 POSSESSOR 'City Built With Skulls' SLANEY Virginian Thrash maniacs Possessor make their short-awaited debut with 'City Built With Skulls', a solid production of classic American Thrash Metal in the style of Metallica and Slayer. Loaded with riffs and fist-burning drumming, 'City Built With Skulls' slashes its way through the silent atmosphere and explodes by delivering a feast of tasteful compositions. Rough it up and ride it bareback, this is breakneck Thrash as it should be in its modern form. For Possessor, this their moment to stand out and shine, an album that keeps the classics intact and retains its title as the original sound, 'City Built With Skulls' is not for the faint of heart (or indeed haters of old school metal). [9] RHYS STEVENSON  ZOMBIES ATE MY GIRLFRIEND 'Patient Zero' Possibly one of the greatest modern day bands to walk out of the South African Metal scene. Zombies Ate My Girlfriend kick off their highly-anticipated career with the face-punching EP 'Patient Zero', spewing out cursed Melodic Death Metal and lashed with elements of Metalcore here and there, the compass points south on this one as the quintet smash apart the crystal silence with what can easily be perceived as South African Metal album of the year. As bloody as the Boer war and as brutal as the realisation of penguins on the sandy beaches, Zombies Ate My Girlfriend are due to hit the international scene and fly the flag for the South African Metal scene, think you know metal? You don't know sh*t until you check this lot out! [10] RHYS STEVENSON  SURREAL THOUGHTS 'Augmentations' Interestingly enough, Bavarian quartet Surreal Thoughts make their return well and truly known, making their next outing their sophomore album 'Augmentations' come to life, the Progressive Death Metal ensemble demolish every instrument in sight and yet sadly fail to make the cutting edge vocals that were anticipated to be there. Whilst the riffs are great, they mask out the drums and so the production lacks any presence, so what you end up with is a perfect elemental piece minus any atmosphere. Give due the death growling is decent, but unless you have got ultra-high hearing, the lyrics without reading them are anyone's guess, anyone's guess that is if you can be bothered. [5.5] RHYS STEVENSON  BONERIDE 'Arms Of Mercy' Bringing back the glories of the Heavy Metal and Rock 'N' Roll sound is Finnish Heavy Metallers Boneride and their third demo 'Arms Of Mercy', whilst not exactly similar to the titans Iron Maiden, the closest you can compare this quartet is to bands like AC/DC, Motorhead and Judas Priest, the sort that require the listener to be in tight leather (if your a girl), drinking Jack Daniels and riding a Harley-Davidson across the snow-laden landscapes of Finland. As for 'Arms Of Mercy', this is a sure sign that Boneride are readying themselves to unleash something rather epic and highly extraordinary, as such this is a band to watch and well in the end they take the no-nonsense direction and remain with rock in their hearts. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  FROSTBITTEN 'Nocturnal Hypnosis' Hailing from the city of Cambridge, Frostbitten is a one-man Black Metal project and yet when upon hearing the debut album 'Nocturnal Hypnosis' unfold like a venus fly trap decapitating its prey, the inevitable sound of raw black metal spews out over the atmosphere like a poison gas murdering everything living within its detonation radius. Word of warning, turn down the speakers, for at points the album gets very loud and as such could make the listener sh*t themselves. Full of depressive shrieks, shrieks rivalling pain and music to rival the satanic Justin Bieber, no wonder this is an underground project, you probably could not find anything more kvlt. [6.66] RHYS STEVENSON  WRITHING VOID 'Isolate' From the dark corners of the lands of Northern Ireland arises a force so powerful, it made Southern Ireland tremble in fear, enter the band or project Writhing Void with the debut EP 'Isolate', a classic example of pure Black Metal. Loaded with some of the most evil vocals heard on overseas British soil and yet the EP carries this feeling of pure euphoria, for it has the raw sound in tune and yet somehow has a lively feel to it, quite bizarre for a Black Metal album, but who is to judge? The EP features four tracks of pure chaos, let alone the drums running wild and the vocals spitting curses at every second, 'Isolate' is probably the darkest release ever to be created in the Northern Irish Metal scene. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  WAKING THEO 'Reborn' So much is a-due here, the North / West Yorkshire quintet Waking Theo smash their way back into the scene with their latest demo 'Reborn' in wake of their vocalist changing, needless to say - this is the real deal. The vocals as far as one can hear, are awashed with gritty Metalcore and so bullies the band into action for a full fist-pumping smackdown. In short, the Thrash Metal elements residing in the guitar riffs and the Metalcore physique blasting out from the drums and vocals edge Waking Theo further into the scene, this material is perhaps the material to get them label attention if not major press, if this does not get attention from Metal Hammer, Terrorizer or at least Kerrang! I'll eat my speakers. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  THE FLESH TRADING COMPANY 'River Runs Red' Bavaria seems to be spewing out a host of excellent metal bands lately and The Flesh Trading Company is no exception, bringing to the frontline their debut EP 'River Runs Red' in what can be called a 'DVD case'. Kicking off with the 'in your face' attitude, the music punches the listener so hard it makes unarmed combat look like a hugging session. Mixing Death Metal vocals with the agile speed of Thrash Metal and the embodiment of Heavy Metal, the German quintet set themselves up to buttrape anything that stands in their way and with their EP now out in the open, this is going to only get even more nasty, let the pain commence. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  (WANING) 'Broken Path' Let's face it, you have to be a strong as steel sort of person to overcome the haulage of depression (Waning) throws into their 2012 EP, because its just near suicidal. Sure thats how this type of music has to be, but come one, Ambient Doom Metal without the ambience is like a guitarist without a guitar, pointless. Given due that (Waning) do piece it well together, given that as granted, but there is so much seeming to lack here, the vocals are fine, but it seems a little bland and the next release will have to be a big improvement. [4] RHYS STEVENSON  EMMELEYA 'Opium Vision' German Progressive Death Metal mob Emmeleya whack out their debut album on a bizarre note, 'Opium Vision' has all the elements but the keyboards as far as it can be said, ruins the overall sound. However, given due it is an acceptable album, but one that will take time for listeners to get used to. Kicking off with an almighty eleven minute track maybe the worst ordering yet, surely a build up would be more appropiate, unless Emmeleya were really seeing an 'Opium Vision', in that case the album is worth more than the opium is, it will be interesting to see where this lot go on from here. [5] RHYS STEVENSON Add Comment  FORGOTTEN HORROR 'The Serpent Creation' WOODCUT Its something about the Finnish that makes them and Black Metal seem to go well, even if Thrash Metal is thrown into the affray, so when Kuopio-based trio Forgotten Horror make their anticipated debut album, the result is a glorious thirty-five minute jaunt of Black-infused Thrash Metal. From start to finish, the band serve up some of the most explicit musical creations to date, such that this is a promising start to the Finnish band's career, armed with a fist of fury and battalion armour, this is one record to savour and for those die-hards, one to recommend as a Finnish prodigy. [9] 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  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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