REVIEW: KISS – Creatures of the Night

 

KISS – Creatures of the Night

Casablanca

The Metal Gods Nobody Noticed

When I was just six, I fell hard for KISS. I dug the glossy hard rock of Dynasty (including the massive disco hit “I Was Made for Lovin’ You”) and the pop experiments of Unmasked. Even Music from “The Elder” fascinated me, despite its conceptual misfire. The makeup was still there, but the danger was gone. By the early ’80s KISS were chasing trends and in free fall.

Then, in the fall of 1982, when eight-year-old me put Creatures of the Night on the turntable for the first time, everything felt different. This was the furious course correction: a full-throated heavy-metal statement that arrived just when almost nobody was still listening.

The album marks KISS’s most convincing shift into genuine heavy metal. It’s denser, darker and more aggressive than anything they’d done before. The guitars are thicker, and the whole record carries the nocturnal menace the title promises.

A big part of that weight comes from the production, especially the drums. Eric Carr delivers one of the most powerful drum sounds of the early 1980s — cavernous, punchy and larger than life. He drives tracks like the title song, “Danger,” “I Love It Loud” and “War Machine” with real authority. In an era when many rock records were starting to sound thin, this drum sound remains a benchmark.

Paul Stanley sings with commanding force throughout. The title track opens the album with theatrical power, “I Still Love You” ranks among the band’s finest ballads, and “Danger” is a particular standout. Gene Simmons sounds re-energized and menacing on “I Love It Loud,” “Killer” and especially “War Machine.”

Smart outside contributions raised the songwriting to a new level. A young Bryan Adams (with Jim Vallance) co-wrote two key tracks with Simmons — “Rock and Roll Hell” and “War Machine.” Input from Adam Mitchell and the then-unknown Vinnie Vincent added further firepower, with Vincent’s blistering solos giving the songs exactly the edge they needed. The result is a remarkably consistent, mean-sounding album that still feels classic KISS.

Commercially it was a quiet disaster. It peaked at a modest No. 45 on the Billboard 200 and only went gold more than a decade later (1994). The irony still stings: KISS had finally made their heaviest and most focused record in years — and almost no one noticed.

What followed was adaptation. In 1983 the makeup came off and the hair-metal era began with Lick It Up. The rest of the decade brought hits, lineup changes and solid albums like Revenge (1992). But the original mythic aura stayed elusive until the 1996 reunion. On those tours, “Creatures of the Night,” “I Love It Loud” and “War Machine” returned as powerful reminders of that 1982 rebirth.

Creatures of the Night remains KISS’s great overlooked turning point — the moment they became true metal gods. That almost no one noticed at the time only makes the achievement more striking. Today it stands as one of their heaviest, darkest and most focused statements: a thunderous reminder of what the band could still be when they simply decided to be dangerous again.

Ben Sollberger

REVIEW: RIBSPREADER - The Van Murders

 

RIBSPREADER - The Van Murders (2011)

Vic Records

Ribspreader have been remarkably consistent since their formation in 2003, and that consistency is rooted in a very clear understanding of what the band wants to represent. Rather than constantly reinventing their sound or incorporating contemporary elements, the Swedish trio have remained firmly committed to the classic death metal tradition. The Van Murders continues that approach, delivering nine tracks of uncompromising, old-school Swedish death metal with very little interest in unnecessary embellishment.

There is nothing particularly experimental here, nor is there any attempt to modernize the formula. Instead, Ribspreader focus on the fundamentals: deep guttural vocals, heavy rhythm guitars, ominous riffing, raw guitar tones and a generally dark, aggressive atmosphere. The arrangements are tight and straightforward, while the production retains enough grit to preserve the genre's old-school character. Even when the songs introduce more groove-oriented passages, they remain firmly within the boundaries established by the early Swedish death metal tradition.

The album's deliberately familiar approach may lead some listeners to describe it as generic, and there is certainly little on The Van Murders that could be considered groundbreaking. However, familiarity is not necessarily a weakness when the material is performed with conviction and a clear sense of purpose. Ribspreader are not attempting to redefine death metal; they are concentrating on reproducing the spirit and aesthetics of its formative years.

That places The Van Murders comfortably within the long-running Swedish old-school death metal continuum. For listeners who value the rawer, heavier and less polished side of the genre, the album offers exactly what its title and presentation suggest: direct, uncompromising death metal without unnecessary detours.

Ultimately, The Van Murders works precisely because Ribspreader know what they are doing and, more importantly, know what they do not want to do. It is a focused and consistent release that embraces the classic Swedish death metal vocabulary rather than attempting to expand it. In that respect, it stands as a solid contemporary example of how the first-generation sound can still be approached without excessive modernization.

Christine  Parastatidou

REVIEW: ROTTING CHRIST, Theοgonia

 

ROTTING CHRIST, Theοgonia (2007)

Season of Mist

Αέναο κυνήγι για καταξίωση

Η επαναφορά σε πιο Black Metal εποχές δημιούργησε ένα νέο κύμα ενδιαφέροντος για το μεγάλο ελληνικό σχήμα του ακραίου ήχου. Κι αυτό είναι αρκετό; Όχι. Η επιστροφή των Αθηναίων extreme metallers προς τον συγκεκριμένο ήχο είχε συντελεστεί ήδη ένα-δυο άλμπουμ νωρίτερα. Από εδώ και έπειτα, θα συνεχιστεί το σερί επιτυχιών σε μουσικό επίπεδο.

Εδώ έχουμε έντονη την παρουσία πιο παραδοσιακών μουσικών επιρροών στον ήχο τους. Οι επιρροές αυτές, είτε οργανικές είτε συνθετικές, δεν ακούγονται καθόλου παράταιρες. Η χρήση τσαμπούνας, στο «Nemecis», για παράδειγμα, προσδίδει στο κομμάτι μια χαρακτηριστική χροιά, ενώ τα ελληνικά μυθολογικά στοιχεία στους τίτλους των κομματιών, αλλά και γενικότερα στους στίχους, όπως και η χρήση της ελληνικής γλώσσας, ενισχύουν τη συγκεκριμένη αισθητική. Να υπογραμμίσω, βέβαια, ότι και οι επίσης Έλληνες Kawir είχαν κάνει, ήδη από νωρίτερα, και εξακολουθούν να κάνουν κάτι αντίστοιχο.

Όλα αυτά προσθέτουν στοιχεία που, μεταξύ άλλων, μπορούν να λειτουργήσουν θετικά και στην προσπάθεια προσέγγισης της αγοράς εκτός συνόρων, κάτι που είναι απολύτως λογικό. Επιπλέον, η μεταπήδησή τους σε ελληνική εταιρεία, τη μικρή Season Of Mist Records, δείχνει τον δρόμο και σε άλλα ελληνικά σχήματα.

Επί του δίσκου, έχουμε μία από τις πιο συμπαγείς κυκλοφορίες τους, με τον αγαπημένο, εμβληματικό ύμνο «Nemecis» να συνοδεύεται από τα «Χάος Γένετο (The Sign of Prime Creation)», «Keravnos Kivernitos», «Enuma Elish», «Rege Diabolicus», «Phobos' Synagogue», «Helios Hyperion» και «Theogony».

Ίσως πρόκειται για το καλύτερο άλμπουμ τους κατά την πρώτη δεκαετία του νέου αιώνα.

English:

An Endless Quest for Recognition

The return to their more Black Metal-oriented era sparked a new wave of interest in this major Greek extreme metal act. And is that enough? No. The Athenian extreme metallers had already begun their return to this particular sound one or two albums earlier. From this point onward, their run of musical successes would continue.

Here, traditional musical influences are strongly present throughout their sound. These influences, whether organic or compositional, never sound out of place. The use of the tsampouna, for instance, in “Nemecis” gives the track a distinctive character, while the elements of Greek mythology in the song titles, as well as throughout the lyrics, together with the use of the Greek language, further reinforce this particular aesthetic. It should be pointed out, of course, that fellow Greeks Kawir had already been doing something similar for some time and continue to do so.

All these elements add qualities that, among other things, can also work positively in their attempt to reach audiences beyond Greece, which is entirely understandable. Furthermore, their move to a Greek label, the then-small Season Of Mist Records, also helped pave the way for other Greek bands.

As for the album itself, we have one of their most cohesive releases, with the beloved and iconic anthem “Nemecis” joined by “Chaos Geneto (The Sign of Prime Creation),” “Keravnos Kivernitos,” “Enuma Elish,” “Rege Diabolicus,” “Phobos' Synagogue,” “Helios Hyperion,” and “Theogony.”

Perhaps this is their finest album of the first decade of the new millennium.

Τάκης "Ε-Μortal One" Γιώτης!

REVIEW: STORMWITCH, Walpurgis Night

 

STORMWITCH, Walpurgis Night (1984)

GAMA International

Πόσο επιδραστικοί είναι επιτέλους!

Οι πέντε πρωτοπόροι της γερμανικής Power και Speed Metal σκηνής, εδώ, στον πρώτο δίσκο της καριέρας τους, δίνουν απλόχερα από επικές μέχρι τέρμα Speed ενέσεις μεταλλικής πεμπτουσίας. Σε μια εποχή που οι Scorpions άρχισαν να πουλάνε, οι Accept έφταναν στον θρόνο τους, οι Stormwitch, από το Χάιντενχαϊμ του Μπάντεν-Βυρτεμβέργη (κάπου στη δυτική τότε μεριά της Γερμανίας), κάνουν το βήμα που θα επηρεάσει τόσο στυλιστικά —δερμάτινα, περικάρπια με καρφιά, μεταλλικοί σταυροί, όρθιοι ή ανεστραμμένοι, απόκοσμες φωτογραφίες και εξώφυλλα— αλλά, πολύ περισσότερο, μουσικά: Grave Digger, Running Wild, Helloween, Rage, Scanner και άλλους, πολύ κι άλλους... περισσότερο.

Παράδειγμα αποτελεί το «Skull and Crossbones», από αυτό το τρομερό δισκάκι, που είναι στην ουσία το πρώτο δείγμα Pirate Metal και για το οποίο στοιχηματίζω ότι ο Rolf Kasparek όχι μόνο το άκουσε, αλλά και το ενστερνίστηκε λίγο αργότερα στους δικούς του —θεούς— Running Wild, οι οποίοι ξεκινούν κι αυτοί το 1984 με το ντεμπούτο τους, Gates to Purgatory.

Το «Priest of Evil» είναι ένα ακόμη κομμάτι που, πιστεύω, ο Chris Boltendahl και οι Grave Digger θα πρέπει να άκουσαν πολύ καλά. Και το σχήμα αυτό γράφει την ίδια χρονιά το Heavy Metal Breakdown άλμπουμ του!

Γενικά, η σκηνή που τότε ξεκινούσε στη χώρα αυτή αντάλλαξε πολλές ιδέες, τόσο μεταξύ των ίδιων των σχημάτων όσο και με το NWOBHM, από την πάνω αριστερά (στον χάρτη) ακτή του Dover.

Στο άλμπουμ αυτό επίσης ξεχωρίζουν το ομότιτλο κομμάτι, τα «Werewolves on the Hunt» και «Warlord», το ορχηστρικό «Excalibur» —χμμμ, πολλά χρόνια μετά πάλι οι Grave Digger θα έχουν δικό τους δίσκο και κομμάτι με αυτό το όνομα, όπως ξέρουμε— και το «Thunderland».

Και, σαράντα χρόνια μετά, γυρνάμε ευλαβικά πίσω σε αυτό.

English:

Just How Influential Were They, After All!

Here, on the first album of their career, the five pioneers of the German Power and Speed Metal scene generously deliver everything from epic injections of heavy metal essence to full-throttle Speed Metal mayhem. At a time when Scorpions were beginning to break through and Accept were ascending to the throne, Stormwitch, hailing from Heidenheim in Baden-Württemberg, in what was then West Germany, took a step that would prove influential not only stylistically — leather, studded wristbands, upright or inverted metal crosses, eerie photographs and artwork — but, much more importantly, musically, influencing bands such as Grave Digger, Running Wild, Helloween, Rage, Scanner and many, many others.

A prime example is “Skull and Crossbones”, from this tremendous little record. It is essentially one of the earliest examples of Pirate Metal, and I would bet that Rolf Kasparek not only heard it, but took the idea to heart and incorporated it shortly afterwards into his own — gods — Running Wild, who themselves emerged in 1984 with their debut, Gates to Purgatory.

“Priest of Evil” is another track that, I believe, Chris Boltendahl and Grave Digger must have listened to very carefully. And that same year, the band released their own Heavy Metal Breakdown album!

In general, the scene that was then emerging in Germany exchanged plenty of ideas, both among its own bands and with the NWOBHM, coming from the upper-left (on the map) shores of Dover.

This album also boasts the title track, “Werewolves on the Hunt” and “Warlord”, as well as the instrumental “Excalibur” — hmm, many years later, of course, Grave Digger would once again have their own album and song bearing that very name, as we all know — and “Thunderland”.

And, forty years later, we respectfully turn our gaze back to this record.

Τάκης "Ε-Μortal One" Γιώτης!

REVIEW: OBSCURA – Omnivium

 

OBSCURA – Omnivium (2011)

Relapse Records

OBSCURA from Germany had already established themselves as one of the most technically accomplished names in extreme metal by the time Omnivium arrived in March 2011. Formed in 2002 by Steffen Kummerer, the band had built much of its reputation around a combination of technical and progressive death metal, and the connection with names such as NECROPHAGIST and PESTILENCE made their musical direction fairly easy to anticipate. The lineup featured guitarist Christian Münzner and drummer Hannes Grossmann, both formerly of NECROPHAGIST, alongside PESTILENCE-associated fretless bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling and Kummerer himself on guitars and vocals. In other words, the personnel alone represented a formidable concentration of experience in technically demanding extreme metal.

Omnivium was recorded at Woodshed Studio in Germany with V. Santura handling engineering, production, mixing and mastering duties, while the album's artwork was created by Orion Landau. The record contains nine compositions and runs for roughly 54 minutes, giving the band considerable room to develop its elaborate arrangements. Its conceptual side is also worth mentioning: the lyrical framework draws inspiration from Friedrich Schelling's philosophical work On Nature's Connection to the Spirit World, which fits the album's interest in abstract, cosmic and metaphysical themes.

Musically, there is very little that can be questioned when it comes to the musicians' ability. The technique is flawless, the rhythm and tempo changes are often stunning, the dark atmosphere is consistently maintained, and the melodic passages, whenever they emerge from the dense arrangements, can be genuinely breathtaking. The particularly prominent fretless bass of Thesseling adds another dimension to the material, while Grossmann's drumming provides an extraordinarily precise rhythmic foundation for the constantly shifting guitar work. Tracks such as “Ocean Gateways”, “Prismal Dawn” and “Celestial Spheres” demonstrate how OBSCURA could move between brutality, melody and progressive experimentation without abandoning their extreme-metal identity.

However, and this is where my personal reservations begin, Omnivium is good without being an album that makes me want to jump from joy. Let me explain myself...

The problem is not the technique; that aspect is beyond dispute. Nor is it the ambition of the compositions. Rather, there are moments when the structures and themes become so chaotic, intermingled and complex that the final result becomes difficult to follow. At times I get the impression that the band is making a conscious effort to demonstrate just how much they are capable of playing. It is impressive, without question, but the sheer quantity of sounds, scale changes, technical passages and tempo alterations can eventually become tiring.

This is particularly noticeable because the changes come so frequently that the listener is rarely given enough time to become familiar with, digest or simply enjoy a particular musical idea before it is replaced by another. A riff appears, develops and suddenly gives way to another rhythmic or melodic construction; a melodic passage emerges only to be swallowed by another technical transition. For listeners who enjoy examining every detail of an album, this abundance will undoubtedly provide plenty to discover, while for others it may have the opposite effect and create a certain distance from the songs themselves.

That tendency is perhaps one of the defining characteristics of Omnivium. Compared with straightforward technical death metal, OBSCURA are clearly interested in creating something more progressive, layered and structurally ambitious. The result is a record in which virtuosity is not merely an ingredient but one of the principal means of expression. The downside, at least for my ears, is that the musicianship occasionally becomes so prominent that the individual compositions struggle to establish the kind of memorable identity that would make me return to them simply for the pleasure of listening.

Omnivium therefore remains a very strong example of technical progressive death metal and an impressive showcase for four exceptionally capable musicians. There is no shortage of ideas, skill or ambition here, and the album's combination of brutality, melody and elaborate musicianship explains why it attracted considerable attention within the technical death metal scene.

For my personal taste, however, it would have been considerably more effective with a little more restraint. The musicians clearly had the ability to play all these notes; what I sometimes wanted was simply more space between them. Sometimes less is more.

Christine  Parastatidou

REVIEW: REV 16:8 – Ashlands

 

REV 16:8 – Ashlands (2011)

AFM Records

Two years after their debut, Grand Tidal Rave, the Swedish blackened outfit REV 16:8 returns with their sophomore effort, Ashlands, aiming to channel bitterness, devastation and isolation into the hearts of their listeners through a frozen, epic rendition of black metal. Interestingly, the band's own history carries a touch of that same restlessness the music conveys — they originally went by the name Scythe before becoming Bloodshed, and only later settled on the name REV 16:8, the moniker under which they've built their reputation. Ashlands was recorded in Stockholm between May and July 2010, then mixed and mastered at the renowned Necromorbus Studio — a name that will ring a bell for genre followers, given the studio's long-standing association with some of the scene's most respected acts.

Compositionally, the album is sharp and frozen, driven by fast tempos, countless blast beats, and a dark, epic atmosphere reminiscent of the old-school Norwegian scene — what many consider the true, pure black metal sound. That description sums up REV 16:8's musical identity rather neatly: primitive black metal built on distorted guitars, relentless rhythms, and hellish vocals, all delivered through a dirty, muddy production that only heightens the intensity and extremity of the songs.

For context, the album arrived through AFM Records in April 2011 in Europe, with the US release following that June, and has since drawn comparisons in the wider press to acts like Dark Funeral and Marduk — a reference point that captures both the record's strengths and its more familiar tendencies.

All in all, Ashlands is a decent addition to the black metal canon, one that will satisfy listeners drawn to traditional, uncompromising sounds. At the same time, it treads ground that feels rather well-worn within the genre. The choice, as always, is yours.

Christine  Parastatidou

REVIEW: RUNNING WILD, Death Or Glory

 

RUNNING WILD, Death Or Glory (1989)

EMI Noise

Ένα ακόμη κανόνι στην τρικάταρτη φρεγάτα

Το πέμπτο τους άλμπουμ, για πολλούς το καλύτερό τους — για μένα το καλύτερο της δεύτερης περιόδου του σχήματος — και τρίτο συνεχόμενο με την πειρατική θεματολογία των στίχων να κορυφώνεται, μετά τα Under Jolly Roger (1987) και Port Royal (1988).

Ο τιμονιέρης τους, τραγουδιστής και κιθαρίστας Rolf Kasparek, που για τους φίλους είναι γνωστός ως Rock 'N' Rolf, πλαισιώνεται από τους Majk Motti (RIP) στην κιθάρα, Jens Becker στο μπάσο και τον μοναδικό μη Γερμανό, τον Άγγλο ντράμερ Ian Finlay.

Εδώ έχουμε την κορυφαία εκδήλωση της δημιουργικής ακμής των πειρατών, με ένα άλμπουμ που περιέχει μόνο μεταλλικούς ύμνους, όπως τα Riding the Storm, Renegade, Tortuga Bay, Marooned, Evilution, Running Blood και Battle of Waterloo, τον αντιφασιστικό ύμνο Bad to the Bone, καθώς και το ομώνυμο Death or Glory.

Στο CD της επανέκδοσης περιέχεται και το Wild Animal E.P., με το ομώνυμο κομμάτι να αποτελεί ένα ακόμη κρυφό χαρτί, μαζί με το Tear Down the Walls, την «πειρατική μπαλάντα» Störtebeker, για τον θρυλικό χανσεατικό πειρατή της Βόρειας Θάλασσας, και την επανεκτέλεση του Chains and Leather, που είχε κυκλοφορήσει αρχικά στο δεύτερο άλμπουμ τους, Branded and Exiled.

English:

An Additional Cannon on the Three-Masted Frigate

Their fifth album, considered by many to be their best — and, for me, the best of the band's second period — and the third consecutive release on which their pirate-themed lyrics reach their peak, following Under Jolly Roger (1987) and Port Royal (1988).

At the helm, vocalist and guitarist Rolf Kasparek, known to his friends as Rock 'N' Rolf, is joined by Majk Motti (RIP) on guitar, Jens Becker on bass, and the band's only non-German member, English drummer Ian Finlay.

Here we have the ultimate expression of the pirates' creative peak, an album packed exclusively with metal anthems such as Riding the Storm, Renegade, Tortuga Bay, Marooned, Evilution, Running Blood, and Battle of Waterloo, the anti-fascist anthem Bad to the Bone, and the title track, Death or Glory.

The reissue CD also includes the Wild Animal E.P., with its title track serving as yet another hidden ace, alongside Tear Down the Walls, the “pirate ballad” Störtebeker, about the legendary Hanseatic pirate of the North Sea, and a re-recording of Chains and Leather, originally released on their second album, Branded and Exiled.

Τάκης "Ε-Μortal One" Γιώτης