Rock

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    Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies - Mens Animus Corpus (2013)

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    Being highly shocked by the sudden disbandment of The Devil’s Blood, we received the news of Selim Lemouchi continuing doing music under a new moniker with high hopes and expectations. Under his new ‘band name’ Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies, Selim delivers this short but sweet EP featuring three songs of trippy and engaging Occult/Psychedelic Rock music. While not as explosive and catchy as The Devil’s Blood pre-breakup material, all the tracks presented here have that sense of melody and weirdness that we loved so much from TDB.

    Opening with “Echaton”, we immediately feel the dark atmosphere descend upon us. The Doomy and Occult vibe in this track is quite thick and enjoyable since it reminds us a bit of Jex Thoth and her enigmatic music. This track is quite relaxing and mysterious, with very soothing guitars and hypnotic drums. “Thistle” is a track that has a familiar TDB vibe, but with a more direct and less polished approach. The vocals are quite fitting for the music and greatly enhance the experience.

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    Venomous Maximus – Beg Upon The Light (2013)

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    Delivering waves of powerful riffs, today we have Venomous Maximus and their debut-full length “Beg Upon The Light”. Originally released in 2012, Napalm Records has taken into their hands to properly release this album and get this band the amount of exposure they deserve. Featuring 10 tracks of a very unique mixture of Occult Rock and Stoner Metal, this band has a very different musical approach when compared to other Occult Rock bands that focus on adding psychedelic elements and a groovier vibe.

    After a cheesy intro powered by organs, “Path of Doom” leads the way with very heavy and Sludgy riffs. The vocals are quite powerful and contrasting, reminiscent of Heavy Metal acts from the 80’s. The Doom-esque “Give Up The Witch” nicely continues the onslaught of riffs that this band has crafted for such an interesting release, with a high emphasis on catchiness, they immediately command the listeners attention.

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    The Devil’s Blood - III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars (2013)

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    Recently demised The Devil’s Blood returns with one last hurrah with the raw and direct “III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars”. Never intended to be the last release of the band, and never properly completed, this release maintains the mystical magic of the band with a less refined and perfected packaging. Featuring the last seven tracks we will ever hear from this excellent band, this release is indeed very good, but it also has a bittersweet taste of what it could have been if the band polished it as much as their previous releases.

    The release leads off with a 22-minute epic under the title “I Was Promised a Hunt”. Supposedly written backwards, this track is a tour de force that goes through tons of different moods and delivers an excellent introduction to the band’s swansong release. The female vocals are outstanding as always and they immediately induce a trance-like state. There are also some male vocals that while odd at first, provide a nice contrast to F’s singing and the lush choir arrangements. The atmosphere in this track is quite dense (as always) and has a very dark vibe to it, greatly enhanced by the brilliant guitar work.

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    Riverland – Riverland (2013)

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    Making its way from Finland, today we have Riverland and their self-titled debut release. Featuring a very soothing and relaxing combination of Progressive / Alternative Rock with some Folk elements, this duo delivers seven excellent tracks. Heavily focusing in creating lush atmospheres, Riverland manages to craft a very unique and well balanced debut.

    Immediately creating a ‘feel good’ mood with the lush opener “Hope in The Air”, we can hear the band’s pop to folk influences in the span of the first minute. Miko Heino’s vocals are quite well suited for the music’s relaxing nature. “Help!” starts more in a folk-ish fashion with some cool beats and a very atmospheric vibe. On “Sounds” we can easily hear how they can perfectly fit the scene of a coffee house on a rainy afternoon. The band’s sound is quite direct and simple, perfectly fitting atmospheric concept of the album.

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    Lacrimas Profundere – Antiadore (2013)

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    Having been huge fans of the band’s earliest Gothic/Doom work, we have been reluctant to fully enjoy their most recent releases until this one. In “Antiadore” Lacrimas Profundere belts out 12 Gothic Rock anthems that are quite moody and catchy. The band has finally won us over with very catchy tunes, signature deep vocals, and excellent arrangements that make their music very dynamic and enjoyable.

    Led by the only remaining original member, Oliver Nikolas Schmid, on guitars, the band opens with “My Release in Pain”, a very catchy and emotional song. The band quickly warms up with tracks like “Antiadore”, “What I’m Not”, and “Dead To Me”, perfectly combining their powerful dual guitar attack with catchy keyboards and the trademark vocals of Rob Vitacca.

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    Kadavar – Abra Kadavar (2013)

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    Germany’s latest export Kadavar is finally making their latest release, “Abra Kadavar”, available to the people of North America through Nuclear Blast this May 14th, 2013. If you have been living under a rock for the last few years, Psychedelic Rock is making a big comeback and Kadavar is one of the most authentic and enthusiastic bands leading the charge. Featuring nine rocking anthems, this release is filled with energy and groovy tunes.

    Opening with the super catchy “Come Back To Life”, the band has that natural feeling to their music of the old-school bands from the 70’s. With a very basic set-up this band focuses more on creating fun and hard-rocking tunes than on any technical aspects of the production and fancy layering of things. “Doomsday Machine”, “Black Snake”, and “Dust” are clear examples of how the band delivers catchiness effortless while having a very organic and raw sound.

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    Purson – The Circle and the Blue Door (2013)

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    Greatly diversifying their roster, Metal Blade has picked up for distribution in the US UK-based underground sensation Purson and their latest release “The Circle and the Blue Door”. Lead by singer/guitarist Rosalie Cunningham, this band has nailed the retro/psychedelic Rock vibe from the 60’s/70’s to perfection with their very authentic sound that will surely gather them international recognition.

    Opening this release with the solemn “Wake Up Sleepy Head” and “The Contract”, the band immediately transports the listener to earlier times of free love and enigmatic music of the 60’s. The band’s authentic sound featuring instruments like the Mellotron and the Wurlitzer is greatly enhanced by Rosalie’s sultry vocals and excellent guitar skills. If you played this band for anybody into the music from those days, we are sure they would not be able to tell if it was a recent or an older band.

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    Mother Susurrus – Maahaavaa (2013)

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    Fully recorded using analog gear, today we have Finland’s Mother Susurrus and their debut full-length release “Maahaavaa”. Combining elements from bands like Neurosis, High of Fire, and more traditional Hard and Acid Rock influences, they masterfully crafted a sound that is quite hard to pin down, but is very interesting and unique sounding. This 48 minute release contains five solid tracks that command maximum aural attention.

    True audiophiles greatly appreciate when things are recorded via analog gear, and this is very evident when you get those nice grainy effects and elements in the music that really make things pop and sound natural. The first example of said things is the crushing opener “Superposition”. Clocking in at around 10 minutes, this mammoth track shows the band’s Sludge/Doom power with some more direct Hard rock influences.

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    Blacklands – A New Dawn (2013)

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    Featuring almost 80 minutes of beautifully crafted Progressive/Melodic Rock, today we have Germany’s Blacklands and their latest release “A New Dawn”. In this very competitive and highly repetitive music scene, it is quite refreshing to hear such a heartfelt and powerful release. With “A New Dawn”, the band takes traditional Melodic Rock with Progressive elements and ads lush female vocals for a great dramatic and highly pleasing effect, something that will surely appeal to fans from Gothic Metal all the way to Progressive Rock aficionados.

    Opening the release with the melancholic “Cold Embrace”, we get first glance of the excellent keyboards of Manfred Reinecke together the vivid and sultry voice of Moja Nardelli. This song also shows the clear Progressive elements in the band’s music perfectly mixed with their more melodic and at times Symphonic/Gothic Metal influences. With a folky edge, “Dance of The Witches” nicely changes up the pace and showcases the band’s versatility.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Beissert – Darkness:Devil:Death (2013)

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    We have been very troubled by writing a review for this release since it is one very complex and intricate album that is hard to swallow in a few (dozen) spins. Building up on their already very intoxicating sound, the band brings together Groove/Technical Metal elements into some Sludge and even Heavy Metal/Hard Rock influences all coming together in some kick as Metal-with-attitude as we would describe it.

    The album starts in a confusing manner with tracks like “The Chthonic Cathedral” and “DarknessDevilDeath”, both filled with killer riffs and soaring vocals, but seem very overwhelming for opening tracks. While band’s sound is very present in said tracks, we think that maybe something more approachable and mellow as “Age Ov Darkness” (and its sick melodic riffs) would have better served as a lead-up into the band’s groovy music. However, once the first two song hump is behind you, all the rest of the release is just sweet aggressive and melodic brilliance.

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