Album Reviews

  • A Forest Of Stars – The Corpse Of Rebirth (2008)

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    A Forest Of Stars is one of those bands that is trying to push the barriers of music, by creating a very interesting sounding mix of different elements with Black Metal.

    This British quartet features Katie Stone (ex My Dying Bride) as the ‘Queen Of Ghost’ and other equally interestingly named characters: Mr. Curse, The Gentleman and Mr T.S. Kettleburner.

  • Impiety – Terroreign: Apocalyptic Armageddon Command (2009)

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    The Trashy Death/Black Metal trio of Singapore is back with their sixth full length album that brings back their old school sound. Since the first track this album is very fast paced and intense, something that I was not expecting from this band.

    Impiety’s only founding member is their guitarist and vocalist: Shyaithan. He is the driving force behind the band’s almost 20 year trajectory and their old school sound that is desperately needed these days.

  • Malfeitor – Incubus (2009)

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    After their amazing debut album “Unio Mystica Maxima”, Malfeitor is back with their aggressive raw Black Metal. Featuring M. Fabban of Aborym on bass and vocals you can start to imagine what to expect from this band.

    This Italian five-piece have been around only since 2006, and since their first release they have been turning heads. The band has managed to create an astounding combination of old school Swedish and Norwegian Black Metal that is very grim and raw.

  • Dark Celebration - Phlegeton: The Transcendence Of Demon Lords (2009)

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    Dark Celebration is an old school Death/Black Metal band from Brazil that is trying to keep the style alive. “Phlegeton….” marks their second full length album but strangely enough it’s only 30 minutes long.

    The band’s style is very reminiscent of early Morbid Angel and to me it sounds very similar to The Chasm. The band tries to bring back that old school style that I haven’t heard in a while, and they do so to some extent.

  • Migdal Bavel – De Magia Veterum (2009)

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    If you are in the search for an album that will attack your ears mercilessly until they bleed, you are in the right place ”De Magia Verterum” features 10 tracks of very brutal and raw Black Metal.

    This album comes very close to “The Codex Necro” of Anaal Nathrakh in terms of aural insanity. Migdal Bavel have managed to release something that will make you want to check yourself into a mental home after listening to it for a few times.

  • Ensiferum – From Afar (2009)

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    Two years after their amazing album “Iron”, Ensiferum is back with an even better album with “From Afar”. The band was touring for most of the 2 years in between releases but they managed to squeeze this brilliant album.

    “From Afar” features nine racks that showcase the strengths that the band has showed in their previous releases and managed to make them more epic by adding new elements that blend to perfection with their old ones.

  • Madder Mortem – Eight Ways (2009)

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    I can always count on Madder Mortem to enthrall me with their amazingly bizarre music and “Eight Ways” is not the exception. After two years since their last release “Desiderata” this Norwegian band is back with another masterpiece that will please all fans of the band.

    Madder Mortem sound is very ‘bizarre’ to say the least, but I don’t mean this in a freak show kind of way, but instead I mean that they manage to fuse and combine so many different elements of so many genres (not necessarily from metal), and create some of the most hauntingly beautiful songs. They are also a band that most people would either love or hate I don’t think there is any middle point in linking them.

  • Be’lakor – Stone’s Reach (2009)

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    Be’lakor has managed to blow us away once more by releasing an extremely amazing album, even better than their highly praised debut album “The Frail Tide”.

    This Australian Melodic Death Metal band has been able to quickly climb spots as one of the premier Melodic Death Metal band’s of the scene, and they have done so with only 2 releases under their belt, both of them were self-released.

  • Autumnblaze – Perdition Diaries (2009)

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    After Autumnblaze disbanded in 2006 I was pretty disappointed that I would never get to listen to another album from this band, but for my luck they got back together in 2008, and featuring Eldron, Arisjel and Schwadorf the band wrote and recorded “Perdition Diaries”.

    “Perdition Diaries” takes us back a bit to the older and more aggressive material the band wrote for their first album “DämmerElbenTragödie”. However the band still keeps their melancholic sound of latter releases perfectly. This album is more of a nice mixture of the bands previous musical efforts blended in together with new ideas.

  • Viatrophy – Viatrophy (2009)

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    When I heard that this band had Metalcore influences, I was very cautious since it’s one the genres that I can’t stand, since all releases sound very much alike and the vocal work just makes me want to shoot my self.

    So after gathering enough courage start playing this self titled album I hit play and after a flashy into I’m blown away with their brutal Death Metal opening from their second track “Mistress Of Misery”. While the band plays mainly Death Metal you can hear some of the dreaded Metalcore influences here and there but it’s still pretty brutal and technical.

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