Album Reviews

  • Black Skies – On the Winds of Time (2011)

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    Hailing from the USA, we have another Sludge band that sounds exactly like everybody else and that it is making its debut full-length statement with “On the Winds of Time”. So why should we not say this is total crap and skip to the next album we have to review? Well, because there is just a little something that makes them a bit interesting to listen to.

    Combining a very organic sound, this record sounds like it was recorded during a rehearsal in a live fashion. The guitars are crunchy, but not over produced and neither over stylized that you can’t really make this sounds in a natural way. The drums are very raw, and while basic and amateurish sounding at times, they sound legit and fit very well with the music.

  • Eclipse Eternal – The Essence of Hopelessness (2012)

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    Delivering nine hectic hymns of powerful Black Metal with some atmospheric elements, today we have Canada’s Eclipse Eternal and their latest full-length release “The Essence of Hopelessness”. In this very diverse release, the band rips through very well crafted tracks that feature traditional BM sections accompanied with melodic passages that nicely change the pace of things and keeps the listener fully engaged with the band’s music.

    After the traditional keyboard intro, “Ragnarok” delivers waves of furious guitar riffs accompanied by hellish vocals and some tight drumming, exactly what the doctor ordered. This song gives the impression that you will be listening to a very typical BM release with not much to offer, but as the album keeps going the band jumps into some very ritualistic and melodic passages that give a flair of European Black Metal that is more typical of labels like Prophecy Productions.

  • Eisregen – Rostrot (2011)

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    Completely deranged and always surprising people (as well as pissing them off), Eisregen delivers their latest creation titled “Rostrot”. In this crazy album we have 10 very unique songs that focus a bit more on the ‘melodic’ side of Eisregen and fit more to our personal taste than their previous release. If you like the contrast the band makes between the demonic vocals and aggressive lyrics with keyboard sections and funky melodies, this is the album you have been waiting for since “Krebskolonie” came out back in 1998 (our personal favorite).

    The opener “Erlösung” delivers a mood setting piano/spoken words track that is nicely offset by the hectic “Schakal: Ode an die Streubombe”. Pounding drums and heavy guitars makes this song a very typical Eisregen piece and a nice contrast from the opening and following tracks. The rhythm of “Madenreich” is pretty weird and feels like something we would find in an Indie-Rock album but it works very well with the clean vocals. The deranged approach to music that Eisregen has makes this song work wonderfully.

  • Opera IX – Strix - Maledictae in Aeternum (2012)

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    Eight years have passed since the band’s last release “Anphisbena”, and with “Strix - Maledictae in Aeternum” Opera XI intends of regaining their momentum and status in the Metal scene that they acquired with excellent releases before the year 2000. “Strix - Maledictae in Aeternum” delivers a heavy dosage of Black Metal tracks infused with Dark Metal elements but fails to fully capture the listener’s attention and quickly gets old.

    After opening with a very typical atmospheric prologue, the band fully jumps into action with “1313”. In this track the atmosphere is very dense and chaotic (perfectly crafted) but the singing and the guitars feel a bit outdated. The crazy guitar leads are nice, but we’ve heard them many years ago in other Black Metal acts, the vocals are deranged and very powerful but they are also something that band’s have already done in the past (circa early 2000).

  • Cairn – Raise the Cairn (2011)

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    Hailing from the USA, today we have a one-man band named Cairn and their debut album “Raise the Cairn”. With a heavy vibe of Primordial meets Forest of Shadows, this short but sweet EP will be enough to rattle your cage and make you want more. Featuring five tracks and around 23 minutes of music, this solo self-exploratory release is one of the most interesting and less vanilla sounding we have received in 2011.

    Opening with an acoustic section, “Magnapinna Rex, Pt I: Solstiseraph” enshrouds the listener in a mysterious cloud of powerful riffing and nice calm sections. Like we mentioned before, this particular song reminded us of Primordial instantly with this nice folk-ish and aggressive approach to music. The shrieks are very powerful and nicely accompany the guitar work. The bass guitar line is pretty active and melodic, somewhat contrasting with the rest and making it more evident. The song is nicely followed by the acoustic track “Far Passage”.

  • Majestic Downfall – The Blood Dance (2012)

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    With seven pummeling hymns of Death/Doom at its finest, today we have Mexico’s Majestic Downfall and their latest release “The Blood Dance”. This one-man band fronted by Jacobo Córdova (ex Antiqua) packs some serious punch and delivers mournful compositions filled with heavy guitars and brutal growls. If you are a fan from older Death/Doom Metal bands, you should definitely check this one out.

    Quickly deceiving with an acoustic guitar intro to “The Blood Dance”, Majestic Downfall quickly delivers the first brutal blow with some deep growls and pummeling guitar riffs. The riffing is very traditional of the genre but the variations through the song is what makes it very appealing and different from other Death/Doom releases that bore the listener after the 40th iteration of a particular riff. The same applies to the well balanced “From Black to Dead”, a song where the tempo changes make it dynamic and not feel like 11 minutes have passed.

  • Dies Irae – Secret Veils of Passion (2012)

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    As one of the first band’s that got me into more ‘melodic’ and ‘different’ sounding music back in 1998 with their excellent album “Etherial”, Dies Irae returns after a 10 year hiatus with “Secret Veils of Passion”. In this very interesting release the band goes all over the place with so many musical influences that seem a bit disconnected at times, but that in fact create a very solid release with a wide palette of textures and very high-creativity.

    While many band’s in Mexico are clones from European ones, Dies Irae crafted two of the most interesting releases of Mexican metal in the late 90’s and the disappeared. With a hint of an European sound, “Etherial” was a landmark release with its hefty Jazz/Fusion influences that puzzled many. With “Secret Veils of Passion” they continue through their exploratory musical journey and have produces 10 unique tracks that have some memorable moments.

  • Al-Namrood – Estorat Taghoot (2010)

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    With a huge improvement in the band’s sound and skill-level, today we have Al-Namrood and their second full-length release “Estorat Taghoot”. In this album the band nicely capitalizes on their ethnical sound and delivers a crushing Black Metal album with nice atmospheric elements. Greatly improving over “Astfhl Al Tha'r”, the band produces 11 aural attacks that are merciless and very devastating with nice brushstrokes of Ethical elements here and there.

    After the opener atmospheric track “Arousal at Nebuchadnezzar Fortress”, the sound get’s dark and hellish with “Junood Al Amajaad”. The vocals are demonic and the production is a bit fuzzy letting the Metal sections be more raw and effective. The drumming is considerably better than in their previous release and the guitar work is more hectic and raw. The crazy atmospheric keyboards are back and on tracks like “Estorat Taghoot” they add a certain level of chaos to the already chaotic guitars and drumming.

  • Kalki Avatara - Mantra for the End of Times (2009)

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    With a truly unique sound that borders around chaotic or plain genius, Klaki Avatara delivers four tracks of very solid Folk/Symphonic Metal. Multi-instrumentalist Hell:I0:Kabbalus from Aborym fame manages to craft very interesting tracks in this fine EP titled “Mantra for the End of Times”. During this album the mood changes from ethereal choirs to crazy aggressive parts and deranged vocals.

    Seemingly random, the music in this release is executed to perfection in order to create a very chaotic feeling that many bands fail miserably at, but Kalki Avatara pulls-off graciously. Opening with “Mankind Collapses”, this door serves as a perfect introduction to the crazy world of the band. The over the top keyboards paired with the insane vocals and the aggressive riffs make this song very similar to creations of such bands like Transcending Bizarre? and such.

  • Al-Namrood - Astfhl Al Tha'r (2009)

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    Playing very basic and raw Black Metal, today we have all the way from Saudi Arabia Al-Namrood and their debut album “Astfhl Al Tha’r”. While anybody would agree that the band’s Black Metal is very basic, the cool thing about it is the Middle Eastern influences on it reflected in the keyboards and atmosphere generated through this release.

    Opening with “A’hd al Jahiliyah”, the band’s hellish vocals take the spotlight and then the keyboards start to seep into your brain. The music is raw and simple, the percussions are very basic but the atmosphere is just completely different to what we are used to. This does get a bit annoying at times due to the high-repetition of sections in this trac, but it is also very cool indeed. The
    Doom-ier approach in “Ebadt al Basahr” and the considerably better drums make this song a big improvement from the first one. The Middle Eastern influences are also very evident in this track.

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