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    Metal over Oostrozebeke Presents – Perseverance 2013 (2013)

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    Arriving via Malevolence Records, today we have a very diverse sampler that contains everything from Thrash Metal to Melodic Death/Black Metal and related genres. Featuring eight different bands, this release makes for a very interesting time, with very contrasting changes between bands and some excellent tracks mixed in between some sub-par ones.

    Opening we have Mad At Sam, a Thrash/Crossover band that can easily go unnoticed with their track being less than two minutes long. The drastic contrast is immediately felt with Aegror and their very enjoyable Melodic Death/Black Metal that fusing influences from Carcass, Grave, and several other bands into a very cohesive and engaging sound. “Behind Walls” and “Prophecy” are taking from their 2013 EP, a release we will be trying to find as soon as we are done writing this review.

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    Ulysses Siren – Above the Ashes (2003)

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    With Thrash Metal being born back in the 80’s in the Bay Area, it is not surprising that many bands just didn’t get enough attention when they should have. Ulysses Siren is the perfect example of how a very high-quality band didn’t get a fair shake and ended up in relative obscurity. Being at least 5 times better than Dark Angel, Testament, Metallica, etc., this band delivers seven riff-driven tracks that represent the band’s early demos. With “Above the Ashes” we have a testament of a band that could have been something else if the right things would have worked out for them.

    Opening with “Terrorist Attack” we immediately feel the Bay Area Thrash vibe with the intense riffing and the crushing vocals. The band’s spares nothing and delivers a brutal riffing assault that only a few bands those days would have pulled off. Showing no mercy, “The Reich” keeps the intensity levels super high with some epic melodic passages and devastating solos. Rounding up their 1985 demo “Terrorist Attack”, featured in the first 3 songs of the album, “Lake of Fire” is the best track in this release, with a heavy Death Angel vibe mixed with some classic Kreator.

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    Rotten Liver – Purification by Debauchery (2013)

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    With a heavy knack for killer riffs and powerful melodies, France’s Rotten Liver delivers “Purification by Debauchery”. Avoiding sounding like anybody else, this band takes the best elements of bands like Vreid, Midnight, and old-school Darkthrone and creates their own brand of filthy Black’n’Roll that will have you headbanging since the first song.

    Opening with “Infamous Nil”, the band immediately delivers waves of killer riffs and a very cool melodic vibe. The snarls are quite fitting for the music, but it is the creativity and catchiness behind the song that makes it quite enjoyable and devastating. “Become the Arcanthropos” keeps the flow of the album going with another onslaught of sickening riffs and a very dark-yet-melodic atmosphere that Rotten Liver perfectly creates.

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    Frozen Ocean – Oneiric In Geocentrism (2011)

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    Extremely productive one-man project Frozen Ocean delivers their one of their four full-length releases of 2011 with the transcendental “Oneiric In Geocentrism”. Featuring over 65 minutes of nightmare-inducing Dark Ambient/Drone music, this release feels like a journey through space. While we are bigger fans of Frozen Ocean’s Atmospheric Black Metal, this album delivers a similar vibe that will send chills down your spine.

    Setting off with “The Striding Watchtower”, the mood is very mystic and ethereal allowing the listener to fully immerse into Frozen Ocean’s world. Our sidereal journey continues with the tense “A Chink in Coelosphere” and “Levitation”, two tracks that clock in around 24 minutes of intense atmospheric brilliance. On a lighter note, “Quiver in the Voidrift” releases some of the tension initially, but keeps the album’s flow going very steady.

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    Frozen Ocean – Steamworks: Hibernation (2009)

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    Limited to a short run of 62 CD-R copies, Frozen Ocean presents us with their 2009 EP titled: “Steamworks: Hibernation”. With a behemoth 30+ minutes song, this release is a good stepping stone into understanding the band’s evolution and how Vaarwel’s skills have been changing over time. With a constant stream of releases Frozen Ocean is one of the most active bands we have heard of, so it is nice to hear a bit more from their musical origins.

    Immediately starting with some droning percussions, the album has that unsettling vibe with a martial touch to it. The atmosphere is quite heavy and tense as it slowly builds up. The ritualistic percussions are quite interesting and give it a different vibe to what we have heard in the past from Frozen Ocean. As the song mellows out around the 20th minute, some of the tension gets released and we can finally move over from the edge of our seat.

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    Fallen Tyrant – No World to Win, a Life to Lose (2013)

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    Delivering pummeling waves of punishing Black Metal, today we have Germany’s Fallen Tyrant and their debut full-length “No World to Win, a Life to Lose”. With eight tracks and over 35-minutes of crushing music, this release is one of the most devastating BM albums of the year, paired with Watain’s latest opus.

    The album opens with a very traditional and at moments Black’n’roll-ish “Fallen Tyrant Rising”. This track immediately unleashes the powers of the band and showcases their killer riffing and powerful vocals. Reminding us of newer Gorgoroth and other bands like Lord Belial, the punishment continues with the killer “Exaltation” and “Bortrykkelsen”. The band also has a melodic aspect to their BM and you can how crafty they can get with tracks like “To Finnmarken”.

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    Tarja – Colours in the Dark (2013)

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    Three years after “What Lies Beneath”, iconic singer Tarja finally returns with another bombastic release titled “Colours in the Dark”. Ever since her departure from Nightwish, Tarja has constantly been delivering amazing releases filled with her characteristic vocal style and expertly crafted with world class musicians to produce some of the most exciting and lush Symphonic Rock/Metal releases of the last few years.

    Opening with the engaging “Victim of Ritual”, we get an excellent balance between catchiness, operatic singing, and explosive musical arrangements. Surrounding herself with musicians of the caliber of Mike Terrana and Max Lilja (ex-Apocalytica), Tarja manages to create very elaborate songs that fit her vocal skills perfectly and allows them to shine to the max. This release is filled with very energetic tracks such as the melancholic “Lucid Dreamer” and the engaging “Never Enough”. Other songs take darker and more classical approach like the excellent “Mystique Voyage”.

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    Merkstave – Merkstave (2013)

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    Undeground Funeral Doom legends from the US Northwest finally see the ‘proper’ release of their demo materials with this monumental self-titled LP release. With three songs clocking in at a total of 44 minutes of gut-wrenching Doom, this release has that raw and analog vibe of bands like Thergothon. As the songs were originally released on tape, we are unsure if these versions are newer recordings or just re-mastered originals, but what we are sure is that they are as crushing as you can get.

    Opening with the behemoth “Lament for Lost Gods Pt.1”, the band starts on a very tranquil and slow paced stage. Their sound is very consistent to bands like Shape of Despair and such, but it differs with the usage of mournful clean vocals and some Black Metal-esque screams. “Lament for Lost Gods Pt.2” nicely continues the flow of the release with sparse guitars at the beginning, slowly leading up to some very harsh and brutal sections. The band does a great job in creating very well timed speedups that nicely contrast the passivity of the general flow of things.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Scout Paré-Phillips – Fields of Ash (2013)

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    Being very far from your average Infernal Masquerade release, today we have Scout Paré-Phillips and her 7” release “Fields of Ash”. Featuring two haunting tracks, this very short but effective release will grab you attention since the first minute and will never let go. Being a member of The Sterling Sisters, Scout Paré-Phillips manages to craft two very unique songs that cannot be missed by any fan of Neo-folk music with mesmerizing female vocals.

    The opener track is “Fields of Ash”, a nearly three minute tune that starts with beautiful acoustic percussions and ethereal vocals. The simplicity behind this mesmerizing track is perfect for the excellent vocal melodies and basic instrumentation. The second song, “In the End”, takes a more dramatic twist and enables Scout’s vocals to shine through the melancholic acoustic guitars. This track has a considerably darker edge and a very relaxed soothing vibe.

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