Carcharodon

Italy’s CARCHARODON has self-released “Macho Metal”, a rocking musical effort from a promising three member heavy metal outfit, mixing a thrashy death sound with a quirky Southern rock vibe. On the first track “Zombie Rodeo”, it’s definitive stoner metal meets New Orleans sludge – like if DOWN met up with EYEHATEGOD in a knife fight right behind the scene of a gig, and you can’t be mad at that kind of chaos. Next up, “Chromeland”, hints at a Zakk Wylde and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY influence, chugging away with vocalist Pico’s angry growling coming over the top. Track three’s “Behind The Sun” is more enraged and chaotic, filled with enough angst to fuel a dragster race car. The next set of ass kickers come in the form of “Squirtqueen”, and the bone gnawing “Mummified”. While this demo certainly lacks in having a big budget production value, I think it says a lot about a group of young musicians who are not scared to take risks and just do things in a quirky, experimental way. With a few more years under their belt, you’re going to see this band develop into something really special I believe. - www.themetalden.com

here's a review of the spaghetti mammoth manifesto "MACHO METAL":

Yeah, beside wine and pizza, in Italy we also produce a beast like southern’death’n’thrash’n’roll!
This happens when some guys, like those in Carcharodon band, are “obsessed with women, beer, riffs, sharks, blues, country & old school death metal” …
The band's name is actually deriving from the Latin name for shark.
The three wild guys from Carcharodon, Booge Spencer (guitar and vocals), Zack Norris (drums) and Pixo Antenna (growls and bass), are from the sea-town of Alassio (mmm, those local excellent triple chocolate cookies …).
They have been doing quite a lot of live activity, releasing a serie of demos and EPs between 2003 and 2008, when they released their debut full length, Macho Metal. Also, the debut album came right after a successful tour in Europe and USA.
They got some good reviews on various webzines (e.g., metalzone.it) and an interview on the Texan music portal www. themetalden.com during their US tour.
As one can expect, their sound is raw and powerful, as they rework hard rock in terms of death metal but with a southern, laid back attitude … So, apart from "women and groove", Entombed and Motorhead can be easily traced as influences and sources of inspiration for the granitic, massive sounds of these jolly guys.
About the CD cover art, it's great and in perfect line with what these guys like to play. However, well, it's guaranteed that some of my gay friends may also like it as well …
- Doomed to be Stoned in a Sludge Swamp

This album holds several surprises:


1.



Despite the albums cheesy name, the music inside is anything but.

2.


With its gritty sound this band is not from the Southern U.S., it's from . . . Italy?

3.


This band is unsigned!


“Macho Metal” obliterates all preconceived notions from the first few notes of the opening track. “Squirtqueen” begins with what has to be one of the most bizarre, impossible-to-describe riffs ever, and then quickly yields to an abrasive Stoner / Death Metal combination that sucker punches the listener in the gut.

The rest of the album follows the same formula. Bassist / vocalist Dr. Pixo The Maniac delivers a belching Death growl that could (and perhaps should) become the envy of vocalists from more traditional Death Metal acts. Combined with the fuzzy production, Stoner riffing, and masterful distorted bass, the overall effect is an album that packs plenty of filthy, grimy bliss into its oh-too-short playing time.

Many of the tracks have a strong Rock & Roll sensibility to them. “The Snail” contains a guitar/vocal call and response that is reminiscent of grittier, more uptempo Blues from the 1960's. “Chromeland,” on the other hand, is slower, and is punched out with the volume cranked up to 11. The crunchy main riff is explosive, ures a mental image of a lone biker on a desert highway, long before the sound effects for said image are introduced into the song.

The members of CARCHARODON are obviously students with long dedication to their chosen genre, as the sound here screams out a heritage from the American Southwest. That such a style could evolve in Italy, a country more known for producing highly polished Power Metal, is astounding.

It is an oversight bordering on criminal neglect that this band has not yet found a label. “Macho Metal” won't win any awards for cool album title, and CARCHARODON are admittedly rough around the edges, but that is precisely the objective with this type of music. Their take on Metal is both fresh and refreshing.
- Metal Observer