Sunday, March 9, 2008

ARMAGEDDON SHOP STAFF PICKS 03/09/08


HELLHAMMER Demon Entrails Century Media CD 11.99 2CD mini gatefold Includes Satanic Rites, Triumph of Death, and Death Fiend demo

We now have in stock the definitive legitimate release of the Hellhammer demos. After years of sub par bootlegs, the band finally got it together to remaster and re-issue these early demos. It's about time... From the press kit: “Demon Entrails” has been specially re-mastered from copies of the original master tapes under the supervision of Tom Gabriel Fischer, and the demos now represent HELLHAMMER exactly as the band sounded when recording these songs in June and December of 1983. Drawing from a wealth of previously unknown historical liner-notes material and artwork as well as plenty of unreleased HELLHAMMER photos from 1982 to 1984, "Demon Entrails" features all lyrics and essays detailing the individual demo recording sessions.


SKITKIDS Besoket Vid Krubban Not Enough CD 10.99
This new record by Skitkids is a turbocharged romp through D-beat land. A great combination of songwriting ant intense energized execution, imagine Totalitar with Fast Eddie Clark from Motorhead kicking out speed fueled leads over the top. Awesome record... If the last 2 Inepsy LP's left you feeling sort of empty, this will kick you up the ass with your rock 'n' roll and d-beat fix. Recommended! (Ben/Armageddon)


PORTAL Outre Obsidian 15.99 new gatefold
Review from gravewithaview.blogspot.com: Strange personalities and extreme ideas are not in any shortage from within portions of the metal community. However, it in the case of Brisbane, Australia’s death metal unit Portal, mystery and weirdness are taken to another level. Upon hearing their previous full-length, 2003’s Seepia, I was floored. Portal has managed to capture concentrated ugliness and coupled it with brute force, forging their sound into a very original style of death metal. Trying to find out any information about the band in particular is just as mysterious…nothing seems to be revealed, which makes their music all the more intriguing. The imagery used both for their records and live performances play out in a cinematic fashion, exposing horrific visions in black and white and emphasizing the feel of the music quite effectively. Portal’s latest release, entitled Outre, takes all the horror-like feel of their previous releases and concentrates on a more focused version of itself. The swirling, manice guitar lines are still present and the drumming is still just as incredible, but the arrangements hold a bit more clarity and repetition. This approach works well, as Outre sounds darker and more fucked up than Seepia and gives more of a platform for vocalist The Curator’s growls and raspy lines. The effect sounds like a series of invocations given over a death march. While the production is maybe even less crisp than Seepia, I can’t say this is a bad thing. Overall, I’d say this is Portal’s best effort to date and by far worthy of picking up (as well as the re-issue of Seepia, also on Profound Lore Records). Those with adventurous tastes or a need for real brutality will not be disappointed.

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