Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Morbid Carnage – Night Assassins (2010)

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    Hailing from Hungary we get yet another band that is jumping on the Trash Metal revival bandwagon, but at least they are pretty solid at it. This band sounds a lot like Kreator did back in the 80’s and we are digging this release just because of this fact.

    The band does a great job at capturing all the brilliant elements that Trash had back in the day, and gives them the proper modern production values to make them sound very brutal and aggressive. “Night Assassins” is not the most original album we have heard in this ‘Trash Metal revival’ era, but it sure is one of the most old-school sounding ones.

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    The Breathing Process – Odyssey: (Un)Dead (2010)

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    Out of all the bands we have reviewed recently, The Breathing Process is by far the one that combines to most influences of different genres in their music. With a very impressive (but sometimes terrible) mixture of Black/Death/Gothic Metal with some Melodeath and even Metalcore-ish influences we get “Odyssey: (Un)Dead”.

    After their very impressive debut album “In Waking: Divinity”, we could not expect anything less from this young American band, but we also got a bit disappointed at some points during this album. The band fails to mix their elements together and ends up sounding extremely chaotic and redundant in some places.

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    As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise (2010)

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    We try to stay away from as much Metalcore crap that we can, but sometimes we get some releases that are worth listening to and giving them a solid review. “The Powerless Rise” is one of those, it features an As I Lay Dying that has been refining their sound with every release and now, they are good enough for us to enjoy (somewhat).

    The band is as brutal as ever and features the traditional breakdowns that most people love to death, however, we enjoy this album because of the brilliant melodic parts that some songs have in this release. The band might have 80% of the elements that makes us despise Metalcore, but objectively and musically, they can also compose brilliant songs.

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    Pain – Cynic Paradise (2010)

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    We really do not understand the point of re-releasing for the USA an album that has been out for almost a year in Europe, but hey, it’s Pain and Cynic Paradise is indeed a very solid album that we loved since it came out (in Europe!). With their intoxicating Industrial Metal, Pain is the brain child of Peter Tägtgren and is considerably different from any of his other projects.

    “Cynic Paradise” has taken even more electronic/techno influences than before and it’s pushing the boundaries of Industrial Metal quite far with its pop-ish influences in songs like “Follow Me”, which by the way has vocals provided by Anette Olzon from Nightwish. As a very versatile musician, Peter Tägtgren shows that he can do very bombastic music that will please people that are usually repulsed by his other projects (people that do not listen to metal).

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    Keep Of Kalessin – Reptilian (2010)

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    After releasing amazing albums like “Armada” and “Kolossus”, we have Keep Of Kalessin’s latest offering with “Reptilian”. And let us tell you that the band did not failed to deliver another brilliant Black Metal assault that will make all the Black Metal posers weep in despair. Keep Of Kalessin is back with a very brutal release that will surely be considered one of the top Black Metal albums of 2010.

    With it’s unique riffing style (for Black Metal), this band revamped the genre back in 2006 with “Armada” and continues to keep pushing the boundaries of Black Metal to the extreme. “Reptilian” opens up with a very epic song “Dragon Iconography” and it’s immediately evident that the band has been taking more influences of old-school Trash/Heavy Metal and NWOBHM bands for their riffing assaults.

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    Eclectika – Dazzling Dawn (2010)

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    Hailing from France, today we get a very unique Post-Black Metal band that is not afraid of pushing the boundaries of music. This French trio plays a very well balanced mixture of raw Black Metal with experimental elements that makes “Dazzling Dawn” a very refreshing album that is both aggressive and very melodic.

    Starting off with a very symphonic intro, you are set to expect something like Dimmu Borgir or similar Symphonic Black Metal bands, but instead you get a very raw BM approach with some female vocals. All this for 2 tracks and then it changes into a very melodic acoustic ballad that could be from any Gothic Metal band out there. This is pretty much how the album flows, featuring a wide variety of styles and elements put together in a very intricate way.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Gjenferdsel – Varde (2010)

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    Hailing from Norway we have yet another Black Metal band!, and this one is one of the good ones from what we can hear with “Varde”. This two man outfit has a very similar sound to Gorgoroth and we really dig their music. But don’t think they are a carbon copy since they add their own elements to make their sound different.

    As you know we don’t usually compare bands to the all-mighty Gorgoroth unless they are pretty solid and Gjenferdsel has won this comparison based on their efforts over the years. Varde” is the band’s second full-length album and features 10 songs all sang in Norwegian, adding that extra level of authenticity to the bands music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lux Ferre - Atrae Materiae Monumentum (2009)

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    With all the hundreds of Black Metal albums being released every month is hard to determine which ones are worth buying. Today we have Lux Ferre from Portugal and their second full-length album “Atrae Materiae Monumentum”, this release is one the ones we can easily recommend you spend your money on.

    The band plays a very basic and Black Metal that has the old-school feeling to it but it’s not under produced to sound like it was recorded in the woods or in the bathroom. Lux Ferre centers their sound on aggressive riffing and relentless drumming, an old but effective formula that fans of true Black Metal will greatly appreciate.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Rosetta – A Determinism of Morality (2010)

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    Hailing from Philadelphia today we have Rosetta, a band that combines elements of Hardcore, Shoegaze and Post-Metal with heavy melancholic atmospheres. This American band has been around for a while and has a pretty strong following in the scene, achieved thanks to their superb releases.

    “A Determinism of Morality” is the band’s latest effort. The album is being released by Translation Loss Records, a very unique label that has such acts as: Javelina and Mouth of the Architect. “A Determinism of Morality” starts off very aggressive before blending into an intoxicating mix of atmospheric passages. The band does a great job in gravitating between aggressive sections and instrumental passages that remind us of God is An Astronaut and similar bands.

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    Evig Natt – Darkland (2010)

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    After their impressive debut album “I Am Silence” back in 2007 we were left wanting more from Evig Natt, and finally we get “Darkland” this 2010. This Norwegian band debuted combining Black Metal with Gothic/Doom Metal influences in a very unique way, getting them enough attention and acclaim for their first album.

    With “Darkland” the band is back with a sound geared towards our favorite trifecta: Gothic/Doom/Death Metal. We completely love this genre, and we can say we are its harshest critics. With only a handful of bands that we discovered in the last few years that are worthy of carrying the banner of the combination of these three genres, we were pretty cautious when reviewing “Darkland”.

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