Review by Tobias on November 8, 2001.

Lilitu is a rather unusual band. The first piece of that uniqueness is that they are the first American band to really delve into this style of metal… with talent. The second piece that sets them apart is not the juxtaposed clean-and-scream vocals, but the way that the dirty end of it is executed.

Let me be a little clearer; Bonner’s vocals when clean are usually harmonized with a second vocal track (of his own making, I assume) so you get an emo-goth style very similar to HIM or at times closer to Depeche Mode. But when the intensity rises and the vocals get dirty, rather than the melodic-death growls we’re used to hearing with bands like Dark Tranquility, you get shredded with much more of a hardcore influenced scream.

But is it good? Well, at first, while discussing it with a cohort, we both felt that the dirty vocals didn’t fit very well. After giving it a few more listens though, I like the dirty vocals much more than the clean. The clean have far too much emo-style in it for my own taste. Yet, personal taste aside, both are executed with excellent control.

Damn, I’m listening to it right now and I’m really loving these mean screams.

We’ve seen the fade-and-punch blueprint for this type of music before in many bands because it works and works really well. Lilitu at times will deliver with utter flawlessness in this area, but at times, particularly in I Cannot Be Saved, the shift from slow and beautiful to fast and intense feels very awkward.

Overall, the songwriting and composition is well done. It boasts complexity that doesn’t eat itself, tagged with the occasional guitar-wanking licks thrown in for good measure. The title track, memorial is probably my favorite because it throws in some great vocal arrangements along with some fabulous and original keyboards and guitar-yanking that reminded me of the fantastic artistic expression of Sigh. However, Unwill is certainly not to be overlooked.

This is a great debut and this band without a doubt deserves some major label promotion. Century Media should be eyeing this release with a hungry smirk.

Bottom Line: While I’d drop some of the prettier emo-vocals, this bat is growing some great wings, a creative force on the horizon.

Rating: 7 of 10

Review by Aaron on February 20, 2005.

Black Nasa’s Deuce provides a decent lesson in quality over quantity. Spearheaded by Atomic Bitchwax bassist Chris Kosnik, Black Nasa put out 10 tracks of acid-tinged rock clocking in at a mere 34 minutes long. Throughout Deuce there are many tips of the hat to the likes of Pink Floyd, KISS and Deep Purple. Despite farming in such over-tilled soil, the band maintains a freshness of sound that keeps this album well enough away from the “Been there, done that” file.

Originality might not be a huge priority on these guys’ list, but many a potentially good rock album has been wrecked by trying to be the next Hawkwind instead of just delivering a good, straight ahead album like these guys do. The songs average about 3.5 minutes long, leaving the album overall pretty lean and tight. My only exceptions to this would be the three instrumental pieces, which seemed to have a tendency towards ambling away in awkward directions, leaving a decent ending difficult to get to, let alone appreciate. Kosnik and crew still prove to be adept musicians with a keen sense of groove, making the majority of the album a likable listen. The exception to this would be their entry for the “We Didn’t Really Need to Do This” Award 2004 with their off the cuff rendition of Run DMC’s “You Be Illin’” at the very end of the album. This is a minute and three seconds that need not ever exist. Remember guys, death is easy, comedy is hard.


Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 6
Originality: 6
Overall: 7

Rating: 6.4 out of 10

Review by Tobias on November 8, 2001.

Lilitu is a rather unusual band. The first piece of that uniqueness is that they are the first American band to really delve into this style of metal… with talent. The second piece that sets them apart is not the juxtaposed clean-and-scream vocals, but the way that the dirty end of it is executed.

Let me be a little clearer; Bonner’s vocals when clean are usually harmonized with a second vocal track (of his own making, I assume) so you get an emo-goth style very similar to HIM or at times closer to Depeche Mode. But when the intensity rises and the vocals get dirty, rather than the melodic-death growls we’re used to hearing with bands like Dark Tranquility, you get shredded with much more of a hardcore influenced scream.

But is it good? Well, at first, while discussing it with a cohort, we both felt that the dirty vocals didn’t fit very well. After giving it a few more listens though, I like the dirty vocals much more than the clean. The clean have far too much emo-style in it for my own taste. Yet, personal taste aside, both are executed with excellent control.

Damn, I’m listening to it right now and I’m really loving these mean screams.

We’ve seen the fade-and-punch blueprint for this type of music before in many bands because it works and works really well. Lilitu at times will deliver with utter flawlessness in this area, but at times, particularly in I Cannot Be Saved, the shift from slow and beautiful to fast and intense feels very awkward.

Overall, the songwriting and composition is well done. It boasts complexity that doesn’t eat itself, tagged with the occasional guitar-wanking licks thrown in for good measure. The title track, memorial is probably my favorite because it throws in some great vocal arrangements along with some fabulous and original keyboards and guitar-yanking that reminded me of the fantastic artistic expression of Sigh. However, Unwill is certainly not to be overlooked.

This is a great debut and this band without a doubt deserves some major label promotion. Century Media should be eyeing this release with a hungry smirk.

Bottom Line: While I’d drop some of the prettier emo-vocals, this bat is growing some great wings, a creative force on the horizon.

Rating: 7 of 10

Review by Felix on July 9, 2019.

Nice joke! 

Imagine a band that copies "Show No Mercy" with every single note, although it plays own compositions. You say this is insane? You are absolutely right. This is Insane! These maniacs from Italy are the greatest fans of Slayer's debut the world has ever seen. The opening drum beat is taken from the beginning of the title track of "Show No Mercy", the sound of Wait and Pray is geared to the classic from 1983 and the last track of the first half has a double name ("Die in Hell / Metal Torment") that reminds us of "Metalstorm / Face the Slayer" from... well, how many times do I have to write the words "Show No Mercy" in this somewhat strange review? And don't forget to compare the letters of Insane's logo with those of Slayer.

The real joke of this joke is that the Italians wanted to be taken seriously. There is no ironic twinkle in the eye of the artists. The album just reproduces the classics of Slayer in another form, but at least two things are laudable and exciting. On the one hand, Insane have written autonomous songs, albeit each and every riff, each and every lead and each and every note builds a very stable bridge to their role models. It's not easy to praise your idols while offering own compositions simultaneously, if I am not mistaken. On the other hand, the eight tracks of Wait and Pray are almost on a par with "Evil Has no Boundaries", "The Antichrist" and so on. The album was released in 2005 (Slayer's latest album was the terrible "God Hates Us All" at that time) and maybe the Italian trio was on a mission in order to remind their Gods that energy, straightness and purity were those values that Araya and his friends had long forgotten. Either way, the material sounds fresh, stimulating and contagious. Vitalizing highlights like "Four Magicians" or "Evil Is at Hand" have anything it needs to enthuse old school thrashers, because they offer fantastic riffs, a good drive and this quantum of fanaticism it needs to be an authentic thrash formation.

Needless to say that the lead singer is totally familiar with Araya's emphasis and phrasing. The wording also lies in close proximity to Slayer's big bang. The first line of the opener ("Serving the hell we obey to the end") is as programmatic as "Blasting our way through the boundaries of hell" and the artwork is ornamented with the buddy of Slayer's crude warrior who looked so ultra-mega-evil on the artwork of the mother of all blackened thrash metal albums. But I want to say it again: Insane also offered very strong own ideas, because there are no obvious parallels between their song "x" and the song "y" of Slayer. They just have picked up the vibes and the structure of the very early Hanneman / King material, and so they present new riffs and melodies that just see no sense in hiding their inspiration. Maybe the dudes are painfully consistent, but they do not lack musical skills, compositional talent and veritable integrity. All songs hit the bull's eye and despite the non-innovative verse-chorus-verse-scheme, they avoid lame designs. Inter alia the dynamic of the effective solos gives the tracks a powerful touch. Not to mention the fact that the average velocity of the compositions is more or less breathtaking. If you like to have reasons to like yourself, buy "Show No Mercy Part II", also known as Wait and Pray. Too bad that the dudes never released a further full-length.

Nice joke!

Rating: 8.9 out of 10