The Fat Freddy Review Column

As long as I'm back in this thread, here's a couple of fresh ones:


MOONSPELL – UNDER SATANAE (B-)
SPV USA, 2007 / 10 tracks, RT: 50:30
THE VISION BLEAK – THE WOLVES GO HUNT THEIR PREY (C)
Napalm Records, 2007 / 9 tracks, RT: 43:24

Both of the above bands have been around for a while now (Moonspell since the early '90s, The Vision Bleak since 2001), but this is the first time I've heard either one of them. Since they both tread somewhat similar musical paths, I'm combining my reviews of both CDs into one article rather than risk repeating myself in two separate pieces. Portugal's long running Moonspell are described as "Dark Metal" in their bio, and Germany's The Vision Bleak are given the "Horror/Gothic Metal" tag, but to my ears this all sounds like the kinda stuff that death and black metal musicians start playing when they get tired of doing death and black metal all the time. They gotta spread their creative wings and think outside the box once in a while, I guess. Of the two CDs, I greatly prefer Moonspell's UNDER SATANAE, which is far more ambitious, progressive, and cinematic sounding than Vision Bleak's rather dry and basic THE WOLVES GO HUNT THEIR PREY. UNDER SATANAE apparently consists of re-recorded versions of some early Moonspell works (similar to Sodom's recent THE FINAL SIGN OF EVIL, also released through SPV), taken from their 1994 UNDER THE MOONSPELL debut and some "pre-WOLFHEART songs," whatever those may be. I hear a lot more interesting things going on (classical instrumentation, choirs, female vocalists, Mediterranean sounding passages, etc.) amongst the solid musicianship of UNDER SATANAE, while THE WOLVES GO HUNT THEIR PREY merely sounds like a German-accented version of BLOODY KISSES era Type O Negative (with a robotic-sounding singer.) Both bands share a penchant for long, occasionally unpronounceable song titles (i.e. Moonspell's "Halla Alle Halla Al Rabka Halla (Praeludium/ Incantatum Solistitium) " and Vision Bleak's "The Black Pharaoh Trilogy: Part I: The Shining Trapezohedron" or "By Our Brotherhood With Seth" -- well, at least the latter band's titles are in English!), and a penchant for "grimness" that doesn't really fit well with my normal musical palate. Both bands have their moments that made me raise my devil horns briefly, and Moonspell sound like they'd be perfect for the soundtrack to the next Anne Rice vampire film, but overall I can't see myself adding either of these CDs to my permanent listening rotation once this review is finished. If you or someone you know dresses in black 24-7 or needs some new background music to listen to while reading horror novels, then feel free to buy both.

PRONG – POWER OF THE DAMAGER (B)
13th Planet Records/Megaforce Records, 2007 / 12 tracks, RT: 48:33

Every time I hear Prong, I immediately chuckle at the memory of one of their gigs I attended in Staten Island, New York back in the Fall of 1991, where I witnessed the Dumbest Mosh Pit Moment of my concert going career: while the band were raging through their set, two drunken audience members/morons thought it would be cool to grab a couple of the little café tables from the back of the room and bring them into the pit with them, where they took turns slamming them on the floor in time with the music until club security wisely decided to intervene. That's not something you see every day, eh? Back in those days such now-classic Prong works as BEG TO DIFFER and PROVE YOU WRONG got numerous spins in my CD player, but I never really considered myself a huge fan and I lost track of them sometime during the early '90s. Prong went on hiatus after 1995's RUDE AWAKENING disc and guitarist/vocalist/ mastermind Tommy Victor went on to numerous other projects (including a stint in Danzig) but eventually reassembled an all-new Prong lineup (Victor is now accompanied by bassist Monte Pittman and drummer Aaron Rossi) several years ago. POWER OF THE DAMAGER is the second studio effort from the reconstituted band, and though Victor may have all new players backing him up, it still sounds like the same ole Prong to me. The album kicks off convincingly with the catchy "Looking For Them" and it's nice to hear that Prong's trademark "groovy," bouncing guitar riffs are still intact (Does anyone else think that Pantera borrowed a lot of their COWBOYS FROM HELL guitar sound from these guys? I do.), and Victor's voice is as hoarsely compelling as ever. If memory serves, Prong was starting to incorporate more electronic/industri al flavors into their music towards the end of their '90s tenure, but there's little to none of that going on during POWER OF THE DAMAGER – it appears that Victor is content to crush with the simple power trio of guitar, bass and drums, and that's just fine by me. Nearly every track on here got my head bobbin' along after a few spins, but I particularly enjoyed "Can't Stop The Bleeding," "The Banishment," and the title track. Perhaps I didn't miss them as much as I should have while they were away, but I can't deny that it is good to hear Prong back on the scene..

Fat Freddy wrote:

TheGooch wrote:

nooooooooooo will i ever be able to hear whiplash on vinyl. you can keep the picture disc i have the creeping death uk only twelve inch single with am i evil and blitzkrieg on the b side

My KILL'EM ALL vinyl is an original MegaForce Records pressing, dude... I ain't givin' that up for NOBODY!!! It's not particularly rare or anything, but it's a precious piece of my youth!!

i bet you never even listen to it though freddy it needs to go to a good home where it will be loved. as the old saying goes "metallica vinyl is for life not just for 1983" - na i made that one up it is not really an old saying

TheGooch wrote:

i bet you never even listen to it though freddy it needs to go to a good home where it will be loved. as the old saying goes "metallica vinyl is for life not just for 1983" - na i made that one up it is not really an old saying

Give it up, Gooch... you ain't gettin' that LP!!!

Fat Freddy wrote:

TheGooch wrote:

i bet you never even listen to it though freddy it needs to go to a good home where it will be loved. as the old saying goes "metallica vinyl is for life not just for 1983" - na i made that one up it is not really an old saying

Give it up, Gooch... you ain't gettin' that LP!!!

ah well the gooch never gives up when he wants something i have an obsessive personality

Oh, how I love the Taint.

spectrefate wrote:

Oh, how I love the Taint.

?

TheGooch wrote:

spectrefate wrote:

Oh, how I love the Taint.

?

One day, my friend. One day.

yes well i cant say i understand american humour

spectrefate wrote:

Oh, how I love the Taint.

That was mighty random of ya, Spec... thanks...

Fat Freddy wrote:

spectrefate wrote:

Oh, how I love the Taint.

That was mighty random of ya, Spec... thanks...

do you know what it means freddy?

I know that it refers to the small patch of skin "down below" on a man that "tain't quite your balls and taint' quite your ass", but what it has to do with this thread, I have no idea....

Fat Freddy wrote:

I know that it refers to the small patch of skin "down below" on a man that "tain't quite your balls and taint' quite your ass", but what it has to do with this thread, I have no idea....

Specs an asshole

Now, that's just not nice.

Can this thread just go back to being about my CD reviews now??

Spectre, allow me the honors...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the gooch:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gooch

Um...okay, now I think I get it.

Now that we've cleared that up, can EVERYBODY QUIT HIJACKIN MY DAMN THREAD ALREADY!!! Sheesh!!!

Fat Freddy wrote:

Um...okay, now I think I get it.

Now can EVERYBODY QUIT HIJACKIN MY DAMN THREAD!!! Sheesh!!!

Sorry about that, buddy. Them's some great reviews you got there. Real fine.

oh no it was someone nickname at college. i thought it would be a cool username

now i find out it was not some random made up name

Fat Freddy wrote:

Um...okay, now I think I get it.

Now that we've cleared that up, can EVERYBODY QUIT HIJACKIN MY DAMN THREAD!!! Sheesh!!!

sorry i should never have mentioned that Sodom cd

TheGooch wrote:

oh no it was someone nickname at college. i thought it would be a cool username

now i find out it was not some random made up name

Rule Numero Uno of Message Boarding: always Google your potential user name before signing up, to make sure it has no unsavory connotations.

TheGooch wrote:

oh no it was someone nickname at college. i thought it would be a cool username

now i find out it was not some random made up name

If it makes you feel any better, The Gooch was also the name of the school bully that terrorized Arnold on the tv show "Diff'rent Strokes"

TheGooch wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Um...okay, now I think I get it.

Now that we've cleared that up, can EVERYBODY QUIT HIJACKIN MY DAMN THREAD!!! Sheesh!!!

sorry i should never have mentioned that Sodom cd

At least the Sodom CD was on topic... things just kinda went South from there. Nothing to be sorry about.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

TheGooch wrote:

oh no it was someone nickname at college. i thought it would be a cool username

now i find out it was not some random made up name

If it makes you feel any better, The Gooch was also the name of the school bully that terrorized Arnold on the tv show "Diff'rent Strokes"

never heard of it

oh well i dont mind i suppose its quite an original name

TheGooch wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I know that it refers to the small patch of skin "down below" on a man that "tain't quite your balls and taint' quite your ass", but what it has to do with this thread, I have no idea....

Specs an asshole

Thanks Gooch, that means alot to me.

Smashing reviews, as always Fred.

I am so glad Moonspell re-recorded the Under The Moonspell EP. The original is weird. The band was just beginning to evolve out of that early black metal sound and I think their ambitions were beyond their means on the original Under The Moonspell. A decent EP, but it doesn't sound right a lot of times.

The Under Satanae album is killer! A nice mix of the original sound from those songs and the newer, more progressive Moonspell style.

spectrefate wrote:

TheGooch wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I know that it refers to the small patch of skin "down below" on a man that "tain't quite your balls and taint' quite your ass", but what it has to do with this thread, I have no idea....

Specs an asshole

Thanks Gooch, that means alot to me.

Smashing reviews, as always Fred.

youre welcome