Winterhawk - There And Back Again

I don't really listen to alot of stuff from this era, but i do on occasion. I like the intro so far, some good guitar work...once the rest of the band joins in at about the 1:00 mark, its as if a somber mood is present until the tempo picks up and changes between solid riffs and nice leads. I wasn't sure what to expect from the vocals and was kinda expecting something abit higher, but he has abit of a rougher style of vocals but not alot of range. Meanwhile, the riffs in the background are ok and suit the music but not overly interesting to me. I much prefer the sections where there are no vocals and the guitar is in the forground with some solid solos and leads. The drumming is also pretty good for this style. I like the outro from 8:45...nice change of style/pace

so overall, i enjoyed the song, but felt the star of the song was the lead guitar and the vocals hindered the potential abit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB1P3KegmrA

Extol - Embraced

It's stuff like this that keeps me coming back to the mini-review game; What we have here is an amazing track from a band I never would have discovered in my normal... travels, let's call them. Raw (or poor quality video) death/thrash is the order of the day here, and the song hooks the listener in with the first blistering riff and doesn't let go. While the rest of the song doesn't retain the speed of that first riff, there are enough melodic riffs in here to keep things fresh and interesting. It seems to me that these guys were fans of The Gallery-era Dark Tranquillity, and maybe even just a little bit of black metal as well. And I'm talking about in the guitar work, as the competently rasped vocals that dominate the song have been done at this point in time too. I think my favorite parts of the song were the slower, more... I guess you could call them "reflective" tones near the end. They fit in perfectly despite having a very punkish vibe to them. All in all, these guys know how to weave a song together, and might just have scored a new fan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtLJ6-_d8qo

Virial - Calculated Genetic Selection

Now this is some crazy good technical death metal. I love the quality, perfect for the song. The guitars are very technical, reminding me a lot of Necrophagist actually. The guitars are what really make this song. That's a compliment from me. The drums are obviously on a machine, that's never bothered me but it might be a turn off to some people. The vocals are low and powerful, sounding awfully like hmmm.... Necrophagist? These guys sound almost like Necrophagist with some later Death thrown it.. I love the flow of the song. Everything compliments eachother in the song. This is technical death metal done right. I find myself coming back to this over and over again. I'll be waiting for the day these guys get a full length out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aQPWRAWmn0

@Dave_o_rama

Stribog - Ancestral Skies Of Gold

starts out nicely with a cool little folky accoustic section. When the other instruments start, its almost like moonsorrow who blend the folk elements with metal nicely. I haven't decided if I like the wailing female vocals yet....might need a few more listens first. I do dig the riffs that start just before the black metal style vocals at 2:15. The riffs continue to be solid, and the keyboards and a nice extra element to the song. They change it up abit in the bridge section at 4:20...which was needed as the I was thinking it the song needed a abit of variety which this part did nicely. The vocals that come in after that have the female vocals mirroring the black metal vocals...I think I prefer one or the other as the combination doesn't work so well for me. having said that, I think this band has potential, and does have similarities to bands i like (Arkona, Moonsorrow, etc...) and other songs on youtube are promising so thanks for posting this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bltKjsCiJak

Sad Legend - Under Emptiness on the Dusk-fallen Lake

I'd seen this band mentioned in a positive light once or twice on the forums but for some reason had filed them away under DSBM. That might still be what some people consider them, I have no idea, but it doesn't sound anything like I had anticipated. Begins with somber keyboards encroaching from the distance, subtle and soft to build the tension. Once the actual metal begins...well I'm pleasantly surprised I'll tell you that. Extremely warm production coupled with some mid-paced riffing ala Hammerheart-era Bathory. There seems to be an omnipresent swelling of (choir?) keys in the background but it stays very subtle the whole way through, just a nice base for riffs to perch atop. There are also some very modest leads creeping along just behind the riffing, for almost the entirety of the song. I kept expecting that to become annoying but it really never does, its so subtle just like the keys. Interesting high pitch clean vocals pop-up just around the 4 minute mark. Male, female, pitch-shifted, natural? I don't know but they sound great and are a nice little surprise to break up the fairly standard black metal rasping. This kind of caught me off guard to be honest. It sounds like they love Bathory's viking stuff and early Rotting Christ, and I can't be mad at either of those influences. I'm certainly going to be digging a little deeper with this band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3KAgZliKjw

Resuscitator - Servants of the Darkest Throne

I guess this wasn't too bad. What we have here could probably be best described as 5 guys who heard Passage to Arcturo and decided that they are going to do exactly what that EP did, just with deep death growls for vocals. And for the most part, they do it competentlywell. In fact, in theory they have one up on Rotting Christ thanks to a much heavier production here. The guitars are heavier, and all the instruments are much clearer. I also have to mention that at some points during the song, particularly in the beginning and around the 4-minute mark, the sound in the left headphone gets all choppy. I don't know if we can chalk that up to an overlooked hiccup in the studio, or just a bad CD rip, but either way it's not helping anyone. All in all, this is good for what it's worth, and you can tell these guys are Rotting Christ fans, but it's just not really outstanding to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QEvf3OFL0E

Intestine Baalism - Banquet In The Darkness

starts of with a sweet riff, definitely grabs my attention. the vocals are a deep raspy kinda unintelligiable, but I dig them. I was beginning to think that even though the riff is awesome...was getting abit reptitive as its remained mostly the same until the 2:00 mark. some new riffs at that point which are good, but not as good as that initial riff...the change was needed though. The melodic solo is nice...kinda subtle, not really technical but i like it. The sudden exposion of blast beats with intense riffs after that, add abit of a tempo change and i really like it. That section is abit short and i think it could improve the song with that being extended.

anyways, still a good song, good musicianship from the band, inparticular the guitarist. Thanks for showing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ot7fpr0uy0

It isn't as hard as you would think. I'm good friends with those guys. Just hit them up.

Anti Ben:

Mistur - Skuld

When it comes to symphonic black metal, there doesn't seem to be much for for creativity or originality, but what there is room for is the ability to make some seriously good stuff. And that's what Mistur does right here - well-done symphonic black metal that worships the mighty Emperor. While there is more keyboard presence here than in the average Emperor song, and it's a little louder than I'd like it to be, it's merged decently well with the rest of the instruments. Said instruments also happen to be crystal clear and not overpowering each other, working as a team while still maintaining some identity. The guitars help drive the song, providing enough memorable riffs to keep things going for the song's 7 and a half minute run time. Bass is inaudible and the drums aren't terribly offensive; The drummer rarely resorts to blast beats, but his slower fills are nothing to write home about. Despite the song's shortcomings, it's a pretty good one and I'll be checking out some of this band's other work at some point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXG2xa4d-gk

@Dave_o_rama

Banished from Inferno - The Infernal Swamps

I'm not big on spoken word intros...but not a big deal. When the music starts I get a dark feeling to it, but the tremelo picked leads in the background at about 1:30 have a mysterious sound to them and create a really cool atmosphere. Now, since I have never really heard this band before, i was abit surprised when riffing and vocals started at 2:00 as leading up to that i was invisioning something along the lines of black metal. The sound is a old death metal style, with some solid heavy riffs and it does keep some of the atmosphere from the intro of the song...just not as pronounced. I like the riffs that start at 5:15 and the increased tempo right after. The leads are not as prevalent in this song as alot of death metal, but the couple times they show up, they are simple yet fit the song. So, i think they have some good elements like that atmosphere...solid riffs in their song, and will listen to the few other videos on youtube. Is that your youtube channel that uploaded them?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLTh0iRJ2fc

@Tron_79

Re: Banished from Inferno


Re: Mistur

@Dave_o_rama

Thirteen minutes?! Long song lengths kill this (admittedly awesome) game dead in it's tracks, and I'm going to reiterate what has already been stated, to try and keep 'em a little shorter, in order to keep this thread alive.

Now, into the fray...

The opening chords to this are angular, yet oddly soothing all at once, with a slight Ved Buenes Ende feel, keeping you on tenterhooks, waiting for the inevitable crash of distortion, lurking somewhere in the background like the next set of breakers on the sea. The quiet, almost whispered vocals are a welcome addition to this disarming intro as well. When they DO appear, they are quite grandiose, keeping the quasi-epic feel to the opening alive and breathing, swelling with synths to great effect. Musically, this is very skillfully done, with clear indication that they're going to try and elucidate further on the original premise put forth - and in part they succeed. The next section is a little more uptempo, introducing double bass and harsh vocals. The clean guitar and vocals, backed by more whispering is admittedly cool, with which a competent, yet marginally bland solo follows. For this crescendo though, for me, I would have preferred more power, or emotive force behind that section as it seemed rather flat. This is not bad at all this track, but, it does tend to drag, more towards the middle, where it seems to fall upon it's own sword, and kind of meanders about, killing the momentum already gained. In the right mood, I guess this could be stellar, and the precursor to the coda is very good, shimmering it's way into the night.

Short and elegant.

Marduk - Opus Nocturne

I keep on hearing how Marduk apparently have "good" albums, outside of those totally hollow "blasturbation" albums they did in the mid-to-late 1990s. Well, this does indeed have some promise to it... a pleasing guitar and synth sound, but it does feel a bit more like an intro track rather than a fully-fledged song. Goofy clean/semi-narrated vocals are a kinda expected touch, too, but not bad. There's something going on here! I kinda makes me want to hear the rest of the album (wanting to hear more Marduk is a first for me, certainly). Those proud, mournful, floating synths actually remind me of Graveland for whatever reason. Elegant isn't a word I'd ever have associated with Marduk previously (again, I must stress my low opinion of the group ) but yeah, you're right, it is.

I like short songs.

Riot - Fire Down Under

Short, sweet, to the point, yet chock full of heavy metal glory is the best way to describe this song. The opening riff is catchy as hell, and it serves as a rhythm guitar for a healthy portion of this song as well. That's fine by me, though. It's kind of hard for me to pick out any individual thing to talk about here, because it all blends together so well in a way that makes it feel like one awesome song, not a whole bunch of parts yet to come together. And that's how it should be, though. I also can't help but feel this undeniable energy pulsing through me while I listen, as if the guys in Riot had as much fun writing and recording this back in 1981 as I am right now listening to it. Words can't describe this type of awesome and I'm going to stop trying to make them describe this and just enjoy the music...

In keeping with the trend of short songs...

Hmmm...this is not even remotely anything like something I would willingly listen to. Pretty groovy, oily, rumbling riff kicks this off, which leads into a change of tempo brought in insidiously with that stomping beat. That was kind of cool, I guess. Phil's voice is, and I'm going to be blunt here, FUCKING irritating as hell! The half-hoarse shout is atrocious, and that scream (?) thing he does is even more grating. Luckily he's backed by a band who know how to rock out, and they do so convincingly, but I'm not going to jump in the pit and be bros with you ok? I think they need to take some estrogen pills (or less pills for that matter, if you catch my drift...) and chill the fuck out, cause all that raaaage!!1! will make you pop a vein or something.

Still keeping it short, sharp and fuckin' heavy.

Rebaelliun - And the Immortals Shall Rise

I have to admit, in hearing the first minute or so of this song, I was fully expecting this to be some been-here-done-that full-blast-and-nothing-else DM. Thankfully, there's a little more variety than that. At about the minute mark, everything seems to slow down slightly with a catchy riff and even a little tremolo picking for good measure... and what's that I hear? A solo? Yes, it is! The solo brings us back into full-blast mode for a short while, and then the song slows down yet again.. and another solo! This one closes out the song and ultimately leaves me demanding more. Packing a hell of a lot of death metal fury and two full solos into a less than 3-minute running time is definitely something to be proud of. Thanks for posting this, I'll surely be looking for more from these guys.

Not quite as heavy, but still short and to the point.

@CrushedRevelation

Children of Technology - Vultures Over Cities in Flames

starts out with some scuzzy/raw thrashy riffs. The vocalist sounds abit like Lemmy from Motorhead, although maybe abit deeper. I dig his style though, and suits the scuzzy sound perfectly. Definitely has that punkish/metal feel that motorhead has as well but with better riffs. Drumming is fairly straightforward as expected for bands of this sound, but doesn't really harm the song in anyway. So, although kinda simple, its a fun song and enjoyable to listen to. I see this was their demo...how do their actual releases compare?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nxzHglkYQI

@Tron_79:

Never heard of this before and it turns out not to be someting I usually enjoy. After all, it doesn't sound too bad; a bit too melodic - or rather too happy-sounding melodies for me, haha - but actually the feeling this song creates is nice. I would prefer this song as an instrumental one, but I somehow manage to ignore the vocals which makes it sound even better. I didn't really get into it, but it was much better than I expected it to be. This must be some certain variation of melodic death metal at least if judging by these listens I gave it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKXbjEImBUs

Rotting Christ - Naturdemonernas Lockrop I : 1000 Djävlars Namn

I've not heard very much material from these guys at all, despite them being fairly well known, so I went into this with an open mind and a bit of an incling that it was gonna be a cool track. The first minute has no music, just a guy with a deep voice speaking in a foreign language. Not a good start. After that there is another small weird sample, then finally the gates open and the music kicks in. The tempo was immediately pleasing, a reasonably fast beat fueled by a very basic but effective riff, which is present for most of the song. The singer's vocals were also an immediate win for me, the dirty thrash raspings just encouraged me to keep listening. I like his style. Getting nearer to the end I was thinking "There needs to be a guitar solo" - and almost immediately one kicked in. Definitely not a memorable solo, but it filled what would have otherwise been a void. The guy with the deep foreign voice is sampled again for about 20 seconds close to the end - could have definitely done without hearing anymore of that, but at least unlike the start, the drums and bass were cranking at the same time. Was surprised to see that it was released this year - it had all the ingredients for an early 90s thrash jam. Both thumbs up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9KpY3nc5j0&list=FLYkPnM0M4_H2qowrUcCzN-A&index=10&feature=plpp_video

uch .. Serial Butcher - "Reduced to a Sausage". Fail.

3 sentences on the song: I was listening to a lot of goregrind this morning and this is easily the most disjointed and arbitrary thing I've heard all day. I guess I liked the riff at 2:20 ok, but twenty seconds later I was back to being bored, getting pissed at the video. Go away, rutting pig man.

3 sentences on the video: Honestly, I was hoping the guy was going to come in and lay into the band. Instead he did the despicable and predictably disturbed thing demented wastes of skin like him do: chopped up a pretty, kidnapped, dead (or drugged?) girl. This guy needs to put his own electric turkey saw down his throat and press the button.


Dedicated to all those MIA because of fucks like him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsGN8atHGsk


(Because the song I pulled was so bad, I'll be back later.)

Blut aus nord Day of Revenge (The Impure blood of theirs)

You know, I don't listen to a whole lot of black metal, and I have never listened to this band before but I quite enjoyed this. Raw as fuck, had a whole bunch of sweet riffs, tremolo and otherwise. Vocalist gave off a very evil vibe, use of the synths very rarely and to good effect, this may be the boost that I need to actually give the band a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jlcUxjE-LQ

Malice - Godz of Thunder

Old heavy metal, man. Please notice the lack of the word "good" in the aforementioned sentence. Not to say the song was bad per se, just painfully uninteresting. A lot of the fault regarding that is bestowed upon the clinically dead riffs, which never go beyond "typical 80's guitar strumming" territory, and the lead (that is if a plain, insipid, lazy melody can be called a "lead") is nothing to write home about either. Such a shame, as 80's American heavy metal bands are characterized for such abundancy and quality when it comes to guitar pyrotechnics (USPM, PEOPLE!!!). Oh, oh, and those drums! C'mon dude, even Phil Rudd is more interesting than you! And don't try to use those fills you throw in once in a while to defend yourself; they're lame, just like your general drumming. I'm gonna give some props to the singer though; the man's got quite a set of pipes (reminds me of 80's Rob Halford a bit, to be honest), and does a slew of truly impressive, metal-as-a-chromed-demon screams during the song's length. His tone and pronunciation are bit irritating, sure, but I'll let it pass because I can always appreciate a good wailer. So, let's recapitulate; boring guitars, boring drumming, nonexistent bass (hence the lack of it's mention in my review) and very good vocals. Conclusion? The singer deserves better. Case closed.

This might be a bit long, but it's truly worth it. One of the best metal live recordings I've ever heard.

Iced Earth - A Question of Heaven (live)

Oh, Iced Earth. I have no idea whether Alive in Athens is a great live album or a great studio album because of how much of the ambient audience noise you cleaned out. But in any case, this is definitely my favorite track of the set save for maybe "Stormrider." The guitars and bass are massive as hell, assaulting my speakers every time one of these songs plays, and Matt Barlow just gives the performance of all performances with everything the man has inside of him. The song itself is one of my personal favorites from the group, anyway, so the combination of a great song with a great performance is just like sweet candy to my ears.

And now it's time to thrash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMVvpxUjTLg

@xlxlxlx

Damn. This is some ball-tearing thrashing goodness, but then what would expect from Destruction eh? Nothing short of this. Going to admit that I have not really bothered to check out later, post 2000 albums from these guys, but maybe I will...maybe I will. Either way this is smashing - both with the hammering song writing and razor sharp production. The guitars are truly free here to hack and slash at will, and riffs are full of thrashing venom, as are the vocals, carried upon the massive backbone of the bass, which pounds along wonderfully with the precise, energetic drum work. Shmier's vocals certainly don't betray his age either I might add, maybe they sound a little strained in some places, but overall, he's still got it. Good, solid fuckin' thrash pulling no punches.

More thrashing.

@I_Am_Vengeance:

Forbidden - R.I.P.

For some reason I've never gotten that much into thrash, so I've never heard of these guys before. This is pretty awesome. One of the first things I notice is how high in the mix the bass is. A nice touch. This is pretty much the classic thrash sound. Great riffs with lots of palm muting, good straightforward drumming, falsetto vocals and a nice guitar solo. The songwriting here is great, everyone is good at their instrument, not really that much to dislike about this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dr6XVESiMc

Crowbar - Thru the Ashes (I've Watched You Burn)

Well, I thought this was pretty good. I'm not too familiar with sludge metal as a genre, but seeing as how these guys are apparently one of the bands to play the genre, this seems like a pretty nice introduction. It's fairly repetitive, but never boring. The riffs, while simple and not out in great numbers (I counted 2 or 3 total), serve as something to nod your head to as you enjoy the vocals, which seem to be the main focus of the song. The singer sounds like a carbon copy of Phil Anselmo's work with Pantera and are a bit interesting... They're not that great, but fit in perfectly with the overall feel of the music. And then there's that faster part around 2:50, which sounds like a rejected bit from Vulgar Display of Power, honestly. Despite the fact that there are more than a few moments that sound like a pale imitation of Pantera, this still turns out to be pretty good. Just not anything that motivates me to delve further into this band, or sludge metal, for that matter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwN07G1Fhjg

This is some very, very coldly melodic, brittle black metal, but pretty damn good with it. Essentially powered by the permafrost of their homeland, and filled with the darkness their winter will bring. This rips along rather well, at a measured, frost foot-printed pace, which gives this song it's malice, never overusing speed, keeping everything focused. The shrieking vokills suit the whole icy tone perfectly, forming a mist around the main melody lines, and morphing into a deeper roar for extra depth and power on occasion. There are times where I'm reminded of past masters of this style, but as an avid devotee to this genre I can let that slide, as this is solid enough on it's own to stand aloft. Musically there isn't a whole lot of variation - but I don't necessarily see this as a bad point, as it truly lets the intent get driven home with conviction. The blasting section towards the close is used well, finishing it off with a decisive tone.

Keeping with the tone somewhat...

Insane Vesper - The Black Radiance

starts off with a bang with rumbling double bass and fairly good black metal riff. The tone is somewhat raw, but can still decipher all the riffs. the vocals good...slightly deeper BM rasp, with some good power. The song is fairly straightforward with solid riffs and drums pounding throughout. The only slower section about half way through the song adds some variety and fits in with the rest of the song. Even though its nothing really out there, i find myself really into the guitar work on the song...almost catchy in a way. The only thing i don't really get in the song is that choired section at the end which isn't really necessary to me. But thanks for posting, I liked the song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAjrdyt6d-Q

Gehenna - A Witch is Born

I've not listened to Gehenna before, but the song captures the eerie nature of traditional black metal really well, and the synth which occasionaly surfaces in the background gives the atmosphere an excellent boost and gives the song itsself a twist. All in all, I love the crunchy yet subtle tone, and the overall song covers many of the bases of what I consider great black-metal to be. It vaguely reminds me of Obtained Enslavement, which is a good thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urs4ou3wYew

Midnight-Lust, Filth, And Sleaze.

Well now this song opens up with a nice solo, and at first thought, I thought this would be a great song. Then the vocals kicked in, and everything went downhill. He sounds like a combination between John Tardy and Tom Warrior. This should be a compliment, but he manages to just completely butcher the song. Instrumentally, it does sound like something from Morbid Tales, the punkish riffs, and the relentless pounding drums, also the solo after was very nice. But the vocals....sigh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VRGAdHd ... re=related