Italian trio Barbarian (bassist D.D. Prowler, guitar player / vocalist Borys Crossburn, and drummer Lore Steamroller) are a pretty young formation that started as some kind of Hellhammer / Celtic Frost worship-entity. They released an untitled demo-tape in 2010 (self-released), a self-titled mini in 2011 (as a matter of fact, this was the vinyl-edition of the demonstrational recording from 2010), and they contributed on a split with country fellowmen Bunker 66.
[because the net simply exists, and for I have too much stuff still to review, I had to keep it short, but you will get the essence right here]
History: formed in 1987 in San Francisco, California. Majestic ‘early years’, and therefore one of the most influential Death Metal acts ever. Break from 1995 till 2010, then glorious comeback; old guys (just like me) that still beat the youngsters mercilessly!
Germany’s Words Of Farewell were formed during the first half of the former decade. When they recorded and released the debut Immersion, they gained lots of positive attention all over the world. I wasn’t that enormously enthusiastic with that first full length studio album (see update July 8th 2012) (which, by the way, was released via AFM Records too), but I surely did not dislike it either.
Finnish band Woland was formed in 2010 with the aim to create a new, different vision on the sickness called humanity. Instead of looking at the past, they concentrate on a future where the human race rises above itself and its religion, and this seen from a specific Nietzschean point of view.
Less than a year ago, Triumphant from Austria were formed out of the ashes of Manic Disease. With exception of the drummer and the recruitment of a second guitar player, the whole Manic Disease line-up is part of this new formation. The guys started writing new material that is comparable to the former stuff (recorded under their former moniker), and recently they were able to sign a two-album deal with Germany’s Cyclone Empire.
Norway’s Subliritum hail from the wonderful city of Trondheim, where they formed at the very end of last century.
Stilla is a Swedish side-project by members of e.g. Bergraven and De Arma. One year ago, they surprised with their Nordvis-debut Till Stilla Falla, and now the band returns with the sophomore full length studio recording Ensamhetens Andar, which means something like ‘spirits of solitude’. This album consists of slightly lengthy tracks that combine tradition with atmosphere. The main tempo is rather slow, and the whole gets almost permanently supported by floating, dreamy keyboard lines.
Serpent Eater are a band from Cologne, Germany, that return with their second album in nearly two years of existence. Currently consisting of members also active in e.g. Hammerhead, Tumult, Daskrill and English act Throats, Serpent Eater decided to call their sophomore full album Hyena, and in mean time they signed to Dutch Extreme Metal cult-label Hammerheart Records, which is about to release this twenty nine minutes epos on CD.
Sargeist might be (one of) the best known project by Finnish Black Metalist Shatraug, though he’s involved with tens of other bands and (solo) projects as well, such as: Necroslut, Horna, Black Stench, Ravening, Behexen, Mortualia, Foudre Noire and many others.
Honestly, I did not know German band Rogash yet. Apparently, they did record a demo in 2010 (entitled Rogan Era) and that’s it, so I do not need to feel guilty. But apparently they are quite promising, for Dan Swanö was so kind to do the final mix and mastering for Rogash’s debut full length Supremacy Undone. This gets translated, of course, by means of the monumental sound of this debut full length record.
