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    AK-11 – Legendary, Demonic & Invincible (2011)

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    Featuring six tracks of blistering Black Metal, today we have Australia’s AK-11 and their EP/Demo “Legendary, Demonic & Invincible”. In this release, the band delivers very powerful music that will surely please any BM fan due to the solid song writing and hellish vocals. The band’s originality level is not too high, but as a first release it shows great promise.

    Opening with the furiously paced “The Cleansing Stream”, the riffing starts off with a bang. The typical BM riffing is furious and it is nicely accompanied with hectic drumming. The vocals are pretty brutal, but sound a bit gargled thanks to the production. The song is fairly straightforward, but pretty intense for an opener. Switching to Russian language, “Vechnyi ogon’” and “Slava Rossii” deliver high-octane action with a few intricate melodic passages.

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    Edge of Paradise – Mask (2011)

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    Delivering one of the most diverse, chaotic, and yet very interesting albums we have received this year, today we have Edge of Paradise and their debut full-length “Mask”. In this release the band features influences from anywhere between Industrial, Heavy Metal, Gothic Metal, Shred Metal and tons of things in between. If you are not confused by now, then you can’t really be prepared to open the bag full of surprises that “Mask” is.

    Opening with some dub step/Static X intro, “Falling Down” delivers the first punch in a 9 track rollercoaster ride through almost all genres of Metal. This opening track does a great job to set the stage for a very weird and diverse release that is very catchy and strongly lead by the band’s charismatic vocalist: Margarita Monet. Her vocals are quite unique in Metal since she is all over the place and has a lot of raw power behind her. “Tall of the gun” steers you into a different direction with a more Modern/commercial Metal with very heavy guitars.

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    Shroud of Despondency – Pine (2012)

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    It was just a few months ago that we reviewed the excellent “Dark Meditations in Monastic Seclusion”, and now we have Shroud of Despondency back with another epic release titled “Pine”. Covering 11 tracks and over 58 minutes of music, we are amazed by how fast this band can crank out self-released albums that are actually pretty good and worth to listen to.

    With a very experimental edge to their sound, Shroud of Despondency mixes Black Metal with progressive and acoustic elements and creates a very aggressive sound that has excellent melodic and atmospheric passages. The first sample of these atmospheric elements is immediately found in the opener “Wander Lust (Winged Seed in the Breeze)”. Things get a bit more hectic and crazy with the deranged vocals of “Overshadow”, something we quite haven’t heard before.

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    The Human Condition – Modern Maze (2011)

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    Arriving from the UK, today we have The Human Condition’s debut demo EP titled “Modern Maze”. In this 21 minute three track effort, the band delivers very effective Doom Metal songs that have that old-school vibe thanks to the well-crafted guitars and commanding bass guitar line. With most of the band members having previous band experience in the Doom Metal genre, it makes sense that The Human Condition’s sound is very well defined and effectively crafted.

    Opening with the 7 minute “Modern Maze” song, this release kicks off with very typical Doom Metal sounding guitars and solid clean vocals. It usually takes us a while to get used to clean Doom vocals, but with Nathan Harrison, they sink in quickly. The riffing is very well crafted and it is properly mixed allowing everything else to shine the way it should. The pounding bass guitar line is nicely defined and the drums are pretty straight forward, but well-constructed.

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    Evenoire – Vitriol (2012)

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    Making its way from Italy, today we have Evenoire’s debut full-length release titled “Vitriol”. Featuring a Gothic Metal sound with some Folk elements, Evenoire manages to sound a little bit different than ‘traditional bands’ giving them a small edge over the competition. With 9 tracks of music, “Vitriol” is a very solid debut effort that while having some minor issues, shows that the band is ready to be heard.

    With a very ethereal opening track titled “Vitriol”, the band sets a very lush fantasy-like atmosphere that generates high expectations for this release. This is nicely continued with the very classically inspired “Days of the Blackbird”. The band’s singer Elisa "Lisy" Stefanoni has a very sweet voice that has that natural retro sound at times, when bands had regular singers on not extremely trained ones, but she can also do all the classical stuff very graciously.

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    Oceans of Night – Domain (2011)

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    Keeping up with the Progressive Metal/Rock releases we received recently, today we have Oceans of Night’s second full-length release titled “Domain”. This duo from the USA deliver and action-packed 63 minutes of pure Progressive/Power Metal excellence divided in 10 tracks. Featuring multi-instrumentalist Scott Mosher and vocalist Scott Oliva, this album delivers a hefty dosage of crunchy guitars and very well crafted atmospheric elements that sets them apart from the rest.

     The opening track “Domain” clocks in at a massive 17 minutes, signaling the beginning of a very rich and diverse journey through the music of Oceans of Night. In this track the crunchy guitars are a notable difference from your traditional prog music, and the atmospheric keyboards add a futuristic tone to the overall track. Oliva’s vocals are excellent, filled with emotion and nicely bringing the lyrics to life. The drumming is very well structured, and while neither of the band members play the drums, they brought in a session drummer to have that natural sound.

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    Abandoned Stars – Opening Act (2011)

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    Hailing from the land of “Sheep, single malt and haggis” as the band so eloquently describes it on their promo pack; today we have Scottish Progressive Metal newcomers: Abandoned Stars. With their debut EP “Opening Act”, the band delivers 4 very well crafted radio-friendly tracks that will surely get them noticed in the scene and generate interest in their future debut full-length release.

    With a style similar to bands like Dream Theater, Rush and Yes, but with more modern and mainstream elements, the band makes a great impact in terms of songwriting and musicianship with “Opening Act” that demands the attention of the followers of the genre.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Wild Wet – Cocktail in Bloodshed (2011)

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    Making its way from Italy to our PO BOX, today we have Wild Wet and their debut release “Cocktail in Bloodshed”. As a perfect example of ‘when vocalists’ go wrong, we are very sorry that Wild Wet’s very melodic and entertaining music is tarnished by the terrible pronunciation and pitchy-ness of the vocalists ‘abilities’. While the vocal harmonies are ok, the actual person pulling the trigger is just plain bad.

    After getting over the bad impressions of the singing, “Cocktail in Bloodshed” is not a bad album musically speaking. After the intro “After I Came”, this Italian sleaze/Glam Rock outfit does a great job in crafting appealing music for the opener “Before you die”. The guitar and bass guitar are petty solid and create a very fun and engaging atmosphere. The drumming is spot on and the overall feeling of the music is very entertaining indeed, but we have to listen to somebody howling in the background and this just kills the mood.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Earth Burnt Black – Harrowing Catharsis (2011)

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    With a very interesting and rich sound, today we have Earth Burnt Black’s debut full-length “Harrowing Catharsis”. The band pretty much throws everything in the frying pan and delivers a very well tasty dish of well crafted and different sounding music with a nice and clear production on top of it. These types of albums are the ones we wait for at Infernal Masquerade since the combine so many different things and still manage to sound very well and powerful.

    The “Intro” track immediately gives you the feeling that this will be a Doom Metal release, but this quickly changes in the next song. “The March” features hard rocking guitars and clean vocals to start, clearly breaking away from what is expected from the intro. However, not long enough the Doom and Grooviness come back and the band delivers interesting brutal sections with both growls and screams mixed in between some more clean vocals. While this might sound completely chaotic, it actually works very well with the melodic aspect of the song.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lapis Lazuli – A Justified Loss (2011)

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    Cranking out their second full-length release in 2011, today we have Lapis Lazuli and “A Justified Loss”. In this release the band delivers over 43 minutes of high-octane Symphonic/Gothic Metal graced by the beautiful vocals of Frida Eurenius. If you are a fan of Visions of Atlantis, Epica, Sirenia, and Xandria, you will love this release.

    After the traditional instrumental opener “Facing Demons”, the band comes at us with the bombastic “Leaving Scars”. In this song the keyboards are cranked up to 11 and provide a lush background to Frida’s vocals. While the band’s approach to the genre is very typical and traditional, the songs presented in “A Justified Loss” are very entertaining and demand a high-replay count in order to fully digest them.

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