Album Reviews

  • Midnattsol – The Metamorphosis Melody (2011)

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    Three years after the release of their sophomore album “Nordlys”, Midnattsol returns with their masterful Gothic Metal release “The Metamorphosis Melody”. Providing over 55 minutes of music, the band shows more signs of maturity and the abilitie to create very effective songs.

    Driven by the enchanting vocals of Carmen Elise Espenæs, the album opens with the album title track and you can quickly hear the massive guitar sound (for a Gothic Metal band) being surrounded by magical keyboards. Since the first song we can hear the excellent production behind this release and the raw power that the band tries to transmit with their sound.

  • Year of the Goat – Lucem Ferre (2011)

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    Keeping the flam alive of 60’s and 70’s Psychedelic Rock, today we have the Swedes of Year of the Goat and their debut MCD “Lucem Ferre”. In this action packed 4 song release, the band shows their chops at creating dark anthems of pure evil just the right old-school vibe.

    With the opening track “Of Darkness”, the band immediately turns back the pages of time and involves you in a magical atmosphere that only very few band’s can achieve these days. The guitars are spot on and the overall pacing of the song is just perfect. The vocals are greatly executed and the layering added provides the typical vibe for the genre.

  • 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.

  • Before the Dawn – Deathstar Rising (2011)

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    Multi-instrumentalist Tuomas Saukkonen returns with another excellent Before the Dawn release. Fusing Melodic Death Metal and Gothic Metal, Before the Dawn has been gaining popularity over the years and with “Deathstar Rising”, they set the bar even higher.

    Besides Tuomas brilliant songwriting skills, the bass guitar and clean vocal talents of Lars Eikind greatly complement the band’s sound. Not being to ‘weak’ for regular Metal people, and without being extremely harsh, “Deathstar Rising” is a release that fits right in the middle between aggressive and melodic Metal released.

  • Graveyard – Hisingen Blues (2011)

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    As probably one of the most different bands in the Nuclear Blast roster, today we have Graveyard and their instant Rock classic “Hisingen Blues”. Hailing from Sweden, the band has already made a few successful runs in the USA with the likes of Clutch, Witch and CKY, and they are gathering great momentum behind their intoxicatingly addictive music.

    Featuring 9 tracks of pure Hard/Psychedelic Rock tracks, “Hissingen Blues” does a great job in transporting the vibe and musicianship of 70’s rock into a more modern context. In each of the songs, the band infuses their personalities and creates magical tracks that are ready to be enjoyed by all fans of good Rock music.

  • Intervention - Growing Line of Caskets (2011)

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    All the way from the artic circle in Finland, today we have the Thrash-tastic 3rd demo of Intervention called “Growing Line of Caskets”. In this very effective demo, the band presents us with 3 tracks and around 16 minutes of excellently crafted Thrash-infused Death Metal tracks that will surely take you by surprise.

    Starting with “The Mortal Shell of Man”, the band quickly makes a strong impression with excellent Thrash riffing, elaborate drumming and a three-prong attack on vocals. This song is very well crafted and shows a level of maturity far superior to other bands that are signed to bigger labels. The band’s sound is dynamic enough to be both modern and ‘classical’ sounding at the same time.

  • Xerath – II (2011)

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    The bastard children of John Williams and Meshuggah are back with their aptly titled second release “II”. After delivering one of the most interesting and different sounding releases of 2009, the band’s sound is as epic as before with 10 monumental compositions and around 56 minutes of music.

    Immediately after the enthralling opening track “United to Defy”, the band quickly falls into the one-trick-pony category. Their sound in this release is indeed very epic and the massive orchestral arrangements with the groove elements is still as impressive as before, but it feels too much like their last release.

  • Obscura – Omnivium (2011)

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    The man of the million riffs, Steffen Kummerer, returns with his Progressive/Technical Death Metal outfit Obscura, and delivers one of the most brilliant and aggressive releases in the last few years. “Omnivium” is a great improvement over the already brilliant album “Cosmogenesis”.

    With a more focused sound, the band delivers 9 tracks of pure technical brilliance paired with solid Death Metal structures. The songs in “Omnivium” feel a bit more straightforward and do not rely (solely) on virtuosity to be well appealing to the listener. However, this does not mean that you won’t get to listen to Steffen and Christian Muenzner rip through crazy guitar sections or Jeroen Paul Thesseling ‘pounding’ his 6 string fretless bass guitar like a magician.

  • Anaal Nathrakh – Passion (2011)

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    The UK’s most brutal band is back with yet another crushing release that will blow your eardrums. With “Passion”, Anaal Nathrakh continues their Grindcore infused Black Metal aural assaults. With 10 tracks and 36 minutes of hellish vocals and relentless drumming, we are sure that “Passion” will make the top 10 list of most brutal albums of 2011.

    With the first brutal track “Volenti Non Fit Iniuria”, we are treated to the traditional destructive sound of the band with powerful guitar riffs, massive drums and the hellish vocals of Dave Hunt, with the added bonus of clean vocal chorus sections and some melodic parts mixed in between. This track is a very effective warm-up for the 7 minute epic “Drug-Fucking Abomination” that follows.

  • Cruachan – Blood on the Black Robe (2011)

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    Five years have passed since “The Morrigan's Call” and Cruachan shows no sign of slowing down, with “Blood on the Black Robe” the band makes a very solid return. As the current Celtic/Folk Metal scene is watered down with releases that sound like the “Braveheart” soundtrack, it is very nice to get one that focuses more on the guitars and aggressiveness of the music.

    I have always liked the band since their 1995 debut “Tuatha Na Gael”, and with every release they show more maturity and refinement in their sound, and now they return to the killer aggressive style from their earlier days. “Blood on the Black Robe” is no exception, the band exploits their guitar driven sound with catchy sections and effective use of Folk elements.

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