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
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PREMONITION 'The Plague Of Ignorance' SALUTE Back in 2009, Saudi Arabian one-man project Premonition (Arjun Gill is originally Indian) made his debut album 'The Plague Of Ignorance' shed light and effectively raise another flag for the Saudi Arabian Metal scene. The music itself may be dubbed 'extreme metal' as it encompasses Black, Death, Thrash and Metalcore and so 'Blackened Deathrashcore' may as well be a mouthful. With a chock load of pulsating riffs, rifling blast-beats and a rainbow-variety of vocals, this is Premonition at it's best, even though this is just a debut. Guaranteed to set off moshpits in a flash, 'The Plague Of Ignorance' is a clear sign that more is to come, even more so a forecast for heavier material is predicted. [9] RHYS STEVENSON FALGAR 'Beyond The Fading Stars' SALUTE Backtracking to 2010 and to the latest release of Puerto Rican Black Metal one-man project Falgar is as monumental as realizing history. 'Beyond The Fading Stars' deploys the darkened atonement of Raw Black Metal in its harshest form, whereby the vocals offer a spine-chilling spiritual rape and the music itself carves bleeding wounds in the listener's soul. Released in only 99 copies, this is one album that any Black Metal fan should have in their repertoire, for it carries a really evil and imaginative creation ideology on it, the notion that Black Metal is ever-expanding 'Beyond The Fading Stars', Falgar is flying the flag for the Puerto Rico Metal scene. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON DEONA CART DELUNA 'In The Manner Ov Death' SALUTE Malaysian Death / Thrash mob Deona Cart Deluna return with their grand-slamming sound of raw vocals and distorted guitars in the form of their breathtaking 2011 EP 'In The Manner Ov Death'. Rallying a roller-coaster of outrageous riffs and bombastic blastbeats, the quintet from Johore Southern Gateway unleashes absolute god-raving hell on this EP with more than four fruity tracks to indulge in. Only one can imagine the sheer velocity of audio-brutality experienced when seeing these guys live at a gig or festival. Deona Cart Deluna are without a doubt one of the best emerging Malaysian Metal talents around and are clearly deserving of a place at one of Europe's top festivals. [10] RHYS STEVENSON AMORTYS 'Voz Muerta' SALUTE Hailing from Colombia, Blackened Death Metal quartet Amortys brought a new style of insanity to the table in 2009 with their first demo 'Voz Muerta'. Whilst singing in their native Spanish, the boys from Bogota do not fail to impress to the masses with this releases, the level of raw music on this release is sensational, whilst it's practically easy to mosh to, the vocals are a little understandable and so the music acts as a foundation for this. Easy to say that Amortys are wallowing in the deepest chasms of the Colombian Metal scene, bring on the debut EP. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON NOKTURNAL FOREST
'To Embrace The Nocturnal Hymns' SALUTE 2010 saw call of duty in the Syrian Metal scene with one-man project Nokturnal Forest take up the valiance of playing more Black Metal in the form of his debut EP 'To Embrace The Nocturnal Hymns', whilst the music itself is a lovely raw sound, there is nothing wrong with this release. For a musician from the Middle East to unleash this oriental darkness in such a way is a signal that the metal in that region is far from being labelled as a pushover. Nokturnal Forest is leading a storm of Syrian Metal of which is to engulf the underground, calling it a dark threat and ultimately signalling the dawn of a new era for Black Metal. [8.5] 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 EXTIRPATION 'Tormentor Supreme Black Katharsis' INFERNAL KAOS Basque Black/Death Metal one-man project Extirpation unleashes a full force of deep darkness and growling empowerment with his debut album 'Tormentor Supreme Black Katharsis', with a raw influence clearly imminent and an essence of gruelling evil, the one-man project is enough to churn anyone's stomach inside out with a complete sense of introductory torture chasm, a testament to the Basque Country's autonomous status, the storm has just begun. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON VIATHYN 'The Peregrine Way' Majestically arriving from the state of Alberta in Canada is Power Proggers Viathyn with their debut album 'The Peregrine Way' released last year, with an enigma supporting the very foundation of this lush work, it is within no doubt that this band know exactly what they are doing, with a beat here and there, a riff seeming lost and vocals changing from second to second, this is a true work of inspiration, with that though it is not perfect, but it is a decent start from a band who have just debuted, the only problem is the time changing, from fast and powerful to a sloppy Progressive part, the album is a fair decent one. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON MCGALLIGOG 'Delusions Of Madness' Irish quintet McGalligog take the Guinness and Irish funkiness to secure their first ever release, their 2010 EP 'Delusions Of Madness' which foresees a cleverly worked amalgamation of Melodic Death Metal with Thrash influences clearly taken into account, whilst not as good as anticipated with the vocals lacking a bit of clarity, the overall production is excellent, unstable and revolutionizing in that it is a decent attempt. 'Another Fast One' pretty much sums the band up in both musical and song-title stances, ever thought Cruachan was holding back a deluge of Irish Metal? McGalligog seem to have proven so. [8] RHYS STEVENSON SHATTERED HOPE 'Absence' SOLITUDE An absolute tiring album, so much it'll make you yawn, for being a band who straddles in the Atmospheric Doom / Death Metal and Funeral Doom Metal vein (simply Dark Metal) without making a solid attempt at captivating it's listeners is diabolical, for Greece's Shattered Hopes the band name is self-explanatory, for this release 'Absence' lacks quality, it is a real depressive release. [1] RHYS STEVENSON DEUS OTIOSUS
'Murderer' F.D.A. REKOTZ The sort of album found in Dracula's music collection, horror-themed Death Thrashers Deus Otiosus unleash hell with their debut album 'Murderer' released last year with an emphatic array of blastbeats, riffs and non-continuous composition changing, an abrupt calamity of fusing two genres together in between song fragments, essentially a bizarre twist for the Death/Thrash genre, the Danish quintet exhibit what some try to achieve and fall at, that is a unique time procession, 'Murderer' drafts in depression as well, so if metal fans wish to you listen to it, you have been warned. [7] RHYS STEVENSON ILL CROW 'Into The Forgotten Spheres' As far as Eastern or Central European Folk Metal goes, the Pagan or Slavic feel lacks here, but also the musical creativity, it seems very dull and wishy-washy, whilst the vocals and keyboards do good for Ill Crow's second demo 'Into The Forgotten Spheres', the rest is undesirable, not exactly the worst metal album but one that needs a lot of redesigning. The demo makes Justin Bieber's music justifiable, let alone sarcastically 'alternative metal'. [4] RHYS STEVENSON CLANDESTINED 'Ruinatics' BUSDEATH Evaluating the oriental is Japanese ninja's Clandestined and their sensational blast of Death / Thrash Metal, with their 2011 sophomore album 'Ruinatics' comes a sound similar to that of Sepultura but with a pinch more of speed and rawness to complete the sound. Collectively, this release is a decent attempt at making their own sound, whilst the production could have been better, for an underground band this is a fairly ok shot at it. [7] RHYS STEVENSON DOTMA 'Sleep Paralyses' SCARLET Arising from the shadowy footsteps of fellow countrymen Amberian Dawn is Finland's latest female-fronted Power Metal exports Dotma and their signature tune of heavenly vocals, mystical guitar riffs and sensationally warped drumming to create their debut outing 'Sleep Paralyses'. With elements of Within Temptation in their closets, Dotma ex-cruciate pure bliss in a majestic wave of luscious and soul-soothing melodies, a crystal clear sign of the true power of Finnish power metal. Whilst not has heavy as Sonata Arctica, Dotma are certain to become regulars of Power Metal. [8] RHYS STEVENSON TREMOR 'South Of Sanity' Progressive Metal, fast and heavy as well as funky and... Caribbean? Trinidad & Tobago Progressive Metallers Tremor hit back with their fourth full length album 'South Of Sanity', clipping together the fast pacey speed of Iron Maiden and heaviness of traditional Prog Metallers. For a band from a region of limited metal music activity, Tremor certainly make themselves self-explanatory, with a rumble of drums, seismic wave-riffs and soul-destroying vocals, this Trinidadian bunch bring on the noise, Tremor is flying the flag for the Trinidad & Tobago Metal scene. SILENTIUM
'Amortean' DYNAMIC ARTS Finnish Gothic Metal veterans Silentium ravage the darkness of their land to deliver their fifth onslaught of spine-chilling vocals and powerful music in the form of their latest album 'Amortean' released in 2008. Whilst not as soft as fellow countrymen Vanguard, Silentium prove once again why the Finnish goth scene is one to be reckoned with, collecting orchestral chants with swift solos and blastbeats powerful enough to savor, this is one record for any Gothic Metal fan, a true work of inspiration. 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 KERECSENSÓLYOM 'Aquileia Ostroma' NAIL Hailing from Hungary, Symphonic Folksters KerecsenSólyom savaged the countryside and woods to contain natural elements in order to release their debut full length album 'Aquileia Ostroma' released in 2010. Mixing Hungarian lyrics with a myriad of riffs, solos and drum beats to create a dynamic musical world of traditional Hungarian Folk music with the harshness of Metal music. KerecsenSólyom serve as Hungary's answer to Russia's Arkona and develop their own sound, one full of Slavic atmosphere traits and Magyar tranquility. [8] RHYS STEVENSON DEHUMANIZER 'Prelude To Destruction' Speeding across the Arizona desert in an American lorry is Dehumanizer, the latest Deathrash Metal quartet to come out of the USA and into the world of Metal music. With a tank-load of fury loaded in the drums nothing slows these beasts down, not even the highway patrol from the cannonball run. Cranial damage is soon to be expected from the clarity of this music, percussive and neatly organized spring to mind on the 'Prelude To Destruction', we don't know what the aftermath will be, but rest assured it won't be pretty. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON HELLSPAWN 'Child Of Hell' 2010 and a new dawn of Extreme Metal was created in Poland, giving birth to Hellspawn's latest album 'Child Of Hell'. The Polish Death Metal quartet emanates the meaning of extremity and sticks it on the underlying foundation of brutal insanity. Pounding drumming, rampant riffs and spine-spanking vocals elaborate to commence the total depletion of hearing in phantasmal style, a delusional paradox of early Behemoth and latter Death Metal. For Hellspawn, this is more than music, this is much more than a Death Metal release, it is their 'Child Of Hell'. [8] RHYS STEVENSON AS HEART'S BLEEDING 'Existence' NAIL Hungarian Metalcore posse As Heart's Bleeding unleashed a brutal onslaught of Hardcore Metal in 2009 with their album 'Existence', collecting a flurry of fast-flowing riffs, beats and extreme vocals, the quintet tear apart any living threat to the Hungarian Metal scene and install a Garrison-load of murderous tracks. Thinking Metalcore was emo-tinged with bands like Asking Alexandria was a misconception, for this band bring the new meaning of Metalcore, right back to it's very 'Existence', a true milestone in the Hungarian Metal Scene. [8] RHYS STEVENSON EVENTIDE 'The Beast & The Machine' It's a common trait, Sweden and the many variations of Death Metal, but it just all sounds the same, Eventide somewhat proves this but with an added element of Progressive Metal. Whipping up a storm in 2010 with their second album 'The Beast & The Machine', the mob from downtown Stockholm whack up the amps in brutal and fearful style and immaculately organize a wave of sonic wave destruction. Forget beauty and the beast, this is 'The Beast & The Machine'. [7] RHYS STEVENSON THE MEADS OF ASPHODEL OLD CORPSE ROAD 'The Bones Of This Land Are Not Speechless/English Black Punk Metal' GOD REAH Two of the most revered Black Metal bands in England come together to wield a split release worthy of a place on any Black Metal fans shelf. Hertfordshire Metallers The Meads Of Asphodel work alongside North Eastern group Old Corpse Road, both with British traditions in common and a sense for Extreme Metal. Their combined effort 'The Bones Of This Land Are Not Speechless/English Black Punk Metal' which saw its release in 2010 culminates a work of art beyond mere Anglo-Saxon history. The Irish have Celtic Metal, but now thanks to these pioneers, the English have Anglo-Saxon Metal. [8] / [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON MYHRDING 'Myhrding' UNEXPLODED Arising from the shadow grounds of the Swedish woods comes the latest Black Metal band to storm the underground in evil fashion, Myhrding a Swedish Black Metal quintet from Jönköping uncovers true original compositions and adapt it fit the lyrical content of Norse Paganism, somewhat a bold move towards Viking Black Metal, but with an assailant style of a debut self-titled EP released this year, Myhrding are looking promising in many ways. [8] RHYS STEVENSON HIM
'Venus Doom' SIRE Going back to 2007, HIM (His Infernal Majesty) released their sixth adventurous outing in the form of their full-length album 'Venus Doom', putting together the traditional darkness found in the Finnish suburbs with the intricacy of modern metal/rock. With a Metallica-like influence and Gothic rock held at the helm of HIM's core music, the quintet from Helsinki came round again to deliver another loving and emotional sermon of pure Love Metal, like 'Venus Doom'. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON |
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