Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Desolator – Unearthly Monument (2013)

    cover

    Arriving today from Poland’s Hellthrasher Productions we have Desolator and their pummeling old-school Death Metal debut full-length “Unearthly Monument”. Featuring 48 minutes of neck-snapping music, this release caters to all nostalgic fans of the good old days of Death Metal filled with chugging riffs, insane solos, and soul stealing vocals. With a heavy emphasis on catchiness and headbanging moments, this release is quite entertaining for any fan of the genre.

    The band immediately steamrolls the listener with crushing tracks like “Thy Flesh Consumed”, “Desolated”, and “Gravefeast”, all of them filled with powerful guitars and tight drumming. If you could mix Grave with Suffocation, Desolator is exactly what would result. The violence keeps rolling with “Mass Human Pyre” and “Infernal Gathering”, two songs that with the combination of vocals provided by three of the band’s members keep things fresh and with different levels of aggression.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Frozen Ocean – Likegyldig Raseri (2011)

    cover

    As a release dedicated to Ildjarn, “Likegyldig Raseri” is a very raw and direct release by Frozen Ocean. While we are fans of the band’s Ambient Black Metal and Ambient/Drone escapades, we can’t say that we really got into this one. Featuring almost no atmospheric elements, this release focuses on barbaric riffing, hellish vocals, and ponding drums, something perfect for your average Black Metal fan, but from this band/project, we expected a lot more.

    While not bad at all, from tracks I to VIII we only get skull crushing sawing guitars and demonic shrieks of pain, something that many would call paradise. We find these tracks a bit linear since the riffing gets to be quite repetitive, but for what it is, it is actually not that bad for the standard in the scene. It is not until IX that we get a torturous break with some creepy atmosphere and some nerve wrecking vocals.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Frozen Ocean – Vestigial Existence (2011)

    cover

    Originally recorded in 2009, today we have Frozen Ocean and ‘their’ release “Vestigial Existence”. This highly active one-man outfit keeps cranking out releases like they are pancakes, but impressively enough they are all pretty good. Whether they are Dark Ambient/Drone or Atmospheric Black Metal, the releases by this band are very well crafted and deliver the right amount of melody, atmosphere, and aggression. Luckily for us, this release is more on the Metal side, and we can enjoy some cool atmospheric elements thrown in with punishing riffs.

    Immediately after the ambient intro “In Derelict”, the guitars start pounding on “Winter – Aelean Being”. In this track, a very melancholic vibe is present thanks to the solemn riffs and powerful vocals. The song structure is quite engaging and you can hear that is some of Frozen Ocean’s earlier work since their style is not as refined and sounds rawer. The catchiness is always present with “Mute Walls” and some cool sort-of-electronic elements that make this song very appealing for fans of Industrial Black Metal.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Sons of Hippies – Griffons at the Gates of Heaven (2013)

    cover

    Groovy, spacey, psychedelic are a few words that come to mind when listening to Sons of Hippies and their latest full-length release titled “Griffons at the Gates of Heaven”. Mixing Psychedelic/Space Rock influences with Post Shoegaze and a very catchy Alternative Rock foundation, this three piece band delivers 12 superb tracks that take the listener through a trippy journey. With authentic retro instruments like a mellotron and moog paired with a sitar and some weird audio oscillations, the band has a wide spectrum of appeal for fans of any of the previously mentioned genres.

    Setting a very unique mood in the trippy opening “Forward”, we are immediately intoxicated by the catchy guitars and Katherine Kelly’s signature vocals. The band’s auditive exploration continues with the hypnotic “Mirrorball”, one of our favorite tracks of this release. The atmosphere of this track is magical thanks to the ethereal backing vocals and shoegaze-ish vibe. The guitar driven “Dark Daisies” shows more of the band’s versatile songwriting skills, in a very unique and oddly constructed song.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Moonbow – The End of Time (2013)

    cover

    With a huge Southern influence, today we have Moonbow and their extremely catchy release “The End of Time”. Featuring seven tracks of whiskey infused Hard Rock/Metal, this odd group of characters manage to craft one of the most complete and engaging releases of 2013. With a Survivor participant on vocals and members of Hank 3’s and Hermano, this odd mismatch works wonderfully when it comes to producing excellent melodies.

    The album opens with a very Southern vibe on “End of Time”, all down to the riffs we get that awesome feeling to immediately start drinking. The gracious vocals of Matt Bischoff are a true perfect fit to the band’s sound, perfectly complementing the Stoner Metal infused guitars. David McElfresh does a great job in handling the guitar duties to create a very lively and authentic atmosphere. While “Journey Of Their Iron Horse” is a superb and catchy tune, we found that the distorted vocals sounded a bit odd, taking some of the magic away.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Fanthrash - Apocalypse Cyanide (2013)

    cover

    Is it Thrash? is it Groove Metal? is it modern Death Metal? Those are the first things that come to mind when we started listening to Fanthrash’s crushing EP “Apocalypse Cyanide”. Featuring three songs filled with killer riffs, punishing vocals, and massive drums, this EP is one of the most dynamic and entertaining albums we have received in the last few years from an unsigned band.

    The release opens with the powerful riffing of “Apocalypse Cyanide”, a track that gives a slight Death (the band) edge with some more modern elements of bands like Gojira and Hacride. The riffing is quite heavy, but the song structures are Thrash-esque in nature, making it quite interesting to listen to. The vocals are quite varied and very aggressive, perfectly fitting the devastating nature of the band’s sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Unified Past – Spots (2013)

    cover

    Being huge fans of Progressive Rock/Metal, we were very excited when we got Unified Past’s latest release “Spots”. Featuring eleven-tracks of very well crafted and skilled Progressive music, “Spots” is one of those very ambitious releases that delivers in every single department, thanks to the excellent musical skills of the band’s three members. Ranging from extremely technical to just catchy and simple, this release has something for every fan of the genre.

    Opening with the lush “Blank”, we get a first glance at the band’s very dynamic and futuristic sound. The soaring keyboards nicely complement Stephen Speelman’s very fitting vocals. We get a slight Ayreon / Hawkwind vibe in this well-constructed track. Wasting no time “Deep” opens up with an excellent guitar/keyboard combo that sets a very melodic tone for the track. In this track we particularly enjoyed the playful guitars paired with some cool percussions, making it quite engaging and a delight to enjoy.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    The Vision Bleak – Witching Hour (2013)

    cover

    Born from the imagination of Schwadorf and Konstanz, this Horror Metal outfit has been terrorizing Metalheads since its conception back in 2000. Presenting their fifth full-length release titled “Witching Hour”, the band has managed to further refine their deranged sound that combines creepy atmospheric elements, powerful guitars, and very diverse vocals. Clocking in around 40 minutes, the eight tracks of this release will put you to the edge of your seat thanks to their inventive ways of creating unique musical journeys.

    Opening with the album title track, the mood is set to a mysterious and dark old-school horror movie tone. The incisive guitars of Schwadorf quickly fill the soundscape on “A Witch Is Born”, a very catchy track that is filled with weird keyboards, crazy vocals, and very solid drumming. The band has a knack for making very catchy songs that are filled with powerful guitars and odd vocal melodies that give the songs that extra creepy vibe. Other times, the atmosphere created by the keyboards (handled by both Schwadorf and Konstanz) is what crawls under your skin, like on the opening of “The Blocksberg Rite”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    LowCityRain – LowCityRain (2013)

    cover

    Spawning from the ingenious mind of Markus Siegenhort (Lantlôs), today we have the very unique and retro sounding LowCityRain and their equally named debut full-length release. Featuring over eight tracks of melancholic Post-Punk/New Wave/Electro music, this is one album that you can expect to hear in a gloomy lounge on a cold and rainy night. We are quite thankful that Markus didn’t decide to switch Lantlôs direction to release this music, and he instead made this 80’s sounding project that is quite emotional and catchy.

    Opening with the superb “You Are Everyone, You Are Everywhere”, we immediately get a very gloomy vibe thanks to its dramatic atmosphere. Fans of Amesoeurs will rejoice with this track (and release), thanks to the excellent vocals and carefully crafted retro vibe. The electro elements are quite intoxicating on tracks like “Grey Views”, nicely contrasting the somber vocals. The guitar work is quite solid, creating a very 80’s vibe of bands like The Cure.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Germ – Grief (2013)

    cover

    The multi-talented Tim Yatras returns with another crazy release from his latest project: Germ. In “Grief” we get 69 more minutes of the deranged world that Germ creates with their truly unique and very extreme musical style. Arriving just in time for Halloween (in North America), this is one hell of a release that if you liked the band’s previous albums, it will push you to further limits thanks to a bigger assortment of diverse influences.

    After a space-ish intro, the album really starts with the very catchy and unsettling “Butterfly”. Featuring Audrey Sylvain (Peste Noire) on this track, we definitely got an instant Amesoeurs vibe from the track until Tim laid his chaotic screams. Besides the catchy song structure, the piano section is quite cool and unique sounding in this track. In true Germ fashion, “The Stain of Past Regrets” immediately blows in your face with powerful screams. The catchy mixture of electronic elements is a staple of the band and it elevates this track to further levels of awesomeness when paired with the clean vocals.

Pages

Recent Image Galleries