Metalview

From the opening riff of 'Devilish' I knew I'd like these guys. Soulless combine the speed of black metal with old school thrash to powerful effect. Extremely intelligent lyrics delivered in a style reminiscent of Rob Urbinati from Sacrifice add punch to the songs but at the same time are decipherable without the lyric sheet in your hand. Imagine a stripped down Sacrifice without the leads from Joe Rico but fused with blast beats and speed riffing and you have Soulless. Some notable tracks include the aforementioned 'Devilish', which has a great clean/heavy guitar intro, and 'Crumble Beneath', where Jim Lippucci screams "So know this/Mark my words/I'll have you/My hatred/Despise you/Destroy you!" with palpable rage and conviction. This CD has some of those songs that upon first listen gave me chills, such as the vocal line on 'Emptiness Domain' where after "Fill Wrath's cup with tainted blood/And drink it up like wine" is uttered, the tempo changes and heaviness eternal is achieved. In light of these good qualities, there are some negatives I must mention. The overall sound of the CD is full of sameness, like one long song with different parts. More distinction between songs, via an acoustic intro or different vocal style would make a more interesting listen. Also, the songs are crying out for more solos...I only counted two. Not just solos, but perhaps a few melody lines here and there would be interesting and complement the rage beneath. I consider this CD a worthy listen, especially fans of Sacrifice, Razor, Kreator and the like. Check them out

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Metallives
12-29-99

Soulless is a Death / Thrash Metal band hailing from the dark depths of Parma Ohio. For the first time ever I was able toplace a Death Metal CD from an unsigned band and actually hear some polished music, no joke!! The production is definitely top notch, and as always I truly love the artwork. The band reminds me of a mixture of Kreator, Destruction, Death, and Obituary. The Darkening Of Days features 10 tracks that will rape your mind of any morality you may possibly have left. Every vocal scream is blasted from ear to ear in a haunting, yet audible growl that pierced my soul with every scream. Throughout The Darkening Of Days you will hear excessive grinding guitars which keep the pace of the album as loud as possible. Unlike many of the recent Death Metal bands Soulless sticks to playing the Guitars, Bass and drums, no keyboards or other elements are mixed in besides the vocals. The lack of keyboards could easily be a strength or a weakness. Even though it helps Soulless sound more like a Traditional Death Metal band it also makes the music sound a bit more repetitive, unlike some of the more popular competition such as Children Of Bodom. Perhaps more variation would help make the album a bit stronger, but I can’t complain because the constant vocal growling kept my mind on other things. I expect to see this bands recordings in the mail order section of Relapse Records mail order catalogs.

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Metal-rules.com

Soulless - The Darkening Of Days
Released: 1999, Independent | Rating: 4/5 | Reviewer: WaspmanHave you ever wondered what a more violent Cradle Of Filth would sound like? Or perhaps a less drunken Witchery? Ever better, how about both of those bands with the very best of traditional death metal, a la early Unleashed mixed in? Sound good? Yer damn right! Taking the best elements of those bands and mashing them together with an irreverent blast of blackened wind, Soulless have unleashed (pardon the pun) one of the best independent recordings of the last couple of years. This is a band that has successfully taken its influences and used them to make their own distinct sound. All of the elements that make a great death metal album are here. The full-out speed assault (see "Down Hell's Path), the grinding bludgeon ("Crumble Beneath"), the mid-tempo crushers ("The Darkening Of Days"), and the mix of all those speeds ("Devilish", "Blissfully Damned"). While the band can sometimes get too good at mixing tempos to the point of overload, the mash of speeds helps vary the album and doesn't let it get boring. The only other complaint I have is the fact that some of the songs tend to bleed into one another, making distinctions impossible in some cases. This happens more as the album gets past its mid-point, with songs like "Emptiness Domain" and "Hellbent" rushing by before you can tell that you've just missed 2 songs.On the plus side, Soulless ends the album with 2 of their best headcrushers - "Lost" and the title track. "Lost" hits the mid-paced grind zone that I love so much, while "The Darkening Of Days" slow boils in the same pot until it takes off in a rush of speed riffage to finish the album. All you can say to that is "HELL YEAH!" and bang your head along with the band.Another plus on Soulless' side is the crisp production. While dirty enough to sound "underground", the production job allows all of the band's weapons to sound clear without muddying each other up. In fact, the band's sound is completely its own. You can tell who they're influences are, but they don't fully sound like any one of them. Except for vocalist Jim. His screams are a little to close to Toxine for my liking. Hopefully as the band matures, he will develop his own evil voice and not follow Toxine (whose voice, although perfect for Witchery, can get a little grating on the ears at times). Here's a beer for the band and a definite double-horned salute! Do yourself a favour and get a copy of The Darkening Of Days...

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Fubarm

Soulless is a band that hails from my hometown metal country of Cleveland, Ohio. BigMetal had recommended them to me awhile back and as I was in Ohio for Christmas I decided to pick up their disc. While Soulless did not blow me away on first listen, they have grown on me considerably since then.

Musically, Soulless shows us that they are a diverse and versatile group. Constant shapers of the music, Soulless rarely keep the same tempo in any of their songs. For example, one minute they're speedily thrashing along and the next they are in a Maiden-esque gallop. This kind of variety adds a considerable amount of depth to their music and puts a lot of meat on the metal bone. Drummer Chris Dora (the drummer for Ringworm and Integrity's "Humanity Is The Devil" & "Seasons in the Size of Days" discs) is tight and his drumming is right on; fast, furious and chock-full of double bass. Track three, Turn, is a great display of his ability and versatility.

Soulless' vocalist Jim Lippucci sings in the 'witchy' growling death style instead of the low-death growls we're so used to hearing today. Personally, I am a fan of this style, which At the Gates and Cradle of Filth have so brutally demonstrated in their music. Jim's voice works well with the instrumentation but sometimes the lyrics just don't quite fit. Occasionally they sounds over-performed and repetitive, like in track 5, Crumble Beneath. However, Devilish (the opening track on the disc) is awesome and is probably my favorite song.

I'm a big fan of hearing the bass in music and unfortunately it was barely audible in many of the songs. This is only a small complaint though; it's not that this is a 'bad' recording, it's just not as 'full sounding' as I would have liked it. I like a rich, meaty sound in my music and I think that some of Soulless' songs would have sounded better had they been mixed with less focus on the mids and highs.

Overall, I think Soulless' "The Darkening of Days" is a great disc. What we have here is a talented and versatile band and in light of this "Pimp rock" movement, Soulless are here to play straight-up ripping metal. Less attitude, more Metal.

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Metal Gospel

Soulless - The Darkening Of Days (Self Financed~1999)By: CherylYou know how sometimes you start up a disc and it just slams you in the face with intensity? Well, this is one of those discs!! This debut release from Ohio's, SOULLESS, combines a fine concoction of Gothenburg style, death and thrash to be served forceful and heavy with a melodic garnish to finish it off. After going through numerous servings it finally dawned on me that the vocalist sounds similar to Dani Filth (when he isn't screaming his nuts off!). The production is excellent and it's great to see metal with this much strength being released in the States. I definitely highly recommend this disc to all those who love the Gothenburg style and death metal with a melodic edge. Time to become SOULLESS!

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Metal Judgement

Hel's Review
I'm always happy to receive a demo that makes it obvious the band is trying. I hold in my hand an excellent example. Soulless spent time getting this stuff together, and it shows. They've got the stylistic lettering of their band logo computer printed onto their return address label. This is a perfect example of when using your computer to print your own is fine; it's simple, looks professional and is simply an extra, not a featured part of the kit. Their bio gives you an idea of who Soulless is, what they play, and how they got where they are. It's glossy and professional, with the logo mentioned earlier and professional quality head shots of all the band members with their names and instruments. This is how a bio should be. There's also a bunch of matching merch flyers, a logo sticker, two different flyer sized cards with contact info and two different professional-quality band photos, and a letter. The packaging and cd itself look totally professional - much like a disc you'd buy in the store. Great work, guys. Their disc is better produced than most demos, although still muddy at times. At ten tracks, it's more of a full-length album than a demo, but it seems from their bio like they've got a strong following, so it's understandable for them to put out something worth the fans buying that also serves as a demo. Not a point worth picking on here. The first tracks are strong, and that's the truly important thing. The music is good, the songs strong, and the band members know their instruments. This is a band that is worthy of note. Now, I'm not just saying that because their music is, as they say in their bio, "a combination of the hooks and angry vocals of some of thrash metal's early band... with the blast beats and darkness of some of today's heaviest bands", and that's damn likable for somebody like me. I think they've done a fantastic job on the entire package, they care about being a band, and that comes through in the music.

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UBR

Oh boy!  Another independent wonder!  When will the madness ever end?  Honestly, shouldn't some of these bands sign to United Guttural or something?  Why DIY all the time?  Anyway, Soulless is the other band that Chris Dora manages.  Two questions come to mind, then: Is this band good enough to kick the shit out of most death metal bands?  On this count, the answer is a resounding "yes."  Is this band as good as All That Is Evil?  Oh, no. Anyway, hearing this band play their death metal opus, I have to say this is like most good-enough-for-a-reasonable-audience death metal bands I've heard in the one-and-a-half years I've reviewed for The UnBulova Ripoff: some good, original riffs, reasonably good musicianship, decent lead growler, and great lyrics, but, as with The Chasm (above review), the music is too indistinct.  There isn't really anything memorable on this album.  It's a good death metal album, but, unlike the whole of All That Is Evil, there isn't anything that sets it apart from the rest of the death metal din.  I guess it's listening to death metal for a reasonable period of time that bores you to these bands.  I like the album, but the band has no real identity.  Is it the second coming of Death?  Not really; the lyrics are above typical death metal lyrics, but the sound can't hold a candle to Death.  I mean, the music does get a little repetitive, and the riffs do get a little circular sometimes, which is good when you are stoner rock, but when your guitar is downtuned to death metal proportions, it makes the music quite boring.  Jim Lippucci is a good singer, but he doesn't hit Malcolm Anthony's four-vocal range.  The guitars are well-played and quite competent for the genre, but the downtuning makes the guitars a little too passive, and there are many bands that sound almost or just like Soulless.  Dora's drumming is quite good, but the exact same drums can be heard on All That Is Evil.  All in all, despite the fact that The Darkening of Days is a good album, it can't reach the level that All That Is Evil already has reached.  At least the band is good, though.  Could you imagine what would happen if Soulless was mediocre?  That would place high on the list of things I would rather not see happen, I can tell you that much.  Either way, though, I can't wait to see what the hell Chris Dora does next!

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Anorexia Orgasm

If you are really a Thrash Metal Mania, you will say that this album is the best Thrash Metal album in 1999. You can see how well they're playing the music. Their idea is so brilliant by mixing the basic of Thrash Metal in 80's with the Death Metal riffs with melody, technical and dark wave. In several parts that can give a new style in their Thrash Metal music. More over with their lyric that full of darkness and vocal those full of anger make this album become really good. SOULLESS was born in 1997 with their first name BLOODSICK, after changing their personnel for several times BLOODSICK changed their name into SOULLESS with their last formation is Tony (bass), Wayne (guitar), Jim (vocals), Jerry (guitar), and Chris (drums). This is their first full length CD with 10 tracks of songs with high sound quality and professional cover layout. So... get out this CD now....!!!!
Reviewed by Putra Pande

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 Prelude in Darkenss

SOULLESS - The Darkening Of Days - Traditional death metal that also includes trash metal parts in some songs, not boring at all, aggressiveness, good performance and handle of the times. This could be a short description about Soulless' work. "The Darkening of Days" has a powerful sound, Jim Lippucci's vocals in "Devilish" made us recalled the ones of Cradle of Shit, but obviously, Soulless' music is totally different to the one of the mentioned band. This production contains 10 songs which are influenced by the traditional death metal, including the particular sound that Soulless imposes, the songs that make stand out are "Devilish", "Blissfully Damned", "Crumble Beneath", "Down Hell's Path" and "The Darkening Of Days" for being the most representative ones that this disc offers, it's a good work with no doubt, and we should emphasize that "The Darkening of Days" is an independent production which is worthy, and we could add that it's a good choice if what you're looking for are fast guitar riffs, harsh vocals and violent drums...

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Metal Fanatix

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Tombstone
September 2000 - 3/10

These guys are coming from America and this is their debut album. After a lot of troubles they finalized the line up of the band and managed to record the album. They are playing Death Thrash metal with influences from bands such as Arch Enemy, Slayer, Unleashed and Carnivore but they are not that good as these bands. Not even half this good to be honest. Most of the songs are uninspired and the album becomes boring quickly. The bad production makes things even worst since the vocals are sounding even worst than what they really are while there are times when you can't understand what the instruments are playing. The very few good moments of the album are drawn in the too many bad ones and not one song is completely good. Even if there is an interesting theme there's always something that will spoil the fan. For more info about the band check out.

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Soullkiller

You really have to read this review all the way through to get the full picture, in much the same way you have to listen to the whole album to get the full picture. I'll explain, I heard the very first riff on the album and I'm going "Oh geez, not another band that sounds like this." The riff was a sort of half hearted european power metal garage band thing that sounded rather unoriginal and certainly not very intense. The riff was repeated several times, and then all of a sudden, it switched to this darker, chromatic based chunky riff, and the double kicks started up, and, well, the songs just kept getting better. Good thing I didn't stop listening after the first riff. Although from Ohio, the band does have a certain European flavor to it that's tough to nail down. Style wise, I can't really directly compare the band to anyone, maybe some mild shades of Altar, Arch Enemy, Obituary and a few bits that sound like old Demigod. The guitar riffs are mid paced with some alternate picking and slower chunky parts. Many of the riffs contain more melodic areas, again, a staple of swedish death metal (are you sure you're from Ohio?). Drumwise, a good combination of double kicks, a few blasting areas, mainly Slayeresque bass-snare-bass-snare at about 200 bpm. Vocals are very high pitched, whiny and raspy. The production is good for a demo, well mixed with just a hint of muffled sound on the guitars. Overall, a very good cd, the band is tight, focused and talented, and the cd is well worth listening to all the way through, in fact, definitely listen to it all the way through, this is not a band who can be classified after a single riff, and they've got some serious potential for next time around.

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The Plague

Based on the band name and Pavement-esque cover art, I was expecting Soulless to be faceless death merchants with crap production. Within the first few seconds, all preconceptions were wiped away, as Soulless instead deliver some finely-tuned, heavy-ass death-thrash of the first order.

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Neckbreaker Webzine

I see a promising future for these death/thrashers because it totally left me speechless and that's no bullshit. Record labels will be approaching them soon.

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Wolvesblood

In the vein of newer sounding thrash (not Bounce Metal though) come Soulless. These vocals sound like a wicked cross between Sacrifice and Witchery. They sound especially cool during fast pieces when they speed right along with the instruments creating very high energy levels which are impossible not to get into. Perhaps my only slight complaint would be the abundance of discordant slower parts. However they do offset the quicker parts nicely, but perhaps there's a few too many of them. Amazing production can be found also, as everything can be heard, and heard clearly. $10 U.S. Funds, shipping and handling included. Cheque must be payable to Chris Dora.

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Night Ritual

An interesting mix of death metal, thrash metal, and black metal.  High evil sounding raspy vocals.  Sometimes the guitar riffs are like old school thrash, and other times the riffs are like modern black metal.  Raw sounding, tight drumming and lots of time changes.  If you like a bit of this and a bit of that in your metal, you should give this a shot, as SOULLESS have put out a fine self release.  Cool cover art as well.

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Metal Nightmare

I really have to commend SOULLESS for the totally professional sound they got on this CD. If you're going to take all the time and trouble to release something like this, you really need to make sure it both looks and sounds good. Which is what they did. But how does the music hold up? Well, I'd say that Ohio's SOULLESS are going for a more death metal oriented version of the Gothenburg sound. There's a few almost moshy parts in there, but nothing too far gone. I really do like Jim Lippucci's vocals, as he really sounds extra constipated. That's a must for the style. My big complaint is that the music comes across as a slow AT THE GATES. I kept waiting for them to speed things up, but they never did. Things just remained in a kind of mid-paced style. But hell, at least now they have something to strive for with their next effort.

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Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles

# 34 October, 1999 - SOULLESS "The Darkening of Days"Combine Cradle of Filth and Witchery, The mere thought is mindblowing! Well this five piece from Ohio of all places, have made the fantasy a reality.  Vocalist Jim, surely must have sold his soul to get such an incredible set of pipes.This ten song CD is pure fucking heavy metal!  Soulless are "Blissfully Damned" as they hurtle "Down Hell's Path".  Aggression, energy, ambition and musical ability are unmatched.  If this disc doesn't do it for you, you're already dead.  Metal satisfaction guaranteed!

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The Dungeon
Hardcore and Metal reviews by Dave Wolff
Good Times Magazine Syracuse, NY July 11, 2000

The local death metal scene in Ohio doesn’t show any sign of slowing down in terms of the number of new bands surfacing to make a name for themselves. From what I’ve heard of Soulless so far they appear to embody the spirit of brutality accompanied by the desire for originality reflected by the Ohio scene as a whole. Their self-released demo The Darkening of Days, while baring the earliest hints of their capability shows they’re headed in the right direction should they aspire to set themselves apart as an individually creative as well as heavy force. The inventive heaviness of "Devilish," "Abandoned to Bleed," "Torn" and "Blissfully Damned" should attract the attention of people who have already heard and appreciate what Descend have achieved in the short time they’ve been together up to now.

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Bylectum Uderground Black Death Metal 'zine  #7

What an infernal CD!  "The Darkening Of Days" is the first self produced CD of the American Dark-Death-Thrash Horde named Soulless, already known in the underground metal movement thanks to a split 7" ep with Nunslaughter (US) in 1996.  The group proposes a combination of the hooks and angry vocals of  some of thrash mertal's early  bands like Kreator, Sodom, Carnivore, Slayer, with the blast beats and darkness of some of todays heaviest bands like, like In Flames, The Haunted, or Arch Enemy.   The result is an excellent form of Dark Death/Thrash metal.  The 10 songs enclosed in this professional CD sound cool and exalting too,  performed in a very original ear-blasting way.  But the ability of these  five men isn't limited only to the studio- recordings, 'cause I know that Soulless is also a great live- band, author of memorable Underground shows with acts such as malevolent Creation, Incantation, and Dark Moon, for example.  Tracks like "Devilish", "Abandoned to Bleed", or "Turn" really kick asses with their unique devastating sound-style: fast tempos, great screamed vocals and fantastic powerful Death Metal guitar riffs.  Of course Soulless won't follow any new trends, so "The Darkening of Days" results like a geniune opus of notable Death  fuckin' metal in the old way.  If you've appreciated works like  "Master Of All Evil" of Necrodeath, this other proposal will bewitch you!  The work comes with excellent recording and wrapping (an obscure booklet with lyrics and photos)  For underground sons exclusively!   Bylec-tum Mag, C/o Giancarlo Gelormini, V. Dante 200, 73016 S. Cessario (Le) Italy

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The  Underground
Issue  32 October 1, 2000 –December 1, 2000 253 College St., Suite 463, Toronto, Canada  M5T 1R5
Formed by former members of Cleveland, USA bands  Decrepit,  Bloodsick (who had split 7 in. with Nunslaughter) and Decimation, Soulless (not a Grave tribute band) has sent  in an older full length recorded two years ago.  The band is planning another release but this CD showcases an aggressive thrash metal with influences ranging from Slayer  to Atheist .   The vocals specially remind me of early Atheist  with their high shrieks and gargling attack.  The band does   veer to the technical occasionally (and would have been more so if the drums weren’t muffled). But overall this is a speed metal to which it  is fun to bang heads and listen.  Overall a very professional package from a band that has its act together.  The question that know is the market’s appetite for a thrash metal band that doesn’t appeal to low elements of society like Pantera.

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Fleshsalad

Number 3  9-23-200

Soulless “The Darkening of Days ” Awesome band! Intense and furious old school death / thrash metal in the way it should be done.  Although, this Ohio band may surely be quite unknown for you, it has ex-members of mythic bands as Decrepit and Schnauzer.  I  Don’t know the reason why this band has opted to release this effort by themselves but Soulless sounds 100 times better than the 90% of signed bands into the current scene!  Convincing sound production and more than convincing aggressive metal, reflected in high/angry locals, pulverizing sharp riffs and catchy drummer, always excellently supported by a strong melodic feeling, apocalyptic!  Hell Warriors this is truly evil metal!!
Fleshsalad C/o Juan Luis, P.O. Box 31, 08950 Esplugues De LL., Barcelona, Spain Fleshsalad@jazzfree.com

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I Hate You Motherfucker

Issue nine 1-01 This is definitely a lot better than I was expecting! These guys play 80’s thrash 90’s black metal style (at least that’s what my perception of it was) the vocals were definitely the stand out on this CD. High-end, throaty, very intense and demonic sounding! I bet his throat is sore as fuck after band practice! I can’t really place what he sounds like, but there’s definitely sofool e killer vocals on here. Musically, they’re like a cross between today’s black metal (Emperor, Cradle Of Filth) mixed with 80’s thrash/speed metal (Infernal Majesty, Powermad, Exodus, etc…) this is certainly a great CD and I hope to hear more from them in the future.

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Lamentation Zine # 12

This is the other band of some All That Is Evil members. They combine old style thrash elements with Swedish Death of the early 90’s, with the help of screechy vocals. While it’s not perfect it’s good for the most part. CD comes with simple but nice four page booklet. With a better sound this would be more impressive C/o Bechtal "Jedo" Ervin, H7187 Majos, VII. U. 22. ,  Hungary

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Rip & Tear # 7
Alex Ristic, 517-140 Elmridge Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M6B 1B1

No frills death metal is what soulless offers up, and this effort presents the band in a pretty good light. There’s not much to bitch about here, as material is pretty straightforward and is executed well considering the scope of the band; with the focus on easily accessible riffs and full on rhythmic pounding. The cross over factor here is the vocalist who utilizes a mid range screech not unlike some black metal screamers. With solid production for an indie, and plenty of evil lyrics, the only real complaint is in the sameness the of the music as the CD pushes forward, but the quality is there, as there’s more than one tune that may deliver you to an air drumming frenzy…at work. OK, I’ll stop now.    J.C.

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