Scound - "At The Point of Death" CD EP Review (Crystal Productions)

Scound is a self-described metalcore band from the Czech Republic who released their second CD, "At The Point of Death", on Crystal Productions last year. Scound has been around since 2003 and this new six-track EP follows the band's 2006 full-length No Second Chances.

It took a few listens before I got into this disc and I think the reason was that I was expecting to hear the big choruses and clean vocals of a typical metalcore disc. Scound's music uses some of the melodic double guitar sound of the metalcore genre but the overall sound seems more in line with the death metal genre. Vocalist MicL sings in a standard death-metal growl while the guitar sounds burst in staccato, chugging riffs over the double bass drum. Regardless of whether the death metal or metalcore label sticks, the challenge with "At The Point of Death" is that most of the songs don't go far enough down either path to be memorable. I'm not sure what the purpose is of the disc's final track "Outro" as it doesn't fit (at all) with the other songs but the melodic, acoustic guitar and strings-driven piece is one of the more memorable songs on the disc.

I don't mean to slag the band as they are obviously talented (the melodic guitar leads are killer) but hopefully next time out, they push the envelope a bit as the band's early live videos show that they can work up a good head of death-metal steam. Check out the video trailer for the band's latest disc along with an early live video and see what you think.





Links:
Scound

Hypnos - "Halfway to Hell" CD EP Review (Crystal Productions)

DOWNLOAD: Hypnos - "Burning Again" (from "Halfway to Hell")
(track hosted on band's website)

After spending a couple years apart Czech death metal band band Hypnos released a new six-song EP, "Halfway to Hell", last July on the Crystal Productions label. The liner notes on the disc say "Big Sleep is Over * Monster Is Awaken And Gently Crawling Back!" Gentle isn't a word that I would use to describe this disc as it is a solid slab of melodic, blackened death metal. "Halfway to Hell" features the core duo of Bruno (guitar/bass/vocals) and Pegaz (drums/backing vocals) and this is the band's first new disc since 2005's Rabble Manifesto.

In celebration of this release, Hypnos played a comeback show at the Czech metal festival Brutal Assault alongside bands like Cannibal Corpse, Hypocrisy and Napalm Death.



The disc's six tracks go by in just under thirty minute and Hypnos taps on all of the strengths of the black metal genre without succumbing to any of the excesses. Hypnos' music is heavy but has an underlying sense of melody that doesn't detract from the heaviness. Clear production brings out the tension and texture of the music and there are elements of symphonic black metal running throughout the disc. Adding to this, there is also enough musical variation across the songs to keep them individually distinctive and memorable. (There is none of the mindless growl-n-chug sound that some bands utilize where you can't tell one song from another after the disc has played through). One example is "Symphony V - La Resurrezione Ferale", which is a symphonic instrumental that serves as a lead-in to the chugging riffs of "Burning Again". Another is "Where The Rooks Fly to Cry", which starts out as an epic instrumental that builds up to a crescendo where Bruno adds to the tension with growled vocals.

Hypnos announced on their MySpace page that more shows are planned and that the recording of their fourth full-length CD should take place around autumn of 2011.

Links:
Hypnos

LIVEEVIL - "Unique Constellation" CD Review (Crystal Productions)

LIVEEVIL is a Czech electro-metal band and the band's second disc, Unique Constellation, came out toward the end of 2009. This disc is a refreshing change of pace from some of the pummel-and-growl death metal discs that I've received recently as Unique Constellation has a number of memorable songs, with melodic hooks that stick with you after listening.

The band's sound relies heavily on prominent, swirling keyboards and clean, chugging guitar riffs. The band's music falls somewhere between Type O Negative and The Genitorturers but there is also a bit of 80's British synth-pop thrown in the mix. On the goth-rock songs, vocalist Petr's "Peter Steele"-style vocals are high in the mix and become one of the focal points of the song. On other songs, Petr uses a more 'mainstream' vocal style which could be compared to what Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) might sound like after too much cigarettes and whiskey. There are also a couple songs ("Resistance") where the focus is on darkwave dance grooves and the vocals are pushed down in the mix. The disc contains nine originals and covers of Duffy's "Mercy" and Mew's "Snow Brigade". I'm not familiar with the original versions of either of these songs so I can't offer much commentary. The Duffy cover is a bit too pop for my taste but Mew cover seems to fit right in with LIVEEVIL's originals.

Where too many bands are going for shear brutality, LIVEEVIL are a refreshing change of pace and Unique Constellation merits repeat listening.

The leadoff track from the disc, "Monster World" (video below), is indicative of the band's strengths.



Links:
LIVEEVIL

Crashpoint - "Millions of Figurines" CD Review (Crystal Productions)

Crashpoint is an alt-metal/nu-metal Czech band who released their second album Millions of Figurines (Crystal Productions) in 2008. Just so the nu-metal label doesn’t turn anyone off before they get into the body of this review, Crashpoint is closer in sound to experimental side of the genre (specific points of comparison are bands like System of a Down and Tool) rather than bands like Limp Bizkit. Crashpoint is evidently looking for a wider international exposure as a review copy of the band’s 2008 disc just came across to me from the band’s record company.

Millions of Figurines is subtly complex as the band’s music can seamlessly drop from chugging metal guitar riffs accompanied by a death-metal roar into a soft piano and lilting acoustic guitar, all within a few seconds. Added to this are cinematic sound bytes which range from the dialogue from the movie Spun (which starts off the disc) to George Bush defending the Patriot Act. Vocalist Hanzi sings in clear English and his delivery combines the warbled vocal histrionics of Serj Tankian with the emotive power of Maynard James Keenan.

Musically, the band is able to shift in style from song to song, which goes a long way toward making each of the songs distinctive and memorable. “Bound” prominently features a rubbery bass line and sounds like something from Alice in Chains’ “Unplugged” period, “In Penumbra” has a distinctive middle-eastern guitar riff that take the song into SOAD (or even Page and Plant) territory and “Medusa Eye” builds from a progy intro into a techno-pulsing instrumental which is backed by George Bush’s sound bytes. The most distinctive song is rawly emotive, acoustic melancholia of “Room No. 13”.

I can easily see why Crystal Productions is trying to bring some visibility to Crashpoint’s music as the band’s sound will resonate well with fans of the bands that have played Ozzfest, Family Values and similar styled festivals.

Links:
Crashpoint's MySpace Profile
Crashpoint's Website