Metal

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    Meshuggah – Koloss (2012)

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    After the excellent “ObZen”, Meshuggah returns with their latest epic “Koloss”. In this the release not only the band builds on previous work, but it also improves their sound in a manner that makes it more accessible to people and still equally technical and brilliant. Pummeling through 10 tracks of brilliant music, this is a release that shows how well the band has matured and how much better they are than the rest of their clones.

    Opening with the ‘slower paced’ “I am Colossus”, the band makes their signature sound present since the opening minute. The brilliantly crafted drums, crazy rhythms, and strong vocals immediately identifies the band, and delivers a very strong opening track. Things start picking up with “The Demon’s Name Is Surveillance”, “Do Not Look Down”, and “Behind the Sun”, all songs filled with polyrhythmic structures and very interesting elements that makes the unique and different from each other.

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    Various Artists – Swine of Hades (2011)

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    Featuring a very diverse line-up, today we have a five-way split called “Swine of Hades”. Featuring tracks of Taake, Sigh, The Meads of Asphodel, Thus Defiles (with Sakis of Rotting Christ) and a track featuring Evo from Warfare and Algy Ward of Tank, this release is as diverse as they come, but all bands come together very well when played loudly over your speakers.

    With a very powerful dose of Metal with Punk elements and a pouncing Bass guitar line, Evo and Algy deliver a cover of Status Quo’s “Tune to the Music”. The cover is actually pretty good and the nasty and raw sound created is very suitable for this crushing release. Next up we have Taake’s cover of GG Alllin’s “Die when you Die”, in a very Punk-ish Black’n’roll fashion. Hoest’s vocals are as crazy as ever and the sound of the track is as raw as you can get.

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    Vomitron – No NES for the Wicked (2011)

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    Just as other people have indicated in the past, once we received a CD with a band named Vomitron and a semi-naked chick in the cover we expected the worst. However, we were quite surprised to hear that almost all tracks in this release are of extreme musical quality and very carefully crafted. Transforming old Nintento music into Metal tunes, Vomitron’s mastermind Peter Rutcho showcases his excellent musical abilities and delivers some of the best re-interpretations of these songs we have ever heard.

    Opening with a filler intro, the first real song of this release is an epic interpretation of the “Contra” theme. Showing Power Metal and Progressive Metal elements, this song will immediately get you psyched about the tracks to follow in this excellent release. “Blaster Master” is a nice combination of powerful riffing and trippy keyboard sections, a very enjoyable track for fans of futuristic Power/Progressive Metal. The song that almost everybody will be waiting for has to be “The Legend of Zelda” theme, and Vomitron does an amazing rendition thanks to Peter’s great guitar skills.

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    Van Canto – Break the Silence (2011)

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    Metal’s most original band in the last few years returns with yet another A Capella Power Metal release that will rattle your speakers since track one. “Break the Silence” marks the band’s fourth full-length album and also features a bit of a shift into more a ‘melodic’ sound. However, we are still treated to 40+ minutes of pure vocal brilliance and amazing melodic catchiness.

    Opening with “If I Die in Battle”, the vocal powers of Philip Dennis Schunke and Inga Scharf lead the way over the amazing ‘vocal instruments’ that back them. In a ‘slower’ and more melodic way we have plenty of mmmmm’s that keep an epic feeling to the song and give it a darker edge. “The Seller of Souls” delivers a more ‘traditional’ Van Canto sound and leads the way for some powerful vocal bass line and some excellent vocal guitar sections. With a nice Power Metal feeling this song has nice choir sections and a very perky pace.

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    Mystons – 3 (2011)

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    Almost one year since the release of the very solid “Alkaem”, Mystons returns with another nine hard-hitting songs that quickly show that their last album’s success was no fluke and they mean serious business. Dropping one band member, Mystons delivers a very powerful album that feels a bit more consolidated than the first one, and is full of catchy riffs and appealing vocals.

    Funneling a White Stripes vibe, the album opens with “Mammoth” and “Mourning Sky”, the second song in particular seems to have a very familiar riff that will surely be quickly identified by the listeners. In this two songs you can hear the traditional Mystons sound, but with a bit more of direction. The album’s catchiness continues and with “CrusHer”, we find a very hard-rocking song that immediately sticks in your head.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    dark_matter - _adrift_ (2010)

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    Being always weary of those ‘do it yourself’ new bands, we had some skepticism about the claims made on dark_matter’s press package info sheet. However, dark_matter greatly surprised us with great quality music and an impressive sound on this very short-but-sweet EP release. For over four tracks, the band delivers trippy and spaced-out compositions that stick in your head for days.

    With the opening track “Neptune”, we are treated to some of the best ethereal keyboards we’ve heard in quite a while. They are perfectly paired with nice riffing and drumming, something that many bands that rely too much on their keyboards to be overly atmospheric can’t seem to get right. After the short intro track, “the_persistence_of_memory” delivers more powerful guitars paired with electronic and space rock elements that will transport you to a different level of consciousness (or your money back). We love that there are absolutely no vocals ruining the beauty of the music in this release.

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    Alestorm – Back Through Time (2011)

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    The Scottish Pirates are finally back with another epic of pirates, wenches, and drinking, but they seemed to have added time travel to the equation this time. In “Back through Time”, Alestorm delivers 11 tracks of exactly the same thing they have been doing for the last past years: catchy, wacky, and irreverent Pirate Metal.

    We all know that the band is not the most talented one when it comes to making the most complicated and elaborated songs out there, but they have managed to find a niche that allows them to be enjoyed by thousands of Metalheads (including us). If you are not aware of the band’s previous releases, this is a band you will either love or hate, no middle ground.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    While Heaven Wept – Fear of Infinity (2011)

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    Continuing their aural assaults from “Vast Oceans Lacrymose”, While Heaven Wepts is back with another multi-faceted release that takes a little time to sink. However, once you get into the groove of this new release, it will surely win a place in your heart. Now on a bigger label, the band is ready to take their act on the road and take a shot at world domination.

    “Fear of Infinity” has a familiar sound to “Vast Oceans Larymose” since the songs in this album were intended to be on said release. The first song “Hour of Reprisal” continues with the lush keyboard/vocal combination, but once you start getting comfortable this track explodes into an almost Black Metal-esque ending that will rattle your seat. While this sounds a bit out of place at first… you will grow to enjoy it.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Artas – Riotology (2011)

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    Featuring a very diverse sound, Napalm Records brings us Artas second full-length release “Riotology”. In this release the band combines everything from Thrash, Death, Groove, and Melodic Modern Metal to create a very diverse sound that while at times it works wonderfully, other times it sounds too chaotic and disconnected.

    Having a more concise sound than on their debut album “The Healing”, Artas sometimes seems to jump the gap between ‘real metal’ and Metalcore/core stuff. This will make some listeners fly away from the band, but we recommend you stick around since there are parts and songs good enough to be worth suffering through the ‘core’ stuff for a bit.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Mystons – Alkaem (2010)

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    Hailing from Finland, we recently got in our PO BOX a very different and unique sounding release from a band named Myston. “Alkaem” marks the band’s second full-length release and with the wide palette of styles, Myston seems to be ready to take over the world and fans of Metal, Indie Rock, Alternative Metal, Grunge and everything in between.

    The first thing you will notice about “Alkaem” is that Mystos has a very enigmatic sounding front man with M Myston handling the vocals and guitars. His vocals will immediately make you identify this band in a second, and when paired with the very diverse and interesting sound of the band, we think the band has a winning lottery ticket in their hands.

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