Album Reviews

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    Sylosis – Dormant Heart (2015)

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    Helping us ring the New Year, Josh Middleton and Sylosis return with their very interesting blend of Melodic Death Metal with Thrash elements on “Dormant Heart”. Featuring 12 songs that have a darker edge than the band’s previous works, this UK outfit delivers one of their finest releases to date.

    Opening with the melodic “Where the wolves Come to Die”, the band really steps its game with the crushing “Victims and Pawn”. Both initial tracks are filled with the traditional Sylosis-styled barrage of riffs and harsh vocals. The band’s signature sound is further developed with a mellower tempo and a certain darker vibe in tracks like the imposing “Dormant Heart” and the breakout single “Leech”.

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    At Dusk – Anhedonia (2014)

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    Hailing from the USA, today we have a nihilistic Depressive Black Metal band named “At Dusk”. As you can imagine, this is a one man outfit that delivers waves of mournful screams paired with some pretty solid mid-tempo Black Metal. Featuring four songs and around 59 minutes of music, this debut full-length is one hell of a stepping stone for the band.

    Opening with the oppressive “Anhedonia”, we get around 5 minutes of purely atmospheric passages until the harsh and desolate BM onslaughts start. The band reminds us of a more depressive version of Mortualia with considerably better vocals. The second track, “Agonia”, starts with a barrage of riffs and intense drumming, keeping the tempo quite hectic to deliver a powerful punch to the listeners in the first few minutes.

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    Kalmankantaja - Musta Lampi (2014)

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    One man battalion Kalmankantaja is running for the most productive band of 2014 by releasing four full-length releases in the same year. This time, this prolific Finish outfit presents us with the two-track 41-minute crushing release titled “Musta Lampi”. With a heavy emphasis on a bleak atmosphere, the band’s Black Metal sound is but punishing and demoralizing.

    Opening with “Hiljaisessa Syvänteessä”, the band nicely builds up momentum with several minutes of ethereal instrumental passages before the first distorted guitars appear. The guitar sound is quite metallic and fuzzy, fitting very nicely the bleakness of the atmosphere. As the hellish screams appear, the music elevates to a new level since all elements are perfectly delivered to punish the listener.

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    Grimoire – L'aorasie des spectres rêveurs (2015)

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    Arriving from Canada, today we have the frosty Grimoire and their EP titled “L'aorasie des spectres rêveurs”. Featuring around 25 minutes of melancholic Atmospheric Black Metal, this is a very solid offering from Eisenwald to start 2015.

    From the mastermind behind Csejthe and Forteresse, this one man band delivers four tracks of excellent atmospheric music filled with harsh vocals and traditional Black Metal onslaughts. “Tragédie des ombres” opens the release with superb melodic riffs and extremely melancholic keyboards. Just after a few seconds we immediately feel the oppressive and lush atmosphere created by Grimorie.

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    Triumvir foul – An Oath of Blood and Fire (2015)

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    Crushing rawness are the first few words that come to mind when listening to Triumvir foul’s first offering, the “An Oath of Blood and Fire”. Originally released in cassette as their demo, Godz Ov War and Third Eye Temple took upon themselves to unleash this gem in a 7” format. Featuring members of Ash Borer, this band delivers one of the most decadent old-school Death Metal sound.

    Blowing things wide open with the punishing “The Vacuum of Knots”, the band spews their nasty sound immediately. Featuring fierce vocals and oppressive riffs, we are taken aback on how raw and old-school this release is. “Abhorrent Depths” keeps things dark with another dissonant onslaught to close this side.

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    Obduktion – Mors Janua Vitae (2014)

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    Hailing from Greece, today we have old-school Death Metal outfit Obduktion and their crushing new EP titled “Mors Janua Vitae”. In this short but sweet two-song EP, the band delivers old-school sounding Death Metal that brings back the times of Grave, Morgoth, Unleashed, etc.

    Opening the EP we have the neck snapping “Kings of Terror”, a track that has just the right amount of retro elements but with a sharp modern production. The drumming is quite catchy and combined with the riffing, we get a similar vibe to Grave and their earlier releases. Things pick up with the traditional-sounding opening seconds of “Lordship of Superior”. This opening few seconds have a Thrash vibe that nicely morphs into a crunchy groove onslaught.

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    By The Patient – Gehenna (2015)

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    After a killer 2014 in terms of excellent Metal releases, we open 2015 with By The Patient’s third full-length release “Gehenna”. Featuring nine tracks of expertly crafted Death Metal with high emphasis on melodic and groovy passages, this Danish band perfectly showcases their polished sound that is hard to peg but difficult to ignore.

    The album kicks off with the powerful “Ruled By The Death”, a track that features crushing riffs and very tight drumming. The band has some older Scandinavian Metal influences, but with their own twist and a very modern and refined production. As the band pummels through tracks like “Deceiver”, “Gehenna”, and “Web of Beliefs”, we instantly notice their knack for melodic/groovy sections that make their music very addictive. The harsh vocals nicely fit the music as they set the band apart from the traditional growls of the genre.

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    Sylvaine – Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart (2014)

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    Hailing from Norway/France, today we have female multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine. Delivering her debut release titled “Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart”, this one-woman outfit crafts very melancholic and atmospheric post-rock with some alternative rock and even metal elements. Featuring ten tracks, this debut release will greatly appeal to fans of The Gathering, Les Discrets, Alcest, and similar atmospheric outfits.

    After the mood-setting intro, “It Rains in My Heart” quickly sets a Shoegazy vibe with some Alcest like riffs and quickly morphs into a very bleak and melancholic tune with Sylvaine’s excellent vocals. The song is quite haunting and reminds us a bit of bands like Shellyz Raven and Elbereth. There are also some pretty harsh vocals also provided by the band’s only member, giving this track an extra kick. With “Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart”, we have a full-on Les Discrets style tune that is quite enjoyable and relaxing.

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    Omit – Medusa Truth, Pt. 1 (2014)

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    Going out of our way to review something we didn’t get as an official promo is something that seldomly happens these days, and we are glad that we took the time to listen to Omit’s masterpiece “Medusa Truth, Pt. 1”. Recommended by one of our fellow Metal writers, this is one hell of an Atmospheric Gothic Doom Metal that will drive you to clinical depression. Masterfully crafted, three songs clock in at almost 49 minutes of depressive brilliance.

    Opening with “Distrust”, we are treated to a lush orchestral opening that is not overly pretentious or exaggerated. Cecilie Langlie’s vocals are just the right amount of sad to solemnly adorn the already very bleak music. There are some clear old-school The 3rd and the Mortal influences and we love them. Perfectly balancing the classical instruments with piercing riffs, the band creates a unique 16 minute masterpiece. The short but sweet (6:37 minutes), “Denial” is one hell of a ride with jazzy passages that are very pleasing.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    The Gathering – TG25: Diving Into the Unknown (2014)

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    As one of the most influential bands in the last 20 years, The Gathering changed many people’s idea of how music should evolved and have been delivering high-quality releases since their early days. After going on hiatus earlier this year, we were nothing but jealous to hear they would be doing a couple of celebratory shows in honor of their 25 years of existence with musicians that played with them over the years… including Anneke.

    Unfortunately, this massive three CD compilation does not include any live recordings of the band’s landmark shows but it does feature enough material to keep any fan of the band entertained for quite a while. The other little issue we have against this release is that it only features two unreleased tracks out of a total of 39, giving occasional The Gathering fans and collectors little incentives to buy this release.

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