7 THORNS - ARTIFICIAL NIGHT

Line Up:

Pete - guitar

Munk - guitar

Tyr - keyboards

Lars - drums

Thomas - vocals

Kenneth - bass

Music by 7 Thorns and Mik Holm

Tracks:

1-Artificial night

2-Metal Will Show you the Way

This is a band that features in the line-up some members of Illnath. Opening up with "Artificial night" with keyboards that deliver some melodies and create some atmospheres. The band succeeds in giving this tune a true epic feeling. Then comes a guitar delivering a melody that consolidates this feeling. The style here is heavy metal with some hard rock elements and some progressive elements. There are certain power metla influences too fitting well the feeling of the music. The singer has a lot of personality and that is really good for the band´s music.  There is really good musicianshiop here that is evident in the clvere song construction that this recording has. The tunes are long enough also to let them develope multiple ideas.  I would mix a little bit louder the guitars to give more aggression to the music. This two tracks leave you wanting more from 7 Thorns.

Recorded at Borsing Studios

Produced by 7 Thorns

ABGOTT - ARTEFACT OF MADNESS

Line Up:

Agamoth - vocals, guitars

Thanatos - guitars

Azael - bass

Antichrist - drums

Music by Abgott, exc. 1 and 12 by Kaoma Mega, 5 and 8 by Agamoth and Thanatos, 10 by Thanatos and 7 by Agamoth/ Thanatos/Antichrist

Lyrics by Agamoth, exc. 7 by Luke Diesektor

Tracks:

1- Iv

2-Kronos Cosmic Throne

3-Church of Necrophilism

4-Experiment in Evil

5-Diabolical Surgery

6-The  9 th gate

7- Black light Scenario

8-Abyss666

9-Dimensional Labyrinth

10-Epitaph

11-Thy infernal Fields

12-Twilight Luciferia

Abgott is a band that makes bands like Dimmu Borgir pale in comparison. This is black metal done with originality and with a huge sound that is much louder and bigger than in the bands of this style. And they are extremely talented as it is evident in the multiple changes, solos and arrangements that each tune here has. Abgott goes beyond black metal adding also elements of death metla nad thrash metal with plenty of breaks, tempo changes and technical parts. The band is really extreme and wild but at the same time they show a lot of technical skills that go beyond the pure savagery, creating a world of darkness and aggression that is really unique and original. Do you want extreme vocals? Here you have plenty of them, really well used to emphasize the brutality of this recording. But the main thing is the amazing structure that the tunes have, full of multiple changes, arrangements and parts that show amazing musicianship and imagination. One of the recordings of 2006 !!!!!!!!!

Recorded at Alpha and Omega Studios

Produced by Alex Azzali

ABORYM - GENERATOR

Line Up:

Malfeitor Fabban - bass, synth, b. vocals

Bård "Faust" Eithun - drums

Nysrok - guitars, synths

Prime Evil - vocals

guest:

Attila Csihar - vocals

Music by Aborym

Lyrics by Aborym

Tracks:

1-Armageddon

2-Disgust and Rage (Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

3-A Dog-Eat-Dog World

4-Ruinrama Kolossal S.P.Q.R.

5-Generator

6-Suffer Catalyst

7-Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

8-Man Bites god

9-I Reject!

Aborym is already a classical band that kicks off here with an atmospheric intro before the whole band enters with huge guitars that deliver fast riffs with a truly black metal sound. The vocals done by Attila Csihar and Prime Evil are really agonic and extreme fitting well the death/black metal sound that this band developes here. Eventhough the band is extremely aggressive most of the time, they also have a climatic side that delivers dark passages all over this recording. Here we have ex-Emperor drummer Bård "Faust" Withun delivering ultra fast rhythms. There are multiple changes in speed and in riffs and tempos and that is one of the esential elements in Aborym´s music. The sound of the recording is huge, specially the drums have a crystal clear sound that enhances Bård´s aggression. And the sound is one of the biggest improvements that Aborym has done when comapred to previous recording. A truly extreme classic.

Produced by Aborym

AETHERIUM - HERFST

Line Up:

DAve - drums

Sven - guitars

Bie - guitars

Joel - bass, vocals

Music by Aetherium

Lyrics by Aetherium

Tracks:

1-Slør av Sorg

2-The Battle and the Dream

3-The unknown

4-Everlasting Darkness

5-Possessed

6-Eternal Death

The recording opens very dark with an environmental sound and keyboards, and a voice that whispers. Then a strange voice appears. Later the band turns to mid-paced compositions with a very raw sound and a very loud voice, mixed really high. The guitars make some arrangements that are in sort of a viking metal style but with a much rawer sound than the used by the typical bands of the style. The voice sounds very distressed, very deathly and with some black metal influences. The track "The unknown" begins with a rhythm very thrash metal, in the vein of Venom. There is a very hard contrast for example with the track "Everlasting Darkness" that opens with very clean guitars and a deathly voice that whispers and speaks over the clean guitars. There are black metal riffs but with a more guttural voice, closer to death metal. This is pure aggression with a dark atmosphere and a really raw sound.  

Produced by Aetherium

AGENT COOPER - BEGINNER´S MIND

Line Up:

Doug Busbee - guitars, vocals

Eric Frampton - keyboards, b. vocals

Sean Delson - bass

Frank Fontsere - drums

Music by Agent Cooper

Lyrics by Doug Busbee

Tracks:

1-East Indian Sun

2-Shallow Disease

3-In the Bottle

4-Taipei

5-Timing Crucial

6-I never Remember

7-the Heat

8-She Screams

9-Struggle Like I do

10-You know

Opening with an Eastern sounding feeling in “East indian sun”  the band quickly shows interesting powerful riffs and melodies. The music here has much of rock and something of heavy metal and progressive rock too. There are multiple changes in the compositions and also multiple arrangements in each one of them. The vocalist is very versatile and he can emphasize the heaviest parts and simultaneously sound very melodic in other parts of the tunes. This band is fresh air for a scene that for a scene that sometimes is stagnant as the hard rock one. Bands like this one are very welcome since they contribute new ideas. There is very good guitar work and a very tight rhythm section. The album has a direct sound, very well mixed, at a very high volume, giving extra points to this recording. Pure rocking sound !!!  

Recorded at Analog Playpen, APC, Exocet, Number Nine and Rush Hour Studios

Produced by Doug Busbee and Eric Frampton

ALBATROS - DEMO 2005

Line Up:

Goran Prskalo - vocals, effects

Jonatan Ewald - bass

Joakim Nilsson - guitar, clarinet

Rikard Edlund - guitars

Axel Sjöberg - drums

Music by Albatros

Lyrics by Albatros

Tracks:

1-Uprising

2-Badger

3-A Badger´s Tale

4-The Way of the Gypsy Curse (live)

5-A thousand Leaves (live)

The guys from Albatross are back with new compositions in this particular type of rock that they do. Again the influence is coming from the heavy rock of the seventies and from traditional bands like Black Sabbath or Pentagram. The music here has a touch of psychodelia that give much identity to the music of the band. The songs are created with very good taste and many of them remain a long time in the mind of the listener due to the melodies that are memorable. The singer is of the type that is absolutely necessary in this style, is a type of singer with a good rocking alcohol-fueled voice and that simultaneously can develop killer melodies. Some riffs reminded me to some things of Cathedral but with a sound that is quite different from the one used by this band. The tracks are direct and two of them are taken from live concerts, giving an idea of how the band sounds in a show. The sound is raw and direct with strong guitars and a bass that supports really tight the rhythms.  Pure rocking energy with killer songs.

Produced by Albatros

ANNULATION - HUMAN CREATURES

Line Up:

Domi Weber - vocals, guitars, berimbau

Simi Rüegger - drums, b. vocals

Tin Rötlisberger - guitar, b. vocals

Reto D´Amelio - bass

Music by Annulation

Lyrics by Domi

Tracks:

1-Siege of Fear

2-Fuck All

3-Human Creatures

4-Soul Get Out

5-Confused

6-Crow Song

7-Murderer

8-Radical Shit

9-Roots (live)

This recording starts calmly with clean guitars and an atmospheric keyboards creating a  dark environment. Then the whole bands enters with powerful guitar riffs showing that this band is a death metal machine. The music here is death metal with really brutal arrangements but where speed is not the main thing, accentuating more the rhythms in order to sound heavier (don´t get me wrong, there are plenty of ultra fast and brutal parts here). The guitars are really well mixed and that is essential to let the listener feel all the aggression that this band unleashes here. And the guitars not only do the riffing but also they deliver interesting melodic arrangements that make each tune really unique One thing that got my attention where some bass arrangements that are not typical of the style. Tracks like “Fuck all” are faster and more brutal than the others with killer drumming con mucho uso del hi-hat. As I said before the recording has a good mix that makes things even more effective. Pure aggression and brutality.

Recorded at  Mister Mix and Reflectingseven Studios

Produced by Annulation

ANTHENORA - SOULGRINDER

Line Up:

Luigi Bonansea - vocals

Stefano Pomero - guitars

Domenico Borra - guitars

SAtefano Balocco - bass

Fabio Smareglia - drums

Music by Anthenora

Lyrics by Anthenora

Tracks:

1- June 6 1944, overlord

2-Dawn of Blood

3-Order of hate

4-A New Rebellion

5-Soulgrinder

6-the Call of the Undead

7-Hundred Knives

8-Fatherland

9-Cassandra

10-Hellish fire

11-Dream Catcher

12- Steel brigade

This it the new Anthenora recording that fundamentally shows a progress compared to the previous one that we reviewed some time ago, especially in the sound of the band that is much better now.  Opening with a short introduction and getting into "Dawn of Blood" it can be seen that Anthenora is a powerful metal machine with good riffs that are complexes and that combine thrash metal, power metal and other powerful styles. The band sounds very powerful with a singer that knows how to insert himself in the band´s music while adding more power and melodies. The band has a good use of rhythms that avoids the cliches achieving original and powerful rhythms and riffs.  The sound of this recording is better than in the previous one, specially in the drums and the guitars that sound more in the front in the mix and more powerful than before. A crushing release. 

Recorded at Remaster Studios

Produced by Anthenora

APHELION - DEMONSTRUCTIVE

Line Up:

SAlvatore Bonaccorso - drums, percussion

Alessandro Bertoni - keyboards

Sebastiano Pozzobon - bass

Matteo Gasparin - guitars

Music by Aphelion

Tracks:

1-Deconstructive

2-Rise of the Phoenix

Two tracks are the ones that are on this demo. The shortest one has almost seven minutes and each of the compositions here has many arrangements and elements that make them very interesting. The music here can be defined as progressive metal with a lot of technical skills by the musicians. There are time changes, breaks, complex riffs, rhythms with counterpoints that show an interesting virtuosism. There is heavy use of keyboards here but this does not cause the music to lose any power. There is a good use of the heavy guitar sound to emphasize some parts that are more aggressive. The drummer is very powerful in his way of playing and skills add a lot of dynamics to the music of the band. There is use of an infinity of different sounds and arrangements and the tracks are very complex with many different parts. The solos show also good taste and virtuosism. The rhythmical section is very tight and solid, sounding compact in all the recording. Pure virtuosism.

Recorded at Majestic Studios

Produced by Aphelion

ARKENEMY - BELIEVE IN MYSELF

Line Up:

Eliana V. - lead guitars

Udo U. - Rhythm guitar, vocals

Gabriel P. - bass, b. vocals

Joutsen - drums

Music by Arkenemy

Lyrics by Arkenemy

Tracks:

1-Mindscanner

2-Believe in Myself

3-Cryonics

4-Knife_Blood_Pain

5-Nothing Can Save You

6-The Circle

7-Sunset

8-Wire the Others

The music here is a mix between death metal and a lot of eighties thrash metal. I am saying this because the band has technical riffs and rhythms but played with a more brutal sound. The vocals can sound like a more extreme Chuck Billy. I mean, this guy can do some melodies and then scream at the top of his lungs adding a lot of power to the vocal lines. Eliana, the guitarist interacts cleverly with Udo the rhythm guitarist and she delivers also really good solos. There is good drumming work with intense double bass. The band sounds really tight and compact and that adds extra aggression points to the music. I love the parts where the guitars deliver intense riffs and the drums enter with full double bass. I think this is an ideal band to see in a live show cause they have a lot of headbanging riffs. There are multiple changes here and also some calmer parts like the solo part of "Mindscanner" or the melodic arrangement in the beginning of "Believe in Myself". One of the releases of the month.

Recorded at Alpha Omega Studios

Produced by Arkenemy mand Alessandro Azzali

ARKHON - I AM THE SKULL

Line Up:

Chris I. - guitars, vocals

Adonis Y. - guitars

G. Solomou - bass, vocals

Danny K - drums

Music by Ioannou/Solomou/Yiannakkas

Lyrics by Solomou

Tracks:

1-Human

2-Neatherscurrial

3-Idolof the Macabre

4-Deathborn Caress

5-Vanity

This is the newest recording of this band that we have reviewed some months ago. This release kicks off with “Human” , a really brutal track with full speed and ultra fast guitar riffs. Here we can see that the band knows how to speed and also how to be brutal. Just check the ultra fast ride cymbal patterns in “Human” to see what this guys can do. The drumming is fast and intense with a weird snare drum sound. There is also an innovative bass part on this tune that gives a more climatic feeling to this “Human”.  There is a combination of guttural death metal vocals with more agonic voices that make each song really extreme in the vocal department.  There is good guitar work here, one of them doing some bottom end riffs and the other one doing some arrangements here and there, interacting cleverly. The second track "Neatherscurrial" contrasts a lot with the first one because its not  as fast and it leaves more space for the developing of original ideas. The album has a raw sound that fits well the music giving the feeling of an extremely violent band. If you like fast rhythm then you have many different on each track here. A really extreme release.

Recorded at Fishbon Records Studios

Produced by Panayiotis Savva

ASSACRE - FANTASTIC ILLUSIONS WORTH DYING FOR

Line Up:

Ben Aqua - all instruments, vocals

Music by Ben Aqua

Lyrics by Ben Aqua

Tracks:

1-Fantastic Illusions Worth Dying For

2-Satyriasis De Minimis

3-Gayer than God

4-Kalos K´agathos Gorgos

5-Cyclops Genesis

6-I have fifteen legs

7-Thy Crystal Obelisk Shall Ascend into Stormclouds of Mechanical Mystery

8-The Ultimate Value of Human Life

Some violent sounds and a distorted American anthem open this album from this project coming from the mind of the artist Ben Aqua that does a very experimental recording here with many sounds that go from death metal to total improvisation.  In this sound I have to remark the distorted guitar, the guttural vocals in many parts and the programmed drums that deliver many fast and many technical parts.  There are many changes and a lot of experimentation here within a very heavy context.  The tune “Satyriasis De Minimis", for example, is heavier than hell and has multiple ideas that surprise constantly.  There is also experimentation with samples and industrial sounds.  There is a lot of precision in the interaction between guitars and programmed drums which is very important to achieve a powerful result.  There are influences of bands from different styles, for example of Merszbow in the noisiest parts, besides other extreme metal bands.  An extremely experimental disk with innovative ideas. 

Produced by Ben Aqua

AURORA BOREALIS - RELINQUISH

Line Up:

Ron Vento - guitars, vocals, bass

Tony Laureano - bass

Music by Vento / Laureano

Lyrics by Vento

Tracks:

1-Myths of the Light

2-Let the Games Begin

3-Ravaged by Fire

4-God Wills It

5-The Red Flag

6-River through the Skies

7-Tonight We Feast

8-Black Snow

Aurora Borealis is back with all their violence unleashed again over the listener. Ron Vento´s band is progressing on each album in their style that combines elements from death and black metal. Amazing drummer is her an essential point cause there is a lot of technical skills here besides pure aggression. Vento delivers riff after riff here with utter violence showing originality and brutality and also that he has good technique and precission in his playing. And there are multiple changes and breaks here making each tune really an experience in combining parts that interact really well onewith the other. The vocals are really extreme as it must be in an Auror Borealis album but this time they are better managed emphasizing the brutality of the recording. The labum has a really good sound that Vento achieved in his Nightsky Studios and thi sound is essential to make the music here even more direct and aggressive. A crushing release with good musicianship.

Recorded at Nightsky Studios

Produced by Ron Vento

AVA INFERI - BURDENS

Line Up:

Carmen Susana Simoes - vocals

Rune Eriksen - guitars, effects

Jaime S. Ferreira - bass

Joao Samora - drums, percussion

Music by Ava Inferi

Lyrics by Ava Inferi

Tracks:

1-Ava Inferi

2-The Shrine

3-A Glimpse of Sanity

4-Wings of Emptiness

5-Sinisters

6-Vultos

7-Fate of Mountains

The album starts with a mid-paced/slow rhythm and with a guitar melody that sounds strange and dark.  Then they the heaviest guitars enter.  This band´s music is very climatic and at the same time aggressive.  For example “The Shrine” begins with a melancholic keyboard with a female voice that whispers and with a bass that does a line that slowly turns faster.  Then the most operatic voice enters with heavier guitars, but always keeping a mid paced rhythm.  There are good melodic arrangements and the female voice of Carmen Simoes is spectacular, very melancholic.  All the atmosphere of this album is very beautiful and melancholic and there is a lot of emphasis in the creation of a dark atmosphere. And that is one of the trademarks of Ava Inferi´s sound besides heaviness.  An excellent combination of power and beauty. 

Recorded at Top Room Studio

Produced by Ava Inferi

BLACK TRINITY - DEMONIC PLEASURES

Line Up:

Surt - drums

Hymir - guitars

Arawn - bass

Khaine - vocals

Music by Black Trinity

Lyrics by Black Trinity

Tracks:

1- Abysmal Abomination

2-Ebony Ablaze Thy Beloved Night Sky

3-Martyr Complex

4-Black Trinity

5-From Cold Dark Caverns

6-Demonic Pleasures

7-Oath of Blood and Iniquity

8-Triumph in Blasphemy

9-Frozen North

10-Death Crush

This is fast and raw black metal with influences of Norwegian black metal but also with influences of American black metal. A lot of progress has been made here since the previous recording that we reviewed. Specially soundwise. The music here has very fast drumming with a lot of double bass and with heavy use of blast beats in the hyperfast parts. There is a certain thrash metal influence in some of the riffs and rhythms. To be a raw and direct black metal type of recording (to differentiate it from operistic black metal or from the black metal that ahs some gothic influences) it has very good sound. The voices are of the black metal type but with a thrash metal touch that makes them sound more powerful than the agonic howls used by many bands of the style. We could say that this thrash metal influence approaches the Black Trinity sound to the one of  bands like early Kreator but with a much darker feeling. There are plenty of changes in the tracks and the emphasis is in the dark and heaviness of the tunes and not in the speed. There is good compositional work and this is evident in these changes and the arrangements that have been done. As I said before the sound is good specially in the guitars and in the ride cymbal of the drums. There is a cover from mayhem ultra classic "Deathcrush" to add even more aggression to the msuic. Pure darkness full of aggression.

Recorded at Track Six Recording Studios

Produced by Black Trinity and Brandon Youngs

CALMSITE - ELVISDEATH

Line Up:

Juha Lehtonen - guitars

Ville Virtanen - guitars

Jukka Penttinen - drums

Petri Seitsonen - vocals

Esa Mäkinen - bass

Music by Calmsite

Lyrics by Calmsite

Tracks:

1-Barnhill Burning

2-Hit Stroker

3-Hookerbites

4-Dealer´s Hand

5-Date with the Blades

6-Words Denied

7-Dive into the bottom of the barrel

8-White boots rodeo

9-Tornament

This is the second album from this Finnish death metal band with a particular style that emphasizes the technique and the brutality. Here we have many original and particular rhythms and very aggressive arrangements. This album has a very good sound which adds more aggression to music. The voices are very extreme as in the previous album but they are very clear at the same time letting the listener follow all the lyrics perfectly. The guitars are very rhythmical and the arrangements are very interesting. As I said before the emphasis is in the originality and in the aggression of the tunes and not as much in the speed. The drums are fast but it does not have the typical death metal sound. It emphasizes the heaviest rhythms instead of doing blast beats or using the double big drum all the time. The voices are very extreme and very guttural. In some parts they sound like a roar. The band is extremely compact and that makes the result is still more aggressive. I must once again emphasize the good sound of this recording that is better than the one in the band´s previous recording. A crushing release.

Recorded at Cursed Studios

Produced by Jani Loikas

CERBERUS - KLAGELIEDER - GRABESGESANG

Line Up:

Beleth - vocals

Dawn  guitars

Astrega - drums

Nebiros - guitars

Infernal Doom - bass

Music by Cerberus

Lyrics by Cerberus

Tracks:

1-Blackend

2-If Frozen fire Falls

3-Drachenland

4-Seven Gates

5-Song of Blood and Ice

6-Klagelieder - Grabesgesang

7-Siegestanz

8-Todestränen

Serberus opens with a powerful mid-paced riff in "Blackend"  and soon turn into a very furious black metal that simultaneously has a very dark feeling with good black atmospheres. The good thing that this band has is that they combine elements of black metal with elements of other styles as for example a voice of the death metal type in some parts and they have elements quite different from the ones used by most of the bands in the style. For example "If Frozen fires falls"  is a track that opens with a pure heavy metal riff with some thrash metal feeling that soon turns into black metal but maintaining the rhythm displayed by the drums with a thrash metal style. The band has a good sound that makes more powerful everything that the band does. Mainly the effort in the mix of the guitars is noticed making the sound extremely powerful. Guitars melodies are really dark and make each one of the tunes very memorable. Here there are no operistic singers and nothing similar, but only pure aggressive black metal. Serberus is a good combination between the black metal old school, more modern elements and some experimentation.

Recorded at Tubetemple Studios

Produced by Cerberus

CHAIN COLLECTOR - THE MASQUERADE

Line Up:

Kjetil Nordhus - clean vocals

Svenn Aksel Henriksen - screaming vocals

Anders Kobro - drums

Gøran Bomann - guitars

Kjell Jacobsen - guitars

Music by Chain Collector

Lyrics by Chain Collector

Tracks:

1-Hierarchy of Murder

2-Harvester

3-Neverwhere

4-And then there was None

5-Crucifixion

6-^Project Savior

7-Tapping the Vein

8-Fallen Angel

9-Wicked Mask

10-Winter Princess

This black metal supergroup that includes members of Carpathian Forest, Green Carnation, Trail of Tears and others go beyond this style and they show it kicking off with "Hierarchy of Murder", a tune that can be labeled as modern death/thrash metal. One  thing that I have to remark here is the spectacular sound that the music here has sounding right in your face but at the same time with a really huge sound. This is pure violence unleashed full of extreme vocals in the vein of melodic / technical death metal bands. There are breaks, tempo changes and rhythm changes with complex guitar riffs and here is evident the good skills taht this musicians have. The vocalist is really strong that can manage good melodies and also the most extreme parts. The guitars also do interesting melodies and arrangements. The tunes are really well contructed being aggressive and at the same time really memorable. A future classic in the metal realm.

Recorded at DUB Studios

Produced by Endre Kirkesola and Chain Collector

CHAOS CREATION - PSYCHED-OUT MANIPULATION

Line Up:

Aleksi Ahonen - vokills

Toni Huhtiniemi - guitars, b. vocals

Mikko Knuutila - guitars, b. vocals

Arto Vesander - drums

Julle - bass

Music by Toni, Julle and Arto

Lyrics by Aleksi

Tracks:

1- Head on Turbulence

2-Total Thrashing Dreamstate

3-Overdue Fallout

"Head on Turbulence" starts climatically with a melody that we can describe as exotic while the other guitar delivers a heavy riff. The band shows some progress when comparing with the previous recording that we reviewed a couple of months ago. The music here is pure thrash metal with some heavy metal influences too. This "Head on Turbulence" is a more atypical with some more melancholic phrases while the other two tracks are pure thrash metal with eighties influences. You can see a huge progress in the band, specially in the sound that now is bigger and better mixed. "Overue Fallout" opens with clean guitars delivering interesting arpeggios and a guitar that delivers a solo with really good taste. Then comes the total thrashing riff really special for headbanging. The vocals are powerful fitting really well the music and they are louder now than in the previous recording. Pure thrash metal the way it must be done !

Recorded at Studio Dauntless

Produced by Chaos Creation

CHARME - GOTHICA PROG POETRY

Line Up:

Rachele Manfredi - vocals

Aldo Sefa - drums

Francesco Mengoni - bass

Fabrizio Agostini - keyboards

Saverio Bartoli - guitars

Music by Bartoli (3), Agostini (5), BArtoli / Agostini (4), Agostini/Manfredi (2), Agostini/Bartoli/Manfredi (1)

Lyrics by Manfredi, exc. 3 by Bartoli and 5 by Agostini

Tracks:

1-Lust Chapter

2-What is there for me

3-Escape

4-The River

5-Dream

This CD is original because it begins with something of progressive metal in the Dream Theater vein with powerful guitars and complex rhythms and then turns into something completely different. Rachele Manfredi is the voice of the band that fits really well the music doing melodies with her voice and simultaneously giving quite a dark feeling to the music of the band. The voice gives a melancholy feeling to the compositions and it seems to me that the title is really adequate for this album, “Gothic Prog poetry”, because it defines the general feeling of the music of the band really well. There is a really good work from the guitarist in the riffs and the solos. There are multiple changes but everything is combined with very good melodies that are another of the essential elements of the band´s music. The melancholic feeling of the compositions and the energy of riffs are a good combination that characterizes the music of this band. A very good combination of power and darkness.     

Recorded at Grm Studios

Produced by Charme

CHIMERA - LIeFE

Line Up:

Nishtash-guitars, bass, vocals, vocals

Andrea D.- vocals, synths, programming

Music by Chimera

Lyrics by Chimera

Tracks:

1-Delve Yourself and Bury me

2-What lies Behind

3-Dell´io e la percezione Dio

4-Still unrestful Selfexpanding Ego

5-When Mankind Abandoned Earth for Cosmos

Chimera is a brutal band from Italy with an original and strange style. I am saying that the sound is rare because it has extremely heavy guitars and simultaneously the band uses keyboards and synthesizers. But the sound is definitively of extreme metal. The voices are truly extreme and of the deathly agonic type. The sound also has a definite black metal feeling. Here the keyboards have an important role because they contrast a lot with the guitars. The drums are programmed which gives a mechanical feeling to the music. The sound is raw but good and everything here sounds very powerful. Chimera is a very original and mainly atypical band. They have their own style that is a good combination between aggression and darkness.

Recorded at Blue Inferno Studios

Produced by Chimera

COLD FUSION - OCCUPATRIA

Line Up:

Marcin Bachtiak

Music by Marcin Bachtiak

Tracks:

1-Never Go Back

2-The Captive Dreamer

3-Te Struggle for Survive

4-To the Bitter End

5-Crusade

6-Occupatria

7-Deliverance Day

8-Dear Fatherland Rest uietly

9-Report

10-While Carthago Burns

This CD starts at the same time with a pure and epic sound with very interesting orchestration, with a programmed percussion that accompanies this arrangements and in which the fundamental thing is the main melody that creates simultaneously sad and epic atmosphere. There is plenty of keyboards work because this instrument is the main one. And there is also very good compositional work where the fundamental thing is to obtain the correct harmonies and also to achieve the goal that the percussion perfectly fits these harmonies accentuating the passages that must be accentuated and giving a little more heaviness to the tracks that need it. There are very dark tracks here like track "The Captivr Dreamer" that  has an extremely melancholic piano and that is combined with a keyboard that makes some progressions in the background with a very sad feeling. The sound is very clear and pure and perfectly fits the rest of the music of Cold Fusion letting you listen each melody and each one of the arrangements that are created. A recording full of imagination.   

Produced by Marcin Bachtiak

COLD FUSION / RUKKANOR - WUNDERWAFFE

Music by Cold Fusion and Rukkanor

Tracks:

 1-3 Cold Fusion

 4-6 Rukkanor

This is a split CD with three compositions of each one of these musical projects.  The style is similar to the one described before in the Cold Fusion review, with a hard accent in the atmospheres and in the dark climates.  The difference in the music of both bands is evident although both are very experimental and dark.  This differences are a very good thing in this split since is given a game of similarities in style but contrasts in the composition and in the execution that turn out to be very good for the listener.  There are good and very interesting ideas in the compositional work that shows knowledge of progressions and arrangements and capacity to transmit ideas and feelings to the listener. 

Produced by War Office Propaganda

COUNT DE NOCTE - LUCTISONUS DOLOR

Line Up:

T. Nieminen - vocals

W. SAurén - guitars

J. Orpana - guitars

A. Ahonen - bass

J. Korsumäki - keyboards

J. Hohtari - drums

Music by Count De Nocte

Lyrics by Count De Nocte

Tracks:

1-WaRomance

2-The Proximity of the End

3-The Mirror and Phobic Sanity

4-Siivetön Strojelusenkeli

5-While MY Heart Burns to