2013

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    Amon Amarth – Deceiver of the Gods (2013)

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    Everybody’s favorite Metal Vikings return with yet another epic release with “Deceiver of the Gods”. Doing what they do best, catchy melodic tunes, the band delivers 10 tracks of signature Amon Amarth music that are prefect for a good dosage of beer drinking and headbanging. Mixing in some traditional Heavy Metal elements with their already well defined style, the band manages to release a very powerful and refined album that just adds to their amazing legacy.

    Without wasting any time, the album title track delivers excellent melodic riffing that only Amon Amarth can produce. Johan Hegg’s powerful vocals lead the way and they are as brutal as ever. The melodic passages are top notch, an early indicator of how epic this release will be. “As Loke Falls” has all the ingredients for a typical anthem: catchy chorus section, pummeling riffs, violent vocals, and an overall melodic vibe that is quite amazing.

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    Nemesis Irae – Eradikate Kampaign (2013)

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    Hailing from Belgium, today we have Nemesis Irae and their latest crushing release “Eradikate Kampaign”. Featuring eight tracks of devastating Black/Death Metal, this release is very raw and powerful, perfect for fans of old-school music from the genre. Delivering pummeling riffs and massive drumming, this Belgian band pummels through this release in a very stylish and aggressive way.

    Opening with the hectic “Karnage”, the band instantly makes an impact with their powerful guitars and demonic vocals. The combination of screams and semi-growls is quite effective and gives an extra boost to the band’s already powerful sound. The releases provides a healthy mixture of powerful and to the point short songs with other tracks going over four and a half minutes being a bit more complex and elaborate.

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    Agathodaimon – In Darkness (2013)

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    Arriving today from Massacre records we have Agathodaimon and the follow up to their controversial 2009 release “Phoenix”. Going from Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal to Blacked Gothic Metal left a lot of people puzzled by their odd transformation. With “In Darkness” the band starts solidifying their very unique style, making it a bit more cohesive but still quite unexpected. In our opinion, their brave evolution is quite engaging and made us really enjoy this new release.

    The album blasts open with “In Darkness (We Shall Be Reborn)”, a 6-minte epic that reminds us a lot of Graveworm and their very bombastic Symphonic/Gothic Black Metal. The band delivers powerful riffs and killer atmospheric keyboards in a very punishing manner. The vocals change between growls, shrieks, and clean singing very convincingly giving the music enough depth. “I’ve Risen” and “Favourite Sin” for the most part sound like Dimmu Borgir, and this is a great thing in our opinion. The clean vocals really add to the music and make it more interesting and less linear.

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    Ash Borer – Cold of Ages (2012)

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    As one of the most brutal USBM bands of these days, Ash Borer has carved a name for them with crushing and relentless Black Metal brutality with some Noise/Drone and weird FX’s to add to their music. Originally released in 2012 by Profound Lore Records, today we have the Double LP version of “Cold of Ages”, one of the most devastating records of 2012. Released by Pesanta Urfolk in extremely limited quantities, this is one release you must hear on vinyl.

    Opening with the sheer brutality of “Descended Lamentations”, the band delivers a 16-minute song of epic proportions. The drumming is hellish, the riffing is ultra-powerful and the screams are phenomenal. The band achieves an extreme level of brutality that almost no USBM band has ever come close to. Our favorite track in this release is “Phantoms”, thanks to the sick opening riffs and the weird outro that the track features.

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    Australasia – Sin4tr4 (2013)

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    Being huge fans of Post-Rock and Post-Metal, we were pretty psyched about this release after doing our research on the band. Needless to say, this release is one of those albums that feels extremely repetitive and after a while gets on your nerves. We do not doubt the band’s abilities or flow of ideas, but the songs in this release get very repetitive and dull after 15 minutes.

    The album open with “Antenna”, a very dreamy Post-Rock piece that is quite good and engaging, the only issue is that all the remaining songs sound the same. The Black Metal-esque riffing is quite effective and promising, but was used more as a gimmick than actually part of the band’s sound. With “Spine” and “Apnea” we start getting quite sleepy since there are not many different things except for some cool keyboards and atmospheric elements, but not enough to really help discern the songs.

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    Frigoris – Wind (2013)

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    Arriving this June on Hypnotic Dirge Records and Misanthropic Art Productions we have Frigoris and their sophomore release “Wind”. Perfectly mixing acoustic guitars with melancholic Black Metal, the band creates a very powerful and emotional atmosphere around their songs. Hailing from Germany, this band is an ideal match for fans of bands like Agalloch, Fen, and Woods of Ypres, and older Empyrium.

    Opening with the mysterious intro “Windgeflüster” that features some nice acoustic guitars and whispers, the band fully explodes with “Zwischenwelten”. This straightforward Pagan/Black Metal track is quite melancholic and perfectly crafted to create a special atmosphere. The BM harsh vocals are quite good, but what elevates this release is the creepy whisper/acoustic guitar combination that bands like Empyrium have used in the past.

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    Lychgate – Lychgate (2013)

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    Delivering a very impressive debut self-titled album, Lychgate combines highly atmospheric music with brutal Black Metal in a very crushing and terrifying way. Featuring tracks form the band’s ‘dormant’ years, this release carves out perfectly songs that are both chilling and very harsh. With over 37 minutes of music, this release is by far one of the best we have reviewed this year when it comes to Atmospheric Black Metal.

    Hailing from the UK, the band warms up with “The Inception”, an dense and creepy mood setting intro. When the first track, “Resentment” arrives, the dramatic keyboards/organs create a very bleak and commanding atmosphere, but it is ultimately the riffing that completes the band’s awesome wall of sound. Having elements of bands like Way to End and Nidingr, the band’s sound is hellish and very well constructed.

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    Children of Bodom – Halo Of Blood (2013)

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    Finally returning to their days of glory, today we have Children of Bodom and their most cohesive release since “Hate Crew Deathroll”. With “Halo of Blood” the band returns to their playful and skillful entertaining music that is both technically proficient and quite catchy. Having tanked their last 3 releases, it is quite refreshing to hear the band going a bit back to their roots and re-capturing the elements that made them the successful band they are now.

    With the opener “Waste of Skin”, the band instantly delivers their signature CoB sound with catchy keyboards and excellent lead guitars. Once the rhythmic guitars come in, the song already hooked you because of its catchiness. Alexi Laiho’s solos are as good as in the past, and the overall musical experience greatly brought us memories of when we first listened to the band in the past.

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    The Black Dahlia Murder – Everblack (2013)

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    Delivering one of the most surprisingly awesome albums of 2013, today we have The Black Dahlia Murder and their imposing release “Everblack”. We have long discarded this band as one of the vanilla Deathcore bands since their earlier days, but today we are shocked in the excellent quality and brutality behind their latest release. Mixing elements of Melodic/Technical Death Metal with some Deathcore influences, the band has managed to craft a very powerful and devastating sound of their own over the years.

    Exploding with the technical “In Hell Is Where She Waits for Me”, the band immediately showcases their excellent mixture of melodic elements with brutal DM/Deathcore sections. The music is quite intense and makes you immediately want to start headbanging. “Goat of Departure” continues the riffing onslaught with catchy melodic sections and inhuman growls. The band’s sound has surely come a long way since their earlier stuff and they now sound like a million dollars.

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    The Devil’s Blood - III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars (2013)

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    Recently demised The Devil’s Blood returns with one last hurrah with the raw and direct “III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars”. Never intended to be the last release of the band, and never properly completed, this release maintains the mystical magic of the band with a less refined and perfected packaging. Featuring the last seven tracks we will ever hear from this excellent band, this release is indeed very good, but it also has a bittersweet taste of what it could have been if the band polished it as much as their previous releases.

    The release leads off with a 22-minute epic under the title “I Was Promised a Hunt”. Supposedly written backwards, this track is a tour de force that goes through tons of different moods and delivers an excellent introduction to the band’s swansong release. The female vocals are outstanding as always and they immediately induce a trance-like state. There are also some male vocals that while odd at first, provide a nice contrast to F’s singing and the lush choir arrangements. The atmosphere in this track is quite dense (as always) and has a very dark vibe to it, greatly enhanced by the brilliant guitar work.

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