BEL'O'KAN 'Thousands of Conquerors' BRENNUS MUSIC Weaving together a sumptuous sound of Melodic Heavy Metal and Power Metal is French sextet Bel'O'Kan in the form of their highly anticipated second album 'Thousands of Conquerors', from start to finish the music elements are as crystal clear as the sky, first impressions were that this was going to be one of those 'lets be another Evanescence' style of album, but bloody wars is this not the case. Instead what comes is a wave after wave barrage of emphatic 'angelic metal' which takes into account the majestic vibrancy of the female vocals and male vocals in tow, whilst the fluidity of the riffs and solos keep the album firmly powered up as the drumming drives the sound to terminal velocity, so much so listeners will be taken firmly into the clouds where the sonic explosion of Bel'O'Kan will be heard worldwide, 'Thousands of Conquerors' may just have booked the band international recognition, and maybe a prestigious festival slot next year. Download This: "Power Of The Throne" For Fans of: Nightwish, Avantasia, Beto Vázquez Infinity [10] RHYS STEVENSON BEAST 'Dead Or Alive' GAPHALS Dropping a bombshell on the Swedish rock and metal scene is Beast, a four-piece female-fronted mob who are about to drop their premier release 'Dead Or Alive' later this year. Much alike the resurgent force that seems to sweeping across the globe, Beast will join a legion of female-fronted Hard Rock / Heavy Metal bands that have stepped into the global abyss. 'Dead Or Alive' spews out a smooth and slick sound of classic ballsy rock and a metallic attitude that could easily become the result of a amplified ABBA. Just think AC/DC meets Stevie Nicks meets Iron Maiden and you get the idea of what this group sounds like. Chopping riffs lavished with erotic solo's, sidelined by vocals that will improve your sexual life like never before and supported by a drumbeat that would make you party the night away whether you're 'Dead Or Alive'. Download This: "Bad Habits" For Fans of: AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest 'Dead Or Alive' is out 23rd October 2013 (Sweden) and 4th November (Europe) via Graphals in CD, Vinyl and is available through all major digital retails [8] RHYS STEVENSON EMPIRES FALL 'The Tyrants Genocide' Sadly no longer together so consider this as a post-review of their only ever EP 'The Tyrants Genocide' which came into being last year. Given the sheer velocity of this Australian Deathcore troupe, it is totally abysmal that they called quits. They have got so much potential and it shows on this EP, featuring unrelenting Deathcore vocals that charge the music with so much energy that it could keep Melbourne alight for a whole week without the use of a power station! The music itself wields grizzly riffs and uncompromising breakdowns that would make bands like Thy Art Is Murder s**t their pants, 'The Tyrants Genocide' overall is a heavy as f**k release that deserved much more recognition internationally than it has done, furthermore it is clear that Empires Fall have made a grave error calling it a day, it will certainly haunt them as they could have made it big. Download This: "Dreaming Of Eradication" For Fans of: Whitechapel, Buried In Verona, I Killed The Prom Queen [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON SEPTEKH 'The Seth Avalanche' ABYSS Looking rather dapper in their photo is one thing but the music by Septekh is beyond dapper, in fact it is mind-blowing, more so than trying to work out what style they are playing to a precise pigeonhole answer. 'The Seth Avalanche' is the Swede's second EP and was released last year, now what you can expect is a rather interesting approach and take on to the whole Death / Thrash algorithm, in fact this music will give you enough firepower to spit at anyone who messes your life, perhaps that could be the meaning behind 'The Seth Avalanche', but the music itself delivers crushing Death Metal vocals with the dripping of free-gliding riffs and child-friendly drumming, yeah right! This music is not meant for the emo's, so be warned. This music is meant for proper metal fans, that is all. Download This: "Blunt Force To The Head" For Fans of: The Haunted, Hatesphere, Slayer [8] RHYS STEVENSON CHICKSY DICKS 'Obsessed' Simply ballsy rock and heavy metal combined is what you can sum up Chicksy Dicks' debut EP as, 'Obsessed' is a non-stop rallying of classic hard rock with the embodiment of Heavy Metal. Hailing from Slovenia, this five-piece platoon of musical sophistication drops the sound that everyone craves, through the use of catchy vocals and lyrics, unpredictable riffs and solos, terrific bass notes and rapid-fire drumming, 'Obsessed' is a release to keep everyone on their toes. This is not just a band trying to redefine Iron Maiden, no not at all, instead Chicksy Dicks are doing this in their own way and that way is different from every other modern band playing the same or similar style. It took the band six years to make their first release appear but boy was the wait worth it. Download This: "Face To See" For Fans of: Van Halen, Metallica, Judas Priest [8] RHYS STEVENSON DYS INBUNDEN 'Pandemonium Unchained' LIFLÄTINN PRODS Desecrating the Black Metal scene of 2013 is Swedish chaos-commanders Dys Inbunden with their premier album 'Pandemonium Unchained', before the release this unit was in fact a one-man project headed by Gefandi Ör Andlät but now has transformed into a clan fit for a festival slot. 'Pandemonium Unchained' spews out the charismatic and enjoyable feeling of raw atmospheric black metal from which blankets the air with a cold and bitter feeling, as to drown the listener in eternal madness and consequential depression. It is early days for this Swedish Black Metal armada, but with this scrutable album now firmly within the wilds of the global metal wilderness I firmly believe they will go far and possibly could be touring Europe within the next two to three years. Download This: "Sansho Shima" For Fans of: Watain, Dark Funeral, Carpathian Forest [9] RHYS STEVENSON IRONOYA 'Testament' Swiss Groove / Deathcore group Ironoya dropped their debut EP last year before this year changing their name to Deus Ex Machina and having a band-member switch about. The former's EP 'Testament' glistens with the inescapable sounds of guttural Death Metal / Deathcore vocals whilst the guitars and drums fill in with the final slaying in the form of some rather nifty and funky Groove Metal. Switzerland is not normally known for this style of metal so it comes as a bit of a revelation to the said metal scene, however for the now defunct Ironoya this was a journey they have semi-started and semi-continued, it's just whether they should have carried on as this formation or have they made the right choice? Time will tell, as for the 'Testament' EP, it simply is a sensational release that deserves much more acknowledgement. Download This: "Veuve Noire" For Fans of: Lamb of God, Whitechapel, DevilDriver [8] RHYS STEVENSON ORPHEUM 'Treason' Now this is a rather odd release to be fair, mixing Progressive Metal with Gothic Metal is one thing but to have an EP out with only three tracks that equate to just over 22 minutes worth of listening is rather peculiar, some would expect much more given it has taken three years to make. Nonetheless 'Treason' does make way for a decent awe inspiring EP, however at times the drums tend to go overboard and totally ruin the pattern of the song 'Spiritus', but overall the EP does feature an easily identifiable sound that comprises of heavenly vocals, catchy and almost tricky riffs as well as bombastic drumming, the sad thing is it's not even near perfection but it will do as a trial run, it's just the case of whether Londoners Orpheum can find their feet for their next outing, what that next outing will be who knows. Download This: "Porcelain Doll" For Fans of: Within Temptation (Mother Earth era), Novembre, Noturna [7] RHYS STEVENSON ASARU 'From The Chasms Of Oblivion' SCHWARZDORN There comes a time where a Black Metal release will turn out to be total wank, unfortunately Asaru's second album 'From The Chasms Of Oblivion', which was released last year, borders that category. The good thing about the release is that it sticks to the bleak atmosphere that the band have carefully crafted out on their debut album, but the music itself is a little less impressive and needs a bit more working on, for instance you can just hear the bass drum and it has very little prominence, just like a third tier football team in Germany playing for the Deutsche Fussball Bund Pokal cup, hardly any chance at getting a look in. 'From The Chasms Of Oblivion' is firmly in the gray area, some aspects are good and some are shockingly bad, fans of Black Metal might be torn aside on this one. Download This: "Beyond The Bonds Of Time" For Fans of: Well... Black Metal. [6] RHYS STEVENSON LEFT FOR RED
'Vol 002 - Mercy Flight' Is that Devin Townsend on vocals?!?! Didn't know he could do a Brummie accent, is there anything that Canadian musical wizard cannot do? It would be rather interesting if Left For Red supported The Devin Townsend Project in the future, but for now their upcoming EP 'Vol 002 - Mercy Flight' features all of the characteristics that a successful three-track release is meant to have, brimming with insurmountable talent that is hard to come by these days in the Groove Metal department, the vocals on 'Vol 002 - Mercy Flight' are so powerful that they blew out all of the terminal windows at East Midlands airport, dubbing it 'musical terrorism' and leaving it as perhaps one of the best EP's the Midlands metal scene has seen in the year 2013. The melodies gently glide over the Teutonic rhythms and trippy riffs to finalize an EP that is simply inspirational. For Fans of: Pantera, Black Sabbath, Metallica 'Vol 002 - Mercy Flight' is out 25th November via A.R.C. Records [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON
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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 FORTRESS OF THANATOS / WINTERCOLD 'When The Moon Is There...' SALUTE Once again here is another split release by the Swedish underground Gothic Doom Metal one-man project Wintercold and this time Satanic Tony duels with the long-going Black / Doom Metal ensemble Fortress of Thanatos from The Philippines. What more can you want than two grueling and abysmal bunch of musicians indulging in their musical passions, well how about a split release that broods in gloomy depression and powerful atmospherics, because that is exactly what Fortress of Thanatos kick off with and as the keyboard elements drag in an ecclesiastical feel, as if a funeral was taking place, the pitch is set for a blooming blackened storm of which there is no relenting mercy. Following the darkened epitome they initiated, the Filipino warlords curse and spit at every moment, that with their unruly and unconventional music plays right into the changeover hands for Wintercold. Wintercold in turn delivering another smacking of frosty darkness and carries on the gloomy doom emotions that Fortress of Thanatos laid out at the start. Certified not for those who cannot take the dark side of life lightly and absolutely for those who love their music to be as dark as death itself, Wintercold finishes up the split very nicely indeed and with it another shadow strike of true cult Doom Metal comes to a close... until next time. Download These: "Nahash" (Fortress Of Thanatos) & "Pitch Black" (Wintercold) For Fans of: Watain, Ghost, Candlemass [8] + [8] RHYS STEVENSON SODOMOPHILIA 'Demo 2013' SALUTE It's always nice to see a metal band arise from a hostile area such as Iraq in the Middle East, politics aside Iraq has over the last few years developed and nurtured a growing underground scene, the latest are bruisers Sodomophila of whose early style Death Metal plagues the atmosphere with guttural gluttony and abhorrent murderous incantations. This is of course their premier demo released this year via Salute Records and what comes with it is a face-smacking bombardment of blood-soaked Death Metal, verging on Deathgrind at intermittent points. Sure you would need to turn the speakers up to hear it, but given due this is a credible release and baths in the bloody history of the past decade or so in Iraq. Sodomophilia's 'Demo 2013' is a fine start and will surely give the band enough credibility to bring Iraq to the forefront of the emerging metal scenes. I would very much like to see them at Dubai Desert Rock Festival, if they plough this demo intro the ground then that dream will come true. Download This: "Incest" For Fans of: Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Gorgasm. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON EATING SHIT 'Supersonic Black Metal' + 'Bon Appétit' + 'Paradox' For a band that has been going thirteen years, Eating Shit certainly have had their fair share of delivering a musical battering that would leave you on the toilet for ages with the runniest of shits. Enough graphic detail, their latest release 'Supersonic Black Metal' is apocalyptic to say the least, sure it's a modest 40 minutes long, but the songs are practically insanely fast music with pig squeels, exactly how it should be. However listening closely and you can get a whiff of industrial music in the background or indeed what The Berzerker once was called 'gabba' and 'cybergrind', so you could easily say that the French trio have kept that tantalizingly brutal sound alive. Whilst the title may suggest otherwise, there is very little Black Metal in this release, but it is there none the less. Turning back the clock to 2011 and the band's second album 'Bon Appétit' immediately kicks off with a bit of tongue-in-cheek, with a waitress welcoming customers to their tables in a restaurant whereby the food being served has been genetically modified using meats and vegetables and will kill the eater via pleasure, the closing part of the intro audibly features the famous French phrase ''Bon Appétit' before the full atomic explosion of extreme grindcore takes a foothold as the album kicks into fifth gear and delivers a full smacking of funky noise, even venturing cheekily into the French language on 'Bioman' at the beginning; clearly an extract from a popular song before the grindcore crushes it to death, such violent pleasantries are utmost welcome. Not as extreme as their third album, 'Bon Appétit' none the less features some face-grilling music. Turn the clock back even further to 2010 and the debut album 'Paradox' sees light and whilst it clearly is the least heaviest of the three albums it still warrants a listen, it still is as brutal and heavy as any other Grindcore release but compared to the other two albums it lacks that final panache. Even though it carries on that really funny tongue-in-cheek element that the band's second album also features, 'Paradox' is primarily a Grindcore release and features barely any industrial elements in the background except for some clever tricks done on the evident drum machine on "Wall E"; just for a few seconds or so though across the song. Overall the album is very impressive, just don't call it groundbreaking. Download These: "Your Ballot In My Box" For fans of: The Berzerker, Anaal Nathrakh, Aborym [8.5] + [8.5] + [7] BACKDAWN 'Backdawn' There's a reason why some underground bands stay underground, purely because they are not good enough to get well known, much is the case for French metal troupe Backdown whose debut self-titled EP makes Justin Bieber sound godly. Ok maybe that's a bit overboard, but the EP is not even worth entertaining, the vocals are relatively fine but the guitars and drums need fine tuning and more effort put in. Basic Groove / Death / Thrash Metal and nothing more, simply put there is nothing to suggest this band have done something no other band has done, ironically it is a decent release and shows the band has put some effort into it. Spin it how you will because 'Backdawn' has more confusion in it than someone who is high on meth. Download This: "Backdawn" For Fans of: god only knows. [6] RHYS STEVENSON LAGERSTEIN 'Drink 'Til We Die' Since Alestorm started the Pirate Metal craze, it seems nearly most folk metal bands want to join on board HMS Metal, however Lagerstein is a different ale of beer, in fact they go for straight and basic gaudy Pirate-themed Folk Metal. Pretty sure they have got a better connection with pirates given that convicts in the UK used to be shipped to Australia. However last year Lagerstein made their breakthrough with their emphatic debut album 'Drink 'Til We Die' which features a rather nifty booklet that opens out into a pirate map, now that is highly original as is their music. Using a keyboard to create the melodies of traditional pirate music and the same sort of Folk music experience in the Celtic guild, that traditional old folk / doom metal feel surging through the core of this album seals the sound very nicely. It is early days, but Lagerstein could be the metal fans new favorite Australian Metal band. Download This: "Pirate Music Piracy" For Fans of: Alestorm, Finntroll, Dropkick Murphys [8] RHYS STEVENSON SPEIRLING 'The Piper' UNHOLY DESIGN Who would have thought that Buckinghamshire would play host to a two-man Black Metal project, well that is exactly the case with Speirling. The sole and latest release 'The Piper' drives out the old school style of Black Metal, nothing too fancy nor too fast resides on this 2008 release. However the vocals do make up for that substitute as they deliver a level of sound that would equate to the said missing music elements, for you to to really get anything out of this album, you need to listen to it numerous time sadly. On a more positive note it does offer something new, and so for those who prefer their Black Metal to be pleasant and more percussive than raw or atmospheric, 'The Piper' by Speirling is for you, a true taste of the English underground Black Metal scene. Download This: "The World Breaks" For Fans of: Underground black metal [7] RHYS STEVENSON ETHERNAL 'Grim Ethernity' + 'The Black Sun' + 'Arkioas' UNHOLY DESIGN Buckinghamshire's Black Metal trio Ethernal delivered hell with their debut album 'Grim Ethernity' released back five years ago in 2013. Much like Mark's one man project (where he is known as Nechtan and partners Blaidd) Speirling, Ethernal also drives out the old school style of Black Metal and again nothing fancy happens on this album, just simple and true English underground Black Metal, with a thick and atmospheric feel to the sound and more organic feel to the lyrics in heritage context whereby English mythology comes into practice. Again like the drummer's side project, Ethernal's 'Grim Ethernity' also does offer something new, therefore those metalheads who prefer their Black Metal to be along the lines of Winterfylleth and Old Corpse Road, 'Grim Ethernity' by Ethernal is for you, another true taste of the English underground Black Metal scene. Focusing now on the premier EP 'The Black Sun' which was released back in 2011, the first thing that strikes out is the title and the artwork and some metalheads would now dub them NSBM owing to the Nazi links to The Black Sun, this simply is nonsense it is more of a pagan, wotanist, esotetic and occult symbol, as for the music well that in itself is an occult, much improvement can be heard on here in relation to the debut album 'Grim Ethernity', the drums have a more pronounced presence and so give that really dark feel to the ambient atmosphere and the feeling this EP sparks off is one of druidism ironically given that said movement is of the Celtic mythology and occult, even so the lead song "Order Of The Black Sun" belts out a colossal sound that can only be improved if it were blasted out at Bloodstock per se. For all the controversy surrounding the EP the music deals with it via a mesmerizing and powerful enchantment. Furthermore when checking out their latest album 'Arkioas' which was released last year, the two tracks from their premier EP make a stark appearance on the album as the first two tracks, they are also of the same quality as on the EP which is rather odd. Duplication aside the album carries on that mind-breaking power of chaotic occult Black Metal and leaves the listener with a great deal of satisfaction. Shrieking vocals curse the airwaves with venomous spit and whilst that happens the drums and guitars battle each other for monstrous supremacy, hark 'Arkioas' is an album to be afraid of as it is not for the commercial Black metal fan, this is an album that shines kvlt and utmost truth as a force to be reckoned with, this is only the beginning... Download These: "Echoes" + "Order Of The Black Sun" + "In Silent Halls Beyond..." For Fans of: Winterfylleth, The Meads of Asphodel, Old Corpse Road [8] + [8.5] + [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON INTERNAL CORROSION 'Spiritual Poverty' WOLFSOUND With a career spanning 20 years you would expect that Internal Corrosion has a fruity backlog of releases that follows a similar patten to those bands who have been around for two decades... but no. 'Spiritual Poverty' is only the band's second album and so you would question what the hell has been going on? Ah what the hell, California's Thrash maniacs wield an album that does everything a Thrash Metal album is meant to do, fast paced music laced with neck-breaking riffs, unrelenting drumming and radioactive vocals, needless to say that 'Spiritual Poverty' is definitely worth that extra dollar to buy but don't expect it to be another "Reign In Blood" or "Ride The Lightning", just expect good ole classic American Thrash Metal, old school style. Heck they might as well resort to becoming a pub band or a titanic band in a local setting, after all isn't that 'Spiritual Poverty'? Download This: "Draw The Line" For Fans of: Metallica, Dio, Megadeth [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON SAPROPHYTE 'The Aberrant Paradox' It has always seen to be the case that Canadian Metal tends to be very ballsy, with a lot of cheek entering the affray and I don't refer to South Park on this occasion, nor the consistent linkage with syrup and a horny moose. I refer to the second album by Progressive Death Metallers Saprophyte who have dropped a bombshell on this occasion, with djent making somewhat an abrupt appearance on some of the songs and yet the maniacal punching in the face sound continues to wallop the hearing senses as if ear fetish was the latest trend. 'The Aberrant Paradox' is a musical feast that even the most gluttonous person could not devour or apprehend to, with the sheer magnitude of the death growls that rot the songs dry, the chemistry between the razor-sharp riffs and the solidarity of the drums, it is safe to say you would need life insurance to get through this one. Download This: "Nightmares" For Fans of: Gojira, Opeth, Periphery [9] RHYS STEVENSON GLACIAL FEAR
'Equilibrium Part II' This is the kind of music you want to shove into everyone's face, especially the hypocrites of today who ruin every country through mass control, that includes the corrupt governments of the world. Can we say that sort of thing? Glacial Fear can. The Italian's latest EP 'Equilibrium Part II' spits venom into your face so hard you wish you wasn't born, formulating a sound that comprises of Death Metal, Metalcore and Technical metal, this is the sound of mass brutalization. With a crunchy bass line, an emphatic array of fluid riffs and mentally-destroying vocals, 'Equilibrium Part II' is the musical sound of mass murder and as the fury unfolds you better take out life insurance, because boy are you f**king going to need it. Now, unleash the pain of a thousand spikes stabbing your senses dead, because that is what Glacial Fear's is like 'Equilibrium Part II', a crude slaughtering. Download This: "Ghost City" For Fans of: Quo Vadis, Architects, Born Of Osiris [10] 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 ROTTEN DOOM 'This War Begins...' Remember that Mayan prophecy that the world will end? Well they were wrong, but they were right at there being an apocalypse, just this apocalypse is a tad smaller than a hand grenade explosion. Coming into the firing range is Mexico's Rotten Doom of whose debut album 'This War Begins...' redefines the epitome of the Melodic Death Metal audio infrastructure, forget the fancy stuff you would experience with bands like Scar Symmetry and zone into the harsher vocal and stiffer music territories and you'll end up with an idea of what this lot sound like. Now whilst 'This War Begins...' is a decent enough start to the band's career, the melodic elements need to be fined tuned even more because whilst there is some melody present, it is not enough to get the full feeling of complete satisfaction, needless to say it is a decent enough effort and yet as the album progresses, the songs steadily improve, weird eh? Download This: "This War" For Fans of: Cannibal Corpse, American Melodic Death Metal bands. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON MISTH 'Rise Of A New Day' PROGRESS 'Rise Of A New Day' the debut album by Progressive Metal / Hard Rock outfit Misth bursts out at the seems with a fruitful sound of theatrical vocals that instantaneously warp you to another dimension, let's face it the vocals and music would bode well in a massive arena (even a Colosseum!). As for the overall production, well 'Rise Of A New Day' features a whole host of songs that features quick shifting time signatures on the guitars and whilst you may think we have another female fronted band trying to emulate Evanescence or Paramore, or another established band, think again. Misth are a band of their own and are preparing to slaughter your senses dead until the world wakes up to the 'Rise Of A New Day'. Download This: "Life's Arena" For Fans of: Avenged Sevenfold, Anathema, Katatonia [8] RHYS STEVENSON DOOMED FROM DAY ONE 'Nine Fingers' The hint is in the title, nine fingers and the tenth is flipping the bird at your miserable pathetic self, well so it would seem, or it could be a secret message to say 'f**k the world'. What ever it means, 'Nine Fingers' is the second face-smashing EP by Surrey bruisers Doomed From Day One, and doomed you will be when you face the almighty fury demonstrated by this Progressive Death lot. Eccentric guitar riffs push this EP hard and ballistic whilst the drums and vocals demean your life so much you wish you were dead, well that is the sort of feeling you will feel when faced by this Surrey ten-legged monster. Make no mistake Doomed From Day One are going places and with it they take their hellish angelic brutality with them, prepare for an almighty apocalyptic slaughter. Download This: Cut & Hunt For fans of: Whitechapel, The Black Dahlia Murder, Between The Buried & Me. [9] RHYS STEVENSON VIOLENTORY 'Theory Of Life' When will some bands realize you don't have to either break the drum kit, snap a few strings or break your voice-box just to create music, in no way does that apply to Bulgaria's Violentory. However it must be said that they aren't exactly the most orchestrated of chaps, for example the music is too slow and the Death Metal vocals are too weak; not enough grit or angst to provoke a feeling. This of course can be heard on their debut album 'Theory Of Life', on the other hand if your looking for melodic vocals and power then they nail that right on the head. With an hour's worth of Melodic Death Metal being mixed with Progressive Metal elements, there is something for everyone on this album, but those vocals aren't gritty enough.... Download This: "Over You" For Fans of: Opeth, Dream Theater, Meshuggah [7] RHYS STEVENSON WRETCHED SOUL 'Veronica' DARK LORD Canterbury may be the home of the renowned cathedral, but I would assume that not even Geoffrey Chaucer saw this one coming after the infamous 'Canterbury Tales' stormed the UK with extreme force, after all taking Wretched Soul into account as the latest reason to visit Canterbury is an understatement. Unleashing their highly anticipated debut album 'Veronica', the modern Death Thrashers krank up the gears and let go of the brakes to release an album that speaks speed and delivers a brutally powerful tone to it, so much you might want life insurance coverage before listening to this megalithic masterpiece. 'Veronica' is one of those albums that should have the words 'resistance is futile' slapped on it, let's face it if you're not a fan of either A. Death Metal, B. Thrash metal or C. Metal, then you are missing out on what could be regarded as debutant album of the year. Download This: "Summon The Hunter" For Fans of: Metallica, Megadeth, 'insanely godly music' [10] RHYS STEVENSON THE ZEN 'Somewhere On Earth' What happens when you get five Catalonian metal musicians and give them the keys to endless possibilities? You end up with a carefully calculated algorithmic sound that eclipses any band playing djent metal. After all this lot play rather convincing Melodic Death Metal and to a sublime level also, given that their debut album 'Somewhere On Earth' dropped last year and that they have only been going two years, we could have the new Scar Symmetry on our cards. Expect a continuous flow of unforgiving vocals as well as gnarly riffs and brutally tantalizing drumming, Catalonia may only be an autonomous region within the Spanish lands, but boy The Zen are truly flying the flag for the Catalonian Metal scene, this band will go far make no mistake about it. Download This: "Mystic Challenge" For Fans of: Scar Symmetry, Breach The Void, Mnemic [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON SATCCONNIA 'Chaos' Instantaneously the feeling of total beauty comes rushing towards you at a ballistic speed and caresses the soul entirely until you feel completely relaxed. Of course when band's like Spain's Satcconnia deliver their debut album, you cannot deny that the music hey have created is so calming that it takes you into a state of being completely relaxed. Through the magical usage of elegant keyboard elements and the vibrant power spewed out through the soprano-like vocals, percussive riffs and drumming, Satcconnia prove why Spain is a power-house for such elegant music, not only metal. As for their 2012 release 'Chaos', it sparks up a considerable amount of attachment between the music and the listener and ultimately sheds harmonies like no tomorrow. Download This: "Idyllic World" For Fans of: Nightwish, Therion, Lacuna Coil [8] RHYS STEVENSON AGONY OF THE BLEEDING FLESH 'Everlasting Piracy' What you could easily call the darker brotherhood of Alestorm, enter French metallers Agony Of The Bleeding Flesh and their emphatically brilliant debut album 'Everlasting Piracy'. Weaving together a rum-laden sound of Black Metal with the heavy brutality of Death Metal and the agility of Thrash Metal, this is a band that should explode across the continent very soon. Defying the generic folk metal style that most Pirate-themed bands seem to use, Agony Of The Bleeding Flesh take allegiance with the likes of Black beard and Davy Jones, but don't forget that this lot hail from the Celtic nation of Brittany and that you could easily tie them down with links to the pirates of Cornwall, so given that this band are assured of international recognition it would seem almost likely that this is going to be the band's finest hour. Download This: "To Penetrate" For fans of: Cirith Gorgor, Aura Noir, Celtic Frost [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON SHUTDOWN 'Heavy As Metal & Hot As Hell' Nothing beats the sound of good ole fashioned classic heavy metal no matter what country it comes from, take for example Shutdown from Slovenia who released their debut album 'Heavy As Metal & Hot As Hell' last year, the funny thing is it sounds too cheesy to be true. Sure you get the original style vocals and choppy riffs alongside the classic drum beat, but don't expect anything else other than that. So what you have here is another average Heavy Metal album and as the title suggests, it focuses on the hard rock side of the infamous music style. But as said it is good to hear old fashioned classic heavy metal, just don't expect them to be anything like Iron Maiden. Download This: "Dedicated To Mars" For Fans of: Def Leppard, Van Halen, AC/DC [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON VOLTAX
'Hiding Into Flames' SADE No wonder this lot were the winners of the battle for Wacken which was held in Mexico 2011, their sound is phenomenal, their third album 'Hiding Into Flames' certainly packs a punch that will keep you screaming your voice off until you choke up blood. The Mexican five-piece Voltax certainly know how to deliver a sound that never loses it's packing punch nor do they lose focus in the process. Charismatic vocals charge the lightning brigade forward whilst the battle music rallies in behind the main strike force to deliver a musical explosion that will keep planet earth rocking 24/7. Make no mistake about it Voltax are flying the flag proudly for the Mexican Metal scene, now if this lot don't score an international record deal soon I'll eat my speakers. Download This: "Estruendo Letal" For Fans of: Judas Priest, Motorhead, Kiss [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 CHASING THE RISE 'The Dawn' There are some Metalcore bands that try so much fancy stuff that they over-complicate the sound, there are some Metalcore bands that are too basic in their ways that they end up as another boring 'we cannot be bothered band', Chasing The Rise are none of these. The Lithuanian Melodic Metalcore outfit emerge out of the sewers of Vilnius with guns blazing and a sound that is more brutal than your last hangover. Dropping their debut EP 'The Dawn' this year, this could be the sound that finally gives the Lithuanian Metal scene international attention. Menacing vocals guide the apocalyptic riffs through the technically melodic matrix that becomes built up by the complexity of the drumming, guitar playing and vocals all put together. Make no mistake, 'The Dawn' is the sound of the underground and Chasing The Rise are flying the flag for Lithuania. The onslaught has just begun.... Download This: "In Front of Everything" For Fans of: Tides of Virtue, Bullet For My Valentine, As I Lay Dying [8] RHYS STEVENSON MORN GURUTH 'Weltekel' TALHEIM It's always been a common thing amongst the German underground metal scene, that Black Metal bands roam so freely and yet so secret that they are barely detectable. One such example is Morn Guruth, a Depressive Black Metal duo hailing from Bavaria. Their debut album 'Weltekel' delivers such a bleak and raw atmosphere that would you need to be very sober to get the feeling for it. Sad to say the drums are not particularly impressive and need more work on, especially in speed to get that sincere feeling that the guitars seem to deliver well, as for the vocals, well, yeah. Total redevelopment is needed because whilst they are there, they are far from understandable and at times are seeming to be a little false or leaning towards random screaming, which compared to other DBM bands is hardly there. So whilst 'Weltekel' is a decent release and somewhat scores points in each area, it lacks that final touch. Download This: "Destrudo" [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON MIDNIGHT MESSIAH 'The Root Of All Evil' It's always grand to see modern day bands playing the classic sounds of hard rock and heavy metal in such epic glory, whilst adapting it to their own taste. This is how exactly London quintet Midnight Messiah have gone about things, it is highly detectable on their debut album 'The Root Of All Evil' which sheds a brilliant sound in all of the departments. Clean and powerful vocals lead the front-line of this modernised version of Iron Maiden, whilst the guitars and drums deliver that all important blow that leaves the album in good stead as being a must own release for all those who prefer the old style of rock and metal. Make no mistake about it, 'The Root Of All Evil' is an album that will please many fans alike and is sure to give this band some well-deserved attention. Download This: "The Evil One" For Fans of: Iron Maiden, Van Halen, AC/DC The album is available online from the label website: www.coldtown.com priced at £7 GBP. [8] RHYS STEVENSON VORTECH 'Devoid Of Life' Modern Metal seems to have become a phenomenon in the metal music industry, bolting together the fluidity experienced in the electronic music crux with the brutality and manifestation of metal music. The latest band to embrace this cosmic wave of mass destruction is Finnish trio Vortech who layer Industrial influences with Death Metal to give a sound some would associate with bands like Fear Factory, this is best heard on their 2012 release 'Devoid Of Life' whereby the vocals and double bass drum set the speed and the riffs shred high voltage as if it was out of fashion. Don't instantly think it's ground breaking, it's far from that, but more closer to actually giving this band a major boost in the Euro Metal scene. Prepare for the techno-pit, a new form of moshing. Download This: "Grains of Reality" For Fans of: Fear Factory, Noein, The Amenta, Breach The Void [8] RHYS STEVENSON DOBLE ESFERA 'Mi Universo' Dropping their debut album last year is Spanish four-piece Doble Esfera (Double Sphere in English), their release 'Mi Universo' (My Universe in English) is another classic hard rock / heavy metal sound but naturally coming with the Spanish language. So do expect to hear a lot of Iberian influences coming in and out each song, amongst the tricky and magical riffs that serve up nicely whilst the drums provide the all important solid backdrop and the vocals weaving magic like thread through water. Sure it's nothing really special, but it certainly glimmers with charm and eccentricity, 'Mi Universo' will appeal to many fans of the classic sounds as well as those looking to learn Spanish. Download This: "Perdido En El Tiempo" For Fans of: Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Zarpa [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON AWRIZIS 'Final Hybridation' Awrizis are a hard band to nail down in one genre, so consider their debut album 'Final Hybridation' a slapping of Groove Metal mixed with a lashing of Deathcore influences and a dollop of aggression. Fueled by an endless supply of adrenalin and incredible technical skill, the Czech quartet's album deals damage en masse, except the only problem is the chunkiness of the bass, it needs a cleaner presence as you can hear the twanging too easily. But for those who want to hear music from the furthest limits then Awrizis is for you, make no mistake about it given the said improvement being completed in the future we could see a new international band arising from the depths of the Czech abyss and delivering a punch into the faces of the posers of Europe. Download This: "We Are Gifts Of Hell" For Fans of: In Flames, Suicide Silence, Machine Head [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON INFECTED RAIN 'Asylum' On the international metal scene, Moldova is down in the pits with only a handful of metal bands breaking out of Moldova and only a few of those gaining attention, well the tide is going to turn with Infected Rain. Simply put this female-fronted quintet implore a new twist to the whole Nu Metal sound, via the use of angelic and gritty female vocals (think Within Temptation for the angelic vocals) as the main weapon, a plethora of menacing riffs and powerful drumming sequences, they are poised to smash the European scene with a shattering explosion, well when you listen to their 2011 release 'Asylum' you will be warped into a musical world previously experienced. Thunderous drums and crunchy riffs boost the vocals like a musical atomic bomb, it is only a moment of time before Infected Rain joins the leagues of Exilia, Disturbed and other fellow Nu Metal compatriots, Infected Rain are flying the flag for the Moldovan Metal scene. Download This: "My Morphine" For Fans of: Exilia, Disturbed, Within Temptation, Static-X [9] RHYS STEVENSON FROSTLAND DARKNESS 'Ad Moriendum Dei Gratia' INVERSE Returning valiantly to deliver the second album is Finnish musician Mantus Nord and his project Frostland Darkness. Hailing from Lapland, this Black Metal one-man project simmers the very foundation of said music genre and injects some bleak and bitter atmosphere into it. Finnish Black metal has always been a bit of a hit and miss, well it's always spewed and spat out against Norwegian Black Metal, but when you get musical escapades like Frostland Darkness producing eclectic music in such a way that it makes established Black Metal bands sound like a screamo version of the Backstreet Boys. If your into the raw sounds of true Black Metal and after that bitter feeling that corrupts your senses, then 'Ad Moriendum Dei Gratia' is an album for you. Frostland Darkness may be a not well known project, but it packs a sensational sound you cannot find elsewhere, no wonder Inverse Records signed them! Download This: "Tuhon Kirkkaudessa" For Fans of: Horna, Darkthrone, Mayhem [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON BEER BEAR 'Beyond The Invisible Line' (За Незримой Чертой) SOUND AGE PRODS. The master of all Russian beer breweries has returned with a barrel of folkloric tales, hops and fresh mountain air, I am of course referring to Folk Metal maestros Beer Bear and their 2012 album 'Beyond The Invisible Line' (За Незримой Чертой), the latest installment in their musical arsenal sees the band carry on the delinquent sounds established on their debut album and is guaranteed to please many people alike. Singing exclusively in their native language, Beer Bear have done it again, proved themselves to be worthy of being a nationally known Folk Metal band. As for their second outing, 'Beyond The Invisible Line' (За Незримой Чертой) is a pleasant enough album, just be wary that it is quick at changing speed and is hard to keep up to. Beer Bear are another one of Russia's gems that deserve much more attention than they are getting, Download This: "Folk-n-Roll" For Fans of: Korpiklaani, Arkona, Woodscream [8] RHYS STEVENSON SILENT KNIGHT
'Masterplan' Of course metal is meant to be eccentric, complex and downright dirty, it's just that Silent Knight nail two of those things, the third is nowhere to be found. A little hint, the guitars and drumming patterns on their debut album is complex, the vocals are downright dirty and the musical composition is eccentric and so what is missing? The whole package. Sure they have the elements clear on this album but it lacks connectivity and at times the solo's are far too flash, a little toning down in that department would work; an excellent solo resides on the song 'Masterplan' but not the first song 'The Curse Of The Black Rose', ok there may be some irony in this but that's metal. Whether you like it or not, 'Masterplan' is a classic power metal album, the old style of classic power metal that is, so don't expect any keyboard elements or anything special. Download This: "Prophets Of War" For Fans of: Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Blind Guardian. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON BLACK ELEGY 'Pathway' Possibly the best Gothic / Doom Metal band to emerge from Germany in a long, long time. Black Elegy make their anticipated debut with 'Pathway', a 49 minute opus that takes the listener on a spellbinding journey through the bitter cold lands of the German forests and mountains through a delicate balance of harmonic angelic vs. brutally demonic vocals and a slow yet captivating mixture of solid riffs and stomach-churning drumming, not to mention a soothing and calming atmosphere being developed by the individual elements. 'Pathway' is an album many Gothic Metal and Doom Metal fans will love and is sure to push forward Black Elegy into the spotlight as a potential label signing in the year ahead, it may be early days but Black Elegy certainly seem to be going places. Download This: "Saturnine Past" For fans of: Swallow The Sun, Amorphis, Opeth [8] RHYS STEVENSON BEGRIME EXEMIOUS 'Visions Of The Scourge' DARK DESCENT Last year saw the unleashing of horrendous and torrential satanic pain, transmitted through the unholiest of medians, the second album by Canadian warlords Begrime Exemious. Their latest offering 'Visions Of The Scourge' delivers unrelenting black / death metal in the raw form that it should be more often in. Through the use of a low-key production sound it adds sweet distortion to the guitar and drum sounds whilst the vocals offer little resilience in terms of the ugly beauty they produce. Sure 'Visions Of The Scourge' may not appeal to all extreme metal fans, but to those who prefer their music as dirty as a slut mud bath, this is the album for you. In fact without albums like 'Visions Of The Scourge' and bands like Begrime Exemious, true underground metal would not exist. Download This: "The Vault Of Ancient Bone & Poison Saliva" For Fans of: Belphegor, Watain, Destroyer 666 [8] RHYS STEVENSON SILAS 'World Of Colour' You can never be too far short of good music in London, the capital of England is like a corn field with each piece acting as a band, a puzzle in the whole area if you like. Anyway enough small talk, Silas is a classic hard rock and heavy metal that embezzles the very foundation of pure music. Their first mini-album delivers that guitar-driven sound to it's limit whilst adding some rather neat and tidy fusion elements, namely the funk element from which we suspect vats of Jack Daniels might be the culpable culprit. Whatever this band runs on, their latest effort 'World Of Colour' certainly packs a punch, a punch that should get them on to the battlefields of Europe and lighting the various venues across the continent with their atomic explosion of riff-laden rock / metal. Download This: "Negative One" For Fans of: Avenge Thee & Naime, Artisfiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON REMNANTS OF CAMULOS 'Screaming For An Answer' Some bands start off with so much potential and have no clue where to direct it, this time that bleakness falls upon teenage lads Remnants of Camulos of whom delivered their debut EP last year and quite frankly although being well and good in terms of effort and being different, the overall feel and reception is one to be considered. 'Screaming For An Answer' supposedly is meant to be a mash-up of Melodic Death / Thrash Metal and Metalcore, never in the month of sunday's is that correct. Given the vocals are in the Death Metal category and the riffs and drums reside more with Thrash Metal, they may as well be Deathrash or similar. However as for the EP don't expect anything groundbreaking or spectacular, the metal is good but the application needs considerable work on. Download This: "We Are Not Enslaved" For Fans of: Lamb of God, Hatebreed. 'bizarre metal' [6] RHYS STEVENSON ADAPTOR 'Fire In The Hallway' What can one say, Thrash Metal how it should be, well at least partly. Take Adaptor's debut EP 'Fire In The Hallway' released last year and rip it apart, first off the shift in time signatures and pace is far too great to comprehend, how on earth are metal fans meant to headbang to the opening song 'Mind' without tripping over themselves? Fast, slow, fast, slow? Really? More like a stuttering car engine. Ok, give due 'Fire In The Hallway' is a decent enough release, it does mostly what most Thrash Metal bands do best and deliver heart-shredding music, but it is the change in speed that let's it down. Wherever the Dutch quartet go from here it better improve, because judging on this effort, they have a fair bit to do before being considered all for it. Good release though. Download This: 'Fire In The Hallway' For Fans of: Kreator, Holy Moses. [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON NEBRUS 'From The Black Ashes' SCHATTENKULT At times it's a rarity to find old school Black Metal and so attention always turns to the abyss of the underground, this time the fire burns bright for misanthropic anti-christian Black Metal duo Nebrus who hail from the sun-soaked region of Tuscany, Italy. Their debut album released last year carries everything expected of an underground Black Metal release and as listeners peruse the songs on 'From The Black Ashes', they will come across at every song a whole plethora of different elements and sounds all coalescing into each song. Guitars are as raw as red meat and the drums as potent as poison, however the vocals do need some work on but for now offer a darkened insight into potentially the next best Black Metal outfit from the Italian lands. Download This: "Chains" For Fans of: Darkthrone, Burzum, Mayhem [8] RHYS STEVENSON MERCILESS TERROR 'Vile Extinction' DEVILS CLAUSE You know how it goes, technology is always renewing itself. The same goes for a band, each release that passes they intend to renew their current sound to improve it, however some fail at this process. Merciless Terror on the other hand were practically born with this process in their system, take their upcoming full length 'Vile Extinction' for example and try surviving the whole 34 minutes of it without either 1. violently headbanging, 2. drinking excessively or 3. wanking. This is due to the album blasting out a futile mix of Death Metal vocals and a Thrash Metal music embodiment that together merge to form a sound that will send shock-waves down the spine of planet metal. Through the composition of fast music that speeds past anything experienced at Wimbledon and the repulsive yet delicious lyrics instated on the album, there is no reason to why Merciless Terror's new album 'Vile Extinction' will not show bands in said genre how it should be done. For Fans of: Old Sepultura, Napalm Death, Slayer, Deicide 'Vile Extinction' is out on 19th August 2013 via Devils Clause Records worldwide [10] RHYS STEVENSON MASQUERADER 'Singular Point' It would certainly seem that Masquerader are ready to follow ChthoniC's footsteps and become an internationally recognised metal band. The five-piece Thrash Metal maniacs unleash furious hell with their second EP 'Singular Point', think classic Slayer and then wield that with an oriental attitude, you got it - colossal meltdown. 'Singular Point' gleams with everything you would expect from an 80's metal inspired band, producing insanely fast riffs without any mercy whatsoever whilst the drums and vocals finish the rest of you off. If this was a meal it would be burger and chips, juicy riffs with enough punch to know you back whilst the chips relate to the atmospheric flavor Masquerader muster on this must have release. Masquerader are flying the flag for Taiwan, now watch the Taiwanese onslaught begin. Download This: "S.A.T.A.N" For Fans of: Slayer, old Sepultura, Venom [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON HELL'S THRASH HORSEMEN 'Demo 2012' Wallowing in the land renowned for a lot of black metal and pagan metal is Hell's Thrash Horsemen, a (you guessed it!) Thrash Metal band from the bitter lands of the Russian Federation. Here we have their latest release, their 2012 demo gives an important sign that they are sure to make waves in Europe in the foreseeable future. Sure the release itself is not exactly anything different but still it serves up nicely as a decent Thrash metal release. Prepare for some classic sounds and fast music as Hell's Thrash Horsemen aim to serve up a feast for your ears that will aim for anyone to come back to enjoy once more. Download This: "Servants Of The People" For Fans of: Slayer, Evile, classic Thrash Metal. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON PUNCH 'N' JUDY
'Crossing Over' It is interesting to see a band cop onto the traditional British puppet show Punch 'N' Judy and call themselves after it, especially when they are from Germany. The five-piece Folk Metal musicians deliver an almost identical sound to that of the said piece of theatrical art. 'Crossing Over' is the band's third album to date and delivers that classic Folk Metal sound with added extras through the elaborate way of using the accordion to develop a country folk or medieval metal sound, which is funny seeing as medieval metal does already exist. But what is captivating about this band and indeed the album is that both defy the rulebook and do things their own way. You can be assured that Punch 'N' Judy will capture attention across the European plains with their unique style of German Folk Metal. Download This: "Nur Der Narr" For Fans of: Schandmaul, Subway To Sally, Eluveitie [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON 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 CUERNOS DE CHIVO 'Exterminando A Dios' This could be the band and album that Spain has been waiting for to blast a hole in Europe with, the unrelenting force that Deathcore / Death Metal conquistadors Cuernos De Chivo exert on 'Exterminando A Dios' is enough to make the American mob sound pitiful. Crunching riffs and face-melting vocals will leave you pissing your pants as if you had a hangover after your post-hangover (if you catch my drift). 'Exterminando A Dios' is an essential album for those who love their Death Metal and or Deathcore as gritty as broken up tarmac, essentially an album that speaks a thousand words, but only one one sounds out above the rest, 'extraordinary'. What will the Spanish lot conjure up next is anyone's guess, but it's bound to be brutal. Download This: "La Mano De Dios" For Fans of: Heaven Shall Burn, Buried In Verona, Job For A Cowboy [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON VOXRA 'The Forgotten Hope That None Of Us Have...' Now the question is when will there be a release that features barely any music on it, oh wait. Yes, 'The Forgotten Hope That None Of Us Have...' by Voxra is exactly that. Supposedly it is a one man project that dips into the sounds of dark ambiance, depressive black metal and drone metal. Yeah right, perhaps the studio was shut or something, or the man behind it forgot his notes, because this release isn't even worth entertaining, seriously who would buy a release if no sound or virtually limited sound was on it? You might as well and try to rent air just for amusement. [1] RHYS STEVENSON SEAMOUNT 'Earthmother' Coming from Bavaria one would of thought Seamount's music would be as heavy as the stein's of beer that are delivered at Oktoberfest, but one was wrong. Germany's four piece Heavy Doom lords immerse the atmosphere on a joyous and less depressing sound that you would first expect given their lyrics pertain to paganism as a starting point, but as said they are far from depressing - but they do have that lovely thick bass sound going on. Sure the music on their fourth album 'Earthmother' is nothing new, it still warrants recognition as a decent enough release to garner attention across the continent. A definite must for anyone who loves Black Sabbath. Download This: "Aphrodites Child" For Fans of: Black Sabbath, Huntress [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON ENGRAVED 'Days We Dread' Engraved's 2012 demo is far better than previous releases without doubt, there is a lot more melody expressed in each song and at the same time more brutal vocals, this combined makes the demo much more like epic metal as the seconds tick by. 'Days We Dread' features the melodies exerted by fellow countrymen Scar Symmetry and the vocals of Marionette. But, Engraved play this there way and whilst they are not conventionally known outside of Sweden as such, they ought to be. If their demo 'Days We Dread' is a sign of what their debut album is going to be like, then I for sure will be wanting to hear it, the storm has begun... Download This: "Moments" For Fans of: Scar Symmetry, Marionette, The Unguided, early Sonic Syndicate [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON ZEPHYRA 'Kämpaglöd' Delivering their second EP is Sweden's furiously heavy Zephyra, their latest offering 'Kämpaglöd' delivers extremely bizarre vocals for their music choice, it is almost as if they had layered Black Metal vocals on a Heavy Metal foundation as the vocals are far from being classic Heavy Metal. 'Kämpaglöd' is one of those releases that is nothing special, yet it has something different to it, that classic irony of it being a common rarity. But what makes it like that is not so much the lesser quality of the recordings but more so the brutality pursued through the vocals and even more so the fact that the vocalist is married to the guitarist, whether this has an impact on the ferocity of the release is another question, but boy does 'Kämpaglöd' pack a solemn punch. Download This: "Route 611" [7] RHYS STEVENSON CHOSEN 'Resolution' What I want to know is why these guys are not signed? What on earth are the record labels thinking! Enter Irish Melodic Death Metal duo Chosen with their debut album 'Resolution', how apt the album title is given the amount of times the band has crossed the Atlantic to and from Canada. 'Resolution' itself conjures up that classic sound you would want to hear from a Melodic Death Metal album, gallant melodies push the musical elements to the limits as the guitars and vocals take charge of what could be Irish Metal album of the year. This is far beyond the megalithic Gothenburg sound that seems to dominate the metal waves, no.. 'Resolution' is in a league of its own and with Chosen now firmly set on terra firma once again, eyes will be turning once again to Ireland. Download This: "Mental Clarity" [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON KROWNN 'Hyborian Age' It is clear instantly that Italian Doom trio Krownn know their stuff, their premier demo 'Hyborian Age' which is released in a limited number of 200, features six tracks averaging out at six minutes long each, but never mind that because the music does the talking through thick guitar riffs and a rather bizarre fantasy feel to the music, which is funny since the bog standard doom metal release is meant to deal with depression, impending doom, and the like. There again, if you listen to 'Hyborian Age' closely you can notice a number of influences weaving in and out of the low-sound production. It's a decent enough start and is sure to get this band attention from the major metal music media, but for now they are a Italian gem, waiting to be discovered. Download This: "For The Throne Of Fire" For Fans of: Ghost, Black Sabbath, Cathedral, Candlemass [8] RHYS STEVENSON FORTID 'Pagan Prophecies' SCHWARZDORN Well to say the very least one is a little disappointed by Fortid's fourth album, not only have they depleted in the extreme music sound they are capable of producing, but the songs sound too much a like. 'Pagan Prophecies' is the Icelanders fourth outing and whilst it is the latest album released after their Voluspa trilogy, it is nowhere near as grandeur as their past efforts. But given credit it is a worthy attempt at carrying on their fabled music, 'Pagan Prophecies' is not entirely a slip-up but it is not in the same ball park as previous works that the band has duly done, sure it features a decent onslaught of Black / Viking Metal, but for the band to continue their previous success they will need to work much harder. Download This: "Sun Turns Black" For Fans of: Månegarm, Windir [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON AUTUMN OF AEONS 'Festival Of The Flesh' American four-piece Autumn Of Aeons take no hostages when delivering their latest offering 'Festival Of The Flesh', what can only be described as a delicate mix of gothic imagery, operatic and dramatic rock / metal, think along the lines of Masters of Dark Fire and Bauhaus meeting Therion and Nightwish, you get the idea. 'Festival Of The Flesh' features a plethora of songs that feature booming male and female vocals that take back operatic rock and metal back to its roots. 'Festival Of The Flesh' is sure to capture a lot of peoples attention, it's a shame that 'Festival Of The Flesh' is not an international release because I am sure the German market would love this music! Autumn of Aeons are a band that should be watched closely. Download This: "Midnight Masquerade" For Fans of: Bauhaus, Therion, Type O Negative, Nightwish [8] RHYS STEVENSON GRASSITY
'Genocide' Slamming old school Death Metal coming all the way from Slovakia, Grassity is a force to be reckoned with as the quintet shred bullets in making their premier EP 'Genocide', featuring the classic elements you would find from early bands like Napalm Death and the like, Grassity does all of that and much, much more. 'Genocide' will smash your skull in until you snort your last breath, it is a soul-crushing piece of musical wizardry that will surely get this lot the well deserved attention they need. Four tracks of unrelenting brutality explodes without any remorse and will take you alive, so you better be ready because this lot will put your favorite bands in their place. Download This: "Primitive" For Fans of: Napalm Death, Six Feet Under, Obituary [8] RHYS STEVENSON |
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