Napalm Records

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    Edenbridge – Solitaire (2010)

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    Out of the very impressive roster of bands over at Napalm Records, Edenbridge has always been one of the most consistent bands they have. Over the years they have released very solid albums, that feature well crafted songs and a very characteristic sound given by Sabine Edelsbacher the bands vocalist, and Lanvall’s music composition skills.

    The band’s bombastic sound is present in every single one of their releases and “Solitaire” is not an exception. The band’s Symphonic Power Metal sound is very well crafted around Sabine’s vocals, and the use of catchy melodies, as opposed to using overly complicated structures in their songs.

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    Nox Aurea – Ascending in Triumph (2010)

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    Playing Gothic Doom Metal, today we have Nox Aurea a brilliant band from Sweden that will give Draconian a run for it’s money. The band’s second full-length “Ascending in Triumph” provides us with 8 melancholic tracks that will surely keep us entertained until the next Draconian album.

    Playing a genre that is not very popular these days, Nox Aurea create the perfect Gothic Doom atmosphere with their low-tuned guitars, majestic keyboards, and brilliantly crafted ‘beauty and the beast’-type vocals. We are huge fans of Gothic Doom Metal and Nox Aurea have catered to every one of our quirky needs since their debut “Via Gnosis”, and will “Ascending in Triumph” the band takes their abilities to a whole new level of greatness.

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    Thulcandra – Fallen Angel’s Dominion (2010)

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    Fronted by Steffen Kummerer from Obscura, today we have a very impressive band from Germany. Thulcandra comes with the slogan of “the heirs to Dissection’s throne” and this could not be any more accurate. The band excels at making Death/Black Metal music unlike anybody these days.

    The influences of Dissection and Emperor are clearly present, but the band takes this further with their own technical abilities. For a band that has been together since 2004, and has never release a full-length, “Fallen Angel’s Dominion” is an impressive achievement.

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    Necronomicon - The Return Of The Witch (2010)

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    After an absence of 6 years, we finally get a new release from Canadian Necronomicon. Since the impressive “The Sacred Medicines” the band has been lurking in the shadows, but finally they make their big label debut with “The Return Of The Witch” out on Napalm Records.

    Necronomicon combines straight-up Death Metal with some melodic influences. However, the band sounds nothing like all the Melodic DM bands these days. Their music is very brutal and less flashy than other bands. They have also added some minor Black Metal influences in the riffing, but nothing major and it’s just to enrich the band’s brutal sound.

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    Karma To Burn – Appalachian Incantation (2010)

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    The West-Virginia trio is finally back, with a super-powered full length release 8 years after “Almost Heathen “. The band got back together in 2009 and it’s been rocking the stages since then. Combining groovy melodies with stoner rock influences, “Appalachian Incantation” is a mostly acoustic release (except for 2 songs) that will rock you out of your chair.

    Keeping their tradition of naming most songs with numbers, we get a full scale riff-athon in “Appalachian Incantation”. Each track is super catchy and will make you want to dust off your old guitar and start jamming right away. The band’s music making skills are better than ever and have produced 9 brilliantly groovy tracks that power “Appalachian Incantation” straight into Stoner Rock hall of fame.

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    Lacrimas Profundere – The Grandiose Nowhere (2010)

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    The ever changing Lacrimas Profundere has finally settled down playing Gothic Rock in the last few albums and now we have “The Grandiose Nowhere”, a very solid release that will surely please fans of the genre. The band has only one remaining original member from its legendary Gothic Doom Metal early days, and the new additions to its lineup have shaped their current sound graciously into Gothic Rock greatness.

    “The Grandiose Nowhere” is a very traditional Gothic Rock album, but what makes it stand out is the atmospheres created by the keyboards. This pushes the band’s sound to be darker than other bands like HIM, Charon,To.Die.For, etc., and makes their music more appealing to the pure Gothic Metal fans.

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    Ereb Altor - The End (2010)

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    To complete the Viking Metal trifecta released by Napalm Records this March/April we have “The End” by Ereb Altor. This band plays Epic Viking Doom Metal….. we have heard Epic Nautical Doom Metal and now Viking EDM, looking into the band’s founders we find that both of them are part of Isole, and that is exactly how this band sounds too much alike.

    Ereb Altor has crafted a very unique sounding Epic Doom Metal that most fans of the genre will find intoxicating, having heavy influences from Candlemass, Isole, Ahab, and old Bathory. And while this is not 100% or cup of tea, we find this release very enjoyable. Being huge Doom Metal fans, it took us quite a while to really get into Epic Doom and Funeral Doom bands, and it can’t get any better than Ereb Altor (and Ahab).

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    Svartsot - Mulmets Viser (2010)

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    Coming from Denmark, we get Napalm Records second Folk/Viking Metal offering of the month. “Mulmets Viser” is Svartsot’s second full-length album and their best to date. Having recorded two brilliant demos and one full-length album (“Ravnenes Saga”) the band shows no signs of losing their edge in every release.

    After 90% of the band quit in 2008, Cris J.S. Frederiksen wasted no time in putting together a group of musicians that wanted to continue with Svartsot. This bold move paid off since there is nothing lost in the quality of this band, and we would even dare to say that they sound better than ever.

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    Heidevolk - Uit Oude Grond (2010)

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    Out of the hundreds of bands that play Folk/Viking/Pagan Metal, Heidevolk has been one of our favorites since their debut album “De Strijdlust is Geboren”. The band has a very ‘simple’ but yet effective way of making Folk Metal songs, they only need the addition of a violin to get the extra ‘folkish’ sound that other bands have when using countless extra instruments.

    “Uit Oude Grond” is the band’s third full-length album and you can hear that they are running out of ideas. While Heidevolk’s music has always sounded formulaic (but effective) it’s finally getting a bit tired and old. Even halfway through this album you start to wonder if your CD player is skipping and re-playing the same tracks.

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    Varg – Blutaar (2010)

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    Hailing from Germany we have Varg, a new coming band into the very competitive and crowded Pagan Metal genre. “Blutaar” is the band’s second full-length release and it shows great maturity in their music, making it a very strong sophomore effort.

    The band currently on the line-up of the European Pagan Fest shows their skills at creating aggressive Pagan Metal songs that will surely have people moshing from beginning to end. While other bands of the genre focus more on having different instruments used in their music, Varg emphasizes on using a straight forward powered by aggressive guitar riffs and elaborate drumming.

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