ARCHAIC WINTER - DEMON E.P.
Archaic Winter is a band that I am familiar with from a few years ago. A man named Peter Hasselbrack, who we all know heads the band Bloodsoaked, was a part of the creation of this band. In recent days Archaic Winter has began a second life with the members Greg Maupin from Agony Divine and vocalist Luis Landeo. Archaic Winter has headed toward the Black Metal direction with added touches of Death Metal from the old school days. 2006 was the year they were formed and have released two full-lengths, an e.p., and a split release in 2012. So for now the e.p. entitled "Demon" is my focus on this review. Archaic Winter aren't the typical Death/Black Metal band in that their music seems to be on the more evil side of the genre. Tracks like "October Fire" screech the guitars to a new level and still keep that Death Metal touch in the music! Everything on this e.p. is put together really well and the music is interesting and mind melting at times. All of the tracks have their own identity and that is what keeps this going. All the metal here is definitely on the path of blackened metal with the spews of guttural vocals or screams of an evil metal titan all mixed together well. Archaic Winter is kicking ass and keeping it more original than a lot of bands in the mix these days, especially in the metal underground. "Demon" is a seventeen minute play with a primitive production and crisp riffs. This is well worth checking out and hopefully another full-length release is on the way from Archaic Winter. Well done from the two members of this band and I hope they keep making evil metal this particular way in the future!!! 8/10
PANZERBASTARD - GODS, THUGS, AND MADMEN
Boston, the land of robbers, thieves, and the Irish Mob of Whitey Bulger, has created a sound of fierce Thrash/Crust/Punk since 2006 and still keeps on going. The latest offering "Gods, Thugs, and Madmen" is no exception when it comes to the brutal display of crunching buzz-saw guitars and maniacal vocalist that comes with the band. "Gods, Thugs, and Madmen" give no less than a slug to the fucking face with huge damn sledgehammer that will go right through you! All five tracks on this e.p. just rip on and on without one type of break what-so-ever. Panzerbastard is the epitome of what good old fashioned Crust Metal should be and they are great at it. 15 minutes of pure violent war thoughts with hatred felt all the way across the other side of the world. This is the type of e.p. that makes a car want to go 100 mph on the expressway without ever hitting the brakes for nothing or nobody! Panzerbastard has the edge and will always have it with anger and technical ability like this. I can't wait for the full-length release to come out, whenever that will be because if it is anything like "Demon" then holy shit, chop off your fucking head with an ax because you're fucked! 9/10
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WOLFBRIGADE - DAMNED
I must admit, and this really sucks, that I do not know much about Wolfbrigade. I do know that when I listened to their most recent offering "Damned" that I became an instant fan of the band. "Damned" is a brutal piece of Hardcore Punk and kicks some major ass throughout the whole release. From the beginning of the track "Feed the Flames" through "The Curse of Cain" until the end of "Peace of mind" there is no break, no chance of letting up or easy listening style changes. Everything is brutal and hardcore, just like their style, and Wolfbrigade display the potential brutality that modern bands should have in today's genres in the underground. I hear so many different elements of metal styles like Black Metal, Crustmetal, Death Metal and Thrash Metal all rolled up into one cool record. Wolfbrigade is not an easy band to pin down and this another reason why I was taken back from "Damned". The influential styles from all these different genres of metal are so well tuned in their music. Wolfbrigade have obviously been around a long time with eight full length releases in their belt, and this D-Beat thing has taken on a new realm considering that this style wasn't so popular back in the early days of modern metal time! Doesn't fucking matter now because Wolfbrigade throws down awesome metal and this is worth checking out for the fans of metal in extreme reality! I It will be up to you if you dig this release and I liked it, nothing to change the world by but definitely worth picking up if you like your Swedish Metal in a D-Beat vein! 7/10
MARTYRDOD - PARANOIA
Martyrdod is Crustmetal band hailing from the depths of Southern Lord label. Martyrdod releases "Paranoia" into the world and I don't know how i feel about this release yet. Of course there are many extreme Swedish metal bands and Martyrdod happens to be another one! I have become a fan of this style of brutal metal, but unfortunately I have already heard bands that can play this style a lot harder and a bit better than Martyrdod. I am not disrespecting the band's potential, but there are other bands in the world's metal underground that have taken this to the extreme level and make it well. "Paranoia" is a screaming guttural entity with pieces of raw sounding riffs that aren't exactly the rough sounding parts I expected to hear. I totally expected an uproar of fucking brutality that would run right through me like a damn semi-truck without brakes, but that never happens with "Paranoia". Technical and sometimes almost a bit in the Melodic side, Martyrdod doesn't quite take things to the extreme that can be grabbed with this type of metal! Maybe i am just a fucking jerk, but i wanted more sickness in the reality of what a Hardcore band like these guys can give. "Paranoia" still has the mix and potential of a great release and I am sure that when they hear their own release they truly could give a flying fuck what i think, but if you're a fan of this type of metal I believe Martyrdod might disappoint you in that their metal never reaches the level of speed and primitive nature that this could have. See for yourself and then tell me to go fuck myself! 6/10
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CHILEAN BLACK METAL ATTACK VOLUME I
Well this is interesting for me in that I love compilations, various artists, and stuff like that. Now I get to review this more recent underground Black Metal offering from Chile that so happens to have some of the most primitive Black metal bands on the planet! There are nine bands total on this release and each one of them has their own brand of sickening, raw, cold, dark, symphonic, barbaric Black Metal. Now I will not go into every band on this release, but I will talk about a couple of them just to give the fans an idea of what to expect from "Metal Attack". Luctus Hydra begins this offering with their brand of raw Black Metal. There is the intro and then the blasting attack of metal in the beginning of their track added with a background flowing throughout the song. A low tuned guttural scream is coupled with the lyrical content of Christianity and the war against that religion, also the hatred towards Christianity. Luctus Hydra delivers primitive sounding tracks on this release and should keep old school fans pretty interested with their style. Beelzebuth is another band to be heard and they share a brand of very primitive and very raw Black Metal without the fancy symphonic and opera style that plague most of today's Black metal bands. The style reminds me of early Dark Throne or even Beherit when I hear this. I love the war like style that comes out of these tracks from Beelzebuth and the production is so thin and cold. Definitely something worth getting into. The rest of this release can be found out when you finally grab yourself and jam a fucking hammer into your skull when you play this on your fucking I-pod! Everything in one way or another comes out to be a full fledged war against anything that reeks of Christianity and the good nature of man (if there is such a thing). "Chilean Black Metal Attack" is a definite want for fans of evil and dark Black Metal without the whole Folk Metal, symphonic crap. nothing but pure raw, cold, dark, and primitive Black metal for the hardcore metal heads! 7/10
SILENT OPERA - IMMORTAL BEAUTY
Silent Opera is the quintessential band of symphonic metal that is heard throughout the underground today. The female vocals with operatic tones mixed with the slightly heavy riffs and background of fantasy, fans of this genre will probably like "Immortal Beauty" a lot. This is not my "cup of tea" but i can't deny the potential and talent that a band has when I listen to their music. Something that does impress me is the fact that I heard Silent Opera is an independent band without a label! The way the album sounds is without a doubt great compared to bands who couldn't produce a release if their life depended on it! "Immortal Beauty" delivers a sea of heaviness and didn't add too much of the "symphonic" parts as I thought, like most bands in this genre. Coming from being a tribute band to another band of their own style in metal helps get this band on the map, and for sure Lady Victoria offers that operatic style in vocals which goes well with the mix. Eleven tracks totaling 53 minutes of music gives the fan a chance to really get into what type path this album creates. Fans of Nightwish will surely love this release and garnering new fans is a definite for the future of Silent Opera. Nothing out of the ordinary here, but worth the time to check out for metal fans of this genre. 6/10
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MASSIVE ASSAULT - DEATH STRIKE
From the Netherlands we have a killer, Swedish sounding metal band by the moniker of Massive Assault doing exactly that, assaulting the underground with their brand of Death Metal. Formed back in 2001 Massive Assault have been slowly, but surely making their way across the world with technical buzz-saw brutality and grim riffs of a metal style that reminds me of the old school days of Entombed and Dismember. Other influences can be heard in their most recent offering "Death Strike". From the start "Death Strike" unleashes that killer brutality and production that made so many earlier awesome metal bands from Sweden hit the top of the map. Nothing lets up and the technical ability of Massive Assault keep the Thrash/Death/Hardcore elements interesting throughout the ten tracks delivered from this release. They give out 36 minutes of pure old school metal that could bring a smile to a Priest in the Metal Underground with a bottle of liquor hanging out of his mouth! "Death Strike" delivers start to finish and fans of old school Death Metal won't be disappointed at all. Tracks like "Cycle of Violence" and "Dismal Life" have such a buzzing sound to the production that a metal fan can't help but slam their head across the room with a fucking sledgehammer in the other hand! Either way Massive Assault deliver an unrelenting old school brutality that hasn't been heard of since the days of Sweden being born into the Metal Underground in the old days! Fans will certainly enjoy "Death Strike" and hopefully another offering is in the works for their next gift to the underground. 8/10
LEFUTRAY - LAST BREATH
Santiago, Chile has brought upon the world a metalcore outfit, Lefutray, that gives the world a release that kicks some ass from beginning to end. Releases like this that start off with a fucking bang always make for good release. "Last Breath" is a release that grabs a fans attention from the start with the heaviness, but almost guttural piece mixed with the hardcore element of the old school fashion. The modern production coupled with primitive but technical riffs makes for a great fucking listen! Lefutray, which happens to mean "fast sound" is exactly what their name describes. "Last breath" does not let up on the heaviness or the blasting brutality that rears its head throughout the release. A mix of styles is evident on each track which keeps this all very fresh in the mind. No boring background mainstream here, just a typical piece of technical metalcore with all the trimmings of a grim metal band that deserves to be heard. Chile has a range of metal bands in the Metal Underground and Lefutray certainly makes their mark with tracks like "Agreement of Suffering" which begins "Last breath" with that punch in the gut to grab your attention and leads through with "Ain't Part of It" and other speedy pieces of brutal metal reality. All in all Lefutray delivers a pretty mean offering with "Last breath" and Chile should be proud to have these guys representing them in the Metal underground. I like this release because of the unrelenting metal delivery with nothing giving up on any track. Just a pure metal style like the world needs today! 9/10
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NUCLEAR SALVATION - THE BEGINNING OF THE END
One of the many things I love about my hobby in metal is the ability to review every and any metal band out in the Metal World no matter how obscure the band is. I love it all when it comes to being involved with metal and the review i am doing now is added to that love. Nuclear Salvation is a brutal thrash metal band from the land of Sweden who began not too long ago in 2011 with the release of "The Beginning of the End". A speed ridden release with elements of Thrash and old school death influence, but the obvious is the Thrash metal element in this offering. This isn't bad at all with the speed riffs from start to finish and remnants of Slayer and early style speed/thrash metal along with that hardcore mix. "The Beginning of the End" spews out eight tracks of interesting Thrash Metal that kicks ass with a hammer and nails to the brain. I really don't know too much about these guys except that they are currently on tour and killing the fans with their old school style of thrash. A old school style with a modern edge on production makes this a release that is well worth hearing on a daily basis with nothing to complain about. Nuclear Salvation delivers their brand of Thrash Metal in a way that reminds me of the days when there were only two or three metal labels eating up the unknown bands and putting out killer riffs! No sub-genres, no added bullshit, just a killer style of Thrash with no exceptions. Nuclear Salvation has potential and hopefully will continue to blast out the riffs and the speedy brutality that makes "The Beginning of the End" so awesome to listen to! Cheers on this one! 9/10
THE PROPHECY 23 - GREEN MACHINE LASER BEAM
Holy shit! Today is the day of underground thrash metal that kicks fucking major ass and needs to be heard! The Prophecy 23 is a killer Thrash Metal band hailing from Germany. Formed in 2002, These guys began with the cover songs from early metal bands like Metallica and Slayer, but moved on to making their own waves in the Metal Underground. What has come out of this stage is a major ass kicking Thrash release by name of "Green Machine Laser Beam". The ways of society and political madness make the lyrical content usual, but the way they jam is awesome. Old school influence from Thrash and even Death metal bands from the days of early metal help make the modern production and approach that more interesting to get into. The prophecy 23 unleash a speed style of guttural screams and technical madness mixed with polished potential and this alone keeps this release at the top of the underground. Death/Thrash antics bring the talent of this band to many fans and hopefully we will hear more from The Prophecy 23 in the future. Check out tracks like "Don't Step Back" which delivers a hardcore/Thrash element to the music, not to mention the brutality of the Death Metal influence as well. Other tracks like "We are the Pit Police" and "No Followers, No Leaders" leave an awesome style of thrash metal and hardcore influence all the way through! This all comes to make a decent release and an interesting listen when it comes to "Green Machine Laser Beam". This isn't a run-of-the-mill metal release, this is a technical prowess with modern edge and old school elements mixed with the Death Metal styles of yesteryear. The Prophecy 23 is a definite killer band that deserves to be thrown into the mainstream mix of the Metal Underground, if there is such a thing! Either way, this kicks fucking ass and should be heard! 9/10
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SADISTIK FOREST - DEATH, DOOM, RADIATION
Sadistik Forest hails from Finland, a land well known for brutality, sickness, Black Metal bands, and pure evil all the way around in a metal sense! Sadistik Forest has released "Death, Doom, Radiation" which is a very brutal and modern release. This band begins with brutality and ends with brutality with nothing in between. Nothing fancy happening here except for the ten tracks of unforgiving technical sickness coming from the band. Guttural madness with violent and extreme metal riffs takes Sadistik Forest to the underground with force. I love the way the brutal and extreme nature of this release just never quits with reminders of the times when Death Metal was just Death Metal without the many sub-genres that spawned after those days. Influences from the old school days are apparent throughout the release, but this makes the experience that much better, for me anyway! "Death, Doom, Radiation" is a journey through the typical brutality that a Death Metal band can produce, but this isn't run of the mill at all. Technicality, bizarre Slayer type riffs, and pure guttural madness added with a solid sounding production make Sadistik Forest something awesome to check out, especially for fans of brutality like this release. There are nine tracks totaling 32 minutes of sickness so if you're a fan of brutality without all the added modern technology and background then Sadistik Forest is your ticket! 9/10
NOCTURNAL TORMENT - THEY COME AT NIGHT
For the fans of ultimate brutality and guttural madness Nocturnal Torment is right up your alley, and mine..."They Come at Night" is a sickness released to mangle the human race with sledgehammers and guns that won't quit! Blasting sickness, brutal riffs that cut your heart out and a production that maintains heaviness from start to finish, Nocturnal Torment are awesome with the metal they display. I get to hear a lot of brutal metal each day and some of it is just the typical bullshit, but others, like this band, have a bit more to add than just the regular crap that floats through the underground. I can see that Nocturnal Torment is influenced by the old school days with a definite touch of modern technicality and even a Slayer type element in their style as well. All of this adds up to a most sickening technical release that is not boring at all. Now for those who don't know, Nocturnal Torment's members have been around for a long time. I think that the band Termination started off back in 1988 or 1989 and from the ashes arose this band, so old school is certainly a product of the band's imagination. This adds to the potential of a killer piece of brutality that turned out as "They Come at Night" and hopefully more to come. Nine tracks at 50 minutes of brutality garners enough sickness to go around. With tracks like "Alternative Reality" and "Sweet Decay" the heaviness and old school sickness is never ending in my opinion. So for those of you from the early days of metal, like myself, then checking out Nocturnal Torment would be a fresh start for the day! 8/10
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ANTAGONIST ZERO - NIGHTTIME HARMONY
I love it when I get the chance to hear a band that never came to my attention before my first review of their release and this is one of those times. Antagonist Zero is a band with a style of metal that could remind one of bands like Opeth or Katatonia with that depressive sound of ambiance mixed with Doom Metal and maybe even some sort of primitive industrial metal sound as well. Either way Antagonist Zero sure do sound pretty damn good at what they do. "Nighttime Harmony" is a three track release that delivers a wide variety of metal styles like Ambient, old school rock influence, and of course Doom Metal with a vocal style that is clean, but also can be brutal. This is something that is fresh to the ears of metal fans and you don't exactly have to have that much of an open mind to get what this is about. I love the way they put all the different elements of style into their music and these three tracks will garner some fans if they haven't already. A good production with excellent riffs and solos, Antagonist Zero may be a young band, but this shows that they have obviously been honing their skills in previous projects before this band. All three tracks are well played and awesome to listen to from beginning to end. Antagonist Zero are well on their way to breaking new ground with releases like this and this is just a taste of what the future will hopefully bring into the metal underground with these guys. From guttural to clean, from post metal to Blackened Metal and Doom , this band has much potential and will make a splash in the underground if they keep playing material like this! 9/10
DELIRIUM'S ORDER - VENIVERSUM
Delirium's Order is another band that I haven't had the pleasure of hearing until recently and I am not disappointed at all. "Veniversum" is a brutal and guttural release that takes time back to the old school days without losing that modern progressive metal edge that they seem to add to their latest release. These guys were formed in inland over 12 years ago and have unloaded two demos and now their third full-length upon the metal underground. This is a technically proficient release with a polished production and a power metal influence that feels throughout the whole release. Lots of originality throughout "Veniversum" and a lot of different influences from Power Metal to Melodic Death Metal to almost a Black Metal/Doom metal feel as well. There are eight tracks of dominant metal that leaves no boring side to it at all. I am impressed by the way everything is put together and I believe Delirium's Order will fly to the top of the metal underground in no time at all. The metal hits hard and fast and adds such a classy feeling to the release. Fans will love this one, for sure. Throughout this release the band leans on serial killing and famous murderers that keeps the lyrical content going. It is all put together very well and the brutality is still there no matter how melodic, technical, powerful, or progressive this release gets. Delirium's Order is kick ass and "Veniversum" is well worth the time to check out for fans of modern style technical brutality with a twist. 8/10
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CHAOS INCEPTION- THE ABROGATION
Chaos Inception is one brutal fucking band people! They were formed in 2008 out in the land of Huntsville, Alabama in the United States and I have to say that the sickness spawned from their most recent release "The Abrogation" is just awesome! Chaos Inception leave nothing to chance with guttural brutality in the vocal territory and killer riffs stemming from progressive to technical to almost in the space age of the metal genres... All of this adds to a blasting piece of metal brutality that starts and ends with a plethora of pure sickness. June 5th, 2012 is the day that this release hit the Metal Underground and every gut wrenching metal fan with a taste for serial sickness will certainly get into tracks, especially the title track which is the first song on this release, along with "Lunatic Necromancy" and "Scald Command" which ends the release on the brutal which it originally began on! I love the Death Metal genre and I don't give a fuck what people say about today's metal bands, their are still plenty of bands making killer brutality and Chaos Inception happens to be one of those bands. From beginning to end these guys just rip the shit out of their instruments. A touch of old school metal influence mixed with a modern production and style of playing, Chaos Inception kicks major ass with "The Abrogation" and hopefully the future will bring out some more total sledgehammer sickness like these guys! There are a total of nine tracks full of fury and brutality with a playing time of barely over a half hour which is great for me, and the fans! Chaos Inception is well worth the sledgehammer that slams the skull when you listen to this release! 9/10
VISCERAL THRONE - OMNIPOTENT ASPERITY
If you are a hardcore fan of complete sickness and brutality like myself then maybe a band "Rotted Rebirth" might ring a bell in the fucked up minds of some brutal fans. They began their descent into Death Metal sickness back in 2005 out in Indiana and made some waves, but unfortunately split up afterwards. Well, now we have Visceral Throne, a band risen from the old days of Rotting Rebirth and making some type of brutal impact throughout the underground of metal. "Omnipotent Asperity" made its way onto the circuit May 22nd, 2012 and definitely made the attention of my sick mind. Visceral Throne have a similar feeling as the old ways of early Suffocation or even a bit like Devourment. There are other obvious influences to the music but who gives a fuck, Visceral Throne play a sick style of brutality and sickness that just can't be ignored! What we have here is 28 minutes of pure sickening metal with that twist of burning slow brutality that has made so many other killer Brutal Metal bands alive. Visceral Throne have also retrieved a style that touches on modern ways and riffs mixed along with the obvious old school metal influences that have brought the good style out of these guys! "Omnipotent Asperity" may not be the most original or groundbreaking release from a death metal band of today, but as far as I am concerned it doesn't matter as long they can make what they do sound brutal, sick, guttural, and especially interesting enough to last through every track on the release. Eight tracks total with good brutality here, tracks like "Epitaph" and "Unknown" are slamming pieces of sickness with a twisted sense of technicality in that Death Metal way. Definitely worth the time to check out....8/10
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SANCTUS DAEMONEON - NOTHINGLESS NOTHINGNESS
Sanctus Daemoneon is a band I haven't heard before this review. They formed in Denmark back in 2006 and have released an EP and two-full-length releases. This review is about the EP release entitled "Nothingless Nothingness". This a primitive sounding Doom Metal, almost Black Metal type of style coming from Sanctus. There is some Funeral Doom background with a bit of symphonic touches as well. This is a brand of doom and gloom metal with a twisted feeling of suicidal happiness that is totally unique in the way this ep sounds. There is nothing here short of ambient or evil such as tracks like, well...All of the tracks are completely dominated by an atmosphere of Nihilistic war and total degradation of human life! All Blackened Gloom in an influence coming from Black Metal from the doom part of style. Sanctus Daemoneon will make the fans of Doom Metal very happy, but i just can't see many others besides the hardest of Doom Metal fans wanting this particular release. That isn't bad at all, but this isn't a release made for the masses, this is something true to the band because they know what they want to play and they don't care who likes it! No selling out on this band! Anyway, this is an ep with five tracks total and a playing time of over 26 minutes in length. So if you are a fan of the most suicidal primitive type of Doom Metal with atmospheres full of depressing and suicidal content then check out Sanctus Daemoneon and i am sure that within the time this starts and finishes you will be holding a gun to your head with tears coming out of your eyes! 7/10
EQUIMANTHORN - A FIFTH CONJURATION
Well...Five demos and now five full-length releases later Equimanthorn is continuing their descent into the abyss of underground ambient metal. "A Fifth Conjuration" delivers what the Occult and other tales of Ancient darkness that the metal fans of this style love to hear and listen to. Equimanthorn is made of different members from different bands including the legendary Absu. This release unleashes a darkness and coldness that a lot of bands wished they could even come close to. Bands like Crimson Moon and Endura have a slight similarity to what Equimanthorn is about just to give a small idea of where these guys are heading with "A Fifth Conjuration". Tracks like "When Skies Above Were Not Yet Named" and "The Great Deluge" which is the song that starts the whole path into instrumental darkness, Equimanthorn does a good job holding onto their brand of depressive Ambiance in the metal underground. This is an acquired taste for metal fans, but there are plenty of metalheads out in the world that probably understand this side of the metal fence! Equimanthorn is a definite for fans of the most depressive instrumental bands around, although there are a couple of songs that do include some vocals. Check it out but only if you have what we call an "open mind" to metal styles...6/10
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BIFROST - FEHU
Bifrost was formed back in 2004 in the land of Italy; Since that time two ep releases have made it to the underground - "Ambivalence" and the most recent offering "Fehu". "Fehu" is a mixture of Sludge Metal and at other times Death Metal but with an Avant-Garde touch to the music. It all mixes pretty well and the best thing about this is that the production is not your typical over-polished modern production. This is all totally Sludge in and out, start to finish. The influence of old school Death Metal and even Black Metal at times is certain throughout the release. I also noticed a lot of other elements of genres like, well, even some Folk Metal and Doom Metal influence as well. This is all pretty unique for Bifrost, the melodic depression and the lyrical content seem suicidal at times and this is great! The moods are always changing and the style keeps things interesting. Bifrost is an interesting band and hopefully as time goes on they will keep releasing the same groovy style maniacal metal that comes through when played! "Fehu" is one of the more interesting releases that have crossed my path this year and tracks like the obvious title track "Fehu", and "Ymir" which shows the potential of the musicians involved adding the melodic parts with the killer piano playing in the background, this is wonderful intro to begin with! "Asgard" begins the second track with a silent start and then the guttural spews begin! Everything mixed into one big bag of metal sub-genres and underground potential for future sickness! This is really deranged metal at its best! 8/10
DEAD NEON - PRESS
Described by the band as "Nuclear Doom" which is a great style by the way, Dead Neon is definitely a suicidal mix of Doom Metal and even pieces of Black Metal influence, I think! Anyway, from Las Vegas comes another unique brand of metal by way of Dead Neon and their offering "Press". I have no idea when these guys came about, but i do know that "Press" seems to be their only release as of now and it is pretty interesting metal. Tracks like "Downwinder" and "Black Ash", among others, show the degree of doom and gloom that Dead Neon possess. The Black Metal influence sure sounds great in the vocal delivery, but the influence is also throughout the ep as well. "Press" is a mixture of modern, but old school influenced industrial metal and complete depressive madness. "Wastelansque" delivers more brutal doom and the feeling of primitive production does help keep this interesting throughout the tracks. Dead Neon is definitely an acquired taste for the hardest fans of Doom Metal and even some industrial types of metal styles mixed into one release. I think this is good stuff and Dead Neon is nothing short of unique, and possibly even original which is hard to find these days of modern metal underground bands. "Press" delivers a total of ten tracks with a playing time of 27 minutes, long for an ep, but well worth the time to hear it! 7/10
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Luther Lazaretto / Blog
Archaic Winter and Panzerbastard reviews
ARCHAIC WINTER - DEMON E.P. Archaic Winter is a band that I am familiar with from a few years ago. A man named Peter Hasselbrack, who we all know heads the band Bloodsoaked, was a part of the creation of this band. In recent days Archaic Winter has began a second life with the members Greg Maupin from Agony Divine and vocalist Luis Landeo. Archaic Winter has headed toward the Black Metal direction with added touches of Death Metal from the old school days. 2006 was the year they were formed and have released two full-lengths, an e.p., and a split release in 2012. So for now the e.p. entitled "Demon" is my focus on this review. Archaic Winter aren't the typical Death/Black Metal band in that their music seems to be on the more evil side of the genre. Tracks like "October Fire" screech the guitars to a new level and still keep that Death Metal touch in the music! Everything on this e.p. is put together really well and the music is interesting and mind melting at times. All of the tracks have their own identity and that is what keeps this going. All the metal here is definitely on the path of blackened metal with the spews of guttural vocals or screams of an evil metal titan all mixed together well. Archaic Winter is kicking ass and keeping it more original than a lot of bands in the mix these days, especially in the metal underground. "Demon" is a seventeen minute play with a primitive production and crisp riffs. This is well worth checking out and hopefully another full-length release is on the way from Archaic Winter. Well done from the two members of this band and I hope they keep making evil metal this particular way in the future!!! 8/10
PANZERBASTARD - GODS, THUGS, AND MADMEN Boston, the land of robbers, thieves, and the Irish Mob of Whitey Bulger, has created a sound of fierce Thrash/Crust/Punk since 2006 and still keeps on going. The latest offering "Gods, Thugs, and Madmen" is no exception when it comes to the brutal display of crunching buzz-saw guitars and maniacal vocalist that comes with the band. "Gods, Thugs, and Madmen" give no less than a slug to the fucking face with huge damn sledgehammer that will go right through you! All five tracks on this e.p. just rip on and on without one type of break what-so-ever. Panzerbastard is the epitome of what good old fashioned Crust Metal should be and they are great at it. 15 minutes of pure violent war thoughts with hatred felt all the way across the other side of the world. This is the type of e.p. that makes a car want to go 100 mph on the expressway without ever hitting the brakes for nothing or nobody! Panzerbastard has the edge and will always have it with anger and technical ability like this. I can't wait for the full-length release to come out, whenever that will be because if it is anything like "Demon" then holy shit, chop off your fucking head with an ax because you're fucked! 9/10
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Wolfbrigade and Martyrdod reviews
WOLFBRIGADE - DAMNED
I must admit, and this really sucks, that I do not know much about Wolfbrigade. I do know that when I listened to their most recent offering "Damned" that I became an instant fan of the band. "Damned" is a brutal piece of Hardcore Punk and kicks some major ass throughout the whole release. From the beginning of the track "Feed the Flames" through "The Curse of Cain" until the end of "Peace of mind" there is no break, no chance of letting up or easy listening style changes. Everything is brutal and hardcore, just like their style, and Wolfbrigade display the potential brutality that modern bands should have in today's genres in the underground. I hear so many different elements of metal styles like Black Metal, Crustmetal, Death Metal and Thrash Metal all rolled up into one cool record. Wolfbrigade is not an easy band to pin down and this another reason why I was taken back from "Damned". The influential styles from all these different genres of metal are so well tuned in their music. Wolfbrigade have obviously been around a long time with eight full length releases in their belt, and this D-Beat thing has taken on a new realm considering that this style wasn't so popular back in the early days of modern metal time! Doesn't fucking matter now because Wolfbrigade throws down awesome metal and this is worth checking out for the fans of metal in extreme reality! I It will be up to you if you dig this release and I liked it, nothing to change the world by but definitely worth picking up if you like your Swedish Metal in a D-Beat vein! 7/10
MARTYRDOD - PARANOIA
Martyrdod is Crustmetal band hailing from the depths of Southern Lord label. Martyrdod releases "Paranoia" into the world and I don't know how i feel about this release yet. Of course there are many extreme Swedish metal bands and Martyrdod happens to be another one! I have become a fan of this style of brutal metal, but unfortunately I have already heard bands that can play this style a lot harder and a bit better than Martyrdod. I am not disrespecting the band's potential, but there are other bands in the world's metal underground that have taken this to the extreme level and make it well. "Paranoia" is a screaming guttural entity with pieces of raw sounding riffs that aren't exactly the rough sounding parts I expected to hear. I totally expected an uproar of fucking brutality that would run right through me like a damn semi-truck without brakes, but that never happens with "Paranoia". Technical and sometimes almost a bit in the Melodic side, Martyrdod doesn't quite take things to the extreme that can be grabbed with this type of metal! Maybe i am just a fucking jerk, but i wanted more sickness in the reality of what a Hardcore band like these guys can give. "Paranoia" still has the mix and potential of a great release and I am sure that when they hear their own release they truly could give a flying fuck what i think, but if you're a fan of this type of metal I believe Martyrdod might disappoint you in that their metal never reaches the level of speed and primitive nature that this could have. See for yourself and then tell me to go fuck myself! 6/10
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Chilean Black Metal Attack Volume I and Silent Opera reviews
CHILEAN BLACK METAL ATTACK VOLUME I Well this is interesting for me in that I love compilations, various artists, and stuff like that. Now I get to review this more recent underground Black Metal offering from Chile that so happens to have some of the most primitive Black metal bands on the planet! There are nine bands total on this release and each one of them has their own brand of sickening, raw, cold, dark, symphonic, barbaric Black Metal. Now I will not go into every band on this release, but I will talk about a couple of them just to give the fans an idea of what to expect from "Metal Attack". Luctus Hydra begins this offering with their brand of raw Black Metal. There is the intro and then the blasting attack of metal in the beginning of their track added with a background flowing throughout the song. A low tuned guttural scream is coupled with the lyrical content of Christianity and the war against that religion, also the hatred towards Christianity. Luctus Hydra delivers primitive sounding tracks on this release and should keep old school fans pretty interested with their style. Beelzebuth is another band to be heard and they share a brand of very primitive and very raw Black Metal without the fancy symphonic and opera style that plague most of today's Black metal bands. The style reminds me of early Dark Throne or even Beherit when I hear this. I love the war like style that comes out of these tracks from Beelzebuth and the production is so thin and cold. Definitely something worth getting into. The rest of this release can be found out when you finally grab yourself and jam a fucking hammer into your skull when you play this on your fucking I-pod! Everything in one way or another comes out to be a full fledged war against anything that reeks of Christianity and the good nature of man (if there is such a thing). "Chilean Black Metal Attack" is a definite want for fans of evil and dark Black Metal without the whole Folk Metal, symphonic crap. nothing but pure raw, cold, dark, and primitive Black metal for the hardcore metal heads! 7/10
SILENT OPERA - IMMORTAL BEAUTY Silent Opera is the quintessential band of symphonic metal that is heard throughout the underground today. The female vocals with operatic tones mixed with the slightly heavy riffs and background of fantasy, fans of this genre will probably like "Immortal Beauty" a lot. This is not my "cup of tea" but i can't deny the potential and talent that a band has when I listen to their music. Something that does impress me is the fact that I heard Silent Opera is an independent band without a label! The way the album sounds is without a doubt great compared to bands who couldn't produce a release if their life depended on it! "Immortal Beauty" delivers a sea of heaviness and didn't add too much of the "symphonic" parts as I thought, like most bands in this genre. Coming from being a tribute band to another band of their own style in metal helps get this band on the map, and for sure Lady Victoria offers that operatic style in vocals which goes well with the mix. Eleven tracks totaling 53 minutes of music gives the fan a chance to really get into what type path this album creates. Fans of Nightwish will surely love this release and garnering new fans is a definite for the future of Silent Opera. Nothing out of the ordinary here, but worth the time to check out for metal fans of this genre. 6/10
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Massive Assault and Lefutray reviews
MASSIVE ASSAULT - DEATH STRIKE From the Netherlands we have a killer, Swedish sounding metal band by the moniker of Massive Assault doing exactly that, assaulting the underground with their brand of Death Metal. Formed back in 2001 Massive Assault have been slowly, but surely making their way across the world with technical buzz-saw brutality and grim riffs of a metal style that reminds me of the old school days of Entombed and Dismember. Other influences can be heard in their most recent offering "Death Strike". From the start "Death Strike" unleashes that killer brutality and production that made so many earlier awesome metal bands from Sweden hit the top of the map. Nothing lets up and the technical ability of Massive Assault keep the Thrash/Death/Hardcore elements interesting throughout the ten tracks delivered from this release. They give out 36 minutes of pure old school metal that could bring a smile to a Priest in the Metal Underground with a bottle of liquor hanging out of his mouth! "Death Strike" delivers start to finish and fans of old school Death Metal won't be disappointed at all. Tracks like "Cycle of Violence" and "Dismal Life" have such a buzzing sound to the production that a metal fan can't help but slam their head across the room with a fucking sledgehammer in the other hand! Either way Massive Assault deliver an unrelenting old school brutality that hasn't been heard of since the days of Sweden being born into the Metal Underground in the old days! Fans will certainly enjoy "Death Strike" and hopefully another offering is in the works for their next gift to the underground. 8/10
LEFUTRAY - LAST BREATH Santiago, Chile has brought upon the world a metalcore outfit, Lefutray, that gives the world a release that kicks some ass from beginning to end. Releases like this that start off with a fucking bang always make for good release. "Last Breath" is a release that grabs a fans attention from the start with the heaviness, but almost guttural piece mixed with the hardcore element of the old school fashion. The modern production coupled with primitive but technical riffs makes for a great fucking listen! Lefutray, which happens to mean "fast sound" is exactly what their name describes. "Last breath" does not let up on the heaviness or the blasting brutality that rears its head throughout the release. A mix of styles is evident on each track which keeps this all very fresh in the mind. No boring background mainstream here, just a typical piece of technical metalcore with all the trimmings of a grim metal band that deserves to be heard. Chile has a range of metal bands in the Metal Underground and Lefutray certainly makes their mark with tracks like "Agreement of Suffering" which begins "Last breath" with that punch in the gut to grab your attention and leads through with "Ain't Part of It" and other speedy pieces of brutal metal reality. All in all Lefutray delivers a pretty mean offering with "Last breath" and Chile should be proud to have these guys representing them in the Metal underground. I like this release because of the unrelenting metal delivery with nothing giving up on any track. Just a pure metal style like the world needs today! 9/10
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Nuclear Salvation and The Prophecy 23 reviews
NUCLEAR SALVATION - THE BEGINNING OF THE END One of the many things I love about my hobby in metal is the ability to review every and any metal band out in the Metal World no matter how obscure the band is. I love it all when it comes to being involved with metal and the review i am doing now is added to that love. Nuclear Salvation is a brutal thrash metal band from the land of Sweden who began not too long ago in 2011 with the release of "The Beginning of the End". A speed ridden release with elements of Thrash and old school death influence, but the obvious is the Thrash metal element in this offering. This isn't bad at all with the speed riffs from start to finish and remnants of Slayer and early style speed/thrash metal along with that hardcore mix. "The Beginning of the End" spews out eight tracks of interesting Thrash Metal that kicks ass with a hammer and nails to the brain. I really don't know too much about these guys except that they are currently on tour and killing the fans with their old school style of thrash. A old school style with a modern edge on production makes this a release that is well worth hearing on a daily basis with nothing to complain about. Nuclear Salvation delivers their brand of Thrash Metal in a way that reminds me of the days when there were only two or three metal labels eating up the unknown bands and putting out killer riffs! No sub-genres, no added bullshit, just a killer style of Thrash with no exceptions. Nuclear Salvation has potential and hopefully will continue to blast out the riffs and the speedy brutality that makes "The Beginning of the End" so awesome to listen to! Cheers on this one! 9/10
THE PROPHECY 23 - GREEN MACHINE LASER BEAM Holy shit! Today is the day of underground thrash metal that kicks fucking major ass and needs to be heard! The Prophecy 23 is a killer Thrash Metal band hailing from Germany. Formed in 2002, These guys began with the cover songs from early metal bands like Metallica and Slayer, but moved on to making their own waves in the Metal Underground. What has come out of this stage is a major ass kicking Thrash release by name of "Green Machine Laser Beam". The ways of society and political madness make the lyrical content usual, but the way they jam is awesome. Old school influence from Thrash and even Death metal bands from the days of early metal help make the modern production and approach that more interesting to get into. The prophecy 23 unleash a speed style of guttural screams and technical madness mixed with polished potential and this alone keeps this release at the top of the underground. Death/Thrash antics bring the talent of this band to many fans and hopefully we will hear more from The Prophecy 23 in the future. Check out tracks like "Don't Step Back" which delivers a hardcore/Thrash element to the music, not to mention the brutality of the Death Metal influence as well. Other tracks like "We are the Pit Police" and "No Followers, No Leaders" leave an awesome style of thrash metal and hardcore influence all the way through! This all comes to make a decent release and an interesting listen when it comes to "Green Machine Laser Beam". This isn't a run-of-the-mill metal release, this is a technical prowess with modern edge and old school elements mixed with the Death Metal styles of yesteryear. The Prophecy 23 is a definite killer band that deserves to be thrown into the mainstream mix of the Metal Underground, if there is such a thing! Either way, this kicks fucking ass and should be heard! 9/10
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Sadistik Forest and Nocturnal Torment reviews
SADISTIK FOREST - DEATH, DOOM, RADIATION Sadistik Forest hails from Finland, a land well known for brutality, sickness, Black Metal bands, and pure evil all the way around in a metal sense! Sadistik Forest has released "Death, Doom, Radiation" which is a very brutal and modern release. This band begins with brutality and ends with brutality with nothing in between. Nothing fancy happening here except for the ten tracks of unforgiving technical sickness coming from the band. Guttural madness with violent and extreme metal riffs takes Sadistik Forest to the underground with force. I love the way the brutal and extreme nature of this release just never quits with reminders of the times when Death Metal was just Death Metal without the many sub-genres that spawned after those days. Influences from the old school days are apparent throughout the release, but this makes the experience that much better, for me anyway! "Death, Doom, Radiation" is a journey through the typical brutality that a Death Metal band can produce, but this isn't run of the mill at all. Technicality, bizarre Slayer type riffs, and pure guttural madness added with a solid sounding production make Sadistik Forest something awesome to check out, especially for fans of brutality like this release. There are nine tracks totaling 32 minutes of sickness so if you're a fan of brutality without all the added modern technology and background then Sadistik Forest is your ticket! 9/10
NOCTURNAL TORMENT - THEY COME AT NIGHT For the fans of ultimate brutality and guttural madness Nocturnal Torment is right up your alley, and mine..."They Come at Night" is a sickness released to mangle the human race with sledgehammers and guns that won't quit! Blasting sickness, brutal riffs that cut your heart out and a production that maintains heaviness from start to finish, Nocturnal Torment are awesome with the metal they display. I get to hear a lot of brutal metal each day and some of it is just the typical bullshit, but others, like this band, have a bit more to add than just the regular crap that floats through the underground. I can see that Nocturnal Torment is influenced by the old school days with a definite touch of modern technicality and even a Slayer type element in their style as well. All of this adds up to a most sickening technical release that is not boring at all. Now for those who don't know, Nocturnal Torment's members have been around for a long time. I think that the band Termination started off back in 1988 or 1989 and from the ashes arose this band, so old school is certainly a product of the band's imagination. This adds to the potential of a killer piece of brutality that turned out as "They Come at Night" and hopefully more to come. Nine tracks at 50 minutes of brutality garners enough sickness to go around. With tracks like "Alternative Reality" and "Sweet Decay" the heaviness and old school sickness is never ending in my opinion. So for those of you from the early days of metal, like myself, then checking out Nocturnal Torment would be a fresh start for the day! 8/10
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Antagonist Zero and Delirium's Order reviews
ANTAGONIST ZERO - NIGHTTIME HARMONY I love it when I get the chance to hear a band that never came to my attention before my first review of their release and this is one of those times. Antagonist Zero is a band with a style of metal that could remind one of bands like Opeth or Katatonia with that depressive sound of ambiance mixed with Doom Metal and maybe even some sort of primitive industrial metal sound as well. Either way Antagonist Zero sure do sound pretty damn good at what they do. "Nighttime Harmony" is a three track release that delivers a wide variety of metal styles like Ambient, old school rock influence, and of course Doom Metal with a vocal style that is clean, but also can be brutal. This is something that is fresh to the ears of metal fans and you don't exactly have to have that much of an open mind to get what this is about. I love the way they put all the different elements of style into their music and these three tracks will garner some fans if they haven't already. A good production with excellent riffs and solos, Antagonist Zero may be a young band, but this shows that they have obviously been honing their skills in previous projects before this band. All three tracks are well played and awesome to listen to from beginning to end. Antagonist Zero are well on their way to breaking new ground with releases like this and this is just a taste of what the future will hopefully bring into the metal underground with these guys. From guttural to clean, from post metal to Blackened Metal and Doom , this band has much potential and will make a splash in the underground if they keep playing material like this! 9/10
DELIRIUM'S ORDER - VENIVERSUM Delirium's Order is another band that I haven't had the pleasure of hearing until recently and I am not disappointed at all. "Veniversum" is a brutal and guttural release that takes time back to the old school days without losing that modern progressive metal edge that they seem to add to their latest release. These guys were formed in inland over 12 years ago and have unloaded two demos and now their third full-length upon the metal underground. This is a technically proficient release with a polished production and a power metal influence that feels throughout the whole release. Lots of originality throughout "Veniversum" and a lot of different influences from Power Metal to Melodic Death Metal to almost a Black Metal/Doom metal feel as well. There are eight tracks of dominant metal that leaves no boring side to it at all. I am impressed by the way everything is put together and I believe Delirium's Order will fly to the top of the metal underground in no time at all. The metal hits hard and fast and adds such a classy feeling to the release. Fans will love this one, for sure. Throughout this release the band leans on serial killing and famous murderers that keeps the lyrical content going. It is all put together very well and the brutality is still there no matter how melodic, technical, powerful, or progressive this release gets. Delirium's Order is kick ass and "Veniversum" is well worth the time to check out for fans of modern style technical brutality with a twist. 8/10
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Chaos Inception and Visceral Throne reviews
CHAOS INCEPTION- THE ABROGATION Chaos Inception is one brutal fucking band people! They were formed in 2008 out in the land of Huntsville, Alabama in the United States and I have to say that the sickness spawned from their most recent release "The Abrogation" is just awesome! Chaos Inception leave nothing to chance with guttural brutality in the vocal territory and killer riffs stemming from progressive to technical to almost in the space age of the metal genres... All of this adds to a blasting piece of metal brutality that starts and ends with a plethora of pure sickness. June 5th, 2012 is the day that this release hit the Metal Underground and every gut wrenching metal fan with a taste for serial sickness will certainly get into tracks, especially the title track which is the first song on this release, along with "Lunatic Necromancy" and "Scald Command" which ends the release on the brutal which it originally began on! I love the Death Metal genre and I don't give a fuck what people say about today's metal bands, their are still plenty of bands making killer brutality and Chaos Inception happens to be one of those bands. From beginning to end these guys just rip the shit out of their instruments. A touch of old school metal influence mixed with a modern production and style of playing, Chaos Inception kicks major ass with "The Abrogation" and hopefully the future will bring out some more total sledgehammer sickness like these guys! There are a total of nine tracks full of fury and brutality with a playing time of barely over a half hour which is great for me, and the fans! Chaos Inception is well worth the sledgehammer that slams the skull when you listen to this release! 9/10
VISCERAL THRONE - OMNIPOTENT ASPERITY If you are a hardcore fan of complete sickness and brutality like myself then maybe a band "Rotted Rebirth" might ring a bell in the fucked up minds of some brutal fans. They began their descent into Death Metal sickness back in 2005 out in Indiana and made some waves, but unfortunately split up afterwards. Well, now we have Visceral Throne, a band risen from the old days of Rotting Rebirth and making some type of brutal impact throughout the underground of metal. "Omnipotent Asperity" made its way onto the circuit May 22nd, 2012 and definitely made the attention of my sick mind. Visceral Throne have a similar feeling as the old ways of early Suffocation or even a bit like Devourment. There are other obvious influences to the music but who gives a fuck, Visceral Throne play a sick style of brutality and sickness that just can't be ignored! What we have here is 28 minutes of pure sickening metal with that twist of burning slow brutality that has made so many other killer Brutal Metal bands alive. Visceral Throne have also retrieved a style that touches on modern ways and riffs mixed along with the obvious old school metal influences that have brought the good style out of these guys! "Omnipotent Asperity" may not be the most original or groundbreaking release from a death metal band of today, but as far as I am concerned it doesn't matter as long they can make what they do sound brutal, sick, guttural, and especially interesting enough to last through every track on the release. Eight tracks total with good brutality here, tracks like "Epitaph" and "Unknown" are slamming pieces of sickness with a twisted sense of technicality in that Death Metal way. Definitely worth the time to check out....8/10
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Sanctus Daemoneon and Equimanthorn reviews
SANCTUS DAEMONEON - NOTHINGLESS NOTHINGNESS Sanctus Daemoneon is a band I haven't heard before this review. They formed in Denmark back in 2006 and have released an EP and two-full-length releases. This review is about the EP release entitled "Nothingless Nothingness". This a primitive sounding Doom Metal, almost Black Metal type of style coming from Sanctus. There is some Funeral Doom background with a bit of symphonic touches as well. This is a brand of doom and gloom metal with a twisted feeling of suicidal happiness that is totally unique in the way this ep sounds. There is nothing here short of ambient or evil such as tracks like, well...All of the tracks are completely dominated by an atmosphere of Nihilistic war and total degradation of human life! All Blackened Gloom in an influence coming from Black Metal from the doom part of style. Sanctus Daemoneon will make the fans of Doom Metal very happy, but i just can't see many others besides the hardest of Doom Metal fans wanting this particular release. That isn't bad at all, but this isn't a release made for the masses, this is something true to the band because they know what they want to play and they don't care who likes it! No selling out on this band! Anyway, this is an ep with five tracks total and a playing time of over 26 minutes in length. So if you are a fan of the most suicidal primitive type of Doom Metal with atmospheres full of depressing and suicidal content then check out Sanctus Daemoneon and i am sure that within the time this starts and finishes you will be holding a gun to your head with tears coming out of your eyes! 7/10
EQUIMANTHORN - A FIFTH CONJURATION Well...Five demos and now five full-length releases later Equimanthorn is continuing their descent into the abyss of underground ambient metal. "A Fifth Conjuration" delivers what the Occult and other tales of Ancient darkness that the metal fans of this style love to hear and listen to. Equimanthorn is made of different members from different bands including the legendary Absu. This release unleashes a darkness and coldness that a lot of bands wished they could even come close to. Bands like Crimson Moon and Endura have a slight similarity to what Equimanthorn is about just to give a small idea of where these guys are heading with "A Fifth Conjuration". Tracks like "When Skies Above Were Not Yet Named" and "The Great Deluge" which is the song that starts the whole path into instrumental darkness, Equimanthorn does a good job holding onto their brand of depressive Ambiance in the metal underground. This is an acquired taste for metal fans, but there are plenty of metalheads out in the world that probably understand this side of the metal fence! Equimanthorn is a definite for fans of the most depressive instrumental bands around, although there are a couple of songs that do include some vocals. Check it out but only if you have what we call an "open mind" to metal styles...6/10
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Bifrost and Dead Neon reviews
BIFROST - FEHU Bifrost was formed back in 2004 in the land of Italy; Since that time two ep releases have made it to the underground - "Ambivalence" and the most recent offering "Fehu". "Fehu" is a mixture of Sludge Metal and at other times Death Metal but with an Avant-Garde touch to the music. It all mixes pretty well and the best thing about this is that the production is not your typical over-polished modern production. This is all totally Sludge in and out, start to finish. The influence of old school Death Metal and even Black Metal at times is certain throughout the release. I also noticed a lot of other elements of genres like, well, even some Folk Metal and Doom Metal influence as well. This is all pretty unique for Bifrost, the melodic depression and the lyrical content seem suicidal at times and this is great! The moods are always changing and the style keeps things interesting. Bifrost is an interesting band and hopefully as time goes on they will keep releasing the same groovy style maniacal metal that comes through when played! "Fehu" is one of the more interesting releases that have crossed my path this year and tracks like the obvious title track "Fehu", and "Ymir" which shows the potential of the musicians involved adding the melodic parts with the killer piano playing in the background, this is wonderful intro to begin with! "Asgard" begins the second track with a silent start and then the guttural spews begin! Everything mixed into one big bag of metal sub-genres and underground potential for future sickness! This is really deranged metal at its best! 8/10
DEAD NEON - PRESS Described by the band as "Nuclear Doom" which is a great style by the way, Dead Neon is definitely a suicidal mix of Doom Metal and even pieces of Black Metal influence, I think! Anyway, from Las Vegas comes another unique brand of metal by way of Dead Neon and their offering "Press". I have no idea when these guys came about, but i do know that "Press" seems to be their only release as of now and it is pretty interesting metal. Tracks like "Downwinder" and "Black Ash", among others, show the degree of doom and gloom that Dead Neon possess. The Black Metal influence sure sounds great in the vocal delivery, but the influence is also throughout the ep as well. "Press" is a mixture of modern, but old school influenced industrial metal and complete depressive madness. "Wastelansque" delivers more brutal doom and the feeling of primitive production does help keep this interesting throughout the tracks. Dead Neon is definitely an acquired taste for the hardest fans of Doom Metal and even some industrial types of metal styles mixed into one release. I think this is good stuff and Dead Neon is nothing short of unique, and possibly even original which is hard to find these days of modern metal underground bands. "Press" delivers a total of ten tracks with a playing time of 27 minutes, long for an ep, but well worth the time to hear it! 7/10
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