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March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Hammerfall – Masterpieces (Nuclear Blast Records)

It’s only fitting that Hammerfall would add to the multi-band pile-on that is all covers albums. After all, the Swedes have zero gauge on their perception as phony trad metal torchbearers, but in the end, that sentiment alone has allowed the band persevere and succeed for over a decade. Masterpieces is a collection of 18 cover songs from various recording sessions throughout Hammerfall’s career. Some choices are fairy obvious (i.e. “Breaking the …

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Vader – XXV (Regain Records)

Old Vader albums have become scarce, the product of their ill-timed deals with Earache (why the label ever dropped these guys is one of the biggest mysteries of the 20th century) and Pavement Records. Following in the tradition of Testament and Destruction, Vader has opted to re-record their classic tracks, for what amounts to a virtual “Best-of” from an absolute death metal institution. Culling from material going all the way back to the band’s …

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Krallice – Krallice (Profound Lore Records)

A kewl, kinda neato combo here: the combined instrumental talents of Mick Barr (Ocrilm, Orthelem) and Colin Marston (Behold…the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia) collide in a primal BM venture that is part homage to genre’s glory days and other part forward-thinking, stunningly melodic BM that we’re rarely treated to. Not your typical basement BM affair, Krallice’s self-titled debut quickly skirts up the US black metal ranks with a six-song stormer that is …

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Neuraxis – The Thin Line Between (Prosthetic Records)

After years of slugging it out in smaller, to mid-sized indie labels, Montreal’s Neuraxis are no doubt going to benefit from the larger exposure a label like Prosthetic can bring. Those in the underground are already familiar with the band’s technical, explosive brand of quasi-melodic death metal, so The Thin Line Between shouldn’t surprise many, but in what should be the introductory listen for Neuraxis, you’d be hard-pressed to go wrong. In con…

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Týr – Land (Napalm Records)

It probably won’t happen this year or next, but when the time comes to ultimately separate the wheat from the chaff for the now very swollen pagan/folk metal scene, one has to think Týr will be one of the few to remain standing. Really, who in the aforementioned realm does what Týr does? It’s pretty freakin’ easy to plop down some quick, hokey numbers with the rudimentary folk metal instruments, but Týr are the real deal – they don’t need no stin…

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Novembers Doom – The Novella Vosselaar DVD (The End Records)

Now at their arguable peak, Chicago doom merchants Novembers Doom are now getting the live DVD treatment in the form of The Novella Voselaar: Live in Belgium. Professionally shot (but hardly reminiscent of the Metal Mind series), The Novella Vosselaar spans the band’s entire career, wisely leaning on their two recent albums: 2005’s near-flawless Pale Haunt Departureand last year’s The Novella Reservoir Fronted by the burly Paul Kuhr, ND’s thick, …

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Scar Symmetry – Holographic Universe (Nuclear Blast Records)

The stage for saccharine melodic death metal was set when In Flames unleashed the unabashedly catchy and fun “Only For the Weak” in 2000. Said song put the bounce and pop into melodic death metal, a framework that Soilwork took and ran with for a short while and Scar Symmetry seems hell-bent on resting their laurels on. While there are a fair share of us who enjoy such cheer inserted into our melo-death, it can be said this is the kind of shit th…

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Reverend Bizarre – Crush the Insects Reissue (Spinefarm)

To launch the UK branch of their record label, Spinefarm have delved into the vaults and dug out a couple of reissues, the first of which is from Finish doom legends Reverend Bizarre. Originally released in 2005, Crush The Insects may not be the dustiest of records in the vaults, but hey, it’s a classic slab of funeral paced doom so there’s no problems there whatsoever. Taking the Black Sabbath formula and running, well, plodding very slowly alon…

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Nachtmystium – Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1 (Century Media Records)

Perhaps the most significant USBM act outside of Xasthur, Chicago’s Nachtmystium continue their ascension in the extreme metal ranks with Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1. For anyone that has followed the band’s trajectory, it is both remarkable and hardly a surprise Blake Judd and co. are churning out this unique, savory blend of psychedelic BM. More accessible and palatable than 2006’s Instinct: Decay, Assassins is BM art at its most challenging a…

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Judas Priest – Nostradamus (Epic)

Three years removed from Angel of Retribution, Priest have once again set themselves up for a precipitous fall in the form of a Turbo and Ram It Down with Nostradamus. At this stage in their career, the band might have been better off with a simple studio release, perhaps expanding upon the good ideas unearthed with Angel, that being “Hellrider,” “Judas Rising” and “Worth Fighting For.” Instead, Halford, Tipton, Downing and co. are in over their …

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Keep of Kalessin – Kolossus (Nuclear Blast Records)

Fresh off a stellar stint on Dimmu Borgir’s The Invaluable Darkness Pt II tour, Norwegian trad black metallars Keep of Kalessin appear to be poised the upper-echelon of modern black metal with Kolossus. The follow-up to 2005’s tightly-wound Armada, Kolossus is every bit of a live recording one could come by, with the band opting to do live takes without the benefit of a click or Pro-Tools, a move daring enough to make anyone’s corpse paint run. L…

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Headhunter – Parasite of Society (AFM/Candlelight Records)

Defunct since the early 90’s, Headhunter made nary a dent in the American metal scene by the time Destruction’s Schimer was ready to hang up his studded belt and take some time away from the biz. With Destruction very much an active band, the move to resurrect Headhunter drew some raised eyebrows. After all, the difference between the two bands isn’t that large – Headhunter is more or less a more less-frills Destruction, created in order to fulfi…

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Power Quest – Master of Illusion (Napalm Records)

You know, there was a time when being anything but menacing in metal was a rather large no-no. No smiles, no good times, and definitely, definitely not any ‘fun’ tunes. That all changed when Helloween came around and made melodic metal fun and peppy, but the ‘Weenie’s always had the tunes to back that approach up. In the case of Power Quest, there simply aren’t enough smiles, let along power metal clichés to brighten one’s day – this is bottom-fe…

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Withered – Folie Circulaire (Prosthetic Records)

The “wall of sound” is a term often bandied about when discussing the rash of post-metal/hardcore/whatever bands that are currently inundating the underground. While excellent bands like Isis, Rosetta, and Cult of Luna have painstaking recreated the Neurosis shoe-gaze, huge wall ‘o sound template, it is Withered that have taken it to new extremes. The follow-up to 2005’s well-received Momento Mori, Folie Circulaire is the band’s first album with …

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Daylight Dies – Lost To the Living (Candlelight Records)

The missing link between the vaunted classic-era Katatonia sound and modern, morose dark metal, North Carolina’s Daylight Dies are now the full-blown torchbearers of all things doom and gloom. There is plenty of moods to go around, but make no mistake – DD are their at emotive and heavy peak with Lost To the Living an album that topples the towering Dismantling Devotion. Indeed it was with Dismantling Devotion where Daylight Dies hit their stride…

March 15th, 2013 Reviews

Heidevolk – Walhalla Wacht (Napalm Records)

Keeping with the theme thus far for 2008 that folk/epic/whatever metal has set up camp in our collective pysche’s, here comes Heidevolk, a band that no doubt are the bottom-dwellers of this style. If anything, Heidevolk are a poor man’s Thyrfing, without the spirit and good songs, with Walhalla Wachtlosing steam right from the get-go. Aside from the band’s very remedial riffage and hokey folk slant, vocalist Joris is the main drawback. Joris’ thr…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Desaster – 666 Satan’s Soldiers Syndicate (Metal Blade Records)

Kinda like throwback thrash, primitive churn-and-burn BM can be pumped out fairly easily. Not to say bands like Impaled Nazarene or the band in question, Germany’s Desaster are without merit, it’s just that when such a simplistic and bonehead style is performed so overtly, it’s easy to overlook the musical aspect in favor of just how quick and blunt this stuff is. 666 Satan’s Soldiers Syndicate is all that and a bag of chips, with 10 sharp, raw b…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Deicide – Till Death Do Us Part (Earache Records)

If this really is the last Deicide album (as Glen Benton has hinted in several interviews), then consider the band having come full circle. Naturally, there were some significant road bumps and career mishaps along the way, namely the God-awful (yeah, yeah…) Insineratehym and Torment In Hell, but Benton, drummer Steve Asheim and the boys have rebounded with two successive stellar albums in the form of 2006’s stunningly good Stench of Redemption a…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Belphegor – Bondage Goat Zombie (Nuclear Blast Records)

Last year’s Pestapocalypse IV from this Austrian duo was all-in-all, underwhelming. For a band that has made its work in the black/death realm, said album tapered off pretty quickly, so off went Belphegor back to work, returning with the much better and more vital, Bondage Goat Zombie. Falling more on the death metal side of the table, Bondage Goat Zombie (great title, by the way) is characterized largely by the band’s knifing melodies. Sharp and…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Neaera – Armamentarium (Metal Blade Records)

At long last, the German metalcore scene is shedding its uniform and copycat image. For a short time, say two or three years ago, Maroon, Heaven Shall Burn, Neaera, Fear My Thoughts, and Caliban all came dangerously to sharing songwriting royalties for their amazing inability to separate from one another. Granted, some are still stuck in the mire, but Neaera and Heaven Shall Burn look like they’re ready for a coming out party. The German metalcor…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Ihsahn – angL (Candlelight Records)

With both Emperor and Peccatum in the rear-view mirror, Ihsahn’s immense talent wingspan can now fully blanket the black metal and avant-garde metal realms. His first solo album, 2006’s The Adversary was a challenging, forward-thinking affair of proggy black metal; a minor obstacle-jumper considering the expectations. Now with a full album under his belt and the Emperor reunion now officially dead and gone, Ihsahn returns with the even more impre…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Moonspell – Night Eternal (SPV)

Since their rediscovery of the Wolfheart-era sound, Portugal’s Moonspell have enjoyed a career revitalization that is both surprising and deserving. Fact of the matter is, Fernando Ribeiro and co. have taken their fair share of chances, taken some lumps (the ill-conceived Sin Pecado album comes to mind) and still remained vital. 2006’s Memorial was largely a miss, but if Moonspell is good at one thing, it’s bouncing back. Night Eternal stays with…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Testament – The Formation of Damnation (Nuclear Blast Records)

It seemed like this would never come. Testament have taken almost a decade to produce the follow-up to 1999’s mammoth The Gathering, having endured a cancer scare for Chuck Billy, some lineup shuffles, and eventually the return of guitarist Alex Skolnick and bassist Greg Christian. Somewhere in between was the promise from Eric Peterson that the album was being worked on, a statement he made a handful of times going all the way back to 2003, but …

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Zero Hour – Dark Deceiver (Sensory)

A great idea on paper: the combination of over-the-top tech metal ala Cynic, Atheist, et al, with clean, progressive vocals, Zero Hour are now coming dangerously close to perfecting their own indelible brand of hyper-prog metal. 2006’s Specs From Pictures Burnt Beyond was a largely enjoyable affair, relishing in more than a few “kitchen sink” forays into the depths of over-the-top prog metal. Its follow-up, Dark Deceiver follow suit, but in more …

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Septicflesh – Communion (Season of Mist Records)

The holy godfathers of the Greek metal scene (Rotting Christ is a very close second), Sepeticflesh return after a short breakup with Communion. As far as natural dark metal bands go, few are more invigorating or adventurous as Septicflesh; their career marked by gradual development and change during the late 90’s. No further proof is needed than the seminal Ophidian Wheel and A Fallen Temple albums, two bodies of work that are indelibly unique an…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Distorted – Voices From Within (Candlelight Records)

Oddly reminiscent of Amaran, a now-defunct melodic death metal band with clean female vox, Israel’s Distorted are a cool mix of the aforementioned sound and haunting Goth metal. Distorted is a bit more progressive and sharp than any regular female-fronted Goth band would care to be, but there are some rather charming hooks floated about on this 11-song sophomore effort. Vocalist Miri has a nondescript whistle; never straying too far from her comf…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Midnattsol – Nordlys (Napalm Records)

erhaps best known for featuring Carmen Elise Espenaeas, the sister of Leaves Eyes’ Liv Kristine, Midnattsol (that’s “midnight sun” in case you were wondering), return after a three year layoff with Nordlys. Quite impressive, this sophomore album, as Midnattsol find themselves in the crossfire of both the symphonic and Gothic metal scenes, never giving too much attention to both, but instead straddling a very defined and striking line. Espenaes is…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Mourning Beloveth – A New Disease For the Ages (Prophecy/Grau)

One of the pillars of the slo-mo doom style, Ireland’s Mourning Beloveth return with A New Disease For the Ages, a vast improvement over the inconsistent A Murderous Circus. Rife with prolonged, sobbing emotional passages, Mourning Beloveth relishes in repetition, as each of the five songs featured literally repeat ad infinitum, creating a hypnotic lull that is hard to elude. Centered mainly around the winding guitar harmonies duo Frank and Brian…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Farmakon – Robin (Candlelight Records)

You know, there are rip-offs, and there are rip-offs. Our Finnish friends Farmakon make little or no effort to prove they are anything but an Opeth tribute band in hiding, with Robin being the ill-begotten follow-up to 2003’s very Opeth A Warm Glimpse. It’s all here: the winding, neo-prog guitar riffs, the somber acoustic passages, which really aren’t anything to get excited about, tender clean vocals, gruff, dirty vocals, and those trademark Ake…

March 14th, 2013 Reviews

Warrel Dane – Praises to the War Machine (Century Media Records)

Essentially “Nevermore-light,” which for all intents and purposes would be their first, self-titled album, Praises to the War Machine bears the unmistakable mark of one of metal’s last true voices, Warrel Dane. Very much a metal album without the trim and fillings that usually come with a Nevermore record, Dane’s first solo album is consistent all the way through, as Dane’s menacing low register makes this 12-song affair an absolute winner. Surro…