WINDS OF GENOCIDE-"The Arrival of Apokalyptic Armageddon"m

This is the 6 track e.p. release from the Death/Crust Kommandos from Durham in the U.K.  All 6 tracks deal with apocalypse style scenarios and each track is an absolute belter!! Kat delivers the vocal with the deepest growls you will ever hear, more than ably backed by Glynn on guitar,Linus on drums and Dan on bass. The band come from the more metal end of crust than the punk one but crust it is and bloody class stuff indeed!!!
The band are tight as fuck and Glynns guitar work is really top notch,he gets a really good sound out of it. My fave tracks are "Doomsday Soldiers" and "Storms of Hooded Horsemen" but all six tracks are really top notch. The only problem I had with this release it was over way too quickly, more please!!!! Great release from a great band, one I like a lot and really hope to hear a load more from. I think this is still availble from the band if not check out the distros for a copy, can't really recommend this highly enough, get it!!!!    9/10

The Phoenix, Inverness 27/08/11

Well I set of on the bus looking forward to this one, 5 bands for a fiver and some top notch bands at that!!!  I like Flames at The Phoenix as a venue its got a right homely feel about it and just seems to work for me,not the best laid out place but it's just a good wee placed to go and see bands and meet some mates.

£3.10 for a pint of cider was a good start so with one in hand it was of to see first band up Elgin punk rock heroes Bin Ladens Daughter! Chronic p.a. problems blighted what was a great set by the lads,this was the third time I had seen the band and the first with new front man Bri, he is a bundle of energy and no mistake, bouncing of the walls and the drum kit!! Great new addition to an already great band, you know what you get from BLD a great no nonsense punk rock set and tonight was no exception. Although plagued by sound problems they were still an entertaining watch and I look forward to seeing them at the Market bat on the 9th of September!! Any band that does a song about Terry Wogans cock has to be worth a watch!!

Next band were Inverness Death Metallers Seed of Sorrow, who I had seen a couple of weeks earlier at the Ironworks and they had impressed me then,tonight was no different and I again enjoyed this young metal bunch. In Lewis they have a great frontman ably backed by a tight as fuck band.  They are one to watch up here and I hope they get far in the world of metal,they are of to Glasgow soon so hopefully will get more admirers.

Sufferinfuck were next on, a band I knew very little about until recently, i have seen the youtube vids posted from the  Crammond picnic and the ones from the Chernobyl benefit,this could not have prepared me for seeing them live!! What a fucking awesome band pure Crust and pure power, really class stuff and a band I would love to see again soon. If they are in your area I cant recommend them enough, really super stuff.

Local heroes The Signal were on next,back from losing a couple of members and relaunching recently with a new line-up. Lewis from Seed of Sorrow takes over on bass duties and Sheree taking over guitar. I love The Signal, seem them a load of times and they are always a great watch, tonight with the new line-up was no different and once again they were tremendous. Hopefully this line-up will last for a bit and then there will be more great nights to come!!!

Last but not least were the mighty Filthpact, reformed this year, a band I had never seen before and I was looking forward to it immensely, and fuck me they didn't let me down!! A pure blast of Crust, heavy as fuck and really good to watch. The whole band are as tight as fuck and it was great to see. They put on a top show and a band I would love to see again,the power was awesome!!

So what can you say about the whole show, easy, it was a fucking superb night out all the bands were fucking amazing and it was great fun meeting old friends and new. I had a total ball and enjoyed the whole experience. Roll on the next gig!!!!

DIEMENTIA-"Tears of Blood"

This album is from Glasgow thrashers Diementia and was made with their old line-up,not that it matters as this is well worth a listen!!! 11 tracks clocking in at around 56 minutes which is value for money!!! It kicks off in great style with a good slab off  good old thrash metal "Corruption" is the track in question and is a really good song and one of my faves of the whole album. It sets the scene for the rest of the album, and it gallops along at a fair old pace, keeps the interest no problem! Apart from the opener my other fave track is "Bad Blood" but in all honesty their isn't a bad track on here. Good album by a good band,if you want to check it out it's available on free download,just check out their facebook page,where you will also find links to their new material on reverbnation. Good to see more Scottish metal bands out there a great scene well worth supporting. 8/10

DESECRATOR-"Links Retribution"

 This is a release from Laceration drummer Mark Dubonwski, its a concept album based on the Legend of Zelda!!!!! Unreal or what! Mark plays everything on this release which just shows what a talent he is. Concept albums always make me think of dreary boring prog rock type shite but you don't get that here, what you do get is 8 tracks of heavy as fuck playing, no prog rock at all!! The tracks are all linked by a bit of narration to keep the story going,when the songs kick in they all have clean,growly vocals so you can follow the tale of Link easily. The playing is top notch and some really great guitar work on this album which kicks in at around 23 and a half minutes. There is no favourite track here as the whole thing is a story so differs from other albums, I really enjoyed this,it was something totally different from the usual stuff I listen too. Well recommended but I don't know how easy it is to get your mitts on,try contacting Mark on facebook. 8/10

LACERATION-Demo

This is a 3 track demo from Scottish Brutal Death Metal band Laceration and it is exactly that!! Brutal from the opening chords! Great opening track which goes really gets the proceeding going well, the other two tracks are just of the same quality. They are a very tight band and it shows on this demo, all tracks have slower doomy bits that lead up to a crushing explosion of pure heaviness! I don't have a favourite track as I really enjoyed all the 3 of them equally. It's a belter of a demo and has left me wanting to hear more from this band, who are-Hamish MacGuire-guitar and vocals, Ryan Simpson-bass and Mark Dubanowski-drums.  Got to love a band that has a track called Human Tikka Masala as well!! The demo is free to download and future releases are in the pipeline,can't wait!!!  8/10

Ironworks 04/08/11 Zombie Militia, Seed of Sorrow, Toby Michaels

Well I took myself off on the bus to a wet and dreary Inverness for a bit of local metal, you don't get much of a chance to see over much metal up here so I wasn't missing this for anything!! It was done on what was described as the small stage for local showcases and it attracted a fairly decent crowd 100-120 at a guess,and as it was a 14 and over show it was good to see some of the younger metalheads in attendance.
First up was Toby Michaels former front man of Stolen Order. Now I don't know if Toby is a rock'n'roll genius or a total madman!! An impressive entrance was hampered by guitar problems but he took them in his stride with some impressive banter that got the crowd laughing. His set was an acoustic one and it was of manic proportions!! I have had "Tribute" from Tenacious D stuck in my head for two fucking days now!!! As I have said he's either a genius or a total maddy but one things for sure he is an entertainer and was good value and warmed the crowd up nicely,he's a man worth keeping an eye on!!
Seed of Sorrow were on next, I had heard good things about this young band and had wanted to see them and I can tell you I wasn't disappointed they were as heavy as fuck!!! Really top notch guitar work from both guitarists and a great engine room of bass and drums,finish with a totally manic front man and you have just what you want form a metal band!!! I thought they were impressive and played a really tight set and I am now really looking forward to seeing them play with the Signal and Filthpact on the 27th of August, The Phoenix bar is going to get fucking shredded!! Well recommended and a band that I am happy to be seeing again real soon.
Last but definately not least were the main act tonight, the mighty Zombie Militia, I saw them a couple of years ago at a poorly attended gig in Invergordon where they supported Soundshok and I was very impressed then, they were a really good act and I enjoyed them then. Since this happened they have gone onto bigger and better things and now play all over Scotland and have won the Scottish heats to play at Bloodstock and now I can see why!!!! They were immense,a totally brutal crushing display of pure hard and heavy metal,really tight as fuck,an awesome display of power. Two new songs were showcased tonight as well which was pretty good too!! They have come a long way in a short period of time and I can only see good things for the Militia, I think the next stage for the band for the band has to be some sort of physical release, something I am hoping comes sooner rather than later!!
All in all a really good nights entertainment and for £3 you couldn't really go wrong,it was the first time I have been to the Ironworks this year and I really wish they put more alternative style music on instead of the indie,folky,tribute shite that seems to be the norm there. It bodes well for the local scene that Inverness can boast two really good metal bands,hopefully we will see a few more metal gigs take place soon!!

Lt. DAN/SLAUGHTERGRAVE-Split

This release comes from Human Discount Records and clocks in at 18.44 mins,consists of 12 tracks from Lt.Dan and 9 from Slaughtergrave. First up are Lt. Dan from the U.S.A. a 3 piece band who specialise in short brief blasts of grind/noisecore, some of it is very short but all are extremely brutal. My fave tracks are "Fake Dealer" and "Grinding the Crusty" I would think Lt.Dan would be an intense,brutal experience live!! 7/10 for there part of this split.
Slaughtergrave the ace mincecore band from Greece are then on with their 9 tracks. I have a  fair bit of Slaughtergrave stuff as I trade with Spiros of the band,he is indeed a real D.I.Y. king!!! You are going to see a good few reviews of them here as they are a top notch outfit, heavy as fuck!! The best tracks on here are "Clinical State" and "Napalm Up Your Ass" and a good cover of Napalm Deaths "You Suffer" All in all a good release 7/10 for their part. Good c.d.I like it a lot.