Highly melodic and equally melancholic are the first words that come through our mind when thinking about Heimdalls Wacht’s latest release “Nichtorte”. With a heavy emphasis on the melodic side of things, Germany’s Heimdalls Wacht delivers a good dose of Pagan Black Metal in the 12 tracks presented on this release, good enough to be one of the best we’ve heard in quite a while.

After the traditional intro, the riffing onslaught begins with “Maelstrom”, a very Black Metal oriented track with catchy sections. The drumming is very fast paced, but the ethereal atmospheric elements here and there are what makes this track standout. Things finally start to move into darker and more melancholic territories with songs like “Ignis fatuus” and “Die Einsamkeit des Gestaltenwandlers”. The melody achieve by the songs powerful riffs is amazing and completely destructive.

In an action packed sampler, today we have Malevolence Records “2012 European Tour Sampler” featuring 4 different bands and two tracks each, a new one and an older one. With a nice spread of different musical genres (Thrash Metal and Melodic Death/Black Metal) this release is quite entertaining and shows promises for the upcoming releases of bands like KAOS and Septic Christ.

Tracks one and five belong the American Thrash Metal act KAOS. Their brand of high-octane Thrash Metal was greatly received with their last release titled “Pits of Existence” from which “Let God Sort Them Out” comes from. The new track “Infernal Bleeding” continues where the band left off and delivers super guitar work and excellent drumming. The vocals are pretty standards and aggressive enough to keep fans of ‘more brutal’ genres interested. This track has a nice melodic edge to it and we can only hope their upcoming release “Validated in Blood” is as good as this song.

Hailing from France, today we have the Heavy/Power Metal outfit named Lonewolf and their surprisingly very engaging release “Army of the Damned”. While not having anything original about their sound, Lonewolf does an excellent job in crafting 11 super-catchy headbanging inducing tracks that will stick to your head for days to come.

Opening with the track titled “Lonewolf”, the band delivers commanding guitar riffs and solos, powerful keyboards in a very traditional sounding track that is super catchy in nature. The vocals are your typical late 90’s raspy Heavy Metal style, but they actually feel very well fitted for the more modern and richer sound of the band. Things continue to get even catchier with the excellent “Crawling to Hell”, a track that has a slight Manowar vibe. The chorus section is pretty solid, allowing this track to have all the makings of a true Metal anthem.

With a very interesting and bombastic sound, today we have Sweden’s own AtomA and their debut full-length “Skylight” out on Napalm Records. In this release we have a trio of musicians crafting a unique musical experience that has way too much stuff going on at certain times. While the band’s sound is lush and powerful, it also feels a bit misguided and confusing, making this release a interesting experience but ultimately not cohesive enough to be fully praised (at least by us).

Opening with the ritualistic “AtomA”, this track has a very ‘tribal’ feeling to it with a mixture of futuristic soundtrack elements and some electronic stuff thrown into the mix. As an opener it helps set the listener’s mindset to something completely different, but it also feels a bit convoluted. “Skylight” capitalizes on the initial build up with some more extreme atmospheric elements and powerful guitars. The drumming is very well crafted, but sounds a bit drowned in the mix. The clean vocal sections are pretty solid and provide a nice ethereal feeling to the band’s brand of music.

Keeping the quality Death/Doom Metal flag alive, today we have Et Moriemur and their debut full-length “Cupio Disolvi”. This Czech band delivers nine melancholic tracks that narrate nine different stories of people that took their own life. With the band’s highly melancholic and emotional sound, “Cupio Disolvi” not only transmits depressive feelings via the lyrics, but also with such beautifully crafted emotional music.

“Deliverance” opens this release with a slight folk edge that feels a bit weird for the concept of the release, but the song soon starts warming up. The growls are great and the overall pace of this song is very well crafted to provide an interesting ride. With 2 minutes remaining on the track, the band goes into a passage that reminded us a bit of Lacrimosa but with manlier clean vocals and some excellent Doom weeping guitars.

The constantly morphing Job for a Cowboy (JFAC) have taken 4 years between full-length releases and with “Demonocracy” they keep getting closer and closer to the Technical Death Metal genre with this release. Many people give shit to this band from leaving the Deathcore category, but their slow transition has been quite interesting and something to admire since they are bringing with them plenty of fans that otherwise would never dabble with Tech DM bands.

Opening with the commanding “Children of Deceit”, the band makes a huge statement with its brutal and technical approach. The drumming is furious, the riffing is very well crafted, and the bass guitar track is almost up to par to something that Jeroen Paul Thesseling (Pestilence, ex-Obscura) would come up with. The ups and downs in this song are very well crafted and don’t feel too Deathcore-ish to us.

The self-titled ugliest band in Metal, Aura Noir, finally returns with a powerful new release titled “Out to Die”. Comprised of eight Black/Thrash Metal pieces, the band is ready to reclaim their throne and riff listeners into submission. With their signature down-and-dirty sound, the band delivers a very solid effort that will please all their fans and keep their legacy ugliness rolling.

Lead by Apollyon (of Immortal fame), the band pummels through extremely catchy songs without any dull moments. Opening with the intense “Trenches”, the signature dirty Black/Thrash sound of Aura Noir is immediately present. Intense riffing and commanding drums beat the listener into submission with tracks like “Fed to the Flames”, “Abbadon”, and “The Grin from the Gallows”. The band ability to make simple yet very catchy songs is excellent, and with the vocals being strong and firm, we are more inclined to like this band more than Kreator and such.

With a massive and destructive sound, today we have Hour of Penance and their latest release “Sedition”. Waiving the Technical Brutal Death Metal flag, Hour of Penance delivers high intensity brutal music with a nice technical edge that puts them over their closest competition. While not as technical as Obscura, Decrepit Birth, and similar band, this release compensates with intense drumming and a more brutal feel to the music.

After the opening instrumental, the band delivers its first punch with “Enlightened Submission”, a very brutal and crushing opening song. The growls are as deep and brutal as you can get, but the massive drumming is what immediately sticks out. “Decimate the Ancestry of the Only God” and “Fall of the Servants” keep pummeling your ears with insane levels of brutality, thanks to the hellish vocals and powerful riffs that accompany the extreme drumming.

With nine tracks of super catchy melodic Metal, De Profundis brings us their third full-length offering “The Emptiness Within”. Combining excellent Melodic passages with Progressive elements and a hefty dosage of powerful riffing, this release has a vibe similar to the Melodic DM wave that came out of Finland in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Don’t get us wrong, “The Emptiness Within” does feature a good amount of aggressiveness, but it is all surrounded by excellent melodic elements.

“Delirum” opens the riffing marathon with very well defined and melodic guitars, a sound that reminded us of earlier Eternal Tears of Sorrow, and similar acts. The growls are spot on and the overall mixture of melodic guitars, pummeling drums and guitar solos is just outstanding. The guitar work courtesy of Soikot Sengupta and Roman Subbotin is very well crafted and entertaining, particularly in the dreamy ‘instrumental’ passages.