With the whole Folk Metal craze finally dying down, it is time to see who the real players in the genre are; and Metsatöll is one of the surviving ones. With “Karjajuht” they continue their legacy of crushing releases with just enough Folk elements surrounded by pouncing guitars and heavy melodies. Showing their strengths are no gimmicks, this release delivers 12 head banging anthems that will not be forgotten.

Opening with great energy, “Külmking” nicely blends an acoustic opening with pummeling guitars and a heavy dose of melody. The band’s sound is intact and they even sound a bit more aggressive than on their previous release. The metal foundations are strong Scandinavian Death Metal pillars that nicely blend in with the ingenious instrumentation of Lauri and Atso’s percussions. Songs like “Lööme mesti” and “See On See Maa” are perfect examples of this.

As we all know, Finland is a country where creativity flourishes in terms of Metal music and Coraxo is here to deliver their own unique style of music. Playing an interesting mixture of Electronic/Industrial Metal, this band has a very futuristic sound that is greatly enhanced by the mastering of Dan Swanö in their debut EP “Starlit Flame”. With hints of many different bands, this Finnish duo delivers seven engaging tracks that will command your full attention.

Opening with a trippy/spacey atmospheric piece, things start getting hectic with the crushing “Signal Detected”. Filled with catchy electronic elements, this track has a nice Industrial vibe similar to Kovenant, Aborym, and Shade Empire, featuring vocals that blend between Black Metal and some other distorted outburst. The catchiness of “The Xenotaph” is quite amazing, delivering some sick electronics paired with demolishing riffs. As one of our favorite tracks of the release, this song has all the right elements at the correct times to make it an instant classic.

Arriving from Italy, today we have a very odd and beautifully disturbing release titled “The Dross Play Vol.1” by Culls. In this five-song release, we get a very interesting mixture of ambient and noise with a few hints of drone elements. While most releases of this genre drag songs along for 10-20 minutes, Culls delivers short and concise assaults that will elevate your conscious levels to new heights.

Opening with the incisive “Scott 1912”, the dissonant noise elements perfectly blend with the trippy atmospherics and the spoken word samples to create a very tense and chaotic feeling. With a very apt title, “Spiral Staircase” delivers a very hypnotic droning dirge that feels like walking on an endless staircase. Quite interesting indeed how Culls, manipulates their elements to create very unique and engaging soundscapes.

With very cool cover art, we got fooled into thinking this was a Black Metal or Psychedelic/Occult Rock release, but we were pleased to find out this demo contained 3 tracks of catchy and engaging Industrial Metal. Being a remix of the original version, we have to say that this demo sounds very professional and its crystal clear compared to other lesser quality releases we get.

Opening with futuristic “The Opening of the Portal”, we got a certain Dol Ammad / The Project Hate MCMXCIX vibe from it. This track serves as a great atmospheric piece with some spoken word samples thrown into the madness. In a very Industrial Metal fashion, “Into the Void Beyond the Sun” keeps things rolling with crunchy guitars and crazy vocals. Not to piss on the band’s parade, but at times they manage to sound like a more Industrial version of Static X thanks to the catchiness of their music.

As one of the most unique and random releases every to arrive at Infernal Masquerade, today we have Zā Lä Thü and their 2013 demo “77+ (7+7)/7 +77=156”. In this 3-song release, this two person outfit delivers a very chaotic and unique release that combines Industrial elements with a few Gothic Metal touches.

Opening with some intoxicating Industrial/Electronic elements, “Hail Hail Babalon” has a unique modern ritualistic feeling. The synths and percussions have a certain Middle Eastern flair and are greatly complemented by hypnotic female vocals. As the song progresses, heavy riffing makes its way into the mix. This perfectly blends into the second track “Flame of Torture”, which has a heavier/Industrial vibe to it. The riffing is catchy and never diverges from an engaging loop, allowing the vocals to nicely shine.

Bouncing back from losing yet another vocalist, Xandria returns with Dianne van Giersbergen fronting the band and with their most mature record to date “Sacrificium”. Marco Heubaum continues to push the band, and with this release they greatly surpass their previous release “Neverworld's End” with a more cohesive and rich sounding album.

Opening with the 10-minute album title track, we are treated to lush orchestrations and commanding riffs. The band’s sound is quite powerful and Dianne’s vocals fit the sound perfectly since they are very operatic and well defined. With the new front woman, the band pushes the envelope with more dramatic and bombastic songs like “Nightfall”, “Dreamkeeper”, and “Stardust”.

Deconstructing Black Metal into its rawest elements seems to be the task of Vanhelga since its inception. With “Längtan” the band continues its journey into the deepest and darkest corners of musical exploration with 12 terrifying tracks of pure misanthropy and bleakness. Gaining a few members along the way, 145188 brings his vision to life with a truly sickening sound that is quite raw and direct.

Opening with the twisted melodies of “Svartsint ömhet” we get an assortment of deranged vocals laid over truly haunting simplistic music that will instantly get under your skin. Focusing on an eerie atmosphere, “Där evigheten inväntar mig” is one of our favorite tracks thanks to its raw power and bizarre tempo changes. The band’s ability to switch the direction of the song mid-course it’s one of the best assets that Vanhelga has in this release, making for a truly unique and abusive experience as heard in tracks like “Evig förändring” and the melancholic “Med mina andetag”.