Reviews
\r\nAngel Blake is the group Marko Tervonen formed, after the split up of the Death Metal band , The Crown. After 2006’s self-titled debut, they strike back with this album called "The Descended". The most significant change of the line up, since "Angel Blake" cd, is the departure of Tony Jelencovich and the arrival of Tobias Jansson behind the mic. It is not easy to define in which genre the group belongs. I would probably say Heavy Metal, but with more melancholic and dark mood.
There is a special bond between me and the Italian atmospheric scene. OK, it’s true that this relationship was born since I listened to Lacuna Coil and Novembre, but that wasn’t enough for me.. I feel lucky because a label from which I often bought stuff was responsible for the distribution for bands like Klimt 1918, Room with a view, etc. I also made my research in MySpace afterwards and I m glad I did because there are many bands with things to offer to this –and similar- kind of sound.
When I first saw the front cover, I knew pretty much what I was about to hear.. Even if we were in the middle of a hot summer, I didn’t care, I liked the idea of going back to my roots.. For some reason, I wanted it to be dark, slow and having things to say.. Except the slow part, I was close enough! Dantalion come from Germany and “Call of the broken souls” is what they would like to add in our days’ black metal scene..
It’s been some time since that holy day that Anathema officially announced that they were about to have their new material in stores by the end of 2008.. It wasn’t only that, they said we should expect not only one, but two different releases, one with brand new songs and the other with alternative recordings of songs we are already familiar with and have worshiped through the years.. To ease the pain of all these waiting years, they uploaded three samples of their new work..
The Maltese doom metal outfit Nomad Son, has been formed under the guidance of the Bass player of the Veterans doomsters Forsaken, Albert Bell with the addition of the members of the Heavy Rock band Frenzy Mono. The quintet started as a jamming project but later on became a proper band and now they release their debut album “First Light, through the Italian Label Metal On Metal.
Tomas Lindberg has never let me down. Along with Kristian Wahlin and Johan Osterberg, they created probably the best Great Deceiver album till now. Far from the noisy, experimental sounds of their first days, they now deliver a great combination of d-beat hardcore, Swedish melodies and metal aggression. Great vocals, Tomas’ lung as expected, ultra heavy guitars and impressive songs in their entity. Imagine At The Gates, Isis, Kylesa and Skitsystem jamming in a room together! Reminded me a lot of the early days of Darkest Hour, with a more “progressive” aesthetic.
hero Destroyed come from Pittsburgh to kick us off our place. Their debut for Relapse does much more than that. Stepping on what Mastodon created with “Lifesblood” they take metal one step further. Certainly a good choice for the label, Hero Destroyed seem to be our new hope. But back to the music now. What we have in this ep is sharp breakdowns, ultra crunching vocals, great bass playing, nice and –in your face- guitars. A very nice combination of aggression and technical parts. Personally, it reminds me of the first days of Converge and Soilent Green. Their start is good.
\r\nΑ strange mixture of rock and metal elements, with lots of melodies and also an important difference from the classical forms of the two previously mentioned musical scenes; that’s the general idea of what we are about to hear. The history of band begins in 1999 in Norway as a one-man project, while the line-up is completed a little later and the group has a full composition. With a few changes following, we have the release of the album “Solitude 24/7”. The title of course is enough in order to give someone an idea about the mood of the album.
My first contact with the Greek outfit Heathendom was at Up The Hammers III Festival. I dare to admit that despite the difficulties the faced on stage, (we lost the lead guitar for a while) Heathendom, was one of the bands that really impressed me. I recall that I was impressed by two different facts, the vocals and the riffage of them. So the time has come for the band to release their first album, “Nescience” on the Italian label on Metal On Metal records.
\r\nThe Mystery… A group from Germany with a new album (I think it’s their fifth) and 15 new tracks in it. Although they exist since 1996 I had never heard any of their previous works, so I cannot say anything about them. But now that I have listened to ‘’Soulcathcer’’ I think I will spend more time to learn things about this band and I advice you to do the same. \r\n