Album Reviews

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    Solar Halos – Solar Halos (2014)

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    Arriving from the South of the USA, today we have Solar Halos and their self-titled debut album to be released on UK’s Devouter Records. Featuring six fuzzy and warm Psychedelic/Stoner Rock tracks, this trio delivers a top notch release that will instantly put them on the map. Led by the hypnotic vocals of Nora Rogers, this band sounds like a more accessible Jex Thoth with some Spirit Caravan thrown into the mix.

    Opening with fuzzy distorted guitars, “The Vast White Plains” fully showcases the band’s sonic power. The music tempo is quite mellow and very bluesy. In “Tunnels” we dive deeper into the rabbit hole with warm riffs and very fitting vocals. The trio has expert songwriting skills and they show through the perfectly timed tempo changes in their songs, as we can clearly appreciate on “Migration”.

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    In_zekT – ARTIFEX (2013)

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    Beautifully presented in a lush digipack, today we have Norway’s In_zekT and their futuristic release “ARTIFEX”. In this ten-song album, this duo delivers a punishing combination of Industrial Metal with some Avant-garde elements and dissonant Noise/Drone undertones. With a very unique and devastating sound, the band transports the listener to a decadent soundscape since the first track.

    “Strain Reactor” immediately blows the listener away with punishing vocals and psychotic electronic elements. The band reminds us a bit of acts like Aborym, Control Human Delete, and Malignant Eternal. The programmed drums are top notch and on tracks like “ARTIFEX” you can draw some comparisons to the all-mighty Mysticum. Riffing-wise, “Sub-Humanist” and “Overman” deliver the goods in brutal onslaughts. The clean vocals on this last track really separates the band from the rest and puts the in the level of acts like Sybreed.

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    Within Temptation – Hydra (2014)

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    After a very promising and fresh sounding EP titled “Paradise (What About Us?)”, Within Temptation finally unleashes their latest full-length “Hydra”. In this release the band continues their push for mainstream recognition and glory with some extremely unexpected collaborations and a handful of songs that still remind us of the older roots of the band’s beginnings.

    The album opens with the final version of “Let Us Burn”, a track that is still as good and efficient as on their previous EP but with nice finishing touches. The band manages to sound like their old self with heavy guitars and lush orchestrations. The first guest appearance is marked by the vocals of Howard Jones on “Dangerous”. This track is quite heavy and enjoyable since both vocalists do a great job and the music is quite well developed.

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    Hail Spirit Noir – Oi Magoi (2014)

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    Featuring 60% of the members of Transcending Bizarre?, Hail Spirit Noir delivers their sophomore release with “Oi Magoi”. Featuring a very intriguing and elegant mixture of Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Black Metal, and some magical Avant-garde elements, this release blooms for over 45 minutes of truly unique sonic landscapes.

    The release blasts opens with the psychedelically charged “Blood Guru”, a track that is quite well layered and allows all the band’s influences to immediately shine through. The elegant finish to this song oozes melodic brilliance and posture. It is quite interesting to hear elements from bands like Jess and the Ancient Ones and Jex Thoth thrown into tracks like “Demon for a Day” and “Satan is Time”, allowing Hail Spirit Noir to be one of the few bands that mixes Psychedelic Rock elements to create Avant-garde Black Metal.

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    Aenaon – Extance (2014)

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    Delivering their most high-octane release to date, Aenaon returns with the punishing “Extance”. Hailing from Greece, this band has managed to push the boundaries of Black Metal with their previous efforts and this one is no different. Mixing Avant-garde/Jazzy elements into a well-structured Progressive Black Metal core, this release sees the band further refining their craft into near perfection through the 11 songs presented here.

    The band’s incisive riffing and commanding vocals are immediately felt with the intro “The First Art” blending into “Deathtrip Chronicle”. Excelling in creating killer guitar melodies, Aenaon has managed to further refine their sound since “Cendres et Sang”. The tempo changes and vocal arrangements are other factors that make the band’s music instantly be recognized. The Avant-garde weirdness we love form the band starts to shine with the upbeat “Grau Diva” and its intricate arrangements.

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    Manes – Teeth, Toes and Other Trinkets (2014)

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    Highly experimental and unconventional outfit Manes finally returns to the scene with a compilation release that will precede a new full-length release later this year (or so). In “Teeth, Toes and Other Trinkets” the band puts together a very eclectic assortment of tracks from their “Vilosophe" and "How The World Came To An End" eras. Any fan of the band will greatly appreciate the moodiness and uniqueness of the tracks presented in this release and will surely make them more excited for the band’s upcoming release.

    In case you are still expecting any Black Metal from Manes (just in case), this release is far from it and showcases the band’s later musical progression into dark jazzy/avant-garde territories. Just imagine (current) Tiamat meets Green Carnation and throw in some of mid-career Ulver into the mix and this is what you will get. For everybody else staying with the Manes program, “Blanket Of Ashes” delivers quite a powerful opener with excellent vocals and trippy percussions.

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    tot aus dem Wald – Hatecore-Noir (2013)

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    Arriving from Germany, today we have a one-man deranged project of pure musical vile. Featuring 11 tracks that range from Noise to Punk to Death Metal/Grindcore, this release is as decadent and random as they get… and we kind of like it. With only one track over 2.40 minutes, “Hatecore-Noir” is a crazy d.i.y release that is guaranteed to get a reaction (good or bad).

    Featuring intros similar to bands like Macabre on some of their songs, tot aus dem Wald starts the homebrewed proceedings with “Null im schwarzen Quadrat”. While most of the music seems like pure and total chaos, there are traces of certain Metal elements in the band’s music that are undeniably solid like the riffing on “Fahrstuhl ins Fegeteuer” and “Keiner darf überleben”. One very evident influence as well is the Punk/Crust vibe oozing from tracks like “Der Tod, ein einsames Geschaft” and “Zukunft verbraucht”.

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    Lethe – When Dreams Become Nightmares (2014)

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    Many high-quality weird releases make it to our review ‘desk’, but none quite like Lethe and their debut release “When Dreams Become Nightmares”. As a project of Tor-Helge Skei (Manes) and Anna Murphy (Eluveitie) with the help of Eivind Fjøseide (Manes) and others, this band truly delivers a completely unique musical experience that is best described by the uniqueness (and weirdness) of their music, since it is nothing like you would expect.

    Opening with the trippy “In Motion”, you are immediately set in the mindset of expecting nothing conventional and hanging on for the ride. Anna’s vocals remind us of Shellyz Raven mixed with some of the experimental stuff from The 3rd and the Mortal on their Ann-Mari Edvardsen years. The tables are quickly turned on the dark “Haunted”, featuring a certain Industrial vibe but with tons of eerie atmospheric elements and Black Metal-ish guitars.

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    Australasia – Vertebra (2013)

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    After a half-baked debut album “Sin4tr4” in 2012, Australasia returns with the very strong “Vertebra”. Combining dreamy soundscapes with ethereal guitars and solid drumming, this one-man outfit delivers 35 minutes of majestic music that fully explore Australasia’s potential in a more cohesive way.

    Opening with the Post-Rock-ish “Aorta”, the band shows more solid songwriting skills and delivers very improved songs (when comparing to their debut release). The guitars are perfectly layered and with certain Shoegaze elements we are left with ton of highlights during the release. The experimentation with certain synth elements like the opening of “Vostok”, really give the music new avenues to explore and be unique, similar to bands like Closed Room. We particularly love the heavy Doom-influenced riffs on this track.

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    Alcest – Shelter (2014)

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    Fully coming out of their cocoon, today we have Alcest and “Shelter”. In this album we have Alcest dropping their last remaining Metal influences and swiftly delivering a Shoegaze/Post-Rock charged Dream pop release that will haunt you from beginning to end. Listing Birgir Jón Birgisson as a producer/mixer, from Sigur Rós fame, the band takes their dreamy sound to a whole new level of awesomeness.

    With the band shedding their Black Metal feathers over the years, “Shelter” marks their biggest jump by not having any hard vocals or extremely heavy guitar parts. However, the atmospheric brilliance of the band is untouched and further explored within the eight tracks presented in this release. The journey begins with the atmospheric intro “Wings”, featuring some dreamy vocals that quickly build up the listener’s expectations. As this song blends into “Opale”, Niege leads the way with some awesomely crafted guitars and his signature clean vocals.

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