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    Mord'A'Stigmata - Our Hearts Slow Down (2015)

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    After being quite intrigued by the band’s 2011 release “Antimatter”, this band released the lukewarm “Ansia” back in 2013. Fast forward two years, now we have their latest EP “Our Hearts Slow Down” which features three songs and around 30 minutes of Post-Metal/Post-Black Metal songs. Not too much better than their 2013 release, this album sees the band move away almost entirely from their Avant-garde influences into the fertile Post-Metal/Post-Black Metal realm with three so-so songs.

    Opening with the hypnotic “The Mantra of Anguish”, we are presented with very powerful riffs and a bleak landscape. The band keeps things simple by attacking the listener with ravaging guitars and spacey drum. There are some brilliant melodic passages that make the track more interesting, but still fails to fully impress. Things get a bit more hectic and enjoyable with the chaotic “Those Above” and its high-intensity drums. The riffing in parts is more on the traditional Black Metal side, making this track quite crushing and powerful.

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    Hourswill – Inevitable (2014)

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    Arriving from Portugal, today we have Hourswill and their debut full-length release “Inevitable”. Playing Progressive Metal, this band has good command of the genre but they are still missing a signature sound that makes them stand out from the rest. If you like bands like Symphony X and Leprous, Hourswill will be to your liking.

    After an initial intro track, the band fully comes to life with the catchy “Vows of Submission”, a very proficient track filled with solid guitars and soaring vocals. As “Inevitable Collapse” and “Dead End Memory” roll by, the band combines some growls into their music to make it more diverse, but they ultimately fall second place to the Progressive vibe of the music. There are also some riffs that are more along the lines of Modern Metal outfits, but they also feel a bit out of place.

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    One Master - Reclusive Blasphemy (2015)

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    Niche Black Metal label Eternal Death has released some of the foulest and totally crushing US Black Metal in the last few years and One Master’s “Reclusive Blasphemy” is certainly one of them. Delivering five tracks and around 35 minutes of ravaging music, the band showcases their raw and misanthropic Black Metal.

    Opening with the punishing “At the Hour of Saturn”, the band’s wall of sound is instantly generated by thick riffs and piercing drums. With such a furious pace, this release is off to a hate-filled start. The Immortal-esque closing in this song makes it pretty epic for any fan of Melodic-ish Black Metal. Moving into more sinister territories, “A Cursed and Dismal Mind” creates a very creepy opening that suddenly blast into full-on war.

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    Cretus – Dux Mea Lux (2015)

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    Catching our attention with their viral marketing campaign that labels Cretus as something more than a band, a cult, we decided to give “Dux Mea Lux” a try. Featuring a very plain and unimaginative Thrash Metal sound with some cleaner and more mainstream elements, the band fails to live up to the hype with their average music and very repetitive nature.

    Opening with the playful “Price of Immortality”, the band’s novelty quickly wears off. This track is pretty bland and while amusing for a few minutes, it can easily go unnoticed by any fan of the genre. “Darkness Bites” is the best track in this release as it gets you going with its hectic opening and catchy hooks. Other songs like “The Leader” have a certain twangy feeling to them, something that could have been easily exploited in this release to make it more unique.

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    Deer Blood – Devolution (2015)

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    Bands these days try to mesh all kinds of genres together and get pretty odd or awesome results. Unluckily for Deer Blood their mixture of Groove and Thrash Metal falls flat to expectations in “Devolution”. Featuring over 13 tracks and 58 minutes of music, this release has some interesting moments that are quickly obscured by an iffy production and a very odd mixture of styles.

    Opening with “Bushmaster” we instantly get a weird Groove/Sludge vibe that morphs into Thrash after a few minutes. The raspy vocals are oddly mixed and come out too loud for the rest of the elements to shine. The guitar riffs individually are pretty decent, and in songs like “Born Strong Live Young Die Hard Born Again” and “Trapped Inside” we have some interesting rhythmical sections and a few leads that are very Thrash-tastic, but the groove vibe manages to kill all sense of cohesion and flow.

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    Horna – Hengen Tulet (2015)

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    The most active man in Finish Black Metal: Shatraug, returns with his main band Horna and their devastating production “Hengen Tulet”. Playing in at least seven bands, Shatraug delivers 10 tracks of pure satanic destruction in this release, showing no signs of slowing down or creativity lapses. Keeping their throne as the rawest BM band from Finland, the band does a great job in pummeling the listeners psyche with this monumental release.

    Opening with the ravaging riffing of “Amadriada”, the album kicks off with style. Spellgoth’s vocals steal the show by providing that old-school harsh screams characteristic of the band. Filled with epic head banging pieces like the bestial “Ajan päättyessä” or the moody “Nekromantia”, drummer Vainaja keeps a tight ship with a piercing performance. For those of us that enjoy the band’s senseless brutality and relentless guitar work, “Tämä maailma odottaa” and “Saatanalle” are the best pieces to get drowned in the band’s aggressive nature.

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    Isvind – Gud (2015)

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    With Black Metal bands appearing like the plague these days, it is quite refreshing to receive a majestic album from a band that has been lurking in the shadows for many years. Norway’s Isvind has been around since 1992 (with some breaks in between), and their pedigree shows in their latest full-length release “Gud”. Delivering nine crushing songs, this is one hell of an album from start to end.

    Opening with some angelic vocals, “Flommen” sets a very ethereal mood only to flip the coin on you with some brutal BM riffs and hellish vocals. This song has a certain melodic edge that uses choirs and melodic riffs to create a very involving atmosphere. With AntiChristian of Tsjuder fame filling in on drums, the band blasts away with pummeling tracks like “Ordet” and “Himmelen”, keeping that frosty Norwegian Black Metal vibe present at all times.

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    Stratovarius – Eternal (2015)

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    As one of the most anticipated releases of 2015, today we have Stratovarius and their latest opus “Eternal”. Filled with over 54 minutes of music separated in ten tracks, this release nicely continues the band’s reinvention to a fresher and even more dynamic outfit since their “Polaris” release back in 2009. Featuring tons of epic tracks and led by the vocals of Timo Kotipelto, this a typical Stratovarius release that you do not want to miss.

    The band delivers the first punch with the amazing opener “May Eternal Dream”. In this very dynamic song, the band sets a very upbeat tempo and establishes a very fluid relationship between the epic guitar and keyboard solos, warning the listener they are in for a treat in this release. Timo Kotipelto vocals constantly deliver the level of performance that is expected from such a legendary singer, and on tracks like “Shine in the Dark”, “Man in the Mirror” and the ballad “Fire in Your Eyes” they gave us goose bumps since they are terrific and very well crafted into the music.

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    Pavillon Rouge – Legio Axis Ka (2015)

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    Industrial Black Metal is one of those genres that are quite hard to get right. Mysticum and Diabolos Rising did a great job igniting the flame, and others like Aborym, Diabolicum, and Malignant Eternal took good stabs at the genre, more than a few years ago. Fast-forward to 2015 and we finally have a promising band in this genre: Pavillon Rouge. Filled with over 47 minutes of devilish catchy beats and sickening soundscapes “Legio Axis Ka” marks the band’s sophomore release.

    The album opens with the blistering “Prisme vers l'Odysée”, a track that sets a very dreamy and yet crushing atmosphere that is very well contrasted by the harsh vocals of Kra Cillag. The album’s atmosphere continues to grow with psychotic tracks like the awesome “A l'Univers”, and the aggressive “L'enfer se souvient, l'enfer sait”. For others looking for catchy and more ‘techno’ stuff, “Droge Macht Frei” reminded us of Turmion Kätilöt and their Industrial Metal.

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    Impalers – God from the Machine (2015)

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    Delivering a Thrash-tastic sophomore release, today we have Denmak’s Impalers with “God from the Machine”. Featuring over 45 minutes of frantic Thrash Metal, this band nicely sets themselves apart from the countless other Thrash ‘revival’ bands by adding some cool melodic elements into their music.

    Opening with the relentless “Future Void”, we are treated to some solid old-school Thrash with a certain European vibe. Filled with attitude and relentless riffing, the band makes this opener quite intense. The melodic elements start appearing as tracks like “God from the Machine” and “Prepare for War” start to wind down. Filling the album with blistering guitar leads, Thomas Carnell does a pretty solid job in epic songs like “Beyond Trinity” and “Destroy the Meek”.

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