 LYCANTHIA 'Oligarchy' Full of melodramatic music and outrageous darkness is what is best to describe Lycanthia's sophomore album 'Oligarchy' as, but the only downside is that there is really too much going on, for example the harsh male vocals on top of the female high vocals doesn't sound good, and maybe alternating the vocals would. The music itself is fairly good for a Doom-laden Metal album but still the guitars lack any real presence, ironically giving it an even more raw presentation, even though the drums and the keyboards steal the show. However no matter what the negative parts of the album are, the good points are that it is very dark, gothic and beyond extreme, something which lacks in some bands these days. [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON  ILLUMINATA 'A World So Cold' NAPALM RECORDS Making their return with their second album is Austrian Melodic Power / Gothic group Illuminata, the three male and three female ensemble bring to the masses 'A World So Cold' released in 2011. This sees the sextet signed to Napalm Records and also brings their delightful and majestic sounds to the table once more, epic symphonies, luscious vocals and powerful music come together to take the listener on a magical journey through the wispy clouds and wintry mountains of the Austrian alps as Illuminata lead the way and deliver an absolute epic in the tune of Within Temptation and Lacuna Coil, but what is missing is the one and only fact, this album is too short, it is that good. [10] RHYS STEVENSON  THE NINE TREASURES '十丈铜嘴 Arvan Ald Guulin Hunshoor' MORT PRODUCTIONS Simply put, this could be Chinese Metal album of the year, because '十丈铜嘴 Arvan Ald Guulin Hunshoor' not only has lyrics sung in Mongolian, features Chinese Folk music mixed with Heavy Metal or because it's the debut album by The Nine Treasures, but because the absolute originality is parallel. Hailing from Inner Mongolia, The Nine Treasures weave together a myriad of musical instruments to effectively deliver a piece of music that makes most Oriental Metal bands obsolete and what makes The Nine Treasures so special is that they've only been around two years, released their debut and are signed to a major Chinese label, in fact they've only started, next stop Loud Park? [10] RHYS STEVENSON  TERMINAL LOST (天幕落) '卷贰 凤凰山' MORT PRODUCTIONS Darkness falls over Shanghai as Terminal Lost return with their second slab of evil Melodic Black Metal in the form of '卷贰 凤凰山', the quintet bring the darker side of the Chinese Metal scene to the masses and blasts wide open the doors for black wolves to charge forward at the speed of the drums, whilst ravens swoop down as the riffs drop and the Oriental sounds deliver a soul-soothing and soul-crushing dual blow, this is an album full of many influences to keep any listener occupied and so it will be interesting to see where Terminal Lost go on from here, whether to more Oriental sounds, darker atmospheres or harder music. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  SIGH 'Infidel Art / Hail Horror Hail' MORT PRODUCTIONS So way, way back in 1995, Sigh the Black Metal / Avant Garde Metal lords of Japan, released their sophomore album as a follow up to 1993's 'Scorn Defeat', 'Infidel Art' sees more melancholy develop from the band who at this point were a trio. Mixing the darkness of the Japanese history with the bleak and cold atmosphere found in traditional Black Metal, this album delivers a cross between extreme music and the oriental sounds of Japan, now one felt that the film The Grudge was eerie enough, but when an album like this comes out of the dark to haunt your hearing, it would seem wrong to put it as a stereotypical black metal album, for here is a band who undoubtedly changed the course of Japanese Metal forever. Moving onto 1997 and Sigh turn up a notch by bringing in darker imagery and a far more cold, bitter and evil atmosphere into their third release 'Hail Horror Hail', which in turn reveals itself to be a rather sensational and unnerving album. Full of the Avant Garde Metal style in the music parts and Black Metal vocals cover the rest of the album with the bleak and eerie atmosphere warranted by the album from the first song to the very last song, Sigh take the listener on a journey of mystery, myth and total legendary proportions with this release and as they now at present have nine albums in their 23 year career, Sigh are now Japanese Metal legends. Add Comment  WEDDING IN HADES 'Misbehaviour' BAD MOOD MAN MUSIC French Death Doomsters Wedding In Hades make their awaited return with their sophomore full-length album 'Misbehaviour', fully of melancholy and sorrowful depression, this record is enough to make anyone weep unintentionally because it carries the darkness in one package. Such an improvement has happened since their debut album 'Elements of Disorder' gloomed out the surroundings in 2010, the songs are darker and more slower and yet they capture a real misery side to release, just a shame the first song is far too long. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  GRAVEFLOWER 'Returning To The Primary Source' SOLITUDE PRODS Let's face it, Russia know how to conjure up the right method of playing Doom / Death Metal. With the most depressing and cold bitter atmosphere drilled into one's head, Graveflower who hail from Yekaterinburg ignite a murky and ugly feel to their music, making it really atmospheric and sensationally shadow-like, 'Returning To The Primary Source' is their debut album and this is a great way to start it on, with vocals delivering a mellow yet frost-bitten feel and the guitars and drums working in sync to give a dank feel to the audio, this could be the turning point in Doom / Death Metal. [6] RHYS STEVENSON  EVADNE 'The Shortest Way' SOLITUDE PRODS Apt music to justify the mood felt in the Spanish economy, but hey-ho Evadne's sophomore album delivers the goods in eccentric form, mixing melodic metal with the depressive Doom / Death Metal which in itself is a plethora of different styles and stance. The five-piece who hail from the autonomous region of the Valencian Community bring out the darkness in their land and curse the listener with a sensational outcry. Bringing together a collection of different elements, the five-some are sure to go onto greater things and achieve higher recognition as what is billed as potentially Spanish Metal album of the year. [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON  HELL LIGHT 'Funeral Doom / The Light That Brough Darkness' SOLITUDE PRODS Here is a dual-release; one 2008 album and one 2011 EP - both making up on a 2 CD release and a delightful listen, even with the epic cover of Queen's 'the show must go on'. This is the Brazilian Funeral Doom/Death Metal trio Hell Light and they mean business. With at least two hours worth of music to devour, this dual-release could be most essential one of the band's career, sure they have been going since 1996 and within a 3 year period, two releases coalesced and come together to deliver an almighty musical explosion. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  HEART OF A COWARD 'Hope & Hindrance' It's not very often that you come across a Metal band that nails two genres perfectly at once, well at least in the Groove Metal and Metalcore genres respectively, unless your of course Heart Of A Coward, the Milton Keynes quintet with ex-Sylosis vocalist Jamie Graham on the reins unleash their latest brutal offering 'Hope & Hindrance'. Splintered with sharp riffs and covered by some of the grittiest vocals ever known to man, Heart Of A Coward put the 'pedal to the metal' on this release and go out on full throttle, now if they don't win any awards in the future, I'll eat my speakers. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  SANGRE ETERNA 'Asphyxia' MAPLE METAL One would come to a just conclusion that Serbian quintet Sangre Eterna are stuck within a musical time warp, transgressing between Symphonic Black and Melodic Death Metal, as their 2012 album 'Asphyxia' justifies, bringing a harmonic feel to the Melodic Death Metal whilst firmly edging towards a unique sound, perhaps it would be best for them to implement the symphonic sounds with the Melodic Death Metal as the two seem to work without any problem. Ideally sounding somewhat similar to that of Wintersun, Sangre Eterna is perhaps the newer face of Serbian Metal. RHYS STEVENSON [7]  INVASIVE 'Extended Pain' Suffolk Metallers Invasive unleash their EP 'Extended Pain' to the masses with a warning attached, there is no genre to sum up the sound, the best way to categorize it is to say it has a Heavy Metal backbone but a load of classic metal riffs in Thrash style. In fact Hardcore also makes an apparent way to describe the music, however it is well recorded and well timed, but the element that lacks is the stiffness in the sound, there seems to be no fluidity about the release, no matter how heavy it sounds and this sadly drags them down in 'Extended Pain'. Not a bad start from the Ipswich quartet but there is room for improvement. [5.5] RHYS STEVENSON  EDENIAN 'Winter Shades' BAD MOOD MAN MUSIC There is something that is exceptionally spectacular about Eastern European Gothic Doom Metal bands, they all seem to have heavenly vocals, atmospheric compositions and spine-chilling riffs. Edenian from Kharkov in The Ukraine are no exception, coming out with their debut album 'Winter Shades', the sextet immerse the listener in a blanket of shadows and cold, bitter atmospherics emitted from the harmonies of the keyboard and the soothing vocals from Samantha Sinclair, all in all summing up to what could be Ukrainian Metal album of the year.  ZGARD 'Reclusion' BAD MOOD MAN MUSIC It's one of those albums for those who enjoy epic length songs, with the songs around 7 minutes on average per song, it is indeed an endurance test, but one with sensational sounds and icy cold deliverance, this is of course Zgard from The Ukraine, a project focusing on the cold-heartedness of Pagan Black Metal. It is fast on the drums, rapid on the keyboards but most importantly it delivers an atmosphere of sheer fear; in that the eeriness is paramount. Whilst 'Reclusion' is the second album to be released in 2012, the product does not sell past any date, nor does it disappoint. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  WHEN NOTHING REMAINS 'As All Torn Asunder' SOLITUDE PRODUCTIONS So much for the respite of the Doom/Death Metal cult following, it would seem apparent that it is far from finished, considering Sweden's When Nothing Remains issues a really depressing and soul-destroying debut album entitled 'As All Torn Asunder'; the latter expressing its relation to the inaugural emotions left on the listeners mind. This is a release for the murky and sorrowful Metal fan, who castrates the eroded soul with the bluntness of an icy-biting wind. Ironically the phrase 'death do us part' would seem too much of a definite pun to accentuate the everlasting autocracy on this release. RHYS STEVENSON [7.5] GMN - Vol73 - Motionless In White, Rise To Remain, Zoltar Speaks, Mave Infinitum, Affliction09/03/2012  MOTIONLESS IN WHITE 'Creatures' FEARLESS It was only a matter of time before a new genre crossed the ever-expanding chasm of Metalcore, this fell to the dark genre of Gothic Metal and thus spawned a new sound, capitalised by American sextet Motionless In White. 'Creatures' their debut album, released in 2010, delivers that sound that fits the 'Gothcore' tag in completeness. With the atmospheric synths delivering a spine-chilling blow of insane melodies and the rest of the music encasing the listener with a powerful smackdown of straight-edge Metalcore, Motionless In White are due to take the world by storm, by delivering a unique twist and captivating ears everywhere, the old Gothic renaissance has been brought back to life. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  RISE TO REMAIN 'City of Vultures' EMI Hailing from a metal bloodline, Austin Dickinson and his unholy compatriots in Rise To Remain smash out the of London Metal scene with a belter, collaborating the harsh heavy sounds of Metalcore with the flowing elegancy of Melodic Metal. It would seem apparent that the album itself has a story to itself, for each song has a build-up and an anti-climax, but even so with the guitar virtuoso being present and the soul-soothing vocals adding the third dimension to this magnificent debut, 'City of Vultures' is perhaps the sentimental sound to be attached to Rise To Remain forever. 'City of Vultures' is one solid proof that British Metalcore has only just begun, let the battle commence. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  ZOLTAR SPEAKS 'Treatment' There just seems to be a trend amongst South-West English metal bands, one trend unnoticed. But that trend is heavily hinted with Zoltar Speaks, most bands in Somerset are near breaking-point, breaking the underground barrier. With their four track EP 'Treatment' released last year, this is a prime example of pure Melodic Heavy Metal, with the vocals nearly reminiscent of vocalists such as Amy Lee and Avril Lavigne and the music itself taking influence from Iron Maiden at its peak, Zoltar Speaks are the voice of Somerset. 'Treatment' delivers a powerful knock-out punch with each song and offers no way of forgiving mercy, not even a respite from complete audio annihilation. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  MARE INFINITUM 'Sea Of Infinity' SOLITUDE PRODS. Calm and depression may not always work together, but when applied to the Russian two-man band Mare Infinitum, it does. The Atmospheric Doom / Death Metal duo create a world full of enchantment, mystic and sensational sounds, all of which amount to their debut album 'Sea Of Infinity', burdening a hefty 55 minutes worth of music in five tracks, so much for keeping one entertained. Mare Infinitum are like most Russian Doom Metal bands and so therefore the cliché of the genre becomes the norm, in one way there lies nothing relatively new with the album, but it offers some respite in that it in places has an upbeat side, but lacks the final panache. [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON  AFFLICTION 'Eyes Of Horror' SALUTE Darkened sadness drapes the misery and despair with the sounds of Doom / Death Metal project Affliction, operated by one Satanic Tony, of whom owns Salute Records, delivers an almighty blow to the heart with this six track demo, with raw vocals at the forefront and sensational music acting as a foundation for perhaps the most evil music created by Satanic Tony, this is one demo most underground Metal fans should have in their collection. Subtle and mesmerising goes the compositions, although not powerful enough to spark competition from the Russians, it does however send a clear message of desirable hate and sufferable pain. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  FOURTH AUTUMN 'Mock The Weak' RISING Deep from within the Welsh valleys arises a Black / Death metal band of four musicians of whom come together to unleash their debut album 'Mock The Weak'. Fourth Autumn are ready to unleash the darkness onto the masses in fierce style, whilst not exactly sounding similar to that of Polish titans Behemoth, the clear swinging-beat of Black Metal emphasises the extreme mentality of the quartet and yet manages to stab the atmosphere with insanity and spectacular intricacy, none the less this is a beacon of hope for the Welsh Metal scene which seems to of late been dominated by the common genre of Metalcore, or any 'core' genre. Fourth Autumn are set to take the UK Metal scene by storm and show how evil the dragons of the west really can be. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  FROM THE DEPTH 'Back To Life' RISING Adventure and magical sorcery come to mind with the Italian Power Metal ensemble From The Depth's debut album 'Back To Life', with a constant stream of majestic keyboard strokes to add a level of discovery to the affray, uniquely this is a band who somehow mix European Power Metal; with its neck-breaking pace and decibel-smashing solos, with the embodiment of Disney magic, one would assume they had just come from a fairy tale with the gallant feel in their music. 'Back To Life' is surely a solid reminder that the Italian's are passionate about fast and powerful metal and From The Depth is no exception, without a doubt power metal album of the year 2011. [10] RHYS STEVENSON  VINTERBLOT 'Nether Collapse' RISING Uprising Italian Viking / Death Metal quintet Vinterblot make the first move with their debut album 'Nether Collapse' being released next year, it sees the new signing of Rising Records unleash a horrid and eccentric mix of cutting-edge Death Metal and Viking Metal melodies / lyrics. How odd it is that a band from a country with no Viking relation whatsoever, manages to deliver the same level of brutality as per se Tyr from the Faroe Islands. With an armament of ten tracks to batter your brains and mosh your body to, Vinterblot are only just getting started and are far from shying away just yet, the journey for them has just begun. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  4 ARM 'Submission For Liberty' RISING 2011 saw Australia's 4 Arm release their third album in absolute... what the? It would seem that the Groove Metal, crossed with Thrash Metal and Metalcore went AWOL. Whilst the attempt is there, the tunes are near out of sync, the Metalcore style vocals are not there, and whilst this is a poser copy of Lamb Of God, the guitars only offer little light for this quartet. With most of the songs sounding similar in more ways than one and with no sense of change of tune, this may be a shooting in the foot for the Australian band. [3.5] RHYS STEVENSON  THE SULLEN ROUTE 'Apocalyclinic' SOLITUDE PRODS. Typical Russian Doom / Death Metal, none the less The Sullen Route offer their version of the common sound and nationality combination with their second album in two years, 'Apocalyclinic' delivers a reasonably paced period of depressing yet neatly organised Doom Metal. But just like most Doom / Death Metal bands, the music is slow, heavy and full of depressive dark atmosphere, but take hats off to the Russian quintet for keeping the old style alive, almost certainly one of those releases that even when you're drunk out of your mind, it still captivates somehow. [6] RHYS STEVENSON  BLODWEN 'Black Symphony' RED RIVET Indonesian Symphonic / Neo-Classical Power Metal quintet come out of the darkness with their debut album 'Black Symphony' released last year, crossing between Amberian Dawn and Nightwish, this is one of Indonesia's hidden treasures, with heavenly vocals equating the beautiful sound of a waterfall and music to complement the vocals in extraordinary style, Blodwen are a band to watch out for, bringing the best of Modern style Metal with the eccentric Oriental culture. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  MY FORGOTTEN GOD 'My Forgotten God' SATANARSA Ukrainian Gothic Doomsters My Forgotten God caused a depressive stir-up amongst the Ukrainian Metal scene with their 2009 self-titled demo, essentially because it is more so better as an instrumental than a music album, simply put the vocals arent the greatest but they arent naff, overall the general composition of this album is well earned and essentially it is a good album to have for those Doom Metal fans. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  DREAD 'Cerebral Mutilation' Italian Gorecore (Death Metal/Metalcore) quartet Dread sound off the zombies and guns with their debut full-length album 'Cerebral Mutilation' released last year, mixing the deep vocals found in Goregrind bands with Metalcore to savour any hearing going around, this is one of those albums that when hits the CD drive, clicks into iTunes without no problems, with a bitch-load of riffs and erotic breakdowns, this is Italian Metal at its best and heaviest. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  MY LAMENT 'Broken Leaf' SOLITUDE PRODS. Belgian Doom / Death Metal newbies released their debut album way back in 2009 and with it came a warning of depression riding this album, they do however make both genre's work together in tune and at the same time come to a just conclusion that is one of Belgium's darkest albums, one full of mystery, ever-changing atmospheres and eccentricity, the album 'Broken Leaf' is all about sitting back and relaxing to some Doom Metal with the Death Metal on the side, a work of excellence. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  NIERTY 'Acolytes Of The Descent' MISANTROF ANTIRECORDS Hailing from the mountains of Wales is Nierty who have travelled through the winding valleys to deliver their third onslaught of Black/Death Metal in the form of their latest album 'Acolytes Of The Descent' released last year along with two other albums before this one in the same year, armed with a sinister display of riffs and extreme vocals, both supplemented with harsh drumming, Nierty is the beacon of Wales for exhibiting the darkest music from the land of the dragons, five years and they do not look likely to give up any minute. [9] RHYS STEVENSON | 2013
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