CORPSE MACHINE 'Annihilate' Michigan's Corpse Machine clearly don't hang around, not only did they form in January this year, their debut EP 'Annihilate' was released in April this year, they must be on a mission and yet their EP speaks of promise, brewing a storm of underground Black / Death Metal with some Doom Metal is not always easy and yet Corpse Machine seem to do it without any restriction, even if they are part of a scene that is overly-saturated with rockstar want-to-be's. 'Annihilate' takes the very essential essence of the underground raw sound and ladens it with some interesting riffs (sometimes venturing into the Groove Metal style; seen around the '3:27-3:44' mark on the song "Corporate Scum"), pitch perfect drums and scarily shrieking vocals. The new version of Black / Death Metal could have now arisen to take the US metal scene by storm. Download This: "Corporate Scum" For Fans of: Carpathian Forest, Behemoth, Belphegor [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON SABATON 'Swedish Empire Live' NUCLEAR BLAST Unleashing their first ever DVD is Swedish Power Metal veterans Sabaton and boy does it pack a sensational feeling, filmed primarily at their headlining slot at the highly known Polish Woodstock festival, the Swedes deliver the sensationalism that you always experience during their live sets, now whilst many would agree it does not compare to the DVD, the reality is that this is an achievement and to relive some memories they have to be documented. But face the facts, there was 600,000 punters at this festival, that's enough to fill the entire Arsenal Emirates stadium tenfold!! Furthermore the DVD boasts four hours of footage and so if you're going on holiday and are not driving, then you have a good excuse to watch Sabaton's 'Swedish Empire Live'; would be even more apt if you were going on holiday to Sweden. Fans of this sensational Power Metal band will hear some of the old classics to the new hot songs, there is something here from everyone and other recordings include performances in London, Oberhausen and the well known Swedish city of Gothenburg, now whether you are a fan or not, this is a momentous piece of Metal music to own, make no mistake about it as the truth is that Sabaton are true Power Metal gods, question is can they match this emphatic release in 2014? 'Swedish Empire Live' is out 20th September 2013 via Nuclear Blast. The release comes in various formats: 2 Blu-Ray Digi / 2 DVD Digi / DVD (Poland only) CD Digi / 2LP (limited black vinyl in gatefold + poster) / 2LP (limited yellow vinyl in gatefold + poster) !!!Nuclear Blast Mailorder only!!! Earbook (2 Blu-Ray + 2 DVD + DVD + exclusive bonus CD, 48 pages Earbook) Special Leather Hardcover Earbook !!!Nuclear Blast Mailorder only!!! (2 Blu-Ray + 2DVD + DVD + exclusive bonus CD, 48 pages Earbook) [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON ZOLTAR SPEAKS 'Save As I Save' Taking their band name from an unusual antique arcade fortune teller machine featured in the Tom Hanks film 'Big', Somerset's Zoltar Speaks unleash their highly-anticipated debut album 'Save As I Save', featuring much of the classic Melodic / Alternative Metal that the female-fronted armada is capable of delivering, the vocals do not disappoint as they wallow in between the alleys of Amy Lee and Kobra Paige and feature an accompanying attitude that resides within vocalist Louise Body, therefore it is inevitable that the music in it's entirety is going to be unique and phenomenal and boy i it is, following the killer instinct through the wizardry amassed on the guitars and the precision exercised on the drums, 'Save As I Save' is definitely a contender for debut album of the year, but let's not get too optimistic as it's not December yet, all that can be said right now is that 'Save As I Save' by Zoltar Speaks is an album every metal fan should own, this work of art is their key to nationwide recognition, therefore watch this space... 'Save As I Save' is out 11th November 2013 via an Independent release For Fans of: Evanescence, Kobra & The Lotus, Barbe-Q-Barbies, Vanilla Ninja [10] RHYS STEVENSON RAVENOUSE 'The Last Gate' You can always be assured that when any Italian band dives into the Gothic Metal pool, comes out drenched with such immense power that the resulting music is simply divine. Ravenouse do exactly that and as a result they unleash the erotically charged masterpiece that is their debut album 'The Last Gate', featuring the much beloved duet in the highly recognizable beauty and the beast style. Ravenouse deliver a generous mix of angelic heavenly female vocals with devilish growling male vocals, which in turn become savaged by some epic harmonious symphonies through the majestic usage of the keyboards and doused with an array of riffs and drumming patterns that drive this sensational release forward, make no mistake about it Ravenouse are the next Lacuna Coil. There is only one way to sum up Ravenouse in their entirety, and that is that they are the Modern Gothic Metal band the world has been waiting for. Download This: "Flying Angel" For Fans of: Lacuna Coil, H.I.M, Evanescence [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON IMMORALIS 'The Great Collapse' Without a doubt possibly the most exciting new band to emerge from the American abyss all year, forging a sound that circulates around symphonies, orchestral pieces, Death Metal and Metalcore, Immoralis' premier album 'The Great Collapse' is the sound that everyone must hear. From start to finish, the emphatic symphonic backdrops that cascade like waterfalls on top of the jagged bedrock of Death Metal / Metalcore vocals, set the tone for the riffs to crash against, whilst the drums deliver the final face-punch that will enable Immoralis to gain well earned international attention from this Teutonic masterpiece. So what happens when elegance, brutality and six algorithmic minds come together? Simple, total apocalyptic musical mayhem, enter Immoralis and their own stance on metal... dubbed 'Symphonic Orchestral Deathcore'. Download This: "Trudge This Lonely Road" For Fans of: Bleeding Through, Born of Osiris, Fleshgod Apocalypse [10] RHYS STEVENSON LIGHTLESS MOOR 'The Poem - Crying My Grief To A Feeble Dawn' WORMHOLEDEATH Probably the darkest metal band in terms of imagery and musical ideology to emerge from the sun-kissed island of Sardinia. Unleashing a shadowy strike of Gothic Doom Metal is the Italian sextet Lightless Moor of whose debut album 'The Poem - Crying My Grief To A Feeble Dawn' will certainly turn heads as it engulfs the atmosphere with everything that is to be loved about Italian Gothic Metal, the angelic and vibrant female vocals crashing against the deep, growling and beastly male vocals to give a duet feeling, that added with the erotic harmonics from the keyboards and raw brutality combined through the drumming and guitar playing, all intricately balance each other out to combine as one hell of a decent release. 'The Poem - Crying My Grief To A Feeble Dawn' speaks elegance, majestic elements and classical beauty, accept no substitutes. Download This: "Cento Respiri" For Fans of: Lacrimas Profundere, Lacuna Coil, Paradise Lost [8] RHYS STEVENSON PSYCHEMA 'Bygones' INVERSE Finland seems to always be producing sensational metal and rock bands, either it's in their blood or it's in the water they drink, this certainly seems to be the way when especially bands like Psychema arise again to drop another release in their history. The Progressive Melodic Metal outfit purges out the complexities of Progressive music and instead adopt a rather alternative approach, but not in the sense that they are completely detached from the said genre, in fact the upcoming EP 'Bygones' shifts between elements of aggression, lusciousness and calmness, from the ever-changing vocals that shift from screaming to melodic and the guitars and drums working harmoniously in sync with each other, there is nothing to say that 'Bygones' will not attract attention across Europe, it simply is a wonderful masterpiece that is guaranteed to be a favorite amongst most Progressive music fans. For Fans of: Dream Theater, H.I.M., Opeth 'Bygones' is out 19th October via Inverse Records [8] RHYS STEVENSON KINETIK 'Greed' Basically if it's Thrash Metal then you know full well it's going to be fast, pumped up and unbelievably tricky on the riffs, Kinetik is no exception to this. The Italian five-piece have undoubtedly invested decent musical ideas and channeled them into creating a sound that speaks 80's Thrash through and through. On the other hand their debut demo 'Greed' might as well be lauded as just another Thrash Metal release, but let's face it there is not much that can be done to change that. As for the demo itself it speaks volume, furious crushing brutality and would sound sensational inside any Roman Colosseum. Featuring trippy double bass drumming, tight riffs and vocals that would make any Italian stallion go from trot to full gallop and as the music takes you into sheer galloping speed, you better be ready to experience painful whiplash. Download This: "Greed" For Fans of: Slayer, Gama Bomb, Evile [8] RHYS STEVENSON ANCIENT DESIRE 'Ancient Desire' Unleashing their debut self-titled EP, is the Czech sextet Ancient Desire. Their premier self-titled EP incorporates the beautiful essences found within Symphonic Gothic Metal; that classic beauty and the beast setup doused with the feeling of Central European elegance forming the underbelly of this band, whilst at the same time layering the music with the bard and theatrics of the historic Bohemian concerts, as if this band was the metallic form of the Prague Symphonic Orchestra. No joke, Ancient Desire are sure to break out of the Czech Metal scene with such oomph and gusto that followers of Within Temptation will undoubtedly have a new band to follow, the 'Ancient Desire' EP is a sign that Symphonic Gothic Metal style is not going to be always associated with the Dutch and that this Czech unit are assimilating a sound that will rock a few boats. Download This: "The Master Andiron From Lucanid" For Fans of: Within Temptation, Tarja-era Nightwish, Prague Symphonic Orchestra [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON MYRIAD LIGHTS
'Mark Of Vengeance' There are times when a Heavy Metal band releases their material and it turns out to be classic s**t, not in the positive way either. Italian quartet Myriad Lights narrowly escape the trap door with their premier album released last year, 'Mark Of Vengeance' comes six years after the band's inception and the instant question of 'what the hell are they playing at?' is on many peoples lips, but when you hear the album 'Mark Of Vengeance', it does offer some good music for sure, but overall it's just another heavy metal album, there is nothing spectacular about it and some of the solo's do not fit in well with the music pattern, let alone the drums seeming to be stuck on one beat throughout the album! It's one to release an album, but to release an album that lacks certain feelings is a bad move. Download This: "Fury Of Time" For fans of: 'where does one start?' [6] RHYS STEVENSON
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QUARTZ 'Live & Revisited' Sometimes the classic ways are the best, even though Quartz are no stranger to the metal scene after being around on and off since their first album back in 1977 and of course their formation in 1974, 1977 being the year that Mr. Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath produced Quartz's debut album, small world eh? 39 years later and the five gentleman from Birmingham unleash their second ever live album 'Live & Revisited', proving they still have the agility and firepower to deliver such intense rock and metal music in one whole release. It just goes to prove you cannot knock off anyone who still has the ability to bang out a good tune, with that fuzziness of the guitar still present, the drums still delivering the thunderous sounds and the vocals harmoniously flowing freely out of David Garner, Quartz are far from finished yet! Download This: "Mainline Rider" For Fans of: Black Sabbath, Van Halen, 70's rock and metal. [8] RHYS STEVENSON FOETAL JUICE 'Big Trouble In Little Vagina' GRINDSCENE With a name that sounds like a pornographic post-mortem novel it is no wonder that Mancunian Death Metal plunderers Foetal Juice found a 'Big Trouble In Little Vagina', simply put it is pus-infested metal that will make you violently sick at the smelly hint of gore-rotten flesh and bad breath from licking out.... that's far enough you dirty bastards. 'Big Trouble In Little Vagina' broods slamming Death Metal / Grindcore in an rather unique way, through the use of death growls and obliterating speed on the drums and guitar sections, this is a murder waiting to happen. With hints of Cerebral Bore so indefinitely apparent it is always seemed likely that Foetal Juice are going to end up paying homage to a potential Bloodstock appearance next year, well we all need a bit of goreology now and then, oh wait that's the Saw films.... For Fans of: Gorerotted, Cerebral Bore, Deicide. 'Big Trouble In Little Vagina' is out 7th October via Grindscene Records and all main UK retailers [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON MEAN MESSIAH 'Hell' Being part of one of the Czech Republic's most notable metal bands is an honor, but to carry on the pillaging is another thing altogether. Entering the affray is the one-man project Mean Messiah which is the product of brainchild Dan Friml and predominantly focuses on a hybrid mix of Industrial Metal, Death Metal and Thrash Metal, although we call it 'Modern Cyber Metal. His debut album 'Hell' is pretty self-explanatory in that he delivers musical hell, in fact it is so fast, brutal and technically challenged that a mathematician could not even calculate the time signatures, a bouncer would be weakened by the sheer force of this unrelenting album and of course it would out-do Petr Cech's reaction speed. Make no mistake about it Mean Messiah are poised to go far, it would be extremely surprising if this project does not as it has everything you could ask for, except it could be a bit more Industrial. Just a bit. Download This: "Spiritual Resolution" For Fans of: Holy Moses, Strapping Young Lad, Fear Factory [8] RHYS STEVENSON PLOUGH 'The 10th Circle' The Dutch newcomers are here, well that was a bit of a brash starting statement to make so let's reiterate, the Dutch storm is brewing in the North sea.... right. Anyhow Plough's debut EP 'The 10th Circle' completely demolishes your senses with a cleverly weaved together sound of crushing Death Metal and funk-laden Groove Metal. The band name is quite unconventional for the style of music as it implies a farmer relation, not saying that this EP is sweet and tasty as potato mind you. 'The 10th Circle' is classic debut EP, full of oomph and utmost promise, let's just hope that the quintet from Amsterdam have what it takes to keep this sensational music going, it may be early days but the lads have got a fair way to go, even if 'The 10th Circle' is tantalizingly brutal, featuring gritty vocals, snappy riffs and solid drumming. Download This: "Emily Rose" For Fans of: Opeth, Machine Head, Pantera [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON CRIMSON CHRYSALIS 'Crimson Passion Cry' RAVENHEART MUSIC On the international circuit, South Africa is rarely looked over as a solid country for producing metal bands, it comes to as no surprise then that Crimson Chrysalis unleash their new album 'Crimson Passion Cry' via British label Ravenheart Music. Forged in the footsteps of some of most erotic and sensational Symphonic bands around this planet, the epic delicacy that lead member and vocalist Rene van den Berg has delivered is so musically palatable that it leaves a desire to hear more. Weaving together the elegance of soothing symphonies with the dramatics and unrelenting power of operatic atmospherics, Crimson Chrysalis are poised to become South Africa's answer to Finland's almighty Nightwish, a new chapter in Symphonic Metal story has just begun... Download This: "Deo Volente" For Fans of: Tarja-Nightwish era, Tarja Turunen, Within Temptation [9] RHYS STEVENSON PETROL PATROL 'Domestic Warfare' It must be said that upon listening to Petrol Patrol's premier EP 'Domestic Warfare', the feeling of nostalgia in Thrash Metal context begins to sink in, however at the same time the feeling of modern thrash metal overthrows that nostalgia with the amount of power experienced by a Swiss avalanche, or if you like, imagine being trampled over by a pack of St. Bernards. Therefore a warning must be issued as spinal surgery will be needed after being audibly doused with fast-paced riffs, grilling vocals and Teutonic drumming, all of which is inevitably experienced on Petrol Patrol's debut EP. Make no mistake about it, Petrol Patrol are poised to become the next successful export out of the Alpine country and with a fast-paced selection of music, watchmakers would be timed out easily and listeners of 'Domestic Warfare' will realize that Petrol Patrol's music is without a doubt, sweet as Toblerone. Download This: "Ravaged" For Fans of: Slayer, The Haunted, Sepultura [8] RHYS STEVENSON ANTIGOD 'The Collector' Delivering their highly controversial debut album is the Czech quintet Antigod, armed with their modern style of Death / Thrash Metal and an attitude that would piss a few people of, the premier release 'The Collector' explodes into life with the chaotic sounds of fast-paced music with such gritty growling vocals that it makes disembowelment seem like a daily occurrence. Now lets be honest you would find a lot of hatred towards a band that sings predominantly about how religion is corrupt, well one glance at the artwork which shows a half pope, half business tyrant masked behind a Satanic goat mask, this resonates not only within the album title, but also the music this tight unit delivers. Beneath the soft look of this band is an interior designed to make your music life bloody hell. 'The Collector' is poised to get this band some attention across the European mainland and as long as they keep the musical bombardment going, they are sure to be guaranteed a prestigious label deal in the near future. Download This: "Something In The Mirror" For Fans of: Early-Sepultura, The Haunted, Hatesphere [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON DEGOLA 'Corrosão' How many times does a Thrash Metal band try to pretty much re-write either the Metallica or Slayer discography? Increasingly more and more bands fall into that trap, Degola is no exception. But rather than just playing flat out a revamped version of 'Angel of Death', the Brazilian four-piece piece together a sound that circulates early Sepultura and adds a few modern elements into it through the use of subtle breakdowns. This is evident on their debut album 'Corrosão' and yes the songs are all in Portuguese, but don't let that throw you off from listening to Degola. If they stopped letting their instruments rust up from the heavy humidity of the Amazon, they could easily become an instant hit, but it will take another album or so before they reach the shores of Portugal, let alone Europe. Guaranteed, a hit and miss album that some Thrash Metal fans may smile or snarl at. Download This: "Alternativa" For Fans of: Early-Sepultura, Evile, Metallica [7] RHYS STEVENSON MAXDMYZ 'Cosmic Hearse' RENEGADE So picture this, Skindred sleeping with Fear Factory with Korn and SYL laying underneath the bed, a bit of an odd combo no? The same analogy can be applied to the 2010 release 'Cosmic Hearse' by London industrialists Maxdymyz, what happens here is that Nu Metal style vocals get covered with Industrial style elements and finalises with a total complicated sound being developed. Let's face it, trying to nail this album and band into one genre, you would have greater luck at headbanging to this sensational release. With Groove metal also making a subtle appearance as the vocals and riffs establish a musical chemistry with each other and nitro-glycerine explodes the drums into life, 'Cosmic Hearse' is effectively the upgraded and funkier version of Killing Miranda's sole release 'Consummate'. Oh how London is changing.... Download This: "Sayer" For Fans of: Mindless Self Indulgence, Skindred, Fear Factory [8] RHYS STEVENSON SPACE CHASER
'Decapitron' And the bill of the Gesundheitssystem (German health system) will now rocket thanks to German thrashers Space Chaser delivering their anticipated debut EP 'Decapitron'. Prepare to thrash those heads as the five-piece deliver a slice of modernized Slayer on their insanely-fast EP. From start to finish there is no stopping this mob from demolishing every last sense within your body, this is a release designed to maim the posers of the Thrash Metal scene. All four songs are good as one another and so to fully appreciate the band you have a choice of four songs to listen to, but the crux of this release is the unrelenting speed on the drums, rolling so fast it would make Michael Schumacher driving a mobility scooter almost like comparing the tortoise to the hare, except the hare wins. With such fast riff shredding going on alongside the blitz-like drums and the vocals wallowing in between Heavy Metal and Power Metal intonations, 'Decapitron' by Space Chaser is easy to class as 'Teutonic Thrash Metal'. Download This: "Drunken Zombies Killing Spree" For Fans of: Slayer, Gama Bomb, Holy Moses, Evile [9] RHYS STEVENSON DYING DECAY 'Demo 2013' Where does one begin, where does one begin to criticize this release apart from saying that it falls short of anything credible. Germany's Dying Decay have got to improve after this abysmal demo release, the only thing that stands out is the riffs, and even they aren't 100% convincing. Now imagine having a dodgy curry and being on the loo for hours on end, same principle with this release, it is 95% awful. Never mind what style of metal they are aiming for, until they improve the vocals by giving them more prominence and the drums pick up their presence and stop letting the guitars take the lime-light, Dying Decay will be exactly what their band name suggests. 'Demo 2013' is well a shocking release, for all the wrong reasons. [4.5] RHYS STEVENSON KHADAVER 'New World Disorder' What you could easily call 'Dystopian Cyber Metal' is in fact Khadaver's splendid mixture of electronic elements with industrial black metal in such a way that they have developed their own unique sound. 'New World Disorder' is the Slovakian trio's debut album and as long as you're into cold and bitter music you'll be just fine because this music is designed to place chills down your spine. Forged in the darkened areas of Soviet relics in Presov, Khadaver ignite a revolutionary sound that should act as a warning to the people of the EU that inevitable totalitarianism is not just a theory but slowly becoming a reality. Now if you're into films like V For Vendetta, 1984, Iron Sky and the forthcoming film The Fourth Reich, basically any work of art that relates to dystopia, totalitarianism and the whole paraphernalia of total control, then 'New World Disorder' by Khadaver is for you. Download This: "21st Century Antichrist" For Fans of: The Kovenant, Combichrist, Rammstein, Laibach [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON SAPIENCY 'Tomorrow' SAOL After their successful debut album, Germany's Sapiency could not wait to deliver their second smiting album 'Tomorrow', delivering once again their emphatic modern melodic death / thrash metal sound. This album is a whole lot heavier and certainly packs a powerful punch through the cleverly executed switching between clean vocals and death growls, whilst the guitars do their wizardry much better than that of Harry Potter, the drums deliver a rally of thunderous beats and double bass deliverance whilst the atmosphere is of pure sensationalism, this is evidently the new face of modern melodic death metal and as the album suggests, 'Tomorrow' brings a whole lot of new things to the meaning o life, as for the band, well... Bloodstock anyone? Download This: "Weight Of The World" For Fans of: Scar Symmetry, In Flames, 'soul-crushing metal' [8] RHYS STEVENSON WINTERCOLD 'Invoke The Ancient Forces' Perhaps the jolliest release by Swedish Gothic Doom project Wintercold, here again Satanic Tony delivers another bountiful of dark and depressive music but ironically in a more happier way, the 2013 promo / demo 'Invoke The Ancient Forces' is a fruitful hour long and displays a brilliant array of different sounds that will garner a lot of attention. This is a change of sound by the mastermind and it has been executed very well, rather than having just a raw and fuzzy atmosphere, the atmosphere this release delivers is one that could be likened to bands such as Black Sabbath or the modern band Ghost, especially the vocals in comparison are highly similar. It is left to be said that Wintercold rarely ever disappoint, a truly remarkable inspiration to anyone thinking of entering music. Download This: "Death Comes Ripping" For Fans of: Ghost, Black Sabbath, Candlemass [8] RHYS STEVENSON CORNERS OF SANCTUARY 'Breakout' MARCH BABY MEDIA Ah the sound of classic hard rock and heavy metal, hard to escape and hard to not love, even if the band has been going two years and released two albums. Just pure magic, this time that magic falls onto the laps of American trio Corners of Sanctuary and their premier album 'Breakout', with an armada of ballsy classic rock and metal coursing throughout this excellent debut album, a lot of rock and metal fans will enjoy this release by sipping some whisky at the same time. On the other hand there will be some people who will act and speak out against another band trying to modernize Iron Maiden, give over! Iron Maiden is Iron Maiden and Corners of Sanctuary is Corners of Sanctuary, a rising classic metal band that will surely go down well in the UK as they 'Breakout' of the underground. Download This: "Juggernaut" For Fans of: Saxon, Queen, Savage [8] RHYS STEVENSON VESPERIAN SORROW 'Stormwinds Of Ages' THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED American Black Metal tends to be highly over-rated but from time to time you come across an absolute gem and think to yourself, why aren't they huge over in Europe? Such a band is Vesperian Sorrow whose fourth album 'Stormwinds Of Ages' delivers another smacking of sensational and atmospherically charged Symphonic Extreme Black Metal. Armed with blistering paced drums, spine-chilling keyboard symphonies and everything else you would expect from an extreme metal album. The stand out track by far is "Casting Dawn Into Shadow" because of the heavenly angelic vocals delivered by guest musician Erika Tandy (Autumn Tears, Ignitor & Morgengrau), perfectly honestly I think she should become a permanent musician because she adds that missing piece to make the band's sound that extra special and unique. This is no Averse Sefira, this is Vesperian Sorrow and they are going to shred your senses to pieces. Download This: "Casting Dawn Into Shadow" For Fans of: Shade Empire, Grand Alchemist, Saturnian [10] RHYS STEVENSON WINTERBURST 'The Mind Cave' France has always had a love affair with Black Metal, right down to the Les Légions Noires and of course the dark side of the French onions... but turning heads in the underground is Symphonic Black / Death Metal masochists Winterburst, their 2012 album says it all. 'The Mind Cave' lavishes supreme keyboard symphonies with the shrieking and bombastic brutality of pure Black Metal, just imagine the Phantom of the Opera with Varg Vikernes as the Phantom.. you get the idea of what this band is like. With only four years existence and this album to go by, Winterburst could yet become France's most successful Symphonic Black Metal band ever to date. Outrageously rapid drumming coincides with a cascading feeling of devilish riffs and erotic chanting, this is the new sound of the French Black Metal scene. Download This: "The Mind Cave" For Fans of: Dimmu Borgir, 'general Symphonic Black Metal' [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON NORPHOBIA 'Seelenglanz' Well I'm not being funny but if the average listener cannot hear this well enough to detect actual vocals here, how on earth will people with hearing aids be able to hear this? Seriously they need to find a new studio, anyway 'Seelenglanz' is Norphobia's premier album and was released last year. Now the only best bit about the album is that it exists, well ok maybe the guitars deserve credit but the rest of the music, well 1. where is it and 2. what is this? Germany may be good at spewing out metal bands and albums but christ did she have diarrhea delivering this one. Supposedly it's Melodic Black / Death Metal, supposedly the studio needs to be either shut down or redone, because this is just appalling. [4] RHYS STEVENSON DISSONA 'Dissona' Chicago may be the setting for the Broadway of theater productions in the USA, but like with every theater production their is a protagonist, this time the curtain falls onto Dissona, a Progressive Metal ensemble of whom delivered their sophomore album last year, their self-titled musical product delivers the very best of Progressive Metal, ascending vocals take the harmonics of the keyboards along with it whilst the dramatics involving the drums and guitars set out the persona of this release and naturally the band. Whilst it is disconnected from the glut of djent bands who want to become the new Meshuggah, 'Dissona' pinches a whole rally of influences from a wide array of genres, such as Melodic Metal, Avant-Garde Metal and Power Metal, it is down to the listener to pinpoint on each song where these influences are at their most prominent. Download This: "Immersion" For Fans of: Sonata Arctica, Meshuggah, Enochian Theory [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON EMBRACE OF SILENCE
'Leaving the Place Forgotten by God' SOLITUDE The Ukrainian Metal scene seems to be having a glut of Doom and Death Metal bands, almost as if they have a fetish for it, so it's no surprise that when sextet Embrace Of Silence dropped their debut album last year that the feeling of mass depression sets in. 'Leaving the Place Forgotten by God' is almost a moniker that secretly means "we are ghosts", hence dragging out that impending doom feeling, as if your funeral was meant to be a weeping willow affair. As for the music itself, well the Death Metals take the reins very well and pushes the Doom Metal atmosphere into the right direction, sure this album is relatively short for a Doom / Death Metal album, but for those who have patience the feelings felt through the music is breathtakingly impressive. Experience the harshness of Ukrainian doom and bitterness. Download This: "In Angel's Hand" For Fans of: Anathema, Katatonia, My Dying Bride [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON ETEDDIAN 'Illusions' ALMAVI PRODUCCIONES Spain has a rather close love affair with Symphonic Metal, Gothic Metal and female-fronted bands, just like Italy. So what happens when bands like Eteddian enter the affray? Well what you have is a tidal wave of angelic and powerful vocals that glide smoothly over the guitars, drums and keyboards that all intertwine to deliver a sound that is as blissful as the crashing waves on Andalusian beaches. Their debut EP 'Illusions' features a whole array of sensational songs that are firmly rooted in the Symphonic Power Metal style, but what is highly amazing about this release is the virtuoso dynamics displayed on each song in that the musicians have this phenomenal musical chemistry with each other, make no mistake Eteddian are the real deal (they must be to have the guts to cover Madonna's song 'Frozen' which features Imanol Herrera from Vehemencia). Download This "Pyramids Of Chaos" For Fans of: Nightwish, Epica, ShadowIcon [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON MORBID VOMIT 'I Breathe Hell' A splattering of old school Death Metal never really hurt anyone, even when Finnish three-piece Morbid Vomit expel blood and pus from their corroded lungs, that grizzly cocktail becomes musically translated into their latest release and premier EP 'I Breathe Hell'. Think along the lines of heavily guttural vocals and add some crunchy riffs to that as well as furious drumming and you get the gist of what this band is like. 'I Breathe Hell' is a good start for the band but it it not entirely perfect, at times the vocals are so monotonous, there is literally no vibrancy. Furthermore at times the drumming becomes so basic that it's bog standard snare, snare, snare, so on and so forth, as said it's not perfect but should appeal to a number of Old School Death Metal fans. Download This: "Engulfed By The Plague" For Fans of: Carnage, Bloodbath, Grave [7] RHYS STEVENSON INFESTIS 'Requiem For The Age Of God' Quite possibly Dutch debut album of the year, welcoming to the Black Metal underground is Dutch maestros Infestis with their blood-splattered debut album 'Requiem For The Age Of God', instantly upon listening to the anti-religious sermons featured on this album, you get the feeling that they could go far with this sound. Furiously fast and complex drumming drives the even faster riffs to the edge of agile insanity whilst the cursing vocals spewed out by vocalist Dictator deal the most damage. Please note this is not a Nazi BM band, nor do they associate with them, this is simply anti-religious, perhaps Satanic Black Metal. Whatever you want to call it, the reality is the album 'Requiem For The Age Of God' deals the band justice and has the brutal power to propel them onto major festivals in the years ahead. Dutch Black Metal will never be the same again. Download This: "It Will End" For Fans of: Carpathian Forest, Watain, Bathory [9] RHYS STEVENSON NORRSKOLD 'Blessings Of Winter' Norrsköld is the product of brainchild Henrik Bodin-Sköld (Norrsköld) and focuses solely on Swedish folklore whilst indulging in the beauty of Melodic Black / Folk Metal, 2013 marks the Swede's debut EP and what a sensation it is. With the melodies evidently residing within the complex romance between the snappy riffs and blistering drumming, all that's left is the vocals which encase the sound in a blanket of emphatic shrieking. So take the folk elements of Swedish and the Scandinavian traditions, smother it with the wintry bitterness that Wintersun deliver and bolt on some sensational Black Metal and you have a release that anyone would not snuff at. Now where did I leave that akvavit... Download This: "Where Death Smites" For Fans of: Winterfylleth, Cnoc En Tursa, Helheim [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON FROZEN HELL 'Rise!' Fresh on the block is the Italian five-piece Frozen Hell and their premier EP 'Rise!', what we have here is an interesting style of Melodic Death Metal, because whilst the vocals deliver the all important Death Metal part, their is no melody, instead the melody comes from the complex interactions between the guitars and drums, sadly at times it does not cut it and some songs are left unimpressive. On the other hand, songs like 'Rise!' which is also the name of the EP actually nails the sound well on the head and is the sound Frozen Hell should carry on with. It's a case of whether you love them or you hate them, they are a decent enough band with an above average release, it just does not cut it entirely enough for them to break out of Italy, as said if they keep up the sound on the song 'Rise!' and also "Interrupted", they could go places. Download This: "Rise!" For Fans of: Amon Amarth, Scar Symmetry, Threat Signal [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON MEGAHERA 'Condemned To Insanity' HELLION A really interesting bunch Megahera are because when you take their second album and especially their song "Condemned To Insanity" and play it from 0:54 to around 1:06, you get the feeling that this is the same intro as 'Angel of Death' by Slayer, raise an eyebrow there. What's more interesting is that they claim they play Heavy Metal, when evidently it's faster than that, try Heavy Thrash Metal. Anyway the album itself is a long one, standing at 72 minutes you better have some time on your hands to listen to the sheer length of each song, each song providing a different style of metal and composition, but overall it is both good and sad to say that whilst this may be just another one of those generic Heavy Metal albums, it is a decent one. See what you think, as this album could push them forward. Download This: "Azure Mirror" For Fans of: Iron Maiden, Slayer, Early Sepultura [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON BLISS OF FLESH 'Beati Pauperes Spiritu' NON SERVIAM Poised to leave Europe smouldering in a cloud of ash and hellish Blackened Death Metal, the French legion known as Bliss Of Flesh carves out a sound that will certainly make the black plague look like the love bug. Excreting out their second album 'Beati Pauperes Spiritu', which can easily be dubbed as the epitome of pure insane mayhem, the result is a furious rallying of blisteringly paced double bass drumming, gut-rotten vocals and mind-snapping riffs that when altogether combines to make a musical force so powerful, Behemoth will s**t their pants like no tomorrow. 'Beati Pauperes Spiritu' is by far one of the darkest and most extreme metal albums to emerge out of the French abyss and is sure to garner the quintet well earned attention. Download This: "On The Paths To Expiation" For Fans of: Behemoth, Smouldering In Forgotten, Arallu [9] RHYS STEVENSON HAMMER PERSUASION 'Necropsy Of The Human Mind' Last year Australian four-piece Hammer Persuasion made their awaited debut album come to life, 'Necropsy of the Human Mind' demonstrates a cataclysmic mixture of melodic death metal with insane Thrash Metal and whilst this is going on, they manage to squeeze some Progressive and Power elements into the music, most notably found in the riffs demonstrated on the song 'Necropsy Of The Human Mind', sure the vocals need a bit of work on because at times the lyrics are hardly understandable, anyway who cares.. mosh away. 'Necropsy Of The Human Mind' is a decently crafted release, but in order for them to actually break outside of the Australian mainland they will need to re-tune themselves a bit to make it sound more credible. Download This: "Necropsy Of The Human Mind" For Fans of: In Flames, Mastodon, Iron Maiden [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON INZENITH 'In The Abyss Of Mind' Chile seems to produce a lot of Death Metal and Thrash Metal bands so it comes to be a bit of a break when Inzenith make themselves known via their premier album released last year. 'In The Abyss Of Mind' takes you on a magical journey through various sounds and elements, all of which calculate to make Symphonic Avant-Garde Metal. Sure if you had the time to listen to a 15 minute epic track you would and to be quite frank it is well worth it, even though 'In The Abyss Of Mind' is not for those who hate slow atmospheric music and or are not a fan of Symphonic Metal. The truth is 'In The Abyss Of Mind' and Inzenith are simply Chilean gems, they could be something more but nothing less, it's just a matter of time before they unveil their next release. Download This: "Undergrave" For Fans of: Cadaveria, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Winds [8] RHYS STEVENSON ENMACHINED
'Thrash Assault' SALUTE Now anyone would have thought that Bangladesh was only known for it's cyclonic climate and the country people have their clothes made in, but nothing is more metal than Enmachined. Leading the Bangladeshi Metal scene to the global stage with their debut demo 'Thrash Assault', Enmachined whip together a sound that defies the general ruling of playing as fast as you can, instead the five member platoon arm themselves with severe riffs, unbelievably mindblowing solo's, beat perfect drumming and Iron Maiden-cum-Metallica vocals. 'Thrash Assault' may not have the best recorded sound but after all who said metal had to be as loud as dubstep club nights? No one, however Enmachine are right in that it is bone-crushing Thrash Metal. It is early times for the kids from Dhaka, but this could be the dawning of a new age for them as they deliver a promising debut, the fact is inescapable in that Enmachined are proudly flying the flag for the Bangladeshi Metal scene. Download This: "Loggerhead" For Fans of: Iron Maiden, Metallica, Gama Bomb [8] RHYS STEVENSON ENVINYA 'Inner Silence' MASSACRE No wonder they got signed when launching their debut album this year, Germany's Envinya delivers a stellar sound that incorporates elements of melodic metal in both the guitar solo's and majestic vocals as well as dabbing the tracks off of their debut album with evident emphatic atmospheric feelings. 'Inner Silence' is the debut album by this Melodic Heavy Metal outfit and boy does it rock, what with the vocals being powerfully delivered by both Mery Díaz and Thomas Knauer, you get the feeling that this six-piece could easily break out into the European metal circuit. As for the album 'Inner Silence', it's one of those releases you have to replay again and again to fully appreciate the music, but with that comes extra satisfaction, make no mistake Envinya are going places. Download This: "Inner Silence" For Fans of: Evanescence, 3 Inches of Blood, Lordi [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON TAVÚ 'Clamor Victorium, Clamor Silentii' Tavú is another prime example that the Puerto Rican metal scene is comfortably in full throttle and is ready to make a statement on the international circuit, fusing together progressive and groove elements to the underbelly of each song on their second album 'Clamor Victorium, Clamor Silentii' whilst inducing pinches of Thrash Metal and Lamb of God style vocals. If you were expecting 'Clamor Victorium, Clamor Silentii' to become another album that is full of ideas and no satisfactory output, think again. Switching between the Spanish and English languages whilst the music itself does the greater talking, embrace yourselves in a matrix-like sound of aggressive and clean vocals that come coupled with skull-cracking riffs and ballistic drumming. Tavú may have been going 17 years, but with this new release it only seems like yesterday that they first emitted their 'Plutonic Hybrid Metal'. Download This: "System Without Honor" For Fans of: Lamb of God, The Devin Townsend Project, Gojira, Meshuggah [8] RHYS STEVENSON BLACK INFINITY '666 Metal' SONGNAM What happens when you mix Melodic Death Metal, Gothic Metal and experimental metal with the flavors of the Orient, you end up with a sound that cannot be found anywhere else. Of course Vietnam's Black Infinity ticks that box completely as their debut album '666 Metal' released four years ago broods a truly authentic Oriental feel through the keyboards and riffs whilst the vocals differentiate across the eleven songs, venturing from totally aggressive to really soft and mellow, the latter found perfectly on 'Embracing Hearts' as Hưng Tiến Nguyễn delivers the vocals in the same style as Ville Valo of HIM. What is even more striking about the album is that after the previously mentioned song, comes a three minute classical piano track that to many Western metal fans would seem highly unorthodox and a little taboo to metal itself! But that's what makes Black Infinity and their triumphant album '666 Metal' all the more special, they're doing metal there way and not following any rules, Black Infinity are flying the flag for the Vietnamese Metal scene with their own style of metal... '666 Metal'. Download This: "Deathbed Illusion" For Fans of: HIM, Before The Dawn, Deadlock, Catamenia [9] RHYS STEVENSON INHERITOR 'From Dust 'N Passion' STORM BLAZE ENTERTAINMENT When you come to think of globalization is just a mass worldwide spread of information, technology, culture and various other segments that play a part in everyday life, but when immigration comes into play a whole host of interesting results creep up. This goes for the Melodic Death Metal band Inheritor who hail from Colombia but have an American vocalist as the forefront, however going back three years and the quintet's debut album 'From Dust 'N Passion' was unleashed into the wilds of the Colombian music industry and with it comes a angelic form of brutal tranquility in respect to the sensational riffs and drumming acting as a solid foundation, whilst the classic beauty and the beast style vocals do the forward commands through the male vocalist growling and the female vocalist's singing harmony. 'From Dust 'N Passion' is a must have for anyone who loves music that contrasts itself from another part of the music itself. Download This: "Beloved Forsaken" For Fans of: Children of Bodom, Nightwish, Lacuna Coil [8] RHYS STEVENSON LEAVE SCARS 'The Arrival' Belgian old school Thrashers Leave Scars drop a bombshell in the form of their debut album 'The Arrival', now lets be honest the only single great thing about this album is that it features everything you would expect from an Old School Thrash Metal album, full on face-melting riffs blending in with unrelenting solos and blisteringly-fast drumming, as well as brutal vocals that will leave your hearing in tatters as the Belgian five-piece smash your senses apart. 'The Arrival' is an apt enough album title as the arrival of a resurgent force in Belgian metal is truly on the cards. it may have taken eight years for the album to finally see the daylight, but f**k me they could not have done it any better. This warrants a Wacken slot next year! Download This: "The Son" For Fans of: Kreator, Metallica, Evile [8] RHYS STEVENSON APE TO GOD 'Ape To God' It's not exactly a musical pun on Charles Darwin's theory of mankind evolution nor a dig at the conflict between science and Christianity, instead Ape To God is an interesting band. Ok, so their self-titled debut EP wallows in what I just said in as far as the artwork and song titles are concerned, but on the other hand there are no monkey chants or banana skins that cause the band to slip up, instead what you have here is a brutally solid example of perfectly executed Groove / Death Metal. Spewing out a tidal wave of gut-rotten vocals, doused with the acidic riffs that surge throughout this release like metal conducting electricity and the drums delivering wave after atomic wave of sheer power. It may not be 100% groundbreaking, but what could be on the cards here is Poland's next biggest export. Having two songs with the words simply switched around sums up their musical output, switching all the time and in doing so creating lush musical fusion. Download This: "Fire & The Straws" For Fans of: Debauchery, DevilDriver, Six Feet Under [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON THRONE OF HERESY 'Realms Of Desecration' It is an inescapable fact that upcoming Death Metal bands in the Swedish abyss find it tough to make themselves known owing to the mass influx of said genre in said nationality, of course providing a twist on the musical brutality of Death Metal is key and Throne Of Heresy does exactly that. Unleashing hell through their EP 'Realms Of Desecration', the five-piece masochists crush the splintering whimpering of all of those 'trying to be hard and cool' unsigned Death Metal bands that wallow so apathetically in the music scene, not implying that they are all talentless or lacking in imagination, but more so implying that Throne Of Heresy shows how it should be done, furthermore there are evident whiffs of Black Metal murmuring in the background. Now just imagine a hornet swarm stinging your eyes out and then imagine being gutted by a python armada, that simply put is just the descriptive form of this music, in reality it is much, much harsher. Prepare for the oncoming storm... Download This: "Souls To Suffer" For Fans of: Bloodbath, Watain, "Filthy Death Metal" [9] RHYS STEVENSON RETURN TO INNOCENCE 'The Ring Of Moon' METALGATE It's about time Western Europe woke up to the reality that they are no longer the greatest of metal producers, well not dismissing that the region delivers top notch acts, but for now pay attention to Return To Innocence of whose fourth album overall and first album since their relaunch glimmers in sensational musicianship. Pummeling out a carefully balanced mix of Doom Metal and Death Metal, this Czech ensemble assimilates the rulebook by crafting their own unique sound through the use of Death Metal vocals and drums, with an impending doom feeling arising from the delinquent symphonies and elegant keyboard notes, even though the album itself features two prominent musicians and ten other musicians delivering contributions on a whole plethora of departments, the music itself is one of a kind that you will never find anywhere else, come on 'Symphonic Doomed Death Metal'? Download This: "Blood-Related" For Fans of: Therion, Amorphis, Tristania [8] RHYS STEVENSON PAST THE FALL 'Beggars At The Liar's Banquet' Bringing a whole new variation to the whole Groove / Thrash trend, new boys Past The Fall accentuate the genre to a whole new level with their tasty debut EP 'Beggars At The Liar's Banquet'. Armed with a plethora of riffs that builds up the suspense of each song with a feeling of total chaotic mayhem being developed, leads to a smashing sound that will as a result cause some hefty moshing. These London lads may be new on the block, but if they keep this effort up and display it on a greater level for their debut album, they could see a record label deal well within the next few years. 'Beggars At The Liar's Banquet' shines with potential and delivers a beautiful sound that will captivate a whole host of metal fans. Download This: "Injustice" For Fans of: Pantera, Alice In Chains, Metallica [8] RHYS STEVENSON KIN BENEATH CHORUS 'Futuristic Composed' SPREADING DYSPHORIA INDUSTRIES Ever rarely do you find Death Metal / Hardcore / Deathcore bands that manage to separate themselves from the plethora of cloned bands out there, let's face it without a creative mind you are doomed to become one of those clones. Kin Beneath Chorus avoid that dreaded fate by unleashing a barrage of Death Metal / Deathcore with the occasional progressive and technical element here and there in unruly fashion, by dropping the A-bomb on the Greek Metal scene, their debut album 'Futuristic Composed' brews up an apocalyptic sound that will crush anyone's soul to death and bleed their ears dry. Showing that the economical state is not impacting on this band, they do more than just smash plates, they smash your face in with a musical blast that would make any hardcore kid cry like a wuss. The message is, Kin Beneath Chorus are taking their scene to newer heights and taking themselves to the European circuit armed and ready for assault, the massacre has only just begun.... Download This: "Split-Scree" For Fans of: Ease Of Disgust, early-Bring Me The Horizon, 'Insanely brutal music' [10] RHYS STEVENSON TEODASIA
'Upwards' Making their debut album speak one more word than a fairytale story is Italian female-fronted metal band Teodasia with their luscious production 'Upwards' which binds together sexy symphonies, four melodic maestro's and a ton of epic, fantasy metal. Playing music in the combined style of Within Temptation - cross - Epica and layering it with their own twist of powerful ballads, booming musical compositions and an artwork to match the dramatics of the overall masterpiece. Delving into the finer details and you find the true passion that Italian Gothic Metal bands seem to have, and so moving into 2013 it is time for Teodasia to move 'Upwards' into the heavens, for this is the 'Symphoratic metal' (Symphonic Operatic) band the Italian Metal scene has been longing for. Download This: "Aurora" For Fans of: Within Temptation, Epica, Lacuna Coil [9] RHYS STEVENSON By GMA India Correspondent Farzand Ali Bawa Cosmic Infusion is a Symphonic Black Metal Band from Mumbai, India. One of the premier bands from India in that style of music, Cosmic Infusion was reformed early 2012 after initially being in existence from 2003 - 2007. Cosmic Infusion was formed to create a pure blend of Symphony and extreme metal music. Cosmic Infusion's live performances are an enthralling experience with their raw energy and the emotions depicted through its music. The self-titled EP is a musical journey of 5 tracks with each track having an independent storyline / concept to it. A note for all the people out there who don’t like keyboards in Metal, this release has a lot of keyboard usage! At times it even gets boring and I feel for the keyboardist who has far more workload than his band mates! Considering he does vocals too, it is a bit too much for someone in a band in my opinion! The story of this EP can be visualized in a graph, which goes up from the start reaches a maximum point and falls down drastically to again rise up to a respectable level! The first two songs are the high points! They give you clear view of how talented these guys are and the potential they possess! ‘Burial Of Thy Own’, features a beautiful use of the keyboard, accompanied with a good guitar solo and vocals which go perfectly with it. But then it comes crashing down with the song ‘Journey’, I honestly wish they had not put this on the record, simply because in a few words, it is boring. They use the keys too much and the backing vocals at times get in the way of the main vocals! But to save Cosmic Infusion the next 2 songs come to the rescue. If I was their producer I would have asked them to use the keys a lot less for their own good. As soon as you get the feeling that it’s going to feature the same boring stuff that so many other releases out there have, the drums come to the rescue accompanied with vocals that gel really well and scream at you that this is “Black Metal motherf**kers!" , at last the keys don’t take center stage at certain times. I see this band has a future ahead of them, it's just that they should lower the use of the keys and bring a bit more of a Black Metal feel to the final product. This will do just fine for them!
Cosmic Infusion is: Amnish - Guitars Nakul - Guitars Amey - Bass Guitar Sushan - Vocals and Keyboards https://www.facebook.com/CosmicInfusion Download the EP here: http://www.transcendingobscurity.com/products/1091-cosmic-infusion-self-titled-pr.aspx WINTER HAZE 'Silent Deception' UK DIVISION Last year Italian Symphonic Power Metallers Winter Haze unleashed their first ever EP 'Silent Deception' as the sucessor to their debut album 'The Storm Within', how apt is it then this year they have been going for 10 years. 'Silent Deception' carries on that much beloved sound of theirs, the majestic layering of female power metal vocals on electronic symphonic elements and adding pinches of melodies along the line, this is what Winter Haze is all about, creating a musical sound that defines their own thoughts and they have done it once again. 'Silent Deception' is an EP that should garner them more attention across the European continent, if you love angelic vocals, epic symphonies, powerful drums and guitars, then 'Silent Deception' by Winter Haze is for you. Download This: "Cross The Sea" For Fans of: Within Temptation, Epica, Nightwish [8] RHYS STEVENSON ARISE 'Don't Worry Be Happy!' + Live DVD' Japan is not usually known for Thrash Metal and so when quartet Arise make their long awaited debut the response is astounding, 'Don't Worry Be Happy!' features a plethora of tracks that explicitly demonstrates the burly ferociousness of the Japanese Thrash Metal scene. 'Don't Worry Be Happy!' delivers the classic style Thrash Metal, fast and heavily brutal and something that Slayer fans will be pissing themselves over for the foreseeable future. However for Arise they are an interesting bunch, this is a unique style of Thrash that plucks in Hardcore influences and yet does not fully reach either side, so you could call it crossover Thrash, whatever you call it the fact remains that Arise are an absolute gem. Download This: "Bitch's Trap" For Fans of: Slayer, Nuclear Assault, Agnostic Front As for the DVD, it features live footage of the band's two songs 'Life Domination' and 'No More Pain', it also features various shots and photos of the Japanese lands, the countryside, downtown Tokyo and bizarrely a rollercoaster and various shots of a car race going on a windy road through the mountains. With special effects like the photos and videos changing color intermittently, it is the perfect accompaniment to the album 'Don't Worry Be Happy!'. [8] + [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON F**KHAMMER 'Hammered To F**k' GRINDSCENE Yeah well wait for the vocalist to reach the recording studio and then the band can begin the real recording, let's face it F**khammer (asterisks are there for obvious reasons) aren't exactly anything special nor are they really going to go far, come on their style of Sludgey Crust / Death Metal is as poor as Justin Bieber belittling a tog. Their demo 'Hammered To F**k' may well have music on it, but it is no way anything good, if the lads stopped drowning themselves in the pub and actually thought about this, they would nail it. The guitars and drums are perhaps the only best thing about this release. [3.5] RHYS STEVENSON CITADEL BESIEGED 'Creation / Damnation' Last year saw the second album by Indiana's Citadel Besieged being released, 'Creation / Damnation' carries on more of the classic heavy metal the band laid out on their debut album, this time some of the songs have a much slower presence, such an example is the song 'Between The Shadows And The Dawn' where the fast pacy rhythms of a general heavy metal song become slowed down and thus adding a darker and sadder atmosphere to the affray. 'Creation / Damnation' is one of those releases that will appeal to any heavy metal fan, whether you prefer the fast pacey speed of Iron Maiden or the doom-like depressive sounds of Black Sabbath, Citadel Besieged's 'Creation / Damnation' had something for everyone. Download This: 'Between The Shadows And The Dawn' For Fans of: Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath [8] RHYS STEVENSON WINTERCOLD 'Mors Solum Inceptum Est' NIHIL INTERIT The latest album by one-man Gothic / Doom Metal project Wintercold has finally dropped, 'Mors Solum Inceptum Est' is the product of mastermind musician Satanic Tony (who also owns Salute Records), the Swedish musician has summoned once again the best of his musical abilities to unleash a blackened torrent of depression and Gothic atmospheric music. Sure 'Mors Solum Inceptum Est' is as raw as previous releases, but that adds to the whole doom effect and as the album progresses, listeners will fall further and further into the unknown as the album is intended to do. 'Mors Solum Inceptum Est' is certainly an acquired taste and is not for anyone who wants clean production, not for the faint of heart either. Download This: "The Dragon's Breath" For Fans of: Black Sabbath, Tiamat, Celtic Frost [8] RHYS STEVENSON F.O.B. 'Reap What You Sow' METALGATE There is a storm brewing over the Czech Republic and it isn't pretty either, perhaps the floods in Central Europe were down to the sheer magnitude F.O.B. exerts with their epic mix of Death / Thrash Metal and an equated balance of harsh and soft melodic vocals. In fact their 2013 album 'Reap What You Sow' should earn them international attention and possibly GMA's Czech album of the year. This is how Death / Thrash Metal should sound, technically trippy drums, machete-sharp riffs and punch-in-your-face vocals that will make you spew blood until you choke on your own bloody spit. 'Reap What You Sow' is by far one of the best albums to emerge out of the Czech Extreme Metal scene and with this effort now in the open, F.O.B. deserve nothing more than to be asked to play major European Metal festivals, let the apocalypse commence. Download This: "Missed Violence" For Fans of: HateSphere, Scarred In Beauty, Legion of The Damned [10] RHYS STEVENSON NADIR 'Exitus' Let's be honest Hungary is not a country you would associate with Deathcore, Death Metal yes, but Deathcore? Ah who cares, Nadir are a ten-legged machine of whom unleashed torrential hell with their fifth full length 'Exitus' released last year. Menacing riffs grapple the intense vocals that lead this album forward to mass apocalyptic proportions whilst the drumming serves as a warning sign to those weak hearted people that 'Exitus' is only for those that can withstand an atomic explosion of pure Hungarian Death Metal / Deathcore. For a band that has nearly been around 10 years, it's about time they exploded on the international scene and rock the apple cart of over-produced American Deathcore. Nadir are flying the flag for the Hungarian Metal scene. Download This: "Plunderers Of The Earth" For Fans of: Job For A Cowboy, Bring Me The Horizon, Unleashed, [9] RHYS STEVENSON WRATH OF FENRIR 'Wrath Of Fenrir' On the battlefields of the land down under, a tribal group paved the way for the darkness and folk bards to make their mark, that group is Wrath of Fenrir. Hailing from Western Australia, the quartet battle their way onto the scene with their war-torn variation of the already popular Black / Folk Metal. Their self-titled 2012 EP delivers what is expected of such a band, bouncy and flamboyant music and vocals during the folk sections, shifting into the bitterly cold shrieking Black Metal vocals, almost as if this band is bipolar (it happens). The great thing about this release is that one listen and you're hooked, sure it does not reach the same level as the Eastern European lot, heck it's not even in the same ball park, but it serves well as a piece of Australian Extreme Metal. Download This: "Wolfshead" For Fans of: Ancient Rites, The Furor, Winterfylleth, Arkona [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON MOSFET 'Deathlike Trash 'N' Roll' REFUSED At first listener's will be confounded to what music style Mosfet is aiming for... and by the end of the listening session they still will be confounded. After all the band's second album 'Deathlike Trash 'N' Roll' is hardly convincing enough to even reckoned as a serious metal album, all-in-jest. The truth is, the Austrian's second album seriously shifts music style too often and too quick. With that in mind, they aim for a mixture of Death / Thrash Metal with Rock 'N' Roll, unfortunately it seems they went the wrong way about it. I wouldn't say avoid it at all costs, just be wary it is a release that seems more rushed than someone running for the bus, if they got their organization right it would sound better, much better. Download This: "A Rowdy's Warfare" For Fans of: F**k knows? [5] RHYS STEVENSON TORANAGA
'Righteous Retribution' 25 years. One word: impressive. Toranga have been pillaging the countryside for the past quarter century and as they prepare to unleash their latest release 'Righteous Retribution' it is evident why. Producing the distinctive classic hard rock / heavy metal matrix that was laid out by the gods themselves, Toranaga summon up a sound that makes them stand out from the rest of the classic metal armada. However much has changed and as two new guitarists join the ranks, what could Toranaga conjure up next? Well given their upcoming album 'Righteous Retribution' carries on their chosen sound with a sharper focus and more aggressive attitude, they may as well become a band that sadly never made it, had they not signed to Chrysalis they may well be gods now, wait they are gods in their own right and so here is to another decade or so to Toranaga! For Fans of: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica 'Righteous Retribution' is out 2nd September 2013 [8] RHYS STEVENSON THE ORDER OF CHAOS 'Sexwitch' Marking their welcomed return is Canadian five-piece The Order of Chaos, with their new EP 'Sexwitch' out in the wilds of planet metal it is clear that they are carrying on with their ill-fated epic metal. Once again they layer funky Heavy Thrash Metal music with a mix of grizzly and harmonic Power Metal vocals. What sets this lot once again apart from the plethora of metal bands who play this specific style of metal is that they have elements of funk here and there, this can be experienced roughly 3/4 of the way through the song 'Victim Of Circumstance'. Now all in all if you thought Canadian syrup was a sweet and potentially sickening experience if consumed en mass, then those who cant bare it stay clear of The Order of Chaos, for this lot will give your daily dosage an acidic twang. Download This: "Victim Of Circumstance" [8] RHYS STEVENSON OVERLOAD 'Blood For Blood' Sometimes the good old ways cut it, sometimes its best to go back to basics and sometimes its meant to be a classic. These all apply to the debut album by Kentucky Thrash maniacs Overload, 'Blood For Blood' eliminates all the fancy stuff implored by modern bands and erects the classic sounds of 80's metal and rock influences from the same era, so imagine the whole classic Motorhead meets early Slayer scenario and then add in pinches of grit and burly attitude that together enable 'Blood For Blood' to be a timeless classic. Sure some will think it's the basic common Heavy / Thrash Metal that every band seems to produce, but as said they aren't in the modern vein. 'Blood For Blood' is a classic album, underground and original. Download This: "Widow's Peak" For Fans of: Motorhead, AC/DC, Slayer, Alice Cooper [8] RHYS STEVENSON BREAK THE BOUNDARIES 'Masks' It takes a lot to escape the trap of being lauded as a generic Metalcore band, something that seems to be catching a lot on these days. Once in a while you will get a band who defies that logic, this time its Break The Boundaries. The Croydon buccaneers serve up a grizzly slice of bone-crunching Metalcore that snaps in elements from different music areas, from the vocals diversifying in as far as moving from grit to clean to almost an echoing whisper, but that is just the forefront of their EP 'Masks', the backdrop is a grueling explosion of glass-shattering drums and senses-confounding riffs that merge together to wipe that silly smirk off your face. Call them what you like, call them 'just another Metalcore' band, but behind the 'Masks' are five gentlemen that bowl more balls out than you can deliver in a mosh-pit, make no mistake about it, these guys are going far. Download This: 'Masks' For Fans of: Skindred, Bring Me The Horizon, Despite My Deepest Fear, The Dead Lay Waiting [9] RHYS STEVENSON DESPERATE SPINSTERS 'Sexless Restless And Cruel' Sadly this Wisconsin lot seem to have split-up, but it is uncertain whether that is true or not, but what is true is that the sole release by Desperate Spinsters, their EP 'Sexless Restless And Cruel' is a sexy Crossover Thrash laden release that has enough anger and sounds on it to make it a party piece. Armed with a plethora of samples and erratic time signatures, this is a release that you either love it or hate it or are simply left speechless by it, I feel the latter. 'Sexless Restless And Cruel' decimates anything that is caught in the path of it's audio destruction, simply put it is a release everyone should own, it's classic, funny and 666% metal. Now where is the beer barrel... Download This: 'An Orgy Of Death Starring You & Me' For Fans of: Zimmers Hole, Strapping Young Lad, Slayer [8] RHYS STEVENSON REALITY DEFORMED 'Promo' It is always interested when the first promo or demo first sees daylight as this paves the way usually the path that the band is going to take, in Reality Deformed's case, it is not looking good. What we have here is a fairly decent attempt at Black Metal as it builds up a bleak atmosphere and bitter feel to the music, but regarding the vocals, well... listening to a cat fight in your back garden is more entertaining, seriously if the duo from The Netherlands want to improve, then the vocals need to have more presence, be more sharp, be more noticed than being smothered by the excessive guitar playing. Other than that, the drums are probably the only best thing about this release, but given credit it could have been a lot, lot, worse. [4.5] RHYS STEVENSON THEOPSYA 'Tales Of An Angel' A classic case of beauty and the beast right here, well you can say that, but the honorable truth is that Theopsya, France's angelic symphonic Gothic / power metal group emit such a delicate sound on their debut EP 'Tales Of An Angel' released 2 years ago, that they could easily be dubbed as the 'product of merging Nightwish with Within Temptation'. 'Tales Of An Angel' features a whole host of songs that carry such darkened emotions and Gothic beauty that resulted in Toulouse being splattered by black paint as to match the feeling this release delivers. With the sensational vocals being matched by a virtuoso-like performance on the guitars and a solid drumming backdrop finalizing the phenomenal atmosphere developed, Theopsya may be a hidden gem that deserves a lot of attention. Download This: "Blood & Sand" For Fans of: Nightwish (Tarja era), Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, Macbeth [8] RHYS STEVENSON BLACK DEMON 'Demons of War, Demons of Darkness' There are times where one thinks, just because you can play an instrument or sing, does not mean you are good enough to be in a metal band, this is somewhat the case for Black Demon, in particular their 2012 demo 'Demons of War, Demons of Darkness', the guitars are solid and the drums perfect, the vocals are left to be desired, they are far from the clean crispness you would expect from the Heavy Metal genre, in fact the vocals are so gritty, tarmac companies could use them to make new roads. It has nothing to do with the Spanish accent, the vocals are just awful. Just imagine you are listening to an instrumental if you come across the demo, it is the best option for you. Download This: "Hell of Steel" [5.5] RHYS STEVENSON RED DESCENDING 'Kingdoms' + 'Burned To Death DVD' Ten years down the line and Australian Melodic Death mob Red Descending are still going strong, firing on all cylinders and showing great sharp determination to make themselves stand out, this is evident on their latest album release 'Kingdoms' which dropped 2 years ago, featuring low-tune drums and bitterly sharp riffs that sit nicely in the background whilst in the forefront, the vocals let rip on a magnitude frequency that was reported to have shook the entire city of Perth to their knees. 'Kingdoms' is a harmonious piece of music that will garner attention from across the land and sea, sadly though it needs to be pushed out more and with that in mind, the true voice of Australian Melodic Death metal has spoken through a mixture of angelic female vocals and gritty male vocals. For their supporting DVD 'Burned To Death' which was released last year, features footage from their 'Kingdoms' CD launch back on 19th Auugust 2011 and also a video clip of the song 'Burned To Death' which was filmed 4 months later in December. From what can be seen, the live footage shows a burgeoning crowd in a relatively small venue but with various shots of the band at different angles and an entertained crowd, the mood was visually powerful and emphatic. But like most live footage, you would have to be there to experience the sheer beauty and power behind the live performance. With the occasional mosh-pit ensuing at every haphazard riff, it was clear that the band had the crowd going throughout the night. [7.5] + [8] RHYS STEVENSON DARK VISION 'Ingrowth' 2012 marked the hallowed return of Greece's very own Black / Death lords Dark Vision, coveted in darkened misery and eternal furious anger, their latest EP 'Ingrowth' produces a sound that will kick your teeth in, so much so you wish weren't born. Soul crushing vocals smash your brain apart like wearing away rock from acid rain, whilst the riffs and solemn drumming finish you off bit by bit. 'Ingrowth' is a release not for the faint of heart, nor for the pathetic weak either. That means, if you listen to soft metal bands, this is toxic poison to you, this release is only for the true believes of the dark side of metal, end of. Download This: "Pain Redirected" [8] RHYS STEVENSON HAEMIC
'Fields of Sanguine' At times international projects work, at others they don't, but what is unique about this quartet who hail from the USA, Hungary and Taiwan respectively is that they have never met and yet have the expertise to deliver the album 'Fields of Sanguine', a futile explosion of symphonic elements that caress the grim sounds of Black Metal and Death Metal in such a way that it makes it all coalesce into indescribable noise. If you're into your extreme metal and love a whole plethora of metal elements coming together from various aspects of the metal genre, then Haemic's 'Fields of Sanguine' is for you, think Cradle of Filth mixed with Dimmu Borgir and Strapping Young Lad. You get the idea. Download This: "Stellar Meltdown" For Fans of: Dimmu Borgir, Strapping Young Lad, Shade Empire, Cradle of Filth [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON PANZERCHRIST 'The 7th Offensive' LISTENABLE It's always great to celebrate a landmark year and as Denmark's most notable extreme metal sons Panzerchrist make their twentieth year of existence, their seventh album is finally dawning. 'The 7th Offensive' carries on much of the war theme the four-piece have adopted ever since their inception and packs a more powerful punch than ever before, excruciatingly painful double bass drumming sets the intonation for what could be regarded as the most brutally tantalizing music you'll ever hear in 2013. What with Denmark recently winning the Eurovision Song Contest, could this really be the year of Danish music success? 'The 7th Offensive' is armed and primed to unleash a full out assault on the European battlefields, just like a Leopard II in full combat Panzerchrist will blow minds apart with this ferocious musical masterpiece. 'The 7th Offensive' is out 15th July (Europe) and 13th August (North America) via Listenable Records For fans of: Marduk, Cannibal Corpse and Bolt Thrower [8] RHYS STEVENSON NEMESIS 'Genocidal Battlefield' THORN MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT 2012 marked the debut album release of Nemesis, the Indonesian Melodic Death Metal / metalcore leviathan simmers machine-gun like drumming in sensational fashion and as 'Genocidal Battlefield' spews out sounds that fans of The Dead Lay Waiting and The Black Dahlia Murder will love. Pulsating drumming sets the course for this album to wreak total havoc and spark off some mosh-pits. Forget Indonesian Thrash Metal, Nemesis promise to take you on a journey that will be more powerful than any tsunami the island chain nation has ever encountered. As 'Genocidal Battlefield' paves the way for them to unleash another bout of metallic hell, could this be the best Melodic Death / Metalcore act to emerge out of South-East Asia? Download This: "End Of Breath" [8] RHYS STEVENSON BATTLE BEAST 'Battle Beast' WARNER MUSIC FINLAND / NUCLEAR BLAST Uprising from the darkest streets of Helsinki is Finnish sextet Battle Beast with their self-titled debut album from which features everything expected from a Heavy Metal band, heavenly vocals that come from the combination of powerful male and gritty female vocals, whilst the continuous epic riffs that wallow in the background along with the sincere drumming, keeps the listener on their toes and ultimately mixes to form a sound that even Lordi could not muster. 'Battle Beast' is not your average Heavy Metal album, it takes the whole Metal scene to a higher level and poises them as the natural rival to Canada's Kobra & The Lotus, whether you like ballsy metal or not this six-piece have enough power to ice up your eyes and slice your ears with a hailstorm of Finnish produced icicles, let the next onslaught commence. Download This: "Fight, Kill, Die" [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON FEEDBACK 'A Moment Of Transition' Considered perhaps the first ever metal band from Mauritius, Feedback employ a no-nonsense style of Progressive Metal / Rock that casts an explosive infusion of catchy riffs, unassailable vocals and an atmosphere that would inspire many, after all their debut album 'A Moment Of Transition' released three years ago carries a charismatic sound to it that makes some European bands look bad. Twelve songs equating to a generous total of one hour to listen to should keep Prog lovers gasping for more, in fact 'A Moment Of Transition' harmonizes the said genre and with their own unique twist, Feedback are firming themselves up to fly the flag for the Mauritian Metal scene. Download This: "Cursed" [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON ANOMALLY 'While The Gods Sleep' The Azores is not usually considered a hotspot for metal music, but when bands like Anomally let rip and release their majestic sound of Death / Thrash Metal with the elegance and visual image of the Gothic metal style, the result is outstanding. 2012 fell victim to the band's premier EP 'While The Gods Sleep', spewing out a free-flowing ambiance of guttural vocals that are harsh enough to make you scratch yourself. If 'While The Gods Sleep' was a footballer it would be Cristiano Ronaldo, full of guitar trickery, vocal projection and percussive explosive compositions that no one would save themselves from. Overall, whilst 'While The Gods Sleep' is a damn decent release, it is nothing new as such but still offers metal fans a tasty musical treat. Download This: "Controlled By Oppression" [7] RHYS STEVENSON LITVINTROLL 'Czornaja Panna' From the far eastern side of the European continent, a battle cry emits with such a high frequency the next door neighbors start to dance along to it. This battle cry is in the form of 'Czornaja Panna', the sophomore album by Belarus' Litvintroll. What comes with this sound is a rather odd mix of Scottish bagpipes, fluid Folk Metal percussion and the ethnic sounds of the band's mother tongue. However despite the originality and complete adhesion to the traditional melodies and sounds of their folk music garden, Litvintroll are an unsung band in that they are not as well known as they should be. This is proven on 'Czornaja Panna' as it draws stark similarities with bands like Arkona and the like. Ultimately for those who love their Eastern European metal, 'Czornaja Panna' is one release that should be in your collection, it captures the very essence of what makes Belarusian Folk Metal that little bit extra special. Download This: "Kryzak (Piesnia Pra Troliau II" [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON BONERIDE 'Weight Of Water' Making their next bold move once again is Boneride, the Finnish Heavy Metal quartet that celebrates their fifth anniversary this year. The lads have crafted their latest demo entitled 'Weight Of Water' and it features more of the classic sound produced on it's predecessor 'Arms of Mercy', sure the sound is not exactly new nor is it different, but it is still pleasurable to listen to, no fancy stuff just pure classic heavy metal. 'Weight Of Water' delivers three tracks that are at different speeds, but the same level of technicality, aggression and musicianship. In fact, this release may yet prove to be the best the band could ever muster. Download This: "Great Unknown" [7] RHYS STEVENSON MINSTREL 'Departure For Daydream Orbit' The Far East has always been a breeding ground for metal bands to experiment around with different music styles and elements, but never has melodic metal been infused on top of symphonic power metal in such a way that it eclipses bands like Sonata Arctica and Nightwish of whom fans of said bands will love. Unleashing their debut album is Taiwan's Minstrel and as the haphazardous elements fall into place, the overall impression is that this lot defy the rule of metal and create a sound that is remarkably hard to pin down. 'Departure For Daydream Orbit' ticks all the boxes as a breath of fresh air but whether that air is going to maintain it's freshness is a question worth asking oneself, all in all this album is for the eccentric metal fans, experience a bilingual release that flits between Asian and European power metal, just don't bank on the latter to pay attention to this four-piece. Download This: "Secret Time" [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON DRILLER 'All Shall Burn' Making their full blown debut album come to life is Polish Thrash maniacs Driller, it is not their first release but instead it is their first major release. 'All Shall Burn' blasts craters in the earth as it purges out a fluid explosion of fast and furious Thrash with the grit and dirt of Grindcore acting as a formidable backdrop. Fueled by the unrelenting surge of power from the drums, guitars and vocals, the album grills the senses until the anger inside builds up so much that you want to spit it out at anything living, including yourself! Think along the lines of the ferocity demonstrated on Slayer's 'Angel of Death' and you then get a clearer idea and feeling of what this band is really about. As for 'All Shall Burn', simply put it is an essential album for those who love a massive adrenalin rush and a heaving moshpit at the same time. Download This: "Drill & Blast" [9] RHYS STEVENSON DRAGONLANCE
'Holy Blood' Eleven years ago and the Japanese Power Metal force of Dragonlance emerged from the abyss, sweltering the land of the rising sun with their infectious riffs and audacious attitude towards metal music, that in turn spewed out their premier demo 'Holy Blood', an adventurous journey that is only marred by sadly the basic standards of Power Metal. For sure the two track release is only a snippet of what the band aimed to do in the recent decade or so, but as for the starting point 'Holy Blood' is a debatable release in terms of whether it actually is a respectable attempt or not, but as stated they have an audacious attitude towards metal music, it just not shows entirely on this release. What will their later releases deliver? Reprisal or a depressing downhill slalom? Download This: "Holy Blood" [6] RHYS STEVENSON WAGARS 'Wagars' P3LICAN The debut EP by Wagars has finally dropped, the self-titled release by the Latvian Black Metal / Crust Punkers delivers a whole new meaning to the term extreme metal. Chunky bass lines linking up with harmonious riffs and savage vocals that makes Skyforger sound bad. 'Wagars' spews out sensational music and lyrics that are evil enough to make you wet your pants, enough to make Latvian Metal even darker and more so power this lot forward to greater things. Furious drumming commands the direction of this release as it rips through the skin of the week and inserts a hypodermic needle of extreme metal into the veins of the unwary, 'Wagars' may well yet prove to be Latvian Metal release of the year as well as Latvian newcomer of the year. Download This: "Velnezers" [8] RHYS STEVENSON LOGICAL TERROR 'Almost Human' REALITY ENTERTAINMENT In times of late there seems to be a flourish of electronic metal bands and projects on the European circuit and Italy's Logical Terror is no exception. Bolting on Thrash Metal to synthesizers and industrial elements, the sextet emboss the atmosphere in an artificial feeling, that one of cybernetics and beloved modern metal. 'Almost Human' is the debut album by these technical architectural musicians and wallows in the shadows of bands like Breach The Void, Xe-None, Sybreed, Mnemic, the list goes on. But what separates this fashionable lot from the myriad of upsurging modern metal bands is there carefully constructed sound that stands out as their own unique identity, furthermore Logical Terror are sure to conquer Europe very soon with their catchy smooth and aggressive songs as well as proving themselves to be poised as a band to watch in 2013. Download This: "Self Extinction" [9] RHYS STEVENSON THE CONFLICT WITHIN 'The Conflict Within Sampler' Here is a collection of old and new tracks released by Suffolk's The Conflict Within, spewing out a free-flowing sound of Metalcore underbelly and lashings of Thrash and Groove elements along the way, this really shows how well the band has progressed over the past few years. 'Breathe Again' has enough groove elements in there to resonate similarities with American titans Lamb of God. The lads have certainly improved their sound evidently on this free release that is available at shows. 'The Conflict Within Sampler' is as close to as a true gritty metal release from Suffolk as close as you might be getting drunk from a vat of adnams cider. Download This: "To Hell & Back" [8] RHYS STEVENSON THE DEAD LAY WAITING 'Ascent Of The Murder' Overcoming the death of their former label Rising Records, Swindon's black crows known as The Dead Lay Waiting picked up the pieces and used the shrapnel to develop their new EP 'Ascent Of The Murder', a face-melting apocalypse that carries the infamous signature sound of technically melodic metal forward once again. The first track of the release 'The Dream Is Over' delivers a slow guitar build up before unleashing hell through electronics and technical metal, coalescing into a rapid melodic wall of sound that sets the tune for the rest of the song, with added brutal vocal sections here and there, the song fades nicely for their single 'Roses Are Grey' to be initiated, which effectively is a subtly crafted melodic metal song that fades out halfway through for it to fade in again with Luke's explosive growls and Ben's sensational backing vocals, leading to 'Cyrus' to come into focus as being the softer song on the EP and perhaps the more simpler of the lot until 'Blinding Preacher' comes to close the EP up in apocalyptic fashion, this is without a doubt the most technically melodic song on the EP (it even leans to djent style riffing in places) and is sure to cement as the band's new sound, in fact reverting back to 'Roses Are Grey', the single provides more of Luke's high-pitch shrieking, Ben's high-pitch backing vocals and that is just the skin of this EP, the heart lies within the guest appearances by Katy Jackson (The Hype Theory), Liam Kavanagh (Burials) and Sam Ryder (Blessed By A Broken Heart & The Morning After), but also the evident infusion of Ben and Steve's technical guitar skills, Tom's unrelenting drum pulsations, Luke's commanding vocals and Sam's bass playing that is as deep as the Atlantic ocean, altogether combining as one sums up the blueprints for the future and the as the 'Ascent Of The Murder' kills of another thousand crows, The Dead Lay Waiting, waiting for all. 'Ascent Of The Murder' is out 13th May as an independent release [9] RHYS STEVENSON KING HISS 'Snakeskin' Stoner Metal is not as a well popular genre as it used to be, even so when band's like King Hiss make a noise you know that they know what they are on about. Take their debut EP 'Snakeskin' and you'll realize they are the real deal, somewhat on par with bands like Fu Manchu and the like. The fact being King Hiss are one of those bands that you either love them or you hate them, but you love them for doing what they want and keeping the Stoner Metal style alive with dignity still intact. 'Snakeskin' is best enjoyed whilst sipping a tipple of whiskey or any other spirit as the happy vocals take you into a deep trance for the music itself, comprising of bouncy riffs and drum beats, to knock you out cold for a whole half an hours worth. Download This: "Snakeskin" [7] RHYS STEVENSON ABNORMAL THOUGHT PATTERNS 'Manipulation Under Anesthesia' LIFEFORCE It's always a revelation when a group of musicians drop the vocal duties and instead opt for instrumental music, no wonder when Lifeforce Records snapped up this American trio that they instantly set time aside to create their debut album 'Manipulation Under Anesthesia', a twisted mix of progressive instrumental elements with additional sensational shredding that is guaranteed to leave listeners spellbound, twisting and turning every second into what could be perceived as complex harmonics; especially with the guitar playing on 'Calculating Patterns'. Molding the trickery mastered by bands like Dream Theater onto their very own unique style of music, Abnormal Thought Patterns could easily develop sounds for any upcoming Hollywood blockbuster. Word, they are sure to emerge valiantly across the globe as one of the most exciting fresh talents from the States in 2013 and with 'Manipulation Under Anesthesia' already pinned down, what the trio will do next is surely going to be brimming sheer brilliance. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON For fans of: Animals as Leaders, Dream Theater, Death, Trioscapes 'Manipulation Under Anesthesia' is out 14th June, 2013 (G/A/S, Finland), 17th June , 2013 (Europe) and 25th June, 2013 (North America) via Lifeforce Records ABOVE THIS BURNING SKY 'Rise From This' Pennsylvanian Metalcore mob Above This Burning Sky make a lasting impression on their premier EP 'Rise From This', the band delivers a full on face-mauling musical grit storm that splits your brain in two. Formed two years ago, the five lads have conjured up a sound that is sure to garner them attention from across the Atlantic. 'Rise From This' radiates similarities to bands like Hatebreed and Killswitch Engage, that no-nonsense classic Metalcore that cracks skulls open with one riff and completely destroys anyone's senses. It will be tough for this American lot to explode out of their home nation, but with their debut album looming, this lot will almost certainly score some deserved attention and as 'Rise From This' proves, they are not your average Metalcore band either. Above This Burning Sky are putting the 'metal' back into Metalcore, posers be warned, here comes the real deal. Download This: "Impalist" [8] RHYS STEVENSON ZATREON 'Shemhamphorae' SALUTE The sophomore album by Egyptian Symphonic Black Metal maestro's Zatreon has finally dropped, this time the band opt to sing about the Hebrew term 'Shemhampforash' from which is an irony in itself as Hebrew belongs to Judaism and Egypt is an Islamic nation, but the music does the talking not the religion. 'Shemhamphorae' delivers more of the fabled extreme metal that Zatreon laid out in their debut album 'Ice Maiden', however the new album is far more tidier, more extreme and more attached to the music they chose to play. Delivering shrieking vocals that would make the ancient Pharoah's salute in gratification and the deliverance of music that sends tidal waves up the Nile into the Mediterranean. Simply put Zatreon are back with a greater improved sound and are sure to become Egypt's next biggest metal exports. Download This: "Majestic Horns" [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON IN MY RESTLESS DREAMS 'Bury The Past' It's not easy emerging out of a scene or an area that is dogged by the same music genre, or at the very least a music genre that controls a huge portion of the music industry, but as Post-Hardcore / Metalcore masochists In My Restless Dreams spurge out their fresh EP 'Bury The Past', the tantalizing sense that they are sure to make waves in the year ahead becomes even more completely apparent. Fusing together Teutonic vocals on a fuselage of titanium-solid drumming and slick riffs that course through this EP together like a heat-seeking missile, it is evident that this five-piece tour - de - force are stronger than Sheffield steel and are sure to leave a lasting impression on the posers that scatter across the British landscape, 'Bury The Past' and focus on the future, the future of British Post-Hardcore / Metalcore. Download This: "The Hollow" [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON SUPER MASSIVE BLACK HOLES
'2012 EP' Somewhat a toned down version of Psyopus, Canadian troopers Super Massive Black Holes are enough to confound anyone, for example their '2012 EP' lashes solid proggy Death Metal with jazz elements, but in a uniquely crafted way. Named after the Muse song, it is at times questionable if the band were 100% serious on this release because at times, there are some let downs that Justin Bieber would aptly fill in for. However, the progressive and jazz side to the EP does work well, it's the vocals that lack any real oomph; perhaps for some a translator might be needed. Ok maybe the production is not helping, but even still if you were to turn it up, your speakers might as well blow up from the failing attempt of delivering musical satisfaction. Sad to say it's back to the drawing board for this one. [5.5] |
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