Ivan Tibos.

Finally, after five years, Carneia return with their second full length, after 2008’s White Coma Light (Offerandum Records). In mean time, the band toured with acts like AmenRa, Black Heart Rebellion, Maudlin or Bulls On Parade.

At the end of the eighties / early nineties, I was quite ‘active’ within the underground scene. Not as musician for sure, but I did some promotion for bands that back then were still young and unexperienced (now some of them are ‘huge’, like Arcturus, The Gathering, God Dethroned, Ancient Rites, Samael, Mantas (pre-Death), Demigod, Morbid Death (sort of pre-Enthroned), etc.).

The Wild Hunt is Watain’s fifth full length (their first album on major Century Media, by the way), lasting for sixty three minutes.

Earlier this year, I reviewed the excellent third full length by Swedish act Kongh (Sole Creation, also released via Agonia), but this review does not deal with a new album but with the band’s 2007-debut. The material was originally recorded for vinyl release via Sound Devastation at Teknikkompaniet with Peter Lundin, who worked with the band afterwards as well.

Obliteration’s debut album Perpetual Decay, Tyrant Syndicate 2007, was probably my favourite Norwegian non-Black Metal album that very same year. Their second full length, Nekropsalms (label: Fysisk Format), was even awarded (in different mags, like Natt Og Dag), and voted as best album of the year (Osloprisen). It leaded to a tour in both Europe and North America, and the band could perform live on stage at different huge festivals.

Finally we have a new Zemial-album. The last one, In Monumentum, dates from 2006, so it means that Mister Jim ‘Archon Vorskaath Necroslaughter’ (also: ex-Varathron, Agatus, Alpha Centauri etc.) and his horde had made us waiting impatiently for too long. Not anymore now…

First of all, the cover artwork. Different for the German / European and American market. Check out why, and don’t deny ignorance, arrogance and narrow-mindedness. No further comment…

Doom Metal has many faces; that’s something we all know, that isn’t but a cheap side-line. Making abstraction of the Black-, Funeral-, Sludge- and Death-oriented sub-genres (amongst others), and concentrating on the more traditionally inspired bands, there are some huge different interpretations as well. There’s the so-called Epic-scene (with sword and shield), the Sixties-oriented one (with joint and mushroom), the sabbathesque clones (also with joint and mushroom), and so on, and so on.

HateSphere dwell within a specific genre I do not like that much, but this Danish act has always been one of my absolute favourites within this modern Thrash-edged scene. The Napalm-release To The Nines from 2009, for example, was for sure one of my favourite Thrash albums that very same year.

The Portuguese band Destroyers Of All was formed in 2011 by current or former members of e.g. Antichthon, Seventh Seal, Strikeback and Crystalline Darkness.