22/12/03

MEADS OF ASPHODEL / EXHUMING THE GRAVE OF YESHUA

This British band are going from strength to strength and I think Supernal Music have a bit hit on their hands, hot on the heels of their Jihad mini CD that came out earlier this year this is the same only bigger better and more of it.

The thing that struck me about the band was their eclectic attitude and their unique musical style, they are pigeon holed into the Death Metal banner but this does not do them justice as they have much wider musical tastes than the general understanding of the genre. They have put another Hawkwind cover on the CD, this time it’s a storming version of "Utopia" and their version like the Assassins cover is to my mind superior to the original and it had me reaching for the sleeve notes because I was 100 per cent sure that either the guitarist was a genius at doing a Huw Lloyd Lnagton impersonation or it was the man himself, it was the latter.

In some respects they remind me of Hawkwind, they have the same schizophrenic style of mixing brutal Metal and keyboard orientated pieces complete with monologues but done in the context of Death Metal. Not all the tracks are mega long, "God Is Rome" is only just over 2 minutes long and shows the Meads at their best, Not only does Huw puts in another appearance on the track "Sons Of Anak Rise" but Alan Davy adds some Bass on a couple of tracks as well. The other standout tracks are "Sluts Of The Netherworld" and "Gods For Sale" which sees them at their best, they finish up with one of their long, mainly instrumental pieces complete with monologue and the Eastern influences that are prevalent throughout this CD are put to great atmospheric effect.

The Meads are truly original and how many bands around at the moment can you think of that, that statement truly applies to. If you want to get hold of this CD you will have to get in touch with Dr. Alex at Supernal on the website below, don’t leave it too long as this will sell out fast and with it being Terrorize CD of the month in the December issue there will be a lot of interest.

DOWNLOAD : 4 Non album tracks from the band’s site and 1 from the Supernal site

TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 61 mins + 10 TRACKS