Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    While Heaven Wept – Vast Oceans Lachrymose (2009)

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    While Heaven Wept is one of my favorite American bands since their Epic/Power Doom Metal is very different than other bands out there, and “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” is a worthy follow up to “Of Empires Forlorn”.

    However “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” sounds much more like the continuation of “Of Empires Forlorn” since they both have plenty of similarities in their sound. If you like the band’s previous album then you will love this new one, but if you did not then this is the problem here, the band shows almost no musical evolution between them.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Handful Of Hate – You Will Bleed (2009)

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    Hailing from Italy, Handful Of Hate brings us their fifth full-length album and they are here to blow us away with some very brutal Black Metal.

    “You Will Bleed” provides us with almost 40 minutes of well produced Black Metal that will closely rival the bigger profile BM albums of this year (Marduk, Immortal, Gorgoroth, etc). The band has been getting better with every album they have released and this one is another step in the right direction.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    The Few Against Many – Sot (2009)

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    The Few Against Many is one of the many bands that Christian Ãlvestam lends his pipes to, he also contributes on rhythm guitar on this release. This band from Sweden plays a very different Melodic Death Metal than most bands, but different is not always good.

    “Sot” is a very short album (only 36 minutes), and it features a 8 songs that are very diverse in nature. This diversity I think is also the main problem of this album since all songs sound very disconnected like they were just thrown together to make a quick release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Bone Gnawer – Feast Of Flesh (2009)

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    When I first read the press kit for this release I was stoked, since the band is an all-star compilation of some of the best Death Metal musicians in history: Kam Lee (Massacre, ex-Death), Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, etc), Morgan Lie (Naglfar) and Ronnie Bjornstron (Ribspreader, etc). If this is not enough they had as guest vocalists: Killjoy (Necrophagia), Dopi (Machetazo) and Stevo do Caixao (Impetigo).

    If you are not running out to the closest store (or clicking to the on-line store) to buy this album right now, you are a smart person. This album suffers from the ‘too many stars’ syndrome, since it fails to deliver so badly you would want to cry.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Belphegor - Walpurgis Rites – Hexenwahn (2009)

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    Every time I listen to one of Belphegor’s albums I’m blown away with the ability Helmut has of refining their already brilliant musical style. For those living under rocks or new to metal, this Austrian band plays a mean mix of Death and Black Metal that will put all other bands attempting to do this to great shame,

    “Walpurgis Rites – Hexenwahn” is the band’s latest opus and a very worthy follow up to the bizarrely named “Bondage Goat Zombie” album. Belphegor is one of those bands that are like whiskey, they only get better with time.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Nihlotep – Surrogate Panoptic Quantal Regality (2009)

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    If the Metal Olympics where to be instituted in the next few years, Nihlotep would win in several categories: Longest Black Metal Songs and The Most Lyrics per Song categories.

    This band from California plays a mean Black Metal and they are not shy to let you know the have enough composition skills to write a couple of 13 + minute songs for their self-released first full length album.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Nile – Those Whom The Gods Detest (2009)

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    Two years have passed since their “Ithyphallic” album and now Nile is back and is ready to blow people away with “Those Whom The Gods Detest”.  The band is as brutal and technical as ever with this new release.

    Featuring ten tracks of technical Brutal Death Metal “Those Whom The Gods Detest” is set to be one of the fastest and most brutal albums of this 2009. The intensity of the band’s music is what hooks me into listening to the bands albums since their career started back in 1993, and it show no signs of ever slowing down.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hypocrisy – A Taste Of Extreme Divinity (2009)

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    Hypocrisy is back for years after their last studio album “Virus” and it was worth the wait. “A Taste Of Extreme Divinity” in my opinion and also in Peter Tagtgren’s opinion (check out our interview with him HERE) is the band’s most brutal album to date.

    The band has managed to keep their own signature style when it comes to guitar riffs and vocals and with this album they managed to take the BPM’s up a notch creating a monstrous release that will make your ears bleed.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Wilde Starr – Arrival (2009)

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    Wilde Starr hails from Alameda, California, and the band’s name is taken from the two members last names: London Wilde (vocals and keyboards) and Dave Starr (Guitars and Bass). The band’s sound can easily be compared to Doro with some hints of After Forever.

    Featuring over 55 minutes of music “Arrival” is one of the most effective releases I’ve heard this year, and I mean effective in a sense that no minute is wasted in establishing the band into one of the best of the genre. All songs are very well written and are diverse enough to not get bored, but feature elements in common giving the band their signature sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    The Black – Alongside Death (2009)

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    The Black was originally one of many side projects from Jon Nödtveidt (R.I.P) from Dissection fame, I remember getting their first release from Necropolis Records 15 years ago, and I was extremely psyched about it. At that time that’s what black metal was supposed to sound like.

    The band has reformed with two members of Tyrant and Vinterland at the helm along with original drummer “The Black”. And it seems that time stood still for this band, since their sound is very old school. I’m like both Tyrant’s and Vinterland’s music and was very disappointed to hear this release, since it lacks any novelty in it.

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