Album Reviews

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    Corrosion of Conformity – Corrosion of Conformity (2012)

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    Corrosion of Conformity (CoC) have finally delivered a full-length release, the first since their 2006-2010 ‘break’, and like we all expected it is excellent and shows how the band’s sound will always be timeless and greatly enjoyed by all. With Pepper Keenan being absent from this release (focusing on Down), the band taps into their raw side and delivers a very solid album with an old ‘school’ approach to the genre.

    Featuring the Animosity line-up, “Corrosion of Conformity” is one hell of a ride through 11 tracks of very down-to basics music that puts all others to shame. Since the opener “Psychic Vampire” the band’s mixture of Crosssover with Sludge/Southern elements is outstanding since the punkish riffs are catchy but with a Southern twang to them. The track sounds both raw and powerful, indicating the band is back. “River of Stones” delivers a similar approach, but near the end the track goes more melodic and the overall atmosphere created by the vocals and the bass guitar line is very effective.

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    Abazagorath – Abazagorath (EP) (2012)

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    Making their triumphant return after a five year hiatus, Abazagorath returns with a self-titled EP that will instantly return them to the spotlight of the US Black Metal scene. As one of the pioneers of USBM Abazagorath released plenty of EP’s and two full-length albums that made them one of the most influential BM bands in the states, and with this EP they return in full force to reclaim their place.

    Spanning over 20 minutes, “Abazagorath” is one hell of an EP that not only delivers gut-wrenching Black Metal attacks, but it also features a thick atmosphere around it. Since the opener “Conjuring” the band delivers some creepy clean guitars and keyboards, only to fully explode with some catchy riffs and a very dense atmosphere. Similar to bands like Gorgoroth and Horna, Abazagorath does a great job in using only basic elements to create eerie music.

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    Epica – Requiem for the Indifferent (2012)

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    As one of the band’s most elaborate and grandiose albums, today we have Epica’s highly awaited “Requiem for the Indifferent”.  Packing in around 71 minutes of music in 13 tracks, this release is by far the band’s most musically ambitious release to date. While marinating their traditional Gothic/Symphonic Metal approach, Epica manages to incorporate Progressive elements into their already excellent sound, and end up with a release that is as complex as it is long.

    In a similar fashion to MaYaN’s “Quarterpast”, this release requires more than a few spins before it really starts to sink in and you will start to enjoy it. While we think it is great that a band is making an effort in growing as musicians and making their sound a bit more complex, this might also alienate some fans that just like plain bombastic songs they can cheer/headbang to. “Requiem for the Indifferent” is not all very complex, but it feels like much more of an effort has to be put to it to be really enjoyed.

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    Axel Rudi Pell – Circle of the Oath (2012)

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    With a very long and extremely good discography under his belt, Axel Rudi Pell returns this 2012 with their latest masterpiece “Circle of the Oath”. In this release, Axel and the band rip through 10 tracks of very traditional and effective Heavy/Power Metal without ridiculous amounts of flair, but with a very well defined core and a timeless sound.

    Immediately after the intro, Axel’s guitar playing power is immediately present on “Ghost in the Black”. As one of the fastest tracks of this release, this song is filled with catchy guitar work, powerful keyboards and very solid vocals courtesy of Johnny Gioeli. The traditional Heavy Metal atmosphere is immediately present with the catchy choruses of “Run with the Wind” and “Before I Die”, a staple that Axel Rudi Pell has had over their whole career.

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    Diabulus In Musica – The Wanderer (2012)

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    As one of the very few internationally recognized Gothic Metal bands from Spain, today we have Diabulus In Musica and their Napalm Records debut release “The Wanderer”. Greatly improving on their debut full-length “’Secrets”, the band consolidates their sound and delivers 12 tracks of brilliantly crafted Gothic/Symphonic Metal that will bring comparisons to Epica, Nightwish, etc.

    Revolving around the heavenly vocals of Zuberoa Aznárez (we challenge you to say the name 5 times straight), “The Wanderer” feels a lot more mature than their previous effort in the sense that all tracks are more concise and everything shines at its own pace. After the bombastic intro, “Ex Nihilo” shines with heavy guitars, intricate drumming and very enchanting choir sections. This song indeed sounds a lot like Epica but when Zuberoa’s vocals kick in, it takes a whole new dimension. Very sweet and commanding, her voice is one of the signatures of the band and sounds like none other.

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    Heidevolk – Batavi (2012)

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    After reviewing what felt like thousands of uninspired Viking/Folk Metal releases in 2011, we now find ourselves wondering where these kinds of albums are in 2012. After the disappointing latest release of Eluveitie, it is Heidevolk’s turn on the hot seat. “Batavi” marks the band’s fourth full-length release and it shows great maturity from the band in terms of songwriting, but not too much in terms of diversity.

    Using almost no ‘fancy’ Folk instruments, the band relies on powerful and catchy guitar riffs to carve their own sound. While we would have immediately discarded this album if we heard a fucking hurdy gurdy, but Heidevolk delivers a very well-targeted riffing assault that will appeal to fans of bands like Tyr, Falkenbach and Moonsorrow. For over 39 minutes, “Batavi” delivers very traditional and ‘simple’ songs that are pretty solid due to their catchiness.

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    Xandria – Neverworld’s End (2012)

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    Many people (including us) thought that Xandria was finished when their iconic vocalist Lisa Schaphaus-Middelhauve left the band back in 2009, but with their latest album “Neverworld’s End” the band sounds better than ever and are turning heads and convincing non-believer. Taking on a more bombastic sound, the band fully uses Manuela Kraller soprano vocals to song like a real Gothic/Symphonic Metal band should and blow listeners away with a very rich and diverse sound.

    One thing that came immediately to us after the first few spins of this release is that “Neverworld’s End” actually sounds a lot like early Nightwish when Tarja was in charge of the vocals. Before all haters go and complain about this we must say that while playing similar music, Xandria feels very refreshing since most of the good Gothic/Symphonic bands are not trying to sound pop-ish and commercial friendly. This leaves the field completely open to bands that stick to was good a few years ago and still manage to sound Metal enough.

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    Lacrimosa – Lichtgestalt (2005)

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    Rounding up the Lacrimosa re-releases brought to North America by End of Light records, today we have “Lichtgestalt”. As a perfect trip down in memory lane, this release is one of our favorite ones of the band and it was a pleasure to see it released in North America with a bonus CD. Featuring a bit of a mixture of older Lacrimosa with the “Echoes” album, this release is very powerful and well-crafted with fragile Orchestral elements and powerful guitars.

    Tilo Wolff and Anne Nurmi do an excellent job in bringing back (after “Echoes”) the distorted guitar to its rightful place and pair it with beautiful instrumentation and highly emotional atmospheres. Since 11-minute opener the band creates a very emotional and dark atmosphere, but it also employs some aggression in terms of harsh vocals, commanding guitars, and a pummeling bass guitar line. The typical Lacrimosa-like songs “Kelch der Liebe” and “Lichtgestalt” are reminders of their “Stille” era and had us remembering those good old-days.

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    Lacrimosa – Schattenspiel (2010)

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    With such and impressive discography under their belts, Lacrimosa sets out to make some money and release a ‘compilation’ album in 2010 to summarize their career so far and show how much the band has evolved over time. With “Schattenspiel”, instead of taking the typical approach and cram in all their greatest songs, they put together 19 songs most of them have been unreleased in the past.

    We are not huge fans of ‘best of’ or compilations releases that aim to make money and nothing else, but Lacrimosa tries a unique thing with their take on a compilation release. Documenting their evolution from the 90’s on the first CD, to the 2000’s on the second CD, this release is purely targeted to their core die-hard fans that will kill for anything new or rare of the band. And this release satisfies their craving with two new songs titled “Sellador” and “Ohne Dich Ist Alles Nichts”.

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    Lacrimosa – Sehnsucht (Special Edition) (2009)

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    Today we have the special ‘special edition’ of Lacrimosa’s “Sehnsucht” album released in North America by End of Light Records. This special ‘special edition’ features the regular special edition of this release with the slightly different songs and a full extra CD with some remixes and older songs. This edition features the ‘color’ version of the artwork and the full booklet filled with pictures and the lyrics of the songs.

    “Sehnsucht” has always been one of our least favorite albums of the band due to the somewhat considerable difference to their previous more conceptual releases. However, in terms of experimentation and musical maturity, this release is indeed the best the band has ever recorded so far. This release features a more ‘free-flowing’ approach and the music is very well composed, but lacks the whole ‘experience’ of a conceptual release with many different moods that progress over time.

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