The highly anticipated debut of Finish Post-Punk/Rock outfit Beastmilk is finally here. On “Climax” the band will surely elevate their cult status to a whole new level with 10 sultry tracks that put together influences from Killing Joke, Joy Division, Misfits and even some hints of Hexvessel and similar outfits. Delivering one excellent track after the other one, the band really captures a timeless vibe and makes it their own in this vibrant release.

Since the album’s opener “Death Reflects Us”, the band produces that excellent Punk-ish vibe thanks to the drums/bass guitar. The vocals of Kvohst are just brilliant and fit the vibe of the music in a very effective way; they sometimes remind us of the older Misfits stuff mixed with some Peter Murphy sultriness. With super catchy tracks like “The Wind Blows Through Their Skulls”, “Genocidal Crush”, and “You Are Now Under Our Control”, the band fully establishes their uniqueness and brilliant songwriting skills.

With Alrealon releases being so few in between all the stuff we get, we were quite excited to receive [ówt krì]’s “The New Seed”. As a one member outfit, this ‘band’ delivers chilling Ambient music with a very unique sense of space and time. If you like trippy music that slowly unravels before your ears in a very passive and expansive manner, this is one of those releases that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

The first two tracks “Deep South” and “The New Seed” nicely set the stage in a very ethereal and direct way. Both songs remind us of the music they play on documentaries of stargazing and the deep ends of the universe. The piano at the end of the second song is quite magical and one of the highlight of this release. In a darker mood, “On Hostile Ground” and “Abandoned Path” deliver a harsher experience. The vocals are quite penetrating and the guitars are very dissonant, creating a very unique sense of urgency.

With a French scene recently growing in numbers and strength, Doyle Airence is another excellent band that is finally getting some attention in the international scene. “Monolith” marks the band’s sophomore release and mixes elements of Post-Hardcore with Ambient. Rock, and Metal. The band’s very unique sound will surely grab you attention and divide opinions since they are far from your typical run-of-the-mill ‘up and coming’ band.

Kicking off with a mood setting atmospheric track, “03.11.11”, it is not until “Painting with Lights” were we first hear the band’s punishing guitars. In this track we have a very typical Pos-Hardcore approach to thins, with devastating screamed vocals and pummeling drums. It is not until “Friendly Fire” that we get some of the band’s more experimental side with a modern sounding Metalcore-ish vibe and some very solid Post-Rock/Post-Metal passages thrown in between. While we are not huge fans of the Metalcore-ish clean vocals, they still fit the melodic aspect of the song very well.

Originally started as a Death/Doom outfit, Hanging Garden has been slowly drifting apart from this category into more Melodic Death/Doom territories like their fellow countrymen Swallow the Sun and Insomnium. After the release of “At Every Door” earlier this year, the band gives us a little taste of what is to come in the future with their EP “I Was a Soldier”. Featuring three tracks (with the digital bonus song), this release continues were their previous full-length left off with a good dose of crushing melancholic music.

Starting on a high note, “Winter to Summer Adverse” delivers punishing riffs, demoralizing vocals and a very cool atmospheric keyboard highlights. While this track sounds a lot like Swallow the Sun, the band does a great job in keeping their style evolving and creating a bleak atmosphere. The clean vocals certainly add an extra layer of awesomeness to this track. The EP’s title track continues the flow with more atmospheric passages and engaging vocals.

Being huge fans of the band’s earlier material from their “Enter” and “The Dance” days, we constantly grew apart from their Pop-ish music over the last few years. While they have some great songs here and there, most of their ‘mainstream’ recent music has not impressed us much. Well, with the EP “Paradise (What About Us?)” we are quite surprised that the band returns to some of their earlier foundations (“Mother Earth”) and delivers quite an excellent short release.

The immediate standout is the EP’s title-track, featuring an amazing duet with none other than Tarja Turunen. In this high-intensity tune the band busts out the heavy distorted guitars and excellent atmospheric arrangements. Both Sharon and Tarja do an excellent job in this track making it quite dramatic and intense. The music is nowhere near as Pop-ish as bands like Amaranthe, making us quite enjoy this song. With the remaining tracks being demo versions, we still stand to see how much they change for the actual album, but for now we will focus on how good they are.

Arriving from Italy, today we have one-man project Nerij and his full-length release “Lophophora Williamsii And Monochromatic Perceptions”. In the vein of Dark Ambient greats Raison d'être, Frozen Ocean, etc., this band delivers 3 tracks that clocking in around 60 minutes of chilling cavernous passages of darkness and madness. If you think that Event Horizon needs a sequel, I believe we have found the soundtrack for it.

This self-released album starts with the ‘short’ (8-minutes long) “Mental Odyssey I: The Shaman Meets The Psychonaut”. This track provides a nice introduction to the darkest parts of Nerij’s inner workings and gives us an early taste of what is to come. With the first 20+ minute behemoth track being “Mental Odyssey II: Mescaline And The Antithesis Of Ethereal Visions”, we have a front row seat into a trippy sidereal journey. Feeling like an endless voyage through space in a very creepy vessel, this track provides excellent build-up fully immersing the listener.

Canadian Extreme Death Metal masters return after three years with the devastating “Waiting for the End to Come”. Being one of the most representative Metal bands in Canada, Kataklysm returns in full force with one of their most brutal releases in over a decade. Filled with 45 minutes of neck-snapping music, this release will surely bring back memories of the band’s heavier and more extreme beginnings, but with their more modern and more polished elements from their latest releases.

The album starts on a high note with the pummeling “Fire”. In this song we get a melodic intro that slowly progresses into full-on destructive mode with incisive riffs and punishing drums courtesy of newcomer Olivier Beaudoin. The Kataklysm signature sound is intact with hyper-fast sections and the killer vocals of Maurizio Iacono. Blending proficient songwriting with technical abilities, the band cruises through intense tunes like “If I Was God – I’d Burn It All”, “Like Animals”, and the brilliant “Kill the Elite”.