Album Reviews

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    Draconian – A Rose for the Apokalypse (2011)

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    After a few years of the release of “Turning Season Within”, Draconian finally makes their return with another crushing release: “A Rose for the Apokalypse”. With a considerable increase in maturity, the band crafts 10 tracks of the best Gothic Doom Metal in the scene. It is highly un-likely that any other band will rival the quality of this release in 2011.

    Always characterized by the ‘beauty and the beast’-style vocal struggle between Anders Jacobsson and Lisa Johansson, the band builds up on their depressive sound and adds extra elements that make this release even more punishing and beautiful. With a powerful opening, “The Drowning Age” delivers the first blow of brilliance presented in this release. As the song progresses it nicely mellows to clean/harsh/female vocals and engaging guitar riffing.

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    Katanga – Moonchild (2011)

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    In the very weird shit category today we have Katanga and their album “Moonchild”. The band plays Gothic Metal with some Electronic/Industrial elements. The first thing to notice is the typical singing/spoken German vocals. The use of electronic elements is pretty cool through this release, making it very catchy.

    The opening track “Marquis De Sade”, crafts a very psycho-sexual atmosphere and it serves as a great appetizer for this very diverse and interesting release. “Gottlos” delivers catchiness with powerful guitar riffs and catchy electronics surrounded by strong German singing. The ultra catchy “Moerder Der Erinnerung” draws similarities to Letzte Instanz, and with the added female vocals achieves very nice contrasts between the singing parts.

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    To Cast a Shadow - In Memory of (2011)

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    In the slow and painfully good category today we have To Cast a Shadow and their Doom album “In Memory of”. It has been quite a while since a band has managed to capture the emptiness and bleakness of Death/Gothic Doom Metal, but luckily To Cast a Shadow has given us 10 tracks of emotional music.

    Hailing from Norway, this band delivers a very simple yet effective approach to the genre and with angelic female vocals creates a very powerful atmosphere. Traditional Doom Metal riffs open “Tormented” and all is good until you get the male vocals, to be brutally honest… they suck, but the female vocals greatly make up for this in the rest of the song.

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    Euphoreon – Euphoreon (2011)

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    After their very impressive demo “Before the Blackened Sky”, Euphoreon returns with their crushing self-released and self-titled debut album. All fans of (old) Children of Bodom, Moonsorrow, Turisas, and similar should be keeping an eye out for this very well produced album.

    Featuring re-vamped versions of the three songs presented in the demo, this new release adds five more tracks of brilliant musicianship and excellent combination of elements that have made the previously mentioned bands very successful. The song “Before the Blackened Sky” shows the wide palette of influences the band has and it also gives a very nice intro of what is to come in this release.

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    Cold Northern Vengeance - Trial by Ice 2002 – 2010 (2010)

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    Today we have the Cold Northern Vengeance… of the USA? With such a powerful name we expected them to be from Norway or somewhere really up North. Anyways, “Trial by Ice” showcases the transformation of this very promising USBM band and how their sound have evolved over the years from the traditional kvlt Black Metal to some more refined and stylish pieces. If you never heard of this band, you can be caught up with them by the time this 70 minute release is over.

    After the traditional filler intro track, “Acausal” shows a very strong Black Metal influence that incorporates different tempo changes. This makes the song a nice departure of the traditional BM crap we are used to reviewing. The band goes a bit more extreme with the denser “Black Metal Isolation III”. This track features a different sound than the previous one but still creates an eerie atmosphere. The vocals, guitars, and drums are very well crafted for this song.

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    Zerstörer - Panzerfaust Justice (2010)

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    Marking Zerstörer second full-length release today we have “Panzerfaust Justice”. In this album the band wastes no time and delivers an in-your-face Black/Thrash Metal assault of the most rudimentary and crushing fashion. The band features no fancy elements, just the traditional metal lineup and a shit ton of build up anger inside, perfect for Black/Thrash Metal.

    Over the span of nine songs, the band does deliver very aggressive tracks full of raw energy and sound, but it also falls short in creating something we haven’t heard before. The bands sound is very traditional and is limited to the very similar structures in each song. While there is nothing bad in this, after the first 4 songs you start to get drowsy and with a sudden urge to change the CD.

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    Graveyard Dirt – For Grace or Damnation (2010)

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    With Death/Doom Metal being almost a dying art, Graveyard Dirt delivers a gasp of fresh air to one of our favorite genres. In “For Grace of Damnation” the band crafts one of the most monumental releases of the genre we have heard in quite a while.

    Drawing obvious inspirations from early Anathema and Paradise Lost, and combining them with newer influences of Mourning Beloveth, Shape of Despair, etc, the band shows great maturity in all eight tracks presented in this release. Painting landscapes of desolation and darkness, “For Grace or Damnation” is sure to attract all fans of the genre.

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    Massive Slavery – Global Enslavement (2010)

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    Relentless and Brutal are probably the two best words to describe Canada’s Massive Slavery debut album “Global Enslavement”. Featuring inhuman vocals and drumming paired with skillful guitar and bass guitar work, this release is as crushing and technically proficient as you can imagine for a veteran band, which Massive Slavery is not.

    Since the opener track “MediAssasiNation”, the band will blow you away with harsh vocals, very brutal drumming and an array of guitar riffs and solos that will make your fingers and hands hurt just by thinking on how to play them. The band specializes in creating hyper-fast songs that feature almost equal amounts of aggressive and melodic sections, creating a perfect harmony between the two of the (e.g. “Shade of Corruption”).

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    Oyabun – Gods and Dogs (2010)

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    Hailing from France, today we have Oyabun and their very entertaining release “Gods and Dogs”. The band’s sound is a mixture of 70’s Rock with some psychedelic elements, Stoner Rock influences, and some Blues. All of these influences are nicely packaged into seven songs that while not extremely original, they are very catchy and well crafted.

    Opening with “Brontosaurus Blues”, the band gives a full view of what it is to come in this release: catchy and groovy guitar riffs, some Stoner/Sludge influences and very retro-sounding vocals. While many bands try to emulate the Psychedelic Rock influences, Onyabun sounds very naturally at it, and does not care too much about focusing on the ‘occult’ side of things.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Amorphis – The Beginning of Times (2011)

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    Having set the standard very high with “Skyforger”, Amorphis returns with an even better album with “The Beginning of Times”. Featuring 12 tracks of majestic Melodic Metal/Rock, the band is definitely at the top of their game and is set on a path of global domination with this near-perfect release.

    Featuring their characteristic Melodic approach to Metal, Amorphis does not compromise or goes mainstream and has put together a very impressive release that is both aggressive and beautifully crafted. Lead by the charismatic and versatile vocals of Tomi Joutsen, “The Beginning of Times” is an early candidate of album of the year.

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