• Posted By: Dark Emperor
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Svartpest – Mjodfest (2010)

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With a story that reads like a soap opera (according to the press kit), today we have Norway’s Svartpest and their latest release “Modfest”. In this album we get 7 tracks of a mixture of Black Metal with some Viking/Folk influences that feels somewhat a bit undercooked, but decent enough to make an ok album.

Taking 3 songs from their 99 demo (with the same title), the band gives us a total of 7 tracks that dramatically vary in quality, but have a few decent ones to call this album a ‘lukewarm’ success. We have nothing against such releases, but we think is kind of lame to rehash older songs for newer releases (unless you are a band with a long (and recognized) trajectory).

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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Liktjern - Kulde, Pest & Død (2011)

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Hailing from Norway, today we have another Black Metal band popping out of the woods. Liktjern has been around since 1996 but due to tons of line-up changes and everything you can imagine, the band has never released any music until “Kulde, Pest & Død”, a very raw and ‘traditional sounding’ Black Metal MCD.

As we are reviewing this album during a winter storm, we can surely state that this kind of Black Metal is just right for these moments. All 4 songs are raw and basic, a simplistic but rather traditional approach to the genre, but then again who said Black Metal is supposed to be pretty.

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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Lebowski – Cinematic (2010)

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As one of the most ambitious self-released albums we have received in years, we have Lebowski’s musical opus “Cinematic”. In this release, the band culminates a 5 year writing process in the shape of a sound track to a non-existent movie as they put it. Being the band’s first full-length release, we are sure they will turn some heads along the way with such a professional and rich production.

The variety of textures created by the moods and instruments is outstanding, all the elements come together magically in such a way that you can visualize the atmospheres created by the band in each of the 10 songs presented in this release.

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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Havok – Time is up (2011)

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After their solid debut album “Burn”, Havok is back with their crushing Thrash Metal sound with “Time is up”. This new release features 10 tracks and 42 minutes of non-stop Thrash Metal music that will blow your speakers off. Unlike all the copycat bands, Havok is influencing their sound with modern elements and with a crystal clear production that puts them in the same caliber are the greats of the genre Exodus, Forbidden, etc.

With the opening track aptly titled “Prepare for Attack”, the band unleashes their musical skills with sick tracks that will have you headbanging from the first minute. The guitar riffing is even better than on their “Burn” album, and the catchiness of the songs is unrivaled.

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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Macabre – Grim Scary Tales (2011)

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The masters of deranged music and sick and twisted lyrical content are back with their first full-length release in eight years. “Grim Scary Tales” is consisted of 14 tracks, each referring to a killer and their atrocities, which make for 50 minutes of very interesting tracks that vary between Death Metal, Grindcore, Technical DM, and overall madness.

With the opening track “Locusta”, Corporate Death and Nefarious deliver a brutal two prong bass guitar and lead guitar attack that will render the listener unconscious due to the high intensity of the song. Moving over we have the completely insane “Nero’s Inferno”, a piece that sounds straight out of a circus formed by psych patients.

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