As one of the most anticipated releases of 2015, today we have Kamelot and their 11th full-length release “Haven”. Featuring a more explosive and theatrical sound, the band delivers around 54 minutes of brilliant music that shows a very well integrated Tommy Karevik with the rest of the band, making their music more cohesive and extra melancholic.

In a very lively and dynamic opening, “Fallen Star” sets a very emotional mood for this release. As the first super catchy song of this release appears with “Insomnia”, featuring a great chorus section, it is very evident that Karevik is now perfectly integrated into the dramatic atmospheric keyboards and the playful guitar works of Thomas Youngblood. Moving into more lush and symphonic territories, “Citizen Zero” features a very Symphonic Metal-centric approach with excellent vocal arrangements and modern sounding guitars.

Formed by Tom Palms of Phlebotomized fame, this Dutch outfit delivers a nice five-song EP bridging genres between Progressive Metal, Heavy Metal, Stoner Rock, and some Doom. It is hard to standout these days, but the band’s music makes this quite effortless for Emerged. With a knack for epic melodies and super catchy song structures with a certain 90’s Metal feeling to them, this band is set to take the scene by surprise.

With every song being quite different and a thing to individually explore, the band leads off with the melancholic “Dark Corner of my Mind”. In this track the band delivers a mid-tempo Proggy track with heavy riffs and some quite retro speedups. As we head into “Don’t Speak”, we have a livelier atmosphere with some chugging riffs and a certain old-school Psychedelic/Stoner vibe. Heavy Metal meets Prog Rock is the theme for the super catchy “Get a Life”, a song we can picture having vocals both by Dio and James LaBrie.

Is Canada the new Black Metal cradle? Seems like it based on the fact that some of the best Black Metal releases of 2015 have all been from this country. Adding to the count of amazing BM albums, today we have one-man behemoth Ether and its sophomore release “Hymns of Failure”. Clocking in at 90 minutes, this double CD perfectly blends melancholy, depressiveness, and brutality in a crushing manner.

Opening with the intense “Failure”, we had to instantly check if the drums are real… and oh yes they are. This 10-minute piece is piercing and brutal, feels like Mysticum on crack. Scythrawl masterfully manages tempo changes and mood swings in this release from insane blast beats to ambient passages as “Enmity” clearly shows. Slowly morphing into more melancholic blistering music, the album starts quite intense and it transforms brilliantly as time passes by, clearly showcased by our favorite “Coldness” and its eerie vocal arrangements.

Just when you think that Horna and more specifically Shatraug, has the market corned for raw and demoralizing Black Metal, we get a band like Luciferian Rites and their soul crushing sophomore release “When the Light Dies”. Featuring total savagery from start to finish, this Mexican band deliver one of those raw and punishing Black Metal releases that instantly standout from the rest.

The album opens with the fulminating violence of “Eternal Misanthropy of the Black Cosmos”, a crushing track that sets a very intense mood with pummeling riffs and eerie vocals. The music is by no means innovative, but it is so flawlessly executed that it sends chills through our skin. Ravaging through songs like “Incinerated Cross” and “Infernal Manifestation”, we are still blown away by the raw brutality behind the band’s sound and the crisp quality of the production behind this release.

Featuring Crister Olsson and Daniel Bryntse of Isole, Ereb Altor delivers a Viking infused Epic Doom Metal that is very distinctive and enjoyable in nature. As the band’s fifth full-length release, “Nattram” shows great maturity for the band and clearly showcases the well-polished chops this group of musicians has developed over the years.

After a warm-up instrumental, the band brings forth their best Epic Doom Metal skills with the intoxicating “Midsommarblot”. Just imagine Tyr-meets-Candlemass and this is something similar to what you will get with this highly atmospheric and melodic piece. In terms of headbanging, “Nattramn” is the perfect piece to do this with its crushing harsh vocals and killer drumming. We greatly enjoy that the band moves from a heavy song into a more melodic and Epic one in a nearly seamless fashion as we can see with the transition to another epic anthem titled “The Dance of Elves”.

Hailing from Canda, today we have the debut full-length of Délétère titled “Les heures de la peste”. Playing vicious Black Metal that is quite raw and punishing, this band delivers eight tracks and around 50 minutes of crushing music that has a certain 90’s European flair. Out on Sepulchral Productions, you know this band will be awesome due to their excellent skills in uncovering underground Black Metal acts.

The band immediately explodes with raw songs like “Matines – Portepeste” and “Laudes – Credo II”, both tracks have a certain Low-fi rawness that makes them quite punishing. The use of odd vocal arrangements also makes them quite unique and unpredictable. We particularly enjoy tracks were the band changes up the tempo and delivers and slower aural assault such as “  Tierce - Aux thaumaturges égarés, une étoil...”, a more melodic and atmospheric piece that changes the mood of this release.

After reviewing tons of Black and Death Metal, we are eager to get some different styles of music in our system. Today our wish was granted with France’s Industrial/Electro Metal outfit Calling of Lorme and their extremely catchy release “Pygmalion”. Filled with catchy tunes gracefully adorned by electronic elements and rhythmical distorted guitars, this release will keep listeners engaged for over 45 minutes.

Very important to these types of releases is that the opener catches your attention since the first minute, and with “Layman” the band delivers a hypnotic set of beats that pull you into their world. The heavy emphasis on the atmospheric elements makes tracks like “Lore” and “Pygmalion” quite engaging and transport the listener to post-apocalyptic worlds that the band constructs with their colorful lyrics.

With a great ear for interesting Melodic Metal bands, SCR records brings to us Dead Alone and their fourth full-length release “Nemesis”. In this album, the band has a very melodic retro sound that reminds us of the early days of Melodic Death/Black Metal as well as the beginnings of Crematory and similar bands. Featuring 11 tracks, this album will entertain you from beginning to end, due to the diversity of songs presented.

Seemingly straightforward, “Nemesis” opens this release with a crunchy dose of Death Metal that suddenly turns melodic with some catchy guitar leads. This track reminded us of bands like Phlebotomized, and even more melodic outfits like The Gathering (when they played Death Doom Metal) as tracks like “Eclipse” and “ Great New World”. The formula of simple and catchy allows Dead Alone to produce tracks filled with crushing melodic passages like “Confession”, “Watch Me Fall”, and “Wreckage”, all filled with fine headbanging passages that will make your neck sore.

Hailing form the forests of Washington State, today we have USBM act Wende with “Vorspiel einer Philosophie der Zukunft”. As a one-man battalion, this outfit delivers six tracks of crushing Black Metal with heavy atmospheric elements and a very raw and decadent sound. The band can easily be compared to Burzum’s good old days, since after the first few minutes the sheer rawness will transport you to those times.

With a crisp metallic sound to the guitars, “… of War or ‘der Ritter’”, the album makes an instant splash with a 10-minute piece that creates a very decadent atmosphere. Progressing with the trippy “…of Death or ‘Verklaung’”, we get chilling 80’s horror movie atmospheric ambiance. Fully warmed up, “…of Truth of ‘Nichts und Schonh’” really drives it home with gut-wrenching screams and a wall of distortion that only a few bands manage to achieve.