Ilwhyan:

Spawn of Possession - "Apparition"

Wow, the organ and string part at the beginning of this is great. It has a very gloomy and epic-sounding feel to it. Actually, the keyboards continue throughout, and they do a great job. The combination of gothic keyboards and hyper speed death metal riffing is an interesting one, and not one I've heard in many other places, but in my estimation they suffer from the same problem as Fleshgod Apocalypse - the symphonic parts play their part well, but they sound out of place with the tech death sound. It sounds like two songs playing on top of each other. The difference is that the guitars are slightly more prominent, and they do a good job as well. Riffs are done well, but it could have done with some more soloing, especially considering how long this song is. Bass drums suffer from the usual problem of being overly triggered, but otherwise the drummer throws out some solid death metal patterns. Aside from a very surprising bass break at just after 6:30, bass remains mostly inaudible. Vocals are fairly standard growls and rasps, but they manage to remain comprehensible while still maintaining an aggression and brutality. (Whoa, I can actually hear the lyrics!) Whenever the band changes direction with the tempo or riffing, it sounds natural and not forced at all, like it's evolved to be that long naturally. It's a weird situation here for me - I like the keyboard part, but I actually think the song would be better without the keyboards. So, do I like it or not? I have no idea. I'll need to think about this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g4V0mUlrVM (Damn, this is about the only studio track of them I could find on Youtube)

jerk:

I'll submit this one then.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-lQS3ZN ... re=related

Deadnight - Messenger of Death

So, we start with a fairly standard melodeath riff that then leads into an explosion of power. The guitar tone is awesome, and pretty reminiscent of the one used by Swedeath bands (the characteristic "chainsaw tone"), although slicker and even more oriented towards melody. And the riffs themselves? Shit, they're stunning. Dynamic, fast as hell and sharper than a razor blade. The vocalist sounds very similar to Dissection's Jon (actually, I feel quite a bit of Dissection influence in this band), which is nothing but a compliment; vicious, menacing, and kinda catchy. And speaking of catchiness, the chorus is one of the best I've ever heard in all of extreme metal, being totally infectious and memorable. The songwriting too is nothing short of excellent, with very well placed shifts in direction and and overall sensation of the band really knowing what they're doing. My only real complain about this is the production of the drums, which sounds too muffled for it's own good beyond the double bass. Aside from that, the song was a complete blast. I'll make sure to check the entire album.

Now, time for something much slooooooooooweeeeeeeeer.....

Evangelist: "Doommonger"

AH, I love evangelists....they turn me on with their hot-blooded roaring and extreme antics. The introduction was a clean guitar variant on the upcoming central riff of the song and it effectively pulled me in: a simple setting of the stage; a good way of introducing what was to come. Heavy sound brings on a great guitar tone and solid thunking drums. I haven't been in the mood for much slow stuff lately but this kept up a good pace throughout, much to my satisfaction. I kept hearing this distracting noise that sounded like glitches in a poor quality MP3, but for the most part it wasn't too bad. The singing is delivered with what's becoming a frequent thing in the current crop of "traditional" doom bands: strong singing that doesn't challenge the range much but requires a vocalist with a good amount of charisma and power and possesses an solemn, almost clergical feeling. The idea of monkish/evangelical/religious doom seems to have really taken off lately and, while it may be a trend, I have to admit I find it pretty appropriate and likable. The song doesn't change much through its duration but they finally inject a really tasty solo into the mix, which then begins to play melodically over the chord progression, and damn, that's a sweet, crisp tone they've got there. The ending was kind of strange....an unexpected chord there; maybe it leads directly into the next song on the record, which I now admit I'm pretty interested in hearing.

Ok, despite what I said earlier...here's something even slower, but to my mind, a good deal more fun sounding!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljkK0CWFSgE

Minotauri- Singing in the Grave.

This is awesome. It immediately drew me in. That first riff is crushing. I love those kinds of evil sounding bends they use in spades. The organ is used perfectly too. I like the speed up too, but it's a weaker riff. The vocalist is pretty weird sounding, but I dig it. The vocal patterns kind of remind me of Saint Vitus, but that could be just me. If the production was a little bit less DIY and the drums stood out more, this would be even better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in1TBIekq00

@ xlxls and Necroticism:

@Abominatrix:

@Abom, XIxlx

Solitude Aeturnus - Mirror of Sorrow

The very beginning greets us with a hallowing guitar intro and vocals that are apparently male vocals (because they sure don't sound like it) that really set the mood for the rest of the song. The verses are laid out in this fashion, and the chorus are backed by guitars that are... just sort of there. Then comes a faster, heavier section with a pretty solid guitar solo. The second half of the song is much more guitar driven, with lots of leads to help keep up the mood. All in all, a decent doom song, even though doom doesn't do much for me as a genre.

Now to completely change direction...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsDvqnVV-sc

Bloodmoon-Orenda

This is fucking terrible.

Carnagoth - Pact of Violence, Skies of Blood.

Couldn't find this band in the archives for some reason. This is more OSDM worship. The guitars are grimy sounding with some interesting riffs though they often overuse a riff and the song just tends to plod along without feeling like it really goes anywhere. The vocals are very deep growls and pretty standard though not too bad. That atmosphere is generally good with that filthy feel. I can hear some more upbeat riffs occasionally such as one that resembles Iron Maiden which is rather unusual. Overall not bad but there is just so much OSDM worship coming out that I probably wouldn't give this a second thought.

And for something else along the same lines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2rdbrXHxEo

Lvcifyre - The Faceless One

There is a touch of the avant-garde in this song with the unusual tremolo riff at its backbone and a discordant twang throughout, but somehow there's little about the song that stands out for me. It's by the numbers death metal with a pinch of black/death (Behemoth-like?) metal thrown in. The musicianship is definitely very solid and much of the song borders on tech-death, but that means that the production is clean and crisp, which always strikes me as out of place in a death metal song. In any case, fairly decent DM song, but nothing to write home about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PwU_qBI-ME

Alaskan: "They Came from the Smoke"


Well, the first minute had me kind of electrified. I just thought, "what a cool, vintage guitar sound", and expected those fuzzy chords to erupt into something upbeat and rock 'n' roll. What I got was a little slower than I expected, but still had a groove to it that I could appreciate, one that copied the Kyuss sound almost exactly, to be frank. I enjoyed the loose feel of the playing and the warm, live mix was very appropriate. I can't help thinking this was just an introduction or something as they never really went anywhere much with this and didn't even jam out at all, just rode a cool riff fuzzily around for about three minutes. This I imagine coming at the beginning of the record, as an invitation to pack and smoke your big bong, awaiting what's to come.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zKii7O4tw4

Ahhh....classic Rotting Christ from a legendary album (for me, and most I assume). Apart from the Passage To Arcturo EP, this was my first introduction to these Greek masters of darkly woven melody. The sheer grandness of the melodies present on this album are positively mesmisrising, and this track is no different. The opening riffs are glorious, weaving around with a profound majesty, even the slightly mechanical drumming takes nothing away from the impact, and then BANG! An almighty riff section is heralded, changing the tempo magnificently before effortlessly sliding into a clean arpeggio with an almost whispered incantation. The whole mid section of the track is wrought so damn well with excellent riffs and tone, and sublime lead sections interwoven with the main melody lines. I cannot praise this masterpiece enough; even the production values are perfectly in synch with the song craft, and Sakis's gruff vocals are another welcome dimension.

Still melodic but different slightly.

Heresi - Liothe

Seeing this on Toxic Holocaust records I expected to hear some fairly dark and aggressive black metal and that is what I got. It is aggressive, almost war like with a razor sharp guitar tone and often had some slightly thrashy riffing that reminds me of Svartsyn. The riffs are surprisingly melodic for the amount of aggression there is. The vocals are fairly standard angry howls and quite chilling. The drums are mostly blasting away and dictate the pace for the most part. I don't listen to black metal much anymore but I enjoyed this quite a bit. I like this kind of pissed off and chilling sound which has made Svartsyn one of my favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz9dkUkVP0Y

Midvinter - Dreamslave

This song kicks so much ass. For an 8 minute song, it didn't lose my attention once, mostly due to the high number of riffs of many different tempos containing almost everything that makes good black metal. There's the single note tremolo picked riffs backed by well performed blast beats, there's a bit slower more power chord oriented riffs also backed by blast beats. Did I mention there were blast beats? There's the vitriolic vocals that sound really damn agressive. I'm sure there's a bass in there somewhere too. This is epic, tragic, magic and any other word ending in ic you can think of. 9 on 10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68WJ522AAfo

Belphegor - Blood Magick Necromance

A band name I've heard bandied around for years, but not one I've ever heard before. From what I can tell Belphegor play some black/death hybrid (leaning much more on death, though) that reminds of later Behemoth (not a fan), Nile and maybe a little of Vader (am a fan). The intro struck me as typical of the "modern death metal being grandiose". It sounds a little more confident when their blasting, though, perhaps that's their natural speed? The more melodic passages at around 3:00 are actually pretty cool, and it ends up being quite a strong refrain. This isn't really my style, at all, but I can see why people appreciate it. But at 7 minutes it feels quite overlong and a little disjointed; I definitely get the feeling that there's a lot of fat that they could have trimmed out here... as that intro just didn't do anything for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfT7hdRytnE

Grave Digger: "Spirits of the Dead"

While I'm not sure where this falls in Grave Digger's discography (will probably look it up in a few minutes), they certainly know how to capitalise on a thick, modern sound, and it works quite well for them. Truth is though, I've never entirely gotten into this band, though I enjoy a select few songs I've happened to listen to. They do certainly write some cool and straightforward riffs, with this song featuring a couple, and yes, I think this production is really good at bringing out the strength of those guitars, and even the basslines. Ok, but now we come to the vocals, and I'm just not all that enthused about them, though he's got a good bite to his tone. That chorus in particular just isn't very good sounding, and even the drumming seems to follow Chris's lead in becoming a little stiff and annoying. There's something about this that just feels a bit dry and emotionless; maybe even a tiny bit awkward sounding, and I'd have to listen a little more in order to try and explain it better. I've heard some pretty impressive lead guitar antics from this band but this tune doesn't really deliver in that department, and I think a wild solo could have brought this song up a notch in my estimation. Nice ending though, with the staccato riffery and a cool little bass fill going on..they certainly did that part right. So yeah, this band is kind of frustrating, don't you think?

All right, Acrobat, you can probably predict what I'm going to do next:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccIQC_T10T0

Manilla Road - Spirits of the Dead

Even though I haven't fully immersed myself in Manilla Road's catalogue I do enjoy them to a certain extent from time to time, especially Spiral Castle and Atlantis Rising, and this song was indeed very rewarding to listen to. First of all I'd like to highlight the utterly beautiful production job; warm, organic and full of life, although at the same time very professional, as I can easily distinguish all the instruments (yes people, even the bass!). Gotta say that Mr. Shelton caught me off guard with his vocals here; I think I've never heard a more passionate and fiery performance from him until now. As for the guitar playing? Impecable, with flawless riffs abound and a very impressive lead. The rhythm section was also a joy to hear, as the bass was pretty interesting and had lots of presence, while the drums pounded their way through the track with delightful strength and fills aplenty. I don't have much more to add, besides that maybe I should check out this album too.....

Let's go for something more modern now.

Let Me Live - Angel Dust

ah, some good old, energetic Power Metal, always a good thing. definitely digging the vocals and the occasional subtle synthesizers here, as well as just the general energy of things. also hearing light touches of sort of Judas Priest-ish Hard Rock/Traditional Heavy Metal in the rhythm of the vocals at times, but that could just be me. overall, pretty good listen, never heard of Angel Dust before, but i'll look into them at some point now.

7/10

and now for something from an independent band from my area.

Hail the little guys! Couldn't find these guys on the archives....anyhow, what is offered here is some competent thrash, which clips along quite ok. Not sure what's going on with the drums (programmed?), they are a distraction though, from the well played and tight riffs. This all flows rather well structurally speaking with it's composition, with plenty of momentum, thrash-heavy aggression and some restrained, but not sloppy lead work. However, as I stated the drums are a problem with their flat, wishy-washy sound, but this is minor compared to the awful vocals. The vocals are a weak, almost harshly spoken amalgamation of what sounds to me like a much lazier Mille Petrozza circa Renewal and bloody Zac de la Rocha ( ). They seem totally out of place against the thrashy back-drop of the music, and weaken the track further with their lameness. With some more aggressive vocals this would probably be more ok than just a mere meh.

Setting another old favourite up for a bashing (potentially ).

Cathedral - 'Frozen Rapture'

I always remember thinking this was a sort of perfunctionary Cathedral song, you know, a definite b-side? But as it turns out I remember it much more than I thought. The keys are definitely a really cool touch and I do wish more doom bands had a keyboard/organ presence. Lee's vocals are in the typically sickly, twisted Forest... mode and in some places the vocal lines are quite similar to 'Ebony Tears'. The Trouble-y break riff is a cool touch, and I guess it forebodes their rocking style quite nicely. There's a typically cool solo, too, nice and expressive. This song has a lot going for it, sure, but for some reason it doesn't quite come together as a Cathedral classic for me. Solid stuff to be sure, definitely a worthy number... but it's not the band at their finest.

You'll have to get through a minute or so of intro for the this, sorry. But it had better sound than the other youtube videos

Saxon - Gothic Dream and Unleash the Beast.

This is the first Saxon song I've heard that didn't urge me to turn it off before it was over. I'm not usually a big fan of these guys, but this is solid. Then again, it's not insanely original. If I describe NWOBHM to someone, they will probably imagine something sounding pretty close to this. Simple, straightforward drum beats and riffs with the traditional palm mute a lot then add a few notes, then palm mute again then hold chords for chorus part. With that said, there's still some variety in them, and the vocals remain well performed. I personally don't like his tone, but he's a competent vocalist. The solos are cool as well, I'm a sucker for these kinds of solos.
8/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLaNL5_yg1g

Cormorant - Junta

This isn't doing anything for me, to be honest. I was digging what I've mentally labelled as the "intro" with that slow, vaguely-doomy-but-not-really riff and the lead wrapping around it. I expected it to erupt into something a bit more frenetic and pleasing. Instead we get a down shift even further into some "atmospheric" noodling (love the bass sound, just indifferent to what its playing) with spoken word stuff going on over the top. It sounds like this is supposed to be emotionally impacting but its just not hitting me like that. When they finally see fit to apply some gas it just sounds like rather by-the-numbers black metal to me with an "upbeat" twist to the chording. There are a lot of different things going on here vocally, and most of them don't resonate with me. I expected more from this band based on what I've read about them, and a few songs I've heard from Metazoa. I've got a feeling this song might be a lot more palatable within the context of the album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUebpCk-rxM

Arghoslent - Ten Lost Tribes

Well, you know my opinion on this band, Jonpo. But let's reiterate for the sake of the class, shall we?

They're going for windswept, mournful and reflective... but for the most part it ends up being rather lethargic. The lead guitar is good, I'll shall give them that much... but the main musical impression of this is that it's basically quite similar to In Flames's The Jester Race particularly the song 'Moonshield'. Quasi-folky (white pride!), mournful and melodic. The only main difference is that this one has a fairly crappy drummer (he's not quite on the beat in some of the folk parts, is he?). It's funny because I get the impression that a lot of Arghoslent's fanbase would probably turn their noses up at In Flames. This ain't bad, you know? But it's not really spectacular either, I do honestly believe that a lot of the attention their receive comes from the fact that they write silly, overtly racist lyrics and that makes them tough and cool... I've heard them receive some very high-praise but compositionally I find them quite average. The lead guitar is cool, I'll give them that. But I don't know, I just don't buy the whole song. The vocals aren't too hot and if anything they remind me of the In Flames dude , and it feels longer than it should be (admittedly, the fast part at the end was a good change). At times it reminds me of Solstice; but without the great transitions - again, the structure here seemed a little hokey. They're just not that great... for all their slave-whipping, Kyke-crushing, Swastika-arm-band wearing bravado they just don't deliver musically.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Uips_FEmE

Re: Arghoslent

Arghoslent: