Welcome to Deadtide
May 11, 2008
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The time has come to put Deadtide in the ground. I've had a blast running it for the last eight years but priorities change, life complicates and sacrifices must be made. I've heard a lot of great metal, met a lot of great people and don't regret a minute of it. I'd like to keep it that way. The site and forums will stay online as long as the domain works (probably another year), but it's unlikely that any new content will be generated. From here out, I'll be focusing my efforts on The Living Fields and Execution Magazine, both of which are more about making music than just sitting back and listening to it. To the bands, labels and publicity people we've worked with, thank you for your support. I never expected as much as we got. To the writers, thank you so much for making the site what it was. To the readers, thanks for tuning in. Over and out, ~ Muxlow |
May 11, 2008
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I Suffer Inc. Chronicles of Lost Purity Burning Star Records 2006 |
The signs are all there, the techno style opening seconds of “Blood for Blood,” the vocalist’s scenester hair and the mention that he was in an emo band before. Yeah, you’ll know right away that Italy’s I Suffer Inc. and their album Chronicles of Lost Purity isn’t going to be pretty, and by pretty, I mean good. Musically,... Read More » |
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Relentless Tempest of Torment Crash Music 2005 |
Sweden’s Relentless play some of the most average old-school death metal on Tempest of Torment that I’ve ever heard. Honestly, it must take some specific talent for this band to be so completely unrefreshing as this. None of the ten tracks is bad, yet nothing, I mean absolutely nothing really stands out as truly interesting on the disc.... Read More » |
May 10, 2008
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Amon Amarth : Masters of War
Interview with Fredrik Andersson "Amon Amarth has reached such a legendary status in the minds of metalheads that not knowing of them would be akin to a blues fan not knowing who BB King is. The band is one of the few that has its roots firmly planted in the soil of death metal, but has the power and melody to cross over and garner the fancy of the more mainstream fans without the usual obligatory style change, which has earned them the ire of many an underground elitist. Love them or hate them, Amon Amarth, after over 16 years, are stronger than ever.
On a bracing December day in Cleveland, Fredrik Andersson, percussionist extraordinaire for the band, gave me the chance to sit and discuss the band and other topics with him; the exchange follows....." |
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Damnation A.D. In This Life or the Next Victory Records 2007 |
“Knot” kicks in after a short intro, and you know that Damnation A.D. aren’t at all like the horde of new-school, Hatebreed-ripoff, hardcore acts. These guys have apparently been around for a long time, and In this Life or the Next is supposed to be a reunion of sorts for the band. The music on the album is... Read More » |
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Arise and Ruin The Final Dawn Victory Records 2007 |
Ontario’s Arise and Ruin are trying so hard not to be the typical metal/death-core act on their debut, The Final Dawn. The riffs on many of the songs do show a particular adeptness and taste for mid/late 90s thrash and melodic death metal, while the vocals, though hardcore-ish are pretty heavy and tolerable. Where their material fails them... Read More » |
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Eluveitie Slania Nuclear Blast Records 2008 |
Eluveitie (according to wikipedia, it's pronounced "el-way-tea") are from Switzerland and play Celtic-based folk metal. These guys attempt to differentiate themselves from the rest of the Celtic-based folk hordes by making their metal bits sound like the Gothenburg style of early-mid era Dark Tranquillity and In Flames. For the most part, it's an effective combination of styles as the Celtic... Read More » |
May 8, 2008
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Quick Change Circus of Death 2007 |
Chicago's Quick Change started out in the 1982 as a cover band, primarily playing Judas Priest and Scorpions covers. In '85 they started writing originals and released a string of three self-financed demos before they got Roadrunner to release their debut full-length, Circus of Death in 1988. In 1990, the band recorded a 6 track EP that would never be... Read More » |
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Skeletonwitch Beyond the Permafrost 2007 |
On their second record, ‘Beyond the Permafrost’, Skeletonwitch are looking to scuff up some dark smudges on the dazzling white Reeboks of this decade's thrash revival. Although they are not as black as Absu nor as death-y as The Crown, Skeletonwitch are handy with elements from both and present them in tight rhythmic packages. Some more melodic numbers are interspersed,... Read More » |
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Testament The Gathering Spitfire Records 1999 |
I know of the division this band created in its fanbase following the departure of Alex Skolnick, but I never understood why there was a division. Sure, Testament took a new direction with its first sans-Skolnick album, 1994's 'Low,' but it wasn't so drastic as to say the songwriting had deteriorated due to his absence. Following 'Low' came... Read More » |
May 7, 2008
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Embrace the End Ley Lines Century Media 2008 |
Embrace The End is a band I can casually listen to. Not that it is easy listening or anything to that nature, but I can listen to them if they are on, but I probably would never select the album specifically to listen to. ETE is one of those bands that have so much going on, that you can never... Read More » |
May 4, 2008
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Khann Tofutopia 2007 |
Sporting a debut album titled ‘Tofutopia’, Florida’s Khann may seem like the latest tongue-in-cheek indie crew with a snarky sense of humor: the album title’s pun, their own name reprising a James T. Kirk internet phenomenon*, and so forth. Luckily for us, this is not the case. Instead, Khann reminds one of the days when the likes of Botch, Converge,... Read More » |
May 2, 2008
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Almost is Nothing Wings of Deliverance Independent Release 2008 |
In yet another random Portland metal encounter involving an old Impaled t-shirt and Hot Topic, I found myself in the possession of Almost is Nothing’s second full-length album, Wings of Deliverance. This local act seem to be quite good at getting their material into my hands, and to be perfectly honest, especially with this release, I have no fucking... Read More » |
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Macabre Sinister Slaughter/Behind the Wall of Sleep (re-issue) Metal Mind Records 2008 |
Back in 1993, Chicago trio, Macabre released their second album, Sinister Slaughter, which earned the band an infamous place in metal’s underground hall of fame. On this disc, these sick, sick individuals created a very odd concoction that often sounds like a violent blend of grind, punk, and death metal all the while full of off-kliter, speedy arrangements and... Read More » |
April 28, 2008
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Draconian Turning Season Within Napalm Records 2008 |
Draconian are a gothic, doom, death band and this is their fourth full-length album. Over the years, female vocals have become more prominent to the point that they've gone from supportive atmosphere to starring role. Lisa Johansson takes center stage with her mournful, dreamy, clean vocals almost as often as growler Anders Jacobsson does. Over the course of the CD,... Read More » |
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Freevil Freevil Burning Nastified Productions 2007 |
Releases like this renew my faith in metal. I've been going through a phase where everything I hear sounds pretty much like the last. The lads from Freevil are going a long way to getting my head back into a pure metal space. It's not that they are playing something totally original or... Read More » |
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Control Denied The Fragile Art of Existence (re-issue) Metal Mind Records 2008 |
Chuck Schuldiner’s metal legacy is not so easily forgotten. His numerous Death albums are still considered by many as some of the best material out there, and, especially on the band’s later work, it virtually impossible to say that his efforts are anything less than astounding. Since 1995, however, along with some of the members of The Sound... Read More » |
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Suhrim Happy Hour Shiver Records 2007 |
Suhrim create some pretty fun death/gore/grind on their fourth disc, Happy Hour. The cover is reminiscent of a comical version of Carcass’ Necroticism, while the songs are tight, short little death metal ditties with uncompromising grooves, heavy vocals throughout and a guarantee of a sound byte or movie clip at the beginning of each. The album, though extremely... Read More » |
April 26, 2008
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Desaster Satan's Soldiers Syndicate Metal Blade 2008 |
Germany’s Desaster celebrate their sixth album with the overly appropriate title 666: Satan’s Soldiers Syndicate. The disc is a ten-track harkening back to the days of Venom, et. al. but with a 21st century infusion of good production, speed and plenty of huge thrash hooks. More even than sounding like the band’s old-school idols here, they sound like... Read More » |
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Cataract Cataract Metal Blade 2008 |
Swiss veterans, Cataract release their self-titled album in predictable, though satisfying form. Sure, they’re still playing metalcore that’s more metal than –core, adding the best parts of hardcore whilst never sacrificing the metal underpinnings that make their work better than a good chunk of the rest. This time around especially, though, it seems they’re trying even harder than... Read More » |
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Belphegor Bondage Goat Zombie Nuclear Blast Records 2008 |
For nearly any other group, an album titled ‘Bondage Goat Zombie’ would have to be in jest. Belphegor, however, are a perverse and peculiar entity, and to them this title could simply be the best way to describe their most recent package of “supreme black/death metal art.” In classic Belphegor fashion, it explores the connections between their two favorite... Read More » |
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Testament First Strike Still Deadly (reissue) Prosthetic Records 2008 |
In 1987 Testament entered the California thrash scene, right around the time Metallica and Slayer were really, really hitting their stride. Though the band had some success with their first two releases, The Legacy and The New Order, it wasn’t until their 1994 release of Low that the band truly came into their own. The addition of James... Read More » |
April 24, 2008
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Cryptopsy The Unspoken King Century Media 2008 |
This album had a monumental amount of things going against it even during its inception: it is the first since the early 90s to not utilize the compositional skills of departed guitarist Jon Levasseur who undoubtably penned their best and most unique material; vocal duties are handled by a frontman in the metalcore genre (as are secondary guitars)... Read More » |
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Denata Art of the Insane Arctic Music Group 2003 |
Denata are a Swedish death thrash band in the vein of Defleshed and many others. I'm tempted to leave the review at that because there isn't much to talk about here. They use just about every clichéd riff you can think of from this genre. The vocals are a solid rasp and the drums just chug along... Read More » |
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After All The Vermin Breed Locomotive Records 2007 |
After All is an old school thrash band from Belgium. They combine some great Bay Area style riffs processed through The Haunted with vocals that remind me of Chuck Billy of Testament. I would say that these vocals are almost sung at times, and damn they sound good. Piet Focroul is a great singer, combining harsher vocals... Read More » |
April 23, 2008
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Malevolent Creation Envenomed II Arctic Music Group 2002 |
This is a re-release of the Envenomed album, with two old demo tracks and an Dark Angel cover thrown in for good measure. The album itself is quite good, especially due to the hammering drumming of Dave Culross, a personal favorite of mine ever since I heard him with Hate Plow. As with any album that has Culross... Read More » |
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Vrolok Feast of Sacrilgious Impurity 2006 |
Vrolok are new to my ears, but I am glad they made it here. Better late than never. This is really fast, raw and noisy black metal. There is just enough bass to keep this from being piercing, though no more than that. This is fuzzy and furious, although just to spice things up they do... Read More » |
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At the Pulse of Kapitulation - Live in East Berlin 1990 SPV 2008 |
Kreator and SPV did a real bang up job with this reissue here. It not only contains the reissue of the old VHS Hallucinative Comas and Live in East Berlin, but they also include a documentary about the East Berlin show and an audio disc of the Live in East Berlin set. They spared no expense or pain... Read More » |
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Kult ov Azazel Feast of Sacrilgious Impurity 2006 |
Kult of Azazel gives us two studio tracks and three live ones on this split with Vrolok. They even threw in videos of the live tracks. First the studio tracks, one original and an old Sodom cover, Blasphemer. The production is pretty solid, though still plenty raw. Granted you can barely even hear the guitar or... Read More » |
April 22, 2008
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Total Hate Depopulating Planet Earth Agonia Records 2008 |
Total Hate is not a band to try and reinvent the wheel. This is just really fast old school black metal in the vein of Transylvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone. The production is nice and raw, though it isn't unlistenable by any stretch as they have a solid drums sound and enough bass to keep the guitars from being more... Read More » |
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Scarpoint The Silence We Deserve 2007 |
Scarpoint are a Swedish death/thrash/hardcore band. Yes, the same country that gave us Soilwork and In Flames. To be honest they sound way too much like those bands to really stand out. The riffs, the drums and even the vocals to some degree all sound the same. All that is missing are the copious use of... Read More » |
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Isole Bliss of Solitude Napalm Records 2008 |
Isole are death/doom from Sweden that are something of an odd mix to me. Imagine the usual conventions of old My Dying Bride combined with a wailing guitar that is reminiscent of God Was Created by Vehemence. As I am sure you already figured out this is a long record with seven songs in just under an hour.... Read More » |
April 21, 2008
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A Gruesome Find Of Blood and Nobility Independent Release 2007 |
This is really solid blackened death from Ohio, though you would probably think Sweden upon listening to it. Imagine Naglfar with vocals that sound like they have disotortion on them, but don't. I don't quite know how to describe them but the fact they appear to be a natural sound is pretty impressive. More impressive still is... Read More » |
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Pharaoh Be Gone Cruz Del Sur Music 2008 |
It’s a little ironic that Cruz Del Sur, an Italian record label, would have such a significant role in reviving America’s traditional metal scene. Under their hand, artists Hammers of Misfortune, Slough Feg, Crescent Shield, and others have received international distribution and acclaim from critics and fans alike. To this reviewer, however, the label’s greatest feat has nothing to do... Read More » |
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Firewind The Premonition Century Media 2008 |
For many power metal acts, the aspect of the music that’s a make-it-or-break-it for the band is the vocal delivery. Given that the rest of the band plays well and doesn’t go for too much cheese or sap, the responsibility lies on the singer not bollocks things up with a fruity delivery. It’s often that simple.
Firewind’s fifth album,... Read More » |
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Warrel Dane Praises to the War Machine Century Media 2008 |
My, my, Warrel Dane’s “solo” album is stacked with the who’s-who of metal these days. Mr. Dane of Nevermore is on vox, of course, along with Dirk Verbeuren, drummer-extraordinaire/skin-bashing mercenary for the legions of drummerless European bands out there, along with Peter Wichers of former Soilwork fame and Matt Wicklund, ex-Himsa who both take on bass and guitar duties.... Read More » |
April 19, 2008
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Mannhai Hellroad Caravan Locomotive Records 2007 |
Led by vocalist Pasi Koskinen formerly of Amorphis fame, Mannhai release their fourth album Hellroad Caravan. The disc is a hodge-podge of faster fuzz akin to a sorry mix of Fu Manchu meets Hellacopters with a touch of the weakest stuff Cathedral has ever done. There are also some chiller jams more in the patient-like-Kyuss style, all the... Read More » |
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The Great Kat Worship Me or Die! (re-issue) Metal Mind Records 2007 |
Before reading the bio contained on the Metal Mind reissue of The Great Kat’s debut, Worship Me or Die! I had no idea why there was so much interest in her work. The EPs that I’d heard prior to this album were all about four tracks long, very short (less than 15 minutes each), poorly produced, immature and campy.... Read More » |
April 17, 2008
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Magnum Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow SPV 2007 |
Imagine a less folky version of Jethro Tull and a more progressive version of Saxon with less triplets and over-the-top vocals, yearning instead for song structure, all the while retaining the tale telling and taking it up tenfold. Throw in some dashes of Yes or Genesis and then you might have a good summary for the United Kingdom's Magnum, who... Read More » |
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Arsis We Are the Nightmare Nuclear Blast Records 2008 |
‘We Are The Nightmare’, Arsis’s third full-length, continues the band’s relentless stomp through the metal realms that began with their widely lauded 2004 debut, ‘A Celebration of Guilt’. The 2005 EP ‘A Diamond For Disease’ and its groundbreaking title track cemented James Malone as one of the genre’s rising stars, and everyone anticipated a superb sophomore effort in ‘United in... Read More » |
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Metal Mania 2007 Metal Mind Records 2008 |
Spanning black, folk, thrash, death and traditional metal across one DVD and even another CD, the latter featuring the smaller acts from the side stage, Metal Mind Productions' MetalMania 2007 collection offers up a bit of everything for a bit of everyone. Featuring footage from Sepultura, Korpiklaani, Vital Remains, Destruction, Blaze Bayley and a plethora of Testament - the headliner... Read More » |
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Prometheus Beneath an Alien Sky Independent Release 2006 |
Sweden's Prometheus may be no more, but the band's soul lies on in the form of the like-minded Mindmachine. Well, supposedly, but don't hold your breath there too much either...Upon a little research, their future doesn't hold much either. Focusing on a sound showcasing, for better or worse, vocalist Sharon's middle-of-the-road melodies, and keyboardist Erik's trying, but not quite there... Read More » |
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Arsis We Are the Nightmare Nuclear Blast Records 2008 |
I like Arsis in that I have a respect for them from a distance. They just happen to be a band that I had my ass shoved around about until I finally picked up 'A Diamond for Disease,' then followed through with persistent badgering of "Isn't 'Diamond for Disease' awesome? Dude, it's so awesome. Man, awesome." ... Read More » |