3 Days of Silence - Sodium Sulphur
Agael - Trost
Agiel - Dark Pantheons
Aksaya - Troisieme Guerre
Amputated - Dissect, Molest, Ingest
Anarchos - Descent into the Maelstrom
As Angels Bleed - As Angels Bleed
Astaroth - Chaosatanas
Barbarian Prophecies - XIII
Black Anal Goat Vomit - Hell
Burning Saviours - Boken om forbannelsen
Chaos - Violent Redemption
Corpus Diavolis - Entheogenesis
Crypt of Silence - Beyond Shades
Cult of Vampyrism - Aporia
Dementia Senex - Heartworm
Devoid - The Invasion
Dimaeon - Collapse of the Anthropocene
Disharmony - Shades of Insanity
Drawers - Drawers
Ea - A Etilla
Eden Kaiser - Doomsday Juggernaut
Enraged - It's Your Fear That Feeds Their Power
Everdying - The Journey Ahead
Evil - Legenda neskrotnych zivlov
Evil Machine - War in Heaven
Extreme O.D. - Contaminate
Fallen Arise - Ethereal
Firn - Glorious Past
Firn - Harsh Regression
Firn - Edge of Another World
Gaktungar - Gisturgh
Halahkuh - Desecration
Helegion - Helegion Ritualis
Hell Crucificator - Evil Never Dies
Hellhate - Retsonretap
Heresy of Dreams - Nuestra Ley Es Esta
Implode - Under a New Sun
Korseld - Jordevandring
Lugburz - Pure Misanthropy of Death
Midnattsvrede - Demo 2013
Moribund / Excrementum Luciferi / Pontefactum Melancholicum - Split
Outre Tombe - Demo 2012
Paramnesia - Paramnesia
Path ov Amok - Demo 2013
Posslust - Echoes of Light, Echoes of Darkness
Raging Age - Regions of Sorrow
Satanchist - Drtici Kacirskych Pohlavi
Scutum Crux - The Second Sun
Serpent Warning - Serpent Warning
Shadowcraft - Principles of Chaos
Shattered Hope - Waters of Lethe
Spitehowling - Born to Die for Evil
Svalbard - The Fall
The Great Old Ones - Tekeli-Li
Throne of Heresy - Realms of Desecration
Torchia - oNe
Worship The Pestilence - Condemned to Chaos
Zaimus - The Unholy Spells of Night
Zloslut - Zloslutni horizont - Donosilac prokletstva, očaja i smrti
Band: 3 DAYS OF SILENCE
Country: Switzerland
Title: Sodium / Sulphur
Label: Self-released
Year: 2013
Style: Industrial Electronic Black Metal
Review:
Switzerland seems to continue offering interesting Extreme Metal acts and 3 Days of Silence proves to be well worthy of this country's rare but so very influential tradition, a band founded on the ashes of the Thrash Death Metal act Xicon. This is totally different than Thrash Death Metal though, it's an excellent offer of Industrial Electro Ambient Black Metal, extremely expressive, very rich in orchestration, carefully composed and delivered, a complete debut album from a band that seems to have what it takes. My copy came as white tape wrapped in white cloth, but the album was also released in vinyl and digital format. Musicwise just try to imagine a combination of late Tiamat, Mortiis, Samael, although 3 Days of Silence have their own approach. A really, really interesting band, an excellent debut album, close to perfection, and a well-thought general concept; a solid 10 from my part, just to encourage them to keep walking on this path. Recommended, of course!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 10/10
Contact:
www.3daysofsilence.com
Band: AGAEL
Country: Germany
Title: Trost
Label: Naturmacht Productions
Year: 2014
Style: Ambient Black Metal
Review:
Agael is a one man black metal and dark ambient project hailing from Heidelberg in Germany. Having been active now for the last six years, Agael has unveiled his sophomore album release through Naturmacht Productions entitled simply "Trost". Labelled as black metal and dark ambient, "Trost" features other influences too with an element of death/doom and funeral doom prevelant in tracks such as "Ewige Heimkehr" and a more Gothic feel to parts of opening track "Sternenklang". At times "Trost" does have that clunky, one man band feel too it but regardless of that it remains an album that needs to be heard and experienced fully! With an air of desperation and anguish throughout, Agael translates such moods into fine piano tones, soft acoustic guitar melody and dark, ambient undertones as well as savage pleading vocals, raw, aggressive and bleak riffs and the constant rumble of bass and drums. Truly an agonized affair is "Trost", strong in terms of diversity, powerful in the ways of emotive, depressive auras and musically a fine record to listen too as well! Whether Agael is playing with ravenous black metal or sombre, peaceful tones, he does so with care, talent and a great sense of song writing!
Reviewed by Luke Hayhurst
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
Band: AGIEL
Country: USA
Title: Dark Pantheons
Label: Deepsend Records
Year: 2014
Style: Symphonic Death Black Metal
Review:
Hailing from New York State, this symphonic death/black metal band originally started out playing death/grind before moving over to a more grandiose style. Released through Deepsend Records, the “Dark Pantheons” EP is the band’s first offering in nearly a decade and for me they should have stuck to what they know that being straight up Death/Grind. This is a calamity, chaotic and garbled! Flat out blast beats collide head first with the blaring of trumpets, raw hostile vocals meld with abrasive symphonic undertones and the whole thing just feels like neither one thing nor the other. For a start the production isn’t great and I feel it degrades the symphonic edge if you have poor sound. If you are going to make black metal with an off kilter production level, make it traditional black metal and even then be wary! 1992 this is not! This feels like a poor man’s Dimmu Borgir spliced with Cannibal Corpse, brutal, fast and aggressive yet but with trumpets in the background! Not good!
Reviewed by Luke Hayhurst
Rating: 4/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/houseofagiel
Band: AKSAYA
Country: France
Title: Troisieme Guerre
Label: Cold Raw Records
Year: 2013
Style: Black Death Metal
Review:
Debut demo from this young French trio founded last year not far away from Paris, Troisieme Guerre is made of 4 tracks totaling 16 minutes of fast and melodic Black Death Metal highlighted by an intelligent guitar work and traditional but at the same time fresh compositions. Even though the band adds plenty of melodic elements in their guitar and bass work (such a good bass line, too), the overall impression is of an extreme, ugly and oppressive music reminding me of the '90's Swedish Black Metal scene. This band has good potential, you should keep an eye on them and even if this demo has a rough, unpolished recordings quality, it's a good way to meet a hope of the nowadays Franch Black Metal scene (I say that while having in mind they were formed only last year and already this debut demo managed to capture my attention).
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/paganaksaya
www.coldrawrecords.com
Band: AMPUTATED
Country: UK
Title: Dissect, Molest, Ingest
Label: Sevared Records
Year: 2014
Style: Brutal Death Metal
Review:
With an intro of mixed news reports that tell of first a killing and then the gory details leading to cannibalism, this is the sickening start to a long awaited return! Yes after a long gap of five whole years UK brutal death metal mongers Amputated, the butchers of Bristol are back with their third full length studio album, Dissect, Molest, Ingest! Released through brutalists Sevared Records this new opus of filth, entrails and gore blasts into furious life with the extremely catchy and crushingly heavy Gorging on Putrid Discharge and then never looks back as blood soaked carnage is wielded and the evidence devoured! Further annihilation is witness during the colossal and mind shattering The Local Flavour which combines sickening riff onslaughts aided in no small part by a huge dose of rumbling bass and the frenetic machinations of an over worked drummer. to temper the storm the Avon Annihilators (I have more of those) produce a thick, guttural and slower paced type of horror, oppressively heavy and oh so good to listen too! Further on and Infanticidal Dysmorphia packs a bass heavy punch with some truly slamming sledge hammer like riffs and beats whilst Skullfuck Lobotomy (That’s going to hurt) is almost bouncy in its catchiness and thoroughly devastating in slower moments! Psychotropic Suicide is nothing short of a genocidal onslaught tempered by moments of psychological warfare and menacing vibes whilst the West Country warmongers (Told you) are at their most gruesome and chugging best as they churn out another monstrous tome in the form of the hilariously entitled When Whores Meet saws! Subatomic Insemination is a serious slam fest, a real chance for some furious head banging and vicious pitting whilst Six Feet Deep showcases the bands technical prowess with some different time signatures on the riffs and a slower, more methodical approach that increases the bands intense heaviness, and also showing off with some old school traditional death metal riffs! The albums penultimate track is also their album title track. Dissect, Molest, Ingest is a short sharp shock of brutal death savagery from these Severn Estuary Slaughter Lords (That’s four I believe, but whose counting?) and leads neatly into the albums swan song, the venomously scathing Toolbox Abortionist. Easily going to make it on to my albums on the year list I think, I reckon it will be on a few of yours too!
Reviewed by Luke Hayhurst
Rating: 9.5/10
Contact:
www.amputated.bandcamp.com
Band: ANARCHOS
Country: Holland
Title: Descent into the Maelstrom
Label: Vic Records
Year: 2014
Style: Death Metal
Review:
Anarchos are a Dutch death metal quintet whose debut demo "Tortured Beyond Death" was released back in 2012. Now through Vic Records the band has returned with a new EP in tow going by the name of "Descent into the Maelstrom" and damnit does it live up to its name! Consisting of five tracks and starting with "Anointing of the Sick", Anarchos delve into their fascinations with death and the occult whilst laying down some sickening riffs and thunderous beats! With a darkened, often sinister pitch to their work, Anarchos manage to instill a sense of decay and depravity into their bleak, monstrous tones! It has moments where the intensity drops a little but the band still sport a great deal of aggression and hostility regardless of this, and despite a lack of diversity and a slightly generic style, this abrasive brooding EP is still worthy of your attention!
Reviewed by Luke Hayhurst
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/anarchos666
Band: AS ANGELS BLEED
Country: Australia
Title: As Angels Bleed
Label: Self-released
Year: 2013
Style: Gothic Metal
Review:
Day after day Australia seems to be figuring out a place for itself among the metal world and it hits us this time with a vampiric styled Gothic metal band, and not to be fooled this isn't your normal soft romantic mid ages chants. From the first track "Sinfully Yours" these guys will hit you loud and clear that they are about doing business. Hard drumming with fast galloping and alternative picking along the tracks keeps the more aggressive metal fans curious to hear the album, integrated with Avelina soft and warm sound accompanied with Orchestra influences and choirs along the tracks gives it the gothic influences they were aming for. On of the main tracks in the album which they made into an official video clip is "desire" which i got to say has some headbanging guitar work with nice guitar solo in the middle and Avelina did again some good vocaling singing a well written lyrics talking about the pain of immortality and forbidden desires. Among the album you can feel these guys have found their voice early with a specific musicprint but they also turn thing around from time to time as in the track"A Love Worth Dying For" with the male harsh vocals in the back and the lead guitar line in the end, and in the track"I Drown" which has in its intro one of the bass finest moments and it goes along the verses. Listening to the whole album i got to say these guys have done some really nice job, Von Lehmann succeeded to maintain a very powerfull and interesting rythms along the album with a good solo here and there despite carring the guitars section on his own, Avelina has also done good job with minor mistakes and i have the feeling if she continued progressing in the upcoming releases she can be one of my favourite gothic vocals ever. The drummer kept me interested along the album with well written lines balancing between powerfull fast lines to give the tracks much needed attitude and punch but not in the way disfugering the gothic romantic aura around the tracks made by the vocals and keys. The bassist done his job right but i felt there was some space for him to give more than that. As Angels Bleed is without doubt a very good start for a very promising band among the Gothic metal acts and if they continued progressing and maturing they will get me and many metal fans into Gothic metal again.
Reviewed by Tarek
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
www.asangelsbleed.com
Band: ASTAROTH
Country: Norway
Title: Chaosatanas
Label: Polypus Records
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Have you ever typed the band name Astaroth into the Metal Archives search engine? There are tonnes of them! Might that be a future issue for this band? A Norwegian Black Metal band in this case, an Oslo based sextet whose list of other projects is as long as your arm and features amongst the ranks Endezzmma and Dodsfall. Released through Polypus Records, “Chaosatanas” is the band’s debut album and the title itself leaves little to the imagination in terms of themes. Funnily enough, neither does the music on offer as Astaroth produce a time worn brand of Satanic Black Metal that whilst done to death is never the less pleasant on the ear! Clearly Astaroth are all about tipping their collective caps to the bands they grew up with and so “Chaosatanas” is well written slice of early 90’s nostalgia but with far better production. As such a description of the actual music on offer is hardly needed as Astaroth produce generic but well-formed and performed black metal circa Norway early to mid-90’s and as such if that style isn’t your thing then you’ll know to avoid. If however nothing excites you more than a corpse painted trek around a snow laden pine forest, preferably on a mountain whilst constantly hailing Satan, well then I reckon you’ll enjoy this!
Reviewed by Luke Hayhurst
Rating: 6.5/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/AstarothOfficial
Band: BARBARIAN PROPHECIES
Country: Spain
Title: XIII
Label: WormHoleDeath
Year: 2013
Style: Black Death Metal
Review:
It was about time for this hard-working Spanish band to sign with a professional label, and here's XIII out on the Italian WormHoleDeath. XIII probably marks the band's 13th year of existence, but it's a complete album made of 13 new tracks totaling more than an hour of solid Black Death Metal. The band is capable of delivering mature and well-written tunes as their technical capacities allow them to experiment and at the same time still keep a straight line. The album is full of melody and at the same time it's heavy and powerful as it should be, another proof of band's experience. Since my previous encounter with the band was their debut album from 2009, I can say there's a definite improvement in Barbarian Prophecies' music, their music is now more diverse, more complex and much more catchy, so I recommend this album to you too.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
www.barbarianprophecies.com
www.wormholedeath.com
Band: BLACK ANAL GOAT VOMIT
Country: Australia
Title: Hell
Label: Cold Raw Records
Year: 2013
Style: Ambient Doom Black Metal
Review:
My first impression on material wasn't the best possible, that's for sure; the sound quality is extremely poor, the band name is stupid to the core, and the compositions aren't the most impressive either, but I gave it a second chance (spin) and it kinda grew on me, I discovered loads of creepy and interesting elements that could make it worth your while, too. This guy (the band is actually a one man act) likes to mix in different elements in order for the final result to be disgusting, offensive and at the same time atmospheric and dark, so we can hear elements of Ambient, Doom Metal, Noise Grind and of course Black Metal, and even some Post Black Metal guitar leads here and there. At times the guitar riffs seem very interesting but it's a really tough job for the listener to distinguish anything at all. Probably with a decent recording this would have been more interesting, but my impression is that the guy doesn't want any professional recording after all. Recommended if you're into lo-fi raw Black Metal only.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10
Contact:
www.blackanalgoatvomit.bandcamp.com
www.coldrawrecords.com
Band: BURNING SAVIOURS
Country: Sweden
Title: Boken om forbannelsen
Label: I Hate Records
Year: 2013
Style: Hard Rock Doom Metal
Review:
A combination of traditional Doom Metal and '70's Hard Rock is not something I'm very used to listen to nowadays even if this retro fashion is everywhere. Heavily influenced by band like Pentagram, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, and other '70's heros, Burning Saviors have released 3 full-length albums until 2007 when they stopped most probably because the previous vocalist (who has a Romanian name, btw) left and had to be replaced. From 2011 they started releasing stuff again and here we have a compilation of their latest singles that can be easily considered as their fourth full-length as it features 8 tracks and totalizes 38 minutes of playing time. Although the music is organic and seems genuine, the Hard Rock influences are a bit too much for this tuime we live in, it sounds very simplistic and repetitive, and only the good grooves and inspired guitar leads and solos manage to avoid boredom. Fans of '70's Rock Metal will probably enjoy this, but my opinion is that they need more hooks to be able to become a notable name.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/burningsaviours
www.ihate.se
Band: CHAOS
Country: India
Title: Violent Redemption
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Year: 2013
Style: Thrash Metal
Review:
From Transcending Obscurity Records comes the debut album from Indian thrash four piece Chaos! Violent Redemption comes adorned by simple, dark and effective artwork and its eleven tracks kick off with Ungodly Hour that sees Chaos open in a dark and sinister manner before unleashing Torn which offers up a more flowing, fast paced modern brand of thrash attack. This is a fast album, half an hour of catchy, riff worshiping thrash as Game will testify too, and the bands aggression meets melodic style is refreshing as well as superbly performed. War Crime is a track about the treatment of prisoners of war, a groove drenched track of catchy, flowing thrash but with savage outbursts of chaotic thrashing barbarity, easily the song of the album and a perfect summation of the Chaos style. All decent thrash acts have an anthem or two on their albums and with the rabble rousing chorus of “It doesn’t make you, bigger than me” growled with menace into the mic, Saint certainly fits the bill! Tracks such as Heaven’s Gate highlight the bands more sombre, emotive side whilst Blacklash is a pure adrenaline fueled fun ride! As an album you’ll not find one more fun than this anytime soon, a thoroughbred and modern thrash barrage of head bang inducing riffs and furious beats!
Reviewed by Luke Hayhurst
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
Band: CORPUS DIAVOLIS
Country: France
Title: Entheogenesis
Label: Self-released
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Impressive band these French Corpus Diavolis, they were formed in 2008 and pretty much did everything by themselves except for an EP released in 2011 by Hass Weg Productions. This is their second full-length album released again by the band in excellent digipack format including also a booklet with lyrics and pics; very professional approach on both image and sound (the album sound's excellent), although their music reminds me of the '90's. Fast paced, demonic, hateful, technical and offensive, that's how I would describe Corpus Diavolis' work on Entheogenesis. 12 tracks, more than 50 minutes of playing, quite diversified in composition, highly obscure when it comes to atmosphere, I'd recommend this album to all Black Metal followers, this is one hell of a solid band and album!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
www.corpusdiavolis.com
Band: CRYPT OF SILENCE
Country: Ukraine
Title: Beyond Shades
Label: Solitude Productions
Year: 2014
Style: Doom Death Metal
Review:
This is the debut album from a band that seems more into the '90's type of Doom Death rather than the nowadays polished type. Beyond Shades offers only 4 tracks, but their total playing time is 50 minutes, so none of the featured titles clocks less than 11 minutes, pretty unsurprising for this genre. The label, and I guess the band too, take pride in the band's refusal to use keyboards or other effects in order to increase the atmosphere, and that's fine with me, but the problem is the sound on this release is too raw and unpolished in order to be something to stand out from the crowd of similar bands; ok, the album offers some pretty rad and catchy guitar leads and solos, but that's about it, the rest is quite mediocre and at least for me it failed to capture the attention for a complete track although I'm already at the third complete audition. Fans of old-school, organic Doom Death Metal (slow, sorrowful, oppressing, lead by guttural vocals) might enjoy this.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/CryptOfSilence
www.solitude-prod.com
Band: CULT OF VAMPYRISM
Country: Italy
Title: Aporia
Label: Mercy Despise / Dark East Productions
Year: 2013
Style: Gothic Doom
Review:
Second full-length from this Italian duo featuring a member of Trismegisto, a band I remember being reviewed by me a few years ago. Back then I really liked Trismegisto, but unfortunately I can't say the same about this project. Cult of Vampyrism tries a combination between Gothic Rock and old-school Doom Metal, but the result is far from being as interesting as such a combination suggests, and that's mostly because of the simplistic, amateurish guitar riffs, the type of guitar riffs anyone who just picked up a guitar starts playing (even without knowing anything about handling a guitar). The girls vocal timbre seems really good but unfortunately she sounds bored (or just dissonant?) and not committed to the general idea most of the time. The only good thing, or the only element I liked on this album are the keyboard backgrounds, eerie and mysterious all the time, and maybe also the few male whispers and clean vocals, but without success in the overall impression on the material. Not my type, not recommended.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 4/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/CultOfVampyrism
Band: DEMENTIA SANEX
Country: Italy
Title: Heartworm
Label: The Path Less Traveled Rec. / Drown Within Rec. / Don Carlos Prod.
Year: 2013
Style: Experimental Death Metal
Review:
Everyone involved in this "business" knows that for a label releasing EPs is synonymous with death but here's three different label joining forces and releasing this 3 (!!!) tracks EP from an unknown band which previously released only 1 demo, 4 years ago, and putting their trust in Dementia Senex; this is even released as digipack. That means the labels are impressed by the band's potential and most probably the upcoming (if any) album will be released by one or all of them again. But getting to these 3 tracks (totaling 18 minutes), Dementia Senex likes to blend modern Death Metal with Hardcore influences and not only, and the result is quite difficult to label, but the tracks are nice flowing, catchy, technical and curdled enough to impress the listener, and also they benefit of a good recording sound, so all in all we're dealing with a successful material, I'm sure both fans of Hardcore and Death Metal will appreciate it, it's surprisingly well balanced.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/dementiasenex
www.thepathlesstraveledrecords.com
Band: DEVOID
Country: India
Title: The Invasion
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Year: 2013
Style: Thrash Death Metal
Review:
India’s thrash/death four piece Devoid released their second release early last year, a five track EP by the name of Invasion which was released through Transcending Obscurity India. Opening with a horror flick like intro of nightmarish tones combined with delicate acoustic guitar, the band are soon hitting into EP title track The Invasion and a raw tipped cacophony of frenetic blast beats mixed with more groove drenched beats, savage raucous growls and maniacal riffs! Devoid create barbaric surging thrash with moments of more intense catchy vibes and with the full bodies sound that a death metal influence brings! Through more instrumental moments the band define their sound with some expertly crafted melodies of a slower, darker nature and in doing so let their creative wanderings roam a little more, especially in the form of guitar solos and tunes! Devoid’s catchy yet ravenous sound continues unabated into the very ear pleasing Pandemonium is Now as the bands distinctive and hypnotic drumming display drives them forward whilst rumbling bass lines and more guitar based wankery in the form of more soaring solos add depth and diversity to proceedings, whilst in stark contrast when the band slow the pace once more and increase their drumming to more of a double kick attach, the intensity and groove they create is seriously satisfying! Brahma Weapon is a more moderately paced chugging slab of thrash, not on a par with what has come previously but a good track none the less and the band bring things to a close with almost Pantera like slowed chugs, grooves and heaviness, a sludge like bout of death/thrash that quickens as it progresses and after its early moments of Pantera influence returns to the bands own style! The Invasion EP is a quality release for sure and comes highly recommended by me!
Reviewed by Luke Hayhurst
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
Band: DIMAEON
Country: Holland
Title: Collapse of the Anthropocene
Label: Layered Reality Productions
Year: 2013
Style: Progressive Death Metal
Review:
Although this is their debut album, Dimaeon are around since 2002 and released a few demos, EPs and splits so far. The band's technical abilities are amazing and this album is abundant of catchy, genius elements sprinkled all over. Collapse of the Anthropocene features 9 tracks totaling a bit more than an hour of Progressive Death Metal, a combination of old-school, modern and lots of progressive, experimental elements. Unfortunately not all parts are as impressive, and the album alternates between amazing, delicious touches and boring, outdated and mediocre parts, but the good news is that the first are more, and better, so the overall impression on this debut album is favorable, I suggest youy give it a spin online and decide for yourselves. I'm sure the band can deliver much better and much more mature material, they are really good and inventive musicians.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
www.dimaeon.com
www.layered-reality.com
Band: DISHARMONY
Country: Greece
Title: Shades of Insanity
Label: Noisehead Records
Year: 2014
Style: Heavy Doom Metal
Review:
Heavy Doom Metal bands are rare nowadays, or at least I rarely stumble upon any of them, so this album was real joy to listen to as this is a genre I used to adore in the '90's, I still do, but you know the saying: out of sight, out of mind. I think this album is a swansong for the band, it was released in 2009 by themselves and re-released this year by Noisehead, but in the meantime the band wasn't active on a discographic level, so this might be their final attempt to get their name out there; my prediction is either they release a new album within a year or two or the band will never become anything anymore. Back to the album it's made of 8 tracks totaling 50 minutes of skillfully crafted Heavy Doom Metal extremely rich in various influences, different emotions, and multiple ways of expression, a real joy to listen to. They remind me a lot of Nevermore most probably because of the excellent vocalist, but Disharmony is in no way a copycat. I'm impressed by their technical level but also by their ability to come up with catchy, memorable tunes, so if you like bands like Nevermore, Sentenced, Type o Negative, Paradile Lost or even Mercyful Fate, you should try this album, it's definitely not one you'll oversee easily. My only objection is actually a fear that the band will call it quits before managing to continue the work started with this album.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9.5/10
Contact:
www.disharmony.gr
www.noiseheadrecords.com
Band: DRAWERS
Country: France
Title: Drawers
Label: Kaotoxin Records
Year: 2014
Style: Sludge Stoner Metal
Review:
Clearly not a lot of thought was put into the artwork for this release so here’s hoping that all of the bands creative juices we’re channeled into the music! Drawers are a French sludge/stoner metal five piece along the same kind of lines as Mastodon or Baroness sound wise. This is their self titled sophomore album, released through Kaotoxin Records and will be available for the public’s general consumption on the eleventh of February. Despite their Mastodon influence, a band whose technical prowess I admire but whose music doesn’t really stir my soul, Drawers are a remarkably catchy and enjoyable prospect! Opening song Once and for All tells you all you need to know about this band, from the thick, guttural vocals, drenched in filth and unleashed with savage power, to the groove laden riff-age, again crusted in murk and dirt. Sporting an equally impressive drumming display and the constant throbbing rumble of the reverb packed bass play, Drawers have all of the ability to put on a seriously impressive show. Yet so do Mastodon and they don’t move me so whats the difference here? Well in truth Drawers have a far more flowing, catchier sound. Mired in old school rock n roll goodness and with a fair helping of southern rock sleaze and groove, Drawers take these sounds and incorporate them into a far more aggressive and abrasive style. Think of Amebix on their last album Sonic Mass, only quicker or more relevant I suppose would be Kylesa. Whatever the reason for Drawers getting under my skin and hooking me in though, I’m not complaining! Highly recommended if you like your rock and metal heavy, grooved up, fuzzed out and dirty as sin!
Reviewed by Luke Hayhurst
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/drawerskvlt
Band: EA
Country: Russia
Title: A Etilla
Label: Solitude Productions
Year: 2014
Style: Funeral Doom Metal
Review:
Again, like their previous effort, Ea releases a new one track album (their fifth to date) to deepen their involvement in this Funeral Doom style, to have it all even more oppressive and more impenetrable. Except for a few barely hearable growls and clean vocals here and there and a couple of francescan choirs, the vocal part is really scarse, but on the other hand the guitar leads are present everywhere and at a moment they become annoying. Anyway, for a Funeral Doom Metal album this is more complex and diverse than one would expect, but it still walks on traditional paths if I may say so. Good for a quiet, relaxing evening dedicated to meditation or reading.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.eadoom.bandcamp.com
www.solitude-prod.com
Band: EDEN KAISER
Country: Spain
Title: Doomsday Juggernaut
Label: Cold Raw Records
Year: 2014
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Young band from Spain, although founded 5 years ago, Edenkaiser present us their debut EP (although I'd label it a demo) made of 4 tracks + intro. Given the fact the band plays a Thrashing Black Metal the old-school way, the awful sound quality might not disturb the fans of this genre, but I really think they should have re-recorded at least the parts where mistakes in playing their instruments are obvious. I'm impressed by their enthousiasm and (what seems to be) honesty in delivering this music, their intentions seem really genuine and the public will appreciate that if they'll keep this path; then I was really impressed by the track Enter Mephisto, a real hit with simple but very efficient playing and memorable choruses. It seems the underground world forgot all about memorable choruses, or are they not true enough? The band is lead by a female vocal but she's as wicked and dirty sounding as possible, don't even think of melodic, gothic stuff, she's as metal as it gets. Not a bad debut, I'm curious where they'll head to.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6.5/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/edenkaiserband
www.coldrawrecords.com
Band: ENRAGED
Country: Holland
Title: It's Your Fear That Feeds Their Power
Label: Self-released
Year: 2012
Style: Melodic Death Metal
Review:
Holland is one of those countries blessed with very influential Death Metal bandsand implicitly that means it's a hell of a good nursery for new, young bands that benefit of a healthy and competitive environment to grow in. Enraged is not really a young band, but since this is their debut album although the band was formed back in 1997, I'd still consider them as newcommers. And I was fucking right when I suspected I was about to have a good audition, Enraged prove to be a mature outfit with straight ideas and excellent technical capabilities to deliver catchy, even memorable tunes and still follow traditional patterns. It's not a perfect album, some riffs are a bit dull, and sometimes the drums and vocals could have been a bit more versatile, but the overall impression is great, if you like '90's European Death Metal, enjoy a bit of MeloDeath (the incipient type), a bit of groove and a bit of technical stuff thrown in together, Enraged might be exactly what you're looking for.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.enraged.nl
Band: EVERDYING
Country: USA
Title: The Journey Ahead
Label: Self-released
Year: 2014
Style: Black Death Metal
Review:
Ona-man band from Chicago, Everdying offers us here its second EP since its inception, in 2002, a pretty lazy project if we'd judge by that, and I wasn't having any major hopes before playing the disc. But once I got to the music I started to wonder where did this guy practice during these more than 12 years and why he hasn't released more stuff; he's a very good musician and composer, the 6 tracks featured here are all very interesting and catchy. From Melodic Death Metal to Black Death and even some Doom Death passages The Journey Ahead is a real journey through various emotions and I'm surprised by the amount of different influences this guy has managed to gather under one "roof", definitely worth a listen.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.everdyingofficial.com
Band: EVIL
Country: Slovakia
Title: Legenda neskrotných živlov
Label: Hexencave Productions
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
After 12 years of activity and lots of demos and splits, this Slovak duo managed to finally release their debut full-length album, a 6 tracks effort lasting for 41 minutes of traditional Black Metal. Fast paced, atmospheric, a bit epic, cold and razor sharp sounding, Evil's music is really enjoyable although not bringing anything new to the scene. The execution is flawless, the compositions interesting and clever, the production is massive and crystal-clear, so all in all I have nothing to dislike on this album, Evil did a very good job and they deserve some sort of recognition after so many years in the obscure underground, I guess they are very proud of this album and the good thing is they really should be proud of it.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
www.thetruevil.wbl.sk
Band: EVIL MACHINE
Country: Poland
Title: War in Heaven
Label: Arachnophobia Records
Year: 2013
Style: Thrash Death Metal
Review:
Except for the vocal, the other guys from Evil Machine are pretty well known at least to followers of Underground Extreme Metal, and that's for being also members in bands like Vader, Dead Infection or Pyorrhoea, and even if I thought this is a pretty new band since War in Heaven is their debut record, the band has been around since 2004, don't know how active though. We're dealing here with 10 tracks totaling 43 minutes of old-school dirty, raw, hateful and merciless Thrash Death Metal with mostly mid-tempo rhythms and organic sound; not the most original music around, but the album has a steady flow, is quite catchy, atmospheric and manages to transmit what these 4 guys wanted to. I'd recommend it to old-school fanatics only and that's because I think the new generation of extreme metallers will be bored to death by these mid-tempo (only occasionally fast) rhythms; not sure if this band has any future in the nowadays scene though...
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/evilmachineband
www.arachnophobia.pl
Band: EXTREME O.D.
Country: UK
Title: Contaminate
Label: Self-released
Year: 2013
Style: Groove Metal
Review:
Third EP for this UK based act, Contaminate features 3 tracks totaling 14 minutes of groovy, catchy, mosh-friendly Metal. Releasing as many EPs as possible is what I support nowadays because it keeps your band always fresh in front of the public's eye, it costs less than a full-length, you can self-release it and give away a ton of copies at shows, it's just good promotion at a fraction of an album's cost. Back to this band, Extreme O.D. or X.O.D. is fronted by a beautiful lady that looks nothing like a metalhead, actually she looks like a Pop star who just met a buch of tough-looking Metal (or better said Hardcore) guys. But despite her looks, Katie Cairns sounds angry and menacing as hell, her voice really compliments the band's melodic, groovy and at the same time brutal form of Metal, a good match. Madball comes to mind while listening to this band, I'd say they have lots of chances to make a name for themselves, they only have to come up with some more hooks in their tracks and start releasing stuff more frequently.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/pages/Extreme-OD/222595485601
Band: FALLEN ARISE
Country: Greece
Title: Ethereal
Label: Noisehead Records
Year: 2013
Style: Symphonic Gothic Metal
Review:
Debut album from this pretty young Greek band, Ethereal is made of 10 tracks and lasts for 52 minutes of Symphonic Metal. After a few spins I can say we're dealing with a band that likes to carefully plan and build their music as the result is by no means a simple or simplistic album, but I can also say that they are just starting to understand and capitalize on their potential. Ethereal flows nicely and the excellent production (mixed and mastered by Fotis from Septic Flesh) is the perfect addition to the band's obvious professionalism. Symphonic Metal fans will enjoy this album although what it misses are the catchy parts or better said a few hooks to transform their tracks into hits. The good thing is the band proves to have high potential of becoming a solid name in the scene; in the meantime you can try this debut album.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/fallenarise
www.noiseheadrecords.com
Band: FIRN
Country: Hungary
Title: Glorious Past
Label: Self-released
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Limited to only 40 hand-numbered copies, this mini-disc offers the listener a harsh, abrasive journey through Firn's demented Black Metal world. 5 tracks, almost 25 minutes of playing, and a music that's certainly not recommended to the faint of hearts; I'd label it Raw Black Metal with an razor-sharp sound a la Industrial Metal, but on the composition level there's some more work to do; the drum programs are too simple, the guitar riffs are ok but too repetitive, and the vocals are mixed a bit too in front of the instruments making the whole audition a painful task (at least on the first 2 tracks). The third track is the best recorded and probably the one I enjoyed the most, and the last two tracks have a totally different sound quality, they sound like stuffed, but there Attila (the man behind Firn) tries more with his vocals. Overall an enjoying EP (I would better call it a demo though) and a new project from Hungary that I'll better keep an eye on.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6.5/10
Contact:
www.firn.hu
Band: FIRN
Country: Hungary
Title: Harsh Regression
Label: Self-released
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
After Glorious Past, Attila released, the same year, this new mini CD including 7 new tracks. Of course there's not much difference from the previous release composition-wise, but the tracks this time became shorter (7 tracks in less than 23 minutes), the sound quality is the same raw, razor-sharp, abrasive quality, but more curdled this time, and the compositions started to add a bit more melancholic touches. As a conclusion Harsh Regression keeps the same line as Glorious Past and yet is better built and delivered; still the drum programs are way too simple, Attila must improve here, too.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
Band: FIRN
Country: Hungary
Title: Edge of Another World
Label: Self-released
Year: 2013
Style: Atmospheric Black Metal
Review:
Firn seems to be decided to release only uncommon formats, so after 2 hand-numbered mini CDs limited to only 40 copies each, it's now time for a complete 12"LP professionally and awesome looking. So this debut album from Firn features 2 new tracks and 5 "old" ones previously featured on the 2 demos I reviewed before. The sound quality is harsh as hell, it's very weird to listen to such Atmospheric music with such a sharp, abrasive and painful sound. No doubt this is the best Firn release to date, and although all 3 I reviewed were released the same year, Attila shows on this debut album his future path (hopefully). The music is repetitive and hypnotic, but at the same time complex and very interesting. I see great potential in this project, so if you're into raw, atmospheric, traditional, or any other type of underground Black Metal you should try Firn's music.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
Band: GAKTUNGAR
Country: Russia
Title: Gisturgh
Label: Dark East Productions
Year: 2012
Style: Black Metal
Review:
This young Russian band founded in 2011 released their first two and so far only full-length albums in 2012 and probably they are preparing for a new one this year, it would be about time. This album features 9 tracks totaling 43 minutes of semi-technical and semi-melodic Black Metal with certain Death Metal and even Pagan (at least on part of the vocals) influences. The guitars at times remind me of the '90's technical Death Metal movement, the drum programmings are annoying to a point when they don't bother anymore, the keyboards are used with discretion only to enhance the atmospheres, and the vocals (the Black Metal screams) are not at all on my liking, I actually find them awful. There's a good deal of diversity, the album is not boring at all, the production is ok, too, so all in all this is an acceptable release, give it a try.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
www.gaktungar.bandcamp.com
www.darkeastproductions.weebly.com