AFM Records

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    Almah – Motion (2012)

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    Fronted by Angra’s Edu Falaschi, Almah shows a more versatile side to this excellent singer and with “Motion” the band delivers 10 tracks of very well crafted Melodic Metal. The band’s sound ranges from more commercial bands like White Zombie and Fear Factory to Power Metal greats like Stratovarius and even some Angra hints. Being the band’s third full-length release, “Motion” is very entertaining and guarantees a high-replay value due to its catchiness.

    With a nice chugging pace, “Hypnotized” opens with album and delivers very catchy chorus sections and some vocals that sound quite a lot like Burton from FF in said chorus sections. The Power Metal-esque guitar work is more evident in tracks like “Living and Drifting” and “Days of the New” where we are treated some excellent guitar leads and solos. The keyboards also help the music be more accessible and entertaining.

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    Made of Hate – Pathogen (2011)

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    Hailing from Poland today we have a very refreshing band: Made of Hate. This band plays Melodic Death Metal the true way, not the pussy Melo-Death shit that new bands play these days. With influences of older In Flames, CoB, Soilwork, etc, the band has a very guitar driven sound that does not feel like a complete rip-off of their influences, something very rare in this genre.

    “Pathogen” contains 8 tracks of very solid guitar driven compositions that will have you head banging in a matter of minutes. Since the opening track “Friend” you can start to notice the riff-athon you are in for. Featuring ‘manly’ vocals the band has a strong sound that has the late 90’s Melodic DM feel all written over it.

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    Onslaught – Sounds of Violence (2011)

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    With the current Thrash Metal revival we have seen bands like Exodus, Forbidden, etc, release very impressive albums. Onslaught brings their A-game and manages to release a pretty solid effort with “Sounds of Violence”. This album marks their best effort to date, after a long break and return to the scene in 2005.

    Getting into “Sounds of Violence”, we are presented with 8 tracks and two filler intro songs. For around 45 minutes the band does a great job in bringing back the old-school Thrash Metal vibe with some more up-to-date production values. This release sounds like a million bucks thanks to the help of Jacob Hansen and allows the band to fully showcase its technical abilities and songwriting chops.

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    Doro – Fear No Evil (2009) – Ultimate Collector’s Edition

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    For the super fans of Doro, AFM Record put together a very special ultimate collector’s edition of the metal queen’s “Fear No Evil” release. Here we will talk about the extra goodies presented in this lush collector’s edition boxed set, but if you want the full review of the album you can read it here.

    In the first CD we get the full “Fear No Evil” and two new bonus tracks: “All we are (2007)” and “On My Own” as well as new cover art. The second CD has the “Celebrate” EP that includes 3 different versions of the song, the ‘original’ version, the version with Biff Byford (very good in our opinion) and the full Metal female version which includes some of the best female metal vocalists in the scene. This song it-self is what makes the EP worth having for any female-fronted Metal fan in the world. The remaining two songs are “The Night of the Warlock” and “Rescue Me”.

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    Circle II Circle – Consequence of Power (2010)

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    After their ‘decent’ 2003 debut album “Watching in Silence”, Circle II Circle is been in free-fall releasing several uninspired albums and “Consequence of Power” is not the exception to that trend. With very dull songs and a very bland production, “Consequence of Power” is another album that will greatly be un-noticed by the community and fans of Zak Stevens.

    As you can imagine, Zak Stevens’s vocals are the best of this otherwise very boring release. Zak delivers a very emotional and solid vocal performance to very dull sounding and repetitive songs, so it’s like sprinkling a turd with 24k gold flakes, making the end-product still not appealing.

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    RAM – Lightbringer (2010)

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    For a band that has been around over 10 years, RAM has only released two full-length albums of their brand of traditional Heavy Metal. Hailing from Sweden, if we didn’t have any information about RAM we would imagine that they released “Lightbringer” decades ago. This release features what every die-hard Heavy Metal fan dreams about: an epic old-school Heavy Metal assault that will keep you to the edge of your seat.

    “Lightbringer” presents us with 10 tracks that are highly entertaining and super diverse. There is not a single dull moment in this album since each track has enough magic inside them to make them stand out individually, and when placed together we get a top notch release that will surely turn heads left and right.

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    Triosphere – The Road Less Traveled (2010)

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    Powered by Ida Haukland’s powerful vocals, today we have Triosphere and their second full-length release “The Road Less Traveled”. This album features a very interesting combination of Power Metal with some Progressive elements and hugely characteristic female vocals. We get tons of female fronted bands each year, but Triosphere immediately stands out because of her singer’s more ‘old school’ deeper vocal style.

    With over 50 minutes of music, “The Road Less Traveled” makes a huge impression since the beginning with a very powerful opening (after the intro) Progressive/Power Metal sound, then it quickly mellows down to a more slower but equally impressive sound that shifts between the previously mentioned genres but focusing more on guitar and vocal melodies that at some points they hit hard rock territories.

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    Magica – Dark Diary (2010)

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    Since 2002 Magica has been gracing us with very interesting and consistent releases, “Dark Diary” is not an exception to this trend and shows the band embracing a more Gothic Power Metal sound than their original Power/Melodic Heavy Metal sound from their earlier albums.

    With a new bass guitarist and a new drummer, the band is sounding as good as ever. The band’s music is somewhat very symphonic, but it never gets to be ‘too much’ like other bands that sound like a Star Wars soundtrack with vocals plastered on top. We love when bands know when to balance their synth/keyboard use to not overwhelm the listener with needless epicness.

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    Neverland – Ophidia (2010)

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    Hailing from Turkey today we have Neverland, a Power/Progressive Metal outfit that is here to kick-ass and take names. The band has such a bombastic sound that you would image you are listening to a side project by Jon Oliva, or Tobias Sammet. The band takes you through an 11 song journey or epic music that will surely be one of your favorites of 2010.

    Featuring guest appearances by Jon Oliva, Edu Falaschi, and Urban Breed, the band does a great job in composing intricate and powerful songs that will blow you away. The band never relies on the guest appearances to much, since their own vocalists: Iris Mavraki and Oganalp Canatan are very good themselves. And if you have been reading Infernal Masquerade for a while, you must know that we have a knack for being picky when it comes to Progressive/Power Metal vocalists.

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    Masterplan – Time To Be King (2010)

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    Power Metal’s super group (yes, another one) Masterplan is back after keeping us waiting for a follow-up to their acclaimed “MK II” album. With “Time To Be King” the band is poised into becoming one of the premier Power Metal bands, and they surely have the correct personnel to achieve this feat. We think the album is aptly titled for what Masterplan is set to do with this great release.

    With the return of Jørn Lande, the band again has a very strong and versatile vocalist. And featuring legends Roland Grapow and Mike Terrana, on guitars and drums, you can’t ask for a more experience and overall excellent musical foundation for Masterplan. After the hype created by their single “Far From The End Of The World”, the full-length release is even better than the small sample with got with this single.

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