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    Lord Agheros – Demiurgo (2012)

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    Today we have one-man band Lord Agheros and its latest atmospheric opus titled “Demiurgo”. Hailing from Italy, this band suffers from the one person doing too many things syndrome, and while delivering excellent bone chilling atmospheric elements, the totally craptastic programmed drums bring down the release quality in a very drastic manner. For over 17 tracks, we are treated to some creepy passages and amazing symphonic elements, making this 60 minute release quite a journey.

    Warming up with “Chapter I: Prologue”, our expectations grew immensely since the atmosphere is very intoxicating. This nicely bleeds into “Eris”, a song where even the drumming is very tolerable in this song (very slow paced sections). What makes this track special is the spare acoustic guitars and string instruments that create a very desolate and eerie atmosphere when combined with the synths. With things speed up on “Styx”, is when Lord Agheros drops the ball and the horrible drumming begins. We understand that is hard to find talented drummers and that not all one-man bands call graciously pull off ALL instruments, but when the drumming sounds this fake, it makes us wonder if the person writing the music is actually listening to it.

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    Old Corpse Road – Tis Witching Hour… As Spectres We Haunt This Kingdom (2012)

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    Holy shit! Who brought Cradle of Filth (circa 1996) back from the dead!. With a very familiar sound, today we have Old Corpse Road their debut full-length release “'Tis Witching Hour... As Spectres We Haunt This Kingdom”. Sounding eerily similar to CoF on their “Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein”/”Dusk…and Her Embrace” era, today we have this British band with a very explosive sound with some Folk elements thrown in to keep things a bit fresh.

    Surrounded in a shroud of mysterious atmospheric elements, the opener “’Tis Witching Hour” delivers the chilling deep spoken vocal sections that we all used to love from CoF. The keyboards are extremely epic (just like on “Dusk…and Her Embrace”) and nicely set the mood for the brutal “The Cauld Lad Of Hylton”. In a very CoF-esque vibe, the band quickly delivers massive drumming sections and killer shrieks/growls combo sections. This is exact déjà vu of what CoF used to do back in the day, and we think it is awesome.

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    Abstrusa Unde – Introspection (2012)

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    Being re-released by Apathia Records, today we have Abstrusa Unde and their debut full-length “Introspection”. In this very diverse and entertaining release, the band delivers eight tracks of brilliant Avant-Garde Black Metal with a deranged theatrical vibe to it, similar to Arcturus, Unexpect, and such bands. With ten musicians participating in this release, the listener is in for a truly exciting experience through many different musical landscapes.

    Opening with the album’s title track, the band crafts a very sinister atmosphere similar to a mixture of Angizia with The Diablo Swing Orchestra. Immediately invoking the spirits of the masterpiece of Arcturus, “La Masquerade Infernale”, the band delivers the intoxicating “Hamsa Lonri”. This song features enchanting female vocals and intense string instruments. The harsh vocals mix very well with the female singing and with the crazy keyboards, creating a truly haunting experience.

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    Eclectika – Lure of Ephemeral Beauty (2012)

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    After pushing the boundaries of Black Metal with their 2010 release “Dazzling Dawn”, today we have Eclectika and their latest opus “Lure of Ephemeral Beauty”. In this album the band shows that they have settled with a very sharp and aggressive brand of Black Metal with brilliant melodic incursions that greatly set them apart from the rest. For over 10 tracks the band demonstrates that with a bit of creativity, all Post-Black Metal does not have to sound the same.

    Opening with a lush symphonic instrumental track, the band sets the expectations really high for their third full-length release. Immediately blasting away with album’s title track, we get a typical Black Metal vibe but with a completely different guitar distortion of what one would expect. This allows the band’s sound to be quite different and very engaging indeed. The harsh vocals make their appearance, but it is the female vocals of Noemie Sirandre that really make this song shine in a very dramatic and operatic way.

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    Saille – Ritu (2013)

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    As the first promo of 2013 we received at Infernal Masquerade, we are quite surprised that we immediately have an early candidate for Symphonic Black Metal release of the year 2013. Saille makes a furious return with “Ritu”, an opus in melodic aggression that reminded us of the days when Dimmu Borgir was not ridiculously overproduced and of bands like Vesperian Sorrow, that keep the flame of Symphonic BM alive. With nine tracks presented in this release, this outfit from Belgium delivers one of the most impressive sophomore releases we have ever heard.

    Opening with the bombastic “Blood Libel”, the band immediately unleashes their furious Black Metal riffing and killer drumming. The band’s sound reminded us a bit of Anorexia Nervosa and their balls to the wall style. The lush keyboards greatly enhance this vicious track, creating a very eerie atmosphere. In a very maquiavelic style, “Subcutaneous Terror” delivers a very catchy mixture of creepy slow passages and brutal aggressive sections with sick guitar solos. This song reminded us when Dimmu Borgir in their “Enthroned Darkness Triumphant” era.

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    Abysme – Strange Rites (2012)

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    Breaking away from the standard US Death Metal sound, today we have Abysme and their Swedish-infused mid-tempo Death Metal with their debut album “Strange Rites”. In this ten-track headbanging extravaganza, the band focuses on creating gritty sounding songs with a dash of melody, rather than blasting away at their instruments and just trying to be brutal like most bands.

    The band’s early Entombed and Grave worship is immediately made present with the dark and gritty “Scribbled In Dust”. We particularly love that there are absolutely no traces of any modern DM variants in the bands raw and old-school sound. Slithering away with foul tracks like “Beyond the Seventh Door”, “Formless”, and “Annihilated Memory”, the band delivers crunchy riffs, crafty drumming and raspy growls that make their sound very authentic and quite rare these days.

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    War Possession – Through The Ages (2012)

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    Merciless and Raw are the first two words that come to mind when it comes down to describing War Possession’s latest EP titled “Through The Ages”. Featuring five tracks of crushing Death Metal the old-school way, this Greek band has a very traditional approach to the genre that reminded us from bands of the late 90’s and their raw and uncompromising sound. Be prepared to headbang from beginning to end with this intense 21-minute release.

    Opening with the catchy “In The Shadow Of The Ancient Gods”, the band delivers killer super-catchy riffs and very demonic sounding vocals. The excellent production of this release really aids in accentuating the band’s traditional and direct sound in a raw and brutal way. “Medieval Bloodlust” fires on all cylinders with crushing drumming and even more powerful riffs. The band holds nothing and delivers another intense performance with this very catchy song filled with meaty hooks.

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    Placid Art – Rainbow Destruction Process (2012)

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    Arriving all the way from Montenegro, today we have Placid Art and their very cool debut full-length release “Rainbow Destruction Process”. In this nine-track release the band delivers highly Atmospheric Death/Doom Metal with operatic female vocals and a very eerie vibe. With a down to the basics musical approach, this release reminded us of a more atmospheric version of Shape Of Despair and similar bands.

    The opener “The Beginning of The Final Chapter” delivers a very theatrical sound with excellent string elements and dominating operatic vocals from Sonja Milicevic, the ‘classical’ side of the band’s sound. The same chilling atmosphere is carried over to the beginning of “In Silence… Of The Dark Dawn”, reminding us of the creepy vibe that Elend creates. A minor drawback is the programmed drums that sound mechanical and a bit ‘fake’, but the band makes up for this in atmospheric brilliance.

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    Blaze of Sorrow – Echi (2012)

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    With the amount of releases we get here at Infernal Masquerade it is rare that we spend as much time reviewing one as we have with Blaze of Sorrow’s “Echi”. In this killer album the band combines tons of atmospheric and folk-ish elements into their very melancholic blend of Black Metal. For the duration of the 52-minutes of this album we found ourselves constantly wanting to replay the songs one more time in order to fully appreciate the intricacies of the expertly crafted tracks.

    Opening with a lush acoustic intro, “All'Ignoto” greatly sets the mood for the release, once the melodic aggressive guitars hit, we just knew this album will be magical. There are indeed very fast-paced moments, but they are very well balanced with beautiful slowdowns and killer vocal work. The Folk-ish acoustic sections on “Empatia” reminded us of early Alcest, and their excellent combination of lush atmospheric slow sections and powerful guitar riffs. The Doom-ish edge to this track greatly enhances the overall mood of such a sublime track.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Engulfed – Through the Eternal Damnation (2012)

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    Arriving today from Poland’s Hellthrasher Productions we have Engulfed’s debut EP titled “Through The Eternal Damnation”. Featuring four tracks of furious Death Metal, this Turkish band brings back the days of catchy riffs, crushing vocals and powerful drumming with a certain similarity to Immolation, Suffocation, and such bands.

    Wasting no time with the opener “Triumph Of The Impious”, the band’s razor sharp riffs make a grandiose entrance. Pounding away for 5-minutes, this track is very well crafted and shows the band’s abilities to craft catchy Death Metal songs with a higher emphasis on brutality. The growls are top notch, and the typical guitar solos are very well carved into the song structure.

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