Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Nightbringer – Apocalypse Sun (2010)

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    Hailing from Colorado, we have one of the most enigmatic and brutal raw Black Metal bands to have ever been formed on American soil. “Apocalypse Sun” is the band’s second full-length album and it’s a bestial release that surpasses anything the band has ever put out before.

    The overall band’s highly esoteric image is greatly portrayed in this brutal release that will leave you thirsty for more. Featuring ten tracks of pure destructive Black Metal, Nightbringer is about to take a big step out of the underground with the monumental “Apocalypse Sun”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Beissert – The Pusher (2010)

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    Coming from Agonia records in late May we have Beissert’s sophomore release called “The Pusher”. Never knowing what to expect from this label we ventured into discovering what Beissert was all about, and we love it, the band combines influences from Crowbar, Pantera, Nevermore and tons of other bands in a rocking way that will leave you speechless.

    Beissert is probably one of the freshest sounding bands that we have heard in quite a while. After several listens to this album, the melodies behind the songs are stuck in our heads, something that does not happen quite often. The band has a very groovy and bombastic rocking sound that will have you headbanging from start to end.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Nefarium – Ad Discipulum (2010)

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    There have been plenty of Black Metal releases in the last few months, but none of them stick out the way “Ad Discipulum” does. Nefarium is a Black Metal band hailing from Italy, and they have clear Swedish BM influences in their sound. Featuring Garghuf from Enthroned fame, you know you are in for an intense trip down to hell with “Ad Discipulum”.

    For all of you that are tired of watered down BM releases, Nefarium is here to blow you away with this no holds barred album that will surely be on many top 10 Black Metal albums list in 2010. The band captures the Swedish BM essence with perfection and brings it upon us in the most furious way to every come out of Italy.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Ufomammut – Eve (2010)

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    Every single time that Ufomammut has released an album and we have heard it, it has taken a bit to fully sink and be appreciated. All 6 full-length releases from this Italian trio push the boundaries of madness and Psychedelic Doom Metal, leaving them a few miles away from the competition.

    “Eve” marks the band’s 6th release and it’s a 45 minute one-track divided in 5 movements’ behemoth. You can truly note the level of genius/insanity behind such a crushing release that will leave you thinking for a while. The band has a great ability in creating exploratory voyages into their twisted minds in every single one of their releases.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lair Of The Minotaur - Evil Power (2010)

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    With a very interesting band name: Lair Of The Minotaur, and a superb album title “Evil Power” we review today this band from the USA. The band plays a very interesting combination of Trash and Doom metal that we have only heard a handful of times. With the unconventional combination of genres comes either great or terrible music, but Lair Of The Minotaur pulls it off nicely.

    Since the first moments of “Evil Power” you can hear what the band is all about: combining Trashy riffs with Doom metal’s grinding style. And as you can expect, the band produces pure power and aggression with their 30 minutes of music divided in 11 tracks.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Ichabod – 2012 (2009)

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    With the waves of bands playing Stoner Rock/Metal with Psychedelic influences we have a hard time finding something worth listening to. Ichabod solves this problem for us with 2012, their 3rd full-length album in 11 years of existence. The band does a good job in reminding us what this genre is all about with their grooviness and heaviness.

    Hailing from Massachusetts, the band has the traditional American sound of this genre. They also do a great job in capturing the moodiness of stoner rock and making it their own. However, in whenever the band uses clean vocals they sound terrible; the singer really needs to get some lessons before attempting them again. The harsh vocals are good enough for a release of this kind.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Haken – Aquarius (2010)

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    Having formed back in 2007, Haken sounds like a band that’s been around for decades. Attempting to dethrone Dream Theater, Haken is here to blow us away with their impressive first release. The band comes close with a very good progressive Metal/Rock Jazzy album with “Aquarius”, but the only problem is that they sound too much like DT and IQ.

    “Aquarius” is a monumental 72 minute long release that is very impressive and every Prog fan should check this one out. In a few years Haken has done what it has taken 10-15 years to other bands. The band has polished their sound greatly and they can compose monumental 16 minute songs that will keep you engaged the whole time, with not a single dull moment.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Black Breath – Heavy Breathing (2010)

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    Relatively unknown Black Breath is ready to storm the scene with their very aggressive release “Heavy Breathing”. The band combines Trash, Death, and Crust-punk in a very random way, producing a very powerful sound that will grab you by the throat since track one.

    For a relatively young band, Black Breath does a great job in having a perfect Crossover sound that only a few bands can pull off. All songs feature great intensity and relentless riffing, showing their Trash meddle. “Heavy Breathing” is a very solid first effort from a band that shows great potential for the future.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Cathedral – The Guessing Game (2010)

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    Five years have passed since the band’s last effort “The Garden of Unearthly Delights” and Cathedral has returned with another brilliant release with “The Guessing Game”. Having been around for 20 years and evolving unlike any other band of their time, Cathedral breaks the mold of Stoner/Doom Metal music by adding more progressive and psychedelic elements to their already diverse sound.

    Lee Dorian and folks have never made a single album that had disappointed us and “The Guessing Game” is no exception to this rule. Released as a in a double CD, we have over 80 minutes of brilliant music that will surely please Cathedral fans. While the band is less ‘Doomy’ than before, they do a great job of combining Doom Metal riffs with a wide variety of instruments and sounds.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Jon Oliva’s Pain – Festival (2010)

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    With the Spotlight shining on the Bay Area Trash Metal scene once more we have legendary bands releasing their finest releases to date like Exodus and Heathen. We also have other bands resurrecting like Forbidden, all this activity has made other bands like Kaos want to make another push to establish themselves as major players of the scene.

    Kaos has been around since the late 80’s releasing demo after demo until their first album saw the light of day in 2000 with “Vision Beyond”. After that the band signed to Relentless Records in order to release “Kaos Among Us”. Fast-forward to 2010 and we get the band’s latest offering with “The Pits Of Existence”, an album that clearly captures the old-school feeling and it’s marked to push Kaos into the spot light.

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