Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Destruktor – Nailed (2009)

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    It’s hard to find good bands these days, especially out of the ones trying to play old school style music. Since most people playing that music nowadays were not even born when Celtic Frost, Venom and Bathory had their moment to shine.

    Destruktor hailing from Australia does a great job in capturing the sound of those times and bringing it back to our ears for a lesson in ‘classical metal’ music. The band features a very interesting mix of old school Death and Black Metal that will never get old (if it’s well executed).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hunters Moon – The Serpents Lust (2009)

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    As I’m finishing with this last album from Hells Headbangers, I’m noticing that the label has a very good eye for bands that have that old-school sound, but at the same time make it their own.

    Hunters Moon is an Aussie band that plays very good Black Metal a la Bathory, with some Morrigan and even early Immortal influences. This EP takes us back to those good old times when Black Metal was more than just a pose, and gives us 21 minutes of great music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Månegarm – Nattväsen (2009)

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    Hailing from Sweden, Månegarm is one of those bands that have been evolving their sound and in every album they keep getting better and better. “Nattväsen” is the band’s sixth full length album and while their Folk influences have taken mostly over, they have not conformed and kicked out their harsh vocals and heavier influences from the past.

    Starting with the traditional folk vocals followed by growls, “Nattväsen” will take you on a journey of great Folk and Metal music that you will surely be listening several times in a row. This album is very diverse when it comes to mixing Folk/Viking Metal and Death Metal.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Savage Messiah - Insurrection Rising (2009)

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    With this current new revival of Trash Metal hundreds of new bands have popped out of nowhere and just because they can play a couple of Trash riffs they think they are good at it. Thankfully Savage Messiah has more to their sound than many of the shitty bands out there.

    "Insurrection Rising" is this British outfit first full length album and while it's pretty solid it also gets a bit dull at some points since some of the riffs are very repetitive (especially within songs). The nine songs featured in this album all have their unique riffs, but like I mentioned before some of them get a bit too repetitive. But at least the dull riffs are pretty decent riffs, so it's all good, and if you are not too picky on this department then you will surely love Savage Messiah. The guitar solos are very scarce in this album, but when the band shows them off they sound pretty decent (like in Enemy Image)

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Elysion - Silent Scream (2009)

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    Hailing from Greece, Elysion is probably one of the next big things hit Gothic Rock scene, and they will surely take it by surprise since their debut album "Silent Scream" is very spectacular. Engineered by Ted Jensen (Evanescence, Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Nickelback, Korn, Marilyn Manson) the album sounds amazing, showcasing every single detail of the band's music.

    Don't go making any conclusions yet, you are probably thinking that this band is all production and no substance, but you are very wrong to assume this since Elysion creates very good music that has enough depth by it self to get them respect from all their peers. I have to say that the band's sound is very commercial, but I don't see any problem with this since the band has never claimed to be anything else, or changed their style drastically in this direction. And as long the music is good an enjoyable I don't see any problem with commercial Gothic Rock music (i.e. H.I.M, The 69 Eyes, etc).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Mandagora Scream - Volturna (2009)

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    Founded by Morgan Lacroix, Mandagora Scream is an Italian Gothic Metal/Rock band that has been around since 1997. The band's main characteristic is Morgan's unique voice, that once you hear it once, it's almost impossible to not recognize again.

    If you are thinking that Mandagora Scream only has to offer Morgan's vocals, you are deeeply mistaken. The band creates a very dark atmosphere in all their albums and "Volturna" is no different, the enthralling keyboard arangements mixed with electronic elements set the stage for a layering of different vocal tracks and very basic, but effective, distorted guitars.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Anthropia - The Chain Reaction (2009)

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    After bouncing around the US postal service for a few months, this CD (And the band's earliest album) finally arrived in my hands last week. Having heard a few of their songs on their myspace I was very excited to give this album a few spins in order to write this review.

    Anthropia is a very good Progressive/Symphonic Metal band from France, and their music sounds a lot like Ayreon's and StarOne's music, but with its own identity. "The Chain Reaction" is a concept album with a futuristic theme and provides for a very interesting read once you go through the booklet while the music is playing.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Satan's Host - Power Purity Perfection...999 (2009)

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    When I first heard of Satan's Host back in 2000 I was a bit skeptical since they had been a Power Metal band in the late 80's and they just reformed under a new musical style, something that does not compute quite well. However after listening to their 2000 album "Satan's Host - Archidoxes of Evil" I knew the band was for real and their genre switch was a good move.

    "Power Purity Perfection... 999" comes little over one year after their "The Great American Scapegoat 666" and it shows an even bigger improvement on the band's musical sound. The band's style embraces everything from Black, Death, Trash and even Heavy Metal creating a very interesting mesh of elements that any metalhead would enjoy.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Nocturnal Fear - Metal Of Honor (2009)

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    One year has gone by since the release of "Code Of Violence" and Nocturnal Fear is back with their fast paced Death/Trash Metal. This American outfit waste no time in blowing us away after an intro track and it never lets go.

    "Metal Of Honor" is in my opinion the band's best album out of their four full length releases. Their mixture of Death and Trash Metal has reached new levels with in this album; the mixture of modern American Trash with 80's influenced Trash (Kreator, Possessed, etc) creates a very intense sounding release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Requiem For Oblivion - Requiem For Oblivion (2009)

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    As you first listen to track number one on this self titled release, you expect some good old Progressive Metal, but as the album progresses you are headed for an acid trip similar to something out of a David Lynch movie.

    The band's style is a very peculiar mix of Progressive Metal and some Ambient elements, as well as some weird vocals. The band self claims to be heavily influenced by Rush, Dream Theater, Katatonia among others, and that is not completely far out.

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