Album Reviews

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    StoneBirds / Stangala – Kreizh Breizh Session 1 (2013)

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    Making its way from France, today we have two very interesting Stoner/Sludge/Doom Metal bands that make up the “Kreizh Breizh Session 1” split release. While StoneBirds are a more traditional Sludge/Stoner Metal band, Stangala delivers their lyrics in the Breton language and have a very trippy mixture of Doom/Sludge with a certain retro psychedelic vibe. We can say that we completely enjoyed how the both bands complement each other and make this unique split release very different from what we usually receive in the mail.

    The StoneBrids gracefully open this release with the hard-hitting “Red is the Sky”. In this Sludgy tune the band shows their riffing powers and how engaging their lead vocals are. Having that certain Southern/Stoner vibe in their catchy sound allows for the band to sound like The New Black, Chrome Division, and similar acts. As “Game Over” and “Outro Drama” roll by, the band’s sound is nicely consolidated and keeps the crunchy riffs flowing. “Red Lights” shifts gears into a fuzzier and more distorted track with heavier vocals, giving the band a certain edge that makes them sound different from your run of the mill artist. Saving the best for last, “Dark Passenger” closes out the band’s ‘side’ of this split with a mellow doomy vibe.

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    Rotten Liver – Purification by Debauchery (2013)

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    With a heavy knack for killer riffs and powerful melodies, France’s Rotten Liver delivers “Purification by Debauchery”. Avoiding sounding like anybody else, this band takes the best elements of bands like Vreid, Midnight, and old-school Darkthrone and creates their own brand of filthy Black’n’Roll that will have you headbanging since the first song.

    Opening with “Infamous Nil”, the band immediately delivers waves of killer riffs and a very cool melodic vibe. The snarls are quite fitting for the music, but it is the creativity and catchiness behind the song that makes it quite enjoyable and devastating. “Become the Arcanthropos” keeps the flow of the album going with another onslaught of sickening riffs and a very dark-yet-melodic atmosphere that Rotten Liver perfectly creates.

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    Týr – Valkyrja (2013)

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    Delivering their first album on their new label, Metal Blade Records, Faroese Metalheads Týr keep improving on their signature sound with “Valkyrja”. Featuring 13 tracks of super catchy Progressive Viking/Pagan Metal, the band shows no signs of resting in their laurels and manages to build on their legacy with a near perfect release that will captivate all fans of the band. For over 59 minutes, the listener will be treated to Týr’s signature riffing and the charismatic singing of Heri Joensen.

    Opening with the strong “Blood Of Heroes” we get the traditional Týr riffing onslaught provided by Heri Joensen and Terji Skibenæs. With more epic vocal melodies and catchy arrangements, “Mare of My Night” comes out to be one of the standout tracks in this release thanks to that headbanging/chanting alongside vibe the song features. Things get more melancholic with the lush female vocals of guest Liv Kristine on “The Lay of Our Love”. In this track the band shows a different side to them, delivering a mellow track with excellent guitars and very tight drumming.

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    Carcass – Surgical Steel (2013)

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    Having waited since 1996 for this, we are quite impressed on how Carcass manages to bring back their best sound from the “Heartwork” and “Necroticism” and give it a certain modern kick. While fans of the band’s early material (“Reek of Putrefaction” and “Symphonies of Sickness”) will keep on hating for the band’s more ‘mellow’ music, anybody that got over this on the course of the last 20 years should definitely enjoy “Surgical Steel”. Jeff Walker and Billy Steer manage to keep the Carcass legacy intact with this excellent album.

    The opener “1985” gives us a 70 second window into the riffing onslaught that this release will unleash upon the listeners. As “Thrasher’s Abattoir” blasts away, we are immediately immersed into the Carcass sound that we all love: Melodic/Thrash-y Death Metal at its finest. With the band being a huge catalyst for bands back in the 90’s to try new things and re-define the genre, they manage to capture that timeless sound and packaged with an up-to-date production and mixing.

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    Frozen Ocean – Oneiric In Geocentrism (2011)

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    Extremely productive one-man project Frozen Ocean delivers their one of their four full-length releases of 2011 with the transcendental “Oneiric In Geocentrism”. Featuring over 65 minutes of nightmare-inducing Dark Ambient/Drone music, this release feels like a journey through space. While we are bigger fans of Frozen Ocean’s Atmospheric Black Metal, this album delivers a similar vibe that will send chills down your spine.

    Setting off with “The Striding Watchtower”, the mood is very mystic and ethereal allowing the listener to fully immerse into Frozen Ocean’s world. Our sidereal journey continues with the tense “A Chink in Coelosphere” and “Levitation”, two tracks that clock in around 24 minutes of intense atmospheric brilliance. On a lighter note, “Quiver in the Voidrift” releases some of the tension initially, but keeps the album’s flow going very steady.

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    Frozen Ocean – Steamworks: Hibernation (2009)

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    Limited to a short run of 62 CD-R copies, Frozen Ocean presents us with their 2009 EP titled: “Steamworks: Hibernation”. With a behemoth 30+ minutes song, this release is a good stepping stone into understanding the band’s evolution and how Vaarwel’s skills have been changing over time. With a constant stream of releases Frozen Ocean is one of the most active bands we have heard of, so it is nice to hear a bit more from their musical origins.

    Immediately starting with some droning percussions, the album has that unsettling vibe with a martial touch to it. The atmosphere is quite heavy and tense as it slowly builds up. The ritualistic percussions are quite interesting and give it a different vibe to what we have heard in the past from Frozen Ocean. As the song mellows out around the 20th minute, some of the tension gets released and we can finally move over from the edge of our seat.

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    Unshine – Dark Half Rising (2013)

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    The underrated Unshine finally returns in 2013 with “Dark Half Rising”, the band’s latest full-length release. Featuring a very traditional and polished Gothic Metal sound, this band delivers 11 tracks filled with lush female vocals and excellent melodic arrangements. Always focusing on a commanding guitar-driven sound, this band reminds us of the Gothic Metal wave of the early 90’s when the songs sounded natural and never overburdened with extreme orchestrations.

    The Finnish band opens this album with a very mellow and medieval sounding track titled “Nadja's Wailing About Coming Of The Frost”. After setting the mood with the opener, “The Oath To Wilderness Of Unredeemed Nature” brings the first wave of catchy riffs surrounded by lush keyboards with a very organic and compact feeling to them. Led by Susanna Vesilahti’s vocals, tracks like “Arduinna” and “Spellbinder” are very engaging and feature tons of expertly crafted vocal melodies, reminiscent of early days of After Forever and Amberian Dawn.

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    Dichotomy – Paradigms (2013)

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    Hailing from Ireland, today we have a killer Melodic/Technical Death Metal band that leaves aside (most) of the Core influences and manages to sound more like Death and Carcass than all the other Technical DM bands these days. Delivering eight pummeling tracks, “Paradigms” is a very impressive debut full-length than if it wasn’t for the subpar vocals, it would be one of the best Tech-DM releases of 2013.

    Opening with the mellow instrumental track “Empyrean”, the band immediately gets down to business with the hectic “The Sentient Oppressed”. The guitar work is fast and precise with a crushing melodic vibe that nicely picks up the pace and complements the vocals. While not the best combination of growls and screams, the band does a decent job in delivering fast and brutal sections like on the devastating “All – Seeing Eye”.

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    Throne of Heresy – Realms of Desecration (2013)

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    With a killer Swedish Death Metal sound, today we have Sweden’s (duh) Throne of Heresy and their 2013 EP titled “Realms of Desecration”. With most of today’s bands playing Death Metal with Metalcore or Groove influences, it is quite refreshing to get this release that features a timeless sound bringing back memories of the greats of the genre like Grave, early Entombed and some elements of Unleashed.

    The release opens with the commanding “Morning Star”. Since the first riff you get that Swedish DM vibe that will make you start headbanging almost immediately. The melodic closing for this track is a nice change of things and will surely leave you a bit puzzled but it is excellently crafted. “Spawn of Atrocity” delivers more sheer riffing power, paired with precise drumming and quite typical growls, a very Grave-esque track if we had to put a tag on it.

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    ReVamp – Wild Card (2013)

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    After a long year of fronting Nighwish, today we have Floor Jansen’s band ReVamp and their sophomore release “Wild Card”. Being the charismatic and unique vocalist she is, Floor manages to make this album very special and quite engaging from beginning to end. Coming back after being sick for a while, inspiration was drawn from this period of her life, thus making this release very emotional and personal.

    Opening with the first part of the trilogy “The Anatomy of a Nervous Breakdown” – “On the Sideline”, ReVamp starts in very high spirits with powerful guitars and the incomparable vocal leads of Floor. There are some growls thrown here and there, giving the song that extra aggressive kick. The trilogy continues with the more modern sounding “Lymbic System”, a track that has some of that Groove Metal vibe mixed with the lush keyboards and well-crafted drums.

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