Arriving all the way from Colombia, today we have Witchtrap and their impressive old-school Thrash Metal release titled “Vengeance Is My Name”. Featuring 40 minutes of intense balls-to-the-wall Thrash Metal, this release is an early candidate for Thrash album of the year 2012. The band delivers the old-school vibe brilliantly and their compositions are both entertaining and technically proficient.

After the misleading acoustic intro track, “Winds of War” delivers the first of many pummeling assaults of catchy riffing, high-octane drumming, and traditional Thrash Metal slur unlike anything we have hear this year. The band’s ability to sound like Kreator, Death Angel, Forbiden, used to do in the 80’s its impressive, but what is more impressive is how they complement the sound with even more technical abilities and keep the vibe intact.

Digitally making its way from Italy, today we have Legion Warcry’s debut full-length release “The Way to Escape”. With a very traditional combination of old-school Heavy Metal and Power Metal elements, this release is quite entertaining to hear. On the downside, the production is a bit funky sometimes it sounds a bit hollow and lacks some flair that other Power Metal releases have these days.

The opener “God of Thunder” begins with powerful guitar work, but some very odd vocals that sound a bit distant from everything else. The vocals are not bad, but they just sound a bit weird in this track. Combining the catchiness of Heavy Metal with some of the guitar wizardry of Power Metal, “Across the Space” and “As You Preach” nicely set the mood for this solid release. The combination of subtle guitar/keyboard wizardry on “Across the Space” makes this track very entertaining.

Delivering a pummeling aural assault, today we have Davidian and their extreme “Our Fear Is Their Force” release. Featuring brutal guitars, hellish vocals and a very intense drumming, this is probably one of the best Thrashcore/Groove Metal releases we have reviewed in a while.

After the momentum building intro track “F.S.O”, the band quickly explodes into an all-out riffing war with “Behind An Angelic Smile”. The production behind this release is massive and makes speakers shake due to the sheer power behind the guitar work and harsh singing. The band’s sound borders between groovy and melodic, making it very effective and punishing. Some keyboards hints in tracks like “Manmade Hell” nicely give unexpected twists to the band’s pummeling songs.

The ever changing Sonata Arctica finally returns after three years with another exciting (and different sounding) release titled “Stones Grow Her Name”. After listening to this album, we are sure the remaining purist fans of the older Sonata Arctica will surely shy away, and the ones that like their more recent musical direction (like us) will surely love in an instant.

Sonata Arctica is not afraid to move away of their comfort zone, and with each of their latest releases they have been experimenting and delivering excellent music that has changed the ways people perceive the band. In “Stones Grow Her Name”, the band explores more traditional songs as well as some very different tracks that at a first glance will make you think WTF.

After their epic-as-fuck release “Coat of Arms”, our favorite war inspired Power Metal band returns with the awesome “Carolus Rex”. Arriving in both English and Swedish versions, this release is a worthy continuation of their impressive back catalogue of releases keeping things nearly identical to their past releases, but with an even more epic atmosphere.

Sabaton in a certain way is very similar to Amon Amarath, they both found a niche were they are the best and very slowly keep adding minimal things to their sound to make it even more impressive. Opening with the very epic and full of choir sections, “The Lion from the North” (after the traditional filler intro track), Sabaton instantly sets the mood for such an excellent release. “Gott Mit Uns” delivers waves of powerful guitar riffs and Joakim Brodén’s excellent vocals.

With Cannibal Corpse returning this 2012 with an impressive release, ex-CC member Chris Barnes the folks at Six Feet Under fire back with the hyper groovy “Undead”. After the lukewarm “Death Rituals” back in 2008, it is nice to hear that Six Feet Under is still capable of delivering a solid album with plenty of meaty hooks and excellent chugging sections.

Opening with the powerful “Frozen At the Moment of Death”, the riffing immediately stands out due to its timeless DM vibe. The drumming is pretty hectic and Chris Barnes vocals perfectly fit the bill. While the raw power he had in the past is not there anymore, he can still deliver excellent growls by DM standards. Aside from the meaty hooks presented in tracks like “Fromaldehyde”, “18 Days”, “Molest Dead”, and “Blood on My Hands”, the slow groovy vibe that SFU constructs around their songs is what makes them standout in the scene.

Making its way from Norway, today we have Furze’s latest deconstruction of Black Metal titled “Psych Minus Space Control”. In this release, this one man band delivers 43 minutes of brilliant music perfectly split in five intriguing tracks. Furze’s ability to create trippy space rock tracks with infused Black Metal elements is just outstanding.

The minimalist opening sequence of “Occult Soul, With Mind” has a very funky sci-fi vibe that we haven’t heard since Angst Skvadron “Sweet Poison” release. The very rudimentary approach to music that Furze opts to use is quite interesting to listen to and on tracks like “Psych Mooz Space Control”, it is evident that the man behind this band is brilliant. With very retro sounding guitar work and an ever-present mellow bass guitar lines, these first songs nicely set the mood of this fine release.

Keeping up with releasing an album a year since his release from jail, Mr. Varg delivers Burzum’s “Umskiptar” this 2012. Combining the ‘traditional’ Burzum sound with some of the ‘new’ elements he showed in “Fallen”, this new release is a perfect mixture of both Black Metal and Folk elements, that while not groundbreaking it is still a solid release for this one man outfit.

Drawing inspiration from the Norse poem “Völuspá”, Varg does a solid job in creating chilling atmospheres that have a powerful Nordic feeling to them. Opening with the “Bloostokkinn”, this song feels like a war chant due to its atmosphere and spoken word sections. In “Joln” the quintessential Burzum guitar work marks its presence and delivers perverse riffs nicely paired with harsh and clean vocals. One of the things that made “Fallen” such an interesting release was the clean/spoken sections and “Umskiptar” is full of them as well.

With all the lines between Art Rock, Alternative Rock, Post-Rock and so on getting blurred, it is quite refreshing when we get releases that actually offer more than your average album. Portfolio’s release “Reason Outside Nature” is one of those albums that nicely blends many influences into a very well-crafted palette of sounds. Featuring six tracks, this EP will ease you into tranquility with its very relaxing music.

Opening with the playful “Gringo, Portfolio are dead”, the band nicely establishes a Jazzy Post-Rock foundation that is very catchy and engaging. The trumpet nicely gives depth to this band’s sound and the way it’s carved into the music separates them from the rest. There are some heavy guitars in this track, but they are mostly used to speed things up. With even more class and determination, “Frassica” fills up the room with a sexy and intoxicating atmosphere.