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    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Upon Wings – The Dream (2012) Single

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    In the age where marketing is everything for young and upcoming bands, it is quite a joy to be reached by one of those ‘upcoming projects’ and have the chance of reviewing ‘their’ first single titled “The Dream”. Upon Wings is a female-fronted, one person band (for what we can find), that mixes very beautiful operatic style vocals (courtesy of mezzo-soprano Anne Erickson) with a hypnotic atmospheric vibe.

    The band’s debut single “The Dream” is a 3 minute long track that also has a very interesting video to accompany it. We can’t really hear any guitars, drums or any Metal or Rock elements, but we do get some haunting vocal arrangements and a very ethereal atmosphere. The vocal layering is quite interesting and we can’t wait to hear what else this band can come up with in the future. This first single track shows promise and only time will tell if Upon Wings can deliver in terms of a full-length release, until then go and checkout their video here

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    Cloudscape – New Era (2012)

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    Returning with a revamped line-up today we have Sweden’s Cloudscape and their fourth full-length release “New Era”. Filled with excellent guitar work and very catchy songs, this release delivers 60+ minutes of solid Progressive Power Metal that not go unnoticed by fans of the genre. The new line-up with Håkan Nyander, Fredrik Joakimsson, and Stefan Rosqvist breathes new life to band allowing core members Patrik Svärd and Michael Andersson to create a very refreshing and exciting release.

    The powerful riffing on “Silver Ending” makes this track the perfect opener for a release that combines solid riffing with traditional Progressive keyboards in a very melodic fashion. Andersson’s vocals are as powerful as ever and sound a bit like Christian Älvestam, from Scar Symmetry fame. Constantly recurring to majestic solos laid on top fine-ass drumming, “Share Your Energy”, “Pull The Brake”, and “Kingdom of Sand” make for excellent momentum building tracks that flow perfectly in the overall direction of the album.

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    District 97 – Trouble With Machines (2012)

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    Making Progressive Rock/Metal look easy, today we have the highly skilled District 97 and their latest release titled “Trouble With Machines”. Featuring Leslie Hunt (American Idol Top 10 Finalist), this band is far from your usual Idol produced musical AIDS. With some killer musicians behind her, District 97 delivers seven mesmerizing tracks that showcase the band’s skills in a very playful and direct manner.

    “Back and Forth” opens the release with a playful intro section that is followed by a weird-at-first Progressive vibe with female vocals. While the band is not the first one to attempt this, they are the first ones to really make it work and sound fresh in the process. In tracks like “Open Your Eyes” the band does not stray away much from regular Alternative Rock until the brilliant progressive details come into play. These details allow the songs to be a lot less linear and quite engaging since they seem oddly placed, excellently executed, and for some reason we can’t get enough of them.

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    Neal Morse – Momentum (2012)

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    Progressive Rock genius Neal Morse is back with another masterpiece titled “Momentum”. Featuring Mike Portnoy and Randy George, this release is one hell of an album that no Progressive Rock fan can miss. Packed with six tracks that span nearly an hour of brilliant music, this release shows why Neal Morse is one of the best in the genre and that he still has the touch for creating fresh sounding music that will blow you away.

    Opening with a very futuristic/space-ish vibe, “Momentum” gets down to business very fast with excellent melodic sections and very tight drumming. Neal’s vocals are excellent as always and very well arranged in this track. The guitar solos in this song are outstanding, showcasing Neal’s timeless ability to write and play excellent guitar sections in his music. “Thoughts Part 5” features a more playful nature with some very well crafted sections that showcase the excellent drumming of Mike Portnoy (as if we needed more proof) and very ethereal keyboard sections that set the mood very nicely, several guest appearances by Eric Gillette and Wil Morse greatly enhance this song as well.

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    Sabbath Assembly – Ye Are Gods (2012)

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    Continuing providing insights into the mysterious ways of the Process Church of the Final Judgment, today we have Sabbath Assembly and their second release titled “Ye Are Gods”. Using the process and text from the churches holiest mass “Sabbath Assembly”, this release provides a unique insight into the intricate theology behind the church in a very authentic fashion thanks to the role of Genesis P-Orridge as the hight priestess.

    The first track “Let Us All Give Praise And Validation” opens like a regular churche service with Genesis providing a few words before the choir takes the lead, this opening delivers the first of many goose bump moments in this very eerie release. Our first (and only) beef with this album is that Jex Thoth has been replaced with Jamie Myers (ex-Hammers of Misfortune). While both are extremely talented singers, we think that Jex’s voice is a bit deeper and thus better fitted for the music, but Jamie does a great job in capturing the essence of the music in this release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lustre – They Awoke The Scent Of Spring (2012)

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    After the excellent full-length “A Glimpse of Glory”, Lustre returns to us with another killer full-length release titled “They Awoke The Scent Of Spring”. This one-man aural orgasm machine from Sweden has crafted four excellent tracks that have a very eerie atmospheric vibe that reminds us of Burzum’s “Filosofem” release. With 40 minutes of music, this release surely delivers enough bang for your money in the sense of creepy landscapes painted by the very minimalist music presented here.

    Opening with the nearly 13-minutes long monolithic “Part I”, the atmosphere is set with very fuzzy distorted guitars that only get denser by the minute. The sparse vocals are quite hellish and will creep on you when you least expect it. We particularly love how the song transitions when it seems to ‘brighten up’ between all the heavy dark clouds that are painted by the painful riffs. The minimal use of keyboards is also another thing that is very similar to how Burzum uses them.

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    Fen – Of Losing Interest (2012)

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    After blowing us away with their excellent debut release “Trails Out of Gloom”, Fen (the Progressive Rock/Metal one) returns with “Of Losing Interest”, a release that while heavier in nature it failed to captivate us as much as their previous release. With nine tracks of well-crafted Progressive Rock/Metal, this release is by no means bad, it just feels too straightforward and lacking the magic that “Trails out of Gloom” had in every track.

    The opener “Riddled” is a quintessential Prog piece that sounds a bit too predictable and linear in our opinion. There are a few cool guitar sections and the bass guitar line is pretty solid, but the song as a hole seems lacking some creativity. Things pick up a couple of times during the tracks “Of Losing Interest”, “Nice for Three Days”, and “A Long Line”, with a few brilliant guitar sections and tight percussions, but nothing extremely impressive. We are kind of turned off that we are almost half-way through the release and haven’t found anything that really sticks in our head.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    T.C.F – Where Madness Reigns (2011)

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    Arriving through Malevolence Records, today we have T.C.F a Dutch band playing some very well crafted Thrashcore. If you didn’t know the band is from the Netherlands, you would easily mistake them for any band from the late 80’s, early 90’s from the USA. Delivering thirteen tracks of balls to the wall Thrashcore, “Where Madness Reigns” is a pretty solid release for any fan of the genres.

    With a very authentic vibe, the band opens with hateful riffs and powerful drums on “Face the Truth”. Keeping the initial vibe rolling, tracks like “Slave to the Suit”, “Mass Hysteria” and “Where Madness Reigns” feature very typical song structures that will have you jumping up and down immediately. It is quite funny to think that this is a fairly young band since they nail 100% the atmosphere needed to pull off this kind of music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hexvessel – No Holier Temple (2012)

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    Formed by Mat "Kvohst" McNerney (ex-DHG, Code, etc, etc), this relatively new Psychedelic Folk band has made quite an impact with their debut album “Dawnbearer” and with “No Holier Temple” they show that their epic first release was no fluke. Featuring eleven haunting tracks that bring back the sultriness of the 70’s psychedelic music with a Folk/Doom edge that nobody else in the scene seems to be able to pull off, this album is well on its way to our top 10 of 2012 list.

    With a considerably more ‘sophisticated’ sound that any of Kvohst’s older bands, his enchanting vocals reach new heights in this very well crafted and highly diverse release. After the mysterious intro “Heaven and Earth Magic”, Hexvessel sets sails with the eerie epic “Woods to Conjure”. In this track the band immediately establishes a very dense occult feeling with a very cool backdrop of choir-like vocals. Our favorite moment in this song comes around the 2:20 minute mark when a sexy saxophone comes into the scene making this song completely intoxicating.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Resurgency – False Enlightenment (2012)

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    Formed back in 2009, today we have Resurgency’s debut full-length release titled “False Enlightenment”. Targeted directly to fans of chugging Death Metal, this Greek band delivers 40+ minutes of excellent neck-breaking music that will have you moshing since the first song. Hellthrasher Productions again amazes us with a great ear for bands that play devastating Death Metal but do not fall in the repetitiveness and dullness that plagues other ‘bands’ these days.

    The band quickly gets down to business with the hectic “Craniums of Slain Disciples”. “Ending the Beginning” quickly moves into faster territory with crushing drum patterns, tight riffs, and subhuman growls (just what the doctor ordered). With the perfect tempo, we particularly enjoy “Black Holes of Antiverse”, a very crushing track that feels like a slow punch in the face. For the fans of blast-beats and brutal songs, “Dark Revival” has that aggressive feeling of bands like Broken Hope and Suffocation, thanks to the pulsating bass guitar line and intricate riffing.

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