GMA - Vol147 - The Order Of Chaos, Overload, Break The Boundaries, Desperate Spinsters, Reality Deformed, Theopsya, Black Demon, Red Descending, Dark Vision, Haemic

THE ORDER OF CHAOS
'Sexwitch'

Marking their welcomed return is Canadian five-piece The Order of Chaos, with their new EP 'Sexwitch' out in the wilds of planet metal it is clear that they are carrying on with their ill-fated epic metal. Once again they layer funky Heavy Thrash Metal music with a mix of grizzly and harmonic Power Metal vocals. What sets this lot once again apart from the plethora of metal bands who play this specific style of metal is that they have elements of funk here and there, this can be experienced roughly 3/4 of the way through the song 'Victim Of Circumstance'. Now all in all if you thought Canadian syrup was a sweet and potentially sickening experience if consumed en mass, then those who cant bare it stay clear of The Order of Chaos, for this lot will give your daily dosage an acidic twang.

Download This: "Victim Of Circumstance"

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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OVERLOAD
'Blood For Blood'

Sometimes the good old ways cut it, sometimes its best to go back to basics and sometimes its meant to be a classic. These all apply to the debut album by Kentucky Thrash maniacs Overload, 'Blood For Blood' eliminates all the fancy stuff implored by modern bands and erects the classic sounds of 80's metal and rock influences from the same era, so imagine the whole classic Motorhead meets early Slayer scenario and then add in pinches of grit and burly attitude that together enable 'Blood For Blood' to be a timeless classic. Sure some will think it's the basic common Heavy / Thrash Metal that every band seems to produce, but as said they aren't in the modern vein. 'Blood For Blood' is a classic album, underground and original.

Download This: "Widow's Peak"

For Fans of: Motorhead, AC/DC, Slayer, Alice Cooper

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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BREAK THE BOUNDARIES
'Masks'

It takes a lot to escape the trap of being lauded as a generic Metalcore band, something that seems to be catching a lot on these days. Once in a while you will get a band who defies that logic, this time its Break The Boundaries. The Croydon buccaneers serve up a grizzly slice of bone-crunching Metalcore that snaps in elements from different music areas, from the vocals diversifying in as far as moving from grit to clean to almost an echoing whisper, but that is just the forefront of their EP 'Masks', the backdrop is a grueling explosion of glass-shattering drums and senses-confounding riffs that merge together to wipe that silly smirk off your face. Call them what you like, call them 'just another Metalcore' band, but behind the 'Masks' are five gentlemen that bowl more balls out than you can deliver in a mosh-pit, make no mistake about it, these guys are going far.

Download This: 'Masks'

For Fans of: Skindred, Bring Me The Horizon, Despite My Deepest Fear, The Dead Lay Waiting

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

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DESPERATE SPINSTERS
'Sexless Restless And Cruel'

Sadly this Wisconsin lot seem to have split-up, but it is uncertain whether that is true or not, but what is true is that the sole release by Desperate Spinsters, their EP 'Sexless Restless And Cruel' is a sexy Crossover Thrash laden release that has enough anger and sounds on it to make it a party piece. Armed with a plethora of samples and erratic time signatures, this is a release that you either love it or hate it or are simply left speechless by it, I feel the latter. 'Sexless Restless And Cruel' decimates anything that is caught in the path of it's audio destruction, simply put it is a release everyone should own, it's classic, funny and 666% metal. Now where is the beer barrel...

Download This: 'An Orgy Of Death Starring You & Me'

For Fans of: Zimmers Hole, Strapping Young Lad, Slayer

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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REALITY DEFORMED
'Promo'

It is always interested when the first promo or demo first sees daylight as this paves the way usually the path that the band is going to take, in Reality Deformed's case, it is not looking good. What we have here is a fairly decent attempt at Black Metal as it builds up a bleak atmosphere and bitter feel to the music, but regarding the vocals, well... listening to a cat fight in your back garden is more entertaining, seriously if the duo from The Netherlands want to improve, then the vocals need to have more presence, be more sharp, be more noticed than being smothered by the excessive guitar playing. Other than that, the drums are probably the only best thing about this release, but given credit it could have been a lot, lot, worse.

[4.5] RHYS STEVENSON

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THEOPSYA
'Tales Of An Angel'

A classic case of beauty and the beast right here, well you can say that, but the honorable truth is that Theopsya, France's angelic symphonic Gothic / power metal group emit such a delicate sound on their debut EP 'Tales Of An Angel' released 2 years ago, that they could easily be dubbed as the 'product of merging Nightwish with Within Temptation'. 'Tales Of An Angel' features a whole host of songs that carry such darkened emotions and Gothic beauty that resulted in Toulouse being splattered by black paint as to match the feeling this release delivers. With the sensational vocals being matched by a virtuoso-like performance on the guitars and a solid drumming backdrop finalizing the phenomenal atmosphere developed, Theopsya may be a hidden gem that deserves a lot of attention.

Download This: "Blood & Sand"

For Fans of: Nightwish (Tarja era), Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, Macbeth

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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BLACK DEMON
'Demons of War, Demons of Darkness'

There are times where one thinks, just because you can play an instrument or sing, does not mean you are good enough to be in a metal band, this is somewhat the case for Black Demon, in particular their 2012 demo 'Demons of War, Demons of Darkness', the guitars are solid and the drums perfect, the vocals are left to be desired, they are far from the clean crispness you would expect from the Heavy Metal genre, in fact the vocals are so gritty, tarmac companies could use them to make new roads. It has nothing to do with the Spanish accent, the vocals are just awful. Just imagine you are listening to an instrumental if you come across the demo, it is the best option for you.

Download This: "Hell of Steel"

[5.5] RHYS STEVENSON

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RED DESCENDING
'Kingdoms' + 'Burned To Death DVD'

Ten years down the line and Australian Melodic Death mob Red Descending are still going strong, firing on all cylinders and showing great sharp determination to make themselves stand out, this is evident on their latest album release 'Kingdoms' which dropped 2 years ago, featuring low-tune drums and bitterly sharp riffs that sit nicely in the background whilst in the forefront, the vocals let rip on a magnitude frequency that was reported to have shook the entire city of Perth to their knees. 'Kingdoms' is a harmonious piece of music that will garner attention from across the land and sea, sadly though it needs to be pushed out more and with that in mind, the true voice of Australian Melodic Death metal has spoken through a mixture of angelic female vocals and gritty male vocals.

For their supporting DVD 'Burned To Death' which was released last year, features footage from their 'Kingdoms' CD launch back on 19th Auugust 2011 and also a video clip of the song 'Burned To Death' which was filmed 4 months later in December. From what can be seen, the live footage shows a burgeoning crowd in a relatively small venue but with various shots of the band at different angles and an entertained crowd, the mood was visually powerful and emphatic. But like most live footage, you would have to be there to experience the sheer beauty and power behind the live performance. With the occasional mosh-pit ensuing at every haphazard riff, it was clear that the band had the crowd going throughout the night.

[7.5] + [8] RHYS STEVENSON

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DARK VISION
'Ingrowth'

2012 marked the hallowed return of Greece's very own Black / Death lords Dark Vision, coveted in darkened misery and eternal furious anger, their latest EP 'Ingrowth' produces a sound that will kick your teeth in, so much so you wish weren't born. Soul crushing vocals smash your brain apart like wearing away rock from acid rain, whilst the riffs and solemn drumming finish you off bit by bit. 'Ingrowth' is a release not for the faint of heart, nor for the pathetic weak either. That means, if you listen to soft metal bands, this is toxic poison to you, this release is only for the true believes of the dark side of metal, end of.

Download This: "Pain Redirected"

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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HAEMIC
'Fields of Sanguine'

At times international projects work, at others they don't, but what is unique about this quartet who hail from the USA, Hungary and Taiwan respectively is that they have never met and yet have the expertise to deliver the album 'Fields of Sanguine', a futile explosion of symphonic elements that caress the grim sounds of Black Metal and Death Metal in such a way that it makes it all coalesce into indescribable noise. If you're into your extreme metal and love a whole plethora of metal elements coming together from various aspects of the metal genre, then Haemic's 'Fields of Sanguine' is for you, think Cradle of Filth mixed with Dimmu Borgir and Strapping Young Lad. You get the idea.

Download This: "Stellar Meltdown"

For Fans of: Dimmu Borgir, Strapping Young Lad, Shade Empire, Cradle of Filth

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON