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    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Timo Tolkki’s Avalon - The Enigma Birth (2021)

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    There are only three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and Timo Tolkki crafting bad-ass Power Metal songs. Today we have Timo and his Avalon project unleashing their fourth full-length release “The Enigma Birth”. Featuring nearly one hour of music and eight guest vocalists, this release continues the band’s trend of delivering sweeping melodies, killer guitar solos, and highly engaging vocal lines. As occasional Power Metal listeners, we greatly appreciate these types of releases as you get to ‘discover’ some singers that wouldn’t be on our radar.

    Opening with the crafty “Enigma Birth”, we have blistering guitars and drums, perfectly paired with Pellek’s dramatic and quite versatile vocals. This track sets a very bombastic and explosive mood that is perfectly continued with the hard rocking “I Just Collapse” featuring returning guest Caterina Nix and her talented pipes. Timo and company are masters at changing tempos and styles between songs and yet keeping that intensity and melodic edge.

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    Vrexiza - Vrexiza (2021)

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    Unleashing a 21 minute blistering self-titled album, today we have Canada’s Vrexiza and their no-bullisht Black Metal. Picked up to be released in tape format by Signal Rex, this 4 track release delivers waves of crushing riffs, pummeling vocals, and crafty tempos. Nothing fancy or overproduced here, just straight up raw and demoralizing BM.

    The release opens with the crushing “Iron Spectres” and its intricate guitar work. Delivering a swift and brutal blow to the back of the head, this track is expertly crafted to be pummeling and highly demoralizing. After the intense opening, “Hürtgenwald” changes the pace to a more hypnotic, atmospheric, and incisive piece with piercing riffs, mid-tempo hellish vocals and blistering headbanging passages.

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    Siderean - Lost on Void's Horizon (2021)

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    Unleashing around 40 minutes of expertly crafted Death Metal, today we have Slovenia’s Siderean and their debut release “Lost on Void’s Horizon”. Mixing a core of traditional Death Metal elements with brilliant technical proficiency and some sprinkles of progressive elements thrown into the mix, this release is both crafty and powerful. Never straying too far away from their DM roots, the band nicely explores multiple influences, ultimately delivering a very unique and engaging style of their own.

    The release opens up with the thunderous “Eolith” and its fierce guitar onslaughts. Thrown into the mix are some nice mellow interludes that allow the listener to breathe and prepare for the next round of punishment. After the dreamy instrumental, “Traversing”, the band comes back with a more mellow and proggy vibe on the album title track. Having some killer Opeth/Sculptured-esque vibes, this track still grapples to its old-school DM harshness alongside playful and funky melodic passages.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Meridian Dawn - The Pagan Poetry (2021)

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    After their killer 2020 debut release “The Fever Syndrome”, we had our ears ready for Meridian’s Dawn latest EP “The Pagan Poetry”. Featuring 2 new tracks and three cover songs, this release keeps up the band’s momentum as one of the best up and coming Melodic Death Metal bands that plays with an old-school Nightrage/Inflames/Dark Tranquility vibe.

    Opening with Björk’s cover of “Pagan Poetry”, we get a bit of a muffled track that while delivering the band’s signature intense riffs and catchy tempo changes, it also shows a different side to the original piece. While our promo sounds a bit wonky, the song rendition itself is not bad. Next up we have one of the band’s new songs “The Moonlit Path”, a song we completely love as the band takes its time in building melodic interludes before blasting full-speed with the harsh vocals and crushing lead guitars.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Odraza - Acedia (2021)

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    Straight out of a horror film, today we have Poland’s Odraza and their bone-chilling EP “Acedia”. Perfectly blending Black Metal elements with tons of dramatic atmospherics in a very experimental manner, this release unleashes nearly 27 minutes of creepy music that is intended to disturb listeners while drawing them into its fierce claws.

    Immediately setting the bar high with the creepy first few minutes of “I”, the band slowly creates a very foul and disturbing atmosphere. There are certain jazzy and exploratory elements thrown into the mix, allowing the band’s sound to be quite expansive and unique. Heavy doomy riffs and crafty percussion help shift the mood in this aural journey, to a more industrial and ethnic place, while the sparse Black Metal onslaughts are fierce and demoralizing due to their intensity.

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    Disparaître - Urchig (2021)

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    Never in short supply, Atmospheric Black Metal bands have started to pop out of the shadows in the last few years. With a saturation of the genre, it becomes quite hard to find bands that bring something unique and different to the table. Luckily for us, today we have France’s mysterious entity Disparaître and their latest EP “Urchig”. Clocking in at 30+ minutes, this release creates a very cavernous atmospheric vibe but throws in some melodic elements that nicely shift the linearity of the style and create interesting and engaging passages.

    The release opens with your traditional synth opening in “La voûte étoilée”, however, they quickly merge with an all-out-war approach with piercing shrieks, crushing guitars and crafty drums. We particularly appreciate how the atmospheric synths are mixed quite high, at some points overpowering the ravaging BM onslaughts. The intensity picks up with the brutal onslaughts of “Nachtspinnärinnä”, an 11-minute tour-de-force that perfectly blends piercing riffs with harsh screams and dreamy atmospheric undertones.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Jess and the Ancient Ones - Vertigo (2021)

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    After a four year wait, we have Finland’s Psychedelic Rockers Jess and the Ancient Ones finally back with their mesmerizing “Vertigo” release. Being huge fans of the band since their self-titled debut, we are excited to hear how their music continues to evolve and deliver warm and fuzzy vibes. Highly recommended for fans of bands like Jex Thoth, Purson, and even Tribulation, this release unleashes around 40 minutes of superbly crafted and highly groovy music.

    The album kicks off with the mysterious guitars of “Burning Of The Velvet Fires”, and as soon as Jess’s vocals come to light, the mood turns sultry and enigmatic. We particularly love how the band uses synths and crafty drums to create immersive Psychedelic experiences that are perfectly adorned by Jess’s distinctive vocals and Thomas Corpse’s playful guitars, as heard in pieces like “World Paranormal”, “Talking Aboard”, and the funky “Talking Board”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Djevel - Tanker som rir natten (2021)

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    Unleashing a fierce and yet haunting offering of Norwegian Black Metal, today we have Djevel and their latest opus “Tanker som rir natten”. Slowly improving with each release, this outfit explores more atmospheric and eerie territories with the nearly 60 minutes of music unleashed in this album. Having the blistering BM core in the bag, this release showcases the band’s knack for enigmatic and creepy atmospheres surrounded by interesting vocal arrangements and slower and more melodic onslaughts.

    Opening with the razor sharp distorted guitars of “Englene Som Falt Ned I Min Seng, Skal Jeg Sette Fri Med Brukne Vinger Og Torneglorier” alongside some epic drumming, the release sets a very moody and yet sinister vibe. Just before the blistering tremolo-picking onslaughts, we love the eerie clean vocal atmospherics. The band’s sound is as vicious as ever, but with more playful and melodic passages as “Maanen Skal Være Mine Øine, Den Skinnende Stierne Mine Ben, Og Her Skal Jeg Vandre Til Evig Tid” and “En Krone For Et Øie Som Ser Alt, Tusind Torner For En Sønn Som Var Alt” punish the listener with aggression and creepy vocals.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Psychonaut / Sâver - Emerald (2021)

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    Featuring two of the most interesting and genre bending bands in Pelagic Records roster: Psychonaut and Sâver, “Emerald” is a massive 35-minute long EP. With each band doing just one long song, we get to perfectly enjoy the moody Post-Metal antics of Belgium’s Psychonaut, and the lush atmospheric intro to the punishing sound of Sâver. If you like Post-Metal and adjacent styles, you can’t miss out on this

    Opening with the introspective and slow-building “The Great Realization”, we get a very nice warmup to when the vocal arrangements quick in and the tempo changes go in full effect. This gives a certain dreamy and mellow effect that suddenly transforms with waves of heavy riffs and harsh vocals. The band’ perfect timing and elegant evolution creates very lively and mellow passages that are nicely contrasted with more dominant and loud yet also melodic sections.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hymnr - Far Beyond Insanity (2021)

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    Unleashing a very frosty and devastating 44 minutes of harsh Black Metal, Hymnr’s debut full-length release “Far Beyond Insanity” is quite punishing. Combining crafty atmospherics with traditional tremolo-picking BM and some Doom elements, this release is by far conventional as it envelops the listener in a sinister shroud of mystery. If you like dense and demoralizing music, this release has plenty to offer.

    The release kicks off with the melodic riffing of “Part I”, a track that changes gears between blistering BM onslaughts and more catchy melodic passages, perfect for intense headbanging. What stands out of the band’s style is the deep vocals, that break away from your traditional BM shrieks, alongside heavier and slower riffs, giving it a certain Doom-esque edge, at certain times. However, blistering pieces like “Part II” and “Part III” are there for fans of shrieks and subtle atmospherics, creating very immersive experiences.

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