good knowldge of the metal tradition aof their country and with this demo he delivers 2 amazing compositions of heavy metal, which have their roots back in the 80s. The demo opens with an atmospheric "Intro" that has the fitting title "Nightmares". After the end of the intro the first metal storm comes to strike you and bears the title "Reach For The Sun". This composition is a mix between OZZY OSBOURNE (Rhandy Roads period) and QUEENSRYCHE. The last song which is my favorite ("St. Crispen's Day") starts with an acoustic guitar that brought to my mind of CRIMSON GLORY to evolve in a heavy metal thunder that carries on the legacy of DIO and ZED YAGO... The performance is very skillful and the band has a very talented singer with a voice that will remind you of OZZY OSBOURNE. GEOFF TATE and DIO. The production of the demo is good, but it could have been better in my opinion. Anyway, Babylon deserve your attention... Site : http://maninblackmusic.com Nick "William_Kidd" Parastatidis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DUSK ETERNAL Preludium - Demo 2005 Dusk Eternal is a new born band, if I am not mistaken they only have three months of existence and here we have their first demo CD, which was released before two weeks. The band comes from Greece and with this release they want to show us their music. At first sight you will see the errors that they have done in the booklet, from the photo quality to the wrong order of their song lyrics. Despite that I must say, that they put all the lyrics in the booklet instead of other bands that don't do it. The music from Dusk Eternal can be described as black metal with fast drum parts and hellish guitar riffs. Since I have seen the band live, I can say that the vocals in the live shows reminded me the style of Dani Filth from CRADLE OF FILTH. Another huge drawback is the production and generally the sound of this demo which is below average, sometimes you barely hear all the instruments and the vocals are behind in all instruments in the final mix. Generally I believe that the band must work more in order to release something better, must rehearse more and I believe that this demo was released too early. I hope on their next release everything to be better. E-mail:dusketernal@hotmail.com Antonis Maglaras ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NIOTA Sepia Niota is one of the most interesting band's I had the chance to come across recently, simply cause they manage to combine various styles and blend in, in an ideal way, melody and aggressiveness and in fact I don't know whether this might sound crazy or not, but they have this ability to turn every single riff they play into melody! Weird isn't it? However, that's the only truth and it's called talent! Their music is easily recognizable, characteristic and innovative and reminded me a bit of EVERGREY and their disbanded copatriots NERO CIRCUS! Niota come from the UK and they play quality melodic hardcore and I also have to congratulate here their singer who truly has a stunning voice full of otential. He offers us a colorful and warm interpretation, which combined, with the amazing riffs and melodic lines creates a breath taking sound! The best thing with this demo is that the more you listen to it the more you grow to like it and on the other hand its only drawback is the fact that it contains 2 songs only... Moreover the production has power and volume and it's really clear and heavy, revealing a band ready to be signed! I LOVED the song "2000 Miles"! Invest! Email: niota@niota.co.uk Site: http://niota.co.uk Christine Parastatidou ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLUTONIUM Wind Of Change - Demo 2004 Plutonium is actually the vision and imagination of a sole person, Mr. J. Carlsson, who manages to emprint in his lyrics and musically "iconize" his inner self and personal approach in music. The difficult task here is to try to describe you the kind of music that Plutonium plays... simply because there are elements, tinges and bits and pieces from, more or less, the whole metal range. The band's music is closer to primitive and old fashioned black metal and imposing mid tempo death metal, but nevertheless the modern metal touches are more than obvious and enrich the compositions. So, the very moment you listen to an old fashioned - let's say - riff, you will also listen to a more modern change that makes the song weird and unique! But that's not all! I must add here that all the compositions are imbued in depression and melancholy, in devastation and opelessness, things that bring Plutonium very close to the doom metal genre as well. However, don't worry! The final result is very homogeneous and comes out naturally, so I'm sure you'll love it! J. Carlsson is responsible for everything here, even the production and I must say that he did a very good job. I think he needed to add some more volume, but on the other hand this slightly dim sound offers more personality and suits like a glove to the recordings! Email:plutonium_platoon@hotmail.com Christine Parastatidou ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TWELVE STEP Roots Of Anger - Demo 2005 As we all know Sweden is a country that from time to time gives us extremely interesting metal music. One other thing that is also true is that the abilities of the metal musicians from Sweden are more than satisfactory. Well, since Twelve Step are from Sweden they couldn't be an exception to the above mentioned standards. This new band, has already released its third demo and I believe that their music is quiet original and has elements that can attract both the fans of classic heavy metal and nu - metal. How will they manage to do that? Simply enough their sound combines elements of classic heavy and nu metal. Can you imagine a "crossover" between the sound of IN FLAMES and SYSTEM OF A DOWN? Then you will have a picture of their sound, but only a picture cause you really have to listen to them in order to understand that their music is a whole new experience. Yes, Twelve Step are bold and capable enough to experiment with their influences and create a very personal sound. You might say that I exaggerate, but I believe that they are the European answer to SYSTEM OF A DOWN... You can download their music for free (all their demos) from their official site. Trust me it worths the effort to listen to them... Contact: twelvestepmetal@hotmail.com Site:http://www.twelvestep.se Nikos "William_Kidd" Parastatidis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE PEOPLE DEMO 2004/VOL.2 The music they play won't give you any hint of their origin. Most probably you will think that they are co-patriots of LYNYRD SKYNYRD, MOLLY HATCHET and good friends of ZAKK WYLDE. Well, the truth is that these amazing musicians come from the frozen land of the Vikings and more specifically from Sweden, but they seem to be bored of wearing their horned helmets and changed them with cowboys hats!!! Their music now is a mix of blues(mainly), southern rock, hard rock, heavy metal (you will notice some BLACK SABBATH touches) and punk rock. To be more specific on their first demo (Demo 2004) the band is closer to the blues/stoner rock genre, but on "Vol.2" the punk rock elements are even more intense. All in all, The People's music is amazing,well played rock 'n' roll that will kick your ass and make you listen to them again and again... The best news are that you can download their music for free from their site(see below). Damn, If I had a label I would do everything to sign them... I think it's time to end this review, because I don't want to tire you...P.S. Did I tell you that they are great? ;) Contact:thegrandmfs@yahoo.se Site:http://www.thepeople.se/ Nikos "William_Kidd" Parastatidis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MENTOR Creeping Thoughts... ...Beautiful Crimes Almost two years ago, Mentor, a Greek band, sent me their first demo CD which included four songs, Now the band sent me their next work, which has eight songs and bares the title "Creeping Thoughts... ...Beautiful Crimes". Actually we can say that it is a self financed album but the band characterizes it as a demo release. First of all the band includes an eight pages booklet, with all the lyrics and in high quality printing paper. In my first review I had written that the band just plays typical death metal without putting any other elements in their music. Now in their second attempt, the band has worked harder and the compositions are better worked and thus we have a better result. So, Mentor made a progress from the first to their second release. They have also re-recorded a song from their first demo on this one. Besides the death metal music the band uses some melodic metal elements. To get the point for this, just hear the track "A Lifetime Away From Paradise", which is an incredible melodic instrumental song, which divides the album in two parts. The guitars players also did a very good work, with remarkable guitar riffs and I am really happy because in the end of this review I can say that Mentor have make some progress and their compositions are really interesting. I think the next step is to find a label in order to release their official debut album. E-mail:mentores@vip.gr Antonis Maglaras ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THORNBRACED Order To Chaos - Demo CD 2004 When I was in Chania, a great city in Crete, I had met a band with the name Stillborn, these guys had released a demo CD and an unofficial live recording only for their friends. The band changed their name and now they are Thornbraced and they released their debut demo CD with the title "Order To Chaos". Their music can be described as a mixture of power metal with some elements from progressive metal but they don't have a good production and this is a drawback for the band. Even if they have some really nice ideas they can't give us the whole picture from their vision. Besides they must work harder in order to be more unique and to achieve something in the metal scene. It’s a good try, but they need a lot of work as to how to put their ideas down and write more well worked compositions. E-mail Band:ph05169@cc.uoi.gr Antonis Maglaras --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHAPESHIFT Confusedated - Demo CD 2004 Another band from Germany sent us their latest demo release with the title "Confusedated" which was released last year. The band includes six tracks in this work and their music can be described as progressive metal with a lot of modern metal elements. I found this combination really interesting, because the band isn't the typical progressive metal band with all the elements that ?accompany? this genre. Of course they have some really nice ideas and their compositions are well worked, but they also have a few nu metal touches in their songs. Also the songs aren't too long; all of them are about three minutes long and only one lasts six minutes, so you won?t be bored with their music or with so "long" tracks. For a demo the production is average, but at least you can hear almost clearly all the instruments. You can count on Shapeshift, give them a chance and hear their stuff. Official Site: www.shapeshift.de.vu  E-mail Band: sebastian@shapeshift-music.de Antonis Maglaras-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHI  Demo 2004 Chi comes from China?em sorry from Germany and last year they released their debut demo CD which included five songs. The band is dedicated to the modern metal music and they give us all the power of nu metal. If you are a fan of this kind of music you will love Chi, because they have all the elements for a good nu metal band, for the rest of you I think that Chi will not fit to your taste. Maybe you should check something more mainstream like SYSTEM OF A DOWN and then dive in the nu metal scene generally. While I listen to this demo I hear some really interesting ideas and some well worked compositions. The production is really good for a demo release and you can hear clearly all the instruments. I haven?t got anything more to write, but you can visit their site (still yet only in German language) and to hear some samples from their release. Official Site: www.chimusic.de E-mail Band: info@chimusic.de Antonis Maglaras-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NICTA Let The Darkness Welcome You - Demo 2005 Nicta from Italy is one of those bands that conveinced me with their very first demo that they are capable of doing a lot of things! Well, "Let The Darkness Welcome You" proved me right! No doubt, that Nicta here bring their music one step forward. The band is more confident than ever and that has a result on the compositions, which are almost progressive in their structure. Yes, here you can listen to quite many tempo and theme changes in one song without boring you. On the contrary, these changes are done in such a way that they serve the compositions and make them more interesting. If on their first work Nicta combined melodic death metal with power metal in their sound, on this CD you will also find influences from other metal genres, such as black and neoclassical metal. I don't know how they've managed it, but "Let The Darkness Welcome You" sounds as their more extreme and yet melodic release. These two elements (melody and brutality) coexist in such a harmonic and functional way in their compositions that you won't believe! I also loved the use of female vocals, an addition that gives even more depth to their sound. Nicta is a band with personality and I really find it hard to believe that they haven't found a contract yet... No hesitations here, order the CD, which is very professionaly set... CONTACT: GRAZIANO FERRACIOLI, VIA F. FILZI 148, 45030 CENESELLI (RO), ITALY.  EMAIL: metalnicta@libero.it  SITE: http://www.nicta.cjb.net Nick "William_Kidd" Parastatidis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ IN TEARS BEREAVED Komatos -Demo CD 2004 In Tears Bereaved is a metal band from Austria and last year they released this demo CD, which includes four tracks. The musical direction for the band is the melodic death metal with some doomy and gothic elements. The vocals are the typical death metal but you can understand what the singer sings; they aren't so raw and guttural. When the demo was released the band was actually a one man band, so Roman, played all the instruments. I believe that the band should put more their personal sound and record some unique music. The band now has band members so I think on their next step everything will be better. I will wait for their next step. Official Site:http://in-tears-bereaved.cjb.net  E-mail band: romanmodliba@surfeu.at Antonis Maglaras --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JACKAL Like A Jackal - Demo CD 2005 Jackal is an interesting name for a metal band and also the guys did an interesting cover. I mean their idea is interesting. This demo CD, was released last month and it consists of five tracks. Musically the band walks on the heavy metal paths, with some power metal elements and progressive touches. The demo begins with the very good song "Jackal", a straight forward heavy metal hymn, with interesting guitar works and an easy to remember refrain. Some of the songs are mid tempo, with a very good rhythm section and well worked compositions. I think that the guitar riffs are simple and the band could put more of their personal sound in this section in order to become more unique. A fast song is the "Electric Wall" which with "Jackal" are the hightlights of this demo. The band ends its work with "Rise From The Dust" a seven minutes saga and you can find there many influences from the band, with a good enough rhythm section and a catchy refrain. All in all, the stuff from Jackal places them to be above an average release, but they must work more in order to have a more personal sound. I will be waiting for their next move and I think Jackal will surprise us. Official Site:www.jackal.org.uk  E-mail Band: info@jackal.org.uk Antonis Maglaras --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DEAD TO THIS WORLD Demo 2005 I have the honor to hear the first demo CD from Dead To This World, which is the new band from Iscariah (ex-IMMORTAL). The band was formed in the mid 2002 and last month they released their debut demo CD. The music from Dead To This World is a combination of black / death metal with some thrash metal elements. Those who love the music from IMMORTAL, they already know the musicianship of Iscariah. You can imagine their music with black metal vocals, hellish guitar riffs and a very good rhythm section. I don't know if this demo is for sale but if you find it, grab it or hear it because I believe we will soon have something big from Dead To This World. This release is for the fans of black / death metal and you will get to hear the new songs from Iscariah and take a trip to his world. Last but not least, the sound and the production on this demo are really good and you can hear clearly all the instruments. If you pay attention you will see that the compositions are well worked with some really interesting ideas. Count on it or wait for their next step. Thank you Iscariah. E-mail Band: iscariah@hotmail.com Antonis Maglaras --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CRUCIFIST The Amesbury Horror - Demo CD 2005 Some weeks ago Crucifist released their latest demo CD with the title "The Amesbury Horror" including five songs in it. The band walks in black / death metal paths with mid tempo songs. And as you can predict the production and the sound aren't so good and few are the times when you can hear clearly all the instruments. Personally I didn't find anything really interesting on this demo. I think that?s because the band doesn?t have a personal sound. Of course they have some really nice guitar solos and generally the guitar work is really good, but the rest didn't impress me. Maybe next time, if they have a more personal sound and more uniqueness, if that?s possible. Official Site: www.crucifist.com E-mail Band: ron@suddendeathovertime.com Antonis Maglaras --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RANCURA Odio - Demo CD 2005 Last month the band released their latest demo CD which contains the latest effort from the studio and consists of one track. The band walks in the crossover / nu metal paths and they have a lot of energy. Even if the band recorded it last month they didn't manage to have a good production and some times it is really hard to hear clearly all the instruments. I think they must work harder to create a better sounding recording, with more songs in order to give us the whole picture of their music.  Official Site: www.rancura.it  E-mail Band: rancura@rancura.it  Antonis Maglaras --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AMOK Collection from Demos Amok is a brutal death metal band with some grind elements in their music. The guys sent us a CD with their past three demos, from 2001, 2002 and 2003. If I am not mistaken the band prepares their debut album this time. As I said above their music moves on the brutal death metal paths with grind elements. Most of the songs have duration of about one or two minutes. All the songs are really fast with guttural vocals, a raw sound and fast drum parts. If you are a fan of this kind of music, I think you will find interesting the stuff from Amok, especially the cover song from Sex Pistols, which is the biggest track, around six minutes and the rawest. Some times you can hear clearly all the instruments and what you hear is only noise. Until their next release... Official Site:www.nekro.info E-mail Band: amoklava@hotmail.com Antonis Maglaras --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AMENTES Demo CD 2003 If I am not mistaken the band comes from Serbia and Mondenegro and they released this demo CD two years ago. It consists of four songs plus one video clip. The three songs have lyrics in English and one song has lyrics in their mother language. Amentes  play melodic death metal, with a combination of death metal  with clean vocals. The band also uses the keyboards a lot, so we can hear a lot from this instrument. Also the band prepares their new album with the title "It Could All Have Vanished". I think it will be really interesting to hear their full length work, in order to see the whole picture of their music. I found really interesting ideas in this demo, so I believe the band will make a really good work on their album. Check them out. Official Site:http://amentes.iuma.com E-mail:bkolarski@ptt.yu Antonis Maglaras --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NITRO Dolofoniki Epiroi Well, behind Nitro we find the same person as in Ancient Spirit. However, don't rush into the conclusion that both Nitro and Ancient Spirit play the same kind of music! On the contrary, they differ extremely in their philosophy, lyrical content, inspiration, songwriting... Absolutely in everything! Nitro is a rock - hard rock band with Greek lyrics that mainly deal with sentimental and love issues. Although I usually don't listen to that kind of music and I was a bit reluctant with it, Nitro managed to totally change my mind! Their music is catchy, with nice hooks and generally they have managed to lighten my mood in a stressful period of my life. They are ideal for summertime and parties and I think they are ready to be signed. It won't be an exaggeration to say that some of their songs could become hits and dominate the radiowaves in no time! I am sure that even those of you that aren't so fanatics of this kind of hard rock music, will find them appealing! Musically they brought to my mind Greek bands like KSILINA SPATHIA, MONTAZ, DITIKES SINOIKIES, MASKES, etc with Nitro having a more metal edge to their compositions. Their singer is very good and offers some really nice interpretations, however, he should be a bit careful when he does the high pitched vocals. He has a very good voice, which he can improve even more! I suppose this demo is for the Greeks mainly, but if you don't mind the language, then I reassure you it's a good musical proposal! Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANCIENT SPIRIT Demo Wow! I don't know how long it's been since I've listened to and reviewed an epic heavy metal album, be it a demo or an official release! Furthermore the best thing here is the fact that we are dealing with a much promising band with obvious potential for the future, always given the right chances of course! Don't forget that epic heavy metal may sound an "easy" genre with "easy", "plain" and simple compositions compared to other branches of metal, but it needs guts and above all you have to have it inside you. Epic music must run in your veins or else the deliverance of the compositions will simply sound dull and fake. That, Ancient Spirit have already got and they pave the right path, both lyrically and musically. Lyrically the only song that comprises this demo deals with the epic and heroic battle in Thermopiles with Leonidas and his 300 soldiers. Those who know ancient Greek history must be aware of it. Anyway music-wise now their compositions are simple and straight forward, in your face with a slightly obscure and 80s atmosphere and  a JUDAS PRIEST-like approach in the riffs section. The riffs now are catchy and easily memorizable after listening to the song a couple of times. The vocalist has a true, passionate and a bit hoarse voice and his interpretation that lies somewhere among singing, narrating and declaring the facts, suits perfectly to the overall sound of this song. To cut a long story short I'd advice you to keep an eye on them, because they have more to offer. I have noticed two drawbacks, first of which is the production, that sounds a bit dim and needed some more volume and power. The good thing is that the kind of music they play actually acquires a bit dirty sound, but here the instruments sound like they come from the bottom of a well, giving most of the space to the singer. I think they should have a balance between the volume of the instruments and the vocals, thus the result would sound more unified. The other thing I think needs further improvement is the female vocals. Without them being bad (they could have been much better), they didn't match with the male vocals and I had the icon of three people singing on their own without listening to one another. They should try to achieve a unity in the melodic lines. To summarize I'll only mention that I can't wait to hear more of their compositions!! Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KILLERS BY TRADE Pub Wolves Of London/ Two Behind The Ear (Demos 2005) Do you remember Killers By Trade? The band that mixes rock 'n' roll with a horro thematology and whose demo I presented a while ago? Well, now they strike back with 2 CD singles: "Pub Wolves Of London" and "Two Behind The Ear". On the first single you can listen to an alternative version of the song "Loup Garou" they included in their previous demo. However, here you will have a hard time trying to recognize it, since Killers By Trade have transformed it to a heavy almost doomy song? I personally love this version since it gives it a nightmarish atmosphere. the other song included here is "Werewolves Of London", which is a cover song. Since, I havent' had the chance to listen to the original one, I have to say that they managed to make it sound very close to the kind of music they play...  The second CD single under the title "Two Behind The Ear" also includes two tracks only. Once again it has an alternate version of the song "Steel" recorded for their previous demo, which they have transformed to a dark, heavy crawling composition. I liked this version too, but I can't say it's better than the original one. I would say that they are of equal quality. Finally, they have a cover to AC/DC's "Night Prowler" and it's amazing how Killers By Trade made it sound like a compositions of their own. With these 2 releases I now have a complete image of Killers By Trade's music and I can say that it worths the trouble to find and listen to them. For more information contact: Jackgreen95@yahoo.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LORD IMPALER Promo 2005 Lord Impaler is a black metal band hailing us from Kastoria, a beautiful town in the North-West part of Greece. The reason I mention this, in the very beginning of this presentation, is because if you had the chance to listen to this promo CD now, you would have the impression that we are dealing with a band originating from the cold northern countries or Norway in particular, if you prefer. Their music couold be described as monolithic, old school and old fashioned Norwegian black metal with frozen riffs and a really primitive, raw and aggressive atmosphere. The growls are very nice and whilst listening to them I had this image of a vulture stalking its prey. That's how I think the vocalist felt and interpreted the songs. The compositions have a short duration and I think the guys know well what they are doing cause this kind of music needs sharpness and tightness, so there is no need for boring and endless repetitions of the same riffs. One more thing that I liked is the use of keyboards, which is important but without having the front role. I mean they are obvious, but they don't dominate the music. I'm sure Lord Impaler have more to give to the scene in the future, so keep an eye on them! Site: http://users.reilam.gr/~lordimpaler Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SIRENS OF LAMENT Masks Thrown Off... I have realized that whenever I'm astound by a release, I'm lost for words and can't write a proper review. I can't put down to words what I feel and think and thus I feel the inadequacy of my own writings. That's the deal with Sirens Of Lament. In fact I think I'm going to call them "the phenomenon" from now on! This 5 track demo is a pure dynamite! Devastating music that will tear your souls apart and will perish everything that stands in its way. AMAZING melodic death/thrash metal with some black metal edges from time to time that as soon as the first surpirse passes will turn you into deranged headbangers! Not to mention of course the vocals which are magnificent, both the more brutal growls and the black screams. The only thing they have to pay more attention to is the pronunciation of the lyrics whenever they use clean vocals. The weirdest thing is that this is their first demo and that the band only exists a few months!!!! I don't know what to say... The production is excellent, the artwork and layout very professional and everything is superbly set and planned! To give you a clearer view I have to tell you that Sirens Of Lament follow the path paved by the pioneers of the Swedish death metal genre such as DARK TRANQUILLITY, IN FLAMES and of course AT THE GATES, who later on became THE HAUNTED. Have I told you for the 100th time how excellent this demo is? Well, do yourselves a favor and ORDER it NOW!!! You will have the chance to support a band that is doomed to become famous - given the right chances of course! I am intrigued and enthralled at the fact that they have managed to balance melody and aggressiveness, bitternerss and melancholy with anger and rage i such a perfect way... This is ART my friends! Art is emotions or at least it must evoke emotions and Sirens Of Lament surely can!!!! A masterpiece!!!! I bet they will find a label in no time!!! Email: sirensoflament@hotmail.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DEATH HEAVEN Techno Decomposition World - Demo 2005 I'm astound at Death Heaven, who once again prove that the Italians have a really strong death metal underground scene. Death Heaven belong to the brutal school of death metal with sometimes even reaching the grindcore boundaries. Their compositions are technically flawless, full of blastbeats and crushing rhythms! However, don't think that speed and aggressiveness are the only 2 things present in their music. On the contrary you will have the chance to listen to some excellent riffs that will stick to your mind and also some very nice melodic tunes and a marvellous acoustic guitar theme! The vocals are guttural and extreme to the core with some black metal edges every now and then, which enrich their sound and offer more diversity! The production is very good and really professional, in fact I don't think you'll realize this is a demo work! So, all in all if you are fans of technical death metal with levelling riffs and skull crushing speeds, then you definitely have to check Death Heaven out. The demo costs ONLY € 3 (without postage) and you can order it from the email below. One more thing! Don't forget to surf their site! It's extremely beautiful and well functioning, the only drawback is that you have to speak Italian in order to read its contents. Email: baital@deathheaven.org  Site: http://www.deathheaven.org Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARATHON H Koultoura Kai To String (The Culture And The String) Demo 2005 Marathon from Greece is a band that mixes hard rock with the blues. The man behind this group is the very talented and skillful axeman Miltos Chalkidis. The band tried with this demo to do something different and more "relaxing". First of all, the lyrics are in Greek and are imbued in a very humorous mood. So, thsi release mainly applies to the Greek audience, not only because of the language but because they make fun of the Greek reality. The first song "Mi Fovase" (Don't Be Afraid) is a hot erotic ballad in the spirit of Jimmis Panousis. The second track "Pezodromos" (Sidewalk) has a bittersweet humour about how once great ideas are sold out by those who have once supported them. The song "H Kithara Mou Tha Faei Ti Mama Sou" (My Guitar Will Eat Your Mother) has the typical theme where a guy likes rock music and he is not wanted from the parents of the girl he is in love with. "Ena Tragoudi Gia Tis Panellinies" (A Song For The University Exams) has a very clever humour and perfectly describes the situation that a young person in Greece has to go through in order to pass in University and the consequences he is confronted with if he/she fails. "Marionet" (The Puppet) is the serious and revolutionary song of this CD. It talks about the need to be free and fight for your freedom. Somehow it has the same message with HELLOWEEN's "I Want Out". "Parodos Eliodorou" (Eliodorou Alley) is a song about the "false" people that ned to be trendy or to watch art or movies that even they can't understand, just to prove to the rest that they are different and special. The main message is that it's cool after all to be an underground person. Finally, "Ta Blues Tou Proinou Ksipnimatos" (The Blues Of The Morning Rise) has a bluesy feeling and it talks about our everyday lives, the problems we are confronted with in our work or in school. I believe this one has auniversal message! Hehe! OK, I believe I have written a few words about each song... Musically now the compositions are very interesting and support the humorous lyrics and ocne again the guitar work is simply great! If you want to have some fun, just contact the band to the following email: marathon@mail.gr That's all (for now) folks!! Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HATEFORM Promo 2005 A pleasant surprise reached me out of the blue! A few days ago I received the promo CD of this Finnish quintet and I've never expected to listen to such a professional and first class deathcore!!! The vocals are simply superb and the singer sounds REALLY pissed off, being more than just convincing! The rhythm section is amazing and the strong bontage among the band members is obvious! Their rhythms are concrete and their riffs and tunes will make you bang till you bleed. The production is exceptional, really voluminous and powerful! the whole thing is flawless with a crystal clear like a professional recording and I can't actually find any drawback. So, if you like to listen to melodic death/thrash and hardcore you definitely have to check these guys out and if a label reads these lines, then don't lose the chance to sign such a promising act!!! Email: jontte@wchmetal.net Site: http://www.hateform.net Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOMA SOUL TRANSFUSION Albedo Adaptation - Demo 2004 I have a great respect for the Swedish metal scene, bt lately except perhaps for PAIN OF SALVATION, nothing new seems to come from over there or at least the labels are afraid to sign groups that play different (from the scene standards) or innovative music. The underground scene of Sweden, though, seems to have some good hidden cards and Soma Soul Tranfusion seem to be one of those. From the moment I received the demo "Albedo Adaptation", I have listened to it many times and their work always leaves me with an emotion of fullfilment. Everything you want to hear from a progressive metal band are here. The emotions of depression, rage, melancholy, love and hate are united and create the sound of Som Soul Transfusion. Their music can be characterized as a mystical journey to the depths of your inner self. "Albedo Adaptation" works as a map that will reveal to you things about the human nature you couldn't even imagine. Yeah, Soma Soul Transfusion are not progressive in the way DREAM THEATER are, the guys don't play complicated musical themes, but it has the essence and substance and it's closer to bands like PSYCHOTIC WALTZ, PAIN OF SALVATION, SYSTEM OF A DOWN and QUEENSRYCHE. I won't try to convince you whether you should buy this demo or not, that's your decision to make, however, I feel blessed that I had the chance to listen to such a wonderful emotional music. Thank you guys and good luck in the future, cause you worth it!!! Contact this AMAZING BAND: axelsson_mattias@hotmail.com Site: http://www.soultransfusion.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soma Soul Transfusion (that?s a really big name for a band) released last year their latest demo CD under the title "Albedo Adaptation". This demo includes four songs and their music is really depressive as well as the lyrics. Actually the band combines the depressive music, with some progressive elements and thus we have the music from Soma Soul Transfusion. The production and the sound are good enough for a demo release and you can hear clearly all the instruments and understand what the band wants to give you.  Imagine the depressive feeling of MY DYING BRIDE and you will have the completely atmosphere from Soma Soul Transfusion. Of course their music is "lighter" than the music of MY DYING BRIDE and they have clean vocals. Really interesting stuff, you can check them out! Antonis Maglaras --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSECTED Killing For Recreation Wow!!!! This is the first thing that came to my mind when I first laid my hand on and listened to"Killing For Recreation". How can this not be an official release? I'll start in an unorthodox way with the artwork and layout...they are simply superb and there isn't the slightest thing that indicates that this is a demo CD. The whole package is very beautiful and tasteful and I am sure you will all like it! Now as for the music, well that's the best part! Insected deliver on this CD 4 amazing compositions that dwell somewhere between the brutal and the more melodic death metal. It's hard for me to tell you which side of death metal dominates the other... I think the album is split in half with some more melodic a la AT THE GATES or SLAYER riffs giving their place to relentless blastbeats that take you high into a raving situation! It's a pity there are only 4 songs, but I am more than certain that we will be hearing from then soon in the near future. A really strong trademark for the sound of Insected, according to me, are the vocals , responsible for which is Nick "S.I.C" Maiis (x-DARK VISION), who interprets the songs with a lot of passion, spitting his guts out, filled with bile and rage! His vocals are guttural and extremely brutal and make their compositions sound even more aggressive and  insane. Behind the bass duties we find Tristessa, famous from her all-female band ASTARTE, showing us that she is interested in death metal as well. The production is very good, it has volume, it's powerful and clear and generally this is a very professional release. Don't miss it!!! Contact:insected_band@yahoo.gr Site: http://www.insected.tk Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EMBALMED Scattering The Ashes Of War - Demo 2002 The only reason this release is presented here in the demo section is because the band asked me to do so, otherwise "Scattering The Ashes Of War" would be in the releases section, since it has the duration of a full length album. From the cover of this CD, which shows Vickings attacking a village, you can understand that the band has a lot of epic elements in its music. To be more accurate Embalmed play epic death/black metal, which means that the biggest part of the compositions are mid tempo with some faster outbursts from time to time. I found in their sound references to bands like IMMORTAL, BATHORY, DOOMSWORD, AMON AMARTH, ROTTING CHRIST, BOLT THROWER along with some influences from SEPULTURA and SLAYER. Embalmed don't just pay tribute to the above mentioned groups, byt they adapt their influiences into their own personal sound. This first demo presents a very promising band that is ready to conquer the world with their music. So, I would advise the record labels to come in touch with them, cause Embalmed can offer a lot of things in the extreme epic metal genre. Finally, the production of the demo is good and allows you to listen to all the instruments, however, I would like the sound of the guitars to be a little bit louder in some parts. Epic metallers around the world contact the band at the following address: EMBALMED, PANAGIOTIS GOUNARIS, SKARAMAGKA 46, T.K. 82100, CHIOS, GREECE.  Email: archon669@hotmail.com Favorite songs: "Serenading My Battling Dominion", "Battle Remains", "Our Darkest Times" and "Violate A Virgin Sky". Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MASS INFECTION Promo 2005 This is the second demo work we receive from Mass Infection and once again it reveals a hard working band that wants to make something out of all these. A quartet that works professionaly and keeps a standard quality to all its works. However, they have slightly changed their sound, in fact to be more precise they still belong to the same genre, which is no other than death/thrash, but this time "Promo 2005" contains more extreme, more aggressive and more brutal songs. The thrash edge of the songs has partially given its place to more brutal death metal, something that seems to fit to the band's profile and work with their sound. The band's new drummer proves to be a very good replacement and does a very nice job behind the drum kit, helping Mass Infection sound even more brutal. The production is once again very good with a clear and powerful sound and if you consider yourselves to be the kind of extreme metallers who dig into the underground ( I have the belief that the underground scene is better than mainstream music!), then you should check Mass Infection out and get in touch with them! Contact: MASS INFECTION, LYTRAS NIKOS, 87 KARAGIANNOPOULOU STR., 321 00, LIVADIA, GREECE. Email: massinfection@hotmail.com Site: http://www.massinfection.cjb.net Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KILLERS BY TRADE Demo 2005 As their bio says Killers By Trade are not a metal band, however their sound isn't totally strange to the metallers. Put some good old rock 'n' roll with punk rock and add in some SISTERS OF MERCY influences, epsecially on the vocals and you have the main ingredients of Killers By Trades' msuic. Moreover, the horror thematology of the 2 songs included here, "Steel" (it deal with a serial killer) and "Loup Garou" (a werewolf story), give to the band a gothic aesthetics. Call them whatever you want, either horror or goth rockers, the sure thng is that the band's music is interesting and proper to listen to in a party. Both songs are very good with "Loup Garou" being the most metal oriented, but I prsonally vote for "Steel" cause of the great grooves it has. So, do you want to listen to something different and relaxing? Then Killers By Trade is what you're looking for! I hope they will be a full membered band in their next release, cause a real drummer could make their sound more vivid!!! Contact:Jackgreen95@yahoo.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KORONZON Promo 2005 It's to my great satisfaction to realize that there are some bands that manage to find their personal stigma, the sound that characterizes them the most and evolve it! This is the deal with Koronzon, a band from my hometown that I came across by mere coincidence and luck (I may add)... I simply went to a live show and they were the headlining act and it was in that live show that I first listened to their music. I understood a lot of things from that show... First of all, they are a well bonded, a tight band destined to play live! It's in their veins, naturally flowing like their blood, since not only do they manage to perform and execute the songs very well, but they also have an incredible ability to communicate with the fans and achieve an interaction during their shows. Indeed that live show made me believe firmly that Koronzon is a hidden gem waiting to be dug out by some open minded, clever and observing guy! Now, I hold in my hands the band's second demo work and they prove me right once again. The only drawback this band has is the fact that they don't have the media by their side and a strong label behind them to support them. Other than that they are ready from every single aspect and they surely have the potential to become famous in Greece and abroad as well. Their 3 piece promo CD moves on very good, I could almost say professional standards, since the sound is very good and the production is more than satisfying for a demo, but their real ace are their compositions. Very tight, uptempo, furious, aggressive thrash/death with a good vibe, groove and catchy riffs and tunes are their main components. Plus, the rhythmical section is really powerful, sounding like a concrete wall and to all this comes the band's gifted singer to complete the puzzle. I like his vocals a lot, because they are multi-levelled and by that I mean that they are not a monotonous constant yelling, but they vary from brutal growls with a thrashy aesthetics to demonically raged blackish screams. To sum up, I can't find any drawback to this release and in fact I can't see why any label hasn't signed them yet... Be clever! You know what you have to do... Contact: koronzon@koronzon.com Site: http://www.koronzon.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PYTHON Demons Within - Demo 2005 The head of the python as a symbol and the 80s style logo made me feel that Python won't disappoint me. Indeed, these newcomers from U.S.A. seem to know well the art of creating classic thrash metal. They are from New York, however, their sound has the blend of bay area thrash (yeah, my favorite thrash metal movement). The 3 compositions included here are full of energy and rage and will make you mosh without mercy. I will not be exaggerating if I say that ICED EARTH and TESTAMENT would be very proud if they could compose tracks like "Anarchy" and "lost Thoughts". Finally, I want to stand on the vocals of Joe Holzapfel who reminded me of Matt Barlow. I believe he is a very good singer and Python must take this advantage and compose some songs oriented more into heavy/power ,etal. Actually, this will give more variety to this awesome band. The production of the demo is raw and dirty, something that makes their sound even more original. So, labels out there sign Python and bring them to Greece for a live show. It's time to put the mosh pits on fire!!! Site: http://www.pythonband.com Contact: PYTHON, P.O. BOX 163, ROCK HILL, NY 12775, U.S.A. Email: general@pythonband.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LUNATIC DREAMS Flesh Lunatic Dreams is a quartet from Poland existing since 2001 and since I haven?t heard them before, I take their word that their musical status and direction has changed a lot since then. Nowadays Lunatic Dreams offer us a 3 piece demo, plus an mp3 of the song ?Holy Priest? taken from their previous demo entitled ?Holy Priest?, under the general title ?Flesh?. First of all, the cover artwork is very beautiful, extremely professional I?d say and representative and ideal of the band?s sound. Now, ?Flesh? presents us a band moving on the brutal death metal path with an intense dirty, thrash feeling within their compositions.  The vocals aren?t very brutal, but they are mainly thrashy sounding, the compositions are up tempo with a good sound and you?ll have the chance to listen to some really interesting and catchy riffs. It?s obvious that there is a good chemistry in the band and you get to realize this from the rhythm section which is pretty solid! Poland is a country famous for the fact that most of its bands belong to the extreme genre and mainly to the brutal death metal school. This means that there is a good scene and Lunatic Dreams belong among those bands which raise this country?s metal status!  Contact: LUNATIC DREAMS, ADAM PUCYKOWICZ, UL. ZAGRODNIKI 43 A, 38-440 IWONICZ, POLAND. Email: fadamas@poczta.fm Site: www.lunaticdreams.metal.pl Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NETTLETHRONE Blueprint Ok I am not a big fan of melodic death/black metal, as my sister is, but from time to time there are some releases or some specific bands that manage to win my attention with their sound. That's the case with nettlethrone, who with their demo "Blueprint" managed to take me to the sky! It's not that the group plays something innovative, but they have a great passion for what they do and assemble riffs and ideas in such a clever way that will take by surprise even the most experienced listeners of the genre. Nettlethrone also have a good sense of melody and the use of some thrash metal elements give an extra volume to their sound. The production stands on a very professional level, something that makes you feel that you are listening to an official release supported by a big label. So, if you feel rage and you don't know how to channel it, then Nettlethrone seem to have the cure!!! They deserve a contract!! Check them out!!!! Contact: RAGIP TUZUN CAD., OMURTAK SOK. 18/5 YENIMAHALLE - ANKARA, TURKEY. Email: info@nettlethrone.com OR nettlethrone@email.com OR nettlethrone@yahoo.com. Site: http://www.nettlethrone.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DARK NIGHTMARE The Blood Land - Demo 2005 This is the third release of Dark Nightmare and the things seem to have changed and improved in some parts, in comparison to their 2 previous demos. First of all, the band has left out all the power metal elements they had and turned towards a more traditional/ classic heavy metal direction. Actually, I can describe their sound as epic metal mainly influenced by bands like IRON MAIDEN and the early QUEENSRYCHE era. All 3 songs included in "The Blood Land" are mid tempo compositions with some fast outbreaks. An element very important, if you want to create an epic sound, if you ask me. One other thing that gave me joy is the improvement of Yannis' voice, who reminded me of BRUCE DICKINSON and TOBIAS SOMMET (EDGUY). Finally, I liked the lyrics a lot cause they are based on the Greek mythology/history without becoming nationalistic or facistic at all, something that shows the band's maturity! As a conclusion I can say that "The Blood Land" is the most melodic work of Dark Nightmare that classic metallers will surely appreciate a lot. However, personally I prefer their first 2 demos and especially the second one! Contact: PAPADIMITRIOU YANNIS, 52 EVAGELISTRIAS STREET, 51100 GREVENA, GREECE. Email: dnightmare99@hotmail.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ORION'S REIGN The Guiding Light - Demo 2004 Along with this demo the band sent me a note, telling me that the 3 songs included here won't help me understand where exactly they are moving musically. Now that I have listened to this release, I will agree with them. To make it more clear to you, let me describe you their songs. The first track is called "Steel Horizons" and I had the chance to listen to it for the first time in the compilation Greece Attacks. It is an instrumental song and moves on the path of neoclassical Power Metal and reminded me of groups like RHAPSODY and of course YNGWIE MALMSTEEN. In this song what I liked is that somewhere in the middle of it they change the theme they play with a melody that reminded me of MEGADETH. A very good composition and skillful playing. The second track, which is also my favourite is called "Prelude To Rage". Here we have a great power metal composition. This song has the speed moments of RUNNING WILD/ RIOT mixed with the groovy rhtythms of HOLY MOTHER. Thank you guys you offered me a great moment of headbanging with "Prelude To Rage". Finally, the track "The Guiding Light" is something that I didn't expect to listen to from ORION'S REIGN.It starts as a 70's Rock ballad with many southern rock elements in the vein of LYNYRD SKYNYRD, but as it goes on and on it turns into a classic hard 'n' heavy thunder. A very mature composition indeed. "The Guiding Light" is the only song that has lyrics, cause ORION'S REIGN are still searching for a good singer, so if you think that you are capable for this place or you want to order their demo contact them at the following  ADDRESS : Themis Katsimichas, Karaoli Dimitriou 37, 190 02 Paiania, Greece or EMAILS : orionsreign@hotmail.com, the666thson@hotmail.com. Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MALIGNANT MONSTER Welcome To Your Doom You know there are 2 occasions in which it's really hard for me to write a review... The first is when the band plays such a weird music that it can't be categorized, thus it's hard for me to describe it to you and give you a clue of the band's sound and the second one is when I am in the position I am right now... What do I mean by that? That I love a release so much that it's impossible for me to put down to words what the music makes me feel or think... What I want is to try to transubstantiate the notes into words and thoughts, all these filtered through my personal perception and taste of course... Anyway enough with the philosophical part and my beforehand "self-atonement" - to save me from the embarassement caused by a bad or unworthy review (a really selfish motive don't you think? Haha!). Our subject here is this incredible band that listens to the name Malignant Monster! This duo, hailing us from Australia, plays an AMAZING mixture of thrash with death metal - both melodic and brutal - and has managed to create a sound that not only isn't trivial and ordinary, but on the other hand is catchy and unique! Yes, believe me you will be able to recognize their sound from the very second listening!!!! This is what we mean when we say that some people have a natural talent, a star, an artistic urge to create something special and original! I am simply amazed and enchanted with their compositions and you still don't know what the great and strange part is... Ok the production is not very good, but the thing is that this demo was created only with the intention to get some feedback and perhaps help them find members to complete the line up. "Welcome To Your Doom" consists of 3 superb songs that don't have any bass guitar on them!!! Vocals, one guitar and a drum machine is what there is and yet the sound is SO rich, so vast and full of everything that you won't mind! The compositions are so clever and catchy that will make you headbang and hum the songs for hours. The vocals are great, really powerful, raw and aggressive and I also liked some slightly oriental riffs that exist in the last track "Turrets Of Blood". Malignant Monster brought to my mind some bands, but I can't mention any of them, because the final result is so special that I would only reduce it's value by mentioning any influences... Don't lose this release!!!! Keep an eye on them, they are the true thing!!!! EMAIL: malignantmonster@hotmail.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SACRED BLOOD Clash Of The Titans - Demo 2004 This demo was released under the name of SACRED, but the band had to change it into SACRED BLOOD cause another band existed with that name. CLASH OF THE TITANS starts with the intro "March Of The Gods" which in the beginning will remind you of VIRGIN STEELE, however the group is more oriented into the teutonic heavy metal. I can't say that they copy any specific band, since they have a quite personal sound. However, I think that JUDAS PRIEST, STORMWITCH, GRAVE DIGGER, REBELLION and RUNNING WILD are amongst their influences. Their thematology is inspired by the ancient Greek mythology/history and it fits perfectly to the classic heavy/epic metal they play. All the compositions included here are very good and I am sure that friends of this sound will appreciate them a lot. Now the group prepares it's first full - length album  which will be a concept and will narrate the epic battle of Thermopyles, where 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians sacrificed their lives because they didn't want to lose their freedom. I will wait anxiously for this release, but till then "Clash Of The Titans" will keep me a good company. As for my favorite song from this release, is definitely "Velerefontis"... EMAIL : argiriss@yahoo.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INWARD SANCTUM Secret Ocean's Sorcery - Promo 2004 Inward Sanctum consist of the very same members as NORTHERN BREEZE, who my brother reviewed a while ago (the review can be found below). The thing is that I don't know what to say and how to describe their music, cause I am afraid I'm gonna repeat pretty much the same thing, that Nick mentioned... Vaggelis and Kris are once again behind this band and they prove to be really capable songwriters, who create really nice compositions and arrange them in an excellent way as well! Inward Sanctum are more death oriented and being more specific I'll tell you that they move on the death/black metal musical idiom with lots of classic heavy metal references in their sound. However, the kind of music they deliver is full of enchanting and atmospheric melodies, that hypnotize you with their beauty! The combination of aggressiveness and melody, of extreme with clean vocals is something I love and believe me Inward Sanctum do an incredible job on that subject! The production is quite good for a demo, not perfect, but doesn't "destroy" or "bury" the songs and I am sure if they are lucky enough they can do magnificent things! Support them! EMAIL: krisevilised@yahoo.com CONTACT: NORTHERN BREEZE, AMORGOU 8, P.C. 35100, LAMIA, GREECE. Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANGELS UNDER GLASS Hallucination (Demo CD) The frst time that I heard about this band, was from my sister Christine. She has reviewed the second CD of Greece Attacks and told me that one of her favorite songs from that compilation was from a band called ANGELS UNDER GLASS. So, when we received this CD I listen to it from curiosity. Well, I can assure you that this time curiosity didn't kill the cat!!! On the contrary ANGELS UNDER GLASS managed to take me into a deep emotional journey. The guys combine in their sound many musical styles with their only purpose to create emotions and I believe that they succeeded very well in that. Don't expect to listen to music that can easily be labeled, cause ANGELS UNDER GLASS move very easily from progressive to power and then to atmospheric metal. I also want to underline the great work that they have done on the themes played by the keyboards. They really create the canvas, where the musicians can paint with their instruments. The only thing that this group needs to improve is the production and of course the proncunciation of their singer. A very beautiful demo that has the duration of a full length album and I recommend you order it!!!! EMAIL : angelsunderglass@hotmail.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EMBRACE DEPART Promo 2004 Embrace Depart is a promising act originating from Edessa, a small and very beautiful town, which however is far away from the big "centres of decision" or if you prefer from the musical cradle of Greece. And here comes the amazing part... These guys are unbelievable! Their music is unique and special and has, believe it or not, its own trademark. Their music approaches and moves on a wide variety of genres and influences, but could be mainly described as atmospheric doom metal with lots of classic heavy metal tinges. The 2 bands that mainly come to my mind are CANDLEMASS when it comes to the dark and doomy atmosphere and AMORPHIS (mainly from the "Tuonela" era) when it comes to the vocal interpretation and the keyboard parts. I don't have anything else to add here except for the fact that they've managed to build up great compositions with a solif and nice production! So, if you are into this kind of music Embrace Depart is a band that you shouldn't lose!!!!! EMAIL: embracedepart@freemail.gr  Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ILLOGO Isteresi - Promo 2004 I am speechless and in fact I am in the very awkward and difficult position of trying to describe the sound of this band. Well, there is no way I can give you the slightest clue, unless you listen to the music itslef! This is undoubtedly on eof the weirdest bands I've come across! Their compositions don't have a structure, don't have a specific start and the conclusion you would have expected. This is weird music from its beginning till its end. trying to be more specific I can tell you that they bear influences from a wide variety of musical genres, mainly metal, starting from death and moving to grind and black metal, going from industrial and electronic to noise! Their music isn't coherent and they simply and easily can jump from one point to another or from one branch to its extreme opposite! I wonder how come the vocals continue using lyrics that have a continuance and not changing and having weird combinations and unmatching ideas! Well, summing up I'll tell you that their music is difficult and yet intriguin and if you are into brutal detah/grind/black/noise you should check them out! God can it be true? I'd swear I've listened to some jazzy themes in their songs... Ok, I close this review before I'll completely flip! This is deranged music for clever people with extraordinary and special taste. I definitely recomend it, if you are searching for something pioneering and out of the ordinary! EMAIL:info@illogo.net SITE: http://www.illogo.net Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NORTHERN BREEZE Northern Breeze - Demo 2004 I don't know if you like the Greek black metal scene, but personally I adore it! I like the way most of the Greek bands combine the aggressiveness of black metal with the melodies and tunes of classic heavy metal. Northern Breeze not only belong to this category, but I am sure that if they continue having the inspiration they have on this demo, they will surely take their place amongst the leaders of our scene. In their sound you can find the melodic black/heavy metal way of ROTTING CHRIST mixed with the cold and epic riffs of IMMORTAL. The result is really majestic and can take your breath away! The production is very good, especially if you think that it's home made and although they use a drum machine, they sound of it didn't bother me at all. Behind Northern Breeze are Kris and Vaggelis, who have also got another band called INWARD SANCTUM. Finally, the cover artwork is simply beautiful and describes perfectly the emotions that the music of Northern Breeze can create to the listener. My favourite song is "Dream Valley" cause it belongs amongst the best metal compositions I've listened to till now. Friends of the epic sound order it without second thoughts! Labels, give a descent contract to this band, they definitely worth it! AMAZING!!! EMAIL: krisevilised@yahoo.com CONTACT: NORTHERN BREEZE, AMORGOU 8, P.C. 35100, LAMIA, GREECE. Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CROSSFIRE Decisions Of Hate CROSSFIRE! This is a name you should keep in mind, cause they are going to occupy and maintain our interest from this point on. I know one thing for sure. I haven't listened to that many bands from Turkey, but those I had the chance to come across to, amazed me! CROSSFIRE is a band that needs and deserves the support and respect of the worldwide press. Be it an exaggeration, but I'd call them the successors of MEZAR KABUL (previously known as THE PENTAGRAM). The bontage among the CROSSFIRE members is obvious and allows them to write tight and essential compositions. In a time that heavy power/thrash metal isn't at the centre of attention it's really comforting to meet such talented individuals. Everything is perfect! The band consists of an amazing vocalist with an excellent performance that bringd to my mind Matt Barlow (x- ICED EARTH), a really heavy and solid rhythm section and some well crafted solos wrapped up in a superb producyion( exclusively made by the band). All these don't allow any space for doubts! Besides, the whole package, artwork, layout is great and on really professional standards. One last thing I'd like to underline here is that there is a special demo fan edition that includes special studio and live video tracks for the CROSSFIRE fan club, the Nightwolves. Check them out!!! CONTACT US : info@crossfirenet.com Official CROSSFIRE Website : http://www.crossfirenet.com Management : rebel@crossfirenet.com Official CROSSFIRE Fan Club - NIGHTWOLVES : http://nightwolves.crossfirenet.com nightwolves@crossfirenet.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECRET ISLAND Promo 2004 Secret Island is a new traditional metal band from Thessaloniki, Greece and this is their first recording. I am always glad to listen to new bands that play metal in general and doom in particular the old way. Secret Island hail the right bands in this demo and so I was more than certain that they would be as doom as the names Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus imply. This promo has two songs that strangely both last 5:54 and are ?Secret island? and ?Mysteries unveiled?. So I guess I cannot go on telling about the music in general but better treat each song separately. ?Secret island? starts with a bass line that works as an intro and then slow drumming jumps in to prepare for what?s to follow. I think that this song is mainly epic/heavy metal with a doom feeling than plain epic doom. Slow and fast heavy metal riffing, soulful soloing and good vocals are the characteristics of this band. The vocals are harsh and reminded me of a slightly less harsh form of the Averon singer. But they fit just as well and do not spoil the result as many Greek bands tend to do. The second song ?Mysteries unveiled? is pure doom that shows a great Candlemass mentality in riffing and soloing. Vocals are also great and bass is loud and strong. This song has a slight oriental touch that makes it even more doom and the lyrics are of the fantasy type that Candlemass first introduced. The song also finishes with the same bass line that was played in the beginning. The strong points of Secret Island are the amazing guitar work and the urge to play true epic doom. I can?t really say that they miss something specific but I guess every band in the world can get better in time. The production is beautiful unlike many other Greek releases and I think that this lack of the classic Greek flaws can help this band make its mark on the metal scene. And trust me they have the potential to do it because they know what doom is and how it should sound. I am expecting great stuff from them in the future. DOOM ON LADS!!!! CONTACT : nnekros@in.gr George "Volt" Tassis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SINOCENCE The Beautiful Death Scene - Demo 2004 This is the third demo we receive from Sinocence and I surely hope it will be their charm! The guys definitely worth the recognition and approval of a larger audience! What I came to realize is that it's one of a few (hand-numbered I'd say in exaggeration) bands that progress ad evolve indeed and this is obvious release after release! "The Beautiful Death Scene" is a great 5 piece mini cd with a very good production and a nice layout. Once again we see the same beautiful girl in the cover artwork. However, this time the main "theme" colour is red - suitable if we take into consideration the album's title "The Beautiful Death Scene"... As for their music there isn't much I could say without making a fool of myself. I don't know if this is a new genre, but what I know with certainty is that Sinocence have managed to form an original, unique and personal sound that sounds innovative, but never trying to provoke us on purpose. Their music is honest and I like the blackened and a bit claustrophobic atmosphere they create! The mood the songs have is ideal for their music that bears elements from the thrash metal genre, the punk and rock/hard rock branches with some slight grungy tinges thrown in every now and then! I've listened to this demo lots of times and the more I listen to it the more I grow to like it. It's obvious that the band has worked a lot in order to achieve this result with beautiful melodies filling in, combined with dark riffs and nice rhythms. The last but not least component of Sinocence's music are Moro's vocals, who offers some really emotive and passionate interpretations that quite often chill my blood! I loved all the songs, but my favourite one is "Scarred Human Voodoo Doll" which has, believe it or not, a symphonic (a la SAVATAGE) character, due to the use of a piano. It's a very special song and being promoted correctly I strongly believe that this song can open the doors for them and bring them success... Promotion is all this band really needs... EMAIL: sinocence13@hotmail.com SITE: http://www.sinocence.co.uk CONTACT: SINOCENCE, 11 CAMDEN STREET (FLAT 4), BELFAST, BT9 6AT, NORTHERN IRELAND. Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HONEY FOR CHRIST The Art Of Self Abuse And Soul Erosion (Demo 2000) This demo was released before "Forging Iron Will" and I asked the band to send it to me, because I become a greedy bastard when I listen to great music! So, after a long wait, the band sent me this demo only to prove me what great metal composers they are! Yes, you guys are a fucking great metal band, no matter if you sell 100 or 10000 copies. You play sincere heavy metal straight from the heart and only if somebody is deaf won't bang his/her head with your music. The roughness of Honey For Christ could "scare" away even some of the black metal bands. Their sound is unique cause they mix different styles, from classic heavy metal to speed and doom metal (just listen to "Orion Past"). Once again Jason's voice reminded me of EVERGREY's Tom S. Englund and in some parts of the song "Glutton Of Misery" they reminded me of my favourite band RUNNING WILD. I wonder if Honey For Christ know them or it's just pure coincidence. Oh, I wish I had lots of money and a label, cause Honey For Christ are one of those bands that worth to play in a stadium. Metal on my brothers from Ireland...!!! EMAIL: hfc@heavymetal.co.uk SITE: http://www.honeyforchrist.co.uk Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUBICAL SPHERE Demo 2004 Well, I don't think that I am the most proper person to review this demo, since I don't know much about progressive music and especially progressive/death metal. This is why I will try to present the sound of Cubical Sphere from the aspect of an ordinary listener. The truth is that when the guys told me that they mix extreme music with jazz, I was kind of scared cause I don't really like this kind of music (jazz). However, I've decided to give them a try and listen to their demo. Well, I didn't expect it, but I liked a lot what I've listened to. The musicians are very skillful and seem to know their instruments well. Their music has substance and it isn't garrulous or show off. They reminded me of bands like ATHEIST, CYNIC and TOURNIQUET. I think that you should give them a chance, especially knowing that the band gives this demo for free. By the way, the only disadvantage of the demo is the use of a drum machine. The production was made on a pc and it's quite good for a demo. Cubical Sphere are interested in finding a good drummer. So, if you think that you are a skillful drummer or you just want to ask them to send you their demo, you have to contact the band at the following email: spiralperfection@yahoo.gr. Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PASSAGE Passage Searching the underground for good doom metal bands I came across this name that carried the characterization epic doom. These two magic words pushed me to send an email to Roby, the leading man behind this project, to ask him send me a promo of his work. Before that of course I heard the song ?A death in autumn? (which was free to download from their website) to find out what Passage were all about. The truth is that Passage are not epic doom, but they play great doom music nevertheless! Roby was kind enough to send me a promo of this yet not officially released album that consists of eight doom songs. Passage come from Quebec, Canada and practically are a means for Sebastien ?Roby? Robitaille to express his doom ideas that don?t apply to his regular black metal band Moonlyght. In fact this project begun back in 2001 when he first composed four instrumental songs and Passage were an one-man project. Not long after drummer Luc Gaulin joined Passage completing the line-up that is Roby on guitars, keys and vocals and Luc on drums, percussion and keys. The music of course also has bass playing and some female vocals that I couldn?t get any information about. This album I am presenting is actually a promo copy for labels and webzines to listen to and evaluate, in order to be fully published as an official release in the future. So let?s get to the music. Like I already said, Passage play doom metal with a very atmospheric (not gay) character and lots of early British doom/death influences. They also aren?t afraid of getting progressive in a controlled manner. Vocals are clean but harsh and female vocals that I was referring to earlier are not of the opera kind but warm melodic ones. The Nokturnal studios production is astonishing considering that this is actually a demo. Guitars are not too distorted and their edge is mostly based on the riffs and melodies played. Keyboards are mainly accompanying and thus giving the Passage material a strong advantage against plastic sorrow and childish sounds. Passage have exact knowledge of how to sound doom. Their ideas are something more than good, they are excellent. And with excellent ideas you cannot create bad music unless you?re an imbecile. Their style was quite a task for me to label. Mainly they are very much alike to While Heaven Wept but also My Dying Bride, early Anathema or even Amorphis could be some names to be mentioned. Mix all of that and I think that you?ll get a very good image of what Passage actually play. And be more than certain that it is good! I really did not find a single weak moment within this work. Maybe it is because they had lots of time to work on the album and gather ideas, maybe because they are pure doom talents but honestly I don?t care. The fact is that Roby and his crew has given me and you an album to cherish. Each song of ?Passage? has a strong point of its own, but all equally share amazing doom riffs and top quality orchestration. Every song seems to be crafted from the same material. Nothing seems foreign or misplaced. In any way I loved them all and I am sure that every doom metal fan will. As for favorite songs I will choose ?No dawn again?, ?It?s gone too far? and ?Coma? that darkened the room when played. I wish that a label will sign them soon enough for all of the doom metal audience to value. I am just glad to see this band being born and even gladder to say I knew them before they became big. Contact the band for more details although I think they won?t send you that promo unless you run a webzine or a label. DOOM ON LADS!!! Official website: www.le-passage.ca George  "Volt"  Tassis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANOTHER MESSIAH  Another Renaissance It is self-evident that not every band I am presenting here sends me copies of their works, and how could they since there are zillions of zines out there. Some of my reviews are based on other means of finding a band?s work that contain lots of downloading or lots of borrowing. I totally appreciate a band?s effort to create music and spread its name and with that respect in mind I wish to present this Dutch band to you. You know I had this self-produced EP for over a month and only listened to it once or twice. I saw it labeled epic doom somewhere in the internet so when I heard the music and found out that only a part of it was true, I was kind of disappointed. So I left it aside until one day I was lucky enough to meet the drummer of the band Christiaan (A.J.B. Crouwers) on the internet. He asked me what I thought about this EP and I remember telling him that it could be better. We talked a bit about the music and what Another Messiah were all about and that lit my curiosity to listen to ?Another Renaissance? a bit mote thoroughly. And then I realized my own small crime. It could be better was not the right thing to say. It couldn?t be better would be somewhat closer to the truth. But I will describe the technical parts in a while so let me introduce you to some data about the band. Their story goes back to 1994 when four musicians formed the band Nee, who made quite an impact with their two demos and one EP. In the meanwhile between 1996 and 2003, Nee won some respectable metal contests and toured the Netherlands. In 2003 they changed their name to Another Messiah that fit their vision much better and released this particular EP. I didn?t have the chance to listen to the New releases but I suppose this one marks the style Another Messiah wish to follow. And that style is quite multiform. They build their music on doom metal but they also mix progressive and traditional heavy metal with some death metal grunts. The most special thing about their sound though is the use of oboe which adds a bit of mystery to the sound. I can?t say that they are alike any other band and so that was my crime: to be unjust to a really special band like Another Messiah. Their playing varies from crushing heavy to sensitive atmospheric metal and also from technical death metal to clear soulful epic doom. The only label I can think of is progressive doom if that makes any sense. Of course the ability to create something hard to define demands talent and Another Messiah have it in surplus. To begin I am totally in love with the vocals. Robbie J. De Klerk is maybe one of the most expressive vocalists I?ve ever heard. An amazing epic voice to frame the marvelous music Another Messiah play. He also can also grunt and sing technically and clean with amazing mastery. Then I can?t say enough about how homogeneous this band is. Their sound is solid as a rock and the music gets to your ear crystal clear ? guitars, bass and drums. Of course they are quite the musicians to play with such astonishing ease what they play. All four songs of this EP are at least perfect and all different to each other. ?Renaissance? starts crushing but gets as doom as hell with a beautiful oboe break in between. ?Watch it? is just progressive heavy metal, tender and harsh with divine vocals. ?One minute in between? surprises with its opening grunts, goes on in a thrash metal pace and finishes epic doom like! God! ?When you feel? starts smoothly and traveling with oboe and continues with soulful heavy metal character and weird vocal lines that stick to mind. Make no mistake. Everything in here is exactly like I describe it. Just give it time and I am sure that it will win you over. Information given below. Go get it! E-Mail: info@anothermessiah.com Website: www.anothermessiah.com George  "Volt"  Tassis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RUNT Runt Runt is the most recent musical endeavor of Mr. Nick Parsons, a person that reveals a restless musical and artistic spirit throughout the years of his musical activity and despite all the eyars gone by, he continues to "provoke" with his music and he is still in search of his "artistic peace" and ideal expression. Nick Parsons has been musically involved in the hard and heavy scene since the 70s and e has passed from different genres of this music, from more mellow ones to the most extreme! What impresses me is that besides the frustrations, difficult times, sorrows and disappointments, but also success, content and satisfaction he still moves on! So, with Runt he blends in various elements and influences, which sometimes may even be a bit colliding and delivers great and yet weird music with incredible, thought-provoking and intriguing lyrics. I'm afaraid his music can't be easily classified, but a rough description could reveal elements from the hardcore, punk and alternative branches with vocals that have a spcial hue and offer more character to the final result. The production is excellent and if we take into account that this album was recorded in an attic, then the sound isntantly becomes unbelievable! CONTACT: NICK PARSONS, 9 WESTMINSTER STREET, GATESHEAD, TYNE AND WEAR, NE8 4QE, UK. EMAIL: info@r-u-n-t-.co.uk SITE: http://www.r-u-n-t.co.uk Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RUNT Sessions Well, I think I've already told everything there is to be said about this band in the review above, so there's nothing new to add here. I like both the cds and both "Runt" and "Sessions" move on the same musical path, which means that "Sessions" is also a combination of hardcore, punk and alternative metal channeled through Nick Parsons personal perspective and aesthetics. This CD contains 2 sessions of this band and consists of 7 songs with a very good sound and once again exceptional lyrics! CONTACT: NICK PARSONS, 9 WESTMINSTER STREET, GATESHEAD, TYNE AND WEAR, NE8 4QE, UK. EMAIL: info@r-u-n-t-.co.uk SITE: http://www.r-u-n-t.co.uk Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEON:SYNTHESIS Promo 004 Neon:Synthesis is an Italian based band that delivers weird and unique music. Their sound is a combination of various elements and musical genres, starting from heavy metal, to nu-metal, industrial and darkwave atmospheric music with lots of keyboards and synthesizers! Their compositions are extremely powerful and consist of catchy riffs and tunes that will pump up your volume and adrenaline. The vocals are imposing and a bit weird I think and I really liked the use of some black metal elements both in the music and in the vocals, that adds to the great atmosphere and darkness of the tracks and make them sound even better! I think they follow the right direction and if they pay some more attention to their sound (since the production was a bit dull and not very clean) well, then they can do miracles! Check them out! Get in touch with them and order their 3-track demo 004! SITE: http://www,neoncynthesis.com EMAIL: info@neonsynthesis.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HELLSONICS Promo 2004 Hellsonics really impressed me! This is a demo that no one should miss! This is an album mainly addressed to the fans of the dirty rock 'n' roll sound that like their music to have a great deal of punk tinges. This is the 8th time I listen to this demo, so believe me, my review is absolutely objective and honest. I loved the compositions! They are catchy with great tunes and really tight without anything being overused or tiring the listener! Hellsonics are ideal for headbanging and for partying and for having a really great time! What I'd also like to note here is that the band has a female singer and this front-woman is simply incredible! Kittie D. (a.k.a. Ingrid) has a really warm, heavy and "dirty" voice and I can't fail to mention that the way she interprets the songs reminds me a lot of DANZIG of the "II: Lucifuge" era. However, not only the vocals, but the tracks as well, bear a DANZIG stamp! The production is good, not crystal clear, but exactly as it should be for the kind of music that Hellsonics play, so make sure you get in touch with them!!! SITE: http://www.hellsonics.tk EMAIL: hellsonics@hotmail.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MENTOR The Gate (Demo 2004) How can anybody say a bad word for such a professionaly set and layed out demo? From the production till the cover artwork everything is worked in every single detail. So, the only thing you can say is whether you like or not the music that Mentor play. I have to say that I belong to the first part, meaning those who like "The Gate" demo. I am not a big fan of black metal, but when it's combined with heavy metal music, then I really like and enjoy the final result. Mentor is one of that kind of bands. Their music can be described as mid-paced heavy metal with some black metal (mainly on the vocals) and melodic death metal (of the Gothenburg style) touches. They have also been influenced by ROTTING CHRIST, but not at the point that you can say that they reproduce themes of this so famous band. All the songs included here (4 in the number) are very good and mature compositions that will amuse the friends of the heavy/black metal sound. I can't say that Mentor have anything important to correct. They are on the right way and if they continue the hard work, I am sure that we will all enjoy the fruits of their try outs very soon. CONTACT : mentores@vip.gr Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAMA KIN Rock 'n' Roll (Demo 2004) This is the third demo I receive from the Swedish poser, sleazy rock 'n' rollers Mama Kin and it's a fact that this is their best release till now! After listening to this demo I am really curious how come and this exceptional band hasn't been signed yet! Especially if we take into account that the kind of music they offer to us is neglected and put aside these last years... I think that a part of the hard rockers/metallers is thristy for this music and wants to find a new band, new blood that respects and follows the path of the megatheriums of the hard rock genre. Well, this is exactly what Mama Kin do and the 80s rock 'n' roll approach of hard rock that they present is simply AMAZING!! An outstanding 3 piece demo cd with catchy tunes, great riffs and melodies that will stick to your mind and will haunt your cd player for a long long time. So, do yourselves a favor and get this cd as soon as possible! And if you belong to a record label make sure you listen to them and sign them immediately! The next best thing in the rock 'n' roll scene!!! EMAIL: the_kin@hotmail.com SITE: http://www.mamakin.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ARCH NEMESIS Demo CD This week was for me totally black, musically speaking of course. I don't remember to have listened to so many Black Metal releases before. At least, the good thing is, that all the albums and demos that I received from this genre were raging from a good to an excellent quality. ARCH NEMESIS, now, from my town of origin, Florina, and I can say that they managed to impress me with the quality of their music. They remind me of the first days of ROTTING CHRIST ("Passage To Arcturus", "Non Serviam"), but at the same time they have some more raw passages that bring to mind the first days of Norwegian Black Metal. One other thing is that they don't play only in an extreme way, but in their compositions the melodies have also a very important role. As for the production, it might not be the best one you have ever heard, but it serves properly the sound of ARCH NEMESIS. In my opinion the band addresses more to the listeners of the primitive Black Metal and not to those that are used into the modern tensions / branches of this music. As for the songs that I 've liked more are : "Wolvein", "The War Between Ancient Gods For Power" and "The Prophecy" (which is very epical). The demo was given to me by my friend Dimitris Konstantinidis and I don't have the band's address, but I promise that I will find it soon enough...  Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AEOLIAN FIRE Demonic Reign (Demo 2004) With this demo, AEOLIAN FIRE, sent me a note telling me that "Demonic Reign" is the best work that they have released till now. Yes, you might say that every time a group releases a new work, make such a statement as the above mentioned. However, this time the above written words describe perfectly the new demo. I have listened to their previous demo and I must say that this one has little to do with their previous works. First of all in "Demonic Reign" the compositions are closer to the epic black metal sound of IMMORTAL, than the primitive and raw black metal that AEOLIAN FIRE got us used to. They also use some keyboards which give a new dimension to their music and have some great melodies that from time to time flirt with classic heavy and death metal. The production of the demo is also great, clear and a really pleasure to listen to it. Finally, the artwork and the whole packet are set on  very professional standards. No doubt that "Demonic Reign" is one of the best demos I have received and listened to from the day I 've started this zine. Black Metallers invest and wait for the full - length album of the band that will be ready soon enough! A new force of the Greek Metal scene is rising, don't underestimate it...  Contact : Nick Kanetis, P.O. BOX 74243, 16 101, Kaisariani, Athens - Greece Email : AeolianFire@hotmail.com Nikos "William_Kidd" Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DECOMPOSED Unknown Creation Decomposed is a Greek band that exists only a couple of years now and I have to admit that they left me speechless with their professionalism, hard work and extraordinarily beautiful songwriting process that resulted in this magnificent demo cd! This mini cd which is entitled "Unknown Creation" contains 4 compositions and its duration is over 25 minutes. Now, I have to admit that we don't see often this kind of work from underground bands that release self financed demos and are still in the search for a label. The artwork and lay out are simply beautiful and it's obvious that it's the result of a really hard work. The production is very good and extremely satisfying, not only for a demo release, but as an official album too! It has a clear sound and it has volume, allowing the songs to elevate and reveal their depth and beauty. Now, as for their music, it is an excellent sample of intriguing, catchy and interesting death metal with some black tinges thrown in. I'm sure that you will remember the songs, since they have the ability to stick to your mind and "possess" it! Excellent and also note that the band comes from a small city far away from the "big metal" communities of Greece. Get in touch with them immediately and order their demo. So, "Unknown Creation" costs 3 € and you can order it from: DECOMPOSED, IEROLOHITON 29, 24 100 KALAMATA, GREECE. EMAIL: decomposed_band@hotmail.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DEAD HUMAN FACTORY 1000 Years Cranium Collector (Demo 2004) This demo begins with an atmospheric intro "The Old House Of Strange Tales", which is very good and makes you believe tha the band's sound moves on the atmospheric/ black metal path. Big mistake!!! When the song "Slaughter" starts, you get a glimpse of the real picture. Slowly creeping like damnation mid tempo death metal is what Dead Human Factory deliver to us. My guess is that a big influence for them are SIX FEET UNDER, ASPHYX and SEPULTURA. The production of this demo is good and I believe that it fits to the music that Dead Human Factory play. My only complaint is the short duration of the compositions that leave you with a feeling of the incomplete somehow. My conclusion after listening to this demo for several times is that Dead Human Factory have the talent and with some more work they will give us even more interesting compositions in the near future. Finally, this demo has a hidden track, which is a cover to a very famous SEPULTURA song. The band here managed to imbue the song with some of their own personality. I won't reveal more, I'll let you discover it on your own. For more info EMAIL: John_splatter@yahoo.gr SITE: http://deadhumanfactory.tripod.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEVEN CIRCLES Demo 2004 Andreas Lantz is known to us from the days he played exometal music. Now, after forming a band and under the moniker of Seven Circles his musical direction can be easier coprehended and is more straight forward. the band moves on the paths of atmospheric/gothic metal, without some clqassic heavy metal elements lacking from their sound. To become more specific and clear, Seven Circles are close musically to bands like SENTENCED and HIM. The musical ideas are good and all the compositions sound interesting to my ears. The production of the 4 tracks included here is very good and clear. the only thing that this band needs to improve are the vocals, basically the clean ones, cause they are kind of weak and don't fit to the whole atmopshere. On the other hand when the singer uses his harsh vocals, everything sound perfect! I am sure that this band's music can be loved by many people, especially from those who appreciate the melodic stuff. I think that you can download some tracks of this demo from Andreas Lantz's website if you have a good internet connection, but it's even better to get in touch with the artist at his EMAIL: andreas.lantz@swipnet.se SITE: fryde.com/lantzrock. Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SACROSANCT Traitors Of Perception This is the other band of Snowthorn's mastermind, Nikos. Here things are a bit different from Snowthorn's music and their sound is more straight forward. Sacrosanct is more into death metal with some thrash and grind moments. The compositions included here, left me with good impressions and the one I liked the most is the "Observations Of An Invisible One", because of the great changes between brutal and melodic lines. However, I feel that the production could have been better, cause death/grind needs a clearer production, which gives more volume to the whole result. Here you will listen to death/grind with a sound that fits more into black metal releases. Anyway, this is the first Sacrosanct release and as Nikos has proven to me with his other band, I believe that the next one will be improved in all parts. "Traitors Of Perception" is a good first sample of a new band. Now it's up to you to decide. For more info contact: NICK APOSTOLIS, ARISTIDOU 21, ANO GLYFADA 166 74, ATHENS, GREECE. EMAIL: pafneek@yahoo.gr Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SNOWTHORN Catatonic Trances The new demo of Snowthorn continues right from the moment that "The Night Of Dreamweaver" left us. The band moves on mixing the traditional black metal as we learnt it from bands like MAYHEM and DARK THRONE vacintaed with many melodies. This time I also noticed that the band has experimented a little bit more with their music and added influences from other genres likes thrash, death and even classic heavy metal. The lyrics ones more exhale an esotieric agony and rage that is far from the childish satanic lyrics that other black metal bands use. Without me being the expert on this genre, I believe that Snowthorn have something to say to the listeners that never rest and search for new dimensions in their sound. The production of the new demo is better that their previous, but always has the proper feeling for such kind of music. Nikos, the guy behind Snowthorn is an ambitious artist and I feel that has a lot to give in the future. The demo costs 5 $/ 5€ and if you want to order it, you have to get in touch with Nikos. For more info contact: NICK APOSTOLIS, ARISTIDOU 21, ANO GLYFADA 166 74, ATHENS, GREECE. EMAIL: pafneek@yahoo.gr Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GREEN EVENING REQUIEM Winter 2004 Demo THE GREEV EVENING REQUIEM's music is the amalgam of controversial elements. Well, elements and feelings if we want to be more precise. Their compositions are melodic and mellow and yet carry rage and aggressiveness. The sentiments that derive from these 4 compositions are melancholy and desolation, but in the end there is always hope and warmth. As for the music... we wouldn't be far from the truth if we said that The Green Evening Requiem play dark atmospheric black metal and the use of clean and harsh vocals offer more depth to their music. The production is quite good, but it is a bit dim. Well, I think that this band from the U.S. deserves our attention. EMAIL : greenevening@hotmail.com SITE : http://www.greenevening.com CONTACT : THE GREEN EVENING REQUIEM, P.O. BOX 13, RICHBORO, PA 18954, U.S.A. Christine Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLOUD OF FEAR Demo Florina is my city of origin (located in the Northwest part of Greece) and although it gave birth to great metal personalities like me (haha, just kidding of course), it didn't have any metal bands or at least I've never heard of any. Recently, a friend of mine and also a member of the Behind The Veil team, Dimitris Konstantinidis, told me that he knew a band that had a demo. So, we did everything possible and we finally managed to get a copy of this work. I was really anxious to listen to it and I have to say that Cloud Of Fear didn't disappoint me. Their music can be described as heavy/black metal mainly cause of its growls. Imagine a mixture of early ROTTING CHRIST ("Non Serviam" era) and IRON MAIDEN. The production is very satisfying, if you consider that it was recorded in a studio that didn't have the necessary for a metal release. The only thing that spoils a little bit the good image of the band are the vocals that don'tmatch with the melodic music of the band. They would be more proper in a death or thrash metal group. The sad news are that due to the indifference of the metal fans in Florina this oen was the first and onlyu release of this talented band. Once again it is proven that if you live far from the big cities of Greece, you don't have a chance to achieve many things. Cloud Of Fear don't seel their cd, so you can take a taste of their msuic from our MP3 section. Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOST DETOUR Cause And Effect ? Demo CD When I contacted with these guys for the first time, they told me they are playing some kind of progressive metal. Then I thought they would probably be another band in the vein of DREAM THEATER. Well, when I received the demo, I was proven to be wrong. Lost Detour give to the term progressive metal its true meaning. They avoid creating and playing long and extremely complicated themes that most of the times tire and confuse the listener. Their sound is technical, but you can easily understand and feel their music and listen to it pleasantly. A great advantage of this band are the great melodies and the way they combine different styles of heavy metal. In the case of ?Cause And Effect? demo you can listen to influences ranging from rock/hard rock to extreme metal (they both use clean vocals and growls). This transition from melodies to more aggressive parts happens in such a natural way that you will find it very interesting. Personally, I think that Lost Detour can make the difference and change the Finnish metal scene that is dominated lately by NIGHTWISH and STRATOVARIUS clones. My favorite composition from the demo is the masterpiece ?Travesty?. Bands like this one need the support of every metalhead that wants to see our favorite music progress. CONTACT: mail@lostdetour.com SITE: http://www.lostdetour.com Nick  ?William_Kidd?  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DEEP Inferna - Demo EP I will agree with my friends from Deep that their music is very interesting and inspired, but I won't agree with the term they chose to describe it. In my opinion the description gothic metal is not a very successful one. Deep's music moves more on classic heavy metal standards with lots of groove and some hard rock touches, especially on the solos. One of the bands that have surely been a huge influence of them is BLACK SABBATH. The voice of Johana is ideal for the band's sound, the artists are bonded and their performance moves on high standards. The production of the demo is very clear and professional. No doubt that the future belongs to them. Friends of the classic heavy metal sound check them out. Also pay attention to the song "Bleed" which is my favorite on this EP. You can order the demo from: N. HUDSON, 6 PARK RISE, HARROW WEALD, MIDDX, HA3 6EP. SITE: http://www.insidethecircle.com EMAIL: inside_the_circle@yahoo.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CYRIL LEPIZZERA Demo This is an instrumental demo cd, that combines the neoclassical, the jazz and the heavy metal forms. You can hear lots of shredding, exclusively in minor scales, arpeggios and stuff like that. You will also notice that every song has lots of changes in its structure, passing from a ballad type to more heavy sounds with different melodies, both on the lead and on the rhythm section of the compositions, which offer a progressive feeling to the songs. This guy presents...the difficult things he wants to show with no mistakes and in a very fast way! He has a very good technique and deliverance of his ideas, however, I think he should try adding some vibrato into his songs. It will offer them more depth and a different touch. Enjoy! Email : cyril.lepizzera@wanadoo.fr Dimitris  Pantsiopoulos --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOTORCITYBRAGS Promotional Copy Motorcitybrags is a notorious trio hailing from Italy and they come with really bad intentions. They play an extremely catchy and beautiful combination of punk with rock 'n' roll and hard rock. Their music is sleazy and dirty and has a nasty attitude. Their compositions bear influences from bands like MOTORHEAD, MISFITS, SEX PISTOLS and GUN BARREL and they hit the target with their straighforward sound! The promotional copy also contains a live cover version of "Last Caress", originally by the MISFITS. The drawback of this promo is the poor sound of the production that is dirty as it should be, but it lacks of volume and power. If you like the dirty and hard rock 'n' roll sound, then check them out with no second thoughts!!! Site: http://www.motorcitybrags.com Email: mckill@libero.it Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEAVY WATER Angry Ballerina Heavy Water is one of the few, hand numbered bands that have a fully artistic perception and approach of things and life in general. They are a form of art in the true essence and meaning of the word. Their aesthetics, their straight in the face attitude, their in depth analysis of the current socio-political situations and their intact personalities create unique, radical and unconventional rock music! I'd like to dive into their world and music and help you get a glimpse of it through a kaleidoscope, however, there are no words to express or describe "Angry Ballerina" and the soundscape created by these notorious trio. Moreover, I don't think anyone will be able to separate music and lyrics. These are not 2 secluded and isolated areas, but the existence of one is vital for the other in order to blossom and flourish. Rock music started as a musical branch for the rebels, rock music equals (not nessecarily nowadays unfortunately) with revolution and evolution. Well, Heavy Water is ROCK music in its true form! All you need is an open mind, a clear and critical look over our society and a careful analysis of the lyrical content. "Angry Ballerina" is a beautiful example of angry and yet beautiful music, a realistic and yet revolutionary release. I adore it!!! I simply adore it! I hope you will too... The band has copies available (including one different version with a ltd. edition sleeve) for a measly Ł5.00... CONTACT: MALCOLM "SCRUFF" LEWTY, "FERN COTTAGE", 37 SPRINGFIELD BUILDINGS, RADSTOCK, BATH, BA3 3JB, U.K. EMAIL: malcolmlewty@yahoo.com OR poisoninaprettypil@hotmail.com SITE: http://www.heavywater.tk Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FORCES @ WORK Forcilized These Forces work in Germany and have given birth to this extremely talented band! This is their second attempt to reach a bigger audience after their six song debut ?Coldheart Canyon? and I hope that this one will turn out well in the end. I did not have the chance to listen to that release of Forces @ Work but the name was already known to me as some kind of a technical offspring. ?Forcilized? did not contradict the rumors and I was more than glad to find out for myself! Forces @ Work are of course a technical metal band but this is the only characterization I can attach to them. It is rather difficult to condense in few words this mixture that?s based on the extreme but evolves in many other ways helped out by some alien to metal elements. Call it techno-thrash or fusion metal, call it prog-death or jazz-death, call it whatever you like. The point is that ?Forcilized? really is an excellent and rare piece of work. Just imagine something between Atheist, Cynic, Psychotic Waltz and Mekong Delta. Could it be wrong? Well, the truth is that at first it is quite hard to digest, but as soon as you get a grasp of its melodies and structures, there is no way you won?t love it. ?Forcilized? has a graduated increase in its brutality which really helps keeping track of the flowing music and of course keeping interest high of what is to follow. And it is more than obvious that this thing could only be achieved by excellent musicians. But what really excited me in this album is the twin guitar work. Adrian Weiss and Mischa Blum act as if they were one man with four hands! Incredible coordination shows a perfect fit for each other?s playing. It?s been a while since I last listened to such a beautifully combined guitar attack and I enjoyed it the most! Who needs keyboards when these two guys can produce so many sounds on their own? But apart from lead guitars we have a Yugoslav or Croatian or whatever rhythm section that speaks its own incredible language and consists of a jazzy drummer (Sabir Salkic) and slapping bassist (Armin Alic). A superb combination, don?t you agree? Proceeding to the voice section, Andreas Lohse contributes his diverse vocals that, although not being bad, they could have been worked a bit more especially over the vocal lines. Andreas has a standard way of singing and he should put a bit more imagination to it. His hue is totally fit for their sound so his only task will be to become a bit more flexible. Well enough about it! I don?t want to present Mr. Lohse as the black mark of a perfect band cos he is not! These suggestions only represent my point of view for further improvement. Bottom line is that I did not care that much about it when I caught myself air-guitaring and air-drumming under the sounds of their amazing music! The song that impressed me the most was ?Harvest at the bodyfarm?. It seems to me like a missing track from ?Elements? that could also be sited in ?A Social Grace?! Just great! The other four tracks also hide many surprises for the listener. You won?t be able to find many other bands of this particular genre so make haste getting ?Forcilized?! Do not deny support to this band. You?ll regret it! For info write to: Andreas Lohse, Memeler Str. 23, 40231 Dusseldorf, Germany Booking: info@forcesatwork.de Website: www.forcesatwork.de George "Volt" Tasis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPIRAL MADNESS The Berserk Crowning This demo cd contains 15 songs and its total running time is over 50 minutes. What we have here is a compilation of all the best songs of Spiral Madness from 1996 till 2003. It is a gathering of their career and a testimony of their efforts. What will follow next within the band? We can't be sure... The thing we can definitely be sure of is that this band from Poland belongs to the old school of thrash/death metal with the compositions varying from mid to up tempo with the use of blastbeats. The sound is a bit dirty and not crystal clear and I think it perfectly suits their sound and it serves the genre they belong to in the most ideal way. All in all, this is a good and very well taken care of release, so if you want to obtain it, you can get in touch with the band from the contacts below... CONTACT: SPIRAL MADNESS, SMICZA 21/49, 01-051 WARSZAWA, POLAND. EMAIL: spiralmadness@tlen.pl SITE: http://www.spiralmadness.metal.pl Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KRUSHER Born To Krush (Dragonight Agency) Nope, they are not the black/thrash metallers from Italy. these guys come from Polandand their classic heavy metal is a real oasis for everyone that is thirsty for the 80s sound. Krusher combine musically influences from JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and of course from the whole movement of N.W.O.B.H.M. The production of the demo is great and on professional standards. The group is very tight, bonded together and skillful and also blessed with a very talented singer (Judas). The 2 compositions included here are perfect and I surely would like to listen to some more of their stuff. My only objection is the cover they did to the STEPPENWOLF classic song "Born To Be Wild". Yeap, they've transformed it into a heavy metal song and tehy made it more speedy, but somehow the vocals of Judas don't match perfectly to the atmosphere of this song. An excellent demo that you have to order immediately from: judas.krush@interia.pl  and fadamas@poczta.fm. SITE: http://www.krusher.metal.pl Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- T3CHN0PH0B1A Albedo Level: 0% This is one of the most interesting and original demos I've heard lately! This Italian quintet managed to offer us an extreme and innovative sound with a professional attitude and a psycho and futuristic image.  Their music could be described as industrial black metal in the veins and looks of bands like THE KOVENANT and DODHEIMSGARD. This demo consists of 5 songs (one of them is an intro) that all dwell in a futuristic and industrial path that is extremely catchy and groovy. Their compositions have a lot of rhythm and energy and the synths and keyboards have the front role. However, the guitars and drums are not neglected at all. It's a great demo! The production is very good and the band's image suits their music like a glove. If you are not "afraid" of experimental, original and innovative music, check them out! You'll discover an incredible band! SITE: http ://www.t3chnophob1a.com EMAIL: t3chn0ph0b1a@t3chnophob1a.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SACRIFICED Gardens Of The Damned Sacrificed is a really new band and this is their first demo cd, so I suppose that they haven't fully found their musical direction and they haven't established a definitive sound. However, I found some really interesting elements in their music that could be described as old school classic heavy/thrash metal with some death metal tinges especially on the vocals. What impressed me the most are some oriental riffs within their music, which offer them groove and attitude and I really think this is the direction that suits them the best. The demo consists of some catchy moments and riffs and the compositions sound interesting. Nevertheless they should pay some more attention on the production area because the sound is not very good or clear, thus not allowing the compositions to be fully exposed and revealed. The drummer sounds to have really nice and stable rhythm, but the production makes everything sound dull and "uncolored". All in all, they still have a long way to go, but they have already found some of their music's main parametres. CONTACT:sacrificed_v_band@hotmail.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORPHEUS Delomelanicon Delomelanicon is the musical vision of Morpheus a newcomer band located far away from Greece's main musical centres. I have to say that they are on the right path. They've found their main track and they just have to expand and evolute it. The band's music dwells somewhere in between the melodic death and black metal genres with a great deal of keyboards that create a dark, majestic and imposing atmosphere. Their compositions are really interesting, however, a drawback this demo has is the production, which is quite good, but not very clear. It's a bit dim and dull, thus not allowing the songs to fully reveal themselves. Support the band by contacting them to the following addresses!  CONTACT: MORPHEUS, P.O. BOX 17554, 54009, THESSALONIKI EMAIL: info@the-morpheus.com SITE: http://www.the-morpheus.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FLIPTOP BOX Demo Well, first of all I 'd like the FLIPTOP BOX guys to forgive me if they won't agree with my description to their music, but I have to admit that I know very few things on this branch. The certain thing is that I liked their compositions and I believe that they have talent and they can succeed. The band mixes classic heavy metal sound (IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA) with alternative rock (RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS), grunge (NIRVANA) and nu metal (EVANESCENCE). Their music is very melodic and I could say here that it has a traveling mood. FLIPTOP BOX sound very bonded and mature, but they have to correct a few things. First of all, I believe that Marianthi has to work a little more on her high pitched vocals and also the duet between the male and the female vocals are not compatible to each other. The production is good, but a bit dull. However, somehow it manages to perfectly match to the whole result. In a few words, if you are interested in bands that mix in a bizzare way all kinds of rock/metal music, then support this band, which managed to offer us a very descent first work. EMAIL : pomonis@otenet.gr  SITE : http://www.fliptopbox.tk --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TEARS Demo Music is sentiments... I think that music is the result of the emotions when they are transformed into notes, melodies and harmonies. Tears managed to create a very sentimental and atmospheric album that leaves you with a bitter taste when the demo is over. Their music is beautiful and melancholic and this quintet manages to create some really beautiful melodies that magnetize you. I don't have many things to say here about their music. The only suitable thing to mention is that it could be labeled as melancholic, progressive rock/hard rock. It's simply enchanting in its sadness, majestic in its sorrow. The only drawback I can mention here is the production, which is good but doesn't have a lot of volume. Apart from this, I think this is a demo you should all have cause this is music in its true essence! CONTACT: M.DIMELA 23, GLYFADA 16674, ATHENS, GREECE or ASPENDOU 52, HIMITTOS 17236, ATHENS, GREECE EMAIL: contact@tearsband.com SITE: http://www.tearsband.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOST EMOTIONS Lacks Lost Emotions come from Spain and after four demos the time for their first release has come. The info classifies the band as personal doom metal with a strong influence of gothic metal. After listening to the record I scratched out the doom metal characterization and sticked to the gothic metal one, like the one of CREMATORY define or maybe LACUNA COIL?s and SENTENCED?s. This band?s sound has absolutely nothing to do with doom, so forget I ever wrote the word. Lost Emotions is a purely gothic metal band that tries to present its music under the heavy weight of an intolerable production. If we forget about the bad sound and we focus to the music, we?ll see that things are not so good there neither. First flaw and most striking one is keyboards. They always seem to be playing at some other key, sounding totally unsynchronized with the guitars. Like having two CDs of different bands playing at the same time. There are times when they actually manage to synchronize (track ?Essence?) but the rest of the album sounds really disconnected. Apart from that, speaking only in musical terms, keyboards only manage to make their music sound mellower than accepted and much more rock in whole. Sometimes the only thing that makes this band metal is the vocals, which by the way are hideous sounding like a constant burp. Melodic vocals are always out of tune and the ?beautiful? female ones are anything but interesting. But enough with annihilating ?Lacks?. It?s time to note some good points. More than once the guitars present some interesting ideas and especially when taking the leading role, show that this band is actually capable of something. Major example is the opening and the biggest parts of the songs named ?Lacks? and ?Reversed prognosis?. These two songs have the best orchestrations in the album and the vocals sound less annoying than normal. What I have to say is that Lost Emotions need a lot of practices as band and even harder work in order to achieve something remarkable in the future. Until then I?ll just pass?  BAND CONTACT : LOST EMOTIONS, c/o Ruben Hidalgo, C/ Penuelas, 9, 09400 Aranda De Duero, Burgos, Spain Email : myheartispain@hotmail.com Site : http://usuarios.lycos.es/lostemotions George  "Volt"  Tassis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACID RAIN War In The Sky Epic metal is my favorite genre and one of the most difficult to play. Some believe that the only thing you need is to write about swords and sorcery or base your lyrics on historical thematology and this way you play epic metal. No, my friends the music is also important and it must have a war feeling. It must give you the sense that you are in a battlefield and you are about to start fighting. Well, Acid Rain know this genre extremely well and it is obvious from the 3 war anthems included here. The compositions are mostly mid tempo (as epic metal should be) and sound close to bands like the mighty DOOMSWORD, our WOLFCRY (the demo period), MANILLA ROAD and MANOWAR. Antonis Koumiotis' voice matches perfectly with the music. The only thing he has to improve is his pronounciation in some parts. A release that all the warriors of steel around the world will find very appealing. My congratulations!!! CONTACT: RADIO MARCONI, ANTONIS KOUMIOTIS, ANAPAUSEOS- KARABATZAKI, 38441 N. IONIA - MAGNISIA, GREECE. EMAIL: acidrainband2003@yahoo.grORacidrain@xweb.gr SITE: http://acidrain.xweb.gr Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHORRID Bitch Butchers - Demo 2004 Half an hour has passed and I still try to find out a way to start the review for this demo. You see when I like something a lot I try to find the words that would describe perfectly the emotion that I felt during the listening of the demo/album. This trial most of the times ends up with a headache for me. Well, Whorrid is a very interesting band and they really blew my head off with these 3 compositions included here. They play death metal with some mid tempo/doomy elements in their compositions. I want especially to stand to the track "Life Or Death" that is a death metal masterpiece. This song has a doomy intro and as it develops it becomes more aggressive and has a lot of influences from the old Swedish death metal school. This doesn't mean that the other 2 tracks are bad. On the contrary they move on high standards, but are more oriented to U.S. death metal school. The "Whore Hostage" and "Time To Bleed" are more in the vein of VADER, CANNIBAL CORPSE and MORBID ANGEL. Finally, believe it or not the sound of Whorrid is 100% natural, they don't use triggers or other effects and this offers to their music a live feeling. A band that will soon make a lot of people start talking about them. If you want to be one of the first contact them at: WHORRID, P.O. BOX 388639, CHICAGO IL. 60638-8639. SITE: http://www.whorrid.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BEHELAL Magie Neagru - Intuneric - Intelepsiune (Unholy Distro) It's nice to know that there are still bands like Behelal that play Greek satanic black metal. The sound of the band is close to the early period ROTTING CHRIST, though the references to the Norwegian black metal are not rare at all. Some melodic lines and incantations give to this demo a satanic and dark atmosphere. The compositions included here vary from ultra fast to mid tempo and thus this release keeps the interest of the listener intact from the first till the last minute. The sound is not good, but as Lord Nosferius informed us the tape we have in our hands is faulty. Last but not list I'd like to say that Behelal is a project of Lord Nosferius (SPIRITUAL WINTERMOON), something that gives to this release a cult status. So, friends of old school satanic black metal, behelal is a good proposition for you. Hurry up, cause this demo tape is limited to 333 copies. You can order it from: UNHOLY DISTRO, ELIAS SIATOUNIS, TITANON 10, 16777 ELLINIKO, ATHENS, GREECE or via email to: ordoserpentibehelal@hotmail.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROJECT HAVOK Severely Damaged - Demo 2004 My brain was "Severely Damaged" after listening to this demo! The pounding rhythm section and the outstanding guttural vocals leave you no hope and no chance of escaping from the paranoia that Project Havoc create. Brutal death/grind as it is played by the grand masters of this genre like CANNIBAL CORPSE and CRYPTOPSY (especially on the vocals lines), these guys have nothing to be jealous of from other promissing bands aborad. The Greek scene has finally reached a level that can present extremely interesting metal acts like Project Havoc. The only thing I didn't like was the use of the drum machine because it sounds too false and the songs included here are so good that will make you overlook this drawback. Also, the demo includes 2 songs recorded live in a studio as rehearsals and prove what this band is capable of. The songs I distinguished are: "Abominant Teratogenesis", "Advanced Level Decay", "Inbreeding Havok" and "Self Raped Torture". For those that are interested in the band you can contact them through: iakhos69@yahoo.gr, kreatokafros@yahoo.gr. Nick  "William_Kdd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AEONS OF OLD Nemesis Aeons Of Old hail us from Belgium and they are an excellent example of well played melodic death metal with some black metal touches and edges. The 3 compositions that consist this demo offer us a clear view of the band's potentials. I can't deny that I got enthralled by their compositions, the beautiful melodies, the catchy musical themes and the aggressive riffs they have created. The changes between death and black metal vocals are great and enrich their sound some more. The only drawback I can mention is that the production could be a bit more clear and voluminous. Apart from that, nothing bad to mention. An extra plus is the fact that the artwork is beautiful and well taken care of. To sum up, I truly enjoyed this release and I wish there were some more songs on this demo. I will be anxiously waiting for their next release!!! Well done! CONTACT: P. BROEREN, J. MOORKENSSTR. 36B, B-2600 BERCHEM, BELGIUM. EMAIL:info@aeons.be SITE: http://www.aeons.be Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DYING WISH Demo I received this demo 2 weeks ago and the package didn't contain anything more than this cd. So, I will try to review this demo without giving you any further information except for the band's music. The worst thing is that I can't write down their email address, so if someone would be interested in listening to their music and contacting them. Let's hope that somebody from the band will read this presentation and contact me. Enough said, so let's proceed to the main subject, which is Dying Wish's music. The demo left me with very good impressions, though the branch they belong to is not my favorite. And what exactly do they play? Well, I could describe it as atmospheric dark melodic rock/hard rock. To be more speciifc, I believe that ANATHEMA's "Eternity" album must be a big influence for these guys. However, their compositions are not some ANATHEMA replicas, but on the contrary they show maturity from a band that tries to create and develop its personal sound and csucceeds in that up to a certain point. The production is satisfactory, though it has some problems that should be corrected, especially in some parts the electric guitars sound stranded from the rest of the music. The vocalists are gifted and they have good and expressive voices, but they have to work on them, in order to avoid some dissonances. The general picture I got is that Dying Wish have the talent to create interesting music with nice melodies and a nostalgic feeling. You simply have to listen to this demo fromt he first till the last second and I am sure that you will be mystified in an experience filled with emotions. Dying Wish can achieve great things in the future, but they have to work hard and keep their feet on the ground. CONTACT: THEODOSIS CHATZISTERGOS, ZIPARI KOS 85300, GREECE. Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MINDSCAPE Utopia Of Balance Mindscape is a band from Greece that manages to survive despite the huge distances between the band members. All four guys from Mindscape live in different cities, making this band not a very flexible one! This is a great problem but also considering the kind of music Mindscape follow, it appears twice as big. Progressive metal with the word ?metal? bold and underlined are what this band practices. But since there are a million different types of prog I need to be more specific. Imagine a merge between the ?Energetic disassembly? Watchtower (and disciples like Spastic Ink and Spiral Architect) and some Pain Of Salvation sensitivity, and you?ll have a spherical view of his band?s sound. Mindscape are fairly technical but in no way match the Watchtower and co. level of musicianship when it comes to composing. On the other hand I could say that they utilize a more straight forward heavy metal approach, especially regarding to the guitars, reminding the way Watchtower did it on the early years. Even the production of the demo with the intense guitar and drums sound points directly at ?Energetic disassembly?! Well I have written the word ?Watchtower? so many times and implied it a couple more, so one can understand that Mindscape are a clone of this great band. No they?re not. Actually they do have many Watchtower elements but practically they do not copy that band since they incorporate a few more things in their sound like that Pain Of Salvation sensitivity I wrote earlier about and a distinctive Chuck Schuldiner mentality! They even use some grunts at some point but nothing much to characterize their sound. Within this four track demo we have sharp and technical heavy metal riffing, i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e drums and a loud bass, things that I enjoy the most! The singer although having some of the standard all-star Greek disadvantages, hides his weakest points very very well, and lets only the good elements of his voice to be out in the open. In any way he can improve a lot and I am sure that he will. I really don?t want to choose a favorite song due to the number and quality of the songs (one intro and three songs) but I will since my heart is set on the homonymous song ?Utopia of balance?. An excellent tune! Nothing else shocking to say. Just expect many beautiful things from this band! Contact: mindscape2003@hotmail.com Website: www.hp.ms/mindscape Address: Michalis Charalampakis, Ipsilantou 65-69, TK 18532, Pireas, Greece Mobile phone: +306997165434 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE RIVER Oneiric Dirges In Mono I have heard a lot of complimentary comments about this new DOOM band from the UK before having the chance to listen to their material. And finally here I am, having completed many careful hearings, feeling glad that this two-song demo found its way to my hands. The River are not as old as others, but they go back to 1999, when this band was formed. After two demos comes the third, ?Oneiric dirges in mono? and as the band say, they feel really strong for their material. The thing is that they couldn?t have felt otherwise because this demo reveals a very special band! A band within the boundaries of DOOM but also with a sound that one cannot come across easily. The River tune their guitars very low. And when I say low I mean LOW! So it is easily understood that their sound is as heavy as expected. Their music sounds like a gigantic slow moving mass that hides immense amounts of power! You cannot stand in its way because it will crush you. This River springs from the mountains of DOOM and their musical vision is totally British. Merge some of the good old Doom/death metal sound, some experimental drone elements also with some Saint Vitus sludge, turn up the amplifier noise and you?ll get The River. Chris on the only guitar, has absolutely no problem in creating a suffocating atmosphere that grabs you from the neck and only lets you breathe during some psychedelic interludes, that last only for a while. Hopefully The River do not overdo with these parts and for this they remain interesting at all times throughout their long lasting songs. My opinion is that The River have their target on creating powerful atmosphere and not sleepy blur. It took an effort to listen to Stephen?s bass and that is mainly because the guitars move in even lower frequencies! Anyway maybe that solid sound is an equal combination of those two. Drums are excellent! Jon (ex-Unsilence ? one more DOOM overlord!) uses much percussion and with his march-like playing fills their sound exactly like he should. I left the vocals last because I think they are what characterizes their sound very much! I can only think of Left-hand Solution that have female vocals in the DOOM scene, but from now on you can add to this small list The River! Vicky has an incredible mournful hue that enchants. What I am talking about here is not soprano vocals over harsh guitars, but a warm voice that colors the songs with mastery, springing to mind bands like The 3rd and the Mortal. The excellent vocal lines are expressed within short time compared to the duration of the songs, and that only made wanna ask for more! But I guess that the amount of vocals a song can contain is the band?s business only and no one else?s! I just hope they?d put more in the future. To sum it up I have to say I loved their different style! Not only DOOMsters will find interest in The River but also fans that care for heavy atmospheric music. If I was to describe the band with a few words I would say that they are a dark DOOM band with magnificent female vocals! I anxiously await for their next demo (will be recorded in the first half of 2004) Information: Address: The River, c/o 29 Westfield Road, Croydon, CRO 3RH, UK E-mail: info@doomriver.co.uk Website: www.doomriver.co.uk George  "Volt"  Tassis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NATIONAL PORNOGRAPHIC Demo 2003 Musically,  the band impressed me a lot, especially because of the great and very expressive vocals of their female singer, Chrisa. The band plays a micture of '70s rock-hard rock with some bluesy edges, the kind of music that the intrnation press labels it under the category of "stoner rock". This demo includes 3 songs and one remic of the track "Soundverse". National Pornographic have some really good ideas and I personally think that they differ from most of the bands of this genre. The production is on professional standards, something that makes this release even more enjoyable. In some parts Chrisa's vocals brought to my mind 2 great vocalists, Anneke from THE GATHERING and Loreena Mckennitt. My favorite songs are "Dizzy I Get" and "Pseudokyesis". For more information on this release you can contact the band at the following email address: national_92@hotmail.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LUPINE MOON Blood Of The Wolf Lupine Moon is an one man project coming from the U.S. so it wouldn't be a mistake to say that Lupine Moon is Jim O'Connor's endeavor to fulfill his musical vision. He is responsible for all the compositions, guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals and arrangements, so being poetic we could say that Lupine Moon is Jim's path to elevate his soul and share with us his inner most thoughts and feelings. Musically it is hard to label his creation, but more or less "Blood Of the Wolf" belongs to the atmospheric genre, with a cold amd melancholic feeling creeping always beneath the guitar riffs and keyboards... Lupine Moon's music embraces elements from classic heavy metal, progressive, atmospheric and even thrash, whilst some compositions have en extreme and blackish edge. METALLICA, THE GATHERING, OPETH, KATATONIA and even VENOM can give you a hint on the versatility and richness of the sound. Generally the compostions are mid tempo, but some uptempo parts also exist. Jim without being an amazing voice, has the charisma to communicate his sentiments with us and his vocals have a melancholic tinge. I think if you found interesting the above mentioned bands and elements, you should give it a try and I don't think you'd be disappointed. The only negative thing I have to underline here is the production, which is muddy and lacks of power. If Jim concentrates on this field some more, I think he can offer great songs! CONTACT: JIM O'CONNOR, P.O. BOX 1526, ANNAPOLIS, MD 21401, U.S.A. EMAIL: lycanhtrope_72@nocturnal.com Christine  Parastatidou --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SINOCENCE Acceptable Level Of Violence (Demo 2004) Since when has bay area moved to Ireland? Well, if you listen to this amazing, excellent demo you will understand the point of my question. Sinocence being good students well taught by the grand masters of this genre like ANTHRAX, METALLICA and SACRED REICH, created 5 compositions that have nothing to envy from the quality of the above mentioned bands. Great melodic heavy/speed metal with some punk rock elements and grooves that bring you to ecstasy and rock you from the first till the last moment. Although we are in the beginning of this year, I consider that this release is one of the best I've heard lately. Sinocence, in my opinion, is a band that has a golden future ahead. the only thing they need is your support and a good and hard working label! Times like this one I really wish I had my own label to sign bands like this immediately! Excellent work indeed! Bravo!!! CONTACT: SINOCENCE, 18 AVA AVENUE, BELFAST, BT7 3BN, NORTHERN  IRELAND  EMAIL:info@sinocence.com SITE: http://www.sinocence.com Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DEFILER Expiation In Filth This band, although being formed in the heart of the 1999 summer, is here to perform frozen winter black metal. ?Expiation in filth? has also been recorded during July 2003 and I can see that heat cannot affect this band in the least! Defiler may be Greek in nationality but they are Scandinavian in sound! Their black metal sounds equally Norwegian (Emperor, Enslaved) and Swedish (Marduk, Dark Funeral) and is also accompanied by a lot of death metal sparks (Akercocke). I find their style to be very traditional and faithful to all the dark principles of black metal. Velocities are strictly high and all songs are as furious as they can be! ?Expiation in filth? hides much anger and hate and easily gets that to you. A really direct act that sometimes made me think that thrash metal must have had some impact to the band while composing! Within this release you can listen to some very sharp northern riffs, old fashion drumming and the best black metal vocals I have heard in a while! That of course does not mean that R.vox (the singer?s nick) fails in death metal grunts! A very characteristic voice is not easy to find, but Defiler have scored high in this sector! The guitar work is amazing. Riffs sound northern than north and breathe of a iniquitous coldness. They of course have captured the spirit of black metal perfectly. Defiler never get out of the thin line that they have mapped out for their style and that shows to me that they are dead serious about their music and future. Of course that can also be seen by songs like ?Evil unspeakable? but I have to acknowledge that they have quite a skill for black metal! A contract with a label is not far I think. They deserve it 100%! CONTACT: DEFILER, GEORGE KITIS, P.O. BOX 50105, THESSALONIKI, GREECE. EMAIL: Defiler_band@hotmail.com SITE: http://www.razorvortex.cjb.net George  "Volt"  Tassis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SNOWTHORN The Night Of The Dreamweaver (Demo 2003) Well, my friend by listening to your demo I understand that you have the talent and the skills not to restrain your music, on the contrary you don't limit your imagination but you expand it. I have to admit that I found extremely interesting and with a lot of originality the way you "marry" traditional metal and black. I don't know why but the atmosphere of your cd often gave me chills the way MAYHEM's "De Mysteries Dom Satanas" gave me. This is not enough though. Your music is enriched with some melodic and sometimes experimental parts that almost enter the realm of progressive. Especially, the song "Fantasy Untied" is one of the most beautiful compositions I've listened to lately fro a black metal band. Also your lyrics are  dark and have a poetic mood. Nothing to do with the stupidity and naivity of so many other bands of this genre that think they only have to write about ritual and demons, because they think that this is how you become more evil. The only think you have to improve is the use of the bad drum machine because in some occasions it sabotages your great atmosphere. I know that Snowthorn is an one man's band, but either you have to cooperate with a session drummer or you should start the drum lessons. The choice is yours... As for the rest of you who seek for new experiences, I think you should try to listen to this demo. CONTACT: pafneek@yahoo.gr Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DYSTHYMIA Mind...Will...Action Dysthymia is a new band coming from Siena, Italy and this is their first demo cd under the very eloquent title "Mind...Will...Action". These guys have chosen to play an incredible mixture of the American technical death metal with the Swedish death metal along with some very interesting thrash touches and black enrichments. Their music is beautiful with many changes in the rhythms and the ideas and the riffs are furious, aggressive but yet melodic and catchy. They have managed to establish a very concrete sound with great combinations and I can't avoid noticing that the final result bears a strong resemblance to the one and only DEATH. Apart from these, the production moves on good levels and the artwork is of professional standards. Check them out! CONTACT: GIACOMO BORTONE, VIA XXV APRILE 50, 53034 COLLE DI VAL D' ELSA (SI), ITALY. EMAIL: dysthymia@musician.org SITE: http://www.dysthymia.3000.it Christine  Parastatidou   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------