After constantly releasing brilliant albums over the years, Amon Amarath returns today with their most mature and melodic work to date: “Jomsviking”. Taking you through an eleven track journey, the band delivers a more refined and developed version of their signature style. Focusing on melody and epicness, the songs in this album are both memorable and intoxicating, allowing the listeners to fully be immersed into the band’s world.

Opening with the first single, “First Kill”, the band lets the listener settle in with a very traditional Amon Amarth-esque piece filled with excellent guitar work and a hefty pace. Smoothly transitioning into “Wanderer”, the music gets more serious and a bit slower, allowing the powerful riffs to lead the way. The band’s session drummer Tobben Gustafsson of Vomitory fame, does a great job in delivering intricate drum patterns and keeping things tight.

As one of the best releases to appear on our magical postal box, today we have The Shiva Hypothesis and their demoralizing 2015 3-song promo. Featuring an imposing sound similar to bands like Behemoth, Vesania and even Dimmu Borgir minus all the fluffy shit, this Dutch band delivers 20 minutes of brutal music that will rattle your speakers from start to end.

Opening with the incisive riffing of “Caduceus”, The Shiva Hypothesis starts its journey pummeling the listener with devilish vocals provided mainly by MVS, and some killer drum patterns. As a package, this band is firing with all cylinders, allowing all elements to perfectly blend together crafting an oppressive atmosphere.

Steamrolling its way from Belgium, today we have one-man battalion Ande and his debut release “Licht”. Featuring over 22 minutes of music, this release features tons of great ideas and eerie atmospheric pieces. Opting to always have a sort of prelude before the main songs, this allows for the atmosphere to be perfectly established before moving into heavier and more ‘Metal’ things.

After a solid intro, “Paniek” delivers heavy distorted guitars with a very raw and crushing sound. With the guitars leading the way, the vocals are quite fitting for the mid-tempo efforts presented in this track. Focusing more on how the guitars command attention, the band’s sound is quite clean and direct.

Continuing their impressive run of Symphonic/Melodic Metal releases, today we have Inner Wound Recordings latest gem: Ravenia. Hailing from Finland, this nine-piece band delivers eight brilliant tracks of truly orchestral/symphonic Metal that will captivate listeners and surely appeal to any fan of the genre. While having tons of ‘traditional’ influences, this band manages to craft their own unique bombastic sound, making them quite a find.

Opening with the very mellow and dramatic start of “For Those We Forsakened”, the band’s sound feels very organic and natural. With tons of computer software these days that can sound just like the real thing, we prefer Ravenia’s decision to sticking with featuring live string instruments like two violins, a viola, a cello, and a contrabass.  The extra band members allow songs like “Into Oblivion” and “We All Died for Honor” to sound very cinematic and fresh, and leaving the door open for actual live performances where all the instruments are done live.

Arriving from Sweden, today we have Rimfrost and their thunderous Black Metal onslaughts. In their self-titled third full-length release, this trio delivers eight high-octane anthems that remind us of Immortal and similar outfits. Not for the weak of heart or the extremely super kvlt trve people, this intense release plays more on the side of brilliant melodic riffs and catchy songs that are memorable and engaging.

Delivering a crushing opening blow with the brilliant “As the Silver Curtain Closes”, the band sets a very dynamic mood with tons of tempo changes and proficient riffing. The band’s vocalist and axe master Hravn Decmiester perfectly captures the Black Metal ‘firm’ shriek on melancholic tracks like “Saga North”. Said track also features some epic headbanging passages that will make your neck sore for days.

Hailing from Greece, today we have old-school Death/Thrash Metal outfit Aeons fo Hate and their self-titled debut release. Featuring over 30 minutes of music, this album brings back some memories of the late 90’s with incisive riffs perfect for headbanging while chugging beer. If you like the riffing capabilities of bands like Sodom, Kreator, Death Angel and Morbid Angel, this this one interesting release for you.

Opening with the Slayer-esque “Sands of Deception”, the band makes quite a strong impression with pummeling guitars and harsh vocals. The riffing is quite pleasant as it weaves between Thrash influences and old-school Death/Thrash influences from the Sepultura early days. It is quite interesting to note that as track like “Solemn” and “Aeons of Hate” roll around, the music tempo is kept relatively ‘slow’ allowing the riffs to fully sink in and our heads to start bobbing from beginning to end.

Hailing from Finland, today we have Gloria Morti and their devastating Black/Death Metal. Having refined their sound over 4 previous releases, this album delivers a very precise dosage of killer riffs, brutal vocals and intense drumming. Never compromising on brutality, the nine tracks found in this release will have you headbanging and moshing from start to end.

Opening with the brutal “Syntymä”, the band’s intensity and killer vocals are the first two things that stand out. The band’s vocalist, Pyscho, does a killer job in combining multiple styles and creating a Deathcore-esque level of brutality in songs like “Josef Fritzl”. The guitar work is quite elaborate and nicely separates the band from the average bands; this is due to the fact that founding member Juho Räihä has been around playing for bands like Before the Dawn, Swallow the Sun (live) and Wolfheart (live).

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.