Rock

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    Sep7ember - Strange Ways of Going Home (2012)

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    Sometimes some albums that are quite not our cup of tea make it to our review queue and surprise us a bit. Sep7ember’s “Strange Ways of Going Home” is the latest entry in this category due to its super catchy guitar work and very solid songwriting. We are no experts on Alternative Rock or even Hard-pop but this album is pretty good since it kept us interested from beginning to end.

    Hailing from Frankfurt, Sep7ember opens this release with the very catchy (and pop-ish) “View into Blur”. The dreamy guitar work is pretty appealing and the bass guitar is super catchy in this piece. Sometimes we can even say that the band bleeds a bit into Post-Rock territory in songs like “Run”, “Remaining Days” and “So”, but with a commercial REM and Live touch. The vocals are very whiny, but in a good way since they deliver the emotion behind these powerful songs.

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    Wild Wet – Cocktail in Bloodshed (2011)

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    Making its way from Italy to our PO BOX, today we have Wild Wet and their debut release “Cocktail in Bloodshed”. As a perfect example of ‘when vocalists’ go wrong, we are very sorry that Wild Wet’s very melodic and entertaining music is tarnished by the terrible pronunciation and pitchy-ness of the vocalists ‘abilities’. While the vocal harmonies are ok, the actual person pulling the trigger is just plain bad.

    After getting over the bad impressions of the singing, “Cocktail in Bloodshed” is not a bad album musically speaking. After the intro “After I Came”, this Italian sleaze/Glam Rock outfit does a great job in crafting appealing music for the opener “Before you die”. The guitar and bass guitar are petty solid and create a very fun and engaging atmosphere. The drumming is spot on and the overall feeling of the music is very entertaining indeed, but we have to listen to somebody howling in the background and this just kills the mood.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Earth Burnt Black – Harrowing Catharsis (2011)

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    With a very interesting and rich sound, today we have Earth Burnt Black’s debut full-length “Harrowing Catharsis”. The band pretty much throws everything in the frying pan and delivers a very well tasty dish of well crafted and different sounding music with a nice and clear production on top of it. These types of albums are the ones we wait for at Infernal Masquerade since the combine so many different things and still manage to sound very well and powerful.

    The “Intro” track immediately gives you the feeling that this will be a Doom Metal release, but this quickly changes in the next song. “The March” features hard rocking guitars and clean vocals to start, clearly breaking away from what is expected from the intro. However, not long enough the Doom and Grooviness come back and the band delivers interesting brutal sections with both growls and screams mixed in between some more clean vocals. While this might sound completely chaotic, it actually works very well with the melodic aspect of the song.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Dope Flood – A Planet on Four Legs (2011)

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    Hailing from Greece, today we have the Hard Rockers of Dope Flood delivering their 3 song EP titled “A Planet on Four Legs”. With a very mainstream sound, this Greek newcomer has a very catchy sound and excellent tunes, but sounds exactly like any other Hard Rock album we get here at Infernal Masquerade. While we are not saying this is bad, the band faces a hard up-hill battle to get noticed an hopefully signed in the future.

    Immediately opening “Uncertain” with some powerful riffing the band’s sound becomes evidently mainstream, with the very familiar sounding vocal style. The production on the drums and guitars also sounds like most music we hear on the ‘alternative rock’ radio stations. The song itself is very well crafted and catchy, and if consider the band is from Greece, then they sound exactly like an American band taking a crack at this genre. But if you don’t consider that, they just sound like any other band playing in a club on Tuesday night.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Orange Goblin – A Eulogy for the Damned (2012)

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    Arriving just in time to be the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for Stoner Rockers, today we have Orange Goblin and their seventh full-length release “A Eulogy for the Damned”. In their first album in four years, the band returns in full-strength to deliver 10 tracks of super catchy and high-quality Stoner Rock/Metal unlike you’ve ever heard before.

    Aging as a fine wine, the band shows their awesome song-writing skills that have been constantly improving over the years. Backed by the production and engineering magic of Jamie Dodd and mastered by two-time Grammy-nominated Pink Floyd engineer Andy Jackson, “A Eulogy for the Damned” has the band sounding at its best. Since the opening “Red Tide Rising”, the bar is set very high with catchy guitar melodies and very energetic vocals.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Bradley Tatum – It’s a Beautiful World (2011)

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    Arriving from the Grunge capital of the world: Seattle, WA, today we have Bradley Tatum’s “It’s a Beautiful World” release. Featuring an ensemble of 13 tracks that range from Electro Punk to Gothic Rock, this release has at least something for everybody into any of these genres. We particularly enjoyed the catchy beats and the deep Gothic-sounding vocals.

    First off, the production of this release is probably not the best, but it gives that extra originally and rawness to the material that one would get by listening to Bradley Tatum perform live at some open-mic night. With a high catchiness factor, the trippy Electro opener “Under the Storm Clouds” features nice vocal effects and solid distorted guitars. Not letting things get dull, Bradley Tatum delivers very different compositions in the following tracks “The Others”, “The Human Experiment” and “It’s a Beautiful World”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Leningrad Cowboys – Buena Vodka Social Club (2012)

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    Featuring 13 crazy Finish musicians, today we have the very enigmatic and cult-worshiped Leningrad Cowboys and their first album with original songs since 2000. In “Buena Vodka Social Club” we are treated to 11 tracks of pure wackiness, but with excellent musical skills and a very festive spirit.

    While nowhere near the area of expertise of Infernal Masquerade reviewers, we still managed to appreciate and enjoy this very interesting release. Sakke Järvenpää, the band’s mastermind, has managed to bring back the Leningrad Cowboys and with such style and grace that you should keep an eye for them once they come close to your town.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    The Devil’s Blood – The Thousandfold Epicentre (2011)

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    As one of the most anticipated releases of 2011, “The Thousandfold Epicenter” delivers in every single aspect and considerably surpasses all expectation we had from The Devil’s Blood. In this release we are treated to 11 tracks of brilliant composition and intelligently transmitted emotions that will either captivate you due to its very catchy nature or its highly interesting ideological nature. The band spares no expense in providing a very insightful release, both musically and lyrically.

    After their amazing 2009 release “The Time Of No Time Evermore”, this band blew us away immediately with their high-octane psychedelic/occult rock sound that while many bands mimic, this band is the real deal. Lead by the mysterious SL/TDB/A-O and fronted by the powerful female vocals of F/TDB/MOS, this band is the real deal when it comes to mixing psychedelic music with occult references and ideas. The band’s persona is surrounded by mystery and large amounts of symbology, allowing all people that like to dig into things to enjoy countless hours trying to identify each little (and carefully crafted) detail behind the band.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Vanderbuyst – In Dutch (2011)

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    As a very entertaining ‘blast-from-the-past’, today we have Vanderbuyst and their latest release “In Dutch”. In this release, the band returns with eight hard-hitting and hard-rocking songs that will immediately command your attention. If you are a fan of 70’s Hard Rock with a little Metal twist, this release will have you raving for the next few months.

    Opening with catchy riffing and very effective vocals, “Black and Blue” delivers the perfect opener for a very memorable release. The chorus section is very simple and super catchy, a signature of these types of songs. The guitar solos are also another thing to notice since they are all perfectly placed through the track. Moving into more melodic and catchier territory, “Into the Fire” is our favorite song of this release due to its epic opening section. The paring of guitar solos, pounding bass guitar line and the overall melody of this the opener of this track makes it magical.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Nemesea – The Quiet Resistance (2011)

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    Four years have passed since Nemeasea’s last album “In Control” and on this 2011 they return stronger than ever with the very well crafted “The Quiet Resistance” release. Morphing from a Symphonic Gothic Metal outfit to a more alternative and fresher Gothic Rock sound, the band manages to keep things ‘heavy’ and not sound overly Pop-ish like many Gothic Rock/Metal bands have been doing in the last years.

    Lead by the charismatic and powerful vocals of Manda Ophuis, Nemesea’s sound has matured greatly over the years and now they deliver confident and efficient songs that go straight to the point and never get dull. The band’s alternative and almost mainstream sound is still on their own terms and they never sound like a mash up of Britney Spears with some distorted guitars thrown into the mix (hint: Amaranthe).

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