2011

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    Xerath – II (2011)

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    The bastard children of John Williams and Meshuggah are back with their aptly titled second release “II”. After delivering one of the most interesting and different sounding releases of 2009, the band’s sound is as epic as before with 10 monumental compositions and around 56 minutes of music.

    Immediately after the enthralling opening track “United to Defy”, the band quickly falls into the one-trick-pony category. Their sound in this release is indeed very epic and the massive orchestral arrangements with the groove elements is still as impressive as before, but it feels too much like their last release.

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    Obscura – Omnivium (2011)

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    The man of the million riffs, Steffen Kummerer, returns with his Progressive/Technical Death Metal outfit Obscura, and delivers one of the most brilliant and aggressive releases in the last few years. “Omnivium” is a great improvement over the already brilliant album “Cosmogenesis”.

    With a more focused sound, the band delivers 9 tracks of pure technical brilliance paired with solid Death Metal structures. The songs in “Omnivium” feel a bit more straightforward and do not rely (solely) on virtuosity to be well appealing to the listener. However, this does not mean that you won’t get to listen to Steffen and Christian Muenzner rip through crazy guitar sections or Jeroen Paul Thesseling ‘pounding’ his 6 string fretless bass guitar like a magician.

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    Anaal Nathrakh – Passion (2011)

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    The UK’s most brutal band is back with yet another crushing release that will blow your eardrums. With “Passion”, Anaal Nathrakh continues their Grindcore infused Black Metal aural assaults. With 10 tracks and 36 minutes of hellish vocals and relentless drumming, we are sure that “Passion” will make the top 10 list of most brutal albums of 2011.

    With the first brutal track “Volenti Non Fit Iniuria”, we are treated to the traditional destructive sound of the band with powerful guitar riffs, massive drums and the hellish vocals of Dave Hunt, with the added bonus of clean vocal chorus sections and some melodic parts mixed in between. This track is a very effective warm-up for the 7 minute epic “Drug-Fucking Abomination” that follows.

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    Cruachan – Blood on the Black Robe (2011)

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    Five years have passed since “The Morrigan's Call” and Cruachan shows no sign of slowing down, with “Blood on the Black Robe” the band makes a very solid return. As the current Celtic/Folk Metal scene is watered down with releases that sound like the “Braveheart” soundtrack, it is very nice to get one that focuses more on the guitars and aggressiveness of the music.

    I have always liked the band since their 1995 debut “Tuatha Na Gael”, and with every release they show more maturity and refinement in their sound, and now they return to the killer aggressive style from their earlier days. “Blood on the Black Robe” is no exception, the band exploits their guitar driven sound with catchy sections and effective use of Folk elements.

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    Within Temptation – The Unforgiving (2011)

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    After all the selling out the band has done over the years and Sharon doing songs with Armin Van Buuren, I personally wanted to listen to this album to see how the band would keep their Metal fans, but still pushed forward with a more ‘commercially friendly’ sound.

    With the first single, “Faster”, the band was on way to a completely disastrous album in my opinion since this song is another ‘dance’ anthem with catchy electronic elements and chorus sections. The rest of the album however, is a very different story. While there are obviously ‘pop-ish’ elements in this release, there are also many more elements of “Mother Earth” and “The Silent Force”, than in the band’s last shit-sandwich “The Heart of Everything” release.

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    Vreid – V (2011)

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    One of the best parts about writing about music for so many years is to be able to see the progression of musical genres and bands. Because of this, we can safely say that Vreid has set a new bar for creative experimentation with Black Metal. While the band maintains its raw power and aggression, they also focus on the melodic aspect of their music by infusing elements from Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.

    In “V”, the band goes beyond the traditional Black’n’Roll and creates something with so much more depth that will surely puzzle a bunch of people at first. But once you start peeling the layers out of this album, you will unravel a modern wonder in terms of musical creativity.

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    Sacrarium – March to an Inviolable Death (2011)

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    Finally getting a proper release, today we have Sacrarium’s debut full-length “March to an Inviolable Death”. This album by far is one of the most brutal we have received in a while, but it is also one of the least creative ones.

    The band punishes the listener with tremolo-picking sections galore and hellish Dark Funeral style vocals, but nothing else in terms of creativity and originality. The sound is indeed massive and if you are looking for a quick fix of brutality, you will relish this album for eternity.

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    The Project Hate MCMXCIX - Bleeding the New Apocalypse (Cum Victriciis In Manibus Armis) (2011)

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    The all-star The Project Hate MCMXCIX is back with another crushing release of catchy Industrial and Progressive Death Metal, and with this release they sound as good as ever. With probably one of the longest album titles ever, “Bleeding the New Apocalypse” (for short) delivers over one hour of pure deranged catchiness in 6 tracks.

    Featuring a new female vocalist, Ruby Roque of Witchbreed and Tobias Gustafsson as the new drummer, the band’s sound is even better than on their previous releases. For those of you wondering how Ruby vocals feature on the band, just imagine Madder Mortem with Industrial elements and you will get the perfect idea.

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    Ommatidia – In this Life, or the Next (2011)

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    In the last few years we have noticed a wide variety of French bands with very unique music such as Alcest, Les Discrets, Amesours, etc. Today Ommatidia takes the spotlight with its very unique mixture of Doom and Gothic Metal with atmospheric elements, creating a very fresh blend of sounds.

    Powered by ex-The Old Dead Tree members Nicolas Chevrollier (guitar) and Vincent Danhier, this band is ready to enchant people with their unique and well crafted sound. Paired alongside very creatively crafted music, the excellent vocals of Guillaume Richard bring that staple needed to identify a band even while intoxicated.

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    Necronoclast – Ashes (2011)

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    As a new addition into the good but nothing out of the ordinary category, today we have Necronoclast’s “Ashes”. This one man band from the UK delivers solid Black Metal tunes that are soon forgotten due to their lack of originality. While the atmosphere is tick and evil (and all that shit), there is a certain familiarity about it that will leave you looking for something else.

    Staring with the mid-paced “Ghostways”, the evidence of old Burzum, Darkthrone, etc is present but not quite compelling. Greg Edwards does at solid job in handling all instruments, but the music feels devoid of originality. While sometimes is good that one person handles everything, many times the lack of inspiration completely kills the flow of said releases.

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