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'
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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…'
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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'
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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'
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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'
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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'
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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'
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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
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GRACE DISGRACED
'Enthrallment Traced'
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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

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