Bordeaux-based The Great Old Ones were formed in 2009 by Benjamin Guerry, who’s especially known, I think (at least in his home country) for his activities in the rather renewing and original Hardcore-act Day Of The Fisherman. In 2012, The Great Old Ones released their first full length Al Azif via superb French label Les Acteurs De L’Ombre, and based on the title and the band’s name, one might expect a source of inspiration by H.P. Lovecraft.
Teramaze returned and released their 4th full length album. After completely grabbing the attention of the underground Prog-Power Metal fans with their 2012 release “AnhedoniA.” Teramaze blends tight and speedy syncopated guitar/drum riffs and rhythms, with melodic hard vocals. You could compare this style with bands like Dream theather.
Stoic Dissention are a band from Colorado, formed in 2010 by former and / or current members from e.g. defunct Acheronian Dirge and Centimani. The five-piece had two independently released recordings, the EP Senium in 2011, and the debut full length Relinquished (A Crumbling Monument Witnessed By None) in 2012. Now Stoic Dissention return with Autochthon.
Scaphandre are the brainchild of a Frenchmen who calls himself Spasme. He formed the project in 2011 and one year later, Scaphandre self-released two EP’s, one at the very beginning of that year and one at the end of 2012. I will review both of them. First this. Both of them were originally self-released, but now they will be re-issued via Misandreproductions.
Saor (which is Gaelic for ‘free’) is a project by Andy ‘Tuagh’ Marshall, whom you might know from his previous collaboration with, for example, Falloch, Concept Of Time, In Vino Veritas or Askival. Initially Saor were called Àrsaidh, for your info.
This time I am not going to spent too much time on the introduction of a band / project (the latter, in Raventale’s case), because 1) I am too lazy right now (not really, but I just wanted to make a statement) and 2) this is a review that deals with a compilation and not a ‘real’ recording. So I’ll keep it short: Raventale rules!
I was little confused when Nele, the nice lady that takes care of Consouling Sounds’ management and promotion (she also runs the renewed store in Ghent, and is in charge of the organisation of different happenings, like a non-ignorable presence at 2014’s edition of the famous Incubate (and FYI: Consouling Sounds will record the performance on that ‘festival’ of Nadja, and release it soon after on vinyl; something to look after!)), offered me an EP by Nordmann.
Hammerfall has had a steady and rather successful career; remaining one of the most consistent forerunners of the power metal scene. Twenty-one years and two hiatuses since their formation, (r)Evolution, the band’s ninth full length album, shows Hammerfall returning to their roots. Consistency was a part of strong part of Hammerfall’s repertoire until their last album, Infected, which saw the band completely shifting from their unwavering traditional power metal sound into darker territories via choppy song structures and plodding rhythms.
Swiss act Excruciation was formed at the end of the first half of the eighties, and therefor they are one of the protagonists of the (Swiss) Extreme Metal scene. They recorded and released several demonstrational recordings, but unfortunately things came to an end in 1991, without this band being capable to record / release anything decent at all (an EP excluded).
After he left Firstborn Evil at the end of last century, Jorge ‘Sacerdos Magus’ Magalhães formed Antiquus Scriptum. He had some ideas for quite some time that didn’t quite fit to the style of Firstborn Evil, so he took the decision to leave in 1998 and start his own (solo) project. After the recording of some demos, he signed to Ophiucus Records to release the Antiquus Scriptum-debut Abi In Malam Pestem in 2002.
