2011

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Draconian – A Rose for the Apokalypse (2011)

    cover

    After a few years of the release of “Turning Season Within”, Draconian finally makes their return with another crushing release: “A Rose for the Apokalypse”. With a considerable increase in maturity, the band crafts 10 tracks of the best Gothic Doom Metal in the scene. It is highly un-likely that any other band will rival the quality of this release in 2011.

    Always characterized by the ‘beauty and the beast’-style vocal struggle between Anders Jacobsson and Lisa Johansson, the band builds up on their depressive sound and adds extra elements that make this release even more punishing and beautiful. With a powerful opening, “The Drowning Age” delivers the first blow of brilliance presented in this release. As the song progresses it nicely mellows to clean/harsh/female vocals and engaging guitar riffing.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Katanga – Moonchild (2011)

    cover

    In the very weird shit category today we have Katanga and their album “Moonchild”. The band plays Gothic Metal with some Electronic/Industrial elements. The first thing to notice is the typical singing/spoken German vocals. The use of electronic elements is pretty cool through this release, making it very catchy.

    The opening track “Marquis De Sade”, crafts a very psycho-sexual atmosphere and it serves as a great appetizer for this very diverse and interesting release. “Gottlos” delivers catchiness with powerful guitar riffs and catchy electronics surrounded by strong German singing. The ultra catchy “Moerder Der Erinnerung” draws similarities to Letzte Instanz, and with the added female vocals achieves very nice contrasts between the singing parts.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    To Cast a Shadow - In Memory of (2011)

    cover

    In the slow and painfully good category today we have To Cast a Shadow and their Doom album “In Memory of”. It has been quite a while since a band has managed to capture the emptiness and bleakness of Death/Gothic Doom Metal, but luckily To Cast a Shadow has given us 10 tracks of emotional music.

    Hailing from Norway, this band delivers a very simple yet effective approach to the genre and with angelic female vocals creates a very powerful atmosphere. Traditional Doom Metal riffs open “Tormented” and all is good until you get the male vocals, to be brutally honest… they suck, but the female vocals greatly make up for this in the rest of the song.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Euphoreon – Euphoreon (2011)

    cover

    After their very impressive demo “Before the Blackened Sky”, Euphoreon returns with their crushing self-released and self-titled debut album. All fans of (old) Children of Bodom, Moonsorrow, Turisas, and similar should be keeping an eye out for this very well produced album.

    Featuring re-vamped versions of the three songs presented in the demo, this new release adds five more tracks of brilliant musicianship and excellent combination of elements that have made the previously mentioned bands very successful. The song “Before the Blackened Sky” shows the wide palette of influences the band has and it also gives a very nice intro of what is to come in this release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Amorphis – The Beginning of Times (2011)

    cover

    Having set the standard very high with “Skyforger”, Amorphis returns with an even better album with “The Beginning of Times”. Featuring 12 tracks of majestic Melodic Metal/Rock, the band is definitely at the top of their game and is set on a path of global domination with this near-perfect release.

    Featuring their characteristic Melodic approach to Metal, Amorphis does not compromise or goes mainstream and has put together a very impressive release that is both aggressive and beautifully crafted. Lead by the charismatic and versatile vocals of Tomi Joutsen, “The Beginning of Times” is an early candidate of album of the year.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Hammerfall – Infected (2011)

    cover

    After the disappointing “No Sacrifice, No Victory”, Hammerfall returns to the basics and delivers a very powerful and effective Heavy Metal release with “Infected”. Featuring great vocal melodies and catchy song structures, the band might have a shot at best Heavy Metal album for 2011 with this release.

    With pounding riffs and a very simple structure, “Patient Zero” opens the album and delivers a very effective first punch. Joacim Cans vocals are the highlight of the song (and the album), but the catchy chorus sections and the guitar acrobatics nicely round out a very powerful opener for this release and give a taste of what’s to come.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Avantasia - The Flying Opera: Around The World In 20 Days LIVE (2011)

    cover

    As one of the best Symphonic Power Metal projects in the world, Avantasia is one of our favorite bands and we anxiously waited for this live release. However, we only got the promo for the CD tracks and they don’t really show (in our opinions) the real sound of Avantasia.

    We all love the brilliant production and the countless guest appearances in the albums, but somehow in the live setting we get a much stripped down version of Avantasia. Having a less bombastic and more straight-forward sound, “The Flying Opera” mostly showcases Tobias Sammet’s singing abilities and some pretty solid Heavy Metal tracks.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    The Gates of Slumber – Wretch (2011)

    cover

    The tone is set to heavy with Gates of Slumber’s latest album; the riffs crawl along at a sludge-like tempo with an eeriness weaving in and out of the pattern. Moving away from their usual theme of swords and sorcery and into the real world was a wise choice for their part as well the pick for new drummer, J “Cool” Clyde” Paradis. His drumming has a vibe to it that sounds like it made even vocalist Karl Simon and bassist Jason McCash step up their game a bit.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Týr - The Lay of Thrym (2011)

    cover

    The Progressive Viking Metal kings mark their return with “The Lay of Thrym”, and as we can hear it is a pretty convincing one indeed. Two years have passed since “By the Light of the Northern Star”, and with this new album the band picks-up exactly where they left of and continue their onslaught with very well crafted Viking epics.

    If you are not a stranger to Týr’s older works, you will definitely love “The Lay of Thrym”, however, if you are new to the band, this will be a very good introduction into the magical sound behind this very talented band. In the 10 tracks presented in this release, we are treated to very intricate guitar work, catchy clean vocals, and full songs that grab your attention and keep it for the duration of the release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Alestorm – Back Through Time (2011)

    cover

    The Scottish Pirates are finally back with another epic of pirates, wenches, and drinking, but they seemed to have added time travel to the equation this time. In “Back through Time”, Alestorm delivers 11 tracks of exactly the same thing they have been doing for the last past years: catchy, wacky, and irreverent Pirate Metal.

    We all know that the band is not the most talented one when it comes to making the most complicated and elaborated songs out there, but they have managed to find a niche that allows them to be enjoyed by thousands of Metalheads (including us). If you are not aware of the band’s previous releases, this is a band you will either love or hate, no middle ground.

Pages

Recent Image Galleries