  BLOODLINE SERIES 1, 2 & 3 Compilation WHATEVER NEXT / ROCK MATRIX So unleashing the ultimate smackdown of Metal is the Bloodline Series, spanning from series 1 to 3 and delivering a feast-for-your-ears exhibition of some of the finest talent that's found in the Bandquest competition. Bands all over the country are found on this remarkable series as well as a rainbow-array of Music genres, from your breakneck Thrash Metal to spine-chilling Black Metal and from your gut-wrenching Death Metal to your soul-soothing Heavy Metal. But the bands on the compilations are not all unsigned, per se Sanctorum from Colchester are signed to Auburn Fox Records, but let's face it this is a grand vehicle for those unsigned to show what they can do and hope to gain a name for themselves, from Southend hopefuls Merciless Fail to ex-Essex University student band Dismanibus, let alone forgetting The Furious Horde are to play Metalcamp in Slovenia this year! What you hear here is not just a collection of songs, but a true monument to the beautiful side of the British Metal scene, nay the winner of the Bandquest competition gets to play at the Bloodstock Open Air festival this year. For all metal fans, getting these compilations will be money worth investing in as there is the likelihood you will be hearing bands who in years to come are going to be big, let alone huge in their local scenes. Summing up the three compilations without delving into insane lengths of paragraphs will be a tad tricky, however the best way to sum them up? Let the listener decide, let the rollercoaster begin and let Heavy Metal once again spew out fresh sounds. As Jimi Hendrix put it "Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music", so for the bands involved in the compilations and he Bandquest competition, they are not just producing music, they are making the changes to the British music scene and with this next wave of British Metal, nothing is going to stop them from re-establishing the United Kingdom as a major player in the Global Metal music scene. The compilations and t-shirts supporting Bandquest can be purchased from the Darkstore website individually (CDs and t-shirts priced accordingly), but can be bought altogether at any Bandquest event for £12 (3 CDs, 1 Bandquest t-shirt and 1 copy of the Altascope magazine), check out the Unified Sounds FB group for details on upcoming heats in London, Kent, Essex, Sussex, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. [10] + [10] + [10] RHYS STEVENSON  SCARRED BY BEAUTY 'Sutra' MIGHTY MUSIC Well it would seem almost imperfect not to call Scarred By Beauty a band of whom features ex-Hatesphere vocalist Jon Albrechtsen a threat to Danish Metal. Their debut 2011 album 'Sutra' carries enough gusto and whim to separate the virtuous from the down-right dirty. This is Hardcore-meets-Thrash metal = Thrashcore territory and should not be dismissed as another petty 'core' genre. With riffs as sharp as blades and drumming as hard-hitting as a knock-out migraine, Scarred By Beauty are set to take Europe by storm and set ablaze the roaming fields of Copenhagen. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  MORPHING INTO PRIMAL 'Principios De Autodestruccion' INDEPENDENT (RELEASED VIA XTREEM MUSIC) Certainly not what you would expect from a Melodic Death Metal, pummelling drums only equate to half of the miscategorising of Spain's Morphing Into Primal, with more emphasis on Death Metal being as clear as crystal, the quartet seem to know what they are doing, sure the language barrier may prove an issue for those non-Spanish speakers, but the music deals with that in sensational form. Or make the latter stages a brief moment, for the album does offer melodic death metal in the 'Gothenburg style'; nay they are not a cloned Dark Tranquillity, but a version of the Swedes. Sure there is nothing new exhibited from this group but don’t dismiss them that easily, they are due to bring something new to the Spanish Metal scene and with this effort, they can only excel. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  STALWART 'Manifest Of Refusal' PRC MUSIC There is something about Russian Metal that seems to have that spine-tingling effect and Stalwart's fourth outing is no exception. ''Manifest Of Refusal' conjures up the prolific sound of blazing drums and ear-shredding riffs, both brutal enough to leave listeners with hearing problems. If carnage was evident in music, this sums it right to the bone. A futile example of speed and intricate technicality posted on an apocalyptical sound echoing to the crossing of Behemoth-meets-Gojira style Death/Thrash. If you thought that the Russians were only good for Pagan or Slavic Folk Metal, you'd be mistaken, prepare to be disembowlled, as this is shortlisted for Russian Metal album of the year. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  MASS HYPNOSIS
'Sanctimonious' GEENGER RECORDS Carrying on from the well-received 'Dis4nimation' which was released back in 2010, Croatian Melodic Death quintet Mass Hypnosis return with their follow-up 'Sanctimonious', at first it seems like another cliché-loaded Melodic Death album, but the tides soon change into the sounds of Hail Of Bullets, In Flames and The Dead Lay Waiting; a culmination of Melodic death Metal, with breakdowns and thrashing drums here and there. There is a new sound with this band and although the lyric topics are on verge of controversy, the imminent result is a futile explosion of Modern Metal. Comparing to their debut album, there is more orchestration present here and this gives a greater brutal experience. 'Sanctimonious' is to take this Croatian bunch into further fields across Europe and are certainly ones to watch out for. [8] RHYS STEVENSON
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 GRAVETY 'Into The Grave' SOURCE OF DELUGE Smackdown and let rip to the sounds of Heavy Thrash Metal, or one should say the debut album 'Into The Grave' released by Gravety. The German quintet lash together a unique sound that reflects the glorified Oktoberfest in its prime, sensational riffs and menacing drumming all adding flavour to the mind-blowing vocals that cascade and scale the volume levels like no tomorrow. 'Into The Grave' is a strong starting point and it is highly promising that this band are to get a name for themselves across Europe. Finally the missing component to the Heavy Thrash Metal vein has come, the anxiety can now dissipate. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  SPECTRAL 'Gateway To Death' CCP You know, it seems to be that when German musicians adopt Viking Black Metal as their chosen music genre, they seem to nail it perfectly, however taking Spectral's fifth offering 'Gateway To Death' into account, they do more than just nail it, they obliterate it. Blasting out blastbeats like no tomorrow and utilising a chaotic vocal range, the quintet are in no doubt amateurs in producing quality music and as such are not even remotely reluctant to go the extra mile, not much could be said about the German cars, but that's Industrial Metal surely? Spectral are amongst the elite of Viking Black Metal bands who do more than shriek, they totally mean it. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  RAVENTALE 'Bringer of Heartsore' SOLITUDE As if the Ukrainians were going to let Russia steal the spotlight with the factory of doom pumping out disturbing Metal music day-in, day-out. Fat chance, as Raventale's fifth album saw light in 2011 it brought a majestic sound to it, one of which is totally different to conventional Black / Doom Metal albums, that said the melancholy and misery still resides in the most darkened atmospheres one could muster in such a musical genre, but with 'Bringer of Heartsore' being perhaps the best release by the one-man project, nothing can deter anyone from not calling this a work of art. Blistering drums acting as a forerunner to the rawest guitars heard, even the distortion is enough to create a double atmosphere, but with that in mind 'Bringer of Heartsore' is definitely one to have in anyone's collection. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  TEARS OF MANKIND 'Memoria' SOLITUDE Can't even begin to explain what this is about, it fails to even create anything but percussive noise, even if the rudimentary beginning of 'Memoria' is particularly unwelcoming, the album for which is number four for the Russian one-man project Tears Of Mankind is absolutely abysmal. The drums appear out of sync to the guitars and the vocals don't even resemble anything like Gothic Metal, given due that its meant to Melodic Gothic / Doom Metal, it more resembles a successful Metal version of Justin Bieber with accessorized corpse paint, sad to say this is perhaps the worst attempt to date. [2] RHYS STEVENSON  STORM OF ASHES
'Trial By Fire' Post-humourously, this is a good solid demo release, Storm of Ashes wield together the epic sounds of Thrash Metal with the ballsy GMN - Vol73 - Motionless In White, Rise To Remain, Zoltar Speaks, Mave Infinitum, Affliction9/3/2012  MOTIONLESS IN WHITE 'Creatures' FEARLESS It was only a matter of time before a new genre crossed the ever-expanding chasm of Metalcore, this fell to the dark genre of Gothic Metal and thus spawned a new sound, capitalised by American sextet Motionless In White. 'Creatures' their debut album, released in 2010, delivers that sound that fits the 'Gothcore' tag in completeness. With the atmospheric synths delivering a spine-chilling blow of insane melodies and the rest of the music encasing the listener with a powerful smackdown of straight-edge Metalcore, Motionless In White are due to take the world by storm, by delivering a unique twist and captivating ears everywhere, the old Gothic renaissance has been brought back to life. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  RISE TO REMAIN 'City of Vultures' EMI Hailing from a metal bloodline, Austin Dickinson and his unholy compatriots in Rise To Remain smash out the of London Metal scene with a belter, collaborating the harsh heavy sounds of Metalcore with the flowing elegancy of Melodic Metal. It would seem apparent that the album itself has a story to itself, for each song has a build-up and an anti-climax, but even so with the guitar virtuoso being present and the soul-soothing vocals adding the third dimension to this magnificent debut, 'City of Vultures' is perhaps the sentimental sound to be attached to Rise To Remain forever. 'City of Vultures' is one solid proof that British Metalcore has only just begun, let the battle commence. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  ZOLTAR SPEAKS 'Treatment' There just seems to be a trend amongst South-West English metal bands, one trend unnoticed. But that trend is heavily hinted with Zoltar Speaks, most bands in Somerset are near breaking-point, breaking the underground barrier. With their four track EP 'Treatment' released last year, this is a prime example of pure Melodic Heavy Metal, with the vocals nearly reminiscent of vocalists such as Amy Lee and Avril Lavigne and the music itself taking influence from Iron Maiden at its peak, Zoltar Speaks are the voice of Somerset. 'Treatment' delivers a powerful knock-out punch with each song and offers no way of forgiving mercy, not even a respite from complete audio annihilation. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  MARE INFINITUM 'Sea Of Infinity' SOLITUDE PRODS. Calm and depression may not always work together, but when applied to the Russian two-man band Mare Infinitum, it does. The Atmospheric Doom / Death Metal duo create a world full of enchantment, mystic and sensational sounds, all of which amount to their debut album 'Sea Of Infinity', burdening a hefty 55 minutes worth of music in five tracks, so much for keeping one entertained. Mare Infinitum are like most Russian Doom Metal bands and so therefore the cliché of the genre becomes the norm, in one way there lies nothing relatively new with the album, but it offers some respite in that it in places has an upbeat side, but lacks the final panache. [6.5] RHYS STEVENSON  AFFLICTION
'Eyes Of Horror' SALUTE Darkened sadness drapes the misery and despair with the sounds of Doom / Death Metal project Affliction, operated by one Satanic Tony, of whom owns Salute Records, delivers an almighty blow to the heart with this six track demo, with raw vocals at the forefront and sensational music acting as a foundation for perhaps the most evil music created by Satanic Tony, this is one demo most underground Metal fans should have in their collection. Subtle and mesmerising goes the compositions, although not powerful enough to spark competition from the Russians, it does however send a clear message of desirable hate and sufferable pain. [7] RHYS STEVENSON |
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