 TBOPTPIAS 'Caucasian Flagellation' INDEPENDENT Potentially hailing from Barbados, Tboptpias are veiled in secrecy and there's very little information about who is in the band, whether they are from Barbados or indeed if it's a legit band (think Rhanawa vs. Oriksha Shakpana). Either way 'Caucasian Flagellation' is a very interesting release as it binds together influences from both the Black and Death Metal genres and thus somehow develops it's own sound for Tboptpias to experiment with. With the raw and low-fi production adding a crisp and underground feel to it, this debut EP is one for the ages and will surely appeal to those who indulge in extreme metal from exotic locations... that is if they are from Barbados; we know Conrad are. Download This: "Cholera" - Click to listen For Fans of: Cannibal Corpse, Vader, Impiety [7] RHYS STEVENSON  MEMORIAM 'Ravaged Approach' INDEPENDENT Cyprus does not exactly spring to mind when you think of metal music, yet this island nation in the Mediterranean has a bustling metal scene, full of hidden gems that will get your moshing before you book flights to this sunny and hot place. Memoriam so happens to be one of these gems, this ten-legged Melodic Death outfit certainly know how to deliver a cranial-crunching release, 'Ravaged Approach' is the bands debut EP and it gives generous nods to the whole modern style with Gothenburg elements in tow. 2017 could be Memoriam's year because this sort of sound will do well around Europe as Melodic Death Metal seems to be in demand of late, watch this band with vigorous interest. Download This: "Sated Bull" - Click here to listen For Fans of: Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth, Scar Symmetry [8] RHYS STEVENSON  CHEPANG 'Lathi Charge' INDEPENDENT Now based in the USA, Nepalese Grindcore merchants Chepang drop their self-titled EP with such force that you cannot just simply ignore it. Come on the band features two drummers for heaven's sake, and yet at times you can distinguish this easily from the forethought of them having just the one. Singing exclusively in their native Nepali, Chepang know their stuff as they bolt political and social lyrics with the grizzly sound of thunderous drums, tight riffs and vocals so thick that they're hard to understand - what more can you expect? Chepang take their name from the indigenous Tibeto-Burman tribe and the EP title comes from the Indian Media expression for 'baton charge'... yeah imagine being hit by a baton, that's what this EP will do to you. Download This: "Bidwa Ko Charam Sukha" - Click to listen For Fans of: Napalm Death, Tengkorak, Multinational Corporations [8] RHYS STEVENSON  SILENT TORTURE 'Your Creation' INDEPENDENT Revelling in the shadows of Old-School Death Metal, New Zealanders Silent Torture keep the style alive with their debut EP 'Your Creation'. With muffled growls at the helm, this ten-legged leviathan of bestiality slams down on the table an EP that spits vulgarity, hate and abhorrence. Whilst the core of the EP glimmers with the old-school sound, there's some parts which nick elements from the Modern Death Metal style and thus if you like, keeping both camps happy. 'Your Creation' might not be unique in any shape or form, but it's certainly a delightful blast to unleash upon your neighbours - unless their elderly and then in which case may the zimmer frame moshpit commence (joke). Download This: "Blasphemy" - Click to listen For Fans of: Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  LUCIFUGE ROFOCALE 'Serpent Insurrection' BLACKENDEATH For the uneducated, Lucifuge Rofocale according to the Grand Grimoire, is the demon in charge of Hell's government by order of Lucifer. In the metal world they are a truly decent Black Metal outfit from the darkened pits of Nicaragua. This time round the trio come armed with their latest offering of demonic and bestial sermons in the form of their premier EP 'Serpent Insurrection'. Traditional Black Metal riffs course throughout whilst there's a delicate whiff of True Norwegian Black Metal in the atmospherics department, both aided by raucous vocals and riveting drumming. Overall a solid EP release that will definitely appeal to the Black Metal loyalists and those passionate about metal from exotic lands alike. Download This: "Luciferic Enslavement" - Click to listen For Fans of: Immortal, Carpathian Forest, Taake [8] RHYS STEVENSON  LUCID NIGHTMARE 'Lucid Nightmare' INDEPENDENT Northern Ireland is one of those metal scenes that despite having a wealth of talent, rarely sees any of it's offspring fledge outside of it's lands if only for a few bands, Gama Bomb for example. So when the attention turns towards the underground and bands like Lucid Nightmare deliver their first effort, eyebrows are raised, because when you listen to their debut self-titled effort, not only is it raw and delicious, it's true to the underground sound. 'Lucid Nightmare' is a release that whilst evidently lacks the ability to convince that the band is the real deal, it does come as a consolatory pleasant listen, one that borrows influences from Black Metal, Thrash Metal and Heavy Metal without straying into either one too far. 2017 should have high hopes for this quintet, they're clearly onto something. For Fans of: Toxic Holocaust, Slayer, Venom Download This: "Hidden Victims" - Click to listen [7] RHYS STEVENSON  COMMUNAL GRAVE 'Solace in Violencia' ENFORCER The members who make up the Pakistani Extreme Metal band Communal Grave have come out from their own communal grave (ha-ha... no), well the previous incarnation split back in 2011 before a new visage emerged just last year (2015) and with it they set on delivering a solid 'welcome back' release. The result? A powerful punch-in-the-face courtesy of their rather ironical debut album 'Solace in Violencia' which eventually came after 10 years since their inception. By throwing Melodic Death and Thrash Metal into the mixing pot, this Karachi-based horde have conjured up a release that is sure to draw some attention their way as its potency is second to none... it's sheer magnificence is untouchable. For Fans of: Scar Symmetry, Kreator, The Haunted Download This: "Pull The Trigger" - Click to listen [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  RAGE MOB 'Unforeseen Disaster' INDEPENDENT Done in the traditional style of South American Thrash Metal, Rage Mob's first ever demo 'Unforeseen Disaster' is laden with chugging riffs, headbanging vocals and Teutonic drums, but even more impressive is the variety of style on this demo. From the fast to the slick, 'Unforeseen Disaster' is a demo that should be heralded by the Paraguayan Metal scene as one of the finest releases seen this year. By taking the Groove influence from Sepultura and adding the brutality of Slayer, this quartet are set to embark on something remarkable in the years-to-come. Sticking to true 80's Thrash lyrics, the band dives head-first into social issues, violent unrest and humanity's demise, how more fitting can this be? Download This: "Ritual Of Violence" - Click to listen For Fans of: Slayer, Sepultura, Evile [8] RHYS STEVENSON  APU RUMI 'Puka Yaku' INDEPENDENT The self-proclaimed 'Andean Folk Metal' sextet known as Apu Rumi have stamped their mark on the Peruvian Metal scene with their ethnic take on the Power / Folk Metal style. By releasing their debut album 'Puka Yaku', which is entirely in the Quechua language; thus becoming the first metal band to do so, they've effectively created a new style of Folk Metal. Quechua so happens to be the native language of the Incas and so thus making this album and band rather authentic to Peruvian culture. Immerse yourself in infectious melodies, thunderous drums and riffs, harmonious and Amazonian atmospherics but also traditional Inca folk music. 'Puka Yaku' is a truly unique and mesmerising release that will set the trend for Peruvian Folk Metal in years to come. Download This: "Tanta Qarwa" - Click to listen For fans of: Mägo de Oz, Skiltron, Angra [8] RHYS STEVENSON  EXITUS
'Rot 'Em All' INDEPENDENT Hailing from The Philippines, the Extreme Metal trio Exitus bind together elements from Black Metal, Death Metal and Thrash Metal to once again conjure up another demo, 'Rot 'Em All'. Yet whilst it's only taken a year to unleash this beast, it's 15 years since the band's inception and so it makes you question what on earth have they been doing all this time? Sleeping under rocks? No idea. But the demo itself is not bad, it's not great, but it does well to pass the time. None the less Exitus will have their fair share of attention across the South-East Asian Metal scenes, but for the wider world? Questionable but certainly not wishful thinking. Download This: "This Metal Lust" - Click to listen For Fans of: Toxic Holocaust, Carpathian Forest, Immortal [7] RHYS STEVENSON
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 HELL: ON 'Age Of Oblivion' METAL SCRAP Considered as perhaps the best ever release Ukrainian Death / Thrash merchants Hell: On has ever done, 'Age Of Oblivion' blasts a hole in the wall through the trickery exerted on the guitars and the epic rate of knots on the drums, whilst the vocals themselves add that final blow. Ukraine may be the land that everyone knows because of Chernobyl, but there is much much more to this land and indeed Hell: On at first sight. 'Age Of Oblivion' is a beautiful soundtrack that features trippy double bass drumming on each song that acts as a foundation for the guitars to follow suit and as the vocals hit highs and low's the sign is clear, the 'Age Of Oblivion' has dawned and Ukrainian Metal has a new face. Download This: "Punk Guys" For fans of: Impious, Vader, Dew-Scented [8] RHYS STEVENSON  NECNON MORTUSS 'Likvidace' Whilst conventionally not the greatest at clocking on to how Black / Death Metal is meant to be played, Czech mob Necnon Mortuss simply don't give a flying f**k about how to play it. Take for example their second album 'Likvidace' and then take the inescapable reality that such bands play it differently and realize that this band are exactly that style of band. Even if they sing in their native tongue, it just adds a unique dimension to the release. If you're after fast and snappy riffs, grueling vocals and sharp drumming, look no further than Necnon Mortuss and 'Likvidace' as they battle their way forward out of their home nation with a sound that will keep Central Europe shaking. Download This: "Genetic Code NM07" For Fans of: Behemoth, Marduk, Dissenter [8] RHYS STEVENSON  SOLARIS (2006-2011) 'The Truth Can Only Be Learned by Marching Forward' P3LICAN Well the truth is if you have got the time to sit and wait for the music to really kick in, then you have patience, if not then this release is not for you. 'The Truth Can Only Be Learned by Marching Forward' was the second and last album by Latvia's Solaris, a Sludge Drone / Doom Metal entity that was short lived and could have been a good influence in the metal scene. Delivering a high range of melodramatic and deeply depressing sounds, this release peruses the darkened ambiance and uses it to lay the down the path for the rest of the album to take. Sure it takes a while to kick off, but for those who can wait the returns are worth it. Solaris evidently were not short of ideas and were surely to make waves outside of their native homeland, some could question the irony of their album title 'The Truth Can Only Be Learned by Marching Forward' to what happened with the band. Download This: "Distant Crusades / From Bloodwaves to Frost" For Fans of: sun o))), Jesu and Melvins [7] RHYS STEVENSON  DEVASTRACKTOR 'Beer Force One' There are three things you will need in Heavy Metal: tits, metal music and beer. However Devastracktor's specialty is beer as highlighted on their premier EP 'Beer Force One', a four track belter that encompasses Finnish Thrash Metal to it's core essence, the unrelenting shredding of riffs amongst furious drumming and grizzly vocals. As for each track, they offer that distinct classic sound experienced by bands like Holy Moses and Metallica / Slayer, for a band that has only been going four years, they are sure primed to take Europe by storm and enlighten the Nordic lands with streaks of white and blue and a sense of spine-snapping Thrash that will get everyone smashing skulls together like it's a piss up party, bottoms up. Download This: "Diesel Cobra" For Fans of: Holy Moses, Slayer, Metallica, Evile [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  SACRAMENT OV IMPURITY 'Anguishing In Obscurity' If you're after a generic Black Metal band that gauges out high shrieking vocals, a bitterly cold atmosphere and insane drumming, turn your head away from the Norwegian swamps and look at American duo Sacrament Ov Impurity... yeah right. Sure the duo's second attempt 'Anguishing In Obscurity' is covered lavishly in a coating of evil and occult music, but in all honesty it is so commonly produced that it begs the question are they any different? Well, yes and no. The first track 'God Ov This World' holds itself as a unique work of art yet ironically it highlights so many comparisons with other duo BM acts its unreal. On the other hand if you're musical fetish is raw underground and slaughtering musical abilities, then 'Anguishing In Obscurity' is an album for you, just don't count on the hot dogs getting any more satanic or at least hotter than this album. Download This: 'Under The Wretched Tomb' [7] RHYS STEVENSON  CITADEL BESIEGED 'The Winter Of Evermore' It would seem that the American style of the classic strain of Heavy Metal is so contagious that is mutates into a myriad of different slanted styles, this could be said about 'The Winter Of Evermore', the 2011 debut album by duo Citadel Besieged as it caresses Iron Maiden-esque style vocals like no other underground American Metal band does, sure the riffs at times seem a little repetitious and the drums at times appear to be non-existent, but the reality is that this is a well crafted piece of music, in fact you might as well consider it a hidden gem, one that glimmers with ugly beauty and silent loudness, on the other hand those solo's do seem to go a little overboard. However you spin it 'The Winter Of Evermore' is an album in it's own league. Download This: "Prelude To Anarchy" [7] RHYS STEVENSON  SCAPHISM 'Festering Human Remains' Imagine ordering a plate load of ribs smoked in the hottest BBQ sauce ever and then imagine gorging on it until you are violently sick, that is simply what 'Festering Human Remains' by Boston's Scaphism sounds like. A futile splattering of Brutal Death Metal that circulates the musical style laid out by bands like Suffocation, Psycroptic and Carcass; the sort of Death Metal that punches you in the face until you look like death (how aptly ironic in album title context). Scaphism may as well be the next exciting troupe to emerge from the American underground abyss and as 'Festering Human Remains' rightfully proves, they are a force to be reckoned with. The zombie apocalypse is now a reality, you better be scared... Download This: "Butchered And Devoured" [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  AMACHINE 'Abrasive Absurd' When you consider the New Zealand on a global scale, most metal outlets only think of Dawn Of Azazel and Ulcerate, but wallowing in the underground growths of this diverse nation is Amachine, a pure slamming Death Metal band with more haka haka than the All Blacks, more guts than their Australian adversaries and more brutality than a volcanic eruption, this is evidently proven on their phenomenal debut EP 'Abrasive Absurd', not only does it offer four tracks of totally unique sounds, but a whole new style of Death Metal. Amachine call it 'Aotearoa Metal', this reflects the Maori influences incorporated in the band by one Johnny Raimona, Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand. With all this in mind, the honest reality is that Amachine are a thousand leagues above any Death Metal band yet they are not well known, so for some truly cultural metal listen to Amachine. Download This: "Killer Behind The Shadows vs. The Great Beast" For Fans of: Suffocation, Gojira, Ulcerate [8] RHYS STEVENSON  NONSERVIAM 'Ordinance Of Reason' Could this be the moment Malaysia explodes onto the international scene with a band that will totally represent them? It would seem that way, Melodic Death Metal fanatics Nonserviam deal justice to their nations undiscovered metal scene with their sensational debut EP 'Ordinance Of Reason', gut-rotten vocals surge through the chaotic composition of slaying riffs and tantalizing drumming to mold a sound that is guaranteed to get record labels perking ears up, 'Ordinance Of Reason' spews out a fluid torrent of gritty Death Metal that would make any fan wet their pants whilst the melodies exerted would make Alexi Laiho poop his. All eyes in years to come will turn to the Nonserviam storm as it brews and gathers strength and excels themselves to be the rightful flag flyers of the Malaysian Metal scene. Download This: "Fragments" For Fans of: Children of Bodom, Dark Tranquility, Insomnium [9] RHYS STEVENSON  IMMENSION
'Immension' Ok so a few years ago Immension released their self titled debut EP, this will be soon followed up this year by their second EP 'The Enemy Within' so it will be interesting to see how the band changes or if they will continue the same sound found throughout this release. 'Immension' is a delicate balance of classic Heavy Metal with some rather melodic and mellow songs that keep the calmness and extremity worlds apart. Yet what Immension cleverly do is throw in a whole host of other elements such as harsh vocals, progressive elements (especially on the guitars) and fast drumming, all in all whether you like them or not, this band could be the next big thing. Download This: "In Vain" For Fans of: Bullet For My Valentine, Avenged Sevenfold, Evile [8] RHYS STEVENSON |
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