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    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Enemy Reign - Means To A Dead End (2008)

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    For the countless fans of Death Metal we have today a pretty solid band from the USA called Enemy Reign. These Colorado based outfit present us with their very brutal EP called “Means To A Dead End”.

    The band features nothing ‘original’ about their music, other than the fact that is fast paced and brutal. It follows all the traditional elements of Death Metal: The furious drumming, blazing guitar riffs and hooks, and subhuman growls.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Walken – Walken (2009)

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    The American band Walken caught my surprise when I first popped their CD on my sound system because of the interesting mixture of genres they use. The band’s sound is very diverse in the sense that you can find a big Trash Metal influence, as well as hints of Crossover/Punk Metal and very interesting melodic parts.

    Having released only 2 full-length albums in a career spanning over 10 years, I keep thinking how band’s like this are not signed and other very shitty bands have recording contracts. Featuring member of Prog-Metal/Rock Grayceon we can see how they influence the band’s music into a different direction than when the band started.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Aquila – Imperium (2009)

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    Opening with an intro track by the same name of the album “Imperium”, Aquila starts showcasing their musical abilities since track one and never let go. This Canadian outfit plays Metalcore and is pretty good at it.

    While Metalcore is not one of my favorite genres, I have no problems in recognizing bands that have talent and do a good job at playing the music. The vocals is the part that for me kills this genre, but Aquila does a good job at sounding more like Trash/Death Metal the majority of the time while maintaining their Metalcore roots.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Requiem For Oblivion - Requiem For Oblivion (2009)

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    As you first listen to track number one on this self titled release, you expect some good old Progressive Metal, but as the album progresses you are headed for an acid trip similar to something out of a David Lynch movie.

    The band's style is a very peculiar mix of Progressive Metal and some Ambient elements, as well as some weird vocals. The band self claims to be heavily influenced by Rush, Dream Theater, Katatonia among others, and that is not completely far out.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    One Master - The Quiet Eye Of Eternity (2009)

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    When you first hear this CD you are quickly taken to the early days of Black Metal with all its rawness and eeriness. One Master does a great job of capturing a timeless sound and reproducing it on their own way on a very well crafted second release called: "The Quiet Eye Of Eternity".

    The album production is the typical low-fi production that most of the BM bands of the time had, it gets a few minutes to really get used to it since in the first few minutes I thought there was something wrong with my sound system, but it quickly balances out. While I'm not a huge fan of this sound, it does help a lot in creating an haunting atmosphere when it comes to BM albums.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Kraftheim - Midgards Zorn (2009)

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    "Midgards Zorn" found it's way from Germany to our lair last week and as soon as we popped the CD in we got hooked into it. This band plays a very interesting mix of Viking Metal and Rock with some influences of Punk (like Glittertind).

    Kraftheim's album features 11 songs all sang in German which gives this album that German Rock dimension as well, making the band extremely versatile when it comes to combining genres allowing them to have a fresh sound, something that is hard to come by in the last few years.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Nihlotep – Surrogate Panoptic Quantal Regality (2009)

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    If the Metal Olympics where to be instituted in the next few years, Nihlotep would win in several categories: Longest Black Metal Songs and The Most Lyrics per Song categories.

    This band from California plays a mean Black Metal and they are not shy to let you know the have enough composition skills to write a couple of 13 + minute songs for their self-released first full length album.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Ethereal Collapse – Breaching The Citadel (2006)

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    When I first received this band’s ‘promo’ package with a burned CD-R and a hand written information sheet, I was about to discard this release instantly since I have not received something like this in several years. However I decided to play the CD on my car on the way to a party one night and I was blown away because of what I heard.

    I was almost not able to get out of the car in order to finish listening to the brilliant mix of Melodic Death Metal and Trash Metal that this band has managed to put on their first full-length album. The music was that good, since it’s a perfect balance of both genres and it’s completely unpredictable.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Ethereal Collapse – Categories (2008)

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    Recorded two years after their great debut full-length “Breaching The Citadel” was released, Ethereal Collapse is back with “Categories” a 3 song EP that takes off where their last album left.

    And if you have not read the review of their full-length album, then I’ll give you the jist of it: the album kicks ass, plain and simple. The band’s second effort is pretty good, but it’s probably lost the WOW factor since after listening to the first you have very high expectations of whatever the band releases next.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Celestial Maze – Ashes Of Lost Seasons (2009)

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    Celestial Maze is a one man band Gothic Rock / Shoegaze from Germany. Their newest album “Ashes Of Lost Seasons” is a very good example of how the previously mentioned genres can blend to create a very solid release.

    Featuring over 45 minutes of music in 11 tracks this album showcases Marko’s talent in creating beautifully haunting music. His characteristic voice is one of the trademark features of this album.

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