JUSTIN’S METAL REVIEWS W/C 17/9/07

 

REVEREND BIZARRE / III – SO LONG SUCKERS

 

This is the parting shot from Finnish Doom Metal band Reverend Bizarre and it may well be the best Doom Metal album ever and should be required listening for all Metal fans everywhere.

 

There is one universal fact all things come to and end, its not a question of if, just a question of when and how, Shakespeare wrote parting is such sweet sorrow how wrong he was, it has a bitter, foul taste but this proves how much we cared, loved or needed that which has gone and understanding this loss is the key to life, this is what Doom Metal is all about and if a song take 25 or 40 minutes to explore this concept, so be it, we are programmed to accept 4 minutes but this is the corporate, quick fix wish that is shallow and empty, this is where Doom Metal wins every time and the Revered Bizarre exploit this well.  Title of songs don’t matter one iota, it’s the feeling and emotion that they convey that is the most important thing and this is where this album wins, no contest.

 

If you are looking for a quick fix this CD is not the album for you, if however you are looking for the truth and are prepared to spend 2 hours listening for it, this album may will help you to come to terms with issues you don’t want to face, especially if you are at a difficult point in you life and want to make sense of things, if all this sounds very heavy, its not half as heavy as the music that the good Revered make but as I said all things come to an end, few of us get the choice of how or when, like the good Reverend Bizarre, good luck and farewell.

 

WEBSITE      http://reverend.shows.it/

 

TOTAL PLAYING TIME 132 mins + 8 TACKS 2 CD’s

 

 

METAL: A HEADBANGERS COMPANION II / VARIOUS

 

This is the 2^nd box set from Earache and its Extreme in more ways than one, like its processor it’s 6 CD’s, over a 100 bands and there is some classic tracks and new ones on here as well.

 

The 6 discs are split into different headings like volume one starting off with, Extreme Metal Essentials and they certainly are, with all the bands you could think of, my favourites being, Carcass “Heartwork”, Bolt Thrower “Cenotaph”, Godflesh “Like Rats” and Morbid Angel “God Of Emptiness”.  The second CD is called “Cult Rock Classics and features, Clutch “Passive Restraints”, Iron Monkey “Fink Dial”, as well as great tracks by, Fudge Tunel, Sleep and the sadly now defunct and to my mind very under rated Usurper with “Kill For Metal”.

 

The 3^rd disc is all the new stuff, with SSS, Evile, Severe Torture, Biomechanical on it, there is a live disc, that is OK with some good tracks on it and the only disc that doesn’t do much for me is the Remix CD with only the Mortiis and Dub War appealing to me, the last disc is the Sickest Ever Metal and is by far the most Extreme with Berzerker, Brutal Truth, Godflesh, and my favourite December Wolves with the brilliant “Porn Again Christian” (this video of which is very X Rated) but very good never the less, over all this is a worthy companion to its processor and you do get 6 CD’s for the price of 1.

 

WEBSITE      http://www.earache.com/

 

TOTAL PLAYING TIME 7+ Hours + 103 TRACKS  

 

HIM / VENUS DOOM

 

HIM have been very successful over the past few years and with strong material like this I see no reason why this should not continue, “Venus Doom” has a few more tricks up its sleeve than “love Metal” did and this slow development / evolution will keep fans happy for quite a while.

 

As the title suggests the band have added a bit of Doom to this CD and although commercial Gothic / Doom Metal looks on paper as if it wouldn’t work, it actually works very well.  The Doom influence gives the band a much darker side than they have had before and it also give the band more time to fully explore, musical and lyrical themes than before, the best example of this is “Sleepwalking Past Hope” which clocks in at a whopping 10 minutes and starts off with a simple piano piece and goes through quite a Doom metamorphosis and to my mind one of the best tracks they have ever done.

 

If you haven’t paid much attention to this Finnish band before this is the one to change your mind as there is so much on offer here an d I hope they keep the Heavier Doom influence from now on, it really does work very well for them.  Listen for: “Passion’s Killing Floor”, the excellent first single “Kiss Of Dawn”, “Dead Lover’s Lane”, “Bleed Well” and the superb title track “Venus Doom”, commercial Doom may just catch on but if you want the real stuff go get the new Reverend Bizarre CD, you won’t be disappointed, I promise.

 

WEBSITE      http://www.heartagram.com/

 

TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 48 mins + 9 DOOM LADEN TRACKS