Album Reviews

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    Shining – International Blackjazz Society (2015)

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    As one of the weirdest and most extreme insanely popular bands that we listen to, Shining returns with their own band of crazy with the epic “International Blackjazz Society”. Delivering nine tracks of truly deranged and visionary music, this is one of those releases that keeps you guessing from start to end. Jørgen Munkeby and company manage to further elaborate on their very original style and deliver one of the most diverse albums of 2015.

    Setting a very chaotic and odd atmosphere with their sax madness of “Admittance”, the band is ready to pounce on the listener with the catchy riffs of “The Last Stand”. The catchiness of this track is nicely offset by the distorted vocals and trippy atmosphere. Reminding us a bit of Diabolos Rising and Industrial Black Metal bands, “Burn it All” has a very sinister vibe to it and we love it. Things get a bit more mainstream and radio-friendly with the very catchy and more straightforward “Last Day”.

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    Draconian – Sovran (2015)

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    Perfectly in time for a very gloomy October, Draconian is set to unleash “Sovran”. Four years in the making and after the departure of Lisa Johansson, the band returns with a superbly strong and very melancholic release that will become another Draconian classic. The band’s melancholic sound is greatly complemented by their new singer Heike Langhans, making this release a perfect step in the band’s musical trajectory.

    Opening with bleak first minutes of “Heavy Lies the Crown” we have some crushing Doom riffs and a very oppressive atmosphere that is beautifully craved out of piano sections and solemn female vocals. As the band settles more into their classic sound, “The Wretched Tide” is filled with great vocal duels between Andres superb harsh vocals and Heike’s emotionally charged voice that nicely contrast the harshness of the music.

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    Enshine – Singularity (2015)

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    After taking everybody by surprise with their excellent debut “Origin”, Enshine returns with a more mature and refined release titled “Singularity”. Comprised of only two members, Jari Lindholm and Sebastien Pierre, this international band manages to craft a very melodic and engaging release that clocks in at 53 minutes of music. If you are a fan of October Tide, Insomnium and Swallow the Sun, this is an album that you don’t want to miss.

    The band opens with the Sci-Fi-ish “Dual Existence” as the barrage of melodic riffs is made present by Jari. The pace is quite mellow, but the harshness and brutality of the music is felt, particularly when Sebastien’s growls come into the picture. With majestically crafted songs like “Adrift” and “Resurgence”, the band sets a very melodic mood with subtle atmospheric keyboards. The band’s resemblance to Swallow the Sun in terms of pace and mood is uncanny, but they make the sound their own by adding more Melodic Death metal elements here and there.

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    Weeping Silence – Opus IV Oblivion (2015)

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    Hailing from Malta, today we have a very pleasant surprise with Weeping Silence’s latest release, “Opus IV Oblivion”. Oozing with old-school Gothic Death/Doom melancholy, this release instantly brought us back to the old days of Silentium, Trail of Tears, Even Song with some Dreams of Sanity sprinkled into the mix. If you like the whole beauty and the beast vocal approach, this is right up your alley.

    Opening with some disarmingly powerful riffs, “Oblivion – Darkness in My Heart Anno XV” sets a very temperamental mood. The use of classical string instruments in this track gives it a certain early Lacrimas Profundere vibe, making the track even more powerful and punishing. With Diane Camenzuli and Dario Pace Taliana alternating between sweet female vocals and heavy growls, the band’s vocal duo does a great job in keeping songs fluid and engaging.

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    Vhöl - Deeper than Sky (2015)

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    As one of the wackiest releases of 2015, today we have Vhöl and their sophomore release “Deeper than Sky”. Featuring members of Agalloch, Hammers of Misfortune and YOB, this is one super group with enough musical chops to make even the weirdest sound great. IF we had to categorize their music, we would say that they play Avant-garde Heavy/Thrash Metal, due to the mixture of genres surfacing thought this release.

    Opening with the Deathklok-esque “The Desolate Damned”, the band delivers an intense music with some brilliant guitar wizardry, which interestingly enough have Mike Scheidt handling vocal duties while John Cobbett handles the guitars. After an unconventional opening, “3AM” feels a bit more like a traditional Heavy Metal song with some funky drumming, courtesy of Aesop Dekker. Mike’s vocals are very versatile, as anybody that listens to YOB can attest, and they perfectly fit each track’s unique level of madness.

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    Dead to a Dying World – Litany (2015)

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    With plenty of high profile releases in 2015, Dead to a Dying World’s sophomore release “Litany” almost past by us unnoticed. Luckily, we gave it a few spins and were instantly blown away by the level of melancholy and musicianship found in this little gem. Featuring six tracks and over 70 minutes of Atmospheric Death-Doom/Black Metal /Post-Rock, this is one heck of a release from beginning to end.

    Hailing from Texas and featuring guest appearances by members of Pallbearer and Sabbath Assembly, this release kicks off with the 16-minute “The Hunt Eternal”. Opening with some somber strings and rapidly progressing into Black Metal territory, this track suddenly changes into all-out melancholic Doom riffing and lush clean vocals. The band perfectly captures the catharsis of such an intense opening with brilliantly painful mellow soundscapes and female vocals. This sounds like Ash Borer-meets-Elend-meets-My Dying Bride and we love it.

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    Abigail Williams – The Accuser (2015)

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    The on-again off-again Abigail Williams return after announcing their last break up, with yet another crushing release with “The Accuser”. Led by Ken Sorceron, this outfit is redefining US Black Metal with every release and they present their current case with eight intriguing songs filled with aggression and experimentation.

    Opening with their brutal “Path of Broken Glass”, the band delivers a huge wall of sound in the first few minutes before going into some weird experimentation with multiple vocal styles and some super cool melodic passages. Not sounding like any other band from the USA, this track is a testament to the band’s creativity. Things continue somewhat normal with “The Cold Lines” and the first few minutes of “Of The Outer Darkness”, just before the mood gets dark and doomier, the perfect precursor a great rest of the song.

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    Entwine – Chaotic Nation (2015)

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    Pleasantly surprising us when we received this album on our inbox, today we have Entwine and their first release in 6 years titled “Chaotic Nation”. As the whole Gothic Rock craze made popular by him has died down over the years, most of the solid bands in the genre moved to greener pastures. With the return of To/Die/For earlier this year and this new album, there seems there might be some sort of revival going for this scene.

    Opening with the very Finish Metal sounding “End of Silence”, the bands makes a splash with a very dynamic and engaging song, setting a very good standard for this release. Mika Tauriainen’s vocals are as good as ever and nicely carry the band’s character as they grace songs like “Saint of Sorrow” and “Fortune Falls”. Unlike the latest To/Die/For album that was pretty bad, Entwine has adapted with the times and sounds fresh while still maintaining their signature style.

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    Perihelion – Zeng (2015)

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    Hailing from Hungary, today we have a very energetic outfit named Perihelion. Seamlessly blending Post-Rock and Progressive Metal elements with soaring vocals, this band delivers a very melancholic release with “Zeng”. All sung in Hungarian, this release is quite unique as it constantly changes between styles at the exact moment you think you have figured them out.

    Opening with the dreamy “Tündöklés”, the band nicely moves around from a very atmospheric and Post-Rock-ish pace to a faster and more aggressive stance at the end of the song, which seamlessly blends into the second track “Vég se hozza el”. You can clearly hear some Alcest/Post-Black Metal worship here in the guitars, but they are interestingly contrasted by the soaring clean vocals of Gyula Vasvári. Things even get a bit folky in “Felemészt a tér”, a track that reminds us of another Hungarian band Dalriada, but with a male vocalist.

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    Erdh – Sidermesis (2015)

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    Arriving from Apathia Records, today we have a very weird Ambient / Trip-hop / Electronic release titled “Sidermesis”. Hailing from Paris, France, Erdh is a pretty unique outfit with a good ear for crafting intoxicating atmospheres and very diverse soundscapes. If you like their weird side of The 3rd and the Mortal, Ulver, and even Depeche Mode, this is right up your alley.

    Opening with the slowly building atmospheric title track, we get a moody piece that nicely introduces the listener to the band’s world. The vocals provided by Emmanuel Lévy fit the music nicely giving it a certain ethereal and gothic vibe. Nicolas Pingnelain’s music is pretty intense and creates a certain sense of urgency as we can hear from the very solid “Backup 1011”.

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