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  • Suicidal Angels – Sanctify the Darkness (2010)

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    With the current Thrash revival we have been noticing that many circa 2000 bands have re-surfaced and now they are finally getting deals with higher-profile labels in their attempt to ride the Thrash metal magic pony during the last few years. Suicidal Angels is one of those bands that has been benefited by this revival, but that it also has enough substance in their music to be worth listening to and actually buying their albums.

    The band plays old-school Thrash in a commanding manner and if it weren’t for the huge noticeable accent on the vocals we would never have guess they are from Greece. The influences behind this band are countless: old Slayer, Kreator, Possessed, old Sodom, etc. As you can expect you will not find anything original here, but who cares, if it’s well played Thrash metal, we are completely down for it.

  • Sorgeldom – Inner Receivings (2010)

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    Today we have an interesting Black Metal band from Sweden with the name of Sorgeldom. We call this band’s music interesting because their sound has some of the Scandinavian Black Metal feel to it mixed with some experimental rock/shoegaze elements. The band never goes as far as sounding like a Post-Black Metal band, but they do have a cleaner/slower edge in their sound that few others have.

    Sorgeldom in not by any means a revolutionary band, but they do a pretty solid job in incorporating different elements into a strong Black Metal foundation. The band has somewhat shifted from their original sound and now they are trying to find a middle ground between the harshness of traditional Black Metal and their experimental elements.

  • Society's Plague - The Human, The Canvas (2010)

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    With a very ‘commercial friendly’ sound, today we get Society’s Plague. Hailing from the USA, this band plays a mean mixture of Melodic/Progressive Death Metal with Metalcore influence. Setting aside our ‘differences of opinion’ with Metalcore bands, Society’s Plague is actually one hell of a band that will blow you away since the first song on their debut full-length release “The Human, The Canvas”.

    This American band has some Swedish Melodic DM influences in their sound and we love it. When most kids these days are focusing on creating songs with breakdowns every 30 seconds, Society’s Plague focuses more on crafting dual guitar melodies like almost no other new-coming band. The bands guitarists combine both skill and great songwriting skills on this album, making the band have a very dynamic and diverse sound.

  • Warvictims - Domedagen (2010)

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    If you like D-beat/Punk you should already know who the Swedish Warvictims are. If you don’t, then definitely check this album out. We are not huge fans of the genre or this band, but we can notice how intense and raw Domedagen is.

    In a quick lowdown of “Domedagen” we have to say that the punk riffing and drumming is very persistent during the album and create the right atmosphere for a band of this genre. The production quality on this release is pretty shitty, but we assume this would add more ‘rawness’ and ‘authenticity’ to the album.

  • D.I.S – Critical Failure (2010)

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    All-star band D.I.S grace us today with the Trash/Crust influenced D-beat that will surely blow you away. Featuring members of Phobia, Exhumed, Mange, Impaled and Eat The Living, this band is ready to kick ass and take names. “Critical Failure” is their long-awaited debut album and they have pretty much delivered in every single aspect with this album.

    If you are expecting anything original or innovative, you have picked the wrong genre and thus the wrong band/album. D.I.S is something that most nostalgic people about the old days of Hardcore punk will treasure and completely identify with. The band’s Swedish sound is very thick and will blow you away.

  • Colonel Blast – For the Greater Good (2010)

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    Once we listen to an album for one or two times we usually have an idea of what to say about it, when it came to “For the Greater Good” we are still short on words to describe it, but we will try to do our best. This band combines almost every possible genre of Metal together and creates a very unique and crushing sound.

    The band quickly starts of their album showing their riffage power and drumming skills. However, the screamed vocals on this song (and others) are quite annoying since they sound like a cat is getting hit by a bus or something. Some people might dig this, but we don’t, however the growls used through the album are decent enough to make up for them, and the music is what interested us the most.

  • Locusta – Locusta (2010)

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    Hailing from the USA today we have Locusta, a band that plays an interesting combination of Death/Black and Progressive Metal. While the band does have a very original sound, they have some flaws here and there that make their self-titled debut album a very good attempt but not quite there kind of record.

    The first thing we will note is that the band’s technical abilities greatly surpass their budget for this record, even if you had whatever amount the band paid to record this album changed into pennies and lugged it around on a big bag. The album’s product makes us want to cry since it sounds very bad. The drumming is extremely wobbly and sounds like when our tape player was destroying our precious cassettes back in the day. The guitars sound very weird, something we attribute to the production but it might be the ‘especial distortion’ used by the band.

  • Blasphemous – Bearer of the Darkest Plagues (2010)

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    Sometimes we wonder if Infernus really listens to whatever he puts out/sells on his Forces of Satan records label. Blasphemous “Bearer of the Darkest Plagues” is released by Baars Records, but Forces of Satan has it for digital download and we are not impressed.

    With a very low-fi cassette-demo sounding production, Blasphemous second full-length has minor flaws that greatly bring down the quality of this album. The band’s style of Blackened Death Metal is very retro sounding but still holds it’s own, until you hear the drumming going from slow sections into the blasting sections. It seems that the drumming is playing in a slower gear than the rest of the music.

  • Arcane Grail – Arya Marga (2010)

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    Boasting a majestic combination of Black, Death, and Gothic Metal with Symphonic Metal elements today we have Arcane Grail, a very bombastic band from Russia. “Arya Marga” was originally released back in March of 2009, but luckily for us the folks at Hunter’s Moon records from the UK re-released it on a digital-only format.

    Immediately the first thing that stands out is the beautiful classically-trained voice of Natalie, the band’s female vocalist for those that need clarification. The band’s music is very dynamic and it’s very well varied through the 40 minutes that “Arya Marga” lasts. There is never a dull moment and there is something for everybody ranging from full-on Black Metal aggression, Death growls and overall solid riffing.

  • Diabolic – Excisions of Exorcisms (2010)

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    With all the kiddies invading the current Death Metal scene, it’s nice to see some of the older bands come out and show what this kind of music is all about. Hailing from the Tampa scene, this American band shows that they have earned their DM chaps by experience, and not by copying everybody else.

    “Excisions of Exorcisms” pretty much has the ‘traditional’ DM feeling to it. The riffing is very powerful, the blasting drumming is very well crafted, and the vocals are just right for this release. The band might not have the technical abilities that some of the ‘traditional’ bands do, but they compensate with blistering fast sections that will make you start moshing in no time.

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