NeKro

The CD in question is currently playing in my stereo: very good, not exceptional, but very good. Sikth are definitely a band that makes variety their strong suit, and they manage to be "absurd" (in a positive sense) without being bizarre. I don’t think that’s a minor detail, unlike bands like SOAD who are "absurd," but mainly due to their eccentricity. They remind me a bit of Dog Fashion Disco.

Reception is somewhat sterile, but the group is pleasant, even if at times they lose sight of the objective. Their first CD reminded me of Angizia.

I don't like the style of the review, especially since I'm part of the 2% of Italians who didn't watch the Italy football match. The album is fantastic; in my opinion, it's a less raw and more accessible version of BadMotorFinger, even though choosing the better one between the two always depends on the mood of the moment.

Among the ranks of new Swedish sensations, Darkane are the only ones who haven't succumbed to commercial concessions, so they deserve respect for that alone. I saw them live in Germany, and they are very skilled, so they are not a joke band. In my opinion, Insanity is slightly better, in the sense that back then there was a lot of instinct in what they played; now it seems to me that there’s a bit more craft involved. Also pleasant is the band of the former Darkane singer: Seethings, very different from the Swedish sound, but enjoyable.

@ez: I know Souls At Zero only by name and I have a vague memory of an album cover with a red apple, then nothing. What do you recommend? Do you know Tourniquet, evolved and technical thrash?

Congratulations on your sensitivity ... never listen to a Joy Division record, otherwise you'll hang yourself from the first lamppost you find. Joking aside, I liked the acoustic part of the last FF (even though I prefer the electric part), the veil of melancholy makes it clear where the good Dave comes from, Cobain must have left him something as an inheritance, even though, to be fair, the FF can't be defined as desperate and disillusioned like Nirvana.

The album in question is very good, although in my opinion, the previous "Accelerated Evolution" is better, as despite HevyDevy's unmistakable trademark, it managed to amaze me not only with the skill of the musicians involved but also with the tranquility it was able to convey. I don't know if this effect was due to the release of the self-titled SYL album that came out some time before, which was extreme and tortured, but it gave me a sense of inner security, even if driven by a mad genius like Devin Townsend. I would like to recommend, even though you probably already know them, "OCEAN MACHINE: BIOMECH" and "DEVIN TOWNSEND: INFINITY," both of which I think are very beautiful and crazy. They say the line between genius and madness is thin; I would say Devin walks that line like a tightrope walker on a rope suspended in the void.

I'm not a grindcore aficionado. I know "Altered States of America" a bit better, and I have to say that the effect it had on me after a few listens could be likened to a kind of daze, like when you suddenly get out of bed and have low blood pressure. I can't define ANB as an essential group, but sometimes it's nice to feel so estranged from the world around us. I'd say they are disorienting.

@ Bartleboom: It’s not a kickass song, but it’s also not a trashy tune made for queens, especially since I like it, and I’ll tell you more, you’ve made me want to blast this album all at once. My favorite song remains Slaughterhouse (if you feel like watching a great movie, check out Wild at Heart by Lynch where about halfway through there’s Nicholas Cage going to grab a beer in a bar and there's a band playing live, that band is Powermad who perform Slaughterhouse).

I'm not a connoisseur of the genre; I know the fundamentals (including this album), but I've always believed that certain things should be taken with a bit of humor because I can't believe that some people stroll around in winter at -40°, made up like pandas in the woods and forests. Take Darkthrone, for several years they've done whatever they please without gimmicks and with a sharp black humor.