CoC : Deuteronomium - Street Corner Queen : Review

Deuteronomium - _Street Corner Queen_
(Little Rose Productions, 1998)
by: Alex Cantwell (6 out of 10)

Spine-chilling black metal, rock, rap, reggae, all on one CD? Is this a Relapse sampler? No, it's the first full-length from Finland's Cornucopia of Musical Styles, Deuteronomium. At first listen, this is an extremely unfocused effort combining all of the aforementioned styles, sometimes in the context of one song, which proves to be messy and undesirable. Let me state loud and clear that these guys are unashamedly metal, but in an effort to be (overly) original goop everything up. The clean vocals, both male and female, have got to go, as well as all of the cover artwork. And the title?!?! Not the best, despite the implication/storyline behind it. Overall, there is a prevalent mix of black metal, Detritus-like vocals, and a Xysma-like rock attitude. Let me also say that this is original, creative, and all the rest of it, but man, if I want to hear rap and reggae, I sure don't want to hear it from some white guy in Finland, know what I'm sayin'? Very mixed emotions from this one. If they could put out a focused black metal release it would be godly, because they do it exceedingly well. Congratulations are in order to Manu Lehtinen for finally assembling a full band.

Contact: Little Rose Productions Ky, PO Box 533

(article published 1/10/1998)