CoC : Merlin - They Must Die : Review

Merlin - _They Must Die_
(Great White North Records, 2001)
by: Chris Flaaten (5 out of 10)

Merlin is somewhat of a rarity, being a Russian death metal act led by a female vocalist/bassist who actually was the one who formed the band nine years ago. Female vocals sound interesting? Well, I had to do some research to conclude that vocalist Mary is indeed a female, as her death grunts are not very feminine. Rather repetitive and emotionless, actually; she could learn a lot from Cadavaria of Opera IX. Their music is traditional death metal; fast and semi-brutal. Both the music and production sound "old" and most of the riffs here have been done before. The verses in every song sound exactly the same and make it hard to tell the songs apart. There are some elements here that are interesting and the musicians play well. Still, the sheer repetitiveness of this album makes it hard to recommend.

(article published 12/8/2001)