Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Alghazanth – Vinum Intus (2011)

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    After their monumental “Wreath of Thevetat”, Finland’s best Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal band Alghazanth returns with a very interesting offering titled “Vinum Intus”. In three years between releases, the band has managed to fuse new elements into their sound and will surely take by surprise a lot of people, but they still manage to deliver a crushing release.

    The album starts off very rudimentary with the straight forward track titled “A Living Grace”. In this song you can immediately notice a simpler and less bombastic sound from the band, but equally cold and raw than before (and other Finish bands like Sargeist and Horna). The keyboard hints are a nice atmospheric element added to this song. The band gets a bit more comfortable and melodic with “With a Thorn in Our Hearts”, some guitar riffs even remind us of Celestia and their melancholy Black Metal style.

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    Forgotten Tomb – Under Saturn Retrograde (2011)

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    After gives us four very bleak and depressive first full-length releases, Forgotten Tomb returns with an equally melancholic release but with a different sonic effect under the name of “Under Saturn Retrograde”. In this album the band moves forward to lands charted by Agalloch, Fen, etc. and creates a very rich listening experience while maintaining some of the dark emotions from the past.

    The opener track “Reject Existence” is both brutal (great harsh vocals) and very melodic due to the majestic guitars and overall pace of the song. The band is not slowing down, and you can hear their earlier influences but they are now polishing their sound in a very interesting way. “Shutter” starts off very aggressive but near the middle of the track the experimentation begins and there are some excellent Doom Metal inspired sections.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Syrynx – EP 2011 (2011)

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    Hailing from the Northern lands of Canada, today we have Syrynx and their debut EP. The band features the talents of female vocalist Mikki Straatsma (VIVEYNNE) and mixes many musical influences creating a very diverse sounding release.

    Featuring six tracks, this EP ranges from instrumental pieces to very catchy Nu Metal sounding tunes with some Progressive elements. There is a clear indication that the band is still developing their own style since some sections of the songs seem very confusing and not cohesive enough. While the talent is there, we believe that some more polishing to these tracks would have made for a better EP.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Necrophagia - Deathtrip 69 (2011)

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    Necrophagia have been the pioneers of gore metal and horror metal since the early eighties and have proven not to disappoint with their latest release “Deathtrip 69” which was actually due to be released in October of 2010 but was delayed for unknown reasons. It is now upon us and shows that they can still bring metal to the metal masses in its goriest form.

    I wouldn’t classify this as death metal but it horror metal with death and grindcore metal vocals supplied by Killjoy who is also the founder of Necrophagia. “Deathtrip 69” starts out with howling winds and wrenching guitars and a voice in the background talking about the Book of the Dead before it gives away to Killjoy’s venemous barks and growls. “Tomb with a View” is catchy with crunchy guitar riffs and powerful chorus. “Suffering Comes in Sixes” begins with the quote “You can always smell a graveyard”, from one of my all-time favorite movies “The Prophecy” and continues with Boris Randall giving a brilliant guitar solo here and Shawn Slusarek gives us some crushing drumwork with methodical rhythm. “Kyra” features dual vocals between Killjoy and Amen’s Casey Chaos and it slams in your face with complete brutality.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Chrome Division – 3rd Round Knockout (2011)

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    Featuring a new vocalist (the guy from Susperia) and a different sound (mainly Southern Rock influences), we have Chrome Division and their third full-length release “3rd Round Knockout”. Featuring Shagrath on guitars, this band has gained momentum with their first two releases and their combination of Heavy Metal and Hard Rock elements. However, we foresee some difficulties in their future due to their sudden change of musical style and change of vocalist.

    While the ‘Southern’ Chrome Division is not bad, it is also leap years behind bands like The New Black and similar others. “3rd Round Knockout” features 10 very catchy songs that do get a bit repetitive and dull after the first five. Shady Blue has an interesting voice, but it is not rough enough for this kind of music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Korpius – Shades of Black (2011)

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    Did somebody ordered a 40 minute session of brutal Death/Black Metal? if your answer is yes, then you should definitely check out Korpius and their crushing debut album “Shades of Black” out on Maple Metal records. With a crystal clear production and engaging songs, “Shades of Black” is by far the most brutal release we have received from Canadian lands this 2011.

    Crushing their way through nine tracks this Canadian foursome does a great job in keeping things brutal and straight forward. All riffs in this album a very meaty and have tons of ‘traditional’ DM hooks that will keep fans satisfied for endless hours. The drumming is also massive and the vocals are as inhuman as you can get. Both the growls and the shrieks that go into Grindcore territory at times are very well balanced to give enough power to this release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    The Approach & the Execution – The Blood March (2011)

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    With all the new ‘modern’ Metal coming out these days, it is really hard to find bands that are actually doing something to improve things rather than copy everybody else. The Approach & the Execution (TA&TE from now on) does a great job in mixing a bit of everything and somewhat creating a familiar sound that will appeal fans from all areas of Metal and can be commercialized in the current ‘trendy’ Metal markets and maybe in some underground ones as well.  

    With a very diverse approach to Metal the band combines fast paced guitar work and melodic sections of Melodic Death Metal. They also mix several styles of vocals ranging from female clean vocals, growls, semi-shrieks and clean male vocals creating very interesting vocal sections. If this wasn’t enough, there are some clear indications of traditional Heavy Metal elements in the supper catchy and powerful chorus sections in the last songs of the album. All of these elements sound like the perfect recipe for disaster, but the band somehow manages to pulls it off graciously.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hell – Human Remains (2011)

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    After being kicked in the balls last year with the modern Heavy Metal classic “Blood of the Nations” by Accept, this year Hell and their debut album “Human Remains” will have the same effect on you. While Hell never had the popularity or acceptance of Accept and similar band, heck, they didn’t even release a full-length album back in their hay day, the band’s music quality is amazing and on this re-recording of their old demo stuff, you will notice this quality.

    Featuring super talented guitarist/producer Andy Sneap taking on the guitar duties left vacant by the death of the original vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Dave Halliday. The band’s debut album (after 25 or so years) feature re-recordings of some of their older demo stuff, and by only enhancing bits and pieces of the songs, they still managed to deliver a very impressive release. Featuring a great 80’s vibe this music is what true Heavy Metal/ NWOBHM used to sound like, and we completely love it.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hate Eternal - Phoenix Amongst the Ashes (2011)

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    Eric Rutan, formerly of Morbid Angel and Ripping Corpse, is not one to just deliver your average death metal album. He is methodical and precise and knows how to combine technical musicianship with complex songwriting. This probably one of the most evil and insane Hate Eternal albums that ha far exceeded my expectations.

    After the opener “Rebirth” trudges in with distorted guitar and double pedal drums, Hate Eternal bludgeons you with their second track “The Eternal Ruler” as Eric barks out his vocals with pure venom and hatred. Searing guitar leads weave in and out between Rutan’s low growls and high shrieks as the drums continue to pummel with a furious intensity. “Thorns of Acacia” carry thick guitar riffs that are played at a level which will never get boring as the guitar continuously bobs around the structures to keep that level of fury at full speed. “The Art of Redemption” shows Rutan at top form on guitar with an insane scale that would make even non-guitar players envious of that kind of talent.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Alcest – Le Secret (2011)

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    In this 2011 re-recording of Alcest’s first EP “Le Secret”, Niege and company manage to make this release even more impressive with a crystal clear production. With the upgraded production we can instantly hear the sublime beauty of the band’s sound the way it has been portrayed in their last studio album “Écailles de lune”.

    Featuring re-recorded versions of “Le Secret” and “Elevation” as well as the original version, this EP is a true gem for any Alcest fan. If you want to go all out with the super deluxe edition, you will get an assortment of goodies that will make your friends and your mom envious of how much of a true Alcest fan you are.

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