Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Moonbow – The End of Time (2013)

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    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.

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    Fanthrash - Apocalypse Cyanide (2013)

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    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.

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    Unified Past – Spots (2013)

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    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.

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    The Vision Bleak – Witching Hour (2013)

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    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”.

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    LowCityRain – LowCityRain (2013)

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    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.

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    Germ – Grief (2013)

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    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.

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    Armaroth – False Vision (2013)

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    Making its way from Slovenia, today we have Armaroth and their crushing EP “False Vision”. Delivering five tracks of relentless Death Metal, this band makes a huge impact with their devastating sound and catchy tunes. With countless Death Metal and Deathcore albums being released these days, it is quite refreshing to listen to something as well-crafted and powerful as this EP.

    Opening with the traditional intro, the band fully explodes into action with the pounding guitars of “Modern Man”. In this track we get that chugging feeling of bands like Suffocation and Six Feet Under (older), all topped off with inhuman growls and cool tempo changes. The knack for crushing melodic sections is quite enjoyable and makes the band’s sound be more diverse than your average DM outfit. The drumming shifts gears into hyper-blast with the pummeling “High”, the shortest, but sweetest track in this album.

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    The Jasser Arafats – The Aftermath (2013)

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    With a very engaging modern sounding Death/Thrash sound, Finland’s The Jasser Arafats deliver their latest EP titled “The Aftermath”. Featuring four tracks of catchy and heavy Death/Thrash Metal, the band showcases their solid songwriting skills and knack for aggressive guitar work fused with Thrash Metal roots. With a very well defined sound, this relatively young band shows that they are here to stay and make a mark for themselves.

    “Koma” opens the release with an in-your-face guitar onslaught. The melodic elements in the music make it very accessible, and the diverse riffs and tempos make it more enjoyable than your average release. The Death Metal roots are quite evident, but since the band’s sound is more dynamic, you will not find the repetitive groove sections that many bands rely on; a perfect example of this is “Traitors”.

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    Oranssi Pazuzu – Velonielu (2013)

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    Cracked out Psychedelic Black Metaliers Oranssi Pazuzu, make a triumphant return with their latest release: “Velonielu”. Pushing the boundaries of Black Metal (and music in general) to new extremes, this album features six thought provoking tracks that will either make you hate the band completely or fall into a deep trance. For over three quarters of an hour, this Finnish band will make you have nightmares with their unique level of weirdness.

    Opening with the demoralizing “Vino Verso”, we are treated to very unconventional Black Metal guitars and funky atmospheric elements. The vocals are your traditional BM screams with some distortion added that greatly complements the pounding guitars. “Tyhjä Tempelli” changes things up with funky Psychedelic guitars and an excellent bass line. The riffing sounds Black Metal-esque, in a very weird and unique manner, reminding us a bit of bands like Furze. The atmospheric component of this track is quite disturbing, especially when contrasted by the harsh distorted vocals and the cool guitar feedback.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Metal over Oostrozebeke Presents – Perseverance 2013 (2013)

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    Arriving via Malevolence Records, today we have a very diverse sampler that contains everything from Thrash Metal to Melodic Death/Black Metal and related genres. Featuring eight different bands, this release makes for a very interesting time, with very contrasting changes between bands and some excellent tracks mixed in between some sub-par ones.

    Opening we have Mad At Sam, a Thrash/Crossover band that can easily go unnoticed with their track being less than two minutes long. The drastic contrast is immediately felt with Aegror and their very enjoyable Melodic Death/Black Metal that fusing influences from Carcass, Grave, and several other bands into a very cohesive and engaging sound. “Behind Walls” and “Prophecy” are taking from their 2013 EP, a release we will be trying to find as soon as we are done writing this review.

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