 CENTURIES OF TORMENT 'Centuries Of Torment' Even for Indonesia's standards, this is near appalling, first off the vocals are hardly recognisable and the music itself is very basic and standard of the Death / Thrash Metal combo, sure the solo's are fairly unique but the overall production is disappointing. So for Centuries Of Torment's debut album, it can be perceived as a decent album but with no real unique value on it. However, having said that, the album itself will please fans of Thrash Metal in the Slayer style, whilst appealing to fans of Death Metal in the Suffocation style, sadly it's just a case of sounding like every other band in their own sub-genre. [5] RHYS STEVENSON  SANGUINE GLACIALIS 'Dancing With A Hanged Man' Finally god forbid a band that has a unique sound and is sure to stir some attention in the global media and music industry, this is Sanguine Glacialis and their emphatic-sounding debut album 'Dancing With A Hanged Man', built upon a solid foundation of classic Melodic Death Metal whilst covering it with Gothic Metal vocals, visualisation and atmosphere, the sort of album that has The Birthday Massacre mixed with Silent Descent - basically combining two worlds together result in this lust-laden album, a beauty and the beast translated into music. 'Dancing With A Hanged Man' is one of those albums that is dubbed a gem and why? Because you cannot place a valuation on their emphatic music, simply put. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  DICTATOR 'Stay Brutal Baby' MORE HATE PRODS. Purging out the dark side of the Russian Federation and exploiting the crevasses amongst the Siberian tundra is trio Dictator with their god-smiting third album 'Stay Brutal Baby', conventionally playing old-school Black Metal with Industrial and gothic influences, this is perhaps the darker version of Aborym or even so a whole unique sound on it's own. Commanding vocals are the main weapon in this catalogue of dark musical mass and are supported by rhythmetic riffs and precise percussion, both mixing together to produce a spectacular creation of experimental metal. Call it what you like, the truth remains it's godly music and it is this sort of band that wallows in the Russian underground yet does not get considerable exposure, what we think is that their message to every band is to 'Stay Brutal Baby'. [10] RHYS STEVENSON  BLACK SHADOW '…Сквозь Чёрное Пламя Молоха…' MORE HATE PRODS. It's always special when a band sings in their native language and Black Shadow are no exception, mixing raw Black Metal with their Russian language to concoct something so destructive, it took four bottles of vodka just to wake the listener up from the audio onslaught they have just been through. Sure the band uses a drum machine, but who is going to know (oops)? '…Сквозь Чёрное Пламя Молоха…' marks their eighth Satanic ritual and it never gets any tiring, not even after thirty-six minutes of total chaos, so for the record '…Сквозь Чёрное Пламя Молоха…' is for fans of Black Metal, the Russian language and Satanic music, oh and by the way Satan, whose your daddy? Black Shadow of course. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  SLAUGHTER BRUTE 'Systematic Transmutations' MORE HATE PRODS. Just when Brutal Death Metal wasn't tricky enough, Slaughter Brute have added more technical possibilities to the already complex genre, as proven with their sophomore face-punching piece of musical architecture, the Ukrainians deliver 'Systematic Transmutations' in a simple way, mixing traditional Suffocation with the modern Vader and enveloping the sound into something that is beyond this world, chaotic and yet ironically brutal. 'Systematic Transmutations' is by far the greatest Brutal Death Metal album from the Ukraine to date and as for Slaughter Brute, well their time has come to storm around Europe and deliver a taste of Eastern Europe. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  SOLARWARD 'How To Survive A Rainout' MORE HATE PRODS. Making their welcomed return is Belarus' own Solarward and their second album 'How To Survive A Rainout', bringing back with them their unique dark natural sound of Melodic Black Metal and this time a sort of concept album, only sort of because the songs are loosely related to the album's title and so with that bring a sentimental military feel to the atmosphere, which something for the quintet maybe a revelation, but what is certain is that they have delivered another noteworthy slice of music that befits the lack of different bands in the Eastern European bloc. Nonetheless this is perhaps the album to change the course direction of the band forever, emphatic riffs, shrieking vocals and heavenly melodies in the style of Cradle Of Filth, are the threat here and will never be eradicated. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  ENTHYMION 'Arcana Of Apocalypse' MORE HATE PRODS. The endless similar-sounding bands of the Black Metal genre never end and here is another example, Enthymion. Playing drums at over 1000bpm (exaggeration), shrieking like a god damn banshee and playing riffs that are far too familiar for Black Metal diehards and yet when the Polish five-piece make their awaited debut with 'Arcana Of Apocalypse', it can't be helped but to notice how similar they sound to bands like Infernal War, yet even so the fact the band is no longer existing perhaps stopped their embarassment from escalating, ultimately it is not the most unique of Black Metal albums but it cannot be shunned as a nothing. [5] RHYS STEVENSON  MLEKRA '0105' MORE HATE PRODS. Unconventional and too basic it would seem when talking about the debut album by Ukrainian Black metal duo Mlekra, their first outing '0105' demonstrates you have to go as fast as you can and shriek as loud as you can just to prove your brutal, well what can be said, what 'cant' be said. For a band signed to a prolific Russian label, one was expecting much more than what has been delivered, sure it cannot be passed off as a 'you suck so get lost' album because ironically it keeps the old traditions of the blastbeat and dark atmosphere alive, just not on a great level of presence, it will be interesting to see where the duo go on from here. [4] RHYS STEVENSON  Темноврат 'Грань Бесконечности' MORE HATE PRODS. Somewhat of a mini-album this can be called, five tracks equating to 50 minutes of solid Russian Pagan Black Metal. Spewing out the duo's debut album 'Грань Бесконечности' is Темноврат, for those non-Russian speakers best use Google translation or hire a personal translator, but for those who enjoy experiencing a new culture, the aforementioned becomes an option, anyhow the ambience is there and there seems to be little vocals, all the more for making the album darker, or so it would seem. the album in question does not really excite or depress the listener so much that they cannot walk without crying, in fact the album for it is actually becomes one of those easily 'overdone' albums, but still a good album debut. [5] RHYS STEVENSON  GRACE DISGRACED 'Enthrallment Traced' MORE HATE PRODS. Smashing through the barriers of the Russian Federation fortress is Technical Death Metallers Grace Disgraced and their emphatic debut album 'Enthrallment Traced', featuring vocals so harsh that it makes raw vodka seem like purified water and the music provided a sense of brutal power. Beat after beat, the quartet immerse the listener in tight time signatures and complex drummers whilst the vocals deliver guttural sounds so immense it's contagious. If this were to be an army, Europe is f*cked, the immense power delivered on this album is far more explosive than any atomic explosion and is sure to leave the album in the position to finish of the listener, who will be left for dead, simply slaughter music. [7] RHYS STEVENSON Add Comment  AUTUMN SUN 'Autumn Sun' Emerging from the dark shadows of Gauteng is South African Gothic / Melodic Death Metal quartet Autumn Sun with their self-titled album (presumably debut), featuring a fast blast of racy tracks to inflame any ears with a burning sensation. Whilst the Melodic Death Metal takes the reigns, the Gothic Metal sits softly in the background in the form of soft female vocals and harmonic keyboard notes which moulds to become a true entrancing mix of ingenious musicianship. Autumn Sun are set to become a promising band in the South African Metal scene and are sure to gain global attention. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  DEMORIAN 'Back To the Glorious Past’ + 'Vikingpath' + Excerpt from upcoming album "Excerpt From A Diary" AZERMEDOTH / KVLT666 / DANGER OF DEATH Demorian is a Swedish Black Metal duo compromising of Salute Record’s owner as one of the musicians. Crisp Swedish Black Metal is produced from the speakers as well as a cold and bitter atmosphere. Winter has come with their debut album 'Back To the Glorious Past’ released back in 2009 as darkness encases the room and a cold wintry wind blasts around resembling the powerful sonata’s produced by the music. Their second album 'Vikingpath' released last year in only 66 copies, brings more of their darkened souls to the frontline, cursing the shadows of Pagan Black Metal and it's nature counterpart, Demorian perform an unholy ritual to summon the darker sounds once again, with a fetish for raw sounds and atmospheric senses being unbound to the Swedish Black Metal scene, Demorian revel in the abyss. Finishing off with a little sampler is their unreleased tracks 'Excerpt From A Diary' and 'Prypiat Angels' (referring to the ghost town near the Chernobyl area in the Ukraine), colder and bitterer than previous works, this is a sumptuous pre-listener in relation to their upcoming album, a subtle but apt enough proof that Demorian has just begun. [7] + [8] + [8] RHYS STEVENSON  DESIGN THE SKYLINE 'Neveah' VICTORY Revered as one of the most hated band in history, but in all honesty that's just people's jealousy. In comes Design The Skyline, an American septet mixing a whole new genre from separate individual tastes, if Design The Skyline was a recipe it would either equate to the full American breakfast or the traditional English roast - they are not edible, just to clarify. Essentially listeners will realize a myriad of music genres meld into one tune, but this in itself seems to have worked out perfectly. Catering for the many emotions humans feel, this Corpus Christi band takes the listener on a journey through space, time, emotions and general life itself, cascading the many atrocities and numerous positives experienced during a lifetime. Since their demo song 'Surrounded By Silence' - of which was dubbed 'electro-Deathcore', the band has finely tuned and tweaked their sounds to fit neatly in line with the other sounds as seen on the song 'break free from your life' - having slow and fast trance periods amongst generic Metalcore-ish drum patterns. What puts people off is the scene / emo look, but don't forget these bands: Lordi, Black Veil Brides, Marilyn Manson amongst others, totally proven their critics wrong and eradicated any prejudicial beings from the face of the planet. Intellectually without the hate, perhaps the publicity would not have been as grand, but that's just a possibility for it should be seen that all the tracks on this album cater for a wide array of music tastes: trance music, post-hardcore, Deathcore, Metalcore, Industrial / Thrash Metal (as seen on 'reality away'), Mathcore and even technical Deathcore if precision is required. Regardless of the negativity, Design The Skyline are pioneers of a new sound, essentially 'Experimental Electro-Deathcore' and with that in mind are set to push the boundaries further and further, the storm has just begun, 'Neveah' was just the artillery, bring on the tank infantry. [10] RHYS STEVENSON  DISHARMONIC 'Impossible' The first ever song unleashed by Spanish (Andalusian) Death Metal trio Disharmonic qualifies as an absolute hell-blazer, fanatical drumming simmers in the background with the force of 1000 raging bulls whilst the matadors Bao Brurial, Javi and Kike tame the beast they have created. Residing within the Brutal Death Metal intonation, Disharmonic fail not to up their ante and give their first attempt and release a proper erotic beating, forged with influences from the fast and heavy Scandinavian Death Metal scene, they use that as a foundation but add the Iberian and Mediterranean heavy hardness to the affray and result in what is billed as possibly the best ever release by a Spanish Metal band in 2011. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  ELDERGAAD 'Children Of Gaad' If Eldergaad was a football team they would be Liverpool FC, up and down all the time. The American Thrash Metal quartet emerges with their debut album 'Children Of Gaad' with as much sleaze and difference than Slayer and Megadeth would have. Whilst not exactly fast on some tracks, the heaviness is still there, yet it sounds similar to that of Slayer. However they do exert a sound that suits them to the bone, one sound that is different and yet strangely bizarre in that the speed of each song changes from riff to riff, so with little consistency this is soon to be a 'what just happened' album. None the less this is a band who could easily get noticed, expect whiplash from this album to be imminent though, [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON | 2013
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