Hailing from Poland, today we have Mord’A’Stigmata and their monumental Avant-garde Black Metal release “Antimatter”. In this album the band delivers 52 minutes of pure chaotic Black Metal that will blow you away and make you scratch your head at the same time. We are huge fans of Avant-garde BM and “Antimatter” is one of the finest examples we have heard this 2011.

Opening with a weird intro, the album fully kicks in with “Kinetic Dogma” and “De Magnum Opus Solis”, two very hellish and powerful straight-up Black Metal tracks that feature some interesting elements here and there, but mostly devastating vocals, dissonant guitars and a powerful and tornado-like atmosphere. The devastation continues with “Antimatter”, but here is where things start turning somewhat melodic leading up to the ‘weirder’ things in this release.

Making its way from Norway to our little corner of the world, today we have Acelsia’s latest EP titled “Quietude”. In this four-song EP the band shows their very effective approach to mixing Gothic and Doom Metal influences with some hints of Rock. Lead by the enchanting vocals of Malene Markussen, the band delivers 18 minutes of pure melancholic music that will move you one way or another.

Opening with powerful riffs on “All these Years”, the band nicely transitions with enchanting female vocals and well constructed Doom-like riffs. While the band’s sound is not fully depressive or as down-tempo as regular Gothic Doom, you can still feel the melancholy behind the hearfelt songs presented in this release. “Happiness Prevails” opens with some weaping guitars and quickly transforms, this skill is probably Acelsia’s most interesting feature since the songs morph from one direction to another very seamlessly and effectively.

Beautifully packed in a lush digisleeve, today we have Fyrnask’s debut full-length release “Bluostar”. Mixing some pretty bone-chilling ambient/atmospheric elements with harsh and devastating Black Metal, Fyrnask delivers over 55 minutes of brilliant music that while not everybody’s cup of tea, it did affected us in a positive way.

The mastermind behind the band, Fyrnd, delivers flawless performances in all instruments making them all come together in a brilliant way to capture the raw essence of Black Metal and incorporate the hypnotic feeling of the ambient sections. While most BM tracks are over 7 minutes, the brilliantly placed interludes and intros of song songs nicely shake things up and allow the listener to be always guessing what’s coming next.

Hailing from Norway, the cradle of Black Metal, today we have Saligia and their old-school nihilistic release “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi”. Featuring 40 minutes of pure and unadulterated Black Metal, the band relies on slick riffing and drumming to capture an occult feeling behind this release. There are no over-the-top shrieks of over-extended use of tremolo-picking section, just plain and simple devastating Black Metal like in the old days.

The opening blow titled “Casus Gloria” nicely builds up into a very retro Black Metal sound that prevails through this very well crafted release. The band delivers just the right amount of ‘devilish’ riffs to create a very effective atmosphere and does not overdo things too early. The vocals and rhythm sections of “Sar Ha-Olam” keep up with the same tempo than the first track and we think it is just great. The speed of this album is not super chaotic, allowing the music to flow nicely and deliver its occult message without getting on your nerves.

After the ‘departure’ from Dimmu Borgir, acclaimed singer ICS Vortex decided to not go down easily and has finally delivered a very solid ‘solo’ release that capitalizes on his biggest asset: his vocals. However, the music is also top notch since it mixes a wide variety of styles that might catch some people off guard, but with high promise and top notch quality.

Playing all instruments in the album except the drums (courtesy of none other than Asgeir Mickelson), this release is packed with soaring vocals and epic melodic sections. Capturing some of the elements of Borknagar and adding some more psychedelic and progressive brushes, “Storm Seeker” is one of the most diverse albums of 2011.

Hailing from Sweden, Plutonium delivers merciless aural attacks of pure and chaotic Industrial Black Metal. There is nothing pretty and ‘techno’ about this release, just raw Black Metal energy fused together with some dissonant samples and relentless riffing. While most Industrial Metal bands these days are trying to sound too ‘nice’, Plutonium delivers pure decadence in their very crushing and powerful sound.

Opening with the crushing “A Tribute to the Tools of the Cosmic Abostionist”, this one-man band delivers some blistering Black Metal elements paired with some crazy electronics at the end of the song. Having been warned, “Devilment Entertainment Non-Stop” delivers more Black Metal elements with very well crafted and credible drums (but we suspect they are ‘fake’). Things start getting weird with the very martial “Peace Keeper”, a very different track that creates a very bizarre atmosphere.

Featuring a very unique blend of Black/Death and Grindcore with Melodic passages, today we have Tyrael and their latest release “Der Wald ist mein Zuhause”. With claims by the band of calling their sound “Green Metal”, we found it very interesting that they actually do sound different than the tons of submissions we get every day.

Blowing up in your face with the opening track “To Isengard”, the band quickly gets into very melodic guitar work, crafted to perfection. The band’s tempo changes and hellish vocal combinations deliver enough brutality to nicely contrast the melodic nature of the track. “Throne of God” moves a bit into Black Metal territory with brutal drumming, but it also has very effective melodic mid-tempo sections that nicely pace the songs.

Metal’s most original band in the last few years returns with yet another A Capella Power Metal release that will rattle your speakers since track one. “Break the Silence” marks the band’s fourth full-length album and also features a bit of a shift into more a ‘melodic’ sound. However, we are still treated to 40+ minutes of pure vocal brilliance and amazing melodic catchiness.

Opening with “If I Die in Battle”, the vocal powers of Philip Dennis Schunke and Inga Scharf lead the way over the amazing ‘vocal instruments’ that back them. In a ‘slower’ and more melodic way we have plenty of mmmmm’s that keep an epic feeling to the song and give it a darker edge. “The Seller of Souls” delivers a more ‘traditional’ Van Canto sound and leads the way for some powerful vocal bass line and some excellent vocal guitar sections. With a nice Power Metal feeling this song has nice choir sections and a very perky pace.

After their excellent last album “Meet Us at the Southern Sign”, Glorior Belli decides to unleash a 180 degree twist on us and delivers one of the most interesting sounding Black ’n’ (Southern) Roll releases in the last few months. With 11 tracks and around 48 minutes of music, “The Great Southern Darkness” has a very fresh sound to it, while still maintaining some of the previous Glorior Belli flair in the music.

The opener “Dark Gnosis” gives early hints of such a Stoner/Southern influence in the riffing and overall atmosphere of the song. The band however, keeps some of their own brand of BM influences in this very interesting and eye-popping opening track. With a heavier nature, “Secret Ride to Rebellion” delivers some excellent depraved riffing that will hum in your ears until you go to bed. The Southern/Stoner tanginess returns with the very entertaining “They Call Me Black Devil”, a track that has a cinematic like experience to it.