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    Legacy of Brutality – Ad Bellum (2012)

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    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.

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    Winter Haze – Silent Deception (2011)

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    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.

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    Antigama – Stop the Chaos (2012)

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    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.

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    Moonreich – Curse Them (2012)

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    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.

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    Furze – Psych Minus Space Control (2012)

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    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.

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    Lynchmada – To The Earth (2011)

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    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.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Wombwrecker – Wombwrecker (2012)

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    Delivering a heavy dose of Deathcore, today we have England’s Wombwrecker and their self-titled digital EP. Playing a very vanilla type of Deathcore, the band has produced 7 tracks that are devoid of any originality and sound brutal for the sake of being brutal. With all the Deathcore band’s spanning in the last few years, one would expect that they would at least focus on not sounding all alike, but we guess that Wombwrecker missed the memo.

    Immediately pounding away with “Introduction”, the band established that their sound is going to be brutal and that their guitars will be heavy as fuck. In terms of the structure of what they are playing, we can’t really say we haven’t heard this before. The brutal vocals make their appearance in the second track “No Sluts, No Glory”, and they are as heavy as any other band in the genre like Oceano, Acacia Strain, etc., we have no complaints in this department since they are as brutal as they can be.

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    Lahmia – Into the Abyss (2012)

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    Seemingly out of nowhere, today we have one of the best Melodic Death Metal releases we have heard in the past few years with Lahmia’s “Into the Abyss”. For a debut full-length release, this riff-tastic album is very well crafted with excellent melodic passages and very aggressive sections. With the typical comparisons to Swedish Melodic Death Metal giants Dark Tranquility, the band also fuses some of Belgium’s Thurisaz elements into to their music to create a superb album.

    Opening with “Drag Me to Hell”, the band delivers intense Thrash riffing that nicely morphs into more traditional Melodic DM as the song progresses. The Dark Tranquility worship is clearly evident with the section around the 4:30 mark where they sound like DT’s opus “There In”. The mixture of traditional growls with some harsher Black Metal shrieks nicely reminds us of Thurisaz, but with less emphasis on the atmospheric side of things, as depicted on “Nightfall”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    L’Alba Di Morrigan – The Essence Remains (2012)

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    Arriving all the way from Italy, today we have a very mellow and atmospheric release with L’Alba Di Morrigan’s debut full-length album “The Essence Remains”. Combining elements of Art Rock with some Progressive and Post-Rock hints, the band delivers nine tracks of solid music that will nicely relax you after a hard day of work.

    The album opens with the very Katatonia-esque “Snowstorm”, a piece that had the participation of Frank Default (of Katatonia fame) on percussions and keyboards, giving this track a nice ethereal sound to it. The band continues with more Katatonia worship on “The Fairies’ Circle”, mainly on the distant vocal sounds and the overall depressive vibe. Frank Default makes another appearance on “Silence”, our favorite track of this release thanks to its very moody passages.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Llvme – Yia De Nuesu (2012)

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    With a very lush and elaborate sound, today we have Llvme and their second full-length release “Yia De Nuesu”. Mixing elements from Doom, Folk, and Black/Death Metal, this band has a very rich and entertaining sound that will blow you away with excellent melancholic passages and sheer brutality moments.

    Opening with the majestic “1188-1230” track, this release immediately establishes a melancholic atmosphere full of aggression and emotions. The female vocals and violins in this track are excellent and nicely contrast the heavy elements of the track. “Helmantica” brings forth a more aggressive stance from the band and some very Dimmu Borgir-esque keyboards. The riffing is very well crafted and the drums are stellar. “Vettonia” has that same Folk Metal vibe that bands like Eluveitie exploit to no end (the bagpipes), but it somewhat feels different with some nice stop-and-go moments and the direct Amorphis ‘rip-off’ section at the end of the track.

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