Band: IMPENETRABLE DARKNESS
Country: Greece
Title: Loyalty in Blackness
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2012
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Impenetrable Darkness is a Black Metal band hailing from Greece and this demo is one evil puppy. "Loyalty in Blackness" turns out out to be one truly non-slick, totally blackened and evil demo. There is no need to get into the early Black Metal influences here because it is quite obvious the early Norwegian Black Metal style is all over this! Nothing wrong with that, no symphonic stuff, no keyboards, and no operatic vocals on this offering. This is just balls out Black Metal from the early days of when Metal was being blamed for all the church burnings going on throughout the early 90's! Screaming vocals with a primtive production gives Impenetrable Darkness the edge on evil mentality with "Loyalty in Blackness". The demo has three tracks, "Decoy of Light", "Dark Harmonies and Structures of Liturgy", and "Tasks of Blackness". I have a copy here with a few extra tracks, but all in all the demo takes the listener on a trail of darkness and evil Black Metal with the 90's feel all throughout the tracks. 20 minutes of pure Blackened Metal for the hardest of metal fans in the world. Not bad for a first demo and certainly not bad for a band that just begun their descent in 2011. For all you fans of the old school Black Metal days check out Impenetrable Darkness' demo "Loyalty in Blackness" and you won't be disappointed. REMEMBER THIS IS ONLY FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRULY INTO THE BLACK METAL WITHOUT ANY FANCY BULLSHIT ADDED ON, JUST BLACK METAL!
Reviewed by Lex Luther
Rating: 6/10
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Band: INCURSUS
Country: USA
Title: Eternal Funeral Trance
Label: Forever Plagued Records
Year: 2009
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Pretty old release, not sure if Forever Plagued Records re-released it or if they still have it on stock, but they sent it for a review so it must be still actual. Anyway, the band is made of 2 guys only, both of them know in the scene: VJS (also drummer in Crimson Moon, Hexenwald and some other, ex-member of Kult ov Azazel), and Horidus (ex member of Demoncy and Kult ov Azazel), cult musiciand in the USBM movement. Fast, disgusting, energetic, raw, demonic Black Metal, sounds good? Well, it does, although the sound is not the best around, these two demons managed to create a heavy, horrifying atmosphere worthy of your attention. the guitar riffs play a major rold in this construction, the drumms are insanely fast and the vocals sound like spitting venom (the main vocals) or like unleashed from the bowells of hell (the unhuman, supporting vocals). Recommended to fans of Brutal Black Metal, rough and underground.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
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Band: INSTORM
Country: Russia
Title: Madness Inside
Label: Total Metal Records
Year: 2013
Style: Melodic Death Meta
Review:
Founded in 2011 as Deadlake, these Russians soon changed their band name to Instorm, a name that fits them much better, and here we have their debut full-length album made of 9 tracks of Power Metal inspired Melodic Death Metal similar to the Finnish school. So their music is based on guitar leads and solos, fast rhythms, melodic keyboards and screaming vocals. The guitar work is very good, and for my surprise one of the guitarists is a lady, unlike most of the bands with female members as bass or vocals, and what a wonderful job she does, together with the other guitarist. The problems are on the vocal side (without any trace of versatility or comprehension) and on the keyboards side (low volume and low role in the overall composition). Since this is their debut album I'd say it's very promising, but they need to work more on creating something of their own, to come up with a mark of their own if they wish to pursue this road.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
Band: IREM
Country: Germany
Title: Obscuritas Aeterna
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
I have to admire these guys, they are around since 2003 and this is their fourth studio-album, all of them self-released! And no, this is not a weak, amateur band that no label wants, I'm sure that they already had a fair share of offers but decided to go for their own so far. Well, I couldn't say if it worked for the best for them since this is the first time I'm meeting their music, but at least their determination deserves respect. Ok, now about Obscuritas Aeterna I can say it's made of 9 tracks into fast, semi-technical, semi-melodic Black Metal: the guitar work is very good, you'll listen to some interesting approaches (fresh sounding I must add), a demented vocalist that screams his lungs out all the time and a raw but intense rhythm section (the drummer is insanely fast; the bass could have had a higher volume though). Thumbs up, a band you definitely don't want to miss if you're into Black Metal, in my records they are already bookmarked.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
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Band: IVANHOE
Country: Germany
Title: Systematrix
Label: Massacre Records
Year: 2013
Style: Progressive Metal
Review:
I have to admit that before the release "Systematrix" came across my metal desk, I never heard of Ivanhoe before this release. Since 1986 Ivanhoe has been churning out the brand of Progressive Metal that fans have come to admire from the band. Germany has delivered some of the most hardened acts like Kreator, Destruction, etc. but Ivanhoe is a bit different in that they aren't a Thrash Metal band. Like mentioned above, Progressive Metal is the brand and Ivanhoe is well skilled at the delivery on their sixth release 'Systematrix". There are lots of early hard rock elements throughout the 11 tracks and other influential metal that ties this together. I am not sure how I feel about Ivanhoe, but as far the music goes tracks like "Systematrix" and "War of the Centuries" are well tuned and technical that is helped by a good production. I think that Ivanhoe delivers a solid release with "Systematrix' but something feels odd, or missing here. Other bands such as Queensryche and Fates Warning have unleashed releases before this one and unfortunately other bands will continue to release Progressive Metal for years to come, like any genre right? Nothing against Ivanhoe, but "Systematrix" is far too conservative for my tastes, but that does not mean fans won't enjoy this release. 25 years of metal under their belt counts for something and while this one is not for me, Ivanhoe will definitely take other people's fancy on this style of metal that they continue to make. 10 tracks at 47 minutes of playing time delivers to the listener, and tracks such as "Walldancer" and "Madhouse" take things to solid level, but some of the tracks can be easily put into obsurity when it comes to the mainstream of metal.
Reviewed by Lex Luther
Rating: 6/10
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Band: JESUS CHRUSLER SUPERCAR
Country: Sweden
Title: Among The Ruins And Desolate Lands
Label: vonHell Records
Year: 2013
Style: Death'n'Roll
Review:
Something new on my end, Jesus Chrusler Supercar, a "Death N' Roll" type band from Stockholm, Sweden. Interesting! This band started off in 2011 and has since released a single entitled "Killing Machine" and now a full length release called "Among the Ruins and Desolate Lands". I like this because from the start of the track "Killing Machine" death metal is all over the place, but other influences like old school rock and classic rock are mixed in with the evil darkened metal of the early 90's. Speed, rock, raspy vocals mixed in, and a groove technicality with production that gives me the creeps (in a good way) kind of reminds a little of Bastard Priest. 12 tracks totaling 38 minutes of Death and Roll alright! Tracks such as "Killing Machine", "Pitchfork", and "666" just let loose with such a rock groove, but then the feel of Death Metal influence is throughout the same tracks, it mixes so well that you just have to hear it to understand. Definitely going to be an acquired taste for certain metal fans with open minds, but once that happens then Jesus Chrusler Supercar will suffice the most demented of metal minds. A killer effort for the first full length offering from the band, "Among the Ruins and Desolate Lands" kicks major ass.
Reviewed by Lex Luther
Rating: 8/10
Band: LIMB FOR A LIMB
Country: Hungary
Title: Aberration Complete
Label: Terranis Productions
Year: 2013
Style: Death Grind
Review:
Never heard of this band before and that makes their debut album more surprising. Limb For A Limb are fantastic in delivering horror-filled, fat sounding, fast and groovy Death Grind complete with excellent vocals (Sandor from Hungarian Death Grind veterans Gutted), sick and catchy guitar riffs, meaty bass lines and flesh-ripping drumming. 18 short tracks plus a sick cover of Marduk's Panzer Division Marduk track, for a total of 34 minutes, not a bad deal since I liked everything so much I wasn't even aware how fast time went by. The sound production is great as well, you'll be able to enjoy every bit of this record at maximum. Recommended!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
Band: LOCUS TITANIC FUNUS
Country: Russia
Title: Castus Lacrima
Label: Another Side Records
Year: 2013
Style: Gothic Doom Metal
Review:
Metal Scrap Records opened this new division called Another Side Records which seems to cover mostly melodic stuff: Gothic, Doom, Melodic Black, and already released 3 albums under this moniker, with Locus Titanic Funus' debut being probably the first. The band plays slow, sorrowful Gothic Doom Metal with Black Metal influences (especially on the vocal part), but unfortunately at times their music gets too slow and unexpressive maybe because of their lack of experience though. The drum-machine is ok but could have been more varied, the keyboard part is the best element in LTF's music, the guitar work brings nothing out of the ordinary, the male growls and screams are combined with warm male and female clean vocals and there are some parts when the music becomes really dreamy and fragile, but the as a general impression this needs more work for future releases. If you're a fan of Gothich Doom or even Funeral Doom you might enjoy this.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
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Band: MORN GURUTH
Country: Germany
Title: Weltekel
Label: Talheim Records
Year: 2013
Style: Depressive Black Metal
Review:
Someone on Metal Archives gave this album a raving review rating it a full 100% so for sure it must be something out of the ordinary, something to impress you. Well, maybe you'll like it if you're into this genre, but from my point of view it is far from a 10 out of 10 rating. First the drum-machine gets annoying after a while and gets in your way of following the compositions, then the guitar riffs and leads are too repetitive and some of them become childish after a while. The vocals, on the other hand, are the best part in Morn Guruth's music, the guy really gives his best although the lamenting moans can be laughable for someone not used to this type of music; the growls and clean vocals are ok, but the potential comes from the screams, very emotional, very expressive. I'd say this is a promising debut album, but nothing more, get it only if you're a die-hard DSBM fan, otherwise avoid it.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10
Contact:
Band: NAVJARMAAHR
Country: Russia
Title: The Fangs of the Shining Night
Label: Hexenhammer Records
Year: 2012
Style: Pagan Black Metal
Review:
I have no idea if the band's name means anything but personally I find it impossible to pronounce. Anyway they seem to ignore other territories and focus on Russia only, at least that's what I understand from the continuous exclusive usage of Russian lyrics on all releases. This is their second album to date, a second wave of Black Metal music probably sprinkled with Pagan topics, but other than that there's not much Pagan stuff. The sound is raw but comprehensive enough not to deprive you of a good audition. The guys as musicians are pretty skilled and seem to work well as a group. There are no real highlights but I'd like to mention the good raspy vocals, the complex rhythm section (I have especially enjoyed the bass lines) and the catchy guitar riffs and leads, all creating a nice flowing atmosphere.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
Band: NORDOR
Country: Greece
Title: Erga Omnes
Label: Deathrune Records
Year: 2012
Style: Death Metal
Review:
Long running Greek band started out as a one man band, Nordor are back with their second full-length album, first out on Deathrune Records. We're treated with no less than 14 tracks into 40 minutes of playing a brutal form of Death Metal lead by a bestial growling vocal and a heavy rhythm section. The guitar work on this album displays some Progressive elements but not enough to stop considering it traditional Death Metal (traditional Brutal Death Metal that is). The tracks are tight and excel in brutality, each part having its own way of attacking and annihilating your ears. Except for the drums that sound a bit too synthetic at times, the production is top notch, emphasizing the overall Satanic message of the band, I think they did a very good job in expressing their hate and anger, you should get a taste of it too.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
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Band: OFGHOST
Country: Finland
Title: Audiocorpse
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2013
Style: Industrial Black Death Metal
Review:
Long time friend and only member of this band, Sami, warned me beforehand that his new album is his sickest and more experimental to date and boy he was right. This is his second full-length release, an intense and mind-blowing combination of Death, Black and Industrial Metal that most of you will probably have a hard time getting into, but for the open-minded this will be a real treat. Sami uses mostly sharp guitar riffs, melodic guitar leads, low tunned, heavy bass lines, intense, fast drum machine rhythms, keyboard background and industrial-like vocals (from clean to screams) all this in order to create a crazy but at the same time well curdled material. I like his music from back in the File Of Ghosts days, but I have to admit it's getting better and better with each release. If you don't know OfGhost yet do yourselves a favour and head to its Bandcamp page for a quick audition, you'll be surprised.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
Band: OUT OF DECAY
Country: Germany
Title: Arising of Lost Souls
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2012
Style: Melodic Metalcore
Review:
I'm not a big follower or supporter of this Metalcore / Deathcore scene so in fashion nowadays, but if I receive such a release I have to say at least a few words on it here. What I can and I have to appreciate at Out Of Decay are the excellent melodic guitar leads and the good clean vocals supporting the hoarse main vox. So except the usual breakdowns and rhythm changes this band does a nice job building natural flowing tracks, it seems they really put their hearts in this record and that's always a good thing. The sound could have been better but nonetheless the band did a good job in proving Metalcore is not all about fast rhythms and breakdowns, these guys also managed to bring a bit of soul in the genre and since Arising of Lost Souls is self-produced I'm sure they won't remain unsigned for a long time now.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
Band: OWT KRI
Country:
Title: The New Seed
Label: Alrealon Musique
Year: 2013
Style: Ambient
Review:
Not only this project's name is weird, you should hear its music... Kenneth K, the guy behind this moniker managed to record and deliver an extremely expressive and interesting piece of Ambient Music ranging from soft, meditative tracks to dark, spooky ones and even some that are really frightening in their insame structure. Well, almost everything inhere is quite insane, it's like you're travelling along way of a schizophrenic dream. Although not original, I've heard a few other projects like this one, Owt Kri displays potential through its well-crafted song structures, after the audition you feel like nothing was out of place, ironically. Definitely worth your attention if you're looking for meditative, sick music. Comes in nice digipack format.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
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Band: PHANTAZO
Country: Italy
Title: Le Temps Dètruit Tout
Label: Baphomet in Steel
Year: 2012
Style: Black Metal
Review:
This band's name attracted my attention, and I must say that it still sounds interesting even after listening to its music... First of all this debut album is one of the most "globalized" I've seen lately: the band's name derives from an ancient Greek word, the band (a one man project) is actually from Italy, the album title is in French, and the track titles and I suppose the lyrics too are in English, now isn't that a nice mash? Then I really don't understand why taking pride on the booklet about "only using rusted strings and musty amplificators" since you're using a fucked up drum-machine, why? Actually the drum-machine is the most annoying thing on this debut, it brings no value at all, on the contrary, it ruins any attempt of creating interesting stuff. The vocals are good though, with some sort of an Industrial feeling given by the effects used, the guitars are repetitive and with no real catchy part, but combined with those unhuman vocals they sound pretty cool at times. Also the electro/indus synth interludes are a good addition. There's hope for better for this project, but this album didn't make a good impression on me. If you're into raw, sharp, lo-fi Black Metal and you don't mind a sloppy drum-machine, give this album a try.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 5.5/10
Contact:
Band: PICTURE ANN
Country: Denmark
Title: Blaspheme 2009
Label: 9th Meridian Records
Year: 2010
Style: Ambient Black Metal
Review:
There's almost no info about this project on the net, but from what I was able to find this is its debut album, released in 2010 even though its title says something else. Commonly labelled as Ambient Black Metal, I'd say Picture Ann's music is more Ambient than Black, except for a few guitar riffs and leads nothing reminds of Black Metal. The Ambient (read synth) part on the other hand is excellent, very warm and dreamy but still emanating a dark atmosphere, it could be perfect for a night audition while watching the stars. Very calm and meditative soundscapes recommended for those moments when you're looking for a bit more serenity.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
Band: PSYCHOPATHIC TERROR
Country: Finland
Title: 4:You Shall Not Destroy
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2013
Style: Industrial Death Metal
Review:
The man behind Diaboli (influential Finnish Black Metal act), Petri Ilvespakka, started this project in 2002 and released 3 full-length albums so far, this one being its fourth attack. Psychopathic Terror is an old-school, raw Death Metal project with heavy influences from the Industrial scene. The guitar riffs are good, traditional Thrash and Death Metal with a fresh twist I must add, but they are too repetitive so at times parts of the tracks feel like unnaturally stretched and overused, the bass lines are excellent especially because of the high volume, they really feel like an important element in P.T.'s music, the drums are programmed and synthetic, but that gives the Industrial edge, supported by electro-industrial keyboards here and there. The vocals are left too in the back of the instrumental part, I didn't like the growls, but the clean, "industrialized" vocals seemed more fit for this music, they reminded me somehow of Morgoth's "Feel sorry for the Fanatic". Unfortunately this album left no good impression on me, by looking at the cover I was expecting something more extreme to tell you the truth... Well, at least it's not common.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10
Contact:
Band: RAPE / HATEVOMIT
Country: Turkey / Turkey
Title: Rapevomit
Label: Evilynx Distro
Year: 2012
Style: Black Metal / Black Death Metal
Review:
Opening this split are Rape, a duo from Istambul that I have to admit didn't make a good impression on me. Their tracks sound like they have never been rehearsed, there's no sync between guitars and drums and at some point that becomes really annoying. It all sounds like a sloppy jam-session and although the vocalist tries his best, the overall impression is of an amateur band ,sorry to say that. Next are Hatevomit from Istambul with their raw and fast paced Black Death Metal. Their music sounds more curdled, although still using simple structures, and if it wasn't for the horrible sound it would have been a quite minacing music. As a debut Hatevomit are quite promising, they tend to grant more attention to atmospheres, and I'm sure if they'll use a good studio for their upcoming releases they might become a nice surprise, they seem to be getting along quite well between themselves. If you're into the old '90's type of raw, blasphemic Black Death Metal, Hatevomit should be a band to keep an eye on.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 4/10 7/10
Contact:
Band: REPLICA
Country: Austria
Title: The Bright Side of Death
Label: Noisehead Records
Year: 2013
Style: Thrash Metalcore
Review:
It seems this band started as a Thrash Metal outfit in mid 2000's but lately gave in to fashion meaning their latest album, The Bright Side of Death, is offering much more Metalcore than Thrash Metal; indeed, it's a blend, but Metalcore sonorities won this time, the kids will be delighted. I can't stand this type of desperate Metalcore screams, nor the addition of supporting growls that are not brutal, are just wannabe brutal, sorry, if you come from a Death Metal environment like I do you'll find those growls weak and with a long way to go to reach satisfactory levels. Anyway, the guitar work, except for the Thrash Metal riffs that again sound weak, is very good, melodic, inspired, emotional at times, and very well structured, my fave part of this band's music. The rhythm section is good as well although I would have added a bit more volume to the bass lines. The sound is crystal clear, organic I can say, and made a good impression on me. Still, Metalcore nowadays is a dangerous territory and it's impossible to keep your head up if you're not the best...
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10
Contact:
Band: RUM
Country: Poland
Title: Birbant
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2013
Style: Folk Metal
Review:
Rum is a kind of alcohol, Rum is a Polish folkmetal fresh blood from ciry Rumia too near to Baltic Sea. Lyrics is taken from taverns and bars, similar to Alestorm’s or Finntroll’s texts about drinking alcohol. „Birbant” means „A man who likes drink alcohol a lot”. Good accordion drive is the main power of this band of this album. Simple play folk music mixed with heavy metal with little growl vocals. Hurdy-gurdy, mandola and flute too. Not bad.
Reviewed by Vilcin
Rating: 8/10
Band: SCENT OF DEATH
Country: Spain
Title: Of Martyrs's Agony and Hate
Label: Pathologically Explicit Recordings
Year: 2012
Style: Technical Death Metal
Review:
Formed in 1998, Scent Of Death are not the most productive band in Spain, that's for sure, but it seems they are carefully promoting their current releases and throughly plan the next ones, they like having their name everywhere and that's awesome for an underground band, their new label can be proud of making a good decision when signing them. This is their second full-length album made of 9 tracks and totaling 40 mionutes of Technical and Brutal Death Metal to the bone, ugly, complex, fast, dark sounding and mature. All members really gave their best and that's obvious from the amount of tempo and rhythm changes on all tracks; the drummer is on a relentless frenzy of blastbeats, the guitarists act like two crazy maniacs on different paths but in the end they prefercly complete eachother, the vocals are mostly deep growls but adding occasional yellings on the backgrounds made them a bit more vorsatile, but I had a hard time distinguishing the bass lines. Overall this album is a lesson in violence and well-thought composition, great job.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
Band: SORCERY
Country: Sweden
Title: Legacy of Blood
Label: Xtreem Music
Year: 2013
Style: Death Metal
Review:
From the bowels of Sweden come the tales of one Sorcery, a compilation of brutality spanning from 1986 to the present day. Sorcery delights the metal world with a re-release of the favored 1991 album "Bloodchilling Tales" with an added bonus of the tracks from the 7' "Rivers of the Dead". This is old school Death Metal all the way, without the buzzsaw production like Entombed or Dismember, Sorcery kick ass with the sickening tracks from this offering with tracks like "Legacy of Blood" and "Immortality Given" are just a couple of examples of brutality from the early days of Death Metal that kept things so awesome before the world discovered this other new and modern crap that has turned metal into a virus these days! Anyway, "Legacy of Blood" takes the metal fan on a trip into the past with a spew of early tracks that were pure brutal sickness with an edge of technical sludge. Sorcery has been around for a long time and this re-release is exactly what I needed to hear to get back the groove of the old days, but with a slicker production and nostalgia added to the tip. "By These Words" and "The Rite of Sacrifice" are two more pieces of evil with an influence of black metal as well as the death touch. For fans of old school Death Metal Sorcery is the ticket to the skull crushing mayhem just for you. 12 full tracks at 46 minutes of metal for the hardcore fans of Sorcery and "Legacy of Blood".
Reviewed by Lex Luther
Rating: 7/10
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Band: THE DEATHISODES
Country: UK
Title: Inside the Universe of Horror
Label: UKEM Records
Year: 2013
Style: Melodic Death Metal
Review:
Nothing but interesting metal this week for me, this time it is a band known as The Deathisodes from the brutal UKEM Records. The Deathisodes is an evil brand of Death/Black/Ambient/Melodic type brutal metal that really fucks with your mind. "Inside the Universe of Horror" delivers a style of very darkened moods and chilling intros along with music that makes me feel like I should be watching a horror movie from 1939! Imagine symphonics with brutal death and a techno band all playing together, you might get The Deathisodes (minus the techno band). Vocals that are angry and mad with a buzzing production and Hatebreed like metal, only not! Very hard to explain which is a great thing in today's metal genres happening in the world. The Deathisodes are a newer band from the United kingdom beginning in 2011, and things are getting weird by the tracks. "Dead Arising", "Hellbound", and "Spectral Wasteland" are a brand of noisy metal with a symphonic touch and evil sort of blend in metal and technical melodic trance music in certain areas. I have no idea how to explain it so check out the Deathisodes for yourself and see what you think. The music can get kind of confusing at times and the blending of different styles throughout the tracks can get to a person, but all in all things are quite different and original with "Inside the Universe of Horror" the name exactly describes what a person will go through while ingesting all 12 tracks and 59 minutes of this offering. As I have said before on previous reviews, The Deathisodes are going to be a certain mindset for metal heads and only a certain type of person will see what The Deathisodes are all about, so give them a shot and see how much of your brain is left over when this is finshed playing! I have an open mind and feel that the future will hold better for this band!
Reviewed by Lex Luther
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
Band: THRONE OF HERESY
Country: Sweden
Title: Realms of Desecration
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2013
Style: Death Metal
Review:
After a debut full-length album released last year, this Swedish quintet is back with a new material, this time a 3 tracks EP beautifully packed in a cardboard digipack including all lyrics and, as their debut was, released by themselves. I won't be too surprised to see a label backing up their work on the next release, and the music prooves me right, Throne of Heresy plays a nice combination of Melodic Death Metal (a la Amon Amarth) with the new wave of Brutal Death distinguishable in their guitar riffs and in the rhythm section. The band is tight as a group, except for some parts lead by melodic guitar leads you'll find yourselves listening to the whole, not only to a certain instrument. The vocals are good, almost comprehensive growls with occasional screams, the sound quality is ok, although the production could have been more powerful, so overall this is a promising EP presenting a band that seems to be curdled enough to attack higher steps of the scene.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
Band: TODESTRIEBE
Country: Russia
Title: ...Scream, Prey, Beg...
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2012
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Debut album from this Russian band founded in 2007, ...Scream, Prey, Beg... kicks off with a cold guitar intro that reminded me of the '90's, so perfect for this type of music. What follows is a continuous release of mostly fast paced, cold and intense Black Metal lead by a razor-sharp vocal. I like the guitars as well, well-structured and balanced between straight-forward riffs, catchy leads and occasional acoustic insertions (delicious!), the drumms are ok too, nothing to object, and the bass lines are powerful and very important in the overall atmosphere. For a debut album ...Scream, Prey, Beg... is a very honorable release that will certainly bring Todestriebe a handful of followers. Released as professional digipack including booklet with lyrics.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
Band: TRALLERY
Country: Spain
Title: Catalepsy
Label: Xtreem Music
Year: 2013
Style: Thrash Metal
Review:
I'm very lucky to be reviewing these releases from PEST WEBZINE because every fucking band I listen to has so much to offer in one way or another when it comes to metal. Trallery is another one of those bands with the release of their first full-length offering "Catalepsy". These guys started in Spain from an island I never heard of and they are pretty damn good. Full groovy riffs ranging from Power Metal to certain Thrash Metal elements of metal with a technical edge and melodic feel at times. All of this adds up to 10 tracks of interesting metal at 45 minutes total playing time. Along with this comes two separate instrumentals, one entitled "Assassin Introspection" and another called "The Secret Trial". Killer groove riffs with a punchy feel on guitar and a solid production make "Catalepsy a technically proficient release that shows the potential of the band. Speedy and technical, the vocals are a reminder of Armored Saint, Fate's Warning, even Paradox at times, but that's just my thoughts, I am sure there are more influences here than I could name, but nothing that sounds alike. "Catalepsy" delivers tracks like "White Shadow" which begins with a powerful punch to the gut and then the speed begins! Other songs like "Disease" and "In the Wings of Night" show the talent of this newly formed Thrash/Power Metal band (formed in 2010) For the fans of solid Power Metal with Thrash Metal influence should definitely turn on Trallery! Fucking awesome metal right here!
Reviewed by Lex Luther
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
Band: TSYRULNIA
Country: Ukraine
Title: Fire and Ice
Label: G-goorda Roars / Solnechny Krest / Old School Shop / Last Round Records
Year: 2011
Style: RAC
Review:
RAC = Rock Against Communism. Well, I'm not a follower of this genre so I wouldn't know how original this band is in their field, but I can say RAC in their case means a combination of Heavy Metal, Speed Metal and Punk, wrapped in a thick layer of parody, just check these trio's names: Tom Araia, Deiv Mustein and Barc Ulrich... This music would be fit for a beer party, but except for some very good guitar leads and solos I can't see any musical highlights in it; the guitarist is indeed a skilled one, he would do wonders in a Power or Heavy Metal band. The production is impressive, the CD comes with a 20 pages booklet including lyrics in both native language and English, plus a very good artwork that made me think this is a Pagan Metal band.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Band: VALDUR
Country: USA
Title: Blast Beast
Label: Bloody Mountain Records
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
This band really likes to keep things fresh since they keep releasing 2 tracks EPs and Singles, and that's a good thing, it makes their fans and supporters aware of what's going on in the band's camp. This new EP features 2 new tracks and an outro, and as a bonus, their 2 tracks EP The Hammer Pit released in 2012. Fast, ugly and intense Black Metal, the American way I'd say, the only way Black Metal successfully competes in levels of brutality with Death and Grind; well executed, including some tastefull riffs, unhuman raspy vocals and very good live drums reaching speeds you can't immagine. The only problem, although for their fans it won't be a real problem, is the raw and unpolished sound, but if they'll keep releasing such unpolished material they'll remain underground forever, and honestly I think that's what they are aiming to.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
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Band: VELM
Country: Hungary
Title: Promo 2013
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2013
Style: Pagan Black Metal
Review:
I know this band for a couple of years now and while first listening to this new CD I thought they changed their style to a Gothic Doom inspired music, but no, Velm is still a good Ambient Black Metal project with quite a lot of variety in their compositions. The mood inducted by the new material is similar to what I used to feel in the '90's while listening to the Doom Death made in UK, namely melancholy and sadness. I think this is a promo used to find a suitable label for Velm's debut album, and in the meantime they found it in Neverheard Distro, and the album is already out. Even if the drums are programmed and that usually annoys me, I have enjoyed this album a lot, it's very emotional, deep, and nice flowing, you can use it as soundtrack to a night spent on the balcony while reading a good book, or at least that's what I did and it worked out perfectly. Although it's repetitive and a bit stale here and there the overall atmosphere is rich of emotions.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
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Band: VERGINE STUPRATA
Country: Italy
Title: Jungfernkuss
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2013
Style: Black Metal
Review:
With such a bestial name (raped virgin in English) this Italian trio could have only produced bestial music. Vergine Stuprata plays a raw, primitive form of fast paced Black Metal supported by disgusting, blasphemous vocals and a pretty good sound production. With no trace of melody, and no relenting parts, Vergine Stuprata's music is a full-on attack of brutality and blasphemy taking no prisoners, their second demo will certainly hit the spot for fans of Thrash Black Metal. I also like the DIY digipack presentation of this demo, well worth a few bucks, don't hesitate.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
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Band: WEAPONIZER
Country: USA
Title: Weapönizer
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2012
Style: Thrash Black Metal
Review:
A nice looking DIY production just perfect for their style of music, Weaponizer's self-titled debut album is made of 9 tracks (8 of their own and a Sodom cover) into Thrash Black Metal, a genre that seems to be extremely hot nowadays. My first encounter with this trio seems to be successful, the band plays an old-school fast and furious Black Metal with major Thrash Metal influences, reminiscent of the days when Thrash Metal started to be heavily infested by faster rhythms, a more evil, shrieking vocal style, basically when the Metal scene spewed a new born child, Black Metal. Nothing fancy inhere, nothing to leave you breathless, but instead a honest, aggressive, catchy at times music perfectly fit for primitive Black Metal maniacs. Fast rhythms, hoarse vocals, good, comprehensive but at the same time also raw and dirty sound production, a non-stop cruel Metal attack.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
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Band: WEVERIN
Country: USA
Title: Serpent Light
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2008
Style: Black Death Metal
Review:
I always wonder why do people (read bands/labels) send old material for review, shouldn't they be proud of their current/newer material better than their old stuff? In this case the story is the same, I don't know if the band or their label sent this over, but it's more than 5 years old now, and in the meantime the band has a new full-length out (that's still old, but only 2 years old though), too. Anyway, let's talk about this one since I have it here. "Serpent Light" is made of 9 tracks of fast, semi-technical and raw-sounding Black Death Metal with awful mixing/mastering but interesting compositions and quite skilled technical execution (on guitars, as the drums are programmed most probably and the bass line is almost inexistent if there's any). The vocals are too in the back and covered by effects so that the result is unprofessional and although at times they manage to sound terifying (the guy has a good voice, though), most of the time you're struggling to get something out of it. So we're left with an interesting guitar work that combines both Black and Death Metal with some Heavy/Thrash twists, I liked it a lot. If you're used to '90's Thrash Death demo tapes and their sound you might try this album, too, it has a similar sound and feeling.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
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Band: WINE FROM TEARS
Country: Russia
Title: Glad to be Dead
Label: BadMoodMan
Year: 2013
Style: Gothic Doom Death Metal
Review:
Solitude Prod. / BadMoodMan Music seem to have a real talent in signing young bands that will eventually grow and develop into mature, influential exponents of the Gothic/Doom/Death scene, and an example are the Russians from Wine From Tears with their second full-length release. The band this time managed to offer a nice flowing, emotional, depressive (witha fair share of light though) and complex mix of Gothic, Doom and Death Metal, a combination of old Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, with low tuned growls supported by clean vox here and there, heavy use of melodic guitar leads, excellent atmospheric keyboards and tormenting, slow paced rhythm section. It's really a high-quality release that will fulfill your search for good '90's type of Doom Death Metal when the style was at its peak; I have a great time listening to this album, try it yourselves.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
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Band: ZORNDYKE
Country: Italy
Title: On Mayor Altar's Edge
Label: Baphomet In Steel
Year: 2012
Style: Death Metal
Review:
Hard to believe this second full-length of Zorndyke was mastered at all, it actually sounds like a rehearsal recording, a good one indeed, but still a rehearsal recording, so I wouldn't name it an official album afterall. Anyway, I'm almost positive they wanted it to sound like that because the band plays an old-school type of Death Metal, with underground attitude, so I think they wanted to offer everything as organic as possible. I like the powerful, deep growls of the singer (not the raspy vocals though), but the rest is pretty typical to the beginning of the '90's: fast rhythms, repetitive guitar riffs, a couple of solos here and there and a few bass-only parts to enhance the horror atmosphere, and occasional Thrash Metal influences, plus a few groove insertions here and there. Well, you got them all from such a band, too bad the material wasn't recorded, mixed and mastered in better conditions. The band has potential but still has to come up with something of their own.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6.5/10
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