Dol Theeta at Myspace

Dol Theeta is Thanasis Lightbridge’s second project. His first, Dol Ammad, was unique among metal bands in that it employed a 14-member choir and relied heavily on electronics. Dol Theeta is different, as it lacks a choir and is quite a bit more laid-back than either of the Dol Ammad albums. And there’s the rub- to me, this seems more like a straight-up electronica album with a few metal influences than a metal album. While Dol Ammad straddled the line between “metal” and “not metal”, the choir and epic nature of their songs at least reflected metal aesthetics; the metallic content on “The Universe Expands” is limited to the occasional guitar solo. It’s not a bad electronica album by any means, and open-minded metal fans might enjoy it, but metal purists will want to pass this one up.

Sickening Horror at Myspace

Sickening Horror Hail from Greece and at the time of this recorded had Nile drummer George Kolias in their ranks. This is quite an interesting death metal record that features black Metal and jazz elements and is certainly an album worth exploring if you like experimental death metal that retains most of all the atmosphere and hallmarks of the genre that we all know and love. “When Landscapes Bled Backwards” displays a discreet technical edge in that although these guys could if they wanted to spend their time pulling some Necrophagist style material off, they use their extremely proficient skills only when it suits the song itself allowing the groove of the tracks on display on here to flow admirably and naturally.

The death metal style on display mixes a more technical take on post-Chris Barnes Cannibal Corpse with a more bombastic and chaotic Morbid Angel circa “Blessed are the Sick” with just a pinch of Vader. Now if this was just what Sickening Horror were about alone they would be of interest to devoted fans of Death Metal at the very least, but the combination of Black Metal and Jazz influences makes this release rise above being something only of interested to genre devotee’s. Avant-Garde Black Metal bands such as Dodheimsgard and Ved Buens Verde are cited as influences and this can be seen in both the searing icy ‘almost BM, but not quite’ passages that punctuate the death metal segments at point and the industrial keyboard effects that add an unsettling ambience to certain tracks.

The jazz influence can mostly be seen in the rhythm section pairing of Kolias and bassist Ilias Daras, who bring a highly technical and novel approach to the concept of a Death Metal rhythm system whilst not forsaking any of the concepts and facets that Death Metal fans have come to expect. Daras’s performance on this album is highly impressive with his bass work being reminiscent of Steve DiGorgio’s work with Death with “Forsake my Bleeding” being a prime example. On the eighth track “Virus Detected” Sickening Horror do something a little difference and massively increase the Jazz elements of their sound to create an almost linear piece of work which sounds like Ephel Duath being beaten up at a death metal gig.

This is an experimental Death Metal album that dares to leap into the unknown but still has enough genre trademarks within it to appeal to traditionalists but crucially without isolating those who want something more on the edge. In conclusion it’s well worth a purchase.