March 31, 2003

Conception
(iH EnLCY) ion of

Stevie Wonders SORUS

BLEWN LEWIS 10 STEBWEN MIARLEY ©
MARY J. BUGE 10505 2. BRIAN Mek NABHT
DAVE HOLISTER Jn IS

BINEK COREY IRBIR.ARIE

>> Over The Edge’s Ratings

* Smelly like Rita McNeil’s thong
** Celine Dion’s thong

*** Leonard Cohen’s thong
*k*kx* Jean Chretien’s thong
kkkk* My thong

&
eee0ee 660
o>... 8
®
®

>>Apocalyptica
Reflections
Universal 2003

In 1996, Apocalyptica gained
underground international fame
with their release of
Apocalyptica Plays Metallica by
Four Cellos. There was only one
word for their effort on that
album; amazing. Since then, they
have released three more
albums. On Inquisition
Symphony, they carried on with
covers of Metallica while includ-
ing covers of Sepultura, Pantera,
and Faith No More, as well as
some originals. On the next

album, called Cult, they filled

the album with mostly originals
except for two covers; Metallica’s
Fight Fire with Fire and Until It
Sleeps, as well as Greig’s Hall of
the Mountain King. All of these
albums are jaw dropping.
Apocalyptica has managed to
capture every aspect in their cov-
ers, treating the rhythm, vocal
melody, and even in some cases,
the percussion with their amaz-
ing arrangements. Their latest
effort, Reflections, is a drastic
departure for them. On this
album, there are no covers,
instead, the listener receives full
band arrangements from
Apocalyptica. They are accom-
panied by piano, violin, trumpet,
double bass, a cello orchestra,
programming, and featuring
percussion by ex-Slayer drum-
mer Dave Lombardo. The har-
monies and melodies are amaz-
ing. My only problem with the
album is that the drums could
have been mixed higher, espe-
cially the tracks with Dave
Lombardo.

oo od
> Destrudo

>> Hanzel und Gretyl
Uber Alles
Metropolis 2003

Hanzel und Gretyl are an
industrial act from Germany that
formed in 1993. Since then, the
German duo has toured with
acts like Marilyn Manson,
Slipknot, and Rammstein. The
group includes Loopy, who
presses the buttons, produces the
metal riffs, and sings some
detached vocals, and Vas Kallas,
who is the Psycho Diva who
screams, plays the guitar, and
pressed the buttons that Loopy
forgot about.

Hanzel und Gretyl’s latest
release, Uber Alles, is an enter-
taining trip through the duo’s
Black Forest of machine-driven
sound. Firm believers in the
mantra “Machines Good, People
Bad”, Hanzel und Gretyl’s music
is powered by synthesizers and
drum machines, and backed up
with powerful, angry guitar riffs
and the usual screaming-instead-
of-singing that is immensely
popular in most metal circles
today. There is a good variety in
the sound of the tracks, which
vary from angry hardcore drums
and guitars, to mellow, almost
lullaby-like songs, to Eastern-
influences synthesizer loops. The
album manages to be grandiose,
pretentious, and vastly humor-
ous throughout its course, with
amusing lyrics. Yes, large por-

tions of the lyrics are in German, -

but we were fortunate to have
someone translate them for us.
The most entertaining words we
found were “scheissen geist”,
which literally translates to “shit
ghost”. I’m not entirely sure
what a shit ghost is, but it sounds
pretty darn amusing.
kkk

>Dana

>>Vedanta
Searching...
Independent 2002

Vedanta found its start in
Edmonton, Alberta, way back in
1998. Since then, the group has
performed at more than 570 sep-
arate shows across Canada. The
band has been called “4 of the
sexiest musicians in Edmonton”,
and it is widely known that
Vedanta puts on an excellent,
high-energy live show. Their
debut release, Searching, has
helped to draw the attention of
producer Bob Rock, who has
worked with acts like Metallica
and Our Lady Peace. These boys
are definitely an act to keep your
eyes on.

Searching is an excellent rock
album which ranges from the
hard guitar rock sounds of
“Sinking”, to the mellower, sad-
der “Did You Forget About Me”.
The band features well-executed
guitar riffs, engaging vocal per-
formances, and interesting lyrics.
I am pleased to report that the
drummer plays the same song as
the rest of the band, which is not
always the case in many of
today’s indie acts. In all, the
album is entertaining, full of
energy and variety, and is a gen-
erally good rock experience. You
can pick it up at HMV.com, if
you so desire, and I do recom-
mend that you do.

kkk

> Dana

>>Kazzer
Pedal to the Metal
2003

Kazzer hopes to get noticed
with "Pedal To The Metal," the
first single off of his debut
album, Go For Broke. The song is