Darkthrone - Goatlord (1996)

Many disapproved of such a release, this basement recording may well have been what the band were planning for Peaceville around the time of 'Soulside Journey', and it seems to me as if many fans took this record the wrong way. At the end of the day, Darkthrone have always done what the hell they want, and this album is no exception whether deemed an official release or not. Sure, it has the death metal rumblings of the early '90s and before they met Mayhem's Euronymous, but this is no fake sounding record, in fact it's one of distinct grim atmospheres and a sound very much akin to Celtic Frost. Nocturno's vocals are still very much macabre, spitting out the icy lyrics amid Fenriz and his muffled drum beats, but don't expect anything along the sides of their blacker stuff such as 'A Blaze..' because this is nothing of the sort. Yes, it's still black metal but more in a Venom/Bulldozer and certainly Celtic Frost way, just check out the female vocals (or is that Fenriz as come claim!!?) on (...Grimness Of Which Shepherd's Mourn' and the peculiar 'Green Cave Float'. Everything is played at mid pace and they certainly don't hide their influences on here, and the riffs reek of that late '80s Euro-thrash sound, mixing a tinny chill with distorted fuzz. It's still Darkthrone, it's still evil and primal, and it's still punk and a worthy addition to any one's collection if they are seeking that old school style of extreme metal.

7.5/10

Forbidden - Twisted Into Form (1990)

More Bay Area thrash, this being the sturdy follow up to '88s 'Forbidden Evil'. It's nothing mind-blowing, just routine crunchy thrash with some decent dynamics, heaviness and complexity, and you won't be displeased with what you hear knowing full well that these kind of bands always give it 100%, but I'd much prefer the darker reachings of Coroner or dazzlings of Atheist, but if you're into that late '80s style of mosh-pit mayhem, Forbidden will still show you a good time, it's just that this kind of metal kind of hits a dead end at some point, although the scene at the time was so vital for metal.

7.5/10

Testament - Practice What You Preach (1989)

The Bay Area thrashers slow the pace a little and return with the follow up to the impressive 'The New Order' with this more polished effort, showing maturity as the band attempt to grow into the league occupied by Metallica and Megadeth. 'Practice...' is everything you expect from a quality San Francisco thrash record, although it lacks the energy of say Death Angel or diversity of Mordred, it still works the pit of fans into a frenzy for some true moshing heaviness.

Chuck Billy is on fine form with the vocal duties, clear as a bell but deep and chanting through the title cut, and far more brooding on the subtle 'The ballad'. With Testament you always sense an air of predictability, you know the acoustic strums will merge into a more metallic chug, and the framework of the songs always have that classic metal feel, but maybe it's that kind of formula that caused the band to be left behind as the bigger thrash acts moved on, although Testament's later efforts would certainly get them back on track, even if they could never scale the heights of Metallica etc, but Testament have always stuck to their guns and 'Practice...', with its thundering bass lines, and there's some very solid tracks om offer here. You could certainly do a lot worse than Testament, although I'd advise you steer clear of the bands rushed follow up, 'Souls Of Black', but check out the later efforts such as 'The Ritual' for better dynamics.

7.5/10

Cancer - Death Shall Rise (1991)

A surprisingly solid death metal effort from this British band who enlisted the talents of former Death axeman James Murphy. Sure, it's not death metal with a major difference, but as 'Hung, Drawn &Quartered' kicks in with Deicide's Glen Benton helping out with bellows on the chorus, this is clearly brain stomping death-grind. It's guttural, often heavy, mid-tempo, and with cuts such as 'Back From The Dead' and 'Corpse Fire' you know what you're getting here, bassy, dark riffage, thunder drums and plenty of guttural vomit, the way death metal should be.

7.5/10

Enuff Z Nuff - Seven (1994)

Chip and Donnie do it again. I heard this was released as 'Chip & Donnie - Brothers', but either way, it's an amazing record bathed in Beatles sweat, bass lines and sugary melody, an immense record, far more chilled than the swirling 'Tweaked' yet just as satisfying, giving the listener a high dose of acoustic wonder and subtle groove. Apparently, the band lost a few fans for steering clear of the older Hollywood glam rock, but who cares, this is real rock 'n' roll, with it's roots definitely from the UK music scene of the '60s and '70s. First class songwriting, 'Its No Good', 'Wheels', with its Beatle whirligig intro, the soaring 'You & I' and more upbeat 'New Kind Of Motion', amazing stuff.

How a band can produce such an array of high quality songs, and so consistently is true genius. This band has one of the most impressive back catalogues to date, you'd be a fool not to pick these records up. Enuff Z Nuff should have gone down as one of the greatest bands of all time.

9/10

Gods Of Grind - Entombed/Carcass/Cathedral/Confessor (1992)

This nifty 14-track cd originally emerged as four separate EP's by the four bands who at the time were being promoted by Earache records in support of the 'Gods Of Grind' Uk tour which was a real blast.

Admittedly, the idea of four EP's on vinyl was great, and it's hard to appreciate the quality as much on a cd with all the tracks jammed together, but make this a worthy addition to your doom/death/grind collection because you can't go wrong with these four bands.

At the time Cathedral were still churning out slo-mo quicksand doom, but 'Soul Sacrifice' and 'Autumn Twilight' certainly showed glimpses of the manic psychedelia to come, whilst 'Frozen Rapture' and 'Golden Blood...' are more akin to the early doom sludge we're accustomed to.

Carcass blurt out four glorified gore tracks, displaying technical wizardry, medical knowledge and a sincere perversion, whilst with Confessor we get that awkward, uncomfortable tangled web of searing doom which I absolutely loved, and Entombed produce three tracks also, 'the blistering 'Stranger Aeons' being my personal favourite.

Nowadays, you'd be lucky to get such a compilation album, so it's great to see all the tracks on cd, but if I were you I'd seek out the individual vinyl copies and wander the dark path...

7/10

Bad Brains - Rise (1993)

Probably the closest, and coolest thing you're gonna get to Mordred's 'In This Life', Bad Brains, who we all know and love for their thrashy-reggae rock have certainly mellowed out on 'Rise', this being my fave album by the band, and the recruitment of Israel Joseph on the vocals is a wonderful capture even if it was to only last for the one record. This has more of a commercial feel than the band's previous records, but I'm loving the crisp sound and almost lush arrangements, and the variety here is so refreshing, certainly lacking the speed of earlier efforts, and grit, this is simply cool rock with reggae thrown in for good measure like only Bad Brains can. The title track is a cruncher with a soaring chorus, whilst you'll be swept away by reggae numbers 'Love Is The Answer' and 'Yes Jah', but hardcore metal fans may not dig this diversity.

Israel Joseph has a set of relaxing, smooth pipes, his tones melting over the riffs, and whether he's rapping ('Miss Freedom'), rasping ('Unidentified') or singing a song for love on the awesome and subtle 'Without You', you'll find much to savour here from a band who've always awkwardly sat in the same hole that Fishbone occupy, being just too funky and soulful for metal to accept yet when the going gets tough, these boys can rock just as hard.

8/10