Prophecy Productions

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    Din Brad – Dor (2012)

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    As a side project of members of Negură Bunget, Din Brad delivers very interesting and exotic Neofolk music that creates an atmosphere unlike anything we have ever listened to. With “Dor”, the band crafts 11 tracks of dark and somber music that will send chills down your spine and will make you appreciate and dig-up more about Romanian folklore and history.

    Opening with the bone chilling “Amar”, the music of Din Brad is stripped down from any Metal influences and presents traditional instruments (i.e. panpipe) surrounded a by heavy atmospheric elements and a the excellent and enchanting exotic vocals of Alma. The lush and organic sound to the band is pretty awesome since it transports you to outer worldly locations in one instant. The folkish edge of the male vocals in songs like “Poarce'n Suflet Greu Păcatu” might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it gives that sense of authenticity to the music that many other Neofolk bands are lacking these days.

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    Arctic Plateau – The Enemy Inside (2012)

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    Delivering a hefty dose of excellent guitar work, today we have Arctic Plateau and their dreamy masterpiece “The Enemy Inside”. Gianluca Divirgilio, the man behind Arctic Plateau has a great sense of melody and through his Post-rock/shoegaze compositions delivers waves of emotions in a way that only a handful of bands can do.

    Opening with the ethereal “Music’s Like…”, this song, as most of the ones in this release, is very guitar centric and with every passing minute there is something exciting to pay attention to. The dreamy atmosphere is top notch and the melancholic vocals nicely roundup this song. The mood in the album constantly changes between dreamy and ethereal to dark and depressive, like on “Idiot Adult”. In this somber song, Gianluca does a great job in using Shoegaze elements to create a magical atmosphere.

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    Secrets of the Moon – Seven Bells (2012)

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    After releasing three EP’s since their last full-length release back in 2009, today we finally have Secrets of the Moon releasing another full-length release under the title of “Seven Bells”. In this release, the band delivers seven (duh) tracks of brilliantly crafted Black Metal that is very characteristic of the band and will never bore you.

    With its typical dark atmosphere, Secrets of the Moon nicely builds up momentum in the crushing opening track “Seven Bells”. The creepy bell sounds are excellent and the riffing is very powerful and direct, all this while the vocals are as hellish as always and the overall melodic nature of the music is outstanding. With a more direct approach, “Goathead” blasts away since the opening notes and steps up the pace to full-blown Armageddon. Again, the atmospheric parts are downright chilling and the slow building during the last few minutes of the track is just outstanding.

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    Les Discrets - Ariettes Oubliées... (2012)

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    As one of the most anticipated releases of 2012 here at Infernal Masquerade, “Ariettes Oubliées...” is Les Discrets second full-length release and a substantial improvement over their first effort. In this release the band delivers eight highly emotional tracks that if you can’t find the beauty in them; you are definitely deaf or have some hearing problems.

    Combining elements of Post-Rock, Shoegaze, Doom Metal and acoustic passages, Les Discrets manage to deliver a more concise and mature album that showcase the band’s abilities in making emotional music that will transcend in time. Fursy Teyssier’s vocals have greatly improved since “Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées” and together with Winterhalter on drums (Alcest) and  
    Audrey Hadorn providing additional vocals and lyrics, the band is a force to be reckoned and hopefully continue to release even better albums in the future.

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    Alcest – Les Voyages de l'Âme (2012)

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    Flying high on the success of their classic “Écailles de Lune”, Alcest has managed to tour the world and still found time to record “Les Voyages de l'Âme”. In this new release, the band efficiently re-hashed “Écailles de Lune”, toned down the Black Metal aspect of things, and still delivers 8 brilliantly atmospheric tracks. However, the ‘originality’ or ‘something different’ factor is lacking a bit with this release.

    Opening with “Autre Temps”, Alcest makes it very clear that their sound is untouched and delivers a very ethereal track. The vocal harmonies are as heavenly as possible and they beautifully contrast the powerful guitars. The bass guitar and drums are also very well incorporated and perfectly mixed to be in the background of the atmospheric elements.

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    Tenhi – Saivo (2011)

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    After five years of ‘silence’, Tenhi band finally returns with another mystical exploration into the dark realms of neo-folk music with “Saivo”. Keeping their very dark yet lush sound intact, the band delivers 12 tracks of majestic compositions that push the boundaries of Tenhi’s sound into less traveled areas of musical exploration.

    Four years in the making, “Saivo” marks the band’s best release to date. This is due to the complexity of the songs presented and the amazing atmosphere created in this release. The dark and minimalistic passages are always present while the enigmatic vocals push the somber atmosphere into darker places. If you never heard of Tenhi before, it is very hard to find a way to explain how something this somber can be as beautiful as it is, so we strongly recommend you check out some of the band’s earlier material.

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    Nucleus Torn – Golden Age (2011)

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    Just one year after their excellent release “Andromeda Awaiting”, Nucleus Torn returns with another brilliant excursion into Avant-garde Folk Metal but now with a Progressive twist. Making homage to 70’s Progressive Rock/Metal bands, “Golden Age” is a lush release that will intoxicate you since the first minute with its very intricate and yet exquisite songs.

    Being considerably more diverse and exciting than any previous Nucleus Torn release, “Golden Age” delivers six beautifully crafted tracks that showcase the band’s ability in combining stunning musical passages with harmonious vocals. With Fredy Schnyder handling most of the instrumentation and the production work, “Golden Age” sounds as good as you can ever imagine Nucleus Torn sounding.

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    Dark Suns – Orange (2011)

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    In this 2011 we have been treated to excellent Progressive album so far: Leprous “Bilateral”, White Willow’s “Terminal Twilight” and Dream Theater’s “A Dramatic Turn of Events”, however Dark Suns latest opus “Orange” comes just in time to find its spot between these gems in our top progressive album’s list of the year. After somewhat consolidating their change to Dark Progressive Metal/Rock in their last release “Grave Human Genuine”, the band comes back with a very cohesive and interesting sounding album with “Orange”.

    Featuring all the elements of Progressive music we all have grown to love but with a dark and sinister twist, “Orange” delivers 10 tracks of excellently composed tracks that will demand your attention since the first minutes of this release. Opening with the very psychedelic “Toy”, the band quickly delivers crazy keyboards and very effective guitar riffs. The overall atmosphere of this song is very retro and magical. The vocals are excellent since they fit the music just perfectly.

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    Farsot – Insects (2011)

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    There are tons and tons of Black Metal bands these days, but it is very hard to find the ones that manage to deliver and original album that keeps you wanting for more. Farsot managed to achieve that with their previous release “IIII”, and now with “Insects” the band proves that they are not a one-album kind of band. Playing Black Metal with an edge of Doom and Post-Metal, “Insects” is by far one of the most interesting and different sounding albums this 2011.

    “Like Flakes of Rust” opens this release with an atmospheric section followed by heavy guitars and very desolate vocals. Here you can start noticing that while music is aggressive, there is just something that makes it different from the cookie cutter bands (like the subtle bass guitar in this track). “Empyrean” delivers a very effective atmospheric section with nicely distorted guitars and some amazing clean vocals in the same vein as Ulver and similar bands. The riffing is excellent and nicely creates a very powerful atmosphere without being completely on your face.

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    Lantlôs – Agape (2011)

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    After releasing the impressive “.Neon” last year, Lantlôs returns with an even better release with “Agape”. In this album, Herbst basically takes apart Post-Black Metal and infuses brilliant instrumental passages and a nihilistic raw energy that creates an even more crushing and beautiful sound than ever before. While at first glance “Agape” might catch you off guard, this release is truly worth your attention to detail and how all elements weave together in a big bleak dark atmospheric could unlike anything heard before from Lantlôs.

    The opener “Intrauterin” quickly exposes some Drone-like elements with some Doom influences in its first few minutes. Very similar to Funeral Doom, this makes a very harsh and quick statement about the intensity and rawness of some of the songs to follow. The guitars are heavy and crushing, but they very effectively switch when the instrumental passage kicks in. Having some minor Post-Black metal hints to it, it feels like being pulled out of the water after almost drowning. Just before you think that the song will end quietly, there is another onslaught of harsh vocals and pummeling guitars, very nicely arranged.

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