GMA - Vol152 - Rotten Doom, Misth, Doomed From Day One, Violentory, Wretched Soul, The Zen, Satcconnia, Agony Of The Bleeding Flesh, Shutdown, Voltax

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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