After being shelved for several months by Delain’s European label, “We Are The Others” finally sees the light of day in North America on July 3rd, through Sensory Records. Featuring four bonus live tracks, this North American version is packed with enough material to keep the fans of the band pleased for a long time.

Three years have passed since the highly popular “April Rain”, and with “We Are The Others” the band is looking to establish themselves as one of the premiere Gothic Metal bands in the world. Following the same musical direction, Delain delivers 12 tracks of well composed Gothic Metal with heavy Rock influences. The band does a few adjustments in terms of making their music catchier, but nothing much has changed.

Delivering the first ‘Lita Ford’ album, as she has claimed, since her return back in 2008, “Living Like a Runaway” is an excellent musical journey to the past of Heavy Metal / Rock. Featuring ten super catchy and well-crafted songs, this release is probably one the few albums that we can say has no filler tracks and only features high-quality music.

Taking a very ‘back to the basics’ approach, the opener “Branded” delivers high-octane guitar riffing and catchy vocal lines. The structure of the music is very basic, and this makes it work even better by having that nice old-school vibe that traditional Heavy Metal fans like in their music. The guitar work is top notch and nicely enhances the overall sound with some subtle solos. In a more Glam-like approach, “Hate” has a super catchy chorus section that will have you humming it in your head for the rest of the week.

Delivering three excellent Death/Thrash Metal tracks, today we have Alter self and their 2012 promo. In this short but sweet release, we are treated to nearly 12 minutes of very well composed music that will have you headbanging since the first minute. With a well-balanced mixture of old-school Thrash and aggressive Death Metal elements, this band has a very clear and direct sound that many others can only dream about.

Opening with a bang, “My Sober Reflection” delivers very powerful riffs and a very nice bass guitar line that is pulsating in the background. With a very aggressive sound, this track delivers a hefty balance between Melodic Thrash Metal and hard-hitting Death Metal. The band’s musical abilities are pretty solid and all elements of this song work very well together.

Arriving from the Netherlands today we have a pretty interesting Progressive Metal/Rock release with Unwritten Pages “Fringe Kitchen”. Featuring over 65 minutes of enchanting melodies, this album is quite a musical experience from start to end. Bordering more in the ‘commercial/Mainstream” side of things, “Fringe Kitchen” delivers nine excellently composed tracks that have something for every fan of the genre.

Setting a very cinematic tone with “Hejo”, the band quickly begins building a nice atmosphere to things. This bleeds into “Asylum Tragedy”, a mysterious progressive piece with excellent percussions and a nice futuristic vibe. Things get a bit heavier with “Intoxicating Sweets”, with the band building some nice powerful distorted guitars into their weird but intoxicating atmosphere. Having six musicians in the band that handle all kinds of different instruments, keyboards and an array of backing vocals makes Unwritten Pages sound very rich and diverse, with so many layers to pay attention to.

Balsting their way to the USA with eight tracks of instrumental Doom/Stoner Metal, today we have France’s Kyzyl Kum and their debut release “Sable Rouge”. Featuring a high-dosage of crushing riffing and tight drumming, this debut release showcases the abilities of this two-man destructive machine in the vein of Black Cobra, Bison, Kylesa and Bongzilla.

Clocking in around 40 minutes, this release gets going with the atmospheric intro “Kosmiska Superskunk” and fully kicks into gear with the super catchy “Cause des smicards sur du funk”. The band has a little Southern twang in their sound, and this track clearly shows that groovy side of things. The guitars keep assault the listener with “Because Death of Icare Sucks”, a track that has a very raw nature to it, but still sounds crisp enough to fully enjoy the waves of distortion coming at you.

Arriving from the underground label Negativity Records, today we have the limited to 666 copies, 7” split between Kult ov Azazel and Teratism. Featuring two excellent USBM bands, this release features both bands covering Venom’s classic “In League with Satan”. Being a huge classic, both bands really need to deliver the goods in order to not butcher this excellent track.

First up we have Kult ov Azazel giving it their best shot at “In League with Satan”. We haven’t heard from the band in quite a while since their crushing “Destroying the Sacred” back in 2009. With high expectations, their rendition of the Venom’s song is quite engaging keeping the rawness and catchiness of the original, but adding their own signature sound. With a nice Black’n’roll edge to it, this is actually one of the best covers we’ve heard from this track. The drumming is quite solid and well recorded, and the guitars are very playful and nicely rendered.

After the astonishing “After”, Ihsahn returns with the even more impressive “Eremita”. With an impressive list of achievements behind him, Ihsahn delivers an album where he builds up on the sound he crafted for “After” and delivers nine brilliant tracks of Extreme Progressive Metal in his trademark style and a nice dosage of sexy saxophone, just what the doctor ordered (at least for us).

Being backed by his ‘live band’ the super talented guys from Leprous, Ihsahn actually had the band’s drummer Tobias Ornes Andersen handle these duties for the recording of this release. Featuring the characteristic Ihsahn approach to things, he again pushes the boundaries of his musical explorations and delivers a very rich experience that has so many layers it takes more than a few spins for “Eremita” fully sink in, and be completely enjoyed.

With the powerful opener “Arrival”, the funky psychedelic keyboard nicely sets the tone for the excellent guitar layers. The traditional harsh Ihsahn vocals open this release in a very direct manner, nicely shifting into the more harmonious clean sections. The atmosphere is very similar to “After”, but it has that extra funky psychedelic edge to it that makes this song very intoxicatingly appealing. “The Paranoid” keeps things rolling with a very aggressive opening and whacky guitar sections, this track nicely jumps up and down in terms of tempo, and the horn-like sounds near the end are just outstanding.

The more mellow “Introspection” features a nice combination of psychedelic keyboards with a hefty dosage of powerful guitar riffs, all packaged in a very moody track that reminded us a bit of old Ulver, Borknagar, and Arcturus in some points. This release by far has been more aggressive than the previous one, and we are only on the third song. The brilliant sax of Jorgen Munkeby makes “The Eagle and the Snake” a very sexy piece that feels very deranged in nature with some awesome melodic and Doom-like passages, making this song one of our favorites of this release. In “Catharsis” the mood is toned down a bit, and feels like a very exploratory track that features very interesting drum patterns and melancholic vocal sections.

As many of Emperor’s and the more Black Metal fans of Ihsahn are expecting, “Something Out There” starts very aggressive and Emperor-like, but it nicely switches back and forth between the old style and the more refined Ihsahn signature style, a very interesting and well-constructed song we have to add. After the very theatrical “Grief”, “The Grave” bleeds out of it, and with a nice layer of saxophone it delivers a very dark and mysterious atmosphere. This song is quite caothic and a bit disturbing since it is more of an atmospheric piece than a full-on riffing assault track, making it a bit hard to process at first, but quite an exciting piece once it sinks in.

Closing with “Departure”, this atmospheric piece features a very interesting drum track, kind of free flowing and loose at first, before moving into more razor sharp sections. The progressive elements in this track are very solid, and the experimental stuff featured is quite intoxicating and weird at the same time. The pace is quite weird and very convoluted, creating an excellent song that goes in many different directions, but it is nicely held back by the heavy atmosphere it creates.

Overall, Ihsahn has done it once more; he manages to push the boundaries of his sound to even further and more complex spaces. This release features nine tracks of brilliant progressive music that is both extreme and melodic in nature. The guitar layers are just magical, and we can only imagine him bringing them into the live setting. If you are hesitating on buying this release, give yourself a slap in the face and get it, it is better than any of his previous albums by a metric ton of brilliance.

Arriving with a very impressive debut release, today we have Kemilon and their freshman offering “Twisted Storm”. Directly targeted to fans of old-school Power Metal, this Canadian band makes excellent impression on listeners as soon as this release starts. With ten majestic songs, “Twisted Storm” is by far one of the most energetic Power Metal releases we have heard this 2012.

Opening with the fluff intro “Beyond Frontiers”, the band quickly delivers a highly technically proficient opening track with “Ocean of Insanity”. Having a video game-like opening, this track has a vibrant old-school sound that while featuring keyboards; it is not drowned by them, allowing the basic instruments to shine together with Yan Gagne’s excellent vocals. The overall mood of the song (and the album) if very intense and well crated to give you the ‘high’ that Power Metal used to do back in the days of early Stratovarius, Angra, etc.