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CONCERT REPORT
I guess there’s something to be said for a band that produces a dirty, unpolished, and chaotic sound of hardcore metal music that can systematically engage the listener and cause some eyebrows to rise.

Hailing from the U.K., End to Empires literally moves in and out like a tornado of ear-damaging rhetoric, slamming into your head and doing some damage for a brief five minutes, only to leave and not say much about anything. I’ve listened to the demo three times now and it is quite impressive for an embryonic work in progress. Fast and unbridled are certainly two words to describe the band’s sound, and this sort of organized chaos lends some credibility to the sound herein. Nothing sets the sound apart from bands of similar ilk, but if your hardcore palate is satiated easily, but not too easily you might want to give End to Empires a look see.

The vocals are nothing overly special, but they pack a wallop on their own clear and unprocessed merit without benefit of insipid or detrimental devices to aid the aggression. Musically, the band is a large vacuum with the ability to suck the air out of the room, and this is complimentary of course. The simply in-and-out delivery of the songs is what marks the charm. Anything longer would have been overkill, anything less would have been cutting room floor discards. For this small hardcore outfit with the very big sound, I say a staunch ‘not bad’ and hope to hear something else soon.       
Alibech, End to Empires, Manzer & Sons of Nemesis
July 16, 2011
CHRIS
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Alibech - Demo
Mexican gothic rock is emanating from the south with a 2010 demo from the band Alibech. When I think gothic I think of Siouxsie and the Banshees, early Cure, Bauhaus or Sisters of Mercy. Yes, I understand it’s found its way into the metal world with some surprisingly potent results. Sadly, this is far from one of them.

First, the music on this demo is painfully generic and seemingly ill-constructed. In fact, at one point in the “El Decameron” track the music is literally tripping over itself at the halfway mark, not to say anything of wanton disregard for style and structure. In short, this is a mess for no one’s sake. This is the furthest thing from gothic music that I’ve yet to hear and I simply can’t understand the salad of what is supposed to be Goth fusing with a silly and disheveling progressive sound over some truly pathetic drums where the bass and keyboard drown out…everything. Seriously, what is the point of this music? Often bordering on circus tent music, this demo offers nothing in aesthetic or musical charm.

The overused ‘growling’ in reckless tandem with yet another soaring female vocalist simply lends itself to further pretention and dismay. This music will serve only to impress the shopping center mall Goths who, most assuredly, have never and will never pick up an instrument in their lives. This egregiousness is nothing short of silly and can’t even be deemed contrived because derivativeness at least spawns from influence. This is simply stagnant jargon put to well-abused chords. They get a half-star for the female lead being able to at least hold the note, and that’s as generous as it gets.

Don’t waste your time as I have.
End to Empires - Demo
Release Date:  June 28, 2010
Label: Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING:
1.   ****  2.   Hungry Leaders  3.   Black Ties    
-     Total playing time: 5:47
Release Date:  2010
Label: Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING:
1.  Intro: El Infierno de Alibech  2.  El Decameron  3.  Lagrimas de mis Recuerdos  4.  Dolor Urbano   
-    Total playing time: 24:52
DOWNLOAD Demo FREE from the band's website:  Alibech
There’s a certain ambience and depth to some of the music from Greece’s Pagan black metal project Sons of Nemesis, but I’m not so sure it’s enough to carry the music into viable territory.

The hope of a serendipitous venture fell a bit short for me on this self-titled demo; while the music itself is interesting and not without some merit, there’s just nothing memorable or enticing enough to warrant a true black metal fan to seek out this demo. The voluminous sounds are implemented for effectual mental pictures, I get it; what simply doesn’t do anything for me is the atmosphere that stagnates and goes absolutely nowhere in a slow, funerary procession that I simply cannot find employable or consuming, which are two important pieces of the black metal genre. When attempting to create true black metal music you can’t pop on Burzum or Marblebog albums and simply point out a demographical conclusion and begin there. I know that’s how idealistic kids like to begin their jaunt down the ‘evil’ path, but if you simply don’t have it inside you in a pure, homogeneous fashion, it’s all an arbitrary creation at best and a musical fallacy at worst.

I’m not taking anything away from our one-man show here; some of the music herein is rife with ideas and mood, but somewhere in the translation it just stands still and roots itself in the mire that is modern black metal, occupying more space that thought. 
Manzer - Pictavian Bastards
Black thrash in the French vein finds its way to the U.S. demo desk through Manzer, who’s style is quite possibly what Venom may have sounded like had the tuning been proper, the talent been wider and the sound been crisper. Alas, one is a bona fide legend and all others suffer by ritual comparison. Hence, Manzer suffers a similar fate.

There’s some definitive talent here; what I like is the typical black elements scattered over the under-produced thrash metal that doesn’t really scream out anything immediately memorable, but this is definitely a grower. You may not be able to sit and point out any one riff or vocal melody that will immediately stick to your ribs, but if you’re a Venom fan and like your black thrash simple and direct, a track like “Scatological Eschatology” is right up your filthy alley. At times the music appears too simplistic, but, again, that’s the charm of it, especially when drummer/vocalist Shaxul calls upon Conrad Lant (or Cronos for our younger brethren) so innately perfect. The “Acid Queen” cover is not bad either; it comes complete with short grunts and syllabic emphasis that Cronos himself would find a spot-on tribute.

Basic, bare-bones-minimum and entertaining, Manzer does all right for itself by making a tired old dog do some familiar tricks.
Sons of Nemesis - Sons of Nemesis
Release Date:  2010
Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING:
1. Spartans Of The Light  2. Seas Of Mediterranean 
3. Katathlepsis     -    Total playing time:  10:36
To listen to and download Sons of Nemesis visit the youtube page link above.
Release Date:  January 21, 2010
Label: InCoffin

TRACK LISTING:
1. Hell Zheimer  2. Pictavian Bastards  3. Scatological Eschatology  4.  Tarze a crvàe  5.  Acid Queen (Venom cover)
-    Total playing time: 16:51
To purchase a copy of Pictavian Bastards visit: Legion of Death  Records
TO THE TOP
DOWNLOAD Demo FREE from the band's bandcamp page: End to Empires
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