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    Seed of Sadness – Seed of Sadness (2012)

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    Arriving all the way from Greece, today we have Seed of Sadness and their excellent self-released debut EP. In this self-titled release, the band delivers five tracks of super catchy female-fronted Power/Gothic Metal. With a heavy emphasis on catchy keyboards and the commanding vocals of Stellaria, this band has a very enjoyable sound that most fans of the genre will immediately fall in love with.

    With the help of Bob Katsionis (Firewind) on keyboards, this band does a great job in creating lush atmospheres to lay their solid guitar work and epic vocals. Using strong and determined female vocals, Seed of Sadness has a really strong front-woman that delivers powerful performances in each track. Since the opener “Remnant of a Dying Smile”, the band blows things wide open with a highly symphonic and very energetic track that will instantly make you a fan of this band.

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    Killjoy Corporation – Horsefly (2012)

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    Hailing from Finland, today we have Killjoy Corporation and their latest EP titled “Horsefly”. With a cover that made us think this was a Punk release, the band has a very playful angle about it and some of the other band’s ‘serious elements. One thing for sure, they mean business when it comes to their crushing and very well crafted music. Mixing Melodic Death Metal with some Groove elements, the band sounds very fresh and engaging.

    Blasting things wide open with “Bones”, the band sets a very hectic mood from the start with very powerful drumming and excellent melodic riffing. The vocals are quite ok for the genre, but the music is what makes this song entertaining. Things settle down for a bit with a crazy opening on “Infected Prey” that features the band’s ramblings at the beginning just before exploding into catchy Death Metal riffs and some growls. There are more melodic passages in this track that have some Thrash influences, reminding us of the latest Kreator and its melodic sections.

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    Chaos E.T. Sexual – Ov (2012)

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    Arriving from France, today we have a very unique record titled “Ov” that mixes all kinds of different influences ranging from drone/doom to Industrial to Trip Hop in a very tight package that is very sexy and intoxicating. Chaos E.T. Sexual is a three-piece from France that has a very hypnotic sound that relies on distorted guitars (shoegaze-ish at some points), catchy beats, and some drone-ish elements that are all perfectly timed and combined to create engaging songs that never get boring.

    Opening with the powerful “Kolmogorov Falls”, this track establishes a very intoxicating mood thanks to its enthralling Trip-Hop elements. The band never loses sight of the heavy side of things and the guitars nicely pummel their way through most of the duration of this track. The dynamic “La Moneda” allows things to move a bit faster and with even catchier sections, this track really engages the listener and hooks him to the band’s sexy sound.

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    Peacemaker – 3 Song Sampler (2012)

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    Hailing from the UK today we have a very entertaining and highly effective Doom Metal band named “Peacemaker”. With their debut 3 song sampler/demo, the band shows they have the riffing chops to craft engaging Doom Metal tracks that do not put you too sleep. Keeping their sound very traditional and compact, this band is one of the most promising up-and-coming Doom bands we have heard this 2012.

    Opening with a riff very reminiscent of My Dying Bride, “Dead Man’s Keys” opens this short but sweet release with a bang. The band does a great job in creating catchy riffs and introduces very well timed tempo changes during this song. The vocals perfectly fit the music, and keep the band away from the traditional whiny or growling vocals, but rather good spoken sections and some harsh screams that are not too intense to overshadow the song’s musical foundations.

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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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    Shroud of Despondency / Cholernik – Split (2012)

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    With a ton of releases in 2011, Shroud of Despondency is falling behind in 2012 since this is ‘only’ their second one of the year. In this split release we have four track of Shroud of Despondency and three songs of Cholernik, a one-man band from the bass player of SoD. After reviewing SoD’s last release “Pine”, we are quite shocked to hear that the songs presented in this release are way more brutal and more straight-forward in nature.

    Opening with some funky guitar structures, “Defeat” has a very direct approach with heavy Doom-ish riffs and very deep growls. The song suddenly shifts into 4th gear and delivers pummeling drums and hellish screams. This style indeed is very different to the band’s previous release, but still captures the sick guitar sounds that characterize SoD. Both “Pain Without Life” and “The Echo of Depletion” are very brutal in nature and border between the lines of Black and Death Metal at times, making them quite appealing for the more ‘brutal’ Metal music fan. “Shapes” goes back a bit into the more elaborate guitar structures with funky rhythms, leaving the listener totally puzzled by the weird but good tracks presented by SoD in this release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Arbor – The Plutonian Shore (2012)

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    With a very interesting musical proposal today we have Wisconsin’s Arbor and their debut release “The Plutonian Shore”. In the ten tracks presented in this first effort, the band mixes folk elements with Doom and Post-Metal sections in a very unusual and sometimes weird sounding fashion, but it all comes together in a very exciting way giving them a very fresh and unique sound.

    Setting a very ethereal and folk-ish mood with opener track, the band quickly comes back with very aggressive vocals and a Doom-vibe on “Trees”. The music is very well crafted to not give things away too quickly and build momentum, allowing the atmosphere and expectation to grow with every note. The band’s clean vocals are definitely an ‘acquired’ taste and for sure need some work, but they are used to perfection to contrast the harsh screams and the rest of the more ‘growly’ vocals.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Khadaver – New World Disorder (2012)

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    Our favorite two-man unit from Slovakia has returned with their first full-length release titled “New World Disorder”. With a richer and far more complicated sound since their demo EP “Beta Version”, the band delivers eleven tracks filled with crazy vocals, programmed ‘drums’ and a few interesting riffs here and there. This album does show the considerable amount of maturity that the band has achieved over the years, but it also lacks the cohesiveness of their demo EP.

    After the instrumental “Europa In Flames” intro, the band immediately sets the mood with some heavy and catchy riffs surrounded by fake drums and a very monotonous approach to things. The fake drums our one of our main pet peeves with short-staffed bands, and Khadaver falls in this category with very dull and linear patterns presented through the release. The track itself presents some cool guitar sections and even nicer electronic parts, but it is very repetitive.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Ruin of Remembrance – Second World (2012)

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    In the days when shitty bands want to charge 10 bucks for a horribly recorded and even worse written release on the internet, it is quite refreshing to hear the amazing “Second World”, a free for download release by Ruin of Remembrance. This German band does a killer job in creating ten tracks of super catchy and atmospheric Melodic Death Metal in the same vein as Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, and older The Elysian Fields.

    Opening with a very atmospheric intro, the magic fully comes out of its shell with the killer “Never Forget”. Dominating riffs and excellent atmospheric elements create a very melodic and dark vibe, and the pummeling ‘drums’ (we have our doubts if they are real or programmed, but we are leaning towards the second more) just craft a brilliant track. The band has no issues in keeping the intensity level very high, and with excellent and somber atmosphere like on “Birth of an Atheist”, sound that reminded us very much of The Elysian Fields and their killer release “We... the Enlightened”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Closed Room – White Bed Sheet (2011)

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    As one of the weirdest but also very interesting releases we have received in 2012, today we have Closed Room and their promotional EP titled “White Bed Sheet”. This Belarus band features three very different and equally intoxicating tracks that range between Trip-Hop to Post Black Metal. With similarities to bands like Ulver and Amesoeurs, this is indeed one very difficult band to categorize.

    Opening with the atmospheric and very trippy “White Bed Sheet”, the band delivers a very Ulver-like song that has a very powerful atmosphere and excellent vocals. The jazzy female vocals nicely hypnotize the listener while the atmospheric beats work their magic in creating a very dense mood. We are not huge fans of Trip-Hop, but this song is brilliant.

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