Band: MODER
Country: Germany
Title: Ewiger Tod
Label: Murder Records
Year: 2007
Style: Black Death Metal
Review:
More Death than Black Metal, but better said a combination of the two, this third and actually last Moder full-length seems to be still available on tape format from Murder Records, that's why they sent it for a review I guess. Although I find the drums sound too synthetic and after a while annoying, the music is quite solid and well-done: mid-tempo to fast paced Black Death Metal with raw but clear sound, old-school attitude, German lyrics (so that the vocals sound even sharper than they actually are), occasional melodic guitar leads, a successful piece of Extreme Metal even though not innovative or original. Too bad the band is defunct at the moment.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
Band: MORAR
Country: ?
Title: Chants Of Ossian
Label: Nebular Winter Productions
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
In Romanian language morar actually means miller, so it was an unusual feeling getting this tape especially when knowing I'm going to listen to a Black Metal release. Anyway, this 5 tracks demo proved to be an excellent release, a solid and very catchy piece of traditional Melodic Black Metal. The compositions are relying on two layers of melodic guitar riffs and leads, Black Metal (good) shrieks, occasional calm acoustic and epic passages, and well-thought rhythms ranging from slow to fast paced. The drums'sound could have been a bit more polished, but being a demo I have no problem with these either. A band with excellent potential, if you're into 90's type of Melodic Black Metal (the Swedish way) you should really give this a listen.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
Band: MOURNFUL GUST
Country: Ukraine
Title: For All the Sins
Label: BadMoodMan Music
Year: 2013
Style: Doom Death Metal
Review:
The long awaited third album from Mournful Gust was finally released through BadMoodMan with a best off... compilation in 2010 and a single in 2012 preceeding it. The new album is made of 10 long tracks totaling more than 70 minutes of music, so probably M.G.'s fans will get what they have expected for so long. The music on this new disc could be labelled as Doom Death Metal, traditional and UK-fashioned, but with less exciting elements that I would have expected; there are some parts where I found myself being bored and even if I know there's a very thin line between depressive, melancholic or meditative state of mind and boredom during a Doom Death audition, I'd say Mournful Gust should have released a better album. For example there are some very tasty guitar leads and melodic ('90's like Hard Rock) guitar solos and keyboard passages here and there, passages that could have been better developed. The clean vocals are also top-notch but somehow the guy is overusing them. Don't get me wrong, this is a hard worked release, professional and quite emotional, but I'd expect a bit more from a 15 years old band, that's it. Try it yourselves.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
Band: MYSTONS
Country: Finland
Title: Black Matter
Label: V.R. Label
Year: 2014
Style: Experimental Stoner Metal
Review:
I think these 2 Finns are slowly but surely scratching mainstream levels and this latest (fourth) full-length album proves that. Experimental Stoner Metal is not their official genre, but to me it seemed like the most appropriate; the band draws influences from Stoner, Doom, Alternative, Grunge and Traditional Rock music and blends everything in a very enjoyable and memorable final product that can be easily digested by both fans of soft Rock and Metal. An album you'll have to listen from start to finish even if you're not buying it, the tracks differ a lot one from the other so you'll get plenty of bites to chew. My only regret is that during the audition I always had the impression they can do better, they can be perfect; well, it's not a regret, it's more like a feeling, but I also have a feeling the next album will be perfect and will push this band to very high levels. In the meantime check out this album, it's their best, no doubt.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
www.mystons.com
www.vrlabel.fi
Band: NACOM
Country: Italy
Title: Crawling Human Souls
Label: WormHoleDeath
Year: 2013
Style: Progressive Death Metal
Review:
After 10 years of activity and only a couple of demos under belt, it was about time for Nacom to show they are serious and aim high so we can consider this debut album as their statement in that direction. 10 tracks (48 minutes playing time) of entertaining and quite interesting melodic type of Progressive Death Metal with excellent sound quality (recorded / mixed in RealSound Studio Parma and mastered in the famous Finnvox Studios from Helsinki). I like how the 2 guitarists get along with each other and also how well are they supported by a Swiss-clock precise rhythm section and from time to time by a mysterious keyboard background, and I also like how smooth the tracks are flowing. On the other hand I feel the 2 vocal types (Black Metal type of whispers/screams - not really sure how to label them, and Death Metal growls - I guess the guy cuffs the microphone all the time) are not natural at all and was pretty much bored by them, and also the guitar solos are not there yet, they attempt some pretty rad thigs, but it's not enough to leave everyone mouth open, but again, I'd say they are in the right direction. If you like your Death Metal softer, with a bit more melody than usual and somehow progressive, Nacom might just be a good choice.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
Band: NERVOSA
Country: Brasil
Title: Victim of Yourself
Label: Napalm Records
Year: 2014
Style: Thrash Metal
Review:
Three wild girl from Brasil playing great, old school thrash with crossover ( in type of D.R.I.) 12 tracks (including intro) really kicking ass! 45 minutes of frury, fight against dirty and corruption world and other, typical to thrash lyrics... „Victim of Yourself” is a first full length album of Nervosa and this is a kind a journey to the past, however the album is really great. Just riffs, energy, traditional thrash drive, good guitar solos, great screamed vocals. This is not „discovery of new way of life and music” – but this is very good job girls !!!
Reviewed by Vilcin
Rating: 8/10
Band: ODRADEK ROOM
Country: Ukraine
Title: Bardo. Relative Reality
Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records
Year: 2013
Style: Progressive Doom Death Metal
Review:
A new Doom Death Metal band from Ukraine, this doesn't impress anyone anymore, there are so many Ukrainian bands "attacking" the European scene nowadays that I guess the later becomes saturated. Anyway, Hypnotic Dirge offers us a young quartet and their debut full-length album made of 7 tracks and lasting for almost an hour of depressive, sad, oppressive music, a mix between traditional Doom Death Metal and the nowadays Post-Rock thing. Not bad at all although not impressive either, but for a debut album I think the band reached its target to offer a nice-flowing, quite solid piece of music and spark the interest of the scene. A worth-mentioning fact: the lyrics are listed in both English and Russian as the band built a conceptual album with lyrics having a crucial role in the whole atmosphere.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/pages/Odradek-Room/445674468785898
Band: OROB
Country: France
Title: Into the Room of Perpetual Echoes
Label: Self-released
Year: 2013
Style: Progressive Black Metal
Review:
Young band from France founded in 2010, presenting us here their second EP, a 6 tracks effort totaling a bit more than 35 minutes of mid-tempo Black Metal with loads of Progressive elements. Honestly their approach reminds me of some English bands more than of what's happening in France on the Black Metal level. I love the mix of Black Metal shrieks, clean vocals and occasional growls and I think that's the way to go further and explore this mix more in depth. On the instrumental level they are not that intricate as one might think, but there are a few virtuoso parts punching here and there and there are the Progressive touches; the rest is pretty simple-structured, based on those repetitive, mesmerizing guitars that are so popular nowadays and specific to the Post-Rock and Post-Metal bands. The occasional acoustic interludes and overall melodic touches are like a cherry on top of a cake; these guys managed to deliver an interesting and entertaining EP, the potential is there, we'll see if they are able to exploit it to the max.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/orobband
Band: ORUGA
Country: France
Title: Oruga
Label: Apathia Records
Year: 2013
Style: Sludge Stoner Doom Metal
Review:
Originally released in 2011 by the band, this Oruga debut EP got picked up by Apathia Records last year and re-released, I guess, to announce an upcoming debut album by the band. Oruga is a 5 piece band from the Northern part of France playing a combination of Sludge, Stoner and Doom Metal: groovy rhythms, low-tunned guitars and heavy bass lines, comprehensive (mostly) screamed vocals, simple but quite catchy compositions (a bit more emphasize on choruses would bring them even more catchiness). At the moment they lack an identity, but this debut EP makes a good half an hour of chillin' Metal so all in all I'd consider it successful.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
Band: PLATEAU SIGMA
Country: Italy
Title: White Wings of Nightmares
Label: Beyond Productions
Year: 2013
Style: Funeral Doom Death Metal
Review:
Interesting, I didn't expect these guys to play such traditional Doom Death Metal and after giving this album a spin I can only play it again since it captured my interest. If this album would have been released sometime in the '90's it would have been a definite bestseller. One major difference from almost every other release from the nowadays Funeral Doom scene is the sound, very organic, unpolished and at the same time crystal clear sounding. It's much more complex than a regular Funeral Doom release, and it's (most of the time) slower and heavier than a regular Doom Death release, but all in all I think it would please both types of fans. I like the versatility of the vocalist, I like a lot the slower, acoustic passages, I love the faster, aggressive ones, and I love the guitar leads, so all in all I have enjoyed this album and would recommend it to you too but I guess only if you're an old-schooler.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
Band: REVELATIONS OF RAIN
Country: Russia
Title: Deceptive Virtue
Label: Solitude Productions
Year: 2013
Style: Doom Death Metal
Review:
Fourth studio album from this Russian band, Deceptive Virtue seems to be dedicated entirely to Russian speaking fellows as the rest won't get anything from the booklet / lyrics (yes, you know why). Anyway, the album is made of 7 long tracks totaling 50 minutes of melodic and melancholic Doom Death Metal based mostly on guitars. The rest of the instruments are like additives, less important elements, and probably that's why I got the constant feeling that something's missing from their music throughout the whole audition. The guitars are interesting, especially the leads building nice emotional passages here and there, but I feel like there should have been a bit more space and liberty for keyboards. All in all not a bad release, try it if you're into bands like Swallow the Sun, Saturnus or My Dying Bride.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
Band: SHADOWS GROUND
Country: Ukraine
Title: Suicide Propaganda
Label: Satanarsa Records
Year: 2007
Style: Black Metal
Review:
I'm already used to Satanarsa sending old-ass releases so it was no shock seeing this demo was released in 2007. In the meantime Shadows Ground got from one-man-band to a two men project and already released 4 full-length albums on various labels. This demo I have here is made of 4 tracks + 3 bonus ones, so a total of 7 tracks into fast Black Metal with raw but comprehensive sound, raspy, evil vocals, simple but surprisingly not annoying drum-machine, and good guitar riffs that can capture your interest at once. No, it's not a groundbreaking release but it projects a honest and hard-working band image for Shadows Ground, so I think you should check out this band if you're into fast, traditional, aggressive Black Metal and you don't mind a low quality recording once in a while.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
Band: SHALL BE THE CONQUEROR
Country: USA
Title: The Healing
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2013
Style: Progressive Death Metal
Review:
Once again my first judgement (after reading the band's name) was shattered away by the band's music; I really thought I was about to listen to a Metalcore/Deathcore band but instead here we have a Progressive, Experimental Brutal Death Metal band, and an impressive one I must add. Shall Be The Conquerror seem to have worked on this debut album for more than 5 years (the band was founded in 2008) so there's no wonder why they sound so tight and solid. The guys are excellent instrumentists and their level of imagination in what concerns compositions is top-notch too, I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the top of this genre in short time. The Healing is a complex work, carefully built, with a bit of something for fans of every form of this genre, I'm impressed and delighted by this audition.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
Band: SLOWRUN
Country: Finland
Title: Prologue
Label: Slow Burn Records
Year: 2013
Style: Ambient Post Rock
Review:
Not a genre we usually feature inhere but I have to get used to this, I always get such "out of focus" releases lately. Slowrun plays an instrumental blend of Ambient and Post Rock, meaning their music is based on simple guitars with loads of effects and a chill rhythm section to offer an ambient/atmospheric music in the end, in my opinion a music perfectly fit for driving away in the countryside during weekends and simply enjoy nature. It's funny how a "post-" type of music fits so well with nature. I'm sure there are some big names out there in this genre I could point you out as similar to Slowrun, but I'm not a follower of this genre so if you're into Post-Rock you should give them a try anyway.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
Band: SORDID CLOT
Country: Russia
Title: Subspecies
Label: Eclectic Prod. / Imbecil Ent.
Year: 2013
Style: Death Gore Grind
Review:
Third full-length album from these crazy Russians, Subspecies is made of 18 tracks but it doesn't last for more than 25 minutes, quite a usual situation for the grind scene. What I like about this album is the fact that the tracks are diverse, you can't get bored, and the sound is raw but at the same time very clear. Sordid Clot are mixing Gore Grind with Death Metal and a healthy dose of fun sprinkled all over, their music sounds old-school and fresh at the same time. A very entertaining release I would recommend to all fans of Gore Grind; probably one of the best in its genre I've heard lately.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
Band: STRANGE FACTS IN THE SCALPEL CASE
Country: Belgium
Title: Dead, But Not Beyond Reach
Label: Deadbangers Prod. / Cryptic Caverns
Year: 2013
Style: Death Metal
Review:
This band name makes me think of a "core" band, but having in mind Deadbanger as production label this would have been impossible. Strange Facts In The Scalpel Case is a Belgium based band that follows old paths of Death Metal and this is a compilation of what they released so far: an EP, a single and 2 live tracks as bonus. The sound is good enough for a demo, and the music fit for fans of fast Death Metal with chaotic rhythms and screamed vocals. Raw, energetic, and retro Death Metal with Thrash influences; nothing impressive, but well executed and not boring at all.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
Band: SXUPERION
Country: USA
Title: Whoreshipping The Depths
Label: Bloody Mountain Records
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
There are all sorts of materials and activities nowadays supporting one man bands (mostly) from USA so I'd say Sxuperion and all his projects is definitely a guy that should be featured and promoted more. His music is absolutely devastating, and I'm not using cliches for the sake of a review, he really manages to deliver a satanic, brutal, ugly as hell music to the listener. Raw but still crystal-clear recordings, repetitive but damn aggressive and effective compositions, demonic acoustic interludes, sick vocals, US Death Metal type chaotic-like guitar solos, and overall an apocalyptic atmosphere. This is a project I'd recommend to fans of both Black and Death Metal, but only the ugliest type.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
Band: THE NEGATION
Country: France
Title: Paths of Obedience
Label: Mortis Humanae Productions
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
New band and album on Mortis Humanae and the label is getting stronger and stronger as time goes by. The Negation is a quintet from Paris founded in 2011 and this is their debut album, an 8 tracks (+ intro and outro) effort into fast, demonic Black Metal. The compositions are solid and the execution is top-notch, supported by an excellent sound, but I'm still not sure what we have here are drum programmings or a real drummer, at times the drums part sounds a bit too synthetic. Anyway, the atmospheres on this album are impressive and even if the guitar leads add some melody, the whole sounds damn oppressive and offensive. A serious debut, a band to keep an eye on.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
Band: THROAAT
Country: USA
Title: Puke on Your Grave
Label: Deadbangers Productions
Year: 2013
Style: Speed Thrash Black Metal
Review:
Never thought a yellow tape with black print could look so metal and old-school, but Throaat's debut demo really looks awesome. The band originally released this as tape limited to 50 copies and then Deadbangers released 150 (hand-numbered) more. Puke on Your Grave is made of 5 tracks totaling 18 minutes of old-school, raw Extreme Metal, a combination of Heavy, Thrash, Death and Black Metal with different composition patterns on each track, an apparent lack of direction and a rehearsal-like sound and execution (I guess it was recorded in one take only). For the new wave of old-school fanatics this might be a good choice, I would have liked a better sound quality though, at least a couple of tracks on this demo deserved a better sound.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6.5/10
Contact:
Band: THUGNOR
Country: Portugal
Title: Scrolls of Grimace
Label: Aphelion Productions
Year: 2011
Style: Atmospheric Doom Black Metal
Review:
This is the solo-project of Jose Alfonso from Decayed and Scrolls of Grimace is its debut full-length album, an album that didn't impress me at all to be honest. J.A. is a legend of the scene, but the very simple riffs, the raw and amateurish sound and the synthetic feeling transmitted by the drum-machine succeeded to bore me rather than get me interested. the only notable element in Thugnor's music would be the guitar solos, but except for that it's like listening to a raw demo of a beginner band from the '90's. Sorry, no go.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 4/10
Contact:
Band: THYRUZ
Country: Norway
Title: Svik
Label: Self-released
Year: 2014
Style: Black Metal
Review:
After 2 albums out on Twilight Vertrieb, Thyruz decided to move forward by themselves so this third full-length is a self-release, not something I would call specific for a band coming out of Norway, usually labels are all over any new act from those lands, no need to mention why. This is my first encounter with this band. Thyruz, as I was expecting, are playing Traditional Black Metal but what I like the most on this CD are the excellent sound, raw but at the same time crystal clear, the theatrical vocals (the vocal gives you the impression he's heart and soul into what he does and that's extremely important for any band), and the band's capability to create some pretty original tunes although without using effects other than the "traditional" instruments; the music ranges from slow, tension-building passages to fast and devastating parts. A very good album, although I have my doubts in calling it a full-length, it only lasts for less than half an hour and features only 6 tracks. Anyway, my suggestion for you is to grab a copy of this material as soon as possible, it won't let you down; Thyruz is another proof why this country is still the leader in Black Metal.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
www.thyruz.com
Band: TOOLBOX TERROR
Country: Italy
Title: Bind Torture Kill
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2013
Style: Death Metal
Review:
As a debut self-released album "Bind Torture Kill" certainly does its job to impress on how profesional it looks and sounds like. By their look I was expecting Toolbox Terror to be a Brutal Death Metal band but instead they are a Modern, core-influenced Death Metal band with fat-ass guitar riffs, solid rhythm section and good technical quality, but unfortunately the vocal part is not something I like, both the screams and the growls are too synthetic, the guy (or guys?) sounds he's trying too much and the result is nothing natural. But that's probably me, I might be too old to still get this type of vocals. Apart for that I think Toolbox Terror have all the necessary elements to break through the underground and become a respected name in the scene pretty soon, at least this debut album is a good example of their potential.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
Band: UNHOLYATH
Country: Ukraine
Title: End of Humanity
Label: Satanarsa Rec. / The Kether Crown Prod.
Year: 2009
Style: Black Metal
Review:
It's Satanarsa, it's an old release, as usual. This is Unholyath's debut album made of 5 tracks + 3 bonus tracks (have no idea why these are bonus) and also a low budget live video of one of their tracks from back when they were called Blizzard. Apparently this was/is limited to only 200 copies. The music is not bad, the sound is ok too, and the compositions and execution are nothing to be ashamed of, so all in all I think I might recommend this album to fans of traditional Black Metal lead by semi-technical guitar riffs and leads. The bonus tracks are faster paced than the first 5, but they are not bad either, although I prefer the first part of the album. In the meantime the band released a new album (last year) so give them a chance and check out what they have to offer, you might like their music.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
Band: Various Artists
Country: Various
Title: Where the Past Is Alive
Label: Forever Plagued Records
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Nice collection of 14 tracks from Forever Plagued Records that will allow the listeners to get to know both the band and the label's path. The label's path: Black Metal, of course. And here are a few words on each track:
Sombrous - more an intro than a regular tracks as it's instrumental Dark Ambient from start to finish; good nonetheless
Incursus - offering 3 tracks on this compilation, Incursus is a one man band playing fast and raw Black Metal, the ugly, devastating US type; on the second track though the guitars sound like on a demagnetized tape, funny; the third track is full-on raw fast paced Black Metal with demented vocals
Darkest Grove - one man band again, two tracks featured as well: the first is a sequence of acoustic, calm, almost Folk-ish quiters and mid-tempo to fast paced Black Metal, the second tracks is totally different, like Slayer going Black Metal, pretty interesting though
Serpentinam - rehearsal sounding slow to mid-tempo Black Metal, quite depressing; quite shitty apart from the nice guitar leads
Graveland - tracks from Graveland's 1993 demo re-released by Forever Plagued; I guess it will be a best-seller only because of the band's name...
Lord Foul - another one man band that seems to be on ice at the moment; primitive, brutal and satanic Black Metal, no real value except for history, this is taken from a '93 demo
Tenebrous - mid-tempo to fast paced traditional Black Metal with oppressing atmospheres and excellent guitar leads and riffs
Nightbringer - oppressive, occult Black Metal with horrific atmosphere, very good stuff (I guess that's why they are signed with Season of Mist now); track from their debut album
Do Skonu - one man band from Ukraine; fast Black Metal with repetitive riffs and rhythms; the guy is actually a good instrumentist, I know some of his other projects
NAV - this is more like a Thrash Metal band with Black Metal type of vocals; awful guitar solo in the middle, funny sounding track overall
Demoncy - legendary American one main project started in 1991; although I don't like the vocals and the somehow synthetic sounding guitar riffs that much, the overall atmosphere is great, and the composition as well.
All in all Forever Plagues Records seems to be a solid, serious label, a perfect fit especially for one-man-bands. Horns up!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
Band: VIN DE MIA TRIX
Country: Ukraine
Title: Once Hidden from Sight
Label: Hypnotic Dirge Rec. / Solitude Prod.
Year: 2013
Style: Doom Death Metal
Review:
Another Doom Death Metal act coming out of Ukraine, a band that's offered this time by two of the most "in fashion" labels at the moment, Solitude and Hypnotic Dirge, so it must be an absolute killer. Unfortunately both labels were wrong this time, Vin De Mia Trix, apart for the interesting band name and the good bass player, isn't impressive at all. A mix of My Dying Bride and Saturnus with lots and lots of dull moments when they loose the listener, and also lots of unnecessary fillings all over. It sounds like the band were so eager to release this debut album (it was about time after 6 years) that they stretched the 8 featured tracks as much as possible without thinking about the listener, actually I'm sure not even they are able to listen to their album a few times without loosing interest. Well, maybe it's not that bad as you might think after reading this, but for sure it's not rising to my level of expectations after seeing it being backed up by these 2 labels.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10
Contact: