Band: K.L.L.K.
Country: France
Title: Le brasier des mondes
Label: Caligari Records
Year: 2016
Style: Ambient Doom Black Metal
Review:
Not at all a new band on the scene, but it's the first time I meet KLLK and their music. This is the band's second EP, a 7 tracks work clocking almost 45 minutes, so in my books, although 3 of the tracks are some sort of Ambient interludes, this could easily fit as a full-length material, after all the interludes are 2, 3, even 4 minutes long... At first I was impressed by the quote from Mircea Eliade the band published on one of this Digipak's panels, so it was quite clear they try to immerse themselves into some major philosophic, meditative themes. And the music these Frenchmen built here is a good soundscape for such themes; I have to admit I wasn't captivated by it from the start, it took a couple of spins for me to get into this album, and by now I can say I understand its abrasiveness, rawness and depression. Don't expect a polished, clear sounding material, this EP sounds dusty, heavy, blunt, and even if I mentioned the Ambient part, expect some dark, menacing, creepy Ambient, not a soft, relaxing one. Not for the faint-hearted.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
kllk.bandcamp.com
caligarirecords.com
Band: KOLP
Country: Hungary
Title: Cured but not Healed
Label: Lost Horizon Productions
Year: 2017
Style: Black Metal
Review:
The two guys behind this project are also team-mates in the Black Metal band Veer and Death Metal band Purulent Rites, but since they still keep Kolp alive it seems working together "works" for them. This is the band's third album, released at a 5 years distance since the previous one; the new material features 7 tracks and clocks 35 minutes of Black Metal. From slow-paced to mid-tempo to fast rhythms this album has them all, and judged by that is a complex release, but unfortunately its abuse of repetitive constructions brings it down, demonstrates a lack of ideas. Yes, the atmospheres are important, but here we're dealing with all sorts of atmospheres, there's no particular path the band leads us, there are too many influences absorbed from everywhere (within the Black Metal territory only, though). It's not a bad material, don't get me wrong, but it's not impressive either. The good part of this album are the tormented vocals of Jim Jones, really powerful and expressive, with plenty of potential, then I'd also like to mention the somehow organic and rough production of this album I liked a lot, at first it sounds grainy and abrasive, but it quite fits the music. I would have liked the CD booklet to feature the lyrics, too, especially since they are in English, and track names like "Let the Pale Inside", "Being My Child" and "Decompose (till only Skin Remains)" sound interesting...
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
kolp.bandcamp.com
losthorizonprod.blogspot.hu
Band: LEAFLET
Country: Finland
Title: Outta Door
Label: V.R. Label
Year: 2017
Style: Modern Hard Rock
Review:
After 4 years of activity Finnish band Leaflet released their debut album, an 11 tracks effort clocking a bit over 45 minutes of playing time. Leaflet's music is that type of mix that could work just fine in underground clubs, mainstream festivals or even fancy private events, especially events hosted by motoclubs, is that sort of music that sounds inoffensive to the non-rocker but at the same time the right amount of Rock to be enjoyed by rockers and even metallers as it relies plenty on catchy guitar riffs. At the same time fans of Guns'n'Roses, Metallica, Helloween or Nickelback could enjoy this music, I have no doubt, so from this point of view their debut album hits the spot, and the professional production is a big help in this direction, too. Since we deal here with the more aggressive side of Metal I wouldn't know if such a band still has a chance to break through some sort of underground / mainstream barrier, but to me they sound fit and promising enough to make it.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
facebook.com/leafletband
vrlabel.fi
Band: LIGATURE WOUND
Country: Finland
Title: Undead of the Night
Label: Iron, Blood and Death Corporation
Year: 2016
Style: Death Metal
Review:
Finnish Death Metal one man band of Stockholm influence, that's how one could define Ligature Wound in a few words, although like in most cases Today, that's not exactly and utterly accurate as Kalmalehto, the man behind this project adds a few influences on top, too. This is its debut EP, a 6 tracks effort clocking almost 25 minutes, a material that impressed me at first through its organic, honest approach on production, although Ligature Wound is a one man band, it seems all instruments (hence including drums) were recorded live, in a studio, not on PC, and this approach perfectly compliments such a brute, meaty music. The EP is not groundbreaking or innovative in any way, but nonetheless it sounds so damn well, especially when Kalmalehto steps on the gas pedal and the fast rhythms sound like a cage, a cage where the listener is trapped and there's no way to escape, claustrophobic I'd like to call it. The music grows on you and by the end of this EP you're hooked, it's not about surprising the listener, but about delivering quality Death Metal for the listener to be proud of supporting this genre, and here I think where Ligature Wound's potential lies. Again, the fast parts kill, there's some more work to do on the mid-tempo side of things, but the debut is good!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
ligaturewound.bandcamp.com
ibdclabel666.bigcartel.com
Band: MEZCLA
Country: France
Title: Metalmorfosis
Label: M.U.S.I.C. Records
Year: 2016
Style: Flamenco Death Metal
Review:
Flamenco Death Metal, now this should turn some heads, at least it got my attention even before playing one bit of it, but there's another weird thing about Mezcla, the fact that they are actually French but their lyrics are in Spanish even from the beginning of the band, in 2002, I don't think I saw this before so from these points of view Mezcla seems to be a highly original band for the drought of originality we have nowadays. This is the band's second full-length album, a 9 tracks effort clocking 45 minutes that in my opinion are an old-school (think '90's) Progressive Death Metal with few insertions of acoustic guitar that could validate the Flamenco mention; not sure if the tracks are not actually based on Flamenco structures, on Flamenco guitar tabs turned Death Metal by the band, which, if that'd be the truth, would be a great and classy touch, but at a first sight (listen) they don't differ much from other bands. The compositions are indeed interesting, much more than simple Death Metal rhythms, and the overall impression is great, the band proves to be able to deliver good quality music more on a technical side than on brutality level. I like this album a lot, and although I had other expectations when reading about the Flamenco thing, I think Mezcla are actually a very good Progressive Death Metal outfit that deserves your attention.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
mezcla.fr
music-records.fr
Band: NAGAARUM
Country: Hungary
Title: D.I.M.
Label: Endless Winter / GS Productions / Outer Line
Year: 2016
Style: Experimental Black Metal
Review:
From my point of view Nagaarum is one of the most promising new names in Hungarian Black Metal, and I don't really like this type of bands/projects that release countless full-length albums in short time (for example Nagaarum has 14 albums released in less than 6 years...), I feel that this one man project has a tremendous potential. At the moment it seem the topics Nagaarum (both the band and its sole member are called Nagaarum) touches in it's lyrics are more related to science and space, I'd see its music more adapted to topics about the human psyche, mental illness, maybe even touching the proverbial Hungarian predisposition to suicide. The music is, indeed, quite chaotic and psychotic, even schizophrenic I'd say, the combination of Hungarian Folk-like vocals with desperate, raspy shrieks, on multiple layers of atmospheric / spacey keyboards and synths, and all this on a structure of Black Metal mixed with an obvious Death Metal influence, make from D.I.M. a scarry, deeply unpredictable monster, one that if you'll take your time to explore and absorb, it will prove to be highly rewarding. The album has a few weak points, too, but overall is a tremendous new display of sick, ugly, experimental and expressive Black Metal, try it yourselves.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
nagaarum.com
endless-winter.org
Band: PORTA DAEMONIUM
Country: Chile
Title: Serpent of Chaos
Label: Iron, Blood and Death Corporation
Year: 2016
Style: Death Metal
Review:
Founded in 1998 as Porta Salomoniis, here we have the band under the current moniker releasing their long-awaited (at least by them, I'm sure) debut album, an 8 tracks material just under half an hour long. I've played it four times already and I'm still impressed by the high level of intensity and brutality it emanates from start to finish, and although at first I have major doubts in what concerns the murky, stuffed, almost chaotic production, I now completely understand and agree that this is the best possible approach for such a demonic display of music brutality. The album will make you feel claustrophobic, like you're stuck in hell enduring its torments, it sounds like a wall of demonic creatures constantly attacking you. I'd say only South Americans can come out with this type of sound, but I'd be unfair with the others, so I prefer to say that South Americans really have a calling for such bestial music, they know how to make it and how to deliver it, and this debut album from Porta Daemonium is a perfect proof. Despite the muddy sound one can easily follw the catchy guitar riffs, enjoy the massive brutality of the frantic drumming, and be amazed of the inhuman growls and screams that lead one of the most brutal Death Metal material I've heard this year. Only for the innitiated!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
portadaemonium666.bandcamp.com
ibdclabel666.bigcartel.com
Band: RAZZMATTAZZ
Country: Germany
Title: Diggin' for Gold
Label: Good Night Music Records
Year: 2016
Style: Hard'n'Heavy
Review:
First time I meet this band's music and it's a damn fine surprise for sure. Mixing Hard Rock, NWOBHM, and Rock'n'Roll into a contagious, highly entertaining musical pot, Razzmattazz manage to deliver here 12 new tracks that, as the album title suggests, are digging for gold and from a certain point of view are finding it. Just imagine a mix of AC/DC, ZZ Top and Accept, but delivered with an own identity, with a tremendous ease making you imagine these guys are actually playing their music in a striptease bar while enjoying some fine whisky with pretty ladies all around them. The music sounds so natural, laid back at time and highly energetic and engaging at other, that it's no wonder how come Razzmattazz has won several awards in Germany lately. Great album, great band, great discovery (for me)!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 10/10
Contact:
razzmattazz.com
Band: SARGATHANAS
Country: Mexico
Title: The Enlightenment
Label: Old Temple
Year: 2017 (re-release)
Style: Death Metal
Review:
Re-release of Sargathanas' debut full-length album, I guess exactly as it was firstly released by Conquistador Records back in 1999, with no changes at all. Sargatanas were old-school even then, as this debut effort sounds like recorded in the end of the '80's, and to me it sounds like a mix of early Sepultura, Obituary and even Morbid Angel; slow paced to mid-tempo rhythms led by filthy guitar riffs and occasional cavernous solos, are mixed together with fast and maybe even dirtier rhythms guided by unrelenting, furious, organic sounding drumming, and all this sided by a hoarse, almost growling vocal. The atmospheres offered here are spot on horrifying, in tone with the band's image and artwork for this album, it's nothing spectacular or original, but it's one of those ugly, blasphemous, visceral albums you'll certainly enjoy if you're into the beginnings of this genre. The band is still active after 30 years of activity and hopefully this re-release only prefaces a new full-length album.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
sargatanas.com.mx
oldtemple.com
Band: SEKTARISM
Country: France
Title: La mort de l'infidele
Label: Zanjeer Zani Productions
Year: 2017
Style: Funeral Doom Metal
Review:
Although trying Death and Black Metal territories (under the Malekhamoves and Malhkebre monikers), the members of Sektarism are still determined to follow the experimental Funeral Doom path, and the new album (only their second although the band is alive since 2005) is a proof for that. The three tracks featured here are clocking more than a full hour of disturbing, simplistic, yet highly expressive music, one that painted a full action in my mind: it made me think of a middle-ages troubadour who finds out he has a terminal illness and then begins to express his despair and hate through music. The lyrics actually seem to talk about esoteric, occult things, but still not far away from the middle ages. The music is deeply experimental and theatrical, but to tell you the truth it's quite tough to get into, I guess you have to imagine your own "movie" and develop it along the way, with Sektarism's music as soundtrack and their vocalist as narrator (even if you don't know French, like me). Don't expect anything headbanging-friendly here, this is aiming completely at the spiritual side of things although it is Metal after all. I have the digipak version here, which unfolded is shaped like a cross, a yellow cross, with all sort of symbols and writings worth discovering.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
sektarism.bandcamp.com
zanjeerzaniproductions.com
Band: SILVER DUST
Country: France
Title: The Age of Decadence
Label: Fastball Music / Escudero Records
Year: 2017
Style: Modern Heavy Rock
Review:
Second album from this French band founded back in 2013, The Age of Decadence was first released by Escudero Records in 2016 and now it gets re-released under Fastball Music for a better, bigger distribution, and after the audition I can clearly say it fully deserves good exposure, it's well worth it. Silver Dust are mixing all sort of modern influences from plain Rock to Heavy Metal, to Groove Metal, all these with some Ethnic (oriental) elements thrown in here and there to spice things up. I'm impressed by their ability to always reach an almost-hit level with their tracks, but unfortunately none are actually doing it. It's a good album, highly entertaining, complex and expressive, with lots of heavy, emotional parts beside some other highly energetic and involving. A very good album ending with a beautiful almost-ballad track to make it complete; although I'm not a fan of the genre I'd say this is an almost-perfect album, you should try it out if the border between Rock and Metal is your thing.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
silver-dust.net
escudero-records.com
fastball-music.de
Band: STONE SHIP
Country: Finland
Title: The Eye
Label: Feuer Publications
Year: 2016 (re-release)
Style: Doom Metal
Review:
Debut album released 10 years after the band's formation, on tape format, limited edition, The Eye seems to have caught the attention of Feuer Publications which re-released in a year after, in Digipak CD format (also making its debut as a label this way), the one I have here, one that looks fit for a Doom Metal release: mysterious, dark, monumental. The music itself is traditional Doom Metal a la Black Sabbath / Pentagram, complete with heavy, upfront bass lines, clean vocals with occasional Heavy Metal screams (not enough in my opinion), an inventive, energetic drumming, and all this led by a good level and volume of guitar riffs. Like all Doom releases this one takes its time to settle to your mind, too, at least for me it didn't work right from the start, but once it progresses it presents you loads of interesting ideas and little elements that make it catchy. Good album.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
stoneship.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/feuerpublications
Band: TRAUMER
Country: Brazil
Title: The Great Metal Storm
Label: FastBall Music
Year: 2017 (re-release)
Style: Melodic Power Metal
Review:
I've recently reviewed this band's latest album, the 2016 Avalon, one that seems to have had an impact on FastBall Music since they've decided to re-release the band's debut originally out in 2014 on Peruvian Total Steel. This debut album is an hour long effort featuring the original 11 tracks, plus 2 bonus ones, acoustic versions of two of them. The music is the same Melodic Power Metal with excellent guitar work and excellent vocal parts, and it all sounds damn professional and solid, the only problem in my opinion would be the length of the songs, after a while the album becomes a bit tiresome and one starts to expect some more surprises, something to acoid monotony; don't get me wrong, the compositions are at a super-level, euqal to what Germans and Italians did in this genre, but I feel if the tracks would have been a bit shorter the whole would have been catchier. Anyway, a great debut album by a young Brazilian band that displays tremendous potential, so if you're into Melodic / Symphonic Power and Heavy Metal you should definitely check out this or the latest album from Traumer.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
traumer.com.br
fastball-music.com
Band: WHEN ICARUS FALLS
Country: Switzerland
Title: Resilience
Label: Czar of Crickets
Year: 2017
Style: Post Rock
Review:
I was not familiar with this band or its music before receiving this CD, but it seems they were formed a decade ago and already released 3 full-length albums before this one, so they must have gathered a solid following in the meantime, they were and still are conscious and tenacious enough to come up with new material every few years, promoted by tours even in China... It seems this fourth opus marks a serious shift in the band's trajectory since they basically renounced their Metal roots and focused on creating Post Rock soundscapes exclussively. There are only 5 tracks featured here but the total duration of this disc is more than 40 minutes, a music that will lead you to and through a meditative, enchanting state distrurbed only rarely by the sharp sound of the drums, but even the vocals, although almost screamed, are mixed so well in the whole that one will "treat" them like another instrument rather than giving them the leading role. Everything here seems to be conceived in order to offer your mind a confort zone, to capture your attention in its nets and keep it captive until the end. I actually felt fantastic tasting this piece of art, a really, really good experience I hope you'll give a chance to, as well, I'm not an expert in this genre, hence I won't even try to descrbe it as I usually do, but this album took me places I'll definitely visit again every now and then.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
whenicarusfalls.com
czarofcrickets.com
Band: Various Artists
Country: Various
Title: Compendium 1 - A Metal Quintessence
Label: Music Records
Year: 2016
Style: Metal
Review:
Compilation CD released in order to celebrate dthe first year of activity for the French label Music Records, as well as the bands they signed and worked with throughout this first year. There are less and less such compilations on the market nowadays, so I find this as a good initiative, it allows the listener to find new bands even outside the internet (yes, that's possible!). Here are a few words on each band featured:
From Hell - they say they are playing Modern Metal, but honestly they sound like a mix of '90's Thrash Metal and '00's Groove Metal, so not too modern for my ears... But still tight and catchy, no complaints about that
Mezcla - had to wait till the end of the track to listen to their Flamenco influence, but I hope they have more of it in their other tracks; Flamenco Death Metal, quite technical, interesting, with excellent guitar leads and and overall professional attitude, a band to keep an eye on
Black Sick - not my type of music, Heavy Rock highlighted by really minimal guitar riffs and a heavily Grunge influenced vocalist, maybe it would have better luck with some of you, I'll have to skip
Motor Rise - a mix of Rock'n'Roll and Hard Rock played on high speed, perfect for moto meetings, but nothing new or nothing you haven't heard before
Over Nemesis - apparently this was a band that heavily influenced Music Records' owner in his teens, but I couldn't find any info on it on the net; I'd say this is some sort of Grunge mixed with Groove Metal, not Sludge Metal as presented, but I can see the band influencing a teen, they are simple enough and at the same time unpredictable
Blackout - such an original name, isn't it? Metal band mixing anything and everything you can think of in this genre in terms of influences, but quite tight and catchy; not bad at all
Implied - this is a band made of two Blackout former members, they chose a Groove Thrash Metal path; not a bad start but hopefully next time they'll choose a less stuffy production
Psychoid - energetic '80's influenced Thrash Metal with thin production but an interesting vocalist that has potential to bring the band to memorable territories; I'd like to hear more from this band
No More Excuses - again not something I'm into that much, Metalcore with a thin, I guess live, sound, I couldn't say if the composition has any value or not, it's just not my type
Moskowa - interesting, intricate drumming on this band, the vocal approach is also interesting, but unfortunately the sound could have been fatter, Death Metal demands a fat, full sound, not what we get here; the band seems interesting though
Thanks to Music Records for presenting their bands, my personal fave from this bunch is by far Mezcla, but there's potential in other bands, too.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
music-records.fr