Delivering a heavy dose of Deathcore, today we have England’s Wombwrecker and their self-titled digital EP. Playing a very vanilla type of Deathcore, the band has produced 7 tracks that are devoid of any originality and sound brutal for the sake of being brutal. With all the Deathcore band’s spanning in the last few years, one would expect that they would at least focus on not sounding all alike, but we guess that Wombwrecker missed the memo.

Immediately pounding away with “Introduction”, the band established that their sound is going to be brutal and that their guitars will be heavy as fuck. In terms of the structure of what they are playing, we can’t really say we haven’t heard this before. The brutal vocals make their appearance in the second track “No Sluts, No Glory”, and they are as heavy as any other band in the genre like Oceano, Acacia Strain, etc., we have no complaints in this department since they are as brutal as they can be.

Seemingly out of nowhere, today we have one of the best Melodic Death Metal releases we have heard in the past few years with Lahmia’s “Into the Abyss”. For a debut full-length release, this riff-tastic album is very well crafted with excellent melodic passages and very aggressive sections. With the typical comparisons to Swedish Melodic Death Metal giants Dark Tranquility, the band also fuses some of Belgium’s Thurisaz elements into to their music to create a superb album.

Opening with “Drag Me to Hell”, the band delivers intense Thrash riffing that nicely morphs into more traditional Melodic DM as the song progresses. The Dark Tranquility worship is clearly evident with the section around the 4:30 mark where they sound like DT’s opus “There In”. The mixture of traditional growls with some harsher Black Metal shrieks nicely reminds us of Thurisaz, but with less emphasis on the atmospheric side of things, as depicted on “Nightfall”.

Arriving all the way from Italy, today we have a very mellow and atmospheric release with L’Alba Di Morrigan’s debut full-length album “The Essence Remains”. Combining elements of Art Rock with some Progressive and Post-Rock hints, the band delivers nine tracks of solid music that will nicely relax you after a hard day of work.

The album opens with the very Katatonia-esque “Snowstorm”, a piece that had the participation of Frank Default (of Katatonia fame) on percussions and keyboards, giving this track a nice ethereal sound to it. The band continues with more Katatonia worship on “The Fairies’ Circle”, mainly on the distant vocal sounds and the overall depressive vibe. Frank Default makes another appearance on “Silence”, our favorite track of this release thanks to its very moody passages.

With a very lush and elaborate sound, today we have Llvme and their second full-length release “Yia De Nuesu”. Mixing elements from Doom, Folk, and Black/Death Metal, this band has a very rich and entertaining sound that will blow you away with excellent melancholic passages and sheer brutality moments.

Opening with the majestic “1188-1230” track, this release immediately establishes a melancholic atmosphere full of aggression and emotions. The female vocals and violins in this track are excellent and nicely contrast the heavy elements of the track. “Helmantica” brings forth a more aggressive stance from the band and some very Dimmu Borgir-esque keyboards. The riffing is very well crafted and the drums are stellar. “Vettonia” has that same Folk Metal vibe that bands like Eluveitie exploit to no end (the bagpipes), but it somewhat feels different with some nice stop-and-go moments and the direct Amorphis ‘rip-off’ section at the end of the track.

ATMF is always surprising us with some mind-bending music as well as some ear raping releases, the label with Tal’set’s “La Via del Guerreiro” has managed to release something that is very rare these days: Truly Original Music. Before you go thinking that the end is near (due to such inconceivable fact), Tal’set’s musical style is a pretty interesting amalgamation of other styles into a weird hybrid that sounds like nothing else and everything else put together in perfect harmony.

The album starts with a very trippy intro titled “Il Vecchio Alla Stazione” that sets the mood for a deeply confusing and weird release indeed. “La Via del Guerreiro” features some weird proggy elements from the 70’s mixed with some heavy duty Death Metal elements adding to the confusion of where is this band going with this. Same happens with the medieval sounding opening of “Intento” only to go back into some barebones Death Metal with chunky riffs and some BM sounding drumming.

As the USBM scene keeps getting better and better over the years, it is not surprising to find high-quality releases, like Kommandant’s “The Draconian Archetype”, that keep pushing the boundaries of Black Metal. The band’s delivers 10 tracks and over 50 minutes of excellent Black Metal with an emphasis on the atmospheric side of things. With a sound similar to bands like Nightbringer and Canadian’s Weapon, Kommandant clearly knows what they are doing and transmit their sickness perfectly in this release.

With excellent dissonant guitars and a balls-to-the-wall approach, “We are the Angels of Death” makes a powerful statement as the opener for this release. The thick atmosphere created by the guitars is outstanding and gives that veil of darkness that many BM releases lack these days. The vocals are creepy and intense, adding an extra layer of dissonance to the music. “Victory Through Intolerance” features a more traditional structure, but that dense atmosphere is nicely present throughout this track as well.

Kaos, the Bay Area’s most underrated Thrash Metal band is finally back with five high-octane tracks that deliver the powerful message that the band needs a shot at the big leagues: ASAP. In “Validated in Blood” the band maintains their top notch form from their previous release “The Pits of Existence”, and delivers a very intense and powerful release.

Opening with the pummeling “United We Kill”, the riff machine immediately starts and keeps things soaring high for the remainder of this release. Besides the killer riffing, Jason Darnell’s vocals are top notch, perfectly blending with the band’s aggressive music. The percussions in this song are excellent and the individual guitar work in the solos is top notch, something that many bands fail to put attention to, showcasing the abilities of Stacey Murray and Steve Brumbaugh.

Arriving all the way from Spain, today we have Inside the Fall’s debut EP titled “…As Life Withers”. Keeping the Death/Doom flame alive, Inside the Fall does an excellent job in crafting five emotional tracks that feature all the elements fans love about the genre. We are huge fans of Death/Doom and this release is one of the best we have received so far this year.

Opening with the highly energetic “Highest Walls of Despair”, Inside the Fall shows their skill in creating a good riffing structure with emphasis on melody, but keeping the Doom characteristics that we all know and love. The growls are very powerful and nicely thrown into the mix, there are a few vocal layering elements that add extra depth to the song. Mixing clean and harsh vocals the ‘doom passage’ in this track is very well mixed into the track.

Delivering some of the most uninspired music we have heard in quite a while, today we have Australia’s Teramaze and their latest full-length “AnhedoniA”. Mixing Progressive elements with a Modern Metal foundation, this band fails to evoke any emotions or sympathy for this release due to the blandness and repetitive nature of their music.

With 11 tracks, “AnhedoniA” is one of those releases that no matter how many times you play it, it always blends in the background due to its unexciting nature. The band indeed has musical skills since the guitar work and the drumming are well executed, but the linearity of the music and vocals totally kills this release for us.

After getting and reviewing a ton of Black and Thrash Metal albums, it is quite refreshing to hear some Progressive Metal. Australia’s Hemina delivers their debut full-length release “Synthetic” through Nightmare Records. While the band wins almost no points for originality, this release is quite pleasing to hear for fans of Dream Theater, Ayreon, Pain of Salvation and such bands.

Opening with warm-up and traditional intro track, the album gets in full swing with “To Conceive a Plan”. Featuring lush keyboards and excellent guitar work, this song is very mellow and nicely sets the mood for the musical experience that lies ahead. Clocking around 11 minutes, this song nicely showcases the band’s musical abilities and their excellent songwriting skills. The guitars are very well crafted and emotional, the drums are tights and well placed, and the vocals are pretty standard for such a release.