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  • Handful Of Hate – You Will Bleed (2009)

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    Hailing from Italy, Handful Of Hate brings us their fifth full-length album and they are here to blow us away with some very brutal Black Metal.

    “You Will Bleed” provides us with almost 40 minutes of well produced Black Metal that will closely rival the bigger profile BM albums of this year (Marduk, Immortal, Gorgoroth, etc). The band has been getting better with every album they have released and this one is another step in the right direction.

  • Wilde Starr – Arrival (2009)

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    Wilde Starr hails from Alameda, California, and the band’s name is taken from the two members last names: London Wilde (vocals and keyboards) and Dave Starr (Guitars and Bass). The band’s sound can easily be compared to Doro with some hints of After Forever.

    Featuring over 55 minutes of music “Arrival” is one of the most effective releases I’ve heard this year, and I mean effective in a sense that no minute is wasted in establishing the band into one of the best of the genre. All songs are very well written and are diverse enough to not get bored, but feature elements in common giving the band their signature sound.

  • Weapon – Drakonian Paradigm (2009)

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    After receiving this promo CD I was expecting and other, at best, average Black Metal band that needs to show off his evilness on the cover of the album. However, after a few times going over the CD I discovered that this Canadian act has more going on for them other than the whole satanic act.

    Having a very solid production behind them, the band manages to release a Death/Black Metal album that features an old school sound with fresh elements thrown in. The band never stays stagnant with a particular style and mixed things up in all songs, being acoustic passages and the usage of sitar and grand piano, all these elements create a very dark atmosphere that the band uses to perfection.

  • Black Skies – Hexagon (2009)

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    Black Skies is a 3 man band that hails from North Carolina, USA. The band’s musical style is Sludge Metal, and they do a pretty kick ass job at playing the genre.

    Having formed only 3 years ago, the band’s sound is pretty well defined and the band has been gaining momentum since playing at SXSW in Austin, TX.

  • Power Pellut – Power Pellut (2009)

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    After years of getting either digital or pressed promos I got a few CD-R’s lately and I was pretty ‘scared’ about playing, since I remember few years ago, when I got a CD-R it was because the band’s usually sucked. However this month I have been impressed by all CD-R’s received, and since this album came from I’m Better Than Everyone Records, that releases only vinyl by the way, and I had just reviewed “Hexagon” by Black Skies, I was willing to give it a real chance.

  • Immundus – Haunted Memories (2009)

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    Immundus is a one man project hailing from Portugal, the project’s musical style could be defined as Dark Ambient music and it’s very eerie in nature, and it could very well be the soundtrack of a horror/thriller movie.

    Featuring ten tracks of eerie sounds with very minimalistic passages that will send chills to some people’s spines, or they will put others to sleep. If you are into Dark Ambient music, then you will be very pleased by this release, however if you do not like releases like this, then avoid the album since it will bore you to death.

  • Dethklok – The Dethalbum II (2009)

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    With the release of the “The Dethalbum” the fictional band Dethklok managed to sell 34,000 copies of this album on the first week, making the album the highest charting Death Metal album in history (in the USA). After selling over 300,000 copies of that album Dethklok has the mission of trying to surpass that feat, and I think it can be done, since “The Dethalbum II” is even better than the first one.

    While most people that watch the TV show Metalocalypse have listened to a most of the songs for brief minutes, you still need to hear the entire song to fully enjoy the brilliance behind them. Technically Brendon Small has managed to create another brilliant album that features witty and catchy tunes.

  • Diablo Swing Orchestra – Sing-Along Songs For The Damned & Delirious (2009)

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    When I first heard “The Butcher's Ballroom” back in 2006, I was blown away by the very interesting and at the same time very bizarre combination of musical genres that this album presents. The overall atmosphere created by that album is heavily intoxicating like a siren’s chant or the devil’s whisper.

    Fast-forward three years into the future and the Swedes behind the Diablo Swing Orchestra are back with their second album that will surely establish them as one of the premiere Avant-garde Metal bands of all time. “Sing-Along Songs…” is a brilliant album that had me hooked on it since the first time I heard the CD.

  • Lethian Dreams – Bleak Silver Streams (2009)

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    I have always been an extreme fan of Death/Doom Metal bands and all of the variants of the genre, so I’m usually very harsh when reviewing newer bands. So this being said “Bleak Silver Streams” is a brilliant album that I will start to praise greatly in the next few paragraphs.

    This French band features members of several other brilliant Doom Metal bands like Remembrance and Before The Rain. Having only released two brilliant albums this band shows great promise to keep releasing amazing albums.

  • A Forest Of Stars – The Corpse Of Rebirth (2008)

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    A Forest Of Stars is one of those bands that is trying to push the barriers of music, by creating a very interesting sounding mix of different elements with Black Metal.

    This British quartet features Katie Stone (ex My Dying Bride) as the ‘Queen Of Ghost’ and other equally interestingly named characters: Mr. Curse, The Gentleman and Mr T.S. Kettleburner.

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