Robin Staps and company return with another impressive and monumental 53-minute concept album that is intended to be played as one whole piece. In “Pelagial”, the bands ambitions are high than ever with an album that nicely builds up in momentum, just as the layers of the ocean are entered in a voyage to the sea floor. The Ocean are famous for their highly complex and multi-layered releases and this one is not an exception, keeping things very intricate and beautifully arranged for all fans to be blown away since the opening song.

“Pelagial” was also originally intended to be mainly an instrumental release, and it is provided as both in the regular version of the album, so we will go back and forth in how the tracks feel different and transmit different feelings both with lyrics and without them. Opening with the very relaxed and dreamy “Epipelagic”, one even feels a certain sense of relief with this lush and simple track. Things start getting a bit more ‘heavier’ as the voyage continues going deeper and with “Mesopelagic – The Uncanny” we get the first taste of heavy guitars and the combination of clean and harsh vocals. We do think this track works a lot better on the instrumental version since it sounds cleaner and sets the mood a bit better.

Hailing from the USA, today we have the debut full-length release Lifeforms, an up-and-coming Progressive Extreme Metal band that mixes influences from band like Meshuggah to Deathcore bands like The Black Dahlia Murder. With an emphasis of excellent technical skills and brutality, this band has constructed 10 excellent tracks that while a bit repetitive, are actually quite enjoyable.

Opening with the expectation builder “Descent into Madness”, the band starts warming up the riffing machine in this short intro. “Multidimensional” fully explodes with excellent Meshuggah styled guitar work and potent drumming. We love the technical aspect of things but they still sound a lot like Gojira and similar bands with that Progressive/Groove sound. The band’s extra similarities to bands like BDM and such Deathcore acts makes them sound more brutal than your average bands, gaining them extra points in our opinion.

Delivering another dosage of creepy atmospheric brilliance, today we have Sagntid and their latest release “The Undisciplined Heart of Sagntid”. Keeping the very eerie vibe always present, this one man band delivers the goods once more in a 10-track release that will keep you at the edge of your seat when played at night and in the dark.

Warming up with “Fierce Pride” the mood is very martial and with the addition of sporadic vocals the listener will be immediately immerse into Sagntid’s world. The longest track in this release is the complex “All Contact Ceased”, a very emotional and quite relaxing track that is very hypnotic in nature.

Fully recorded using analog gear, today we have Finland’s Mother Susurrus and their debut full-length release “Maahaavaa”. Combining elements from bands like Neurosis, High of Fire, and more traditional Hard and Acid Rock influences, they masterfully crafted a sound that is quite hard to pin down, but is very interesting and unique sounding. This 48 minute release contains five solid tracks that command maximum aural attention.

True audiophiles greatly appreciate when things are recorded via analog gear, and this is very evident when you get those nice grainy effects and elements in the music that really make things pop and sound natural. The first example of said things is the crushing opener “Superposition”. Clocking in at around 10 minutes, this mammoth track shows the band’s Sludge/Doom power with some more direct Hard rock influences.

One-man Danish Dark Ambient project Sagntid brings forth their 2-song demo/promo from back in 2009. In this highly haunting and minimalist release, Sagntid delivers excellent Ambient music that will send chills through your spine the moment the album starts warming up. With a very minimalistic approach, this is the kind of stuff you want to play on a long winter night.

The first track in this release is a nearly 19 minute exploration into darkness. Filled with great atmospheric passages, Sagntid paints lush landscapes with very few elements creating a bleak and desolate feeling. We particularly love how musicians from Scandinavia can perfectly express their vast and desolate landscapes of their northern territories through music and this song is the perfect example of this.

After a seven year absence, today we have Luna Ad Noctum and their crushing Melodic Black Metal release “Hypnotic Inferno”. Mixing influences from bands like Agathodaimon and Mactätus, their sound is perfect for nostalgic fans of Melodic Black Metal that don’t like a plethora of keyboards and synths on their releases. For nine tracks and over 39 minutes of music, the band does a solid job in bringing back the early 2000’s in terms of aurally pleasing Black Metal.

Opening with the killer “In Hypnosis” we get some of those quintessential riffs of the early 2000’s left and right. The band’s sound is quite direct and powerful, but it does feel a bit dated, maybe around the band’s last release in 2006  “The Perfect Evil in Mortal”, and now they just sound a bit date. Regardless of this, the album’s songs are killer indeed, and deliver waves of crushing riffs surrounded by tight drumming. This is perfectly evident on the following three tracks: “Fear Technique”, “You Are What You Are”, and “Abnormal Pain”.

Featuring almost 80 minutes of beautifully crafted Progressive/Melodic Rock, today we have Germany’s Blacklands and their latest release “A New Dawn”. In this very competitive and highly repetitive music scene, it is quite refreshing to hear such a heartfelt and powerful release. With “A New Dawn”, the band takes traditional Melodic Rock with Progressive elements and ads lush female vocals for a great dramatic and highly pleasing effect, something that will surely appeal to fans from Gothic Metal all the way to Progressive Rock aficionados.

Opening the release with the melancholic “Cold Embrace”, we get first glance of the excellent keyboards of Manfred Reinecke together the vivid and sultry voice of Moja Nardelli. This song also shows the clear Progressive elements in the band’s music perfectly mixed with their more melodic and at times Symphonic/Gothic Metal influences. With a folky edge, “Dance of The Witches” nicely changes up the pace and showcases the band’s versatility.

Originally released as a demo in 2012, today we have Italy’s Into Darkness and their old-school Death Metal production “Into The Darkness”. Featuring four tracks of raw DM with some Swedish and Doom influences, this release is for all nostalgic lover of raw and fuzzy music from the 90’s. Combining elements from Incantation (earlier material), Grave and Asphyx, for over 25 minutes the band delivers the goods in a relentless and nihilistic manner.

Opening with the desolate “Into Darkness” the band resembles the almighty Winter and their slow and painful Doom sound from back in the day. After 8 minutes of glorious Death/Doom, things pick up with the crushing “Shadows” and its killer proto-Swedish DM sound. The band truly excels in creating a very dense and old school atmosphere, relying on the riffing of Doomed Warrior and Nor.