Already the fifth studio album for this Norwegian band, but I admit never before having heard of them, I guess the stream of bands/albums etc. is just getting too big to be able to follow them all. I got a bit scared when I put this album on, and it started with some flamenco guitar and handclap, but that was just the intro.
Ritual Death Metal is the sixth album by Finnish band Deathchain, and the whole was produced, engineered and mixed at the famous Necromorbus Studio by Tore Stjerna (think: Zombiefication, Portrait, Funeral Mist, Merrimack, Jess And The Ancient Ones and many, many more). When it comes to the latter, JATAO: both guitar players share both bands, by the way.
The band started out in Austria as Last Warning and released their first two albums under this name, but later on they had to change it to The Last Warning in 2009, due to an Italian band that had the same name.
Once formed as a temporary side-project, Blake ‘Azentrius’ Judd’s Hate Meditation was supposed to be a tribute outlet to bands like Blasphemy, Von, Profanatica and Beherit. There was a three-track demo in the first half of last decennium, but then things went silent.
At the beginning of 2005, the band started out as a two-man project of Tobias (Guitar) and Björn (Bass). And as time passed by, the project grew to a 5 membered band. In March 2006, the current Line-Up of Circle Of Silence was completed by Nick (Vocals), Chris (Guitar) and Pit (Drums). The result is an aggressive (Power) Metal band with catchy songs and melodies.
This up-and-coming CA band pounds out fairly lethal sludge metal in the sick and creepy style of bands like Valume Nob, Fleshpress and Fistula. The band sounds especially heavy plowing through some crushing grooves at mid and slower speeds. It's not all slow, though, and little bursts of speed often accompany chop changes.
While the melodies presented on Desperate Souls aren't groundbreaking for the genre, they are quite good and will certainly appeal to fans of doom metal bands such as Solitude Aeturnus, Trouble, Candlemass, Desolation Angels and Wall Of Sleep.
King Parrot is a thrash and grind metal band from Australia and was formed by three ex-members of “Watchdog Discipline” (White, Lacey and Rizzo) plus Young from Stiff Meat and Cockfight Shootout bassist Slattz. The band fired off an EP in short order and quickly became firmly established as an energetic and punishing live force.
It's safe to say Havok has one goal: 'Thrash 'til death'. These denim and leather-clad metal warriors have quickly released their sophomore album Unnatural Selection. Much like last year's excellent Time is Up, Unnatural Selection finds Havok fast, frantic and damn near flawless. Yes, much on Unnatural Selection will echo elements of Sacrifice, DRI, Slayer, Kreator, and others but phantom lord, can these Denver lads play thrash!
It took Church of Misery four years to release their fourth CD titled Thy Kingdom Scum. CoM are a quartet from Japan that combines elements of doom, stoner and NOLA sludge in a fascinating way. They ass to this an incredibly authentic seventies low fuzz feeling that won me over instantly. Foremost I am impressed by the dynamic production that helps this album to develop its sound structures even more.
