Black Metal

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Dark Funeral - Angelus Exuro pro Eternus (2009)

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    Along time has passed since “The Secrets of the Black Arts” and the band seems to not be slowing down at all. Having waiting for four years to the release of “Angelus Exuro pro Eternus”, I must say that while I do like this album a lot and it’s one of the best of the year, I have a mixed opinion that Dark Funeral shows signs of going nowhere with their music, only following a straight line and releasing ‘more of the same’.

    While I think that releasing ‘more of the same’ is not bad if you have a good sound and a good band (like Epica, My Dying Bride, etc), but in the Black Metal world you get dethroned so easily if you do not adapt to the newer times and release something more dynamic (or an improvement of your ‘more of the same’ sound).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Deiphago - Filipino Antichrist (2009)

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    Deiphago has been around for over 20 years and they have only managed to release two full length albums (and all of the in the last 3 years). It makes you wonder why is that a band that has many years of experience has not released anymore albums, well you are about to find out: THEY SUCK.

    While I’m usually pretty lenient with all the music I get to review, and with music in general, I can’t find ANY redeeming qualities for this album at all. The music is terrible, if you can call that music, the vocals are just like a pig getting slaughtered and somebody with a bad case of diarrhea, the drumming sounds like somebody throwing rocks at a warehouse aluminum ceiling.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Destruktor – Nailed (2009)

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    It’s hard to find good bands these days, especially out of the ones trying to play old school style music. Since most people playing that music nowadays were not even born when Celtic Frost, Venom and Bathory had their moment to shine.

    Destruktor hailing from Australia does a great job in capturing the sound of those times and bringing it back to our ears for a lesson in ‘classical metal’ music. The band features a very interesting mix of old school Death and Black Metal that will never get old (if it’s well executed).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Hunters Moon – The Serpents Lust (2009)

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    As I’m finishing with this last album from Hells Headbangers, I’m noticing that the label has a very good eye for bands that have that old-school sound, but at the same time make it their own.

    Hunters Moon is an Aussie band that plays very good Black Metal a la Bathory, with some Morrigan and even early Immortal influences. This EP takes us back to those good old times when Black Metal was more than just a pose, and gives us 21 minutes of great music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Satan's Host - Power Purity Perfection...999 (2009)

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    When I first heard of Satan's Host back in 2000 I was a bit skeptical since they had been a Power Metal band in the late 80's and they just reformed under a new musical style, something that does not compute quite well. However after listening to their 2000 album "Satan's Host - Archidoxes of Evil" I knew the band was for real and their genre switch was a good move.

    "Power Purity Perfection... 999" comes little over one year after their "The Great American Scapegoat 666" and it shows an even bigger improvement on the band's musical sound. The band's style embraces everything from Black, Death, Trash and even Heavy Metal creating a very interesting mesh of elements that any metalhead would enjoy.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    One Master - The Quiet Eye Of Eternity (2009)

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    When you first hear this CD you are quickly taken to the early days of Black Metal with all its rawness and eeriness. One Master does a great job of capturing a timeless sound and reproducing it on their own way on a very well crafted second release called: "The Quiet Eye Of Eternity".

    The album production is the typical low-fi production that most of the BM bands of the time had, it gets a few minutes to really get used to it since in the first few minutes I thought there was something wrong with my sound system, but it quickly balances out. While I'm not a huge fan of this sound, it does help a lot in creating an haunting atmosphere when it comes to BM albums.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Lost God - Savage Souls (2009)

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    Featuring three songs, "Savage Souls" is one of the best EP CD's I've received in a while. Lost God hails from Belgium and they feature Arnaud Vansteenkiste Ex-Enthroned drummer, his brutal drumming skills is one of the elements that stand out the most in this release.

    Professionally recorded this release mixes traditional Death Metal elements with some hints of Black Metal here and there, and while the band is not super original, they do a good job at keeping the listener engaged during the 12 minutes this EP lasts.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Temple Of Baal - Lightslaying Rituals (2009)

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    Featuring members of Glorior Belli ( one of the best French Black Metal bands that I have reviewed recently) Temple of Baal plays some mean straight up Black Metal that many bands trying to be too ‘cult’ or overly symphonic need to pay attention to.

    My instant thought for comparison of this band is with Lord Belial, they both share the same approach to Black Metal, and I love it. The both play stripped down to the basics Black Metal that does not need the ‘we need to sound like shit to be evil’ production or the required tremolo picking riffs galore that makes you head hurt after a few songs.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Vetus Obscurum - Blood Revelations (2009)

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    Who ordered a cup of bad and uninspired Black Metal?, apparently Debemur Morti did when signing up to release “Blood Revelations”. This is another example of a band that sounds amazing on paper: Dario Derna from Abazagorath, Evoken, Funebrarum, etc on ALL instruments, Herb Burke (Drawn and Quartered) on ‘omega’ voice and Mike Nihilist (ex-Abazagorath, etc) on the ‘alpha’ voice.

    All of these names sound good on paper, but then you actually listen to the album you see that things don’t quite work out that way. Maybe it’s the annoying ‘out in the woods’ shitty sound with the intention of sounding more grim and ‘evil’. It can also be the aimless direction most songs take making them feel like bits and pieces pasted together for the sake of releasing something.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Ruins – Front The Final Foes (2009)

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    This Aussie band is back after one year to spread their musical sickness through another very solid and release. “Front The Final Foes” feels like the perfect continuation to “Cauldron”.

    The band’s guitar sound is what drew me to their last album “Cauldron” and it’s still one of the first things that stand out when listening to this release. While all the songs do not sound extremely original, the band does a great job at creating a thick sounding Black Metal that is neither technical or complex, but it’s highly effective in achieving that ‘in your face’ effect that many bands fail at.

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