 METAL 'Proving Our Mettle' You have to admit that the old ways are sometimes the best ways, well Australia's rather aptly named Metal seem to think so when delivering their debut album, with a tongue-in-cheek title of 'Proving Our Mettle' and that is exactly what they have achieved. Smoldering Heavy / Power Metal surges like an electrical storm across this album as if they were running on Duracell batteries. Fixating on that classic Iron Maiden Heavy Metal sound that provides a solid backdrop, the quartet smother it with Power Metal elements, through the use of intricate riffs, 'squeezed balls' vocals and oomph and gusto in tow, 'Proving Our Mettle' is without a doubt a metal album fit for anyone who prefers the original and perhaps less complex style of metal music. It might have only taken seven years to let this one out of the bag, but boy was it worth it. Download This: "Beneath The Banner Of The Iron Duke" For Fans of: Iron Maiden, 3 Inches of Blood, Van Halen [8] RHYS STEVENSON  REPTILIAN DEATH 'The Dawn Of Consummation And Emergence' OLD SCHOOL METAL Fronted by Indian Metal veteran Demonstealer, Reptilian Death Metallers Reptilian Death make no mistakes or errors upon excreting their second album 'The Dawn Of Consummation And Emergence', ten years have passed since the concretion and unleashing of their debut release 'Total Annihilation' and the long wait has certainly paid off through a tightly-packed brutal sound that is guaranteed to shake the very foundations of planet metal. Perusing the many veins and arteries of Death Metal, this three-piece unit stitches together elements of Technical metal as the skeleton infrastructure and Brutal Death Metal as the blood-soaked, savage-scarred skin of this megalithic ensemble. What with Demonic Resurrection and Kryptos firmly leading the line, Reptilian Death are sure to follow firmly in-behind. Get your vaccinations at the ready, because this exotic Reptile bites and injects a rather toxic metallic venom. Download This: "Distorted By Bondage Blood And Bestiality" For Fans of: Strapping Young Lad, Cryptopsy, The Berzerker [9] RHYS STEVENSON  SATAN'S WRATH 'Aeons Of Satan's Reign' METAL BLADE Reflecting the whole emotional side to the current situation of the Greek economy, blasphemous Blackened Thrash stalwarts Satan's Wrath spit out corrosive venom and unholy disturbances via their sophomore release 'Aeons Of Satan's Reign'. Immersing the atmosphere with the anti-christian profanity demonstrated amongst most Satanists and Luciferians, this quintet totally murder your future grave stone by pissing down your ear-holes with savage riffs (so savage that professional murderers would s**t themselves at the sharpness), vocals that would make Golden Dawn stand up and do the honors against the 'she-who-must-not-be-named', in spite of this Satan's Wrath's 'Aeons Of Satan's Reign' is definitely the future sound of Hellenic Extreme Metal, if you thought Rotting Christ were evil, that lot are cupcakes compared to Satan's Wrath. For fans of: Sarke, Aura Noir, Skeletonwitch [8] RHYS STEVENSON 'Aeons Of Satan's Reign' is out 12th November 2013 via Metal Blade Records  HEATHEN FORAY 'Inner Force' Pagan Metal, it's like as if some bands cannot leave the topic alone, but when bands like Heathen Foray enter the fold, it is clear that they take their own unique twist on it. This Austrian machine embroils the atmosphere with heavy hitting melodies and the feeling of galloping across the lands with that highly noticeable Folk Metal element being developed through the guitars and drums in sync. 'Inner Force' clearly shows this style off, the quintet's third outing does not disappoint and whilst at times the language barrier may pose a problem (songs are in both English and German), the music inevitably does the talking and with this elaborated form of Melodic Viking / Pagan Metal, it is clear that Heathen Foray are one of Austria's unsung metal bands, with 'Inner Force' now out in the wilderness, they are sure to garner some attention from the surrounding European countries. Download This: "Mei Laund" For Fans of: Adorned Brood, Amon Amarth, Arkona [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  INSURRECTION 'Prototype' GALY Now for those who think Death Metal has to be blasted at the speed of sound and feature vocals that makes anyone s**t themselves, you are half mistaken, well, just a bit. Insurrection take this theory with a pinch of salt and maybe some Technical Metal elements thrown in here and there, but they are no Quo Vadis or Neuraxis, instead they implore a sound that eclipses Neuraxis, how you may ask? Simple, by switching from technical to melodic to harmonic in a flash, they carve out there own form of complexity and can be dubbed 'deus ex machina metal', a mouthful for sure but whence dissecting their latest offering 'Prototype', it does not fall short of the Modern Metal sound, in fact if Insurrection added some synths or industrial elements then the sound could easily be 101% groundbreaking. As it is, 'Prototype' is a mesmerizing album in it's own ball park and could provide the way for Insurrection to become known overseas as the new face of Canadian Technical Death Metal. Download This "Hellfire" For Fans of: Misery Index, Decapitated, Obliveon, Hypocrisy [9] RHYS STEVENSON  SISARE 'Natures Despair' Finland rarely disappoints when it comes to producing metal bands and metal music releases, out of the abyss comes another underground and exciting band called Sisare, of whose debut album 'Natures Despair' ticks all the boxes for it to be a recommended metal album. The Progressive Metal four-piece deliver a sound that illuminates the entire surroundings with the sense of magic, natural goodness and the very essence of what makes Finnish metal all that special the unique musicianship skills. 'Natures Despair' glides between the Progressive and Avant Garde metal styles, with hints of experimentation clearly detectable and elements of melodies filtering through in the background. They may be a small unknown band in the Finnish lands, but they are a gem to the worldwide Prog Metal scene as 'Natures Despair' evidently proves. Download This: "Isolation" For Fans of: Rush, Dream Theater, Haken [8] RHYS STEVENSON  HAMEREX 'IX' IX MUSIC There seems to be this certain type of aura flowing amongst the relatively underground classic heavy metal bands, they seem to go on for ever and only end up release a couple of albums, sadly this looks to be that way with Hamerex. Hailing from Yorkshire, this four-piece platoon wield that ever classic sound of British Heavy Metal and by adding some Thrash and Doom Metal elements here and there, the second album 'IX' (aptly titled seeing as Hamerex is nine years old) demonstrates the uniqueness of this metal music strain. Sure 'IX' is nothing more than a run-of-the-mill heavy metal album, but it certainly is decent enough for anyone to own, well, almost everyone (Justin Bieber + metal = disaster). Like most of their underground contemporaries, Hamerex will keep the faith going strong, with a rally of riffs, drum beats and vocal exasperation's, this is 'el clasico'. Download This: "Inferno" For Fans of: Black Sabbath, My Dying Bridge, Iron Maiden [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  REDEYE 'Violence' VIOLENT JOURNEY Seven years down the line and the first ever EP by Finnish maniacs Redeye finally drops, 'Violence' delivers a brittle and harsh sound that will amuse and abuse anyone who comes across it. Imagine this, being pummeled by belching vocals that lead this musical attack, with fist-punching drumming and slashing riffs that will bleed you dry in tow, this is exactly what listeners can expect from 'Violence', just be prepared to have a massive headache. By mixing the glorified old styles of Death Metal with Thrash Metal, Redeye summon up a work of art that will get heads banging so hard, brain hemorrhage is almost certainly on the menu. With an attitude that explores the alleys of murderous topics and music that will boil your senses dry, Redeye will certainly set the underground alight. Listen in closely and you can detect elements of Grindcore... For Fans of: Cannibal Corpse, Slayer, Obituary 'Violence' is out 29th November via Violent Journey Records [8] RHYS STEVENSON  NO REMORSE NO SURRENDER 'Afflictions' As if Metalcore had not explored every possible avenue, well if you ask London bruisers No Remorse No Surrender they would say f**k you and shove that into every possible orifice you possess. Let's face it, the evidence is clear when indulging this quintets experimental-like EP 'Afflictions', from start to finish there is a cooking pot of various styles that all combine to smash your face in. Think of it as the agile complexity of martial arts mixed with the harsh mauling of Rugby, that might give you some indication of how unrelenting this lot are, needless to say 'Afflictions' is a highly promising EP and it is clear this band will go far, forgot the poncy generic metalcore breakdown trash that is plaguing every single f**king nation and douse yourself in one of British metal scenes hottest promising properties. Download This: "Ocean's Eyes' For Fans of: Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage, Bleeding Through [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  MYSTERIOUS ECLIPSE 'Hell Of Pain' Now when listening to the third album by Slovakia's Mysterious Eclipse, there are times where the music disallows the vocals from keeping up and so it becomes disjointed, but at other times the overall sound is emphatic i.e. the melodies, brutality and sexual vocals kick in at the same time to develop a generous mix of glass-shattering and soothing ambiance. 'Hell Of Pain' definitely has an appeal to those Black / Death Metal and Melodic Metal fans, but this is no Hecate Enthroned nor is it Arch Enemy softened, instead what you have here is quite possibly the finest metal album this country has seen for a few years. Whilst the band has been around since 1996, they are relatively unknown to Western Europe, however with 'Hell Of Pain' now in their arsenal rally this is bound to change for the better. Download This: "Dark Side Of Humanity" For fans of: Children of Bodom, Arch Enemy, God Dethroned [8] RHYS STEVENSON  ANTILLIA (Антиллия)
"Последний звездопад / Last Starfall" Them Russians, they do love their female fronted metal bands and so when Moscow-based Antilla deliver their premier EP, it comes as no surprise that they go full out with their style of Symphonic 'emotional' power metal. "Последний звездопад / Last Starfall" delivers a thunderous explosion of elegant keyboard elements, aligned with the dramatic-operatic vocals, Sonata Arctica-like riffs and drumming, that all together creates a sound that would be epic to play at the top of waterfall or a mountain looking over the ice-caped landscapes of the Russian tundra. Such dramatics in music has never been heard before, whilst on the other hand only Antillia can deliver this sound in such a mind-blowing way. We could see them touring Europe within the next two years if they keep this sound going and push it forward. Download This: "Шаман" For Fans of: Within Temptation, Sonata Arctica, Nightwish (Anette era) [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON
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