Achiote - Deimos
Aegeon - Nocturnal Glorification
Aphonic Threnody - When Death Comes
Beyond the Dust - Khepri
Bloodstained Ground - A Poem of Misery
Bone Alley - Demo
Buckshot Facelift - Living Ghosts of the North Shore
Coraxo - Starlit Flame II
Corte di Lunas - Lady of the Lake
Entrails Massacre - Alienation Anarchism
Ferrett - Year of the Ferrett
Gang - Inject the Venom
Grinder - Sirens
Gurd - Fake
Hegeroth - Three Emperors' Triangle
Hooded Menace - Gloom Immemorial
Inglorious - Eternal Chaos
Israthoum / Chalice of Blood / Monte Penumbra / Half Visible Presence - Ascetic Temples / Sacrament of Death / Downwards Deathmarch / One Is the Alignment of Shrines
Malkavian - Finisterian Dead End
Morbid Insulter - Funeral Mysticism
Mystic Rites - Grin as the Jewel Kingdom Falls
One Last Shot - First Gear
Phaze I - Uprising
Rictus Grin - Townies
Serpent Seed - Debris of Faith
Squidhead - Prohibition
The Morganatics - Never be Share of Your World
Trashmachine - Breaking through the Ranks
Unhold - Towering
Waiting For - The Hexen

 

Band: ACHIOTE
Country: Finland
Title: Deimos
Label: VR Label
Year: 2014
Style: Melodic Metal

Review:
This young Finnish band say they are "combining melodic heavy and grunge spiced with influences from the 70's" and I tend to agree with this description although the Grunge part is not that influent on the overall product, yes there are a couple of tracks that are Grungy, but I'd say Achiote is a melodic and emotional Melodic Rock & Metal influenced by the '70's. This is not what we usually feature here, but I'd still recommend it to fans of Anathema (newer Anathema that is) for example, so if you dig Anathema you'll certainly love Achiote, but all in all I think fans of Rock and fans of Metal can equally enjoy this material. 9 tracks, 45 minutes of music that's highlighted by a very good male vocalist (supported by choirs and female voice here and there), extremely versatile guitar lines, and a rhythm section that's both intense and subtle, depending on the needs. The music grows on you, opens itself to the listener and lets him/her in its beautiful world, the band can prefectly transmit their mood to the listener, but the unusual thing is how natural everything seems to flow. As a conclusion Achiote seems to be one of those bands that's able to fit both mainstream and underground, and that's quite rare.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10

Contact:
www.achioteband.com
www.vrlabel.fi

Band: AEGEON
Country: Finland
Title: Nocturnal Glorification
Label: Elegy Records
Year: 2014
Style: Black Metal

Review:
After a debut EP out on Mortis Humanae in 2012, here's Lord Aegeon's debut album, now released by well-known Elegy Records from the States. 7 new tracks totaling almost 45 minutes of cold, misty, mysterious and ugly Black Metal highlighted by the razor-sharp horrifying and desperate screams of Lord Aegeon. The guitars are quite simple and repetitive, there are some good riffs here and there, but the overall impression is not very good, the drums program is very good, I wasn't annoyed one bit by them, and the occasional keyboard insertions are a good addition to the atmosphere. The last track has a totally different sound than the others, the vocals are more in front, more haunting, and the keyboards are more important in the overall sound, but the quiters are worse, too repetitive, too simple, with very little variation. All in all I don't think I'll give this CD another listen, sorry, it didn't grab my attention, exactly like the previous EP, not my type of Black Metal, but if you're into slow to mid-tempo repetitive, simple, atmospheric Black Metal with cutting vocals you mihgt like it better.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 5.5/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/aegeon666
www.elegyrecords.org

Band: APHONIC THRENODY
Country: International
Title: When Death Comes
Label: Doomentia Records
Year: 2014
Style: Funeral Doom Death Metal

Review:
Wow, this is some pretty hard to digest music made by musicians from different parts of the World: UK, Italy, Hungary and Belgium; if you're not Funeral Doom-trained yet I suggest you avoid it as this album will simply crush your spirit, it's soooo heavy you won't believe it. After the first track, which was kinda borind and uninteresting, I thought I will suffer a lot through this audition, but I was wrong. This is Aphonic Threnody's debut album, a follow up on the previously released 2 splits and an EP, and it's made of only 5 tracks while still clocking more than an hour total playing time. So as I was saying the first track was indeed emotional and as heavy (if not even more) as the rest of the material, but it lacked a few hooks to be on my taste. The following tracks, on the other side, are much more versatile, they bring in some additional instruments and display some more inventiveness while still keeping the repetitive, mesmerizing, depressing and absolutely soul-crushing atmosphere of the genre. I would compare it to Eye of Solitude, but that also because of the deep, guttural vocals of Roberto; still if you like the UK based Funeral Doom Death sensation, you should try Aphonic Threnody, too. 
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10

Contact:
www.reverbnation.com/aphonicthrenody
www.doomentia.com

Band: BEYOND THE DUST
Country: France 
Title: Khepri
Label: Dooweet Records
Year: 2014
Style: Progressive Metal

Review:
Here's an interesting young band from France and their 10 tracks debut album clocking 55 minutes of Progressive Metal, but not the one I'm used to. I usually say Djent Metal bands will have a short life and this hype will disappear very soon, but there are some bands taking things a bit further than Djent and exploiting it as another influence between a myriar of others. Beyond the Dust are successfully blending Djent with Alternative Metal, Metalcore, Nu Metal, and even (a few indeed) more brutal elements from Extreme Metal, having as common denominator Progressive Metal, everything surrounds Progressive Metal structures and as a generic label one can easily say the band plays this genre of music. A very interesting, complex, demanding and at times even chaotic release that sounds both fresh and traditional, so if you think a mix of the abovementioned genres sounds interesting give them a try. I'd say they need some more hooks in their music, loose some of the too synthetic and unpersonal Djent riffs, and curdle their sound a bit more, and we might hear some good things about the band in the future.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/beyondthedust
www.dooweet.org

Band: BLOODSTAINED GROUND
Country: Switzerland
Title: A Poem of Misery
Label: Czar of Crickets Productions
Year: 2014
Style: Melodic Black Death Metal

Review:
Followup to their 2011 self-released debut album, A Poem of Misery is the band's newest work, featuring 8 tracks in a bit more than 45 minutes. Their music style is so overcrowded nowadays that for me it's always a surprise when I see new bands still trying to break through the masses, not neccessarily speaking about Bloodstained Ground who are not new at all being founded back in 2007. So we have here a Melodic Black Death Metal or if you want a Melodic Blackened Death Metal on the Behemoth / Fleshgod Apocalypse / Noctem alley, excellently performed and carefully built on twisted and complex structures that are always new and fresh throughout the audition, most of the time fast and hyper-fast paced, but with occasional interludes where string instruments are a fantastic, probably the best addition to their music. There are lots and lots of good bands in this genre nowadays but the addition of violins, cello and sitar, give a unique flavor to Bloodstained Ground's music and I really think that's their chance to break through, like for Fleshgod Apocalypse was/is the piano... On the other hand everything from sound, to digipack quality, artwork, band image, really everything transpires professionalism, this band has huge potential.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10

Contact:
www.bloodstainedground.ch
www.czarofcrickets.com

Band: BONE ALLEY
Country: Canada
Title: Demo
Label: Cold Raw Records
Year: 2014
Style: Black Metal

Review:
Black Metal one-man-band from the far East of Canada, Bone Alley started its journey last year by self-releasing this debut demo, and an EP right after. Cold Raw Records seems to have enjoyed this demo and decided to re-release it in CD and I guess tape format, too. 4 tracks, a bit more than half an hour of playing, a good debut effort but marked by the lack of experience. The first track is actually a 3 minutes into so we won't count that in, but the 3 other tracks are very different one from another from playing type to sound quality, they seem to be released by 3 different bands, so this tells us Miasmas (the man behind this band) is in search for an identity, but after all that's normal on the first demo. The drum machine is awful, very simple and synthetic sounding, so I hope he'll decide to find a live drummer or at least someone with more experience in programming drums next time; the vocals are the most interesting part of this demo, very versatile and daring, the bring some good ideas and try to sound different everytime; the guitars are simple and very repetitive delivering only a few interesting leads here and there; the sound quality is raw and unpolished. Not really much to praise here, but not a shameful release either.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/barbaricbonealley
www.pontefractummelancho.wix.com/coldrawrecords

Band: BUCKSHOT FACELIFT
Country: USA
Title: Living Ghosts of the North Shore
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2014
Style: Death Grind Powerviolence

Review:
Never thought I'd say about a Grindcore release that some of its passages are too slow to keep the overall steady flow intact, but then again who says this or that is the correct way to play music? Buckshot Facelift's new album (I think it's an EP though) is made of 7 tracks and clocks 17 minutes of interesting music I would visualize as a raging boar dying at a hunting trip, as angry and minacing as it ever was just before its final breaths, and that means Buckshot Facelift combine fast, energetic Powerviolence and Grindcore parts with slow, Death Metal ones heavily infused by Sludge elements, maybe a bit too much I'd say. Comprehensive, aggressive screams seconded by growls and disgusting, vomiting sounds here and there, technical guitar riffs and leads, complex drumming, and very incisive bass lines all over on well-thought compositions. Not at all a boring release, I'd say on the contrary, a very interesting music with high potential of getting noted. 
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10

Contact:
www.buckshotfacelift.bandcamp.com

Band: CORAXO
Country: Finland
Title: Starlit Flame II
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2014
Style: Scifi Melodic Death Metal

Review:
Second part of Craxo's trilogy of EPs talking about a story situated in the 25th century where humankind is at was with an invading nanomachine race, sounds like the script of a movie my wife would really enjoy and I'd be kind of bored to death, haha, I'm stuck in my zombie flicks thing. Anyway, the music these 3 Finns offer on this second EP doesn't certainly put me to sleep, but on the contrary it intrigues and involves me, it's an awesome surprise, one I didn't expect at all from a band with this name (honestly I thought they were some sort of Brazilian inspired Hardcore). The band reminds me of their fellow countrymen Amorphis, and I'm not talking style here, but rather the impact their music could have on the scene, their Scifi Melodic Death Metal is daring, bold and mysterious just like for example Amorphis' Tales from the 1000 Lakes was at their time, it's not brutal, nor over-technical, it's based more on atmospheres and on delivering and provoking emotions to the listener, and they managed, at least in my case, to be spot on, to brind something new and open-minded to a genre that's already suffering from lack of further horizons. Yes, big words, I agree, but I'm sure these guys have the ability to change something. Dan Swano mastered the EP, just like he did the previous, and probably the next one, too, so there you have a new proof of its quality. Excellent material, think of a modern mix between old Nocturnus and Amorphis!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10

Contact:
www.coraxo-official.com

Band: CORTE DI LUNAS
Country: Italy
Title: Lady of the Lake
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2014
Style: Celtic Folk Rock

Review:
Awesome, this CD was my whole audition Today, I've listened to it I think at least 10 times, I know a few tracks by heart now but that's also because I've played some more than the other. For example the 5th track, Lost in Fairyland, and the 8th track, Light, which is also my fave and I think the best on this release. This is the third full-length album from Corte di Lunas, band founded in 2009 in Italy, and despise many, many of their fellow bands from Italy, this one has a vocal line that doesn't betray their origins one bit, I could have sworn they're from the UK, but that also because of the heavy Celtic influences in their music. The band plays a very accessible and catchy form or Celtic Folk Rock highlighted by a mesmerizing female vocalist supported by a second one at times, loads of traditional instruments like bagpipe, bouzouki, flute and others, and with a well defined Rock core (with a few Metal influences here and there, too) that will satisfy both rockers and folk followers. I think they managed to find their own way, their own style, and I'd be very surprised if the following release will be a self effort again, although I must say this one is as professional as possible, a lovely digipack including a 12 page booklet with lyrics and pics. Recommended!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10

Contact:
www.lacortedilunas.it

Band: ENTRAILS MASSACRE
Country: Germany
Title: Alienation Anarchism
Label: Power It Up!
Year: 2014
Style: Grindcore

Review:
In wait of their 25th (!!!) anniversary, Rostock's own Grindcore machine Entrails Massacre released this fast and furious little EP featuring 7 tracks in almost 10 minutes of pure angry as fuck Grindcore with deep social messages in the lyrics. These veterans prove once again they are dedicated to the core of the genre and won't lean towards new trends, so if you're into traditional Grindcore spiced up with a healthy dose of Crust and Powerviolence; meaty guitar riffs, crunchy rhythm section and a demented vocalist (supported by the deep vocals of bass player in the background). A bulldozer of violent sounds coming your way, so don't miss out on this EP released on 6" vinyl with lyrics insert included.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/entrailsmassacre
www.power-it-up.de

Band: FERRETT
Country: USA
Title: Year of the Ferrett
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2012
Style: Glam Heavy Thrash Metal

Review:
Holy shit, I can certainly understand a band having some fun by being a parody of whatever, but if your band is not able to synchronize their instruments and vocal on at least 1 track from 12 I think you have a problem. Ferrett sound like they met at rehearsals this morning and started recording their jam session with one of the worst vocalist I had the "pleasure" to hear, 2 guitarists that are undecided if they want to be Glammers or Thrashers, a drummer that can't do good but at least he tries, and a bassist.. wait, is there a bassist? I know, it's a mean comment, one of the worst I ever wrote, but when the best part of your music are a couple of keyboard and synth interventions that are not even by regular members of the band but by guests, it cannot be any different. Too bad, I liked the cover artwork and seriousely thought they'd be a good old-school Heavy Metal band, once again appearances deceive, I feel sorry for them or whoever sent me this CD, a waste of money.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 1/10

Contact:
www.ferrett.bandcamp.com

Band: GANG
Country: France
Title: Inject the Venom
Label: Emanes Metal Records
Year: 2014
Style: Heavy Thrash Metal

Review:
Holy crap, here's a band that celebrates 25 years of activity this year! A band I haven't heard of until now although they have released 5 previous albums (well, 4 were selfreleased), but one the was seemingly active during all these years. The new album, their 6th attack, is made of 12 tracks and lasts for over 50 minutes of traditional Heavy Thrash Metal, simple and to the point as it was done during the '80's, the beginning of the '80's. Unfortunately the drums are programmed and at times they sound really, really synthetic ('80's Pop-like), but that won't ruin your experience, the vocalist is excellent, the supporting vocal choirs and occasional effects are tasty as well, the guitars are simple, following '80's patterns but their sound makes their impact heavier, the bass lines are very well-defined, and the occasional keyboard backgrounds (also old-school) are all leaning towards the metal that was used to be forged even long before this band started its journey. The production is excellent, you'll feel like the band plays in the next room and you're able to hear absolutely everything, this makes the band way closer to the listener and honestly I haven't heard such a production in long time. Heavy and Thrash Metallers into mid-tempo traditional Metal will definitely enjoy this.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/pages/Gang/175479759161678
www.emanesmetalrecords.com

Band: GRINDER
Country: Germany
Title: Sirens
Label: Metal Race Records
Year: 1987 (re-released 2014)
Style: Speed Thrash Metal

Review:
Back in the days these guys had a real chance, they released 2 albums on No Remorse Records (the same time the label had also Running Wild under contract) and later one on the famous Noise Records, but somehow they never made it big. The band is no longer active, but Metal Race seems to have dealt with them the re-release on this demo on CD, and kudos for that; the first thing that strikes you about this record is the exceptional production, for those years, and for a self-released demo, these 6 tracks have an excellent crystal clear sound quality. The music follows a mid '80's Bay Area Thrash Metal pattern with a few Heavy Metal influences here and there; it's not bad, but it would have needed a bit more hooks in order to be considered great. Anyway, the energetic fast paced parts, some good leads and riffs, plus of course the excellent production make it an enjoyable audition nowadays when the retro fashion is fully blossomed, and if I add the CD comes with a 12 panels booklet featuring all lyrics, caricatures of each band member and their signatures, I think it makes a worthy buy.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10

Contact:
www.metalrace.com

Band: GURD
Country: Switzerland
Title: Fake
Label: LC Records / Czar of Bullets
Year: 2014
Style: Groove Thrash Metal

Review:
Former Century Media champs Gurd celebrated 2 decades of activity by releasing their 11th full-length album, so I have no doubt this right here is one of the most prolific Swiss Metal bands, I have no doubt why they aren't more well-known around the World yet. This new album is made of 13 tracks clocking 54 minutes of end of '90's - beginning of '00's type Groove-infused Thrash Metal with occasional Hardcore and a few Punk influences, too. Some might say this is outdated, but I can see a revival of these groovy sounds pretty soon, I think there's plenty of room for such sonorities, too; I can definitely hear Pantera and Machine Head influences in their music, but also German-school Thrash Metal. Meaty riffs, double Hardcore-type vocals, mid-tempo to fast paced rhythm section, plus some catchy hooks here and there, although there could have been lots of space for more. If you think a Machine Head / Pantera / German Thrash would be on your liking, give this album a try, I bet you'll like it although it brings nothing new or exciting on the table.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10

Contact:
www.gurd.net
www.czarofcrickets.com

Band: HEGEROTH
Country: Poland
Title: Three Emperors' Triangle
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2014
Style: Melodic Black Metal

Review:
Although the Black Metal scene in Poland is one of the biggest in Europe at the moment, if not the biggest, I don't know that many bands following a Melodic Black Metal path, most of them are playing Black Death, others Post Black Metal, a few Pagan / Folk Black Metal and a few Traditional Black Metal, but less and less of them are boldly admitting they are throwing in some melody and that they are not the baddest or the most satanist around. Not that there's that much difference between what Hegeroth are playing a Traditional Black Metal for example; they are as aggressive and piercing as any other, but the addition of incisive and well-defined keyboard parts gives their music more atmosphere and more mysticism. This debut album seems to be a concept release around a place in Poland that used to be at the border or 3 empires: German, Russian and Austrian-Hungarian, unfortunately the band decided not to attach a booklet with lyrics to this nice digipack release. The music is not overly original or memorable, but for a debut album the band proves they are professional and dedicated to their craft, hopefully they'll be around for long time. If you're into Swedish Melodic Black Metal a la '90's try this out.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10

Contact:
www.hegeroth.com

Band: HOODED MENACE
Country: Finland
Title: Gloom Immemorial
Label: Doomentia Records
Year: 2014
Style: Doom Death Metal

Review:
No wonder why this band is so respected nowadays, during only 7 years they managed to release 3 full-length albums and a shitload of splits and EPs, all featuring very tasty and memorable Doom Death Metal hymns like it was done back in the '90's. All their releases are highly acclaimed for their ability to perfectly blend deep, sinister atmospheres with classy guitar leads and solos and at the same time delivering catchy tunes to stick to your mind long after the audition, and I think that's the whole point in doing music. This is a compilation of 11 tracks previously released on splits, EPs and compilations aimed at their fans who were not fortunate enough to grab copies of those releases when they were still available. On the other hand this is an excellent occasion for new metalheads to discover this band's music, also because the tracks inhere were recorded with four different line-ups, you can hear the differences and similarities between them, how the band evolved and at the same time kept its way. 
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/HoodedMenace
www.doomentia.com

Band: INGLORIOUS
Country: Poland
Title: Eternal Chaos
Label: Self-released
Year: 2014
Style: Black Metal

Review:
Followup to their already old debut album (Death Syndrome was released in 2010), Inglorious are offering here 10 new tracks clocking 40 minutes, a promo used as lure by Mythrone Promotions to find a suitable new label for the band. I'd say Inglorious play an old-school Black Metal, but definitely not the old-school you are thinking of, but rather a mix between old-school Technical (Swedish) Black Metal, new wave of Polish Black Metal, and '90's type guitar, keyboards and violin additions; it sounds weird but I love it, it's fresh, it has a soul, it's expressive and even emotional at times, but it certainly doesn't lack aggression and speed. The excellent production is also to be mentioned (for example if you want you can easily follow the bass lines from start to finish), but the band's highlight is their technical skills and their nonchalance in combining double-bass pounding bass drums lead aggressive parts with acoustic, epic moments and in doing so creating a dark and dense atmosphere throughout the whole album. A very good release, I have no doubt they'll score a good record deal soon.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/Inglorious666

Band: ISRATHOUM / CHALICE OF BLOOD / MONTE PENUMBRA / HALF VISIBLE PRESENCE
Country: Holland / Sweden / Portugal / Holland
Title: Ascetic Temples / Sacrament of Death / Downwards Deathmarch / One Is the Alignment of Shrines
Label: S.A.R.S. Productions
Year: 2014
Style: Black Metal / Black Metal / Doom Black Metal / Funeral Doom Black Metal

Review:
Dutch label S.A.R.S. Productions released this material in CDR format limited to only 30 copies, I guess used only for promotional purposes, and I guess the label owner is also member of at least one of these bands. 
Opening the split are Israthoum from Holland, a band that's been active since 1992 (under a different name) and that has multiple splits, EPs and even 2 albums underbelt, so a pretty experienced ensamble. Their track (each band is being featured with 1 track only) is a mystical, mid-tempo, dark and semi-technical Black Metal with occasional Death Metal influences, and pretty varied instrumental and vocal structures, a good composition from a band that has potential in delivering something different.
Next are Chalice of Blood, a Swedish trio offering fast paced, demonical and uncompromising Black Metal, very typical for their country scene, highlighted by disgusting vocals, very fast drumming and interesting guitar riffs and leads. Good stuff.
Monte Penumbra from Portugal offers the third track here, a mix of Doom and Black Metal: slow, tired rhythms, hopeless and suffocating vocals seconded by clean vocals at times, atmospheres based on the dark guitar leads. Good but not impressive except for the very oppressing atmospheres they manage to create.
Half Visible Presence ends this split with a long track (almost 8 minutes) that begins with a long and boring guitar intro that sounds more like the guy (one-man-band) is just tuning his guitar. When the drums kick in the track catches life, but the highlight here are the very desperate, disgusting and terrifying vocals placed somewhere in the back of the instrumental part making this a totally ugly and horrifying mix of Funeral Doom and Black Metal. I don't like the Funeral Doom part that much, I think the guy can do much more with his music if he just keeps the brutal stuff.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10  6.5/10  5.5/10  6/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/pages/Israthoum-official/108606202562464
www.chaliceofblood.com
www.montepenumbra.bandcamp.com
sars.productions@hotmail.com

Band: MALKAVIAN
Country: France
Title: The Worshipping Mass
Label: Finisterian Dead End
Year: 2014
Style: Groove Hardcore Thrash Metal

Review:
This might be a new standard: for a band to release it's debut album only after around 10 years of activity. I've seen this situation so many times lately that I really start thinking this is a real standard in many band's cases, for many because they focused on live shows, for others because of line-up problems, and for some simply because of laziness or lack of proper conditions. In Malkavian's case (founded in 2005) I think it's the line-up thing since they changed their line-up almost completely in 2009-2010 after they managed to release a demo and an EP, and since then they seem to have prepared for the release of this debut album. Musicwise the band plays a fast paced Thrash Metal with heavy old-school Hardcore influences all over, plenty of Groove, even some Technical Death here and there, some elements that at first sight (audition) might seem dissonant, but they are blending quite well in the overall compositions. Their music is both brutal and groovy, keeping lots of old-school patterns but at the same time trying out elements from the modern Metal, a crossover that needs more polishing in the future but it's headed the right way. Interesting release, 11 tracks clocking an hour of music, released in digipack format (don't like how the lyrics are listed, very, very hard to read/follow).
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6.5/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/Malkavianmetalfr
www.finisteriandeadend.com

Band: MORBID INSULTER
Country: Sweden
Title: Funeral Mysticism
Label: I Hate Records
Year: 2012
Style: Black Thrash Metal

Review:
This release is a must have for all Morbid Insulter followers, and why not, for all Black Thrash Metal fans out there. It's made of 2 discs (although the content could have been easily fit on only one - a bit more than an hour of total playing time) featuring tracks from all this band's previous releases and even some unreleased goodies, too. Morbid Insulter are (or were, since they split up a few years ago) a very catchy raw and old-school combo playing fast paced hellish Thrash Metal with Black Metal attitude and a cruel attitude but at the same time fitting in some pretty rad guitar riffs and leads all over the place. Really, the guitars are definitely the highlight of this band, always on the move, always offering a new riff or a new lead on a repetitive riff, and everything reminds me of the '80's demo tapes, starting from the unpolished (but good though) sound and ending with the structures, patterns and attitude. A real pleasure listening to these guys' work and a real shame they broke up... Many of the nowadays bands should listen to these tracks, it's not enough to throw in 2-3 riffs, a bad sound, evil as fuck image, in order to be a successful old-school type of band, check out this band to see/hear what else is needed.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10

Contact:
www.ihate.se

Band: MYSTIC RITES
Country: Poland
Title: Grin as the Jewel Kingdom Falls
Label: Self-released
Year: 2014
Style: Black Metal

Review:
One man band from Poland (Gdynia) started in 2012, Mystic Rites present us here its second EP to date, a 5 tracks effort totaling a bit more than half an hour so pretty long tracks I'd say, all dedicated to Quorthon. Nebiros, the guy behind this project, has a good technique in what concerns guitar playing, he manages to create and deliver some pretty slick guitar riffs and acoustic interludes here and there, and his vocals are excellent, too, very ferocious and raw, perfect for what he wants to transmit through its music. Mystic Rites's compositions are made of 2 layers of guitars, raspy vocals, mostly mid-tempo rhythms, occasional crazy guitar solos (I would have liked them a bit more emphasized), and a rhythm section I'm a bit annoyed by, especially by the synthetic sound of the drum machine, but all in all I must admit this EP has both a good old-school flavor to it and some interesting ideas, and fans of traditional Black Metal might enjoy it a lot. It was released in limited edition of olny 100 hand-numbered pro CDRs with 4 pages booklet with lyrics listed.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/mysticrites

Band: ONE LAST SHOT
Country: France
Title: First Gear
Label: Just For Fun Records
Year: 2014
Style: Dust Metal

Review:
I guess this is the debut EP of this ambitious French band displaying a professional and ambitious image. 5 tracks, a bit more than 20 minutes and as I said earlier, a spot-on image of a winner band, hopefully they'll make it in this music world. Dust Metal in their case (I've heard this definition before but on a totally different style) means a combination of Rock'n'Roll, Southern Rock, Hard'n'Heavy, Alternative Punk Rock and a softer Thrash Metal a la Metallica, it sounds ok but it lacks originality and a bit more catchy choruses in order to be memorable. As a debut I think it turned out ok especially on the instrumental part, the groovy, Southern-inspired guitars are an element to exploit for the future, the aggressive vocals are also something to bet on, but I would also second them by some melodic vocals here and there. An enjoyable audition but without too much to keep in mind after it.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10

Contact:
www.olsband.com

Band: PHAZE I
Country: France
Title: Uprising
Label: Trepan Records / WormHoleDeath Records
Year: 2014
Style: Progressive Extreme Metal

Review:
Founded by members of Lyzanxia (Franck and David) and Soilwork (Dirk, the drummer), Phaze I released this new album 8 years after their debut saw the daylight. I think it was actually released by Trepan Records in 2013 and picked up by WHD and re-released in 2014. The 8 tracks clocking a bit more than 40 minutes are following a Modern Extreme Metal path as anyone can imagine highlighted by the amazing ability of Phaze I's drummer, Dirk Verbeuren, whom we know from Soilwork and lots (lots!) of other projects and bands, a human drum machine if I may say so. The vocals on this recording have a crusty, industrial effect that some might love, some might hate, and even though the isntrumental part if tasteful, it might be a dealbreaker for some. Although Phase I released an nice flowing album, to me it didn't do a thing, it left me numb and uninterested, starting from the weak cover and booklet artwork and ending with the music. It's a good music, don't get me wrong, but nowadays you really need something of your own, some innovative feature, in order to stand out among the crowd and a drummer alone won't do the thing.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6.5/10

Contact:
www.phaze-one.com
www.wormholedeath.com

Band: RICTUS GRIN
Country: USA
Title: Townies
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2011
Style: Thrash Metal

Review:
I've met Larry, the only original Rictus Grin member still active under this moniker, and his now wife and fellow band member Dez, during their 2014 Romania tour and they gave me this latest release, a live CD, so even if it's now 4 years old I'll still say some things about it; it's a free CD, so I guess you can ask the band to send you one at any time. It features some tracks I knew from before (from previous releases), a mid-tempo to fast paced Thrash Metal with Death Metal influences, plus some new compositions, on the same genre. What strikes you from the start is even though this is a fucking duo, their live music is so energetic and they are so charismatic that I bet after listening to these 11 tracks you'll definitely want to see them live, no doubt! Larry has an incredibly versatile voice ranging from clean to growls, to crazy screams, and at the same time he's delivering some pretty rad memorable guitar riffs, so I suggest if you're into traditional Thrash Metal played simple and effective you should check this band out, hopefully they'll bring out something new soon.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10

Contact:
www.rictusgrin.com

Band: SERPENT SEED
Country: Poland
Title: Debris of Faith
Label: The End of Time Records
Year: 2014
Style: Black Death Metal

Review:
Former members of Iugulatus and Lugburz decided to form or join a new band and that's how Serpent Seed came to life in 2012. This is their debut album, featuring 7 long tracks totaling 37 minutes of Black Death Metal. Since it's a polish band we're talking about, it would be impossible not to mention Behemoth as similar path, but I'd say Serpent Seed are more influenced by old-school ('90's type European) Death Metal especially on the rhythm side, but also in their excellent guitar solos. There's plenty of dark atmospheres on this album, and the best thing about it is its versatility, it delivers both brutal, blasphemous passages and melodic, mysterious parts managing to blend them in perfectly so that in the end you'll percieve the material as a solid, unified stab of Black Death Metal. It all sounds mature and well-curdled and even though this genre is overcrowded nowadays I'd say this band has a real chance to becoming a new interesting Polish export, they only need more hooks to their music, they have everything else.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/pages/Serpent-Seed/706607769433831
theendoftimerecords@gmail.com

Band: SQUIDHEAD
Country: Belgium
Title: Prohibition
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2014
Style: Instrumental Metal

Review:
Squidhead is a one man band from Belgium with guitarist Pierre Minet as the man behind it, and this is its debut EP made of 5 tracks and totaling 22 minutes of music. If I say the man has on his official (Squidhead) website a stream to Meshuggah's Facebook Page embedded on the home page instead of his own band's Facebook page would you guess the music he's into? Thought so. I get that this is a new website, but it's awfully unprofessional to stream another band's feed instead of yours, and list your official contacts as www.facebook.com/theband, www.youtube.com/user/theband, twitter.com/theband. WTF!?! On the other hand Pierre was really careful when creating his image, he wears a squid-mask and that's really cool, haven't seen this idea elsewhere. The music, fortunately, is very professional and well-thought as well, it's a mid-tempo to fast paced Technical Melodic Instrumental Death Metal with plenty of kick-ass guitar riff, leads and solos, groovy and well-defined bass lines, good drum programming, and complex compositions that leave space to some catchy hooks, too. Impressive debut EP I must say. Pierre is currently looking for a full line-up so if things will develop well we might see Squidhead live soon, and there's the real battle, but according to this release I'd say it definitely has potential to grow into something very interesting.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10

Contact:
www.squidhead.be

Band: THE MORGANATICS
Country: France
Title: Never be Share of Your World
Label: M & O Music
Year: 2013
Style: Spleen Rock

Review:
Spleen Rock? Well, I think this is something the band used in order to at least give them the impression they are doing something original. I have no idea is this is or not original, although I bet it isn't, since it's not a genre we usually cover here, but it sounds like the prefect music for hipsters, a Melodic Alternative Rock that sounds quite catchy, heavily influenced by Linkin Park and the likes, way closer to Radio Pop music than Metal. Sorry but not my cup of tea at all, don't know what else to say about it.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10

Contact:
www.themorganatics.com
www.m-o-music.com

Band: TRASHMACHINE
Country: Ukraine
Title: Breaking through the Ranks
Label: Metal Race
Year: 2014
Style: Thrash Metal

Review:
This band split-up a long time ago and this was their one and only album, originally released in 1993 by Moroz Records, and re-released now by Metal Race. I think it was remastered as it sounds excellent, crystal-clear sound but still with an old-school feeling. The band plays a simple and fast paced Thrash Metal a la '80's with quite a lot of guitar hooks that stick to your mind, but unfortunately it's not powerful enough to make an impression nowadays. The lyrics and pronounciation are awful, but that might have its own charm, too; even the band name I think it was misspelled, I think they wanted a Thrashmachine instead of a Trashmachine.The guitarists are very good and they come up with some catchy ideas for those times, they like to display their talent and the whole sounds like a Techno Thrash of the '80's so there's plenty to enjoy here if you're a fan of Traditional Thrash and if you think you can avoid reading the awful, childish lyrics (just an example: Hey, Dragon! / I'll kill you all right / I kill you every day / An' night).
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6.5/10

Contact:
www.metalrace.com

Band: UNHOLD
Country: Switzerland
Title: Towering
Label: Czar Of Bullets
Year: 2015
Style: Progressive Sludge Metal

Review:
Here's a band that has more than 2 decades of activity underbelt! Unhold were formed back in 1993, I think as a Hardcore band, and during the years evolved their music into a magnet of different influences and elements, to a point where you'll have major problems in labelling what they are playing now. Towering is their third full-length album to date and features 11 tracks in an hour of mesmerizing music; ultra-heavy riffs on repetitive structures emphasized by interesting leads, atmospheric, spacey synths seconded by classy piano, versatile rhythm section ranging from slow, dreamy pace to mid-tempo, more groovy tempos, and a vocal section involving 3 of the members, one of them being a girl, the piano player, who also has a lovely voice, and another having a raspy vocal tone that reminded me of Crowbar. This is a fabulous album, professionally crafted and delivered, very entertaining, very charming and emotional, give it a try!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10

Contact:
www.unholdmusic.ch
www.czarofcrickets.com

Band: WAITING FOR
Country: Belgium
Title: The Hexen
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2014
Style: Hardcore Power Metal

Review:
Belgium based quartet presenting here their debut album made of 11 titles clocking a bit more than half an hour. The album was mixed and mastered by Billy Grazadei from Biohazard and that's not by chance, the band's music is heavily influenced by '90's American Hardcore and although one cannot label Waiting For's music in a certain genre, the New York scene seems to be these guys' main influence and aspiration. The only bad thing about their music is the fact they sing in English although I guess their native language is French, and it sounds awfully weird, there are some pretty rad guitar riffs, very catchy, supported by groovy rhythm section, but the vocal part, although well-thought, sounds absolutely weird and at least English speaking listeners will most probably hate it. Apart from that their ideas are catchy enough to allow this debut album to grow the band a healthy fanbase. 
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10

Contact:
www.facebook.com/watingfor