Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Suicidal Angels – Sanctify the Darkness (2010)

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    With the current Thrash revival we have been noticing that many circa 2000 bands have re-surfaced and now they are finally getting deals with higher-profile labels in their attempt to ride the Thrash metal magic pony during the last few years. Suicidal Angels is one of those bands that has been benefited by this revival, but that it also has enough substance in their music to be worth listening to and actually buying their albums.

    The band plays old-school Thrash in a commanding manner and if it weren’t for the huge noticeable accent on the vocals we would never have guess they are from Greece. The influences behind this band are countless: old Slayer, Kreator, Possessed, old Sodom, etc. As you can expect you will not find anything original here, but who cares, if it’s well played Thrash metal, we are completely down for it.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Haar – Haar (2010)

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    Hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland today we have Haar and their self-titled debut EP. The band plays a mixture of Black Metal with progressive elements that sounds a bit like Wolves In The Throne Room meets Deathspell Omega. While the band’s sound is not strikingly original, they can still craft solid tunes of darkness.

    Featuring 26 minutes of music divide in 3 songs this EP release will certainly entertain all the fans of obscure sounding Black Metal. The band’s sound is greatly enhanced by recording all instruments at the same time, providing enough rawness and a live feeling to their music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sorgeldom – Inner Receivings (2010)

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    Today we have an interesting Black Metal band from Sweden with the name of Sorgeldom. We call this band’s music interesting because their sound has some of the Scandinavian Black Metal feel to it mixed with some experimental rock/shoegaze elements. The band never goes as far as sounding like a Post-Black Metal band, but they do have a cleaner/slower edge in their sound that few others have.

    Sorgeldom in not by any means a revolutionary band, but they do a pretty solid job in incorporating different elements into a strong Black Metal foundation. The band has somewhat shifted from their original sound and now they are trying to find a middle ground between the harshness of traditional Black Metal and their experimental elements.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sarah Jezebel Deva – A Sign of Sublime (2010)

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    Having performed for Therion, Cradle Of Filth, The Kovennat, among many others, Sarah Jezebel Deva is one of the most recognized and female voices of Metal. Her appearances for said bands have been mostly showcasing her classical voice and not her ‘natural’ voice. In her lackluster own band Antagoria she started using a ‘cleaner’ more normal sounding voice and on her solo album she almost goes as far as ‘going pop’, like Liv Kristine and other female vocalists have done.

    We love Gothic Metal and almost any other type of metal that features female vocals, and when we got this promo we immediately got excited. This feeling lasted for about 2 songs and then it just changed into disappointment. Some of the songs in this album are good but others just lack inspiration and aim. She has stated that she wanted to give something for everybody and she has somewhat achieved that, but for the core of her fans we think they will be disappointed.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Society's Plague - The Human, The Canvas (2010)

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    With a very ‘commercial friendly’ sound, today we get Society’s Plague. Hailing from the USA, this band plays a mean mixture of Melodic/Progressive Death Metal with Metalcore influence. Setting aside our ‘differences of opinion’ with Metalcore bands, Society’s Plague is actually one hell of a band that will blow you away since the first song on their debut full-length release “The Human, The Canvas”.

    This American band has some Swedish Melodic DM influences in their sound and we love it. When most kids these days are focusing on creating songs with breakdowns every 30 seconds, Society’s Plague focuses more on crafting dual guitar melodies like almost no other new-coming band. The bands guitarists combine both skill and great songwriting skills on this album, making the band have a very dynamic and diverse sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Warvictims - Domedagen (2010)

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    If you like D-beat/Punk you should already know who the Swedish Warvictims are. If you don’t, then definitely check this album out. We are not huge fans of the genre or this band, but we can notice how intense and raw Domedagen is.

    In a quick lowdown of “Domedagen” we have to say that the punk riffing and drumming is very persistent during the album and create the right atmosphere for a band of this genre. The production quality on this release is pretty shitty, but we assume this would add more ‘rawness’ and ‘authenticity’ to the album.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    D.I.S – Critical Failure (2010)

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    All-star band D.I.S grace us today with the Trash/Crust influenced D-beat that will surely blow you away. Featuring members of Phobia, Exhumed, Mange, Impaled and Eat The Living, this band is ready to kick ass and take names. “Critical Failure” is their long-awaited debut album and they have pretty much delivered in every single aspect with this album.

    If you are expecting anything original or innovative, you have picked the wrong genre and thus the wrong band/album. D.I.S is something that most nostalgic people about the old days of Hardcore punk will treasure and completely identify with. The band’s Swedish sound is very thick and will blow you away.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Colonel Blast – For the Greater Good (2010)

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    Once we listen to an album for one or two times we usually have an idea of what to say about it, when it came to “For the Greater Good” we are still short on words to describe it, but we will try to do our best. This band combines almost every possible genre of Metal together and creates a very unique and crushing sound.

    The band quickly starts of their album showing their riffage power and drumming skills. However, the screamed vocals on this song (and others) are quite annoying since they sound like a cat is getting hit by a bus or something. Some people might dig this, but we don’t, however the growls used through the album are decent enough to make up for them, and the music is what interested us the most.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Quest of Aidance – Dark are the Skies at Hand (2008)

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    Quest of Aidance is yet another band that was started/features Christian Älvestam from Scar Symmetry, Solution .45, etc. fame. This Death/Grind band also has within it’s ranks Jonas Kjellgre (Scar Symmetry, Centinex), and Henrik Schönström (Unmoored) on drums.

    After all the name-dropping we find ourselves listening to a very brutal Death/Grind release with some weird stuff in the middle. All previous musicians are usually known for their technical abilities but in “Dark are the Skies at Hand” they show they can do uncompromising brutality with a little technical aspect on the side.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Bitter Frost – Bitter Frost (2010)

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    Out of all the self-released albums we get, we have never received such an impressive release as Bitter Frost’s self-titled debut album. With an amazing musicianship, crystal clear production, solid songwriting, and impressive guest appearances, “Bitter Frost” will surely be our favorite Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal album of the year.

    Featuring 73 minutes of impressive music, the one man band Bitter Frost takes us through many different genres of metal laid on top of a Black Metal foundation. With all the ideas and creativity behind this release, we only feel sorry for all the unsigned bands that even when combined together will never put out a release as impressive as this one.

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