Nearly five years since the band’s last effort “At the Edge of Time”, Germany’s Blind Guardian return with another epic release with “Beyond the Red Mirror”. Featuring their signature soaring Power Metal filled with musical virtuosity and engaging chorus sections, this album delivers 64 minutes of warm hearted music that will bring back all the memories of the band’s highly praised discography.

Opening the release with great style, “The Ninth Wave” starts with album with 9 minutes of epic arrangements and soaring vocals. As the opener bleeds into “Twilights of The Gods”, the first mega-epic masterpiece of this release is revealed with an uber catchy chorus section. With “Prophecies” the band keeps a similar level of amazingness with Hansi Kürsch’s signature vocals and the excellent guitar work of André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen. The band’s sound is expertly crafted and perfectly balanced to deliver truly memorable songs.

After blowing us away with their weird and extremely experimental “Hyperblast Supercollider”, France’s Pryapisme returns with an even more chaotic “Futurologie”. Pushing sonic boundaries even further, the band greatly builds up on their crazy video-game/experimental music and delivers a crazy EP with one songs divided into 11 parts for around 25 minutes of music, and the orchestral version of said track is included as well.

The release kicks off with the very progressive and jazzy extravaganza of “Petit traité de futurologie sur l'Homo cretinus trampolinis (et son annexe sur les nageoires caudales)”. The first and second parts of this song feature a wide palette of video game music and some Japanese/Asian influenced orchestrations with a collection of odd tempo changes and jazzy Oboe. Things vary from Ska-like to pure head on madness through parts III to VII with some very fast paced sections (VI) and crazy catchy instrumental interludes (VII).

Hailing from Switzerland, today we have Arcturon and their latest EP titled “Expect Us”. With a first impression of this band looking like a Goth/Industrial outfit based on the picture of their cover art, we were pleasantly surprised that the band plays some solid Melodic Death Metal with some Industrial/Djent touches here and there.

Opening with the crushing riffs of “My Treasure”, the band makes a powerful statement on this first song. The guitars are heavy and the atmospheric elements nicely elevate this song to a good Melo Death piece that is greatly complemented by some clean vocals and solid guitar solos. The EP title track brings us some Djent infused grooviness that makes the band sound a bit mainstream/Modern Metal-like but with a clearly defined line when it comes to not being cheesy.

Helping us ring the New Year, Josh Middleton and Sylosis return with their very interesting blend of Melodic Death Metal with Thrash elements on “Dormant Heart”. Featuring 12 songs that have a darker edge than the band’s previous works, this UK outfit delivers one of their finest releases to date.

Opening with the melodic “Where the wolves Come to Die”, the band really steps its game with the crushing “Victims and Pawn”. Both initial tracks are filled with the traditional Sylosis-styled barrage of riffs and harsh vocals. The band’s signature sound is further developed with a mellower tempo and a certain darker vibe in tracks like the imposing “Dormant Heart” and the breakout single “Leech”.

Hailing from the USA, today we have a nihilistic Depressive Black Metal band named “At Dusk”. As you can imagine, this is a one man outfit that delivers waves of mournful screams paired with some pretty solid mid-tempo Black Metal. Featuring four songs and around 59 minutes of music, this debut full-length is one hell of a stepping stone for the band.

Opening with the oppressive “Anhedonia”, we get around 5 minutes of purely atmospheric passages until the harsh and desolate BM onslaughts start. The band reminds us of a more depressive version of Mortualia with considerably better vocals. The second track, “Agonia”, starts with a barrage of riffs and intense drumming, keeping the tempo quite hectic to deliver a powerful punch to the listeners in the first few minutes.

One man battalion Kalmankantaja is running for the most productive band of 2014 by releasing four full-length releases in the same year. This time, this prolific Finish outfit presents us with the two-track 41-minute crushing release titled “Musta Lampi”. With a heavy emphasis on a bleak atmosphere, the band’s Black Metal sound is but punishing and demoralizing.

Opening with “Hiljaisessa Syvänteessä”, the band nicely builds up momentum with several minutes of ethereal instrumental passages before the first distorted guitars appear. The guitar sound is quite metallic and fuzzy, fitting very nicely the bleakness of the atmosphere. As the hellish screams appear, the music elevates to a new level since all elements are perfectly delivered to punish the listener.

Arriving from Canada, today we have the frosty Grimoire and their EP titled “L'aorasie des spectres rêveurs”. Featuring around 25 minutes of melancholic Atmospheric Black Metal, this is a very solid offering from Eisenwald to start 2015.

From the mastermind behind Csejthe and Forteresse, this one man band delivers four tracks of excellent atmospheric music filled with harsh vocals and traditional Black Metal onslaughts. “Tragédie des ombres” opens the release with superb melodic riffs and extremely melancholic keyboards. Just after a few seconds we immediately feel the oppressive and lush atmosphere created by Grimorie.

Crushing rawness are the first few words that come to mind when listening to Triumvir foul’s first offering, the “An Oath of Blood and Fire”. Originally released in cassette as their demo, Godz Ov War and Third Eye Temple took upon themselves to unleash this gem in a 7” format. Featuring members of Ash Borer, this band delivers one of the most decadent old-school Death Metal sound.

Blowing things wide open with the punishing “The Vacuum of Knots”, the band spews their nasty sound immediately. Featuring fierce vocals and oppressive riffs, we are taken aback on how raw and old-school this release is. “Abhorrent Depths” keeps things dark with another dissonant onslaught to close this side.

Hailing from Greece, today we have old-school Death Metal outfit Obduktion and their crushing new EP titled “Mors Janua Vitae”. In this short but sweet two-song EP, the band delivers old-school sounding Death Metal that brings back the times of Grave, Morgoth, Unleashed, etc.

Opening the EP we have the neck snapping “Kings of Terror”, a track that has just the right amount of retro elements but with a sharp modern production. The drumming is quite catchy and combined with the riffing, we get a similar vibe to Grave and their earlier releases. Things pick up with the traditional-sounding opening seconds of “Lordship of Superior”. This opening few seconds have a Thrash vibe that nicely morphs into a crunchy groove onslaught.

After a killer 2014 in terms of excellent Metal releases, we open 2015 with By The Patient’s third full-length release “Gehenna”. Featuring nine tracks of expertly crafted Death Metal with high emphasis on melodic and groovy passages, this Danish band perfectly showcases their polished sound that is hard to peg but difficult to ignore.

The album kicks off with the powerful “Ruled By The Death”, a track that features crushing riffs and very tight drumming. The band has some older Scandinavian Metal influences, but with their own twist and a very modern and refined production. As the band pummels through tracks like “Deceiver”, “Gehenna”, and “Web of Beliefs”, we instantly notice their knack for melodic/groovy sections that make their music very addictive. The harsh vocals nicely fit the music as they set the band apart from the traditional growls of the genre.