Having waited five years for this release, we can say that the wait was well worth it. Elysion returns with “Someplace Better”, their sophomore release. With their straight up Gothic Metal sound, they managed to captivate us with their first release and with this album we continue to be under their spell. Delivering 11 tracks of masterfully crafted music, this release is one hell of a rollercoaster ride.

Opening with the explosive “Made of Lies”, we instantly get our dose of Christianna’s angelic vocals and the band’s mellow atmospheric elements. With powerful riffs and catchy chorus sections, songs like “Someplace Better”, “Fairytale”, and “Our Fate” showcase the band’s ability to craft very traditional Gothic Metal song structures that will appeal any fan of the genre. Our favorite songs are more in the ‘power ballad’ category like the haunting “The Promise” and “Transparent”.

Packaged in a beautiful digipack with killer artwork, today we have France’s Toumaï and their entirely insane “Sapiens Demens”. With equal levels of awesomeness to the band’s insane sound, this release presents nine tracks of experimental music combining everything from Groove Metal, Jazz, Fusion, to some Ska and other crazy elements. We are always looking for bands that push the envelope and this one takes it 100 steps further than your normal band.

With the elegant opener “Little Psycho”, the band slowly starts to peel the layers of their extremely experimental sound with jazzy pianos and cool vocal arrangements. This track gave us a Diablo Swing Orchestra vibe but with even more levels of madness and experimentation. The first mega-catchy song in this release comes under the name of “Madness In Mind”, a song that is quite unconventional, playful, and with some brutal sections.

After a long album cycle with the last Epica release, Mark Jansen returns with his Symphonic Death Metal outfit MaYaN and their sophomore release “Antagonise”. In a release that is larger than life, we find ourselves somewhat lost with how many different elements and styles are put together in this album. While not being bad, but confusing and sometimes a bit dull, this is a most have release for any fans of Jansen’s previous work after a few listens to settle things in.

The album kicks off with the Death Metal riffing intensity of “Bloodline Forfeit”, with the heavy elements getting offset by Henning Basse’s commanding vocals. The album keeps rolling filled with lush orchestrations in dramatic tracks like “Burn Your Witches”, “Redemption – The Democracy Illusions”, and “Paladins of Deceit”, all of these tracks follow the same formula with some Epica elements bleeding into some of the aspects of the music.

In a world mostly filled with harry odd looking dudes as drummers, today we have Italy’s Blood Red Water and their sexy female drummer Fiorica Gasparini. Delivering five tracks of gut-wrenching Sludge Metal on “All the Ills of Mankind”, this band rolls punishing riffs since the first minute and never let’s go.

Opening with the heavy as fuck “A Ride In The Funhouse”, we are left with very slow and devastating Sludge riffs that will appease any connoisseur of the genre. The vocals are slurry and have a certain Motörhead/Southern snarl to them, nicely complementing the music. The bass guitar is quite present on “Megalophobia” as the band switches into more punishing riffs and all out headbanging brilliance.

With Psychedelic/Retro/Progressive Rock popping out of every corner, The Vintage Caravan comes to shine with their electrifying release “Voyage”. Riding on the success of acts like Kadavar, Graveyard, Witchcraft, The Blues Pills, Nuclear Blast unleashes upon the world another release filled with fuzzy retro amps and trippy melodic passages. Hailing from Iceland, this young band has a certain edge that propels to the spotlight and you will surely get intoxicated by it.

The band catchy mixture of Progressive and Psychedelic Rock is immediately felt on the opener “Craving”. The signature vocals of Óskar Logi Ágústsson have that certain Axl Rose (in his good times) ring to them and fit the music quite perfectly. Showcasing different abilities in the crafty songs, we have magical shredding on “Let Me Be”, mellow vocal melodies on “Do You Remember”, as well as intricate bass guitar lines on “Expand Your Mind”.

Arriving from French Black Metal horde The Negation, today we have their debut full-length release titled “Paths of Obedience”. Featuring a relentless Black Metal onslaught, this album provides more evidence of the resurgent French Black Metal scene that has produced bands like Glorior Belli, Merrimack, Vorkreist and countless others. Filled with intensity and atmospheric sickness, this release is one hell of a ride.

Opening with the punishing “Red Wrath”, the band immediately jumps into war mode with bestial drumming, incisive riffing, and demoralizing vocals. Mixing high-octane drumming with relentless guitars, the band brings devastation to the table since the first minute. The release gets more and more punishing as tracks like “Erased”, “One Good”, and “Lost For Ever” steamroll through the listener.

Arriving from the South of the USA, today we have Solar Halos and their self-titled debut album to be released on UK’s Devouter Records. Featuring six fuzzy and warm Psychedelic/Stoner Rock tracks, this trio delivers a top notch release that will instantly put them on the map. Led by the hypnotic vocals of Nora Rogers, this band sounds like a more accessible Jex Thoth with some Spirit Caravan thrown into the mix.

Opening with fuzzy distorted guitars, “The Vast White Plains” fully showcases the band’s sonic power. The music tempo is quite mellow and very bluesy. In “Tunnels” we dive deeper into the rabbit hole with warm riffs and very fitting vocals. The trio has expert songwriting skills and they show through the perfectly timed tempo changes in their songs, as we can clearly appreciate on “Migration”.

Beautifully presented in a lush digipack, today we have Norway’s In_zekT and their futuristic release “ARTIFEX”. In this ten-song album, this duo delivers a punishing combination of Industrial Metal with some Avant-garde elements and dissonant Noise/Drone undertones. With a very unique and devastating sound, the band transports the listener to a decadent soundscape since the first track.

“Strain Reactor” immediately blows the listener away with punishing vocals and psychotic electronic elements. The band reminds us a bit of acts like Aborym, Control Human Delete, and Malignant Eternal. The programmed drums are top notch and on tracks like “ARTIFEX” you can draw some comparisons to the all-mighty Mysticum. Riffing-wise, “Sub-Humanist” and “Overman” deliver the goods in brutal onslaughts. The clean vocals on this last track really separates the band from the rest and puts the in the level of acts like Sybreed.

After a very promising and fresh sounding EP titled “Paradise (What About Us?)”, Within Temptation finally unleashes their latest full-length “Hydra”. In this release the band continues their push for mainstream recognition and glory with some extremely unexpected collaborations and a handful of songs that still remind us of the older roots of the band’s beginnings.

The album opens with the final version of “Let Us Burn”, a track that is still as good and efficient as on their previous EP but with nice finishing touches. The band manages to sound like their old self with heavy guitars and lush orchestrations. The first guest appearance is marked by the vocals of Howard Jones on “Dangerous”. This track is quite heavy and enjoyable since both vocalists do a great job and the music is quite well developed.

Featuring 60% of the members of Transcending Bizarre?, Hail Spirit Noir delivers their sophomore release with “Oi Magoi”. Featuring a very intriguing and elegant mixture of Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Black Metal, and some magical Avant-garde elements, this release blooms for over 45 minutes of truly unique sonic landscapes.

The release blasts opens with the psychedelically charged “Blood Guru”, a track that is quite well layered and allows all the band’s influences to immediately shine through. The elegant finish to this song oozes melodic brilliance and posture. It is quite interesting to hear elements from bands like Jess and the Ancient Ones and Jex Thoth thrown into tracks like “Demon for a Day” and “Satan is Time”, allowing Hail Spirit Noir to be one of the few bands that mixes Psychedelic Rock elements to create Avant-garde Black Metal.