Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc.

The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.
Band
Loudblast
Title
Planet Pandemonium
Type
LP/EP
Company
Boycott
YOR
2004
Style
Death
3/16/2005 - Review by: Eric Compton
Loudblast - Planet Pandemonium - 2004 - Boycott Records

Track Listing
1. Bow Down
2. The Serpent's Circle
3. Pain Brothers
4. Last Sabbath
5. The Descent
6. Mindless Mankind
7. Words Of Vanity
8. Scarlet Mist
9. Roaming In Between Worlds
10. Days In Black
Well, it's been six years since the French death metal vagabonds have been on the scene. With "Planet Pandemonium", Loudblast roar back with their sixth studio effort and first for new label Boycott Records. I've really missed these guys, keeping them on the top of my "missing in action" list through endless scans on the web. With their absence from the scene since 1998, I was unsure what their new sound would be like. Fortunately this band of death givers has stayed true to form, making this record one of the finest of the year.

For those of you unaware of the Loudblast style, go to your nearest importer and request their records. They play an unusual brand of death metal, keeping a thrash and slash playing field perfectly lined and allowing plenty of urban chaos to bleed through. The end result is a gravel pit of aggressive, bottom heavy guitar madness. The band is all about quick, speedy riffs and a huge, thick groove throughout. The group really isn't like any of today's death metal monsters, but they have managed to pick up today's loud production quality.

This album is simply bombastic in its delivery, with the drums sounding like something out of Andy Sneap's workshop. The guitars are just a manic frenzy of sound, recalling the finer moments of Floridian death metal, mixing in some over the top Swedish riffs while neatly wrapping itself in an urban hardcore sound barrier. Think of hardcore groups like Marauder, Hostility, and Rykers, and then mix it with a sludgy Morbid Angel or a tighter Unleashed. At times the group throws in some down tuned Sabbath grind, but for the most part this beats to a death metal drum.

If you love thinking man's death metal, then you will get a kick out of Loudblast. The same lineup has been intact since 1993, making the band a group of seasoned veterans. I've never understood why these guys haven't made it to the big leagues yet. Certainly someone like Century Media, Nuclear Blast, or Earache would be interested in the group. Sometimes the best things in life lie just below the surface though. Easily the best death metal album of the year!

Highlights - "Bow Down", "The Descent", "Mindless Mankind"


--EC 03.14.05
  • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
    N/A :AVE RATING

ALL REVIEWS FOR: LOUDBLAST
TITLE
DOR
COMPANY
REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
Burial Ground
2014
Listenable
Eric Compton5/2/2014
4
Planet Pandemonium
2004
Boycott
Eric Compton3/16/2005
-

ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: LOUDBLAST
INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


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