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

BLUDGER
'The Death of The Trend'

What only can be described as Progressive Deathcore, Bludger s**t out their latest EP 'The Death of The Trend' with extreme diarrhoea, taking clear influences from Meshuggah, Pantera and Ion Dissonance, the quintet who are based in Leeds excrete a solid slamming of Deathcore with the fluidity of Progressive Metal. Battering the listener with four tracks of concrete musicianship that could only be broken down by an atomic bomb, not even Sheffield noiseboys Bring Me The Horizon could muster this, it would send Oli Sykes running with his tail between his legs, it would seem Bludger are causing 'The Death of The Trend' that seems to be 'scenecore'.

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON

URINE TEMPLE / VERMIN / HEXE / SABBAGOR
'Urine Temple / Vermin / Hexe / Sabbagor'
SKINNED ALIVE

So when more or less the same two musicians for four different projects makes a split, it is somewhat of a novelty, usually its multiple people, but the South African musicians D-Hond and Vermox wield together instruments and sounds to produce this remarkable 4-way split, even if Black Metal is the primary genre, Doom Metal, Thrash Metal and Death Metal all make an appearance so there is a wide variety to choose from, the split release itself topples out at nearly one hour and twenty minutes so for those looking for new music, listeners are spoilt for choice. Definitely a South African gem in terms of its characteristics.

[7] + [7] + [6.5] + [8] RHYS STEVENSON

PIEL DE SERPIENTE
'Inevitable'
PURE STEEL

Melodic Heavy Metal quintet Piel De Serpiente waste no time and effort in releasing their third majestic album, the five-piece from Valencia in Spain unleash the bulls in the paddocks for this one, mixing their romantic native language of Spanish with the delightful melodies found in bands like Dream Evil and Katana, fast and melodic songs are present on this release and that is guaranteed to captivate the listener. Whilst the male Spanish vocals aren't as dynamic as the females, senor Lufti Salah Al-Kharbutli does not fail to disappoint and even more so drummer Emma López proves that female drummers are just as good. It was 'Inevitable' that Piel De Serpiente were to make a justified return.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

FIREBRAND SUPER ROCK
'Firebrand Super Rock'
RISING

Scottish lads Firebrand Super Rock raise up the tempo with their debut album 'Firebrand Super Rock', it features the style of Iron Maiden and School of Rock style vocals and music, with an awesome array of riffs to covertly backdrop the sensational vocals on this album, the quartet from Edinburgh unleash a flood of extraordinary songs of which are certain to rock out many listeners to death. Unleashed via the brilliant Rising Records (The Dead Lay Waiting, Confined Within, etc.), Firebrand Super Rock are exactly what their band name says and are sure to set alight the UK when they make their first major tour.

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON