2013

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Svartsyn – Black Testament (2013)

    cover

    Out of the tons of Black Metal releases we get each week at Infernal Masquerade, there are just a handful that are worth purchasing, sadly “Black Testament” is not one of them. One-man beast Ornias returns with Svartsyn and this very insipid release that while not bad, it is just too linear and predictable to generate any positive emotion from us.

    After a quite interesting and bleak intro track, the band blasts away with “Revelation In The Waters”, a very solid and punishing BM song that sadly is the only highlight of this release. After this track goes by, the rest of the songs feel just too similar. The music is quite decent indeed, but it lacks creativity and direction. We found ourselves getting pretty antsy to reach the end of the album very single time we listened to it (over five times… we counted).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Aborym – Dirty (2013)

    cover

    Ever since Mysticum and Diabolos Rising/Raism disappeared form the Industrial Black Metal scene, there have been countless of uninspired bands and releases trying to achieve the same level of brutality, catchiness, and overall deranged awesomeness of said bands. Malignant Eternal and Aborym are the only two bands that ever came close to said greatness. With “Dirty”, Aborym returns with a double CD release filled with crazy electronics and massive drums, a considerably better effort than their previous release “Psychogrotesque”.

    Opening with the average “Irreversible Crisis”, the band really kicks things off with the mega-catchy “Across The Universe”. Filled with very tense electronics and clean vocals, this track is nicely elevated by Faust’s supreme drumming abilities. The band nicely keeps the intensity up with “Dirty” and “Bleedthrough”, both very brutal tracks that are quite solid and well crafted. Our favorite track in this CD is the atmospheric “Rapped By Daddy”, a song that creates a very deranged atmosphere, perfect to creep out my neighbors by blasting it at 3 am on a Tuesday.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Pellek – Ocean of Opportunity (2013)

    cover

    Today we have Norwegian Metal/Rock vocalist Pellek (Per Fredrik Asly) delivering is sophomore album titled “Ocean of Opportunity”. As a highly ambitious self-released album, Pellek and company (he now has band members for this album cycle) deliver more than 45 minutes of expertly crafted Power/Progressive Metal with a nice dosage of symphonic elements. Being a concept album, the nine tracks in this release nicely come together and keep a very steady and engaging flow making the release very solid and interesting.

    Opening with very regal orchestrations on “Elucidation”, we can immediately enjoy the album’s crystal-clear production and PelleK’s talented vocals. This song is quite powerful and enjoyable, but it holds itself from letting the listener know all that is hidden under Pellek’s bag of tricks. Immediately reminding us of Nightwish, “Northern Wayfarer” makes things more dynamic with lush guitar work and very solid solos.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Galaktik Cancer Squad – Ghost Light (2013)

    cover

    With four full-length releases in less than 3 years, today we have one man project Galaktik Cancer Squad and ‘their’ latest opus: “Ghost Light”. Pushing the boundaries of Black Metal with their visionary music, “Ghost Light” keeps things rolling for the band with five devastating tracks of crushing Black Metal with amazing Progressive elements and melodic influences. With over 50 minutes of music, this release has some very harsh and brutal Black Metal sections that puts the band ahead of their competition, rather than just focusing on copying bands like Enslaved, GSC has their own unique style of destruction.

    The release starts very violently with the massive “Ethanol Nebula”, filled with hyper-fast drums and crushing guitar work. There are even some excellent Immortal-like guitars (around the 2 minute mark) that greatly add to the overall musical experience of this monumental track. The vocals are quite decent, but the complex music is what really gets you from this band. Things get considerably more melodic with the powerful “When the Void Whispers My Name”. Here the band reminded us of Agrypnie and their equally engaging and skillful Black Metal.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Crownless – Dark Evolution (2011)

    cover

    In the very crowded Symphonic/Gothic Metal scene, it is quite the challenge to pick out the gems from the duds.  However, Crownless makes it very easy since their musical style is quite diverse and perfectly executed, delivering ten tracks of majestic music. For all fans of Epica, Xandria, After Forever, etc., this band crafts super catchy songs with excellent melodic elements and even better vocal arrangements.

    Opening with the very engaging “Lost Inside”, we immediately hear the Epic influences in the catchy guitars and solid orchestrations. Vanessa 'Nane' Ramirez vocals are quite powerful and are the perfect signature elements for the band’s music. Things get more dynamic with the exciting “Dark Embrace” and “Ravens in the Storm”, filled with lush vocal arrangements and some awesome guitar work. The band’s ability to combine many other’s elements into a compact and powerful sound is one of their best assets in the scene.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Kalmah – Seventh Symphony (2013)

    cover

    If you ever wondered what Children of Bodom would sound if they had continued perfecting their sound instead of going on a tangent and producing several crappy records before 2013, you would be listening to Kalmah’s latest release “Seventh Symphony”. This Finnish outfit delivers eight tracks of awesome Melodic Death Metal filled with guitar and keyboard acrobatics and a killer sense of melody.

    Blasting away with the album’s title track, we get a throwback powerful Melodic Death Metal sound with some CoB and Wintersun magic thrown into the mix. The band’s sound is quite powerful and diverse, yet it feels quite familiar thanks to the killer guitar work and magical keyboards. Recently appointed keyboardist Veli-Matti Kananen adds more dynamic keys to the band’s already intricate sound. While we were bigger fans of the band’s darker beginnings, we are all up for their current dynamic sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Aratron – The Recovery (2013)

    cover

    With the costs of professionally producing demo’s and releases getting lower by the day, we are glad that bands like Aratron can showcase their quality and have a powerful and lively sound on their demo’s. “The Recovery” is the band’s latest demo and it features five crushing tracks with a timeless Thrash infused Death Metal sound that is quite powerful and well crafted.

    The starts leads with guns blazing on the song “The Recovery”, a very direct and brutal track that combines relentless riffing with excellent vocals. The band’s sound reminded us of early days Grave and similar Swedish DM outfits that rely on Thrash Metal foundations. “Imprisoned” keeps the album flowing with another dosage of solid riffs and very tight drumming. The band’s musicianship is quite good and they are not afraid to show it with their incisive tracks.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    September Murder - He Who Invokes Decadence (2013)

    cover

    Germany has always been one of the best countries for Metal music to flourish over the years, with a huge scene and tons of quality bands emerging every year. Today we have September Murder and their sophomore release “He Who Invokes Decadence”. Delivering eight tracks of high quality Melodic/Progressive Death Metal, this band is ready for prime time and they have a very convincing case with this impressive release.

    The album’s opening statement is “Under Severed Skies”, an excellent track that combines heavy intricate guitar work and crushing growls. The band is in no hurry of blasting you away, opting to deliver precise blows of hyper-fast sections surrounded by excellent melodic passages. The band’s old-school Death Metal influences are clear, but they manage to clean them up with incise guitar and bass guitar work in killer tracks like “Two Culprits, One Oath” and Death-esque “Among Vultures”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Entropia – Vesper (2013)

    cover

    Hailing from Poland, today we have Entropia and their debut full-length release “Vesper”. Mixing Black Metal with some Sludge and Post-Metal elements, this band shows great promise in their six tracks spanning over 49 minutes of music. While not being overly cliché, the band nicely mixes different influences to create some interesting atmospheres in their very decently crafted sound.

    Opening with “Dante”, we get a typical Black Metal opening followed by some powerful atmospheric keyboards and some solid Sludge/Post-Metal rhythmical section. “Gauss” shows off some of the band’s more melodic side while keeping their effective riffs and very well paced drums. Things get a bit more dramatic with the harsh screams of desperation in “Pascal”, one of the best tracks in this release thanks to the very slow tempo and rawness of the song.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Nethermost – Alpha (2013)

    cover

    Originally released as an independent EP, today we have Nethermost debut EP “Alpha”. Hailing from the USA, one would have never imagined this by just listening to the band’s excellent Melodic Death/Doom Metal. With clear influences of early Katatonia, October Tide and similar bands, the band delivers nearly 20 minutes of very well crafted tunes that are quite melancholic and melodic in nature.

    When researching the band we have noticed that for this release they used fake (aka programmed) drums and bass guitar, something that made us a bit skeptical about the quality of their music, but they managed to pull it off quite nicely. Opening with “Phasing Currents” we immediately hear the familiar Katatonia-esque guitar sound accompanied by raspier growls. The music is a bit raw, but works well and adds more character and melancholy to the band’s sound.

Pages

Recent Image Galleries