Astral Winter - Perdition

Atrium Noctis - Home

Axecuter - Metal Is Invincible

Black Autumn - The Advent October

Blood Red Throne - Blood Red Throne

Craving For Chaos - Arising Disorder

Deathmoor - Mors Ultima Ratio

Haterial - Twisted Verses

Intractable - Inner Decay

Kozeljnik - Null The Acheron of Multiform Negation

Libria - Immortal Daughter of Aesthetics

Misanthropic Art - Homicides

Nemesis Irae - Eradicate Campaign

Neptrecus - L'Aube Du Déclin

Primeval Mass - Blood Breathing Idols

Rexor - Nox Obscura Sortis

Sterbenzeit - L'Oltrenotte

Throne - Avoid the Light

Toxovibora - Primer Ataque

Underwell - Plan Your Rebirth

Verbal Razors - Settling of Scores

Wartime - Solar Messiah

Who Dies In Siberian Slush - We Have Been Dead Since Long Ago...

Worstenemy - Revelation

Xenosis - Of Chaos & Turmoil

Band: AD PATRES

Country: France

Title: Scorn Aesthetics

Label: Kaotoxin Records

Year: 2012

Style: Death Metal

Review:

Here's the debut album from a band that impressed me a few years ago with their first demo. "Scorn Aestetics" is made of 10 tracks totaling a bit more than a half an hour of brutal, technical and intricate Death Metal. Deep, low-tuned vocals, fast double-bass drumming with lots of blastbeats all over, very good, complex guitar riffs and overall a heavy atmosphere. There's a lot to chew inhere especially if you're into fast, brutal and tight Death Metal. I think "Scars of Compromise" and the title track are the best on this record and would like to see the band following the same path sprinkled with guitar hooks all over. The sound is great, nothing to complain about, and that makes it an enjoyable experience, and album you'll probably spin a lot.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: APNEA

Country: New Zealand

Title: Silent Cities

Label: Immortal Frost Productions

Year: 2012

Style: Post Black Metal

Review:

Debut EP from this young New Zealand band, "Apnea" is made of 5 tracks totaling almost 25 minutes of Post Black Metal. Why "Post"? Because it only has traces of Black Metal in it, some fast paced, aggressive Black Metal parts with depressive kind of screams/vocals, the rest being this new sort of Shoegaze Black Metal genere so popular nowadays. Besides the low volume on vocals this debut EP sounds quite interesting, it reminded me of what's Netra doing, the same type of "being depressed and feeling solitary in a big city" type of atmosphere. There are some parts that sound a bit forced and unnatural, but all in all this album has a nice flow and you won't feel bored while listening to it. Not a bad first effort.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: ASTAROT / LUX FUNESTUS / DU TEMPS PERDU / NEFTARAKA

Country: Mexico / Mexico / Mexico / Malaysia

Title: Humo, Cenizas y Muerte

Label: Metallic Media

Year: 2011

Style: Black Metal / Depressive Black Metal / Ambient Black Metal / Black Metal

Review:

A 4 way split CD offering us 3 Mexican bands and a Malaysian band, all of them playing variations of Black Metal.

Opening is Astarot, a one man band whose debut I have just reviewed last month and since I wasn't impressed one bit back then I'm not impressed now either. The mastering is awful, the drum machine gets on my nerves after a while and even though the keyboards would create a good atmosphere you can barely hear them, the same goes for the guitar leads. The guy knows how to handle his guitar, he should work more on emphasizing this and building his music around those nice guitar leads.

Next is Lux Funestus opening up with a boring, repetitive and simple guitar intro then ventures in a minimalist type of Depressive (?) Black Metal with demo sounding recordings, same riffs repeating over and over again, easy to spot execution mistakes, happy drum rhythms (keep in mind they wanted to sound depressive...) and lucky for me a very good Black Metal vocalist that might save something in the end. 

Du Temps Perdu changed name in the meantime now being known as Abysmal Depths. Their three tracks from this split could have some potential, the atmospheres are heavy and opressing, and I think I could really get into it after a few spins, but the sound is just awful, rehearsal type, you can barely hear the vocals, the guitars are almost nonexistent and what you can hear from their music is not sufficient to captivate your attention.

Neftaraka is the best band on this split, no doubts, their raw yet somehow melodic type of Black Metal is exactly what I would expect from such a band. Dark, menacing and sinister sounds that most probably will be on your liking. The problem here is again the sound, not as clear as it should have been, but in this case you can really get over it and concentrate on the horrific atmosphere.

As a conclusion the 3 Mexican bands are NOT showing the real potential of this country's Black Metal scene while Neftaraka is proving to be a solid name coming out of Malaysia. Too bad Metallic Media is investing in such poor quality bands...

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 5/10  3/10  5.5/10  7.5/10 

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Band: ASTRAL WINTER

Country: Australia

Title: Perdition

Label: Immortal Frost Productions

Year: 2013

Style: Ambient

Review:

This is a solo project of Josh Young from Atra Vetosus and it was started before, in 2008, while Atra Vetosus was started only in 2011, so I guess it means a bit more to Josh. But the curious thing is Josh, although being a young guy, was actually the founder of Immortal Frost Productions, the label both his projects are still signed although being relocated to Belgium in the meantime. 

Astral Winter started as a Black Death project but this new album, its second, is completely instrumental and has no traces of Metal on it, instead it offers almost 40 minutes of beautiful Ambient soundscapes built by excellent keyboards/synths and semi-acoustic guitars, no drums, no vocals. Quite a radical change from the debut album but I can't say I'm disapointed, not at all, this new genre suits Astral Winter much more and it's actually more interesting than most Ambient releases I've had the chance to listen to lately. Just imagine the atmosphere on "Perdition" are like dreaming of a flight among clouds, you'll reach states of melancholy, depression but also hope and serenity. Excellent turn for this band, recommended!

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: ATRIUM NOCTIS

Country: Germany

Title: Home

Label: Naturmacht Productions

Year: 2010

Style: Melodic Black Metal

Review:

Although released 3 years ago, this is the debut and so far the only full-length album from Atrium Noctis and that's too bad since it is a fairly interesting release. Melodic Black Metal with keyboard backgrounds and atmospheres in character with the lyrics which is not that easy (for example the "Night Before" track sounds a bit more medieval inspired and the lyrics are about sailing warriors preparing for the final battle, while the track "First Day in Hell" is much more aggressive, darker and cryptic sounding consistent with the pain submitted by the lyrics). The Beethoven interludes are simply delicious providing a few minutes of calm amongst all the Black Metal torments, the Power Metal-like guitar leads are also a very nice addition and the keyboard work, although at first sounding a bit too in front of the other instruments, plays a very important role in modelling what appears to be a concept album about the jurney of souls after death. I don't particularly like the shrieking vocals, but they don't bother me either. I should also mention the excellent lyrical part of this album, Damian, the vocalist displays a strong imagination and thirst of writing long, insightful lyrics. Strong debut recommended to fans of '90's Melodic Black Metal.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: AXECUTER

Country: Brazil

Title: Metal Is Invincible

Label: Inferno Records

Year: 2013

Style: Heavy Metal

Review:

Well prefaced by a demo in 2011 and an EP in 2012, this debut album from Axecuter should be a quite waited release for fans of the first period of the '80's Metal scene. 9 tracks, almost 50 minutes of Traditional Heavy Metal with no compromises, no trickes, no modern influences whatsoever, just pures Sodom/Venom influenced Metal with catchy choruses and mostly fast tempos. If so far Axecuter's best track was Bangers Prevail, now I'd give the crown to the excellent "No God, No Devil (Worship Metal!)" track featuring all elements this band is proud of: fast rhythms, catchy choruses, bold lyrics, epic guitar solos and excellent guitar riffs. Unfortunately when the rhythm changes to slow paces the listener's attention tends to vanish, so I'd suggest the band to keep it fast and loud, this is what suits them better. Also the vocalist's raspy vocals are not suited for slow paced, melodic tracks, he needs to yell and shout his pride of being a metalhead. The drummed does a good job, especially on "Keep on Sinning". Recommended to old-school Heavy Metal followers only, the rest won't understand a thing.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8/10

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Band: BLACK AUTUMN

Country: Germany

Title: The Advent October

Label: Bylec Tum / Obscure Abhorrence Productions

Year: 2013

Style: Ambient Black Doom Metal

Review:

With 4 full-length albums under its belt this one man project from Germany is back this year with a new release, a 4 tracks EP co-released by Bylec Tum and Obscure Abhorrence. By these labels' names you can guess this is a quality release and for my pleasure it really is, a slow paced melancholic combination of Ambient and Black Metal with good technical skills display, repetitive but not overused arrangements, atmospheric layer of keyboards on the background, well thought guitar leads, just the right amount of hoarse vocals. The only element I'm not particularly fond of is the drums sound, too synthetic and a bit annoying at times but the overall atmosphere compensates for that. Not a ground-breaking album but definitely one that will calm you down and allow you to explore the majestic misty forests the artist probably had in mind while writing this music. Nice.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8/10

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Band: BLOOD RED THRONE

Country: Norway

Title: Blood Red Throne

Label: Sevared Records

Year: 2013

Style: Death Metal

Review:

What doe sit mean if a band releases a selftitled album, other than their debut as it usually happens? well, in Blood Red Throne's case I guess it means they realized they have reached a peak of maturity and probably this is the album they are most proud of, and after spinning the CD for a few times I can only agree with this presumptive thinking, their 7th full-length effort proved me there is still a lot to experiment in Death Metal and still keep the whole genre intact, uncompromised by weird outside elements. This album will certainly fit among my top 5 Death Metal albums of 2013, it has everything I need from this genre I'm following religiously since my teens: dark atmosphere, hoarse, comprehensive vocals, insame rhythm section, melodic, mysterious parts, and every track seems to have the right amount of hooks to keep my attention high for all the 35 minutes of playing time. The mix of traditional and more modern type of Death Metal flows seamlessly and feels so natural that in the end it's impossible not to take your hat off for these guys. A highly recommended album, try not to miss it!

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 10/10

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Band: CRAVING FOR CHAOS

Country: Germany

Title: Arising Disorder

Label: Infernal Hymns Records

Year: 2012

Style: Melodic Death Metal

Review:

2 gurls, 3 guys, a young band and its debut EP; "Arising Disorder" is made of 7 tracks totaling around half an hour of Melodic Death Metal. The music is not something very original, but these youngsters definitely prove to have very good technical abilities and so potential to progress to the highest peaks of this genre. The tracks are good but not exceptionally catchy (you've heard these rhythms and riffs countless times before), but their outbursts of technical displays will make you follow the music till the end of the CD, you never know what's next in regards to guitar or bass solos and guitar leads, the highlights of Craving For Chaos. At some points a supporting female vocalist makes her appearance but her parts sound really out of pace and I would suggest the band to keep the male growler as the only singer or find a different female vocalist. Good effort but they need more work to shine in this overcrowded scene.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: DEATHMOOR

Country: Russia

Title: Mors Ultima Ratio

Label: Wolfram Prod.

Year: 2011

Style: Black Metal

Review:

This is Deathmoor's debut album released in 2008 by Oskorei Music on CD format and re-released in 2011 by Wolfram Prod. as tape limited to 99 hand-numbered copies. 5 long tracks totaling more than 40 minutes of raw and sinister Black Metal with atmosperic keyboard background portraying a dark, cold and desolate painting. The sound production is excellent for this type of Black Metal, not too raw but not polished either, the compositions are solid and easy flowing and the execution is faultless. I can't hear any major faults on this debut album, no wonder why this band is so respected nowadays in the underground. Wolfram Prod. managed to deliver a professional tape including lyrics (although in Russian) and a black/white layout blending perfectly with the music on it. Thumbs up.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8/10

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Band: DELIRIUM X TREMENS

Country: Italy

Title: Belo Dunum, Echoes from the Past

Label: Punishment 18 Records

Year: 2013

Style: Death Metal

Review:

Straight from the beautiful Dolomiti Mountains (man, I really hope to see them one day) comes this highly active band, Delirium X Tremens, a band that although releasing only 2 albums so far, this being the second since their foundation in 1998, has a strong reputation in their native scene. Released as digipack with excellent artwork and higly professional quality, this album presents us a mature Death Metal band that's not afraid to experiment in order to create a complex atmosphere for their music. They can't be considered too technical, nor too brutal, but still their traditional Death Metal sounds fresh and engaging even without influences from other genres (oh, well, except some Folk influences both musicwise and lyricwise). I wouldn't be able to compare Delirium X Tremens' music to anything else I've heard before and that means originality, presonality and courage mixed with excellent technical abilities and wide imagination. "Belo Donum..." is a tight and powerful Death Metal album that shouldn't miss from your collection.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9.5/10

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Band: DRACO HYPNALIS

Country: Czech Republic

Title: Balance of Moments

Label: Zero Budget Productions

Year: 2012

Style: Progressive Death Metal

Review:

I'm glad to see this band is still active, I still remember their debut split tape with Romantic Love from 2000 and how intrigued I was back then by their strange combination of melancholic, rennaissance influenced keyboards with Progressive Death Metal with futuristic, atmospheric synths, but I'm especially happy they kept their style intact. Balance of Moments is their third album, a deep incursion into a twisted, melancholic, insane atmosphere that's impossible to leave no scars on your mind after the audition. I love everything about this album, from the different expressions transmitted by the keyboards and synths, to the classy guitar riffs, leads and solos, to the intricate, powerful bass lines to the twisted vocal part (just check the "Perceive the Shadow Spears" track), to the melodic violins. If you're not into Progressive Metal you can skip this one, but otherwise I highly recommed this fantastic piece of Metal schizophrenia! Fucking Ace, I'd be able to recognize this band's music from 1000 albums! \m/

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 10/10

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Band: HATERIAL

Country: Finland

Title: Twisted Verses

Label: WormHoleDeath

Year: 2012

Style: Melodic Thrash Metal

Review:

At first audition this debut album from Haterial hit me hard, I was impressed by their catchy combination of intensity and melody but after a couple of spins it became quite repetitive and dull, I found myself doing other things while the CD was playing, not giving attention to their music. These are the facts. Haterial are definitely gifted musicians and their compositions show a solid potential but somehow this debut album failed to keep my attention for more than 3-4 tracks. That's maybe because of the addition of melodic Metalcore-inspired parts that I'm not very much fond of. Anyway, if you like your Thrash Metal modern sounding with lots of melodic guitar leads, energetic rhythms, old-school Hardcore like vocals you might give Haterial a try.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: INTRACTABLE

Country: Switzerland

Title: Inner Decay

Label: Selfreleased

Year: 2012

Style: Groove Thrash Metal

Review:

Wow, this is such a powerful album that I almost can't believe it's a debut one and that it is also a self released one, but I guess this comes as natural when you check the band's bio; they have been around since 2006 and there's where their maturity comes from, and on the other hand I guess they grew tired of waiting for a label deal that could surpass their posibilities so they decided to unleash this thing by their own. Intractable is what I would call a pure Metal band, they take influences from both Thrash and Death Metal and mix them into a hard-hitting ball of ardent Metal, nothing more, nothing less. Excellent guitar riffs, with perfect pace, aggressive drumming, catchy and groovy rhythms, good and memorable choruses and above all an excellent, angry vocal tone that reached Doom-like (a la Nick Holmes in his best years) heights at times. The mix of fast rhythms and more epic parts is also well thought and executed in order to create a natural flow to the whole album. A kick ass album by a band with outstanding potential, I'd recommend this to every metal fan.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9.5/10

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Band: KOZELJNIK

Country: Serbia

Title: Null: The Acheron of Multiform Negation

Label: Paragon Records

Year: 2013

Style: Black Metal

Review:

I've heard only good things about this proud follower of Serbian Black Metal tradition started way back by The Stone or May Result but this is my first meeting with their music. "Null" is a weird sounding EP, quite original and not easy to penetrate, needing a few spins even for getting rid of the sour taste left by the combination of mid-paced to fast rhythms, intricate flows and theatrical vocals, but once you get to understand it you'll get to love it, too. Although I can't stand Niklas' (Shining) rockstar attitude I have to admit having him as guest for vocals on a track gave birth to a great sounding, ugly, desperate piece of mid-paced theatrical Metal. If you like your Black Metal fast and furious you should avoid this album at all costs, but if you're into discovering new thing I think you should at least give "Null" a couple of spins, it might become a fave, I'm still in doubts if I love or hate the end result. The last two tracks have nothing in common with the rest, they are taken from the band's debut EP, a much more aggressive and raw Black Metal, don't know what was the point of adding them... Original, laudable effort.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8.5/10

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Band: LIBRIA

Country: Italy

Title: Immortal Daughter of Aesthetics

Label: WormHoleDeath Records

Year: 2013

Style: Aventgarde Extreme Metal

Review:

Libria is an Italian super-group lead by a beautiful guitarist/vocalist named Marianna Alfieri and this is their debut album made of 9 tracks almost impossible to label into a single genre. Their music is definitely well performed but to me it seems they added a bit too many elements and influences from different genres for the final result to be as solid and tight as it should have been. The sound quality is great but the mixing makes the vocals at times too hard to distinguish behind the wall of guitar riffs, drums, violins and keyboards. It's an interesting album channelling elements from Power, Thrash, Heavy, Death and even Black Metal all sprayed with melodic violins and guitar leads and offered on an atmospheric layer of keyboards. A band made of capable musicians but an album that doesn't leave much traces on your memory after the audition.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: MISANTHROPIC ART

Country: Russia

Title: Homicides

Label: Wolfram Prod.

Year: 2010

Style: Black Metal

Review:

Originally released by Nihil Rex in 2005 as tape in limited edition of 148 copies, then by Oskorei Music as CD limited to 1000 copies in 2006, this fourth Misanthropic Art album was re-released by Wolfram Prod. in tape format limited to 333 hand-numbered copies in 2010. Fast and sharp Black Metal with sinister vocals and raw recording quality that I'm not too fond about, it sounds too chaotic and you can barely follow the drums behind the guitars. The compositions are generous of complex rhythms and guitar leads/riffs so you won't be bored but this only in case you'll be able to get over the weak drums sound and the somehow synthetic bass tone. Recommended only to fans of raw, underground, fast and dark sounding Black Metal.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: NEMESIS IRAE

Country: Belgium

Title: Eradicate Campaign

Label: Mortis Humanae Productions

Year: 2013

Style: Black Metal

Review:

nemesis Irae are around since 1996 but this is the first time I get to review one of their works. I'm not sure if this is their third album or a new demo and that's because the sound on it is very raw, rehearsal-like but weird as it may sound I like this approach much better than if they would have recorded these tracks in a proper studio; it's organic, feels honest, you have no problem following any instrument you'd like, and above all there's nothing laughable here. The music is fast paced, semi-technical Black Metal with good riffs, a few Thrash Black influences, good vocals but not versatile at all, powerful bass lines, tight drumming. Well this release shows a well curdled band with professional attitude delivering well crafted compositions that you'll most probably enjoy. I like it a lot and I'm sure I'll like it more after a while so of course I'd strongly recommend this material to all of you in search of organic sounding "true" Black Metal. Thumbs up.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: NEPTRECUS

Country: France

Title: L'Aube Du Déclin

Label: Mortis Humanae Productions

Year: 2013

Style: Black Metal

Review:

An impressive debut album by these young French guys, a strong declaration and demonstration of their abilities. Although the band was formed in 2011 the maturity and cohesion of their compositions is undisputed. Their '90's Norwegian scene inspired Black Metal sounds well thought, honest and above all it sounds tight; a mide-tempo to fast paced Black Metal with melodic guitar leads, devastating drums, perfect shrieks, and a dark atmosphere that reminded me of both Marduk and the French Hirilorn. It was a real pleasure listening to these 9 tracks and I'd like to recommend this album to you too. Neptrecus is a band that may have some nice surprises for us in the future, keep an eye on them. 

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: PRIMEVAL MASS

Country: Greece

Title: Blood Breathing Idols

Label: Katoptron Records

Year: 2012

Style: Black Metal

Review:

Second album from this Greek band that will soon celebrate 15 years of activity. "Blood Breathing Idols" is made of 8 tracks totaling almost 45 minutes of Black Metal with good technical displays especially on guitars, the Heavy / Thrash leads and solos are not something we're very used to in this genre nowadays. Unfortunately the raw sound isn't exactly what these tracks would have needed, sometimes the atmosphere becomes really chaotic and annoying, the mastering being a total mess, but at least from the compositions point of view you'll have plenty of moments to chew and enjoy. The vocals are all over the place, supported by long lyrics, not bad at all but again a bit annoying because of their raw sound. The compositions are complex enough to avoid any moments of lull, ranging from nice semi-acoustic parts to insane, fast, aggressive slabs of Black Metal. Not the next big thing but very enjoyable nonetheless (if it wasn't for that poor sound).

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7.5/10

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Band: REXOR

Country: Italy

Title: Nox Obscura Sortis

Label: Metallic Media

Year: 2012

Style: Black Metal

Review:

After a 3 and a half minutes (maybe too long though) dark, apocalyptic intro I was expecting the ugliest music I've ever heard. Well, it's not, but it's not bad music either so in the end I wasn't that disapointed. This is a followup EP to their 2008 debut full-length album and it seems the band needs more work in order to come up with a second opus. Only 3 new tracks and a cover of Bathory's Equimanthorn in 18 minutes of playing. Rexor are playing fast and dark Black Metal, quite brutal and minacing although bringing nothing new to the scene. There are countless such bands around nowadays so it will be impossible for Rexor to reach higher levels if they won't throw in something new, but I can say on this EP they have done a good, honest job expressing their music is the most brutal way possible, the great quality sound also helped a lot, so if you're into fast, raw and well executed Black Metal you should give them a chance, you might be surprised.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7.5/10

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Band: STERBENZEIT

Country: Italy

Title: L'Oltrenotte

Label: Immortal Frost Productions

Year: 2013

Style: Black Metal

Review:

Italian band, German name, Italian lyrics, doesn't make much sense but who cares nowadays in our lovely globalization times. Unfortunately this trio brings nothing new or exceptionally attractive to the scene, the sound on this second sull-length album is too raw for allowing the music to actually create a powerful atmosphere, but their efforts are notable, especially on the drumming and vocal part. the compositions are ok but you've hear this countless times before on similar bands, same slow to mid-paced rhythms and simple riffs. The vocals actually reminded me of Negura Bunget's first demo from back when they were called Wiccan Rede and the sound is similar too so I'd label this album as Wiccan Rede gobe depressive so you can get an approximate idea, but it might appeal to old-school Norwegian Black Metal fans.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: THRONE

Country: Italy

Title: Avoid the Light

Label: Moonlight Records

Year: 2012

Style: Stoner Sludge Metal

Review:

This band was formed in August 2012 (at least from what I can find on the net) and in November they have already signed with a label, Moonlight Records, and released their 10 tracks debut album, so they must be either extremely good or have pretty good connections in the scene. Well, this is not an exceptional album so the second presumption might be true, but I cannot say I was disapointed by their music. These 10 tracks, although based on simple structures prove that there's potential, the sound is crystal clear, their dedication to Sludge and Stoner is obvious and they have managed to come up with some interesting passages that capture your attention. I can't see why a fan of this genre wouldn't give this release a try, it's groovy, metallic, and quite traditional, could be a good surprise. And Moonlight's package (digipack) is exquisite as well.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: TOXOVIBORA

Country: Spain

Title: Primer Ataque

Label: Art Gates Records

Year: 2012

Style: Crossover Thrash Metal

Review:

A nice surprise from Spain, Toxovibora was founded back in 2009 and this is their debut album, an 8 tracks release with Spanish written lyrics that I guess is a delight for Spanish natives. The compositions are energetic and complex, full of adrenaline but at the same time leaving space to some more technical, mid-paced elements as well. Their combination of old-school oriented guitar riffs with more modern, groovy aspects is well thought and well crafted, the sound is crystal clear, the structures are catchy and headbanging friendly, their technical skills allow them to play within the boundaries of this genre and still sound tight and melodic at the same time. Good release from a band worth keeping an eye on.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8.5/10

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Band: UNDERWELL

Country: Italy

Title: Plan Your Rebirth

Label: WormHoleDeath

Year: 2012

Style: Post Hardcore

Review:

Again a genre we don't usually feature, Post Hardcore in Underwell's case would mean a Melodic Metalcore based on modern sounding Hardcore structures. I have no idea how successful this album can be since I don't orbit in these circles but I can say it sounds good, catchy and technical enough to raise some eyebrows, not to mention the melodic insertions that will certainly appeal to the younger generation of Metalcore fans. Like in almost all cases of Metalcore I've stumbled upon lately underwell benefits from their excellent technical skills and they prove to have potential in composing interesting music. It's up to you now.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: -/10

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Band: VERBAL RAZORS

Country: France

Title: Settling of Scores

Label: Selfreleased

Year: 2009

Style: Thrash Metal

Review:

Old demo but unfortunately this is the only release from Verbal Razors so far. 4 tracks, less than 10 minutes of old-school fast Thrash Metal completed with Punk/Hardcore vocals and dirty Rock'n'Roll attitude. The tracks are short but entertaining and although the compositions are pretty simple old-school metal fans will appreciate these guys' organic sound and attitude. Everything is simple and effective here, Verbal Razors managed to deliver a headbanging demo and hopefully they are preparing for a new release at the moment, at least that should be the case after 4 years.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 7/10

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Band: WARTIME

Country: Bulgaria

Title: Solar Messiah

Label: Selfreleased

Year: 2012

Style: Progressive Thrash Metal

Review:

Second studio album from this long lasting Bulgarian band. They were formed back in 1997 so they must be a well-known name in their country and after spinning this CD for a few times I can only subscribe to the respect due to them. 11 tracks, 50 minutes of complex, melodic, technical and progressive Thrash Metal with a good pinch of Power Metal, that's what Wartime offers us here, a release that's hard to believe it's coming from the dusty, rotten Eastern Europe and not from Germany or even Italy. The sound production is flawless, the execution follows that and the compositions are ranging from slow, melancholic moments to mid-paced powerful discharges of Metal delivered with professional, serious attitude. Even more credit goes to the band for selfreleasing this work better than most labels out there would have been able to, the only problem remains promoting it now and that's why I think a serious label with good PR should really take this band into consideration. It's so nice to get to listen to such a well written album once in a while; I love the versatile vocals ranging from clean vocals to Power Metal-like majestic choirs to hoarse but still comprehensive tones, I love the melodic guitar solos on it, the acoustic add-ons, and above all I love the overall arrangements so no wonder I'm recommending it to you too for a good breath of fresh (but still somehow old-school) Power Thrash Metal air. It's not a solid 10 only because sometime I felt the drums being brought a bit too in front of the other instruments although not bothering to the ears.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9.5/10

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Band: WHO DIES IN SIBERIAN SLUSH

Country: Russia

Title: We Have Been Dead Since Long Ago... 

Label: Solitude Productions

Year: 2012

Style: Funeral Doom Death Metal

Review:

After a successful debut album WDISS are back with another discharge of Funeral Doom Death Metal, this second full-length album although being made of only 6 tracks is totaling almost 45 minutes. Multiple old-school Death Metal guitar riffs and leads are blending in with a depressive, slow paced and oppressive rhythm section topped up by deep growls. At times I felt like the guitar leads are a bit too shiny for the overall atmosphere and the drums are too rough, but in the end I liked this new album quite a lot. I don't know how the Funeral Doom community will receive these heavy Death Metal influences but I'm sure fans of old English and Finnish Doom Death Metal will enjoy it. 

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 8/10

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Band: WORSTENEMY

Country: Italy

Title: Revelation

Label: WormHoleDeath Records

Year: 2013

Style: Death Metal

Review:

Worstenemy finally managed to release their debut album after more than 15 years of activity and I'm sure this was a quite awaited release since the band was pretty active in the underground so far. This album is made of 10 tracks totaling 37 minutes of aggressive, semi-technical, mid-tempo to fast paced Death Metal forged the old-school way and heavily influenced by the '90's US scene from the guitar riffs to the awesome chaotic solos. The vocalist reminds me of Chris Barnes in his best years although he's more brutal than groovy. The sound is crystal clear and suits the music perfectly, the compositions are tight and varied so that the band leaves no space for boredom during these 37 minutes, and the overall atmosphere is exactly what in my opinion ever Death Metal fan should look for, dark, brutal, cryptic and energetic. So all in all we're dealing here with an excellent album that presents a mature band, don't miss it.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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Band: XENOSIS

Country: USA

Title: Of Chaos & Turmoil

Label: WormHoleDeath

Year: 2012

Style: Progressive Death Metal

Review:

Formed in late 2009, Xenosis signed a deal with WormHoleDeath 2 years later and this debut album is the first fruit of their collaboration. A very interesting combination of Progressive Death Metal with multiple elements even from Jazz music, this debut album presents us a tight music full of imagination, with complete lack of any boundaries, the quartet enjoys to experiment and create intricate arrangements that will keep you glued from start till the end of this release delivering a sick mix of old-school and modern elements. Although very complex and intricate the tracks have their right amount of hooks and catchiness, the sound is perfect, the production as well, so all in all we're dealing with a very well made debut from a band with excellent potential. I've enjoyed it a lot.

Reviewed by Adrian

Rating: 9/10

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