128th part of the short reviews.
DECIMATION – Between 2 Worlds
Year: 1992
Label: La Caverna Records
Rating: 6 / 10
A good Colombian publisher La Caverna Records dug up somwhere the ancient demo of the US band DECIMATION (there were 12 of them in the USA alone, and none achieved success). There's nothing noticeable about this one either, except that this band is old. The demo remained its only recording, and the band members did not make a career in music (except vocalist / guitarist Stephen Crane, who earned some fame with the Doom / Death Metal band DUSK). I didn't find anything original in DECIMATION's music either. The standard Death Metal for those times with rather high-pitched vocals and echoes of thrash. The demo was recorded in the studio, so the sound on it is pretty good. There's a feeling that with a big budget and a professional sound, this material could make a strong album, but we'll never know.
MASTER’S HAMMER – Maldorör Disco
Year: 2025
Label: Darkness Shall Rise Records
Rating: 5,7 / 10
The Czechs MASTER'Ы HAMMER, who a few years ago emphatically stated that they were no longer interested in reissues of their material and did not want to play music anymore (it was told to my label specifically, so I'm not talking out of my ass), returned to the scene and organized reissues through Darkness Shall Rise. What a "surprise". Anyway, the new album has turned out... boring. It's not very experimental compared to the 4-5 previous ones (which is good, since it's at least easy to listen to), but there's nothing really worthy of attention here. It's just another case of butthurt from naive metalloids at one side ("They didn't record another "Ritual." again!11), and yawning of more experienced people at the other side. Well, they recorded some comedical bullshit once again, they shot a funny video, so what? The first 2-3 times it was still interesting (not much, though). "Maldorör Disco" generally sounds like industrial metal / rock of the late 90s, and this is music that hardly anyone misses. "Take It Or Leave It," the Czechs say. I'll probably leave it next to those watering cans from 14 years ago.
THY WORSHIPER – Demony Wschodu
Year: 2026
Label: Pirahna Music
Rating: 7,1 / 10
I have to admit that the brilliant “Czarna dzika czerwień", which remains one of the most original albums in the world even 12 years later, did not make a "boom", so the old Poles THY WORSHIPER remained roughly where they were in 2005. After working with tribal folk metal, THY WORSHIPER turned to a more concentrated metal sound on the new “Demony wschodu". I must say that the distinctive melodic character of the guitar parts, which was characteristic of this band back on the demos 30+ years ago, lives on to this day. "Demony wschodu" is a mix of old THY WORSHIPER albums with elements of a new style and rich additional parts from another female vocalist (I think she's the fifth in the band's history already). The album is dedicated to the various manifestations of evil that come from the East, so don't be surprised to hear some russian singing in the first track. Overall, the album turned out to be strong, but I've heard better from this band. At least I didn't find any outstanding moments in it, and THY WORSHIPER usually have plenty.
АРИЯ – Когда настанет завтра
Year: 2025
Label: M2BA
Rating: 5,5 / 10
I'll start this mini-review with a wonderful story about "why make trillions when we can make... billions". The management of the ARIA group, with an ingenious decision that even Donald Trump would not have dared, closed the web shop for reconstruction immediately after the release of the new album. Considering that this very management is responsible for the physical publication of band's recordings, it turned out that it was simply impossible to buy a new album on CD or LP for... 7 months. All this time, the pirates were selling CD-Rs at Ozon and Avito for ~22$ apiece. The official editions went on sale literally today, the day I write this text. That is, ARIA toured for more than six months in support of the new album without selling it. Fantastic. Business sharks! By the way, the double vinyl of ”Когда настанет завтра" costs $140. Well, why not? In for a penny, in for a pound!
As for the album itself, this is another (and quite expected) symbol of the fact that retirement is getting closer. I do not exclude that it will grow on me, like "Проклятье морей" did, but there is little chance of that. It's a tired, banal record, recorded simply because it's been 8 years, and you need to give something to the fans. As usual, it takes a strong start, but quickly runs out of steam. Most of the material is regurgitated self-plagiarism. The solos are long and technical, but shallow. Long gone are the days when a pair of guitarists brilliantly played the main motif of a song, cementing it in our minds. Right now it's just a solo, because it's supposed to be here. Zhytniakov sings more confidently, but this does not help, as his range of notes and intonations remains very limited. The lyrics turned out to be complete shit this time; I didn't expect such a meaningless drivel from ARIA even after the latest two albums. They simply harm the songs, because I can't imagine who would even want to open their mouth to sing this nonsense along with Zhitnyakov. However, there is very little to sing here, because of all the tracks, only “Последний бой” and “Обгоняя время” are slightly accelerating the blood in the veins. The title track is a disastrous mess, and for some reason they made a music video for it. Even worse, the album lasts for an hour (or more, if you take into account the bonus track). For example, IRON MAIDEN are also tired grandpas who write tracks 10 kilometers long to see where it takes them. And it doesn't always work out well, but them Brits are still able to write a hit, and their progressive themes are interesting to listen to, at least for academic reasons. Unfortunately, ARIA stopped developing about 15 years ago. Spending an hour of your life on a bland product that is unlikely to arouse enthusiasm even from its creators? I think I'll find something else to do.
PSY-WAR – From Deep Depresions to the Borders of Suicide
Year: 1992
Label: La Caverna Records
Rating: 6 / 10
Another turbo underground release from La Caverna. PSY-WAR were a Death/Grind band from Costa Rica and recorded two demos in 1991 and 1992 respectively. You can listen to the second of them now, thanks to the Colombian label. If you love South American rabies and are willing to tolerate its sloppiness, then give it a try!
