Review by Denis on December 26, 2002.

Gorelord is some kind of a horror movie turned into music. Seeing its roots in 1999, the monster created by Norwegian composer Frediablo (Necrophagia, Wurdulak, Deride) was for him a way to express his passion for these type of movies. Now he's back with his second effort. The first album was called "Force Fed on Human Flesh", casting Jehmod (Bloodthorn, Wurdulak, Perished) on drums. Work is already being undertaken for his third release that will be called "Norwegian Chain Saw Massacre" which will be an homage to his favorite movie: Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Just have a look at the cover art to see what type of music we are dealing with. The artist responsible for this horrifying sight is Patrick Tremblay. The lyrics are not included in the booklet because they were apparently too depraved... This is what Frediablo had to say regarding this: "I couldn't believe my fucking ears when Killjoy told me this. I started laughing, cause in my mind, I feel the lyrics on "Force Fed on Human Flesh" are far worse than on "Zombie Suicide Part 666". I must admit that I like it though, cause I get that urge to push it even further the next time, and it makes me wanna write some really fucked up shit just to piss these fucking censorship fucking faggots off big time!!".

Now to the music. Well, it goes with all the rest. A very good presentation of Death Metal with an industrial type of beat, I would say. Old school metal that ends up in more post Death are the way the songs are built in many cases. Thrown in the middle of all this bloody stuff, is a very nice melodic instrumental with electric guitar and pleasant echoing notes called 'Outback'. Kind of strange, but an enjoyable break, nonetheless. The song structures are not all made of hardness only. Of course you get the lethal dose of classic elements such as precise hammering double bass drums, solid bass, great guitar riffs and scary vocals. But there's more good stuff involved. Different vocals are used, some with effects, some spoken words, some screams, different tonalities are used to give it a theatrical feel like in songs called 'Screams Choked to Silence' and 'Shrieks of the Undead'. The last one is the closest thing I heard to Zombie voices, very well done! Slower parts give a certain spooky and doom atmosphere to these compositions 'Screams Choked to Silence', 'Dreams of the Macabre', 'Horror Gore & Unreligion' and 'Four Ways to Heaven One Way to Hell'. The only bad thing is regarding the last two tracks (demo). The sound is very low but they still remain in the same line and have pretty gory tittles.

Bottom Line: "Zombie Suicide Part : 666" will definitely please all hardcore fans but also the post movement adorers. Not to forget the ones who liked the latest Necrophobic, Wurdulak, Malevolent Creation and Internecine.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Originality: 8.5
Production: 8
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Denis on December 31, 2002.

Having indulged myself quite extremely with some Black Metal fantasies, I almost forgot how beautiful and sophisticated Gothic Metal could be. Luckily, Penumbra came to my rescue to reminds me all that I loved so much in this type of artistic expression. Let Penumbra echoing in your brain and flow through your veins. Let your heart beat to their emotions and be invaded by sheer excitement and pleasures.

Formed in 1996 by Dorian (guitars) and Jarlaath (vocals and oboe), Penumbra grew up to a full band of eight musicians. This French act released a first album in 1999 "Emanate" which sold over 6000 copies. In 2000, they signed with Season of Mist and embark on a journey of amazing Gothic experiences and realizations. The current line up is, besides the two founding members, Krysten, the charming female singer, Néo on guitars, Zoltan as Mr. keyboards, Agon on bass and Garlic on drums. The grandiose symphonic ambiance is created by a superb choir of eight vocalists and a classical string quartet. This magical opus was mixed by producer Terje Refnes (Sins of Thy Beloved, Tristania) to bring the sound to the sky. The sophistication of today's Gothic beauty is awaiting to make you taste all of its luxury. Let your ears enjoy the abundance of flavors prepared by those masters of beauty. Here the past meets the present, bringing former opponents into a future of warm embraces.

The wonders in this album are too numerous to be all described but I will give you now even more reasons to get this opus. Right from the beginning, Penumbra overwhelms you with all their colors: great symphonic orchestrations, heavy riffs, superb choirs, multiple vocal expressions, beautiful melodic lines, and intricate and progressive musical phrases. Even if it has an opening song's name called 'Neutral', you just can't stay neutral with all that this song is offering. The diversity of the vocals are ranging from Death/Black to angelic opera female singer. Male and female spoken words are used as well. Some parts are with clean male vocals. The choirs are simply fantastic and the combination of all these genres is brilliant. Everything is well balanced and has its own reason for existing. The mixture of heavy versus symphonic is in perfect harmony. The moods that flow through the compositions are as varied as they could possibly be. Sometimes exhilarating, sometimes totally dramatic or romantic but never dull. The tempo shift from calm and ambient to mid pace and even in some occasions becomes pretty fast with great progression. Many gorgeous instrumental interludes are waiting to charm you. Specific highlights are hard to come up with all those brilliants songs but by trying harder, I came up with this list: 'Neutral', 'Testament', 'The Young Martyr' and 'A Torrent of Fears'.

Bottom Line: Even if still a young star, Penumbra shines so brightly to illuminate our darkened souls.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 10
Originality: 9
Production: 10
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.6 out of 10