Nox Aurea – Ascending in Triumph (2010)

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Playing Gothic Doom Metal, today we have Nox Aurea a brilliant band from Sweden that will give Draconian a run for it’s money. The band’s second full-length “Ascending in Triumph” provides us with 8 melancholic tracks that will surely keep us entertained until the next Draconian album.

Playing a genre that is not very popular these days, Nox Aurea create the perfect Gothic Doom atmosphere with their low-tuned guitars, majestic keyboards, and brilliantly crafted ‘beauty and the beast’-type vocals. We are huge fans of Gothic Doom Metal and Nox Aurea have catered to every one of our quirky needs since their debut “Via Gnosis”, and will “Ascending in Triumph” the band takes their abilities to a whole new level of greatness.

Kruger – For Death, Glory and the End of the World (2010)

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Out of the very impressive roster of Listenable Records, we get today another genre-bending band. Kruger hails from Switzerland and their combination of Sludge/Groove and Post-Metal is superb. For over 45 minutes “For Death, Glory and the End of the Word” delivers 9 brutal tracks.

With the waves of new bands coming out these days it’s very hard to bump into one that makes you fully appreciate the art of crafting a different sound that is both powerful and enthralling. Kruger achieves this since the first song, with a brilliant combination of aggressive ‘Sludgy’ riffs, aggressive vocals and solid drumming.

Noctiferia – Death Culture (2010)

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If you ever wondered what would happen if Fear Factory, Meshuggah and Gojira had a genetically engineered son, then it would sound just like Noctiferia does. The band has spent plenty of years trying to find their own sound, and on their earlier days they focused more on Melodic Black/Death Metal. On this 2010, they deliver “Death Culture” an album so rich in both style and content that will have you listening to it for quite a while in order to fully digest it.

The band features the chugging riffing of Fear Factory, combined with the surgically precise (and impressive) drumming of Meshuggah. On top of these elements they offer aggressive vocals like Gojira, Hacride, etc, making their sound very dynamic and brutal. The band has surely outdone themselves with “Death Culture” since it’s their best effort to date.

I Shalt Become – Poison (2010)

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I Shalt Become is one of the pioneering bands behind the USBM movement of the last years, and while not as recognized as Leviathan and Judas Iscariot, the band has released some fine pieces of USBM history like “Wandering” and “In The Falling Snow”. “Poison” features an overly orchestral trip down to the depths of hell.

The first things that came to mind when listening to “Poison” are the quick similarities it draws to Elend’s work. And while the musical composition skills of S. Holliman are not as good as the ones behind Elend, this album does create a very dramatic atmosphere that is not to be taken lightly. Also, “Poison” features has a down temp feeling, similar to what some doom and funeral doom bands have been doing for years, providing an extra dimension to this fine release.

TWO NEW INTERVIEWS WITH GARY HOLT OF EXODUS NOW AVAILABLE

While the veterans such as EXODUS - as well as OVERKILL and FORBIDDEN - are back out there showing people how it’s done, there’s been a wave of younger bands who are getting into the mid-’80s aesthetic and trying their hand at the genre.  Guitarist Gary Holt says he loves to see this taking place, but that it doesn’t give him any added impulse to make EXODUS more explosive.

DECREPIT BIRTH: Shoots Video Clip for "The Resonance"

Santa Cruz CA’s tech-death masters, DECREPIT BIRTH, recently shot a video clip for the song “The Resonance”. The track comes off their forthcoming release Polarity to be released on July 27th in North America on Nuclear Blast Records. The video was directed by former VJ/producer for MTV Norway’s Headbangers Ball, Ann Christin "Anki" Rihm.

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