Other

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    FluiD / John 3:16 – The Pursuit of Salvation (2012)

    cover

    Arriving from Alrealon Musique, today we have a very interesting double release that while not entirely our main cup of tea, we actually enjoyed a lot. FluiD is an experimental electronic hip-hop musician that mixes elements from Ambient and Drone with some beats delivering a pretty interesting experience similar to Ulver’s trip-hop phase. We have previously reviewed John 3:16’s music and we were quite impressed with his interesting combination of Darkwave with a dose of Drone and some guitar driven sections.

    Opening this release we have the first three tracks belonging to FluiD. In “Angels Pt. II”, the song opens with a cavernous feeling and some nice minimalist touches that create an interesting atmosphere, some interesting Drone elements are thrown into the mix to create a very weird but intoxicating vibe. The organs in “Plague” give an extra creepy sound to the track and nicely culminate the build-up from the opening sections of the song. Driven by interesting beats, “Forewarning” nicely closes down the FluiD section of our promo leaving a very puzzling, but equally satisfying experience from this very interesting artist.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    The Horn – Volume Ten (2012)

    cover

    With a very interesting thematically concept revolving around setting the Egyptian book of the dead through some very disturbing music, the one man project The Horn delivers “Volume Ten”. Claiming to play “Pure Ancient Occult Egyptian Space Metal”, this musician delivers 14 tracks of brutal and weird music that are not for everybody, but some might enjoy due to its combination of Black Metal with Noise and Ambient/Drone elements.

    When it comes to originality we must say that we haven’t quite heard anything as disruptive as The Horn in this “Volume Ten” release. Unleashing a wall of sound in the intro “The Portal Opens”, the truly decadent reality of The Horn’s musical destruction is first felt on “Spell 165”. With a raw-as-fuck approach to Metal, this track is a beast when it comes to raw brutality and devastation. Some industrial elements are made present in the hypnotic “Spell 124”, making this band quite unpredictable at first glance.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Al-Namrood – Kitab Al Awthan (2012)

    cover

    Saudi Arabia’s most interesting ‘ethnic’ Black Metal band is back with another release that features intriguing middle-eastern atmospheres and crushing Black Metal merged to near perfection. With “Kitab Al Awthan”, Al-Namrood pushes forward in their musical exploration delivering over 47-minutes of intelligently written music that is both captivating and very brutal.

    Opening with the lush “Mirath Al Shar”, the album instantly transports you to a somber and mysterious place thanks to the excellent atmosphere created. The production this time is considerably better and you can really hear the richness of the band’s percussions and epicness of their middle-eastern influences. The rawness of their Black Metal foundations is first unleashed on “Min Trab Al Jahel”, and we again noticed considerable improvement in the production values when compared to their previous release. The fusion of atmospheric keyboards and the raw distorted guitars is majestic, giving that creepy feeling of being trapped in a maze similar to the ones in the Prince of Persia games.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Vertigo Steps – Surface / Light (2012)

    cover

    Thanks to the Internet and the current advances in technology, releases like “Surface / Light” from Vertigo Steps are now possible with collaborating parts from two different countries. This two man project from Portugal and Finland deliver what is probably one the best Atmospheric Rock / Post-Rock releases of 2012. Combining elements of bands like Katatonia, Anathema (newer stuff), Porcupine Tree with some more ‘mainstream’ Post-Rock/Atmospheric Rock influences, Vertigo Steps manages to create a lush and ethereal sounding tracks unlike any other band we’ve heard recently.

    Opening with the atmospheric “Vertigo Dawn”, you can really feel the overall peacefulness and calmness that the album’s atmosphere is going to bring to your hectic day. With very firm guitar work and a nice Rock-ish vibe, “The Hollow” delivers the first introduction into the band’s combination of mainstream rock elements with brilliant atmospheres. The clean vocals of Niko Mankinen are outstanding and very soothing. There are some very nice female backing vocals in this track that nicely add to the atmosphere of this song. The guitar work is quite catchy and keeps things running smooth and heavy without overpowering the atmospheric content of the track.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Legacy of Brutality – Ad Bellum (2012)

    cover

    Our favorite Spanish Death Metal band returns with their latest release titled “Ad Bellum”. Being a double CD release, the first CD contains four brand new tracks, a cover of Gorefest’s “The Glorious Dead” and a video track. The second CD contains a crushing 46 minute live show they recorded last year. Nicely illustrated and well presented, this release continues the crushing path the band set in their previous release “Path of Forgotten Souls”.

    Opening with crushing riffs, “Masacrado” delivers waves of punishing guitars, massive drumming, and very powerful growls. The band’s ability to craft catchiness into brutality is as good as always, making this song very entertaining. On then four minute chug fest “Para la das paredes do cliseu”, the band crafts very meaty hooks and a nice older DM vibe with a few upgrades in the guitar department. If you like traditional Death Metal, but also enjoy the clarity and guitar work of modern bands, this will surely catch your attention.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Winter Haze – Silent Deception (2011)

    cover

    Today we have Italy’s Winter Haze delivering an exciting Symphonic Metal EP release titled “Silent Deception”. Featuring four tracks, this EP showcases a very mature and interesting band that can write and execute superbly melodic songs. The band’s biggest asset besides their musical skills is the sweet and unique voice of Giorgia Marra and its powerful range, making them immediately a force to be reckoned in this very crowded genre.

    Opening with a jazzy sax intro to the track “Cross the Sea”, this release sets the mood very effectively. The guitar work is pretty standard and very catchy, allowing Giorgia’s vocals to shine very nicely. Mixing clean male vocals and grunts with the classically trained female vocals is far from revolutionary, but when done right (like here) it is very effective and powerful. This track also has some nice vocal layering that gives it a very professional and dramatic edge.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Antigama – Stop the Chaos (2012)

    cover

    Featuring one of the nastiest and most chaotic sounds we have ever heard (in a good way), today we have Antigama and their latest EP titled “Stop the Chaos”. Going over 15 minutes of music in six tracks, this Death Metal/Grindcore will blow you away with their super rich and equally devastating sound.

    Immediately blasting away with “E Conspectu”, Antigama reminds us of a Death Metal version of Anaal Nathrakh. The sheer brutality behind this track, and all the others in this album, is just outstanding if you are looking for a ‘quick and brutal’ kind of release. The riffing is super hectic and deranged, the drumming is super intense and sometimes it even sounds too random to be true. The growls are just the icing on top of this already excellent cake.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Moonreich – Curse Them (2012)

    cover

    After Moonreich’s impressive debut “Loi Martiale” in 2011, we have them returning with even more devastating Black Metal in their digital-only EP titled “Curse Them”. Featuring three new tracks and a cover of Christian Death’s “Deathwish”, this short but sweet EP continues where the band left off and delivers a pummeling 20 minute aural assault that showcases how strong and brutal Moonreich is.

    Blowing up since the first track (“Slay the Prophet”), the band’s high-octane Black Metal riffing onslaught immediately delivers waves of brutality. Similar to bands like Watain and older Behemoth, Moonreich does not fuck around and delivers tons of blistering riffs in a very short amount of time. The drumming is pretty brutal and this track embodies the full range of the band’s aggressiveness.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Furze – Psych Minus Space Control (2012)

    cover

    Making its way from Norway, today we have Furze’s latest deconstruction of Black Metal titled “Psych Minus Space Control”. In this release, this one man band delivers 43 minutes of brilliant music perfectly split in five intriguing tracks. Furze’s ability to create trippy space rock tracks with infused Black Metal elements is just outstanding.

    The minimalist opening sequence of “Occult Soul, With Mind” has a very funky sci-fi vibe that we haven’t heard since Angst Skvadron “Sweet Poison” release. The very rudimentary approach to music that Furze opts to use is quite interesting to listen to and on tracks like “Psych Mooz Space Control”, it is evident that the man behind this band is brilliant. With very retro sounding guitar work and an ever-present mellow bass guitar lines, these first songs nicely set the mood of this fine release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Lynchmada – To The Earth (2011)

    cover

    Arriving from Australia today we have another run-of-the-mill Metalcore band that while having a few fine moments, it still falls short of being interesting and truly engaging. Lynchmada and their second full-length release “To The Earth” pack 11 tracks (50 minutes of music) of uninspired typical Metalcore that makes you wonder if the world of Metalcore itself is devoid of creativity.

    The album starts with the brutal “What Fresh Hell is This”, a very typical song that has powerful guitars and inhuman growls, making you believe this is actually a Deathcore release. The catchiness really starts on “Throat of Stone”, where the band shows off some nice groovy riffs but fails to move away from the traditional song structures of the genre. The breakdowns mark their first appearance here, and while there is some nifty guitar work here and there, there is nothing more to really enjoy.

Pages

Recent Image Galleries