Album Reviews

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    Anaal Nathrakh - Vanitas (2012)

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    Total aural destruction is probably the best way to describe Anaal Nathrakh’s latest ear-piercing sonic abuse of a release titled “Vanitas”. As one of the band’s that constantly keeps improving their abilities to abuse the listener through their extreme music, Anaal Nathrakh has done it again with this release and delivers ten punishing tracks that will make your head fall off after headbanging for almost 40 minutes.

    Blasting this release wide open with “The Blood Dimmed Tide”, the band opens with some Industrial-ish passage before heading to full-blown chaos. The vocals are as crushing as always, and the drumming is as intense as ever. The traditional deranged screams nicely make this piece very memorable indeed. Blasting into “Forging Towards the Sunset”, we are barely given any time to mellow out when the abuse returns. This track has some cool clean vocals that add a bit of an epic feeling to the song in the same way that Emperor did back in “In the Nightside Eclipse”.

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    Flagellated Seraph – Beyond Salvation (2012)

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    Mysterious Swedish outfit Flagellated Seraph delivers us their debut full-length release titled “Beyond Salvation”. With six tracks of fast-paced Melodic Black Metal, this band will surely surprise you with the quality of their music. Coming from Hellthrashers Productions, we expected something totally different from this release, and we are very glad it turned out this ways since some of the songs in this album are just killer.

    Opening with a warm-up track “Reminiscence of The Serpent”, the band fully unleashes its riffing power as “He Who Bears the Mark”. While at first this might seem like your average run of the mill BM band, the song suddenly shifts into excellent melodic territories. Reminding us of older Dark Funeral, Marduk, and the likes, Flagellated Seraph has the skills to deliver extreme intensity tracks that are very well crafted. The massive drumming is one example of the band’s mystery musician’s abilities.

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    Hell United – Aura Damage (2012)

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    Arriving on our latest promo pack from one the most brutal labels in the planet, Hellthrasher Productions, today we have Hell United and their sophomore release “Aura Damage”. Hailing from Poland, our first impression of this band was that they are as crushing as their fellow countrymen Behemoth. Delivering 35-minutes of high-octane Blackened Death Metal, this band is sure to turn a few heads and snap more than enough necks in the moshpit.

    Dominating since the opening track, “Aural Damage” is off to an excellent and very violent attack with “Red Limitations”. The riffing is hyper-intense, the drumming is super crushing, and the vocals are as demonic as Behemoth’s, so you know what you can expect from this relatively unknown outfit. The band does a great job in shuffling things around so the songs don’t sound like copies of each other, a problem that has blamed Behemoth in the last few years. The neck snapping action continues with the anthems of destruction: “Apostle of Plague”, “Deathlike Cold”, and “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie”.

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    Deception / Demonic Slaughter – Split (2012)

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    Perfectly packed in a glossy digipack, today we have Deception and Demonic Slaughter’s split release out on Hellthrasher Productions. With both bands hailing from Poland, this 20 minute split has the feeling of a 7” release, but on an upgraded presentation. With Deception delivering three tracks of foul Death Metal, and Demonic Slaughter providing some raw Black Metal into the mix, this split release has a little for everybody.

    With apparently everything being recorded in 2011, Deception does a great job at re-creating that lo-fi sound of the past and delivers some very crushing tracks that sound raw and old-school. Opening with “Zatracenie”, the band vibe similar to early Sepultura and such, this evolves a bit for the second track “Narodziny początkiem umierania” with a more ‘melodic’ sound and less aggressive vocals. The cover of Bathory’s “Rites of Darkness” is pretty standard and well executed, but also sounds very different from the first two songs, indicating that the band didn’t really make it their own.

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    Subterranean Disposition – Subterranean Disposition (2012)

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    Arriving from Canada’s Hypnotic Dirge Records, today we have a pretty solid Death/Doom Metal band named Subterranean Disposition. Unleashing their self-titled debut album, this one man band features Australian scene veteran Terry Vainoras delivering five tracks of crushing Death/Doom in the vein of bands like Mournful Congregation, Mourning Beloveth, but with a faster pace and a few surprises.

    Opening with the 9-minute epic “Between Apes and Angles” the band has all the hallmarks of a traditional release in the genre and some cool atmospheric elements. The riffs are slow and powerful, and the growls are pretty solid, nothing out of the ordinary if you ask us. However, things start getting interesting with “Prolong this Agony” and some experimental elements here and there. The pop/jazzy female vocals work quite well when introduced in a melodic passage, effectively changing the pace of the track and puzzling the listener for a bit.

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    Closed Room – Closed Room (2012)

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    After their impressive EP “White Bed Sheet”, we were thrilled to know that Closed Room signed with Sun & Moon Records to release their self-titled debut album. As many of the band’s in this label, Closed Room is a very unique ensemble that mixes Trip-Hop with Post-Metal and some Shoegaze elements brilliantly and in their previous work has delivered very interesting and engaging tracks drawing comparisons to Amesoeurs and such bands.

    Setting the mood with the Post-Metal influenced “Behind the Locked Door”, the band nicely established very high expectations for a very unique sounding release. This track reminds us a bit of the experimental side of bands like Sigh and Ephel Duath. Things turn dark with the Blackgaze riffing of “Tempted to Illuminated”, then the ethereal vocals of Morena kick in and the whole atmosphere suddenly feels a bit different. This track is very well crafted and the contrast between the music and the vocals is just outstanding and works very well.

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    Lacrimosa – Revolution (2012)

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    With a heavier sound than before, today we have the return of Lacrimosa with the very diverse “Revolution”. As the title indicates, this album feels a bit like a revolution between the band’s inner demons through ten very different and often puzzling tracks. Featuring guitarist Mille Petrozza (Kreator) and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann (Accept), this album crosses into Metal territory a bit more than some of the band’s previous releases.

    Opening with the lush "Irgendein Arsch ist immer unterwegs", this album starts with a 100% typical Lacrimosa track. We particularly love the elegant piano and orchestral sections, something that the band has always excellent at. “As the World Stood Still For a Day” is another very well constructed track with beautiful female vocals and a very ethereal feeling surrounded by hard-rocking guitars. Mixing the older Lacrimosa style with more aggressive guitars, “Verloren” is a very odd track that in some moments feels a bit odd and tossed together very weakly; we are not big fans of it.

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    Neurosis – Honor Found In Decay (2012)

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    As one of the most versatile and influential bands in Metal, Neurosis returns with yet another amazing release that tests the sonic limits of Metal (and all the other influences they merge) for over 60 minutes of brilliantly crafted music. With their creativity intact, “Honor Found In Decay” marks another outstanding release by Neurosis that even after a five-year absence (since their last record that is) they sound as fresh and as current as ever.

    Opening with the excellent “We All Rage in Gold”, the band delivers their characteristic Sludge-infused guitar riffs but with an interesting Post-Metal/Rock-ish guitar layers. The bass guitar is very present and nicely guiding alongside the perfectly crafted drumming. After setting the mood brilliantly, Neurosis continues with the mysterious “At The Well”. In this track we have a slower start to things that is greatly carried by the combination of vocals from Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till. The riffing erupts and when combined with tribal-esque drumming we get the traditional Neurosis sonic brutality in full swing. Constantly changing tempos really make this song quite a delightful experience.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Melencolia Estatica – Hel (2012)

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    Making their entrance to the totally weird and completely random category today we have Melencolia Estatica and ‘their’ latest release “Hel”. This one-woman band from Italy has a very unique sound that while at times is extremely chaotic and totally random sounding; it is actually quite intoxicating and interesting to listen to.

    Often feeling like a nightmare, “Hel” provides a unique ride through waves of brutal Black Metal, crushing growls, and crazy orchestrations that flow very chaotically, but in a way they are quite enthralling. Opening with the deranged “Hel I”, this release quickly unleashes a wave of brutal sections complemented with very melodic and enigmatic passages full of layers of vocals. We have to say that the band’s sound is very unique, and after you get over the initial shock of how much is being thrown at you, Melencolia Estatica will quickly grow on you.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Kolp – The Outside (2012)

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    Providing a hefty dose of Black Metal structures with some punishing Doom/Sludge riffs, today we have Hungary’s Kolp and their sophomore release titled “The Outside”. Delivering eight tracks clocking around 40 minutes, the band leaves a deep wound with their razor sharps songs filled with interesting tempo changes and cavernous atmospheres.

    If you like to jump into conclusions, one would immediately discard this band as another run of the mill raw and kvlt BM band with the opening moments of “There Was No Place to Hide”, the first song of this release. Upon further inspection, the guitar distortion sounds a bit off if we are thinking of regular BM, and the Doom/Sludge vibe that suddenly inundates this song makes it quite interesting to listen to. The following tracks keep up with this style, nicely shifting from BM hellish sections into droning passages of powerful riffing and martial drumming.

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