Continuing with their surprising evolution into a more Gothic Rock-inspired sound, today we have Hanging Garden and their latest release “At Every Door”. On their debut release “Inherit the Eden” the band jumped into the scene with a very melodic Death/Doom Metal and was praised by fans all around. With their second effort “TEOTWAWKI” the band started to mix more Gothic and different elements to make their music more accessible to a broader audience, something that they gracefully continue to do with this release.

Opening with the trippy “Ten Thousand Cranes”, the band delivers electronic elements with clean vocals making them sound like current Paradise Lost and Tiamat. Not all is lost since their original sound is present underneath everything with powerful riffs and excellent growls. Thankfully the new vocalist can do the growls as deep and powerful as their original one. “Ash and Dust” starts a bit more powerful than the first track, and the atmospheric details added by the keyboards work very well with the song.

Holy shit! Who brought Cradle of Filth (circa 1996) back from the dead!. With a very familiar sound, today we have Old Corpse Road their debut full-length release “'Tis Witching Hour... As Spectres We Haunt This Kingdom”. Sounding eerily similar to CoF on their “Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein”/”Dusk…and Her Embrace” era, today we have this British band with a very explosive sound with some Folk elements thrown in to keep things a bit fresh.

Surrounded in a shroud of mysterious atmospheric elements, the opener “’Tis Witching Hour” delivers the chilling deep spoken vocal sections that we all used to love from CoF. The keyboards are extremely epic (just like on “Dusk…and Her Embrace”) and nicely set the mood for the brutal “The Cauld Lad Of Hylton”. In a very CoF-esque vibe, the band quickly delivers massive drumming sections and killer shrieks/growls combo sections. This is exact déjà vu of what CoF used to do back in the day, and we think it is awesome.

Being re-released by Apathia Records, today we have Abstrusa Unde and their debut full-length “Introspection”. In this very diverse and entertaining release, the band delivers eight tracks of brilliant Avant-Garde Black Metal with a deranged theatrical vibe to it, similar to Arcturus, Unexpect, and such bands. With ten musicians participating in this release, the listener is in for a truly exciting experience through many different musical landscapes.

Opening with the album’s title track, the band crafts a very sinister atmosphere similar to a mixture of Angizia with The Diablo Swing Orchestra. Immediately invoking the spirits of the masterpiece of Arcturus, “La Masquerade Infernale”, the band delivers the intoxicating “Hamsa Lonri”. This song features enchanting female vocals and intense string instruments. The harsh vocals mix very well with the female singing and with the crazy keyboards, creating a truly haunting experience.

Just as we got our entire facts ready for this review, we found out that the band has parted ways with a member and that this release will probably never see the light of day… commercially that is. That aside, today we have Silent Wings and an extremely awesome Symphonic Metal EP release titled “Revolution Unfolding”. Lead by the beautiful vocals of Rhea Gawlicka, this band shows unlimited potential with eight excellent compositions that are very bombastic and melodic in nature.

Similar to Within Temptation, After Forever, etc., this band is not claiming to be revolutionary or anything, they just play one mean Symphonic Metal that can compete with any of the previously mentioned bands. After a very epic intro, “Nobody’s Savior” reminds us a bit of Serenity (sans the male vocals) and its very epic and melancholic atmosphere. Marta’s vocals are just outstanding since they are firm and very beautiful, making her one of the best female vocalists for this kind of music. Further evidence of this is can be found in the very dramatic “Into the Void”, one of our favorite tracks in this release, the same can be said about the powerful ballad “Out of Hell”.

After pushing the boundaries of Black Metal with their 2010 release “Dazzling Dawn”, today we have Eclectika and their latest opus “Lure of Ephemeral Beauty”. In this album the band shows that they have settled with a very sharp and aggressive brand of Black Metal with brilliant melodic incursions that greatly set them apart from the rest. For over 10 tracks the band demonstrates that with a bit of creativity, all Post-Black Metal does not have to sound the same.

Opening with a lush symphonic instrumental track, the band sets the expectations really high for their third full-length release. Immediately blasting away with album’s title track, we get a typical Black Metal vibe but with a completely different guitar distortion of what one would expect. This allows the band’s sound to be quite different and very engaging indeed. The harsh vocals make their appearance, but it is the female vocals of Noemie Sirandre that really make this song shine in a very dramatic and operatic way.

As the first promo of 2013 we received at Infernal Masquerade, we are quite surprised that we immediately have an early candidate for Symphonic Black Metal release of the year 2013. Saille makes a furious return with “Ritu”, an opus in melodic aggression that reminded us of the days when Dimmu Borgir was not ridiculously overproduced and of bands like Vesperian Sorrow, that keep the flame of Symphonic BM alive. With nine tracks presented in this release, this outfit from Belgium delivers one of the most impressive sophomore releases we have ever heard.

Opening with the bombastic “Blood Libel”, the band immediately unleashes their furious Black Metal riffing and killer drumming. The band’s sound reminded us a bit of Anorexia Nervosa and their balls to the wall style. The lush keyboards greatly enhance this vicious track, creating a very eerie atmosphere. In a very maquiavelic style, “Subcutaneous Terror” delivers a very catchy mixture of creepy slow passages and brutal aggressive sections with sick guitar solos. This song reminded us when Dimmu Borgir in their “Enthroned Darkness Triumphant” era.

Breaking away from the standard US Death Metal sound, today we have Abysme and their Swedish-infused mid-tempo Death Metal with their debut album “Strange Rites”. In this ten-track headbanging extravaganza, the band focuses on creating gritty sounding songs with a dash of melody, rather than blasting away at their instruments and just trying to be brutal like most bands.

The band’s early Entombed and Grave worship is immediately made present with the dark and gritty “Scribbled In Dust”. We particularly love that there are absolutely no traces of any modern DM variants in the bands raw and old-school sound. Slithering away with foul tracks like “Beyond the Seventh Door”, “Formless”, and “Annihilated Memory”, the band delivers crunchy riffs, crafty drumming and raspy growls that make their sound very authentic and quite rare these days.

Merciless and Raw are the first two words that come to mind when it comes down to describing War Possession’s latest EP titled “Through The Ages”. Featuring five tracks of crushing Death Metal the old-school way, this Greek band has a very traditional approach to the genre that reminded us from bands of the late 90’s and their raw and uncompromising sound. Be prepared to headbang from beginning to end with this intense 21-minute release.

Opening with the catchy “In The Shadow Of The Ancient Gods”, the band delivers killer super-catchy riffs and very demonic sounding vocals. The excellent production of this release really aids in accentuating the band’s traditional and direct sound in a raw and brutal way. “Medieval Bloodlust” fires on all cylinders with crushing drumming and even more powerful riffs. The band holds nothing and delivers another intense performance with this very catchy song filled with meaty hooks.

Arriving all the way from Montenegro, today we have Placid Art and their very cool debut full-length release “Rainbow Destruction Process”. In this nine-track release the band delivers highly Atmospheric Death/Doom Metal with operatic female vocals and a very eerie vibe. With a down to the basics musical approach, this release reminded us of a more atmospheric version of Shape Of Despair and similar bands.

The opener “The Beginning of The Final Chapter” delivers a very theatrical sound with excellent string elements and dominating operatic vocals from Sonja Milicevic, the ‘classical’ side of the band’s sound. The same chilling atmosphere is carried over to the beginning of “In Silence… Of The Dark Dawn”, reminding us of the creepy vibe that Elend creates. A minor drawback is the programmed drums that sound mechanical and a bit ‘fake’, but the band makes up for this in atmospheric brilliance.