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    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Gorgoroth – Instinctus Bestialis (2015)

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    Six years have passed since the monumental “Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt”, a new episode in the history of Gorgoroth that does not include disgraced previous members Gaahl and King ov Hell. The band returns with a new vocalist and a thirst for blood and crushing Black Metal brutality. Featuring eight songs of dense and diverse music, the band quickly establishes an oppressive and bestial sound that only a handful of elite acts can deliver.

    Kicking off with the monumental “Radix Malorum”, we are treated to outstanding devilish riffs courtesy of Infernus. With such a vicious foundation Atterigner (of Triumfall fame) lays his commanding vocals, creating a demolishing and painful sound that will delight any fan of the genre. “Dionysian Rite” continues the massacre with another quick onslaught of pummeling drums and blistering bass guitar lines. It is not until “Ad Omnipotens Aeterne Diabolus” that the band continues their musical approach from their previous album with riffs that are just oppressive to hear when paired with melodic passages that further elevate the music.

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    Biopsy – Fractals of Derangement (2015)

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    Hailing from India, today we have Death/Grind outfit Biopsy and their short but sweet EP titled “Fractals of Derangement”. With a very quiet scene until the last few years, India is delivering some very solid band and getting attention from Metalheads as a source for quality music. Biopsy is one of their stronger exponents with their oppressive sound and superbly crafted tracks.

    Opening with “Hemolytic Crisis”, you are instantly treated to a high-octane piece with surgical precision drums and crunchy riffs. The mixture of growls and shrieks is quite solid and works very well for the level of brutality the music presents. With very traditional Death Metal song structures, “Anatomical Reconstruction” and “Genesis” have that old-school vibe nicely mixed in with some faster and Grind-ier moments that are perfect for headbanging en masse.

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    Emerged – Letting Go of Certainties (2015)

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    Formed by Tom Palms of Phlebotomized fame, this Dutch outfit delivers a nice five-song EP bridging genres between Progressive Metal, Heavy Metal, Stoner Rock, and some Doom. It is hard to standout these days, but the band’s music makes this quite effortless for Emerged. With a knack for epic melodies and super catchy song structures with a certain 90’s Metal feeling to them, this band is set to take the scene by surprise.

    With every song being quite different and a thing to individually explore, the band leads off with the melancholic “Dark Corner of my Mind”. In this track the band delivers a mid-tempo Proggy track with heavy riffs and some quite retro speedups. As we head into “Don’t Speak”, we have a livelier atmosphere with some chugging riffs and a certain old-school Psychedelic/Stoner vibe. Heavy Metal meets Prog Rock is the theme for the super catchy “Get a Life”, a song we can picture having vocals both by Dio and James LaBrie.

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    Ether – Hymns of Failure (2015)

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    Is Canada the new Black Metal cradle? Seems like it based on the fact that some of the best Black Metal releases of 2015 have all been from this country. Adding to the count of amazing BM albums, today we have one-man behemoth Ether and its sophomore release “Hymns of Failure”. Clocking in at 90 minutes, this double CD perfectly blends melancholy, depressiveness, and brutality in a crushing manner.

    Opening with the intense “Failure”, we had to instantly check if the drums are real… and oh yes they are. This 10-minute piece is piercing and brutal, feels like Mysticum on crack. Scythrawl masterfully manages tempo changes and mood swings in this release from insane blast beats to ambient passages as “Enmity” clearly shows. Slowly morphing into more melancholic blistering music, the album starts quite intense and it transforms brilliantly as time passes by, clearly showcased by our favorite “Coldness” and its eerie vocal arrangements.

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    Ereb Altor – Nattramn (2015)

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    Featuring Crister Olsson and Daniel Bryntse of Isole, Ereb Altor delivers a Viking infused Epic Doom Metal that is very distinctive and enjoyable in nature. As the band’s fifth full-length release, “Nattram” shows great maturity for the band and clearly showcases the well-polished chops this group of musicians has developed over the years.

    After a warm-up instrumental, the band brings forth their best Epic Doom Metal skills with the intoxicating “Midsommarblot”. Just imagine Tyr-meets-Candlemass and this is something similar to what you will get with this highly atmospheric and melodic piece. In terms of headbanging, “Nattramn” is the perfect piece to do this with its crushing harsh vocals and killer drumming. We greatly enjoy that the band moves from a heavy song into a more melodic and Epic one in a nearly seamless fashion as we can see with the transition to another epic anthem titled “The Dance of Elves”.

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    Délétère - Les heures de la peste (2015)

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    Hailing from Canda, today we have the debut full-length of Délétère titled “Les heures de la peste”. Playing vicious Black Metal that is quite raw and punishing, this band delivers eight tracks and around 50 minutes of crushing music that has a certain 90’s European flair. Out on Sepulchral Productions, you know this band will be awesome due to their excellent skills in uncovering underground Black Metal acts.

    The band immediately explodes with raw songs like “Matines – Portepeste” and “Laudes – Credo II”, both tracks have a certain Low-fi rawness that makes them quite punishing. The use of odd vocal arrangements also makes them quite unique and unpredictable. We particularly enjoy tracks were the band changes up the tempo and delivers and slower aural assault such as “  Tierce - Aux thaumaturges égarés, une étoil...”, a more melodic and atmospheric piece that changes the mood of this release.

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    Calling of Lorme – Pygmalion (2013)

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    After reviewing tons of Black and Death Metal, we are eager to get some different styles of music in our system. Today our wish was granted with France’s Industrial/Electro Metal outfit Calling of Lorme and their extremely catchy release “Pygmalion”. Filled with catchy tunes gracefully adorned by electronic elements and rhythmical distorted guitars, this release will keep listeners engaged for over 45 minutes.

    Very important to these types of releases is that the opener catches your attention since the first minute, and with “Layman” the band delivers a hypnotic set of beats that pull you into their world. The heavy emphasis on the atmospheric elements makes tracks like “Lore” and “Pygmalion” quite engaging and transport the listener to post-apocalyptic worlds that the band constructs with their colorful lyrics.

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    Dead Alone – Nemesis (2014)

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    With a great ear for interesting Melodic Metal bands, SCR records brings to us Dead Alone and their fourth full-length release “Nemesis”. In this album, the band has a very melodic retro sound that reminds us of the early days of Melodic Death/Black Metal as well as the beginnings of Crematory and similar bands. Featuring 11 tracks, this album will entertain you from beginning to end, due to the diversity of songs presented.

    Seemingly straightforward, “Nemesis” opens this release with a crunchy dose of Death Metal that suddenly turns melodic with some catchy guitar leads. This track reminded us of bands like Phlebotomized, and even more melodic outfits like The Gathering (when they played Death Doom Metal) as tracks like “Eclipse” and “ Great New World”. The formula of simple and catchy allows Dead Alone to produce tracks filled with crushing melodic passages like “Confession”, “Watch Me Fall”, and “Wreckage”, all filled with fine headbanging passages that will make your neck sore.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Red Moon Architect – Fall (2015)

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    With every year having less and less Death/Gothic Doom Metal releases coming out, we cherish the ones we get. Hailing from Finland, Red Moon Architect deliver an astonishing album fill with the sorrow and melancholy that we always look in our music. Originally a one man project, Saku Moilanen has put together a five-piece lineup and has unleashed “Fall” to the world. Featuring eight tracks of soul crushing music, this is one album that you do not want to miss in 2015.

    Opening with the slowly building atmospheric piece “A Wish for a Tear”, we have Anni Viljanen returning with her enchanting female vocals. The newcomer growler Juuso Turkki does a great job in delivering the harsh male vocal counterparts, at some points the band sounds like October Tide thanks to his singing style and the riffs on this first song. The band is not afraid of changing up little things that transform the direction of songs like “The Other Side”, where they have pretty interesting tempo changes and play with how they mix the female and male growls, making their songs less linear than the genre standard.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Predatory Light – MMXIV (2015)

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    Hailing from Santa Fe, New Mexico, today we have Predatory Light and the re-release of their 2014 demo in a 10” vinyl format through Pesanta Urfolk. Featuring members and ex-members of bands like Ash Borer, Anhedonist and Drought, the band crafts a very intense and thick Black/Death Metal wall of sound with some Doomy elements thrown into the mix. This two track release is just a little taste of the band’s destructive powers and will surely leave you wanting more.

    Opening with the oppressive “Changing Skins”, we have deep raspy vocals greatly complementing the demolishing riffs. The incorporation of Black Metal elements and blast beats into the music nicely provides solid tempo changes that keep the listener always engaged. The band provides a craftier and more elaborate piece with “Spiritual Flesh”, a 10-minute song that is mostly mid-tempo and very hypnotic with some well incorporated bursts of violence thrown into the mix. The riffing is at the center of this song, being quite creative and diverse.

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