Album Reviews

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    Echoes of Yul – Cold Ground (2012)

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    Falling into the dreaded ‘what the fuck is this’ category, today we have Poland’s Echoes of Yul and their sophomore release “Cold Ground”. In this release we have a duo creating ‘very disturbing’ and dissonant music, but not in the right direction since this release point-blank: SUCKS. While there are tons of people wishing to get distribution of their music, it baffles us when bands like this one have a reputable label such as Avantgarde Music.

    Starting with the dull atmospheric “Octagon”, this release has pretty much nothing really happening until you hit “Libra”, the ninth track out of thirteen. The band delivers short ramblings of incoherent sounds and some very sparse riffs with OK drumming (considering …. well, any other band). Making noise and stringing a few riffs together and having a creepy atmosphere does not really constitute making music in our book, but seems like this band has managed to make this even more annoying, kind of like having a monkey punching your balls every 10 seconds.

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    Wind Rose – Shadows Over Lothadruin (2012)

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    If you first read that this was produced by Cristiano Bertocchi (Labyrinth) and mastered by Goran Finnberg (Opeth) this Italian band, Wind Rose, will immediately have your attention and your criticism level would go up a few degrees. Luckily for everybody, the band delivers very well crafted melodies that dance around the area of bands like Blind Guardian, Rhapsody, etc, and their mixtures of fantasy/medieval elements with Power/Progressive Metal. With fifteen songs in “Shadows Over Lothadruin” this new band showcases their musical abilities with a very nicely flowing and epic feeling release.

    First thing that annoyed us a bit is that all SEVEN of the instrumental tracks are standalone songs rather than being incorporated into the previous or following track, we don’t really need a count of 15 songs when you really have eight. Peskiness aside, this does not really affect the release in any sense but it is a picky thing from our side (and some of our readers we have heard). “The Endless Prophecy” marks the album’s first real track and has a very playful feeling to it, while keeping all the requirements of an excellent Progressive/Power Metal song: killer vocal arrangements, solid drumming and crazy guitar work. “Siderion” follows in the same vibe, but the song does have a familiar ‘medieval’ feeling to it that feels like it was taken from somewhere else.

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    Vision Divine – Destination Set To Nowhere (2012)

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    Today we have Fabio Leone’s ‘side-band’ called Vision Divine and their killer seventh full-length released titled “Destination Set To Nowhere”. Already having released one of the most impressive albums with Rhapsody of Fire, Fabio delivers another excellent vocal performance in a thrilling Power/Progressive Metal release that is both extremely catchy and technically proficient. If you are a fan of Power/Progressive Metal, you don’t want to miss this majestic release.

    Opening with the ethereal mood setter “S'io Fosse Foco” the band leave a certain feeling lingering in the air that what’s next to come will be: EPIC. The real opener “Dream Maker” kicks things off with excellent vocal sections and equally exciting melodic parts. The keyboards nicely set the atmosphere and the perfectly crafted piano/solo sections are pure magic, but the true winner here is the mega-catchy chorus section.

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    Ufomammut – ORO: Opus After (2012)

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    Cranking out their second release of 2012 through Neurot Recordings, Italy’s incomparable Ufomammut delivers another devastating five tracks of pure Psychedelic Doom destruction unlike any other band can produce. The band continues on their ORO trilogy with this second album titled “Opus After”, and from the looks of it, it will be another killer concept trilogy indeed. We quite enjoyed their first ORO release titled “Opus Primum” and this one just keeps getting better.

    Opening with the very funky “Oroborus”, the band nicely sets a 60’s/70’s mood with psychedelic guitars before switching into more distorted Doom riffs. The track nicely progresses and works as a perfect lead-up to “Luxon”, the album’s first undisputed single. In this track we are treated to a more Ufomammut signature Doom with pounding riffs and disgruntled vocals. The weird atmospheric hints are dead on in creating an odd ambiance that nicely fits the band’s very dark and crushing sound. This track also reminded us of Year of No Light and their excellent “Ausserwelt”.

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    Taurus – Life (2012)

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    Running the birthday of one of our staff members, the Psychedelic Doom duo of Taurus has chosen July 5th to release their very weird and not quite cohesive debut release. “Life” presents us with two tracks that spawn 35 minutes into a downward spiral trip into total chaotic weirdness. Just picture two people getting high out of their mind and banging at some instruments trying to play Doom Metal, once you have that idea in your head, make it a bit worse and you have “Life”.

    We are huge fans of experimental music and there are quite a few bands that are pushing the boundaries of Doom Metal (one of our favorite styles of Metal), but Taurus seems to set that back like 10 years with their childish and amateurish release. We are quite frankly shocked that they managed to tour with Agalloch, maybe they have some super awesome live show, because musically we can’t really hear why.

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    Septic Christ – Infected Existence (2009)

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    Today we have Septic Christ and their killer debut full-length release titled “Infected Existence”. Delivering an eight track dose of Bay Area sounding Thrash Metal, this Germany band manages to capture the essence of real old-school Thrash and brings it into a more modern and clean sounding stage. “Infected Existence” is one of those releases that feature brilliant riffing from beginning to end and every track should be heard at least one million times to be fully digested and enjoyed.

    The album title track delivers the first dosage of killer riffs, reminding us a bit of old Metalica in the pre-“Black Album” era. For a two and a half minute long track, this is one hell of an opener. The tempo changing “W.D.W.F” mixes interesting ‘slow’ sections with the typical Thrash speed ups. The vocals of Bobby Shortleg are pretty solid, but the solos and riffs of JxNothing take the cake in this release. The bass guitar abuse on “Walk” make this sound very devastating and feature an excellent opening section before all hell breaks loose.

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    Ensiferum – Unsung Heroes (2012)

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    The Finish masters of Folk Metal return with another hard-hitting dosage of brilliant music that while to as good as “From Afar” it is still pretty damn entertaining. Pummeling through ten tracks, “Unsung Heroes” has very similar vibe to the band’s earlier releases: “Ensiferum” and “Iron”, but with a much more capable vocalist in Petri Lindroos. The thing we love about Ensiferum is that the band does not dwell on trying to fit millions of instruments into 4 minute tracks, but they rather focus on crafting epic melodies with the basic guitar, bass guitar, and drums combination.

    Creating the perfect epic ambiance, “Symbols” opens the release in a manner that we imagine some epic medieval stuff happening like on Game of Thrones. ”In My Sword I Trust” is your quintessential ‘battle song’ with epic arrangements, powerful guitars, and very commanding vocals. Keeping up with excellent melodic guitars and very present Folk-elements, “Unsung Heroes” keeps the mood and morale quite high. This is why we prefer Ensiferum to bands like Eluivetie and Turisas, the band knows exactly how to keep the momentum going, deliver epic songs, and fuse Folk elements without overpowering the guitars and the general direction of the music.

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    Assembly of Light – Assembly of Light (2012)

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    Better known for collaborating on The Body’s “All The Waters Of The Earth Turn To Blood”, the 20+ piece choral ensemble named Assembly of Light is releasing their debut full-length release this August through At a Loss Recordings. For fans of eerie and ethereal music this debut release is filled with very dreamy moments that can only be delivered by a full-scale choir. However, if you are looking for any Metal or something unique as what The Body produces in their releases, this release is not really up your alley.

    Presenting six tracks, this self-titled release showcases the singing abilities of the choir and nicely uses all its vocal power to create truly memorable moments… for the right listener. Some of the musical arrangements like the opening of “Transition” are more up the alley of experimental Metal but they often seem to dilute very fast and you are just left with angelic voices. While this is not a bad thing if that’s your cup of tea, but expecting something completely different we are a bit disappointed.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Upon Wings – The Dream (2012) Single

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    In the age where marketing is everything for young and upcoming bands, it is quite a joy to be reached by one of those ‘upcoming projects’ and have the chance of reviewing ‘their’ first single titled “The Dream”. Upon Wings is a female-fronted, one person band (for what we can find), that mixes very beautiful operatic style vocals (courtesy of mezzo-soprano Anne Erickson) with a hypnotic atmospheric vibe.

    The band’s debut single “The Dream” is a 3 minute long track that also has a very interesting video to accompany it. We can’t really hear any guitars, drums or any Metal or Rock elements, but we do get some haunting vocal arrangements and a very ethereal atmosphere. The vocal layering is quite interesting and we can’t wait to hear what else this band can come up with in the future. This first single track shows promise and only time will tell if Upon Wings can deliver in terms of a full-length release, until then go and checkout their video here

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Cloudscape – New Era (2012)

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    Returning with a revamped line-up today we have Sweden’s Cloudscape and their fourth full-length release “New Era”. Filled with excellent guitar work and very catchy songs, this release delivers 60+ minutes of solid Progressive Power Metal that not go unnoticed by fans of the genre. The new line-up with Håkan Nyander, Fredrik Joakimsson, and Stefan Rosqvist breathes new life to band allowing core members Patrik Svärd and Michael Andersson to create a very refreshing and exciting release.

    The powerful riffing on “Silver Ending” makes this track the perfect opener for a release that combines solid riffing with traditional Progressive keyboards in a very melodic fashion. Andersson’s vocals are as powerful as ever and sound a bit like Christian Älvestam, from Scar Symmetry fame. Constantly recurring to majestic solos laid on top fine-ass drumming, “Share Your Energy”, “Pull The Brake”, and “Kingdom of Sand” make for excellent momentum building tracks that flow perfectly in the overall direction of the album.

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