2013

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    Deadlock – The Arsonist (2013)

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    The ever evolving Deadlock arrives with their latest offering “The Arsonist”. In this album this German outfit delivers 10 tracks and around 40 minutes of their signature passive-aggressive Melodic Metal filled with the sweet vocals of Sabine Scherer. Adding some Groove elements into their already rich sound, the band sounds as catchy and heavy than ever in this release.

    Opening strong with “The Great Pretender”, we can instantly hear the new Groove influences in the band’s sound. We also get the first glance of the band’s new male vocalist: John Gahlert, their older bass guitarist. Keeping the mixture of harsh screams and female vocals, the band’s vocal approach is quite diverse and entertaining. The band’s catchiness is as always present on the killer “I’m Gone”, featuring one of the best chorus sections of the whole release.

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    Autumnblaze – Every Sun is Fragile (2013)

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    The killer releases of summer of 2013 keep piling up with Autumnblaze delivering the long awaited “Every Sun is Fragile”. With an ever changing musical style, the German outfit delivers a very heartfelt Depressive/Post-Rock album that is filled with amazingly catchy songs and very melancholic atmospheres. Pushing their sound even further than on “Perdition Diaries”, fans of Green Carnation to Gothic Rock outfits will love this release instantly.

    Markus Baltes has really pushed the band’s sound over the years but with the opener “New Ghosts in Town”, the listener will immediately know how far they have gone now. There are almost no harsh vocals, and the music is mostly on the Rock side of things, however, there are still some Metal influences present. This track is quite dramatic and thanks to the imposing clean vocals the overall atmosphere is quite dramatic. As heard on “Invisible Fields”, the band guitars are still quite catchy making the music perfect for some heavy duty headbanging.

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    Winterblood – Herbstsehnsucht (2013)

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    Making its way from Germany, today we have Winterblood and their debut full-length “Herbstsehnsucht”. Mixing Black Metal with some Doom elements, this Post-BM release is one tough cookie to crack. At first some things seem a bit rough, but once you get the whole picture of the album it comes together nicely in a very unconventional way.

    The album starts with the mysterious opener “Nur der Tod hat mir Erlösung gebracht”. In this track the band nicely builds up to some brutal sections with harsh screams. While the music is well-crafted, the drums are programmed and sound a bit fake in some points. We are usually very picky about this, but most of the time you can’t tell them apart. Taking the opposite approach, “Mit jedem Abschied wird Erinnerung geboren” starts very heavy and slowly mellows out as it concludes. The atmospheric sections have some Drone-like elements and really help setting up a dark and cavernous mood.

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    Acacia – Tills döden skiljer oss åt (2013)

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    Just when you think you have almost heard everything under the sun, it comes a truly moving release like Acacia’s debut full-length “Tills döden skiljer oss åt”. Melancholic and depressive are adjectives that barely start to describe the mood and atmosphere of this soul (and spirit) crushing album. Formed originally under the name of Livsnekad, this Swedish outfit manages to deliver 61 minutes of truly moving music that we will do our best to try to do justice while describing.

    The solemn piano opening of “Död mans mask” really builds anticipation and once the clean vocals come on, the mood suddenly gets even darker. As “Förnimmelsens lund af längtan” opens, the riffs remind us a bit of bands like Draconian and Desire with a certain atmospheric touch of My Dying Bride. Being huge fans of Death/Doom Metal, the growls are up to par to any of the heavy hitters of the scene, a very important element to contrast the atmosphere of the music. The Black Metal influences kick in and elevate the music to a whole new level, featuring extremely contrasting brutality with a highly atmospheric content. As the song winds down, we get some nice Post-Rock/Depressive Rock final minutes that serve as a relaxing culmination to this excellent track.

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    Thränenkind – The Elk (2013)

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    From the highly creative mind of Nathanael, of Bonjour Tristesse and Agrypnie fame, today we have Thränenkind’s debut full-length “The Elk”. Being released through LifeForce Records, this powerful exercise in desolate and depressive music combines Post-Black Metal elements with Depressive Rock and a huge knack for bleak musical passages. With influences from bands like Heretoir and Austere (among others) to more Post-Rock outfits like God Is an Astronaut and Godspeed Your Black Emperor, this is one emotional rollercoaster ride that you do not want to miss.

    Brilliantly setting the mood with the desolate “Monument”, we don’t have to wait much to get fully immerse in the band’s melancholic music. The first heavy hitting song is the ethereal “Just Another Way of Expressing Defeat”. Featuring dreamy guitars and a very mellow pace, this is one song that is very well constructed, transporting the listener back and forth from ethereal dream states.

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    Children of Madness – Howl from Beyond (2013)

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    Arriving from Finland, today we have a very lively EP titled “Howl from Beyond” from the band Children of Madness. In this four song release, this up and coming band showcase their very interesting blend of melodic guitar-driven Metal that features Heavy Metal-like soaring vocals and playful keyboards. For a short release, all the songs will stay in your head for quite a while due to their super catchy nature.

    Opening very strongly with “Phoenix Rising”, the band sets a very melodic and epic mood with their excellent riffing and soaring vocals. We like that the vocals are quite natural and don’t sound over the top for the music the band presents. There are some killer solos in this song that greatly enhance the overall experience. As the album title track makes it way, the band steps it up a notch and delivers a hard-hitting catchy tune. The riffing again stands out, and it is nicely complemented by the atmospheric keyboards the band gives a darker vibe to this track.

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    Black Magician – The Pursuivant (2013)

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    Delivery waves of Pyschedelic Retro Doom Metal with some Rock influences, today we have Black Magician and their EP titled “The Pursuviant”. In this very unique but short EP, slated to be released on 7” vinyl, this UK band manages to craft a very mystical and unique sound that ranges from heavy Doom passages, to all out Hammond Organ-fueled psychedelic sections. While never lacking creativy, this is one of the most interesting EP’s we have received in a while.

    Opening with the pounding album title track, the band seems to be going down a straightforward Doom path, but as soon as the organ kicks in, the mood drastically changes. The band manages to fuse into the heavy riffs some very cool organ arrangements paired with interesting guitar leads. This track immediately shows that this band has a very unconventional sound.

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    Saligia - Lvx Aeternae (2013)

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    Keeping their cavernous and compact Black Metal sound from their debut full-length “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi”, today we have Norway’s Saligia and their sickening EP “Lvx Aeternae”. Delivering four track and 25 minutes of truly haunting Black Metal, this band is a combination of the rawness and directness of Watain with sickening atmospheric elements of bands like Bethlehem. If you like your Black Metal to be harsh, but obscure and focused more on cavernous atmospheres over extreme over-the-top tremolo-picking, you are in luck with this release.

    The band blasts this release wide open with the crushing “Per Aspera Ad Astra”. In this track Ahzari’s powerful vocals make up for 60% of the overall raw power of their sound, while his pulsating bass guitar line adds to the destruction. The cavernous atmosphere continue with the album title track, but make no mistake and think the production is weak, since you can listen clearly to every single cymbal of V’s drums.

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    Petrychor / Frozen Ocean – Autumn Bridges (2013)

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    Having released over 10 releases in the last two and a half years, the creativity keeps flowing for Russian’s one-man band Frozen Ocean. In this split with Petrychor, another excellent one-man project from the States, we get three powerful tracks of highly Atmospheric Black Metal that will surely make you want to find more material from each band and start enjoying their excellently crafted music.

    Opening with Petrychor’s “Tomorrow It Will Rain Over Bouville”, Tad Piecka treats us to a 133-minute piece of brilliant crafting that is both highly emotional and very powerful. Starting with a lush and slow intro section, the song quickly builds up to very melodic and straightforward Black Metal with a very dreamy atmospheric backdrop. The sharp vocals are excellent and provide an excellent contrast to the very mellow and melancholic feeling of the music. This track is anything but predictable and some of the acoustic/post-rockish passages are perfectly blended into the harsher and more brutal sections.

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    Deconstructing Sequence – Year One (2013)

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    Pretentiously called Extreme Progressive Art, the statement is actually pretty darn close when it comes to describe the challenging music of Deconstructing Sequence on their debut EP “Year One”. Feturing three songs and over 23 minutes of Extreme Progressive Metal music, this duo delivers quite an intricate release filled with little nuisances that make it even more enjoyable after a couple of spins.

    With a very ominous start to “Departure of the Stellar Fleet Marks the Year One” the band sets a very epic mood since the beginning. The keyboards reminded us of late 90’s bands (in particular Nile) giving a high atmospheric charge to the incisive guitars and crafty drumming. The growls are quite crushing and elevate the brutality of the music without obscuring the technical abilities lurking in the mist.

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