It all boils down to Spain's ever increasing feud amongst it's autonomous provinces and so they always 'Feel The Power' that one province called Catalonia are brewing up, that said this is also the title of the debut demo by Sofire, the Heavy Metal newbies produce their first ever release and it's more of a testimonial to the already established classic metal scene, sure fans of Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath will love this sort of stuff, but it's nothing new and only really serves as a release and a sign that classic heavy metal will never die. [7] RHYS STEVENSON WHALES & AURORA 'The Shipwreck' Post-Metal with Doom and Sludge Metal influences bode well in Italy when quartet Whales & Aurora release their debut album 'The Shipwreck' which sees songs as long as any political debate, for forty odd minutes, the atmosphere shifts from bleak to bleaker and as a result takes the listener on a journey south into the frozen lands of Antarctica where 'The Shipwreck' can be found, iced over from the bitterness of the elements found on this grim album release, all that can be said is if you want a Shakespearean tragedy in one release, you've find it. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON NEKROSUN 'The Grace Of Oxymoron' Just like the Italian composers of times bygone, Nekrosun deliver their second opus with a breathtaking atmosphere to compliment it, soprano style vocals merge with technical drumming and riffing to deliver a powerful display of Progressive Metal, that is mixed with so many influential styles, it would take Albert Einstein to decode the precise encryption the album leaves as an impression on the listener's verdict, moreover this album 'The Grace Of Oxymoron' exhibits some of the most explosive vocals ever heard in the Progressive Metal music department and with that in tow, 'The Grace Of Oxymoron' is Progressive Metal album of the year. [9] RHYS STEVENSON HANG THE TRAITOR 'Hunt For Blood' For any debut EP to make any lasting impression it has to be sharp, different and totally unique in as far as it outperforms in it's genre field, as for Hang The Traitor's debut EP 'Hunt For Blood', sadly it does not cut it, the drums are too repetitious and whilst the guitars offer some respite in as far as the eccentricity of the riffs and solo's add a cutting edge to the release, the vocals drag the entire release down due to it's lack of clarity and it's feeling of being semi-done, that said for the Portuguese quintet, it's only due to improve and with the improvement comes the recognition, but for now the 'Hunt For Blood' continues, until the blood is found Hang The Traitor aren't going to escape from the guillotine for this release. [5] RHYS STEVENSON DIONYSUS 'Hymn To The Dying' SALUTE Pakistan, a country with one of the smallest metal scenes in the Indian sub-continent, could not apprehend to the storm that was brewing during the recording phase of 'Hymn To The Dying', the first EP released by Blackened Doomsters Dionysus, it's starts off with a melancholic atmospheric feel and as soon as the shrieks engage in full combat, the instantaneous feeling of total oppression becomes a reality through the means of some rather bleak and cold sounds that are sure to appeal to fans of My Dying Bride, Bathory, Agalloch and Katatonia. Standing tall alongside Black Warrant, of whom are Pakistan's oldest known metal band, Dionysus are sure to drive this scene forward with an EP that ranks as Pakistani Metal release of the year 2012. [8] RHYS STEVENSON MORTUARY 'Tank Destroyer' SATANATH RECORDS Military style metal has always been a sensitive topic especially when incorporating political and/or religious propaganda and so therefore a release directed at the battlefield arises, the third demo by Russian Death Metal mob Mortuary takes no hostages, it's destroys them. 'Tank Destroyer' is a tribute to the modern warfare and oversees a myriad of military-related songs from which escalate the potency of the music in question, for fans of Hails Of Bullets and Eastern Front, Mortuary deliver razor-sharp riffs, mortar fire drumming and commander-like vocals, from which the result is a demo that shapes up to be a piece of modern art. [8] RHYS STEVENSON INHUMANITY 'Torture Of Consciousness' SATANATH RECORDS A blast from the cold east is what delivers the 'Torture Of Consciousness' as a debut EP by Humanity. Slamming Brutal Death Metal awaits in the shadows on album number two as the trio from the Ukraine devise a set of songs to unleash merry hell upon the masses. Whilst the technical riffing offers a tasty lick or two and the drums keeping air drummers moving with double bass drumming going faster than a leopard in hunting mode, the only downside is the vocals of which appear to be merely nothing more than generic grunting and growling, if there are any words there they must be in some dialect unknown to mankind, that said they could have busted up the microphones. [6] RHYS STEVENSON EXEGUTOR 'Dive Sessions' SATANATH RECORDS Grindcore is back at it's best as Belarusian quartet Exegutor smash all physical barriers in delivering their emphatic debut EP 'Dive Sessions', thunderous double kicks enrage the EP with slick speed and brutality and thus leaves the guitars and vocals to pick up the final pieces to deliver what is seen as Belarusian Metal album of the year. 'Dive Sessions' takes everything from the classic Grindcore sound and pounds it until the only trace left is the blurring of audio as one song merges neatly into the next, so if you want a fifteen minute audiobook, you need not to look any further beyond the 'Dive Sessions', of which is for fans of Fitcage, Suffocation, Deathbound and Anaal Nathrakh. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON VISTERY 'Sinister Prophecy' SATANATH RECORDS Quintet Vistery from Belarus make no mistake in delivering their sophomore album 'Sinister Prophecy' to a standard worthy of total gratification, playing the old school style of Death Metal in a modern age is just as risky as wearing 1970's flares in a metal music club, but Vistery manage to bring the old sound back without little difficulty, except the vocals are a little too rough even for those who indulge in Cannibal Corpse, even so the matrix of layered sounds on this album is so cleverly done it would take forever just to dissect each part and so from the Eastern bloc comes a 'Sinister Prophecy' called Vistery. [7] RHYS STEVENSON RHOVANION
'Land Of The Wild' What do you get when you mix Heidevolk with Eluveitie? A Folk Metal storm that is sure to cause chaos across the waves as out of the fabled woods comes Dutch septet Rhovanion with their gallant debut EP 'Land Of The Wild'. Throughout the sound shifts and changes as different Folk music elements weave in and out and thus carry the melodies of Eluveitie and the traditionalism of Heidevolk. What could be the next big metal band to come flying out of the gates of historic Gelderland, Rhovanion are a band to watch and with 'Land Of The Wild' now available to the masses, the next release will almost certainly seal a record label deal. [9] RHYS STEVENSON
2 Comments
29/8/2013 00:52:16
I am a hard core fan of heavy and classical metal. I am really grateful to you for these wonderful reviews about these new releases. Among them, I think Black Sabbath is the best one. But, I will listen to anything that has heavy metal.
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19/10/2013 01:10:55
Great site, i've been thinking about getting a free blog from weebly, do you recommend it?
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