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    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    To Cast a Shadow - In Memory of (2011)

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    In the slow and painfully good category today we have To Cast a Shadow and their Doom album “In Memory of”. It has been quite a while since a band has managed to capture the emptiness and bleakness of Death/Gothic Doom Metal, but luckily To Cast a Shadow has given us 10 tracks of emotional music.

    Hailing from Norway, this band delivers a very simple yet effective approach to the genre and with angelic female vocals creates a very powerful atmosphere. Traditional Doom Metal riffs open “Tormented” and all is good until you get the male vocals, to be brutally honest… they suck, but the female vocals greatly make up for this in the rest of the song.

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    Cold Northern Vengeance - Trial by Ice 2002 – 2010 (2010)

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    Today we have the Cold Northern Vengeance… of the USA? With such a powerful name we expected them to be from Norway or somewhere really up North. Anyways, “Trial by Ice” showcases the transformation of this very promising USBM band and how their sound have evolved over the years from the traditional kvlt Black Metal to some more refined and stylish pieces. If you never heard of this band, you can be caught up with them by the time this 70 minute release is over.

    After the traditional filler intro track, “Acausal” shows a very strong Black Metal influence that incorporates different tempo changes. This makes the song a nice departure of the traditional BM crap we are used to reviewing. The band goes a bit more extreme with the denser “Black Metal Isolation III”. This track features a different sound than the previous one but still creates an eerie atmosphere. The vocals, guitars, and drums are very well crafted for this song.

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    Zerstörer - Panzerfaust Justice (2010)

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    Marking Zerstörer second full-length release today we have “Panzerfaust Justice”. In this album the band wastes no time and delivers an in-your-face Black/Thrash Metal assault of the most rudimentary and crushing fashion. The band features no fancy elements, just the traditional metal lineup and a shit ton of build up anger inside, perfect for Black/Thrash Metal.

    Over the span of nine songs, the band does deliver very aggressive tracks full of raw energy and sound, but it also falls short in creating something we haven’t heard before. The bands sound is very traditional and is limited to the very similar structures in each song. While there is nothing bad in this, after the first 4 songs you start to get drowsy and with a sudden urge to change the CD.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Graveyard Dirt – For Grace or Damnation (2010)

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    With Death/Doom Metal being almost a dying art, Graveyard Dirt delivers a gasp of fresh air to one of our favorite genres. In “For Grace of Damnation” the band crafts one of the most monumental releases of the genre we have heard in quite a while.

    Drawing obvious inspirations from early Anathema and Paradise Lost, and combining them with newer influences of Mourning Beloveth, Shape of Despair, etc, the band shows great maturity in all eight tracks presented in this release. Painting landscapes of desolation and darkness, “For Grace or Damnation” is sure to attract all fans of the genre.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Massive Slavery – Global Enslavement (2010)

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    Relentless and Brutal are probably the two best words to describe Canada’s Massive Slavery debut album “Global Enslavement”. Featuring inhuman vocals and drumming paired with skillful guitar and bass guitar work, this release is as crushing and technically proficient as you can imagine for a veteran band, which Massive Slavery is not.

    Since the opener track “MediAssasiNation”, the band will blow you away with harsh vocals, very brutal drumming and an array of guitar riffs and solos that will make your fingers and hands hurt just by thinking on how to play them. The band specializes in creating hyper-fast songs that feature almost equal amounts of aggressive and melodic sections, creating a perfect harmony between the two of the (e.g. “Shade of Corruption”).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    The Gates of Slumber – Wretch (2011)

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    The tone is set to heavy with Gates of Slumber’s latest album; the riffs crawl along at a sludge-like tempo with an eeriness weaving in and out of the pattern. Moving away from their usual theme of swords and sorcery and into the real world was a wise choice for their part as well the pick for new drummer, J “Cool” Clyde” Paradis. His drumming has a vibe to it that sounds like it made even vocalist Karl Simon and bassist Jason McCash step up their game a bit.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Aerial Run – Valleys of the Earth (2011)

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    Finally! And American act that can rival European bands in the lands of dark Folk/Neo-Folk music. Aerial Run’s latest offering “Valleys of the Earth” delivers a very engaging and ethereal album that will surely gain them some comparisons to: Ulver (very early), Empyrium (a bit less dark and lush), The Moon And The Nightspirit, and similar bands.

    The album starts with the very somber “Amends”, this track nicely features lush acoustic guitars and very depressing vocals. While the album is not reeking of originality, all compositions in this release are very pleasing a ranging between different moods. The album nicely builds up and around track six; we have ‘faster’ paced sections that unsettle the flow (in a good way).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Turmion Kätilöt – Perstechnique (2011)

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    Our favorite Industrial Metal degenerates are back with a very pleasant release with “Perstechnique”. After being blown away by them live (read here). We are huge fans from this completely under-rated beast of a band. The band’s previous releases intoxicate fans with brilliant dual-vocal attacks (courtesy of MC Raaka Pee and Spellgoth) and super catchy electronic elements (courtesy of RunQ of Tarot and Eternal Tears of Sorrow fame).

    In “Perstechnique” the band reinforces their position as one of the best bands of the genre and hopefully this leads to world domination (and touring). There are a few songs in English and while the rest are in Finish, we don’t really care since the music is so catchy and intoxicating. The beats of tracks like “Grand Ball”, “Hanska” and “Hellhound Earth” are just magical.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    OvO – Cor Cordium (2011)

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    Leading our monthly pile of ‘WFT?’ releases today we have Italian OvO and their sixth full-length ‘album’ named “Cor Cordium”. If you are one of those snobs that likes a bunch of random shit put together connected through some sort of ‘theme’ and pretends to fully ‘get it’, then you will love this release. For us, normal Metal (and some Experimental/Avant-garde stuff) this is exactly what “Cor Cordium” is: a bunch of random shit put together.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Heirs – Fowl (2011)

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    Featuring one of the weirdest covers ever, Heirs delivers their sophomore released titled “Fowl”. In this album the band explores many different genres, manages to stitch them all together and create a truly disturbing and very complex listening experience.

    We have been putting out writing this review for quite a while due to the complexity and intricacies of this very dense release. The band creates very thick layers of guitars that are nicely maneuvered to shape seven songs that are very complex and multi-layered, leaving the listener baffled at first glance.

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