Go to:
- Hollowman EP (1993)
- Wolverine Blues (1994)
- Wreckage EP (1997)
- DCLXVI - To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth (1997)
- Same Difference (1998)
- Monkey Puss (Live in London) (1999)
- Uprising (2000)
- Morning Star (2002)
- Sons of Satan Praise the Lord (2003)
- Unreal Estate (2004)
Hollowman EP (1993)
8
Hollowman / Serpent Speech / Wolverine Blues / Bonehouse / Put
Off the Scent / Hellraiser
Oh
man, how I’m starting to love this band* …
because of their willingness to take risks, seemingly unbridled creativity,
undiminished intensity, and simply because they’re the best groove-band
on the darker side of AC/DC. Just when their first two albums had established
them as one of the world’s leading death metal outfits, they decide
to explore decidedly different territory, losing a bunch of fans in the process,
but while also winning a lot of new ones over. Whereas Left Hand Path
and Clandestine were different, but still obeyed the main
rules of classic death metal (intricate song structures, alternation of ridiculously
speedy metal and mid-tempo plodding, sinister lyrics and a death grunt), the
Hollowman EP has them moving into their famed “death ‘n’
roll”-direction. Still present are the gut-wrenching detuned guitars
and the growl (again by the untameable L.G. Petrov, who’d left after
the band’s debut), but the sound is more straightforward and indebted
to thrash, hardcore punk and heavy rock (Motörhead being the obvious
example), repeatedly even sounding like a heavy grunge-take on metal. In a
certain way, it may not be as extreme as the early releases, but this stuff
rocks much harder, as the band comes up with a few incredible
grooves that would become their trademark strength.
It immediately opens with the great bang of “Hollowman,” a riff monster like there ever was one. There’s an unstoppable force to this music (and listen in awe how Petrov announces “The hollow sky is red, the race is on”), while it’s undeniably hard to ignore the traditional hard rock influence as well. The song would wind up on their next album, just like “Wolverine Blues”, here presented in an instrumental version backed by a documentary on the wolverine (“Pound for pound, the most vicious animal in the world”). The closing instrumental “Hellraiser” likewise includes sound fragments from Clive Barker’s classic gore movie bearing the same title. In between these songs, you’ll have to figure out a way to deal with the vicious “Put Off the Scent” and the furious breakneck thrashers of “Serpent Speech” and the magnificent Slayer-styled “Bonehouse.” Even though it’s only 22 minutes long, Hollowman is one hell of a blast, finding the band pull off a new style with determination and brutal authority. On top of that, it’s also an ideal appetizer if you’re planning to check out Wolverine Blues.
*Note: I reviewed this EP after a couple of the regular studio albums.
Wolverine Blues (1994)
8.5
Eyemaster / Rotten Soil / Wolverine Blues / Demon / Contempt
/ Full of Hell / Blood Song / Hollowman / Heavens Die / Out
of Hand
The
Hollowman EP had already announced that the band wasn’t resting
on its laurels and dared changing its course just when they were becoming
a household name (and not only in Scandinavia). To the uninitiated the album
probably still sounds like regular death metal, and it is, but it’s
also so much more as the band incorporates influences that better remain unnamed
in hardcore death metal circles. Borrowing from hardcore punk, Sabbath’s
rudimentary sludge and straight ahead rock ‘n’ roll (of the kerosene-fueled
kind), the revamped Entombed followed a killer formula that would eventually
become quite influential. Nowadays it probably doesn’t sound as brutal
as more than a decade ago – and if you think this blasts from the speaker,
then you should try Uprising for a change – but when compared
to what other metal bands were doing at the time, it’s a deadly cocktail
of detuned, monstrous guitars, semi-possessed growling and thundering drums.
The songs have shortened considerably (the album’s an ideal 35 minutes
long) and have abandoned the intricate death metal structures of before: gone
are the insanely complicated sections, alternations between lightning-fast
riffing and creepy interludes and silly imagery. However, Petrov still bellows
rudimentary stuff about evilness, misanthropy and religion like a Scandinavian
Tom Araya with a bad throat infection.
Two songs from the EP are recycled: “Hollowman” and “Wolverine Blues,” and while the former – a classic in the band’s catalogue that’s probably the album’s most accessible song and brightest shining star – isn’t tampered with, the latter finally gets its ‘normal’ vocals instead of a lecture on the wolverine, as was the case on the EP. It’s not even two and a half minutes long, but nevertheless contains a massive groove that you wish would go on for, say, 7 minutes. Equally exciting is also the vicious opening track with its lengthy introduction. But oh boy, once the song gets on its way (after about a minute) and Petrov’s roar takes centre stage, you’ll be either turned off or revelling in their unholy racket. AND THAT CHORUS! You can sing along to it! How often does that happen with death metal bands? Right. Not all the songs are impressive as these highlights, but the good news is that hardly anything is less than excellent: “Rotten Soil” has some powerhouse drumming and a fantastic break halfway, “Demon” contains some of the best Scandinavian growls ever (just listen to that first “UUUUUUGGGHHHH”!) and “Contempt” finds a wicked balance between traditional, disturbing death atmosphere and a hard rock-approach. “Blood Song” also incorporates their new influences quite explicitly with its hard rock intro and Sabbath-style sludge, even though Petrov steals the show with some truly demented gibberish towards the end. However, it’s not the middle part of the album that’s gonna decide whether you’re gonna like it or not, as the album ends with the bang it started with. “Hollowman” seems hard to equal, but “Heavens Die” and “Out of Hand” are worthy opponents, the first one because it contains some irresistible mid-tempo grooves, the second one … uh, well basically because it cracks me up. It’s nearly ridiculous in its straightforwardness, bludgeoning on and on and on and on, but it’s an example of walking on the right side of stupidity. Add to that Petrov’s furious anti-religious rants (“Jesus Christ, lord of flies, in disguise, FUUUUUCCKK!”) and you got yourself one hell of an album closer. Indeed, they’re not mother’s finest, but at least they knew how to kick out the jams. It would become a trend later, but at the time Entombed’s betrayal caused quite a sensation. Anyway, time has proven them right, and even though they’d again change their course with the next album (straying even further away from “metal”), they’d return to this original, brutal and occasionally stunning brand of noise on their magnificent 2002 album Morning Star. Metal isn’t my first love (really), but I’ll gladly admit how much I enjoy this band’s work. By consequence, let it suffice that Wolverine Blues is in my opinion one of the very best ‘90’s metal albums.
Wreckage EP (1997)
6
Wreckage / Wreckage (Indy Cart – Larceny Remix) / Tear It Loose / Lost / The Ballad of Hollis Brown / Satan
"Wreckage" was one of the highlights from To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth, the last album on which co-founder Nicke Andersson tortures the drum skins (from then on, he'd focus exclusively on the remarkably less brutal - but equally sloppy - retro-rock band The Hellacopters). As these tracks show, Andersson was one hell of an animalistic drummer, as the inconceivably hard-hitting title track benefits enormously from his psychotic pounding. The ultimate combination of both thrash metal and hardcore punk, "Wreckage" bursts at the seams with aggression, not only because of the band's ferocious attack, but also because of vocalist Lars-Goran Petrov, who takes his performance to the outer limits of vocal histrionics. Despite this awesome start, the remainder of the EP is substantially less impressive, a totally pointless remix of the same song - with infuriatingly out of place techno beats - being the main offender. The remaining four tracks show the band's infatuation with recording covers of favorite bands (which in 2003 resulted in Sons of Satan Praise the Lord, a double album gathering all the covers they released in the previous 15 years), and while their take on Twisted Sister's "Tear It Loose" actually works pretty well as a guilty pleasure, because the band refrains from a total onslaught, opting for a crispier '80's hard rock sound, "Lost" (originally by hardcore band Jerry's Kids) is average at best.
A Motörhead-styled take on Bob Dylan’s “The Ballad of Hollis Brown” makes sense from a lyrical point of view (a farmer killing his entire family out of misery), but it makes an already monotonous song even more repetitive, so that the only thing that’s left is the band’s sonic terror. Luckily there’s a hilariously over-the-top version of The Dwarves hardcore classic “Satan,” a 70-second blast (25 of it being the intro) that combines Misfits with, uh, a lot of lunacy. Check it out if you’re a fan of the band or if you’re interested in hearing how Dylan sounds like in the paws of a few Swedish barbarians.
DCLXVI - To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth (1997)
7
To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth / Like This With the Devil
/ Lights Out / Wound / They / Somewhat Peculiar / DCLXVI / Parasight
/ Damn Deal Alone / Put Me Out / Just As Sad / Boats / Uffe's Horrorshow /
Wreckage
While
Wolverine Blues was already a half-insult to death metal purists who'd
rather hear a rigid interpretation of the genre instead of a band trying to
expand their sound and willing to incorporate different elements, DCLXVI
would prove to alienate the band even further from their initial following.
The album's still massively heavy, as the monstrously detuned guitars and
the constant crash of cymbals never let up, but it's already as if this is
another band than the one that delivered Left Hand Path and Clandestine
a few years earlier. Instead of the finely crafted and intricate structures
of their previous style (and like it or not, but the technical prowess and
concentration that's put in traditional death metal albums is often quite
stunning), you receive one in-your-face piece of "death & roll" after the
other. It's loose and lumbering thrash (even when the pace is picked up) that
builds on the raw sonic punch of Motörhead, the sleazy rock of the proto-punks
and the ferocious rage of hardcore punk. God and Satan are still favourite
topics, but they play second fiddle to the sheer joy of kicking out the jams
(and their humorous approach would later be obvious by the distribution of
shirts bearing the text "God is great, Satan is super"). Even though
it was recorded during a tumultuous period for the band that would have its
nadir when main songwriter/drummer Nicke Andersson left to purvey a different
direction with his other band The Hellacopters, the band's dedication remained
intact as can be witnessed during the album's best songs, like the filthy
and stubborn groove of the opening track, the short atomic burst of "Like
This With the Devil," which has more in common with C.O.C. than Obituary;
or the mid-tempo chug of "They," on which they come off as a bluesy Southern
rock band from hell. It's no music for pussies, so to speak, yet it has more
of an instant appeal than most wilfully alienating death metal albums out
there. Petrov's roar is anything but slick, yet he's one of the few vocalists
in the genre that know how to combine a gutteral attack with relentless power,
while never wallowing in unintelligible growling. The album also includes
the fantastic "Wreckage," which despite its incredibly heavy attack
already announces the more 70's-styled hard rock of The Hellacopters, the
foaming at the mouth metal-punk of "Parasight" and even a surprisingly
introvert and pretty piano solo - the title track - by Petrov (who'd show
his skills again on later efforts). However, no matter how filthy the sound
is, the album's not among their best ones, as only the title track and "Wreckage"
really stand out from the pack and some other cuts barely rise above average
quality: "Uffe's Horrorshow" shows you what Link Wray might've become if he'd
been raised on bone-crunching noise, "Put Me Out" only makes sense as a tribute
to evil 80's metal and some others are decent, but unremarkable. Still,
the power and the conviction are there and that's enough to occasionally conjure
up an immense wall of sound that demands respect. DCLXVI works excellent
as a transitional album and remains an exceptionally suitable soundtrack if
you're still planning to butcher your neighbour. Or his dog.
Same Difference (1998)
6.5
Addiction King / The Supreme Good / Clauses / Kick in
the Head / Same Difference / Close But Nowhere Near / What You Need /
High Waters / 20/20 Vision / The Day, the Earth / Smart Aleck / Jack Worm
/ Wolf Tickets / Vices By Proxy
Entombed
always ensured their "band bio" stayed quite colourful, not only by expecting
their fans to keep up with their restless stylistic swings, but also by unexpected
personnel shifts. Since the release of the notorious Wolverine Blues,
much of the band's original fan-base had been frightened away, and as if that
wasn't already enough to cope with, drummer/songwriter Nicke Andersson, who'd
been a key member since they were still called Nihilist, decided to leave
the band and focus on his 70's hard rock-oriented project The Hellacopters
instead. Usually, when a band loses its most crucial member (that Andersson
had balls the size of cantaloupes was proven when he also did the vocals for
the band's second album Clandestine), it's bound to get caught up in
a downward spiral that leads them to implosion, and also in Entombed's case,
this seemed to be the direction they were heading for. When the band resurfaced
at the end of 1998 (with Peter Stjarnvind behind the drum kit) with the album
that took them the longest to create yet, it was met with hostility and lots
of it. Whereas earlier albums like Wolverine Blues and To Ride,
Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth already showed a band that didn't fit
in the rigid confines of traditional death metal, Same Difference isn't
death metal at all. Still driven by detuned guitars and Petrov's intense
vocals, it's easily the least overwhelming of their albums in terms of sheer
power and brutality. It's not the band's Load either - Entombed would
even make the average person shit their pants if they recorded an entirely
acoustic album -, even though it's definitely an accessible, almost catchy
album by extreme metal's standards.
The first few songs on the album will perhaps have you believe there's a different band at work. Eschewing a hellish guitar grind and messy production for a more streamlined and melodic orientation, "Addiction King" has the band pushing the limits of heavy metal, walking the thin line between the gut-burning power (Petrov always gives his all, even though the spit may not fly in every direction anymore) of before, and the new almost hard rock-oriented direction (check out the guitar solo - it's Entombed Goes Top 40!). Likewise, the following songs insist you adjust your expectations: the dirty slide in "Clauses" almost gives the band a blues-metal vibe, "The Supreme Good" with its tremolo-laced sound suggests the band had been listening to The Smiths instead of Slayer and the precise groove of "Kick in the Head" has more in common with Rage Against the Machine than with Napalm Death (especially check out Petrov's spoken/sung rant towards the end). These four songs - all written by guitarist Cederlund - keep things quite interesting, but the band doesn't really succeed in keeping up this consistency. From the title track onwards, too many average/unremarkable songs appear and even though they're short and concise, they make you wish they'd kick over the chairs and create some full-throttle rock 'n' roll. A few songs offer glimpses of Entombed's animalistic side - drummer Stjarnvind's showcase "What You Need," for instance - but too many songs here can't seem to make up their mind about which direction to take, settling for a rather inoffensive compromise, as in "20/20 Vision," "Jack Worm" and "Wold Tickets." The band had never concealed the fact that they were fans of plain ol' rock 'n' roll - and they put covers of KISS, Twisted Sister and King Crimson on their releases, remember? - but it didn't really become them that they put on these straightjackets voluntarily. That didn't last long, however. Phew.
Monkey Puss (Live in London) (1999)
7
Living Dead / Revel in Flesh / Stranger Aeons / Crawl / But Life
Goes on / Sinners Bleed / Evilyn / The Truth Beyond / Drowned /
Left Hand Path
Even
though it was released in 1999, Monkey Puss captures the band during
the London gig of the Gods of Grind Tour in 1992, when they –
along with Cathedral, Candlemass and Confessor – set out to obliterate
as many eardrums as possible. So, what you get is not the current
death ‘n’ roll-oriented version of the band, but a leading death
metal outfit nearing its popularity peak (plus they were the headlining act).
Even though the genre blossomed in the US in the late ‘80’s, a
lot of attention shifted to the Scandinavian region around the dawn of the
nineties with more and more bands churning out first-class extreme metal.
Nowadays, the early Entombed albums are still considered blueprints for Swedish
Death Metal – a style more popular and influential than you probably
imagine – and its not that hard to figure out why. Anyway, if you’re
a bit acquainted with this particular kind of metal, you’ll know it
involves the unmistakeable death growl (even though Petrov’s grunt isn’t
completely over the top most of the time), two guitarists switching
from furiously fast sections to bludgeoning mid-tempo grooves, near-chaotic
solos and manic drumming that’ll leave you at a loss. Despite these
high demands and the unquestionably ridiculous volume, Entombed was an extremely
tight outfit on stage, striking with a relentless power and precision.
Fortunately, the sound is also good, which is quite an anomaly when talking about death metal, with all the instruments and the vocals being clearly audible. Extra kudos should go to L.G. Petrov: whereas most of his colleagues can’t live up to the expectations on stage, his performance remains seething and extremely committed throughout the entire show. As for the songs: well, unless you’re a bit familiar with the genre and its specific traits, you’ll have a hard time getting into them, as they have the capacity to sound like a monstrous barrage of detuned guitars and other assorted mayhem. Since I’m not much of a death metal expert either, it took me several listens to distinguish some of the songs from each other, but tracks that certainly stood out were “Strange Aeons” with its switching from stop & start-dynamics to powerful grooves and futhermore the mercilessly high-speed thrasher “But Life Goes On,” the brutal “Evilyn” and the classic “Left Hand Path,” with it’s epic ending. So, even if they always played the death game by their own set of rules, Monkey Puss is quite hard to take and a far cry from their more rudimentary later albums. Still, it’s quite easy to understand that it captures the band at the top of its game and is absolutely recommended for fans of the genre.
Uprising (2000)
8
Seeing Red / Say It in Slugs / Won’t Back Down / Insanity’s
Contagious / Something out of Nothing / Scottish Hell / Time Out /
The Itch / Year in Year Out / Returning to Madness / Come Clean / In
the Flesh
EXACTLY
WHAT THE NICK DRAKE-FANS AMONG US ARE LOOKING FOR!! While they’re
still considered a death metal-band by many people (a well-informed source
told me that their 1990 debut Left Hand Path DID relegate
the cream of the crop at the time (Obituary, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse,
etc) to a mere bystander-status), Entombed have proven themselves to be a
restless band that quickly disbanded its roots, but never its immense brutality.
As they kept on progressing, traditional hard rock, hardcore and metal influences
were blended, culminating in the near-accessible Same Difference.
However, Uprising is an extremely overwhelming return to the uncompromising
“death ‘n’ roll” of To Ride, Shoot Straight and
Speak the Truth. Too loose and groove-based to be considered a standard
metal band, but also WAY too brutal to be lumped in with trailer park-misfits/70’s
rock revivalists, the band managed to find a bludgeoning balance between Sabbath-heaviness,
Motörhead’s ferociousness and further influences ranging from high-energy
proto-punk, blues-rock (turned to 11) and hardcore punk. Because of the high
energy level, L.G. Petrov’s insanely possessed vocals and the bone-crunching
assault of the detuned guitars, they make Pantera sound like choirboys playing
Ratt-songs. Listening to their albums can feel like getting beaten up by a
couple of delirious 220-pound Germans with beer bellies and ugly mullets.
Imagine it!
“Seeing Red” immediately sets off by setting your eyebrows on fire with a mastodon take on Motörhead’s frill-less thrash (and watch out for the “Stone Dead Forever”-reference there) as loud as it gets. Petrov seethes with fury and the bass is greasier than Brian Setzer’s haircut, while the guitars are guaranteed to make your organs switch places. The band’s maybe even more impressive when they’re churning out giant-sized grooves like in “Say It in Slugs,” which makes a detour through sludgy Sabbath-territory, and the rudimentary “Something Out of Nothing” that brings biker-rock for real men into the 21st century. Elsewhere, during “Time Out” and “Won’t Back Down,” they manage to combine a love for dumb ‘70’s riff-rock with an outrage very few current hardcore bands can muster. Their revivalist tendencies are nowhere as apparent as in “The Itch” which situates itself in the beer & whiskey-soaked land between Nashville Pussy and (again) Sabbath, while the exciting twin-guitar attack of “Come Clean” turns it into one of the greatest slabs of no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll my ears had to endure in a long, long time. Of course, even though the album’s of average length (43 minutes), it’s persistent aggression can be a bit overbearing, especially during a few of the lesser songs such as “Insanity’s Contagious” (directionless), “Year in Year Out” (blame it on me – I’ve grown tired of the distorted vocals-trick) and an unnecessary cover of like-minded band Dead Horse’s “Scottish Hell.” However, the majority of the songs are performed in such an authoritative way that they cannot but impress if you’re into stuff like this, and when they get into heaviness that borders on the incredible, as they do during the massive album closer “In the Flesh” and get away with it, it’s “hats off” again. Avoid Uprising at all cost if you’re into the elaborate structures and odd time signatures of bands such as the Dream Theater or Spock’s Beard, but if you’re longing for one huge adrenalin bomb on a shiny disc, very few albums will do the trick like this one does.
Morning Star (2002)
8.5
Chief Rebel Angel / I for an Eye / Bringer of Light / Ensemble of the Restless / Out of Heaven / Young Man Nihilist / Year One Now / Fractures / When It Hits Home / City of Ghosts / About to Die / Mental Twin
If unpredictability were measured in people, these guys could’ve called themselves China, or at least India. First they make sure that the entire world knows of Sweden’s place in the metal word, then they drifter further and further away from their original roots (culminating in the alterna-metal of Same Difference and the death rock of Uprising) and then they suddenly return with their most metal-oriented album in nearly a decade. No need to panic: they’re not a standard metal band (far from it), but if vicious thrash turns you on, Morning Star might become your best friend. Earlier influences and directions are still noticeable – the sludgy sound, detuned guitars, Petrov’s inhuman growling – but they’ve never sounded as close to say, Slayer (the same hardcore influences are noticeable) or Sepultura (Petrov might remind you of a chain-smoking, petrol-drinking Max Cavalera). On top of that, they show they’re a smart band by limiting themselves to a mere 37 minutes of aural torture, delivering usually short, but effective tracks that are a great soundtrack to a headbangin’ competition, dissection or housewarming party. As classic thrash albums go, Morning Star opens with an undeniable classic in the guise of “Chief Rebel Angel.” Combining the band’s ultra-thrash with the ferocity of Uprising, the muddy sound of doom and stoner metal and even hints of gothic (spooky synths, baby), it’s one for the books.
By consequence, there’s nothing that really matches up to it (if that had been the case, it would’ve been an all-time favorite), yet the remainder of the album – apart from the average “City of Ghosts” - is surprisingly consistent for a metal album (admit it or not, most metal albums have a handful of stinkers that milk out the best ideas). The Slayer-comparison repeatedly makes sense, like in the slashing “Ensemble of the Restless” (watch that Slayer-esque break there) that rivals a power plant for sheer energy, or the hardcore-influenced sections of “I for an Eye.” Even better than these is the ferocious 134-seconds long “About to Die” that turns the bloated corpse of thrash inside-out and makes it eat its own gooey entrails. Jesus, what is this doing to me? Anyway, it’s not always that over the top: tracks like simply pounding “Out of Heaven” and the fresh, contemporary metal of “Fractures” are fairly accessible – unless the doctor ordered a diet of Belle & Sebastian – and probably get Ozzy’s seal of approval. On a lyrical level, the band also deals with less uplifting matter in its own way: thanking Lucifer in the liner notes and selling t-shirts with prints like “God Is Great, Satan Is Super” make sure that religious pressure groups will never be your brothers in arms, but in Entombed’s case, there’s always this cartoonish dimension that keeps it, well, fun. During “Bringer of Light,” Petrov roars about “true evil” that “needs no disguise” (as opposed to the ridiculous imagery of Deicide, for instance), mentions a “different” version of the punishment in hell in “When It Hits Home” (“Now listen, prepare to suck cock in hell, it’s not really all that bad once you get past the smell”) and mocks the whole affair during album closer “Mental Twin” with “Me and myself, we’re king, yeah, we’re kong.” To put it briefly: entertainment for the entire family, and then I didn’t even mention the relentless intro to “Young Man Nihilist” or the giant middle finger that “Year One Now” is (despite not even reaching the two minute-mark). OK, I admit, some of the stuff mentioned above sounds rather silly, but that’s redeemed for by the band’s witty approach the great songwriting of Cederland (guitar) and Sandstrom (bass). They gathered an excellent batch of songs that enable all the members to shine (particularly drummer Peter Stjarnvad’s performances beg to be praised). With Morning Star, Entombed have just proved that thrash was still very much alive in 2002 for those who were open-minded, while confirming that 12 years after their debut, they were still among the leaders of the pack.
Sons of Satan Praise the Lord (2003)
6
Black Breath / Albino Flogged in Black / March of the S.O.D. / Sergeant D. and the S.O.D. / Some Velvet Morning / One Track Mind / Hollywood Babylon / Night of the Vampire / God of Thunder / Something I Learnt Today / 21st Century Schizoid Man / Black Juju / Amazing Grace // Satan / Hellraiser / Kick Out the Jams / Yout' Juice / Bursting Out / State of Emergency / Under the Sun / Vandal X / Tear It Loose / Scottish Hell / The Ballad of Hollis Brown / Mesmerization Eclipse / Lost / Amazing Grace (Mellow Drunk)
Even
though Entombed's innovative and stubbornly personal approach to death/thrash
metal has been impressive enough to secure them a spot in the pantheon of
the genre's greats, they're also the kind of band that consists of melomaniacs
not forgetting where they came from. Throughout their entire career, they
included covers on their numerous singles and EP's and contributed to tribute
albums, and Sons of Satan does the job of putting all of these on this
double package. The liner notes already point out there's nothing here that
wasn't previously released yet, but it nevertheless offers an easy way of
getting acquainted with this part of their catalogue. As expected and pointed
out by the band themselves and most reviews, the compilation hovers between
the familiar (the inclusion of Kiss, Black Sabbath and Motörhead - in their
own way, defining bands in the history of heavy rock) and the obscure (Dead
Horse or Stillborn, anyone?), but there's also the contrast between the predictable
and the surprising tracks. It may not be awkward to run into covers of songs
by The Misfits, Venom or Alice Cooper (a shortened "Black Juju"), but on the
other hand, there's also Hüsker Dü ("Something I Leaned Today"), Roky Erickson
("Night of the Vampire") and King Crimson ("21st Century Schizoid Man," no
less). As could be expected, the band is at its best when it treads on more
familiar ground, with their trademark smashingly brutal grooves. The way they
tear through Repulsion's "Black Breath" is simply breathtaking, and
their two S.O.D. covers ("March of the S.O.D." and "Sergeant D.") are nearly
as effective as in-your-face thrash. Also their covers of Twisted Sister's
"Tear It Loose," Bad Brains' "Yout' Juice" and Unsane's "Vandal X" brim with
barely controllable violence. For almost each of these, however, there's one
that'll make you raise your eyebrows: Motörhead's "One Track Mind" already
was too slow to begin with, yet Entombed turn it into a slab of grinding
catatonia; their version of Kiss' "God of Thunder" is simply awful
(easily the worst vocals of L.G.'s career, too), while their take on "Something
I Learned Today" lacks the focused ferocity of the original. It's neat to
hear Petrov actually sing for a while and "Albino Flogged in Black"
(Stillborn) proves the results can be quite good. So pleasing even, that you
wish he'd done it more often, as their versions of "Kick Out the Jams," "Hollywood
Babylon," "Some Velvet Morning," and "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" are completely
over the top, turned inside-out and given the brashest possible treatment
- to so-so results. All in all, 27 songs of Entombed bulldozing through (over)
somebody else's work is a bit too much to take in one sitting (or two, for
that matter). Their inhuman force works well on their own albums, but Sons
of Satan offers evidence that this approach only works in limited doses
when applied to songs by others. Only required listening if you like that
dazed, numb feeling that cancels out all other senses. (Jan. 11th, 2006)
Unreal Estate (2004)
8
DCLXVI/Intermission / Chief Rebel Angel / Say It in Slugs /
It's Later Than You Think / Returning to Madness / Mental Twin / Night
of the Vampire / Unreal Estate / In the Flesh / Something Out of
Nothing / Left Hand Path
Unreal
Estate proves that Entombed are not only into Satan, but also the finer
arts. Sometime in 2001, the band was contacted by two choreographers playing
with the idea of creating an entirely different kind of project: having the
band perform together with the Royal Ballet of Sweden. After some insistent
pressure from the choreographers, the band agreed and the Royal Opera House
of Stockholm gave them the green light. The band played eight shows in the
beginning of 2002 and four in the fall, this set being recorded on March 1st,
2002, during the eight performance of the series. Of course this special occasion
doesn't translate entirely onto a shiny disc (but maybe some smart guy filmed
the whole thing for a future DVD-release?), but… the packaging! The packaging
is just beautiful, as the band was allowed to use the stunning photography
by the Opera House's photographer. Unreal Estate was finally released
in 2004 as a thick digipack and features a 28-page booklet of photos of rehearsals,
the dance performance itself, band photos and some hilariously goofy stuff
(ballet dancers making the devil's horns-sign, it's a blast!). The CD itself
(actually the first live album Entombed gave permission for) is also immaculately
produced, with a pristine, balanced sound showing the band's brand of bulldozer
metal in great fashion. It makes this registration easily the most accessible
Entombed-release, but unfortunately it also lacks the raw, sonic punch of
the band's "regular" concerts. It's a great idea, but I can't imagine that
the music itself is as imposing as a performance in a venue without the accompanying
visuals, but with the smells of beer, smoke and sweat. So, it's probably
not that representative for a concert and on top of that, they've been
quite stingy with the material, as the disc isn't even 40 minutes long and
only contains 7 of their own filthy songs, as the performance starts with
a solo piece by Petrov, ends with an instrumental version of "Left Hand Path"
(which functions as an outro), features something that basically works as
an atmospheric soundscape ("It's Later Than You Think") and also has a cover
version (but a terrific one!) of Roky Erickson's "Night of the Vampire." What's
left are four songs from Uprising, two from Morning Star and
the title track (basicallt the outro to the previous song). BUT MAN! Does
"Chief Rebel Angel" still kick an insane amount of ass, or what? That sinister
intro (with the slowed-down heartbeats and acoustic guitar), its absolutely
demolishing groove and Petrov's monumentally victorious vocals, is even in
this setting a jaw-droppingly intense motherfucker of a song. Other highlights
are Uprising's "Say It in Slugs" with its eerie introduction and "In
the Flesh," which slays - despite the fact it's not as crushing as the studio
version. Even though critics often said the band traded in their sharpness
for brute bludgeoning power when they shifted from traditional death metal
to their much-discussed melting pot of metal, garage and punk, the band's
playing is excellent throughout the entire performance - tight, brutal, relentless.
If you only dig Entombed at their heaviest and filthiest, Unreal Estate
isn't the blast that Wolverine Blues, Uprising and Morning Star
are, but if you're convinced that they're one of the most interesting metal
bands of the past two decades (which they are, right?), then this particular
release is much too cool to pass up. NEAT!
Read album reviews of similar or related artists: Slayer - Napalm Death - Motörhead