Rock

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    The Hillinoise – My Sleeping Butterfly (2015)

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    Arriving from Italy, today we have newcomers The Hillinoise and their superbly enjoyable EP “My Sleeping Butterfly”. Fusing elements from bands like The Gathering, The 3rd and the Mortal, early Xandria and even some Slowdive influences, the band delivers three excellent tracks filled with melancholy.

    The release starts with the mellow “Lighter”, a very melancholic piece that has some touches of early The Gathering meets Sylvaine. The vocals of Dana Stefanelli are quite innocent sounding, giving the music that certain sense of bleakness that we greatly appreciate. However, it is the pulsating bass guitar line that shines though out the release, in particular “Nymphetamine”.

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    The Exploding Eyes Orchestra – I (2015)

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    Featuring five out of seven members of one of our favorite bands of all time: Jess and the Ancient Ones, Svart records present The Exploding Eyes Orchestra and their enigmatic debut release “I”. Delivering seven brilliant tracks of moody Occult/Pscychedelic Rock/Metal, this new band has a similar energy behind them than JATAO, but with an extra exploratory and nature and a more relaxed and freely defined style.

    Opening with the sultry “The Smoke”, the band makes a very quick impression with this trippy schedelic piece masterfully guided by Jess’s talented vocals. Things get jazzier and mellower with the emotional “Crazy Heart”. This track flows perfectly with very subtle guitars and a relaxing tempo. The fuzzy guitar leads are excellent and perfectly set you in a very hypnotic mood.

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    Les Discrets – Live at Roadburn (2015)

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    Marking the end of Les Discrets metal/rock musical era, today we have their “Live at Roadburn” release. Having been lucky enough to be at the show in person, I have to say that this magical occasion was very well captured for eternity in this live release. Featuring eight songs from the set the band delivered that day, the crystal clear audio from this release brings shivers to my spine just by listening to it.

    Opening with “Linceul d'hiver” the atmosphere is instantly set with such a majestic piece. The band’s sound has always had a very unique aura around it and when I have seen them live its perfectly translated. With a lineup boosting Fursy Teyssier (on vocals/guitar) and Alcest musicians Neige (bass guitar), Zero (guitars / vocals) and Winterhalter (drums), unknowingly that was the last time that Les Discrets would sound like this. The tempo picks up with the lush “L'Échappée”, one of our favorite songs and most epic pieces of atmospheric music ever written.

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    Secret Symmetry – Emerge (2015)

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    Taking a peak into the more commercially friendly, today we have Secret Symmetry and their EP titled “Emerge”. Hailing from Portugal, this band mixes Progressive Rock/Metal elements with Modern Metal (AKA radio friendly stuff) and delivers five very catchy and engaging songs that command attention.

    Opening with the extremely catchy chorus section of “Broken Shards of Glass”, the band comes out strong thanks to powerful guitar riffs and the charismatic vocals of Pedro Nunes. Moving into “Curtain Call”, the band changes the speed of things and starts a bit slower and in a more Progressive fashion. Thanks to the great production behind this EP, we can greatly appreciate the tight percussions and excellent bass guitar line in this solid song.

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    Fright Night – Life Eternal (2014)

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    Making it our review stack, today we have Russia’s Fright Night and their sophomore release “Life Eternal”. Featuring a keyboard-driven Gothic Rock/Metal style, the band nicely blends elements of other groups like Lacrimosa, Lacrimas Profundere, and End of Green, but keeps their sound timeless with a high atmospheric emphasis. Clocking in at 45 minute, this release consists of nine tracks that will surely please any fan of the genre.

    Opening with lush atmospheric elements and prominent keyboards, “Cherry Blossom” is one of those bleak sounding tracks that is both catchy and dark. The usage of three different vocal styles is quiet solid, and the main female/male singers do a great job in fusing their vocals in several brilliant dual sections. The album mood is quite melancholic and tracks like “Gerda” and “Numb” bring us back to some of the early days of Gothic Metal from bands like Edge of Sanity.

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    The Grammers – Journey (2015)

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    Instantly a top contender for the catchiest and most engaging release of 2015, today we have Finland’s The Grammers and their release “Journey”. Delivering 11 tracks of vibrant Hard Rock, this band has a very playful and engaging sound that instantly grabs your attention.

    Expertly selected to kick off this release, “Journey” has a superbly engaging chorus section that will stick in your head for days. The track is quite moody and very well crafted, similar to the approach that Crimson Tears used to take in their music. As the band pummels through the catchy “Brother” and the superbly executed “Hey Mama”, we instantly notice the band’s very positive energy and great deal of fun they seem to have when delivering such lively songs.

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    Witches of Doom – Obey (2014)

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    Extreme catchiness arrives today under the name of Witches of Doom and their debut release “Obey”. Expertly mixing Doom/Sludge elements with Gothic Rock and infusing them with an extra dosage of grooviness, this Italian band delivers nine superb tracks that are extremely melodic and totally awesome.

    The album opens with the Southern/Twangy “The Betrayal”, a song that instantly showcases the band’s talented singer Fed Venditti. With a very deep alternative rock/gothic vocals, this is the signature element that bands need these days to stand out from the pack. As the band goes through tracks like “Witches of Doom”, “Needless Needle” and “To The Bone”, we notice influences of bands like H.I.M, Lacrimas Profundere, and other Gothic Metal/Rock bands, but with a slight Sludgy twist.

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    Liv Kristine – Vervain (2014)

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    The charismatic Liv Kristine is having a very hectic 2014 with the release of her latest album “Vervain” and her touring/recording duties with her female super group The Sirens. In this installment of her solo career, she delivers ten very catchy and engaging tracks that will surely satisfy her legions of fans and nicely continue her well defined musical trajectory.

    Opening with the catchy “My Wilderness”, we have a nice combination of her beautiful vocals and strong guitar work to deliver a heavy-but-catchy track. As one of the best tracks in this release, “Love Decay” channels H.I.M and Theater of Tragedy in a very effective song featuring Michelle Darkness of End of Green. The chorus section in this track is truly memorable, and the sparse keyboards reminded us of Theater of Tragedy in their “Aegis” era.

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    Autumn’s Dawn – Gone (2014)

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    Arriving on Eisenwald Tonschmiede, today we have Australian duo Autumn’s Dawn and their debut full-length release “Gone”. Being no strangers to the scene, Sorrow and Anguish are musicians that play in at least 4 bands each, the most famous of them being Tim Yartas of Germ and Austere fame. Anyways, the band presents nine melancholic tracks of pure brilliance that eerily remind us a whole lot of Tim’s previous band Grey Waters.

    Opening this release we have the very emotive “The Ashes of a Life”, a track that has a very Rock-ish structure and melancholic clean vocals from Tim Yartas. The very ethereal atmosphere is always present and it is allowed to shine (even more) in some instrumental passages. Don’t you think this release only features clean vocals, we get a treat of Tim’s harsh singing through this release, starting with the epic “Until My Heart Corrodes with Rust”.

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    Savn – Savn (2014)

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    Featuring Carmen Elise Espenæs (Midnattsol) and the ex-The Sins of Thy Beloved duo Stig Johansen and Anders Thue, Savn is a new comer band to the Gothic Metal/Rock scene that delivers a very imposing debut self-titled released. With a sound based on ‘older’ Gothic Metal/Rock from the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the band has a very familiar vibe to Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania, and The Sins of Thy Beloved. Packed with guest appearances, this is one release you don’t want to miss in 2014.

    The album instantly opens with a stunner: “Musical Silence”. In this song we have a very upbeat vibe with a certain Folkish atmosphere to it that quickly changes as the very prominent keyboards make their way. This is the first impression one gets of Savn, and it is a majestic one, reminding us of TSOTB and Theatre of Tragedy in their Liv Kristine days. The music is quite upbeat but with a certain melancholic edge, something that retains the darkness of TSOTB but with a certainly different context, like we can see on “Hang On”.

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