Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Requiem For Oblivion - Requiem For Oblivion (2009)

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    As you first listen to track number one on this self titled release, you expect some good old Progressive Metal, but as the album progresses you are headed for an acid trip similar to something out of a David Lynch movie.

    The band's style is a very peculiar mix of Progressive Metal and some Ambient elements, as well as some weird vocals. The band self claims to be heavily influenced by Rush, Dream Theater, Katatonia among others, and that is not completely far out.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    One Master - The Quiet Eye Of Eternity (2009)

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    When you first hear this CD you are quickly taken to the early days of Black Metal with all its rawness and eeriness. One Master does a great job of capturing a timeless sound and reproducing it on their own way on a very well crafted second release called: "The Quiet Eye Of Eternity".

    The album production is the typical low-fi production that most of the BM bands of the time had, it gets a few minutes to really get used to it since in the first few minutes I thought there was something wrong with my sound system, but it quickly balances out. While I'm not a huge fan of this sound, it does help a lot in creating an haunting atmosphere when it comes to BM albums.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Kraftheim - Midgards Zorn (2009)

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    "Midgards Zorn" found it's way from Germany to our lair last week and as soon as we popped the CD in we got hooked into it. This band plays a very interesting mix of Viking Metal and Rock with some influences of Punk (like Glittertind).

    Kraftheim's album features 11 songs all sang in German which gives this album that German Rock dimension as well, making the band extremely versatile when it comes to combining genres allowing them to have a fresh sound, something that is hard to come by in the last few years.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lost God - Savage Souls (2009)

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    Featuring three songs, "Savage Souls" is one of the best EP CD's I've received in a while. Lost God hails from Belgium and they feature Arnaud Vansteenkiste Ex-Enthroned drummer, his brutal drumming skills is one of the elements that stand out the most in this release.

    Professionally recorded this release mixes traditional Death Metal elements with some hints of Black Metal here and there, and while the band is not super original, they do a good job at keeping the listener engaged during the 12 minutes this EP lasts.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Die Hard – Nihilistic Vision (2009)

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    Die Hard is newcomer band to Trash Metal, and their debut “Nihilistic Vision” is a pretty solid debut full length that will surely please fans of the genre, but in my opinion it’s missing something to make them even better, and hopefully they manage to find this in time for their next album.

    With the current Trash Metal revival, I can’t think of a better time for this band to have released this album. Agonia Records must get a nod for perfectly timing the release of this album, especially when there are some many lackluster attempts at creating something as old school as this.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Mr. Death – Detached From Life (2009)

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    Did I put it the right CD?, am I hearing things?, old school Death Metal done correctly?. Mr. Death feels like a band that was put in hibernation for 20 years and they are finally releasing their debut album “Detached From Life”.

    Featuring some members of Treblinka/Tiamat and Expulsion, Mr. Death makes a solid debut that shows that old school DM is timeless.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Temple Of Baal - Lightslaying Rituals (2009)

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    Featuring members of Glorior Belli ( one of the best French Black Metal bands that I have reviewed recently) Temple of Baal plays some mean straight up Black Metal that many bands trying to be too ‘cult’ or overly symphonic need to pay attention to.

    My instant thought for comparison of this band is with Lord Belial, they both share the same approach to Black Metal, and I love it. The both play stripped down to the basics Black Metal that does not need the ‘we need to sound like shit to be evil’ production or the required tremolo picking riffs galore that makes you head hurt after a few songs.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Vetus Obscurum - Blood Revelations (2009)

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    Who ordered a cup of bad and uninspired Black Metal?, apparently Debemur Morti did when signing up to release “Blood Revelations”. This is another example of a band that sounds amazing on paper: Dario Derna from Abazagorath, Evoken, Funebrarum, etc on ALL instruments, Herb Burke (Drawn and Quartered) on ‘omega’ voice and Mike Nihilist (ex-Abazagorath, etc) on the ‘alpha’ voice.

    All of these names sound good on paper, but then you actually listen to the album you see that things don’t quite work out that way. Maybe it’s the annoying ‘out in the woods’ shitty sound with the intention of sounding more grim and ‘evil’. It can also be the aimless direction most songs take making them feel like bits and pieces pasted together for the sake of releasing something.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Ruins – Front The Final Foes (2009)

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    This Aussie band is back after one year to spread their musical sickness through another very solid and release. “Front The Final Foes” feels like the perfect continuation to “Cauldron”.

    The band’s guitar sound is what drew me to their last album “Cauldron” and it’s still one of the first things that stand out when listening to this release. While all the songs do not sound extremely original, the band does a great job at creating a thick sounding Black Metal that is neither technical or complex, but it’s highly effective in achieving that ‘in your face’ effect that many bands fail at.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    White Mice – Ganjahovahdose (2009)

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    For a person that has never done drugs, I have a hard time imagining what would it feel to be on crack or on an acid trip, but now thanks to White Mice I have both a visual and an aural experience of what I think it would come close to it.

    “Ganjahovahdose” is the band’s sixth full length album and it’s a very very very weird one. This Rhode Island outfit has been terrorizing the masses since 2001 and I assume they have gotten weirder and weirder in every release.

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