CD

I have been so lucky as to be able to follow this Canadian band since the release of its debut album Once Only Imagined (review posted 06/09/2007). Already a stylistic sensation on that record, the guys (and frontlady) improved on their style for the sophomore album Lullabies For The Dormant Mind (review, again by yours truly, posted 01/02/2009) and, frell me, if they did not go through yet another progression since! And that this progression is definitely a positive one, is something I want understood from the get-go...so we don't get any mistake in about that, okay!?

Within Darkened Disorder got recorded and produced by Andy Classen at the famous Stage One Studio (Varg, Suidakra, Graveworm, Prostitute Disfigurement, Belphegor, Obszön Geschöpf etc.) and was originally released and distributed in 2011 through Twilight.

While hardly the most original band in the world, In Aevum Agere treats the listener with slow and mid tempo doom and epic metal. The riffing and vocal melodies show the unmistakable influence of Solitude Aeturnus, Candlemass, Warning,…but the production could be punched up a little bit. The vocals fit the gloomy music very well, but next time he has to put more emotion and power into his singing lines. The band sounds tight and tends to work in the service of the songs rather than to showing off their technical chops.

One of the true underground prog metal bands in Italy, Helreidh (one L) is resurfacing after an almost fourteen-year hiatus with the release of their new Fragmenta album.

Hellwell reminds me of the unique metal constitution Manilla Road, which is the other band that main leader Mark Shelton sings and plays guitar for.

Polish Death-combo Hell United (Rzulty - g and lyrics, Void - v, g, Bartollo - b, and Dugy - d) did record Aura Damage at Roslyn Studio (engineering, mix and mastering) with Krzysztof Godycki.

What a surprise, this second opus of Helgian horde Evil Shepherd (named after the old novel by E. Ph. Oppenheim?)!

By all means, the guys from Austin, Texas based Prog Metal act Ethereal Architect deserve an apology, as their sophomore album has been due a review for a couple of months. Sorry dudes, but all kinds of things have happened to cause this delay. First of all, there was the usual Summer pile-up at Headquarters Office, which caused my editor-in-chief a delay a delivering everything that came out during those two months in one big package.

Italy and metal has never really been a truthful combination. It's only Lacuna Coil that has always grasped me by the throat. And hey, what do I find here? Cayne, an Italian rock metal band with former members of Lacuna Coil. I was really waiting for this to happen, for real! I'm super curious what this will sound like. Cayne already formed in 1999, but for some reason I never really got to know of their existence. It's just only now that they say to have a solid line-up and sound.

Always Fallen is an industrious young Belgian Thrash Metal band that was founded in the summer of 2005. After writing and rehearsing for almost a year, the band started playing live gigs, in February 2006. After a minor line-up change consisting of lead singer Kenny Devos whom at that point joined the band, they released their first demo entitled No Mercy for Sinners upon the public in February 2007. Nearly exactly one year later they released the mini-CD-album See my Blood.