RAGNAROK
–
Blacdoor Miracle (CD – Regain Records). This band is a new legend coming
from the frozen hills of Europe, Norwegian black metal scene - the real
cradle of dark feelings. Epic, intense, fucking black metal attack to
destroy all boundaries of crudeness and pain, RAGNAROK already is one of
the best true black metal acts coming from the old world! The new album
"Blackdoor Miracle", released by the great label Regain Records
& produced by the worldwide legend Tommy Tägtgren, is one of the best
grotesque black attacks record in the last years, a masterpiece of intense
technical black hate created by insane creatures coming from inferno.
The new vocal demon Hoest is a furious singer with a grotesque
voice in the line of MARDUK´s "Legion", tracks as such as
"Murder", "Kneel" and "Journey from Life"
are intense hymns of hate to the life. Great album to rape all putrid
black attack hordes. Contact: jontho@sensewave.com
/ TriquetraMedia@aol.com
/ jake@theendrecords.com
(OE)
RAIN
PAINT – Nihil Nisi Mors (CD – My Kingdom Music). The
boundaries of metal genre are broken all day, and it is a great think,
because the music is the most important aspect behind all labels and
styles, RAIN PAINT is a proof that the fusion of various influences can be
a fabulous ingredient to create good songs. The band mix influences of
gothic rock, dark wave, doom metal, progressive rock & melodic death
metal to create an interesting serenade of despair and pain, a real
masterpiece of sad feelings and obscure melancholy. The album are mastered
in legendary Finnvox studios and the producer are the famous Oskary Kymäläinen
(AMORPHIS, THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, HIM), the result is a very powerful record,
with great atmospheres-including heavy and dark climates in fabulous songs
as “Death Drive & Fear”, “Miss Spring” (a real intense doom
serenade) & the sad heavy “Loose and Over”. I already listen this
album a lot of times and to each new audition this seems better! Contacts:
rainpaint@rock.com / info@mykingdommusic.net
(EF)
RAVENCULT
– Cosmic Chaos (MCD – Self Produced). I’m
impressed with the power and violence of this true black metal horde
coming from Greece. These four apocalyptic riders plays a killer black
metal with the old roots and influences of Greek acts as VARATHRON &
ROTTING CHRIST (old) and with obvious legends of the real black metal
spirit as DARKTHRONE, BURZUM, BATHORY & MAYHEM. The artwork is in
black & white with a ancient demoniac illustration of genius Gustave
Dore, the logo is another great creation of the black metal master of the
dark art Cristophe Szpajdel and the tracks are the pure killer black metal
serenades to worship Satan and his legions: “Pure Hellish Blasphemy”,
“Cosmic Chaos Pandemonium”, “Deathcult Supremacy” &
“Manifestation of The Essence”. HAIL RAVENCULT! Contacts: ravencult@mail.com
(OE).
REIGN
OF TERROR – Threnody of the Impaled (CD – Evil Vengeance Records). Another
lesson of BRUTAL DEATH METAL coming from the American aggression called
REIGN OF TERROR! This new full-length is a cradle of terror nightmares in
music form, a putrid aggression to rape our souls. If you love the real
roots of brutal death metal mixed with the speed technical death created
by bands as KRISIUN, VADER & MORTICIAN, you will tattooed the name of
REIGN OF TERROR in your heart. No mercy here, no boundaries to the eternal
brutality, creating sonic abuses like “Sado Sodomite Communion”,
“Marching Plague”, “Uteral Incision” & “Devil Pig”,
someone of the most crude & powerful tracks of the new brutal death
metal! The production is great and the cover art is very insane –in the
real spirit of underground death metal! FABULOUS SERENADE TO THE NEW END!
Contacts: megiddogate@hotmail.com
(EF)
RESSURECTURIS
– The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell (CD – Mondongo Canibale
Records). The Italian legendary death metal combo returns with a furious
masterpiece of genuine brutality and obscure feelings!!! The strange and
iconoclastic lyrics, the curious and macabre cover, the great sound
production and the unforgettable killer riffs of this release put the band
in the world’s death metal elite! The RESSURECTURIS music is a cradle of
extreme music influences, old death metal school as MORBID ANGEL, DEATH,
DISMEMBER, MASTER are mixed with thrash metal touches (KREATOR,
DESTRUCTION, TESTAMENT) and some grindcore echoes (in vocals and guitars)
putting raw powerful tracks in the top of my death metal soundtrack as
“Living Reification” (experimental, creative, brutal, melodic and
emotive!!!), “In Art’s Death” (macabre!!!!) & “I Corpi Privi
Di Vita” (darkest death hymn!). If you are inside death metal this band
is a need for your life (or DEATH)! Contacts: info@mondongocanibale.com
(EF).
REVIOLENCE
– In Pieces (MCD – Self Produced). VERY IMPRESSIVE,
is incredible the power and aggressively in this first release of
REVIOLENCE, the band already born with one of the best forces of the new
Brazilian Thrash death! Two great musicians of the underground scene
united to create this combo: Edson Graseffi (drums - ex-PANZER) and Sydney
Becky (guitars – ex-NERVOCHAOS) and they invite Pedro Lobão (guitars),
Thiago Grogia (bass) & Leandro Meize (vocals) to complete the team, a
really fabulous crew of brutalism! Only 3 tracks are put in this fucking
EP and they are grotesque pieces of thrash metal feeling, with inspired
guitar riffs and soles, powerful drums (Graseffi is one of the best
drummer from Brazilian metal scene!), and good vocals (with clean/scream
parts), creating the 3 pearl of this MCD: “Zero Of Me”, “In
Pieces” & “Constant Dream”! Contacts: panzertt@terra.com.br
(EF)
REX
INFERNUS – NoaN (CD – Self Produced). Another spirit for the
dark music, with melodies and pain atmospheres, coming from the great
Brazilian metal underground scene with a interesting and unusual music
proposal, REX INFERNUS is a legendary act, they released two fabulous
works the tape album "Loadohi A Micaloz", a cult item for the
real lovers of the occult metal music and this fabulous album
"NoaN", and impressive opus of "PanAeon Metal", a epic
masterpiece with a lot of atmospheres and climates based in the influences
of ritualistic dark metal, this is one of the great revelations of the
Brazilian Heavy Metal scene. All lyrics of the album are very
deep and interesting, they talk about a lot of myths and philosophies,
such as "Homenagem ao Rebelde I - Prometeu", inspired by the
Greek myth, and "Gaiares I", inspired by nature rites. The
beautiful booklet artwork of the album shows to us a kind of strange
ritual, with occult symbols and clothes and two girls nude in a sexual
intercourse. Great musical experience to the new Era…Contacts: rexinfernus@superig.com.br , www.rexinfernus.com (EF)
RHESTUS
- Embryo Of The Endless Sands (CD – Self-Produced). Thrash metal genre
are reborn now, and it is a kind of new wave in the metal world scene.
Coming from the obscure hole of the Brazilian south underground the crude
true thrash metal act called RHESTUS born in 1993 and the band
released the demos "Had a World"(96) and "Heroes of the
Doomsday" (99), now they release their first album "Embryo Of
The Endless Sands", that self-production is a proof of the power and
energy of this new thrash revelation, including the incredible climates of
the 80th legends as KREATOR, DESTRUCTION, SODOM & EXUMER. The
music of RHESTUS is very influenced by the roots of the European thrash
metal, with creative riffs and crude furious vocals, but we can listen Bay
Area Thrash touches too. The highlight tracks are "Insane
War", "Tsavo: The Place of Slaughter" and the instrumental
"Njord Hymn" - very interesting and creative, it has powerful
riffs and intense atmospheres. Contacts: www.rhestus.com.br
/ rhestus@rhestus.com.br
(EF)
ROT - A Long Cold Stare (CD - 2+2 = 5
Records). The kings of worldwide grindcore return! ROT is a putrid
grindcore act that put Brazil in the hall of mundial grind gods. They
release more than 20 records, including splits with AGATHOCLES, DEPRESSION
& SUBLIME CADAVERIC DECOMPOSITION, the band’s saga around the
obscure underground create a kind of cult status to ROT, and the band
deserve it, because their music is sublime, a powerful mix of old death
& grind influences. Drinking in the cup of HELLHAMMER, SODOM,
AGATHOCLES & NAPALM DEATH creating a real nightmare atmosphere in the
38 tracks of this masterpiece. Listen tracks as "Fanatical
Monstrosity", "Daily Hell", "Pushing the Stone"
& "Modern Man" to feel the brutality and extreme feeling
jumping in your face. The album include 7 live tracks recorded in the last
germanic tour of the band, the lyric aspect of the album is another
highlight - it include references to Nietszche, Cioran & Camus.
Philosophical grind attack to the new millennium! Contacts: marcelorot@hotmail.com
/ info@2plus2equal5.com (EF)
SADISTIK
EXEKUTION – Fukk II (CD – Osmose / The End Records). The
Australian kings of death trash metal attack returned with the fuKKing
continuation of the previous album FUKK. Aggression to our ears, torment
to our souls, a fusion between the death metal new grooves with intense
old school guitar intermissions – with great influences of the icon VOI
VOD (in music and image – the cover arts of SADYSTIC EXECUTION is very
inspired by the VOI VOD aesthetic), I really love the tortuous and furious
manner that the guitars play their AXES in this album, creating a
cataclysmal massive nightmare sound in fukking attacks as “Mental
Derailment”, “Battered to Buggery” “Fukking Death Metal” (a
perfect title here!). The last track “Outer Spiritual” is a kind of
symphonic death-thrash with a lot of noise experiences in the end. Forget
AC/DC, Australia is the country of SADISTIK EXECUTION! Contacts: osmose@osmoseproductions.com
/ theend@theendrecords.com
(EF).
SAD
THEORY – A Madrigal of Sorrow (CD – Die Hard). This is an unforgettable
album, an original masterpiece created by one of the best acts coming from
Brazil. SAD THEORY second full-length is a cradle of feeling and
atmospheres, a perfect fusion between Doom, Melodic Death Metal &
Symphonic Black Metal, a impressive proof of the geniality of the band.
The album is inspired by the deep poetry of the darkest Baudelaire and the
sadness climate of the music is very connected with the deep pains brought
by that consecrated author's poetry. Some tracks are marvelous dark
voyages to tortured souls like the intense “Lost Why” (the most doom
of the play), the sad symphonic holocaust “Un Quelqu’ un Solitaire?”
and the powerful multimedia track “Pain Poison Soul” – with a
creative video production. With that album SAD THEORY has everything to
conquer the world with its inspired and unique music! Contacts:
sadtheory@sadtheory.com
/ diehard@diehard.com.br (EF)
SAGITTA
– Bad Signs (MCD – Self Produced). Another melodic metal band from
Brazil, SAGITTA drinks in the tradition of ANGRA, VIPER, SHAMAN and
similar. You can listen great musicians here, a very clean and powerful
production and a good vocalist, but you can’t here nothing new, the band
still haven’t personality and they sounds like a mix between ANGRA,
SHAMAN with vocals very similar to the Keepers’ HELLOWEEN phase. The
cover art is another clone of millions of melodic metal covers: pyramids
& planets… The 4 composition of the MCD are ok, and the best is
“Take On”. I will wait the debut album of SAGITTA to see the evolution
of the band’s personality. Contacts: bandasagitta@terra.com.br
(OE)
SATAN
– In Nomine Hirci (CD – Il Male Production). Black
Industrial Metal from Italy, raw, crude, putrid and with a
very bad sound production – it remember me the more raw demo-tapes from
the beginning of 80th, recorded with only one channel tape
deck! Ok, we can listen some examples of the fury and darkest aura of this
band in some parts of the music, but the guitars sounds like a swarms of
bees…the battery are very boring in all tracks, that always repeats the
same compasses in the whole music, the best thing of this act is the
vocals very sick and demoniac and some industrial & dark ambient
atmospheric tracks as “Human Extermination” & “Book of
Silence”. Satan can be a great surprise if makes a better recording in
the next time! Contacts: info@ilmaleproduction.com
SATHYA
– Sathya (CD – Self Produced). Another band with Gothenburg sound
spirit, SATHYA play the called melodic death metal, the obvious influences
are IN FLAMES, AT THE GATES & SOILWORK, the prominence of the SATHYA´s
sound is the guitar riffs –because it is very special sometimes –
remember old thrash metal acts from Europe, above all KREATOR. The
production isn’t so good; the band musicians’ quality deserves
something better in the next release. In spite of that the band doesn't
disappoint and give us good compositions as " Top Gun " &
"Ohm ". Contacts: abehold@aol.com
(EF)
SCARLET
PEACE – Into The Mind’s Labyrinth (CD – Self
Produced). The sadness feeling involves me when I listen the introduction
song of this doom masterpiece…a real dark melancholic open act to the
intense doom experience created by this brazilian guys. The debut album of
SCARLET PEACE is a great surprise, because it is very mature and creative
with a lot of personality, the band play a kind of melodic doom, with
impressive presence of keyboards – creating a solitudeness atmosphere
around all compositions, a fusion of slow parts and mid-tempos with crude
guitar riffs and melodic soles mixed with soprano female vocals and
cavernous screams give the way of band´s sound. Emotive music for
tormented souls and doom maniacs, all compositions are great, but the
prominences in my opinion are: “Sunset”, “Into The Mind’s
Labyrinth” (an epic marvellous opus with more than 8 minutes) and the
raw “The Picture”. With this first album SCARLET PEACE is one of the
best doom acts coming from Brazil, I believe that they have good chance of
turn well-known globally and I admit that am anxious for hearing new music
of that band! Long life to SCARLET PEACE! Contacts: pauloscarlet@hotmail.com
(EF)
SCRATCHING
SOIL
– War Experience (CD – Stygian Crypt Productions). Powerful black
kings from the Nabokov land! SCRATCHING SOIL exist since 1996 and this is
the second album of the band, when I listen the music of this band we can
feel some sensation that remember us the first days of Black Metal´s
brutality, but the brutality are mixed with a marvelous touch of epic
climates and apocalyptic groove sensation!!! A perfect union of the old
roots of Black metal with an intense new epic feeling, influences:
BATHORY, BURZUM, MAYHEM. This new album from the Russian black metal
masters - opus "War Experience", released by the legendary
Russian label STYGIAN CRYPT, is a masterpiece of intense & glorious
black metal. The subject of the
lyrics in the great "War Experience" is interesting and
powerful, the best tracks in my opinion are: CRACKS IN GROUND HAVE TOLD...
DEAD BY NUMBERS & MEANS NEVER. Russian Holocaust of dark and fury!
Contacts: imphatefac@yahoo.co.uk
/ stygian@uraltc.ru
(EF)
SEAR
BLISS – Glory and Perdition (CD –
Red Stream). WONDERFUL!!!! SIMPLE WONDERFUL!!! These 5 Vikings are the new
kings of the Epic Black Metal, I admit that didn't know the sound of that
band and when I heard the album I was direct to the site to know more on
SEAR BLISS, the surprise is to know that the band exists since 1993 and it
already released 6 albums! They including curious instruments in the music
as trumpet & tuba, besides one of the officials members of the current
line-up Zoltán Pál plays the trombone!! Everything is ok in that CD, the
folk atmospheres and the epic parts, producing climates never seen in that
musical style, with grandiose riffs, burlesque soles and grotesque vocals.
Forget DIMMU BORGIR and that kind of shit, that album is a true marvel of
the pagan metal, music as " Birth of Eternity ", " Two
Worlds Collide " & " Blood Serenade " will play per
years in my CD player. Unforgettable and unique! Contacts: andras@searbliss.hu
/ redstream@redstream.org
(OE)
SENGAYA – Metamorphosis (CD – Self Produced). This band was born in 1998
and it is a great revelation of prog metal rock coming from Germany. The
impressive debut album "Metamorphosis", self-released, is a
masterpiece of prog atmospheres, variated guitar climates and beautiful
vocals. Prog Metal without virtuous boring musics, only true feelings
here! Andreas Fetcher is a majestic guitar man with a intense melodic
sense, the music are very inspired and sometimes we can listen echoes of
melodic & power metal and progressive rock in SENGAYA´s songs. The
best tracks of this album are: "Way of Ecstasy" &
"Behind the Myths". Good news for the prog lovers! Contacts: www.sengaya-music.de
, sengaya@freenet.de (EF)
SERENADE
OF DARKNESS – Storms (CD – Self Produced). Very emotive and brutal
melodic black metal coming from The Netherlands, “Storms” is the
second full-length of SERENADE OF DARKNESS and the production is
marvelous. Obvious that the music here is influenced by DIMMU BORGIR
(old), and we can listen a lot of echoes from another bands as OLD MAN´S
CHILD, TWIN OBSCENITY and CHILDREN OF BODOM, the compositions had a lot of
climates and atmospheres, Demorpheus is a great keyboardist and the
sadness atmospheres created by the keys in epic tracks like the fabulous
“Invoking The Storms of Winter” are the special characteristic of the
band. I believe that the proposal of investing in long music is coherent
with the style of the band and the slow courses produce a sensation of
deep melancholy, with a doom climate, as in beautiful " The Twilight
Behind Your Soul ". The booklet doesn't bring the lyrics and I went
until the band’s site for verifying that they are not also there. This
is a great album that certainly will please all the lovers of the style;
he places the band in the elite group of Melodic Black Metal. Contacts: info@serenadeofdarkness.nl
(OE)
SERPENTIA
– Dark Fields Of Pain (CD – Self Produced). Death
metal combo coming from Poland, SERPENTIA produce a very inspired death
metal with old roots spirit – riffs as nightmare blades, dark compasses,
some soles with powerful feelings and another slow e melodic heavy guitars
parts – this structure gives a good personality to the band’s music,
transforming it in an of the more creative bands of Poland's new extreme
metal. Some tracks are really fabulous as “Waiting for Wings”
(spectacular guitar work here!) & “Extraterrestrial Mother”.
Contacts: ivyserpent@interia.pl
(OE) 
SEVEN
PINES – Nympholet (CD – Dysphorie Records). Experimental
music with a lot of references and climates, this is the proposal of
powerful SEVEN PINES created by the creative French musician Eric Roger.
This album count with a lot of special guests including the genius Gäe
Bolg (I think that this guy is only another personality of Eric Roger…).
Dark atmospheres mixed with crazy climates and ethereal parts creating
unusual serenades as “L’appel des Nymphes”, “Printemps de
Pierre” – with trumpets, cornets, saxophones, dark percussions &
beautiful voices, and Fleur D’ange – dissonant insane masterpiece of
noise & neo-classic deconstructive music. Unique music, only for
people with opened hearts and special ears. Contacts: sevenpines@club-internet.fr
/ dysphorie@dysphorie.fr (EF).
SEVERED
REMAINS – A Display of Those Defiled (CD – Comatose
Music). Prepare your mind to listen more than 40 minutes of avant-garde
death grind aggression. These 5 guys from Ohio create a masterpiece of
gore grind music, with incredible mid tempos and deep darkness riffs mixed
with some experimental spirit that create putrid slow death passages in
the middle of the songs (Wow, I discover the “progressive grind death”
here!!!!), if you never listen grind death tracks with more than 8
minutes, listen “You Cut…I’ll Shred” and feel the pain, they
played with really rotten spirit and the songs are fabulous, another
prominences are “Shishkafuck”, and the SUFFOCATION cover “Liege of
Inveracity”. I put SEVERED REMAINS in my list of the best grind death
act of new era. Contacts: bloodflame666@aol.com
/ hatemachine@carolina.rr.com
(EF)
SHADOWSPHERE
– Darklands (CD – Self Produced). The Portuguese metal scene already
aborted its melodic death metal bastard son and his name is SHADOWSPHERE!
This self-produced album impress us because the sound production is really
great, it don’t is worse than “The Abyss Studio” new recordings. The
band is very influenced by the Gothenburg style, with echoes of AT THE
GATES, SOILWORK and IN FLAMES (old), but it isn’t another clone,
SHADOWSPHERE music is creative and intense and this 4 guys get to create
compositions of a lot of quality here as: “Nosferatu (Wolf of
Christendom)”, “At The Graves” & “The Everlasting Dream”.
This is the premiere of a band that promises to be one of the great
sensations of the melodic death metal. Should be listened! Contacts: shadowsphere@hotmail.com
(EF)
SKEPCISM
– Farmakon (CD – Red Stream). The new masterpiece of the kings of dark
doom ambient serenades is a tortured voyage to the deep abyss of
solitudeness and pain, a recognition of nothing, the power of nothing, the
eternal empty, darkness introspection inside the hollows souls, some
minimalist whisper with ambient funeral dooms created a pure and grotesque
sound of death, songs to listen in a dark palace in an icy night. Read the
lyric of “Nothing” to understand the message: “Slowly / Came to
stand still / Journey / Reached the end / Here / Is Nothing / To be found
/ Came all the Way / To find / Nothing / Nothing / Nothing”, frozen and
nihilistic poem of the acceptance of our final condition, any God or
Demon, just the emptiness forever. Sartre would like that album,
Schopenhauer too. Sad music for all disappointed and without hope. The
deepest pain can just be expressed by the most sensitive minds, this is a
work of genius, unique and powerful, a tragic & slow and raw serenade
for nothing...Contacts: skepticism@farmakon.com
/ info@redstream.org (EF)
SKYFORGER
– Thunderforge (CD – Folter Records). Fabulous
“Folk Pagan Metal” released by the great label FOLTER records,
SKYFORGER sounds epic, grandiose, furious and very intense, with
influences of Viking metal as WINDIR, ENCIFERUM, and old true black metal
as DARKTHRONE, BATHORY, BURZUM, MAYHEM and some touches of the new melodic
black metal the band create a original sound! The Peter's lead vocals are
angry and unusual and the folk instruments interludes are really powerful
as in the tracks “The Shortest Night of the Year”, “Long Dance
(instrumental)” & “In Darkness and Frost”. Folk masters of
metal! Contacts: info@folter666.de
(EF).
SLAINE
– NON (MCD – Self Produced). Another death-thrash metal band coming
from Germany, SLAINE include interesting melodic guitars in its sound,
creating powerful tracks like “Doodwegen” – the best of this release
in my opinion. You can’t listen nothing new here, only the good and old
death metal with thrash metal echoes, the record isn’t bad and the MCD
are comes in a beautiful digi packing. The band are working now in the
next full-length and I´m very curious to listen the evolution of the
music presented here. Contacts: contact@slaine.ch
(OE)
S.M.E.S.
– The Good, The Bad & Me (CD – Black Hole Productions). Now is not
an easy thing to create something new in the enormous universe of the
extreme music. Erwin, the mastermind behind S.M.E.S. and the raw fucking
voice of LAST DAYS OF HUMANITY create your own vision of grotesque music,
inaugurating with his project a style that can be called
cyber-techno-gore-dance- music!!!!!! Strange…yes, of course, but it is
very interesting and proposes innovations never thought for the grindcore
scene, music totally created in techno softwares and mixed with fucking
gore-pig voices!!! I’m very surprised with the first release of the
band, the iconoclastic “Goregasmic Tales from Technophobia”, released
in a special CD-R version by BLACK HOLE, but in the second full-length,
Erwin is more intense and elevates his innovative proposal to the ends of
the experimentalism, creating a kind of brutal dance music, feeble and
incredible. Don’t exist lyrics here, only pig screams and curious-funny
title tracks as “Saunatorium”, “I’m Going Out My Duck” &
“G.I.Joke”, the artwork and design of the album are wonderful turning
it a complete masterpiece! FABULOUS SICK SONORE EXPERIENCE! Contacts: mail@blackholemag.com
/ smes_eindhoven@yahoo.com
(EF)
SPACE
ODYSSEY – Embrace The Galaxy (CD – Regain Records/The End
Records). This band is a project of the legendary keyboardist Richard
Andersson – of course it is a progressive melodic metal act, with a
massive presence of keyboards and virtuous guitar soles – very
influenced by MALMSTEEN’s music. Patrik Johansson, the man behind the
vocals, is a kind of DIO’s son, with the same timbre and groove, but
this kind of vocal don’t give a good mix between prog melodic music, it
is power metal vocals in my opinion. The record are great, the lyrics
interesting, but the auto-indulgence of the musicians made the music very
boring sometimes. If you are inside this kind of music and like MALMSTEEN,
STRATOVARIUS & DREAM THEATER you will like this project, if you
don’t like this style escape from that! Contacts: jake@theendrecords.com
(OE).
STEELPREACHER
–
Route 666 (CD – Self Produced). When I listened this CD - imagined me in
the eighties, listening a new album of Power Metal!
The great spirit of true power metal is here, killer refrains, hard
heavy soles, powerful riffs and the love for motorcycles, swords, leather,
tattoos and metal. Some title of the tracks reveal this climate: “Metal
Till Death”, “Metalforces” & “Messengers of Steel”. If you
need some references to the STEELPREACHER sound, imagine a great mix
between old GRAVE DIGGER, MOTORHEAD & MANOWAR with some thrash metal
touches. Another revelation coming from Germany. IF HEAVY METAL IS THE
LAW, THE NEW LAW IS STEELPREACHER! Contacts: www.steelpreacher.de
/
jens@steelpreacher.de (OE)
STRAASHA
/ NUMENOR
(Split
CD - Melancholia Records).This
is a Split CD with two black metal bands from Melancholia Records. The
first band consists in Straasha's raw black metal with a lot of folk and
Heavy Metal influences. The Norwegian one-man-band also inserted heavy
metal influences into their work, which is divided in five chapters.
Straasha did a great alternation between acoustic guitars and violins with
raw black metal passages. Great band. The other band in this split is
Numenor, a side project of N.Sandoval. Numenor's music is "an
authentic praise to Nature". In fact, they play good black metal
alternating clean / guttural / screamed vocals. This split CD is a great
opportunity to know two black metal promises. Contact: www.melancholia-records.com
/ contact@melancholia-records.com
(Në¢rø¢åññïßaL)
STRANGEWAYS
– Farewell (CD – Self Produced). To create music
with post-punk and gothic influences from the 80th as THE CULT, THE CURE
and THE MISSION, but with a special urban acid rock groove, this is the
proposal of the band STRANGEWAYS and they present us their second
full-length “Farewell”. The album is very intense, with feeling
jumping from all songs, and a good recording e mix, the cover artwork are
painfully, a supplicant hand leaving the a man's chest, perfect symbol for
the music of the band replete of pain and a certain sensation of sadness,
emptiness and loss. Music as the title track, “Never " & "
Another World " (the really interesting rock'n'roll music) have a lot
of personality, and another songs with evident echoes of THE CURE or THE
MISSION are interesting too as the beautiful & sad “Leave For
Good”, and the raw “Ritual”. The album finished with a techno
version for the song “Never”, a curious and valid experiment. Contact:
strangeways@strangeways.com.br
(EF)
STUMP
FUCKING – Stump Fucking (CD – Self Produced). New Switzerland
grind death attack, this album had a very funny cover – a crazy farmer
“playing” with a cow – this art reveal a lot of the lyric proposal
of the band, mix funny subjects with pain & social problems…strange
but intense, they singing in French & English and the sound is the
more putrid extreme death metal with grindcore grooves. Hate &
aggression are the mark of composition like “O.T.A.N. pour moi”,
Soif” & “Atrophie”, the guitar riffs are very hard & dense
in the way of old MORBID ANGEL. Ironic and severe grindeath metal for
prepared minds! Contacts: stumpfucking@stumpfucking.ch
(OE)
SUBTERRANEAN
MASQUERADE – Temporary Psychotic State (MCD – The End
Records).This post-metal rock project are created by the genius mind of
the guitarist Tomer Pink and he counts with a lot of special guests to
record this interesting MCD as drummer Tino LoSicco (EPOCH OF UNLIGHT),
bassist Jason William Walton (AGALLOCH) & vocalist Paul Kuhr
(NOVEMBER’S DOOM). With this special team is almost impossible play bad
music and the two long songs of the EP don't disappoint, it is a powerful
mix of prog metal, psychedelic rock, dark wave climates and experimental
music. Aiming possible ways for the such worn away extreme metal and
offering us with 17 minutes of quality music. Hopefully Tomer Pink
transforms SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE in a band!
Contacts: theend@theendrecords.com
(EF)
SUMMONER
– Winter Solstice (CD – B.T.O.D). The melodic death metal fashion
aborted creatures in all parts of the world – and the European scene is
full of this kind of bands. SUMMONER is another melodic death metal act
with Gothenburg spirit; the band coming from Italy and this is the debut
full-length. Symphonic and Epic piece of metal with a curious female vocal
participation and interesting melodic riffs mixed with very inspired
keyboards, that is the music proposal, of course you don’t listen
anything new here, but if you love the first releases of IN FLAMES and AT
THE GATES, SUMMONER will be your new cup of tea! The sweet feelings in the
title track are mixed with the fury of tracks as “My Epitaph”. Good
album, with great production and beautiful artwork. Contacts: info@summonersite.com
(EF).
SWALLOW
THE SUN – The Morning Never Came (CD – Firebox). Slow
morbid doom metal debut album of this band, SWALLOW THE SUN coming from
Finland and maintain the tradition of good doom acts aborted in this
frozen lands of Europe. The music listen here is replete of nihilistic and
sad fury, with creepy keyboards and low heavy riffs creating a kind of
melodic/symphonic doom metal, very misanthropic, very melancholic and
dark, an epic serenade do the life’s end, with tenebrous climates like
in the tracks “Through Her Silvery Body”, “ Silence of The Womb”
& the impressive title track. Another great point is the cover
artwork, very enigmatic and creepy. Contacts: info@firebox.fi
/ jpmuikku@firebox.fi (EF).
TERRORIST
– Mata o Muere (CD – Deus Mortuus Productions). Hey guys that is the
fucking Argentinean response to BRUJERIA!!!! Grind death metal attack
singing in Spanish with a furious grind groove and death riffs basement,
the vocals of S.Shit is very unique with a distant echo of CANNIBAL
CORPSE, the Spanish language seems to work perfectly to sing the
antisocial blasphemies of this music style! The best tracks of the
Terrorist’s attack are “Himno del Odio”, “Enemigo”,
“O.s.s.a.m.a. (curious title…) & “Enfermo de Mierda”. The gift
for all maniacs around the world is the last track, a video clip version
of “Himno del Odio”, we can see the band on stage here and this four
horsemen rules! Contacts: terrorist_band@yahoo.com.ar
(EF) 
TEXTURES
– Polars (CD – Listenable / The End Records). Is impossible to avoid
the joke: Textures is a band of several textures…yes, another great act
based in fusion of elements from a lot of metal genres, but the basic
structure of TEXTURES is death metal! The experimental aspects of the
music can be listen in guitar riffs mid-tempos and raw & sweet thrash
voices (it remember me EARTH CRISIS sometimes & ALICE IN CHAINS
another times), the guitars can be heavy or progressive creating curious
mix and improbable tracks as “Ostensibly Impregnable”,
“Transgression” (with dark ambient touches and a very beautiful
soprano sax) & the progressive darkness death symphony “Polars”
(with more than 18 minutes!!!!!). The band has the courage of investing in
that believes and the result surprises. Contacts: booking@textures.nl
/ jake@theendrecords.com (EF)
THE
AMENTA – Occasus (CD – Listenable/The End Records). Good
revelation coming from the new Australian extreme metal music scene,
“Occasus” is the band’s debut full-length album and a great
beginning to “THE AMENTA”, because they shown a band with powerful
proposal and technique, playing an intense black death metal sound mixed
with some electronic and dark ambient touches – that gives personality
to this music. The lyrics subject is interesting too, they talk about the
humanity decadence in new millennium and it is influenced by actual
philosophy. In the middle of
the10 good music I highlight: “Zero” (the deepest and enigmatic of the
album), “Senium” (urban dark ambient soundscapes), “Geil” (with
killer riffs) & “Sangre” (the most brutal!). A tragic serenade to
the new age! Contacts: theamenta@bigpond.com
/ jake@theendrecords.com (EF)
THE
FROZEN – Zero (MCD – Self Produced). Coming from Austria, THE
FROZEN exist since 1998 and this MCD is their third release, the band
invests in a powerful hard´n´heavy with a lot of gothic touches –
these gothic influences don´t are in the way of the new wave of gothic
metal – it is more in the line of classic acts as THE MISSION, BAUHAUS
& FIELDS OF NEPHILIM and the fans of these acts certainly will love
“Zero”, the heavy touches are listened in songs like “Shine in
Black” – with riffs that remember the METALLICA from Black album.
Great MCD! Contacts: dennis@thefrozen.net
(OE)
THE
HERETIC – Chemistry For The Soul (CD – Xtreem Music). THE
HERETIC is a Spanish combo interested in create a new kind of symphonic
death metal with influences of progressive music and Gothenburg sound, the
band was created in 1996 and “Chemistry for The Soul” is the second
full-length released by them, you can listen here 10 new tracks and 5 live
tracks, when I can fell the great performance of them on stage. Some black
metal touches are mixed in the band’s music, riffs and climates inspired
by EMPEROR, IMMORTAL & OLD MAN’S CHILD, but the lyrics subject
don’t talk about Satan or hell. The album is a collection of various
atmospheres from the dark and heavy (tracks as Love’s As Dreadful As
Death) to the deep and sad (tracks as “Dead Hearts in Living Men”).
New sound to the experimental death lovers! Contacts: cristobalhereje@hotmail.com
/ info@xtreemmusic.com (OE)
THE
KILL (Aus)– The Soundtrack to Your Violence (MCD
– No Escape Records). 13 minutes of pure mind destruction!!!! Yes, the
power of created raping ears blast beats and raw putrid vocals of these
Australian grindcore combo is really impressive, brutality without
boundaries for lovers of NAPALM DEATH & AGATHOCLES. The cover artwork
is simple and great, a red version of the sick little possessed girl from
the movie THE EXORCIST. The
label “NO ESCAPE already is a legend in the extreme scene and I’m
congratulating these guys for release this masterpiece of sonic
disturbance! Tracks as “Axe Attack”, “Fashion Victim” &
“Dead Babies” will fuck your brain! Only for real lovers of grind
holocaust! Contacts: thekill@iprimus.com.au
/ info@noescaperecords.com
(EF)
THE
KILL (USA) – Extended Play (MCD – Stereo Recording Co.).
Interesting hardcore act coming from Salt Lake City’s scene, the music
of the band use a lot of powerful breaks and mid tempos, mixing influences
of death metal riffs, bay area thrash metal grooves and some touches of
grunge. The 6 tracks putting here are a good sample of the nervous and
distressing music produced by these crazy ones, the prominences are "
Pale Skin Art ", Manic " &
“8MM Black and White ". Angry music for angry people!
Contacts: killsender@hotmail.com
/ jake@theendrecords.com (EF)
THE
MALDOROR KOLLECTIVE – New Era Viral Order (CD – Code
666). Very innovative band that mix dark ambient atmospheres, EBM pulses,
industrial touches and massive black metal climates! This is a kind of
post-black metal music, including with great creativity the electronic
influences, a wonderful revelation in a sea of metal clones, the band also
create a very creative lyrical concept, dividing the album in 3 moments
entitled: “Analysis”, “Synthesis” & “Thesis” talking about
new virus attack and DNA dark plague in fucking ritual dark manifestos of
the new age as “Xaos DNA Released”, “Rigid Pulse Starfire” &
“Epidemic Noise Age”. The Italian band reveals a great capacity to
produce a new kind of symphonic nightmare! Contacts: kundahli@libero.it
/ code666@code666.net (EF). 
THE
REAPER COMESIII – (Compilation CD – The Reaper Comes). This
is a very special compilation, because it has a beautiful cover art , good
booklet with gloss paper and 16 pages – including release, picture and
information of all 14 bands including here! The compilation includes 11
bands from the new German metal scene and another 3 coming from Belgium,
Canada & Switzerland. You can listen doom, death, thrash & black
metal bands here, the prominences in my opinion are: OPHIS (morbid true
doom metal), SENGAYA (interesting prog metal), SLAINE (death thrash with
personality), STEELPREACHER (power metal in the old school vein), UNLIGHT
(fucking killer black metal). Good view to the German metal music
nowadays. Contacts: reapercomes@web.de
(OE). 
THEUDHO
– Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (MCD – Self Produced). An ancestral
Viking pagan aura involves this work, strange old symbols, runes, ancient
swords and cold hills. THEUDO is a symphonic Viking metal one-man-band
created by J.S. to show to us his intense & furious medieval spirit,
with influences of BURZUM, DARKTHRONE, IMMORTAL, WINDIR, ENCIFERUM and
BATHORY. The mix between epic keyboards and deep raw vocals are great (but
I think the band needs a better sound production in the next time).
Very interesting work in the vein of great acts from the past , highlight
songs of this EP are: the obscure “Upon The Waves of Aegir” &
“Idunn”. Contacts: js@theudo.com
(EF)
THE
VICTIMS SHUDDER – In Lasting Joy~of~Slowly Dying (CD
– Self Produced). The second sound experience for the crazy guys behind
THE VICTIMS SHUDDER – D.M.Winn (all programming & composition) &
Diana W. (female voices). This second album is more intimists and slow
than the first and the LUSTMORD influence are more evident here. The
variation among the music is also smaller, but even so this is also a good
album. The last track “Mente Concipio” is the best; it is more
variated and climatic than the others. Contacts: mementos_I@hotmail.com
(EF) 
THE
VICTIMS SHUDDER – Sonic Torture Methods (CD – God Is Myth
Records). The dark climates created by this project is very creepy and
cruel, a good experience dark ambient to all lovers of the genre. THE
VICTIMS SHUDDER coming from USA and the proposal of the band is really
interesting, it remember sometimes the king of Dark Ambient LUSTMORD. Raw
& slow noises with some piano disturbances occupy the music’s fund,
however a lot of tormented chorus fucking our brain, “Lucretia” &
“ Daybreak” are tracks with and epic density. This kind of music is
very climatic and expressive than a lot of melodic black metal
bands…Great! Contacts: mementos_I@hotmail.com
(EF) 
THINE
EYES BLEED – In The Wake Of Separation (CD – The End
Records). If you didn't know, Tom Araya has a brother and he plays bass in
THINE EYES BLEED, this is the band’s debut album and Johnny Araya with
your partners would not embarrass the brother of SLAYER (for me, this
album is better than the last 3 SLAYER’s releases!!!!). The band plays a
kind of brutal core metal with powerful guitar riffs mid-tempos &
blast beats and nervous bass-drums compasses, the vocals are raw and
growling – a kind of fusion between MACHINE HEAD & SOILWORK, the
spirit of this kind of music is very inspired by the thrash metal old
school and mixed with new death core metal, is possible to listen some
echoes of Gothenburg’s melodic death metal in some guitar passages in
tracks as “And Since Forgotten” &
“Consequence Unknown”. It is a very good beginning, long live to THINE
EYES BLEED! Contacts: dlander1@sprint.ca
/ jake@theendrecords.com / Michael@mazupr.com
(EF).
THY
VEILS – The Diaphanous Depressions (CD –Nonnut Music). I
should admit that this kind of music really touches my soul. THY VEILS
coming from Romania (the Dracula’s kingdom) and its music is a wonderful
neoclassic dark ambient with horror movie soundtrack atmospheres, this is
the 4th album released by this one-man-band, the mastermind
behind this misanthropically soundscapes is Daniel Dorabantu and the man
is a great genius to the creepy and sad sounds created by synths. The
album includes 19 songs in 56 minutes of cold and dark classic climates,
with a great sound production and interesting cover artwork. Some tracks
are memorable as “The Depths”, “Ensamble Theme”, “No One’s”,
“Vacuous Seas” & “Fury”.
Without doubt this is one of the best neoclassic dark ambient works that I
already listen. Contacts: thyveils@innocent.com
/ thyveils@thyveils.com (EF).
TIGER
CULT - Cold and
Terrible (CD - Die Hard Records). Power metal riffs are mixed with furious
old thrash metal style vocals in this interesting Brazilian release. TIGER
CULT born in 1996, but this is the first album of the band and they shown
all experience and maturity in it. The guitars and drums remember me the
JUDAS PRIEST´s "Painkiller" phase, the soles are very inspired
and the refrains are touches of GRAVE DIGGER & ACCEPT, however, TIGER
CULT isn’t another clone, their compositions are very creative and
personal, listen the prominences: "Soldiers
of the Loud", "The Watcher" & "Slaves to
Emptiness". The sound production is great and the cover art very
sensible. TIGER CULT RULES!!!!!! Contacts: www.tigercult.com
/ diehard@diehard.com.br
(EF)
TIME
REQUIEM – The Inner Circle Of Reality (CD – Regain
Records/The End Records). Another progressive metal combo formed by great
musicians by the legendary keyboardist Richard Andersson. In all technical
aspects this album is wonderful: fabulous recording, incredible mix and
perfect musicians performance, the only problem is the feeling, some
tracks are boring because the structures are very complex and the melodies
change all time, creating a kind of progressive music that I really
don’t like, but is important to say that the atmospheres created by
keyboards are great sometimes as in the song “Hidden Memories”. If you
like Malmsteen, Stratovarious, Dream Theater and another kings of the
genre you will like this album too. Contacts: theend@theendrecords.com
(OE)
TODESBLEI
– Splittergranatendauerbombardement (CD Self Produced). You can listen
here 14 nightmares in the obscure brutal death metal genre, explosive
riffs that remember me the 90th death combos like DEICIDE,
DISMEMBER and a special thrash death touch – in the way of OBITUARY,
SEPULTURA (old) & MORBID ANGEL. 33 minutes of pure aggressiveness
without any rest for ours heard, with prominence for rotten and insane
" Menshenfeind ", " And Die Und " & the marvelous
speed thrash death attack "Blutrache ", they singing in German
but I think that this language is perfect to death metal! Contacts: todesblei@gmx.ch
(EF)
TOMORROW’S
VICTIM / PERVERSE / MOULDED FLESH – (3 Split CD – Deus
Moortus/Embrace My Funeral). 3 brutal death new combos are included in
this piece of raw metal, TOMORROWS VICTIM participate with 3 tracks –
the band’s music is a crude killer death in the vein of CANIBBAL CORPSE
& MORBID ANGEL. PERVERSE is the second sound nightmare and its music
is replete of guitar mid-tempos and interesting bass lines, a kind of
death with influences of the oldest masters (DISMEMBER, MASTER). The last
band is MOULDED FLESH, the music of it is more grindcore than the others,
the drums lines and some guitar riffs are very grind, but the voices is
cavernous brutal death screams - it will be please SUFFOCATION fans. A
good release with powerful acts. Contacts: feretro666@aol.com
/ deadgoblin@hotmail.com (OE).
TRANSZENDENZ – Seliaphan-Tu (MCD – Legatus Records). A
very special kind of avant-garde EBM with magical, mythical and
ritualistic grooves coming from Switzerland! The band just has 2 members,
the creative genius of keyboards Mike Vendul (male vocals and songwriter
too) and his sister Jarn-A, responsible for the psychedelic female vocals.
The music created by the band is heavy, dense and deep with a kind of
techno beat punch, mixing influences of gothic, dark ambient, metal,
DEPECHE MODE, and old medieval atmospheres, very interesting, unusual,
unique. It is possible that that music please people linked to the gothic
rock, metal and to the EBM scene! All 5 tracks rules, but the prominences
are “Marennacht” & “Seliaphan-tu (die Rufung)”. Innovative
proposal in a sea of clones!!! Contacts: Mike@legatusrecords.net
/ transzendenz@bluewin.ch
(EF)
TRIMONIUM
– Blow The Horns (CD – Folter Records). Pure Faster Killer Viking
Metal attack with old black metal school grooves, this is a fucking
masterpiece of heavy metal groove – with impressive epic guitars and raw
infernal voices! Sometimes the TRIMONIUM music sounds like a power metal
from old school, another times you can listen touches of true black metal
acts as DARKTHRONE, BURZUM & BATHORY, but the echoes of Viking metal
masters are present too (WINDIR!!!). “Blow The Horns” is a work of
genius musicians, an old trunk replete of musical treasures as the tracks
“Banner of Forrress”, “Of False Friends” and “Forgotten
Heroes”! FIGHT FOR THE CLAN –UNITED METAL MANIACS!!! Contacts: info@folter666.de
(EF).
TVANGESTE
–
Firestorm (CD – World Chaos Production). Epic Symphonic Black Metal
coming from Russia, this band present us a impressive production in this
album, with a lot of choirs, a interesting “the beauty and the beast”
double vocals – two keyboardist girls & a lot of special (very
special!) guests: Baltic Symphonic Orchestra, Prussian Chamber Choir
& Ekaterina Sapogova – a really great violinist! All these
attributes really turn this work something extraordinary for the lovers of
the extreme and melodic music. Forget DIMMU BORGIR, forget IN FLAMES,
melody here is something very strong, some music have parts that sound as
real symphonies, without losing the metallic feeling like the epic "
Birth of The Hero " and grandiose " Storm ". Miron (vocals
& guitars) e Naturelle (keyboards) are great composer and they put a
lot of emotions in the album. The booklet is great too turning that CD one
of the great releases of the important Japanese label WORLD CHAOS
PRODUCTION. Hail TVANGESTE! Contacts: post@tvangeste.com
/
wcp@syd.odn.ne.jp (EF)
ULVER
– 1993-2003: 1st Decade in The Machines (CD – Jester
Records/The End Records). One of the most important synth dark ambient
acts of the world, ULVER including in this compilation 14 representative
tracks of their impressive career, someone are remixed for this special
release as the “The Third Eye Fundation” (taken from Lycantropen)
& “Upland” (Taken from Lost In Moments). The experimental dark
ambient spirit of the ULVER’s music are presented in all music, it is a
great selection important to the new ULVER’s listeners. Contacts: jake@theendrecords.com
(OE).
ULVER
– A Quick Fix of Melancholy EP (CD – The End Records). All music that
ULVER touches becomes gold. The band is a kind of “king Midas” of the
dark-experimental-ambient music and this EP is a fabulous dream behind the
feelings of melancholy, pain, empty, solitude, darkness places, 23 minutes
of classic cult ambient atmospheres to please the mind of darkest
listeners. Ethereal, beautiful, eternal…Contacts: theend@theendrecords.com
(EF).
UNGODLY
– Hate Celebration (MCD – Metalvox). I’m very surprised when I
listen this release, because this is the first record from this band and
it is simple incredible!! Another proof that the power of the new death
metal Brazilian legions is infinite. We saw the beginning of another
sacred monster of death black metal in the land of KRISIUN, MYSTIFIER,
MENTAL HORROR, and another great acts, the name of this new obscure &
powerful creature is UNGODLY, and the first chapter in its saga is the
marvelous EP "HATE CELEBRATION", released by the label/webzine
METALVOX, a intense proof of the quality and fury of these guys. The dig
pack cover artwork of "Hate Celebration" are really interesting
and blasphemous, it put Christ as a devote of Belzebuth, blasphemous and
without boundaries art – unholy and great. This
EP is a great production, because it has a very good record and mix and a
great artwork too -UNGODLY's compositions are very brutal and agressive,
but it has a interesting melodic sense. We are very anxious to listen the
debut album! Contacts: daniel@ungodly.com.br
/ jaime@metalvox.com.br
(EF)
UNLIGHT
– The Nordic Stormbringer (CD – Self Produced). A
powerful black metal horde that invests in a kind of true black with some
symphonic touches in the line of EMPEROR and BATHORY, UNLIGHT gathers
members coming from Switzerland and Germany and it was founded in 1997
with the proposal of to create unholy dark-obscure black metal. This is
the second release of the band (they already recorded an EP called “Des Baphomets Rückkehr”) and the sound production is
ok, the musicians are really powerful and the proposal is executed in the
entire, intense killer riffs mixed with awful keyboards playing in hell
and the vocal is inspired by IMMORTAL style, some tracks have interesting
epic mid tempos, like the great “Mandragora” and the furious “The
Immortal Emperor” (this title sounds like a kind of tribute to the most
important inspirations of UNLIGHT!). I hope that this band continue its
saga in the profane music! Contacts: lambslayer_events@yahoo.de
(OE)
URKRAFT
– Eternal Cosmic Slaughter (CD – Cartel Media). This band executed a
furious kind of thrash –death metal with some touches of doom (in the
vocals climates), URKRAFT coming from Denmark and this is the first
full-length album released by them. As common in this part of Europe, the
production of the album is really great, a proof of the professionalism
and maturity of the band in the first release.
The ways of the band are similar of dozens bands of nowadays –
mix brutality with melodic touches and echoes of the Gothenburg sound
fashion are listen in some moments, but the band has personality creating
good tracks as “Soulless” & “Cannibal Melancholy”, in some
tracks with slow heavy guitar parts the music remember me the fabulous
NOVEMBERS DOOM. Contacts: info@cartelmedia.de
/ thomas@urkraft.dk (EF).
VALIANT
FORCES – Russian Attack Vol. I (Compilation CD – Valiant
Music). VALIANT is now one of the most important labels of the Russian
metallic scene and the initiative of produced this compilation is very
good, because the metal in Russia is a great potency nowadays. 16 bands in
more than 70 minutes of interesting musical experience, the cover artwork
is curious and great, and all bands putting here good recorded tracks
(that is not common in compilations). The prominences are, in my opinion,
ARCHONTES (the best melodic prog metal from Russia), SHADOW HOST (Heavy
Metal with BLIND GUARDIAN influences), NORDREAM (interesting dark metal
with female vocals and gothic touches), VICIOUS CRUSADE (wonderful power
metal with male-female double vocals!!), ARBITRATOR (powerful thrash metal
old school!) & SPECTER (good prog act with influences of FATES
WARNING). An impressive sample of the Russian Metal's power today!
Contacts: valiant@cea.ru / valiantmusic@mail.ru
(EF).
VERMINOUS
– Impious Sacrilege (CD – Xtreem Music). I love the
sickness cover art of this album; it is a fabulous illustration in an old
extreme music style (I hate the new wave of Photoshop fucking pictures mix
cover arts!!!!), the cover show a monstrous version of the virgin and her
son – grotesque genius piece of art!!! But is not in the cover art that
those psychopaths from Sweden impress, the music created for them is a
brutal and furious death metal that sprinkles hate to each chord, a lesson
of painful death metal Armageddon’s to kill all lovers of music waves
and will be a cult by the death metal legions around the world. “Impious
Genocide”, “Salvation By Extermination” & “Of Evil Blood”
are putrid hymns to the new degenerated generations. Contacts: info@verminous.com
/ info@xtreemmusic.com (EF) 
VERSOVER
–
House of Bones (CD – DIE HARD RECORDS). Impressive legendary act from São
Paulo (Brazil).The music of VERSOVER mixed great influences of 80th
power metal with some melodic touches and some echoes of 70th hard rock, I
can said that the brazilian heavy metal scene are grew all day and some
bands have a special touch and talent that will put them in the hall of
the best acts borning in our tropical country. VERSOVER is one of these great bands, a
intense mix of traditional heavy metal with the named "melodic power
metal" with a lot of creativity and groove! The second full lenght
"House of Bones", released by fabulous brazilian label DIE HARD
RECORDS, already is, for me, one of the best power metal albums produced
in Brazil, it is a very interesting album, with intense atmospheres and
various climates, coming from the deep title track to the incredible &
powerful TOUCH THE WALLS. The production is marvelous and HOUSE OF BONES
have more agressivity than the debut album LOVE HATE AND EVERITHING IN
BETWEEN, the album is conceptual and the history is based on the
interesting tale " A Casa dos Ossos" of Adriano Villa, we can
see some echoes of the OPERATION MINDCRIME´s lyrics atmosphere in the
album. Marvelous work to touch all metal hearts! Contacts: versover@versover.com.br
/ diehard@diehard.com.br
(EF)
VEXED
– Nightmare Holocaust (CD - Witches Brew Records). The Italy also has
its legitimate representative of the black metal old school, VEXED was
born in 1996 and already release a lot of singles, split CDs &
compilation, this is the second full-length of the band and they proof
that these 8 years of experience helped in the development of the band's
musical proposal, based on powerful black metal courses and thrash metal
cuts with influences of old acts as HELLHAMMER, SODOM, BATHORY, KREATOR,
EXUMER and DESTRUCTION. The music of these guys is really intense and when
I listen it I felt in a time machine, returning an eighties!!!! Listen the
fucking blasphemic thrash metal attacks “ Nightmare Holocaust”,
“Deathfire”, “Total Homicide” and the killer version of SODOM’s
classic “blasphemer” and bang your head to the death! Contacts: angermusic@libero.it
/ witchesbrew@witches-brew.org
(OE) 
VIDRES
A LA SANG – Vidres a La Sang (CD – Xtreem Music). The
cover art of this album is very beautiful and unusual, and I’m very
surprised with the band’s sound because it is a kind of black metal with
epic guitar riffs and death metal vocals, very personal and powerful. If
you like acts as IMMORTAL, DARK FUNERAL, MORBID ANGEL and DEICIDE probably
you will love this music! The lead guitar Albert is a master of nightmare
soles and it remember me some inspired soles from EMPEROR’s first
releases. Another curiosity is that the band sings in Spanish – your
original language (they coming from Barcelona). Ok, I don’t think that
Gaudi would approve that sound brutality, but is the perfect music for the
beautiful and grotesque architectures of the old master. Contacts: info@vidrealasang.com
/ info@xtreemmusic.com (EF)
VIRGIN
BLACK – Elegant…and dying (CD – The End Records). Those
Australian stopped being a promise and it became a great band, mature,
creative, brilliant, and emotional. They have a very odd personality, and
its music is very difficult of labeling! It is dark, obscure, sad,
symphonic, operatic and theatrical – of course that the gothic aspect is
stronger here!!! I read that they are a Christian band, but that is very
strange because its music is replete of a feeble feeling of nihilism, pain
and sadness...The song “Cult of Crucifixion” is one of the more
sadness & tortured songs that I already listen – Rowan London is, in
my opinion, the best vocalist of the new era, with a lot of climates
created by your impressive voice. Another great prominence of the album is
the operatic-symphonic & dark “The Everlasting” – with more than
19 minutes! Great hymns for the darkest souls of the earth!!! Contacts: virginblack@hotmail.com
/ theend@theendrecords.com
(EF)
VISCERAL
DAMAGE – Garden of Mutilation (CD – Xtreem Music).
Incredible grindeathic nightmare! Yes, the new release of goredeath
masters from Spain present us a visceral, dement and furious brutal death
grind masterpiece with great production and furious feeling. Pearls from
the grotesque as “In Advanced State of Decomposition”, “Cannibal
Semen”, “Maggots Under Skin and “Empire in Decadence” proof the
importance of these band to the new splatter gore world scene. One of the
most extreme releases of the last year, in the tradition of old IMPETIGO,
HAEMORRAGE and with echoes of brutal death in the line of DEEDS OF FLESH
& CANNIBAL CORPSE. Penetrate now in the garden of mutilation!
Contacts: info@visceraldamage.com
/ info@xtreemmusic.com (EF).
VISCERAL
DAMAGE – The Feast of Flesh (CD Demo – Xtreemmusic).
VISCERAL DAMAGE comes from Spain, playing brutal death metal. The band's
vocal is similar from Alex Camargo, the front man from KRISIUN. Maybe The
Feast of Flesh could have a better production, but this is common in a
demo. Other problem for me is that Visceral Damage doesn't bring us
something new, they just play as tons of Brutal Death Metal bands around
the world. At least they have good music's names, like "Maggots Under
Skin", "Cooking Human Flesh" and "Masturbation
Party". I think that in Visceral Damage's debut album they must make
something different, otherwise they will disappear in extreme music scene.
Contacts: info@xtreemmusic.com
(Në¢rø¢åññïßaL)
VLE
– Book of
Illusions – Chapter III (CD – Self Produced). Another great album
coming from the genius mind from the synth king VLE, these American
one-man-band created one of the most interesting landscape atmospheres
from the new dark ambient. All music are improvised and the result is very
intense, deep, lyrical and ethereal. New emotions in all music, great
soundscapes like “The Arrival”, “Now You Cry” & “Fornever”
are perfect to listen in a winter dark room to voyage in fantastic worlds,
beyond the limits of the Universe. Self-expression to the eternity!
Contacts: vle25@hotmail.com (EF) 
VORKREIST
– Sabbathical Flesh Possession (CD – Xtreem Music).
Fucking satanic black death metal horde coming from Paris, another proof
that the force of new metal scene in France! This is the debut full-length
album and the band, that was born in 1999, already create a furious piece
of brutality with old roots – influences of DEICIDE, MORBID ANGEL,
IMPALED NAZARENE, IMMOLATION & ANTAEUS (the best black metal horde
from France!) can be listen in VORKREIST’s music, of course you don’t
listen innovations here, nothing metal fashion influences (female voices,
melodic shits, etc.), it is only raw fucking dark obscure underground
sound for the blackbangers around the hell. Cool, cold and killer best
tracks: “Dead and Devoted”, “Purified In Hellfire”, “Infernal
Communion” & “Iconophobia”. The cover artwork is very strange, I
think that is a kind of demoniac subliminal image! Contacts: info@xtreemmusic.com
/ vorkreist@hotmail.com (EF)
VORNOFF
– Forledt (MCD – Self Produced). Atmospheric dark
music with a lot of melancholia feelings and misanthropic climates. The
music has an influence of epic e folk old music from Europe, it remember
me the introductions of Viking metal albums and, of course, the last CDs
of BURZUM. 18 minutes of good composed soundscapes as “Helvede Ejer
Intet Vanvid”. If you are inside epic ambient & atmospheric music
contact VORNOFF and listen it. Contacts: soulwail@yahoo.com
(EF).
WASTEFORM
– Ignorance Through Sovereignty (CD – Xtreem Music). This is the
second full-length of this death core metal band from New York. The music
of WASTEFORM is very similar to SUFFOCATIO & INCANTATION proposal, a
fucking brutal death with grindcore passages and putrid vocal with sewer
echoes. The band doesn’t put anything new in the scene, however these
sound RULES! Because the four warriors behind this combo are technical
musicians with great power to create nightmare riffs and sound
disturbances like “Of Blind Consequence”, “Cycles of Tyranny”
& “The Wraith”. Another interesting new act creating a competent
death metal. Contacts: jkenned4@nycap.rr.com
(EF) 
WAVE
– See
– through Hearsay (MCD – Self Produced). Hard´n´heavy with emotive
female vocal & great soles – this is that we can listen in these two
songs presented in this MCD, the first – title track – is a hard rock
with heavy metal riffs and a kind of ballad spirit, the second named
“Big Bang and Black Holes” is more deep and had a very interesting
introduction. This MCD is a good sample of the potential of WAVE and we
are already curious for knowing the next work of the band. Contacts: wave_the_band@yahoo.com
(EF)
WINDIR
– Likferd (CD – Head Not Found /The End Records).
The last release recorded by the mastermind of
Windir
– the frontman and founder Valfar that committed suicide in January
2004, the band finished with his tragic death and this album is the final
chapter in the marvellous WINDIR’s saga. If you like Viking Black Metal,
of course you are a great fan of this band, because WINDIR is, in my
opinion, one of the best Viking acts of the world, and they put here a
very interesting cradle of emotions and inspired music, with furious
vocals, folk warrior chorus and epic atmospheres, creating the best album
of WINDIR history and one of the best albums of the Viking Metal genre, a
sophisticated masterpiece with fantastic melodies and climates, producing
some of the best tracks that I already listen in melodic black music as
“Martyrium”, “Fagning” & “On The Moutain of Goats”. Valfar
rest in piece and WINDIR will play forever in our hearts and souls.
Contacts: likferd@hotmail.com
/ jake@theendrecords.com
(OE)
WINDS
– The
Imaginary Direction of Time (CD – The End Records). Prog metal is a
metal genre that produced a lot of boring acts, but some bands are special
and the feeling destroy the virtuosi… This is
an incredible classic epic prog act coming from Norway. They already
impressed the world with its first two albums and now they give us the
third full-length, released by the legendary American label THE END
Records. "The Imaginary Direction of Time" is an incredible
masterpiece of deep epic & progressive metal, an album to put WINDS in
the hall of fame of the prog metal idols. The lyrics of the new album have
a lot of references to the Cosmos and Time, the title is an exemple, but
this kind subject are the theme of all lyrics, including the interestings
"Theory of Relativity", "Under the Stars" & Time
without End" – lyrics in the way of bands like VINTERSORG &
BORKNAGAR. In music as " Theory of Relativity " some parts
remind the climates created by David Gilmour for Pink Floyd, other
keyboard arrangements of classic influence remember YES & KING
CRIMSOM. It is a very special music for metal gourmets! Contacts: www.winds.ws
/ www.theendrecords.com
WITCHCRAFT
– Witchcraft (CD – Rise Above Records). I think that this album was
robbed for a time traveller in a trip to the end of the 60th
and brought for the new millennium! It’s a kind of BLACK SABBATH
revivals band, but don’t think that is only a clone – of course the
voice of Magnus Pelander is equal of OZZY’s first records and the guitar
riffs of John Hoyles are inspired by IOMMI – they create wonderful
pearls of stoner rock with a curious sound production that is very similar
to the acoustic 8 channels records from the 60th. Inspired
music for all maniacs of the old ages, 11 songs to the eternity. The best
of: “The Snake”, What I Am”, “No Angel or Demon” and “You Bury
Your Head”. These four guys have the perfect groove – cool, emotive,
great! Contacts: will@riseaboverecords.com
(EF).
WITHERING
– Gospel of Madness (CD – Firebox/Warhorse). This
CD is a good surprise for the fans of doom metal and Gothenburg “melodic
death metal” music, because WITHERING mixed influences of the old doom
metal school (ANATHEMA, MY DYING BREED) with interesting grooves coming
from their influences of IN FLAMES (old), AT THE GATES & SOILWORK. A
kind of melodic doom metal is played here with a good personal touch and
cavernous vocals in the line of old AMORPHIS creating powerful tracks as
“Quarrelsome”, “Reborn” & the deepest “Justification For
Unavoidable”. Powerful release! Contacts: info@firebox.fi (EF)
WOSLOM
– Beyond Inferno (MCD – Self Produced). Hey, hey!!!!! This is thrash
metal old style attack in the vein of 80th Brazilian masters as
MX, ATTOMICA and AVALON. Heavy metal soles & raw thrash riffs are the
basic musical structure of the 3 tracks in this EP, a good exhibition of
the fire-power of those four maniacs. “What Lies Whitin” open with a
sad and melodic introduction and the music has a lot of mid tempos, raw
and clean voices with some influences of METALLICA´s Black Album, the
third track “No Tomorrow” is a legitimate thrash metal music, powerful
and furious. We are already anxious for the full-lenght! Contacts: woslom@woslom.net
(EF)
YYRKOON
– Occult Medicine (CD – Osmose/The End Records).
Another great release of French label OSMOSE, YYRKOON already is a
legendary band in French underground metal, it exists since 1995 and
“Occult Medicine” is the third full-length released by the band, this
is a real masterpiece, showing to us the maturity of YYRKOON’s musical
proposal – create a very creative and intense death thrash metal with
echoes of acts as MORBID ANGEL, KREATOR, THE HAUNTED & PANTERA, Jeff
and Steph (vocalist too) are powerful guitarists and they create
impressive riffs – the best personal mark of the band’s sound. The
lyrical subjects of the album are great too – with a conceptual history
based in an insane doctor. All
the twelve tracks are brutal and creative, but the prominences, in my
opinion, are: “Blasphemy”, “Reversed World” & “Surgical
Distortion”. New revelation to the death-thrash worldwide legions!
Contacts: jake@theendrecords.com
(EF).
ZUBROWSKA
– One On Six (CD – Xtreem Music). This six guys
from Toulouse (France) invest in an insane death core with curious guitars
interventions and putrid riffs, sometimes the music compasses remember me
the called “rap metal”, the double voices are good – one more death
and other is more grindcore, the tracks structures sounds like fucking
musical deconstructions some times and it is very powerful. The 3 track
“Sex, Drugs & Basketball” is an perfect example of the band’s
proposal and with another death core lesions as “Smells Like Suicide”
and “this Rose for You” represents the great integrity of this sound.
The lyrics have a special touch of irony and the cover art is a kind of
deconstruction that remembers the band’s sound. Interesting! Contacts: info@zubrowska.com
/ info@xtreemmusic.com (OE)