They began their career as a prominent black metal band back in 1991 releasing some memorable albums before they made a shift in their sound and their musical anxieties and along with the "Satanica" album of 1999 they started following some more death metal-tinged paths at the same time with often changes in their line up which may was one of the reasons for their musical alteration. Their last release comes with the title "The Apostasy" and it follows their previous and most successful "Demigod". When someone listens to the album for the first time he understands immediately that Behemoth seem to have recanted almost completely their older black metal roots into a more pure death metal structure. The sound is clear and incredibly limpid even though the vocals once again seem to overcover the rest of the instruments in a way more excessive than it is necessary. From the other hand the basslines seem to be low in the mix and they become less and less audible from one song to another. The songs nevertheless maintain their aggressive dynamics and at the same time a chief technique skilfulness through massive guitar riffs that smell of death metal thickness, speedy percussion with batteries of menacing rhythms and Inferno’s blistering double bass attack and incessant solos never skipping their melodic reports beneath the slithering fierceness. Nergal is once again impressing us with his ghoulish vocal arrangements not as layered as they were on “Demigod” but a little more simple and plain scoring out a pattern of guttural verbal assault. As in previous releases this album also features some incorporated choirs, random female vocals, the use of piano sounds and other brass instruments not to mention the special guest appearance of Warrel Dane within the track “Inner Sanctum”. If you are comfortable with Warell’s voice you will not have a problem with it, otherwise it will not rock your day unless you stick only to the music which stands generally on a satisfying level. Personally I’m more fond of Behemoth’s early days but I don’t dislike their death metal turn either. The problem is that “The Apostasy” though it is a very aggressive, well structured, rhythmic yet brutally feral album at times you just get the annoying feeling that you’ve just heard all of that too many times before. The compositions don’t seem to have that supreme uniqueness around them ending almost boring at some points. It surely stings with the aural sense of late Behemoth which may thrill some of their devoted fans but it did not sweep my feet off. A typical Behemoth album but not a classic one in my opinion.

Vaso  "Necromass"  Prassa

Amarok is a Spanish band founded in 1990 by Robert Santamaría and they simply walk the sophisticated paths of ethnic/progressive rock. Lots of changes and rhythms in their music, varieties of styles and cultural influences advancing their sound into a very modern based new age-breed symphonic twist. Traditional folk music of Catalonia and Andalusia blended with jazzy fusion segments behind the incorporated sounds of a bunch of different instruments as piano, flute or trumpet and violin and other acoustic organs. A progressive rock architecture with floating keyboard arrangements and constant interplays between melodic passages and exotic modes with some gypsy sound in the guitar lines everything fused into one sonic course. A barrage of instrumentation and a most innovating musicianship under an incessant transformation of swirling changes and echoes that stay most of the time into a calm, atmospheric elaboration. The female vocals of Marta Segura that encompasses the music ranges from peaceful melodies to some more anxious intensities both arranged with beautiful voice layers. The compositions are quite interesting in their overall consequence although I would prefer it a little bit more electrical structured. Nevertheless for a prog/folk rock effort “Sol De Medianoche” is a most enjoyable album that can grant some very good moments to the fans of the genre.

Vaso  "Necromass"  Prassa

Disgroove is a band from Switzerland founded by ex-members of the Swiss band GURD. Moving in the alternative rock paths their new release overflows by a soft, mellow and at times grunge feeling crafted with a mid-paced tempo sound. Nothing special here except an indifferent, totally boring musical development. Plain and very simple guitarlines with an indie rock approach rather than the more scratching grunge aspect and drums that most of the times keep a steady low profile oriented rhythm. A completely pop-friendly song structure that stinks of sweetish melodies and frugal acoustic undertones and bears not a single interesting point about it. The vocals section isn’t either something we should stick to more than it is necessary. Dull, flat and even annoying and totally straight outward. Overall not an album I will ever listen to again in my whole life. 

Vaso  "Necromass"  Prassa

Well, it seems this is an instrumental release...there were some vocals on track two, I believe...but it wasn't singing...just some uttering of "gibberish", to my ears. This is some very lounge-esque bluesy-jazz. A hippy convention? Retro-progressive rock, again? Not metal...again?! Why are these bands/projects sending such stuff to a METAL 'zine??? Not that it isn't "okay" music, in general...but they should be prepared to be ripped apart like the leather frills of their coats or the taking of their "bell" bottoms and wrapping around their shoulders (not as a "cow bell", to announce their arrival, so you can flee...but as in strangulation, ya know). Though, that might just exacerbate their "psychedelic" mindset, they seem to have, already. Lack of oxygen to the frontal lobes...unless to complete blackout? But we're not about killing anyone (we just like the lyrics to be about killing anyone...sometimes ;-) So, let's get through this with our ears intact and WITH some tact, eh? Anyway...the first track sounded like something you'd hear waiting on the phone to talk to your insurance agent, or something. The rest resemble that as well...I gotta say, it's just really boring...sorry. Enough of this..

Tony  "Terminal Descent"  Mikkelson

This is the second release from Sleasy Rider Records that falls into my hands this month and it's Odious, a quintet based in Alexandria, Egypt. "Mirror Of Vibrations" is the title of the album and the sound delivers something that we could simply describe as African black metal moulded with oriental influences. The "Intro" which opens the CD is a beautiful and calm composition built upon the sound of a classic guitar which initially enters and later on is supplemented by an Oud, an Egyptian instrument, that in Arabics means thin wood, and which is an embellished wooden organ with six double strings. Very beautiful sound, almost romantic, even though the music of Odious could be characterized nothing but romantic. The next piece "Poems Hidden Being Black Walls" even though it also begins with a peculiar disposal, the double bass attack that follows, the enchanting keys and  the amazing riffage give the first genuine feeling on the music of Odious. My first contact with oriental metal had taken place years back with MELECHESCH and I can say that Odious gained my interest with the same convenience. The entire album exudes of an amazing atmosphere based so much on the exotic essence as much as on some dark and fast black metal enthralling parts. Melodic guitars that offer generously one riff after the other, technical drums that pound generously and some more than interesting vocals that can extend from high-pitched shrieks to low-pitched growls. All that placed with order and harmony. Aggressiveness but also a more intricate way of implementation. Catchy melodies, lots of rhythm shifts, beautiful breaks in the guitar scales, everything injected by seductive musical extensions of a more traditional prospect. And what’s the good thing about this album? All this exotic, cultural diversion is so faultlessly incorporated that the album’s sovereigning menacing framework manages successfully to maintain its fiery and vicious stride of thunderous black metal. The compositions are skilfully captivating granting doses of  blackened, relentless pace along with ethnic interfusions under such an effective use that the sound comes up crafted with the same eloquence. A damn fine work from a group that surely overflows from good ideas and native talent!

Vaso  "Necromass"  Prassa

The first song really had vibes of WHITESNAKE's "Judgement Day", for some reason... sort of a melancholy, somber... longing type of structure. There's a lot of very familiar sounding rhythms on this album. Reminiscent of early '70's type of bands... a little bit of THE DOORS, Frank Zappa (syncopated areas), RUSH, LED ZEPPELIN... maybe even some R&B stylings of Stevie Wonder? Throw in a little bit of KING'S X, I'd say, to round out the sound. So, again...this is not metal... but decent "retro-progressive rock"? There really is a heavy reminder of Frank Zappa, again, I must say...the more "serious" Zappa, though. Maybe a little April Wine? Basic bluesy hard rock with progressive elements. Pretty laid back songs... mellow...time to chill out and ponder your view of the world... lookin' out your apartment building window at the street below on a Sunday, type of stuff? Oh...just read the title of the CD..."Sleeping In Traffic"...makes sense... sort of like when you're drowsing off and all those vague dreams surface...half way between the dream and awake state...fitting, for this music.

Tony  "Terminal Descent"  Mikkelson

Decoy moves in the AOR genre basically, but their high quality guitars with their virtuosic kind of solos, give them a heavier feeling. All the songs move on a good level, but none had that catchy enough atmosphere or riffs that could make them potential hits that would really blow your mind away. From the technical point of view though all the band members are really good, but the good ideas were sparse, only here and there. If you are heavily into AOR, I suppose you could check this one out... 

Dimitris  Pantsiopoulos

The opening of this disc reminded me of Steve Vai. The first song turned into more of an outdoor theatrical presentation. I saw visions of dancing mimes pulling flowers out of their sleeves and blowing bubbles at the audience. Is this album an homage to Marcel Marceau? Some of the other tunes could be in a Broadway musical? The music has a jazz feel to it, sometimes. The ol' "climbing the stairs" bass line type of stuff...mixed with some "tropical" vibes akin to some of DREAM THEATER's "Falling Into Infinity". I see beaches and palm trees...people havin' a luau...sippin' margeritas like in an '80's BEACH BOYS video or something. This is a "happy album"? Could be...mostly up-tempo rhythms and melodies. This is NOT metal. Decently executed music... fans of Steve Vai,Joe Satriani, DREAM THEATER, FRAME-SHIFT and, maybe, THE DAVE MATTHEW'S BAND might enjoy this stuff.

Tony  "Terminal Descent"  Mikkelson

StoneLake is a newcoming band from Sweden presenting us here their debut album that consists of 9 songs of melodic heavy metal. The compositions have catchy tunes and riffs and they are quite powerful though at the same time they have many melodic touches and a strong progressive structure in most of the songs. The singer is really talented, having a very good voice full of emotion and power, changing his style from more mellow and melodic to a more edgy and rough interpretation. If you like melodic heavy metal with intense 80s hard rock references, then you'll surely enjoy this album. The only thing that prevents me from giving them a higher mark is the fact that most of the riffs and themes here have already been played numerous times before and "World Entry" being a debut album shows quite intensely the band's influences. One other thing is that the first songs of the album are really powerful and great, but as we move on the quality of the tracks slightly reduces, ending up in some rather boring and too ordinary tracks. This is only for the die hard fans of the melodic hard and heavy sound!

Christine  Parastatidou

One of the oldest Greek bands based in Ioannina, Spider Kickers have signed a new contract with Sleaszy Rider Records, and now come in the limelight with their new release "VIII Division". Their existence goes back in 1986 and they are considered to be one of the cult bands in the genre of Greek thrash/death metal. The album begins with the track "Somewhere Must Be Good", an incredible thrashy song that its groovy and enthusiastic rhythm carries you away from the very first seconds. Fantastic riff with a clear KREATOR aura, with the guitars exuding a dry, but also an impressively sharp sound and the drums smelling of energy and aggressiveness, specifically when in the middle, the composition changes in a more ambitious full frontal attack. The continuity stacks in the same impressive audible pattern with the guitars sawing under a raw and unsubdued structure and the drums striking between sludge forms and frantic evasions while the vocals at points are developing into a more death metal definition. Old-school thrash metal wrapped up with all the magnificence of it without insipid melodies and degrading compromises but with a clear 80s feeling that only pleasure and sweet nostalgia can cause. The fourth piece "Mutilate And Eat" begins also with a slight death nuance mainly in the vocals and it continues in the same thrash pattern while the next homonym of the album surprises with its light black metal prospect through the vocals in the characteristic aesthetics of ROTTING CHRIST. A mid tempo piece with a beautiful, catchy riffage that somewhere to the end acquires a more seer and brutal execution with the sound transforming into a more blatant attitude and the rhythm levelling up in its initial, speedy rush. Impressive as well is the last track of the album "Cheap Row" with the death metal vocals and its aggressive appetite. Generally for those who already know Spider Kickers, "VIII Division" constitutes something more than an appreciable continuation up to the so far discography of the band. Thrash metal that persists strongly in passed decades yet by no means could it be characterized boring or tedious. The guitars sound as loudable and crispy as they ought to, the pummelling riffs are energetic and fresh and the drums are steady and bursting in the most vivid way. Overall the compositions stand in a beautiful and interesting massive wall of sound while the production helps with the suitable touch in order the songs to maintain their crude and dynamic approach. In general lines this album is an amazing effort where minimal points could be characterized as incurious or dull since the coherent and engaging thrash metal keeps the reins in it’s bigger part. Surely a release with a rough charm and splendid amounts of extreme headbanging and finally something more than just a simple pleasant hearing. It is unconditionally proposed!! 

Vaso  "Necromass"  Prassa

It may have taken Lion's Share a good 6 years for the release of their new album, but I'm sure it was worth it and all this period served them well and gave them the ability to write an exceptional album, such that we rarely get the chance to listen to nowadays. So, this Swedish outfit kicked off back in 1987 and 20 years later they only have 5 official releases with each and everyone being better than its predecessor... "Emotional Coma" is  here to offer us all the best and high class elements there are in the heavy metal sound! Their compositions convey all the essential elements, be them modern or classic ones, that guarantee a quality release and a real headbanger! I've been listening to this album a month now and not only hasn't it bored me, but little by little it's entering my blood, poisoning it with its catchy and sharp guitars. What I like on this album is the variety of the tempos so that one moment you are listening to a pure BLACK SABBATH tune with those heavy, chunk, imposing and mid tempo rhythms and the next you know is edgy guitars, with uptempo tunes, stable rhythms and a thrash feel. The songs are filled with great riffs that stick to your mind with their sharpness and straightforward approach, but what really makes the difference, allowing this album to stand out is the vocalist Patrik Johansson (ASTRAL DOORS, WUTHERING HEIGHTS), who is one of my favourite and best new singers and I think he has already made a sensation with his passionate interpretations and his voice that stands close to that of Ronnie James Dio and Tony Martin. Lion's Share are considered as a melodic and even progressive metal band and truth must be told they have both elements in abundance, only "Emotional Coma" is more straightforward, catchier and with more balls!!! The album also contains an ANGEL WITCH cover of the song "Sorcerers" and the limited digipak edition will feature the bonus track "Ring Of Stupidity" and the videoclip "The Edge Of The Razor". If you like heavy metal, then you shouldn't miss such a quality work!

Christine  Parastatidou

Meldrum is mainly a project consisting of 3 ladies. Finding women in the metal scene isn't such an often case and usually when it happens they tend to participate in bands either of classic hard rock or in groups that dwell in the atmospheric genre. In this particular case the style varies from core to dirty rock 'n' roll and... anywhere in between. Their music is brutal enough with down tuned extra distorted guitars and similar sounding riffs and the vocals though they are female (no hard feelings girls, but generally it's very rare to find women with a deep and heavy voice) are pissed off enough to create a very good result! And since all of the tunes are more than enough and more than ideal to headbang with, you're really gonna have a great time, blowing some steam off!

Dimitris  Pantsiopoulos

I know TNT is a famous melodic hard rock band that exists since 1982 and it's highly respected amongst the fans of this genre, however I've never quite followed their career, so we end up in year 2007 listening to their brand new 13 song album, which remains loyal to the band's past and sound. The band's fans surely won't be disappointed by what they're going to listen to here, since the musicianship doesn't lack a bit, however personally I found the songs a bit boring and too similar with one another. There are some good grooves and some really catchy riffs, definitely some really nice solos and a great vocalist, but other than that the songs sound too ordinary and too typical. It's exactly what you'd expect to hear from an experienced band, who wanted to release an album without trying too hard. This is what "The New Territory" made me think and after listening to the whole album a couple of times, I couldn't remember a single note or riff, nothing was able to stick to my mind. So all in all this might be a good album for the band's fans, but I believe it's going to be forgotten in a couple of months...

Christine  Parastatidou

If you're into melodic rock then this is one release that you could check out. The whole album is ideal for the radio stations and it combines catchy rock tunes and ballads with a rather cool and slightly melancholic feeling, so don't expect any heavy and distorted guitars or any kind of metal-maniac elements. The first five tunes are really cool, but afterwards the whole atmosphere cools down and ends up leaving the adrenaline at normal levels.

Dimitris  Pantsiopoulos

The band's moniker is worth a thousand words, so I'm sure you've already figured things out and realized this isn't what we'd call an ordinary release. Nanowar from Italy is 4 individuals with a great sense of humour and a need to have a good time, friends who gathered together playing their favourite music and at the same time parodying some of the best and most famous bands of heavy metal music. The skills of the band members are undoubted and their vocalist has a really great voice shifting from low scale interpretations into a high pitched frenzy! I bet you all, these guys could write some serious, kick ass music if they wanted to... The thing is they don't! They're here to make us laugh and headbang. They are here to offer us some pleasant hours and show us that heavy metal isn't only being stiff and looking evil, but it's also ideal for partying, relaxing and having a good laugh. I won't put a mark on this release for a variety of reasons the most important of which is that you either have a sense of humour or not... If you do have, then this release is beyond criticism. If you don't, then there's no chance even in a thousand years to get what these 4 mental guys are up to! They surely made me laugh my heart out and headbang with their skills though! I'll grand them this along with the great sketches and extremely funny drawings in the booklet. Give them a try if you think you can handle it...
Email: [email protected]
Site: http://www.nanowar.it

Dear Terhen is a sextet from Finland whose existence is dated since 2004 and "Eyes Unfolded" is their first full length effort, a doom/death/black creation with its music being drawn mainly in an anxious melancholic disposal with only five pieces but nevertheless with a remarkably big duration. Sovereign doses of atmosphere here from Terhen with the guitars persisting regularly in their melodic lines, the drums keeping simply a heavy and funereal most of the time tempo while keys provide the compositions with unverifiable reserves of ethereal sequence. The vocals are heavy and dark with death metal growls and black metal elations while occasionally, basically in two compositions, the cooperation of Elisa Pellinen comes forth with her lash female clean vocals, no particularly impressive but beautiful and well sounded. With regard to the compositions beyond their big duration their doom aesthetics is so much impregnated in their tight flesh that the rhythm resembles most of the times to crawl nonchalantly in endless nocturnal paths. The atmosphere cries almost a mystical haughtiness touching even upon gothic flashes. The guitarlines are interesting with clean heavy metal edges rotating under an utmost hypnotic manner into fixed landscapes in complicity with pessimistic keys creating the dark pallet of Tehren. The production stands well and for a first attempt "Eyes Unfolded" is, for the type of its genre, a quite good effort, supported not so much upon the impressiveness of inspiration as upon the decency of its musical deposit.

Vaso  "Necromass"  Prassa

Five years after their very promising and highly acclaimed debut album this quintet from Argos Greece are back again offering us their sophomore studio work bearing the weird title "Affliction's Fiction", a 13 chapter tale, as the band likes to call it. This group has always had a doom approach and foundation in their music, only now this element has come forth and prevailed over everything else. The death metal touches are still prominent, only now they have a second role, being there to intensify and enrich the compositions offering them the necessary extremity which collides with the more melancholic aspect of the rest of the music. The tempos are naturally slow to mid, however there are every now and then some bursts of anger and speed intervening between the slow parts just to make the songs more interesting and diversified. So "Affliction's Fiction" is a more than decent album, showing us that the band has found their identity, however don't expect to listen to the breakthrough here or to any particular ground breaking innovations. This is a very good album, full of atmosphere and feelings, with a very good production and definitely one of the best artworks and booklets I've ever seen, but it's recommended only to the fans of atmospheric and melodic doom/death metal.

Christine  Parastatidou

The guitar players in this release are: John Petrucci, Derek Trecks, Michael Romeo, Steve Stevens, Joe Satriani, Steve Lucather, Jack E. Lee, Steve Morse, Vinnie Moore, George Lynch and Alex Skolnick!!! Now... what the fuck am I supposed to say? Comment on their skills or on their guitar technique? If you want to enjoy some fine tunes with a flawless performance then there's one thing you can fo: Just buy it!!!

Dimitris  Pantsiopoulos

Tears Of Mankind is a melodic gothic/doom metal band from Russia and actually it is a one man band. The 11 compositions we are offered here is the musical vision of one person only and it's actually something as a best of release since it contains songs from the band's demo CDs. All the songs have been written and executed by Philip, who proves to be a talented songwriter and a skillful player. The only song that hasn't been written by him is the "Theme Of Laura" which was originally composed by Akira Yamaoka for the soundtrack of the movie Silent Hill 2. The music contained here is full of atmosphere with sweet melodies and mid to slow tempos. The vocals are mainly clean and Philips interpretation is full of pain, but there are also songs where the vocals are death metal growls and if you ask me I prefer the latter more. They give more nerve to the songs, more substance and depth, whereas the clean vocals are mellow and don't create the necessary (for me) contradiction and "conflict". All in all this is a very good release for the melodic atmospheric gothic/doom genre, but I believe the raw vocals suit the compositions better!

Christine  Parastatidou

This is a weird case of a band... We often listen to groups that try to combine contradictious or different elements, but doing this in such an obvious, clear and prominent way like Era Vulgaris... well this is something we don't often come across. This Irish band is here to offer us an amalgam of progressive with thrash metal forged and strengthened with the band's personal vision. So be prepared to listen to skillful and flawless performances from all the band members, some elaborate solos and well worked compositions that quite often even have a jazz twist in their structure and all this coexisting in the most natural way with sharp guitars, steady rhythms and thrashy riffs. Now regarding the vocals, things are pretty much the same, meaning that they dwell between clean, emotive interepretations and passionate, aggressive rasps of violence. The album is also filled with many instrumental parts, which are more than ideal to prove the progressive nature of this band and the production is simply superb, elevating the end result even more!

Christine  Parastatidou

Antonis  Maglaras

Most of the big labels and the powerful "metal" countries have started letting me down lately, cause we get to listen to almost an identical sound from most of the bands and more or less you know beforehand what you should expect... However, here's a challenge hearing in the name Kimaera coming from Lebanon and they are offering us one of the best albums for this year in the atmospheric doom/death metal genre. Their compositions are wrapped up in a melacholic aura which is intensified by the ethereal female vocals, that are simply marvelous and enchanting creating a controversy with the deep growling death metal rasps. The craftsmanship and the technique of the band members is simply great and you'll listen to some really beautiful and elaborate solos and a solid mid tempo rhythm section with pounding drums. The lyrics, as expected, deal with issues such as death and sorrow, suiting like a glove to Kimaera's musical identity and the production is very good and clear. Support such promising bands and let them show us how powerful some countries really are!!!

Christine  Parastatidou

This should not be in a METAL publication, in my opinion. This is "pop oriented bluesy rock". This is VERY radio friendly. Not even hard enough to be considered the softer side of "80's hair metal", etc. That being said, it's some catchy material, for sure. "Tried and True" could be the name of the CD, instead. Nothing inventive about it... just simple, laid back, grooves. The singer almost sounds a little like the singer in LIVING COLOUR...which ain't bad. Could it be like Terence Trent D'Arby, as well? Maybe! I bet NO ONE reading this will understand that reference! Track four has a nice rippin' solo! If you're lookin' for some mellow yet slightly rockin' music to take a breather from the latest NILE or CANNIBAL CORPSE CD...this might be for you...though, for some of us, who's been around for a while, even NILE and CANNIBAL CORPSE are "mellow".

Tony  "Terminal Descent"  Mikkelson

The band's name might not give you a clue, but the album's title should definitely ring a bell on the band's musical identity, which is of course funeral doom/death metal! And what comes in mind with this term? Personally, my mind is filled with barren lands, howling winds and cemetaries... This is exactly the images that The Ethereal will create in your mind's eye and I think I don't have to say anything more regarding the feelings a funeral doom release creates... Now the 4 songs on "From Funeral Skies" have a total duration of approximately an hour and more or less we can say they are essentially the very same song with some slight differences. The tempo is as slow as it can get, the few riffs are repetitive, the notes have a long distance from one another, the vocals are low death wails and growls and there are a few sparse melodies here and there, created by the keyboards and an electric violin, in order to add some variety. Melancholy and desolation is what you'll get from the wails, from the funereal atmosphere and the bass that sounds here as a sepulchral instrument. There is a good chance the die hards of funeral doom to enjoy "From Funeral Skies", but it's not "prescribed" for the rest of you. The repetition and the few ideas present here will bore you to death.

Christine  Parastatidou

Last month Elexorien made their big step and released their debut self titled album through Trollzorn Records. Elexorien comes from the Netherlands and they formed back in 2004. After a promo release last year it was time for them to make an invasion into the mainstream scene. If you read their biography you will see that the band describe their music as epic battle metal. Definitely they have all these elements inside their music but also if you want to have a more specific picture of their musical direction imagine influences from THYRFING, MOONSORROW and BAL SAGOTH. Of course Elexorien have their personal sound, with dual extreme and clean female vocals and their compositions are more than well worked. Also the band have shared the stage with acts like ENSIFERUM and KORPIKLAANI. Generally Elexorien have given us a professional work, with a very good production and sound, very impressive ideas and definitely their debut album is above average. I am sure that all the fans of this kind of metal will buy it or at least check it out and won’t regret it. I hope they continue to make steps forward in each new release of theirs! 
Site: www.elexorien.com
Band Email: [email protected]
Label Email: [email protected]

Antonis  Maglaras

What can a cup of coffee do? If you don't already know the disastrous consequences of the lack of coffee, then I think you should check this album out and then you'll realize if you pay attention to the concept, that coffee (or more correctly its lack) may lead to the destruction of our planet... This 4-dimensional Ziltoid guy should follow some anger management courses and leave as alone if you ask me :) Well seriously now this is a totally mental piece of work that I'm sure will create some controversy. There will be people who will understand what Devin Townsend wanted to do here and there will be others who will find all this endavour pointless or even mediocre. Musically now the album is full of atmosphere and "plays" and "depends" a lot on the different roles of this concept which are presented through various interpretations, from clean vocals, to some more operatic, deep or even growling screams... The dialogues are simply great and they intensely reminded me of Terry Pratchett. In fact I think Devin should cooperate with Pratchett and write a book... We'd have a blast with the insane dialogues and play on words they both create. The duration of the songs is long and the tempos are mainly mid to slow with some ocassional bursts of speed. Devin Townsend stands for progressive as we all know, so this album too is progressive in its structure and in its interchanging patterns. So "Ziltoid The Omnicient" contains both clean, mellow songs full of melody and heavy riffs and ideas that reek of aggressiveness and intensity. The last thing I want to mention is the fact that Devin Townsend is responsible for everything, from the songwriting to the execution of all the instruments and the production and he has done a superb job in all aspects! If you have a good sense of humour and you like to add some paranoia and insanity in your lives this is the best you can get...

Christine  Parastatidou

This album comes in with some interesting potential and leaves with that potential extinguished, in my opinion (simply because all the songs have the same vibe). These guys have a "broad mixture" of bands jumbled together to create their style, like: CORONER, VOIVOD, DEATH ROW (old German thrash band), ARCH ENEMY, LAMB OF GOD, NECROPHAGIST, PANTERA, STATIC X (?), TOOL, and some "droning" type stuff akin to SCARLING (would that be a "gothic vibe", maybe?). The overall music is what I'd call: "Stomp-core"? You can't really bang your head to this or start a pit with it. I envision people slowly "bobbing" their heads, saying, "yeah" (in a very monotone way). There's some "God Hates Us All" era SLAYER, here, too, in some of the riffs. They also have some of those "high fretted - doodily doots", that a lot of "Nu-Metal" bands incorporate. The music IS interesting...but doesn't seem to have any sort of destination...it's just a bunch of stop-start rhythms and patchwork construction for the sake of attempting something different? What does this serve? The songs hold one's attention simply because the listener is awaiting any sense of identification with the album's conveyance. As for the term, "Nightmares"...none of the songs have a "dark" element to them...unless your nightmares consist of robots shoving around washing machines. 

Tony  "Terminal Descent"  Mikkelson

Morgana Lefay is one of my favourite bands and have always had a special place in my heart ever since I've listened to them. There are many reasons why I like this band so much, the most important of which is the fact that they have a very original and innovative sound that makes them stand out and that they evolve their music with every album. They've never felt "secure" with their sound, they've always searched for new forms of expression and they've always experimented with their music. So, 2 years after the release of the magnificent "Grand Materia" they strike back with an equally good, if not even better, album, but they've taken a different path here, a path that once again proves their pioneering nature. "Aberrations Of The Mind" is a modern sounding album that still has its roots in the band's power/thrash metal past, but it's now enriched with lots of groove and modern touches. The guitars are sharp and edgy, the solos are magnificent and the bass guitar in unison with the drums create a concrete rhythm wall. The riffs are heavy and pounding, the tempos are a lot faster compared to "Grand Materia" and Charles Rytkonen proves once again to be one of the best, most unique and charismatic singers with his magnificent and passionate interpertations. However, Charles isn't the only one singing on this album, but the other band members contribute some vocal lines as well and the choirs are simply impressive, carving the tunes and musical patterns to your brain. This is an album you should all check out!

Christine  Parastatidou

Back in 2003 I had reviewed the debut album, “Threnody”, from Praetorian a metal band from Australia. Four years later the band strikes back with their second album, “Crushing Torment”. In this work Praetorian have included nine tracks and forty five minutes of pure metal music. Actually to be more specific, their direction is closer to the extreme metal with a lot of melodies and dual, extreme and clean vocals while the two guitarists do a great work with remarkable riffs and solos. Even if I don’t remember anymore how the band sounded four years ago, I definitely know that the 2007 Praetorian have done a great work with their album and they have put the finest moments inside it. Definitely Praetorian is a different proposal from all the European metal bands. I don’t know if the band will spend another four years preparing their next step but I am sure that “Crushing Torment” will haunt your soul with its well worked compositions, the impressive ideas and the way that the band thinks about their overall sound. 
Site: www.praetorianmetal.com 

Antonis  Maglaras

Those of you who are already aware of Shakra consider yourselves lucky compared to people like me who first came across this band now with their seventh full length release. Why am I saying this? Because this Swiss act has delivered one of the catchiest and best melodic hard rock albums. Their songs are full of great riffs, superb melodies and an incredible vocalist with a slightly hoarse and extremely passionate voice. The musicianship of this band is great and the solos are interesting, revealing the band's skills without ever showing off. "Infected" is full of catchy songs, ideal for clubs and parties, the kind of music you listen to relax and lighten up your mood and at the same time it's very commercial and radio-friendly without ever becoming cheesy or making any compromises. If you want to listen to superb hard rock, then Shakra should be your first priority! "Infected" will also be released in a limited edition digipak including the bonus track "Let'em Have It".

Christine  Parastatidou

Symphony X is one of the most respected bands in progressive circles, and with good reason. They never released an average album and never compromised their sound to become more accessible. Their previous album may have been a bit heavier in a nu-metal kind of way, but their songwriting style remained the same. "Paradise Lost" returns to a more classic Symphony X sound and I must say that the band never runs out of kick-ass riffs, great melodies and sing-along vocal lines. Their power/progressive continues in the neoclassical tradition and all the ingredients you know: heavy guitars, awesome soloing, complex structures, generally fast rhythms, choirs and Russel Allen's superb voice. It may be a shame that they're not more widely known but let's face it, their music is more complex than the average listener can handle. Those of you who are really into this music, can't afford to miss "Paradise Lost" as it is another jewel from Symphony X.

Paschalis  "Elfstone"  Mirmigakis

Well, well here's a magnificent band from Finland with a sound I hadn't listened to in ages! This doom trio has managed to revive the old fashioned doom metal sound and offer it to us through their personal perspective and point of view. Musically they will surely bring to your minds colossal bands of this genre such as CANDLEMASS, SAINT VITUS, PENTAGRAM, BLACK SABBATH and so on and so forth. I think you got the point! "II" is such a great album with nice doom patterns and mid tempo rhythms that definitely deserves a place in the hearts of the doomsters and why not? Even a place amongst those elite aforementioned bands! I believe this is a release that every fan of doom metal should check out! The only thing I'd like to be have done differently is the production which is quite dull and muddy. Perhaps they did it on purpose and it surely has the analog sound of the 80s, but listening to the songs with a more clear production wouldn't harm Minotauri's compositions...

Christine  Parastatidou

Arkhon Infaustus comes from France. This year they celebrate a decade in the metal scene and “Orthodoxyn” is their newest album which was released through Osmose Productions. This is their fourth album so far. I had seen Arkhon Infaustus before two years in my town and I was blown by their stage appearance. The only album I have already heard from them was “Filth Catalyst” back in 2003. Musically the band walks in death/black metal paths and they have included nine tracks and almost fifty minutes of their pure extreme metal music. Arkhon Infaustus has postponed the release date more than once, because they weren’t pleased with the result. This thing allowed them to offer us the best result and I am sure that most of the death metal fans will adore their work. Now the band seems to be more mature than their previous works and they have some really interesting ideas. Definitely with “Orthodoxyn” album Arkhon Infaustus make not just one step forward but actually a huge leap. You have been warned!
Site: www.arkhon-infaustus.com 
Label Email: [email protected]

Antonis  Maglaras

Vert is a newcoming band from the UK presenting us here their debut full length album that it's kind of hard to be classified, simply beause the music belongs to the heavy and hardcore metal style, but the vocals are way too mellow with an alternative twist and quite often a punk-ish approach. So, this band tried to unite two ends, the harsh sound with the mellow vocals, which might be radio friendly and make an easy listening for the masses and for those who listen to more mainstream stuff but also like a raw edge to their songs, but for people like me who are into the more extreme sound this creation sounds pointless. The music is fantastic with some really amazing riffs that stick to your mind, riffs ideal for headbanging, but then the a la GREEN DAY vocals come in and spoil the whole thing. Every time they add aggressive vocals the songs become pure dynamites, but after a while the inspid and tasteless vocals appear again and the whole song goes flat again... If they change all their vocals into extreme, aggressive interpretations, the whole thing will move up many levels. As for now, sorry but I can't support "Accepting Denial"...

Christine  Parastatidou

Well, these guys play "Progressive Metal"...to my ears, it's not really THAT "progressive" in the "Progressive" realm. Has all this been done before? Most likely. I don't find too much that sets it apart from other bands in this genre. Everwood is not as technically proficient as DREAM THEATER and not as "epic/theatrical" as SAVATAGE, but there are hints of both bands in their work. "The Raven's Nest" is sort of an appropriate title, because this album appears not to go anywhere...it doesn't "soar"...it's at home - nestled in a clear production and adequate musicianship. There IS a sense of emotion on a few tracks...but nothing to topple one over, in any regard. I don't even remember there being any solos, upon first listen. One song has some really fast keyboard playing, though. Not that I'm saying "fast solos" are a must, in progressive metal. When I think of progressive metal, I think, "experimentation". Everwood doesn't seem to fit this description. People who like their metal somewhat "light" and "unobtrusive" might enjoy this.

Tony  "Terminal Descent"  Mikkelson

Korpiklaani is one of those bands that the more experience they gain the better their compositions become. I thought, when they released "Tales Along This Road" that it'd be hard for them to surpass their own creation and write better songs. However, you only need to listen to "Tervaskanto" once in order to realize that my thought didn't stand to reason. Their fifth album moves on the same path as their previous releases, meaning that it's still a Finnish folk metal album, but this time the band has mainly used their mother tongue for the lyrics and it's much better this way, cause their native language completes the picture better and in a more suitable way, thus creating an unbroken entity. All the compositions are catchy and up tempo and will "force" you before you even realize it to stand up, grab a beer and start dancing. "Tervaskanto" is a perfect album, perhaps the best Korpiklaani has ever released and it's ideal for parties and having a good time!!

Christine  Parastatidou

Back in 2003, it was the first time I had the chance to hear the music of Shannon through their debut album which was released that year. After that I lost them until before a few weeks, when I received their newest work, an EP with the title “World Of Desire”. In this EP Shannon has included five tracks and almost twenty three minutes of pure melodic hard rock music with very impressive choruses and catchy refrains. Their compositions are well worked with interesting ideas, well worked guitars and above all a rock atmosphere surrounding the whole EP. Imagine a combination of PINK CREAM 69, DOKKEN and BON JOVI with the personal sound of Shannon. I am really curious to hear their second album which will be released until the end of this year. If you like melodic hard rock you should check this band from France out...
Site: www.shannon-rock.com
Email: [email protected] 

Antonis  Maglaras

There isn't much one can say about this band other than show respect for their musical ingenuity and pioneering task. What this duet from Thessaloniki is up to, has been pursued by a few and those who have been successful are even fewer. Daemonia Nymphe are here to bring the old ways of music back to us, but seen through a modern and different perspective. How can this come true? Well, they use reproductions of ancient Greek instruments, such as kitharis, varvitos, lyre, keras, pandoura, launeddas, askaulos (bag-pipes) and so on which are blended together in a smooth and natural way with modern instruments such as the electric guitar, the drums, percussion and so on and so forth... and since this band wants to reproduce the ancient Greek music through their personal perspective, they've also added some other Greek instruments like the Cretan lyre and the sandouri. The lyrics are mainly Orphic hymns to various ancient Greek deities. The vocals vary from song to song and they are either ethereal, lash female high pitched vocals or male deep vocal recitations, which are both enriched by enchanting chorus vocals. There is no chance I could even put down to paper the beauty and the magnificence of "Krataia Asterope", so I could go on forever and still you wouldn't really and deeply realize what I'm talking about. This is an experience that all should have a taste of... The last thing I want to mention, that can only be understood by the Greeks though, is that the song "Dios Astrapaiou" is one of the best on the album, since you'll get to enjoy the interpretation of the one and only Psarantonis (Antonis Ksilouris) who offers a totally different hue and depth to the song with his warm and special voice...

Christine  Parastatidou

The British gentlemen Akercocke return with their fifth full length album "Antichrist". A most anticipated album, so much after those pompous reviews on their previous "Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone", by one of the most debated groups of the last years. From the beginning of their career they have given their stain of alternating extreme approach in the death/black metal area so much sonically as much as with their elegant appearance and maintaining their horizons delimited wide open, they continue their musical roaming into more graded progressive paths. The album begins with the "Black Messiah" a noise-tinged intro in order to follow the first substantial track of the CD, "Summon The Antichrist", a pure death metal evasion with Mr Mendonca roaring smoothly his inhumanly deep death grunts while Mr David Gray shows from the very start his fierce appetites crushing relentlessly his drums in a perfect deposit of triumphant dexterity. A good beginning with a violent composition that could draw only impatience for what's next.  However things do not go as expected since the sound abruptly changes and the next piece "Axiom"  comes to deny any expectation. The vocals transform their dimension into a clean implementation, the sound sinks deep into a calm, acoustic atmosphere, despite the blastbeat of the drums underneath which seems to work in an awkward but beautiful way, at least up to the middle of the track where once again the rhythm changes, the guitars acquire their death metal texture back, the vocals become once again harsh and deep sounded whilst some industrial tones come to intrude in the final structure. "The Promise" continues unrestrained in a peculiar again approach with an hypnotic soft tempo. A strange yet unbelievably enchanting composition with Mr Mendonca reciting the lyrics this time and after a while moaning and chanting and being left in an almost ethereal and hymnal refrain creating a paradox and erotic celebration, at the same time when the guitars are diffused slow-moving and having sexual intercourses with echoes from synth cellos inoculations. The next track "My Apterous Angel" its a rather mediocre composition and the only thing that makes it interesting is when the clean vocals grant their place for the blasphemous growls and shrieks and when the gentle points are transubstantiated in fast death/black bursts and some great guitar speeding gallop. The "Distant Fires Reflect In The Eyes Of Satan" is a clear progressive instrumental with a strange sound, extensive use of percussion and an invocative tinge. And just when the sound has calmed down dangerously "Man Without Faith Or Thrust" comes in order to upset once again the quiet surface with a merciless pounding that in moments rests unforeseenly, degrading in my opinion the appealing ferocity of the song, while the interchange of guttural and clean vocals resembles in a way disorderly structured. The next "The Dark Inside" begins with a tremendous rhythm, guitars that overflow unbridled and a drum kit which thrives in an frantic assault but that’s when the diabolic concern of Akercocke to deride any potential disposal of the listener for continuous and frantic hammering, appears to mutilate it once again somewhere in the middle with a prog/rock optics and sonorous singing before things come back again in their natural situation and some fast thrashy rhythm is regained, cut by substituted doom/death breaths, death growls, black metal shrieks and the track is over with an excellent basswork presentation in order to give the sceptres in the "Footsteps Resound In An Empty Chapel". The best in my opinion song of the album thus here the aggressive extremity of the band is left ungrafted and without experimental suspensions with the unhesitating death/black being assimilated into the guitars that seem to absorb doses of energy, drums that revel rapidly and vocals that walk adapted between low growls and screaming barks. The album finishes with "Epode", a composition that resembles quite like "Lex Talionis” the last one of the previous album. In general lines it is a very interesting creation indicative of the intelligence and talent of Akercocke. Everything's here, aggressiveness, malicious aesthetics, satanic imagery, experimentations, smouldering sensuality and all in equal quantities. But this constitutes also my only objection. The fact that their precocious fury of their first albums has perceptibly retreated abandoning their musical mosaic to enjoy so much often their progressive irregularities. Don’t get me wrong “Antichrist” can easily brag for some still amazing riffage, David Gray is far more than just an excellent drummer and even the adventurous parts get at times so appealing that constitute almost a sacrilege. Yet I admit I always prefer their first three albums but “Antichrist” is nevertheless a most enjoyable and solid effort and there are moments on this album that are simply astonishing. And if it is not our issue here whether this is the best Akercocke album or not then the only thing I should add is that surely it deserves to be in someone’s possession.

Vaso  "Necromass"  Prassa

I know there are many bands with this moniker but here we are dealing with Obsidian from Holland who deliver technical death metal. Actually one could even call them a progressive death metal band and he'd be right too. The skills and technique of this band's members are astonishing and will leave you with your mouth gaping wide open with their technically flawless performance, the progressive rhythms and changes and the infusion of some jazz elements in the songs' structures. I could even call them the DREAM THEATER of death metal and it wouldn't sound strange or excessive. However I can't say I enjoyed this release, simply cause all these interchanges and entwined elements ended up sounding boring and tiring, cause I couldn't trace a specific pattern, a certain structure which to follow and "comprehend" the song and enjoy it. So this means that this is an impressive work, which can only be appreciated by progressive and technical metal maniacs!

Christine  Parastatidou

Illuminatus hail us from the United Kingdom. So far they have released two demo CDs and they have played in the famous Bloodstock festival twice. Their label, 7Music sent us a promo sampler with four tracks from their upcoming album. If you live in England then you will know about this band if not it’s time to hear their stuff. Musically the band combines the rock and the metal music through their personal prism and having shared the stage with PARADISE LOST, MY DYING BRIDE and CHILDREN OF BODOM, they definitely know what they want from their music. So be prepared for a combination of heavy metal music with a dark atmosphere and mid tempo tracks. Their compositions are more than well worked, containing great ideas and Illuminatus aren’t afraid of becoming more extreme, having death metal vocals spotted inside their songs, or even becoming more progressive at times. Last but not least I want to say that Illuminatus attracted my attention and I will wait for the release date of their debut album. 
Site: www.myspace.com/illuminatusuk 
Management Email: [email protected]

Do you fancy your metal to be raw and yet catchy? Aggressive and yet full of classic melodies? Elating so as to charge your batteries and yet ferocious and imposing as a tidal wave? If your answers to all of the above questions have been positive, then seek no more! Your quest is over and the key answers to the name of Anterior. This Welsh trio has made me believe I was listening to a Swedish act, so my amazement was even greater when I realized that there are guys out there who can teach the masters and originators of melodic deathcore a lesson!!! The sheer power of their compositions will explode like dynamite in your ears and before you realize it you'll be headbanging your heads off. Relentless and catchy songs reveal a tight band capable of producing one great riff after another and musicians with a flawless and impressive technique. Not only will you listen to raw melodic death/hardcore, but you will also enjoy some smashing melodies and elaborate guitar solos that suit the likes of YNQWIE MALMSTEEN. Anterior follow the lead of bands like IN FLAMES, SOILWORK and ARCH ENEMY with a great dose of the IRON MAIDEN "philosophy" in their songs and they deliver one of the best deathcore albums for this year. If you like this genre, then this is a band you shouldn't miss at any cost!

Christine  Parastatidou

Derek Sherinnian returns with Planet X in a completely instrumental album, featuring once more some of the most talented rock musicians out there. The technical skills of the band are, of course, beyond criticism, however that's not enough to make an album enjoyable. I find it especially ironic that Sherinnian had commented on DREAM THEATER's songwriting as "obfuscating" while his own tries very hard not to repeat a single melody. I am sure musicians will find lots to be glad about on "Quantum", but sadly I am not one. I don't mean to sound insulting, but I can't help but recommend Jordan Rudess's "Rhythm Of Time" instead.

Paschalis  "Elfstone"  Mirmigakis

With such a moniker and knowing that this sextet hails us from Finland I don't think you'll be surprised to find out that Depressed Mode are into funeral doom/death metal. Their music has all the typical and characteristic elements of doom with the mid tempo creeping compositions, the deep death metal growls and the concrete rhythm section, but upon it these guys also add ethereal female vocals and a cello that offer an interesting and more melodic hue to the songs. Moreover the keyboards and programming have an essential role in these compositions, creating a controversy with the distorted and heavy guitars. The melody and the dark atmosphere are mixed with the extremity of death metal and the cold, funereal essence of doom. If you like bands like MY DYING BRIDE, early ANATHEMA and CREMATORY you might fancy this release, however keep in mind that it isn't something overall great or original at any rate... It's just well played and decent funeral doom with the song "Words Of Silence" standing out. I think it's a magnificent song and this is the direction in my opinion that the band should follow...

Christine  Parastatidou

Eeriness' "Paths"… want to hear more; ok here we go! The band uses a lot of keyboards and violin/cello and of course a lot of the METAL style to keep you heavy and rolling! Vocals are divided in two parts, the male and the female ones. The first part is great by having a lethal scent and brutal flow. In the secondary female part we have opera vocal lines found along with the technical cello parts. As you can see I do not reprove the use of keyboards in this band because there is a unique counteracting and musicianship, the use of cello could be a little heavier in playing but I see that the band gives it the role of a subjective organ, and by listening to the songs over and over again you get engraving melodies into your heart. Now let’s speak thoroughly about this album. The CD has an ideal length of 47 minutes and it is full of tracks from five to six minutes. This shows that there are no intentions to leave a theme semi finished. All tracks have their own story to tell and that is hard to find in a band nowadays. Others may say that a score for this band could be a 8 or a 9/10 but personally I gave Eeriness a 10 with no second thought. I think it’s all set straight and I have no more to say… I know you want more, but this is where I stop and you buy their album “Paths” to explore an eerie journey, as the drifting finiteness stares at you.

Theodoros Deligiannidis

Mustasch from Sweden is a weird case of a band with unconventional and original music. It was weird for me to find out they exist for almost a decade, having released 4 full length albums and countless singles and yet now with their last creation I came to know them... It's a shame... Why is their music weird? Because it can be filed under the general categories of hard rock, heavy metal and stoner rock and yet it also has a creeping, melancholic atmosphere and a soundtrack feeling... Well believe it or not, these guys manage to combine in their songs the dirty and catchy hard and heavy feeling of our music with classical soundtrack-like orchestrations and all this is delivered through a modern perspective. The performance of all the band members is excellent and flawless, but the one that stands out is definitely their singer with his deep, passionate voice that at times reminded me of THE CULT's singer.

Christine  Parastatidou

To begin with the reconnection of Abigor perhaps constitutes the most silent and without many uproars reunification of a group that I at least remember so far. Their split up back in 2003, after the circulation of their album "Satanized", even though it had not surely created the same heavy and melancholic atmosphere as EMPEROR's final separation, nevertheless it had generally constituted a critical point in the black metal history. The fact therefore that Abigor are once again standing here with a brand new release can only but stimulate an unexpected feeling of euphoria and emotion for all that old core of their fans, amongst them the undersigned as well. So how can anyone write a review for a group that has always been a favourite one? For a name that in the genre of black metal is so enormous as much as their long-lasting offers with album masterpieces that supplied, enriched and kept new and flourishing the black metal music. From the midst of 1993 when the Austrian blacksters took form they have been welcomed as one of the best black metal figures of their generation, delivering courses of chaotic, aggressive but also some brilliantly technical musical temperaments that were interrupted ingloriously with "Satanized", an album that was accused and disputed intensely and no unfairly since it constituted up to then the most tepid, mediocre and uninspired moment in the discography of the group. Two years afterwards befell also their dissolution with heavy statements of their own reporting that the band was simply pissed off by the entire black metal scene. In the year 2007 Abigor return, waking up from the oblivion, with the album "Fractal Possession" and with new statements that the group is rising up again from its ashes with a new face that it’s general goal does not have to close the old circle other than to create a new one. And merely this is true. The album begins with a cyber-industrial tone which is not any more just a hint as it was in “Channelling…” or an experimental aspect as it was in “Satanized” but a strong fact cycling their sound with a modern machine-like nuance walking those alternating paths  that SATYRICON and MAYHEM chose in their latest albums and keeping a tight glimpse at bands like BLUT AUS NORD. Though to be honest Abigor has never been the typical given black metal tutor as their mental scope and multifaceted capacity allowed their musical expanse to rebound from aggressive ferocity (“Verwustung/Invoke The Dark Age”) to a more medieval, melodic and complex evocation (“Nachthymnen””) to the weirdness and eerie majestic aura (“Supreme Immortal Art”) to the most bleak, cold and infernal orientation (“Channeling The Quintessence Of Satan”). “Fractal Possession” embraces all of the above with random patches under the same craftsmanship as it’s brutal multiformation strongly defines it although the sound escapes this time their past chaotic profundity. The guitar lines seem to decline those twin complicated emplacements to a more engraved and embellished dissonance while T.T’s (yeah he too is back in the form) drumfeast is more clearly executed yet with many speedy and vigorous snare blasting. The new vocalist from the other hand will probably be a firm disappointment for many of the fans as he lacks the necessary personality or the infused intensity compared to the great Silenius. Advancing to the compositions they still captivate that perverse and rigid difficulty to comprehend and this album surely requires more that one listening to capture its dark elaboration. There are obscure moments that only a band with Abigor’s competence could craft them from a musical deformity into a lawful induction as well as sublime ones disclosing the band’s unique force and enchantment. I must admit at first I was a bit disappointed that their previous “epic” feeling seems lost and absent but after several listenings the addiction came forth to grasp my interest. Overall the good issue is that Abigor is back although not with the clear pursuit to win their old fanbase but to create a new one. So now it’s purely up to you if you are going to follow or overpass.

Vaso  "Necromass"  Prassa

I bet no one that is going to read this band name will be able to understand their musical direction... and it's natural since this moniker means nothing in particular and only exists to show the band's insanity and wild mood. Kill The Easter Rabbit is an Italian based trio who have released a few months ago their EP "Murdering  Your Head" containing 4 songs that dwell somewhere in between the doom metal and the grunge/alternative sound. Not only do they have a weird moniker, but they also deliver weird music, huh? Well the main layer and foundation of their music is definitely doom metal and bands like BLACK SABBATH, SAINT VITUS and TROUBLE are important influences for the band, but upon it they add some grunge a la NIRVANA sounds and some alternative a la SOUNDGARDEN tinges. Their compositions are original, well played and sound promising, but they are only going to be accepted and enjoyed by the open minded metal heads. Kill The Easter Rabbit pave the right path and they show they have potential to write even better songs, but they should take care of the production as well, cause it's quite dull and noisy.
Site: http://www.myspace.com/killtheeasterrabbit

I am not especially familiar with Lacrimosa but I was always positive about their material that came my way. "Lichtjahre" is a live album, something I didn't find essential for a band of their style. However, their strong theatrical elements do require to be presented on stage and this becomes apparent after listening to the CD. The sound and the performance are of top quality and the crowd appears to be having a great time. If a live album's purpose is to tempt one to see the band in a concert, then "Lichtjahre" is quite successful. If you are a fan of Lacrimosa, there's no reason you shouldn't buy this album.

Paschalis  "Elfstone"  Mirmigakis

I think this is the first time that I listen to a band from Venezuela so I couldn't even imagine what I should expect to listen to. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to a tight band with powerful music and a concrete rhythm section delivering catchy death metal that is also infused with a great deal of melodic black metal tinges. Their death metal has a few U.S. brutal death touches, but the band's main influence and roots of origin come from the Swedish and more melodic sound. I've had the pleasure to listen to 2 songs, "Programming Death" and "The Shadows In Me", which will be also featured in the band's debut full length album that is going to be titled "Welcome To The Suffering". If you like melodic death metal and you adore bands like DARK TRANQUILLITY, ARCH ENEMY, AT THE GATES, DEATH and so on, then you should give Haboryn a try! They surely deserve a place amongst the elite bands...
Site: http://www.myspace.com/haborynband

Now that’s a hell of a band name! I really liked it! So let’s go on with the review… The band is opening with “Kings Of Pain” ground breaking obviously influenced by SEPULTURA, latest SLAYER, PANTERA etc. But don’t stop there! There is a big difference here… they have applied blastbeats and mid-tempo hardcore parts! “Reborn” seems like a mixture of latest hardcore bands, combined with thrash riff changes like the latest thrash-death bands. The changes between riffs and vocal parts sound close to the ordinary hardcore standards. I have really sat down and listened to this album and I have to tell you it is really heavy and powerful, it really gave me the feeling that there is a band out there that does not really try to give us another death metal album but something new! There is always room for improvement and change and I really think that Deathfall has much more to give. There is a “Hannibal” song in this album speaking of Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal psychiatrist known for his twisted appetites that begin deep within human fear and character. Deathfall here made a good effort and created a song with nice/clean and obvious meaning, there is a good flow in the vocal lines and the guitars come heavy just where the drums improvise more than the rest of the album. The overall production is quite good, the only thing missing from the whole project is the bass (the volume is sooo wasted). The main feeling that got me with Deathfall is that they stay loyal to their hardcore style and evolve with it. Keep it heavy and sledging!
Cheers \m/

Theodoros Deligiannidis

The Deep Eynde have been a pleasant surprise for me offering me one of the best, most easy listening and catchy albums for this summer... Their sound can't be easily and light heartedly described since it conveys a great deal of elements that derive from genres like punk, gothic, new wave and rock ''n roll, so there isn't any label that suits them more than another. The main point though is that their compositions contain the best parts of those musical branches with catchy riffs and hooks, sing along choruses and a dark atmosphere that is being mixed with a rebellious and punkish attitude. This album is definitely dark and has an intense gothic hue, which is mainly reinforced by The Deep Eynde's amazing and passionate vocalist, but it's far to be considered either pessimistic or melancholic. In fact it's quite the opposite since it has the ability to talk about bad situations, but through a positive perspective, thus cheering you up and making you feel stronger. This is the fist time I've listened to gothic being so perfectly mixed with rock 'n' roll and I LOVE it!!! Check them out!!!

Christine  Parastatidou