Album Reviews

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    Exhuman – Fear of Oneself (2010)

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    All the way from Italy, today we have Exhuman and their neck-breaking Death Metal that will help remove all the bad taste left from the inexperienced kiddies taking a whack at the genre. With catchy riffs, meaty hooks and overall flawless execution, this band uses the basic elements of the genre to craft seven highly addictive songs.

    Death Metal is a genre full with uninspired bands and it’s refreshing to listen to a band that can hold your attention for over 30 minutes, the duration of this release. Exhuman does not do anything fancy or out of the ordinary, but yet, their music feels just right and creates a solid mixture of old school DM with nice solos and melodic hints.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Weapon - From the Devil's Tomb (2010)

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    One year after their crushing debut full-length “Drakonian Paradigm”, Canada’s mystical warmongers Weapon return with another brilliant Black/Death Metal assault with “From the Devil’s Tomb”. The band’s rich and multi-textured approach to the genre makes them one of the most devastating bands these days that mixes old-school elements with dynamic songwriting.

    As with the band’s first full-length, “From the Devil’s Tomb” features a highly charged mystical component behind the music in terms of lyrics and concepts, that is greatly brought to life with crushing guitar melodies, powerful riffs, intricate drumming and multi-faceted vocals. The band has greatly matured in one year, making “From the Devil’s Tomb” twice as chilling, and more technically impressive than “Drakonian Paradigm”.

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    Mr. Death - Death Suits You (2010)

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    Featuring two members of the original Tiamat, Mr. Death hails from Sweden and it’s ready to blow you away with their super catchy horror-inspired Death Metal. Featuring a very traditional yet effective approach to Death Metal, “Death Suits You” is an album that will remind you of the days when DM was never overly technical and over produced.

    The band’s musical foundation lies with very catchy riffs and intense drumming that are landmarks of the genre. The tempo changes in the songs are another very solid element of this band’s sound and allow them to never get dull or (too) repetitive. Featuring such experienced musicians, Mr. Death has quickly gathered a following of DM fans and it’s easily understandable since their music is very powerful and effective.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Stench - In Putrescence (2010)

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    With all the uninspired and borings as hell Death Metal releases these days, it comes to us as a shock that Stench’s debut full-length releases “In Putrescence” is as good as it is, especially for a debut album. Hailing from Sweden, the band takes the basics of Death Metal and crafts a very interesting and elaborate sound that makes them sound very unique in comparison to most DM releases these days.

    “In Putrescence” features 8 tracks of highly addictive Death Metal that will have you headbanging for the 30 minutes that the album lasts. This three man band takes a different approach to the chugging riffs of traditional Death Metal and features a wide variety of slow passages that create a very haunting atmosphere when combined with the mournful screams. But they manage to keep a very solid core of catchy riffs, blistering drumming and interesting song structures that never get dull.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Neuronia - Follow the White Mouse (2010)

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    Presented in a lush digipack, today we have all the way from Poland Neuronia and their second full-length album “Follow the White Mouse”. With a very hard to describe style, the band manages to merge elements of Thrash, Heavy and Melodic Death Metal in a multi-textured release that is very enjoyable from start to end.

    With a very unique style, Neuronia’s music is very enjoyable since it features influences from tons of different genres and bands, keeping things fresh and unpredictable. The only thing we quickly noticed is that we are not big fans of the vocals since they tend to get on our nerves a bit, and even after a few listens. However, they are not bad at all is just a particular singing style that irritates us (the ‘main’ one from the several different ones presented in this album) from the past, but the band’s music is good enough for us to ignore this little detail.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Frailty – Silence is everything… (2010)

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    Lastly from the Frailty promo pack we got in the mail a few days ago we have “Silence is everything…” another EP released by this monumental Death/Doom band from Latvia. In the same vain as on their “EP” release from 2009, we get a glimpse of the band’s excellent songwriting skills and abilities to keep this genre alive and well.

    Starting of with “Wendigo” we get a solid dose of fast paced Death/Doom Metal with passages that reminded us of Anathema in their earlier days (“Pentecost” and “Crestfallen” albums). But with a heavier edge than on the band’s first full-length release and with some harsh almost Black Metal-like screams here and there.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Frailty – EP (2009)

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    Featuring songs created before Frailty’s debut album “Lost Lifeless Lights”, this eloquently titled EP gives us 30 minutes more of Frailty’s magical Death/Doom Metal. And in case you are a hardcore Death/Doom collector, you better get the Latvian release since it’s only limited to 300 hand labeled copies.

    In “EP”, the band shows a heavier and somewhat different side to what we heard in “Lost Lifeless Lights”, but this makes sense, since you can hear how the band’s songwriting abilities evolved to what became their first full-length album “Lost Lifeless Lights”. And since “EP” was recorded in 2009 it probably sounds way better than if they would have recorded it before they had a release under their belt.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Frailty - Lost Lifeless Lights (2008)

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    After listening to their 2007 promo, Frailty caught our ears with their crushing Death/Doom Metal in a way that no band since the early 2000’s and late 90’s had done it. Hailing from Latvia, this band keeps the Death/Doom Metal flame alive and delivers 9 crushing tracks in their first full-length “Lost Lifeless Lights”.

    Quickly after their Intro song, the band treats us to some crushing guitar riffs in the traditional vein of bands like Saturnus, Mourning Beloveth, Shape of Despair, etc. With the traditional tuning of Doom Metal music, the band’s riffing is very crushing in the sense that is simple, desolate and authoritative. The growls quickly make their presence and the traditional atmospheric passages soon follow. “I Know Your Pain” is the prefect song to create a depressing and monumental atmosphere to surround this release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Coma – Excess (2010)

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    Hailing from Poland, today we have Coma, a band that has ‘dominated’ the scene in their home country and now it’s trying to make their way through the very crowded and highly competitive world-wide market. The band plays a perfect blend of rock with progressive elements and some hints of Metal. “Excess” is a re-recorded version (in English) of their best album, and you can clearly hear that with the quality of the songs presented in this release.

    In an emotional rollercoaster, “Excess” takes the listener through many different moods and a wide variety of different elements fused together to create a near perfect release that will surely put the band in the world wide map. Being formed in 1998, the band has had enough time to craft their sound and be comfortable with it, the musicianship of this release shows that Coma is here to stay and that people should take note of them.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Unherz – Uherzlich Willkommen (2010)

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    While we are not big German hard rock fans, we have to recognize that Unherz is a very good up-and-coming band that mixes traditional German hard rock elements with a Metal influences. Featuring catchy riffs and melodies, epic chorus sections, and raspy vocals entirely in German, “Uherzlich Willkommen” is a very effective debut release, and will surely gain a ton of followers for Unherz.

    While the similarities to bands like Die Toten Hosen, Unherz quickly crafts their own style by being a bit heavier on the guitars and never shy of breaking some of the ‘traditional’ guidelines of the genre. For over 40 minutes, the listener is treated to 10 catchy as hell songs that will be stuck in your head for days.

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