Album Reviews

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    Saligia – Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (2011)

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    Hailing from Norway, the cradle of Black Metal, today we have Saligia and their old-school nihilistic release “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi”. Featuring 40 minutes of pure and unadulterated Black Metal, the band relies on slick riffing and drumming to capture an occult feeling behind this release. There are no over-the-top shrieks of over-extended use of tremolo-picking section, just plain and simple devastating Black Metal like in the old days.

    The opening blow titled “Casus Gloria” nicely builds up into a very retro Black Metal sound that prevails through this very well crafted release. The band delivers just the right amount of ‘devilish’ riffs to create a very effective atmosphere and does not overdo things too early. The vocals and rhythm sections of “Sar Ha-Olam” keep up with the same tempo than the first track and we think it is just great. The speed of this album is not super chaotic, allowing the music to flow nicely and deliver its occult message without getting on your nerves.

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    ICS Vortex – Storm Seeker (2011)

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    After the ‘departure’ from Dimmu Borgir, acclaimed singer ICS Vortex decided to not go down easily and has finally delivered a very solid ‘solo’ release that capitalizes on his biggest asset: his vocals. However, the music is also top notch since it mixes a wide variety of styles that might catch some people off guard, but with high promise and top notch quality.

    Playing all instruments in the album except the drums (courtesy of none other than Asgeir Mickelson), this release is packed with soaring vocals and epic melodic sections. Capturing some of the elements of Borknagar and adding some more psychedelic and progressive brushes, “Storm Seeker” is one of the most diverse albums of 2011.

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    Plutonium – Devilment Entertainment Non-Stop (2011)

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    Hailing from Sweden, Plutonium delivers merciless aural attacks of pure and chaotic Industrial Black Metal. There is nothing pretty and ‘techno’ about this release, just raw Black Metal energy fused together with some dissonant samples and relentless riffing. While most Industrial Metal bands these days are trying to sound too ‘nice’, Plutonium delivers pure decadence in their very crushing and powerful sound.

    Opening with the crushing “A Tribute to the Tools of the Cosmic Abostionist”, this one-man band delivers some blistering Black Metal elements paired with some crazy electronics at the end of the song. Having been warned, “Devilment Entertainment Non-Stop” delivers more Black Metal elements with very well crafted and credible drums (but we suspect they are ‘fake’). Things start getting weird with the very martial “Peace Keeper”, a very different track that creates a very bizarre atmosphere.

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    Tyrael – Der Wald ist mein Zuhause (2010)

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    Featuring a very unique blend of Black/Death and Grindcore with Melodic passages, today we have Tyrael and their latest release “Der Wald ist mein Zuhause”. With claims by the band of calling their sound “Green Metal”, we found it very interesting that they actually do sound different than the tons of submissions we get every day.

    Blowing up in your face with the opening track “To Isengard”, the band quickly gets into very melodic guitar work, crafted to perfection. The band’s tempo changes and hellish vocal combinations deliver enough brutality to nicely contrast the melodic nature of the track. “Throne of God” moves a bit into Black Metal territory with brutal drumming, but it also has very effective melodic mid-tempo sections that nicely pace the songs.

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    Van Canto – Break the Silence (2011)

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    Metal’s most original band in the last few years returns with yet another A Capella Power Metal release that will rattle your speakers since track one. “Break the Silence” marks the band’s fourth full-length album and also features a bit of a shift into more a ‘melodic’ sound. However, we are still treated to 40+ minutes of pure vocal brilliance and amazing melodic catchiness.

    Opening with “If I Die in Battle”, the vocal powers of Philip Dennis Schunke and Inga Scharf lead the way over the amazing ‘vocal instruments’ that back them. In a ‘slower’ and more melodic way we have plenty of mmmmm’s that keep an epic feeling to the song and give it a darker edge. “The Seller of Souls” delivers a more ‘traditional’ Van Canto sound and leads the way for some powerful vocal bass line and some excellent vocal guitar sections. With a nice Power Metal feeling this song has nice choir sections and a very perky pace.

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    Glorior Belli – The Great Southern Darkness (2011)

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    After their excellent last album “Meet Us at the Southern Sign”, Glorior Belli decides to unleash a 180 degree twist on us and delivers one of the most interesting sounding Black ’n’ (Southern) Roll releases in the last few months. With 11 tracks and around 48 minutes of music, “The Great Southern Darkness” has a very fresh sound to it, while still maintaining some of the previous Glorior Belli flair in the music.

    The opener “Dark Gnosis” gives early hints of such a Stoner/Southern influence in the riffing and overall atmosphere of the song. The band however, keeps some of their own brand of BM influences in this very interesting and eye-popping opening track. With a heavier nature, “Secret Ride to Rebellion” delivers some excellent depraved riffing that will hum in your ears until you go to bed. The Southern/Stoner tanginess returns with the very entertaining “They Call Me Black Devil”, a track that has a cinematic like experience to it.

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    Hatesphere – The Great Bludgeoning (2011)

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    After multiple line-up changes, today we have the return of Hatesphere and their aggressive Thrash Metal sound, but now refined with a Hard Rock edge that makes them even better than before. Changing vocalist is a major move for any band, but Esse Hansen delivers powerful pipes that nicely fit the band’s evolved sound.

    Through the nine tracks presented in “The Great Bludgeoning”, the band delivers powerful Thrash Metal anthems that sound very sophisticated and intriguing since they don’t seem to be ‘more of the same’ stuff we get with countless Thrash releases these days. With the powerful opener “The Killer”, we immediately listen to the different distortion and melodic nature of the guitar riffs, something very refreshing considering the band’s previous two releases sounded very similar to each other.

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    Thulcandra – Under a Frozen Sun (2011)

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    Dissection worshipers Thulcandra return with an even more impressive sophomore effort titled “Under a Frozen Sun”. In this release the band takes their amazing Dissection-influenced Death/Black Metal to new heights with seven crushing tracks and one cover song. If you thought that “Fallen Angel’s Dominion” was an excellent release, brace yourself since this new album will rip you a new one.

    Opening with “In Blood and Fire”, the band will send shivers through your spine with the acoustic opening guitars. But once the powerful riffing starts, you will be hooked on this album like if it was your drug of choice. Steffen Kummerer does a great job in capturing that peculiar guitar sound from the early Dissection material and makes it his own with Thulcandra’s band of hectic and guitar driven Black/Death Metal.

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    Untimely Demise – City of Steel (2011)

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    All the way from the Nordic lands of Canada, today we have Untimely Demise’s debut full-length release “City of Steel. While the band plays the traditional Thrash/Death Metal game, there are a few elements here and there to make this release standout from the countless dull bands we get every week.

    Having some early Children of Bodom (vocals and some guitar work) edge makes “City of Steel” a nice 32 minute release that will not go easily forgotten. In the opening “Virtue In Death” track, we have the traditional Thrash/Death Metal sound back in the day, but the guitar work is what makes this song (and album) more entertaining and different.

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    Slaughtery - Path-(t)o-Logic (2011)

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    Featuring 36 minutes of very brutal Death Metal with some technical elements, today we have Slaughtery’s first full-length release “Path-(t)o-Logic”. In this album we have tons of chugging riffs, brilliant technical sections and an overall crushing feeling that will leave your ears bleeding (in a good way) after just one spin of this release.

    Opening in a very traditional fashion with “Nine Minutes”, the band shows their strengths in crafting punishing riffs, a pounding bass guitar line and some hellish vocals. The intricate guitar sections are what immediately sets this band apart from your typical cookie-cutter bands and will surely get Salughtery noticed in the scene. “Chimerism” gives a little of the old-school Death sound but with actually brutal vocals, a feat that only a few bands have come close to doing in the past.

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