Love & Hate
Back Street Records
Virginia based label Backstreet Records recently released the debut CD from their hometown boys Bullistic. The label was formed in '93 and released eight previous albums that earned them respect in the world of inde metal (their most prominent being US metal titans Meliah Rage). The label was re-launched with Love & Hate, Bullistic's bombastic debut. Highlighted by powerful vocals and blistering guitar work the band show traces of Danzig, Alice In Chains and, at times, Pantera. The vocalist is a true professional, sounding like a cleaner, bluesy Phil Anselmo. The musicianship is tight and the production is above average, but the songs are pretty mediocre. Although many of the songs provide heavy riffs, solid grooves and tasteful melodies at times, none of them really contain memorable hooks or really anything that make them stand out on their own. The few highlights are the dark, melodic numbers, such as; "Discarded Soul," "Eulogy," "Ignorance and Innocence (both versions)," as well as the well-performed cover of Gerry Rafferty's "Stuck In The Middle."
TOTALISTI
Slave To None
Magna Carta
It's great to see Magna Carta finally catering to the heavier side of progressive metal. Slave to None is the fourth CD release from Washington based quartet Totalisti. Shedding off their Metallica roots the band has now created a sound that combines both progressive and aggressive metal on their latest release. The majority of the CD leans more toward the aggressive side of metal sounding much more like Korn than, say, Dream Theater. Totalisti do throw in some odd time signatures and syncopated percussive grooves to the fold which, to be honest, becomes more annoying than it is enjoyable, but I'm sure it would suffice the stubborn prog-metal fan. The production is top-notch, thanks to producer/Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield, who does an excellent job tonality-wise, especially when it comes to the percussion (go figure). Production and musicianship aside, the fact is, the songs really aren't all that good, and with the exception of the first two tracks; "Sick Of It All" and "Fallen," the CD is uninspiring and bland.
YOB
The Unreal Never Lived
Metal Blade
This is an interesting release. The Unreal Never Lived is YOB's follow up to their Metal Blade debut The Illusion of Motion. This Oregon based industrial doom-metal band seems to have created the perfect soundtrack to Hell. Only 4 songs are featured on this disc, the first three are ten-minute droning sludge-anthems and the last track, "The Mental Tyrant," is a 21-minute atmospheric doom-epic that sounds like Pink Floyd meets Black Sabbath on 16 rpm (if you have an old record player from the '70s you'll know what this sounds like). Not something you would listen to driving along in your car, unless you plan on doing a drive-by. This shit is severely dark and aggro...you definitely have to be in the right mood to listen to YOB. Something only the true doom-metal fans can appreciate.
Shockwaves CD REVIEWS ISSUE 12 Page 8