U.S. White Metal Assault Compilation

Ahhh...the ol' underground metal compilation.  The world is full of them and while there have been some good ones in the past, there have been some really bad ones.  This new compilation called U.S. White Metal Assault is basically 11 U.S. black metal bands of good to almost unbearably bad quality.  If you dig underground extreme metal with no care for production values then this will be something you should track down.  If you care about music being made right, this may give you nightmares.  

The opening song is "Funeral Oath & Resurrection" by Sorrowstorm off of their most recent EP.  This is probably...ok, it is the best song on the compilation.  Pretty insane, raw black metal from Felipe Diez, who also is the man behind the death metal band Encryptor.  There are a few other decent bands to speak of.  Bucephalus shows us some intense black metal with horrific vocals, but the drum machine just kills the song.  Arch of Thorns is a band that I think shows some good promise with their raw brand of black metal.  The production is pretty bad and quite muffled, but at least it's listenable.  Good intro and outro to the song.  Eulogium is another band that I think shows a little bit of potential, but like I said on my review of their full length...their drumming needs some definite improvement.

Then there are those who need some serious help.  Goaticide graces us with some serious treble that forces you to turn the volume back down, that you had just raised to enjoy the Sorrowstorm track.  Then of course you have the horribly done drum machines on the songs by Bucephalus and Rising Hour.  The Rising Hour drums sounds similar to when a kid puts a baseball care in the spokes of his bike and races on down the street.  And HOLY COW...the start of the song by Dirge of Bays!!  Are they serious?  The treble settings on this song are in the stratosphere.  The band themselves are not that bad...I think I heard them on another compilation and sorta liked them.  But this is beyond unlistenable.  Then there is Banshee.  I thought my CD player was messing up at the first cause it sounded like nothing but fuzz.  But then come the "powerful" drums.  It sounds like the drummer is flicking the drums with his fingernail.  As the fuzz continues, the vocalist screams like some retard.  It sounds like he's half swallowing the mic as he "sings".  Kinda reminds me of that weird band Transcendus out of Indonesia.  This track sucks and is one of the worst songs I've ever heard.  How a band can come up with production this bad is beyond me.  I've heard better sounds come out of a hand held tape recorder.  The final song to the album is a live song by the band Grave Defier.  Kinda reminds me of Vomitorial Corpulence, only not as extreme.  Supposedly, this is a bonus track that will give you a sample of the upcoming death/grind compilation that will be the sequel to this black metal compilation.

With decent production and proper direction, a few of these band would be worth hearing record a full length album in the future.  However, there are other bands on this compilation that would be better off selling all their equipment on Ebay and giving the money to charity.  Between the very inconsistent production levels, the number of disappointing bands, and the further degradation of the American metal scene by associating some of these bands with a metal assault...it's a wonder if anyone will ever buy this disc.  But wait...you don't have to!  You can go to Shaver Audio and Video: http://www.shaveraudioandvideo.com and they are giving away this disc for free.  What do you have to lose right?  I have no problem with someone putting out a compilation of extreme metal bands.  And I highly respect that the album is for free considering the level of quality here.  However, you have to wonder if music like this actually helps the American metal scene by being heard, or is it just making us look all the more incompetent?

Rating: 35/100

Review By: Matt Morrow

Label: Independent

Total Songs: 11

Total Time: 47:08

Tracklisting: 1. Sorrowstorm - Funeral Oath and Resurrection, 2. Goaticide - Dethrone the False lords, 3. Bucephalus - Resist (Frontline Bloodbath), 4. Rising Hour - Wisdom of the Fools, 5. Dirges of Bays - Get Thee Hence Satan, 6. Simeon - Negative, 7. Cabalistic - Final Assault, 8. Arch of Thorns - Sword of the Spirit, 9. Eulogium - Frigid Emptiness, 10. Banshee - Grave Yard, 11. Grave Defier - Demon Hackticianer (Live).

Best Songs: Tracks 1, 3, and 8.

Band Lineup: N/A

Band Website: N/A