Aegorton - Plaguelord
Agathocles / Disorder - Split
Aphyxion - Earth Entangled
Ars Irae - Dunkle Klange
Astarium - Nekrocosmo Nocturnal Kali Yuga
Astarium - Winter Growths (Part II)
Atavisma / Maur - Buried in the Ethereal
Avitum - MMXIV
Butcher ABC - Road to Hell
Chabtan - The Kiss of Coatlicue
Dark Managarm - A Decade of Terroreign
Death Dies - Legione
Deformity - Endless Atrocity
Deluge - Aether
Desert Crone - Distorted Solitude
Distruzione - Distruzione
Dryom - 2
Either Way - Behind the Light
Gorgasmico Pornoblastoma - Gorgasmico Pornoblastoma
Gribberiket - Knefall
Grotesque Organ Defilement - Body Horror
Helegion - Helegion Ritualis
I Chaos - Masterbleeder
Insepulto - Morbid Spawn of Resurrection
Jolly Joker - Here Come... the Jokers!!
Kratherion - Death Kult Church Omega
Lambs - Betrayed From Birth
Maieutiste - Maieutiste
Mario Gronnert / Mondfish - In Two Seas
Martelo Negro - Antologia Grotesca MMVI-MMXII
Memento Waltz - Division by Zero
Mentally Defiled - Aptitude for Elimination
Moonreich - Pillars of Detest
Morthus - Into Oblivion
Negacy - Flames of Black Fire
Ossuaire - Le Troubadour Necrophageophile
P.L.F. - Ultimate Whirlwind of Incineration
Placenta - XV Greatest Hits
Psicorragia - Presagios de Agonía
Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - Exile
Regicide - Fall of an Empire
Ressurecturis - Nazienda
Savage Wizdom - A New Beginning
Skvara - Carpathian Pagan Terror
Sordide - La France a peur
Stormy Atmosphere - Pent Letters
Styggelse - No Return
Terrordome - We'll Show You Bosch, Mitch!
The Kill - Speed Freak Killer
Thermit - Encephalopathy
Turbocharged - Militant
Under the Ocean - Dark Waters
Vardis - 200 M.P.H
Wheelfall - Glasrew Point
Zaklon - The destroyed greatness
Band: AEGORTON
Country: UK
Title: Plaguelord
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2015
Style: Black Metal
Review:
One man band Aegorton was started last year and already this year it released 2 demos. This one I'm talking about now is its second effort, made of 8 tracks and totaling 25 minutes of rough, rehearsal-sounding music that could be described as slow to mid-tempo Black Metal, or as Orthus (the man behind this moniker) likes to call it, Doom Black Metal. Unfortunately there are no vocals and after a while you get bored of it, it becomes more and more incomplete as time passes, but that's also because the compositions are quite simple, old-school Black Metal oriented, without much to surprise. I like the fact Orthus had the balls to record real drums, although they sound really amateurish at times, but that's not something many have the courage to do nowadays. In the end, although the obvious mistakes in execution, the raw sound quality and the crappy cover artwork, this demo has that old genuine Black Metal feeling to it, some might like it because of that, but beware, it's not aggressive or brutal as one can think, it's quite mellow if we take away the raw sound. Limited to only 50 copies but they are very cheap. By next time I hope he finds a suitable vocalist to help him out.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 5.5/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/aegorton
Band: AGATHOCLES / DISORDER
Country: Belgium / UK
Title: Split
Label: Power It Up
Year: 2015
Style: Mincecore / Hardcore Noisepunk
Review:
Power It Up seems to be decided to bring forth releases of some giant Grind or Grind-related bands and this split falls right under this category, a split between the Belgian Mincecore kings Agathocles and the Bristol, UK based Punk legends Disorder, which I'm sure will be highly appreciated by fans of both bands. The release features 7 tracks, 4 from Agathocles and 3 from Disorder, totaling 15 minutes of total devastation and, of course, straight-in-your-face social message spewed from their lyrics. Agathocles' side is, as we know it, intense, dirty and insane, with a raw sound quality a la '80's garage, and features all newly recorded tracks especially for this release; I admit I would have liked the sound quality to be better, but I'm sure fans of this band can get over it easily. Disorder's side features 3 live recorded tracks with acceptable sound quality. Released on both CD and vinyl limited to 500 copies.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10 -/10
Contact:
www.agathocles.com
www.facebook.com/disorderpunkshop.co.uk
www.power-it-up.de
Band: APHYXION
Country: Denmark
Title: Earth Entangled
Label: Mighty Music
Year: 2014
Style: Modern Melodic Death Metal
Review:
Ok, so I have to admit I'm officially impressed by all (or almost all) new releases from Mighty Music, they seem to have an excellent smell for preformance because the last releases I've heard from them are all very good. This one, the debut album from a band that seems to be made of teenagers only (but they only look like that, the band was formed back in 2006, so I'm pretty much sure they're all over 20), is a fantastic display of modern and melodic Death Metal a la In Flames, At The Gates, Scar Symmetry and the likes; 10 tracks, 47 minutes of energetic, infecting, groovy, intelligent music that if you're at least a bit into this kind of Metal is impossible not to catch and keep you tight throughout its duration. The production is also something worth mentioning, crystal clear, powerful and leaving no space for complaints. I couldn't mention a highlight of this album, I've liked them all, from the ballsy vocals, headbanging friendly guitar riffs, mesmerizing guitar leads and solos, assaulting rhythm section... This is good quality Metal music!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 10/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/aphyxion
www.mightymusic.dk
Band: ARS IRAE
Country: Germany
Title: Dunkle Klange
Label: Quality Steel Records
Year: 2015
Style: Blackened Death Metal
Review:
With 11 years of experience underbelt and a debut album released in 2010, for the German band Ars Irae it was about time to come up with a followup studio effort and here's their second album made of 10 tracks and clocking a full hour of quite melodic and easily "digestible" Blackened Death Metal with a few Folk Metal influences and German written lyrics. Mostly mide-tempo, with occasional aggressive and fast outbursts of anger, the album flows nicely and doesn't follow any special narrow leads, it experiments on different territories that's why I'd say it would appeal to fans of multiple genres, Extreme Metal, of course. German fans will probably enjoy it more because the vocals are comprehensive and easy to follow, but if you're like me, and enjoy this language in Black and Death simply because it sounds cold and sharp, you'll like it too. Definitely not a boring album, but one that will make a good full hour audition, go for it!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.arsirae.de
www.quality-steel.de
Band: ASTARIUM
Country: Russia
Title: Nekrocosmo: Nocturnal Kali Yuga
Label: Metallic Media
Year: 2015
Style: Symphonic Black Metal
Review:
Unlike the previous release I've reviewed from this Russian project, the new Astarium album is back to the usual Symphonic Ambient Black Metal SiN used us with so far, and here I can include the totally synthetic sounding drums machine andguitar riffs, although it seems this time they sound less disturbing. SiN is getting better at using these computer generated sounds and almost avoiding getting annoying, but that's also because of his excellent skills in composing and structuring his music, or at least this new album is very good on composition level, the tracks have a soul and are pretty expressive sharing a variety of feelings to the listener. I sill love the traditional, organic bands, but I have to admit again SiN is getting better at offering (good) music and so his Astarium project gets better release by release, so if you're into '90's sounding synthetic Symphonic Black Metal you should definitely give this a try, you might like it.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
www.astarium.ru
www.metallic-media.blogspot.com
Band: ASTARIUM
Country: Russia
Title: Winter Growths (Part II)
Label: Nihil Art / Dark East / NitroAtmosfericum
Year: 2015
Style: Dark Ambient
Review:
Although recorded in the Fall of 2012, this material was released only last year on tape, and this year on CD, and contrary to my expectations it's a demo even though it features no less than 9 tracks and clocks almost 40 minutes of playing time, and on top of that is released professionally by this joint venture between 3 different labels. Maybe SiN, the man behind this moniker, decided to label it as demo because on this release he only features his Dark Ambient side of Astarium, no Black Metal, it's just an experiment, one that I have to admit I love. The 9 tracks are bringing me back to the beginning of the 2000's when there were quite a lot of such projects, and the music isn't far from those years, the sound isn't very modern but keeps that natural, naive production from those years. Built on keys, piano, drum-machine and nature effects this material sound both theatrical and genuine, it manages to introduce the listener to its own world, or at least that's what it did to me. Once in a while it's very nice to feel this epic, relaxing mysterious state of mind such a release offers, and I guess it caught me at the right time, exactly when I needed a break from my daily Extreme Metal, try it yourselves. For me it's back to violent music now. :)
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.astarium.ru
www.nihilart.com
www.darkeastproductions.weebly.com
www.nitroatmosfericum.ru
Band: ATAVISMA / MAUR
Country: France / indonesia
Title: Buried in the Ethereal
Label: Atavism Records
Year: 2015
Style: Doom Death Metal / Doom Black Metal
Review:
This is probably the first split tape released by Atavism Records, but it still keeps tracks of tradition in what concerns the edition, Buried in the Ethereal is again a tape limited to only 100 hand-numbered copies.
Opening this split are Atavisma from France with a 10+ minutes long track displaying a very heavy, oppressive I'd say, Doom Death Metal highlighted by a deep growling vocal, dark atmosphere and typical slow, mortuary rhythms. A very good track that introduces a band with definite potential in this Doom Death scene. There's not much to say they have an own style yet, but playing the old-school way seems to be natural for them, so hopefully they'll also find something to be distinguished by in the future.
Maur from Indonesia offer one track as well, again a 10 minutes long track that continues with the same oppressive atmosphere, but the mixing doesn't fit very well in their case. The guitar leads (good stuff) are way too in from of the rest when it comes to volume, so you'll have problems realizing this is not a guitar solo release; I might be exagerrating, you can hear the drums, bass, and vocals, of course, but the guitars are really loud and since this part is almost all made of leads and no riffs, it becomes quite annoying after a while. There is also a calm part where the guitars are actually quite interesting and playful, so I'd say this band has potential, of course, but hope they'll come up with something more curdled and solid next time.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10 6/10
Contact:
atavisma.bandcamp.com
naturamaur.bandcamp.com
atavism-records.bandcamp.com
Band: AVITUM
Country: France
Title: MMXIV
Label: Atavism Records
Year: 2014
Style: Black Metal
Review:
I have a special respect for this label and its evolution so far; it started as a tape Black Metal label promoting mainly (or exclusively?) French bands, and continued this way until Today; all their tapes have a special atmosphere around them, you can say they know how they like their Black Metal and release exactly that kind of Metal. Avitum present us here their debut demo, a 3 tracks effort clocking a bit over 15 minutes, so there's plenty to enjoy; a raw, organic, extremely aggressive and brutal kind of Black Metal with a heavy dose of Death Metal influences. the whole is very expressive, most probably due to the desperate, menacing shrieks, and the atmosphere is heavy and terrifying, but the instrumental part isn't that interesting, not totally bad, but not impressive at all either: the guitar riffs are overused most of the times, and the bass and drums have no identity, but again, the atmospheres they manage to create are exactly the atmospheres one is looking for in an underground Black Metal band, I know I've enjoyed it and that made me spin this tape a few times already (reminds me of the whole '90's effervescent Black Metal scene, especially of some German bands, not sure why...). If you're into Raw Black Metal with organic sound, this might be another French band worth keeping under observation, and in the meantime you might try getting one of these 100 handnumbered tapes.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6.5/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/Avitvm
www.atavism.records.free.fr
Band: BUTCHER ABC
Country: Japan
Title: Road to Hell
Label: Power It Up
Year: 2014
Style: Gore Grind
Review:
I was a bit nervous when I saw this is actually a Live EP, not a new studio recording from these Japanese masters of Goregrind, anxiously waiting a crappy sound quality, but I was way wrong, the sound quality of this recording is excellent, even better than what most similar bands have on their studio recordings. So here we get 4 tracks of heavy, groovy and devastating Gore Grind recorded in 2013 and totaling almost 15 minutes playing time, released on 7"EP format with great cover artwork and solid, cardboard covers. Another proof that this band is not just noise and no talent, the tracks are quite catchy even for someone who's outside of the scene, so I'm sure this could also appeal to some old-school Hardcore, or to Power Violence or even Punk fans, not only to those into Grind and Gore.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/Butcher-ABC-182191567512
www.power-it-up.de
Band: CHABTAN
Country: France
Title: The Kiss of Coatlicue
Label: Mighty Music
Year: 2015
Style: Death Metal Deathcore
Review:
These guys are just back from an European Tour in support of Nile and Suffocation so we can easily guess how dedicated and willing to invest in their future they are, I'm sure such a tour is not cheap for a young band, and especially for this niche or Metal investing large amounts of money only means you're fucking serious about it. Kudos for that. The band was formed in 2011 and this is their debut full-length album, a material that at first made me think I'm going to listen to some sort of Greek Folk Metal band, it starts with a Greek Folk-like acoustic guitar that's really refreshing and not at all out of place on this album. During its 46 minutes of playing time The Kiss of Coatlicue will have some more of these melodic and unexpected elements that from my point of view only increase its overall value. In its core Chabtan is a melodic yet aggressive mix of Modern Death Metal with Deathcore; lots of groove, catchy riffs, tempo changes, nice guitar leads, and versatile vocals. There are some part where the lack of experience is quite obvious (where they loose the listener by keeping things too static - especially during the groovy slow to mid-tempo rhythms), but overall I'd say Chabtan got it right for a debut album, it's fresh, interesting, varied, catchy and inventive, highly promising!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/officialchabtan
www.mightymusic.dk
Band: DARK MANAGARM
Country: France
Title: A Decade of Terroreign
Label: Mortis Humanae Productions
Year: 2015
Style: Black Metal
Review:
French quintet Dark Managarm are celebrating a decade of Black Metal through this compilation of tracks recorded in sturio or live during their career, an excellent choice I'd say. Featuring 14 tracks recorded between 2008 and 2014, A Decade of Terroreign is a full one hour worth of uncompromising, traditional, fast paced Black Metal structured on layers upon layers of excellent guitar riffs, a devastating rhythm section that seems to never stop, never leave the listener take a break, and devilish Black Metal shrieks. Released as 6 panel Digipak, I'd recommend this CD to all of you into fast, offensive, satanic Black Metal based on intelligent guitar work, Dark Managarm really know how to do their thing, no compromise, no remorse, no weakness.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/darkmanagarm
www.mortishumanae.com
Band: DEATH DIES
Country: Italy
Title: Legione
Label: Black Tears
Year: 2015
Style: Black Metal
Review:
A trip through the memory lane, that's what this compilation of Death Dies tracks was for me, their 20 years anniversary release featuring tracks from their previous releases with Death Dies, Satanel, Negatron and especially Evol, one of my all time fave bands! The 12 tracks are re-recorded by the current line-up that features Demian and Samael whom we know from Evol, joined by Krom from Negatron on vocals, and they are a triumph of Black Metal structures. the guitar work is the highlight here, at times I can't believe how good some of the riffs featured here are, not to mention the mysterious and catchy leads and solos, and Krom's vocals fit perfectly with the whole concept, very vicious and evil sounding, absolutely perfect; the rhythm section is devastating most of the time, but unfortunately the production is not as good as I would have liked, quite rough and primitive for nowadays'standards, and ruins a bit of the overall fun in listening to this release, at least the drums sound awfully synthetic at times, I'm not sure they are live recorded or programmed. Anyway, I recommend this release for the great, simply great guitar work, and for Evol suckers like me, just listen to Prologue which might be even better than the original I'd say.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
www.blacktears.it
Band: DEFORMITY
Country: Costa Rica
Title: Endless Atrocity
Label: Viceral Vomit Records
Year: 2013
Style: Death Metal
Review:
Costa Rica is becoming more and more active on the Underground Extreme Metal scene lately, but Deformity seems to have been founded back in 2008 as Cadaver. They changed their name along the way and then released a debut demo in 2010. This one I'm listening to at the moment is their debut album, released or officially distributed in 2013 by the vocalist / bassist's own label Viscera Vomit Records as professional CD with 6 pages booklet featuring all lyrics, although the print is a bit blured, and this limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies. The album is made of 9 tracks clocking a bit over half an hour of playing time. The cover artwork seems interesting but again the blur issue gave me a hard time in understanding what I'm looking at. Music-wise Deformity are 100% traditional Death Metal, mid-tempo to (mostly) fast paced rhythms, with no effects or influences from other styles whatsoever, so if you're in search for pure Death Metal this might be your thing. There's not much variation or interesting ideas throughout the album, but I can appreciate their organic sound (although the drums could have been mixed better, some obvious mistakes in execution pop up here and there) and enthousiasm. The guitar riffs are ok, but bring nothing exciting to the table, and the same goes for the bass lines (quite hidden except for some solo parts) and vocals, they have a long way to go before being able to compete on international level.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/DeformityOfficial
www.vvrecords.webs.com
Band: DELUGE
Country: France
Title: Aether
Label: Les Acteurs de L'Ombre
Year: 2015
Style: Post Hardcore Black Metal
Review:
This marriage between Post Hardcore and Post Black Metal seems to be the next "thing" in the Avantgarde / Post Metal scene, I tend to get more and more such releases lately and the curious thing is they sound quite natural, music-wise nothing sounds forced or unfit as the combination sounds. This quintet from Metz was founded in 2013 and this is their first offering, a 9 tracks album clocking almost an hour of mesmerizing, atmospheric and at the same time energetic and aggressive as hell music, an album where the devastating fast paced parts often meet and intertwine with the captivating repetitive and almost meditative slow paced ones, all this while the vocalist constant screams are so well structured within the tracks that they sort of become a bewitching part of the whole concept, even when it comes to the meditative / relaxing parts, the idea of leaving vocals behind, in the background volume-wise makes them not disturbing at all. A release that will make you think, out on 6 panels Digipak featuring all lyrics (French only).
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
www.wearedeluge.bandcamp.com
www.lesacteursdelombre.net
Band: DESERT CRONE
Country: Sweden
Title: Distorted Solitude
Label: Bloodsoaked Records
Year: 2015
Style: Stoner Doom Metal
Review:
This young Swedish trio was founded last year and this is their first official material, a 3 tracks demo clocking more than 20 minutes. Their music is a heavy, heavy, heavy mix of Stoner and Doom Metal (and even a pinch of Black Metal) based on oppressive guitars, screaming vocals all over the place, a powerful rhythm section and plenty of emotions. There's a massive Doom revival nowadays and there are plenty of new bands playing this style, but somehow Desert Crone seem to have what it takes to succeed and hopefully they'll prove me right. The screaming vocals are their trademark although both guitars and bass lines are tasty as hell, plus groovy and catchy drumming. A devastating debut demo that will make them noticed, I'm sure. Released on Bloodsoaked Records on tape, I think this is a limited edition so I'd suggest you to grab it asap if your thing is to discover new names.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/desertcroneband
www.facebook.com/bloodsoakedrecords
Band: DISTRUZIONE
Country: Italy
Title: Distruzione
Label: Jolly Roger Records
Year: 2015
Style: Death Metal
Review:
This album has one of the best Death Metal first few seconds I've ever heard, just imagine yourself facing the girl from Grudge, backing up fast and with her approaching even faster; well, that's how the start of this album sounds like, terrifying, isn't it? Awesome! The band was first founded back in 1990 and played until 2007 meanwhile releasing 3 full-length albums and an EP. In 2011 it seems they got back together, or at least some of them, and here we have the first fruit of the new Distruzione (Destruction in English), a 10 tracks effort totaling 42 minutes of traditional and powerful Death Metal with melodic inserts and excellent, really excellent guitar leads and solos here and there. The vocals are hoarse but comprehensive, not reaching the growl point, so if you know Italian language you'll have no problem following them, and I think that's their charm in the end, not sounding like some other vocal we could easily associate with. Yes, all lyrics of this album are in Italian, and that's great, in my opinion every country should have at least a few Death Metal bands playing in their native language, this would allow young kids getting into this music, just look how many kids are into Black Metal at a young age... Another highlight of Distruzione are the fat, oppressive and crystal clear sounding guitar riffs reminding me of the Swedish scene, but not copying it. I have enjoyed a lot this traditional Death Metal outburst and would definitely recommend it to you, too.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10
Contact:
www.distruzione.weebly.com
www.jollyrogerstore.com
Band: DRYOM
Country: Russia
Title: 2
Label: Solitude Productions
Year: 2015
Style: Funeral Doom Metal
Review:
As the title suggests it, this is the second album from Dryom, a Russian one man band founded in 2012. 4 long tracks clocking almost an hour of Funeral Doom Metal, oppressive, slow, depressive and melancholic, with highlights on the use of jaw-harp and flute, not common additions in Funeral Doom, so a step forward in what concerns originality especially nowadays when Etnic elements are seen in such high regard by fans all over the World. I'd say Dryom found a good way of combinint the nowadays (in my opinion) stale and dry Funeral Doom with the '90's UK based Doom Metal and flavour it with Ethnic elements, I have enjoyed 3 out of 4 tracks, so I'd recommend the album to you, too. What I didn't like were the inhaling-like growling vocals, I find them really annoying, but that's my taste.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
www.dryom1.bandcamp.com
www.solitude-prod.com
Band: EITHER WAY
Country: France
Title: Behind the Light
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2015
Style: Melodic Death Metal
Review:
Debut album from this French quartet (although from the album booklet you'll get the impression it's more a solo project of Ludovic Ciszewski...), Behind the Light, offers us 10 tracks totaling almost 45 minutes of playing time, a light and technical Melo Death heavily influenced by the Gothemburg school. After spinning it a couple of times I can say they have some serious potential, the compositions are solid as fuck, their musicianship the same, and they seem pretty enthousiastic as well. Being a debut album I have some complaints, too: don't like the cover artwork although that's a highly subjective feeling, I feel the vocals are way too forced, not natural at all, and the lyrics would have been better written in their native language (now they are pretty childish to say the least, although the topics and intentions seem legit), and the general production could have used a better, more professional mix and master. But except for that you'll be impressed by the excellent guitar leads and solos, powerful guitar riffs, incissive and technical bass lines, and why not, the melodic keyboards background. They have potential, that's for sure!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/l.eitherway
Band: ELVEN
Country: Italy / Norway
Title: The Nameless
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2012
Style: Melodic Black Death Metal
Review:
One of the most intersting bands I've heard lately, although I was familiar with them from a few years back when I reviewed their second EP. I've checked my previous review and it seems at that moment (back in 2010) I wasn't very impressed by the EP production, actually I hated it and ity pretty much ruined the audition, but now it's almost a totally different story; the production on this new release, their debut full-length album, is much better, yet still not professional to the bone, I'd still have some issues with it, but thinking back this time I can easily sit back and enjoy the music. Elven are creating their own type of Melodic Black Death Metal which in my mind is a mix of late '90's Melodic Black Metal, recent Black Death Metal, Gothic Black Metal and with The Gathering's type of female vocals here and there. There are 2 types of vocals on The Nameless, but Ivy's are absolutely the highlight of this band, mesmerizing, progressive, sweet, an absolute delight and if you're a sucker for (old) The Gathering like me I have no doubts you'll love her timbre, too. The instrumental structures are also very varied and interesting providing moments of surprise and being interesting all the way. Like the previous material, which was also selfreleased, this one comes with an original Digipak package, kudos for that. The band is currently working on their second album, honestly I can't wait to hear it.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/elvenband
Band: GJUTJARN
Country: Sweden
Title: Hard
Label: Sliptrick Records
Year: 2015
Style: Progressive Rock Metal
Review:
By looking at their band image, band name and also the cover artwork I was certain I was about to deal with a Pagan Black Metal band, or at least an aggressive Black Metal band, but I was wrong again, Gjutjarn, although calling it Progressive Rock Metal isn't very accurate, are playing an interesting mix of Rock'n'Roll, Stoner Metal, Groove Rock and Progressive Metal, quite catchy, but with lyrics in thei mother tongue, so I guess they must be catchier for their countrymen. Anyway, Hard is made of 11 tracks and clocks almost 45 minutes of playing time, the tracks are catchy and quite varied, entertaining and although to me it seems the band doesn't bring anything new or over-exciting to the table, this album is well worth a listen, one that I think works very well live. There's also a tracks called Pest, which of course gets a thumb up, haha.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/gjutjarn
www.sliptrickrecords.com
Band: GORGASMICO PORNOBLASTOMA
Country: Portugal
Title: Gorgasmico Pornoblastoma
Label: Murder Records
Year: 2013
Style: Gore Grind
Review:
I don't have an official bio of this band and I wasn't able to find much info on the net either, but I think this is their debut demo, first selfreleased in 2012, then picked up by Murder Records and released on tape limited to 300 copies, quite much for an 8 minutes long demo tape I'd say, but I don't really know if the Grind community buys lots of such tapes. When it comes to the music on it, this demo features 5 tracks and as said earlier clocks less than 8 minutes, with almost half of this time filled by porn movies samples, so the actual playing time is around 5 minutes... Typical Gore Grind with simple but groovy and quite catchy guitar riffs, drum machine, deep growls supported from time to time by demented screams and some pig squeals. Catchy and probably fun to see live but not impressive or original at all.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/gxpxportugal
www.helldprod.com
Band: GRIBBERIKET
Country: Norway
Title: Knefall
Label: Dead Seed Productions
Year: 2015
Style: Doom Black Metal
Review:
Debut demo from this Norwegian quartet founded back in 2008 (!), Knefall was first released by the band's label in 2013 on tape format and picked up by Black Seed now for a CD release (actually a 3 panel Digifile - those slim Digipak formats). The music on it is supposed to have been recorded drunk and after the audition I wouldn't dare questioning this, just imagine a drunk band recording, little or no coordonation, a lot of improvisation (or what seems like it) and way too much repetition. I have spinned it 3 times already and it started to grow a bit in regards to the first time when I wasn't even sure I'm going to finish the first audition, but it is still not something I'd call valuable for someone's collection, sorry. The first two tracks are tough to bear, the third is an acoustic interlude with Black Metal screams, but the last 2 tracks are good and I have enjoyed them, a mix of Sludgy Doom with depressive and desperate (Black Metal) vocals, with a few Post Metal influences, too. An interesting release, I have to admit, but except for the fine packaging there's not much I'd spend my money on, sorry.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 5/10
Contact:
www.deadseedproductions.com
Band: GROTESQUE ORGAN DEFILEMENT
Country: Canada
Title: Body Horror
Label: Blastasfuk Grindcore
Year: 2015
Style: Gore Grind
Review:
Here's G.O.D. from Toronto, Canada, a band founded 9 years ago although what I'm now listening to is their debut full-length album, a nice way to celebrate almost a decade of violent and disgusting music. Body Horror is made of 23 tracks and clocks a bit over half an hour, so compared to many other similar releases I'd say we have plenty to enjoy, half an hour of Gore Grind being not only an appropriate duration but I think most one can endure without his/her head would fuckin' explode. Well, I've spinned this CD for 5 or 6 times already and I'm still not bored; G.O.D. present us a traditional brutal and really sickening mix of Gore and Grind complete with gutteral growls, gurgling inhuman sounds, desperate screams, ultra-fast paced rhythms, insane blastbeats, and an overall violent attitude that reminds me of all genre's monsters starting with Napalm Death or Repulsion and ending with Squash Bowels or Machetazo, there's so much energy and brutality on this record I wouldn't miss it for the world. Go check a few tracks online and make up your own mind. Released on CD by Blastasfuk, with a 6 pages booklet featuring excellent artwork and all lyrics (warning! extremely small fonts, you'll need a magnifier.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/grotesqueorgandefilement
www.blastasfuk.blogspot.com.au
Band: HELEGION
Country: France
Title: Helegion: Ritualis
Label: Atavism Records
Year: 2014
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Helegion was founded back in 2003 and so far released only 3 demos, including this one, so we're dealing with a band that doesn't take it's path very seriously I think, although their music seems to be dead-serious, even more focused on the lyrics / concept side than on the music. The music is quite simple, primitive Black Metal a la early '90's, with organic sound and a few good riffs as highlights, but not much to impress I'd add, plus the slow parts aren't that successful either, and here's I'd add the cover of Beherit's The Gate of Nanna, again not something to impress. That's why I think the band focuses more on the concept side, too bad that the tape booklet doesn't come with lyrics, too. As a conclusion I wouldn't say this is a bad release, but it's not as good as I was expecting from a band that hasn't released something new since 2007...
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/Helegion-125430844310560
www.atavism.records.free.fr
Band: I CHAOS
Country: Holland
Title: Masterbleeder
Label: Raped in the Face Records
Year: 2015
Style: Brutal Death Metal
Review:
Joost, Rory and Koen from Dew-Scented started this side band back in 2009 and this is already their second full-length album to date, so they seem pretty much determined to move forward with it although I'm sure Dew-Scented remains their number 1 priority. This new album is made of 10 new tracks clocking 40 minutes of technical and quite groovy Brutal Death Metal. Solid and entertaining material full of everything you might look into such music, but quite scarce of unpredictable moments, of something original you could pinpoint the band on, and we all know how overcrowded this Brutal Death scene is nowadays and how tough is for a band to make themselves a name, so in my opinion this band will benefit mostly because of the band members' names, or at least more than how much their music will impress. Yes, it's solid as fuck, technical, well-done, powerful and easy to follow, but I still feel it lacks of something, of a highlight. I could name here the occasional excellent bass lines, and the Swiss-clock precision they execute their songs, but that alone doesn't make a masterpiece from an album, the potential is definitely there, but the band hasn't yet reached the masterpiece they're looking for. If you're looking for a mix between old-school European Technical Death Metal and the new type of North American Death Metal, I Chaos might be a good choice, the production is top-notch, the execution faultless, the brutality and power are not missing at all, give it a try and make your own mind on it. Released as Digipak CD featuring an 8 pages booklet with all lyrics.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10
Contact:
www.ichaos.nl
www.ritf-records.com
Band: INSEPULTO
Country: Costa Rica
Title: Morbid Spawn of Resurrection
Label: Concreto Records
Year: 2013
Style: Death Metal
Review:
Last month I have reviewed these guys' second album, the most recent one, and I remember I liked it a lot, and here I have their debut album (I should have started with this one, hm?), one that was initially released by Polish label Psycho Records in 2012, and picked up by Mexican Concreto Records a year later. 10 tracks, a bit over half an hour of playing time, traditional Death Metal to the bone, nothing less, nothing more. I would have liked the production to be a bit less stuffed and the drums to sound less synthetic, but all in all I had no problem spinning this a couple of times and enjoying it. So this is fast paced traditional Death Metal without compromises, highlighted by a good guitar work (especially on riffs), a dark and hoarse vocal that keep things comprehensive (kudos for that), and an intensive rhythm section (tight drumming and low-tuned, incissive bass lines). Catchy, entertaining, dark and fat sounding, a good debut although not as good as the one that will follow in 2 years time.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/insepultocr
www.concretorecs.com
Band: JOLLY JOKER
Country: Spain
Title: Here Come... the Jokers!!
Label: The Fish Factory
Year: 2015
Style: Hard Rock Rock'n'Roll
Review:
Call it a mix of Hard Rock and Rock'n'Roll or Sleaze Glam Rock, Jolly Joker's music targets those specific audiences and I'd say they have a big chance of nailing it not only in their homeland but also abroad thanks to their English lyrics. Reminding me of legends of the genre like Motley Crue, LA Guns or Skid Row (even Guns'n'Roses at times), Jolly Joker are excellent at what they do, plus their choice of opening this album with the best track on it (also the one that already has a nice videoclip), Rockin' in Stereo, made me enjoy it even more. 12 tracks, 40 minutes of energetic, cheeky, dirty and of course melodic Sleaze Rock made by a gang that knows its craft to perfection; if you're into this genre or just like to hear something different than Extreme Metal at times, try it out.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: -/10
Contact:
www.jollyjoker.es
www.thefishfactory.es
Band: KRATHERION
Country: Chile
Title: Death Kult Church Omega
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2012
Style: Black Metal
Review:
Haven't heard of this band before, and this is not their latest releases either, but I somehow got it for review from someone. We get 3 tracks here totaling around 10 minutes of Bestial Metal, a mix of Black and Death Metal (with emphasis on the Black Metal part of it), with blasphemous attitude, ferocious vocals (both demonic screams and guttural growls), mostly fast paced rhythms with devastating rhythm section and a guitar work that's more intricate than usual but still in the boundaries of this genre, still not able to be innovative or original. Spanish language speakers will definitely enjoy this more as teh vocals are somehow comprehensive and seem to be really, really offensive (as the cover artwork is, too). The sound, although still rough and aggressive, is better than expected, so even if you're not into "as primitive as possible" Metal releases you'll be able to enjoy it.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10
Contact:
kratherion@yahoo.com
Band: LAMBS
Country: Italy
Title: Betrayed From Birth
Label: Drown Within Records
Year: 2015
Style: Blackened Post Hardcore
Review:
Interesting take on Post Metal from these Italian musicians who are presenting us here their debut EP, a 3 tracks effort clocking almost 15 minutes and offering a dark and quite sludgy combination of Post Hardcore and Black Metal. Ranging from slow and heavy to fast and grinding rhythms, Lambs' music easily fits the requirements of the new fashion in Metal, or better said in Post Metal, but their music seems to be more somber and oppressive than what you'd usually wait from a combination involving or springing from Hardcore. Interesting and promising approach, these guys have potential, keep an eye on them.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10
Contact:
www.facebook.com/lambsmetal
www.drownwithinrecords.bandcamp.com