Napalm Records

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    Van Canto – Tribe Of Force (2010)

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    Out of the hundreds of albums we get to listen to every month, we only get 2-3 that are just completely different. Val Canto and their A Capella ‘Metal’ get’s the nood this month. “Tribe Of Force” features 13 tracks with no ‘Metal’ instruments other than drums.

    But what makes the band’s music is the vocalists emulating the rhythm guitar and the keyboard parts to perfection. While this might sound weird, and it does take a bit to get used to, the band’s actual sound is awesome and very interesting compared to anything else you will listen (in Metal).

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    Mortemia – Misere Mortem (2010)

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    Do you remember what was the feeling when you first played “Beyond The Veil” from Tristania?, well this will be almost the same feeling you get when playing “Misere Mortem”. From the mastermind behind both of those albums Mr. Morten Veland we get his self-indulgently named band Mortemia.

    Controlling all aspects behind the album, Morten has managed to release another masterpiece in terms of Gothic Metal. He recorded every single instrument, mixed and produced the album in his own studio, the only thing he could not do is sing the choir parts featured on this album.

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    The Kandidate – Until We Are Outnumbered (2010)

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    Coming form Denmark, we have yet another Trash/Death Metal band, and while they are not bad musicians, the album is super dull and there is nothing to be found in “Until We Are Outnumbered”.

    I always strive to be fair when reviewing music, but sometimes band’s and albums make it too hard on me. The Kandidate plays some very simple Trash/Death Metal that seems like a collection of riffs from 100’s of other albums mashed together in an uninspired manner.

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    Troll – Neo-Satanic Supremacy (2010)

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    After almost 10 years of creeping in the dark woods of Norway, Troll is back with a new symphonic Black Metal opus that restores the momentum the band had after the release of “Universal” back in 2001.

    Featuring one remaining member of the original band, Nagash (a.k.a Stian Arnesen) the band is back with a full lineup and the purpose of kicking some major ass. “Neo-Satanic Supremacy” is less Industrial Metal than “Universal” but it sill sounds better than anything that the band released before.

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    Siegfried – Nibelung (2009)

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    After their band’s last effort “Eisenwinter”, back in 2003, I was very skeptical about giving this album a few spins since that album was pretty dull and a total waste of anybody’s time. However, Siegfried have managed to give me the surprise of 2009, what I was expecting to be another uninspired release, has reached a top 10 spot in my favorite albums Gothic/Epic Metal albums from 2009.

    “Nibelung” features very intricate and symphonic compositions that have a very Epic feeling thanks to the wide variety of vocal styles. If I didn’t know that Sanda Schleret is on the female vocals, I would have never guessed it since her vocal range is put to the test with this release and she stands out magically.

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    Elis – Catharsis (2009)

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    Three years have passed since their last full length album “Griefshire” and the unexpected passing of Sabine Dünser, she was featured in that album and it took the band some time to decide if they wanted to continue or not. The band found Sandra Schleret (ex-Dreams Of Sanity) as the new vocalist and decided to continue, touring in 2007 and recording an EP on the same year.

    After not hearing much from Elis in 2008, they are back in full swing at the end of 2009 with their fourth album “Catharsis” featuring 11 tracks of their traditional sounding Gothic Metal. The band retains their musical identity intact, and with Sandra’s vocals they sound as good as ever.

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    The 11th Hour – Burden Of Grief (2009)

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    The 11th Hour is a new project formed by Ed Warby from Gorefest and Ayreon fame, in this recording he played ALL instruments and even clean vocals, and ‘growls’ where provided by none other than Rogga Johanson. So all of this looks great on paper and it sounds pretty good except for one little detail: The god awful clean vocals, they make my want to rip my hairs out.

    Musically the band is top notch since they manage to mix Death/Doom Metal with more traditional Doom metal to perfection, and it would have worked perfectly if they had gotten a better clean singer. Ed Warby is a great musician but in my opinion he’s better off without singing. The clean vocals are not out of tune, or anything terrible, it’s just the sound they have I find it extremely annoying for this music and they ruin the ‘other half’ of the (guttural) vocals provided by Rogga.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Arkona - Goi, Rode, Goi! (2009)

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    Hailing from the cold lands of Russia, Arkona presents us their fifth full length album. This album is probably one of the longest Paga/Folk Metal albums that I’ve heard in my life clocking nearly 80 minutes of very attractive music.

    The band has been refining their Pagan/Folk style since they formed in 2002 and with “Goi, Rode, Goi!” they hava produced their best album to date, but it’s too long. I’m all about getting more for my money, but sometimes is better just to split stuff into an EP and a full length album.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Merrimack – Grey Rigorism (2009)

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    Merrimack is a French Black Metal band that while not extremely ‘known in the scene’, they manage to create a good album with “Grey Rigorism”. After 3 years of releasing their best album to date “Of Entropy And Life Denial” the band is here trying to recapture their momentum, but they just achieve other album just like “Of Entropy And Life Denial” and nothing more.

    The quality of “Grey Rigorism” is unquestionable and the band is very good at writing songs and creating a very malevolent atmosphere. If this is the first album you have heard of the band it will surely blow you away. The band creates a very balanced mix of BM that includes fast tremolo picked parts and some less intense more rhythmic parts, like many BM bands are doing these days, particularly Marduk.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Syrach – A Dark Burial (2009)

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    Hailing from Norway this band plays some kind of mix of Doom Metal and Death Metal. The overall sound of the band is very old school as you cannot find any elements of modern metal in their music, and while sometimes this is a good thing it does not work too well for Syrach.

    “A Dark Burial” presents us with 6 tracks of ‘slow’ death metal that will bore you until the albums best song “A Mourner’s Kiss”. I was lost and found my self checking how long did the song had left for the first three tracks, then got to the best song, and again into the same droning trance that was about to put me to sleep.

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