Album Reviews

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    By The Patient – Premonitions (2012)

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    Delivering their sophomore release through Deathbound Records, today we have Denmark’s By The Patient and their brutal album “Premonitions”. With a very unique mixture of traditional European Death Metal and some melodic elements, this band does a great job in keeping things interesting and the listener engaged until the last second of this release. Through nine songs we have a journey of incisive guitar work, blasting drumming and very aggressive vocals, exactly what the doctor ordered for a Tuesday night of drinking.

    Opening with the crushing “A Distorted Mirror Image”, the band’s traditional DM chops jump off immediately, but they gracefully progress to more melodic and catchy riffs. Very interesting in our opinion since they seem to switch the focus of the music and manage to create an engaging song structure, the same can be said for “Hours of Mist”. The almost Black Metal-esque riffs of “Veil of Depression” really give the track an even more aggressive edge, but it is ultimately the massive drumming that really stands out as the most aggressive element of the band. The particularly like the melodic passages of this very unique song.

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    Ichabod – Dreamscapes From Dead Space (2012)

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    After really hating on this band for their totally craptastic old singer in their last release “2012”, a few months back we got a message from the band saying they changed singers. Fast-forward a few months and now we have the band’s latest release “Dreamscapes From Dead Space”, showcasing their excellent mixture of Stoner Rock with Southern influences and now with an extremely capable singer in John Fadden.

    Featuring eight tracks of very catchy and well-crafted music, “Dreamscapes From Dead Space” is by far our favorite Stoner/Southern Rock/Metal release of 2012. With a vibe similar to Chrome Division, The New Black, Down, and such bands, Ichabod exploits their excellent guitar riffing skills and creates powerful songs like “Huckleberry”, the album’s excellent opener. The band’s vibrant music is greatly appreciated through massive riffage, in tracks like “Looking Glass” and the very aggressive “Hollow God”.

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    Bradley Tatum – Punk Eternal (2012)

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    Returning after his very solid and enjoyable 2011 release “It's A Beautiful World”, today we have Bradley Tatum and his uncompromising old-school Punk Rock. Filled with catchy melodies and interesting combination of elements, “Punk Eternal” delivers thirteen tracks of back-to-the-basics music that is both enjoyable and very well crafted.

    With a very traditional musical approach, Bradley Tatum immediately grabs your attention with the opener “The Realm of Silver” and its super catchy riffing and warm vocals. Song after song, this release is filled with little details that break the monotony and make each song memorable, for example the subtle keyboards of “Life Returns” or the hypnotic female vocals in “Terminal Love”.

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    Burial Ritual – Exterminating The Masses (2012)

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    Delivering nine pummeling tracks of meaty Death Metal, today we have Burial Ritual and their second full-length release “Exterminating the Masses”. Taking a more Swedish approach to their Death Metal, this band has been around since 2005 and seems to be ready for a shot at the top with this solid release. Banking on cutthroat riffing and intense song structures, this American band manages to sound different than your average run of the mill Florida Death Metal bands from this country.

    Things start off pretty standard with the hard-hitting tracks: “Accosting The Mindless”, and “Radioactive Rain”, all of them good examples of powerful death Metal tracks with a raw feeling to them. Is not until the album titled track that the band delivers an excellent and funky melodic opening section that really shakes things up, this song also features odd tempo changes that seem to work very well for such a chaotic, yet awesome song.

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    Gold – Interbellum (2012)

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    After striking gold with The Devil’s Blood and their intoxicating sound, Ván Records brings to us Gold, a female-led Hard Rock band from the Netherlands. With a style similar to label mates Vanderbuyst but a little bit darker, this band delivers nine songs of catchy and well-constructed Rock songs that have a warm and fuzzy feeling that is rare these days. Thanks to the fresh and unique voice of Milena Eva, this band has a good fighting chance against a very tough competition in such a crowded genre.

    Since the opener “One of Us”, we can hear the band’s excellent abilities to craft catchy hard-rocking music, but it is Milena who steals the show with her very unique voice. With the guitar work being pretty solid, the catchy chorus sections of tracks like “Antebellum” and “Love, The Magician”, are what really hooks the listener into liking the band. “Gone Under”, shows a more playful side of the band that nicely combines the heavy guitar work with a more pop-ish vocal structure that works wonders and nicely gives the band a refreshing approach to the genre.

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    Amenra – Mass V (2012)

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    Four years have passed since the band’s last opus title “Mass III”, this enigmatic band from Belgium is finally back after a series of split releases and an EP with “Mass V”. In this crushing release the band brings their in-your-face Doom/Sludge to Neurot Recordings and delivers a release that will put them in direct comparisons to early Neurosis and Year of No Light.

    The first blow is the delivered by the monolithic “Boden” and it’s very natural and unnerving progression. When the powerful riffs finally make their appearance, the listener is well into an hypnotic trance thanks to the tracks slow progression. The screams are pretty typical of a Sludge release, but it’s the drifting guitar work that really hooks the listener into this song.

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    Vortech – Devoid of Life (2012)

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    Hailing from Finland, today we have Vortech and their super catchy Industrial Death Metal release titled “Devoid of Life”. Similar to bands like Shade Empire, the band delivers high-octane songs that feature trippy atmospheric elements that will have the listener begging for more. Perfectly blending aggressive riffs and powerful vocals with a futuristic vibe, this band is catchy and brutal as they come.

    Opening with the solid “The Black Rite”, we have a good dosage of heavy riffs and screams nicely offset by an epic futuristic ambiance. The drumming is pretty intense, a particular strong point of the band since similar acts usually use shitty programmed drums. The synths/programming of “Neurovirus” make this track quite catchy and very well crafted, keeping the intense flow of this release to the limit.

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    Saturnus – Saturn In Ascension (2012)

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    Finally!! after six years since their last release, Saturnus returns with their latest masterpiece of Melancholic Death/Doom Metal titled “Saturn In Ascension”. Featuring eight tracks, this release will only help the band elevate their legendary status as the best band of their genre. With a mixture of the elements that have made this band’s musical trajectory impeccable, the songs in this release deliver high doses of raw emotions transmitted by truly melancholic music.

    Opening with the crushing “Litany of Rain”, the band reminded us of their “Paradise Belongs To You” era with a straightforward growl fest filled with emotional riffing. The characteristic vocals of Thomas Akim Grønbæk Jensen really set the band apart from the rest and his mixture of growls and clean sections work wonders in this nearly 10-minute epic.

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    Narrow House – A Key to Panngrieb (2012)

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    Being huge fans of Doom Metal, we sometimes dabble in the realms of Funeral Doom Metal, its ugly and boring cousin. While we are not huge fans of the genre due to its mind-numbing repetition and ridiculously slow execution, some bands like Shape of Despair and Thergothon are still ok in our book. Hence today we have Narrow House and their less boring approach to the genre with “A Key to Panngrieb”. By introducing lush atmospheric elements that range from keyboards to cellos, this band really grabs ahold of the listener and keeps it engaged for the duration of the huge songs in this album.

    Opening with the crushing “Poslednee Pristanishe”, things start very well with the perfect mixture of slow and painful riffs, commanding growls, and brilliant atmosphere. The simplicity of the music is really well shrouded behind a well-crafted atmosphere thanks to the keyboards. The band does a great job in navigating through such a long song with well-placed tempo changes. The same can be said about the considerably shorter track “Psevdoriatunok”, but with a nice combination of growls and ethereal clean vocals, very reminiscent of Draconian and such bands.

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    Tiamat – The Scarred People (2012)

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    Twenty years have passed since the band’s iconic release “Clouds” first saw the light of day and very little of that band remains today. With “The Scarred People”, Tiamat continues their never ending transformation delivering eleven very catchy tunes that still manage to turn people’s heads. Which each song the band delivers enigmatic catchy melodies that will surely draw the attention of most Gothic Rock/Metal fans.

    Opening with a pair of catchy tunes like “The Scarred People” and “Winter Dawn”, the band immediately establishes their very atmospheric approach to this release. Johan Edlund’s vocals are as good as always, and his contributions in the keyboards really make up for 70% of the band’s unique and enigmatic sound. Things really start getting emotional in the brilliant “Radiant Star”, one of our favorite tracks of this release. In this song the tempo is very mellow and the mood is set very melancholic to fully create one of the best Gothic ballads we have heard in quite a while.

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