19 NEW PROJECT - 19 NEW PROJECT

Line Up:

Emmanuel Burget - vocals, guitars, keyboards

Gilles Boyer - vocals, bass, keyboards

Music and lyrics by 19 New Project

Tracks:

1- Never Mind Boys

2- Vodka Lemon

3-Sunshine (Dizneuviem Mix)

4-Until you Will

5-A Space to Fill

6-Strange Girl

7-Interlude

8-I Want You

9-Let´s Going Out

10-Sunshine (BEnicassim Mix)

11- Scream Out

12-Don´t Stop

13-Soundtrack Melody

This is pure electronics full of interesting and original ideas.Starting with the more accessible tune, "Never Mind Boys", with a killer pop attitude this guys start experimenting with electronics sounds and melodies achieveing here thirteen good compositions. My aboslute favorite tracks here are the ones like "Sunshine" or "Vodka Lemon" where the duet gets into a darker atmosphere and explores all the textures that they can achieve within the song structure. The vocals here are clean and deep nd we have here also some guest female vocals giving a different feeling to some of the compositions. It is amazing how this duet develops incredible soundscapes without giving too much difficulties to the nlistener, because despite having heavy experimentation, this compositions are accessible to the ear. A killer electronic release !

Recorded at Studio Gilles Boyer

Produced by 19 New Project

8 FOOT SATIVA - HATE MADE ME

Line Up:

Justin - vocals

Gary - guitars

Brent - bass

Speed - drums

Music and Lyrics by G.Smith and J. Niesses, excc.3, 9 by Smith-Bailey and 12 by J.S.Bach

Tracks:

1- Before your suffering

2-Hate Made Me

3-Fuel Set

4-Cocktease

5-Believer

6-It´s All So Real

7-Grown Aggression

8-Stolen Life

9-Kick it all away

10- 8 Foot Sativa

11-Engine

12-Invention 13

If you like aggressive bands then you will surely like this album. 8 Foot Sativa delivers here twelve tracks full of power with riffs that go from thrash metal to fast death metal and including also many pure metal arrangements. There is an eighties thrash feeling in the music which I like a lot and this guys have a trademark sound that is their multiple changes in riffs and rhythms. There is plenty of good musicianship here and that is evident on each of the compositions. Justin´s vocals are closer to thrash than the voice of his successor Matt Sheppard fitting well the music of the band. One excellent ending to this album is the distorted verion of Bach´s "Invention 13" where power and beauty are blended with really good musicianship in order to give a killer ending to this album. A band that knows how to deliver powerfulc ompositions full of aggression !

Recorded at Area 51 Studios

Produced by 8 Foot Sativa and Mark Pavletich

8 FOOT SATIVA - SEASON FOR ASSAULT

Line Up:

Justin Niessen - vocals

Gary Smith - guitars

Brent Fox - bass

Sam Sheppard - drums

Music by Smith (1-4,6,7,8,9), Sheppard (5), Smith/Sheppard (10)

Lyrics by Niessen/Smith (1,2,3,6), Sheppard/Niessen (4), Sheppard (5,10), Smith (7,9), Niessen (8)

Tracks:

1- Whats lost is tomorrow

2-Escape from reality

3-For Religions to Suffer

4-Destined to be Dead

5-Hatred Forever

6-Season for Assault

7-Chelsea Smile

8-The Abused

9-Disorder

10- Gutless

Agression has no boundaries with 8 Foot Sativa !!! Kicking off with a killer bass line in "Whats lost is tomorrow" the band starts unleahing ten compositions designed to crush. You can almost see the guys in a live show playing this destructive compostions while the crowd headbangs and stagedives. I really like the thrash quality that the guitar riffs have in 8 Foot Sativa, giving a lot of power to the music but retaining that technical skills that this style of music must have. Justin vocals are really extrme, going from a growling voice to one more of the screaming type and also adding some clean moments that make things really memorable. Again, I have to remark the good sound that this guys achieve, with a devastating rhythm section and a wall of sound delivered by the guitars. Aggression at its highest level of intensity.

Recorded at York Street Studios

Produced by 8 Foot Sativa

8 FOOT SATIVA - BREED THE PAIN

Line Up:

Matt Sheppard  - vocals

Gary Smith - guitars

Brent Fox - bass

Sam Sheppard - drums

Music by G. Smith (1-6,8,9) and Sam Sheppard (7)

Lyrics by G.Smith (1,2,5,6) Smith/Fox (3), M. Sheppard (4,8), Sheppard/Sheppard (7), Sheppard/Fox (9)

Tracks:

1- Perpetual Torment

2-Breed the Pain

3-I Live My Death

4-Mentally Castrated

5-Altar of Obscenity

6-Human Abattoir

7-Brutal Revenge

8-The Punishment Within

9-Genetic Treason

This is 8 Foot Sativa´s latest album and surely is their best one. With a strong improvement in sound the band manages to create nine blasting tracks of their brutal thrash/death metal. The guitars start blowing your mnd with their huge guitar riffs and then comes the drums with incredible double bass drumming. This band was created to destroy the listener. And they achieve this through ultraaggressive guitar riffs and crushing rhythms. Matt Sheppard´s vocals are really extreme and give a death metal  feeling to the music. He is really crushing through all the nine tracks. The album has a really good sound that makes the music more devastating making the guitars sound huge and the drummer like an army of hammers smashing your brain !!! Don´t miss a step of this bestial band !!!

Recorded at Studio underground, Vasteras, Sweden

Produced by Pelle Saether and 8 Foot Sativa

ADOR DORATH - ADON NIN EDELETH ADOR DORATH

Line Up:

Martin Rozenek - keyboards, synths

Michael Rannosz - drums

Romana Aetsova - bass

Lenka Machova - vocals

Ivos Dosedel - vocals

Kamil Pfeffer - guitars, screams

Krystian Danel - cello, guitar

Music and lyrics by Ador Dorath

Tracks:

1- Ubique Daemon

2-Arcana Artis

3-Metamorphoses

4-Garden of Earthly Pleasures

5-Circle

6-Adon Nin Edeleth Ador Dorath

7-Hail to majesty

8-Rule of Nyx

9-Pharmakopoeia

10-Misery

Darkness has found new ways to achieve humanity. And Ador Dorath is one of them. Their music is aggressive and at the same time extremely dark. Full of guitar riffs buta lso of dark passages where cellos, keyboards and female vocals find their place. And this contrast and interaction between aggressive parts and dark ones is the heart and soul of Ador Dorath´s vocals. do you want screams and deathly vocals? Here you have plenty of them and also you have beautiful ethereal female vocals that show a different side of the musical personality of this band. There are passages where you can almost feel yourself lost in a dark wood while it is raining . Just check "Arcan Artis" to see how this guys manage perfectly the art of taking darkness directly into your brain (this is a tracks with oly keyboards and sounds that soon connects with "Metamorphoses"). There is really good musicianship here too making each composition a masterpiece in darkness. Ador Dorath deserves a place in the Olympus of the darkest of metals !!!

Produced by Ador Dorath

ADULTERY - AGE OF WINTER KINGS

Line Up:

Akharon - vocals

Elrabor - clean vocals, bass

Von Borowitz - drums

Edrogh - guitars

Eloaner - violin

Johanne - clean vocals

Siki - b.vocals

Pobor - b.vocals

Music and lyrics by Elrabor and Adultery

Tracks:

1- Silent Breath

2-Dark Ages

3-Last Hope

4-Struggle of Curse

5-Tears

6-Confession of Immortality

7-Crystal Light

8-The Ancient Prophecy

9-Black Well

10-Death of Sun

11-Silence

12-The Return of the King

13-Forgotten Rites

14-Time I

15-Time II

16-Time III

17-The Final Trial

Some screams and battle sounds....then some acoustic guitars and violins....then a really dark and extreme voice ....then comes the rest of the excellent music of this band from the Czech Repucblic. Here we have a band whose style they describe as slavonic black metal. That is this guys with no doubt play black metal (they have speed, they have the really extreme voice) , they also have the dark feeling in the melodies and they also have an epic feeling that most of the bands in black metal style don´t have....and they have many voices that sing epic melodies within some of the songs (they are really original!!). This guys are extreme and have original riffs that are essential to their music. This elements combined with the good sound that the recording has makes a good album...one of those albums that you really enjoy from beginning to end.

Recorded at Bluestudio Trinec

Produced by Elrabor

AGNES VEIN - ...OF CHAOS AND LAW

Music by Agnes Vein

Lyrics by Agnes Vein

Tracks:

1-Faethon

2-Catharsis: The voice of the sea

3-Age of Progress (?)

4-Dragon

5-The Sailor on the seas of Fate

Agnes Vein delivers heavier than hell riffs on the five tracks that are on this album, sometimes reminding me to bands like My Dying Bride or Paradise Lost (Icon era) and sometimes to more classic bands like Black Sabbath or Trouble. But the band manages to create fivce tracks thata re at the same time extremely powerful and dark with a melancholic feeling in them. The more climatic feeling is achieved through the guitar arrangements and melodies and through the ethereal vocals that deliver melancholic lines through all the recording. The guitars have a really heavy sound that when playing the slower riffs take you directly into a dark world full of heaviness and despair. I have to remark that here we have a really solid rhythm section playing heavy patterns really tightly. The sound is the exact one tat this type of bands needs: really direct but not too raw, with emphasis on the guitars and some reverb on the vocals. A great combination of powerful music and sadness.

Recorded at Jam Studios

Produced by Agnes vein

AIRGED L´AMH - THE SILVER ARM

Line Up:

Steve Venardo - vocals

Alexander Vasilopoulos - guitars

George Sofikitis - guitars

John Luna Tsimas -bass

George Thanasopoulos - drums

Music and lyrics by Airged L`Amh

Tracks:

1- Intro / Guardian of the Ancient Deeds

2-Fate of the king

3-Dissention Seeds

4-Warp Spasm

5-Mourning Grief

6-The Silver Arm

7-Balor of the Evil Eye

8-The Arrival

9-Armies Assemble

10-Splendor Divine

11-Painless Vengeance

12-End Domin

13-Homeland

The press release says that this band plays barbaric epic folk metal. And this is a good description of their music: with epic keyboards in the intro, powerful riffs, some folk elements and a pure heavy metal attitude. Starting with the epic intro the band soon gets into a more pure heavy metal mode with some power metal influences (and also some thrash in some of the shouted choruses). Steve Venardo is a realy good singer whose range is of the middle type and he also does some more extreme vocals that give a different feeling to the music. The band shows that they are extremely well rehearsed and also some virtuosism in the arrangements and in some changes. The band is really much heavier than most of the bands in the pure heavy metal style because of the huge sound of the guitars and also the intense drumming that is delivered here. the sound is excellent making things even heavier and more powerful if that is possible. A must have.

Produced by Airged L´Amh

AKERCOCKE - CHORONZON

Line Up:

Jason Mendonca

Paul Scanlan

Peter Theobalds

David Gray

Music by Akercocke

Lyrics by David Gray

Tracks:

1- Praise the Name of Satan

2-Prince of the North

3-Leviathan

4-Enraptured by Evil

5-Choronzon

6-Valley of teh Crucified

7-Bathykolpian Avatar

8-Upon Coriaceous Wings

9-Scapegoat

10- Son of the Morning

11-Becoming the Adversary

12-Goddess Flesh

As always Akercocke delivers their special style of black metal full of extremely aggressive guitars and majestic keyboards. One special feature of this band is the combiantion of the most aggressive moments with more climatic ones. This is evident from the start with "Praise the Name of Satan" where hyper fast parts are followed by clean guitar interludes. The combination of blast beating parts with parts full of arrangements done by the keyboards are an essential element here. The extreme vocals are of the black emtal type but there is also some melody in some parts and also some more guttural growls in the slower aprts. The drumming is superhuman with aprts really fast and technical that surprise with aggression and virtuosism. But for my taste the essence here are the keyboards being dark and majestic at the same time adding the dark feeling to the music. The guitars sound huge doing riffs and arrangements through all the album. A step forward on Akercocke´s career.

Recorded at Goat of Mendes Studios

Produced by Akercocke

AL BUNDY - I HATE THESE PEOPLE

Line Up:

Flo

Alex

Virgil

Ben

Music and lyrics by Al Bundy

Tracks:

1- Victor

2-Matt goes to the Paddy

3-Norberg

4-The Stupidity Incarnate

5-Pit of Trends

6-Master Pain

7-Grotesque Human Bastard

8-Assbroken

9-Unleash Rectorrhagy

10- King of the proctologist

Pure brutality, pure mayhem. Lovers of the most extreme grind can habe orgasms while listening to Al Bundy´s music This band has a lot of speed and their music is extremely aggressive with chainsaw like guitars and faster than the speed of light drums. Fast drumming, sometimes in the hardcore vein, sometimes doing blast beats in a pure grindcore vein are a trademark here creating the chaos and then creating the order that comes from disorder. The guitars are of the chainsaw like type playing fast riffs and also adding here and there more rhythmic riffs that turn the mayhem into a headbanging experience. The vocals sound like other instrument and are of the screaming type but very distorted fitting really well the grindocre feeling of the music. The sound is extremely raw but it allows the listener to listen clearly all the ideas that the band developes. Pure grindocre for lovers of the most extreme style !!!

Produced by Al Bundy

ALMAVENUS - BAMBINI DI STRADA

Line Up:

Michele Roddichio - keyboards

Federico Buccichio - bass

Riccardo di Renzo - vocals

Alessio Rugo - guitars

Luca Paparelli - drums

Music and lyrics by Almavenus

Tracks:

1- Niños de Calle

2-Atmosfera Zero

3-lacrima Nera

4-Pioggia Acida

5-Solo Io

6-Memorie di un Eroe

Almavenus is a band that can combines different musical styles into their own identity. For example the first track has a pop vocal line with some heavy guitars in the choruses and incredible keyboards that do amazing arrangements through all the track. And this keyboards are essential for the Almavenus sound as can be seen in "Atmosfera Zero" where they create a space like passage while the guitars do some background riff. the vocals are really clean and are mixed really loud here and this guy creates some melodic vocal lines that soon stick into your mind. the us of clean guitars adds alos a mdifferent feeling, such as in "Lacrima Nera" where they are doing arpeggios and ten change into rhythms and they also are doing some phrases with wah wah before getting into a more powerful part. A truly original rocking band.

Recorded at SoundPark Studios

Produced by Almavenus

ALTARIA - DIVINITY

Line Up:

Taage - vocals

Jani Liimatainen - guitars / keyboards

Marko Pukkila - bass

Tony Smedjebacka - drums

Tracks:

1- Unchain the Rain

2-Will to Live

3-Prophet of Pestilence

4-Darkened Highlight

5-Discovery

6-Falling Again

7-Divine

8-Haven

9-Try to Remember

10-Stain on the Switchblade

11-Enemy

12-Final Warning

Altaria is a band that has Jani Liimatainen from Sonata Arctica on its lineup and their music is pure heavy metal with a definite european sound. Here the main thing is the combination of pure metal riffs with incredible vocal melodies. I really liked Taage´s voice, full of feeling and managing really well his middle range. Some tracks like "Will to Live" are extremely memorable, specially because of the chorus and they could be hits in the pure metal world. There are plenty of virtuoso guitar parts that are an essential part of the compositions here, showing that the band knows how to do complex parts within good songs. The album has a really good sound where everything is perfectly mixed letting you appreciate all what this finnish guys can do with their instruments. Pure metal for lovers of the style.

Produced by Ahti Kortelainen, Jani Liimatainen and Altaria

ANCARA - ANCARA

Line Up:

Sammy Salminen - vocals

Mika Rajala - bass

Samuel Hjelt - guitars, vocals

Juice Wahlsten - guitars, vocals

Timo Rajala - drums

Tracks:

1- Bound to Roam

2-Come Apart

3-Why

This is pure metal with a definite eighties flavor but with a modern sound in the guitars that gives a much more modern feeling to them. Here we have elements of pure heavy metal and also some power metal. This is full of melodies that go from melancholic int racks like "Bound to Roam" to epic in other tracks. The vocals are excellent being clean and powerful at the same time and there are also some vocal harmonies that add a strong feeling to the music. The guitars sound really heavy and the good thing is that they play original riffs instead of the ususla galloping done by many bands in the style. There are also many clean parts that give sort of a progressive feeling to the music. Good sound is essential here and this guys have achieved it through a killer mix. A good combination of heavy metal with subtle elements and a lot of imagination !

Recorded by Samuel Hjelt

Produced by Ancara

ANTHROFUGE - IMPALED IN COMPARISON

Line Up:

Coach - vocals

Al-throfuge - bass

Kanoo - drums, vocals

Batlord - guitars, vocals

Music and lyrics by Anthrofuge exc. 8 by Jim Stinman and Dean Pitchford.

Tracks:

1- Embracing the Pain

2-None Righteous

3-Tinea Cruris

4-Geisselung

5-Kopf und Schultern

6-Skidmark Grin

7-Weak Species

8- Holding Out for a Hero

A really brutal band that can combine death metal with some old school influences and with some doom in the slower tracks (such as "Embracing the Pain"). With a guttural voice that leads the path this guys ahve achieved moments of pure brutality without abusing speed and making the band sound devastating with the use of pure heavy guitar riffs and crushing drumming. I really like teh way the drummer emphasizes the riffs and also the slower aprts uing a lot of creativy in his fills and patterns. the vocals are extremely guttural fitting the feeliung of the music and adding even more brutality. The sound is really good and clear making the guitars shine. There is also a hidden track after almost twenty minutes of voices and noises, called "Holding Out for a Hero" that sounds more direct and less death (even if it still has the guttural vocals...it is a Bonnie Tyler song done in the Anthrofuge vein). A bestial band full of intense aggression !!

Recorded at Mercenary Digital

Produced by Anthrofuge

ARMAGEDDON OVER WACKEN 2004

Track list of the definitive version:

CD1:

1-ANTHRAX - Indians

2-ANTHRAX - Only

3-DESTRUCTION - Nailed to the Cross

4-CHILDREN OF BODOM - Sicpounder

5-CANNIBAL CORPSE - Gallery of Suicide

6-MAYHEM - Pagans Fears

7-DEATH ANGEL - Thicker than Blood

8-UNLEASHED - To Asgard we fly

9-ORPHANAGE - Five Crystals

10-EKTOMORF - I KNow them

11-EKTOMORF - Destroy

12-BAL SAGOTH - The Emperial Lexicon

13- MNEMIC - Ghost

14- CATHEDRAL - Stained Glass Horizon

15-NEVERMORE - Enemies of Reality

CD2:

1-DIO - Holy Diver

2-DIO - Don´t Talk to Strangers

3-HELLOWEEN - Dr. Stein

4-DORO - Für Immer

5-KOTIPELTO - Reasons

6-MYSTIC PROPHECY - In the Land of the Dead

7-BRAINSTORM - Hollow Hideaway

8-MOTORHEAD - We are Motorhead

9-MOTORHEAD - Life is a bitch

10-PARAGON - Green Hell

11-WEINHOLD - Strike

12-FEINSTEIN - Rebelutions

13-JBO - Arschloch und Spass Dabei

14-BLAZE BAYLEY - Fear of the Dark

CD3:

1-VANGUARD - Forgive

2-RECKLESS TIDE - Death TRain

3-RECKLESS TIDE - Equality

4-GRIFFIN - The Sentence

5-HOBBS ANGEL OF DEATH - Crucifiction

6- DR. ROCK - Wicked how

7- DR. ROCK - Dr. Rock

8-EVERFEST - See me Rising

9-SUFFERAGE - Civilized

10-GUN BARREL - Only a Passenger

11-GUTBUCKET - 82 Hours Bus Hellride

12-GUTBUCKET - You never

13-SUPERSOMA - Missing Nola

14-THORA - Christ Abuse

15-METHEDRAS  - Wreck n Roll

16- ZODIAC MINDWARP - Like a Hurricane

17- RAUNCHY - Summer of Overload

18-ELÄKELÄISET - Humppa

It is really difficult to be objective while describing this album. Wacken open Air Festival is the biggest metal festival in Earth and if you have been there you know that everything you breathe is pure metal and that the environment is really special. For me the Wacken Open Air 2004 was an experience of a lifetime and I had the pleasure of witnessing several of the artists featured on this triple CD !!! I remember the killer Children of Bodom set which was really overwhelming from which you can listen on this album the extremely aggressive "Six Pounder", the emotive show by Doro and Warlock that here is represented with "Für Immer" and "Fear of the Dar" (with Blaze Bayley on vocals) and many other great shows. Here we have a couple of Dio classics like "Holy Diver" and  "Don´t talk to Strangers", just a part of a show set that contained only classics from his solo band, from Rainbow and from Black Sabbath. And what can we say about the monumental shows by Unleashed or Bal Sagoth. You just had to see those bands ripping their instruments under the heat of the german summer. And here we have also newcomers like the incredible thrash machine called Reckless Tide, a band that won the 2004 Metal Battle and whose set was one of the most intense in the festival. If you are a metalhead you can not miss the Wacken Open Air Festival and as a sample you can listen this amazing 3 CD set that gives you a taste of what is going on in that small town in the north of Germany.

ARMANDO PETRINI - GOOD MOOD

Music by Armando Petrini

Tracks:

1- Good Mood

2-On the Run Again

3-Flowers for Phrygian

4-Relax

5-Just Me and You

6-Lethal Weapon

7-Out from the Darkness

8-A Beautiful Day

Armando Petrini is a guitar virtuoso coming directly from Italy. He has studied in the G.I.T. in the U.S.A. and there he developed new elements in his style. Here he shows us eight of his compositions. They are all instrumental ones in the vein of guitarists like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Tony Macalpine. There are plenty of guitar solos here but most of them are played within a song contest. Armando knows how to reflect his feelings in his music and that is evident in "A Beautiful Day", a track with plenty of melodies that come directly from the heart. On most of the songs Armando works with a main idea or melody and then twists it and adds arrangements and solos over it creating this beautiful songs. If you want to know how virtuosism is developed within good songs, then you should check Armando Petrini because he is really good in doing this.

Produced by Armando Petrini

ATROCITY - ATLANTIS

Line Up:

Alexander Krull - vocals

Mathias Röderer - guitar

THorsten Bauer - guitar

Chris Lukhaup - bass

Martin Schmidt - drums

Music by Krull, Lukhaup, Bauer, Röderer, Schmidt

Lyrics by Krull

Tracks:

01. Reich of Phenomena
02. Superior Race
03. Gods of Nations
04. Ichor
05. Enigma
06. Morbid Mind
07. Omen
08. Cold Black Days
09. Atlantean Empire
10. Clash of the Titans
11. Apocalypse
12. Lost Eden
13. The Sunken Paradise
14. Aeon

15. Ein Volk
 

Recorded at Mastersound Studios

Produced by Alexander Krull

AVENUE F - AVENUE F

Line Up:

Jack Kemple - vocals

Mike Marino - guitars

Mike BEtkowski - drums

Vinnie Valdes - bass

Music and lyrics by Avenue F

Tracks:

1- Suffer Unto Me

2-Thin Ice

3-I don´t Need You

Avenue F is pure rock with killer riffs and with a guitar sound that is heavier than most of the bands of the style. In fact they have a guitar sound that can be close to Alice in Chains but even more powerful. As I said before the tardemark here are the powerful riffs that the band has developed here. The songs are extremely memorable due to the good riffs and the vocals that do interesting lines that stick into your mind really soon. And the vocals are essential because it seems to me that a lot of time has been spent in creating this vocal lines because they are carefully constructed against the heavy riffs and they are essential to keep the compositions in your mind. The sound of the recording is good and clear helping the band to sound as powerful as they want. A really rocking release !

Produced by Avenue F

BALATONIZER - OCCLUSED IN OTTUSITY

Line Up:

Mario Musumeci - vocals

Marco Failla - guitars, programming

Rodan Di Maria - bass

Music by Balatonizer

Lyrics by Balatonizer

Tracks:

THere are 32 tracks of pure brutality here plus a video of the "Muscular Prevarication" track

Blatonizer is pure bestiality. Here we have over thirty tracks that are pure bursts of energy in the form of pure grind - brutal death metal. Here we have downtuned guitars that sound really crushing delivering ultra fast riffs that are like a machine gun to your brain. And we have an extremely guttural voice that delivers the vocls in a really brutal way. The programmed drums give the music a strange feeling of mechanical rhythms which add some originality. And this programmed drums does blast beats and incredibly fast patterns full of double bass drumming, sounding fresh and original. Most of the tracks are short and that allows the band to concentrate their power in some seconds in order toa chieve the most bestial track possible. Pure bestiality in thirty two atom bombs contained on this album.

Recorded at Circle of Power Studio

Produced by Balatonizer

BARRITUS - DEMO 2004

Line Up:

Rodolfo Valentino Wagner Martinez -  guitars

Rudiger Olshausen - drums

Hille Braun - vocals

Michi Blohm - guitars

Oscar Juan Muñoz Valderrama - bass

Music by Barritus

Lyrics by Barritus

Tracks:

1- Me and You

2-It

 + CD-ROM part

Barritus is a blasting band and they show this here through two tracks that leave you wanting more from this powerful german band. Crushing guitar riffs are the main thing here with multiple changes in a style that we can label something like modern death/thrash. Hille is really a beast with her  brutal voice and mixing it  the more melodic one style that she uses in the more climatic parts. This cleaner voice  adds melody to the utter power and intensity that the band unleashes. It is amazing this vocal contrast because she starts singing like an angel and then all of a sudden she transforms herself into the most brutal singer !! The two tracks have a really powerful sound, specially on drums and guitars. Also, onthe CD-Rom aprt we can appreciate a short glimpse of few seconds of a new song that shows all the power that Hille can unleash with her lungs. We want more from Barritus !!!!!

recorded at High Gain Studios

Produced by Barritus

BARZAKH - HEART HOLY IN HYPOCRITE

Music and lyrics by Barzakh

Tracks:

1- Border Holy in the Sin

2- The Power darkness that eternal

3- Her Robe Willingness in the trash

4- Ligh the End

I really like when bands go beyond styles and show good musicianship combining elements from different kinds of extreme music. Barzakh has achieved really good compositions here mixing the rawest of black emtals with dark melodies and also a pure metal feeling. THeir music is a combination of pure aggression with heavier than hell rifs and vocal that sometimes are close to black metal and sometimes to death metal with incredible melodies taht would have not been out of place ina  pure heavy metal band. The guitars are raw and they play fast riffs when is neded and more mid paced ones in the more cliamtic parts, also adding melodies in many parts. I like the combination of the death and the black metal voices emphasizing certain feeling of the music here. The sound is a little bit buried and with a better mix the band will surely sound even more powerful. THis band rules and shows that Indonesia is a country that has killer bands.

Produced by Barzakh

BEEF CONSPIRACY - HUNG DRAWN AND QUARTER POUNDERED

Music and lyrics by Beef Conspiracy

Tracks:

1- Intro

2-Cerebral Mince

3- Jam or butter, not both

4-Nothing says I love you Like...A Chainsaw injury to the head

5- Spunky Beefcake

6-Beneath My Skin

7-Rover does the Splits

8-The Sweet Caress of a Nailgun

9-Beef Denied

This is pure grind death with extremely fast riffs and strong emphasis on the brutality of each riff and rhythm. This guys have managed to combine ultra fast riffs with blast beating drums with more rhytmic ones that gives their music and even heavier feeling. The drums have that exact feeling that this type of music must have, being powerful and at the same time having this dry sound that makes them sound like a stomping nightmare in your brain. The vocals are guttural in many parts but also of the screaming type. The interaction of the death metal parts with the faster grinding ones are the trademark of this band. This is pure brutality unleashed by this band that has no mercy through all this album making your brain feel sore because of the aggression suffered. Pure bestiality !!!!

Produced by Beef Conspiracy

BELLGRAVE - MY SOUL IS MY GUN

Music and lyrics by Bellgrave

Tracks:

1- Cold Bleeding Angel

2- My Soul is My Gun

3-Repayment

4-Back iN Town

5-A Place for Sale

6-Rattlesnakes Rattle

7-P(r)ay and P(r)ay

8-Coma State

9-When rats leave the ship

10-Discouraged

11-One Hour

12-My Personal Hate Song

13-Things called "never Changed"

14-With no compromise

Doing kind of a heavy rock mixed with heavy metal with a heavier than hell guitar sound, Bellgrave manages to create fourteen track whose main atribute is the combiantion between heaviness and memorable vocals and choruses. The guitar riffs are the main thing here and they have a huge sound but at the same time they play direct riffs that will stick into your mind but like a fire mark, burning your braincells. Take a sound like bands like Motorhead and add a more compact sound , then add many heavy arrangements and a voice that is really heavy but manages to keep that clear feeling that adds power and makes the lyrics fully understandable. The sound of the recording is clear and lets you appreciate how tightly this band plays, being like an oiled machine when delivering their heaviest rhythms. I was blown away by this release.

Produced by Bellgrave

BLACK MASS - CONQUERING LEGIONS OF ASTAROTH

Line Up:

The Blasphemous One - guitars, bass

The Evil One - vocals, drums

Music by

Lyrics by

Tracks:

1- Satanik Victory

2- Antichrist Re-Born

3-Cursed Wrath

4-Blaspheme

5-Evil Reigns Eternal

6-Conquering Legions of Astaroth

7-Demon Possessed

8-Evil Conquering Force

9-I Am the Beast of Prophecy

Showing a good improvement in sound this duet deliver here nine bestial tracks full of aggression. The drumming here is intense and along with the guitars is the core of each of the compositions delivering fastr or mid apced rhythms full of strength and power. Then come the guitar riffs that are direct and aggressive as this type of music needs. the vocals are really extreme and here are much better appreciated than in the spit with Hellraised because they are mixed right in your face showing the listener all the aggression that this band is capable of unleashing. The combination of different tempos is a trademark of the band and makes each of the composition an experience in darkness and violence. Lovers of death metal and black metal surely will find this band really enjoyable !!

Produced by Black Mass

BLACK MASS / HELLRAISED - SPLIT CD

Line Up:

BLACK MASS:

The Blasphemous One - guitars, bass

The Evil One - vocals, drums

HELLRAISED

David Stanton - drums

Kevin Detwiler - bass/vocals

Edson Guerra - guitars/vocals

Music and lyrics by by Black Mass (1-4) and Hellraised (5-7)

Tracks:

BLACK MASS

1- Intro

2- Evil Conquering Force

3- I am the Beast of Prophecy

4- Corpses in Waiting

HELLRAISED

5- Locust Hill

6-Blood Waqr

7-Feast of the Beast

An intro opens up this split with sounds and then comes an aggressive rhythm rhythm that opens up the Black Mass part of this split CD with "Evil Conquering Force" showing all the power of this band whose music can be described as death/black metal having elements of both styles as well as some old school influences. Black Mass unleashes here three violent compositions with fast rhythms and extreme vocals. There are tempo changes in the compositions that are essential for giving the dark atmosphere that this compositions must have One remarkable thing are some guitar solos that add a different feeling to the music fitting the overall music but giving good arrangements. this three tracks will surely blast you

Then comes Hellraised, whose music does not sound as good as the one delivered by Black Mass, specially because of the mix that is not of good quality, mainly in the guitars that are buried along with the drums. The music of this band has elements of death metal and black metal and also some thrash metal in some of the rhythms. The vocals are harsh but not extremely guttural giving a more thrashy feeling to the music. THis guys have good ideas that maybe spending more time in a good studio would result in a more effective recording.

Produced by Black Mass/Hellraised

BULLET TRAIN - DENY RELIGION

Line Up:

Cosimo Crott - vocals

Dino mancino - keyboards

Cristian Angelini - guitars

Stefano Giusti - guitars

Francesco Bovecchi - bass

Pierluigi Salvatori - drums

Music by Bartelletti (2,3), Delli (4), Mancino (5), Crott/Angelini/SAlvatori (1)

Lyrics by Cosimo Crott

Tracks:

1- Serial Justice

2-HArder and Harder

3-Mercyless

4-Red Rock

5-Deeper Traces Wider Spaces

This band surprised me because I expected more of a power metal band and this band prove me wrong. the music of this band can be defined as pure heavy metal but with a lot of thrash metal influences in many parts in tracks like "Serial Justice" ("Harder and harder" is more straight heavy metal). The combination of guitars doing heavy riffs and keyboards orchestrating all the song is essential here. "Serial Justice" starts the album with full power showing what this band is capable of doing. Fast rhythms, cleveer guitar riffs, harsh vocals are fundamental. And the vocals give a lot of identity to the music, sounding really raw and contrasting heavily with the keyboards, always giving a lot of personality to the music. The rhythm section is solid and manages really well the multiple changes that each track has. I would mix a little bit louder the guitars but this recording gives a feeling of live recording. A pure heavy metal thunder coming from Italy !!!

Recorded at Pool Jazz Club, Viareggio

Produced by Cosimo Crott

BUNKER SOLDIER - TRIPLE THREAT

Music by Timothy Tyran

Lyrics by Timothy Tyran

Tracks:

1- Warlocked

2-Flying

3-Firewall

A climatic yet eclectic release !! Starting with the eastern sounding "Warlocked" Bunker Soldier shows that synths, electronics, pop, industrial and rock can be combined to achieve good melodies and compositions. there are some female voices here and there doing some melodic lines and that adds an ethereal feeling to the music. But the main thing here are the keyboards that are the center of all the compositions doing the main chord progressions and the main arrangeemnts. The programmed percussion is essential too to give the music the exact feeling that Timothy Tyran, the brain behind Bunker Soldier, wants. The release has crystal clear sound making the keyboards and teh vocals shine while the songs are being developed. A good experimentation with styles and with good songs.

Recorded at Panhandle House

Produced by Erik Herbst

BURIED INSIDE - CHRONOCLAST

Music by Buried Inside

Lyrics by Buried Inside

Tracks:

1-Introduction

2-Time As Ideology

3-Time as Methodology

4-Time as Surrogate religion

5-Time as Imperialism

6-reintroduction

7-Time as Abjection

8-Time as Automation

9-Time as Commoditty

10-Time as Resistance
 

Oddly, The album starts clamly  but soon gets into pure mayhemic aggression with "Time as Ideology". The good thing about Buried Inside is that they can construct the most chaotic and aggressive aprts and still keep a lot of atmospheric feeling in their compositions. Some tracks are more subtle than others, for example "Time as Methodology" but all the compositions have ths combiantion of aggression and textures.  THe guitars sound really heavy when they must and clean and intense when they have too (there is killer use of reverb and delays on the cleaer parts giving a strange feeling to the arpeggios played). The band is extremely solid and when you think they will enter a chaotic part and loose all boundaries they show that theya re perfectly in control of everything. The main thing here is the experimentation taht this guys have done through all the compositions. Pure originality and aggression

Produced by Matt Bayles

BY BRUTE FORCE - BY BRUTE FORCE

Line Up:

Simone - bass, vocals

Dr. gasmask - guitars

Aldo - drums

Music and lyrics by By Brute Force

Tracks:

1- Provocation of Christ

2-Suicide Bomber

3-Let them Burn

4-Demons Wait

5-God is Guilty

6-By Brute Force

7-Slave Our Souls

8-Munera Romanum

This guys are a devastating force from the first second of this recording to the last. Their music is what I call a mixture of death emtal with thrash metal including also some black metal elements in some of the vocals that contrast with the more brutal ones. There is a lot of good technique here specially on the rhythms and riffs that are the essence here. There are tempo changes, breaks and rhythm changes on each of the tracks. And there is an  old thrash metal school influence that makes things even better. There are plenty of fast tempos here but my favorite ones are the rhythms designed to break your neck with utter heaviness while headbanging. The sound of the recording is huge and if you crank up your audio system I can guarantee you that you will feel like a hmmer going throug your chest. An album for the Guiness of brutality "

Recorded at

Produced by By Brute Force

C.L.G. - LEGION OF GRINDERS

Line Up:

FdT - guitars

VzF - bass

JdPTa - vocals

GadL - guitars

AwwfP - drums

Music and lyrics by C.L.G.

Tracks:

1- Intro

2-Legion of Grinders

3-Mechanicracy

4-Corporal Necropunishment

5-Downhill Massacre

6-Perpetual Oneiric Activity

7-Legacy of the Forgotten Ones

8-"Coma" as you are

9-

10-

THis is one of the most brutal albums that I have listened in 2005 so far. Starting with an intro full of melodies that reminded me of italian music but with some easten flavor the band soon gets into pure bestiality with "Legion of Grinders". THis guys are in the middle of brutal death metal and grindcore, being closer to the first style in most of this recording because they are looking for the ultimate heaviness and using fast and mid paced riffs succeeding in achieving utter heaviness with downtuned instruments that interact really well betwqeen them creating a wall of death metal sound. The vocals are extremely guttural giving an even more deathly feeling and acting like another instrument emphasizing the rhythms. The sound is raw but effective in transmiting all the virulence taht this band has created. Pure bestiality !!

Recorded at YKWTI Studios

Produced by Mark Prhitterson

CAEDERE - MASS EMISSION

Line Up:

Herbert Cats - bass

Michiel Lankhorst - vocals

Thomas Luyken - guitars

Sjoerd Modderkolk - drums

Niels Ottink - guitar/vocals

Music by Caedere

Lyrics by Caedere

Tracks:

1- Mass Emission

2-Close to Decomposing

3-Mentally Aborted

4-Rope to tie

5-Chainsaw Caesarean

6-Corpse for the theft

7-Human Decay

8-Impaled

9-Rotten to the Core

10- Pleasure of Molestation

Bestial drumming opens up "Mass Emission" with ultra violence in its double bass and killer hihat use. Then enters the rest of this ultrabrutal band showing why this band deserves a prize for being one of the most bestial badns of 2005. Do you like guttural vocals? Then you should check Caedere cause the vocals here are coming from beyond hell. the trademark here are the ultrfast guitar riffs tat have no mercy because they are constantly adding more violence and aggression to the compositions. The album has really good sound, specially on the drums that sound direct and powerful without missing a beat. The cover of Hypocrisy´s "Pleasure of Molestation" done in a brutal death metal way is like the strawbery to the cake, being a bestial version of this classic from the "Obsculum Obscenum" album. A feast of brutality !!!!

Recorded at Ground Zero Studios

Produced by Caedere

CHAINSNAP - HOLLOW

Line Up:

Jermey Haasl - guitars

Steve Schiller - vocals

Alex Kawleski - drums

Keith Monville - guitars

Matt Kingery - bass

Music by Chainsnap

Lyrics by Chainsnap

Tracks:

1- Spiral

2-Devil´s Land

3-Hollow

4-Death by Deception

5-Cut and Dry

6-Lost

7-Wanted Soul

8-God´s Breath

9- Bloodlust

Powerful riffs with original drumming opens up "Spiral" showing that this band can combine the most extreme side of metal with some modern influences that give the band their own identity. Crushing guitars are the main thing here delivering interesting rhythmic riffs that are carefully developed in order to give that powerful feeling that this music must have. the vocals are really aggressive giving an extra power to the music and sounding really clear with some modenr metal and hardcore influences. The rhythm section is really solid and the drumming is always adding elements in order to embellish this rhythms with some patterns that are not common in the style. I have to reamrk also the guitar solos, some of them played with wah wah that give a different feeling to the music here. Pure aggression and power unleashed in nine tracks !

Recorded at Strantrax Recordings

Produced by Rob Kingery and Chainsnap

CHAOSWAVE - CHAOSWAVE

Line Up:

Fabio Carta - vocals

Henrik Rangstrup - guitars

Giorgia Fadda - vocals

Marco Angioni - bass

Raphael Saini - drums

Music by Chaoswave

Lyrics by Henrik Rangstrup

Tracks:

1- Swept Away

2-From the Stare to the Storm

3-Mirror

4-Hate Create

This music can be defined as atmospheric metal because it is extremely powerful and aggressive and at the same time it has plenty of atmospheres, mainly dark ones, that surprise the listener on each track. This sort of feeling is evident when you lsiten Fabio´s voice and then Giorgia´s vocals, changing the feeling of the composition in a really coherent way. I have to remark that the guitars are the essence here playing crushing riffs that are the trademark of this band. Chaoswave also has a solid rhythm section which sounds aggressive and brutal in many parts and always developing new rhythmic passages through all the recording. The mix done by Jakob Hansen addds an extra power to the music making the guitars sound like ripping your flesh with their intensity. A band designed to caress the listener in the atmospheric parts and hit him with a hammer in the most violent ones !!

Recorded at Audio Studios

Mixed by Jacob Hansen

CIANIDE -  HELL´S REBIRTH

Line Up:

Mike - bass, vocals

Andy - drums

Scott - guitars, vocals

Music by Cianide

Lyrics by Cianide

Tracks:

1- Age of Hell´s Rebirth

2-Death metal Maniac

3-Trust No one

4-Curse of the dead

5-Fires that Consume

6-World Abyss

7-Powerhead

8-Sickened to Behold

9-Wormfeast

If I had to define the music that this band does I would say that they are pure death metal with a lot of elements of doom metal and also including some thrash metal in some of the most rhythmic parts. Their music is brutal and at the same time has a dark feeling created by the guitar riffs. There are pure deppressive parts in some of the slower parts being this a trademark of Cianide´s music . But most of the time the band is unleashing pure bestiality through their riffs and rhythms. The vocals are really extreme with a lot of guttural parts fitting perfectly the mood of the rest of the music. I like a lot the feeling of old school death metal that some parts have with really direct guitar riffs and intense drumming (there are also plenty of blast beats in tracks like "Trust No one"). The sound while raw is really clear making things even more effecive. A really aggressive experience that at the same time makes youwant to listen the whole album again and again.

Recorded at Slaugtersound Recording Studio

Produced by Cianide and Colonel Neal

COLD COLOURS - COLD COLOURS

Line Up:

Sanna Lehtonen - vocals, bass

Jutta Järvenpää - guitars, vocals

Sami Humerinta - drums

Music by J.Järvenpää and S. Lehtonen (1), J. JÄrvenpää (2)

Lyrics by S. Lehtonen (1) and J.Järvenpää (2)

Tracks:

1- Unseen

2- Until the End

THis is a release that I could label as powerful and ethereal at the same time. With beautiful female vocals that deeliver melancholy and sadness teh band ahs achieved this ethereal feeling, and at the same time they use some heavy guitars and powerful druming in many parts that give a lot of energy to the music.The voices sometimes reminded me of The Gathering because of the virtuosism that this woman (Sanna Lehtonen) has in her voice but the music is pretty different from that band being Cold Colours more melancholic and introspective. Two tracks leave you wanting more....I would like to listen more from this band because I really liked their combination of subtle and aggressive elements.

Recorded by Kimmo Nyyssönen

Produced by Cold Colours

COPPERSONIC - COPPERSONIC

Line Up:

John Truelove - vocals, bass, keyboards

John Carini - vocals, guitars

Brian Trim - drums

Music and lyrics by Carini / Truelove

Tracks:

1- On and On

2-Tomorrow Girl

3-Memories of Hollywood

4-Highway Blues

5-Stars

6-Time Wasters Club

7-Love Lies Bleeding

8-Live Through Anything

9-Reno

Coppersonic is a band that combines cleverly some rocking riffs with a pop feeling, delivering nine accesible songs. Many of this tunes are potential hits if well promoted with good radio airplaying and TV appearances. The music is carefully constructed along guitar clean arpeggios and rhythms with a clean voice that developes beautiful melodies through all teh album. Most of the songs here will stick in your mind thanks to their melodies that are sometimes repeated until you find yourself singing them. The sound of the recording is crystal clear making the band sound polished and very clean sounding letting you appreciate every single note that is played here.

Recorded at

Produced by Coppersonic

CRYONIC - DIGITAL ENCRYPTION

Line Up:

Daniel - vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming

Peter - acoustic drums

Mr. X - bass

Music and lyrics by Cryonic

Tracks:

1- Beginning

2- Future (now)

3- Neonsoul

4-L.O.F. City

5-Failure

6-Breathing

An opening full of keyboards in "Begining" opens the gates to the powerful realm of Cryonic. Ussing programmed and acoustic drums as well as plenty of electronics and keyboards this guys have achieved a sound that I can define as electronic industrial metal. Combining all this elements with heavy guitars adds a lot of aggression to the music. The guitar riffs are very rhythmic and contrast with the keyboards that are the ones that add the atmospheres. The vocals sometimes are processed, sometimes whispered and sometimes are cleaner depending on the mood of the passage over which the vocal lines are developed. THe music has plenty of changes in tempos going from more emchanical parts to more atmospheric ones within the same track (just check "Future (now)" to see this). THe music is clearly mixed letting us listen all the sounds that this trio generates on each composition. Cryonic is an example of how you can still be original in the world of aggressive extreme music.

Recorded at Studio Soundcreation

Produced by Cryonic

CRYONIC - ARTIFICIAL DREAMS

Line Up:

Daniel - vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming

Peter - acoustic drums

Mr. X - bass

Music and lyrics by Cryonic

Tracks:

1- Introduction

2-Mirrorball

3-Digital Encryption

4-Shore

Showing improvement in sound (Specially in the keyboards that sound huge here) the guys from Cryonic develope here four interesting compositions in their own style. Opening with the climatic "Introduction" with only keyboards the guys soon get into the oppressive feeling of "Mirrorball", a track with crushing guitars and an interesting keyboard arrangement that adds a lot of atmosphere. Again we have the characteristic vocals developed by Daniel that fit really well the mood of the songs. It seems to me that this releases has more climatic compositions than their previous one and the guitars are mixed at the same level than the electronics making everything sound really compact. An extremely original release.

Recorded at Studio Soundcreation

Produced by Cryonic

CRYONIC - DISTORTED FANTASIES

Line Up:

Daniel - vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming

Peter - acoustic drums

Mr. X - bass

Music and lyrics by Cryonic

Tracks:

1- Reboot

2-Mute

3-Artificial Dreams

4-New World / Arrival

This CD starts with a more chaotic electronic intro before getting into a mid paced riff that is the core of the track called "Mute". It is evident while listening to the bands albums how they have evolved in the last couple of years creating every time more dense compositions with their distinctive sound. Here we have the essential combination of heavier than hell guitar riffs and electronics, and also the combination of programmed and acoustic drums. The sound of the guitars is raw and has that effects that makes them sound extremely heavy and with an industrial feeling that is characteristic of Cryonic´s music. The vocals are used in order to emphasize the atmospheres that the band delivers. As I said before this band is extremely original and they are not afraid of experimenting. Good musicianship in the context of really heavy tunes !!

Recorded at Studio Soundcreation

Produced by Cryonic

DAGOR - BLACK CLOUDS

Line Up:

Swen - bass, vocals

Michael - guitars

Ronnie - guitars, clean vocals

Benni - drums and percussion

Music and Lyrics by Dagor

Tracks:

1- Warmachine

2-Vampires Desire

3-Schnitter

4-Wish

5-Black Clouds I

6-Black Clouds II

7-Black Clouds III

8-Soulless

A weird intro with sounds of war, deep spoken voices and some sounds open this album. Then comes the storm !! This guys are an ultra aggressive black metal band with a sound that is close to the norwegian sound and including some interesting death metal elements such as the guttural voice in "Schnitter". This combination of darkness and brutality is a trademark of Dagor´s music that they have carefully developed on this album The guitars unleash raw sounding riffs and there are gfast blast beats and tempos that turns every song into pure mayhem. The vocals are really extreme of the trollish type and they contrast with some dark melodies that are thrown here and there in the compositions. This is a good combination of pure aggression, pure raw metal and dark feelings and atmospheres achieved through bestial compositions.

Produced by Dagor

DARK TRANQUILITY - CHARACTER

Line Up:

Mikael Stanne - vocals

MArtin henriksson - guitars

Niklas Sundin - guitars

Michael Nicklasson - bass

Anders Jivarp - drums

MArtin Brändström - electronics

Music and lyrics by Dark Tranquility

Tracks:

1- The New Build

2-Through Smudged Lenbses

3-Out of Nothing

4-The Endless Feed

5-Lost to Apathy

6-Mind Matters

7-One THought

8-Dry Run

9-Am I 1?

10- Senses Tied

11-My Negation

Here we have the new album from the masters of melodic death metal. The thing that I admire most from this band is that they have managed to progressively add more melodies and arrangements to their music without loosing their power. It is evident if you compare this album with "The Gallery" that the band has suffered many changes but they are even more powerful now than then. Here we have eleven tracks full of all the technical arrangements that are the band´s trademark. Here we have the best mix that the band has achieved up to date with the guitars sounding much bigger than in "Haven" and their previosu albums. Mikael Stanne knows how to growl and how to do melodies when he has to fit a special part of the song and here he shines on all tracks. Dark tranquility is a classical band that has become better with each new album and this one is no exception.

Recorded at Studio Fredman, The Room and Rogue Music

Produced by Dark tranquility

DEFEATED SANITY - PRELUDE TO THE TRAGEDY

Music and Lyrics by Defeated Sanity

Tracks:

1- Liquifying Cerfebral Hemispheres

2-Drifting Further

3-The parasite

4-Horrid Decomposition

5-Tortured Existence

6-Apocalypse of Filth / Collapsing Human Failures

7-Remnants of the Deed

8-Prelude to Tragedy

THis is extreme brutality at its most bestial level. Defeated Sanity is of the type of bands whose every single note is designed to blast you with sheer intensity and bestiality. Double bass drumming is one of the key elements here, along with the ultra guttural voice. Get out of the way Cannibal Corpse....Defeated Sanity can blow you with their utter brutality. The guys in teh band have a lot of skills taht are evident in their playing, specially in those aprts when they play more rhythmic stuff with twisted patterns and breaks. One remarkable thing is the sound taht this guys have achieved. I can asure you that if you put this album at a high volume you will be blasted by the piercing guitars and crushinbg drums. This is pure brutality done with the best quality !!!

Recorded at Soundforge Studios

Produced by Defeated Sanity

DEVILYN - XI

Line Up:

Bony - guitars

Erian - guitars

Michal - vocals

Domin - drums

Cyprian - bass

Music by Bony and Erian

Lyrics by Ataman Tolovy

Tracks:

1- The Counting of Quartered Heavens

2-The Enemy Within

3-Faith

4-The List

5-Degrade Flower

6-God Eater

7-Charming Maidens with No Skin

8- THe Seven Virtues Divine

9- Searching for the Beauty

This must be one of the most powerful releases in 2005 !! Kicking off with the killer "The Enemy Within" the band shows fastly all their aggression in the form of multiple riffs, multiple changes and intrincated musicianship. The band has a really extreme death metal feeling but tyhey are constantly challenging the style creating breaks, solos and changes that show killer musicianship besides uter aggression. There is complexity in tracks like "The List" where there is incredible interaction between the two guitars. The vocals are guttural giving an even more extreme feeling to the music. I have to remark how good sounds the rhythm section which is extremely tight through all the album. And this band has achieved a powerful, direct and huge sound due to the killer mixing and recording that makes their music even more in your face. One of the most aggressive releases of the year.

Recorded at Hertz Studio

Produced by Slawek and Wojtek

DFP - PROMISCUOUS DEMON STORIES

Line Up:

Wolle - bass

Locke - drums

Stefan - vocals

Manuel - guitars

Music by DFP

Lyrics by DFP

Tracks:

1- Intro

2-Follow the Stars

3-Eyesight

4-Moon Under Water

5-Little Myra

6-Swords and Axes

7-Crashed into Reality

8-Toilette

9-The More Pain you Get

10-Outro

11-MUW - Remix

A good combination of the most powerful riffs with violence and with some dark atmospheres is what DFP´s music is about. The style can be defined as having elements of thrash metal, death metal and even pure heavy metal. With growling vocals that spit the lyrics with anger, the band constructs each composition around heavier than hell guitar riffs that sometimes are fast but always leave space for the other instruments to develope their ideas. And that is essential here showing that the band emphasizes heaviness instead of speed showing that midtempos can be as heavy as faster ones if well constructed. the rhythm section is really solid, as is evident in tracks like "Eyesight" with really killer double bass drumming Some elements of the music reminded me to Gorefest, particularly the voice, but DFP has their own original sound. A band that devastates with personal riffs and pure dark aggression.

Recorded at Pivo Studios

Produced by DFP

DIKTAT - DIKTAT

Line Up:

Fabrice Duval - bass

Alexandre Godest - guitar

Jeremie Granai - guitars

Mathieu Sidibé - vocals

Nicolas Van Deth - drums

Music by Diktat

Lyrics by Diktat

Tracks:

1- Attrition

2-Self prostitution of psyche´s organ

3-Close to the End

4-Painless

5-Offended

Pure moshing grind/death coming directly from the guts of this french band. you can not go more to the extreme than what this guys do. Their music is devastating from beginning to end. the guttural vocals are here all over the palce, combined with other one more of the grindcore type that sounds almost like another guitars playing the rotten riffs that Diktat unleashes. I have to remark that this recording is from 2000 so the band mut have evolved since this recording. The drummign is really intense with interesting double bass and crushing snare drums patterns. Every single not e here is extremely brutal and this is a conscious effort by this guys to achieve the most extreme level of brutality with their music. Lovers of the most brutal death metal and grindcore will be delighted by Diktat.

Produced by Diktat

DOMINATION THROUGH IMPURITY - ESSENCE OF BRUTALITY

Line Up:
Joe Payne - guitars, bass, vocals

Jordan Varela - drums

Music by Domination Through Impurity

Lyrics by Joe Payne, exc. 3 and 6 by Joe Payne and Ryan Manino

Tracks:

1- Essence of Brutality

2-Pinned to a Guardrail

3-In Rat we Trus

4-Self Destructive Malevolence

5-Terminal Gluttony

6-Bit by a Rat

7-Cleanse the Flesh

8-Wahnsinn

Some sweep arpeggios along with a bestial drumming opens up "Essence of Brutality". The first thing that got my attention here is how good is Jordan Varela playing drums. he is extremely brutal and at the same time he has a lot of technical skills that allows him to play passages that seem impossible for a human being. Then comes the ultra fat guitars playing fast riffs and interacting really well delivering complex breaks and rhythms. The vocals are extremely guttural of the most brutal type. This two guys are like a machine delivering all the multiple changes, arrangements and rhythms that each composition has (just check for example "Terminal Gluttony" to see how good are this guys in doing this type of breaks and changes). This is pure brutality done with extreme technal skills and an excellent sound that makes things even more bestial !!

Recorded at Sound Lab Studio

DRONE 24-7 - BLOODDRUGSSEXMONEY

Music and lyrics by Drone 24-7

Tracks:

1-Bosm

2-Eliminate Us

3-Neonsun

4-Tsgd Edit

5-Propaganda

Produced by Drone 24-7

EMACIATE - 2 TRACK DEMO CD

Music by Emaciate

Lyrics by Emaciate

Tracks:

1- Unavoidable Demise (The Beginning)

2- Path of the Chosen (The End)

Pure death metal done by a really solid band with a lot of technical skills and a lot of rehearsal. Here we have two tracks by this band showing the main elements of tehir music: heavy guitar riffs, multiple changes in tempo, guitar solos done with really good taste. Here we have plenty of guttural voices spitting the lyrics with full aggression. One remarkable thing is the amazing drummign here, full of double bass and intrincated patterns that give a lot of originality to the rhythmic section and at the same time adds a lot of power. And another thing to point out is the really good sound that this band has achieved through a killer mix. And this sound i essential because while others have a powerful sound Emaciate has a devastating one that lets them crush the listener with their riffs and rhythms. Pure power !

Produced by Emaciate

EMILY HAY - LIKE MINDS

Music by Emily Hay

Tracks:

1- Call to Unarm

2-Liturgy of Sound

3-A Year and Two Weels

4-Boiled Cadillac

5-Crooked Hopscotch

6-We Are

7-Like Minds

8-Wha´´Bout

9-Spar

10- Waiting for Sara

11-Hibiki

12-Swamp Moss

This are tracks taken from different musical projectas where Emily Hay participated in the last ten years. Emily is a musician that has no boundaries when comes to her flute playing. She goes from playing some atmospheres in tracks like "Call to Unarm" to melodic lines, and also to extreme sounds taht go beyond imagination. She also uses her voice in a really original way, as another instrument with which she improvises. On this tracks she works with great improvisers such as Rich West on drums, Michael Whitmore on guitars, Lisle Ellis on electronics and many others. This is a really mind opening experience because this people are constantly experimenting with pghrases and sounds and maybe within a composition you will have hundreds of ideas. And you can feel how tight she is playing here, interacting clverely with the other musicians. Lovers of improvisation and experimental music will be delighted with Emily´s skills !!

Produced by Jeff Kaiser

EMPERIAL ABYSS - SHE´S DISSAPEARED

Line Up:

Hemilian - vocals

Marco - guitar

Alice - synth/ keyboards

Fabio - bass

Lorenzo - drums

Music and lyrics by Emperial Abyss

Tracks:

1- Intro

2-She´s Dissapeared

3-Revelation

4-Hide

Keyboards open the first minute of this recording before the whole band enters into a short beginning. Then comes the aggression of "She´s dissapeared",a tracks full of heavy riffs and amazing keyboards that give a feeling of loneliness and sadness to the music. Fast enough the band gets into a pure black metal part with a blast beating drum and extreme vocals that go beyond black emtal and share elements with death metal. There are multiple changes in riffs and rhythms and I really liked the combiantion of ultra distorted guitars with the orchestral keyboards that create a sound that can be defined as the Emperial Abyss sound. THere are influences of thrash metal in some riffs but they are taken to the extreme showing that this band is extremely aggressive in the way they deliver their compositions. There is some use of clean vocals in the slower parts which I think the band should use even more to add even more contrasts. The sound is raw but powerful letting you feel the drum beats in your chest and the guitars piercing your ears. Pure darkness and aggression hand by hand in the music of Emperial Abyss !!!

Produced by Emperial Abyss

ENDHAMMER - ENDHAMMER

Line Up:

Miro Wossilus - vocals

Macke Mackenrott - guitars

Michael Schlusenek - guitars

Marco Steiner - bass

Julian Engels - drums

Music by Endhammer

Lyrics by Endhammer

Tracks:

1- Alkohol

2- Alles Was Dir Bleibt

3- Den Letzten Beissen Die Hunde

Coming directly from Hamburg this band crushes from the first track to the last note with their powerful guitar sound that combines heavy metal with some hardcore influences and some modern metal elements as well as some thrash. the first thing that is evident is that the guitars have a crushing sound and when combined with the syncopated rhythms delivered by the drums they create a wall of aggression taht is thrown against the listener. Miro´s voice is brutal and full of aggression adding an even rawer sound to the music and delivering vocal lines that are like a kick in your nuts. The rhythm section is essential here to achieve the Endhammer sound with their solid work, interacting really well, specially in "Alles Was Dir Bleibt". Three tracks leave you wanting more from this extremely aggressive german band..

Recorded at Tiefdruck Studios

Produced by Krzinga

ENIGMATIK - FORGOTTEN MEMORIES

Music and  lyrics by Enigmatik

Tracks:

1- Past time Spirit

2-Beyond the Black Gate

3-Solaris

4-The Wanderer´s Song

5-Buried in the Labyrinth of Time

6-Sovereign

7-Fallen Halls

8-The Unleashed Ones

Can you combine darkness and aggression with melodies and atmospheric arrangements? The people in Enigmatik surely can ! Going from fast black metal to acoustic tracks like "The Wanderer´s Song" and also including some viking-metal like vocals in some places this guys have achieved a killer album. It is evident the evolution of the band when compared to their previous album, specially in the wqay they develope the aggressive riffs with multiple changes in tempo but always remaining very tight. There are fast parts and also many mid tempos where the band unleashes all thei dark melodies and arrangements. The sound of the recording is raw but really clear making each riff really effective and direct. The vocals combine the most black emtal ones full of hate and aggression with spoken ones and with others that, as I said before, are more of the viking metal type adding a lot of variation to the music. A great mixture of aggression and darkness.

Produced by Enigmatik

ENTIRETY - ...TO FUCK

Line Up:

Luca - vocals

Andrea - guitars

Steve - drums

Gualtiero - guitars

Dave -bass

Music by Entirety

Lyrics by Luca

Tracks:

1- ...To Fuck

2- Frayed Edge

3- Spuerco

Pure aggression. This is how I can describe Entirety´s music. And if you add a really good sound we have as a result this blasting release called "To Fuck:..". Fast guitars that play multiple riffs with changes are the main thing here. this guitars, along with the rhythm section have created very different and aggressive aprts that include some complex changes and breaks. There are good guitar solos that show a different side from the band´s musical personality and that contrast heavily with the extreme voice that screams through all the album. The good thing is taht despite being really extreme the tracks are memorable because of the use of certain arrangements and chord progressions. As I said before the album has a really good sound taht makes this an extreme experienece in aggression

Recorded at Cool Life Studios

Produced by Entirety

EPICEDIUM - IMMENSE AFFLICTION

Line Up:

Sascha - vocals

Tom - guitars

Steffen - drums

Bruno - bass

Music by Epicedium

Lyrics by Sascha

Tracks:

1- Disagreeable Incest

2-Strangeled, decapitated, Brainfucked

3-Immense Affliction

4-Chosen Stunned, Confined

5-Tortured, Raped, Stained With Blood

6-Slaughtered Quartered

7-Mixed and Devoured

8-Epicedium

Bestiality is the word here. this is pure brutal death metal in its most extreme kind. But Epicedium is different from most of the bands in the style because they have unique guitar riffs. This is evident in tracks like "Disagreeable Incest" where they combine this type of riffs with more rhythmic ones and with faster ones. The vocals are extremely guttural, like the one in bands like Suffocation, without mercy for the listener. The drumming is fast and furious with some blast beats but preferring to use double bass and do interesting breaks and patterns. Along with the bass this guys have created an indestructible rhym section. It is amazing also the huge sound that the guitars have being the smashing force behind all the compositions here. The sound of the recording is clear and huge and each instrument sounds like if you were close to the PA System in a live show. THis is pure brutality and this band should be listened by any person that says that likes brutal death metal !

Recorded by Epicedium and Michael Heiliger

Produced by Epicedium

EVOLUTION - DARK DREAMS OF LIGHT

Line Up:

Maik Nirmaier - vocals

Thomas Appel - bass

Tosse Basler - guitar

Thomas Herrmann - guitars

Ritchie Gonzalez - drums

Music by Evolution

Lyrics by Evolution

Tracks:

1- Dark Dreams

2-Out of Sight

3-Empire Of Time

4-Hope

5-Begin to See

6-Endless Pain

7-Take time

8-Just on thing

9-Till the End

10-Witness of Society

"Dark dreams" opens calmly with clean guitars and a spoken vocal part before getting into a heavier part. THe style of this amazing band is evident here being a cross between heavy metal and thrash metal, played with tightness that shows that the band is extremely well rehearsed and full of good ideas. The main thing here are the guitar riffs that develope interesting song structures and that interact heavily with the rhythm section in order to deliver heavier than hell songs. Plus the guitars add also many melodies and solos that are one of the trademarks of the band. The vocals have that great eighties thrash feeling, being harsh but fitting really well the mood of the songs and adding even more power to the music. A great combination of styles from the last three decades of metal !!!

Produced by Gerhard Magin

FALLACIOUS WORLD - NOTHING TO HOPE

Line Up:

Lord Valek - vocals

Blaze - bass

Lestat - guitars

Doro - drums

Music by Fallacious World

Lyrics by Lord Valek

Tracks:

1- At love at death

2-Respite

3-Death Wishes

4-LEave that Past

THis is pure dark metal with some gothic feeling in the vocals. The music here is heavy but the main thing here are the dark atmospheres that each of the four tracks have. One of the essential elements here are the keyboards that develope this dark chord progressions that generate this darkness that has this recording. Lord Valek´s voice is really climatic and it developes dark melodies with his voice, almsot haunting with his middle range voice. The rhythm section is really solid and they leave a lot of space for the rest of the band to develope their ideas. I would give a more powerful sound to the guitars to add even more power to the music, maybe downtuning them (the beginning of "Death Wishes" is a good example of a heavier guitar sound). A good combination of power and darkness.

Produced by Falalcious World

FOLKEARTH - A NORDIC POEM

Music by Folkearth

Lyrics by Folkearth

Tracks:

1- Intro - The pipes are calling

2-Wolfsong in Moonlight (Fenris Unbound)

3-Horned Trolls and Mystical Folk

4-Rhyming with Thunder

5-Eldritch Sorcery and Faery Runes

6-In Odins Court

7-Storm Ravens Come

8-Gryningssang

9-Gaelic Valor

10- Outro

Opening with a haunted melody played by Uillean pipes and some female voice doing some howls and screams this album shows what is all about from the first second: I would describe this band´s music as folk epic death black metal because it has elements of all this styles and the main characteristic are the melodies that sound like coming from the Dark Ages and having some ancient folk influence in them. It is amazing to listen all the multiple melodies that are developed here taking you to wooded landscapes in a frozen land. There is a feeling of pure paganism here and that is essential for all the lyrics and even the melodies. The vocals are the essentila part here...there are multiple vocals male and female here delivering incredible melodic lines and also some extreme voices for the heavier parts. This album is a truly masterpiece and I recommend it not only to lovers of metal but also to any lover of music. A must have !!

Produced by Folkearth

FRAISE - HELLICORNIA

Music by Fraise

Lyrics by

Tracks:

1.Hellicornia
2. Set Us Free
3. Fight With Fire
4. Ice Cold
5. Saratoga
6. July
7. Profile Of The Day
8. Rise Again
9. Kings And Queens
10.X9
 

Pure epic heavy metal with excellent sound is what you will find on this album. The good thing about this band´s music is that they know how to combine more melodic tunes with heavier riffs and heavier songs that add more aggression to the muic. And all of this with a superb epic feeling achieved through the guitars or the vocal melodies. Here we have ten extremely memorable songs with heavy guitars that interact heavily with a rhythm section that is solid and at the same time leaves space for the other isntruments to develope their ideas. The riffs also leave space for the vocal melodies in the palce where that is needed (specially in the choruses which are essential for the overall feeling of the music here). The vocals are clean and they fit perfectly the music adding multiple melodies without loosing the power. This is with no doubt a band that should set the way for heavy metal in the future.

Recorded at Studio Sonica

Produced by Fraise

FRANCESCO FARERI - SUSPENSION

Music by Francesco Fareri

Tracks:

1-Suspension

2-Pointbreak

3-Intospective

4-Cyborg

5-Secrets

6-Paradox

Recorded at

Produced by Francesco Fareri

FUNERAL RAPE - A CHAINSAW IN THE CUNT

Line Up:

Cuntripper - guitars, vocals

Lord Funeral - drums

Assmasher - bass, vocals

Music by Funeral Rape

Lyrics by Funeral Rape

Tracks:

1- The Land of Sluts

2-Autopsy...Rape

3-The Cum Comes

4-Violent Shit

5-Junkie Rapist

6-God is a cock

7-I fuck on your grave

8-A Chainsaw in the Cunt

9-Slutty Cunt Getting Plowed by the dead

10-These bitches must die !

11-Vaginal Cannibal

12-Sex Sex Sex

13-She sucked the wrong cock

14-Raping the Undertaker

15-Final Orgy

16-I cum on your grave

17-Normal dy to day depravity

18-Bastard Asian Eatcum Fucker

19-The JUnkie is Back

20-Spunky Tramp fucks and sucks

21-Porno masters

Pure porno death metal full of sickness and brutality !!! This guys are pure bestiality from beginning to end emphasizing the ultra heaviness of their riffs with killer drumming and bestial vocals.The good thing here is that despite being fast this guys do not abuse speed preferring to play each note to add heaviness to the music. the vocals here are of different types but always extreme: one voice is extremely guttural and we have also others in the deathly vein but less guttural and one of the screaming type. But the main thing here is the brutality that the compositions unleash with the furious guitar riffs and the intense drumming. The good thing is that the band has a really good sound that makes their music sound as heavier as they want. Funeral Rape is aggression guaranteed in a format of blasting death metal that will crush you from the first listening.

Recorded at Porco Dio and Necrom Studios

Produced by Fuenral Rape

GALATI - WHERE THE LIGHT STOPS

Line Up:

Roberto - vocals, instruments

Stella - vocals

Music by and lyrics by Galati

Tracks:

1- Sweeter Songs

2-Deepest Sea

3-Where the Light Stops

4-Watch the Stars

5-The Ship Song

6-The 26th

7-Springtime

8-Dreams

If I had to describe Galati´s music with just one word I would say "atmospheric". Their music is full of dark passages with melancholic sounds. Roberto´s voice is really deep and combined with Stella´s they paint this picture of melancholy and sadness. The main instrument here are the keyboards that are all over the compositions creating the landscapes over which the vocal lines are developed. Multiple arrangements are developed on each track transporting you to different melancholic realms. Some parts even reminded me to early Pink Floyd, without some of the psychodelia that that era had but with taht deppressive feeling that those albums had. There is a lot of exploration of feelings here that are transmited really well to the listener. An ideal album to listen with your eyes shut and letting your sould fly with it.

Produced by Galati

GLACIER EQUILIBRIUM - FROSTORM

Line Up:

Chris T - vocals

Sotiris - guitars, keyboards

Kyriakos - guitars

Giannis - bass

Tho - drums

Music by Sotiris

Lyrics by Chris T

Tracks:

1- Ionstorm

2- Passage

3-Defiance

4-Dark Chant

5-Frostorm

6-Soul Contempt

7-Scions of Debaser

8-Cosmic Illusion

+ sample ideas

A dark atmosphere starts this album in the shape of a dark intro with keyboards. then comes the aggression in the shape of climatic black metal. This guys have cleverly combined pure aggression with passages full of dark atmospheres where the tempos are slowed a little bit to let them construct melodies and chord progressions that take the lsitener to the darkest of landscapes. There is also a big death metal influence in tracks like "Dark chant" where a growler voice is added to contrast with the more black metal one. There is a lot of imagination here that allows Glacier Equilibrium to develope extremely original ideas with a lot of musicianship. The keyboards that contrast heavily with the guitars are essential here to add the dark feeling that this music must have, and the guitars construct from heavier than hell riffs to more twisted lines to achieve the band´s own identity. Really original dark metal full of amazing ideas.

Recorded at DB Studio

Produced by T.Drosos

GORY BLISTER - ART BLEEDS

Line Up:

Daniel - vocals

Raff - guitars

Joe - drums

Tedd - bass

Music by  Raff

Lyrics by Joe

Tracks:

1- Primordial Scenery

2-As Blood Moves

3-Art Bleeds

4-Mermaids Beloved

5-Antictive

6-Cognitive Sinergy

7-Snowfall

8-A Gout from the Scar

9-Comet...and her trail of spiritual dust

Recorded at Fear Studios

Produced by Gory Blister

GRAVE FLOWERS - INCARCERATED SORROWS

Music and Lyrics by Grave Flowers

Tracks:

1- At Night

2-Lackrosy

3-Fear of Future

4-Sleep Demons Sleep

5-Freeze the Time

6-Save Me or Destroy Me

7-Erase / Delete

8-Cold Despair

9-Your Memory lives on

10- My Final night

Pure melancholy and depression is what you will find here. With heavy riffs and dense atmospheres the music done by this Finnish band always surprise with sad arrangements and great compositions with some doom metal feeling. Guitar riffs clash with keyboards creating a unique sound taht can be described as a mix of My Dying Bride, early Paradise Lost, and Anathema. The vocals are essential here doing some sad melodies that contrast with the heavy guitar riffs taht are unleashed through all the tracks. And there is also a keyboard that embellishes everythin with  a dark sound that paints everything black. I ahve to remark that the good sound that the recording has is essential to show that this band is melancholy and power at the same time. A powerful band full of sad ideas developed carefully in a great album.

Produced by Grave Flowers

HATRED - SOULLESS

Line Up:

Matthias Mauer - vocals

Frederick Melott - guitars

Steffen Lindner - guitars

Stefan Hofmann - bass

Daniel Buld - drums

Music and Lyrics by Hatred exc. 10 by Christian Münzner and Hatred

Tracks:

1- Two Faced

2-Betrayal

3-Soulless

4-Dream Killer

5-Lie To Me

6-Mind Control

7-Feel My hate

8-Utopia

9-Cursed

10-Fractured by Fear

11-Metal Massacre

This band has progressed a lot since the album that we reviewed from them some years ago. Their music has become even more powerful due to the much better sound that they are achieving on this new album. THey are pure thrash metal with clever guitar riffs work. There is a lot of good musicianship here that is evident in multiple changes and really tasteful guitar solos. There are climatic passages in a more heavy metal vein in track "Lie to Me" with clean guitars that reminded me to Annihilator. One trademark here are the powerful vocals, melodic yet extremely full of energy. they have also released a DVD with this album which I will review on next issue. Hatred is the perfect combination between aggression, melody and good musicianship.

Recorded at Dorian Gray Studios

Produced by Gerhard Wölfle

HELLWRATH - ANGER WORDS

Line Up:

Edo - vocals

Stefano - guitars

Deimos - guitars

Lorenzo - drums

Giancarlo - bass

Music by Hellwrath

Lyrics by Edoardo Faggi

Tracks:

1- Hellwrath

2-Peaceless

3- Anger Words

"Hellwrath" opens with one minute of dark sounds before getting into the more aggressive side of the band. The first thing taht got my attention here are the vocals, a combiantion of a spoken voice taht is louder and a more guttural one that is in the background, before the roles turn and the more brutal voice comes to the front. The three tracks here let us know that theband is really powerful and at the same time are really skilled in order to play all the parts that they deliver on each track. This guys are achieving brutality with killer rhythmic riffs and multiple tempo changes that show that the band is extremely well rehearsed. Double bass drumming is combined with complex patterns here in order to give a lot of originality to the brutality of the band. The guitars deliver riff after riff with no mercy showing that there is really good interaction between the guitars. The vocals are really extreme giving an even more death metal feeling to the music and the sound allows the listener to be immersed in the powerful world that thi band creates. We want more of this killer band soon. We want more Hellwrath !!

Recorded at Audiodinamica Studio

Produced by Hellwrath

HELSEFYR - THE LAND OF NO RETURN

Music by Helsfyr

Lyrics by Helsefyr

Tracks:

1- The Pestilence

2- Beneath the Cold Moon

3- The Land of No Return

4- Outbreak of Evil

5-Deathcrush

Pure black fucking metal the way it must be done: raw, fast and furious and showing all the hatred that this band has. Here we have plenty of blast beats, plenty of extreme vocals. We have here also really raw guitars that reminded me a little bit to Bathory or early Venom playing faster than the speed of light riffs while the vocal spits the lyrics. Everything has a feeling of darkness and the good thing is that this feeling is achieved in the way it was done by the old school of black metal: that is through powrful and fast riffing and mercyless drumming and aggression. The covers of Sodom "Outbreak of Evil" and Mayhem´s "Deathcrush" show that the band is also extremely aggressive on tis covers and at the same time shows some of the bands that have influenced Helsefyr. Pure blasphemic black metal done the primitive way !!

Produced by Helsefyr

HELSEFYR - DEADLY BLACK I AM

Line Up:

Patrik - drums, lyrics

Matthias - guitars, bass and vocals

Music by Matthias

Lyrics by Patrik

Tracks:

1- intro

2- Deadly Black I Am

3-A Frozen Soul

4- The Return of the Darkness and Evil

5-Outro

This is Helsefyr´s latest demo and it shows some improvement when compared to "The Land of No Return". the main improvement is the sound that despite being very raw it is more direct and loud this time. the music is the same amazing balck thrash metal that was on their previous demo and here they show that they have completely mastered this style, creating this truly aggressive compositions full of anger and blasphemy. The vocals are really extreme but clear and you can follow the lytrics, specially in the track "Deadly Black I Am". the sound of the recording is raw and again it is mixed loud so you have the feeling of beeing in a concert place seeing tis band live. And here the guys have paid tribute to the almighty Bathory through their "The Return of the Darkness and Evil" done in a faithfull version. Pure bestiality coming from the darkest of souls...those of Helsefyr !!

Produced by Helsefyr

HIGH ON FIRE - BLESSED BLACK WINGS

Music and lyrics by High on Fire

Tracks:

1-Devilution

2-The Face of Oblivion

3-Brother in the Wind

4-Cometh down Hessian

5-Blessed Black Wings

6-Anointing of Seer

7-To Cross the Bridge

8-Silver Back

9-Sons of thunder
 

It is really weird the way this album is done. When you put the CD on your audio system it signals 90 tracks. And when you listen to it the tracks are less. Most of the tracks are like a sumatory of the different parts that are on this album (for example the track "Devilution" takes tracks 1 to 10), but you will not notice it if you are not paying attention to your counter. The music that this band unleashes here is like a mix between Motorhead and thrash metal with some death metal in some aprts and also with rocking riffs everywhere. The music here is extremely powerful and each of the compositions show that this guys have pure aggression and energy while delivering the tracks. The music has sort of a live feeling that makes you imagine how this guy will sound in a live show. The gutiars sound huge (and similar to Motorhead´s ). The songs are direct and in your face overwhelming the listener with its intensity. A pure rocking powerful band !!

Recorded at Electrical Audio Studios

Produced by High on Fire

HJÖRTUR - KEEN SABID

Music and lyrics by Hjörtur Blöndal

Tracks:

1- The Coolest Car

2-New York Woman

3-Yopu Got It

4-I am a Man of Constant Sorrow

5-Everything is moving

6-The Day

7-Lift Off !

8-I´m leaving for Chicago

9-Now and Here

10-Don´t let me now

11-Call

12-Take It

13-I´ll Fix your Feet

14-The Whether was Fine

15-Another World

16-Don´t Take it Away

17-Home Working

18-Fall

19- Do,do,do what you wanna do

THis is a really original album with interesting experimentation in songs format. Hjörtur Blöndal is the brain behind all this climatic compositions full of atmospheres and at the same time a certain rock/pop and electronic feeling. And that is the good thing about this Hjörtur album....you can not classify it on any style because the next song that you will listen will surely be completely different. Hjörtur´s vocals are clean and they do memorable vocal lines through each composition. But the main thing here is how good he has managed to develope all the ideas, specially the keyboards ones through all this album. Some tracks are more climatic and some are more powerful but each of them is surprising and the differences between them will keep you guessing what is coming next. An extremely original release coming directly from Denmark.

Recorded at Blöndal Studios

Produced by Hjörtur

HJÖRTUR - CHANDNI

Line Up:

Music and lyrics by Hjörtur exc. 2

lyrics by Kent M. Keith

Tracks:

1- You are the One

2-The Paradoxical Commandments

3-Azure

4-Shining Bright

5-Wind of Green

6-United

7-The Answer

8-Sail Away

9-Rearranging

10-Sha-lala-lala

"You are the one" opens up with beautiful acoustic guitars and then come beautiful vocal choruses that deliver melodies that soon will enchant your soul. Then comes a more electronic track called "The Pradoxical Commandments" with a more definite electronic feeling that changes the mood of this album. The good thing about Hjörtur is that each track is completely different from the other and at the same time are extremely original. Some tracks are more climatic, like "Azure", and olthers are more experimental with rhythms. the overall feeling is that Hjörtur is a great musician whose imagination has no limits and that can make compositions for every taste, always experimenting and creating amazing passages. A talented open minded musician whose recordings always surprise with ideas and amaze with beauty.

Recorded at Surya Kiran Studios

Produced by Hjörtur

HOLY MOSES - STRENGTH, POWER, WILL, PASSION

Line Up:

SAbina Classen - vocals

Franky Brotz - guitars

Michael Hankel - guitars

Alex DeBlanco - bass

Julien Schmidt - drums

Music by Holy Moses

Lyrics by Sabina Classen

Tracks:

1- Angel cry

2-End of Time

3-Symbol of Spirit

4-Examination

5-I Will

6-Space Clearing

7-Sacred Crystels

8-Lost Inside

9-Death Bells II

10- Rebirthing

11-Seasons in the Twilight

12-Say Goodbye

Sabina Classen rules !!! For my taste she is the symbol of brutality and aggression in the metal realm !! Her voice is unique and is the essence of Holy Moses giving that amazing brutal feeling that is the characteristic of all their albums. Here we have bestial guitar riffs with a combination of thrash and death metal sound with a huge sound. One incredible thing is thet Holy Moses on each album reaches a heavier guitar sound. You can see this just comparing, "Disorder of the Order" "Master of Disaster" and the new album. The band is extremely solid and the rhythm section also sounds crushing and extremely tight creating the structure over which the huge guitar riffs are played. Sabina´s voice is as always amazing and she roars through all the album. Something that always comes to my mind while listening to this band is taht it would be great to have all their first albums rereleased because Holy Moses was a band ahead of its time and that is evident on that albums. A must for anyone that loves metal !!

Recorded at Absurd Studios

Produced by Schrödey

HUTT - SESSAO DESCARREGO

Line Up:

Choukri, Leandro, Appezato

Music by Hutt

Lyrics by Hutt

Tracks:

1- Intro

2-Giante do troo

3-Golden Shower

4-So Pessoas

5-Pra que paz se tenho a guerra?

6-Sla 6

7-Dia Normal

8-Parasita

9-Burduga

10-Harakiri

11-Cabelo de Jabú

12-Smells like teen Shit

13-13

14-XXX

15-Nova

16-Joao Cutelo

17-Gang Das Boneca

18-Quem Ama Espanca

19-Asco

20-Naia

21-Morto

22-Bub 2

23-Mirtao

24-Bronson

25-Venom

26-Exterminio

27-A ultima espernce e a ue morre

28-Pai, filho, Estuprou o santo Amem

29-Toxico e Logico

Hutt plays pure death grindcore. I say that the syles is something like death/grindcore because the band goes well beyond grindcore, using instead of only speed a lot of cruhing rhythm that makes their music much heavier than only using blast beats and fast parts  Don´t get me wrong, there are plenty of ultra fast parts but the essence of Hutt´s music is too achieve the higher level of brutality using many different techniques. This style of music played by Hutt must be with no doubt the most brutal music on earth with its riffs played with heavily downtuned guitars. And this sound is also another element that brings the band closer to brutal death emtal than grind, being much heavier than the one used in other bands of this later style.  Extremely guttural voices are a fundamental part here giving that feeling of intense brutality without limits. Brutality in almost 30 devastating tracks !! 

Recorded at Estudio Da Tribo

Produced by Hutt

ILLOGICIST - SUBJECTED

Line Up:

Luca Minieri - vocals, guitar

Diego Ambrosi - guitars

ERmilio Dattolo - bass

Sergio Ponti - drums

Music and lyrics by Illogicist

Tracks:

1- Into Your Mind

2-The High Price of Confidence

3-Knowledge Curse

4-Every Straight Lie

5-Dissonant Perspectives

6-Subjected

7-Introspection

8-the Soul Feeder

9-The Last Show

10-

Recorded at Dissonant Studios

Produced by Illogicist

IMPERIAL CRYSTALLINE ENTOMBMENT - APOCALYPTIC END IN WHITE

Line Up:

Bleak

Mammoth

Blisserred

Icesickkill

Music and lyrics by Imperial Crystalline Entombment

Tracks:

1-Cryogenic Communion

2-Astral Frost Invocation

3-Hypothermic Possession

4-Onward Banshee Legions

5-Apocalyptic Blizzard Regime

6-Upheaving the Ancient Thirst

7-Cascade Cavern Catharsis

8-Convulsing Frigid Death

9-Glacial Lyckanthropic Horde

10-Behold thy Forzen Arctic Kingdom

11- Råvaskeith´s Revenge
 

Remember the Immortal classic "Blizzard Beasts"? Well, the guys in I.C.E. have taken this type of music one step beyond with their own identity. Their music is pure black metal full with references to cold, freezing, storms and this type of atmospheres. They are extremely aggressive playing incredibly fast riffs with a lot of precission and with a lot of good musicianship. Here we have vocals coming from beyond the grave screamjing the lyrics, which are an essential aprt of the band´s work. The band is extremely tight and this is evident in the fastest parts where other bands fail miserably creating a chaotic mess I.C.E. succeeds in managing speed and turning into the msot violent experience. Ron Vento´s mix here gives the band a killer sound, specially on drums that makes the album a destroying experience when played at top volume. And the drumming is superb with good technique, power, killer double bass drumming (just check "Hypothermic..." to lsiten what this guy can do). A freezing experience full of white violence and aggression !!!

Recorded at Nightsky Studios

Produced by Ron Vento

IN-SIGHT - THE EXPERIMENT

Line Up:

Massi - vocals

Jack - guitars

Alexi - guitars

Masai - bass

Mek - drums

Music by Jack

Lyrics by Massi

Tracks:

1- Madness Cause of Fear

2-Gothic Gallery

3-Thief of Breathing

4-From Dusk till Dawn

5-The Experiment

Produced by In-Sight

INOCCULTA - APOCRYPHE

Music and lyrics by Inocculta

Tracks:

1- L´entrave au cours des choses

2- Un dernier soupir

3-Innoculta

4-Mediocrité Universelle

The first note that sounds here is a burst of guitars and fast drums setting the pace for the bestial MCD that Inocculta has delivered here. Fast riffs are the essence here combined with drums that sometimes sound really fast doing blast beats and sometimes create more thrashy rhythms making things sound powerful, aggressive and variated. The vocals have a really good role here doing spoken parts and also more extreme lines that give a dark feeling to the music. But the main thing are the guitars. You just have to check "L´entrave.." to see how they change from a fast riff to a darker melodic one or to others more complex making the song evolve into a new dimension before going back to the main idea. The soun of the recording is raw but really clear making the guitars sound really big and letting you listen perfectly each instrument. Pure black metal full of aggression and ideas.

Produced by Innoculta

INSECTED - KILLING FOR RECREATION

Line Up:

Nicolas Sic Maiis- vocals

Tristessa - vocals/bass

Chris Veleris - guitars

Ice - drums

Music and lyrics by Insected

Tracks:

1- Locked Up

2-Rejection of Light

3-Unfold teh Conspiracy

4-Cutting the Strings

One of the most brutal releases of the year. Here we have pure death metal from this band where we can find the talented Tristessa from Astarte. But the music here is brutal death with some thrash elements in the most technical parts. Nicolas Sic Maiis voice is pure gutturality but with a clear feeling that allows him to emphasize certain bestial parts. I really find extremely interesting the way the rhythms and riffs are developed with a lot of changes in tempos and with a lot of breaks. The combination of Nicolas and Tristessa voices adds even a more extreme feeling to the music. There are plenty of fast parts here but the main thing is how compact this band sounds and the extreme brutality that they have unleashed on this four tracks. Plus the album has a really good ound that turns everything tinto a hammer smashing your brain. Pure brutality to blast the world coming from Greece !

Produced by Insected

JENNY´S JOKE - JENNY´S JOKE

Line Up:

Maurizio Vaiani - vocals

Massimo Valcarenghi - guitars

Fabio Gatta  - guitars

Pietro marchetti - bass

Marcello Arisi - drums

Music and lyrics by Jenny´s Joke

Tracks:

1- A Pig in the Rain

2-The Gift

3-Tokyo Rodeo

4-Talking About Her Ghost

5-Save Me

6-In the Light

What  climatic album !! This guys know how to combine interesting dark textures with powerful moments in order to create their own sound. Combine a band like Pink Floyd with a more rocking band and you will have an idea of how Jenny´s Joke sounds. "The Gift" is a calmer composition with some introspective melodies. And an essential feature here are the vocal melodies. they are kind of sad and at the same time powerful and mysterious (as for example in "Tokyo Rodeo"). The most deppressive moment here is "Talking ab out her ghost" with clean guitars and some sad melodies  created through arrangements. The sound of the recording is clear letting all the good musicianship here shine. A band that knows how to deliver the most climatic music with power !

Recorded at Underlab Studio

Produced by Jenny´s Joke

KADATHORN - THE SPHERE OF DARKNESS

Music and lyrics by Kadathorn

Tracks:

1- The Sphere of Darkness

2-Prepare to die by Eternal Darkness

3-Valleys of Pain

4-The Battle of the triumphant

5-My Realm

6-Battle in HEaven

A slow intro with an extremely dark atmosphere and a distorted guitar and orchestrating keyboards open up this CD. Then comes the quintessential Kadathorn. That is pure black metal full of extremely fast guitar riffs, blast beating drums and shrieking vocals. The good thing is that the guitars sound really heavy (some raw black metal bands make the mistake to mix them really low) as the drums do making this a powerful album. The vocals have some reverb that makes them fit perfectly the music, such as creating an atmosphere in the basis created by the guitars and the keyboards. There are changes in tempo in the tracks that allow the band to change feelings making darker passages in the slower parts. But the band is pure aggression and they show it really well here. This is how raw black metal must sound !!!

Produced by KAdathorn

KALOPSIA - EXQUISITE BEAUTY OF THE DEFILED

Line Up:

Music and lyrics by Kalopsia

Tracks:

1- Pleasure in Torture

2- Tool Shed Therapy

3-Source of My Evil

4-Orgasmic Mutilation

5-Driven by Voices

6-Headless and Raped

7-Realm of the Dead

8-Her Obituary Reads...

Kalopsia unleashes here eight bursts of pure brutality in pure death metal style. Do you want the most brutal riffs? Well, here you have plenty of them. Along with brutal an screaming vocals, here you have every possible brutal element that is needed to blast the listener ears. You have fast drumming with killer double bass (there are some blast beats in tracks like "Tool Shed therapy") and guitar that deliver heavier than hell riffs and also play manic solos in tracks like "Pleasure in Torture". The band is extremely solid and taht is evident in the multiple changes that are all over the compositions here. I have to remark also the good sound that this recording has making guitars and drums sound really direct and huge blasting riffs and rhythms right in your face. This album shows why Kalopsia are masters of brutality!!

Recorded at Victor Studios

Produced by Jean-Francois Dagenais

KARL SANDERS - SAURIAN MEDITATION

Line Up:

Karl Sanders - acoustic guitar, Baglama Saz, electric guitars, Guitar Synth, E Bow, bass, keyboards

Mike Breazeale - vocals

Pete Hammoura - drums, eprcussion

Music by Karl Sanders

Tracks:

1- Awaiting the Vultures

2-Of the Sleepf of Ishtar

3-Luring the Doom Serpent

4-Contemplations of the Endles Abyss

5-The Elder God Shrine

6-Temple of Lunar Ascension

7-Dremaing Through the Eyes of Serpents

8-Whence No Traveler Returns

9-The Forbidden Path Across the Chasm of Self-Realization

10- BEckon the Sick Winds of Pestilence

This is very different from what Karl Sanders does in his main band, Nile. Even if here we still have the eastern feeling in the music, such as in the opening with "Awaiting the Vultures". There is plenty of acoustic guitar here and Karl shows here a completely different side of his musical soul, showing that he is a really versatile musician. On this album he shows a lot of virtuosism in the way he plays the guitar and in the compositional skills because there are tracks where there is not much guitar and he shows that he can develope incredible atmospheres. There are this dark atmospheric tracks like "Contemplations of the endless abyss" where there are only chanting vocals enough to give an eerie occult feeling to the music. I loved the oriental feeling of the music here. On the booklet you will also find notes done by Karl himself explaining his compostions. An enigmatic album full of good compositions and incredible musicianship.

Recorded at Serpent Speech Studios

Produced by KArl Sanders

KEYDRAGON - FIRE RED PERCEPTION

Line Up:

Ron Langford - bass, keys, vocals, synths

Bobby Blackmon - guitar

Mississippi Bud - Sax

Music and lyrics by Ron Langford

Tracks:

1- Fire Red Perception

2-The Darkness

3-The Dragons Den

4-I Want to see my Life

5-The Licking Flame

6-No Way In

7-Rammin Jammin

8-Head rush

9-Battle the Beast

10-The Lost Kingdom

11-Twisted Hearts / Broken Minds

12-Dragons

13-Tall Tales

It is almost like a solo project by Ron Langford, the main brain behind Keydragon. The music is definitely heavy with a dark feeling in all the compositions.  The good thing here is that each tracks is completely different from the other making enjoyable the listening of the whole album. Sometimes more detah metal, sometimes more black emtal, sometimes closer to gothic. The vocals go from heavy metal with some screaming in the background to a more deathly one or an anguished black emtal type screaming too. There are a lot of keyboards here doing arrangements and orchestration which is essential here. The track "Fire Red Perception" reminded me too much of "CHristian Woman" by Type O NEgative in the vocal line which is extremely similar. The sound is raw (specially the lead guitar) and I would mix louder the guitars. A release that surprises with its intensity and eclectic quality.

Recorded at KeyDragon Studios

Produced by Ron Langford

KILLFLEX - ONE TRACK MIND

Line Up:

Pieric Grosjean - guitars, bass, vocals

Markus Bürki - vocals

Kevin Ammon - drums

Jeff Burkhard - live bass

Music by P. Grosjean and K. Ammon, exc. 8 by M. Bürki

Lyrics by M: Bürki, exc. 6,7 by R.Miola

Tracks:

1- Popshit

2-Necromantic

3-Shout it Out

4-Cold Fire

5-Inner Pride

6-Tomorrow Comes

7-False perception

8-Helpless

Using a combination of heavy riffs with a fat guitar sound and crushing rhythms the guys in Killflex have managed to deliver eight tracks that combine elements of death metal, pure heavy metal, modern metal and also many melodies. The vocals are in the more bestial parts of the death metal type, being extreme and guttural, but they are coombined with a singing voice that adds more melodies to the music. The rhythm section is solid and I liked the way the drummer uses the cymbals and the hi-hat accentuating each pattern and each riff. The sound is good and direct, specially on the guitars that sound huge. There are shouted choruses in tracks like "Necromantic" that are really memorable. A crushing release with powerful riffs !

Recorded at Quickrec Studio

Produced by P. Grosjean and K. Ammon

KLABAUTAMANN - DER ORT

Line Up:

Tim Steffens

Florian Toyka

Patrick Schröder - drums

Isabel Jasse - vocals

Stefan Horn - vocals

Music by Klabautamann

Lyrics by Klbautamann

Tracks:

1- Der Ort

2-Forlorn Sea

3-Winternacht

4-The River

5-Waldschrat

6-Red Urn

7-The Wanderer

8-October

This is what I call climatic black metal. That is a type of blakc metal that besides having the utter aggression and blasphemy that the style must have also has climatic parts full of darkness. And Klabautamann are masters of this style combining the faster of blast beats and double bass drumming with cxlean guitars doing arpeggios and melancholic parts and also with piano, such as in the middle of "Der Ort". Here we have really extreme vocals but also we have female voices in some parts adding to the feeling of sadness that a lot of this music has. There is really good musicianship here and that is evident in the multiple arrangements that each composition has. The sound of the recording is really clear, specially in the calmer parts, letting you listen each arrangement that is done by this musicians. Pure darkness revealed to humanity by the hand of Klabautamann.

Recorded at Flamenmeer Studios

Produced by Klabautamann

KONTRA - STRIKE ZERO

Line Up:

Marco Barraco - vocals, guitars

Stefano Starita - bass

Marcello palmieri - guitars

Carmine Manzo - drums

Music and lyrics by Barraco (1,2) and Palmieri (3)

Tracks:

1- Intro/Until the Last Breath

2- Beyond the time

3-Revenge

This is pure thrash metal coming directly from Italy. The band has a lot eighties thrash metal influences which I find really interesting and they have managed to deliver three solid tracks here. Some aprts reminded me of early Kreator (the vocals are of the extreme type that the german band uses) but with the Kontra identity. There is some use of clean guitars that make some parts more climatic contrasting with the heavier ones. There is good musicianship here and the band sounds solid. The guitars create heavy guitar riffs thata re the essence of the band making the tyracks sound really powerful. The sound is really raw because the demo was recorded live and later remixed. But this primitive sound can not opaque the energy that this band unleashe in this three tracks. The guitars should be mixed louder because they make really good arrangements and they add a lot of the heaviness to the band. And a live recording like this one lets you feel how this band must sound in a live concert situation. A good band in a thrash metal style with interesting ideas (that will be even better with a better sound).

Recorded at Pansini Studios

Produced by Kontra

LAETITIA IN HOLOCAUST - A SLOW APOCALYPSE

Music and lyrics  by LIH

Tracks:

1- Riflesso D´Autunno

2-Luce Algida

3-The Pale Illusion

4-Pazuzu iN Auschwitz

5-L.I.H.

6-When the Light was mbrighter

7-Gettati alla Luce

8-A Slow Apocalypse

This pure black metal duet unleashes bestial tracks on this album with emphasis on the aggression and dark atmospheres. There are fast riffs played with a really raw sound and programmed drums that give a weird mechanical feeling to the music (there are even blast beats!!)  without making it less aggressive. The vocals are sometimes more of the black emtal type but here we have too some death metal growls here and there. The trademark here are the riffs, played at full speed in a way that they deliver a dark feeling on the songs. There are more atmospheric parts like in "Pazuzu in Auschwitz" with clean guitars that turn into atmospheric black metal after some minutes. Here we have also some spoken vocals that add a lot to the feeling. THis is darkness unleashed the way it must be, with aggression and ideas.

Produced by LIH

LAZY LANE - KEEPERS OF THE GLOOM

Line Up:

Lily Lane - vocals, keys

Greg Ballato - guitars

Aaron Richardson - bass

Aaron Simmons - drums

Music and lyrics by Lazy Lane

Tracks:

1- Nothing Left to Fear

2-Hell´s Candy

3-Goth Girl

4-Strange Dreams

5-Long Gone

6-The Graveyard

7-Black Sheep

8-Bedlam Road

9-Evil Twin

10- Still Waters Run Deep

Recorded at Jin´s Cafe

Produced by Greg Ballato

LINKAGE - LA NUOVA KREATURA

Line Up:

Paolo Cappelli - vocals

Nicola Gaeta - guitars

Fabbio Zaccaria - guitars

Enrico Fini - bass

Daniele Mari - keyboards

Andre Calanca - drums

Music by Linkage

Lyrics by Paolo Cappelli

Tracks:

1- Pressiva

2- Ellen K.

3-Allarme Costante

4-Criside

5-La Nuova Kreatura

6-La Terza Opinione

7-Gioco-Vita

8-Pressiones

9-Morte dell´Idea

10-Momenti

11-

Pure heavy rhythms is what Linkage delivers here, full of power and sounding extremely solid. One thing that I loved instantly while listening this album is the combination of aggressive riffing with killer keyboards arrangements that givce an extremely original feeling to Linkage´s music. The rhythm section is extremely tight allowing the guitars to create a wall of crushing sound when playing the riffs. The vocals fit really well the music and emphasizes the rhythms and also adds some melodies in some of the parts The lyrics in italian perfectly match the music here. I have to remark the good sound of this recording. It seems that the band has spent a lot of time experimenting with their sound until they achieve this crushing sound in the instruments. A great combination of rhythms, aggression and melodies !!

Recorded at West Link Studio

Produced by Linkage

LONGING FOR DAWN - ONE LONELY PATH

Line Up:

Frederic Arbour - guitars/ sound manipulations

Stefan LAroche - vocals

Stian Weideborg - rhythm guitar

Etienne Lepage - bass

Sylvain Marquett - drums

Music by Frederic Arbour

Lyrics by Stefan Laroche

Tracks:

1- Access to Deliverance

2-Lethal

3-Total Abscence of Light

4-Ashes of Innocence

5-One Lonely Path

If I had to descrive the music of this band with just one word I would have to say "darkness". If you give me the chance to add more words I could say "heaviness", I could say "depression". This band is pure doom metal coming directly from Canada, and their music has all the elements that ahve made this style so appreciated: slower tempos, graveyard vocals. Plus here we have also some keyboards adding even more sadness to the music. The guitars throw heavy chords and riffs and melancholic melodies are developed over them creating this album that is ideal to cut your veins and let the blood flow. Four of the five tracks are over ten minutes long, so the band has plenty of time to develope really well each of the compositions. The sound is really clear and loud and if you put this at a high volume you will appreciate all the details that the band has delivered here. Doom metal at its best !!!!!

Recorded at P.R.I.M and Cyclci Law

Produced by Longing for Dawn

LUX FERRE - ANTICHRISTIAN WAR PROPAGANDA

Line Up:

devasth - vocals

Baal Sabbath - guitars, bass

Lord Mantus - drums

Music by Lux Ferre

Lyrics by Baal Sabbath  (1,2,5,8,9),  Devasth (3,4,6,7)

Tracks:

1- Antichristian War Propaganda

2-By My Grace...I am divine

3-Corrosive Torment

4-Next to Satan

5-Achtung ! (The devil´s garden)

6-Subvert (DEnial´s End)

7-Summoning the Eternal Darkness

8-Horns Crush iN Celebration

9-Brotherhood of the Goat

THis is black metal at full speed with killer chainsaw guitars and intense drumming (killer double bass and blast beats by Lord Mantus). The guitars cosntruct an incredible wall of sound with fast riffing over which the unholy vocals are unleashed. The screaming vocals are fundamental here with that trollish quality that this type of black metal must have and spitting the antichristian lyrics that are all over this album. There are tempo changes and changes in rhythms on all of the compositions which give a lot of variations to the music while retaining all its aggression. THe sound is good but raw giving the underground feeling to the music and taking us back to the early era of bands like Gorgoroth or Marduk I have to remark that while the sound is raw, the album is clearly mixed making the aggression more direct and effective here, specially if you play this album at full volume. Pure darkness unleashed to destroy christianity !!

Recorded at L.F. Studios

Produced by Lux Ferre

MAËLSTROM - WHIRLING DEMENTIA

Line Up:

Alexandre Deschaumes - guitar

Greg Anxionnaz - bass

Julien Cabrera - guitars

Cyril Muller - vocals

Music by Alexandre and Julien

Lyrics by Alexandre and Julien

Tracks:

1- Whirling Dementia

2-Dark Concious Gleams

3-Innermost Commotion

4-Anstract inanition

5-Mind Excess

6- Vehementia

A chilling intro opens this album before the death/black metal storm is unleashed. I say that this is death/black metal because the music has a lot of elements of both styles. The band shows virtuosism besides aggression changing from riff to riff with a lot of technical skills. I really liked the sweep picking part in "Dark Concious Gleams" which is a technique not mch used on this type of music. The vocals are really extreme, sometimes more deathly and guttural and sometimes more of the screaming type. The heart and soul of the music here are the guitar riffs which are very intense and technical showing a lot of precission and power at the same time. The rhythm section is extremely tight and this is evident through all the tracks. The sound is raw and effective showing a lot of the power that the band has. This is extreme music full of originla ideas that the band will also explore even more in the future.

Recorded at The Drone Studio

Produced by Maëlstrom

MAINLINE - NEURASTHENIC

Line Up:

Ste - guitar

Simo - bass

Mao - vocals

Ale - drums

Die - guitar

Music by Mainline

Lyrics by Mao

Tracks:

1- Distress

2- Shoulder

3- Night Came Sick

4- One by One

A short beginning with sounds and a whispering voice opens "Distress" giving a dark atmosphere before all the band enters with a smashing rhythm that increases soon in intensity making this band sound heavier than hell and at the same time climatic. I find here some elements that would not be out of place in a band like Tool but developed more rhythmically. Mao is a killer vocalist whose voice can be extremely aggressive at moments and then change into a subtle whisper thta turns things into a darker mood. And the guitars are risponsible of this multiple changes, going from heavy riffs to clean within the same track and then adding also some background melodies and arrangements that change the mood of the music. It is remarkable the good sound that this guys have here, specially on guitars. this good sound makes them sound even more aggressive. Pure power unleashed !

Recorded at One Voice Studios

Produced by Mainline

MALIGNANT INCEPTION - BLACK DEATH

Line Up:

Ed Price - guitar, b.vocals

Dave Jelsma - keyboards

Todd Weir - drums

Zakk Muffett - vocals

Matt Grassberger - bass

Tyler Harvey - guitars

Music and lyrics by Malignant Inception

Tracks:

1- Surviving Off Humanity

2-Visions

3-Necromantic

4-Black death Pt 1 (Mark of Malignance)

5-Black death Pt 2 (The Inception)

6-Dictator of Adolescence

7-Dreams Within Dreams

8-Stained

9-The Void

10- the Calling

Malignant Inception gives a new definition to the word Brutality with the bestial album that they have recorded. This is a rerelease of an album recorded by this great band in 1997. This is a good combination between the most brutal death metal and old school guitar riffs and rhythms. And this combination of influences is essential to achieve the Malignant Inception identity. Here we have a rhythm section without mercy for the listener playing complex patterns with a huge amount of brutality. The most remarkable element here is the drummer, a guy that has a lot of technique and ideas and puts all of them to work achieving powerful moments through all the compositions. THere are some calm moments such as the ones at 2:06 of "Black Death Pt.1" that contrast heavily with the rest of the aggression and brutality of this album, adding a lot of variations to the music. A powerful release full of original ideas.

Recorded at Fast Forward Recording Studios

Produced by Malignant Inception

MASTERPLAN - AERONAUTICS

Line Up:

Roland Grapow - guitars

Uli Kusch - drums

Jorn Lande -vocals

Jan S. Eckert - bass

Axel Mackenrott - keyboards

Music and lyrics by Masterplan, exc. 6 by Masterplan and Piet Sielck

Tracks:

1- Crimson Rider

2-back for my life

3-Wounds

4-I´m not afraid

5-Headbanger´s Ballroom

6-After this War

7-Into the Arena

8-Dark from the Dying

9-Falling Sparrow

10-Black in the Burn

11-Back for My Life

12-Love is a Rock

13-Killing in Time

14-Killing in Time (instrumental version)

Produced by Andy Sneap and Masterplan

MERCENARY - 11 DREAMS