TEMPLE OF THE MAGGOT
'Black Mass Apocalypse'
UNMERCIFUL DEATH PRODS.

Two years have past and now the dark and disturbing sounds of Temple of The Maggot are back amongst us, the Mongolian duo, now based in Europe, return with their second offering of Raw Black Metal in its darkest form yet. 'Black Mass Apocalypse' brings more satanic traits with it and transforms the atmosphere into a bleak and spine-chilling feeling, not because of the music but because of the sensation the album brings with it. For the duo that have been going four years, this is their best release to date and is sure to please fans of Carpathian Forest and Darkthrone with grim intent.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

NATHORG
'Beyond The Gates Of Bathory'
UNMERCIFUL DEATH PRODS.

Nathorg could easily be the band to bring the Iranian Metal scene to the masses across the world, breaking out with their debut album 'Beyond The Gates Of Bathory', you can clearly see why these are the favourites to land themselves into the attention laps of global media, full on Blackened Death Metal at its core with hints of ambience and anti-religious hatred, coming from a land that's heavily influenced by Islam, this is a risky yet bold-statement of rebellion. Played in the style of Belphegor and Gorgoroth, Nathorg are sure to become the next Middle Eastern metal band to grace the covers of the British metal magazines. 'Beyond The Gates Of Bathory' serves up raw vocals, insanely fast drumming and soul-freezing riffs in one whole slab of forty minutes, think you know Extreme music? Think again.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

SIRANNON
'Semper Caliga'
UNMERCIFUL DEATH PRODS.

2011 saw darkness fall and cloud over the Turkish cities of Izmir and Istanbul as the all female quartet Sirannon deliver their debut album 'Semper Caliga' which is loaded with really evil Black Metal. Mixing Paganism and History in with their music, Sirannon use their native language on some songs and bring a unique Middle Eastern / Eastern European twist to their music. Full of raw sounding guitars and really low-key vocals and non-existent drumming, this is a raw production all over and is sure to entice those who love really distorted music. As for Sirannon and their release 'Semper Caliga', it is just the beginning; they won't stop there, not by a long shot.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

SHORT FUSE
'Hate Brought To This Place Called Home' + 'Shred The Dead' + 'Annihilate The Masses'

California, the home of Hollywood, huge-wage earners, crime, the golden gate bridge and of course its bustling nightlife, but beneath the sewers of this huge state is a monster waiting to escape, its first appearance came in 2005 when it sparked fear amongst the community. Enter the six-piece band with a short fuse, literally. Explosive Melodic Death Metal on a grand scale, Short Fuse conjured up a fairly decent debut album and laid the path down to make their music something of the rare kind, innovative. 'Hate Brought To This Place Called Home' in fact back in 2005 was produced by a quintet, but still brought that edge that lacked in the Californian Metal scene, mixing the classic sounds of the aforementioned metal genre with their own unique attitude, much more was expected to come and it did.

2010 and the quintet became a sextet and in time for their sophomore album 'Shred The Dead' which has a greater and more powerful sound than its predecessor, weaving even more guttural vocals than a drunk German, coupled with blazing drumming and cutting-edge riffs, this is the exact sound Short Fuse will be identified by, 'Shred The Dead' is a masterpiece in its own rights and is designed to make the dead come alive and leave the alive for dead. Lashing keyboard elements to this release and in turn overthrowing their previous release into disrepute, for the elements drawn on this release are far beyond anything magical, they're simply non-descript.

Coming into the present times and Short Fuse deliver their third outing 'Annihilate The Masses' with even more gusto than their previous two efforts, it seems as every album passes they get better and better, although that's a generic concept for every band, but in respect of Short Fuse, they should keep this sound as is now, 'Annihilate The Masses' brings out a far more atmospheric feel via the eccentricity of the keyboards and elaborate piecing together of the drums and guitars, whilst the vocals do the powering forward of this monstrous beast. All in all the music is for fans of bands like Silent Descent, Scar Symmetry and intricate melodic death metal, just be careful of the explosive sound to be witnessed, it only takes a short fuse to get it going.

[5] + [7] + [8] RHYS STEVENSON

ETERNAL DREAM
'The Fall Of Salanthine'

You know when fantasies and adventures have that certain feeling to them, well when you take six musicians from the autonomous region of Andalusia and give them a studio to work in, music flows freely, lyrics run like cascading waterfalls, full of drama, power and elegancy and yet the resulting crescendo comes as perhaps Spain's best answer to Within Temptation. Eternal Dream strap together the heavenly sounds of the female vocals with the fast and pacey rhythms of Power Metal to create a unique and diverse sound, a sound which can only be summed up as 'Symphonic Operatic Metal'. 'The Fall Of Salanthine' takes the listener on a journey through the roaming sands and mountains of the Spanish lands and resurrects the classical dramatics performed in the Flamenco. Strictly, Eternal Dream is the band to please fans of Blind Guardian, Within Temptation, Nightwish and Amberian Dawn, you'll never find a band like this quite again, simply magic.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

MENZIA
'Lamb's Skin For The Wolf' + 'Way To Nowhere'

In the darkest corners of the autonomous lands of Catalonia, lays a Gothic Metal quintet of whom deliver much more than the average beauty and the beast scenario, it seems that Spanish musicians know how to flirt with the darkness at its best opportunities and so what came out in 2010 was nothing of the ordinary, the debut demo 'Lamb's Skin For The Wolf' was brought into this world and with it came an elegant stream of 'los sonidos del amor', or 'streams of love' in that the music delivers that romantic touch and feeling whilst backing it up with the solid beats of the drums and crisp riffing from the guitars and so with 'Lamb's Skin For The Wolf' now firmly set in stone, the next move was to become perhaps the most pivotal in the band's career.

Moving into modern times and there is a clear sense of musical adjustment, Menzia return to release their 2012 and second demo 'Way To Nowhere', bringing back with them their unique style of Gothic Metal in the style of Lacuna Coil and Delain. Putting together a host of melodic keyboard notes with soul-crushing percussion and guitar riffs and coating the music with a lashing of beautifully powerful vocals to produce a sensational demo. There is not much else to say about this demo only that it is a cleverly produced release and that it is sure to please many fans in the Gothic Metal vein, the band's next move will be an interesting one.

[6] RHYS STEVENSON

L'ENDEVI
'An Eternity'
ART GATES

The sophomore album by Valencian quintet L'endevi could have been better, the vocals at times sound too forced and so completely undermine the true sounds of Gothic Metal. The music itself is spot on, adding a unique and dark feel to the atmosphere, but the female vocals are too much and so totally wreck the album. 'An Eternity' in a nutshell is a fairly decent release but it falls far short of anything ground breaking, sure it's due to gain some attention across the continent, but until the vocals are redone and the anger is thought through, sad to say L'endevi won't break out of the underground. If only they could add a keyboardist, now that would act as a great partner to the angry vocals, in fact actually the band have a lot of potential, they just need to find the right road to it.

[6] RHYS STEVENSON

ETERNAL CHAOS
'Dark God Of The Eternal'
MIGHTY HORDES

Darkness was reported to have covered Colombia entirely on the 28th May 2010, when Black Metal quartet Eternal Chaos made their debut album come alive in the harshest and most evil kind of ways. 'Dark God Of The Eternal' is your classic Black Metal album, loaded with raw guitars, hellish and heavenly vocals and insanely fast drumming. For a Colombian Metal band it is surprisingly well executed but the same patterns here and there do drag it down a bit, regardless of that it is a decent enough album that will please fans of Darkthrone and most Black Metal bands, with this album now firmly set in stone, Eternal Chaos are flying the flag for the Colombian Metal scene.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

OPVS LEVIATHAN
'I:O:I'
MIGHTY HORDES

It seems that Colombia has a knack of producing some rather interesting and musically intricate Black Metal, so when Opvs Leviathan call it time to release their debut album 'I:O:I', it could not be anymore greater produced than it has been. This is a band wallowing in the depths of Epic Black Metal, why epic? Due to the feeling of adventure riding on their debut album 'I:O:I', it takes the listener on a journey through the mountainous and drug-cartel lands of Colombia whilst keeping them on their toes with furious drumming and outrageous riffing. You know, if Opvs Leviathan ever set foot on European soil, they may well make the Norwegian bands wet themselves in their sleep, 'I:O:I' is that powerful, check it out if you dare.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

DIVINE CODEX
'The Dark Descent'
MIGHTY HORDES

'The Dark Descent', you might as well call it Technical Black Metal, let's face it, it features old-school Black Metal in the Mayhem style and adds technical elements here and there, so what you get effectively is a parallel sounding album, neat eh? So when the Italian duo Divine Codex releases this monstrosity, they unleashed with it a load of hell, maniac geniuses and sensational music precision. Wielding together a sound that bizarrely no other modern Black Metal band has even dreamt of and yet they remain pretty underground, well 'The Dark Descent' in a nutshell takes the listener on a journey to hell and back; remember the password out though, for The Divine Codex is a tough puzzle to crack.

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

APOTASY
'Redemption'

Well the clarity is nearly good but as far as the music goes, it's pretty decent. This is Apotasy from Slovakia, playing Melodic Death Metal on their debut demo 'Redemption', in any sense they are similar to bands from the USA, fast double-bass drumming, epic riffs and threatening vocals. For the trio this is a solid start, of course it's not 100% perfect, but neither is any band on their first outing. 'Redemption' itself carries a little twinkle on it in that composure is tight and the resulting production is a brutal enough display of what can be achieved, if this band were to add a bassist it would sound a little more heavier, but as for the release, well it speaks for itself, modern Melodic Death Metal in it's most gruesome moment.

[6.5] RHYS STEVENSON

NEOANDERTALS
'Ebu Gogo Gutting The Child / Australopithecus'

Before the critics just slaughter this release, let's be honest it's practically Brutal Death Metal music without any lyrics, the grunting just brings out the caveman style Death Metal, or is that just an ironic pun? Whatever it is, Estonia's duo Neoandertals smash it out with their second album 'Ebu Gogo Gutting The Child', pummelling drumming drives the insanity beyond believe whilst the gut-rotten vocals completely and utterly demoralises the listener into a sound sense of utmost suicide, or perhaps it's just listener playing dead. 'Ebu Gogo Gutting The Child' is a unique album in that it provokes more of the Avant Garde album than needs to be and as a result lowers the final conclusion of the album beyond mere acceptance, listen if you will, it could just kill you.

2012 saw the third release take life, 'Australopithecus' becomes album number three in the Estonian duet's career. Now once again the drums deliver the goods, the guitars for the most part of it have a livelier approach and since the vocals have been dropped, there is a huge improvement in the sound. Sure it carries on the same salsa-like movement between the Avant Garde sound and the Brutal Death monster that emerged on their second album, but it adds a more progressive sound to the affray, especially on the drums. Now this could act as a damn good film soundtrack especially during a fight scene or especially in a spy movie, but for the salient point, the fact remains the percussive side is by far the more dominant and so this is the better album of the past two.

[4.5] + [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON

THIS BROKEN MACHINE
'The Inhuman Use Of Human Beings'

It's great when bands create their own genre names to suit their music playing and so when you have the Italian quartet This Broken Machine deliver their Progressive Metalcore debut album 'The Inhuman Use Of Human Beings', it gets instantly dubbed by the band as 'Architectural Metal, let's just hope the scaffolding holds them up and that they don't enter self-demolition mode. Anyhow, drawing crystal clear influences from bands like Killswitch Engage and Mastodon, it is no surprise then that with each riff there underlies a melody and under each melody underlies a blastbeat. Mid-tempo is the best way to describe the speed, it's not insanely fast or boringly slow but it does keep the listener on their toes. This is a sign to say that there is more to come from this Italian lot and they won't go quietly about it either.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

CATUVOLCUS
'Gergovia'
DEATHBOUND

Quebec Blackened Folk Metal trio (now duo) Catuvolcus return with their Celtic and Gaulish music in emphatic form, with their sophomore album 'Gergovia', they deliver blazing drumming with a furious attitude in the vocal department and a raw reception with the guitars, altogether smiting all other similar sounding bands and valiantly producing a well-delivered release. With songs generally longer than six minutes on this release, there is a lot for the listener to dissect and to take on board whilst the overall production captivates the listener in an atmosphere of dark folklore and cold bitter times, Catuvolcus may well be close to exploding on the international metal scene.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON_

VORPAL NOMAD
'Hyperborea'
METALODIC

It couldn't get any better than this, the debut album by Colombian Power Metal quintet Vorpal Nomad bursts into a classic epic and outright adventurous soundtrack. 'Hyperborea' carries a harmonious sound and a real rough vocal array but interestingly sounds not unlike to bands like Winter's Verge or Nightwish and is sure to drag this band right out of the darkness and into the pits of the international metal scene community. 'Hyperborea' delivers blitzkrieg riffs, sensational drumming and some of the craziest vocals ever since the birth of Power Metal and is a key for the Colombian Metal scene to unlock itself and unleash a torrent of music across the seas, with 'Hyperborea' Vorpal Nomad is without any doubt, flying the flag for the Colombian Metal scene,

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

LINEAR SPHERE
'Manvantara'

Technical Prog Metal or Djent Metal, whatever you want to call it, the fact remains the second album by London's Linear Sphere is a journey of science, technology and long song epics. Singing in the style of the Progressive Metal vein, the quintet opt to adopt technical music as the back drop and so with that firmly installed in their compositions, the riffs get so technical it required a mathematician to calculate the time signatures as well as monitor the drum strokes. Naturally this is only the inaugural start for the lads, there is much more to do but with this album now alive and kicking, that should not be a problem. 'Manvantara' is for fans of The Devin Townsend Project, Periphery and Tesseract.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

HAILSTONE
'The Greater Counterfeit'

Arising from the graves of the mountains of Bavaria, Germany is Hailstone and their mind-blowing debut album 'The Greater Counterfeit'. Fusing the intricate melodies summoned by the quintet with the harsh brutality developed via Blackened Death Metal. This is a machine on speed, spewing out epic riffs, ulcerating vocals and face-smashing blastbeats. Playing in the style of Evocation, Kalodin and Cannibal Corpse, the five-piece from Munich do all what's needed to deliver a stellar performance and ignite their road to further achievements. From the first track to the last track, 'The Greater Counterfeit' delivers a death warrant in ten tracks, it is so brutal, they had to confine the band for three years and detoxify them from hyperactivity.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

CONTRAST
'Charybdis'

Blasting down barn doors is the ten-leg beast Contrast with their sensational sophomore album 'Charybdis'. Playing in the style of In Flames, the quintet hailing from Germany deliver a constant flow of raging riffs, firm and sustainable drumming and the most guttural vocals you can find in German Melodic Death Metal, perhaps it is the guttural level of the German language they sing in that aids the death growls! 'Charybdis' brings music that keeps the listener on their toes and does not give them a moment's peace, from the intricate riff intro on the song 'Charybdis' to the sonic speed of the drums on 'Gaias Hand', there is something for everyone on this release and it is guaranteed, Contrast won't go down quietly, this band will make waves.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

KLAMM
'Wahnsee'

As cold and bitter as the Bavarian mountains, Klamm deliver a frosty reception with their traditional Black / Folk Metal and German language combined on their debut album 'Wahnsee'. Bringing with it a feeling of sitting by a campfire and singing to myth and folklore of the high mountains and forests of the southern German lands. Slow and melancholic spring to mind and yet essentially the album has the clean crisp atmosphere to it, dragging the listener right into the heart of the emotions expressed by this exceptional quintet, from the first very note to the last shriek, Klamm show what they are made of and are sure to become a known band without any doubt.

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON

SEKORIA
'Iter Stellarum'

Nothing comes more darker than this, well that can be debated, but when you have a quartet delivering what is perceived to be Epic Black Metal, the intonation of the sub-genre sounds out what a band is all about and so when Sekoria come on the block with their debut album 'Iter Stellarum', it cannot be automatically tagged as a general Black Metal album. It delivers its own ambient atmosphere without the use of keyboard music, now the listener may conceive that as a pathetic reason to go it alone, but their album 'Iter Stellarum' delivers justice in the most grim form yet and so what you end up with is a decent production, just don't expect any other band to do the same and succeed.

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON