Primus - Primus & The Chocolate Factory (CD Review)

01.Hello Wonkites
02.Candy Man
03.Cheer Up Charlie
04.Golden Ticket
05.Lermaninoff
06.Pure Imagination
07.Oompa Augustus
08.Semi-Wondrous Boat Ride
09.Oompa Violet
10.I Want It Now
11.Oompa Veruca
12.Wonkmobile
13.Oompa TV
14.Farewell Wonkites

Les Claypool(Bass/Vocals)
Larry LaLonde (Guitar)
Tim Alexander (Drums)

Additional Musicians:
Mike Dillon (Marimba/Percussion)
Sam Bass (Cello)

Back after 20 years the original line up of the mighty Primus! with an album of songs by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse from the Willie Wonka film.

Les Claypool explained: "The idea was to combine the Frog Brigade and Primus, and do this record. "I think like a good portion of the planet, we were all pretty put off by the remake of the 'Willy Wonka' movie - the Tim Burton version. I really wanted to pay homage to a film [1971's 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,' starring Gene Wilder] that was very important to me as a kid and very influential to me musically. So that's what we did. And as opposed to just going in and recording the songs and playing them the way they are in the film, we twisted them up a bit…twisted them up a lot."

His comment about the Burton version is intresting seeing as the original Wilder film was disowned by Dahl who felt that they had messed with his script too much and i have heard that he felt the music was a bit "Too much" at times, leaving the family to work with Burton on putting right many of the wrongs from the original.
Also it has to be said that the music that Primus have produced here would be better suited to the Burton version.
But enough of these words and it doesn't matter anyway, i like both versions and this album is brilliant.

The second the music starts you know you are listening to Primus, the bass, the werid music structure and sounds, when we get to 'Candy Man' oh come on we all know the words which makes for singing along quite easy, except the music is far from upbeat, happy and is far from straight forward, again its the weird rhythms and strange sounds, use of instruments, then comes Claypool's vocals, odd, almost sinister, the vibe here is more clive barkers candyman rather than a nice shop keeper!

'Cheer Up Charlie' has a clockwork beat that is so un-nerving that even the melodic vocals cannot make you want to cheer anybody up, its dark and depressing, i think Dahl would have loved it.

Some pretty strange slide guitar keeps 'Golden Ticket' bouncing along, the bassline is hypnotic and the vocals are quite vaudervillian in delivery.

After a five second keyboard tune we come to the awesome, weird, disturbing and nightmare inducing 'Pure Imagination', what can i say, it has that clockwork beat again and the vocal follows the bass in perfect harmony.

The first "Oompa" piece comes next, they all sound the same just with differnt lyrics, all good and keep the humor with the vocalisation.

'Semi-Wonderous Boat Ride' is a very psychedelic, avant-garde piece, great vocal effects over weird sounds.

Slightly country meets rock n roll guitar riff runs throughout 'I Want It Now' and some nice keyboard thrown into the mix.

'Wonkmobile' is another avant-garde aural nightmare mainly created with vocals and vocal effects over a simple thwack of a cymbal.

Finally we end with some more psychedlic rock plus obligatory weirdness.

That Primus are still a force when it comes to making intresting, original and entertaining music in an age where almost every band just release the same old stuff with that 'Its just enough' attitude, its nice to know that some do care about what they release.

Oh and if you see them live, they are selling Primus Chocolate bars!!!

Rating 10/10
For fans of: Frank Zappa, BB Blackdog, Residents, Fearless Flying Frog Brigade

Lordi - Scare Force One (CD Review)

01.SCG7: Arm Your Doors And Cross Check
02.Scare Force One
03.How To Slice A Whore
04.Hell Sent In The Clowns
05.House Of Ghosts
06.Monster Is My Name
07.Cadaver Lover
08.Amen’s Lament To Ra II
09.Nailed By The Hammer Of Frankenstein
10.The United Rocking Dead
11.She’s A Demon
12.Hella’s Kitchen
13.Sir, Mr.Presideath, Sir!


Mr.Lordi (Vocals)
Amen (Guitars)
Ox (Bass)
Hella (Keyboards)
Mana (Drums)

According to Mr. Lordi the material on the new record is more experimental than before. It’s not a theme or concept record, per se, but there is a red thread that runs through the songs.

”The overall sound of the band is more modern, too, and we’ve tried out some new tricks here and there. The basic Lordi building blocks are still present, so there’s no shortage of melodic hooks in the songs"

Lordi’s last two albums were made in Nashville under the watchful eye of legendary producer Michael Wagener. This time the band wanted to do it differently and recorded the album with Finnish veteran producer Mikko Karmila.

So another album and another intro which goes straight into the first song, so why set it out as track 1 in the first place??

'Scare Force One' doesn't exactly blow the speakers, its fairly typical Lordi, melodic middle of the road rock.

While 'How To Slice A Whore' may pick up the pace, the rough vocals grate and the music remains average.

The rest of the album goes nowhere at all, so much for wanting to make a "Different" album, only the single 'Nailed By The Hammer Of Frankenstein' has any real merit with its take on Wednesday 13's horror rock.
This is not and will never be an album a brilliant as 'The Monster Show', strikes me that for all the talk they are doing what many bands do and just "do enough" to get by.
Scare Force One remains stuck on the runway with little chance of ever taking off.

Rating 7/10
For fans of: Wednesday 13, Alice Cooper, Kiss, GWAR

Orion - On The Banks Of Rubicon EP (CD Review)

01.Oh Sweet Ebullition
02.Devoured Existence
03.Astral
04.My Dying Prayer


Vigneshkumar Venkatraman (Guitar/Vocals)
Ashwin Kulkarni (Guitar)
Anshuman Bhattacharya (Bass)
Pritesh Prabhune (Drums)

A progressive death metal band from Mumbai formed in 2009 who attempt to forge a link between Opeth and Cannibal Corpse.

A very melodic start to 'Oh Sweet Ebullition' and this is sounding more like euro technical power metal, then it switches to a slow pounding riff with death metal vocals, weirdly this one keeps changing pace, getting increasingly technical with complex drum patterns and guitar work.The vocals also chnage to highly tuneful (well for a minute or so anyway), then a mix of everything i just said as we head to the end of this opening song.

'Devoured Existence' sticks with that tech power metal vibe and death metal vocals, the next song 'Astral' is a different beast though.
Almost doom to start with it then turns into an american sounding heavy metal song, at times reminiscent of Soundgarden, half way through it suddenly becomes Cannibal Corpse and then finally returns to the melodic heavy metal sounds.

'My Dying Prayer' is modern speed metal tinged once more by the death metal vocals.
All in all this is a great EP and for a band who somehow wanted to find that link between Opeth and Cannibal Corpse have managed to do so via a power metal technical route.
One to watch!

Rating 9/10
For Fans Of: Opeth, Xenochord, Cephalic Carnage, Biomechanical, Mastodon

Chaos - Violent Redemption (CD Review)

01.Ungodly Hour
02.Torn
03.Game
04.War Crime
05.Saint
06.Heaven's Gate
07.Blacklash
08.Merchant Of Death
09.Self Deliverance
10.Cyanide Salvation
11.Violent Redemption


Jaagaa Xplosion (Vocals)
Nikhil Wartooth (Guitar)
Vishnu Flycouncil (Bass)
Manu Krishnan (Drums)

Chaos from India, are reputed for the loud and heavy music that they've been playing since forming in 2004.
Known for their tight and aggressive performances live, the quartet garnered impressive reviews for their debut release, Violent Redemption. The music is fast and frenetic with the aggression not compromising the inspired quality of the musicianship that seeps out of every track. Takes one back to the early 80’s where a few bands were coming together in the Bay Area in San Francisco.

After a pointless intro a proper song, 'Torn' begins, very authentic early 80's Thrash/Speed, every instrument is played at full speed, the vocals shout it out loud and the guitar solo is screamingly perfect!

After some more of the same comes 'Saint' a slower paced powerchord heavy song, very reminiscent of Metallica but without the arrogance, and a nice bluesy solo towards the end.

'Heavens Gate' while musicially is still looking backwards, the songs structure is more up to date, some clever timing changes keep this song intresting and is by far the best track on the album.


Rating 7/10
For fans of: Metallica, Exodus, Testament, Flotsam & Jetsam, Evile

Weapon (UK) - Ride The Mariah! (Free Track & Tour Info)

01.Ride The Mariah!

Danny Hynes (Vocals)

Jeff Summers (Guitar/Vocals)

PJ Phillips (Bass/Vocals)

Ian Sweeting (Drums)

'Ride The Mariah!' which is not a song about sexual fantasies with Miss Carey, but a raw and heavy rocker with a solid drum beat driving the sound is the second track off their album 'Rising From The Ashes' and the band have decided to make it a free download single and have also produced a video to go with it.

The reason for this is to help celebrate and promote their upcoming British, Irish and European tour.

TOUR DATES

Thu 30 Oct 2014 The Railway Music Venue Bolton, UK

Sat 01 Nov 2014 The Rock Patch, Merton Manor Club, London, UK

Fri 07 Nov 2014 Gypsy Rose,Dublin, Ireland

Sat 08 Nov 2014 Limelight 2,Belfast, 

Sat 07 Feb 2015 Limelight Metal Fest 2 2015,Kerkrade, Netherlands

Sun 08 Feb 2015 Limelight Metal Fest 2 2015,Leeuwarden, Netherlands

Sat 14 Mar 2015 MATAROCK 2 2015 Barcelona, Spain

For more info visit their official website or facebook page.

To get your free track follow this link:
http://www.weapon-uk.com/downloads.php

And here is the video:

Emeth - Aethyr (CD Review)

01.I Became Flesh And Dwelleth Amongst Thee
02.Exterminate The Vacillating
03.Aethyr
04.Der Einsam Wandler
05.Suffering Comes With Thy Name
06.Eidolons Of Ash
07.The Hour Of The Great Contempt
08.Wrath Upon The Cursed
09.Lama Sabachtani
10.Serpents Walk As If Human


Boris "el Bastardo" Cornelissen (Vocals)
Matías Dupont (Guitar)
Alan Rawson (Guitar)
Nico Veroeven (Drums)
Pat de Jonge (Bass)

Belgium deathmetal band Emeth surprised the metal world in 2008 with their mutinous opus “Telesis”. The combination of sheer brutality and technical insanity took Emeth to the elite level in the deathmetal scene. This resulted in tours throughout the US, Canada, Israel and Europe. Lot’s of festivals where destroyed and great venues ripped apart.

Due to several line up problems, Emeth disappeared of the grid for a while,founder Matías Dupont (ex Aborted, ex Agathocles) never stopped writing and in search for the perfect musicians he wrote the most brutal and sickest deathmetal to set foot on Belgian soil.

With vocalist Boris “el Bastardo” Cornelissen (ex Leng Tch’e) as their latest aquisition the band is ready to take over the extreme deathmetal scene.

Technical Death Metal, i hear a lot of it, usually its metal by numbers stuff, but this album has more to offer, yes the vocals are screamed and the speed and brutality are present but they have thought about their music, well structured songs and clever timing changes, in particular 'The Hour Of The Great Contempt' which has it all together in a perfect symphony of power.

Only the weird almost acoustic filler 'Lama Sabachtani' seems a bit pointless.

Rating 8/10
For fans of: Anaal Nathrakh, Nile, Decapitated

Korzus - Legion (CD Review)

01.Lifeline
02.Lamb
03.Six Seconds
04.Broken
05.Vampiro
06.Die Alone
07.Apparatus Belli
08.Time Has Come
09.Purgatory
10.Self Hate
11.Bleeding Pride
12.Devil’s Head
13.Legion

Heros Trench (Guitar)
Antonio Araujo (Guitar)
Marcello Pompeu (Vocals)
Dick Siebert (Bass)
Rodrigo Oliveira (Drums)

Brazilian Thrash metal band formed way back in 1983, went to to release numerous albums and toured the world many times.

By 2008 their original guitarist Golfetti left and this gave the band a chance to re-think what they were doing both in terms of musical direction and funding.
They later secured a deal with Jagermeister, making them the first band from Brazil on the Jager music roster.
Their album in 2010, 'Discipline Of Hate' was critically acclaimed as their best work to date.
This is their follow up album.


A solid modern thrash album, full of riffs and powerful drumming, vocals are shouted in the style of Tom Araya and to be honest the music is very Slayer like.
If i had to pick a stand out track it would be the seven minute 'Legion' with its simple acoustic intro to full on mid paced thrash.

Rating 7/10
For fans of: Slayer, Testament, Evile, Sepultura, Death Angel

DEOAG - Tour De Anal (CD Review)

01.Sexuální demokracie
02.Kloakan
03.Zasouvacka
04.Promenáda v srackách
05.Bambusový delo
06.Mrdna císlo jedna
07.Tour de anal
08.Rizky z obrízky
09.Rectal gates security
10.Tutanchámovod
11.Úder údem
12.Vetry slecny Petry
13.100%
14.Prí-buzna
15.Vylízání kundy, velikosti bundy
16.Výkup žaludu
17.Výkup žaludu
18.Má jí makrelovou
19.Flatv5 lupe
20.Wolverine blues


Wokatej (Vocals)
Burak (Drums)
MrDan (Guitar)
Jonda (Guitar)

Self styled gore grindhouse band from czech republic formed in 2012 and features members of Jig-Ai, Ahumado Granujo, Brutally Deceased and Eardelete, and this is album number three.

So 19 full on grindcore songs, speed is matched by agression and the vocals are "pig Squeal" on the whole, not sure if the words are grunted and screamed in english, czech or klingon, but then with this type of music it seems to not matter, this is about mood and the mood is smash yourself into the guy next to you whilst covered in beer!

Only track 20 'Wolverine Blues' a cover of the Entombed song has any real musical structure and they do the song well.

Rating 7/10
For fans of: Anal Cunt, Lawnmower Deth, Cripple Bastard, SOB

Sam Haynes - Spine Chillers (CD Review)

01.Death Comes Creeping In
02.HeXed
03.Masks
04.Spine Chillers
05.Grim Reaper
06.Halloween Twilight
07.Night Caller
08.Sinister Lullaby
09.Cemetery Gates (Remix)
10.Spirit Of Halloween
11.Pandemonium Carnival
12.Night Of The Ghouls
13.Pumpkin Carver
14.Hex (Soundtrack Mix)
15.Just Before Dawn
16.Silent Kill - Stories Of The Dead (Sam Haynes Remix)
17.The Other Side (Remix)
18.Halloween Night (Extended Remix)
19.A Haunted House Party
20.Night Of The Ghouls (No Zombies version)

Sam Haynes (All Instruments)

Not quite sure who Sam Haynes is in real life, but he began creating music a few years ago he describes his art as:

"The music is dark electronic soundtrack music, inspired by 70s and 80s horror movie themes. It is designed to sound retro but also modern with electronica and dubstep influences. My main aim is to create genuinely scary modern music that recreates the first time I heard these great soundtracks."

His first release was in 2012 and has already picked up a cult following and had some of his music used in independant horror films.
This year won a 'Frightee' award for best halloween song and has now unleashed this latest album with a few extra remix tracks added as a bonus.


While the first few tracks fall into the symphonic soundtrack style the first piece that stands out is the electronic synth and drum of 'Grim Reaper' with its definate overtones of John Carpenter.
Sticking with that retro synth does make for some great compositions especially when we come to 'Night Caller' complete with a symphonic chorus, this one really creates atmosphere.

The remix of 'cemetary Gates' is not an electronic take on the Pantera song as used in that Chucky horror film, but that said this could have been part of the movies soundtrack.

'Night Of The Ghouls' is the first to feature some sort of vocal, though this is just a sample of a news report on killing ghouls, the music is laid back and synth driven.

The whole album is a great mix of the two styles from electronica to symphonic, in reality it is the electronic ones that are easier to listen to as instrumentals as the ambient symphonic ones really are designed for the big screen.

Rating 9/10
For fans of: Goblin, John Carpenter, Fabio Frizzi, Midnight Syndicate, Axis Of Perdition

BANDCAMP
https://samhaynes1.bandcamp.com/album/spine-chillers-horror-music-for-halloween

Valerian Swing - A U R O R A (CD Review)

01.3 Juno
02.Cancer Minor
03.Scilla
04.Cariddi
05.In Vacume
06.Spazio
07.Parsec
08.Calar Alto


Steve (Guitar/Vocals)
David (Drums)
Alan (Bass)

VALERIAN SWING are three Italian lunatics playing mathy, violent, anthemic, and largely-instrumental songs that are concise and to the point.
In the last few years they have toured multiple countries, honing an extraordinarily dynamic, frenetic, and highly musical brand of sonic madness to a signature level that is uniquely its own.

Having recorded their previous album A Sailor Lost Around The Earth with Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis, Botch, Russian Circles) at Red Room in Seattle, WA, the trio invited the legendary producer to their home town to record the follow up.

The resulting album A U R O R A, picks up where A Sailor Lost… left off, but, according to Bayles “with more mood, more melodic crescendos and more vocals.”. The band and producer set up camp at Igloo Audio Factory in Correggio to record the eight track album, before Bayles returned to Red Room to mix.

Following the release of A Sailor Lost… Valerian Swing took off around the earth themselves, taking in both Europe and America, with a stop at SXSW, and playing shows with Russian Circles, Boris, and This Town Needs Guns among others. A full European tour is in the works for late 2014 in support of A U R O R A, where the band will showcase their unique genre-defying sounds, electrifyingly translated into the live arena.

The opening piece '3 Juno' seems to start off as fairly straight forward post rock, but then turns a bit weirder and faster with some high pitched guitar playing.

Pretty much stays that way until 'Cariddi' a sort of post rock/doom hybrid, nice solid drumming and some good use of feedback guitar over slow drum beat.
Second half of the song moves into prog/jazz style, yep another weird song!

Whilst listening to 'Spazio' it struck me that this stuff kind of reminds me of 70's proggers 'Yes' but with a modern twist.

Then a track like 'Calar Alto' with its quiet ambience could be something by Goblin.

Rating 7/10
For fans of: Yes, Goblin, Tacoma Narrow Bridge Disaster, Radiohead, King Crimson

Mono - The Last Dawn & Rays Of Darkness (CD Reviews)

The Last Dawn
01.Land Between Tides Glory
02.Kanata
03.Cyclone
04.Elysian Castles
05.Where We Begin
06.The Last Dawn

Rays Of Darkness
01.Recoil Ignite
02.Surrender
03.The Hnads That Holds The Truth
04.The Last Rays

Takaakira "Taka" Goto (Guitar)
Tamaki (Bass/Piano)
Yoda (Guitar)
Yasunori Takada (Drums)

Guest Vocals
Tetsu Fukagawa

When tokyo band MONO began in 1999, they set out with a simple mission: From bliss to bludgeon, no matter how long or winding the path may be. Their debut album, Under The Pipal Tree, outlined that mission in twisted, psychedelic fury. Subsequent albums would see the band honing their craft, mastering their mission, and ultimately abandoning that path in favor of more grandiose pursuits. Flanked by increasingly larger orchestras, MONO performed live at some of the most prestigious venues in New York City, London, Tokyo, and Australia. MONO had become an orchestral rock band, a spectacle of extreme melancholy and melodrama. On 2012's For My Parents, the band had finally reached the logical conclusion of that era; it was time to remember where they started, and to rethink where they were heading. Less strings? No strings? Louder? Quieter? Lighter? Darker? Yes.

They have released two albums at the same time, the reason being that it is meant to be a creatively disparate concept acting as two sides of a story that is both opposing and complemantary - at the same time!

On Rays Of Darkness Tetsu Fukagawa of Envy has the honour of being the first person to contribute vocals to a Mono recording.

So lets start with part one:
To be honest not a lot to say about this, just six really nice laid back instrumentals with occasional bursts of heavy electric guitar.

As for part two, well 'Recoil Ignite' certainly has more life in it, heavy guitar and jazzy drumming for the second half of the 13 minutes and some inspired neo prog timing changes.

'The Hands That Holds The Truth' is definately a song of two halves, first half very quiet almost too quiet but then the second half, complete with death metal vocals' is an absolute stunner!

Finally 'The Last Rays' with its sludge/doom guitar noise for 6 minutes, is one for those with a lve of the avante garde noise scene.

So for me anyway the first album is okay but does little to stand out, however the second album with all its different elements and sounds is a must have!

Rating 6/10 and 9/10
For fans of: Brainticket, Isis, Sunn 0))), Phillip Glass, Sci'enta Dystene

Shit Liver - Shit Liver (CD Review)

01.You're Scared
02.Shit Liver
03.Sooer Livin'
04.Hellen Kellers
05.Shift Liver
06.Pennotration
07.(Friendly Old) Uncle Joe
08.Fabricated Nonsense
09.It's Not My Problem
10.Survival Of The Shittest
11.Hateroleum
12.Or What
13.Contribute Or Perish
14.Drowning In Shit
15.Shit Will Prevail


Josh Penno (Guitar/Vocals)
Mike Kyle (Bass/Vocals)
Matt Baic (Drums/Vocals)

Canadian crust/grindcore band formed in 2006.
Not much in the way of info but this is from their band profile:
"Many beers ago... in a bar not too far away, a band began their journey to release their agression and hatred created by their surrounding environment unto the ears of
an audience not unlike themselves, in the form of music. Fast, Loud, Brutal music.

Playing several shows around their home town of Sault Ste. Marie and progressively honing their skills as musicians along the way they are now ready to reveal their music to a wider and unknowing audience.
With music consisting of fast paced shredding guitar riffs, Brutally intricate bass riffs, and plenty of deadly blast beats.
Lyrics consisting of drinking, the problems of society, religion, the environment, and the problem of man in general.
All through the eyes of three drunk assholes. we are Shit Liver".

Expecting yet another selection of 2 minute hyper fast blasts with grunts and screams all counted in with an opening tap of the drumsticks, i was almost right (No obvious count ins) but certainly the first 3 songs deliver.

Then comes 'Hellen Kellers' a strange almost crust/doom sound with some sort of spoken piece over it, then it turns to the blast beats and screams, cant understand a fucking word he is singing, however that never harmed Napalm Death in the old days and just like said band its about the written words not the vocal performance, you see through the screams are these words -
"Religion in general, something I despise.
Blindly following a leader who seems so divine
False messages of hope have been consumed by your mind.
Closed up when you found your fill of numerous lies.
No time for other school of thought, atheist paradigms.
The anti christ is everyone, the world is paralyzed,
By fear, reveal the glaring eyes,
Of a death machine, you dared to let it survive."

Now thats some pretty clever writing!

Next song that stands out is 'Its Not My Problem' first of all its nearly 5 minutes long, thats actual music not 3 minutes of silence with a quick burst at the end.
Starts out typical of the genre, then moves towards Death Metal and end up with that crust/doom style again, which i like a lot, this also returns on the final song 'Shit Will Prevail'.

There is more to this band than meets the eye and in some ways their beer and noise image doesn't do them justice, neither in some ways does the name, these guys are good at what they do and maybe if they took some time to think about what they could produce in the future they might reach a bigger audience.

Rating 9/10
For fans of: Napalm Death, Doom, Fukpig, Iskra, Skitsystem, Disembowelment

Internal Rot - Mental Hygiene (CD Review)

01.Muciferous
02.Blessed With Light
03.Bamboo Spine
04.Long Pig
05.Sex Everywhere
06.Mental Hygiene
07.True Remorse
08.Opened From Inside
09.Nose In Neck
10.Beamer
11.Chalk Tooth
12.Eyelids
13.Lashed With Viscera
14.Teeth Eating
15.Lingchin
16.Head On A Stick
17.Morons, Infidels And Fools
18.Hodgkinson St.
19.Hit And Run
20.Riddled With Rage


Brad (Guitar)
Christoph (Drums)
Max (Vocals)

Australian grindcore band who Started out by accident in 2010, Internal Rot was born from a spontaneous jam between Brad of Super Fun Happy Slide and Christoph of the just-then-defunct Roskopp, Doubled Over and Trench Sisters, which yielded a surprising crop of ExTx style grind. They then recruited Max from Agents Of Abhorrence on vocals and quickly started playing shows and recorded a 7”. A year after forming they headed over to the U.S to play some shows in the northeast. Upon return to Australia the 7” was released by Crucificados and 625 Productions, home to their heroes Immortal Fate.

Right then, all songs under 2 minutes? - Check
A few under 30 seconds? - Check
Count a few songs in on the drums? - Check
Cant understand the singer? - Check
Blast Beats on kill mode? - Check
Super fuzzy and high speed riffs? - Check
Add one song that says 6 minutes to confuse everybody but most of the time is silent? - Check

This does excatly what you would both want and expect from grindcore, it pulls no clever twists does not pretend to be something "more than", its as pure as you could want.

Rating 9/10
for fans of: Anal Cunt, Locust, Early Napalm Death, Lawnmower Deth, Extreme Noise Terror

Misericordia - Throne Of Existence (CD Review)

01.Throne Of Existence
02.The Art Of Perfection
03.Bleak
04.The Salvation
05.For Our Father
06.In Ater Interlude
07.Abandoned/Unhallowed
08.The Righteous Order
09.Blind By Belief
10.Followers


Deobrigula (Vocals/Guitar)
Kail (Guitar)
Endymion (Drums)
Deumus Silenti (Bass)

Misericordia formed during the winter of 1998 in Sweden with the intention to infect the masses with Dechristianizing Black Metal.

The band were quickly signed after two demos "I love Jesus ripped to pieces (1998)" and "Delenda Caeli (1999)", and released one MCD, entitled "Erase the Skies (2002)" and one full-length album "Dechristianize (2003)".

Misericordia fired up the ferocious metal machinery during 2010 after a couple of years of decay and are now wiser and stronger than ever before.

Since the years passed, Misericordia widened their view and musicality within the whole underground scene and intend unleash an album that will deliver both anger and melancholy together with massive harmonies and melodies that is sure to alter what has been perceived as black metal.

First few tracks are pretty straight forward modern black metal, it does indeed blend harmony of instruments with agressive vocals and at times some inspired drumming.

However its 'In Ater Interlude' that really sparks my intrest, starting with melodic guitar this one builds the atmosphere with a solid drumbeat kicking in with a harmonic riff running throughout.
Its a shame that this is just an instrumental, vocals would have made this one something special.

After the next song, the same kind of atmospheric vibe returns with 'The Righteous Order' yes its faster and more agressive than the instrumental but overall its a stand out piece.

And the final two songs return to form, its a good solid album and certainly delivers the blackest of metal sounds, just doesn't ignite the darkend flames i thought it might.

Rating 7/10
For fans of: Marduk, Watain, 1349, Dark Funeral

Ars Moriendi - La Singulière Noirceur D'Un Astre (CD Review)

01.De L'Intouchable Mort
02.Verite
03.De Ma Dague
04.Ars Moriendi
05.La Singuliere Noirceur D'Un Astre

Arsonist (All Instruments)

Formed in 2001 by french musician 'Arsonist' to produce atmospheric black metal mixed with electronic music.

well 'De L'Intouchable Mort' may have an ambient start with nice piano under spoken words, but this starts to get nasty after a few minutes with some full on symphonic black metal and screaming vocals.
Two thirds in to this 10 minute epic and the mood changes again to modern smooth jazz and some added weird vocal effects.

'Verite' is traditional symphonic black metal, fast drums and epic riffing do however give this one a slightly different feel towards the end.

Another melodic almost jazzy start leads you into a false sense that you know what ypu are getting because 'De Ma Dague' soon turns once more into black metal, and again there are numerous changes of style as it progresses, some simple but effective bass playing over a synth backing and then this gets very ambient like tangerine dream.

'Ars Moriendi' is another great mixture of mainstream but melodic black metal that changes half way through to allow another layer of ambience to be created and even some movie samples thrown in.

Final track 'La Singuliere Noirceur D'Un Astre' seems to follow the same pattern, first half metal second half ambient.

I think i was expecting more from this, but i do like it, would have liked it to be mixed up as opposed to half and half at times.

Rating 8/10
For fans Of: Ulver, Axis Of Perdition, Dimmu Borgir, Wolves In The Throneroom, Blut Aus Nord

Albez Duz - The Coming Of Mictlan (CD Review)

01.Heaven´s Blind
02.Fire Wings
03.Mictlan
04.Feathered Snake
05.Drowned
06.Servants Of Light
07.Twist In My sobriety


Impurus (Instruments)
Alfonso Brito Lopez (Vocals)

German occult/doom band formed in 2002 by Impurus initally as a side project to his other band 'Dies Ater'.Eventually in 2009 it became a full time band.
The blurb from the record company says:
"Accordingly diversified are the influences Albez Duz assimilates for their unique Occult Doom Rock: early Paradise Lost, Tiamat and My Dying Bride provide for a melancholic yet powerful felling whereas bands like Pink Floyd, Hawkwind or Black Widow were the inspiration for the spiritual impact. The band considers itself as unity that consequently abstains from any names and rather focuses on their artistic performance than on image and personality cult. Albez Duz is not about being innovative at any cost but about bridging towards the past, a path back to instinctiveness and the picking up of a nostalgic atmosphere".


The opening song 'Heaven's Blind' is an ambient and atmospheric composition of simple sound effects, drum and spoken word and haunting backing vocals.

'Fire Wings' on the other hand is a modern gothic doom workout, heavy riffs and pounding drums, layered keyboards and a vocal reminiscent of Peter Steel.

With some epic heavy organ playing 'Mictlan' has an almost late 1960's proto doom feel.
Again with the vocals and you cannot help but draw that Peter Steel comparison again, especially when the music picks up the pace its "Type O", great psych guitar solo and some swirling synth thrown in as well, this one pretty much has everything you could want!

'Feathered Snake' offers more of the same and then comes the very floydian 'Drowned' almost the opening chords to wish you were here, but this is darker and nothing short of stunning!

Weird synth sounds for 'Servants Of Light', give way to tortured screams, huge drum sound and then a full on heavy rock riff comes in and takes the music in a different direction for a while before down turning into a slow doom laden piece complete with a sitar.

You know for years i always thought that Tinata Tikaram's goth folk song 'Twist In My Sobriety' could be turned into a heavy doom song and now they have done it, and yes it is bloody epic!!!

Rating 10/10
For fans Of: Type O Negative, Cathedral, My Dying Bride, Tiamat, Blood Ceremony