Armed Death - Reborn

Bacteremia - Cerebral Wrong Settings

Beyond Mortality - Infected Life

Black Bleeding - The Awakening

Blood Pollution - Monster Truck Man

Catacumba - Animus Mortis

Curse of the Forgotten - Building the Palace

Diamond Drive - Temporality

Fordarv - The Echo of Emptiness

Groa Willing - Sire​  Vedrfolnir demos - 2009 - 2012 Recordings

Inexistence - Inexistence

Mario Gronnert - Waters Drown in Stone

Moror - Abyss

Mort Douce - The Valley of Blood and Death

Nachtlieder - Nachtlieder

Najand - Death! The Best Solution​!​

Navalm - Recovery of Sync

Osoka - Osoka

Precognitive Holocaust Annotations - Annunciation of Extermination

Right To The Void - Kingdom of Vanity

Tenebrae - Il Fuoco Segreto

Truep - 1986

Vae Solis - My Fire is Eternal

Wraithful Plague - Thee Within the Shadows

Band: AGE OF TORMENT

Country: Belgium

Title: I, Against

Label: WormHoleDeath

Year: 2013

Style: Thrash Death Metalcore

Review:

Belgium based band founded in 2006 under the Hellgium moniker and playing Black Death Metal, this quintet is now named Age Of Torment and it seems to follow the trends, now playing a modern combination of Thrash and Metalcore, with a few Death Metal influences (modern as well), but all used with precision and good taste, without ever overusing something; it seems they are chasing success with all costs. This is their second full-length album and it's damn well-played and composed, it has everything you need from a band that keeps up with the trends: groove, force, dirt, melody, energy, and above all it's catchy as hell. Age Of Torment seems to be a band that will satisfy big chunk of Thrash, Hardcore, Metalcore, Modern Death Metal fans, it's mature enough to be expressive and convince the listener they are worth a bookmark. Fresh, enjoyable, professional, a great release.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: ARMED DEATH

Country: Greece

Title: Reborn

Label: Satanarsa Records

Year: 2009

Style: Thrash Death Metal

Review:

This is probably the worst CD I had the "chance" to listen this year, it is absolutely brutal awful... This duo was founded back in '89 (!!!) but only released occasional demos, splits and compilations of demos so far, no albums, no splits, and after listening to their music I can see why. They have absolutely no synchronization, all tracks seem to be composed and recorded on the spot with no rehearsals, no nothing, it's an absolute disaster. I was brave enough to listen to the whole CD and that's only because on few tracks there were some riffs and atmospheres that reminded me of the old Necromantia and I thought they are trying to revive the old Hellenic Black Death sound, but I was wrong. Avoid at all costs! I guess the guys a Satanarsa never listened to these tracks before releasing them...

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 1.5/10

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Band: BACTEREMIA

Country: Colombia

Title: Cerebral Wrong Settings

Label: Permeated Records

Year: 2013

Style: Brutal Death Metal

Review:

After a 2 tracks promo in 2012 Bacteremia already secured a deal with Permeated Records and here they are sharing with us their debut full-length album, a 9 tracks effort totaling a bit more than 25 minutes (so would be more appropriate to call it an EP...) of sheer torment and brutality. Brutal Death Metal on constant fast paced rhythms, with guttural vocals, technical guitar all over and blastbeasts from start till the finish, delivered with a raw but quite ok recording quality. Brutal Death Metallers will enjoy this release, I can't see any elements/parts that could bore your asses, so if you're into unrelenting and uncompromising Brutal Death you might find this sweet enough to cheer up your holidays.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8.5/10

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Band: BEYOND MORTALITY

Country: Sweden

Title: Infected Life

Label: WormHoleDeath / Grom Records

Year: 2013

Style: Thrash Death Metal

Review:

Although they are located in a small city that's closer to Gothemburg than Stockholm, Beyond Mortality's music is far from what was once called Gothemburg Death Metal and actually closer to the Stockholm pack of legendary bands, so we're dealing here with a fast, explosive and entertaining piece of Death Metal spiced up with loads of Thrash Metal elements. The tracks are hard-hitting from start to finish, but not catchy enough to make Infected Life an influential material, and since the band was actually founded in 1999 I don't think there's much room for improvement anymore, so I guess what we get here is what Beyond Mortality is all about. If all tracks would have been as catchy as Broken Souls or Suffocation by Fear, or if the vocalist would have used his voice at full potential (being as versatile as on the Man Made God track for example), or if the guitar riffs would have been less generic... Anyway, to sum it up this is an entertaining release that won't raise any eyebrows but won't certainly disappoint their fans either; Traditional Death Metal as it was played back in the '90's.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: BLACK BLEEDING

Country: Belgium

Title: The Awakening

Label: Satanarsa Records

Year: 2006

Style: Black Death Grind

Review:

Holy crap, this is almost 10 years old and Satanarsa still sent it for a review... Why??? It's sad to see a CD from 2006 still available, isn't it?

Oh well, talking about the actual music on this demo, I can say it's a weird and effective combination of Grindcore (mostly), Death and Black Metal highlighted by high speed with mid-tempo and even slow passages that emphasize the dark atmosphere. The drummer is insane, a blastbeats maniac, I'm curious how this guy looks after a gig. For a trio, Black Bleeding definitely sound menacing and brutal, even though there are some parts when you can feel the need for an extra instrument. Anyway, a sick release from a sick band, I assume it's till available for purchase, so give Satanarsa a shout.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: BLOOD POLLUTION

Country: Russia

Title: Monster Truck Man

Label: Atomic Carnage / Wings of Destruction

Year: 2012

Style: Thrash'n'Roll

Review:

I'd expect such a band to pop out of Germany or USA, certainly not from Russia, I somehow don't see Russians being into Thrash'n'Roll, but that doesn't mean I'm also right. The new EP from Blood Pollution is a decent combination of Punk, Thrash Metal and Rock'n'Roll highlighted by a screaming vocalist, good disposition and unfortunately a lack of diversity that can reach boredom levels. Fortunately the EP is only 17 minutes long so after all it's an enjoyable and entertaining release, good enough for starting a beer party.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 6.5/10

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Band: CATACUMBA

Country: Brazil

Title: Animus Mortis

Label: Blasphemy Prod.

Year: 2013

Style: Black Metal

Review:

Catacomba is a Brazilian band formed 10 years ago, a band that follows the path of bands like Impiety, Blasphemy or Nunslaughter, meaning all spikes, leather and chains image and raw, old-school Black Metal with blasphemous attitude. This new EP was released on tape by 3 different labels and on CD by Blasphemy Production, so the interest from labels is high, don't know about the fans' interest but honestly I don't think it lacks. Regarding this EP, it is made of 6 tracks plus one bonus; raw Black Metal with occasional Death and even Thrash Metal influences, with pretty generic compositions and not much to stand out of the crowd, but with fierce attitude and even if the recordings quality isn't the best around I'd say the final result is pretty expressive and fans of this genre won't be disappointed. I only think there is still room for improvement in this genre, too, and these guys seem to have the necessary skills to do it.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 6.5/10

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Band: CURSE OF THE FORGOTTEN

Country: Holland

Title: Building the Palace

Label: WormHoleDeath

Year: 2013

Style: Melodic Modern Thrash Death Metal

Review:

Geez, I have to be honest and admit I never expected such an impact on me from this album, maybe because they look very young (and probably they aren't), maybe because they have been around since 2006 and this is only their debut album, or maybe simply because of my stupid preconception that bands with multiple words names suck. Well, Curse Of The Forgotten seriously kicked my ass with their impressive blend of Swedish Melodic Thrash Death Metal and Modern Groove Metal / Metalcore, they sound so fresh and at the same time so honest that I have to admit this is one of the best of such releases I've heard this year. The melodic guitar leads and solos are delicious, the guitar riffs and breaks are absolutely awesome, the rhythm section is top notch and the vocals, especially the growls, are perfect, with a minor disappointment in the screamed vocals when the guy is not yet ready and seems insecure. Anyway, to sum it up, this debut album is an impressive continuation of a style I thought to be dead at the moment, Melodic Thrash Death Metal based on guitar work, so don't loose any more time and go grab yourself a copy, these guys will be big soon.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: DIAMOND DRIVE

Country: Denmark

Title: Temporality

Label: Noisehead Records

Year: 2013

Style: Progressive Modern Metal

Review:

Now this can be the next big thing in Europe in short time! Diamond Drive released such a complex, interesting and well thought debut album that it can't, it won't be unnoticed, that's for sure. Labelling their music as Metalcore would be way wrong, as I've seen in other reviews, and I wouldn't even consider Metalcore as the main genre these guys started to create their own thing, but I agree it's an influence. Their music is so complex and is such a heavy gatherer of multiple, and lots of other genres that after all it's impossible to label their music, so I though Progressive Melodic Metal would at least suggest what's happening here. Except for deeply enjoying it and be stunned by their creativity and thirst for diversity I think I won't be able to describe or comment much on "Temporality", you should try it if you're into new stuff or even if you're into old-school but enjoy your occasional taste of modern music from time to time. 

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9.5/10

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Band: DISBELIEVER

Country: Italy

Title: The Dark Days

Label: Dreamcell11 / WormHoleDeath

Year: 2013

Style: Gothic Doom Metal

Review:

Another debut album from Italy, but this time the members of this band seem to be more experienced, or at least they all seem past their twenties. The Dark Days is made of 10 tracks into 42 minutes of Gothic Doom Metal heavily inspired by the second period of bands like Anathema, Lake of Tears or even Sentenced. Dark and sombre atmospheres at times, or melancholic and dreamy at other, Disbeliever deliveres good and quite catchy tunes and even if not original or groundbreaking at all this would be nice discovery for fans of bands mentioned before. The vocalist has a very good, warm tone and for a band like this, beside the catchy combination of repetitive, mesmerizing guitar leads and enchanting keyboards background, such a vocalist can do the difference. Recommended!

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8.5/10

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Band: EMPIRE OF THE SCOURGED

Country: Holland

Title: Transcend into Oblivion

Label: Selfreleased

Year: 2013

Style: Industrial Death Metal

Review:

To be honest, by the looks of it I was expecting this EP to sound more professional. I understand these guys'aim was to create an apocalyptic sound, but I'd say that doesn't imply a chaotic sound, you can get a glimpse of the apocalypse with "clean" sound, too. I'm sure many listeners will enjoy this sound because afterall Empire Of The Scourged are one of the sickest bands coming out of Europe these days, but the biggest contribution for this "label" would be the crazy fast rhythms, the insane drum-programming and above all the great synths work creating a unique claustrophobic and schizophrenic atmosphere impossible to leave you numb. EOTS is a sick and twisted combination of traditional Death Metal with Industrial Metal, although everything seems to be out of place here, you'll eventually discover their world and that every element has its role. From the potential point of view Empire Of The Scourged are definitely a band to keep an eye on. This debut EP impressed me as much as The Berzerkers' debut album impressed me back in 2000. I'm curious of these guys' future.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: EVER-FROST

Country: Italy

Title: Departing of Time

Label: Beyond... Productions

Year: 2013

Style: Progressive Death Metal

Review:

Debut album released 10 years after the band was formed, that's a pretty tough struggle. Departing of Time is made of 9 tracks totaling a bit more than 50 minutes of Technical and Progressive Death Metal with great instrumental work and a good but not versatile enough vocalist who unfortunately I don't think can do better than screaming (just check his clean vocals or growls attempts and you'll get why). The two guitarists do a very good job together making the album really interesting and fresh sounding, and the rhythm section is again a breath of fresh air in a genre that's overused at the moment (well, it's overused since Death's demise...). I don't really like the sound production; although very professional and crystal-clear sounding, there are some parts when the whole sounds dry and gives you the feeling of "something's missing". A release that won't bore you but won't leave you mouth-open either.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7.5/10

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Band: FORDARV

Country: Sweden

Title: The Echo of Emptiness

Label: Nigredo Records

Year: 2013

Style: Black Metal

Review:

First release for both the label and the band, "The Echo of Emptiness" is made of 5 tracks clocking 27 minutes of Black Metal. I find the riffs a bit too repetitive and the drums construction too simple, but the acoustic inserts and the overall atmosphere of this EP is promising, these 2 Swedes managed to create a freezing-cold atmosphere a la old Burzum but without the use of keyboards, so it feels pretty genuine and honest. Although these tracks won't be the next big thing on the scene, Fordarv have all the time to improve and bring in something of their own. If you plan to get this CD you should know it has a raw, but well defined and not disturbing at all sound, and the booklet includes the lyrics to 2 tracks, the only 2 tracks with lyrics as the other 3 are instrumental. 

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7.5/10

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Band: GROA WILLING

Country: Canada

Title: Sire? / Vedrfolnir demos - 2009 - 2012 Recordings

Label: Salute Records

Year: 2013

Style: Neo-Folk Black Metal

Review:

Never heard of this one man project before receiving this CD from Salute Records. This is actually a re-release of Groa Willing's 2 demos Sire and Vedrfolnir recorded between 2009 and 2012. Unfortunately the sound quality is awful even though the guy uses only acoustic guitar and vocals to create his music so normally there should be no problem at all getting a decent sound from a mediocre recording. That is the only problem I see in this release because the music is good, quite relaxing and expressive enough to make you part of the atmospheres Groa Willing tries to create. The Black Metal influences are only in the occasional shrieks popping out here and there to give a darker touch to the overall atmosphere. I gave it a couple of spins and pretty much enjoyed it, so I don't see why won't you give it a try, especially if you're into this acoustic neo-folk type of music and you don't mind a shitty quality home-recording once in a while.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 6/10

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Band: INEXISTENCE

Country: Argentina

Title: Inexistence

Label: Infernal Hymns Records

Year: 2013

Style: Atmospheric Black Metal

Review:

Wow, the atmospheres on this album are amazing, there were some parts of it where I found myself dreaming and that doesn't happen often... The second full-length album from this one man band is a collage of warm atmospheres, post-Metal I would say, mixed with some Black Metal and even Funeral Doom influences. Gabriel, the guy behind Inexistence, has some pretty rad ideas that allow him to transport the listener to his own Worlds and dimensions, but there are some faults too, like the overuse of those ideas to a point they almost fall into monotony, or the poor mix of the vocal parts, an element that could have given even more depth to this release. Anyway, if I was about to sum it up, I'd say this is a very interesting release that promises an even better next album, and I hope Gabriel will do just that, meaning spend some more time on mix and master, and be careful with how much he uses certain elements, oh, and maybe use a better drum program, too. Tremendous potential though.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7.5/10

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Band: MARIO GRONNERT

Country: Germany

Title: Waters Drown in Stone

Label: CongaRecords

Year: 2013

Style: Dark Ambient

Review:

It's not every day I get to review a one-man-project that chose as moniker the guy's actual name and not a band name. That's something different and I respect it. The music on this second album from Mario Gronnert is a calm Dark Ambient perfect for meditation, but also with a hint of solitude and even depression in the emotions it transmits. Overall the album is well crafted, flows naturally and there aren't too many surprises, but maybe that's the part Mario should channel his future efforts; he should come up with something of his own, something original, and Waters Drown in Stone, although enjoyable, doesn't bring anything new on the table. I love the tracks where vocal parts (narrations though) make their way in. Recommended for your silent nights while reading a good book and having a good glass of wine.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: MOROR

Country: Ukraine

Title: Abyss

Label: Another Side Records

Year: 2013

Style: Groove Metal

Review:

This seems to be a CD for the Russian/Ukrainian market only, I doubt anyone else will understand something from what these guys are playing about. Anyway, a debut album made of 10 tracks into melodic and groovy Metal with Metalcore and Alternative influences all over the place. Not bad but not powerful enough to impress either, this album can only reach good sales in their homeland if the lyrics are interesting and catchy enough. The guitarists are working quite well together, but they don't bring enough new or original elements to keep your attention high throughout the whole album, there are some dull moments when you always feel like you've heard it all before in other bands' music. Don't get me wrong, this is not a weak band, they only need more originality in order to impress in an over populated scene like the one we have nowadays.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 6.5/10

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Band: MORT DOUCE

Country: Poland

Title: The Valley of Blood and Death

Label: Wydawnictwo Muzyczne Psycho

Year: 2013

Style: Death Metal

Review:

Not sure why they decided to call this a full-length album since it clocks no more than 22 minutes... This seems to be the common misunderstanding nowadays and I wouldn't be too surprised to see an album with less than 10 minutes in playing time released soon. Anyway, the 5 tracks featured are a combination of old-school ('90's type) UK and Swedish Death Metal: fat riffs, low tunned bass lines, blasting drums (although too synthetic at times), horrifying and disgusting vocals and occasional guitar solos to spice things up. It's not bad at all as long as you treat it as an EP, so if you're into old Bolt Thrower, Benediction, Grave, Dismember sounds you might like this Polish band, too. Besides the somehow synthetic drums sound I wasn't particularly impressed by the slow paced parts, but the fast ones are kick-ass. Nothing inovative, nothing original, but ugly and sick as it should be.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: NACHTLIEDER

Country: Sweden

Title: Nachtlieder

Label: Unmerciful Death Productions

Year: 2012

Style: Black Metal

Review:

Susanne Dagny is back, this time with her debut album after being signed by the US based Unmerciful Death Productions. As nice looking this girl is, as ugly and cruel her music is, that's for sure. The album is made of 8 tracks totaling 40 minutes of fresh but still traditional Black Metal ranging from mid-tempo dark rhythms to fast, unmerciful old-school Black Metal ones and even a few dlicious acoustic insertions here and there, it successfully delivers a heavy and at the same time extremely catchy atmosphere not many are able to create nowadays, and the addition of a few violin parts makes it even more disturbing. If you're thinking of buying this record only because it's released by a lady, don't do it, but if you're looking for some fierce, raw and flesh-ripping Black Metal look no further, Nachtlieder is the right choice, I'm impressed although I knew this project's potential.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9.5/10

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Band: NAJAND

Country: Iran

Title: Death! The Best Solution?!?

Label: Salute Records

Year: 2013

Style: Ambient Black Metal

Review:

Here's another of those one-man-bands into Ambient Black Metal that release at least an album every year apart for splits and other shit, one of those musicians that won't ever decide to go either for Black Metal or for Ambient and are either mixing them or changing genre from a release to the next one. I'm not saying it's good or wrong, I'm only saying the scene is overcrowded with these projects and gets more and more saturated, I'm waiting for an explosion (or implosion?) anytime soon. Back to this album, Najand's 9th full-length is made of 9 tracks (+ intro and outro) into Ambient Black Metal, depressive and slow to mid-paced when it comes to rhythms. The sound is low quality where you can barely hear the vocals, let aside understanding what the guy yells or even narrates, the guitar work is quite good, expressive and interesting but repetitive as hell to a point where everything becomes boring. Nothing to mention about the rhythm section except it's not annoying, it's quite ok, and the same goes for vocals, so the only 2 problems I see here are the recordings quality and the boring repetitive guitar riffs and leads. I don't know, after 8 full-length albums I would expect a ground-breaking album from any band...

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 6/10

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Band: NAVALM

Country: Ukraine

Title: Recovery of Sync

Label: Metal Scrap Records

Year: 2013

Style: Death Metal

Review:

Not bad, not bad at all... Navalm delivers here a complex debut album that unveils a mature band with clear perspectives of what they'd like to reach, and they surealy have plenty of potential. This is fast and brutal Death Grind highlighted by its constant energy and fast pace, quite high technical level and very prominent bass lines, I'd say it sounds fresh and captivating. Blending old-school and modern patterns Navalm managed to deliver a solid debut album that will certainly make a mark on the scene or at least will present the band as a potential contender to European Death Grind supremacy. Yes, I really think they have that much potential. So if you're into Death Grind sprinkled with all sort of influences (Punk, Thrash, Groove), go ahead and order Navalm's debut album.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8.5/10

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Band: NETHERMOST

Country: USA

Title: Alpha

Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records

Year: 2012

Style: Doom Death Metal

Review:

Although their name may sound familiar to you as it did to me, Nethermost are a young band formed in 2009 and this is only their debut EP, a record made of only 4 tracks into less than 20 minutes of playing. The first track is also their best in my opinion, it has that repeating guitar lead that reminds me of the best My Dying Bride years, it's very catchy, it stucks to your mind and stays there for long time, and in my opinion that makes a track an excellent work. The other 3 tracks are very good as well, so Nethermost proves to be an awesome discovery, yet another band with tremendous potential offered by Hypnoic Dirge. Too bad this EP is so short, but it's fully recommended for fans of Melodic Doom Death a la '90's, pure and honest. 

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: ONCE I SAW A GHOST

Country: Germany

Title: Architects Demise

Label: Noisehead Records

Year: 2013

Style: Deathcore

Review:

With such a name of course we're dealing here with a Core band, actually a combination of Metalcore and Deathcore. This is the band's debut album made of 9 tracks that unfortunately didn't convince me at all. Yes, the guys are talented and precise musicians, but maybe too precise if you ask me, the tracks sound too mathematical, too soulless for my taste, it feels like they have calculated each and every step of the album till the end but actually forgot to add a little heart in it. Sounds good and shit, but I'm sure that won't be enough to break through the nowadays overcrowded Core scene...

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: OSOKA

Country: Russia

Title: Osoka

Label: Slow Burn Records

Year: 2013

Style: Sludge Doom Metal

Review:

It seems this is the second album from this Russian project, but that's about all info I have on them. The band plays a dead-slow paced combination of Sludge and Doom Metal, although Metal wouldn't be the right word for their music, more like Post-Metal I'd say. To me their music, or better said the parts where the vocals are not involved are boring to tears, just an overuse of simple guitar riffs and jam-session like drumming, really nothing to incite my interest, but weird enough, these boring instrumental parts combined with the vocals cosmeticised with some weird effects, are damn catchy and good sounding, really apocalytic and hopeless, quite mesmerizing I'd say. I'd recommend this album only for this mixed effect on the listener (well, at least on me), it's something unique...

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8/10

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Band: PRECOGNITIVE HOLOCAUST ANNOTATIONS

Country: Italy / Germany

Title: Annunciation of Extermination

Label: Permeated Records

Year: 2013

Style: Brutal Death Metal

Review:

New project of the European Brutal Death scene, PHA is made of members of Defeated Sanity (Konstantin, the singer), Indecent Excision, Inane, and Vomit the Soul, so of course they could have only attcked the listeners with technica, fast, brutal and uncompromising Death Metal, groovy, catchy and well-defined, a real treat. There are only 3 tracks on this demo/promo, but the future looks really bright and Permeated seems to have noticed it too. I'm sure their debut album will rise a few eyebrows...

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: RIGHT TO THE VOID

Country: France

Title: Kingdom of Vanity

Label: WormHoleDeath

Year: 2013

Style: Melodic Thrash Death Metal

Review:

Right to the Void are from France and they are playing since 2007 but this is their debut album only, so we can asume that the 11 tracks featured (well, 10 + intro) are all carefully thought and crafted so that the end result must be top-notch. And it is, "Kingdom of Vanity" is a solid album of modern, fast and at the same time melodic and quite technical Thrash Death Metal with the vocalist screaming his lungs out all the time, two guitarists that seem to get along really well for a seamless end result, and a drummer that seems to be on Duracell. The recordings quality is crystal-clear but I wouldn't expect less from any WHD release. All in all Right to the Void is yet another good offering from the Italian label, perfect for those into modern and melodic Metal.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8.5/10

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Band: TENEBRAE

Country: Italy

Title: Il Fuoco Segreto

Label: Selfreleased

Year: 2012

Style: Art Rock

Review:

Such a dull and uninspired name for a band that puts so much effort and shares so many emotions through their music; there are at least a dozen other bands with this name around the World nowadays... Anyway, this is the band's second album after a debut released back in 2009. In the meantime the band changed all members except the guitarist, Marco Arizzi, who clearly is the leader and treats Tenebrae as his personal project and there's nothing wrong in that. They named their style as Art Rock and I can see why: it's almost impossible to label the music in a particular genre, and labelling it as Melodic Rock Metal won't do them any justice. Impressive compositions, fantastic booklet artwork and great lyrics section presenting what seems to be a concept album. I would have only liked a bit more emphasize on choirs or an additional backing vocal here and there, preferably a female vocal, that would have given this album a whole new perspective, but all in all we're dealing here with a highly professional work. Recommended!

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: TRUEP

Country: Russia

Title: 1986

Label: Wings of Destruction

Year: 2012

Style: Thrash Death Metal

Review:

A true EP from Truep, nice one, isn't it? The band comes from Russia and I believe it involves the head of WoD Productions, too. Old-school Thrash Death Metal is the name of the game here, without any intent of discovering something new or sounding modern, not at all. Even the cover artwork is low-quality I believe to suggest some sort of old-school feeling. Well, the cover artwork failed lamentably, but the music is quite ok if you're looking for fast paced Thrash Death Metal without compromises, but otherwise it's pretty boring and uninteresting. The sound is raw but it goes hand in hand with the music so in the end it's actually good for this release.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 6.5/10

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Band: VAE SOLIS

Country: Ukraine

Title: My Fire is Eternal

Label: Satanarsa Records

Year: 1999 / 2010

Style: Black Metal

Review:

This is Vae Solis' debut, a demo recorded in their rehearsal room in 1998, released by the band one year later and re-released in 2010 by Satanarsa, so I think Vae Solis had a notable impact on the Ukrainian and maybe Russian scenes back then as the band is split-up now without ever releasing a full-length. The music seems to be interesting and in fashion for that period, a mid-tempo to fast paced Black Metal with atmospheric keyboard backgounds and very good melodic guitar solos here and there. The last track was recorded in 1999 and has a much better sound, although not good enough, but it allows the listener to get a better idea of the band's potential, and I think they (the band) had plenty. After a couple of spins I almost feel sorry this band is no longer around or at least that these tracks weren't better recorded at the time. Anyway, if you're looking for melodic, semi-technical Black Metal with a melancholic edge and you can pass over a raw sounding recording, this CD could make an interesting pick.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: -/10

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Band: WRATHFUL PLAGUE

Country: USA

Title: Thee Within the Shadows

Label: Metallic Media

Year: 2013

Style: Black Metal

Review:

The guy behind Wrathful Plague, Nostaun, is also involved in another Metallic Media artist, Fecund Betrayal, but this one seems to be his main project being founded back in 2005 and releasing 2 full-length album prior to "Thee Within the Shadows". Here we have 9 tracks in a bit more than 40 minutes of dark and cold Black Metal with many Ambient and acoustic parts to enhance the atmospheres. Unfortunately I hate the sound; the album was recorded at home so you can imagine it's not the best release ever, but the major problem in my opinion are the synthetic and impersonal drum programmings, I hate them. With a better recording I think Wraithful Plague could benefit from its good and interesting ideas (especially the acoustic inserts), but I'm afraid this album won't pass the test of time...

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 5/10

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