• Posted By: Dark Emperor
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My Own Grave – Necrology (2009)

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My Own Grave hails from Sweden and “Necrology” marks the band’s second full length release. The band plays a melodic mix of Trash and Death Metal and they are pretty average at it.

“Necrology”,in the same tradition that bands of this style have, features 11 songs and only 33 minutes of music. The band is pretty good at combining both genres, but it’s fairly generic when it comes to writing songs.

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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Scar Symmetry – Dark Matter Dimensions (2009)

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After Christian Ãlvestam left the band, I was very excited since I always like the band’s music but his vocal range was a bit annoying obscuring the band’s great musical abilities. The band now has two new vocalists that are each in charge of only one style of vocals. Roberth Karlsson from Pan.Thy.Monium fame now handles the harsh vocals, and newcomer Lars Palmqvist is in charge of clean vocals.

“Dark Matter Dimensions” in my opinion is a far better album than “Holographic Universe”. It features 50 minutes of brilliant Gothenburg style Melodic Death Metal, you will find yourself playing this album over and over. The band has only been getting better since their first full length “Symmetric in Design”.

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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Vader – Necropolis (2009)

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When it comes to bands playing Death/Trash Metal in these days, my band of choice has always been Vader. They have managed to release very solid albums since 1993, and while not extremely ‘different’ from each other, they are still pretty brutal and melodic at the same time.

The only problem I’ve had with Vader over the years is that when I see them live, they are always sub-par compared to their albums. The production on the albums makes their music sound better, or they are just stuck with a shitty sound engineer when playing live, since I’ve seen them several times over the years and I’m always dissatisfied with their live sets.

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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Immortal – All Shall Fall (2009)

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“All Shall Fall” is one of the most expected Black Metal releases from this legendary band. Seven years have passed since their last album “Sons Of Northern Darkness” and this release continues EXACTLY were they left off.

For some people this might be just perfect, and to some extent it is, but you would imagine that a band would learn something new after that amount of time. All band members have been playing in different bands and should have provided a creativity boost to this album.

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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The Atlas Moth – A Glorified Piece Of Blue Sky (2009)

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Is this Sludge/Stoner Metal month? I have reviewed more albums of these genres this month than in the last year or so. The Atlas Moth is a band from Chicago, Illinois and like I mentioned they play a blend of Sludge with Stoner Metal influences.

“A Glorified Piece Of Blue Sky” features 50 minutes of music divided in 8 tracks that guarantee a very interesting delusional ride into the band’s mind. I must say that I really enjoy an album that flows nicely from aggressiveness into more trippy songs.

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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new date added to MERRIMACK tour alongside MARDUK+++

French black metal institution and MORIBUND recording artists MERRIMACK are confirmed as support for the "U.S. Plague Tour 2009," which will feature headliners MARDUK and also NACHTMYSTIUM, MANTIC RITUAL, and on select dates BLACK ANVIL. This tour will be MERRIMACK's first (and highly anticipated) performances on American soil, all in support of new album Grey Rigorism, recently released in North America by MORIBUND.
  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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SONATA ARCTICA COMMENT ON BILLBOARD CHART DEBUT

The members of SONATA ARCTICA have checked in from their current North American tour with Dragonforce in support of their latest release, The Days Of Grays, which recently debuted on the Billboard Top New Artist “Heatseeker’s” chart at #19 the week following its release date.  This industry chart lists the best-selling albums by new artists who have never appeared on the Top 100 of the Billboard 200.

October 2009

Editorial:

Another month has passed and we are getting close to the end of the year. October marks the month of Halloween and some of the most anticipated Black Metal releases of the year and we got coverage for most of them. You can also find plenty of interviews and more to come, so add us to your RSS feeds or keep checking back on the site because more stuff will be added during the month. Our Hellfest 2010 preview will be posted on October 14th so check back for that. Have another fine month and keep it Metal.

Interview with Merrimack
Interview with Ethereal Collapse (Ryan, guitarist and vocalist, and Dave, guitarist and vocalist)
Interview with Skyfire
Interview with Sonata Arctica (Tony Kakko)
Interview with Nazxul
Interview with Hot Buttered Anal
Interview with Edguy (Tobias Sammett)
Interview with Armory
Interview with Hacride (Adrien Grousset - guitar )
Interview with Darzamat
Interview with Echoes Of Eternity
Interview with Graveworm
Interview with Leaves' Eyes for Njord
Interview with Ava Inferi
Interview with Ensiferum

Reviews:

Sonata Arctica – The Days Of Grays (2009)
Marduk – Wormwood (2009)
Dethklok – The Dethalbum II (2009)
Merrimack – Grey Rigorism (2009)
Diablo Swing Orchestra – Sing-Along Songs For The Damned & Delirious (2009)
Ethereal Collapse – Breaching The Citadel (2006)
Ethereal Collapse – Categories (2008)
Syrach – A Dark Burial (2009)
Ahab – The Divinity Of Oceans (2009)
Canis Dirus – A Somber Wind From A Distant Shore (2009)
Nazxul – Iconoclast (2009)
Hiems – Worship Or Die (2009)
Insomnium - Across The Dark (2009)
Immundus – Haunted Memories (2009)
Skyfire – Esoteric (2009)
Weapon – Drakonian Paradigm (2009)
Sanctification – Black Reign (2009)
Pestilential Shadows – In Memoriam, III Omen (2009)
Black Skies – Hexagon (2009)
Power Pellut – Power Pellut (2009)
Vulvark – Vulvark (2009)
Griftegård – Solemn.Sacred.Severe (2009)
The Ruins Of Beverast – Foul Semen Of A Sheltered Elite (2009)
Bleeding Fist – Bestial Kruzifiz666ion (2009)
Azaghal – Teraphim (2009)

In case you missed them:
Echoes Of Eternity – As Shadows Burn (2009)
Darzamat – Solfernus Path (2009)
Theatre Of Tragedy – Forever If The World (2009)
The Devil’s Blood – The Time Of No Time Evermore (2009)
Leaves’ Eyes – My Destiny (2009)
Nervecell – Preaching Venom (2009)
Urfaust – Einsiedler (2009)
Ava Inferi – Blood Of Bacchus (2009)
Lethian Dreams – Bleak Silver Streams (2009)
A Forest Of Stars – The Corpse Of Rebirth (2008)
Impiety – Terroreign: Apocalyptic Armageddon Command (2009)
Malfeitor – Incubus (2009)
Dark Celebration - Phlegeton: The Transcendence Of Demon Lords (2009)
Migdal Bavel – De Magia Veterum (2009)
Ensiferum – From Afar (2009)
Madder Mortem – Eight Ways (2009)
Be’lakor – Stone’s Reach (2009)
Autumnblaze – Perdition Diaries (2009)
Viatrophy – Viatrophy (2009)
Onslaught - Live Damnation (2009)
Forest Stream - The Crown of Winter (2009)
Xerath – I (2009)
Imperial Vengeance - At the Going Down of the Sun (2009)
Pantheon-I - Worlds I Create (2009)
Anaal Nathrakh - In The Constellation Of The Black Widow (2009)
Obituary - Darkest Day (2009)
Glorior Belli - Meet Us At The Southern Sign (2009)

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