Album Reviews

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    Immolation – Kingdom Of Conspiracy (2013)

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    Keeping their tradition of brutal and merciless releases, Immolation delivers “Kingdom Of Conspiracy”. Featuring 10 tracks covering 40 minutes of soul crushing music, the band shows that they can deliver powerful songs and stay fresh at the same time. Being the band’s 9th full-length release, this album showcases their maturity and evolution over the years and brings down the pain for all fans of the band.

    Opening with the crushing “Kingdom Of Conspiracy”, the album feels like you just got greeted by a bag of bricks. The band’s sound is as brutal as ever and all the elements work perfectly together creating a powerful yet refined sound. The band’s combination of catchiness and brutality can easily be heard on songs like “Bound To Order” and “Keep The Silence” thanks to massive drums and cheeky riffs.

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    Alter Self – Seven Deadly Blessings (2013)

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    Hailing from Athens, Greece today we have Alter Self, a killer Death/Thrash Metal band that delivers eleven punishing tracks on their debut full-length release “Seven Deadly Blessings”. For this release being the band’s debut full-length, their sound is very mature and the songs are perfectly executed. Mixing Thrash and Death Metal, the band achieves a timeless sound that is quite catchy and appealing.

    After the traditional intro track, “My Sober Reflection” has a very Sepultura-esque ring to it and it also showcases the band’s ability to craft catchy and brutal songs. The drumming is quite impressive and the guitar work is pretty well crafted, allowing the song to flow naturally. The band’s songs keep getting more and more interesting as the funky riffs/bass guitar sections of “Fovea” make for a very cool track.

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    Abyssal – Denouement (2013)

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    Always delivering brutal releases, Hellthrasher Records surprised us this time with a release that goes beyond brutal and mixed some very interesting Black and Doom Metal elements to produce one hell of a devastating album. Abyssal’s “Denoument” was originally self-released in 2012, but with this re-release more people will get to experience their crushing and complex sound that will blow you away from your seat.

    Featuring six tracks and around 50 minutes of brutal music, the band wastes no time and delivers the first blow with the powerful “The Moss upon Our Ruins”. This song seems to start heading in Black Metal direction, but the band suddenly changes to crushing Brutal Death Metal in a heartbeat. Layering BM guitars with crushing DM riffs works greatly for the band allowing them to be very brutal and yet diverse. The tempo of the music is also very Doom-like keeping things slow and painful while sounding massive.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Wall of the Eyeless – Wimfolsfestta (2013)

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    One of the most rewarding things about reviewing music for Infernal Masquerade is the ability to discover excellent bands like Wall of The Eyeless. Having extremely liked their first demo “Through Emptiness”, we are pleased to receive their newest 4-song demo release “Wimfolsfestta”. Delivering over 25 minutes of intricate Progressive Death Metal, this band seems to have all the potential to be signed by any mayor Metal music label in the world.

    “Flicker” is the first track on this release and it delivers a nearly 10-minute emotional ride through excellent riffs, tight drumming, and an effective combination of growls and clean vocals. The band’s ability to create intricate compositions that weave back and forth from melodic passages into aggressive sections is quite excellent and it is perfectly showcased in this song. “The Longest Winter” comes in with a faster and more direct approach. Keeping the melodic side of things always present, this track nicely combines merciless riffs with powerful growls.

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    Lowbau - A Darker Shade of Blues (2013)

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    Making its way from Austria, today we have a very interesting and engaging Sludge/Southern Metal release titled “A Darker Shade of Blues”. Being Lowbau’s debut release, we must say that the band is giving American bands a run for their money in terms of crafting moody Southern Metal in a masterful way. Delivering 13 songs covering nearly 73 minutes, this is one band that has the right attitude and skills to be notable in this very crowded genre.

    After the mood setting intro track, the band quickly shows its power with “The Prosecution Rests…”. This track is quite entertaining, but the mix feels a bit too flat to be fully enjoyed. Things start getting more interesting with the hard-rocking tracks “Order Of The Bull” and “Modern Day Alchemist”. Again the vocals sound a bit high at times thanks to a very strange mix, but the music is still quite enjoyable. The first standout song of this release is the moody western-like “A Million Years of Rain”, filled with solid guitar work and versatile vocals.

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    Shakhtyor – Shakhtyor (2013)

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    Originally released back in 2012 as an independent album, Cyclone Empire has scooped up Shakhtyor, a German outfit and their very powerful four track self-titled debut full-length. While many people are raving and loving all the new Sludge/Post-Metal releases, we have to say that sometimes they are just plain and dull and unluckily this is album belongs to this category. We understand that being repetitive and ‘crushing’ is part of the deal, but when you have 40 minutes of music revolve around 8 riffs, it is just unacceptable.

    Opening with “E. Jasper”, the band sets the mood for the whole song in the first minute and then it just drones around the same for almost nine minutes… WTF. We are aware of the need to build momentum and create a crushing wall of sound, but this band just delivers half and leaves you hanging like when the lights go out while watching porn. The most salvageable track of this release is “Handschuhmann”, a 7 minute piece that actually has some structure and nicely builds-up to a semi-climaxing stage.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hexvessel – Iron Marsh (2013)

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    Staying busy after the release of “No Holier Temple”, today we have Hexvessel’s “Iron Marsh”, their latest EP delivering five tracks of their very enigmatic Psychedelic Neofolk music. Featuring over 30 minutes music, this EP is the perfect companion for a hike on the woods in a dark and gloomy day. Fronted by Mat "Kvohst" McNerney, this band has a very unique sound to them that will give you goosebumps thanks to their very dark and eerie atmospheres.

    Opening with the jazzy “Masks Of The Universe”, the trumpets nicely create a very unique and lounge-like atmosphere. Kimmo Helén greatly helps the band build a very unique atmosphere with him handling the keyboards, trumpet, and violin duties. McNerney’s vocals are pretty solid and very soothing for the band’s music and are greatly enhanced by the backing vocals provided by Marja Konttinen. This track also clocks in at 13 minutes, making it almost half the EP.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Atrocity – Okkult (2013)

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    Always known for pushing the boundaries of Metal with their quite unique musical vision and extremely unexpected releases, Atrocity this time delivers a very direct and quite ‘traditional’ release that might puzzle some people. Getting slammed by the press for releases like “Werk 80” and “Calling The Rain”, the band sticks to a more traditional approach on “Okkult”. For 12 tracks, this German outfit delivers enjoyable tracks that will surely get the attention of older Atrocity fans and fans of Melodic/Symphonic Death Metal from the early 2000’s.

    Opening with the Therion/Cradle of Filth-esque “Pandaemonium”, the band seems to be on track for a very direct and powerful release. The choir arrangements are quite chilling and they are greatly countered by Alexander Krull’s powerful growls. “Death By Metal” takes us back to the earlier days of Death Metal with crushing riffs and crazy solos, a great contrast from the first and following tracks, but solid nonetheless. The symphonic arrangements come back on songs like “March Of The Undying” and “Murder Blood Assassination”, both very catchy and effective tracks.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Delain – Interlude (2013)

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    We at Infernal Masquerade are not huge fans of compilation releases, but when it comes to one of our favorite bands, Delain, we have to make an exception and review “Interlude”. Featuring two brand new songs, three cover songs, two ‘different versions’ of tracks from “We Are The Others”, and a few live songs, this release is mainly for hardcore fans and collectors of the band.

    Keeping their more accessible and even Pop-ish sound on “Breathe On Me”, the band delivers a catchy tune that is quite enjoyable. Charlotte’s vocals are as angelic as ever, and the slow tempo allows them to shine nicely. Martijn Westerholt does a solid job providing lush keyboards that carry the chorus section of the song. “Collars And Suits” keeps the band’s tradition of excellent Symphonic elements offset by killer guitars and the charisma of the band’s vocalist. We have to say that this is the best song of the release, and up to par with the best from “We Are The Others”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sodom – Epitome of Torture (2013)

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    Constantly releasing relentless albums since 1981, Sodom returns today with another fine example of in-your-face German Thrash Metal with “Epitome of Torture”. Contrary to normal patterns, this German outfit keeps getting more punishing with age and on this release they deliver an intense 40 minutes of crushing music. Keeping things simple and direct, Tom Angelripper and company are at the top of their game and they make a very clear statement with “Epitome of Torture”.

    Breaking in new drummer Makka in the opener “My Final Bullet”, the band shows the same ferocity and intensity they have since the 80’s. This track is quite direct and at some points (on the song and album) Tom even sounds a bit like Tom Araya from Slayer. For all familiar with the band’s sound over the years, tracks like “S.O.D.O.M” and “Epitome of Torture” are the perfect example of the high-octane Germany Thrash Metal that the band has been perfecting with each release.

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