GMA - Vol174 - Heaven's Scum, Purgamentum, Blacknetic, Dyer, Hyperial, Necronautical, Clamus, Napalm Storm, Sovengar, Belgarath

HEAVEN'S SCUM
'It All Ends In Pain'

Luxembourg is one of those countries that rarely gets looked at when regarding metal music, so when Death Metal mobsters Heaven's Scum arrive on the scene with their debut album 'It All Ends In Pain', the initial question is will this gain them attention outside The Benelux. Well it should do, with gritty and dirty vocals, rampant riffs and unforgiving drums producing a sound that would appeal to any Death Metal fan, this is an album that should catch the eye of a label or two. With an hours material at the helm, you will not get bored easily and nor will you switch it off, in fact by the end of the album you will realize that 'It All Ends In Pain'.

Download This: "Mutality"

For Fans of: Lamb of God, Unleashed, Machine Head

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

PURGAMENTUM
'Aschewelt'

Underground Black Metal has to have a certain element to it to make it credible and worth the buzz in the pits of hell. Germany's Purgamentum are close but no cigar, their premier album 'Aschewelt' delivers what is expected of such a release but lacks that element of convincing. It has to strike emotion into the listener and it appears to be hard to find any trace of passive emotion. As the album title suggests it is in German and thus whilst anyone learning the language may find it useful, it unfortunately will remain within the German-speaking Countries. Overall it offers promise but at the same time questions the sincerity of the release.

Download This: "Erntemond"

For Fans of: "Underground Black Metal", "German Black Metal"

[6] RHYS STEVENSON

BLACKNETIC
'Hell & Fire - Demo 2014'

The downside about DIY or low budget recordings is that the majority of them are low sounded and are of poor quality. Sadly Blacknetic's first demo 'Hell & Fire - Demo 2014' finds itself in that category, but that's not unexpected of a demo. The music itself takes elements of Heavy Metal and Thrash Metal and is meshed together to make a sound that would appeal to mostly anyone. Hampering down the release as said is the low quality of sound, not only that but even when turning the speakers up a few notches, there is a lack of seriousness and this really renders the demo a waste of time, of course the band would disagree but que sera sera.

Download This: "Erratic Kingdom"

For Fans of: "Anything below volume 3", "low sounds", "standard Heavy / Thrash"

[6] RHYS STEVENSON

DYER
'The Evolutionary Process'

At times you just get bored hearing the same old coming out, sure bands say that they are original and create their own music, but half of the time that is a fabricated lie. Now whilst Dyer's EP
'The Evolutionary Process' may offer something fresh, it certainly is not completely new. Concocting a blend of Grooved up Thrash Metal, this Californian unit obviously missed the memo that said think outside the box, simply because this EP has 'standard writing' written over most of it. The irony is that it so bad it is that good, at times the vocals lack powerr, the riffs fail to come out of the strings and the drums are so standardized it would take someone like One Direction to come up with something much better, albeit "Fist-Print", being the only song that ticks all the boxes. Dyer may have had three years since their debut album but these were clearly wasted.

Download This: "Fist-Print"

For Fans of: Machine Head, Pantera, Annihilator

[5] RHYS STEVENSON

HYPERIAL
'Blood & Dust'
BLACKTEAMMEDIA

Black / Death Metal has just received a face lift, exposing the inside core of this rather hostile music genre. Entering the halls of the abyss is Polish quintet Hyperial with their second opus of Modern Extreme Metal, infusing together the riotous and unforgiving power of the Behemoth machine, with the Modern sounds and spine-chilling elements churned out by The Kovenant, Hyperial whip up a sound that is guaranteed to make you think twice about listening to 'that new album' by Polish veterans Behemoth. Whilst it may not be as heavy, what it lacks in heaviness it makes up for scintillating orchestrated pieces, from start to finish Hyperial unleash a barrage of hell that only the fans of Extreme Metal would get a boner over. 'Blood & Dust' could be a contender for Polish Metal album of the year.

Download This: "Gehenna Upon His Feet"

For Fans of: The Kovenant, Behemoth, Tristwood, Anaal Nathrakh

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

NECRONAUTICAL
'Black Sea Misanthropy'

Now if Blackbeard had a favorite metal band, because of the aptness of the band name it would probably be English 'Nautical Metal' sea merchants Necronautical. But don't panic, they are not singing about sea shanty's, pirates, beer, or any other cliche topics, but rather the darkness of the seven seas. Their debut album 'Black Sea Misanthropy' is anchored deep in the Black Metal style and explodes in a vibrant array of captivating Death Metal, Folk Music elements and evident Black Metal rallying assaults. Although this could be an apt soundtrack to the film "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", it would be great if they carried on this 'dark side of the seven seas' theme. What this trio have served up here is an exciting promise of things to come, therefore watch this band closely with intent as they could well become Alestorm's darker self and your new favorite Black Metal band.

Download This: "Pride In The Great Colossus"

For Fans of: Alestorm, Carach Angren, Black Metal

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

CLAMUS
'III'

The first question to ask is how is this EP called 'III' when there only appears to be two EP's released? The second question is are Clamus more Death Metal or Thrash Metal? And the final question is where do Clamus go on from here, because what they have delivered here is decent but it lacks that spark that would see them breaking out of the Brazilian Metal scene. Sure the drums are on full throttle, the riffs are exploding like dynamite on speed and the vocals are as brutal as a hangover at the World Cup, but this is nothing new and so lacks that element of convincing listeners whether Clamus had their blueprints laid out right for the second EP or they simply lit a joint and lost their imagination through getting high. One thing is for sure, the drums hold this EP up off the ground.

Download This: "Nitro Blast"

For Fans of: Sepultura, Slayer, Carcass

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

NAPALM STORM
'Harmless Cruelty'
WORMHOLEDEATH

Let's see if you can make it through Napalm Storm's debut album 'Harmless Cruelty' without actually falling asleep, this is just basic standard Thrash Metal and does not really feature anything spectacular about it. Even perhaps the most ardent Thrash Metal fans may go out for a fag or whip on Justin Bieber to alleviate their hearing from the torture experienced by this poor release. 'Harmless Cruelty' may well have been released one year after the band reformed, but with this effort time was clearly rushed and thus the album released lacks balls, or at least any convincing element that would otherwise dub the release 'decent', these Spanish lot have got a huge task on their hands to make a come back from this...

Download This: "Slaves Of Divinity'

For Fans of: Metallica, Slayer, Evile

[4] RHYS STEVENSON

SOVENGAR
'Vindicta Et Gloria'
ART GATES

Soverngar the Spanish Viking Metallers... yes you read that right 'Spanish Viking Metal', serves up their debut album to the masses with enough shields and swords to recreate the Helm's Deep scene in the film 'Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers', unfortunately the sound summoned is a beyond poor as the vocals are very naff. They sound far too forced for their own liking and this alone is the reason why 'Vindicta Et Gloria' is a hit-and-miss release, it seems too pushed in your face to really appreciate it. The riffs are too standard, in tow with the solo's that seem to be just whacked in without thought, the drums however give the release a glimmer of hope. The only major positive aspect the album actually has is that it exists, the riffs seem too uninspiring and the drums more repetitious than someone with a Obsessive-Compulsive disorder in repeating themselves, the minor positive aspect is that they gave it a go.

Download This: "Fight Or Die"

For Fans of: Tyr, Ensiferum, Skálmöld

[4] RHYS STEVENSON

BELGARATH
'Wanderer'

Eastern Europe tends to have a huge love affair for the darker styles of metal, so therefore it comes as no surprise that arising from the back streets of Sofia is Bulgaria's newest Black Metal offering. Belgarath are a three-piece machine who have just unleashed catastrophic hell through their premier album 'Wanderer', an unrelenting charge of lightning-fast Black Metal courses throughout the entire album, leaving the listener gasping for blood as a result. Corroded riffs lead the battle charge through the storm that sits within the core of album, whilst the shrieking vocals boil your blood at the same time as the drums set the moody atmosphere, this is not a band to joke around with, they mean hell.
'Wanderer' may just prove to be Bulgarian Metal album of the year.

Download This: "Dead End"

For Fans of: Darkthrone, Immortal, Marduk

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON