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    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Colonel Blast – For the Greater Good (2010)

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    Once we listen to an album for one or two times we usually have an idea of what to say about it, when it came to “For the Greater Good” we are still short on words to describe it, but we will try to do our best. This band combines almost every possible genre of Metal together and creates a very unique and crushing sound.

    The band quickly starts of their album showing their riffage power and drumming skills. However, the screamed vocals on this song (and others) are quite annoying since they sound like a cat is getting hit by a bus or something. Some people might dig this, but we don’t, however the growls used through the album are decent enough to make up for them, and the music is what interested us the most.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Locusta – Locusta (2010)

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    Hailing from the USA today we have Locusta, a band that plays an interesting combination of Death/Black and Progressive Metal. While the band does have a very original sound, they have some flaws here and there that make their self-titled debut album a very good attempt but not quite there kind of record.

    The first thing we will note is that the band’s technical abilities greatly surpass their budget for this record, even if you had whatever amount the band paid to record this album changed into pennies and lugged it around on a big bag. The album’s product makes us want to cry since it sounds very bad. The drumming is extremely wobbly and sounds like when our tape player was destroying our precious cassettes back in the day. The guitars sound very weird, something we attribute to the production but it might be the ‘especial distortion’ used by the band.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Blasphemous – Bearer of the Darkest Plagues (2010)

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    Sometimes we wonder if Infernus really listens to whatever he puts out/sells on his Forces of Satan records label. Blasphemous “Bearer of the Darkest Plagues” is released by Baars Records, but Forces of Satan has it for digital download and we are not impressed.

    With a very low-fi cassette-demo sounding production, Blasphemous second full-length has minor flaws that greatly bring down the quality of this album. The band’s style of Blackened Death Metal is very retro sounding but still holds it’s own, until you hear the drumming going from slow sections into the blasting sections. It seems that the drumming is playing in a slower gear than the rest of the music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Arcane Grail – Arya Marga (2010)

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    Boasting a majestic combination of Black, Death, and Gothic Metal with Symphonic Metal elements today we have Arcane Grail, a very bombastic band from Russia. “Arya Marga” was originally released back in March of 2009, but luckily for us the folks at Hunter’s Moon records from the UK re-released it on a digital-only format.

    Immediately the first thing that stands out is the beautiful classically-trained voice of Natalie, the band’s female vocalist for those that need clarification. The band’s music is very dynamic and it’s very well varied through the 40 minutes that “Arya Marga” lasts. There is never a dull moment and there is something for everybody ranging from full-on Black Metal aggression, Death growls and overall solid riffing.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Diabolic – Excisions of Exorcisms (2010)

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    With all the kiddies invading the current Death Metal scene, it’s nice to see some of the older bands come out and show what this kind of music is all about. Hailing from the Tampa scene, this American band shows that they have earned their DM chaps by experience, and not by copying everybody else.

    “Excisions of Exorcisms” pretty much has the ‘traditional’ DM feeling to it. The riffing is very powerful, the blasting drumming is very well crafted, and the vocals are just right for this release. The band might not have the technical abilities that some of the ‘traditional’ bands do, but they compensate with blistering fast sections that will make you start moshing in no time.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Fright Night – The Play of Pain (2010)

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    In our big digital pile of electronic promos today we discovered this amazing release that makes us wonder why the hell didn’t we listened to this album before. This Fright Night, there are several bands with this name, is a band that hails from Russia, and has a very unique and deeply depressive sound.

    With a lineup featuring two super hot girls, one on guitars/vocals and the other one handling the keyboard duties, this is probably one of the few bands that is truly pleasing both visually and aurally The band plays a very interesting Gothic Rock with some Darkwave elements that will haunt your dreams for weeks to come.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Proghma-C – Bar-do Travel (2010)

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    Holy shit! We have actually have a band that features a very unique and original sound. While almost 9 out of 10 bands we receive every week sound very much like somebody else, Proghma-C sounds exactly like nobody else. The band has tons of different influences ranging from more commercial Metal, to more obscure genres that you would never image they would blend well.

    Hailing from Poland, Proghma-C unleashes 9 tracks of pure musical weirdness. While some of you might be frowning since most people think weird=bad, but this is not the case with “Bar Do Travel’. The overall hypnotic feeling that the songs have is probably the only ‘generalization’ you can make about this band’s sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Virgin Snatch – Act of Grace (2008)

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    Today in our huge promo-to-review queue we find Virgin Snatch’s “Act of Grace”, the band’s fourth release since their formation on 2001. Playing a very interesting mixture of Trash Metal with Modern Metal elements, more specifically Groove elements, we find “Act of Grace” a very interesting release… musically. The album is very fresh, sounding more like melodic Metal releases in some parts, since there are plenty of well crafted passages that sound like anything, except Trash Metal.

    With a name like Virgin Snatch, we were about to immediately throw this to the queue of Grindcore/’shit we don’t really want to listen’ list, but we decided against it after doing some research on the band. You should not discard them because of this either, since this Polish band is worth a listen.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Cyco Miko & Infectious Grooves – Live in France ’95 (2010)

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    Finding it’s way to our PO Box today we have this absolutely fantastic double live release from Cyco Miko and Infectious Grooves. If you really need an introduction to who these two bands are, you should be put to sleep. Featuring the original lineup for Infectious Grooves, we have Mike Muir, Robert Trujillo (yeah, he did played with other bands before becoming rich with Metallica), Dean Pleasants, Brooks Wackerman and Dave Nassie playing tunes from both Infectious Grooves and Cyco Miko.

    On this soon to be released double CD we have two separate sets, one from each band and both equally magical. Mike Muir has one of the best stage presences in the business and he shines with both ‘band’. The majority of the greatest hits from these two bands are captured in this timeless release that will surely be a great addition to any Suicidal/Infectious Groves/Cyco Miko fan collection.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Saint To Sinner – The Unveiling (2010)

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    We receive a high volume of releases from bands every month, always claiming that they sound like nobody else, and end up sounding like everybody else. This is not the case when it comes to Saint To Sinner, hailing from Rhode Island, USA the band does a great job at having a very unique sound to them. And here is where their little problem occurs.

    The band’s combination of Rock and different genres of Metal sounds a bit chaotic at times, and sometimes the female vocals are going in one direction, and the music is going somewhere else. Desiree Villegas as a very hypnotic and versatile singing style, but in some sections her vocals sound very odd, like the spoken backing section, and the awful ‘rapping’ on the song “Anti-corporate”. Some comparisons to Amy Lee of Evanescence are in order, but her voice sound less over produced and feels more natural.

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