Fittingly bearing what it looks like a psychoactive toad on its cover, today we have Tusmörke and their trippiest release to date “Fort Bak Lyset”. Combining psychedelic and folk elements ina a very proggy way, the band crafts seven unique pieces that are beyond original and totally weird. If you are looking for weird psychedelic music, this is probably as weird as you are going to get in 2016.

Opening with the Jethro Tull-esque “Ekebergkongen”, the band sets a very odd stage with tons of psychedelic atmospheric elements and very proggy music. Entirely sung in Norwegian, the music in this album explores all kinds of weird folk corners as we can hear on “Et Djevelsk Mareritt” and “De Reiser Fra Oss”. While one can quickly picture a bunch of geeky larpers frolicking around with their foam swords to this music, we have to say that even this is too weird and out of the ordinary (in a good way!) for said sinister purposes.

Returning after 4 years of no releases, today we have Norway’s Ragnarok and their latest opus of darkness titled “Psychopathology”. Featuring 49-minutes of soul crushing Black Metal, the band shows no signs of slowing down and manages to deliver one hell of a release from start to finish. Further refining their traditional Norwegian Black Metal sound, the band is ready to steamroll the competition with incisive riffs and sheer brutality.

Delivering the first blow with the monster opener “Dominance & Submission”, the band punishes the listener with crushing riffs and very elaborate drums. The band changed its configuration and now the sole remaining founding member, Jontho, handles the vocals, shifting the drumming duties to Malignant. With this little change, the band’s sound is a bit more dynamic, allowing tracks like “Psychopathology” and “My Creator” to be quite crafty and enjoyable.

Hailing from Austria, today we have a very unique release from an artist called Rusty Pacemaker. In “Ruins”, this one-man outfit delivers 53 minutes of very diverse music that blends Gothic Rock/Progressive Rock/Doom Metal with heavy atmospheric elements. Reminding us of bands like Yearning and some of the stuff on Holy Records back in the early 2000’s, this is a release that takes a few spins to fully sink in.

Opening with a very somber atmosphere in “Ruins”, the mood is set quite mellow and very mysterious. As Rusty’s vocals appear, the vibe shifts into a more Gothic Rock/Metal atmosphere, with very well crafted guitars, but somewhat odd vocal melodies. Moving into full-on H.I.M / To/Die/For territory, “Made of Lies” is quite straightforward and catchy, while being quite consistent with one genre. The use of female vocals on “Ocean of Life” greatly adds a different dimension to the band’s sound, making it more dynamic and engaging.

Arriving from Sweden, today we have Metalcore outfit Lost Seconds and their superbly crafted debut EP release titled “A Place to Start”. Featuring five songs, this album weaves back and forth between aggressive vocals and incisive riffs to melodic passage and soaring vocal melodies. With a good emphasis on melody, this EP stands out thanks to the traditional Gothenburg melodic Metal influences baked in with the rest of the band’s sound.

Opening with the lush “Reflections”, the band takes a few minutes to set the stage with a very Prog Rock opening that slowly evolves into heavier territories. The mixture of harsh and clean vocals is done quite well, infusing raw emotions into this solid track. Perfectly shining with some glorious Gothenburg melodic Metal influences, tracks like “Sirens’ Song” and “Silent” deliver a good blend of melody and aggression, keeping the album fresh and fast paced.

The most epic band in the world returns with a very good live album that gives the listener a small glimpse into their live performance magic. Having seen Sabaton live multiple times, the band always delivers a brilliant live set and this is excellently captured in this 2DVD/CD release. With the audio part of this release featuring 16 tracks, the listener is fully immersed into the band’s live production quality and antics.

After setting the mood with “The March to War”, the band delivers a brutal hit with an epic combo of “Ghost Division”, “To Hell and Back” and the brilliant “Carolus Rex”. The band’s live sound has always been amazing and this is perfectly captured as they deliver “No Bullets Fly” and “Resist and Bite”. While we are only treated to an audio experience on the CD, we can totally imagine Joakim running around and goofing off with his band mates as the songs are played.

As one of the most unique and odd bands of North America, The Body has made a name for itself by doing tons of unique collaboration while refining a punishing experimental Sludge/Drone sound. On their fifith full-length release “No One Deserves Happiness”, the band continues to push the boundaries of normal and delivers what they call “the grossest pop album ever”. After listening for multiple days we have to completely agree with their claim, as this is one nightmarish release that will puzzle the masses and hypnotize the illuminated ones.

Opening with the haunting “Wanderings” we get some fragile female vocals nicely contrasted by some Sludgy dissonant riffs and a very unnerving tempo. As soon as the harsh vocals come into the picture the album gets even weirder with such an extreme contrast… signature move of the band. After a little breather with the weird “Shelter is Illusory”, the band delivers a violent Drone/Noise pair of tracks with “For You” and “Hallow/Hollow” that will rattle anybody out of their seat.

Bringing back the days of Dreams of Sanity-like Gothic Metal/Rock, today we have Dark Letter and their debut EP titled “Psychomachia”. Featuring a simple yet effective approach to the genre, this young Polish outfit delivers five solid tracks filled with atmosphere and somber vocals. If you liked Gothic Metal bands from the late 90’s, this band will bring those days back to life with their 26 minutes of music.

Opening with the mysterious “Toy”, the band sets a very mellow mood when pairing keyboard arrangements with well-structured drum patterns and Beata Golińska’s singular vocal style. Her style is a bit more firm and natural sounding than most actual female leads of the genre, giving the songs enough power and firmness to sound dark and not too sweet. The playfulness of tracks like “Romasanta” allows the listener to enjoy multiple facets of the band’s musical skills.

Hailing from Sweden today we have Hyperion’s brilliant debut full-length release “Seraphical Euphony”. Feeling like it was trapped on a time capsule for over 10 years, this highly melodic and catchy release features a melodic Death/Black Metal sound from the 90’s. Perfectly packaged with all the technological advances of our current time, this album is one very unique sounding release in a sea of clones and bands trying too hard to sound ‘vintage’.

After the acoustic building up “Remnants of the Fallen”, “Novus Ordo Seclorum” is a brilliant guitar-led piece that instantly reminded us of Dissection and their legendary “Storm of the Light's Bane”. With a timeless guitar sound, tracks like “Flacellum Dei”, “Seraphical Euphony” and the dramatic “Moral Evasion” really hit that old-school spot, but at the same time combine more atmospheric elements of period bands like Dismal Euphony. We particularly enjoy how this last track evolves after an atmospheric opening and leads into balls to the wall headbanging passages.

Hailing from the UK and arriving trough Eternal Death records, today we have a very entertaining 7” release from The Wolves of Avalon. Fronted by none other than Metatron of The Meads of Asphodel fame, this band plays a mean Pagan/Black Metal that invokes some similarities to the likes of Primordial. Featuring two songs, this release is quite entertaining and a must-have for die-hard collectors of vinyl.

Opening on side A with the “Die Hard” cover, the band perfectly captures the old-school Thrash/Black Metal sound of Venom. Adding the special participation of vocalists Rob Miller (Amebix), Alan Averill (Primordial), Mirai (Sigh), and Mantas doing some vocals and also handling some guitars, this cover is an excellent modern version of the original classic.

Making Black Metal trippy with their Doom/Psychedelic influences, Oranssi Pazuzu returns with another brilliant deconstruction of the genre in “Värähtelijä”. Delivering over 60 minutes of madness, this release captures the listener’s attention and imagination since its first riff and never lets go. If you are a fan of the unconventional, this is an album you can’t miss.

The release slowly opens with the atmospheric piece “Saturaatio” that presents us with a powerful guitar onslaught and some trippy keys. The harsh vocals suddenly appear to add an extra level of heaviness to an already very crafty song. Changing the mood into darker and more sinister territories, “Lahja” features a very hypnotic tempo. This track while different than the opener, continues the underlying dark and mysterious atmosphere of this release.