Forteresse - Une Nuit Pour La Patrie

Forteresse are a real frustrating band for me because I feel like they teeter on the brink of greatness. Great song structure, fantastic performance, really nice lead guitar tone and suitable production...you get the drift. The thing that bugs me, though, is I find pretty often that their melodic lines don't really resolve themselves as they should often enough. Some people balk at the idea of a "predictable" riff or melody, but I'm not one of them. It can be really great to anticipate the direction of a familiar-feeling musical idea, especially one that's really comfortable for you and stirs up emotions, so when a band misses the opportunity to do that it leaves a sort of bitter taste in my mouth. Forteresse do this by leaving melodies that start out fantastic in an unfinished state. I need to dig deeper into their music though, and maybe I'll get over it someday as I really like everything else about the band. Oh well.

Next song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnUZLtwYtus

Laceration - Shadows of Existence

I initially thought all the Demolition Hammer comparisons were kind of lazy...then the vocals came in. I appreciate that this band is confident in the riffs they're bringing to the table and put them center-stage without much else to distract. They've clearly got a solid grasp on pacing as well which is very refreshing for a younger thrash band. The song builds intensity and the riffs slot together in a very satisfying way. Production is right where you want to be with this type of thrash, everything is clear but the guitar tone still has some bite. The bassist deserves a more attention grabbing tone though, as he's clearly playing some cool stuff towards the end. I personally would have liked to hear them go more "balls out" to finish the song, but that's me nitpicking. This band is tailor-made for the live environment.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iskSd8fA8B4 (I don't want to ruin the surprise, the guy titled it kind of poorly but you can find the song title in the description section)

Yeah, Laceration are about as obvious as it gets when it comes to being a "worship" band although they do have some extra bits here and there ("Self Deprivation" has a cool melodic intro that wouldn't be out of place on an 80's Metallica album). They're really damn good, though, and if there's one band out there carrying that torch with such dignity, well, I'm fine by that.

(Someone review Jonpo's song!)

I don't know if I'd want to shell out the money for an album, but I can guaran-damn-tee I'd be front and center if they played a show around here. I bet they rip shit up live. I edited my mini-review slightly because I said "clearly" like seven times and I hate doing that.

(They're probably going to hate my song but I fucking love it so much. Don't be gentle though!)

I listened to the first thirty seconds of that song and then decided someone else should take it.....

Lords of the Crimson Alliance-Firedancer:

the really high pitched vocalist can fuck off, the other guy doesn't sound bad at all, why is he the back-up? fuckin annoying. otherwise, this seems pretty middle road to me-not something to hate nor something i seek out and adore, with that said i can totally get behind that break that's like 3 minutes in, that is a crunchy riff and i like how they use it after again with the solos.....pretty rockin there. couple other sweet riffs but nothing that got me bangin my head. one more+i like that the bass is loud, dumpdumpdumpdump. good 7/10 in my books

i also found it amusing that 'Demons Gate' was on the side thing, when that's the only other song that comes to mind that uses that silly "evil" fat-kinda voice in the beginning, ahahaha

here, this is a newly recorded song by a local Thrashin favorite off their upcoming release...not finished but close enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3XLP4wsGiQ

Savage Streets-Gomorrah

Great song through and through from a band I've never heard of, as soon as that beast of a riff at 0:37 came in I had to headbang, the vocalist has a very powerful and throaty roar and the song varies from thrashing madness to a slowed chugging. Its ridiculously brutal and I really can't get over how much I love that vocalist, this band would make Hail of Bullets fans cry. Great song man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXbNkgw9Kb8

Destroyer 666 - Satan's Hammer

Again, had to listen to this more than once, because even though the track is headbangable as hell, I had the impressión there were some bits and pieces that didn't fit in that good.

The starting riff is killer, but... given the general speed and death/old-school thrash mood of the song, what was that between 0:29 and 0:45? Was that really necessary? I mean, the song does not need that guitar part, in my opinion, kind of ruins the first minute. But from that momento on, it is pure attack, standard death/thrash metal attack, the solo part has this feeling of "fuck shredding, this is it!" and well, "Come on, Satan's Hammer!!"

Great old school feeling, gotta check their extensive discography. Man, wish I had the time, but I will for sure get to do that homework a.s.a.p!

I will try something different here

Nightmare - High Speed Venom

Didn't really like the vocals as they sounded rather weak. Everything else was really, really generic. I mean, they're not bad in any sense, but nothing spectacular. The solo was interesting though. Nonetheless, it's catchy, fun heavy metal.

Here's some Nokturnal Mortum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3Bm_cNkt1g
I listened to Voice of Steel for the second time today, and god, does it rule. 95/100 for me (-5 only because of the crappy fadeout outro on the closer).

^Nokturnal Mortum - The Voice of Steel

Don't going to review this one, just that some time ago a friend of mine posted this one on her facebook profile and I was really impressed, this band has gained certain level of experimentation with a nice blend of folk/black metal elements... Nice one, man!

Yeah they've really matured from their earlier works. I've only heard Goat Horns, which is a fabulous album with amazing synth melodies albeit with rather mundane guitar lines and sometimes overwrought song structures, but man, Voice of Steel blows it out of the water!

Nokturnal Mortum- The Voice of Steel

God do I need to listen to more recent Nokturnal Mortum. I have only really given Lunar Poetry and Goat Horns my full attention and adored both of them. But back when I first heard them, the lyrics and themes of Nokturnal Mortum didn't sit well with me, so I never gave any of the other albums time. Thankfully I've matured now, to where it doesn't bother me, and between this track and another one from Мировоззрение that I heard a week ago, their new stuff is incredible. This track in particular used some amazing Slavonic folk to great effect. It compliments the metal in a way few folk inspired bands can pull off. It doesn't feel added in for the sake of folk, but flows natuarally. 10/10.

Here's a track from an amazing project. Great mix of industrial, folk and black metal. I can see some not digging it, but it mixes perfectly for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGL-84mwp0

Tronus Abyss - Transformazione

The intro was terrible, but the heavy part and the buildup that followed were pretty interesting. Fucking hated the vocalist as he couldn't shut up. It would actually be a pretty damn good song if it weren't for the vocals. I can see it being much better with some good cleans, and more varied drums of course.

Here's a song from The Beast of the Apocalypse's newest album. Not bad of an album, but not amazing either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-4-6wcoKrU

THE BEAST OF THE APOCALYPSE - I Am Not Worthy To Utter Thy Name

Well, at first I was quite suprised what came to my ears. As it was just labelled by the uploader as "black metal" I expected sth generic either in a wanna-be Burzum or Dissection worship. However the bassy, drony sound really came suprising and started to click with me - at first. However while the song passed on I became more and more bored and even annoyed by the very distorted sound. I can see why this kind of music appeals to others but for me it's just not the right stuff.

So, here's my track for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkR1yNfQqa8

Think I would have preferred that. Triggerhappy, that was the worst thing you've posted so far in this game.

Ok, maybe in another mood I might have enjoyed it more ..just possibly.

NO time to listen/review right now, but just a reminder that people shouldn't post the names of the artists or songs they're putting up, just the link. Post the name of the previous one only, the one you're reviewing.

The Meads of Asphodel-My Beautiful Genocide

I have mixed feelings on this song at first the intro melody is quite good, but from then on the song falls a bit into generic rockish black metal territory. The tempo changes from a decent intro riff to a bit more of a mid-paced section and for whatever reason I didn't like the chorus, maybe because the vocalist's delivery was too slow. Either way it was an ok song, not much more to say about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbQ51jjOgBs

Napalm Death- Unfit Earth

Wow, what a kick ass old Napalm Death song. I always liked the band but I've never given that album a spin. That has to be one of the more 'death metal' oriented ND songs I've ever heard. It's less grindcore which is awesome. The drums are intense throughout the whole song, and Barney sounds as good as I've ever heard him. Plus the last few seconds of the song with Tardy screaming along with Greenway was great. Not to mention the production is perfect. Modern bands try, but they can't copy that old school production.

I debated throwing down this track, as I'm quite sure most people would tear it to shreds. Oh well, here it goes...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrNRBBhX ... ideo_title

What in the christ is this? Some dude yelling over easy listening adult contemporary? It's like if you go to some village in the Balkans, where they've never heard of metal and ask the village musician to make an "authentic local metal song" for a movie soundtrack, they'd come up with this. And then you'd see it played in a movie called Turbulence 7: Heavy Metal Death on a Train

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlrQ0Pt-tG8

Artillery - We Are The Dead

Pretty decent stuff. The production doesn't help, but the song sounds nice. Has a very Black Sabbath-ish feeling with some nice sped up riffing here and there. Reminds me a bit of Trouble's debut. Oh and the vocals kinda suck, absolute powerless the guy sound. Still, with a better production this would be quite enjoyable just for the riffs alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP-ZlStSoig

Yeah.... That. That's what I expected...

Paradise Lost - As Horizons End

First of all: Great track! Already knew it since PL is a band I often listen to (one of my wife fave bands). I was a big fan back then when Shades of God and Icon came out. "As Horizons End" is a very good opener for their "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us" album and comes along with a slow, doomy vibe and carries a great heavy feel to it reminiscent of PL's best days (said Shades of God and Icon times). Maybe not original but absolutely enjoyable as there are too few bands in that genre sounding good without having too much pathos.

Here's my new track for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD2_wQK6u1o

First, a few reactions to various posts here and there (I've used the spoiler thingy to leave the thread clean):


Okay, enough digression already (sorry folks). Back on track:


Alright. Country metal is a surprisingly rather unexplored territory thus far; I'm not familiar with The Black League, only heard of them until just now, I think, and I expected something closer to The Crown or Witchery, for some reason. Well, it's very good: bombastic production, deep vocals full of life and peps, a driving country beat leading an oddly compelling mixture of explosive, festive, upbeat country and epic hard/heavy with folk overtones. I'm well into my third or fourth listen by now, and contrary to what I had in mind during my first one, I won't say "this is not something I could really get into", because apparently I can. Thanks!

There you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSGM81USaPw

@Legend Maker:

Damn, that's awesome, starting off right away with howling guitar ,some good frenzied riffing and pounding drums. The vocals yells seem perfectly inline with the cover art and show a surprising amount of variation with clean vocals and some screeches. Then, as I thought it couldn't get better the solo comes, not to mention the instrumental section that follows. In short, I'm going to go investigate them more now!

I also checked out that Overkill song, pretty much better then the other one in every aspect, thanks for pointing it out.

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

Murkrat-Electric Womb

Wow, where to begin on this song. I haven't heard funeral doom this interesting since that Ygsim clip you posted a few days ago, now female fronted "funeral" doom is something you don't hear much of. The ladie's vocals are incredibly dissonant yet sung enough to well enough to make out her notes, it sounds very interesting like she is in a dank cavern- and you can only make out the faint sounds of her voice. Around 7:00 her voice hits an incredible Banshee-esque screech, and the drumming is decent as well accentuating the depressing yet very active song. It was a fourteen minutes well spent, and the lady is an incredible vocalist. Yet again another excellent video Byrain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ToeOP1zJNk

Hey now! The Beast of the Apocalypse isn't fantastic by any means, but it's good for what it is: fuzzy Portal-ish kind of worship. I think the guitar tone is pretty clear too.

Also, Murkrat is fucking amazing. Haunting stuff with great use of piano, and splendid clean vocals.

Now, onto my review:

Master's Hammer - Cerna Suatozar

The intro seemed promising, with its really thrashy vibe and buildup, but the rest of the song felt pretty boring. Reminded me of a blackened Megadeth, especially in the drum department. Vocals were strange, but they sort of fit the music in an interesting way. Really like Vektor's vocalist; I wouldn't be surprised if this guy was an influence. Good stuff but not something I'd listen to again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82xI_KAKBoA

Njiqahdda - Attaining The Confidential Supreme Absolute
That's one long-ass song. The vocals are buried under the instruments, near incomprehensible and sound as if the vocalist has asthma. The drumwork feels off-beat sometimes but that adds to the atmosphere. The guitars have a good tone and play a variety of riffs. Unmemorable, but easy-listening. The song felt too stretched out, despite having a variety of sections. It just feels as if they tried to make it as long as possible, instead of keeping it short and sweet.
If they would ditch the vocalist and cut their songs in half, this would be an epic band.

Terminal Lost - Doomsday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnJxyNf1Gz8

At first it reminded me of rather standard black metal mixed with the soundtrack for the castlevania games, decent enough, but it didn't really leave much of impression. Especially the riffs, they were pretty stagnant, if it wasn't for the overused keyboard supporting them this song would loose most of its redeeming qualities. The solo work was pretty good though, if nothing special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb7pmw5PQ40

Path Of Debris - Destiny

Interesting stuff. Reminds me a lot of Amok-era Sentenced. The main melody is very catchy, but at times it feels like the entire song is really just the chorus. Nevertheless a pretty fun piece--straightforward and simple. (I'm a little confused as to how they get listed as death metal on here though!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSig43NnFHU

Garden of Worm-Psychic Wolves

My biggest issue with the song was the vocalist who is monotonous throughout most of the song, he isn't bad just unchanging kind of like the guy from Solstice. The main riff of the song is ridiculously heavy and the song would be flawless if the vocalist had better range, not bad but I'd rather spin Forest of equilibrium than listen to these guys or Solstice.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKMrGuv_1rg

Demolition Hammer-Neanderthal.

Not as heavy as epidemic of violence, but still pretty heavy. The main riff for the first minute seemed more like it should have been an intro/bridge riff than the verse riff, but it works. The riff at 3:50 stood out quite a bit, a lot more melodic than typical Demolition Hammer. Could have used some more fast parts, but overall enjoyable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys3bcpRToRA

Threshold - Light and Space

Ah, Threshold. A band I always wanted to check out. Did so some time ago but just with "one ear" so to say. Prog and Prog Metal is hit or miss to me but this one really clicks with me. Great use of synths and overall just a great song. Think I'm going to order sth from them and possibly I just start with the album this song is from. Thanks!

New song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow4ncvuywes

Dragon Mandole-Horses in the Morning

Wow that was really, really, really cool the drums sound incredibly bombastic like the sounds of a raging from from the hooves of Shi Huangdi's horses, no but all kidding aside that was really something else. The vocals accentuate the thundering of the drums, and the oriental instrumentals really take me to another place, I'm a sucker for music like this so it was an instant win for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z366sbgwSrg

Severe Torture - Baptized in Virginal Liquid

Oh man, those growls. I really hated those growls. Can't stand incomprehensibly deep vocals. It's too bad, because this song had some good riffs. Nice changes between the fast paced stuff and mid paced. Big bass sound, which was good, as the bass lines were very interesting. And it was just a good brutal song the entire way through, without sounding monotonous at all. Just... those growls :-s

Next up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcGSxzl9O40

Synesthesia - Threshold

Hmm... The flowery melody was pretty nice, but I hated the stupid groove sections. The leads could have been more prominent since the production was very bassy. The solo section felt tacked on, and it wasn't very impressive either; just a bunch of silly wankery. Certainly a talented band (especially the bassist), but I'm just not a big fan of melodeath.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DwHpAJhcnc

Hmm, post black has always been a genre that I never really liked or disliked and this song doesn't really change any of that. Although this avant-garde style provides us with a new listening experience, there is still a sort of vibe that doesn't feel like this will catch on. Overall it was listenable but I don't intend clicking that link again... sorry

Rate : 6/10

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

Elvenking - The Scythe

Terrible, which is sad because I really like some Elvenking stuff. There isn't much else to say really. It basically sounds like an emo band (minus his vocals mainly)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbpPd6A9RsU

For the record, my latest submission reviewed by Byrain was "Goddess of Confusion" by Turbo (if neither of us cite the name, later readers might be... confused).

I'm reposting this without the spoiler thingy for all to read. Thanks in advance:
Yes, please. Also, not micro-reviewing your own submission in the very post you're submitting it in would be advisable as well. Only a few posts are guilty of doing this so far, but I'd rather the trend didn't catch on.

Now, comments:

@grauer_mausling:
@Byrain:
@triggerhappy:
@Amerigo:


Hmm, please don't take this the wrong way, but I found the two mini-reviews above my post to be pretty thin. "interesting but I'm not interested"; and "Terrible.", really? It's quite fine to either skip a track you're not inspired to review, or actually explain your beef with it if you think it's crap, you know. No offense meant. For instance, it could have been like this:

"Virus"- Strange Calm
Elvenking - The Scythe

Okay Brendan, let's see what you brought us, here...


Not my cup of tea by any stretch of the imagination, but nicely done nonetheless. This is powerful EuroPM with strong arena rock leanings and a folk metal dressing, highlighted by happy happy sing-along melodies delivered by a decent clean singer, a nice back-up choir and a wildly out-of-place growl here and there. The production is very clean, musicianship is good and the riffs and chants are quite catchy albeit rather stock for the genre. Not a fan of the many, many breaks and effects, especially not the arpeggios which are neutral at their core, but performed and presented as if they were epic and full of emotions. "Meh" out of 10.

And now, my turn is up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7rBLCVzR08

Tiamat- Sumerian Cry (Part III)

Hell Yeah, old school Tiamat! That takes me waaaaaay back in time. "The Astral Sleep" and "Clouds" were, at some point in my teenage life, the albums for me. This song now is a great choice. The constant switch from a bit fast paced DM to slow, melodic heavy doom passges and driving riffs perfectly suits the both aggressive and somehat mystic atmosphere of the song. A great soaring, melodic solo part in the middle and the vocals which just sounded (on that album esp.) just a bit "other" than your usual DM in some of the song's parts make it a damn classic. Together with "Ancient Entity" the best song on TAS.

next one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0lyCr7YN0I

Nightingale - Rainchecl on my demise

I knew about this band, another of the many and prolific Dan Swwanö projects, but never actually listened to their music.

At first I thought my speakers were fucked up, hehe, but before I started to really worry about my stereo (I have it plugged to the computer) the song kicks in. I know they're not similar at all but, somehow, the keyboard melody reminded me of In-a-Gadda-da-Vidda.

(I'm writing this while I listen to the song for the third time) Anyways, this sounds quite nice, and very different actually, from anything else I heard before with the Swanö brothers involved (Pan.Thy.Monium or Edge of Sanity) and it is some kind of gothic rock oriented stuff. The song tries to be really catchy, but there is something lacking, don't know what it could be, though... the voice, perhaps? (But a deeper voice, something like a Peter Steele, or Sisters of Mercy kind of voice would not have been so good, either).

While the drum beat is very simple and basic, the drum production is very nice and the drummer tries some extra fillls here and there, the guitar riffs are just rythmic companion to the keyboard main melody, which can take you through the whole song, and the guitar solo, while very short, fits the song perfectly. Oh, ad the last 30 seconds or so with the double bass-drum was a nice surprise and a very nice touch, actually

To put it short, if you're into the later Sentenced, Poisonblack and other goth rock-metal stuff or bands like Sisters of Mercy, The Mission and Fields of the Nephilim, this could be a good choice.

oh, and grauer_mausling: Tiamat was ThE band for me as well back in the day. In fact, Clouds for me is one of the greatest, perfect metal albums of all time.

PS How come goth rock and goth metal are so huge in Germany?

I guess it's my turn now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CURevjzRj88