 THICKET 'Tides Of Pestilence' INDEPENDENT Drawing your attention away from Disneyland and into the realm of the sun-baked streets of Orlando, Floridian Groove Thrashers Thicket mean no harm when unleashing their third EP 'Tides Of Pestilence'... just the average bloodshed is to be expected. Laden with enough potency to spark off a mass brawl at your local venue, 'Tides Of Pestilence' comes loaded with radiant riffs, gritty vocals and unrelenting drumming. As prickly and sharp as their moniker suggests, this fearsome Floridian foursome are one of the latest hidden gems to be unearthed and thrust into the limelight, if you like your metal to be down and dirty then Thicket are your band. Download This: "Unleash The Beast" - Click to listen For Fans of: Slayer, Municipal Waste, Ektomorf [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  HEISENBERG 'The Empire Business' AMPUTATED VEIN There are bands who will indulge and in film and TV culture, for example the Ned Flanders Metal band Okilly Dokilly and Star Wars metal band Galactic Empire, however, with one of New York's latest and hottest properties you would only have to realise that you're not in danger and that they "are" the danger. If this does not trigger any brain cells to click, then perhaps when you hear this trio's new EP 'The Empire Business', you would have to prepare yourselves for they are the guys who knock hard. Enter Heisenberg, the Breaking Bad addicts armed with more meth than Jesse could muster and more brutality than Gus Fring's death, by bolting the Brutal Death Metal and Hardcore genres together this leviathan of insanity conjure up a release that's sure to get social media buzzing (literally). Download This: "No Lives Matter" - Click to listen For Fans of: early-Whitechapel, Suffocation, Prostitute Disfigurement [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  VINTERSEA 'The Gravity Of Fall' INDEPENDENT Despite how Nordic their name sounds, Vintersea hail from the Pacific state of Oregon and they come armed with a sound that is sure to get record label antennae twitching. Formed from the ashes of their previous moniker Asterion, this quintet replaced their ex-bassist with Duncan McCue and with this line-up are certainly solid throughout the entirety of their debut album 'The Gravity Of Fall'. By constructing a sound that consists of a finely balanced mix of Progressive and Melodic Death Metal, this is a strong step towards international exposure. Don't let their vocalist fool you, she is no angel when it comes to her death growls; echoing comparisons with the likes of Angela Gossow. Vintersea as a whole are a band to watch, they are sure to go far. Download This: "Skies Set Ablaze" - Click to listen For Fans of: The Agonist, Arch Enemy, Scar Symmetry [8] RHYS STEVENSON  ENDLIGHT 'Darker Than Dreams' INDEPENDENT Endlight are not your run of the mill Symphonic Metal band, not by a mile. The Colorado outfit amass a myriad of elements that entwine into something rather sonically captivating, that it is simply hard to switch the music off. 'Darker Than Dreams' is this sextet's first EP and it follows off the heels of their debut album 'The Treacherous Fall', since then they've a change in both the male and female vocal duties and so thus providing a fresh take on Endlight's direction. For those with enough spare time on their hands, their three-track EP is worth the listen even though two tracks last out for around eight minutes. By using the flute as the backdrop for the Folk Metal side and traditional metal instruments for the Melodic Death Metal side, Endlight look set to develop their own sound. Download This: "Frost On The Wind" - Click to listen For Fans of: Eluveitie, Scar Symmetry, Wintersun [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  IRRA'S ONE 'Breaking Out' INDEPENDENT Another interesting outfit to emerge out of the Sunshine state aka Florida, Irra's One have dropped their debut EP 'Breaking Out' with an interesting take on Thrash Metal by using that metal style as a foundation and bringing in Hardcore influences to add some extra beef to their already bullish sound. Clean and mauling vocals lead the charge whilst the crackling riffs and distant drums add rumbles of thunder as this quartet produces a release that spits fire and demands attention at all costs. They might have only just started out, but if they can refine the production, bring more emphasis to the drums and guitars, then we could have a really exciting export on our hands. Download This: "Shipwrecked" - Click to listen For Fans of: Hatebreed, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies [7] RHYS STEVENSON  DARK HAVEN 'Dark Haven' INDEPENDENT Melodic Death metal comes in more shades than 50 shades of black, sometimes erotic but at the best of times the genre is binding and constricts your senses with expert precision. So when bands like Dark Haven dabble in this fragile of genres, they use the core embodiment to their advantage and sprinkle elements of Modern Metal, Metalcore and a dash of Thrash Metal, carving out a sound that will appeal to a wide range of metalheads. 'Dark Haven' is the band's second album and comes out after seven years since their debut, it might well be a long time but it's truly worth the wait. Echoing the early days of In Flames and having dollops of The Haunted and Mnemic in their locker, Dark Haven are that shadowy band lurking in the depths of down-town California. Download This: "The Seven Gods" - Click to listen For Fans of: early-In Flames, Omnium Gatherum, The Haunted [8] RHYS STEVENSON  AT REST 'The Perversion Of Morality' INDEPENDENT It's nice for once to hear a Deathcore band that isn't all about how br00tal they can sound and how many breakdowns they can fit in between verses. New Jersey's At Rest certainly echo the early days of The Black Dahlia Murder and employ a Melodic Death Metal overtone to coat their gruelling style of masochistic Deathcore. Seeming to have made a comeback from the grave, this trio (presumably was quintet) have dusted themselves off and have delivered a polished jewel that certainly packs a punch. What is missing here and could add a haunting feeling is a keyboardist, especially during the breakdowns and interludes in the songs themselves. Other than that this is a solid EP that should not be taken lightly at all. Download This: "Undressed For Death" - Click to listen For Fans of: Born Of Osiris, The Black Dahlia Murder, Veil Of Maya [8] RHYS STEVENSON  DREAMING DEAD 'Funeral Twilight' HAMMERHEART Gloominess and horrors aside, Dreaming Dead are coming for your souls with their devilishly epic new album 'Funeral Twilight' which sees the Californian quartet mash together element of Black Metal with a solidified Melodic Death Metal base. Through the barbaric nature of their sound and the viciousness of their lead vocalist Elizabeth Schall, Dreaming Dead are treading on new territory as we know it and with this effort it was evidently clear as to why they were snapped up by Hammerheart. If you think you know Melodic Death Metal, then you've not done your homework for this outfit defy all what you would expect and instead re-write the rulebook, heck what bloody rulebook? 'Funeral Twilight' is not for the faint of heart, but is for those who love the darker side of metal. Download This: "No Masters, No Slaves" - Click to listen For Fans of: Once Human, Arch Enemy (Gossow-era), The Agonist (Gluz-era) [8] RHYS STEVENSON  HANAL PIXAN 'U k'aayo'ob K'ujo'ob' INDEPENDENT Whenever a band sings about their culture or sings in their own native language or an indigenous language, there is a sense of uniqueness surrounding the band's music output. Belizean Black / Doom Metallers Hanal Pixan are no exception, they sing in the local Yucatec Maya language of which descends from the Ancient Maya civilization and is spoken in the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize. The trio's debut album 'U k'aayo'ob K'ujo'ob' sounds like a tribal ritual of the bestial nature, and the language sits well with the extremity of Black Metal, there's no beleaguering shrieking vocals nor any desire to play as fast as possible. In fact it could be said that Hanal Pixan are leading the Belizean Metal scene to newer heights with their pioneering sound of Mayan Metal. Download This: "Máasewal" - Click here to listen For Fans of: Mayhem, Vale Of Amonition, Bestial Black Metal. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  PESTIFER
'Execration Diatribes' LAVADOME PRODS. Menacing at every second, that is how Death Metal should be right? Not exactly, you see Portugal's Pestifer do more than just unleash a brutalising splattering of Death Metal, they drive it through your pitiful brain and deep into your thalamus rendering your muscular self completely useless... well they do say Death Metal is not for the weak (just ask Suffocation). Anyway 'Execration Diatribes' is the long-awaited debut album by this trio and comes eight years after their well-received premier demo 'Brutal Eruption of Chaos'. It's laden from beginning to end with seismic drums, horrifically-executed vocals and bludgeoning riffs, leaving the listener in complete suspense and trying to understand what the hell has just ripped their cranial structure apart... gee it's heavy stuff all right. Download This: "Dark Dimensions" For Fans of: Acrania, Unleashed, Modern Death Metal. [8] RHYS STEVENSON
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 YGGDRASSIL 'All Shall Burn' ART GATES It's true that the Vikings did land in Spain, so this is perhaps where Yggdrassil get their inspiration from as a band... although the thought of a Norseman eating paella is quite an amusing one, jokes aside this Spanish quintet are perfectly able to slap down their own branded form of Melodic Death Metal with Viking (of course) influences in tow. 5 years down the line and their debut album 'All Shall Burn' is born, what comes with it is a ferocious onslaught of fast-paced metal flirting with less pacey metal; a generous mixture of songs leaning towards both sides of the Melodic Death Metal sound. It is this effort that will certainly gain them some credible attention from the masses, thankfully they've avoided becoming Amon Amarth version 2. Download This: "The Horde Above All" - click to listen For Fans of: Amon Amarth, Scar Symmetry, Skálmöld [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  AS LIONS 'Selfish Age' BETTER NOISE Nothing says British than a reference to patriotism, well it's certain that these lions roar and they do so with such a ferocious feel to their music that it echoes the anthemic beats of Queen, metallic heaviness of Bullet For My Valentine and modern feel of Avenged Sevenfold. As Lions burst out of the ashes laid down by former moniker Rise To Remain and with the transition unleash a highly promising metal-cross-rock EP called 'Selfish Age'; what Dickinson manages to do, Worsnop didn't. They've clearly done their homework with this effort because it ticks all the boxes that metal and rock fans would want, a record worth opening the pit up for. As Lions are the modern Iron Maiden and join the likes of Asking Alexandria, BFMV and BMTH as leaders of the modern wave of British Metal. Download This: "The Suffering" For Fans of: Avenged Sevenfold, 5FDP, BFMV [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  CROSSBONES 'WWIII' NADIR MUSIC When you come to think of Albania, you're thoughts turn to the double-headed black eagle, the Balkan history and it's Mediterranean climate and yet in-between all of that is a small, vibrant metal scene spurred on by veterans such as Crossbones. This quartet are one of the earliest pioneers of the Albanian Metal scene and have just dropped their second album 'WWIII', exactly two decades after their debut album 'Days Of Rage'. Their effortless grinding together of Heavy Metal rhythms and Thrash Metal aggression remain unchallenged throughout and provide a delightful listen in it's wake, it's an honourable milestone for their national scene and is one that gives them automatic right to be flying the flag for the Albanian Metal scene. Download This: "Gjallë" For Fans of: Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath [8] RHYS STEVENSON  BEHEADED 'Beast Incarnate' UNIQUE LEADER Brutal Death Metal with Technical Metal elements dotted around, yup this is Beheaded as you would expect them. They have not lost their magic touch despite the five-year gap between their new album 'Beast Incarnate' and their fourth album 'Never to Dawn', in fact you might need some life insurance instated before indulging in this face-f*cking slab of fortified metallic cranial pulverisation. Whilst the vocals might not be as prominent as the music itself, the raw feeling certainly adds to the dynamics presented herewith... 'Beast Incarnate' is like an orgy gone insane, seriously you're sex would be spiced up when screwing to the sounds emanating from this beast-of-an-album. Prepare for the ultimate anal penetration. Download This: "Crossing The House Of Knives" For fans of: Suffocation, Prostitute Disfigurement, Gorguts [8] RHYS STEVENSON  DAEDRIC TALES 'The Divine Menace' INDEPENDENT Taking their lyrical influence from the 'Elder Scroll' game series one begins to ponder why they decided to go down that chosen path, but when mixed with Symphonic Power Metal it makes more sense to indulge in the fantasy world. Austria's Daedric Tales are no newcomers to the scene despite 'The Divine Menace' being their debut album, they've been beating around the Alps for nearly a decade and yet this effort presented is a delightful one. Despite all their efforts, this album will probably become ignored by the labels as it lacks that final piece to make it an album that would leave people gob-smacked, despite this though the album is a decent piece of musicianship that should appeal to many metal fans worldwide. Download This: "Planes Of Oblivion" For Fans of: Epica, Edenbridge, Amberian Dawn [8] RHYS STEVENSON  ANALEPSY 'Atrocities From Beyond' VOMIT YOUR SHIRT | RISING NEMESIS This is what you would call filthy-rotten Brutal Death Metal, the kind that would grapple hold of your bollocks and crush them to death by means of corkscrew castration. Sure to the unintelligible the vocals are prime pig squeals and low-fi guttural emittance, but behind the gut-wrenching vocals lies a pulverising mixture of unrelenting drums, barbaric riffs and overall loudness designed to keep your neighbours sweating in their sleep. 'Atrocities From Beyond' is the Portuguese quartet's second album and it's destined to be one of the heaviest metal releases of 2017, it's so metal it cannot be unleashed on the festival circuit without prior warning. Download This: "Ferocious Aftermath" - Click to listen For Fans of: Obituary, Nile, Suffocation [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  SILENT KNIGHT 'The Angel Reborn' INDEPENDENT Built in the style of German Power Metal, Australia's Silent Knight opt for practicality over technicality which (let's be honest) at times can become too much to comprehend and thus sometimes its good to break it down to basics and that's what Silent Knight do... good ol' fashioned Heavy / Power Metal. Dropping their latest EP 'The Angel Reborn', this ensemble from down under create music in the vein of Helloween and give it a dosing of Maiden-esque atmospherics, leaving the EP to enthral whomever listens to it. Silent Knight are perhaps a gem from down under yet to be discovered by the global masses, but damn they do deserve some form of attention - this EP cannot go unnoticed. Download This: "The Ravens Return (Live)" - Click to listen For Fans of: Helloween, Iron Maiden, Rage [8] RHYS STEVENSON  HEAVENLESS 'Whocantbenamed' INDEPENDENT Brazil has a long history of extreme metal, but never has one heard a band quite like Heavenless who seem to want to strap together Deathcore elements with Death / Thrash Metal, weird right? Not as odd as their debut album title mind, if 'Whocantbenamed' is a subtle reference to Voldemort from Harry Potter then I'd love to see how they manage to perform their magic in front of the muggles. Either way the vocals are brutal but unrecognisable and yet that has a degrading effect on the album, the overall release is a decent one. Crunchy riffs lead the charge whilst the thunderous drums and thick bass supplement the onslaught perfectly, what more could you want? A Quidditch match? on your broom. Download This: "Soothsayer" - Click to listen For Fans of: Sepultura (early), Deathchain, Whitechapel [7] RHYS STEVENSON  AETERNAM 'Ruins Of Empires' INDEPENDENT If truth be told, Aeternam are the bastard sons of Scarab (Egypt) and Myrath (Tunisia), by mixing together the brutality of Death Metal with the Arabic influences in the Symphonic and Folk Metal forms, this Moroccan-Canadian unit are priming themselves to become a force to be reckoned with. Their third album 'Ruins Of Empires' could be seen as the crusader soundtrack of the metal world, spewing out hatred against those who turn on each other for the sake of religion. Ultimately this album is enough to give this band fullest attention from all corners of planet metal. As for the Canadian Metal scene, well, this album will need something extra-special to surpass this album, because to be quite frank it's hard to see anything bettering this for sometime. Download This: "Fallen Is The Simulacrum Of Bel" - Click to listen For Fans of: Nervecell, Scarab, Myrath, Divine Disorder [9] RHYS STEVENSON  DEGOTTEN
'Hexentrost' BLACKSTORM 666 Chile has a sparkling history when it comes to Extreme Metal as it's metal scene is laden with it throughout the years, one of it's latest editions Degotten are determined to carry on the legacy through their debut album 'Hexentrost'. This four-piece leviathan spew out Black / Thrash Metal in a grim but pacey form and thus deliver a neck-breaking, raucous onslaught of raw riffs, battering drums and vicious vocals. For those who drool over the underground extreme metal sounds, this is for you as the album is a non-stop roller-coaster of Blackened Thrash and Thrashed-up Black Metal; it takes two. Whilst it might not be groundbreaking by any means, it certainly will have listeners glued for a considerable amount of time. Download This: "Oath Of War" - Click to listen For Fans of: Toxic Holocaust, Skeletonwitch, Aura Noir [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON |
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May 2021
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