LOCAL I 'Ecorces' SALUTE Dark and despairingly disturbing springs to mind when hearing Local I's third sensational opus 'Ecorces', delivering a full-on blast of Black Metal-cross-Death Metal production of which ignites the furious frenzy developed by the Russian duo. 'Ecorces' deploys a raw-tinged sound to the music whilst essentially capturing a slight slant on ambiance in that it devours any clear-cut sound and envelopes it with a sound that rivals only the screams made by burning witches. Local I are one truly remarkable underground Russian band of who will continue purging the scene with darkened discrepancy and unruly unrest. [8] RHYS STEVENSON EQUINOX 'A Child Was Born Of The Underworld' SALUTE Back in 2010 the only release by Swedish Black Metal duo Equinox was ever made, in 66 copies essentially, but the key part in all of this is that they formed in 1986 but split in 1987 - perhaps one of Sweden's long forgotten underground Black Metal bands. None the less, the album itself is very raw, heavily distorted guitars make way for a chime-twinkling drum pattern. Whilst conventionally the vocals are shrieked and echoed so to speak, the lyrics cannot be deciphered - all for more making it even darker. 'A Child Was Born Of The Underworld' is a testament to the True Swedish Black Metal scene and a harmonious reminder that Salute Records founder Satanic Tony knows Metal music inside and out. Equinox is one of a kind, a rarity and so whomever hears the band's music has a right gem in their hands. [10] RHYS STEVENSON ULTRA NOVA 'Into Pain....' SALUTE Wallowing in the sewers of both the USA and Canada is the two-man band Ultra Nova with their slick-stance on raw Black / Death Metal. Whilst the production need be not great, this adds to the raw ambiance of it. 'Into Pain....' is their debut 2011 EP and by far does it engrave a darkened signal of ravishing intent in respect of mass destruction of hearing. Although it cannot be essentially called an EP with two tracks - more so a demo, none the less this is one release that proves a promising sign for the duo. MORIBOND 'The Wild Ride' SALUTE American / Canadian Doom Metal duo Moribond flick the amp to bring their premier demo 'The Wild Ride' to light, unleashing the thickened sound of sludge-style Doom Metal in a three track attack, Moribond devour the bleakest atmosphere imaginable and erode any corresponding despair surrounding the listener. Whilst the vocals are not truly impressive, being near-inaudible - the music itself offers its own services and alleviates any misconceptions right from the first track. A cult release from a soon-to-be cult band, Moribond are due to turn heads. [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON WINTERCOLD
'The Return Of Baal' SALUTE Depressingly sorrowful and mentally disturbing is Wintercold's sophomore album 'The Return Of Baal', the Swedish one-man project pioneered by Salute Record's owner Satanic Tony brings a cold and bitter feel to the atmosphere by introducing a new style of Gothic Doom Metal by making it sound depressing and Pagan-like. Without a doubt this is a well produced album that has hidden qualities all over it, just waiting to take the listener to a different place each time. Wintercold is one project for those who love Pagan and Doom Metal and with this release, there is clearly more to come. [8] RHYS STEVENSON
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ABORTED FETUS 'Fatal Dogmatic Damage' COMATOSE Taking back time to 2010 is as bad as seeing a massacre unfold in front of you, but for Russia's Brutal Death trio Aborted Fetus, 2010 was a time to give the second coming, inevitably their second full-length album 'Fatal Dogmatic Damage' came with a tour-de-force so heavy and mentally brutal it is guaranteed to blow speakers up on level 1. Blistering drumming is the main focal point amongst the generic Grindcore vocals or aka noise, a blending of furious riffs, double bass drumming and squeaky vocals elaborate to unleash a sickening feeling of regurgitating vomit, a truly sick and twisted release, not for the faint of heart. [8] RHYS STEVENSON DISFIGURED 'Amputated Gorewhore' COMATOSE American 'Brutal' Death Metal merchants Disfigured come back with a guttural onslaught of stomach-rotting sounds and brain-whipping brutality, sombre enough to cause any diarrhoea to become mass hysteria in the most gory form. Whilst unconventional in it's unbelievable power of growling and noise-churning, Disfigured's latest sonic wave of balls-crushing Death Metal burns alive any resistance developed against this band and essentially proves to be a hard-knuckle album, 'Amputated Gorewhore' is a 2011 manifesto of gore, brutality and hard-hitting metal. [8] RHYS STEVENSON BLOODSOAKED 'The Death Of Hope' COMATOSE A decent effort from one man project Bloodsoaked, but whilst the music does justice, the vocals lack a ample amount of growling, so realistically this is a Metal album practically going nowhere, whilst the vocals seem to have some effort, the result is rather diabolical, the drumming though is as fast as a machine gun on steroids, blasting through the air like a falcon in dive-bomb mode, the guitars offer excitement in the ways of shredding, riffs and sexy choppiness, but overall this is an album gone AWOL, definitely aptly titled as 'The Death Of Hope' [5.5] RHYS STEVENSON REGURGITATION 'Clitoraldectomy' COMATOSE A solid display of Brutal Death Metal immersed within the glorified tombs of sickness and customized medical verbatim. This is the 2002 demo by Ohio quartet Regurgitation, a right mob of sickness and disgust, in all levels of homeopathy. Featuring a sick and sleek array of riffs and drumming to complete some of the most vile vocals ever heard, bordering onto Goregrind essentially with a motive to commit sensational hearing problems on all audio dimensions. This is by far a sophisticated work of extraordinary musicianship and one demo for any Extreme Metal fan; just don't expect any mercy to come from this. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON DYSENTERY
'Internal Devastation' COMATOSE American Brutal Death city-goers Dysentery immerse themselves in the sounds of the Massachusetts sewers, swathed in dirt, sewage and down-right gore horror. Emphatic as one would deem it to be, sensational is what others may call it, but their sophomore album 'Internal Devastation' offers little in the way of unclaimed mercy, a pummeling exertion of blistering-paced drumming in collision with down-the-sink vocals and flesh-rotting riffs, so sickening it makes any hospital ward seem like a holiday camp. A truly evil and disgusting piece of work, a narcotic on parallel courses. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON SCORNGRAIN 'Utopia.Paranoia.Perversions!' DYNAMIC ARTS Finnish Cyber Industrial / Thrash Metal veterans Scorngrain abseil the electronic scaling of the Cyberspace to deliver their third megabyte, essentially their latest album 'Utopia.Paranoia.Perversions!' released last year, with a foundation of synthetic synthesizers and trance music providing the backbone to Finland's answer to Norway's Black Comedy, Scorngrain are gathering momentum in the Cyber Metal category and with their latest effort do not likely to give up for one moment, a true work of the digital structure kind. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON HARM 'Demonic Alliance' BATTLEGOD PRODS. Promising Norwegian Thrashers make their sophomore album the more the sweeter by included a supplementary DVD to make the album even more sick, with clear chunky bass lines and percussive drumming serving as a sumptuous basis for really heavy vocals and raging riffs, Harm maybe the next generation of the big four Thrashers. Pounding sound waves emanate from the speakers in true surround sound and with this as a second coming, Harm are on the way to become Thrash Metal favorites, watch this space. [10] RHYS STEVENSON MR.DEATH 'Death Suits You' AGONIA It just seems all the same, Swedish Death Metal has not deviated from it's classical structure and nor has Mr.Death, added to the fact the vocals are horrifically poor it makes hearing Justin Bieber sing much more musical, the music itself is a little conciliation, but overall the EP 'Death Suits You' released last year is one of those that should be given with a warning, be wary of it, for it is not one you would expect any day to reach Unleashed's standards, let alone magazine standard, it's a nice effort, but with more tuning they would make it better. [4] RHYS STEVENSON CEPHALIC IMPURITY 'Unique Brute Revival' SOULFLESH COLLECTOR Well essentially a brutal album with not much to say in the vocals, although it has it's own brutal tantalizing result, this is Russia's Brutal Death Grinders Cephalic Impurity with their second album 'Unique Brute Revival' released last year. Whilst not as clear as Finnish same-genre stalwarts Deathbound, this quartet from Izhevsk unleash a brain-smashing torrent of ravenous riffs and sick slick style drumming in conjunction with gut-rotting vocals, so for those who find music hard and heavy, be warned, this is a hell of a lot heavier. [8] RHYS STEVENSON DUSK CHAPEL
'A Passage To Forever' FONO Ukraine Black / Death Metal newcomers Dusk Chapel return with their second serving of early Behemoth style music with more gusto than the Ukrainian national football team, whilst not sounding really Black Metal in terms of drums, the latter excited enough dark matter to unleash hell in the most striking of manners, essentially a fair decent attempt but lacks that little something, not just musical composure either, but 'A Passage To Forever' is one of those releases that resides in the 'either you love it or hate it' category. [7] RHYS STEVENSON ABSTRACT SPIRIT 'Horror Vacui' SOLITUDE PRODS. Without going into to much detail, not being a fan of Funeral Doom or Doom Metal as is, this has to be the most depressive album from Russia yet, talk about suicidal tendencies, this release would make even the most hardcore person cry in sorrow, so much so this release by Abstract Spirit is one of impending doom, depression and sadness enough to make you die inside. [7] RHYS STEVENSON HEAVY LORD 'Balls To All' SOLITUDE PRODS Without much to say about this recording, this is not even music, the downside of this record is that sadly enough Stoner and Doom Metal do not work well together, so with that in mind I find Heavy Lord although their intentions and musicianship is respected, it is not one to be noticed well, a wildcard as it is, listen with caution. [1] RHYS STEVENSON FUNERAL
'To Mourn Is A Virtue' SOLITUDE PRODS Norwegian Dark Metal veterans return with their 6th album in their 20 year existence and unleash another sorrowful torrent of Gothic, Doom, Death and Funeral Doom Metal aka Dark Metal in the form of the 69 minute opus 'To Mourn Is A Virtue', essentially one for those Doom fans, with depression seeping out like water from a blister Funeral are Norway's dark depressive secret. [8] RHYS STEVENSON EXCRECOR 'Synchronicity' With a slight of hand comes the Americans new wave of tantalizing Melodic Death Metal, with their debut EP 'Synchronicity' released last year, it is no surprise that New Hampshire quartet Excrecor are tipped off as the next band to feel the force of popularity. With a stiff backbone of sumptuous drumming and elegant riffs, there is no reason to why this EP has nothing wrong with it, if this is a signal of a new oncoming, then that signal carries all but a warning of 'Synchronicity'. [8] RHYS STEVENSON TERROR INSIDE 'Sumerki Razuma' IROND Terror Inside the new Russian Death Metal newcomers alleviate all potential negativity with their hard-worked debut album 'Sumerki Razuma' released back in 2009, with a solid wave of Russian language-tinged Death Metal and brutality powerful enough to overthrow the many Russian oligarchs, Terror Inside are preparing to unleash their next blast of sonic music, this time with a heftier warning of mass ear damage. [8] RHYS STEVENSON ZOMBIFIED 'Outbreak' GRINDSCENE Arising from Belfast cemetery is Zombie-fetish band Zombified with their grizzly guttural Death Metal emanating from the speakers in spine-tingling fashion, whilst the music does justice, the vocals could be worked a little better, but essentially their debut EP 'Outbreak' released in 2010 is not a bad one, just a little bit disappointing, still one release with much in stock for raw Death Metal lovers and especially fans in the Northern Irish Metal scene. [7] RHYS STEVENSON IMMANIFEST 'Qliphotic' Floridian Symphonic Blackened Death Metallers Immanifest arise from the Tampa darkness to unleash a secular exemplar of sensational religious-tinged extreme metal, with their debut EP 'Qliphotic' released last year, it carries a significant alliance of evil, occultist preaching and sensational compositions to provide a basic structure for what is billed as one of Florida's darkest metal releases of all time, Immanifest are set to rival Russia's Arcane Grail and deliver a spectacular array of mysticism, metal and evil genius. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON TRUE MIND
'No Redemption' Symphonic Gothic Metal newcomers True Mind release their debut demo 'No Redemption' in 2010 with a standing innovation of dark Transylvanian Gothic traits amongst symphonic vocals and soothing melodies, the Romanian quartet bring to life the darkness found within the rural spots of this Eastern European nation, essentially bringing the best of their culture with it, without a doubt the natural contender to rival the Dutch veterans Within Temptation and to challenge novices Amberian Dawn from Finland and Aperion from Slovenia, True Mind has 'No Redemption' whatsoever. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON FORNOST ARNOR 'The Death Of A Rose' WITCH KING Returning with their emotional lyrics and solid Progressive Metal composures is Colchester / Peterborough based Fornost Arnor with their sophomore album 'The Death Of A Rose', it sees a variation in track lengths, all of which adhere to the Progressive Metal conduct and classification, whilst inserting their own slant on it, essentially the deep vocals and fast drumming, so would this also classify for epic metal too? None the less, Fornost Arnor insist on the choppy changing of musical compositions and as such sometimes leave the atmosphere tasteless, 'The Death Of A Rose' is a decent attempt, but falls short of a classic. [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON ASTARIUM 'On The Edge Of Chasm' SATANARSA So Russian Symphonic Black Metal is revered as raw, atmospheric and sensational, in Astarium's case it falls short of gloriously audible, unclear vocals lack even the slightest glimpse of rawness and leave the questionable drums to deal with its own matters, questionable as in is it a drum machine? The only conciliation resides within symphonies emanating from the keyboards, but apart from that, this being a debut album is a sensational cause for concern in the most abrupt of Black Metal cases. [3] RHYS STEVENSON LIVING DECAY 'Doomed To Last' DARK DESCENT American 'raw' Death Metallers Living Decay unleash hell and gore with their debut 2010 EP 'Doomed To Last', with a chasm of riffs and apocalyptic blastbeats, this is one band who could potentially make it onto the mainstream bandwagon, albeit the vocals being at parts reminiscent of acute constipation, the overall commodity tantalizes listeners into a psychedelic blend of genius and eccentric music, as the run of the mill goes, with a musical level of intelligence rivalling fellow countrymen Cannibal Corpse, Living Decay is 'Doomed To Last'. [7] RHYS STEVENSON IDEAS 'Fõnix / Phoenix' NAIL Hungarian Melodic Gothic Doomsters return with number five, their full-length album 'Fõnix / Phoenix' released back in 2008, it features a soothing combination of Hungarian lyrics and near-Slavic melodies, but essentially a creative mix of Within Temptation-cross-Arkona. With a blitz of sensual melodies and emphatic riffs encased by a steady drum beat, this is another living fact that the Hungarian Metal scene is always producing unique talent and Ideas is no exception, bringing out the best of their native culture and relating it to Metal music, Ideas will become a Hungarian legend like fellow countrymen Tormentor. [10] RHYS STEVENSON GMN-Vol7 - Ana Kefr, Who Dies In Siberian Slush, Severed Heaven, Tukkanuotta / Goresoerd, Deathbound6/6/2011 ANA KEFR 'The Burial Tree (II)' MUSE SICK Californian Death Proggers Ana Kefr emerge once again to deliver a religious, political and philosophical tinged album, this time in the morphed form of 'The Burial Tree (II)', whilst not sounding like Gojira, it has some element of bizarreness with it, while although the individual compositions have a neatly crafted structure, the whole album itself is little to be desired, but not to be shunned as a failure. The growling is deep as oceans go, but the rest of it seems to lack any completeness with it. [5.5] RHYS STEVENSON WHO DIES IN SIBERIAN SLUSH 'Вitterness Of The Years That Are Lost' SOLITUDE PRODS. Depressing springs to mind with Russian Melodeath Doomsters Who Dies In Siberian Slush (WDISS), slow and melancholy are somewhat two words to describe it, but it is not one to be knocked what with a grizzly growler on the frontline and a bombardment of sorrowful riffs and funeral-like drumming. Intuitively elaborating the darkness of a funeral with the bitterness of the Russian winter, WDISS are one of a kind, just be warned of the depressive aftermath. [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON SEVERED HEAVEN 'Incessant Darkness' Formerly known as the Melodic Gothic Metal quintet Blood Sundae, the five females from Leeds and Manchester reformed under a darker and more extreme sound, the sound of a Severed Heaven. Immaculate musical compositions covered by some of the grittiest vocals produced by a female metal vocalist, this is the feminine Hecate Enthroned with some melodies still influencing this band. Ravenous riffs and sick blastbeats come together with two-tone vocals to deliver perhaps the darkest debut by any band in the English Metal music history. 'Incessant Darkness' with its slow-to-mid-paced musicals send clear messages to the listener, don't judge the band. This is the sort of music that would work well with horror films, or even essentially ghost night trips, but overall if you think the winter nights are dark, then face Severed Heaven as they bring far more darker times, 'Incessant Darkness' is just the beginning, watch this band at all costs. [9] RHYS STEVENSON TUKKANUOTTA / GORESOERD 'TUKKANUOTTA / GORESOERD 2010 split' Two nations, similar in language and culture, two bands, similar in genre, one split album. Finnish Death Metallers Tukkanuotta joins in force with Estonian Deathgrinders Goresoerd to deliver a double-edge whammy of Baltic Metal. The first half sees the fury of the Finns deliver an outstanding blow of crisp and clean Death Metal with Finnish vocal attributes; the second half sees the elegance of the Estonians whip up a frenzy-like blast of Death Metal and Grindcore merged into one with essential native-tongue vocals. One release for Death Metal fans and fans of Finnish and Estonian Metal. [8] RHYS STEVENSON DEATHBOUND
'Non Compos Mentis' DYNAMIC ARTS Death Metal / Grindcore veterans Deathbound return with their fourth enrichment of bloody and gut-eroding music in the form of 'Non Compos Mentis', whilst not as brutal as their 'Doomsday Comfort' album, it still warrants a level of violence and hearing-aid destroying power. Quick, snappy and mind-boggling compositions are all that's exasperated on this release and in scintillating style at the same time, 'Non Compos Mentis' is a statement by Deathbound, we are not finished this brutalization. [7] RHYS STEVENSON CONRAD 'Oseaan Kroniek' Unknown to the general Metal world, Kadeem Ward aka by his Folk Metal project Conrad, released his second demo last year to the masses. Hailing from Barbados, the one-man project takes the traditions of Barbadian folklore and the widespread lust of Folk Metal. Whilst the vocals and music is not crisp clear, that in fact adds to its unique being. A true sign that the Caribbean Metal scene is ever growing and that it is promising. Conrad is flying the flag for the Barbadian Metal scene. Forget steel drum bands and realize, Heavy Metal has now a new region. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON EXILIA 'Naked' MYPLACE Italian Nu Metal group Exilia went acoustic for their 2010 EP 'Naked', featuring an array of their heavy metal material being toned down into acoustic songs whilst retaining the Exilia song. Whilst not grunge-laden, this EP is not unlike their song 'your rain', whereby it features soft musical compositions and a more relaxed feel about the music. Certainly a rarity amongst many metal bands, but this is what Exilia is, a rarity, a unique sound, 'Naked' they may be soft and acoustic, but overall hard, heavy, glamorous and totally cool. DEATHBOUND 'We Deserve Much More' DYNAMIC ARTS With a fistful of Finnish fury, the trio from Tampere and Oulu eradicated all hearing with their 2007 full-length album, whilst straddled between the Brutal Death Metal and Death/Grindcore combo, they exact their genre tagging with a blazing array of beats, riffs and short, snappy songs. Unlike most conventional Grindcore bands, Deathbound differentiate their songs sounds and so keep their albums balanced, and 2007's 'We Deserve Much More' was no anomaly. Fire up the machines, cause' Deathbound will take anyone for a ride. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON GORESOERD 'Tüdruk Ja Surm' NAILBOARD Estonian quintet Goresoerd excavated another disembowelment of epic proportion with their 2010 full-length offering 'Tüdruk Ja Surm', collecting a sensational array of deathgrind in their native Estonian language whilst captivating a cold and eerie atmosphere, one only rivalled by the Baltic winter. Goresoerd are not unlike Finland's Deathbound, only less heavy and not singing in English. Maybe Estonia's best deathgrind band, but one to watch out for. [7] RHYS STEVENSON MONUMENTAL TORMENT
'Element Of Chaos' SFC So much for insane music, Russia's Monumental Torment went overboard with their debut album 'Element Of Chaos', with a mesmerizing result of cerebral asphyxiation in ten tracks, the Technical Brutal Death Metal duo elaborate the brutality foreseen by Russia's greatest and devour any opposing problems, leaving an album as heavy as excrement left by a communion of bears. It does exactly what it says on the album, it delivers the 'Element Of Chaos' in the most extreme method of monumental torment. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON RAUNCHY 'Confusion Bay' NUCLEAR BLAST Heading back in time we come across one of Denmark's most loved Melodic Death/Metalcore/Industrial Metal bands ever Raunchy, their 2004 full-length release 'Confusion Bay' collects a myriad of influences and somewhat pins the band under the 'Modern/Hybrid Metal' genre umbrella terms. Full-on sensational riffs, harmonious melodies and extreme brutality land their second album in the Danish Metal hall of fame. Limited to 2000 copies, this CD is a must have for any Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore or Industrial Metal fan. Raunchy take you on a journey unlike any other to their dreamland of the 'Confusion Bay'. [9] RHYS STEVENSON GOD DETHRONED 'Passiondale' METAL BLADE The grandeur of Dutch Blackened Death Metal is God Dethroned, the next wave of unholy destruction comes with their 2009 concept album 'Passiondale'. Recreating the horrors experienced within World War 1 the Dutch quartet devours the atmosphere with a solid performance of cataclysmic musical compositions and exhilarating vocal differentiations. For the boys from Beilen, this is perhaps more than an extreme version of a history lesson but more so one of their best productions ever. Eclipsing their final year in existence, this album is by far one for any metal fan's collection, a true testament to military history. We know it as Passiondale, history knows it as Passchendaele. [10] RHYS STEVENSON FETAL DECAY 'You Have No Choice' SFC Words are mere discriminatory for this half-decent attempt by Russia's Fetal Decay, the Brutal Deathsters conjure up a gut-rotting performance of flesh-stinking songs with a seasoned side deliverance. 'You Have No Choice' is their 2011 release and is a solid example of 50/50 results, for the good section the drums and guitars deliver prosperity, but the vocals are dire and soulless, maybe Fetal Decay want to sound out that 'You Have No Choice' but to like this album, dream on. [5] RHYS STEVENSON NEMESIS 'Forever In Metal' A hidden gem in the Channel Islands is Guernsey's Power Metallers Nemesis, with a chaotic array of adventurous compositions and traditional Channel Island vocals. Their 2011 full-length crashes on the shore of mainland England with a flurry of power, brutality and luscious sound from this quartet. For many the idea of metal being in the Channel islands may daunt, but as Nemesis have correctly proven, the Channel Islands will always be 'Forever In Metal'. [9] RHYS STEVENSON ILLUMINANDI
'In Via' MOCNERAMIE Arising from the Polish woodlands is Gothic Metal septet Illuminandi with their debut full-length release 'In Via', aligning both the Polish and English languages with the darkness of the Polish countryside, the Christianity themed band rejuvenate the Gothic appearance of churches and ignite the banishment of demons. For their long-awaited debut-album is a certain reminder of pure prosperity, a signal that the Polish Gothic Metal vein is delivering beauty and darkness. [8] RHYS STEVENSON |
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