2010

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Ereb Altor - The End (2010)

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    To complete the Viking Metal trifecta released by Napalm Records this March/April we have “The End” by Ereb Altor. This band plays Epic Viking Doom Metal….. we have heard Epic Nautical Doom Metal and now Viking EDM, looking into the band’s founders we find that both of them are part of Isole, and that is exactly how this band sounds too much alike.

    Ereb Altor has crafted a very unique sounding Epic Doom Metal that most fans of the genre will find intoxicating, having heavy influences from Candlemass, Isole, Ahab, and old Bathory. And while this is not 100% or cup of tea, we find this release very enjoyable. Being huge Doom Metal fans, it took us quite a while to really get into Epic Doom and Funeral Doom bands, and it can’t get any better than Ereb Altor (and Ahab).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Svartsot - Mulmets Viser (2010)

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    Coming from Denmark, we get Napalm Records second Folk/Viking Metal offering of the month. “Mulmets Viser” is Svartsot’s second full-length album and their best to date. Having recorded two brilliant demos and one full-length album (“Ravnenes Saga”) the band shows no signs of losing their edge in every release.

    After 90% of the band quit in 2008, Cris J.S. Frederiksen wasted no time in putting together a group of musicians that wanted to continue with Svartsot. This bold move paid off since there is nothing lost in the quality of this band, and we would even dare to say that they sound better than ever.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Les Discrets - Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées (2010)

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    Hailing from France we have Les Discrets, a very unique band that makes it nearly impossible for us to define their musical style. Featuring a rich palette of influences ranging from Progressive Rock to Post-Rock to Shoegaze to Alternative Metal with a splash of Folk, we have one of the most unique sounds to ever be signed by Prophecy Productions (and if you know your music, you know this label is responsible for acts such as Empyrium, Autumblaze, The Vision Bleak, etc).

    Featuring songs the band wrote in a span of six years, you can see how this band started with a very solid musical foundation and only refined it to near perfection. “Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées” is one of the best albums we have reviewed in 2010. The band has done a great job in polishing their own sound and laying down some amazing tracks over the year.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Alcest - Écailles De Lune (2010)

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    After the band’s amazing first full-length release “Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde” many of us had been left wanting for more. And while there are many other bands that play similar music like Agalloch, Wolves In The Throne Room, Fen, etc. Alcest has it’s own extremely melancholic sound that is unique of them.

    “Écailles De Lune” follows the band’s first release perfectly; there are plenty of instrumental passages that build expectation and melancholy. The clean vocals are heavenly and brilliantly set the mood for the furious sporadic Black Metal attacks. All the buildups leading to the band’s Black Metal elements are perfectly crafted creating a very melancholic feeling that bursts with shrieks of desperation.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Stigma - Concerto For The Undead (2010)

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    If you usually judge a book by its cover, you will image that Stigma plays Punk or something in that vicinity. But once you start listening to this album you will be blown away with a Melodic Death Metal sound that will hook you since the first riff. The band does a great job at mixing Melodic DM with harsher elements, making their sound very dynamic and fresh.

    “Concerto For The Undead” features great artwork that reminded us of the Tales From The Crypt comic books, and as you can see in the band’s promo pictures, it’s one of their clear influences. We love when bands use horror movies as an influence since it’s one of our passions, and they could make for very interesting lyrics.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Heidevolk - Uit Oude Grond (2010)

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    Out of the hundreds of bands that play Folk/Viking/Pagan Metal, Heidevolk has been one of our favorites since their debut album “De Strijdlust is Geboren”. The band has a very ‘simple’ but yet effective way of making Folk Metal songs, they only need the addition of a violin to get the extra ‘folkish’ sound that other bands have when using countless extra instruments.

    “Uit Oude Grond” is the band’s third full-length album and you can hear that they are running out of ideas. While Heidevolk’s music has always sounded formulaic (but effective) it’s finally getting a bit tired and old. Even halfway through this album you start to wonder if your CD player is skipping and re-playing the same tracks.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Unleashed - As Yggdrasil Trembles (2010)

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    Swedish Death Metal legends Unleashed are back with another great album, “As Yggdrasil Trembles” marks another great release in the band’s career. If there is one thing you can count on with Unleashed is consistency. The band has managed to maintain their original style for almost 20 years, and yet they still sound fresh.

    Forming over 20 years ago, Unleashed has played a major role in the development of Viking Metal and bands that talked about Scandinavian mythology in general. Since the band was the first to use this topics in their lyrics, instead of the traditional ‘blood and guts’ approach, this has made them very unique since the beginning.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Blood Cult – We are the Cult of the Plains (2010)

    The monthly award of the best ‘recorded in the toilet’ album goes to Blood Cult. Since track one we had to crank up the volume on our sound system considerably to be able to discern what’s going on with this release (or it might be a bad rip behind this promo).

    Anyways, after achieving the ‘recorded in the toilet’ award, no single album has been as interesting and actually good before. We are glad we decided not to chuck out this release and go and listen to something more audible.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Avsky – Scorn (2010)

    Hailing from Sweden, we have Avsky, a two man band that is here to rescue use form formulaic and lame Black Metal. You wont find any keyboards or fancy element in this release, only straight in your face raw Black Metal.

    “Scorn” presents us with 6 tracks for over 45 minutes of hellish Black Metal. The band does a great job creating raw sounding music that would most likely be part of the ambiance music down in hell.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Armour - Armour (2010)

    After listening to this release for a few times I started to wonder if I had accidentally downloaded the wrong promo album. I never expected for this band to have such a traditional Heavy Metal sound (the cover gave it away, but you still won’t expect it). Hailing from Finland, this band got a third place on a nation wide TV competition for demo bands.

    Featuring a healthy dose of traditional Heavy Metal in their influences, the band is great at playing this genre. You will never expect that they formed only in 2006 and that this self-title album is their first full-length. The enigmatic Vince "Werewolf" Venom is the band’s vocalist as well as the vocalist for countless other bands that play very different styles, like Black Metal with Satanic Warmaster

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