Album Reviews

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    Prehistoric Pigs – Wormhole Generator (2012)

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    Arriving from Moonlight Records, today we have another solid Stoner Rock/Metal release that hails from Italy. We have seen a surge in Stoner Rock/Metal releases in the last few years and luckily for Prehistoric Pigs, they fall under the ‘better than average’ category. Cranking out 55 minutes of catchy music, “Wormhole Generator” is a quite a solid release from any fan of the genre.

    Starting the release with the trippy “Swirling Rings of Saturn”, the band showcases their very simplistic approach into creating catchy and trippy music. There is nothing very fancy about their sound or event extremely technically proficient, it is just straight up effective riffing and traditional song structures. The fact that “Wormhole Generator” is fully instrumental makes it even better since you can enjoy the hard-rocking tracks without the need of putting up with a (maybe) bad singer on top.

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    Deep-pression - Vegtelen Tenger (2012)

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    After not really liking the band’s previous releases, we finally have found the key to enjoy Deep-pression’s very unique and disturbing music: while taking a hike in the dark. If you listen to this album while you walk alone in the woods, we guarantee that you will go paranoid in a few minutes and think something supernatural is following you around, and this is without the help of drugs or any other ‘mood enhancer’.

    The traditional intro flying by, “Syreny” creeps up on you with some Psycho-esque ambient sounds that made us jump when not expecting them. The guest vocals in this release really hit the jackpot as they are creepy as fuck. We imagine that a ghost would sound exactly like this, and they greatly add to the overall ambience of the music. “Tam,Gdzie Martwe statki Jęczą...” is equally creepy and very effective thanks to the dark ambient elements and the dissonant bass guitar here and there.

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    KoldVoid – Roadside Ghosts (2012)

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    Arriving on a promo package filled with goodies from Romania, today we have KoldVoid’s “Roadside Ghosts”. In this dreamy release we are treated to 11 tracks of pure atmospheric brilliance that bring imagery from some of the most surreal and unique movies such as David Lynch’s work. If you want to be transported into very ethereal places, this is the release for you.

    In this debut release, KoldVoid manages to create beautiful landscapes since the openers “Start” and “Equilibrium”. With a very minimalist sound at first, this release transports the listener immediately with perfectly timed ambient elements. The hypnotic “Phantasma” is the first stand out track with an excellent cinematic feeling of flying through space in a very smooth and relaxing trip.

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    GloryHammer – Tales from the Kingdom of Fife (2013)

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    Lead by the whacky Christopher Bowes, GloryHammer arrives to us with an impressive dose of killer fantasy-inspired Power Metal. Showcasing his awesome songwriting skills and knack for epic orchestrations, Mr. Bowes does a great job in this new band bringing to life his alternative concept of Scotland’s medieval history. For over ten tracks the band crafts epic battle hymns and highly effective songs that will have any fan of the genre throwing away all their Blind Guardian, Rhapsody, etc. merch and CD’s to get some new GloryHammer stuff.

    After an epic intro track, “The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee” marches forward with a superbly epic chorus section and a furious pace. While the song title and probably the lyrics are as absurd as anything that Alestrom has ever recorded, the band produces killer music that sounds as good as any veteran fantasy Power Metal band. The vocal arrangements are superb and give that epic vibe that we crave in these kinds of albums.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Visions of Atlantis – Ethera (2013)

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    After blowing us away with “Delta”, we had high expectations for “Ethera” and the band seemed to drop the ball on a few tracks in this release making it less impressive. However, not all is lost and Visions of Atlantis manages to deliver some good and bombastic songs that make up for the ground lost by some of the inferior tracks.

    With “Delta” achieving an awesome level of explosiveness and bombastic elements, the band tries to start “Ethera” with a similar approach but introducing some futuristic keyboard sounds that don’t really work with the rest of the elements in this release. “The Ark” is a clear example of this, making it sound very disconnected. On “Machinage” near the end there are some truly horrible spoken sections accompanied by some robotic auto-tune like effects that just made us want to pierce our eardrums.

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    Serenity – War Of Ages (2013)

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    After their breakthrough release “Death & Legacy”, Serenity seems to be easing into their own bombastic sound with “War Of Ages”. Incorporating a full-time female vocalist (Clémentine Delauney), the band delivers ten tracks filled with lush orchestrations and very dynamic arrangements. Any fan of Symphonic Metal with some Progressive and Power Metal elements will be eating this one for breakfast… and the rest of the day for countless weeks.

    Starting strong with the super catchy “Wings of Madness”, a track that has a killer chorus section and excellent vocal duets, the band shows that their last release was not a fluke. The combination of Georg Neuhauser and Clémentine’s vocals has great chemistry and they sound great in this track (and release in general). In the very Epica-like “The Art of War” and “Shining Oasis”, the band shows their skills on faster paced and more dynamic songs while keeping their own signature sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    En Nihil – The Approaching Dark (2013)

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    As one of the most annoying releases we have received in the last few months, today we have En Nihil’s idea of ‘music’. In “The Approaching Dark” we have 52 minutes of ambient noises with a few creepy elements and a shit-ton of repetition.

    While trying to be too creepy and apocalyptic, this release just swims in a sea of uninspired atmospheric elements that never really deliver anything. There are some tracks that are plain irritating like “Futile Man - The Weight Of Absolution” and it’s droning frequencies.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lifeless – Godconstruct (2013)

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    Navigating the seas of insipid Death Metal releases is quite difficult if you are trying to find a good one, thanks to Lifeless we have gotten our fix for the month. In “Godconstruct” this German band delivers 12 tracks of no-bullshit DM that will have you moshing in minutes. While the band’s approach is not revolutionary, they do a pretty good job in keeping things brutal and entertaining.

    With a powerful mixture of traditional Death Metal with some Swedish influences we get excellent tracks like “Godconstruct” and “Towards Damnation” that sound like Grave and Suffocation had a mutant child. Some of our favorite tracks have to be the crushing “Blood for the Gods” and “The Truth Concealed” and their very solid drumming and melodic undertones, reminding us of a more aggressive Hypocrisy on their “Fourth Dimension” years.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Vreid – Welcome Farewell (2013)

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    The kings of catchy Black ‘n’ Roll have returned with another killer release in “Welcome Farewell”. Continuing to push the boundaries of Black Metal mixed with old-school Metal, Vreid shows that they can only keep improving their very unique and aggressive musical approach. For over 40-minutes the band delivers waves of uber catchy riffs paired with hellish vocals and a knack for ridiculously entertaining song arrangements.

    Immediately pounding away with “The Ramble”, the band shows that they haven’t forgotten their Black Metal roots, but they deliver them on their own terms. There are very typical BM riffs here, but they are given an old-school vibe that makes them as addictive as heroin. Tracks like “Way of The Serpent” and “The Devil’s Hand” are excellent examples of riff-a-thons that are the staple of this band’s excellent song writing skills.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    King Bong – Space Shanties (2012)

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    With a name like King Bong, one can immediately tell what kind of music this band plays. This Italian trio delivers a hefty dosage of Instrumental Stoner/Sludge Metal that was recorded live and without the usage of any studio magic, adding to the overall brilliance of the songs presented here. Featuring over 60 minutes of jazzy and funky music, this is one album that all fans of the genre should pay attention to.

    Starting with the interestingly named track “Even 50 Feet Hamsters Have Feelings”, we all know what the band was on when they came up with such a name. With a very slow and hypnotic pace, this track features a hefty amount of psychedelicness that will make you start thinking you are hallucinating. The bass, guitar, and drums approach to the music gives it a very minimalist take, while being far from being dull and repetitive.

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