ANGELICAL TEARS
'The Eleventh Hour'

Angelical Tears, the oncoming threat from Oklahoma, USA, emerge once again from the darkened abyss and deliver their latest release 'The Eleventh Hour'. Featuring more of the classic Within Temptation and Evanescence combination, the quintet immerse the listener with soothing heavenly vocals, razor-hard riffs and solid drumming in one epic package. Since their self-titled debut, Angelical Tears have torn apart the rulebook and wrote their own sound, layering different elements from different Metal genres and finalising a sound that will captivate any fan of female-fronted bands, this is perhaps the album to get them signed by and as 'The Eleventh Hour' strikes, four tornadoes spawn, ready to strike the heart of the everyday metal fan.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

DARK THEORY
'Bludgeon'

Hailing from the county known as the garden of England, Kent quartet Dark Theory cultivate patches of poison ivy and record the cold and bitter screams provoked by their victims, of course their EP 'Bludgeon' hosts a myriad of different genres, but the main core sound is truly Gothic Black Metal. Sure the first sound of drum 'n' bass gives a startling impression, but buy time and moving onto 'Vampires Pain' and the more modern sound kicks in, modern albeit the obvious Victorian Gothic Metal influence and naturally the bitter sweetness of Olivia's backing vocals, but needless to say that Ryan finishes off with some gruelling vocals, was just the start of 'Bludgeon', as it is a tale of two halves, but the latter is to take Dark Theory into the legions of bands like Theatres des Vampires, Darkwell, The Furious Horde and Cradle Of Filth. If you thought Kent was all about roaming fields, go forth; just don't disturb the graveyards, for the Dark Theory is soon to curse the lands.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

CIRCLES LINE
'Promo 2012'

Residing in the lap of the gods, Circles Lane mix traditional Greek sounds with their classic Heavy Metal composition, sure this is nothing new but it still has a twinkle about it. Their debut demo entitled 'Promo 2012' delivers the classic Bruce Dickinson high-pitch vocals and the standard signature tune to the Heavy Metal genre, the riffs are of the Speed Metal guild and yet the overall production is as classic as it can get. If you're expecting free-flowing music and differentiation, think again, Circles Line will appeal to those fans of the classic side of metal but for the modern generation, this wouldn't be for you.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

VINDICATOR
'United We Fall'
SLANEY

American Thrash Metal, seems to be loaded with the same ole lyrics, musical composure and atmosphere, Vindicator is no different. Fusing the topics of nuclear war, zombies and violence to their unique sound of Teutonic (German) Thrash Metal and old school Death Metal double-bass drumming, this is a band full of imagination and it shows on their third album 'United We Fall', riff after riff, the Ohio quartet smash through the sound barrier to deliver a face-punching sound of classic Thrash Metal. Get ready to sh*t your pants, this is the sound to tear the political manifesto's apart.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

ESSENCE OF DATUM
'I Am Alpha & Omega'

Possibly the metal band the Eastern European nation of Belarus has been waiting for to lift the scene into further recognition, Essence Of Datum go completely instrumental on their 2012 promo 'I Am Alpha & Omega' and do it absolutely perfect. Mixing Technical melodies with the embodiment of solid grizzly Death Metal, the trio dive into the fountain of experimentation and blast out in exciting fashion, full of cracking riffs and emphatic solo's, 'I Am Alpha & Omega' is a release that belongs in any metal fan's arsenal, think you know guitars, blastbeats and technical compositions? Wait till Essence Of Datum smash your skill in, as you realise 'I Am Alpha & Omega' and everyone else is subordinate.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

NYCTICORAX
'Black Raven... Dark Night' + 'Anima Tenebrarum'

2006 saw the sophomore album by Latvian quartet Nycticorax come to haunt the hallowed lands of Eastern Europe with their unique style of Vampiric Black Metal. 'Black Raven... Dark Night' is immersed in the Gothic atmosphere Riga offers to it's folk, Nycticorax latched onto that energy feed and sent out truly dark musical messages in Latvian and Russian alike, using the classic shriek of the Black Metal infrastructure, the atmosphere revolves around the haunted lands of Dracula and ousts the light with a full on blast of True Latvian Black Metal. From the dark mysticism of this hallowed band and the outgoing audio sounds of Vampiric Black Metal, it would be interesting to see how Nycticorax evolves from this.

Forwarding the clocks to 2011 and Latvian Black Metallers Nycticorax return to terrorise Europe once again, this time it's their third album 'Anima Tenebrarum' that delivers the cold and bitter taste of vampirism in it's true form. Pulsating drums coat the vocals in an infectious disease, so deadly it makes the old Soviet regime look as weak as a plastic ruler, but that's not to say that this Latvian band are of the sort, in fact Nycticorax are due to take the Latvian Metal scene to newer heights, with 'Anima Tenebrarum' now firmly set on powering the band onto newer styles of their already constructed Vampiric Black Metal, nothing is going to stop this mammoth machine.

[7] + [8] RHYS STEVENSON

RAJFAJH
'The True Nation'

Probably time to close this band down, twenty years have passed and coming to their 2012 EP you'd find more entertainment elsewhere. The typical shriek, muffed riff and nearly-heard blastbeat are the three factors that dominate this release; however it cannot be totally condoned; at least it features a ambient feel to it, but the sort that may take time to get used to. 'The True Nation' if you take it seriously could refer to a pagan or nationalist sentiment and so the latter could upset certain people, albeit the fact that the band name is closely linked to either the Arabic or central Asian languages and so the product is somewhat intriguing.

[4.5] RHYS STEVENSON

COLDBLOOD
'Under The Blade I Die' + 'The Other Gods'

2007 saw the debut album by Brazilian old-school Death Metal quartet Coldblood emerge from the pits of the Amazon and swamp the country in a swathe of Satanic Anti-Christianity. 'Under The Blade I Die' features toned down riffs come and going like a scythe slicing open the hearing sense with a sonic blast of irresistable blastbeats and guttural vocals as the perfect accompynants, as for Coldblood this was a new step in their band's existance and became a pivotal point in their musical direction, or did it? Regardless, 'Under The Blade I Die' is a solid performance of relenting Death Metal and is sure to batter anyone's brains to death.

So when it came to present day and the year 2012 was calling, Coldblood released their first ever EP 'The Other Gods', much like the debut album except the production and quality is far superior on the EP. Plus strangely for an EP, this lasts over an hour and thus the listener is buried amongst a ton of really intricate and lush old school Death Metal once again. From the bizarre and creepy instrumentals like 'Before the Last Breath' to absolute face-melters like Reincarnating A New Black God, 'The Other Gods' is an example of pure brilliance and is sure to push Coldblood onto further releases in their twenty-year career (achieved this year).

[7] + [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

SHAPED BY FATE
'I Fear The World Has Changed'
SIEGE OF ARMADA

Welsh Hardcore Metallers Shaped By Fate make their comeback to release their sophomore album 'I Fear The World Has Changed', kicking into full throttle, the South Wales crew demolish past sounds and implement a new choice of direction, one with full of the nitty-gritty, sweat and demonic fret of which is enough to make listeners wet themselves. Coming from the fabled 'core' scene of South Wales is no easy task, but for the quintet before you, this is only level 1, there are far more levels to complete, and as the band will find, everything is in fact, Shaped By Fate.

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON

DISHARMONIC
'The Creature - Artificial Ignorance'
HECATOMBE

Defying the odds of the Spanish economy crashing was plain and simple for Andalusia's Disharmonic, who of which unleashed brutal hell in 2011 with their face-smashing debut release 'The Creature - Artificial Ignorance'. Featuring drumming so fast and brutal, it's only physical resemblance is being kicked in the cojones, painfully sharp and so razor-sharp, it could cause a headache. But that's what makes Disharmonic and 'The Creature - Artificial Ignorance' so good, demoralising the norms and putting their own twist on the fathomed Death Metal genre. With Bao delivering the scariest of female vocals, this is a Spanish Inquisition metal-style.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

SPREADING DREAD
'...Sanatorium...'

2012 see's a new band on the block in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. This band comes in the form of Power Thrashers Spreading Dread and in-tow their debut album '...Sanatorium...' which delivers a majestic riff-a-thon in sensational style. With blistering-paced drums in the backline, venomous vocals splitting the chasm in two and a frenzy of galloping riffs on the frontline, '...Sanatorium...' is crafted for fans of Sabaton, Metallica and basically any band that uses either Thrash Metal or Power Metal. Rest assured, this is a promising band.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

THE SIEGE
'The Siege - A Musical Epic'
STP

Austrian Prog Metal/Rock maestro Florian Hartl takes listeners on a mystical, majestic and awe-inspiring adventure with his project The Siege. Firmly affixed on the subject of the Battle of Vienna in 1683, this is a solid production of which draws comparisons between Dream Theatre and Sonata Arctica, with a fortified display of emphatic solo's, classic vocals and an array of percussion to keep the listener on their toes, The Siege is taking Austrian Prog Metal/Rock to new levels of extremity and in doing so, collectively spews out nothing but 100% excellence.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

EL SCHLONG
'Time/Place'

So it comes down to this, a calamitous clashing of various metal genres that interestingly and surprisingly seem to work, without actually finding any way to genre-tag El Schlong's 2011 release 'Time/Place'. Effectively it's got melancholy, panache and out-right bizarrity. If anything it may as well qualify as Extreme Progressive Metal, the progression is there but the vocals are effectively Thrash Metal, whereas the riffs epitomise the classic sound of Black Metal or Doom Metal, one of which resembles a scary side to this release,, and so on that note this album as many questions, but one answer, which is that it's unique.

[6] RHYS STEVENSON

LAHANNYA
'Dystopia'
KABUKI

A bit of a reprisal comes into play with Lahannya's latest offering 'Dystopia', the multi-national quartet deliver a Gothic-twisted emphasis on the whole Alternative Metal division, with joyous melodies and erotic vocals coalescing together to shed new light on the sounds of modern music. Long gone are the days of London being a reputed Gothic area but the music continues to flourish and rule the night and with Lahannya firmly now set in stone and on the road to achieve much more, nothing will stop this foursome from reviving the old roots of Gothic/Alternative music. 'Dystopia' is for fans of Evanescence, The Cyan Velvet Project, Velcra and Domina Noctis.

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON

BELLIGERENT INTENT
'Seven Are They'

Perhaps this could be a signature soundtrack to a world war two film, or it could be something dark that's lurking in Australia's backyard; a dead body perhaps? But whatever fans can make of Belligerent Intent's debut album 'Seven Are They', it is guaranteed a smacking of rough and grizzly Black / Death Metal. Blistering drums are perhaps the best section of the band's debut, but as an overall production it can be easily linked to other bands such as The Furor or Behemoth. Next thing we will know is that there is a sharp rise of hearing loss in the Melbourne area, or it could be the screeching of the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix (we think).

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

KLYNT
'Of Klynt & Man'

Hard to make anything of this one, well technically that's a lie, this is Austrian quintet Klynt and their debut release 'Of Klynt & Man', now when claiming to be Power / Thrash Metal, it would be assumed to be fast, with melodic vocals and heavy vocals in tandem, however what Klynt have done have gone the opposite, heavy vocals, melodic music and medium pace. Like the fable of Midas, Klynt are on that path but are a fair distance away from making any epic sounds as-of-yet, but with this release under their belt, it can only get better for the lads, one band to keep an eye out for.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

WHITECHAPEL
'Whitechapel'
METAL BLADE

Within the myriad and factory-processed Deathcore bands that seem to have come out of nowhere, lies a diamond amongst the fakes and it is this diamond that is in fact Whitechapel. The American juggernauts assault the fourth outing in sensational style, with a breakdown after blastbeat smack-in-the-face reception, the self-titled album by the heavy-weight titans is a clear sign of how Deathcore 'should be done'. This without a doubt has to be the best album they have ever released and will prove a real hard act to follow on from. For fans of Resist The Thought and The Black Dahlia Murder amongst many other elite Deathcore acts.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

CATACOMBS
'Catacombs'

Somewhat easy to compare when speaking of Catacombs, the closest you can pinhole them to is Wintersun, minus the chill factor. However, Australia's Catacombs and their debut self-titled EP is not without any deviations; subtle breakdowns emerge here and there whilst retaining the melodic overture found on 'The Fallen'. Sure it's not a 100% production and generally no first release is, but the Melbourne lads do have a sense of musical direction and with this EP under wraps, they could break into the international scene, with hints of Amon Amarth and the slow Melodic doom-feel in the shadows, Catacombs are a decent band with a decent release.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

_ SILENT DESCENT
'Mind Games'
RISING RECORDS

It's here, the follow-up to the nuclear blast that was 'Duplicity', the Rising Records debut album by Kent's Trance Metal wizards Silent Descent. The septet who hail from the town of Dartford utilise a delicate balance of Trance Music with European style Melodic Death Metal. Whilst conventionally differentiating their sound entirely from the rest of the 'Trance Army' such as: Enter Shikari, Asking Alexandria, Blood Stain Child etc, the septet have ruthlessly returned to max-out their sound with enough power and gusto to cause a ripple-effect across the Thames estuary. If pioneering a subgenre was meant to come from sheer experimentation, then it has certainly fallen for Silent Descent. This album captures the trance magic from the arsenal known as 'Kipster', the firing of skin-cutting riffs from Tom Callahan and Jaco Oxley, whilst being embezzled by the magnitude of the thunderous drumming by Jerry Sadowski and the ultimate armour piercing warhead devised by vocal architect Tom Watling, let alone the intertwining by Paul Hurrell and Jimmy Huang to altogether deliver what is perhaps already perceived as the album of the year in the UK Metal scene.

RHYS STEVENSON [10]

_CORE IN CHINA
ROCK IN CHINA

As ancient as their forefathers, the Chinese Metal and Rock scenes are ones that are not fully researched into and as such are left underground, what this free online compilation has done (which is downloadable from this page) is dug out a myriad of bands from the Metalcore, Deathcore, Nintendocore, Hardcore and Screamo sub-genres and presented this to the masses. The compilation took five months to compile and represent the areas of Beijing, Wuhan, Changsha, Taipei, Hong Kong, Baou and Guangzhou. It has been released via Rock In China's web page and is worth downloading,

For a country like China to have an underground scene of epic proportions is a testament to the unformidable power of the internet, from the very first Heavy Metal band Tang Dynasty to tomorrow's Chinese musicians, this is a compilation any Metal fan should download and support.

From New Tanks slamming Deathcore (which is brutal enough to make you look a right softy), to Meat Sucks' beautiful ballad-tinged hardcore sensation. You'd be asking for more than a Chinese takeaway, this compilation covers many tastes and not just one. Noodlecore some people call it, but Nintendocore is a crossing of Nintendo music and Deathcore/Metalcore; quite apt for a console that is ironically Japanese.

But take no assumptions, download it and let your ears do the deciding, China has spoken, the bands are ready, are you? Let the audio assault begin....

RHYS STEVENSON (8.5)

_IHSAHN
'Eremita'
CANDLELIGHT

One would confuse this with easy listening, or perhaps pure sensational imagination. This is after all Ihsahn's latest offering 'Eremita', a cleverly constructed assault of Extreme Progressive Metal with enough riffs to leave you barking for more. 'Eremita' marks Ihsahn's fourth outing and possibly his most impressive in the existence of the project. It’s fast, its heavy, its Norwegian and it’s insane, Ihsahn is taking Extreme Metal to a third dimension and in doing so, lashing it with a furious smacking of Black Metal-tinged Prog Metal. Who said innovation and experimentation was disastrous?

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

_ MASK OF VIRTUE
'In This World'
RISING RECORDS

Another band using the electronic music wildcard, but there is something unique about Mask Of Virtue, whether it's the fact they use melodic vocals and down-right brutal hardcore as a backdrop or the fact they are poised to the take the UK scene by storm. Whilst not as prolific (yet) as Hertfordshire band Enter Shikari, the Yorkshire quintet are not far behind from copping onto that sound, but at the sound they are currently at, they should stick. This is after hearing their debut album 'In This World', a harmonious composition of some of the sickest riffs, danceable beats and soul-destroying vocals. From start to finish, this is a non-stop roller-coaster of 'electronicore' at its absolute finest. Naturally sounding as Enter Shikari's successor, this is the 'electronicore' band the UK has been waiting for, next stop... global domination.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

THE BROWNING
'Burn This World'
EARACHE

Considered one of the next big bands to embrace to storm of colliding electronic music and metal together, The Browning install their hard drive force of complex Extreme / Hybrid Metal or Technical Electro-Deathcore, but essentially a sickening mix of Deathcore, Trance Music, EBM, Technical Metal and Cyber Metal. The fact being their debut album 'Burn This World' is one that cannot be genre-pinned, simply because of its multi-sound offering and it's tasty repertoire of brain-bashing breakdowns, energetic electronic EBM and all round sonic blasting. The Browning may be compared to bands like Design The Skyline, but even so both bands are leading a metal revolution, The Browning just taking it one step further, make or break for this band and genre is set to stay, love it or hate it, the perfect poker hand has been dealt, its time to 'Burn This World'.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

KOZAKS OF METALLISHTAN
'Kozaks Of Metallishtan'

Once in a while you get a band that breaks all guidelines, rules and totally wrecks conformity, this time it falls grace to the Finnish Metal scene, or so to speak the land of Metallishtan of which is located in modern day Russia. The trio of musical leaders bring a totally new idea to the Metal music world and as such bring out a totally unique sound. 'Kozaks Of Metallishtan' is the band's self-titled debut release and has a collection of Russian-tinged Soviet propaganda and digs at Sweden in the purest and comical form. None the less, the Metallishtani's will be immersed by the revolution and with this music, it spells the rebirth of the once forgotten nation. Kozaks Of Metallishtan is for fans of Rammstein and System of a Down, but for the band itself, Kozaks Of Metallishtan is a one of a kind, one band that will drive forward and bring a whole new level of Metal to the masses.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

WINTERCOLD
'Lost Wolf'
SATANICA

Swedish one-man project Wintercold returns with another assault of Gothic-tinged Doom Metal, this time the full-length release in question is 'Lost Wolf', amassing a rather eclectic and sometimes shoddy mix of excellent and downright disappointing tracks. Some of the major highlights include 'Psychopath' with its quick beat and somewhat funky approach to the musical style. Nonetheless this is another fine example of the Swedish musical magician Satanic Tony; his project Wintercold is rumbling around the underground and with this latest release, things can only get darker, more intricate and most importantly heavier.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

HELLARISE
'Human Disgrace'

All female Brazilian Death / Thrash group Hellarise shed light in 2010 with their debut demo 'Human Disgrace', dragging up a fast blazing arrangement of songs fuelled by Amazonian wood and tribal heritage, this band mix a bit of Sepultura with feisty feminine creativity. For this debut effort from Brazil's underground, this is a good attempt at making brutal music. None the less, Hellarise could have gone better on production but with that in mind, the overall product is more than a general death / thrashes release, this is a demo with enough guts on it to over-throw any Ronaldinho or Pele.

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

HAMEREX
'Rites Of Passage'

Yorkshire boys Hamerex waiver their next assault of classic Heavy metal with their latest release 'Rites Of Passage', with a cascade of riffs and drumming to entice the most frantic of mosh-pits, Hamerex are igniting the old traditions and bringing them to the masses as a trophy of the evolution of Metal music. 'Rites Of Passage' brings a whole new stance on the meaning of original and traditional, this is by far one of the most impressive rejuvenations of old style metal to be unleashed, a sheer class of absolute proportions. For fans of Iron Maiden, Kaine, Van Halen.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON