Century Media

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    ICS Vortex – Storm Seeker (2011)

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    After the ‘departure’ from Dimmu Borgir, acclaimed singer ICS Vortex decided to not go down easily and has finally delivered a very solid ‘solo’ release that capitalizes on his biggest asset: his vocals. However, the music is also top notch since it mixes a wide variety of styles that might catch some people off guard, but with high promise and top notch quality.

    Playing all instruments in the album except the drums (courtesy of none other than Asgeir Mickelson), this release is packed with soaring vocals and epic melodic sections. Capturing some of the elements of Borknagar and adding some more psychedelic and progressive brushes, “Storm Seeker” is one of the most diverse albums of 2011.

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    Insomnium – One for Sorrow (2011)

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    As one of the most expected releases of 2011, today we have Insomnium’s latest release: “One for Sorrow”, a truly sublime piece of work that will be nearly impossible to improve upon. Featuring a mixture of majestic melodic passages, depressive emotions, skillful instrumentation, and powerful vocals, “One for Sorrow” is definitely the finest Insomnium release to date and a near perfect release in terms of Melodic Death Metal.

    Opening with the hypnotic momentum builder “Inertia”, the band quickly delivers their signature weeping guitars followed by Niilo Sevänen’s perfect growls. With such a momentum builder, the album starts on a very high note. “Through the Shadows” delivers a more unified riffing structure of pure Insomnium’s trademark sound; this creates the very melodic and dense atmosphere that we all love about the band. Here we are treated to some clean vocals that add an even more dramatic edge to this beautiful song.

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    Finntroll – Nifelvind (2010)

    After releasing “Ur Jordens Djup” in 2007, Finntroll reached ‘world fame’ and became one of the most recognized bands in the Folk Metal genre. The band been touring both Europe and the USA since that album non-stop and finally we get a new release this 2010.

    “Nifelvind” shows why this horde of crazy Finish people incites the masses to consume beer and party with their music. The album features eleven tracks of very solid Folk Metal that will surely please every single fan of the band since it caries with the band’s traditional sound.

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    Dark Tranquillity – We Are The Void (2010)

    Dark Tranquillity in it’s almost 20 years lifespan has managed to create some of the most iconic Melodic Death Metal albums of all times. The band has also paved the way to the hundreds of clones that try to play Melodic DM with the famed Gothenburg sound but fail miserably at. With “We Are The Void” they present us their latest offering in their career and it’s a solid but somewhat empty album.

    The band has always been pushing the boundaries of the genre in every release they have produced. Since the early days they have been bending musical boundaries, and in the last decade they have been probably the only true Gothenburg Melodic DM band left.

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    Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR (2010)

    Orphaned Land has the very daunting task of creating an even better release than “Mabool”, and they have somewhat succeeded in this almost impossible task. The band has refined their music greatly, and while this release is very good, they are miles away from the complexity and intricacy that “Mabool” offered us.

    “The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR” is a great release and it brings the Middle Eastern Folk influences that the band has showed in the past to be the main focus of this release. I love when bands use different elements in their music as a complement, not as a main gimmick in order to create shock value.

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    Turisas - A Finnish Summer With Turisas (2008)

    This DVD does a great job capturing the intensity of this band while performing live. Taking songs from several different perfomances, this DVD will make you want to see this band live. The costumes and stage makeup is great and provides an authentic feeling to this bands music. Century Media also included english subtitles during the performances so we can understand what they are saying (this is one thing that is neglected in many live DVD's that I've seen over the years).
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    Lacuna Coil – Spellbound (2009)

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    This single was released as a digital download from iTunes, and after their previously disappointing, but highly successful (commercially) “Karmacode” album, I was hesitant about giving this a spin. I was very supprised to listen that this song is better than anything on “Karmacode” by far.

    The music has the unique sound that Lacuna Coil achieves with help of Cristina’s vocals, and while it sounds more gothic rock oriented, it’s pretty good. The chorus is very catchy and the drumming in excellent, the guitars are a bit dull (compared to stuff from “In a Reverie” or even “Comalies”).

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    Luna Mortis - The Absence (2009)

    Luna Mortis is an American band formed in 2002 under the name of The Ottoman Empire, which they changed in 2008. They are traditionally labeled as progressive metal, but I think gothic/progressive metal is a better description of their music.

    This bands musical style is very interesting since they sometimes sound like Arch Enemy with clean female vocals, and the only weak point in my opinion is the  harsh vocals that sound a bit amateurish. Other than that this is a very good release both musically and production wise.

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