Havukruunu-Havulinnaan
★★★★★
Havukruunu is a band out of Finland. Their new CD is called Havulinnaan on Naturmacht productions. And, well, what a find! Right out of the starting gate, "Talven Mustat Tuulet" is powerful and tight. The guitars have this sort of old fashioned sound with the old Marshals and Mesa Boogies almost like a swallowed compressed sound. But that just adds to the tightness in the rhythm section. The vocal tracks are raspy and cut right through the rest of the instruments like a good ole vocalist should deliver. the drums are a little low, but powerful. Anyway, overall this is a very good CD and this really needs to be in your rotation. Havukruunu have outdid themselves as far as for creating a great CD with creative and memorable riffs that challenge any of the great bands these days. As for Viking metal goes, these guys have the potential to become contenders if they keep up this energy and level of musicianship. By Aeonis
naturmacht.com/havukruunu
CANNIBAL CORPSE-A Skeletal Domain
★★★★★★★★
It is said that there are only two things that are certain in life: death and taxes. There is a 3rd, rarely cited certainty, and that is that when you put on a new Cannibal Corpse record you will be bludgeoned by a unyielding brutal metal assault. It has been an absolute constant now for over a quarter of a century.
While the track titles on A Skeletal Domain don't have quite as much punch as the days of Entrails Ripped From a Virgin's Cunt and I Cum Blood, the music hasn't backed down an inch. Aside from slicker production, over the course of their career the band hasn't strayed from their original sound. A Skeletal Domain offers nothing new; absolutely no musical revelations are to be had within. This album sounds exactly as you would expect a Cannibal Corpse album to sound. It could have just as easily been the follow-up to The Bleeding or any other one of the members within their gruesome discography. The band is consistent if nothing else. By Mike Ramirez
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