2008

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Grnd_0 – Destroyer / Creator (2008)

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    “Destroyer / Creator” begins like any other Death Metal release, but after the first song you start to realize that this is not your average release. Grnd_0 have several elements in their sound that sets them apart from many Death Metal bands. I hear some resemblance to Nevermore’s music when I listen to “Destroyer / Creator” but other than that, this band blends many elements very well together.

    • Posted By: Proof Of Existence
    • Comments: 0

    Alestorm - Leviathan (2008)

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     Following the excellent Captain Morgan’s Revenge (2008), Alestorm released the Leviathan EP containing Heavy Metal Pirates, a single that was released for download from the band’s MySpace page months earlier. The EP contains just 4 tracks (listed below), and unfortunately only contains 2 new songs, a re-recording and a cover. The sound is very consistent with what you will find on Captain Morgan’s Revenge; the guitar solos, the keyboards, and especially the pirate vocals.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Disgust – Crucifucked (2008)

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    Disgust is a Mexican Death metal band that likes to stick to the basics and excel at it. While they are not going to win any awards for originality, they are pretty good at achieving the same sound of Cannibal Corpse with some of the groovyness of Six Feet under. This album provides 35 minutes of pretty good old school death metal that is hard to find in new bands.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Kekal - Audible Minority (2008)

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    I've been listening to Kekal since their early Black Metal origins to their transformation into Avant-Garde Metal. I've never been a big fan of their newer releases, however you can see some brilliance behind their music. "Audible Minority" was released on-line for free, and an official label release came to light in December 2008. I'm not an expert in Avangarde Music, but I can still find releases that I like and ones that I don’t.

    Kekal's latest release is one that after listening for several times, I'm not able to get into it. There are many elements floating around that do not fit well as a whole. Many of the samples are just annoying in my opinion, and the vocals just make them worse. While there are some nice jazzy parts, they just suddenly transform into a drone noises and the magic is lost. The only song I liked was "Against", all the rest have nice parts but nothing else.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Tracedawn - Tracedawn (2008)

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    I was blown away by this band's first release. Their sound is so well defined and technically amazing. Every track of this album has been greatly constructed and shows a high level of musicianship. And amazingly enough most band members are under 21 years old!

    The band's sound has some resemblance to Into Eternity, but it has a more symphonic sound to it. The vocals are a very well balanced mix of clean and harsh vocals that don't get too annoying or sound bad at all.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Turmion Katilot – U.S.C.H (2008)

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    I've never heard of this band before I walked inside of Tavastia during the first night of the club shows that occured during Tuska 2008. And after their set was done, I was one more fan of this band.

    While their stage costumes made me believe they where going to play some type of grind/gore music, it was the opposite. Suddenly some beats started going on the background and I was in for quite an experience.

    Turmion Katilot's musical style is industrial metal, and in this release they feature some of the catchiest beats they have made until now.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Hollenthon – Opus Magnum (2008)

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    The music of Hollenthon is what happens when you give a synthesizer to the demented Grandmaster Flesh (A.K.A Martin Schirenc) from Pungent Stench fame.  The band’s sound can be defined as an epic symphony of madness, the music I would probably hear in my head if I was confined to a mental institution. This release was in the making for 7 years, and it was well worth the wait.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Horna - Sanojesi Äärelle (2008)

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    Horna is one of the few black metal bands that I’ve been a fan since they where conceived and that I’ve never been disappointed with their releases. This Finish band features an all-star line up that includes members of bands that have released some of the finest albums in metal. “Sanojesi Äärelle” is a powerful release that will no doubt become a modern classic of black metal, and that will influence many bands in the scene.

    The thing I like about Horna is that no matter how much time it passes, I can always trust on them to deliver brutal and raw black metal albums. Most ‘original’ Black Metal bands have been experiementing with their style of music for the last years releasing mediocre albums in the process (Darkthrone, Mayhem, etc), but not Horna, they stick to the basics and excel at it. And this double CD would put many of the previously mentioned band’s releases to shame.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Blood Stained Dusk – Black Faith Inquisition (2008)

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    Blood Stained Dusk hail from …. Alabama, USA?. This American Black Metal masters feature the every enigmatic Pest on vocals and with this they have guaranteed their place in the Black Metal hall of fame. But it’s not only the vocalist that make this band great, all musicians in the band play they instruments with hate and fury to produce on the most brutal releases I’ve heard from 2008.

    The guitar work is intense and never let goes, and this band does not play 4 minutes songs, most song in this album are well over 9 minutes. The intensity of the songs only decreases when the ritualistic keyboard passages occur, only to be picked up again, and the blasphemous blasting continues. The keyboards create a majestic cold atmosphere that keeps the listener attentive to whatever surprise is coming next.

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