ANGELICAL TEARS
'The Eleventh Hour'

Angelical Tears, the oncoming threat from Oklahoma, USA, emerge once again from the darkened abyss and deliver their latest release 'The Eleventh Hour'. Featuring more of the classic Within Temptation and Evanescence combination, the quintet immerse the listener with soothing heavenly vocals, razor-hard riffs and solid drumming in one epic package. Since their self-titled debut, Angelical Tears have torn apart the rulebook and wrote their own sound, layering different elements from different Metal genres and finalising a sound that will captivate any fan of female-fronted bands, this is perhaps the album to get them signed by and as 'The Eleventh Hour' strikes, four tornadoes spawn, ready to strike the heart of the everyday metal fan.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

DARK THEORY
'Bludgeon'

Hailing from the county known as the garden of England, Kent quartet Dark Theory cultivate patches of poison ivy and record the cold and bitter screams provoked by their victims, of course their EP 'Bludgeon' hosts a myriad of different genres, but the main core sound is truly Gothic Black Metal. Sure the first sound of drum 'n' bass gives a startling impression, but buy time and moving onto 'Vampires Pain' and the more modern sound kicks in, modern albeit the obvious Victorian Gothic Metal influence and naturally the bitter sweetness of Olivia's backing vocals, but needless to say that Ryan finishes off with some gruelling vocals, was just the start of 'Bludgeon', as it is a tale of two halves, but the latter is to take Dark Theory into the legions of bands like Theatres des Vampires, Darkwell, The Furious Horde and Cradle Of Filth. If you thought Kent was all about roaming fields, go forth; just don't disturb the graveyards, for the Dark Theory is soon to curse the lands.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

CIRCLES LINE
'Promo 2012'

Residing in the lap of the gods, Circles Lane mix traditional Greek sounds with their classic Heavy Metal composition, sure this is nothing new but it still has a twinkle about it. Their debut demo entitled 'Promo 2012' delivers the classic Bruce Dickinson high-pitch vocals and the standard signature tune to the Heavy Metal genre, the riffs are of the Speed Metal guild and yet the overall production is as classic as it can get. If you're expecting free-flowing music and differentiation, think again, Circles Line will appeal to those fans of the classic side of metal but for the modern generation, this wouldn't be for you.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

VINDICATOR
'United We Fall'
SLANEY

American Thrash Metal, seems to be loaded with the same ole lyrics, musical composure and atmosphere, Vindicator is no different. Fusing the topics of nuclear war, zombies and violence to their unique sound of Teutonic (German) Thrash Metal and old school Death Metal double-bass drumming, this is a band full of imagination and it shows on their third album 'United We Fall', riff after riff, the Ohio quartet smash through the sound barrier to deliver a face-punching sound of classic Thrash Metal. Get ready to sh*t your pants, this is the sound to tear the political manifesto's apart.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

ESSENCE OF DATUM
'I Am Alpha & Omega'

Possibly the metal band the Eastern European nation of Belarus has been waiting for to lift the scene into further recognition, Essence Of Datum go completely instrumental on their 2012 promo 'I Am Alpha & Omega' and do it absolutely perfect. Mixing Technical melodies with the embodiment of solid grizzly Death Metal, the trio dive into the fountain of experimentation and blast out in exciting fashion, full of cracking riffs and emphatic solo's, 'I Am Alpha & Omega' is a release that belongs in any metal fan's arsenal, think you know guitars, blastbeats and technical compositions? Wait till Essence Of Datum smash your skill in, as you realise 'I Am Alpha & Omega' and everyone else is subordinate.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

NYCTICORAX
'Black Raven... Dark Night' + 'Anima Tenebrarum'

2006 saw the sophomore album by Latvian quartet Nycticorax come to haunt the hallowed lands of Eastern Europe with their unique style of Vampiric Black Metal. 'Black Raven... Dark Night' is immersed in the Gothic atmosphere Riga offers to it's folk, Nycticorax latched onto that energy feed and sent out truly dark musical messages in Latvian and Russian alike, using the classic shriek of the Black Metal infrastructure, the atmosphere revolves around the haunted lands of Dracula and ousts the light with a full on blast of True Latvian Black Metal. From the dark mysticism of this hallowed band and the outgoing audio sounds of Vampiric Black Metal, it would be interesting to see how Nycticorax evolves from this.

Forwarding the clocks to 2011 and Latvian Black Metallers Nycticorax return to terrorise Europe once again, this time it's their third album 'Anima Tenebrarum' that delivers the cold and bitter taste of vampirism in it's true form. Pulsating drums coat the vocals in an infectious disease, so deadly it makes the old Soviet regime look as weak as a plastic ruler, but that's not to say that this Latvian band are of the sort, in fact Nycticorax are due to take the Latvian Metal scene to newer heights, with 'Anima Tenebrarum' now firmly set on powering the band onto newer styles of their already constructed Vampiric Black Metal, nothing is going to stop this mammoth machine.

[7] + [8] RHYS STEVENSON

RAJFAJH
'The True Nation'

Probably time to close this band down, twenty years have passed and coming to their 2012 EP you'd find more entertainment elsewhere. The typical shriek, muffed riff and nearly-heard blastbeat are the three factors that dominate this release; however it cannot be totally condoned; at least it features a ambient feel to it, but the sort that may take time to get used to. 'The True Nation' if you take it seriously could refer to a pagan or nationalist sentiment and so the latter could upset certain people, albeit the fact that the band name is closely linked to either the Arabic or central Asian languages and so the product is somewhat intriguing.

[4.5] RHYS STEVENSON

COLDBLOOD
'Under The Blade I Die' + 'The Other Gods'

2007 saw the debut album by Brazilian old-school Death Metal quartet Coldblood emerge from the pits of the Amazon and swamp the country in a swathe of Satanic Anti-Christianity. 'Under The Blade I Die' features toned down riffs come and going like a scythe slicing open the hearing sense with a sonic blast of irresistable blastbeats and guttural vocals as the perfect accompynants, as for Coldblood this was a new step in their band's existance and became a pivotal point in their musical direction, or did it? Regardless, 'Under The Blade I Die' is a solid performance of relenting Death Metal and is sure to batter anyone's brains to death.

So when it came to present day and the year 2012 was calling, Coldblood released their first ever EP 'The Other Gods', much like the debut album except the production and quality is far superior on the EP. Plus strangely for an EP, this lasts over an hour and thus the listener is buried amongst a ton of really intricate and lush old school Death Metal once again. From the bizarre and creepy instrumentals like 'Before the Last Breath' to absolute face-melters like Reincarnating A New Black God, 'The Other Gods' is an example of pure brilliance and is sure to push Coldblood onto further releases in their twenty-year career (achieved this year).

[7] + [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

NATTERGAL
'Singular Disasters'

Even the most raw and atmospheric Black Metal bands have something extraordinary to offer and Nattergal is no exception, smothering the genre with cold, depressive and doom-laden feelings is just one difference, the fact being the project is performed by one female musician from Mexico is another, in fact her debut album 'Singular Disasters' has far more ambience on it than a session with the hippies. 'Singular Disasters' brings together a host of different styles of Black metal, moulds them together and delivers what one could perceive as one of the most rawest albums released to date, even so with the album designed for fans of evidently Raw Depressive Black Metal, it is one of a kind and should never be disregarded as a commoner.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

MURDEROUS INSTINCT
'Manifestation Of Evil'

Those uncanny Scotsmen, producing metal music to piss off the English because we tend to fail at Brutal Death Metal, well when you take into account Aberdeenshire's Murderous Instinct, you get the nostalgic feeling of the many battles between the nations, Culloden for example. But you tend to realise, hang on, this album has got more than angry musicians on it, this is a damn good masterpiece. So when the Scottish quartet shed out their debut album 'Manifestation Of Evil', the production is acceptable, but the music is godly and so without any doubt whatsoever, what we have here is an album that fans of Excrementory Grindfuckers, Cerebral Bore and The Atrocity Exhibit will love, now where's my cooking haggis.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

SHEBREW
'Provenance'

So apart from the fact the band's logo is similar to that of the iconic Star Wars logo, Brummie trio Shebrew come galloping out of the gates with their debut EP 'Provenance', putting together a juicy meal of Stoner Doom Metal to captivate the listener into a false sense of security, why? Well it's hardly Doom Metal at all, it's that sort of music you play when smoking weed at a campfire and hang out with the hippies, and it's mellow and delightful, if that's the best way to put it. But taking into account that this is a damn good starting point for the band, they may well get some major attention, or at least they deserve to, simply inspirational.

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON

DEPRAVED PLAGUE
'Systemic'

Well hospitals in Cambridgeshire must be overwhelmed with people suffering neck pains and other broken bones, the cause of the accidents can be blamed onto the infectious album release by Cambridge Death Metal mob Depraved Plague. This year the quartet unleash total chaos with their debut album 'Systemic', a futile sound of old school Cannibal Corpse and modern style techniques combined together to smash every skull who stands in their way, in fact scrap calling it Death Metal, the term 'Radioactive Metal' would befit them to the very cells from which they are made of, it's lethal, it's metal and it's 100% dangerous, Deprave Plague are on course to rival the world's biggest Death Metal titans, game on.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

APPARITION
'For Vengeance... And For Love'
METAL COMPASS

Making their welcomed return is Staffordshire's Apparition with their sophomore album 'For Vengeance... And For Love' and their unique style of soul-soothing Gothic Metal. Two years have passed since their 2010 compilation and the wait has been worth it, delivering beautiful female vocals with an atmospheric backdrop, this is a album that creates a feeling of relaxation, a sort of stress-release entertainment, but however the listener perceives it, this is a band that deserves credit and recognition as bringing a new style of Gothic Metal to the forefront, sure they are not on the same par as bands similar to them like Within Temptation and Delain, no, in fact they are one whole level above them.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

PRAYERS OF SANITY
'Confrontations'

Simply put the best ever Thrash Metal band Portugal has ever seen, enter Prayers Of Sanity and their awaited return with their second offering entitled 'Confrontations'. The second album delivers break-neck Thrash Metal in the style of Slayer-cross-Holy Moses and so what you get is forty minutes worth of total brain-f*cking material. Pummelling drums ride the waves as the guitars provide tricky and technically demanding riffs and the vocals blast out at a thousand M.P.H., all in all this together provides the algorithm for what can be see as Portuguese Metal album of the year. Think you know Thrash? Think it's just how fast you can go? Until you know this band you know nothing of the kind.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

IN THE SILENCE
'A Fair Dream Gone Mad'

If you're a fan of emotional and somewhat a little depressive music then you should not turn a blind eye to 'A Fair Dream Gone Mad', true its ideally Atmospheric Prog Metal, but even so the melancholy is enough to turn any priest demonic. 'A Fair Dream Gone Mad' is the debut album by Californian quartet In The Silence and it features eight tracks equating to forty-six minutes of ambience, rock and general misery. The composition is good granted but the overall release is a little bleak, its one of those albums that sits in the corner of the cupboard, gathering dust and yet fails to lose its lustre, although the irony is that it's meant to be dark, perhaps it is what it's stated as, 'A Fair Dream Gone Mad'.

[5.5] RHYS STEVENSON

DISARM GOLIATH
'Born To Rule'

Instantly the whole Iron Maiden sound hits you like a raging bull high on illicit drugs, but when you dissect a band like Disarm Goliath, they do have some influences coming in from Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Metallica (especially the solo's) and intriguingly they tend to have that Brummie sound; the home of metal. So when their sophomore album 'Born To Rule' comes out to rock the countryside, what it does instead is captures the essence of Heavy Metal gone-by and adds some modern features; we'll leave the listener to detect them. None the less, 'Born To Rule' is an album for the fans of Classic Metal and also bands like Kobra & The Lotus, Kaine, Merciless Fail and Rage.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

PLANET RAIN
'Antichthon'

Of course anyone would be mistaken to dub every Swedish Melodic Death Metal band the same, in truth it's just not the case, every one of them has something unique to offer, especially bands like Planet Rain who make their long-awaited debut album 'Antichthon' take flight in spectacular form. Delivering a fist punching wall of sound in the heaviest obliteration to date, this is the sound to smack the clone bands into line. 'Antichthon' hosts a brutal onslaught of outrageous riffs, emotional vocals and classic drumming; this is just the beginning of something magical.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON