LOSNA 'Distilling Spirits' Brazilian Cross Thrashers Losna made their second assault all the more heavier and brutal and as their sophomore album 'Distilling Spirits' proves, Brazilian Thrash Metal is in a league of its own. For the trio from Porto Alegre, this is a new step in their band's existence, taking on board a furious and angry message of mass hate and spitting-in-your-face attitude. Certified to take moshpits beyond insanity and registered to play beyond max voltage output, Losna are the new face of Brazilian Metal. With 'Distilling Spirits' now under their belts and their third album in sight, nothing is going to stop them now, it has only just begun. [8] RHYS STEVENSON BLODSPOR 'Laughing Through Violence' EYOSACOI Norwegian Black / Death Metal band Blodspor make a somewhat abysmal start to their career, their debut album 'Laughing Through Violence' has a few tracks that are worthy enough to be praised, such as 'Dark Hour Of Decay' of which has a finely tuned balance of the two genres, but songs like 'Mental Hibernation' need serious rethinking. For a debut album this has a 50/50 split reception on it, with some good and bad tracks interlinking, but credit for them on this one, as for all bands to progress is to build on and make better what was wrong. [5.5] ACHREN 'The Forgotten King' COEL DORCHAS After eight years, burly Glaswegian Blackened Thrash merchants Achren finally shed out their debut album 'The Forgotten King', fast-paced and sensationally ballsy, this is a release with enough grit to make the snowplough operators look like pansies. Dubbing their genre as 'blood metal', the quartet from the metropolitan city of Glasgow in Scotland ignite and unleash a torrential wave of audio missiles nearly as long as five minutes. Whilst conventionally not the best possible start, the album offers glimpses of promising potential and hope. [7] RHYS STEVENSON TYRANEX 'Extermination Has Begun' INFERNÖ Like a snake on the prowl for food, Tyranex emerge from the underground in black and with a feisty minx as their front-woman, ripping ears with claws as long as Nine Inch Nails. Tyranex is a Swedish Thrash trio with enough balls to bludgeon any hardcore fan to death. 'Extermination Has Begun' is their debut album and what a corker it is, a full-on hell rollercoaster speeding across nine tracks of adrenaline-charged incantations and incendiary bombs detonating at every second. For the two males and woman clad-in-leather, this release is a great starter and a sure eye-grabber for big media groups. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON KHARIOT
'Disymposium' Australian Extreme Prog Metal stalwarts Khariot make their debut start with their first full-length album 'Disymposium', whilst conventionally a cake mixture of many Metal genres: Prog, Death, Thrash, Black and more, Khariot are a experimental metal band at heart and as such have a lot of sudden tune changes, so it is unclear whether this was intent or totally within the uncanny grasp of luck. However, Khariot are not a band to be downed by at any means, even if little bits of the album are left questionable. Khariot's debut album 'Disymposium' is for fans of Meshuggah, Design The Skyline and Strapping Young Lad. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON
0 Comments
FADING CIRCLES 'Cyber Whirlwind' Although based in Romania, the Hungarian trio Fading Circles make their imminent return with their Progressive / Power Metal tune in the shape of their sophomore full-length 'Cyber Whirlwind'. Whilst the music itself has a tendency to shift speed slightly, the solo's do the talking and in this add a certain level of magic to the album. Whilst not conventionally fast like Sonata Arctica, Fading Circles tone down the speed and add a atmospheric feel to it, casting a mysticism shadow over the listener, but leaving them stumped to what has just happened, simply due to the clear fact that the music itself saddles within the Progressive Metal vein but the vocals sit in the Power Metal side and so therefore two genres collide, providing an unique experience. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON INSINNERATOR 'Stalagmite Of Ice' Making their debut is Texan Thrash Metal moguls Insinnerator and their debut album 'Stalagmite Of Ice', with their balls of fury sound and easy-to-recognize 'cowboy' accent. But don't let that y'all be put off, for this quartet bring in as much Slayer influence as Calgary has for beef. Fast, slick, sick and mesmerizingly beautiful, Insinnerator is the new breed of Texan Thrash, scintillating any previous releases with a stroke of neat musicianship. Guaranteed for a make-shift moshpit and wall of death, the four Americans know their Thrash inside and out and were born to be insane Thrashers. Just don't wince at the album or when the band stabs you with a 'Stalagmite Of Ice'. [9] RHYS STEVENSON SYNTHETIC BREED 'Perpetual Motion Machine' SYMBIOTIC Cybernetics spring to mind with Synthetic Breed's sophomore album 'Perpetual Motion Machine', the Australian Cyber / Industrial Death Metal trio (now quartet) exert a force of brutal heaviness with glorious funk tunes in a parallel motion of fury-laden dance grooves. Whilst not as heavy as fellow countrymen The Berzerker, the industrial parts can be likened to that of Swiss band Breach The Void. What could make the sound much more appertaining would be synthesizers, adding a further industrial feel to it and a sense of atmosphere. None the less this is one album to captivate fans and music critics alike, a true blend of brutal music with body-moving pulsation. [8] RHYS STEVENSON LOSNA 'Wild Hallucinations' Fourteen years have eclipsed since Brazil's Crossover Thrashers Losna came up with their return statement, yet they return with their sophomore album 'Wild Hallucinations' with a little disappointment setting in, the thrash stance seems to have depleted, but none the less this is a release with a bowlful of guts and strategic brutality on all levels. With the bass guitar clearly heard, it adds a sense of raw music to it, adding a new level of customized harshness. With Losna 'Wild Hallucinations' is a fair decent attempt, but some minor changes are needed, the music needs a little more Sepultura in it. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON NOCTURN DEAMBULATION
'The Grand Opening' French Death Metal newbies Nocturn Deambulation implore their own stance on the metal genre with a circus and surgical procedure-based debut album entitled 'The Grand Opening', so much for the merry go round as this album takes the listener on a windy maze of ferocious drumming, exquisite vocals and phantasmagoria in lieu of their ravenous riffs. Whilst the band immerse themselves within the repertoire of la cirque d'hiver, this is perhaps an entirely new sound on it's own. Majestically sounding and essentially brutal, 'The Grand Opening' is without a doubt French Death Metal album of the year 2011. [10] RHYS STEVENSON AR 'Chaffinch / The Trade single CD' Cambridge monsters AR unleash uncanny havoc with this two song demo, essentially an A and B side, but what the hell, here is a band with more balls than a bull on testosterone pills, mixing Thrash Metal elements with Heavy Alternative Metal, the so called 'in-your-face' kind, armed with a variety of killer riffs, slick vocals and drums too cool enough to appear on MTV, AR is Cambridgeshire's latest hopefuls to break into the English Metal mainstream, just don't count them on being support for bands much longer. [8] RHYS STEVENSON RECOIL 'The Will To Sin' NEW JUSTICE Pummelling the sandstorms around the desert is Australia's new fury fighters Recoil, a whammed up boy band with a guttural sense of brutality, essentially a Deathcore / Death Metal quartet who just released their mesmerising debut album 'The Will To Sin' last year. Whilst not as heavy as first thought, the true essence lies in the ravenous riffs of which cascade like no tomorrow. Part Parkway Drive, part Whitechapel, part Unleashed, this is Australian Metal as never heard before, if you have 'The Will To Sin', then Recoil is your band. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON RETALIATORY MEASURES 'MMX' Hallows call by name when Retaliatory Measures come into the affray, essentially five Finns with enough whimsical empowerment to topple any non-metal fan, 'MMX' is their debut EP released last year and with it comes Death / Thrash Metal in the sincerest form, a beacon to the ever-diversifying Finnish Metal scene, but whilst this is nothing new in terms of genre developing, the sound itself is as new as can be, so whilst this is not a genre-defining EP nor a definite development, it is still a decent release. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON INSAIN 'Spiritual Rebirth' Screwing out the blood-sodden carpets of Paris is French Brutal Death Metal posse Insain, a rather aptly stated band name, for this music is Insain. Brutalizing blast-beats form amid outrageous vocal dilemmas and intrinsic riffs, all merging together to create a theatrical solidarity composition in the form of their debut 2010 album 'Spiritual Rebirth', this is French Metal on drugs, a cocktail of mental song structures and forensic vocals alleviating any sickness, the brute of Brutal Death Metal is here. [10] RHYS STEVENSON SIMULACRUM
'Promo 2011' Fast, unconventional and seemingly a near-perfect mess, the vocals are all over the place, the drums are totally not what they are meant to be, the guitars just do the trick, this is pretty much what sums up the 2011 promotional released by Finnish Progressive Metal quintet Simulacrum, this needs serious work done to it, the vocals are more so Power Metal and so it is highly unclear to what genre they want, but given credit for developing something bizarrely unique. [5] RHYS STEVENSON DIRGE ETERNAL 'Lucifer's Lullabye' The debut 2010 EP from Finnish Heavy Dark Metallers Dirge Eternal brings together the darkness of the Finnish wilderness, transcribing the atmosphere into the wintry feeling that comes with the winters of this Scandinavian country, whilst not as heavy as Iron Maiden, Dirge Eternal uses keyboards to install a dynamic elevated atmosphere of near-Gothic exemplars, in relation to the forbode Finnish Gothic scene, this is one step up the ladder to exclaim the cleverness of the Finnish musicians, for Dirge Eternal this is just the start of something big. [8] RHYS STEVENSON IMHORGL 'Antinomian' Australian Melodic Black Metal stalwarts Imhorgl return with their next blasting of ear-burning assaults, 'Antinomian' is far heavier than Cradle Of Filth, but is a tad over the top in terms of heaviness and over-production, this is one album that will burn ears with enragement, a really angry album, but by far is a bizarrely over-tuned one. [5] RHYS STEVENSON AZARATH 'Blasphemers Malediction' WITCHING HOUR PRODS. The fifth album of Polish Death Metal warriors Azarath brings more torture and Satanic influences to the table, 'Blasphemers Malediction' specialises in fast and furious music to highlight the disastrous incantations erupting from the larynx of Marek "Necrosodom" Lechowski and to encase this majestic blast of evil with an array of different notes, beats and vocal productions, all in all a highly solid and welcomed album. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON NOMAD 'Transmigration Of Consciousness' WITCHING HOUR PRODS. Smashing their way through the colossal chasms of the underground Metal scene in Poland is Death Metal intermediates Nomad and their fifth overall strike in the album sector, their release 'Transmigration Of Consciousness' has a clear melodic touch to it with the drum patterns having a melodic sway to them, essentially not a bad album but little more could be done to make this sound much better, though the excellent thing about this album is all the tracks form one long track as they meld together, like a 'Transmigration Of Consciousness'. [8] RHYS STEVENSON EMPTY PLAYGROUND
'Under Dead Skin' WITCHING HOUR PRODS Polish Industrial Death Metallers Empty Playground lay low with their funky debut album with a blistering and capitalising escape from the reigns of binding, a collective array of songs similar to that of when Vader meets Nine Inch Nails meets Polish penetration, so much so for Cybergrind, for these five Poles, this is a moment to slip into fourth gear and deliver much more than this release, quite an energetic album at that, not one to down. [7] RHYS STEVENSON CALTH 'Fight For A New Become' SATANARSA Raw and Satanic, Bulgarian one-man Black Metal project Calth came with his first full-length album back in 2009, with deep distortion and a cold atmosphere, this is despairingly inapt for a Black Metal musician as such, or in the more loyal vicissitudes of music, comes to an eternal circle from which eludes all songs on this album in relation to the perfection that was forecast, a disturbing yet irate album stands bold and inconceivable. [6] RHYS STEVENSON PAINFUL DEFLORATION 'Antihuman Antisocial' SOULFLESH COLLECTOR Soldering on from the depths of the Ukrainian underground is Grindcore merchants Painful Defloration who released their third album 'Antihuman Antisocial' last year with gusto, break-neck drumming, gut-rumbling vocals and drop-sick riffs, this is Grindcore on a new level, whilst the latter would consider this as another general Grindcore band, they have Death Metal influences as well as subtle Thrash Metal drumming, essentially a cocktail for an absolute cataclysmic album, 'Antihuman Antisocial' is just the beginning, the storm is oncoming. [10] RHYS STEVENSON CORVUS 'Corvus' FORGOTTEN WISDOM PRODS. Well erm, Corvus' debut self-titled EP released last year could have been a lot better, this is a heartless attempt at creating Black Metal, the recording is terrible, the drums are virtually non-existent albeit the here-and-there hitting of the cymbals, nor does the vocals do any justice, one to listen at your own peril, but this is a dire attempt. [1] RHYS STEVENSON FLAYED DISCIPLE 'Flayed Disciple' Somerset Death Metal newbie's Flayed Disciple rattle all the doors in the underground network for a turn at becoming a threat to rock the Metal mainstream, with their debut EP 'Drawn Viscera' released in 2010, this is a hotly-tipped band to become the next band to grace the British Media. Tight-ass riffs accompany a sizzling array of drum patterns and down-to-your-socks vocals, all coalescing to ignite perhaps a new wave of solidified destruction, a true Death Metal band of modern times, just watch this space. [9] RHYS STEVENSON BLOODSHOT DAWN
'Slaves To The Lie' 2011 sees Portsmouth's Death Proggers Bloodshot Dawn revive in a style that rivals Gojira from France, the only problem is the recording level, the vocals are not really clear and so downgrades the EP entirely, whilst the music offers some sort of replacement, the genial fact remains this is an EP which has both good and bad bits, a fair decent attempt but don't hark on it being anything more. [6] RHYS STEVENSON THE FUROR
'Invert Absolute' + 'Advance Australia Warfare' + 'War Upon Worship' PRIME CUTS Oh boy did Australia not see this one coming, a dark and evil mess was to be passed along the Perth streets and became to form one of Australia's well known Black/Death Metal bands, The Furor now in their ninth year of existence has stood strong alongside military warfare and war, looking back from their current release 'War Upon Worship' to their deepest roots in Australian Metal 'Invert Absolute' there is a clear warning that this music is not for the faint of heart. 'Invert Absolute' is one album that many would consider 'one of those stereotype albums', but by excavating deeper The Furor have set aside their own sound, with tripping drumming and evil (yet somewhat cheery) riffs and true raspy vocals, 'Invert Absolute' was a real eye candy for many to indulge into, with perhaps their signature tune on this album being the fast and furious 'Thrive On War', with Louis Rando (aka Disaster - also live drummer for UAE based band Nervecell) on drums, this became a brutal machine, spewing out dark secrets too black for mainstream individuals. What sets apart this Aussie lot from the other Black / Death Metal bands is their unique time signatures, striking the most fear into the listener, making them one of few to spine-chill. Focusing on their second album there is indeed a solitary improvement in sound, with that in mind it clearly demonstrates a precise progression from their debut album, with more killer riffs and a ton more evil emphasized on the album, with tracks like 'Hellfire Massacre' taking the listener and murdering their senses with a sense of complete utter satisfaction, whilst sat in a much mature position, this has not altered the darker side of this band, not one bit, intuitively speaking it has upgraded the fear factor to such an extent it makes the saw films look like children's cartoons. Whilst the line-up has changed over the years, The Furor entity has remained intact with the abhorrent evilness that sometimes lacks with today's Black/Death Metal bands, but with a feast of ear-raping songs to savour, The Furor are vastly becoming Australia's answer to the Polish titans Behemoth. This as they say is just the beginning, for there is not ending here with The Furor, never till the Australian flag comes down. Finally with their latest brutalizing onslaught 'War Upon Worship' The Furor seems to have had another shift around, now a duo as Disaster covers drumming and vocal duties and Kill Machine takes up guitar and bass duties, but still 'The Furorcity' is still there and with this latest effort, a sensual composition of interesting yet mesmerizing songs engulfs the atmosphere with a sense of BBQ's, evil surfers and sweaty heat, joke, it's far worse than that (in a positive way), sounding different from previous albums, The Furor continue to devour the speakers in blistering blazing form and essentially set themselves up for what is to be known as an Australian legend, with the two brains working in dual mode, the latter is to say in the 'Invert Absolute' there will be a time for 'Advance Australia Warfare' and a time for 'War Upon Worship'. [8] + [7.5] + [8] RHYS STEVENSON GRÁ 'Helfärd' UNEXPLODED Sifting through the mass production of Scandinavian Black Metal is Sweden's Grá with their raw BM debut EP 'Helfärd', now whilst the lyrics are in Swedish, there is a great deal of rawness here and especially with the raspy vocals surrounding the ferocious atmospheric fuzz of the down-tuned guitars and beat-perfect drumming - all in all a traditional raw black metal release worthy of recognition in anyone's books. [7] RHYS STEVENSON PULMONARY FIBROSIS 'Interstitial Lung Diseases' LAST HOUSE ON THE RIGHT Simply noise, no musical effort, a limitless torrent of noise, no vocals just gurgling and the only saviour being the drums and guitars, but that is not enough for France's 12 year old band Pulmonary Fibrosis and their second album 'Interstitial Lung Diseases', perhaps they should have just stuck to medical science and not musicianship. [2] RHYS STEVENSON ORPHEUS 'Bleed The Way' ROCKSTAR Fresh from the streets of Melbourne is Australian Melodic Death Metal surfers Orpheus with their highly-anticipated debut album 'Bleed The Way', caressing the melodic force that Swede's Scar Symmetry exhibit, Orpheus are the latest metal band to bore the brunt of the Melodic Death Metal vein and in doing so do it spot-on, essentially the melodies waft around the atmosphere as if dancing and so alarm all listening, Orpheus means business. [10] RHYS STEVENSON THE RUSTLING OF LEAVES
'Reverence & Meanness' SATANARSA The debut from Ukrainian one-man project The Rustling Of Leaves alleviates all misconception about the Ukrainian Black Metal aesthetics, especially as this is an instrumental - a bizarre one for Black Metal but essentially still has hard and evil as your average BM band. The debut album 'Reverence & Meanness' born in 2009 qualifies as one of those albums where the listener is left asking questions, whether that be a good things rests with the listener, just don't bank on this project doing anything spectacular. [6] RHYS STEVENSON GRAVE FORSAKEN
'Fight To The Death' SOUNDMASS Australia's veteran Death/Thrash Metallers Grave Forsaken return with their fourth full-length with a vengeance, 'Fight To The Death' employs old school style Thrash with strangely limited Death Metal, so whether the genre was completely misread god knows, but forget that because Grave Forsaken are not your average aussie piss-uppers nor are they Sydney surfers, contrary to belief the quartet reside in Perth and instead play host to the ashes in cricket, should it be seen that Australia's cricket team should adopt the song 'Fight To The Death'? Even when Pontin has gone (in years to come)? Essentially one to watch, regardless of the distance. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON SACRED MOTHER TONGUE 'The Ruin Of Man' TRASCEND This Northampton crew slithered themselves through the underground chambers to unleash the filth of Metalcore and ever-rotting flesh of Melodic Death Metal, to formulate their 2009 debut full-length release 'The Ruin Of Man'. Rebellious riffs encased a skin of articulate blastbeats and dual-tone vocals, this quartet are another living proof of the sexy and erotic result of combining these two genres together, for Sacred Mother Tongue 'The Ruin Of Man' has not yet begun, for the poseurs however it has. [8] RHYS STEVENSON EXILIA 'Stop Playing God' GUN Back in 2004, Exilia upgraded their level of musical composition with their meaningful single 'Stop Playing God', highlighting the dangers and problems of being too big about things, but in Exilia's case it's more of a rebellious track and with that the spirit of Masha (vocalist) is extended beyond all extremity, a solid release by Italy's favourite Nu Metal group. Bring on the noise, for Exilia will bring their own buzz. [8] RHYS STEVENSON DESDEMONIA 'Existence' Hailing from the land of Luxembourg in Western Europe is Death Metal novices Desdemonia, with their third full-length 'Existence' aligning the terrors and darkness found within such an extreme type of music. Whilst the recording itself is a bit high-pitched, lowering the clarity of the music produced, the riffs exhilarate the drumming into complete coalition state. For the quartet this is a worthy piece of material, but not one that will change much in the Luxembourg Metal scene. For fans of Unleashed, Mass Hypnosis and Beneath. [7] RHYS STEVENSON A DARK PLACE 'Suffering' DEZLANIC On the other end of the Death Metal scale, this is perhaps the rawest form of Death Metal, whilst the recording itself is slightly poor, the vocals are not-audibly clear and so relies on the music to add back-up. For the Melbourne quartet this is not perhaps the best of possible debut's but certainly is not the worst, for percussive levels it exceeds expectations but indefinitely is one album for the fans of The Berzerker in their early days. Some would say A Dark Place need to see the wizard of oz, but that would be an awful pun, one that would leave people in A Dark Place 'Suffering'. [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON GUTTED
'Mankind Carries The Seeds Of Hell' SOULFLESH COLLECTOR Blasting their way through the chasms of hell is Hungarian Death grinders Gutted with their sensational blitz of riff-infused blastbeats and gut-rotting vocals, all in sync with their third brutal assault 'Mankind Carries The Seeds Of Hell'. It comes with a warning, not for the faint of heart, for this record is by far one of Hungary's heaviest to date, served up on a plate of gormandizing flesh and sumptuous cannibalism-in-destroying-hearing kind of fantasy, all for the greater good. Without a doubt this album is in the top ten of Hungary's best Metal albums in 2010. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON |
© 2011-2022
|