 DROWLICH 'Benighted Illumination' Whirling and twisting the cold bitterness of the frostbitten landscape of Finland is newcomers Drowlich with their debut demo 'Benighted Illumination' released last year, although it is a two-track release, it has the feeling of a full EP, majestic and spine-chilling atmospheric music encompassed by soft Black Metal vocals and a sense of darkness prowls the room with enticing consequences, essentially a feast for the ears. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  ECHIDNA 'Manifests Of Human Existence' Solid Greek Metal from Echidna's debut full-length album 'Manifests Of Human Existence' comes in a unique style, essentially due to the fact they have incorporated traditional Greek musical influences to further make the sound their own unique production, whilst the vocals are not the clearest, the overall effort is a decent one, the drums are ruthless and the guitars are youthless, meaning it's mature sounding, such 'Manifests Of Human Existence' should not be ignored. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  MASSIVE SLAVERY 'Global Enslavement' MAPLE METAL Quebec based Melodic Death Metal / Metalcore mob Massive Slavery are the next export from this French speaking region of Canada, with their exhilarating debut album 'Global Enslavement' released last year, this is an essential album for any fan of either genre, sounding a slower-paced band unlike The Dead Lay Waiting from England it is heavy as well as brutally apt in that the riffs and vocals are both luscious and complex, this is a total new breed of Metal, a tale of 'Global Enslavement'. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  KLINIKA 'Безглузда опора сучасників Сонц&' SATANARSA Ukrainian Gothic Metal trio Klinika spawn out darkness in their premier album 'Безглузда опора сучасників Сонц&' released last year, captivating the essence of the Ukrainian language the Kiev group channel their music through a field of despair, sorrowful lairs and Eastern European atmospheric catacombs, all leaving the audible pieces beckoning on themselves within an abrupt abhorrent alteration in musical composition. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  SOLARWARD
'As The Sky Stares Down' MORE HATE PRODS Nature-infused Melodic Black Metallers Solarward emerge from the wooded forests of Minsk to conjure up their debut album 'As The Sky Stares Down' which was released in 2009, it sees near-raw vocals and Cradle Of Filth style musical compositions with added nature influences such as wolves baying at the moon, this in turn with many other noises creates a natural atmosphere to it and in it's own way makes this band unique, so much so Solarward are flying the flag for the Belarusian Metal scene. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON
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 BLODWEN 'Black Symphony' RED RIVET Indonesian Symphonic / Neo-Classical Power Metal quintet come out of the darkness with their debut album 'Black Symphony' released last year, crossing between Amberian Dawn and Nightwish, this is one of Indonesia's hidden treasures, with heavenly vocals equating the beautiful sound of a waterfall and music to complement the vocals in extraordinary style, Blodwen are a band to watch out for, bringing the best of Modern style Metal with the eccentric Oriental culture. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  MY FORGOTTEN GOD 'My Forgotten God' SATANARSA Ukrainian Gothic Doomsters My Forgotten God caused a depressive stir-up amongst the Ukrainian Metal scene with their 2009 self-titled demo, essentially because it is more so better as an instrumental than a music album, simply put the vocals arent the greatest but they arent naff, overall the general composition of this album is well earned and essentially it is a good album to have for those Doom Metal fans. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  DREAD 'Cerebral Mutilation' Italian Gorecore (Death Metal/Metalcore) quartet Dread sound off the zombies and guns with their debut full-length album 'Cerebral Mutilation' released last year, mixing the deep vocals found in Goregrind bands with Metalcore to savour any hearing going around, this is one of those albums that when hits the CD drive, clicks into iTunes without no problems, with a bitch-load of riffs and erotic breakdowns, this is Italian Metal at its best and heaviest. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  MY LAMENT 'Broken Leaf' SOLITUDE PRODS. Belgian Doom / Death Metal newbies released their debut album way back in 2009 and with it came a warning of depression riding this album, they do however make both genre's work together in tune and at the same time come to a just conclusion that is one of Belgium's darkest albums, one full of mystery, ever-changing atmospheres and eccentricity, the album 'Broken Leaf' is all about sitting back and relaxing to some Doom Metal with the Death Metal on the side, a work of excellence. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  NIERTY
'Acolytes Of The Descent' MISANTROF ANTIRECORDS Hailing from the mountains of Wales is Nierty who have travelled through the winding valleys to deliver their third onslaught of Black/Death Metal in the form of their latest album 'Acolytes Of The Descent' released last year along with two other albums before this one in the same year, armed with a sinister display of riffs and extreme vocals, both supplemented with harsh drumming, Nierty is the beacon of Wales for exhibiting the darkest music from the land of the dragons, five years and they do not look likely to give up any minute. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  DIRGE ETERNAL 'Lucifer's Lullabye' The debut 2010 EP from Finnish Heavy Dark Metallers Dirge Eternal brings together the darkness of the Finnish wilderness, transcribing the atmosphere into the wintry feeling that comes with the winters of this Scandinavian country, whilst not as heavy as Iron Maiden, Dirge Eternal uses keyboards to install a dynamic elevated atmosphere of near-Gothic exemplars, in relation to the forbode Finnish Gothic scene, this is one step up the ladder to exclaim the cleverness of the Finnish musicians, for Dirge Eternal this is just the start of something big. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  IMHORGL 'Antinomian' Australian Melodic Black Metal stalwarts Imhorgl return with their next blasting of ear-burning assaults, 'Antinomian' is far heavier than Cradle Of Filth, but is a tad over the top in terms of heaviness and over-production, this is one album that will burn ears with enragement, a really angry album, but by far is a bizarrely over-tuned one. [5] RHYS STEVENSON  AZARATH 'Blasphemers Malediction' WITCHING HOUR PRODS. The fifth album of Polish Death Metal warriors Azarath brings more torture and Satanic influences to the table, 'Blasphemers Malediction' specialises in fast and furious music to highlight the disastrous incantations erupting from the larynx of Marek "Necrosodom" Lechowski and to encase this majestic blast of evil with an array of different notes, beats and vocal productions, all in all a highly solid and welcomed album. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  NOMAD 'Transmigration Of Consciousness' WITCHING HOUR PRODS. Smashing their way through the colossal chasms of the underground Metal scene in Poland is Death Metal intermediates Nomad and their fifth overall strike in the album sector, their release 'Transmigration Of Consciousness' has a clear melodic touch to it with the drum patterns having a melodic sway to them, essentially not a bad album but little more could be done to make this sound much better, though the excellent thing about this album is all the tracks form one long track as they meld together, like a 'Transmigration Of Consciousness'. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  EMPTY PLAYGROUND
'Under Dead Skin' WITCHING HOUR PRODS Polish Industrial Death Metallers Empty Playground lay low with their funky debut album with a blistering and capitalising escape from the reigns of binding, a collective array of songs similar to that of when Vader meets Nine Inch Nails meets Polish penetration, so much so for Cybergrind, for these five Poles, this is a moment to slip into fourth gear and deliver much more than this release, quite an energetic album at that, not one to down. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  CALTH 'Fight For A New Become' SATANARSA Raw and Satanic, Bulgarian one-man Black Metal project Calth came with his first full-length album back in 2009, with deep distortion and a cold atmosphere, this is despairingly inapt for a Black Metal musician as such, or in the more loyal vicissitudes of music, comes to an eternal circle from which eludes all songs on this album in relation to the perfection that was forecast, a disturbing yet irate album stands bold and inconceivable. [6] RHYS STEVENSON  PAINFUL DEFLORATION 'Antihuman Antisocial' SOULFLESH COLLECTOR Soldering on from the depths of the Ukrainian underground is Grindcore merchants Painful Defloration who released their third album 'Antihuman Antisocial' last year with gusto, break-neck drumming, gut-rumbling vocals and drop-sick riffs, this is Grindcore on a new level, whilst the latter would consider this as another general Grindcore band, they have Death Metal influences as well as subtle Thrash Metal drumming, essentially a cocktail for an absolute cataclysmic album, 'Antihuman Antisocial' is just the beginning, the storm is oncoming. [10] RHYS STEVENSON  CORVUS 'Corvus' FORGOTTEN WISDOM PRODS. Well erm, Corvus' debut self-titled EP released last year could have been a lot better, this is a heartless attempt at creating Black Metal, the recording is terrible, the drums are virtually non-existent albeit the here-and-there hitting of the cymbals, nor does the vocals do any justice, one to listen at your own peril, but this is a dire attempt. [1] RHYS STEVENSON  FLAYED DISCIPLE 'Flayed Disciple' Somerset Death Metal newbie's Flayed Disciple rattle all the doors in the underground network for a turn at becoming a threat to rock the Metal mainstream, with their debut EP 'Drawn Viscera' released in 2010, this is a hotly-tipped band to become the next band to grace the British Media. Tight-ass riffs accompany a sizzling array of drum patterns and down-to-your-socks vocals, all coalescing to ignite perhaps a new wave of solidified destruction, a true Death Metal band of modern times, just watch this space. [9] RHYS STEVENSON  BLOODSHOT DAWN
'Slaves To The Lie' 2011 sees Portsmouth's Death Proggers Bloodshot Dawn revive in a style that rivals Gojira from France, the only problem is the recording level, the vocals are not really clear and so downgrades the EP entirely, whilst the music offers some sort of replacement, the genial fact remains this is an EP which has both good and bad bits, a fair decent attempt but don't hark on it being anything more. [6] RHYS STEVENSON  THE FUROR
'Invert Absolute' + 'Advance Australia Warfare' + 'War Upon Worship' PRIME CUTS Oh boy did Australia not see this one coming, a dark and evil mess was to be passed along the Perth streets and became to form one of Australia's well known Black/Death Metal bands, The Furor now in their ninth year of existence has stood strong alongside military warfare and war, looking back from their current release 'War Upon Worship' to their deepest roots in Australian Metal 'Invert Absolute' there is a clear warning that this music is not for the faint of heart. 'Invert Absolute' is one album that many would consider 'one of those stereotype albums', but by excavating deeper The Furor have set aside their own sound, with tripping drumming and evil (yet somewhat cheery) riffs and true raspy vocals, 'Invert Absolute' was a real eye candy for many to indulge into, with perhaps their signature tune on this album being the fast and furious 'Thrive On War', with Louis Rando (aka Disaster - also live drummer for UAE based band Nervecell) on drums, this became a brutal machine, spewing out dark secrets too black for mainstream individuals. What sets apart this Aussie lot from the other Black / Death Metal bands is their unique time signatures, striking the most fear into the listener, making them one of few to spine-chill. Focusing on their second album there is indeed a solitary improvement in sound, with that in mind it clearly demonstrates a precise progression from their debut album, with more killer riffs and a ton more evil emphasized on the album, with tracks like 'Hellfire Massacre' taking the listener and murdering their senses with a sense of complete utter satisfaction, whilst sat in a much mature position, this has not altered the darker side of this band, not one bit, intuitively speaking it has upgraded the fear factor to such an extent it makes the saw films look like children's cartoons. Whilst the line-up has changed over the years, The Furor entity has remained intact with the abhorrent evilness that sometimes lacks with today's Black/Death Metal bands, but with a feast of ear-raping songs to savour, The Furor are vastly becoming Australia's answer to the Polish titans Behemoth. This as they say is just the beginning, for there is not ending here with The Furor, never till the Australian flag comes down. Finally with their latest brutalizing onslaught 'War Upon Worship' The Furor seems to have had another shift around, now a duo as Disaster covers drumming and vocal duties and Kill Machine takes up guitar and bass duties, but still 'The Furorcity' is still there and with this latest effort, a sensual composition of interesting yet mesmerizing songs engulfs the atmosphere with a sense of BBQ's, evil surfers and sweaty heat, joke, it's far worse than that (in a positive way), sounding different from previous albums, The Furor continue to devour the speakers in blistering blazing form and essentially set themselves up for what is to be known as an Australian legend, with the two brains working in dual mode, the latter is to say in the 'Invert Absolute' there will be a time for 'Advance Australia Warfare' and a time for 'War Upon Worship'. [8] + [7.5] + [8] RHYS STEVENSON  EXTIRPATION 'Tormentor Supreme Black Katharsis' INFERNAL KAOS Basque Black/Death Metal one-man project Extirpation unleashes a full force of deep darkness and growling empowerment with his debut album 'Tormentor Supreme Black Katharsis', with a raw influence clearly imminent and an essence of gruelling evil, the one-man project is enough to churn anyone's stomach inside out with a complete sense of introductory torture chasm, a testament to the Basque Country's autonomous status, the storm has just begun. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  VIATHYN 'The Peregrine Way' Majestically arriving from the state of Alberta in Canada is Power Proggers Viathyn with their debut album 'The Peregrine Way' released last year, with an enigma supporting the very foundation of this lush work, it is within no doubt that this band know exactly what they are doing, with a beat here and there, a riff seeming lost and vocals changing from second to second, this is a true work of inspiration, with that though it is not perfect, but it is a decent start from a band who have just debuted, the only problem is the time changing, from fast and powerful to a sloppy Progressive part, the album is a fair decent one. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  MCGALLIGOG 'Delusions Of Madness' Irish quintet McGalligog take the Guinness and Irish funkiness to secure their first ever release, their 2010 EP 'Delusions Of Madness' which foresees a cleverly worked amalgamation of Melodic Death Metal with Thrash influences clearly taken into account, whilst not as good as anticipated with the vocals lacking a bit of clarity, the overall production is excellent, unstable and revolutionizing in that it is a decent attempt. 'Another Fast One' pretty much sums the band up in both musical and song-title stances, ever thought Cruachan was holding back a deluge of Irish Metal? McGalligog seem to have proven so. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  SHATTERED HOPE 'Absence' SOLITUDE An absolute tiring album, so much it'll make you yawn, for being a band who straddles in the Atmospheric Doom / Death Metal and Funeral Doom Metal vein (simply Dark Metal) without making a solid attempt at captivating it's listeners is diabolical, for Greece's Shattered Hopes the band name is self-explanatory, for this release 'Absence' lacks quality, it is a real depressive release. [1] RHYS STEVENSON  DEUS OTIOSUS
'Murderer' F.D.A. REKOTZ The sort of album found in Dracula's music collection, horror-themed Death Thrashers Deus Otiosus unleash hell with their debut album 'Murderer' released last year with an emphatic array of blastbeats, riffs and non-continuous composition changing, an abrupt calamity of fusing two genres together in between song fragments, essentially a bizarre twist for the Death/Thrash genre, the Danish quintet exhibit what some try to achieve and fall at, that is a unique time procession, 'Murderer' drafts in depression as well, so if metal fans wish to you listen to it, you have been warned. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  GRÁ 'Helfärd' UNEXPLODED Sifting through the mass production of Scandinavian Black Metal is Sweden's Grá with their raw BM debut EP 'Helfärd', now whilst the lyrics are in Swedish, there is a great deal of rawness here and especially with the raspy vocals surrounding the ferocious atmospheric fuzz of the down-tuned guitars and beat-perfect drumming - all in all a traditional raw black metal release worthy of recognition in anyone's books. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  PULMONARY FIBROSIS 'Interstitial Lung Diseases' LAST HOUSE ON THE RIGHT Simply noise, no musical effort, a limitless torrent of noise, no vocals just gurgling and the only saviour being the drums and guitars, but that is not enough for France's 12 year old band Pulmonary Fibrosis and their second album 'Interstitial Lung Diseases', perhaps they should have just stuck to medical science and not musicianship. [2] RHYS STEVENSON  ORPHEUS 'Bleed The Way' ROCKSTAR Fresh from the streets of Melbourne is Australian Melodic Death Metal surfers Orpheus with their highly-anticipated debut album 'Bleed The Way', caressing the melodic force that Swede's Scar Symmetry exhibit, Orpheus are the latest metal band to bore the brunt of the Melodic Death Metal vein and in doing so do it spot-on, essentially the melodies waft around the atmosphere as if dancing and so alarm all listening, Orpheus means business. [10] RHYS STEVENSON  THE RUSTLING OF LEAVES
'Reverence & Meanness' SATANARSA The debut from Ukrainian one-man project The Rustling Of Leaves alleviates all misconception about the Ukrainian Black Metal aesthetics, especially as this is an instrumental - a bizarre one for Black Metal but essentially still has hard and evil as your average BM band. The debut album 'Reverence & Meanness' born in 2009 qualifies as one of those albums where the listener is left asking questions, whether that be a good things rests with the listener, just don't bank on this project doing anything spectacular. [6] RHYS STEVENSON  MASACHIST 'Death March Fury' WITCHING HOUR PRODS Poland, a country resorted to either Death Metal or Black Metal as it's absolute strength spawns off a new seeding of Death Metal in the form of newcomers Masachist with their debut album 'Death March Fury' released back in 2009, whilst the music itself is a justifiable art of complete musician craftsmanship, it falls short of anything spectacular, with bog standard drumming and untimely riffs, Masachist are just your average Death Metal band. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  LOST SOUL 'Immerse In Infinity' WITCHING HOUR PRODS Another one of Witching Hour Productions finest producers of god-smiting metal, Polish Tech Death Metal stalwarts Lost Soul shred sweat and shed hearing aids in this brutal apocalyptic onslaught of blazing drumming, gut-rotten growling and Rottweiler riffs, altogether creating a dynamic and awe-inspiring centre piece for all budding Tech Death Metal musicians to follow, 'Immerse In Infinity' is one for the Polish metal history books as a pure work of unchallenged genius. [10] RHYS STEVENSON  TERMINAL 'Tree Of Lie' WITCHING HOUR PRODS. Polish Prog Metal boys Terminal unleash a sleek notion of pure bliss and excellency with their album 'Tree Of Lie' which carries some insane techno music with a progressive metal beat and Polish brutality. This is by far one of those albums that either you like it or you hate it, a midway album with music for everyone, but not essentially everyone's favourite album as some bits are left clueless. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON  DEADSPEAK
'Ritual In Progress' Some may say this release was abysmal, others a work of genius, but in all sincerity Ireland-based Polish crew Deadspeak fail to captivate with this release, the vocals are meaningless and non-enthusiastic, the guitars are virtually non-existent and the drums well on holiday, this is not what one was expecting, credit for trying though. [4] RHYS STEVENSON  ABSTRACT SPIRIT 'Horror Vacui' SOLITUDE PRODS. Without going into to much detail, not being a fan of Funeral Doom or Doom Metal as is, this has to be the most depressive album from Russia yet, talk about suicidal tendencies, this release would make even the most hardcore person cry in sorrow, so much so this release by Abstract Spirit is one of impending doom, depression and sadness enough to make you die inside. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  HEAVY LORD 'Balls To All' SOLITUDE PRODS Without much to say about this recording, this is not even music, the downside of this record is that sadly enough Stoner and Doom Metal do not work well together, so with that in mind I find Heavy Lord although their intentions and musicianship is respected, it is not one to be noticed well, a wildcard as it is, listen with caution. [1] RHYS STEVENSON  FUNERAL
'To Mourn Is A Virtue' SOLITUDE PRODS Norwegian Dark Metal veterans return with their 6th album in their 20 year existence and unleash another sorrowful torrent of Gothic, Doom, Death and Funeral Doom Metal aka Dark Metal in the form of the 69 minute opus 'To Mourn Is A Virtue', essentially one for those Doom fans, with depression seeping out like water from a blister Funeral are Norway's dark depressive secret. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  EXCRECOR 'Synchronicity' With a slight of hand comes the Americans new wave of tantalizing Melodic Death Metal, with their debut EP 'Synchronicity' released last year, it is no surprise that New Hampshire quartet Excrecor are tipped off as the next band to feel the force of popularity. With a stiff backbone of sumptuous drumming and elegant riffs, there is no reason to why this EP has nothing wrong with it, if this is a signal of a new oncoming, then that signal carries all but a warning of 'Synchronicity'. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  TERROR INSIDE 'Sumerki Razuma' IROND Terror Inside the new Russian Death Metal newcomers alleviate all potential negativity with their hard-worked debut album 'Sumerki Razuma' released back in 2009, with a solid wave of Russian language-tinged Death Metal and brutality powerful enough to overthrow the many Russian oligarchs, Terror Inside are preparing to unleash their next blast of sonic music, this time with a heftier warning of mass ear damage. [8] RHYS STEVENSON  ZOMBIFIED 'Outbreak' GRINDSCENE Arising from Belfast cemetery is Zombie-fetish band Zombified with their grizzly guttural Death Metal emanating from the speakers in spine-tingling fashion, whilst the music does justice, the vocals could be worked a little better, but essentially their debut EP 'Outbreak' released in 2010 is not a bad one, just a little bit disappointing, still one release with much in stock for raw Death Metal lovers and especially fans in the Northern Irish Metal scene. [7] RHYS STEVENSON  IMMANIFEST 'Qliphotic' Floridian Symphonic Blackened Death Metallers Immanifest arise from the Tampa darkness to unleash a secular exemplar of sensational religious-tinged extreme metal, with their debut EP 'Qliphotic' released last year, it carries a significant alliance of evil, occultist preaching and sensational compositions to provide a basic structure for what is billed as one of Florida's darkest metal releases of all time, Immanifest are set to rival Russia's Arcane Grail and deliver a spectacular array of mysticism, metal and evil genius. [8.5] RHYS STEVENSON  TRUE MIND
'No Redemption' Symphonic Gothic Metal newcomers True Mind release their debut demo 'No Redemption' in 2010 with a standing innovation of dark Transylvanian Gothic traits amongst symphonic vocals and soothing melodies, the Romanian quartet bring to life the darkness found within the rural spots of this Eastern European nation, essentially bringing the best of their culture with it, without a doubt the natural contender to rival the Dutch veterans Within Temptation and to challenge novices Amberian Dawn from Finland and Aperion from Slovenia, True Mind has 'No Redemption' whatsoever. [7.5] RHYS STEVENSON |
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