Stigma - When Midnight Strikes!
The Italian band Stigma has released a mid-length CD called WHEN MIDNIGHT STRIKES! On Pivotal Recordings and shows itself to be a metal band playing off themes of horror shows all around. “Walpurghis Night” opens the CD, followed by “I am Dracula” and “Silver Bullets and Burning Crosses.” There is something in the smoothness of this band’s style th...
26/02/2009
X-piral - Hunters
X-Piral from Greece comes here with their second release "Hunters" on the label Burning Star. Their debut "Poison Eyes" was recorded on their original name Shadow Play but there was already a band with that name. So the bandname was changed into X-Piral and so on this album you here 11 tracks in a blend of power and heavy metal and enriched by keyb...
26/02/2009
Armory - The Dawn Of Enlightenment
Armory comes from USA and it was formed back in 2004. Since then they have released only one demo CD, so this one is their debut album, unfortunatelly for them, an independent release. Unfortunate because this album is really good, it presents us a well curdled band, high-skilled misicians with interesting ideas, and what's more important, a wonder...
26/02/2009
Beyond the flesh - What The Mind Perceives
Beyond the flesh attack us with this CD. Powerfull death/thrash with harmonic and melodic guitarriffs both striking and subtle. Energetic tempoattacks performed by dynamic drumming and thrashing and technical riffing. Songs have some resting points and leave room for quite some nice soloing and are finished by aggressive screaming vocals. Productio...
26/02/2009
Calmsite - Bite The Powerline
After their previous demo in 2003 they now are releasing a new 3 song demo. Why don't they release a full length immediately and prob cheaper? Anyway it deals with the music and that is continuing their path from Steelpit. Mid to up temposongs with a deep voice and twin guitarriffing. Of this demo I like the first song the most and I keep with...
26/02/2009
Darzamat - Transkarpatia
Darzamat is a band from Poland and this is their 5th album. The band consists of 5 men and 1 female. She is doing spoken words and clean vocals with feeling. No high soprano gothic vocals but a good addition to the rough and dark male vocals. Musically it dwells in atmospheric doom, black and death metal. Songs that hide different layers which make...
26/02/2009
Fatal Portrait - An Elusive Instinct Of Lascivia
From Spain comes this satanic and vampire black metal band. Founded in 1998 and released this debut album in 2000. Fatal Portrait plays fast black with all the well known ingredients; high screaming voice, hounted drums, satanic guitarworks and atmospheric keyboards. The 8 songs (plus one infant slaying intro) are dark and well structured because o...
26/02/2009
Human Ground - Human Ground
Human Ground from Estonia kick in with their first full length. Formed in July 2004 this band already has a very distinctive sound playing moshing tech-thrash metal I prefer to call this. Very tight powerfull riffs with hypertense drumming varied with easily floating melodic atmospherical parts supported by mid tempo poundings. Vocals vary from pre...
26/02/2009
Insidious Torment - The Rock The Claw And The Steel
The band hails from Denmark and was formed in the late 70s and this is their 3rd effort according their website. This is their latest MCD. Seeing the bandpic and artwork I doubt if you can take the band serious. When you listen to their sound you notice that they stuck in the early 80s. I wouldn't call it pure heavy metal but more rock metal. Melod...
26/02/2009
Mourning Dawn - Mourning Dawn
Mourning Dawn is black metal with dark doom ambience. Walls of dramatic guitar tremolos accompanied by howls of anguish, morose narrations and monolithic drums that have all the charms of the natural disaster of your choice, very My Dying Bride or perhaps Bethlehem. This band began as the solo project of Laurent from the band Inborn Suffering wh...
26/02/2009
Nocturnal Breed - Fields Of Rot
Oslo (Norway) is the hometown of these death thrasher called Nocturnal Breed. The band is already formed in 1996 and this "Fields Of Rot" is their 4th full length. The band consist of 4 members with real thrash names like Destroyer, Hellion, Rattlehead and Terror. Already cool huh? But wait till you play the record. It is just a furious piece of me...
26/02/2009
Salem - Collective Demise
Salem comes from Israel and is around from 1985! So the guys know how to play and that is shown in the songs. There is a lot of variety in the songs with influences from different genres, female vocals and Psalms lyrics. The music is based on heavy guitarriffing but where are the leads? The vocals are cold and grim but get irritating towards the en...
26/02/2009
The Cranium - Murder Panic
Brutal death metal from Switzerland. Three tracks on this single CD and totally blast away. Hear the continues double bass drums! Low and deep vocals and raving guitars (no leads). The songs have melody with tempo accelerations. They thought good about the songstructures and therefor have recorded three nice tunes. Nice extreme death from The Crani...
26/02/2009
Total Devastation - Roadmap Of Pain
From Finland comes this post modern death metal act. Playing intense death metal but with industrial touches. 10 Aggressive songs with deep vocals, tempo changes, keyboard effects and even a violin. I hoped the band added guitarleads in the songs to give the guitars . Although I am touched by the keyboard effects the songs are steady enough create...
26/02/2009
Victimizer - The Spiral Down
Victimizer is a band hailing from Nijmegen (the Netherlands in case you don't know) and consist of 5 members. Before they released this EP they already released "Devicderin" (2001) and their full length "Divided As One (2003). As I don't know these two I was thrilled to hear "The Spiral Down". Although the title sounds negative their tunes most def...
26/02/2009