2015

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    Igor’z – All Fades Away (2015)

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    Arriving all the way from Hungary, today we have Igor’z and their EP titled “All Fades Away”. Featuring three hard rocking songs, this EP serves as a good calling card for this up and coming band. While not too heavy, we appreciate bands filled with attitude and catchy music. Sounding like a lighter version of The New Black, Bombers, Chrome Division, etc., this band is quite entertaining.

    Opening with the crunchy guitars of “All Fades Away”, the band sets a very playful and engaging mood. Perfectly paired with the distorted guitars are charismatic lead vocals which add character and definition to the band’s sound. Featuring a lighter opening, “Don’t Care” has a more radio friendly approach with its catchy vocal melodies and straightforward nature.

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    Fallen Icon – North of Nowhere (2015)

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    Having stuff arrive from all over the world is one of the perks of working at Infernal Masquerade, today for the first time in 4 years we received a package from Malta. Featuring Fallen Icon’s debut EP “North of Nowhere”, this package is one of the most brutal and yet well-crafted Groove/Death Metal releases in a while. Pummeling through 23 minutes of crushing music, this Maltese trio delivers a relentless performance that should be recognized.

    After the moody intro, “North of Nowhere” brings to the listener a crushing atmosphere filled with pummeling guitar riffs and tight drumming. Chris Bonello does a great job handling the guitars while delivering punishing growls. Perfectly mixing Groove and traditional Death Metal elements with some more modern Thrash touches, tracks like “Descent into Darkness” and “Through Sludge and Misery” are headbanging feasts that will entice people to mosh non-stop.

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    Dö – Den (2015)

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    Hailing from Finland, today we have riff-masters Dö, presenting their EP titled “Den”. In this release, the trio delivers Roadburn-caliber music divided into four songs with different moods. With tons and tons of bands playing Doom/Stoner Metal, it is quite rare to find ones that really make the impression that Dö manages to make in less than 35 minutes.

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    Znafelriff – Ruin (2015)

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    Allegedly formed in Svalbard, Norway (but since then relocated to Germany), today we have hyper-raw Black Metal outfit Znafelriff and their crushing 5-song EP titled “Ruin”. Crafting their sound to be as raw and DYI as possible, the band actually manages to create some very old-school sounding music that will infuse nightmares to the uninitiated.

    Opening with the old-school Satyricon-esque “Heisere Stille”, the band instantly creates a dark shroud of distortion and rawness around their sound. The recording quality is decent enough to be able to tell all the elements apart, but raw enough to sound trve kvlt. The same rawness is continued with the Immortal-esque “Ruin”, however, the sound quality seems to have become even more trve as we needed to raise the volume on our speakers to continue to enjoy this release.

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    The Shiva Hypothesis – Promo 2015 (2015)

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    As one of the best releases to appear on our magical postal box, today we have The Shiva Hypothesis and their demoralizing 2015 3-song promo. Featuring an imposing sound similar to bands like Behemoth, Vesania and even Dimmu Borgir minus all the fluffy shit, this Dutch band delivers 20 minutes of brutal music that will rattle your speakers from start to end.

    Opening with the incisive riffing of “Caduceus”, The Shiva Hypothesis starts its journey pummeling the listener with devilish vocals provided mainly by MVS, and some killer drum patterns. As a package, this band is firing with all cylinders, allowing all elements to perfectly blend together crafting an oppressive atmosphere.

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    Ande – Licht (2015)

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    Steamrolling its way from Belgium, today we have one-man battalion Ande and his debut release “Licht”. Featuring over 22 minutes of music, this release features tons of great ideas and eerie atmospheric pieces. Opting to always have a sort of prelude before the main songs, this allows for the atmosphere to be perfectly established before moving into heavier and more ‘Metal’ things.

    After a solid intro, “Paniek” delivers heavy distorted guitars with a very raw and crushing sound. With the guitars leading the way, the vocals are quite fitting for the mid-tempo efforts presented in this track. Focusing more on how the guitars command attention, the band’s sound is quite clean and direct.

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    Aeons of Hate – Aeons of Hate (2015)

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    Hailing from Greece, today we have old-school Death/Thrash Metal outfit Aeons fo Hate and their self-titled debut release. Featuring over 30 minutes of music, this album brings back some memories of the late 90’s with incisive riffs perfect for headbanging while chugging beer. If you like the riffing capabilities of bands like Sodom, Kreator, Death Angel and Morbid Angel, this this one interesting release for you.

    Opening with the Slayer-esque “Sands of Deception”, the band makes quite a strong impression with pummeling guitars and harsh vocals. The riffing is quite pleasant as it weaves between Thrash influences and old-school Death/Thrash influences from the Sepultura early days. It is quite interesting to note that as track like “Solemn” and “Aeons of Hate” roll around, the music tempo is kept relatively ‘slow’ allowing the riffs to fully sink in and our heads to start bobbing from beginning to end.

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    Rusty Pacemaker – Ruins (2015)

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    Hailing from Austria, today we have a very unique release from an artist called Rusty Pacemaker. In “Ruins”, this one-man outfit delivers 53 minutes of very diverse music that blends Gothic Rock/Progressive Rock/Doom Metal with heavy atmospheric elements. Reminding us of bands like Yearning and some of the stuff on Holy Records back in the early 2000’s, this is a release that takes a few spins to fully sink in.

    Opening with a very somber atmosphere in “Ruins”, the mood is set quite mellow and very mysterious. As Rusty’s vocals appear, the vibe shifts into a more Gothic Rock/Metal atmosphere, with very well crafted guitars, but somewhat odd vocal melodies. Moving into full-on H.I.M / To/Die/For territory, “Made of Lies” is quite straightforward and catchy, while being quite consistent with one genre. The use of female vocals on “Ocean of Life” greatly adds a different dimension to the band’s sound, making it more dynamic and engaging.

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    Lost Seconds – A Place to Start (2015)

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    Arriving from Sweden, today we have Metalcore outfit Lost Seconds and their superbly crafted debut EP release titled “A Place to Start”. Featuring five songs, this album weaves back and forth between aggressive vocals and incisive riffs to melodic passage and soaring vocal melodies. With a good emphasis on melody, this EP stands out thanks to the traditional Gothenburg melodic Metal influences baked in with the rest of the band’s sound.

    Opening with the lush “Reflections”, the band takes a few minutes to set the stage with a very Prog Rock opening that slowly evolves into heavier territories. The mixture of harsh and clean vocals is done quite well, infusing raw emotions into this solid track. Perfectly shining with some glorious Gothenburg melodic Metal influences, tracks like “Sirens’ Song” and “Silent” deliver a good blend of melody and aggression, keeping the album fresh and fast paced.

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    Dark Letter – Psychomachia (2015)

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    Bringing back the days of Dreams of Sanity-like Gothic Metal/Rock, today we have Dark Letter and their debut EP titled “Psychomachia”. Featuring a simple yet effective approach to the genre, this young Polish outfit delivers five solid tracks filled with atmosphere and somber vocals. If you liked Gothic Metal bands from the late 90’s, this band will bring those days back to life with their 26 minutes of music.

    Opening with the mysterious “Toy”, the band sets a very mellow mood when pairing keyboard arrangements with well-structured drum patterns and Beata Golińska’s singular vocal style. Her style is a bit more firm and natural sounding than most actual female leads of the genre, giving the songs enough power and firmness to sound dark and not too sweet. The playfulness of tracks like “Romasanta” allows the listener to enjoy multiple facets of the band’s musical skills.

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