AK-11 / Aasgard - Unto Heretic Flames
Akroma - Apocalypse (Requiem)
Aksaya - Kepler
An Erotc End of Times - Chapter One
Antichrist - Sinful Birth
Au-Dessus - End of Chapter
Autumn Grave - Forsaken by the Gods
Baile Y Borrachera - Sur Maldito
Black Ceremoniac Kult / Genocide Beast - Demo XXIV / Demo XXV
Bloodgod - Catharsis
Bloodshed Walhalla - Thor
Burnt / Astarium / Scolopendra Cingulata - Gnosis of Death
Creatures - Le Noir Village
Critical Solution - Barbara the Witch
Cryptic Realms - Enraptured by Horror
Dawnpatrol - The Dawn of Steel
Evilforces - Pest Plagues & Evil Storms
Freakings - Toxic End
From The Shores - Of Apathy
Grand Head - Grand Head
Hellwaffe - Peace Offering
Hesperion - Who alive...
Humanity Delete - Fuck Forever Off
In Articulo Mortis - Testament
Infidel - III
K.L.L.K. - Le brasier des mondes
Kolp - Cured but not Healed
Leaflet - Outta Door
Ligature Wound - Undead of the Night
Mezcla - Metalmorfosis
Nagaarum - D.I.M.
Porta Daemonium - Serpent of Chaos
Razzmattazz - Diggin' for Gold
Sargathanas - The Enlightenment
Sektarism - La mort de l'infidele
Silver Dust - The Age of Decadence
Stone Ship - The Eye
Traumer - The Great Metal Storm
When Icarus Falls - Resilience
Various Artists - Compendium 1 - A Metal Quintessence
Band: AK-11 / AASGARD
Country: Australia / Greece
Title: Unto Heretic Flames
Label: Frozen Blood Industries
Year: 2017
Style: Black Metal / Black Metal
Review:
Opening this split are AK-11, a band that's been visiting our pages from time to time, an Australian act started in 2011 as a solo project and soon after became a full line-up band, a quartet at this moment. AK-11 kept the same path since its inception, meaning fast paced, traditional, hateful Black Metal of Scandinavian inspiration, with the benefit of a solid, crystal clear and yet organic production on this recording, too. The compositions are good but don't stand out with anything, there's nothing to set the band apart from the rest, so in my opinion this split should have featured the lyrics printed, too, they would have probably given more maning and depth to the tracks.
Next are a duo from Greece, Aasgard, a band that has been active for more than a decade andalready released 3 studio albums. Their 4 tracks here have a murkier, stuffed sound, reminding me of the '90's Black and Death Metal demo tapes, it's a pretty big difference from what AK-11 offers here. The compositions, although still Black Metal, are way different, starting with the uncomprehensive vocals in the background (sounding somehow industrial-like), supported all the time by moans and screams of torment, and ending with the much more repetitive arrangements.
A cool split offering two totally different ways to approach traditional Black Metal, I wish the booklet would have had the lyrics though.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10 6.5/10
Contact:
ak11.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/aasgard.gr
facebook.com/frozenbloodindustries
Band: AKROMA
Country: France
Title: Apocalypse (Requiem)
Label: Fantai'Zic Productions
Year: 2017
Style: Symphonic Progressive Black Metal
Review:
I'm a former vocalist, yet that's just one of the reasons I consider this position as being the most important in most bands out there, and that's also why I'm always more critical towards the vocal part of a release, and in Akroma's case I wouldn't say I'm satisfied at all, I consider both the screams and growling vocals as being below par although I have to say they are not annoying either; the screams are too childish, imature sounding, and the growls sound quite forced. And yet I still found two aspects of the vocal part of this album as good: the female vocals that pop up here and there offering a professional, quality influence to the whole, and the clea, shouted male vocals, both are top notch. Now about the instrumental part of this third album from Akroma I'd say it's rather interesting and although end of '90's sounding, the progressive twist to this Symphonic Black Metal sounds intricate and well-thought, especially on the last track, which I find to be the best and hopefully the one that gives a hint on the band's upcoming material, too. All in all I'd say the material is pretty successful, give it a try and make your own mind on the vocal part, ignore my personal taste.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
akroma.bandcamp.com
fantaizic.fr
Band: AKSAYA
Country: France
Title: Kepler
Label: Satanath / More Hate / The Ritual
Year: 2016
Style: Black Death Metal
Review:
Aksaya's second full-length album comes only 1 year after the release of their debut opus, and here we get 8 new tracks clocking almost 40 minutes of playing time. I have to be honest and admit that at first I was a bit disapointed because the cover and booklet artwork suggested something and the music delivered something totally different, namely I was expecting something futuristic, with loads of sci-fi, synth-based, avantgarde elements, but Aksaya's music on this new album is actually quite direct and unpolished I'd say, an aggressive Black Metal with Death Metal influences; primitive would be too harsh a word for this, but compared to what I was expecting when browsing the booklet what I got to listen is totally primitive and way more brutal than expected. Then I got over my first impression and actually discovered a tight but still aired material, well structured, open to slight influences from other "non-metal" styles, too, made by a band that seems to take all its time to build something different, and after a few spins I tend to believe with this album Aksaya started to build something of their own, to build an own road and identity and this is very exciting. All in all I have deeply enjoyed the album and recommend it to you, too; and once again kids, don't judge a book by its cover like I often do.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
facebook.com/aksayaofficial
satanath.com
Band: AN EROTIC END OF TIMES
Country: France
Title: Chapter One
Label: Les Disques Rubicon / Echozone
Year: 2017
Style: Industrial Gothic Rock
Review:
Apart the intriguing band name, I'm glad there's more about this French duo, and here I mean I found their music very interesting as well. Chapter One is obviously their debut album, 8 tracks in almost 40 minutes, a mix between Industrial and Gothic Rock/Metal, following a The Fields Of The Nephilim / Sisters Of Mercy path, maybe a bit more sombre with the addition of some Metal elements but also because of the use of a heavy and very upfront bass line that weights hard on the general outcome. But still, although it's dark and pretty oppressive spiritually, this album could be better fit in a Gothic Rock territory as it cannot be considered aggressive at all, far from that, it's actually quite dreamy and, why not, erotic. The production is ok but sometimes, especially on the few Metal parts, it becomes chaotic and not as clear as one would like. And another complaint of mine would be in regards to the lyrics: being in English I guess the author didn't succeed in expressing himself too well as they seem too minimal and even unclear, maybe a switch to French would do them well...
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
facebook.com/pg/aneroticendoftimes
lesdisquesrubicon.bandcamp.com
echozone.de
Band: ANTICHRIST
Country: Sweden
Title: Sinful Birth
Label: I Hate Records
Year: 2017
Style: Thrash Metal
Review:
The second full-length album from Swedish Antichrist sees the light of the day 6 years after their highly acclaimed debut, quite a long distance between albums for a Thrash Metal band. Having produced such an impressive debut at that time placed Antichrist in an unconfortable position of high expectance from the public in regards to their next release, and I guess that had an impact on how much they spent on creating and finishing the new offering. The new material is made of 9 tracks and clocks 45 minutes of fast and brutal retro Thrash Metal highlighted by hoarse vocals, catchy riffs seconded at times by fast and furious solos, and an organic, clear rhythm section that will please the fans of analog sound for sure. There are two tracks that kind of made it for me, The Black Pharaoh, a combination of the band's speedy and uncompromising brew of Thrash Metal with an epic, almost King Diamond-like atmospheric guitar lead, and the instrumental Chernobyl 1986, an excellent mid-tempo to fast paced soundtrack for the silent death that went on in that and the following years in and around Chernobyl, I'm curious how they've decided to cover such a topic and what's the story behind this track. All in all the new album sounds great, I doubt their fans will be disapointed.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
facebook.com/antichristsweden
ihate.se
Band: AU-DESSUS
Country: Lithuania
Title: End of Chapter
Label: Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions
Year: 2017
Style: Post Black Metal
Review:
I have to confess I started listening to this album with a serious prejudice and even adversity towards this band for the simple fact they used an underage kid for their artwork and I came to really hate this practice lately, even if it's used for art purposes, but this is just my opinion, I'll try not to affect my judgement on their music. Au-Dessus are a new band, spawned in 2014, and after a self-titled EP a year later they managed to get the attention and sign with French based Les Acteurs de l'Ombre, hence this first fruit of their collaboration. End of Chapter is made of 7 tracks (that odd enough start with track VI and end with track XII, like a continuation of their debut EP) and clocks a bit over 45 minutes of mid-tempo to fast paced Post Black Metal, oppressive as hell, atmospheric, built on a layer of good guitar riffs, complex and intense drumming and solid bass lines, and led by an almost Metalcore sounding vocalist that at times becomes extremely visceral and steals all the attention. The music grows in intensity and catchiness so that at the end of the album you can easily say you're hooked and will start playing it again, so all in all I can say these guys proved me wrong, although they look like the class' geeks they manage to produce some damn furious and intense piece of Black Metal art that will make its mark.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9.5/10
Contact:
facebook.com/audessusabove
lesacteursdelombre.net
Band: AUTUMN GRAVE
Country: USA
Title: Forsaken by the Gods
Label: Independent
Year: 2016
Style: Black Metal
Review:
For my shame and regret I have misplaced this tape and only found it now, after a few months since I received it, so my apologies are due to Troy, the guy behind this one man project.
Autumn Grave was started at the begining of 2008 and it took 6 years for the debut demo to be released; this is the followup, a 5 tracks EP independently released in 2016 on tape format. The music on it reminds me of the first attempts at introducing Epic influences in Black Metal back in the '90's, meaning slow to mid-tempo rhythms highlighted by heroic-like harmonies on guitars, not sure if this makes any sense. The production is pretty raw and it's clear Troy recorded at home, with computerized drums, but this only enhances that nostalgic '90's initial feeling. The bad part is that the compositions are a bit too simplistic for this day and age, and this EP will most likely remain unnoticed, but it's another step in this project process of probably defining its own path; there's a lot more work to do here. In the meantime Autumn Grave released a new EP this year, check both of them out and make your own opinion on Troy's progress. A notable fact about this EP is that instead of an Intro or an Outro, it features a Midtro... first time I see this practice.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10
Contact:
autumngrave.bandcamp.com
Band: BAILE Y BORRACHERA
Country: Chile
Title: Sur Maldito
Label: Independent
Year: 2017
Style: Experimental Folk Rock Metal
Review:
The only info on this one man project I have is what I could find on the Metal Archives website, that it was started in 2006 as an Avantgarde Black Metal output and released a demo one year later, but now I received what seems to be afull-length, an 8 tracks effort clocking almost 50 minutes of playing time. The band distanced itself quite a lot from Black Metal but the Avantgarde / Experimental side of it is certainly still there as now it mixes a wide, wide range of influences from Rock, to Metal, to Extreme Metal, to Flamenco, to Latin acoustic guitar music, to '80's Sci-Fi Synth music, all of this thrown inthere into a rather relaxing, easily flowing final result that manages to catch your attention and turn it into contamplation and dreaming with open eyes. All in all the artist, Pillanche, moves on a wide territory and if at first sight (listen) this album might seem rough and unpolished, and although it is impossible to pinpoint to a single or main genre, it definitely has its own charm.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
baileyborrachera.bandcamp.com
Band: BLACK CEREMONIAL KULT / GENOCIDE BEAST
Country: Chile / USA
Title: Demo XXIV / Demo XXV
Label: Old Temple
Year: 2016
Style: Black Death Metal
Review:
It's quite easy to figure out info on this release: split between two bestial Metal bands, in both cases now we're dealing with Black Death Metal, each band featured with a demo, from 2014 in BCK's case and a year later in GB's case, and if you look at the cover artwork you'll get we're not dealing with the most Christ-lover bands out there.
Opening the atrocities are Black Ceremonial Kult, an ensemble that has been around since 2014, and we get here their debut demo from the same year, 9 tracks of violent, rough, barbaric and definitely chaotic Black Death Metal with demonic growls and screams all over the place. Unfortunately the raw sound quality made it almost impossible for me to enjoy it, I found no real artistic value in their music although I can appreciate the absolute devastation intensity and brutality, but especially nowadays when War Metal is so popular I think one can find better such Extreme Metal to enjoy. No offense, I'm sure they'll have their cohorts of fans, but I think you have to come up with something other than good movie cuts and musical brutality to impress nowadays.
Genocide Beast's demo is from 2015 and so far the one and only official material for this US based duo. 5 short tracks (around 2 minutes each) plus an intro that sounds like a soundtrack for the end of the World, the same Black Death Metal, maybe with a heavier, more oppressive side also because of the growling-only vocals. Although offering the same amount of diversity, almost none that is, Genocide Beast is a bit less chaotic and manages to get their brutality across in a better, more direct fashion, and to me they sounded better than the Chilean demons. Hopefully they'll add more technical stuff on their next releases.
A sick split for maniacs into Bestial Metal, War Metal, Black Death Metal, or whatever you want to call it, you get the idea.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 5.5/10 6.5/10
Contact:
blackceremonialkult.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/genocidebeast
oldtemple.com
Band: BLOODGOD
Country: Holland
Title: Catharsis
Label: Independent
Year: 2017
Style: Death Metal
Review:
Holland has a serious history of memorable Death Metal vocalists, and it seems this new Utrecht based outfit are in to give a memorable display of vocal tones to whomever dares to listen. But the difference is all three of them have their own input on the vocal part, two of them are taking care of the growls and screams, and the third of the spoken parts, which is pretty cool, it makes this second EP of their something interesting and out of the ordinary. The music could be described as massive sounding modern Death Metal with plenty of groove and progressive elements thrown in all over the place. My other fave part on this release is the fact that they have included a short description for each track's lyrics which makes it easier for the listener to understand and who knows, even identify oneself with them. The compositions are pretty simple in order to become semi-memorable, yet they offer a lot to chew on for fans of a more technical approach. I don't like the cover artwork that much, I think it could have been more expressive, more enticing, but apart from that I have enjoyed this new EP from Bloodgod.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
bloodgod.nl
Band: BLOODSHED WALHALLA
Country: Italy
Title: Thor
Label: FOG Foundation
Year: 2017
Style: Viking Metal
Review:
5 years distance from its previous full-length effort, the Italian one man band Bloodshed Walhalla returns with its third studio album made of 8 long tracks totaling a bit over 70 minutes of playing time. The Bathory and Falkenbach influences are obvious, and I would also add a bit of Amorphis here and there, so it's clear what to expect from this new album, with the mention that the tracks are mostly based on mid-tempo structures, with little to none fast and aggressive parts, and this goes for the vocals as well, which although raspy, are not aggressive at all, and if we add the epic male choirs here and there it makes this album pretty light for the ones of you (me included) who also expect some Black Metal inspired damage from this type of releases. The guitar work level is good enough to keep things interesting, and the keyboards layers are expressive and help create this viking-like atmosphere, but again, if you're looking for something extreme or aggressive you should look elsewhere. I'm sure this will get its fair share of attention, I have no doubt about it, it's a well done album, carefully crafted, professionally delivered, a solid display from Bloodshed Walhalla.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
facebook.com/BloodshedWalhallaOfficial
fogfoundation.com
Band: BURNT / ASTARIUM / SCOLOPENDRA CINGULATA
Country: Russia / Russia / Kazakhstan
Title: Gnosis of Death
Label: Narcoleptica Productions
Year: 2016
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Three way split from the East, offering a debut (Burnt), a new (almost periodical now) meeting (Astarium), and a band with a funny moniker (no matter what it means).
Let's start with the first, Burnt, a one man band from Russia that doesn't offer us much on this debut release, 5 tracks of intense and aggressive Black Metal with generic (to say the most) repetitive guitar riffs, a screaming vocal that makes no sense, and an annoying drum-machine. The only good things I found were the guitar leads on the 4th track and the semi-acoustic outro of the third track, the brutal part is way too unexpressive and has nothing to be remembered by, sorry.
Astarium is a usual name here, the one man project of SiN, who is prefacing with this split the release of his sixth album, already out this year. Symphonic and a bit depressive Black Metal led by the same synthetic keyboards that sound like guitars which by now I have to admit are the project's trademark. I have always admired SiN's capacity to come up with good compositions, and this time is no different, but I've always had a problem with the way he choses to express these compositions, so synthetically, I gues forced by the lack of suitable musicians. The lyrics on these 4 tracks are taken from Edgar Allan Poe's poems, too bad they are not listed in the booklet. If you can get over the computer game sound type you'll discover some interesting, fantasy-like soundscapes by Astarium.
The last three tracks are offered by the strangely named Scolopendra Cingulata (named after the centipede with the same name), a young sextet from Kazakhstan, that reminds me of the Melodic, Symphonic Black Metal bands of the end '90's - beginning of the '00's although in this case we have a much more brutal and direct approach, a fast paced Black Metal based on a layer of generic guitar riffs, upfront bass lines, unrelenting drums and an upfront lead guitar that does a good job on both leads and solos. Their compositions are too repetitive and even minimal (refer to the second track) for my taste, but I consider this a start and would like to hear more from them. It's strange also that the keyboards are (almost) nowhere to be found on the first 2 tracks, but the ending track is a keboard-only composition, I hope they'll start working more as a band on future releases.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 4/10 7/10 6/10
Contact:
astarium.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/ScolopendraCingulataKZ
narcolepticaprod.bandcamp.com
Band: CREATURES
Country: France
Title: Le Noir Village
Label: Antiq Records
Year: 2016
Style: Experimental Black Metal
Review:
The debut album from Creatures, one man band from Angers, is a 4 years composition work and another 3 years of production work, so we're dealing here with a long-awaited material. It is probably the first time I listen/read a Black Metal opera, where each character is enacted by a different individual; Sparda, the man behind Creatures, has a lot of guest musicians on the album. From this point of view Le Noir Village is a real work of art, Black Metal art if you will, it depicts the story of a middle-ages village attacked by all sorts of malefic creatures. The album has to be listened to with the lyrics in front of you, and why not, with the booklet that also features some original artwork in close connection with the topics portrayed. Since Pensees Nocturne's debut album I think this is the most expressive concept album coming out of France lately. The production is raw and unpolished and this will make the album hard to get into by a large part of the audience, but the compositions are well worth a deeper exploration, I'm sure the real fans of this genre will be more than impressed by it. If you decide to give it a try make sure you listen to it in full and with the lyrics in front of you, otherwise don't do it at all. This is one of those albums after a few years you'll be proud of having in your collection.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9.5/10
Contact:
creaturesfr.bandcamp.com
antiqrecords.com
Band: CRITICAL SOLUTION
Country: Norway
Title: Barbara the Witch
Label: Crime Records
Year: 2017
Style: Heavy Thrash Metal
Review:
In this day and age, with the low level of CD sales, I find it a real courage to release a double CD material like Critical Solution together with Crime Records did here, and this especially since on a CD there's the actual album, and the second one is a collection of covers played by the band; or maybe that's exactly the catch, offering something more to the buyer, an attractive package to present the new album as... well, only they know. As I said, the first CD is the actual album, the band's third to date, made of 12 tracks and clocking a bit over 50 minutes of playing time. The music is somewhere in between Heavy and Thrash Metal borrowing elements from both genres, and fine balancing between aggressive parts and soft, semi-acoustic parts, but with a final result that gravitates more around the Thrash Metal field, of course, to go hand in hand with the topics of the album surrounding the life, death and after-life of Barbara the witch. Beside the flawless and very juicy composition and interpretation, the captivating and well-served lyrical concept, Barbara the Witch benefits of the guest appearance of several other musicians as the legendary Arthur Brown, Andy LaRocque (king Diamond), Snowy Shaw (Mercyful Fate) or Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe)! The third album sets Critical Solution among Norway's most serious exports of the genre and displays the band's full potential, a not to miss release.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 10/10
Contact:
facebook.com/CriticalSolution
crimerecords.no
Band: CRYPTIC REALMS
Country: International
Title: Enraptured by Horror
Label: Iron, Blood and Death Corporation
Year: 2016
Style: Death Metal
Review:
After a successful and impressive demo in 2015, the year they were formed as a band, International outfit Cryptic Realms returned a year later with their debut full-length, an 8 tracks monster clocking 35 minutes of playing time. If you're into retro Death Metal you've probably stumbled upon this band before as they had a decent coverage for the first demo and the following split with the Spanish Astigarraga Thrower, or at least I've seen the name a lot over the past couple of years, so I guess this album comes as quite expected and at the same time with high expectations, too. The music follows the same path as the previous releases, a Massacre / Obituary influenced mid-tempo Death Metal. Unfortunately for me, although I admit the tracks are cool, the vocals are at the same level as before, and the guitar part is as delicious as it was, I feel like something's missing, I feel the band didn't progress at all; maybe the stuffed production and the synthetic drum machine has something to do with my impression, but all in all I was expecting something more from Cryptic Realms. The band is still one of the best followers of the above mentioned monsters, so in that aspect I recommend you to give them a listen, but again, I somehow wanted more from this debut album.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
crypticrealms.bandcamp.com
ibdclabel666.bigcartel.com
Band: DAWNPATROL
Country: France
Title: The Dawn of Steel
Label: Nuclearmageddon Records
Year: 2017
Style: Thrash Metal
Review:
Oh man, this is a huge disapointment, at least for me... everything, the band name, the kick-ass cover artwork, the tough look of the band's members and the long, interesting lyrics listed in the booklet pointed towards a serious band that will blow my socks off, but after a first track which I thought is thrown in just for fun, to be different, the rest kept in the same manner meaning extremely minimal (not to say primitive) guitar riffs and drumming, repetitive and never surprising, with tons of unnecessary rhythm breaks and a vocal that has no charisma, no versatility and no identity whatsoever, basically a band that sounds like they just started a couple of weeks ago... I had to wait til the 7th track, Station 211, to listen to something acceptable, a furious, even brutal track that sounds close to what the band claims they play: post nuclear thrash metal, but this just to start again in the same key from track 8. Sorry but this is just not something I'd like to listen again in the future, well, except as I said, Station 211, which I'm actually listening again now and I have to admit is definitely the best on the album, hope they'll take it as a future route, too.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 4/10
Contact:
dawnpatrol33.blogspot.fr
nuclearmageddon.blogspot.fr
Band: EVILFORCES
Country: Mexico
Title: Pest Plagues & Evil Storms
Label: Symbol of Domination / More Hate
Year: 2016
Style: Black Metal
Review:
One man band from Mexico recently turned into a full line-up (or something like it), but that released this debut album as a solo act, one that by the looks of Pazuzuh (the guy behind it) made me think Gaahl moved to Mexico and started a whole new live over there, that's how much he looks like the Norwegian icon. Now about the album I can easily say this is one of the best surprises coming out of Mexico lately, a studio effort that offers it all to the listener, from fierce traditional Black Metal of Norwegian inspiration to vicious Thrash Black Metal, to a kind of Viking Pagan Black Metal thing, to a terribly horrifying cinematic Ambient, to a Depressive Black Metal of recent inspiration. But it all sounds curdled, and the serpent-like vocals and their recording type (loads of echoes) do much in this direction, they manage to keep things tight and somehow give an own identity to the whole, and here I also have to mention the fantastic drumming, dense and leading from start to finish. All in all we're dealing here with a complete album, close to perfection in my opinion, so I also recommend it to you too!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9.5/10
Contact:
facebook.com/evilforcesofficial
satanath.com/sodp
morehate.com
Band: FREAKINGS
Country: Switzerland
Title: Toxic End
Label: Independent
Year: 2017
Style: Thrash Metal
Review:
Ok, I've been listening to this material for the past 2-3 hours and I have to say that even if it's not a surprising, original piece of Metal, it's definitely a catchy, entertaining and well executed one. With Toxic End, Freakings reached their third full-length material in 9 years of existence, an 11 tracks effort lasting for more than 35 minutes, a fast paced, highly energetic, expressive traditional Thrash Metal complete with super-sonic guitar riffs, chaotic (on the surface) yet well-defined solos, a solid bass line that pops up in front at times, and a punk-influenced unrelenting drums part that sound quite organic I might add. Traditional Thrashers will probably enjoy this piece of punishment even if it brings nothing new to the table.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
facebook.com/freaKings
Band: FROM THE SHORES
Country: Italy
Title: Of Apathy
Label: Metal Scrap Records
Year: 2016
Style: Modern Death Metal
Review:
Debut album from this band founded back in 2008, not a prolifc band I'd say, because they have only a Single and an EP released prior to this debut, but at least these 10 tracks are new and not published before. From the Shores are playing some sort of Modern Death Metal with Heavy Metal influenced guitar riffs, a few melodic leads here and there, a Metalcore-like speed and energy (and look, for that matter), and at times an almost Death Grind punch, all fronted by a manly, pissed off vocalist that spits out anger from the start till the end. Not original stuff, but still impressive through its vitality, variety of the guitar work, intensity of the drums section, and as said before, by the kick-ass vocals of Luca Cassone (well, the production also has a solid word in this since it's mixed that way to fully benefit from the vocal potential). I'm pretty much sure this has chances to appeal to both old-school and newer Death Metal fans at the same time.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
facebook.com/fromtheshores
metalscraprecords.com
Band: GRAND HEAD
Country: USA
Title: Grand Head
Label: Gorbie International Records
Year: 2016
Style: Hardcore Doom Metal
Review:
If one would have told me about a band playing Hardcore Doom Metal, I wouldn't know what to expect or even if he's serious about this, but here is the proof such a combination exists, a duo of brothersfrom Portland combining the grooves, the energy and the vocals of Hardcore with the heaviness and mystery of Doom Metal. Although we're dealing with only a guitarist and a drummer it all sounds so natural and well adapted to the situation, and the atmosphere these two guys managed to create are spot-on expressive, like a European thriller movie soundtrack if you will. Of course it's not music for everyone, but if you enjoy the above mentioned genres or even a darker, heavier Punk, this might just make your day. I've spined this album a lot of times already and always find it a perfect escape from the overproduced, overpolished, synthetic releases of our current days, who knows, it might do the trick for you, too. As a last note I don't like the cover artwork at all, but I admit it catches the eye, but if seen in a record store I would have avoided this vinyl; give it a listen on Bandcamp and make you own opinion.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
gorbieinternationalrecords.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/GRAND-HEAD-507786209364589
Band: HELLWAFFE
Country: USA
Title: Peace Offering
Label: Hell Is Here Productions
Year: 2016
Style: Black Metal
Review:
A year after their brutal debut album Hellwaffe is back with the follow-up material, a half an hour long album featuring 8 tracks that basically follow the path chosen by the band since their inception. If this is how a peace offering would sound like I doubt we would ever have any peace at all; Hellwaffe are offering a brutal, fast, uncompromising, traditional Black Metal highlighted by a rather generic but good amount of guitar riffs a la Marduk, Urgehal and the likes, frantic drumming that sound organic, and a vicious, razor-sharp vocal that's supported by growls at times. The music is most of the time fast to hypersonic, and yet somehow the brutality seems to have a more important rold in Hellwaffe's music than speed. Cool band that's on a good way to becoming an important name in the scene, I hope they'll release something new soon and also hope their new material will keep the same path but bring something new, have no idea what.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
hellwaffe.com
hellishereprod.republika.pl
Band: HESPERION
Country: Ukraine
Title: Who alive...
Label: Total Metal Records
Year: 2017
Style: Progressive Power Metal
Review:
Young band from Kiev presenting here their debut full-length album, the result of their first 3 years as a band, 7 tracks clocking a bit over 40 minutes of playing time, but sadly enough (at least for me), this one seems to be targetting their local supporters only since its booklet is completely in cyrillic writing, so I don't understand anything from it. Too bad as it seem lyrics are a pretty important part in Hesperion's atmosphere routed towards phylosophical themes. The music is a fine mix of Heavy Power Metal and Progressive Metal, nice flowing and enough intricate to create suspense, but lacking an own identity for the moment; since it's the band's debut album just creating these interesting harmonies and presenting a professional, solid album is a good achievement, but it's obvious the current Progressive Metal scene has developed a lot since the '90's when this album seems to be pinned to. Not much more to add, it's an enjoyable debut album, not powerful enough to break any boundaries, but well conceived and realized in order to make us understand this band has potential.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
facebook.com/hesperionband
totalmetal.metalscraprecords.com
Band: HUMANITY DELETE
Country: Sweden
Title: Fuck Forever Off
Label: Iron, Blood and Death Corporation
Year: 2016
Style: Death Metal
Review:
Second full-length album from another of Rogga Johansson's many bands and projects. Humanity Delete is basically a one-man band, but on this second album there are two permanent guests, too: Kjetil on guitars and Brynjar on drums, so it feels almost like a full band. At least it sounds like one, that's for sure, as Humanity Delete walks on traditional Swedish Death Metal (Stockholm type) paths but adds a ton of elements and influences from other genres, from Doom to Grind and from Thrash to Heavy Metal yet keeping the core intact. It's a very muscular sounding album, its meaty production might feel like harmless at start, but soon becomes vastly brutal and blunt, it will make you feel like a traditional fight, the good old fist fight, but you're on the receiving end. Some tracks are fast and energetic, while others are doomy and haunting, yet the whole album has a certain groovy feel to it. I have deeply enjoyed it and recommend it to you, too, if someone is capable of bringing something fresh to this Swedish Death Metal, Rogga is the man to do it.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9.5/10
Contact:
facebook.com/HumanityDelete
ibdclabel666.bigcartel.com
Band: IN ARTICULO MORTIS
Country: France
Title: Testament
Label: Independent
Year: 2013 (?)
Style: Melodic Black Metal
Review:
I placed this CD in my player and played it in full before reading anything about it or the band that recorded it; the band name was unfamiliar, so basically I knew nothing about it, and still after the first spin I said to myself how '90's this whole sounds, and how it remainds me of other French bands from the '90's like Forbidden Site, and surprise-surprise, this material actually is from the '90's, from the band's demos plus a few unreleased tracks, all re-recorded or rearranged during 2012 and 2013. The feature that made me pinpoint it to that decade was the sound of the guitars, quite thin for nowadays' standards, and somehow borrowed back then from the Gothic Doom scene, together with a few more elements that contribute to the final Melodic Black Metal label for In Articulo Mortis' music, still the production sounds clear and modern, quite different from what we were used to back then. The compositions are catchy and complex enough to make this material competitive even in Today's scene, but unfortunately the band is no longer active and this seems to be its actual testament, an 8 tracks material full of emotions, one that proves the band could have been way more successful if other circumstances, and although the band mambers only use their initials, hence I don't know who they are, I hope they were successful in other bands after this one faded away.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
in-articulo-mortis.bandcamp.com
Band: INFIDEL
Country: Poland
Title: III
Label: Old Temple
Year: 2016
Style: Black Metal
Review:
The (obviously) third full-length album from Polish Infidel comes 7 years apart since the previous was released, and 4 years since the band kind of stepped into the silence and stopped releasing anything new. We're treated (and threatened) with 3 new tracks, each of them 11 minutes and 6 seconds long, displaying a ferocious, decaying, dreadful Black Metal reeking of absolute death. The vocal part is the best here and the most expressive making more than half of the final atmosphere on this disc, but the instrumental part is also very severe and oppressive: incessant blastbeats combined with organic, mid-tempo parts that create the expectative mood, a brutal, heavy and upfront bass line, and catchy, traditional, excellent guitar riffs that at times seem a bit too overused, too repetitive that one can't help but asking himself if they were repeated just for the sake of the 11 minutes mark for each track. Anyway, from my point of view this is the only minus for the third Infidel opus, everything else is absolutely spot on, and looking at the excellent cover artwork you will get a perfect idea of hat happens on the album: Black Metal surrounded by the suffocating stench of Death.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
infidel.pl
oldtemple.com