2009

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Echoes Of Eternity – As Shadows Burn (2009)

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    While many people decided to trash Echoes Of Eternity debut album “The Forgotten Goddess”, I was very surprised why a band would get trashed by attempting a very interesting mixture of musical genres (Gothic and Progressive Metal) and achieving a very good debut album.

    The riffs on the band’s debut album were not the most original or complicated out there, also they were pretty repetitive but they still managed to get the job done in creating an original sound for a band that was breaking into the scene.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Canis Dirus – A Somber Wind From A Distant Shore (2009)

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    Ambient Raw Black Metal newcomers Canis Dirus hail from Minnesota, USA, yeah you read correctly from the USA. This two man band is probably one of the best new bands of the genre hailing from the USA besides Wolves Of The Throne Room.

    Invoking the old Burzum sound as well as the insane vocals of Bethlehem’s first albums “A Somber Wind From A Distant Shore” is a very solid release that features a very primitive and raw sound that will send shivers down to anybody’s spine after listening to it in the dark or better yet in the woods.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Nazxul – Iconoclast (2009)

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    After going into a full-length album hibernation of 14 years, Australia’s cult legends Nazxul are back with a masterful Black Metal release that will set straight all the posers in the scene, and will show to all others how a Black Metal album should be done.

    While the band’s releases between full length albums where good, they could not compare to “Totem” until now. “Iconoclast” features 14 tracks (ambient passages included) of 90’s sounding Black Metal, something that is rare to find these days. While people might argue that the passages in-between tracks are just fillers, I have to say that they provide the perfect breathing time and the necessary pause in order to fully appreciate the next ‘real’ track.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hiems – Worship Or Die (2009)

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    Hiems (winter in Latin) hails from Italy and it’s a one man band side-project from Algol the bassist of Forgotten Tomb, one of the most boring Black Metal band’s that I’ve heard.

    “Worship Or Die” is an overall improvement of the music created by Forgotten Tomb, but is still pretty tame in comparison to other Black Metal releases. The whole album feels very slow except for the occasional  bursts of speed that are infused here and there, probably for the listener to not fall asleep.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Insomnium - Across The Dark (2009)

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    “Across The Dark” marks the fourth full-length album of these Finish melodic Death Metal band. And as expected based on their previous releases this new album is close to perfection. Being delayed from release a couple of times this was one of the most anticipated albums on my list.

    The music presented in “Across The Dark” is one of the best I’ve heard this summer in the melodic Death Metal genre. The band manages to create a very depressing, and at the same time, melodic atmosphere that is rare to find this days. For the whole duration of the album the listener is guided into a journey across the dark.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Echoes Of Eternity – As Shadows Burn (2009)

    cover

    While many people decided to trash Echoes Of Eternity debut album “The Forgotten Goddess”, I was very surprised why a band would get trashed by attempting a very interesting mixture of musical genres (Gothic and Progressive Metal) and achieving a very good debut album.

    The riffs on the band’s debut album were not the most original or complicated out there, also they were pretty repetitive but they still managed to get the job done in creating an original sound for a band that was breaking into the scene.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Darzamat – Solfernus Path (2009)

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    I can always count on Darzamat to produce a high quality album that is very, if not totally, different from their previous one. This is a feature that I like about Darzamat but unfortunately some critics do not, and they trash the band’s releases.

    “Solfernus Path” marks this Polish band fifth full length, while the band started more in the style of Symphonic Black Metal, they have now switched around to Dark/Gothic Metal, but without loosing their aggressiveness and power that the band had in their earlier days.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Theatre Of Tragedy – Forever If The World (2009)

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    After going back to a more Gothic Metal sound with “Storm”, Theatre Of Tragedy is back after three years with “Forever If The World”. The band’s latest release is a step up from “Storm”, but it still never compares to the band’s last great album “Aegis”.

    “Forever If The World” has a bit of a feeling like “Aegis” but it gets watered down with some weird parts featuring electronic elements, like in “Astray” and the feeling is over. However this album is still very solid and it has memorable tracks like “Frozen” and “Hollow” just to name a few.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Leaves’ Eyes – My Destiny (2009)

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    I was psyched when I received this CD on the mail, since I’ve been waiting for quite a while to get some new Leaves’ Eyes music. And let me tell you I was pretty shocked by the opening riff of the track “My Destiny” since I was not expecting it.

    The riff is very commercial hard-rock /Metal in nature and I had that whole déjà vu feeling when Lacuna Coil went very commercial, however the song got a bit better and the rest of the album continues in the traditional Leaves’ Eyes fashion.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Nervecell – Preaching Venom (2009)

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    Lifeforce Records brings us “Preaching Venom” from the UAE based band Nervecell, the band plays Death/Trash metal with some melodic elements. While none of the band members are nationals of UAE, Dubai more specifically, they all reside there and make their music in that corner of the world.

    Nervecell’s features David Haley of Psycroptic fame on drums, and as you can expect the drumming in this album is close to perfection; all tracks are tightly played and brilliantly written and executed. The other 3 musicians from the band as I can tell do not play in any other bands in the scene, but they are still pretty good at their instruments.

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