Delivering their most high-octane release to date, Aenaon returns with the punishing “Extance”. Hailing from Greece, this band has managed to push the boundaries of Black Metal with their previous efforts and this one is no different. Mixing Avant-garde/Jazzy elements into a well-structured Progressive Black Metal core, this release sees the band further refining their craft into near perfection through the 11 songs presented here.

The band’s incisive riffing and commanding vocals are immediately felt with the intro “The First Art” blending into “Deathtrip Chronicle”. Excelling in creating killer guitar melodies, Aenaon has managed to further refine their sound since “Cendres et Sang”. The tempo changes and vocal arrangements are other factors that make the band’s music instantly be recognized. The Avant-garde weirdness we love form the band starts to shine with the upbeat “Grau Diva” and its intricate arrangements.

Highly experimental and unconventional outfit Manes finally returns to the scene with a compilation release that will precede a new full-length release later this year (or so). In “Teeth, Toes and Other Trinkets” the band puts together a very eclectic assortment of tracks from their “Vilosophe" and "How The World Came To An End" eras. Any fan of the band will greatly appreciate the moodiness and uniqueness of the tracks presented in this release and will surely make them more excited for the band’s upcoming release.

In case you are still expecting any Black Metal from Manes (just in case), this release is far from it and showcases the band’s later musical progression into dark jazzy/avant-garde territories. Just imagine (current) Tiamat meets Green Carnation and throw in some of mid-career Ulver into the mix and this is what you will get. For everybody else staying with the Manes program, “Blanket Of Ashes” delivers quite a powerful opener with excellent vocals and trippy percussions.

Arriving from Germany, today we have a one-man deranged project of pure musical vile. Featuring 11 tracks that range from Noise to Punk to Death Metal/Grindcore, this release is as decadent and random as they get… and we kind of like it. With only one track over 2.40 minutes, “Hatecore-Noir” is a crazy d.i.y release that is guaranteed to get a reaction (good or bad).

Featuring intros similar to bands like Macabre on some of their songs, tot aus dem Wald starts the homebrewed proceedings with “Null im schwarzen Quadrat”. While most of the music seems like pure and total chaos, there are traces of certain Metal elements in the band’s music that are undeniably solid like the riffing on “Fahrstuhl ins Fegeteuer” and “Keiner darf überleben”. One very evident influence as well is the Punk/Crust vibe oozing from tracks like “Der Tod, ein einsames Geschaft” and “Zukunft verbraucht”.

Many high-quality weird releases make it to our review ‘desk’, but none quite like Lethe and their debut release “When Dreams Become Nightmares”. As a project of Tor-Helge Skei (Manes) and Anna Murphy (Eluveitie) with the help of Eivind Fjøseide (Manes) and others, this band truly delivers a completely unique musical experience that is best described by the uniqueness (and weirdness) of their music, since it is nothing like you would expect.

Opening with the trippy “In Motion”, you are immediately set in the mindset of expecting nothing conventional and hanging on for the ride. Anna’s vocals remind us of Shellyz Raven mixed with some of the experimental stuff from The 3rd and the Mortal on their Ann-Mari Edvardsen years. The tables are quickly turned on the dark “Haunted”, featuring a certain Industrial vibe but with tons of eerie atmospheric elements and Black Metal-ish guitars.

After a half-baked debut album “Sin4tr4” in 2012, Australasia returns with the very strong “Vertebra”. Combining dreamy soundscapes with ethereal guitars and solid drumming, this one-man outfit delivers 35 minutes of majestic music that fully explore Australasia’s potential in a more cohesive way.

Opening with the Post-Rock-ish “Aorta”, the band shows more solid songwriting skills and delivers very improved songs (when comparing to their debut release). The guitars are perfectly layered and with certain Shoegaze elements we are left with ton of highlights during the release. The experimentation with certain synth elements like the opening of “Vostok”, really give the music new avenues to explore and be unique, similar to bands like Closed Room. We particularly love the heavy Doom-influenced riffs on this track.

Fully coming out of their cocoon, today we have Alcest and “Shelter”. In this album we have Alcest dropping their last remaining Metal influences and swiftly delivering a Shoegaze/Post-Rock charged Dream pop release that will haunt you from beginning to end. Listing Birgir Jón Birgisson as a producer/mixer, from Sigur Rós fame, the band takes their dreamy sound to a whole new level of awesomeness.

With the band shedding their Black Metal feathers over the years, “Shelter” marks their biggest jump by not having any hard vocals or extremely heavy guitar parts. However, the atmospheric brilliance of the band is untouched and further explored within the eight tracks presented in this release. The journey begins with the atmospheric intro “Wings”, featuring some dreamy vocals that quickly build up the listener’s expectations. As this song blends into “Opale”, Niege leads the way with some awesomely crafted guitars and his signature clean vocals.

Dancing around the fine line between Alternative Rock / Post-Hardcore and the dreaded Metalcore, The Fall From Grace manages to deliver a multi-textured and well-crafted release with “The Colours of Change”. Hailing from Denmark, this three-piece crushes the competition with catchy and powerful tunes that will be stuck in your head for days to come.

The album really opens with the second track titled “Static Conclusion”. Immediately you get that guitar tunning that tons of Post-Hardcore and some Metalcore bands use, but the band stays away from the clichés and carves their own path with incisive riffs and very diverse vocals. The vocals are quite solid, providing a mix of screams and clean leads that are far from your average (and annoying) Metalcore blabber.

With an all-star line-up of musicians, led by Konstanz (The Vision Bleak), today we have Ewigheim and their fourth full-length “Nachruf”. Featuring 11 tracks of very diverse music, this band further expands their sound into very interesting and diverse territories like Dark and Doom Metal. With the help of Markus Stock (Empyrium), Yanit (Eisregen), and West, this band delivers one of the most unique and rich musical experiences of 2013.

Opening with the (old) Empyrium-esque “Zwischen Menschen”, the band immediately makes a powerful impression with powerful guitars, melancholic vocals, and killer atmospheric keyboards. Things get a bit funkier with the Gothic “Die Augen Zu” that sounds a lot more catchy and inventive with cool electronic elements. The rollercoaster continues returning to darker and mellower territories with the solemn “Am Meer”, followed by the Lacrimosa-meets-Eisregen “Heimweh” and the more traditional Gothic “Ein Nachruf”.

Hailing from France, today we have a very catchy Alternative Rock band under the very odd name Duck Explosion. On their debut EP titled “Zebra Pilot”, the band presents us four tracks of very carefully crafted and catchy Rock that will get you hyped immediately thanks to the band’s charismatic vocals and engaging song-writing.

While not our typical cup of tea, the band really had us going since the opening track: “No Way Out”. Featuring intricate guitars and very accessible vocals, the band focuses more on creating very direct 70’s inspired rock than any other gimmicks. The level of catchiness is elevated on the pulsating “In The Inside”, a song that has a very dominant bass guitar line and excellent percussions.

Eisregen has always been one of our ‘guilty’ pleasures band since their amazing (and controversial) “Krebskolonie” album. With “Todestage” the band delivers almost every single element that we loved from that album, but with a cleaner production and a great deal of more maturity in their sound. Presenting 12 tracks of their deranged brand of Death Metal, this release has everything a fan of the band could expect and more.

Opening with the creepy “Waldgott”, the band immediately sets the mood for a sick release with tense atmospheric elements and the band’s sickening brand of Metal. The album continues in a ‘festive’ way with melodic and catchy tracks like “Todestag”, “DSDSL”, and “Hollenfahrt”. However, do not think that the band is only up to theatrics and antics, there are fine pieces of harsh and pummeling Metal filled with punishing riffs and powerful drumming.