2011

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lekamen Illusion Kallet – The Second Wind (2011)

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    In another addition to the ‘meh’ column of this month, today we have Lekamen Illusion Kallet (LIK) and their fourth full-length release “The Second Wind”. The band has re-emerged to release a pretty standard Black Metal meets Rock and Roll release that should fly low in most people’s radars.

    With over 40 minutes of bleak and depressing music, the band does one thing right: create a very desolate and dark atmosphere. The guitar tuning gives out a very raw and low-fi roar that is very effective in creating said atmosphere. Also, the slow tempo presented in these songs makes them perfect for an agonizing evening under very bad weather conditions.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Demonaz – March of the Norse (2011)

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    Immortal’s ex-guitarist and lyricist Demonaz finally delivers his debut ‘solo’ album with “March of the Norse”. In this release we have mixed impressions since it sounds like an Immortal album with clean vocals (for the most parts). This gives the release a Black Metal sound combined with Folk/Viking/Pagan Metal elements.

    With all the hype behind this release, we are somewhat disappointed by the lack of creativity behind this release. However, the music is quite catchy and enjoyable and this release will surely be in the top 10 lists of many publications, but not ours.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Tasha-Yar – Tasha-Yar (2011)

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    In the same vein of U.S.Christmas, Hawkwind, and other Psychedelic Space Rockers, today we have Tasha-Yar and their very impressive self-released self-titled album. In this release we are treated to 8 tracks of pure atmospheric brilliance that will transport the listener to lands far far away.

    Featuring ex-members of U.S. Christmas and Chad Davis of Hour of 13, this band creates a very unique and hypnotic atmosphere infused with Psychedelic elements that will blow you away. Each of the songs in this album nicely flows after each other and before you know it, you will find yourself hitting the play button again.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Primordial – Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand (2011)

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    Delivering their 7th full-length album in over 20 years of existence, Primordial reminds us why they are one of the greatest Celtic/Folk Black Metal bands of all time. With powerful guitars driven songs and intricate drum patterns, the band provides over 60 minutes of brilliant music that is up to par with their greatest albums of the 90’s.

    Pounding away with “No Grave Deep Enough”, the band provides their signature guitar work that becomes outstanding when paired with A.A. Nemtheanga vocals. This song has all the ‘classical’ Primordial elements and works wonderfully as an opening track. “Lain with the Wolf” provides the typical build-up sections that the band is known for, and the drum patterns in this song make it very diverse and interesting to listen to.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Beto Vázquez Infinity – Existence (2011)

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    ”Existence” marks the ’bands’ 4th full-length album, and it is clearly their most impressive and ambitious release to date. With a vast array of guest musicians, this release is one of THE Melodic Metal/Rock albums of the year, even though it was released in 2010 elsewhere, we pick the North American dates for our top 10 lists.

    With this double album, Beto Vázquez has managed to put together a very eclectic mix of musicians and each of the 20 songs combines powerful melodies with outstanding vocals. While the guest musician list is huge, is not as impressive as the ones from bands/projects as Star One, Ayreon and Avantasia. Most of the guests in this album, with the exception of Timo Tolkki, might be considered from the ‘B list’ of Metal, but they are equally talented and are just a bit less known that the ones on the ‘A list’ of Metal. We particularly like this approach since it allows the listener to discover lesser known bands due to the performances of their vocalists.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    My Inner Burning – Eleven Scars (2011)

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    Jumping into the female-fronted Gothic Metal arena, today we have My Inner Burning and their second full-length “Eleven Scars”. Led by the strong voice of Rebekka Gaber, this band has a golden opportunity to get noticed by being with the label SPV.

    Being nothing revolutionary and just adding another different sounding vocalist to genre, we believe that My Inner Burning might not really make a break in the scene and most people will call them out due to their shortcomings.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Beardfish – Mammoth (2011)

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    Keeping the flame alive of bands like YES and King Crimson, today we have Beardfish and their excellent release “Mammoth”. Being the sixth album under their belt, “Mammoth” moves forward with their super catchy and authentic old-school influenced sound. As you know from the band’s previous release, their sound is very listener friendly and excellently crafted.

    Opening with “The Platform”, the band nicely shows their experience in crafting very engaging sounds that have both technical proficiency and catchy melodies. This song keeps getting better and better as it progresses. “And the Stone Said” in our opinion is the best track in this album. Clocking around 15 minutes, this epic song features very catchy melodies and great keyboard and guitar solos.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    A Pale Horse Named Death – And Hell Will Follow Me (2011)

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    In the ‘meh’ column, today we have A Pale Horse Named Death and their debut album “And Hell Will Follow Me”. Even though the band features Sal Abruscato (ex-Type O Negative) and Matt Brown (Seventh Void), there is not much to enjoy (at least for us) with a lot of dull and repetitive riffs.

    Maybe some fanboys of Type O Negative will try to cope with the loss of Peter Steele and adopt this band, since it sounds a bit like earlier TON albums (sans the vocals of course). But for us it just feels like a very average mixture of Doom/Stoner Metal and Alternative Rock elements that falls short of the caliber of the band’s members.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Pagan’s Mind – Heavenly Ecstasy (2011)

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    While the quality behind today’s Pagan’s Mind is far from the times when they released their opus “Celestial Entrance” and “Enigmatic: Calling”, with “Heavenly Ecstasy” they still manage to produce 11 tracks of very solid Power/Progressive Metal that will surely entertain most fans of the genre.

    After a big WTF with “God’s Equation”, with this release they set a lot of wrongs straight and deliver a quality album that is both enjoyable and very well crafted. Singer Nils Rue takes the lead as the most recognizable feature of the band and soars in most songs making them very memorable.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Amaranthe – Amaranthe (2011)

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    After being constantly bugged by people to checkout this new amazing Gothic Metal band from Sweden called Amaranthe, we finally caved in and got a copy of their 2009 demo. To our surprise this was not totally bad, except from the fact that it was very pop-ish, and nothing really to ‘write home about’.

    Fast forward to 2011 and the band finally releases their debut album “Amaranthe”. The first impression we had about this release is that a strong production can clearly improve things and that after a few years of working out the songs; the band has polished them to be highly effective pseudo-Gothic Metal anthems.  Before you go and close your browser and delete us from your favorites since you imagine we completely sold-out, bear with us and keep reading.

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