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Cephalectomy "Sign Of Chaos" Reviews Cephalectomy - Sign Of Chaos "Two years have passed since Cephalectomy released their Dark Waters Rise demo, a recording I openly admit to disliking, and I was extremely hesitant to even give the CD a listen. In fact the CD remained unopened on my desk for nearly two weeks before I finally decided "what the hell" and gave it a listen. I remember when I last listened to their 1998 demo I was filled with thoughts of "this band should never be signed, they're horrible", and was actually extremely disappointed to find out they had been signed by the little known Nova Scotia label Discorporate Music. Well, it seems that in those two years the band has once again improved dramatically and grown into their sound and, much to my surprise, sound like well-polished veterans, even more surprising to me was the fact that I liked what I heard, and I liked it a lot. It's amazing what a difference 18 months can make, and in the time it took to create their label debut, they seem to have improved in every aspect I had once been highly critical of. The drumming is faster and played with more authority and skill than ever before, the riffs and rhythms are far better and more entertaining than ever before and the double vocal approach has been refined to the point where I not only find them to be bearable, but totally get into them, the sickeningly deep and guttural lows especially. To say I am impressed with their improvement is an understatement. Their new tunes stick out over their previous work like Ron Jeremy's tool of the trade on a midget. The music is reminiscent of early Kataklysm in it's passionate aggression and chaotic approach, mixed with the rhythm of Swedish death metal (which was an obvious influence in Kataklysm's early days as well) and brutality of European grind. Of course the band does lose points for ass-kissing after adding me to the thanks list, even though months ago I did make both Jason and Corey cry due to comments made about Dark Waters Rise, and this was an obvious attempt to butter me up, but, on the other hand I am a cheap whore and am always overjoyed to see my name in a thanks list and have people spell "Teufel" properly. On that note, for the life of me, I still cannot understand why so many misspell it as "Tuefel", how are these people even able to find my website if they cannot even spell the first six letters of the domain name properly? Fucking whores. Anyway, that has nothing to do with this review, what does have to do with this review is that over the course of the past 5 years I have listened as these two grew from a simple death-thrash garage band to a full-fledged complex entity now worthy of the title "True Northern Mystigrind" and of the contract they signed to Discorporate. I'm glad to have been able to hear this band's progression from their very beginnings to where they've gotten to today through hard work and dedication, and look forward to hearing where the future takes their music next. Now that I have given both Jason and Corey their praise, could they please pull the knife away from my dog's throat and pull the gun away from my temple and kindly fuck off?" Cephalectomy - Sign Of Chaos "Quand la première toune décolle, je me suis dis: "Siboire, qu'est-cé ça?" C'est assez mongol merci! Ce band comprend deux membres et vient de-la Nouvelle-Écosse. On pourrait dire que c'est du grind avec plusiers influences de style hardcore, death et même black swedish par boutte. Je trouve qu'il y a une bonne énergie qui se dégage de cet album. Il y a des bons riffs grind dans le prélart, d'autres entraînants mais ça reste quand même assez simple. Ce qui rend la chose encore plus intéressante, ce sont les deux vocals fous-malades qui n'arrêtent pas unde seconde! Juste pour cela, ça vaut la peine. Les deux gars ont des vocals biens différents en plus du guest vocal de Raland Kinley de Dichotic/Discorporate Music. La qualité sonore est respectable et les pièces durent moyenne cinq minutes, ce qui est assez long pour le style. Si vous cherchez du grind différent, Cephalectomy est pour vous!" - Steph & Louise, Sang Frais (numéro huit) Cephalectomy - Sign Of Chaos "Once again, a mighty flow of aggression comes from Eastern Canada (Nova Scotia to be exact!) in a thundering wallop. As expected, I am knocked flat on my ass by the violent and brutal death metal work of Cephalectomy on the new disc, a definite level up in the intensity department. It seems as though the East Coast has offered up some of the best acts this country has to offer in the last little while (i.e. Dichotic, Burning Moon, Sheavy, etc.) The most appreciated aspect of the work of Cephalectomy is that it basically just presents itself as it is: brutal music. This is brutal music - it is that simple. Production here is much better than past demo efforts too. Overall, Cephalectomy has the goods. It's up to metal fans to support the Canadian music scene and see what we have to offer." - Adrian Bromley, Unrestrained Magazine Cephalectomy - Sign Of Chaos "The last time I reviewed Cephalectomy, it was their five-track demo _Dark Waters Rise_ in CoC #34. Things have definitely changed for the band, both in sound and most importantly production. While still garnishing their brutal death metal attack with sounds reminiscent of Brutal Truth and Internal Bleeding, the band has managed to forge for themselves a solid death metal groove of sorts. Not bad for two guys (Jason Nichols and Corey Andrews), eh? Powerfully commanding, the band's deliverance will blow you away should you stand close enough to the speakers of your stereo system. While some might shrug them off as just another indie Canadian death metal act, Cephalectomy have proven that with time and patience, their direction and sound can be intensified -- check out tracks "The Ravaged Crimson Fields of Evanescence" or "Dimensional Manifestations of Ashen Forms". If you like your metal fast and furious, I suggest some East Coast (Canada) death metal to digest over the holidays." - Adrian Bromley, Chronicles Of Chaos Cephalectomy - Sign Of Chaos "Most normal people would say "this is fucked!" but for those crazy bastards out there who love "true northern mystigrind" and "necronomic melody", this is manifest musical insanity. Cephalectomy is a two-man project. Corey Andrews handles all the instruments and half the vocals with "high shrieks and mid-range growls." Jason Nichols contributes the other half of the vocals using "short, deep grunts" on such strangely titled songs as 'Through The Ethereal Vortex of Archaic Life'. An enhanced multi-media section featuring lyrics, bio, and in-studio video compliments this whacky, underground death/grind release." - Aaron Small, Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles Cephalectomy - Sign Of Chaos "From the cold land of Nova Scotia comes Cephalectomy, described as "true northern mystigrind". Well I have no idea what "mystigrind" is supposed to be, but Cephalectomy is relentless, brutal, psychotic grind with a mix of bizarre ideas and riffs, complex arrangements, and varied mental-asylum vocals meshed together to drive the listener plain bonkers! "Insanigrind" would be more like it! One man, Corey Andrews, is responsible for most of the work on Sign of Chaos, and he has done an impressive job of arranging everything, playing all of the instruments, and making everything work, even if things get a little sloppy at times. Grind, death metal, and black metal influences are evident, but Corey doesn’t blast his way through every song like typical grind bands. There are plenty of dynamics throughout, although more really slow material would be nice. And the first and last songs each contain a really short soft and clean segment, an element that, expanded upon, could result in even more variety and flavor. And I was taken by surprise when I realized that the songs here are of an abnormal length. Instead of the less-than-two-minute assaults most other grind bands write, Cephalectomy’s range from above three minutes to over six. To coincide with the chaotic, ever-changing music, twisted vocals are added and are what stand out the most on this album, for they are truly demented. Corey is assisted by a second vocalist, Jason Nichols. So while Corey provides the higher and mid-ranged vocals, not to mention all the other sick and crazy throat-slicing screaming insanity, Jason performs the lower grunts and subsonic belch vocals reminiscent of early Carcass and Demilich. Honestly, I could do without those superlow belching vocals, and at times some of Corey’s vocals are a little too ridiculous. Plus, cutting down on the amount of vocals would make room for instrumental passages, thereby allowing the music to be the focus for a change. But overall, the various vocal styles are an essential element to Cephalectomy’s intense mayhem. On top of this, one of the greatest things about this release is the multimedia portion, which includes a bio of the band, lyrics for Sign of Chaos (because they’re not printed in the booklet), a pretty long video of studio footage, plus lyrics and mp3’s for Cephalectomy’s demo Dark Waters Rise. So overall this is a very impressive album." Cephalectomy - Sign Of Chaos "For those familiar with their demo, Dark Waters Rise, Sign of Chaos represents a slightly more melodic Cephalectomy, for those unfamiliar with it, this CD will be pure sonic insanity. Hailing from Truro, Nova Scotia (That's in Canada), Cephalectomy produces aptly named "True Northern Mystigrind". Mixing the best elements of two of Canada's fore-runners of the extreme metal scene, Kataklysm and Cryptopsy, Cephalectomy have produced something truly unique, and long needed in the increasingly stagnant death metal scene - a disc that blends brutality and melody, and pure insanity. From that first buzzing guitar, to the final insane shriek, this album gives me hope for death metal. You know that moment in Kataklysm's "Laments of Fear and Despair" where Mike DiSalvo comes in, and all of a sudden, the song seems complete? Well, imagine an entire album that gives you that feeling, and you've got a basic impression of Sign of Chaos. The lyrics are a return to mysticism, which tends to place them equally in the realms of black and death metal, while the music comes more from the sonic insanity of death metal, with frequent tempo changes, and occassional melodic breaks, and some absolutely killer riffs. They also blend in some of the jazzy elements found in grind. As if all of this were not enough, Discorporate Music has included their traditional multimedia bonus material on this disc. By popping the CD into your CD ROM, you can also listen to the entire Dark Waters Rise demo in mp3 format, saving yourself the time it would take to download it from mp3.com, and allowing you to hear the origin of the insanity. Additionally, there is a multimedia interactive portion, but, my computer sucks ass, so I have thus far been unable to experience it. The final verdict though, is that Cephalectomy kicks major ass, and Sign of Chaos should be in every extreme metal fan's collection." - Chris Wagner, Ontario Metal Pages, Black Tuesday Cephalectomy - Sign of Chaos "I thought to myself "Is this a joke?" upon hearing first notes from Sign of Chaos. When I first looked at the CD, I figured Cephalectomy couldn't be all that serious about themselves: "True Northern Mystigrind". He-he. I'm able to imagine "true" (Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, Satyricon, etc): I'm even able to understand "true northern", but "true northern Mystigrind"??? That should be a joke anyway. Okay, let's forget about "evil" slogans and return to the music. Now, Cephalectomy is pretty funny. That's due to the absolutely crazy mix of vocal styles: from deep growls to high shrieks, which laminate the unprotected mind of the unsuspecting listener. The vocals are so untypical for death metal. Although Cephalectomy cannot be categorized as a death metal band. I think they are a more of a mutation of grindcore. The first track "Upon Winged Elemental Crests" is reminiscient of melodic, blistering Swedish death metal: "Dimensional Manifestation of Ashen Forms" gave me a similar impression, but this conclusion might be wrong. Cephalectomy could even be called melodic black metal after hearing the composition "Gates to the Spheres of Astral Frost". Cephalectomy defies easy classification, but this fact cannot hold back the pure energy, which abounds in every song on Sign of Chaos. However, it's hard to determine who the typical listener of this album will be." - Dmitry, The Surly Sullen Bell  www.cephalectomy.com
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Cephalectomy
Cephalectomy/Bound In Human Flesh
Cephalectomy
Fear Absolute
Dichotic
Cephalectomy
Dichotic
Civil Carnage
Dichotic
