2010

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    Rhapsody of Fire – The Frozen Tears of Angels (2010)

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    Four years have passed since the band’s last release “Triumph or Agony”, and now they are band with a vengeance. “The Frozen Tears of Angels” is one of the band’s best albums in their whole trajectory. With the same line-up since 2002, Rhapsody of Fire has recorded what is set to be the Power Metal album of 2010. Move over Avantasia, Rhapsody is back to take the 2010 title of best Power Metal album.

    Featuring their extremely symphonic sound, the band takes us inside their fantasy world with over 50 minutes of impressive musical compositions. The band’s sound is more bombastic than ever, and with their impressive array of vocal arrangements, brilliant keyboard sections, and guitar acrobatics, the band will surely please all of their fans and followers of the genre.

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    Nox Aurea – Ascending in Triumph (2010)

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    Playing Gothic Doom Metal, today we have Nox Aurea a brilliant band from Sweden that will give Draconian a run for it’s money. The band’s second full-length “Ascending in Triumph” provides us with 8 melancholic tracks that will surely keep us entertained until the next Draconian album.

    Playing a genre that is not very popular these days, Nox Aurea create the perfect Gothic Doom atmosphere with their low-tuned guitars, majestic keyboards, and brilliantly crafted ‘beauty and the beast’-type vocals. We are huge fans of Gothic Doom Metal and Nox Aurea have catered to every one of our quirky needs since their debut “Via Gnosis”, and will “Ascending in Triumph” the band takes their abilities to a whole new level of greatness.

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    Kruger – For Death, Glory and the End of the World (2010)

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    Out of the very impressive roster of Listenable Records, we get today another genre-bending band. Kruger hails from Switzerland and their combination of Sludge/Groove and Post-Metal is superb. For over 45 minutes “For Death, Glory and the End of the Word” delivers 9 brutal tracks.

    With the waves of new bands coming out these days it’s very hard to bump into one that makes you fully appreciate the art of crafting a different sound that is both powerful and enthralling. Kruger achieves this since the first song, with a brilliant combination of aggressive ‘Sludgy’ riffs, aggressive vocals and solid drumming.

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    Noctiferia – Death Culture (2010)

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    If you ever wondered what would happen if Fear Factory, Meshuggah and Gojira had a genetically engineered son, then it would sound just like Noctiferia does. The band has spent plenty of years trying to find their own sound, and on their earlier days they focused more on Melodic Black/Death Metal. On this 2010, they deliver “Death Culture” an album so rich in both style and content that will have you listening to it for quite a while in order to fully digest it.

    The band features the chugging riffing of Fear Factory, combined with the surgically precise (and impressive) drumming of Meshuggah. On top of these elements they offer aggressive vocals like Gojira, Hacride, etc, making their sound very dynamic and brutal. The band has surely outdone themselves with “Death Culture” since it’s their best effort to date.

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    I Shalt Become – Poison (2010)

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    I Shalt Become is one of the pioneering bands behind the USBM movement of the last years, and while not as recognized as Leviathan and Judas Iscariot, the band has released some fine pieces of USBM history like “Wandering” and “In The Falling Snow”. “Poison” features an overly orchestral trip down to the depths of hell.

    The first things that came to mind when listening to “Poison” are the quick similarities it draws to Elend’s work. And while the musical composition skills of S. Holliman are not as good as the ones behind Elend, this album does create a very dramatic atmosphere that is not to be taken lightly. Also, “Poison” features has a down temp feeling, similar to what some doom and funeral doom bands have been doing for years, providing an extra dimension to this fine release.

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    Hacavitz – Metzli Obscura (2010)

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    Hacavitz is a Mexican two man apocalyptic outfit that creates very raw and brutal Black/Death Metal. Unlike many bands of this genre, we don’t hate them. The band is pretty good at creating rudimentary and harsh music that will make your spine chill. Using English, Spanish, and Aztec (or something like that) the band will haunt your dreams since the start of “Metzli Obscura”.

    We usually bitch and moan about the shitty quality that similar releases have, but we cannot complain about this with Hacavitz. The band’s sound is very dense and dirty, but it works wonders in creating a raw and thick atmosphere. With the chaotic feeling that “Metzli Obscura” creates, we have found the perfect soundtrack for a journey through hell.

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    Diabulus In Musica – Secrets (2010)

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    Forming from the ashes of Dragon Lord, today we have Diabulus In Musica and their first full-length: “Secrets”. Hailing from the Basque region of Spain, this newcomer to the Gothic Metal scene has what it takes to surprise the world. The band combines a bombastic Symphonic Gothic Metal foundation with beautiful female vocals that sound as powerful as Simone from Epica or even Floor from ReVamp.

    While the band is not re-inventing the genre in anyway, they are pretty darn good at making great songs. For over 55 minutes the bands brings us some fresh Gothic Metal that like we said is not super original, but at least it sounds different than all the bands we are currently used to.

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    Godless Rising – Trumpet Of Triumph (2010)

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    Hailing from the USA, Godless Rising delivers one of the most brutal and technically brilliant albums of 2010 with “Trumpet Of Triumph”. With Toby Knapp on guitars, the band manages to be on the same caliber as Obscura, when it comes to brutal and technical Death Metal.

    Featuring a plethora of catchy hooks and complex solos, the guitar work makes up for almost 90% of the quality behind Godless Rising impressive sound. While we love our traditional Death Metal, we tend to favor bands like this one that go beyond the brutal growls, furious drumming and groovy riffing.

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    Comparative Anatomy – Mammalia (2010)

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    Our category of WTF releases has gotten its most recent entry: Comparative Anatomy’s “Mammalia”. A brilliant release that is disturbed, deranged, and plain fucked up, but we love it and can’t stop listening to this album. The animal samples will freak you out at the beginning, but once you get used to them, they are like the chant of a siren in our ears.

    The masterminds behind Comparative Anatomy are two dudes named Sir Puffers Rabbinald the Third and Ron Chickenbaby, dressing up like a rabbit and a chicken you can start to imagine how bizarre this band really is. Featuring two bass guitars a whole lot of samples, a drum machine (we think), and a wide variety of screams, Comparative Anatomy has managed to create something we haven’t heard before.

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    Kraaker - Musikk fra Vettenes Dom (2010)

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    Whenever we get any album that says “Experimental” we are thrilled. Since we usually review tons of ‘regular’ stuff we are always interested in listening to something new and different. The music presented by Kraaker on “Musikk fra Vettenes Dom” cannot be considered an experimental band, but rather a ‘traditional’ Norwegian Black Metal band with different tuning at times and nothing else.

    However, Kraaker’s music is not bad at all. The band actually excels in creating powerful guitar driven melodies that do not sound like the million Black Metal clone bands we have on the scene these days. “Musikk fra Vettenes Dom” is actually a very solid first full-length for a band that shows substantial promise.

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