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    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Darkest Grove – Pain and Suffering Shall Be Known (2006)

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    Lastly on our promo package from Forever Plagued Records, we have found a hidden gem that while being released back in 2006, it is still pretty solid and interesting to listen to. Darkest Grove debut full-length record “Pain and Suffering Shall Be Known” has a lot of different layers to it making it a very enjoyable listening experience. Being a one man band, all instruments are nicely executed and give this release a very professional feel to the already very well crafted music.

    Clocking in at 63 minutes, “Pain and Suffering Shall Be Known” opens with a very mysterious organ-like intro track. The second track “(Within My) Drunemeton” delivers a nicely paced structure that features both hypnotic passages and powerful riffing with harsh vocals, all very well balanced. Moving into more traditional Black Metal ground, “Now in a Ruined State Will She Ever Cleanse Herself” delivers a chilling atmosphere created by distorted guitars and nice percussions. While this release is definitely less fast paced than traditional BM, the rawness of the emotions behind the music is excellent.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Tenebrous – Opus Magnum (2009)

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    Featuring Armanen of Kult ov Azazel on guitars and vocals, and VJS (Kult ov Azazel, Nightbringer,etc) on bass and drums, today we have Tenebrous and their soul crushing release “Opus Magnum”. Filled with hate and destruction, the 10 tracks presented in this release feature a hectic and diabolical Black Metal sound with a USBM edge to it.

    Not for the weak of mind and soul, “Opus Magnum” delivers its first aural assault with “What Death Has Fallen”. In this very hectic and destructive song, we can immediately hear the band’s pure aggression channeled through shrieks of pain, distorted guitars and bestial drumming. This is in fact the way most of the album goes with a few very interesting changes in the pace of some songs. “Wallachia Weywoden” is a clear example of some nice slow-downs with brutal sections galore.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    What Mad Universe – A Cosmic Chapter with Gaia (2010)

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    Featuring a very ethereal and fresh sound, today we have What Mad Universe, a two man band from France that plays a particular combination of Atmospheric Rock with Sludge and Post-Rock elements. For over 50 minutes we are treated with very enchanting compositions that will transport the listener to unknown realms of consciousness.

    With a hefty mix of distorted guitars, atmospheric elements, some electronic ones, and the use of a banjo (Deliverance, anybody?), “A Cosmic Chapter with Gaia” nicely stands aside from the rest of atmospheric releases due to the intricacy and effectiveness of its songs. The masterminds behind this project PEP and RK do a great job in executing all these elements to perfection in order to create very engaging and interesting tracks.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Incursus – Eternal Funeral Trance (2009)

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    Deliver nine blows of pure rawness, today we have Incursus and their very devastating (and well crafted) debut full-length release “Eternal Funeral Trance”. Featuring VJS of Kult ov Azazel, Nightbringer, etc., Incursus has a great sound for such a ‘young’ band, but with his pedigree it is something to be fully expected. The vocalist Horidus (ex-Demoncy and ex-Legions of Astaroth) it is also a fundamental part for this release to work the way it does due to his hellish shrieks.

    Opening with a very cool intro, the album fully explodes with “A Ravenous Despair”. In this track the band delivers waves of crushing riffs and blasting drums, all of these perfectly complemented by Horidus vocals. With the true Black Metal sound behind them, Incursus delivers a top notch opening track that will be greatly appreciated by all fans of the genre. In the following aural assaults “When Death Enthrones Our Darkness”, “Phantasmagoria” and “Evil Comes Forth”, the band has a similar feeling to other greats of the genre like Deathspell Omega, Katharsis, Sargeist, etc.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lord Foul – Killing Raping Burning / The Devil’s Advocate (2009)

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    Released in 2009, “Killing Raping Burning / The Devil’s Advocate” marks the now defunct Lord Foul’s last release. Featuring the band’s only two demos we can hear some of their strengths and a lot of their weaknesses, which probably led to their demise. Fan of raw and low-fi Black Metal will surely get a kick out of this release, but does not feature enough elements to really grab your attention for the whole 20 minutes it lasts.

    In the first ‘half’ of the album we have the six real songs of the “Killing, Raping Burning” demo. In these songs we have a few spoken/movie section intros that remind us of the good old Mortician stuff. The songs however, are very random in nature. The drums are going fast, the distorted guitars are pretty odd and repetitive and the vocals just seem to not lead anywhere. We can’t really say that we found much here other than a ‘kvlt’ sound with no substance.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lyan / Blien Vesne (split) - Esperar Eternity (2011)

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    With the current popularity of Post-Rock and its variations, we have recently received tons of album submissions of this genre but there are only handfuls that are very interesting and pleasant to listen to. “Esperar Eternity” is one of those select few albums that we can say are pretty solid and should be purchased. Featuring five tracks of Ambient Post-Rock from Lyan and four tracks from Blien Vesne (post-rock), this release has a very high atmospheric content that should be heard.

    Opening the release with the Ambient sounds of “Toi Cho Doi”, we are treated to beautiful landscapes for melancholy. This song nicely creates an atmosphere of peace that will calm even the most hyper person in the world. The magic continues with “Cotton House”, where there are some electronic-like elements and ethereal vocals added to the mix. “Childhood’s Seasons” follows the same path but with a deeper atmosphere, a very magical song (and our favorite from the Lyan side of things).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Beyond the Labyrinth – Chapter III – Stories (2011)

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    Hailing from Belgium, today we have a very solid Heavy Metal band with the name of “Beyond the Labyrinth”. While this band might not be familiar to a lot of people, they have been around the scene since 1996 and you can tell by the quality of music presented in the 12 tracks in “Chapter III – Stories”. Being the band’s third full-length release, “Chapter II – Stories” features tracks that range from power ballads, hard rocking anthems and even some mellow Heavy/Progressive Metal pieces.

    Opening with “The Girl with the X-Ray Eyes”, the band quickly sets the pace for this release by crafting a very catchy and emotional song. This song reminds us of soundtrack songs for 90’s movies. With a bit of a more current sound, “Where Kindred Spirits Meet” has a nice Progressive/Heavy Metal feel to it and the keyboards sound very good in this song. The first power ballad comes under the name of “Oceans Apart”, in this song the guitar work is quite nice and the vocal performance of Jo De Boeck is very emotional. The drumming sounds a bit funky, but the song it-self is very good.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Mystons – 3 (2011)

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    Almost one year since the release of the very solid “Alkaem”, Mystons returns with another nine hard-hitting songs that quickly show that their last album’s success was no fluke and they mean serious business. Dropping one band member, Mystons delivers a very powerful album that feels a bit more consolidated than the first one, and is full of catchy riffs and appealing vocals.

    Funneling a White Stripes vibe, the album opens with “Mammoth” and “Mourning Sky”, the second song in particular seems to have a very familiar riff that will surely be quickly identified by the listeners. In this two songs you can hear the traditional Mystons sound, but with a bit more of direction. The album’s catchiness continues and with “CrusHer”, we find a very hard-rocking song that immediately sticks in your head.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Ogen – Black Metal Unbound (2011)

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    As we are going through our never ending queue of albums to review, today we have Ogen’s debut EP titled “Black Metal Unbound”. Without needing a very high IQ we can figure out that the Italian duo of Ogen play Black Metal. Coming seemingly out of nowhere, this two-man band delivers one of the best Black Metal releases we have heard in this 2011. Featuring intricate riffs and powerful melodies, the band does not fuck around when it comes to creating punishing BM compositions.

    “Shattered Earth Volcano” opens this album with dominating riffs and very nicely paced drumming. This song marks the beginning of a set of five tracks that encompass many styles of Black Metal all in a well executed package. Since this song we can hear the Satyricon, Old Mans Child’s, and Emperor influences all around the music, but never sounding like a rip-off.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Myrath – Tales of Sands (2011)

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    When we add albums to our review queue we usually add a few and spin them one after the other, in the case of Myrath’s “Tales of Sands”, we haven’t been able to stop listening consecutively to this excellent release. Featuring 11 tracks (45 minutes) of excellent Progressive Metal with oriental/middle-eastern influences unlike you ever heard before (maybe a bit like the newer Orphaned Land stuff but way better), this album will surely blow you away.

    In our endless search for unique sounding music, Myrath has instantly written their name in our very selective list. The band manages not only to produce a good Progressive Metal album, but also to fuse their own oriental influences very nicely into the overall scheme of things and create a very fresh and dynamic sound. Being a combination of their two previous releases, which we immediately went and found to make a more informed review, “Tales of Sands” shows great maturity in the band’s songwriting skills.

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