"Slow Murder"
By Steve @ Coffinz.com
Chris Defelice - Vocals
Dave Dukart - Guitar
Mike Wolff - Guitar
Rock Rollain - Bass
Max Wolff - Drums
The extremists in heavy music. This is what Sloth Frenzy considers them-
selves to be. After seeing them play live and hearing their cd "Slow Murder"
i would have to agree. They mix differant styles of metal into their music
to make their own style. Whether it's the traditional heavy sound, melodic,
groove, or even sometimes death, they do it all well. The two guitarists
also work great together. The vocals aren't the average style which also
gives an added touch. I'm not much for Deep Purple but the bonus track
is
a cover of Space Truckin'. Which personaly i prefer better than the original.
Also all the art work was created by the guitarist Mike Wolff. In a world
full of metal bands they are definitely doing what it takes to not blend
in
with the rest.
9 of 10
Reviewed By Newtimes Magazine's: Serene Dominic
Coffinz.com Presents Arizona's Heaviest Local Bands
( A Compilation CD of Local Arizona Bands That I did the Artwork for...Not
a Great review but you can't win 'em all...)
(Coffinz.com)
If you log on to coffins.com, you get a bunch of brassy sarcophaguses,
but just
throw in a "z" instead of an "s" at the end and you get big-breasted women
in a
cemetery, with mammaries the size of human skulls and bands with names
like
Mr. Dead, Gat-Rot, Cast of Shadows and Sloth Frenzy. The latter turns in
the
most ridiculous, over-the-top mantra in a song titled "Unblessed (The Goat)"
("From the abyss he cries/Unbless the goat, redeem the lamb") while Gat-Rot's
lead vocalist manages the best Jekyll and Hyde transformation since Lou
Christie
sang "Lightning Strikes." Chess masters would describe it as "Gavin Rossdale
to
Cookie Monster in three moves" on the appropriately named "It Hurts to
Smile."
But it's not all gargle with gravel from Hades. Cast of Shadows offers
chorused
guitars like Rush and a catchy song about addiction. And there's Mr. Dead's
opening track complete with sound effects lifted off Chilling Thrilling
Sounds
From the Haunted House, and this disc's most thoughtful rumination on death
("Death's a bitch") immediately followed by a long, echoey "wooooaaaaah,"
which
indicates a descent to Beelzebub's bachelor pad. And if death wasn't enough
of a
bitch, you get laughed at like Ozzy by your friendly neighborhood "Undertaker."
Coffinz.com's target audience knows
they're eventually headed to the place
down below, and this comp caters to
them lovingly. And who would want to
go to heaven anyway when hell is a
place full of double kick drums and
women with big hair and even bigger
bazoomas?Rating: De-COMP-osing
Hello!
This is Vincent Eldefors from the webzine Tartarean
Desire. You sent me a copy of "Slow Murder" and I have
just put the review online
(http://embark.to/tartareandesire). Here is a copy of
it:
"In February 1996 three musicians from various local
bands in Tempe, Arizona, united to form the heavy
metal monster today known as Sloth Frenzy. After
having recruited two new members, headlined local
shows and opened up for big American names they
decided that the time was right to record a real album
and the result became "Slow Murder", a very
well-produced mix of Machine Head influenced music,
soaring guitar solos and more traditional death metal
tunes. The music is also of a rather melodic and heavy
kind but the prime strength of this band is the
aggressive and very powerful vocals. Contrary to most
modern death metal bands Sloth Frenzy don´t have the
intention of playing as fast as possible but rely more
on heavy driving rhythms and aggressive vocals like
Machine Head and other similar bands. Most of the
album is comprised of heavy and pulsating rage but
they can also produce slow and beautiful melodies as
shown in the beginning of "Sarcoid Savior". Perhaps
Sloth Frenzy will not make themselves known as one of
the most important groundbreakers or pioneers of the
metal history but they still have the capacity of
further developing their sound and are definitely
worthy of the attention from fans of aggressive
metal/hardcore hybrids. Just don´t expect subtle
melodies and beautiful singing from them because this
is straight-forward flaming aggression." (6.5/10)
Kind regards,
Vincent
By Randy Blake II of ROAAR Magazine:
Two months into the year and we have another band that is far too good
to be languishing in the ranks of obscurity. From Arizona
comes the might and ferocious majesty of the amazing SLOTH FRENZY!!
Thirty seconds into the opening attack of the CD "Slow Murder" and you
will see exactly what I am talking about. "Distant" is fair
warning that this disc is not by a bunch of hack ass music wannabees.
It IS the fucking real deal!! Teetering at times from a SÉANCE -
PANTERA like feel but remaining completely their own, SLOTH FRENZY are
talented up the ass and vicious enough to boast about it.
This ain't kiddie shit folks!!
Blasting through "Patterns In Fiction", "Sarcoid Savior" and the
frantic "Unblessed" it is quite clear that the guitar attack of Dave
Dukart & Mike Wolf, the push of drummer Max Wolf and bassist Rock
Rollain that this band would leave any band the followed
crippled and maimed and any band they opened for worried that they
could every compete with them. Vocalist Chris Defelice makes his
aggressive contemporaries sound like fairies!! Here is the band that
could put SLAYER away with hardly an effort.
The gruesomely brilliant "Slow Murder" track is easily one of the best
tracks I've heard in the past ten years. How do you beat a line so
morbidly excellent as "Spreading ribs to find the soul inside"?? SLOTH
FRENZY even found away to breath some original life into the
tired old DEEP PURPLE classic " Space Truckin'". This CD was produced
by the band themselves and if half the rubbish that the
major labels put out was remotely this good than the genre would be
unbeatable. "Slow Murder" is a masterpiece of mayhem.
Between the tracks "Slow Murder" & "Space Truckin'" lies the somewhat
ironic opus called "All Down Hill From Here". When I
checked the SLOTH FRENZY website (others find the bands and make
contact) I learned that vocalist Chris Defelice was no longer
with us. To have written and recorded a CD as powerful and
entertaining as "Slow Murder" and then be taken far too soon from us,
writers and fans, is indeed a tragedy. Whether or not the band is
going to continue is unknown. The band could be massive. Defelice an
icon. They are ALL that good. Buy this!! Thumbs way up to the band.
Chris….Fuckin' good job, man…
Hi. Here is another review...So.
Review by: VAMPIRIA mag.
c/o Francesco Palumbo
Via San Clemente 106
84015 Nocera Superiore - SA
ITALY
vampiria@inwind.it
SLOTH FRENZY “Slow Murder”
(self-financed)
SLAYER meets Nu-Metal. With this words I can just make you know the
roots of their music, but I think that you have to listen to this album
to have a
real idea of what they play. Mid-tempos with Hard-Core structures,
riffs in a Thrash vein, vocals that seem to be halfway between Death Thrash
and
Hard-core. And then what can you tell about the two axemen which really
succeed to create intricate arrangements? I don't think they are too original
but
their value above all the technical qualities are high. 'Distant' with
its slow moshing, the fastest 'Patterns In Fiction' (this one Thrash oriented
in a
FORBIDDEN style), the good 'Sarcoid Savior' with its acoustic intro,
the last 'Space Truckin', a DEEP PURPLE cover here manipulated like a DNA
and
the long Doomish 'All Downhill From Here' represent the description
of mine, but I think it is not too important what I say, cause this is
music which
has to be listened to. “Slow Murder”, no better title could be chosen.
Sloth Frenzy ~ Slow Murder
Reviewed by: Metal Girl
I dreaded reviewing this Cd. I was first contacted by this band right after
the original vocalist
Chris Defelice passed away. I read his memorial on the website and felt
taken aback by the
grief of the situation. But, the CD was mailed to me anyway so I tossed
it in. I was shocked
by how much I liked it. Sloth Frenzy combines what was great about crunching
heavy 80's metal like
Testament and Slayer and throws in ripping speed/death metal vocals and
deep melodic undertures.
Off the 7-track album, my two favorite songs are "Distant" and the cover
of "Space Truckin".
These songs have heavy beats perfectly pummeling out to addictive perfection.
Chris' vocals are
heavy and grittly but more likeable than most of the death metal singers
I hear.
What I noticed was different about this band were the irratic tempo changes
and unexpected
complex guitar solos that just seem to "occur" haphazardly throughout songs.
Personally I
have a hard time adjusting to some of the odd tempos of "Unblessed (The
Goat)" and "Slow Murder"
but I think this style would appeal to many speed metal freeks. It's a
good CD and I am sorry
I missed seeing the original line-up.
F.Y.I. From Rip and Tear webzine
SLOTH FRENZY - Slow Murder (Independent) Sloth Frenzy is some groovy
shit! Its crunchy, thrashy
death metal with a unique personality all it's own. Slow Murder comes
strong with a truly original approach
that's a lot of fun to listen to. At times it's technical, others deep
and off tempo, with elements of hardcore.
Vocals are full of variety as well, with deep growling, raspy doom-style
singing, and black metal
screaming... it's all in there, and it kicks ass! A solid effort by
Sloth Frenzy, look forward to their next
release.
www.wolffgraphics.com/slothfrenzy.html
Mike Banfield
MORE TO COME (GOOD & BAD...) BACK