8 New Reviews 3/28/15




Ashes in Vein- S/T- CD/ Digital ( Pavement Entertainment)

I would  call this  Melodic  Modern Death metal with a very Swedish metal over tone. The album is full of  soar  metallic harmonies  a mix of clean sung and screamo/ guttural vocals and the In Flames, Soilwork, Dark Tranquility vibe with element of bands like  Kill Switch Engage,  Trivium and As I lay dying. There is a brutality and  catchiness all that the same time going on here. These guys not how to write a riff and make it burrow in your head and not allow it to go away and that's a very powerful skill in 2015. These could almost be call metallic anthems in the way the epic elements of the music is presented. Ashes in vein are other out of the ordinary they sound like  many other bands in the genre but that doesn't make what they create any less impressive. This style is really making a 3rd come back to the metal halls again so I can see why Pavement picked them up. Solid release lets see where the band takes it next time around...

http://www.pavementmusic.com/



Ascension- The dead of the world- CD/ Digital ( Season of Mist )

Post Black metal comes in many shapes and sizes and with Ascension we have  a mix of Majesty, Industrial and just full on massive in the way many of the bands are moving if your a fan of bands like DHG, Aosoth, Ondskapt and Secrets of the Moon. The band is all about the dark side of the  celestial movement and the end time. The album sound clear and massive and has the haunting over tone the very strong Post black metal always does. The vocals are more like tormented hymns of what we have learned from the past that will hold the keys to every ones future.. Ascension as  a spacial layer where waves of sounds come at you with a futuristic occult element through out as well. Very impressive from a band were anything can happen.

http://season-of-mist.com/



Nyseius- De Divinatione Daemonium- CD/ Digital ( ATMF)

Now we have  a much more  violent and dark Black metal entity with a hatred to fuel this unit into a must more caustic realm and seek out there righful grasp at it's fractured throne. This is all about religion, occult and have with out the darkness the other half the light could not be period. This is a full one war machine in sound  and  composure . There is very massive wall of sound coming from this band and the vocalist is commanding you to listen and learn is teaching or feel the horrible wraith of his blackened legions. This has a lot in common with bands like  Marduk, Behemoth and Dark Funeral in sound and song creation. This is the  music the legions of darkness will listen to as they go into end days battles for control of what left of this scorched Earth.  Nyseius you have made  a mystifying and terrifying recording all at the same time.

http://www.atmf.net/




The Haunting Presence- S/T- MLP ( Hells Headbangers)

Raw  grinding noising  Blackened Death a heavy dose of thrash and fuzzy out verb. This is the sounds that nightmares are frightened of. If you can use the words controlled madness I would say that this is the only way to describe The Haunting Presence. The rituals have begun and the gateway between realms is open there is not way or hope of closing it and even if you did the darkness has already entered of world. All we can to is either decide to join it or fight against it. Neither is an option with a good outcome. Same Ideal with The Haunting Presence this will be far too intense and left field for most and the ones like us that enjoy this insanity people always look at a bit oddly to begin with. This really does sound like the early days of extreme underground metal when everything way trial and error and it's were greatness was spawned.. We need more of this ...

http://www.hellsheadbangers.com/



Eternal Solstice- Remnants of Immortality- CD/ Digital ( Dark Descent)

Melodic Death metal very much in that old school European style that labels like Earache, Displeased and Nuke Blast made so popular. Think of bands like Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Entombed, Altar and Edge of Sanity  are the sounds that really come forth from the several listens I have had with Eternal Solstice . There is even a Doom element that comes from this were early My Dying Bride , Paradise Lost come from the speakers as well. The vocals are those Crusty UK throaty Death vocals that command respect. The riffs are so tasty and heavy with with a  mid to fast tempo but its not the kind of band that needs to play thousand riff at light speed in one song to prove anything. Its more about the massive battle metal sounds that are coming from the speaker. This a grand death metal release and Dark Descent you have one hell of a release here.

http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/



Rise of Avernus- Dramatis Personae- CD/ Digital (Code666)

MMMMM  Orchestral Black Doom with a heavy gothic over tone. I hear so many bands I've loved over the years in this band.  Tristania, November's Doom, Morgion,  Early Theatre of Tragedy , Orphanage and Silent Streams of Godless Elegy come to mind with this bands. This is a  very good bleak doom release with mid and slow tempo movement . I know many will call this full on Goth Doom but there are black elements of bands like Dimmu Borgir and Ancient Wisdom going here as well as  Neoclassic moments that just  make the album a bit more special but the moment this is a masterpiece in the making the mix of male and female vocals, massive doom guitars, strings, horns and wall of percussion. All Rise of Avernus does at the end of the release is leave me wanting more and looking forward to the next release.

http://code666.net/



Tome of the Unreplenished- Innerstanding-CD/ Digital ( I, Voidhanger)

Drifting  Black metal lost in a dimensional rift where time and space have no meaning or reason and the torture of eternity is the same as just a moment of life. This has some of the strangest atmospheric element of any band of ever heard. It's as avantgarde and it's black metal. The label behind this album is one of the most wonderfully odd of the experimental metal music scene as well so I should not be surprised by the complexity and just full on bizarre nature of this album as a whole. Tome of the unreplenished has a cold and sadness to it like band from Alcest and Wolvserpent but this is beauty and fragile element to all of this underneath. I would say I hear a strong prog element as well but there really is so much going on here. It's so very hard to take it all in even with multiple listens. It's your time to explore and see.

http://i-voidhanger.com/



The Kahless clone- An Endless Loop- CD/ Digital ( Self Released)

A brilliant and breathe taking Metallic Post Rock releases from Vito of the Doom/Dark Metal power house known as Novembers Doom.  This is something all the different though. If your a fan of Russian Circles, Pelican, Jesu, Mogwai and Antimatter then this is album you have to hear. Some love to call this Post Metal but I'm going to let you know there is so much more going on here. Delicate pianos, Ebb and flowing guitars and bass , warm percussion and a very theatrical over tone to it all. The Kathless clone add some prog and art rock movements but its to make it all the more inspiring of a release. There are no vocals but with this music there really should not be as it takes away from the dream like moments of the music. I can only hope this project will release more as it full on wonderful...

http://thekahlessclone.bandcamp.com/

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