2010

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    Since Yesterday – Artificial Truth (2010)

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    It has been a very international month here at Infernal Masquerade reviewing (and receiving) albums from all over the world. Since Yesterday hails from Ankara, Turkey and they are planning a massive global take over with their superb debut album “Artifical Truth”.

    As an avid reader of Infernal Masquerade you should know that we do not like the majority of the mainstream Metalcore band and albums. However, we are truly objective when we get any releases for reviewing purposes and sometimes we get true gems that will surely take by surprise the genre and will shake out the established bands of their grandeur pipe dreams of super stardom.

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    Exortum – City In The Dead Mask (2009)

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    This month we find ourselves reviewing another band from the country that makes up 1/5th of the world: Russia. Hailing from Moscow we have Exortum, and band that plays Melodic Death Metal with plenty of clean vocals and even some breakdowns (but not in a really bad way).

    The band’s four song EP is called “City In The Dead Mask”, yep, that is what is called. But don’t be fooled by the odd WTF title, the band’s music is very good, in fact the album could be called “Raping Clowns” for all we care and this will not take anything away from the quality of this band.

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    Messiya – Erzsebet (2010)

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    All the way from Siberia we get “Erzsebet” a four song EP from the Black/Death Metal band Messiya. While very short, the EP will leave you with a good impression of what Erzsebet is capable off.

    The four songs in this release feature somewhat sub-par production values since the drums sound ‘weird’ and very mechanized, and the overall sound is kind of hollow, but is good enough to showcase the ideas behind’s the band’s music. Since the EP is short we will go over each track providing brief commentary on them.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Krig – Narcissistic Mechanism (2010)

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    Hailing from Brazil, we have Krig a Death/Grind band that features a very different sound from most bands of the genre. “Narcissistic Mechanism” is the band’s fourth release, and they clearly show signs of musical maturity in their songs.

    The album starts with a very powerful and progressive piece called “Folish Evildoes II”, and it prepares you mentally for something… totally different to what you are going to listen to in the following tracks. The band busts out with some traditional Grindcore riffs and brutal vocals that will surely make you jump out of your chair after the first song.

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    Raven – Walk Through Fire (2010)

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    Ten years have passed since the band’s last release “One For All” and with “Walk Through Fire” we can’t stop but wonder if the band was cryogenically frozen for the last 10 years and just released their follow up album. Raven is mostly recognized for being a NWOBHM band, and as we can currently listen, they are still a very good one.

    Featuring 143 tracks and a cover song, “Walk Through Fire” takes you back in time, when all the NWOBHM bands were at their greatest spotlight and brings back that feeling like no time has passed. Raven has managed to keep their sound intact and their music making abilities are still great.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Umbah – Trilobeth (2010)

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    Every once in a while we get a release that makes us think: What the fuck was the band thinking?. The majority of the time this is in a bad way, a clear example is “Trilobeth” from Umbah. This release feels as disconnected as a bunch of tracks pieced together by a baby playing with Pro-Tools.

    We must say that if originality is what you look for then you will be blown away by “Trilobeth” since we never heard something quite like this. But if you are actually looking for music with structured songs and a logical flow then you will hate this album.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Midnight Odyssey – Firmament (2010)

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    Hailing from Australia today we review Midnight Odyssey’s debut full-length album “Firmament” which in fact is a reissue of their 2009 demo of the same name but with different cover art. This band plays Atmospheric Black Metal and does a fine job at creating a very eerie release, but falls short in terms of originality and diversity.

    Dis Pater is the mastermind (and only member) behind Midnight Odyssey. The album features over an hour of haunting hymns dedicated to despair and darkness. Like we mentioned this release is neither original nor diverse, but it has interesting individual features, like the use of some beats in the programmed drum track and some nice ambient melodies.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Militiae – Nyseius (2010)

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    Hailing from France, this month we get a taste of great Black Metal in the shape of “Nyseius” from the one-man band Militiae. This release features a perfect combination of traditional Scandinavian Black Metal with more symphonic Avant-garde elements that give this release the edge needed to be noticed in the super crowded BM scene.

    If you are looking for ‘cult’ Black Metal, you might check this release out since it features the traditional blastbeats and tremolo picking sections that we all love. The release also has a very grim and raw feeling to it at (the beginning of Les Symboles de la Catharsis song), but it never lacks production values.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Svarti Loghin – Drifting Through The Void (2010)

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    When I first started listening to this album and the intro song “Red Sun Sets” was over, I thought I had the wrong promo on my playlist since the band’s music sounded like a demo tape for a Coldplay/U2 song. The guitars were rough and the percussions were too calm from what I expected from a BM band, then minute 1:50 hits and there are some weird Bono style vocals that made me double check that I was listening to Svarti Loghin and not some shitty U2 album that somebody sneaked into my computer.

    After the initial shock, I went to the band’s myspace and found out that in fact that is how the album starts. If I would have waited 30 seconds more I would have heard the shrieks and all I would know I had the right album. As you can expect, Svarti Loghin plays a very interesting sounding Black Metal that will surely shock a bunch of people if you are expecting furious blastbeats and incontrollable shrieks for desperation.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    An Autumn For Crippled Children – Lost (2010)

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    With an extremely interesting (and messed up) name, I was very intrigued by this band. After reading the release’s press information I got even more excited, since they claimed that the band mixes Atmospheric Doom Metal with Black Metal and Post-Rock, a combination that on paper sounds heavenly but in practice can be a total failure.

    So being both excited and skeptical about An Autumn For Crippled Children (AAFCC for short), I decided to dive in and take a swing at this release. Let me tell you, this album is all that it was hyped to be and even more, the music is both dense and haunting creating a tick atmosphere that will immerse you into AAFCC’s demented world since the first minute of “Lost”.

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