Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Eluveitie - Everything Remains As It Never Was (2010)

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    After their acoustic album “Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion” we finally get a new ‘metallic’ release and it’s a great one. Eluveitie has managed to craft its sound to a near perfect fusion of Folk music with Melodic Metal.

    While playing music in this style is not original by any means. Eluveitie does it with such grace that blows the competition out of the water. The eight piece Swiss band has released their most mature album to date and it can only get better from here.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Aldaaron – Nous Reviendrons Immortels (2010)

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    After a furious intro track you brace your-self for another raw and brutal Black Metal release but as you keep listening to “Nous Reviendrons Immortels” you find that there is more to Aldaaron than just raw Black Metal.

    The band style can be compared to a mixture of Himinbjørg, Mithotyn, and other Pagan/ Viking Metal bands but adding their own raw Black Metal elements to the mix.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sectioned – Purulent Reality (2010)

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    Hailing from England we get Sectioned, a Death Metal band that takes us back to the glory days of the genre. “Purulent Reality” is being released by Paragon Records and showcases a very mature sounding band that can play a mean combination of Swedish and American Death Metal.

    Featuring 7 songs and 43 minutes of music, “Purulent Reality” has longer than average songs for a DM release. But the band pulls them off by featuring a vast array of riffs and catchy solos. The overall old-school sound of the band is one of the most appealing features of Sectioned.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Ptahil - Ortus (2010)

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    We are usually very weary of releases that feature two songs and 30 minutes of music. Unless they are Funeral Doom Metal releases or Ambient releases it usually means two things: 1) They suck so bad that our ears will bleed from listening to them at least 3 times, or 2) They are very good and get you completely involved in the atmosphere created by the band. Ptahil’s “Ortus” falls under number 2, from start to finish you are hooked and taken aback by a ritualistic Black Metal experience.

    The atmosphere created by the Satanists behind Ptahil is unparalleled to any other Black Metal release we have heard in years. While the music is simple and somewhat repetitive, it creates a hypnotic trance that will transport you to a different place in moments. We don’t even notice these repetitive elements until we only listen to parts of songs, as a whole they are part of the experience behind “Ortus”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Fear Factory – Mechanize (2010)

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    The all mighty Fear Factory as back with Dino Cazares on guitars and replacing longtime founding member Raymond Herrera we have none other than Gene Hoglan. “Mechanize” is the bands first full-length album in 5 years and while not one of their best, is a complete improvement over the lackluster “Transgression”.

    For a band that has been so long in the scene, you can always rely on Fear Factory to release a straight forward in-your-face type of release. “Mechanize” is not an exception to this rule, but however like the band’s sound is pretty formulaic by now and it’s just another release with not much inspiration.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Dioramic – Technicolor (2010)

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    Dioramic makes a bold statement on their myspace saying that you can’t categorize their music and they are pretty close to reality. The German trio creates a musical palette featuring influences from Progressive rock/Metal, Post-Hardcore, Post-Metal, but in their own terms making for very diverse and interesting songs.

    Signed to Lifeforce records the band unleashes “Technicolor” an 11 song album that will have you scratching your head from song to song. Trying to figure out how the songs will progress was the most fun we’ve had while reviewing albums in the last few days.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Van Canto – Tribe Of Force (2010)

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    Out of the hundreds of albums we get to listen to every month, we only get 2-3 that are just completely different. Val Canto and their A Capella ‘Metal’ get’s the nood this month. “Tribe Of Force” features 13 tracks with no ‘Metal’ instruments other than drums.

    But what makes the band’s music is the vocalists emulating the rhythm guitar and the keyboard parts to perfection. While this might sound weird, and it does take a bit to get used to, the band’s actual sound is awesome and very interesting compared to anything else you will listen (in Metal).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Mortemia – Misere Mortem (2010)

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    Do you remember what was the feeling when you first played “Beyond The Veil” from Tristania?, well this will be almost the same feeling you get when playing “Misere Mortem”. From the mastermind behind both of those albums Mr. Morten Veland we get his self-indulgently named band Mortemia.

    Controlling all aspects behind the album, Morten has managed to release another masterpiece in terms of Gothic Metal. He recorded every single instrument, mixed and produced the album in his own studio, the only thing he could not do is sing the choir parts featured on this album.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hellbastard – The Need To Kill (2009)

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    For a band that are the ‘creators’ of the Crust genre, this band disappeared for 2 periods of 10 years. And let me tell you, there are some bands that should stay dead and Hellbastard is one of them.

    With a very weird and old school sounding album “The Need To Kill” features a very awkward selection of tracks thankfully are very short. Some of them are fun to listen for a few minutes, but then they get ‘weird’ and I loose complete interest.

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