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    Murrum – In His Tacita Atria (2013)

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    Hailing from Connecticut, today we have Murrum and their debut EP “In His Tacita Atria”. Featuring 21-minutes of blistering USBM, this band made a strong impression on us. With a powerful sound that evokes the likes of Krieg, Judas Iscariot, and early Nachtmystium, this fairly new band delivers raw and uncompromising power in the shape of five aural assaults. If you are looking for pretty Black Metal with keyboards and stuff, we suggest you look elsewhere since there is only sheer power and brutality in this release.

    After the cliché wolves and fire crackling intro, “Demons of Winter” fully explodes into a furious Black Metal pace. The band’s riffing power is quite devastating and thanks to their hectic drumming, it sounds even more brutal. “Ritual Bloodletting” rolls in packing enough thunder to bring down a building, allowing the listener to have no rest and succumb to the band’s crushing music. The vocals in this release are quite standard, reminding us of Watain at some points, but definitely not extremely shriek-ish like most people like.

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    StoneBirds / Stangala – Kreizh Breizh Session 1 (2013)

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    Making its way from France, today we have two very interesting Stoner/Sludge/Doom Metal bands that make up the “Kreizh Breizh Session 1” split release. While StoneBirds are a more traditional Sludge/Stoner Metal band, Stangala delivers their lyrics in the Breton language and have a very trippy mixture of Doom/Sludge with a certain retro psychedelic vibe. We can say that we completely enjoyed how the both bands complement each other and make this unique split release very different from what we usually receive in the mail.

    The StoneBrids gracefully open this release with the hard-hitting “Red is the Sky”. In this Sludgy tune the band shows their riffing powers and how engaging their lead vocals are. Having that certain Southern/Stoner vibe in their catchy sound allows for the band to sound like The New Black, Chrome Division, and similar acts. As “Game Over” and “Outro Drama” roll by, the band’s sound is nicely consolidated and keeps the crunchy riffs flowing. “Red Lights” shifts gears into a fuzzier and more distorted track with heavier vocals, giving the band a certain edge that makes them sound different from your run of the mill artist. Saving the best for last, “Dark Passenger” closes out the band’s ‘side’ of this split with a mellow doomy vibe.

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    Dichotomy – Paradigms (2013)

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    Hailing from Ireland, today we have a killer Melodic/Technical Death Metal band that leaves aside (most) of the Core influences and manages to sound more like Death and Carcass than all the other Technical DM bands these days. Delivering eight pummeling tracks, “Paradigms” is a very impressive debut full-length than if it wasn’t for the subpar vocals, it would be one of the best Tech-DM releases of 2013.

    Opening with the mellow instrumental track “Empyrean”, the band immediately gets down to business with the hectic “The Sentient Oppressed”. The guitar work is fast and precise with a crushing melodic vibe that nicely picks up the pace and complements the vocals. While not the best combination of growls and screams, the band does a decent job in delivering fast and brutal sections like on the devastating “All – Seeing Eye”.

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    Throne of Heresy – Realms of Desecration (2013)

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    With a killer Swedish Death Metal sound, today we have Sweden’s (duh) Throne of Heresy and their 2013 EP titled “Realms of Desecration”. With most of today’s bands playing Death Metal with Metalcore or Groove influences, it is quite refreshing to get this release that features a timeless sound bringing back memories of the greats of the genre like Grave, early Entombed and some elements of Unleashed.

    The release opens with the commanding “Morning Star”. Since the first riff you get that Swedish DM vibe that will make you start headbanging almost immediately. The melodic closing for this track is a nice change of things and will surely leave you a bit puzzled but it is excellently crafted. “Spawn of Atrocity” delivers more sheer riffing power, paired with precise drumming and quite typical growls, a very Grave-esque track if we had to put a tag on it.

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    Yass Waddah – Cities of the Red Night (2012)

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    Hailing from Italy, today we have Yass Waddah and their furious Black Metal EP titled “Cities of the Red Night”. In this five song offering we hear the band’s ruthless and rather traditional Black Metal, worthy musical effort available on their bandcamp page. For those of us that like uncompromising Black Metal that is fast and heavy, this is the perfect release since it has a very direct and live-sounding feeling to it.

    The release blasts wide open with the crushing opener “Invocation”. Immediately the band reminded us of Singapore’s Impiety and their raw and direct sound. Filled with crushing riffs and pushing drums, this is quite an exciting opener. After another crushing song with “B-23”, things get more interesting with the playful “Transmigrants and Receptacles”. This track features a funky opener, but then it develops into full-blown chaos with imposing vocals and very cool rhythm sections.

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    Children of Madness – Howl from Beyond (2013)

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    Arriving from Finland, today we have a very lively EP titled “Howl from Beyond” from the band Children of Madness. In this four song release, this up and coming band showcase their very interesting blend of melodic guitar-driven Metal that features Heavy Metal-like soaring vocals and playful keyboards. For a short release, all the songs will stay in your head for quite a while due to their super catchy nature.

    Opening very strongly with “Phoenix Rising”, the band sets a very melodic and epic mood with their excellent riffing and soaring vocals. We like that the vocals are quite natural and don’t sound over the top for the music the band presents. There are some killer solos in this song that greatly enhance the overall experience. As the album title track makes it way, the band steps it up a notch and delivers a hard-hitting catchy tune. The riffing again stands out, and it is nicely complemented by the atmospheric keyboards the band gives a darker vibe to this track.

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    Deconstructing Sequence – Year One (2013)

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    Pretentiously called Extreme Progressive Art, the statement is actually pretty darn close when it comes to describe the challenging music of Deconstructing Sequence on their debut EP “Year One”. Feturing three songs and over 23 minutes of Extreme Progressive Metal music, this duo delivers quite an intricate release filled with little nuisances that make it even more enjoyable after a couple of spins.

    With a very ominous start to “Departure of the Stellar Fleet Marks the Year One” the band sets a very epic mood since the beginning. The keyboards reminded us of late 90’s bands (in particular Nile) giving a high atmospheric charge to the incisive guitars and crafty drumming. The growls are quite crushing and elevate the brutality of the music without obscuring the technical abilities lurking in the mist.

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    Sons of Lioth – Large Hadron Collider Spider (2013)

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    Delivering five tracks of balls to the wall Heavy Metal, today we have Sons of Lioth and their latest EP “Large Hadron Collider Spider”. Filled with attitude and a very retro vibe, this Belgian band rides the wave of bands like Enforcer, and can be categorized New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, which is a deviation of NWOBHM and Sleaze Metal. In this short but sweet release you will be taken back in time with an excellent and dynamic soundtrack.

    “Merry-go-round” delivers the first blow of hyper catchy retro Heavy Metal with a very sweet chorus section and a plethora of vocals that nicely keep things fresh and entertaining. The main vocalist, Kristof Van Den Bergh, is quite talented and immediately puts his signature on every track that the band presents. The riffing is very engaging and keeps things very entertaining for any old-school Heavy Metal fan. On the track “Large Hadron Collider Spider” we are treated to some awesome solos and excellent melodic structures that keep the headbanging flowing.

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    Red Wave – Pamir (2013)

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    Finding talented musicians is pretty easy, however, finding a band with talented musicians than can actually write compelling music is a whole different story. Red Wave luckily is a three-piece that their individual skills greatly complement each other and they managed to deliver eight brilliant tracks of Progressive Rock/Metal. With a heavy and yet melodic sound, their music is quite skillfully crafted to appeal any fan of the genre and please even the most snobbish people in the scene.

    The album leads away with the warm-up “Monolith” and a very funky bass guitar opening. The distorted guitars really give a certain kick to the music that many of the progressive releases we get are missing, allowing us to enjoy “Pamir” even more. The opening dreaminess of tracks like “Ikarus” is essential for the listener to really immerse themselves in the music, and Red Wave does a pretty darn good job at hooking people into their music.

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    Märchenbilder - Flickering Truth (2013)

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    Featuring a great ensemble of talented musicians, today we have Märchenbilder and their very impressive debut release “Flickering Truth”. Formed by James Slainmann (guitars and keyboards) and Julie Belanger Roy (violin, vocals, and viola), the band has since recruited drummer Yanic Bercier (Gone in April, ex-Quo Vadis) as permanent members before the release of this excellent debut. Playing a very bombastic and symphonic Gothic Metal, this band is ready to make their mark on this very crowded and highly competitive genre.

    Immediately after a very dramatic prelude, the song “Märchenbilder” unleashes the goods with haunting female vocals surrounded by excellent orchestrations and a very dramatic and classical vibe. The use of the violin greatly adds to the overall atmosphere of the music, reminding us of the work of Pete Johansen of Tristania and The Sins of Thy Beloved fame. The band’s versatility is show in engaging tracks like “Tel'aran'rhiod” and “Awaken”, were the band combines dramatic string instruments with plenty of different vocal styles.

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