RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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LIFELESS – Godconstruct
Tysk death metal er jeg noe tvilsom til. Tyskerne er best på thrash og såkalt tyskermetal/power metal og til dels black metal. Death metal har de fornuftig nok latt andre nasjonaliteter ta seg av. Selvfølgelig, noen hederlige unntak er det. Obscenity, Defeated Sanity, Profanity og Infernoaktuelle Fleshcrawl er gode og vi kan også nevne de…
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RANDOMORDER – The Forbidden Knowledge
Tasmanian thrash metal- probably not three words you would figure would roll off the tongue quite so well, but the four-piece Randomorder live for the style on their debut album "The Forbidden Knowledge". Armed with a series of Australian gigs under their belt and a couple of demos in their four year career, this 9…
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NECROCURSE – Grip of the Dead
Necrocurse er et death metal band fra Uddevalla som ble dannet I 2004. De ga ut tre EP-er og en samleskive i løpet av 2001 og 2012 og "Grip of the Dead " er deres debutfullengder. Det er kun en av låtene fra EP-ene som fikk plass på denne debuten, ellers er dette nytt materiale.…
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ARMOR COLUMN – Maximum Collateral Damage
Mexican record label EBM Records as a part of their ‘Thrash Is Back’ series of albums has signed a number of artists from around the globe- including Albany, New York’s Armor Column. Featuring Noah Carpentier (Skinless guitarist) and two Held Under members with vocalist Jeff Andrews and drummer Johnny G the group also includes Ray…
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ATTACKER – Giants Of Canaan
I have so many great memories of the Powermad festival- held in Baltimore, MD during the month of August from 1997 to 2001. A three day gathering of bands and fans into traditional, power, and progressive metal, we were able to witness many first time appearances from overseas artists, domestic label acts and reunion shows.…
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OKULAR – Sexforce
Oslobandet Okular ble dannet i 2010 av tidligere Eternal Terror skribent Andreas Aubert. Debuten «Probiotic» kom ut året etter og nå er Andreas og resten av bandet klare med oppfølgeren «Sexforce». Spørsmålet er, er Norge klar for dette? La en ting være klinkende klart; dette handler om en progressiv death metal. Litt utypisk norsk, men…
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HUMANITY DELETE – Never Ending Nightmares
Humanity Delete er nok et band fra metalgeniet Rogga Johansson. Her går det i godt pønka oldchool death metal med visse grindcore innspill. Eller, det heter seg at dette er death metal med visse punk og grindcoreinnspill. Det kommer nok an på øret som hører, mener nå jeg da, for i nettopp mine ører høres…
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ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW – Saivon Lapsi
Northern Finnish melodic death metal band Eternal Tears Of Sorrow have been an integral part of the Scandinavian scene since 1994- releasing 6 albums in a 15 year span, including a self-imposed break during 2003-2005. Four years beyond their last studio offering "Children of the Dark Waters", the sextet appears rejuvenated and resolute in their…
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DEVOURMENT – Conceived in Sewage
Det er langt i mellom metalskiver som til de grader er så riffstyrt og riffdominert som det denne skiva er. Samtidig er den ultrabrutal og himla catchy hvis du er kjapp i hjernebarken, for her er det temposkifter ut av det blå som kiropraktorer og fysioterapeuter rundt omkring i verden gnir seg i hendene over.…
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TAAKE – Gravkamre, Kroner & Troner
Taake celebrates 20 years as a band by releasing a collection of 20 songs distributed on a double CD. There’s not much new material, but many good and old tracks that is not easy to get hold of. Taake has never released their records in large quantities, so there’s an opportunity to get the songs…
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DEVOURMENT – Conceived in Sewage
This is per early february 2013 the absolute best death metal album so far this year (in my humble opinion) Devourment (US) delivers a mature, well played brutal piece of extreme metal and after multiple listens it only gets better every time. Those who know Devourment from earlier may have differend opinions about the "masters"…
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OCTOBER FALLS – The Plague of a Coming Age
I first encountered this Finnish three-piece back in 2010 with the release of their very strong third album ‘A Collapse of Faith’, and was eager to see what the last few years had meant to the band in terms of sound and overall development. ‘The Plague of a Coming Age’ offers much the same fare…
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TELLUS REQUIEM – Invictus
To år etter sitt første og selvtitulerte album, slipper Trondheimsbandet Tellus Requiem oppfølgeren. Skiva heter Invictus (The 11th Hour) og byr på enda mer i både komposisjon og produksjon enn forgjengeren. Prog-metalbandet signerte for en kort tid tilbake med Nightmare Records og høster nå gode kritikker verden rundt. Selve platecoveret er gjort av Thomas Ewerhard…
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VILE – Rare tracks 1996 – 2004
Vile er for de uinnvidde et San Fransisco basert death metal band. På promoinfoen står bl.a. Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel og Atheist oppført som inspirasjonskilder, noe som er forholdsvis lett å høre på denne skiva. Siden bandet ble dannet i 1996, har de som de fleste andre ekstremmetalband hatt flere utskiftninger. Jeg var litt usikker…
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KRYPTS – Unending Degradation
Krypts is the new wine. They taste deliciously evil and have that grim and dark aftertaste that triggers unholy water in your mouth. The finns are finally out with their debut on Dark Descent records and what a pleasing listening it is! "Unending Degradation" is a powerfull and nasty piece of old school death metal…
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HEIMDALL – Aeneid
The Italian power metal act Heimdall returns with their fifth full length "Aeneid" after a nine year absence on the recording front- prolonged due to a four year break while the band searched for the right vocalist. Enter Gandolfo Ferro as well as guitarist Umberto Parisi, who join long term guitarists Fabio Calluori and Carmelo…
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RAVEN BLACK NIGHT – Barbarian Winter
Forming in 1999, this Australian true/epic heavy metal band possesses a doomy veneer on their second album "Barbarian Winter". Guitarist Jim Petkoff handles the vocals, and his voice definitely will shake your foundation, an eerie warble with earth shattering high note propensity, one part Mark ‘The Shark’ Shelton, another part pure shrieking terror to the…
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MANILLA ROAD – Mysterium
The mighty thunder from Kansas known as Manilla Road returns to the scene with their latest studio album "Mysterium". German drummer Neudi is well known in independent metal circles for his work in Viron, Roxxcalibur, and performing with Savage Grace, Griffin, and Jameson Raid among others- and he takes over the drum throne , joined…
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EXARSIS – The Brutal State
Gresk thrash metal. Det høres litt suspekt ut, ikke sant? Men Exarsis er et gresk thrash metal band. De er ikke greske i den betydningen at det er uforståelig, men de kommer fra Hellas, et land som ikke akkurat er kjent for sin thrash metal scene. I alle fall ikke for oss nordboere. Dette er…
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ECLIPSE PROPHECY – Days Of Judgement
Metal has always been a mainstay genre in Canada. I think it’s a combination of the harsh winters, blue collar work force, and an appreciation for the arts that keeps the scene vital. International bands rave about their shows in major cities like Toronto and Montreal- and a natural development is the local crop of…
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RINGS OF SATURN – Dingir
Dette må være flinkismetal utført av unge flinkiser. Det var det første som slo meg da jeg leste om Rings of Saturn. Og jeg tok ikke feil. Dette er så teknisk som det går an å få det. Riffene er helt enorme, låtene varierte og vokalen likeså. Tempoet hopper opp og ned om en jojo.…
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ENSHADOWED – Magic Chaos Psychedelia
The third full-length outing for Greek cabal Enshadowed, ‘Magic Chaos Psychedelia’ offers up roughly 40 minutes of modern-sounding Black Metal with an unhealthy dose of Death Metal in the mix. In fact, before I read the bio I thought these guys were from a Polish DM background so that tells you a little about the…
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VOODOO CIRCLE – More Then One Way Home
Tyske Voodoo Circle så sine første dager I 2008, men er allerede ute med sitt 3. album. Bandet består av erfarne musikere som f.eks Mat Sinner (Primal Fear & Sinner), Mel Gaynor (Simple Minds) og vokalist David Readman (Pink Cream 69). Så det skal ikke stå på kvaliteten der. Når man ser på selve albumet…
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MALIGNANCY – Eugenics
US veterans Malignancy is back with a brutal piece of technical death metal. "Eugenics" is the demanded follow up to 2007´s brilliant "Inhuman Grotesqueries" who really put Malignancy back on the death metal map. They startetd out back in 1992 and "Eugenics" is their third full-length in addition to a couple of splits and EP´s.…
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AVENTYR – Driven
Disse gutta promoterer musikken sin som "ballerock". Jeg er litt ambivalent til uttrykket, men forbinder jo navn som Backstreet Girls og AC/DC pluss en del southern rock med uttrykket, så forventningene er greie. Etter en del gangs gjennomhøringer er det en ting jeg ikke kommer bort fra, nemlig at vokalisten høres ut som James Hetfield.…
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SHAI HULUD – Reach Beyond the Sun
Far and away one of the best metallic hardcore bands in history, Shai Hulud have never once disappointed with their output. Unfortunately, it’s never been a very easy road for the band, with a constant changing of band members always seeming to pop up. However, founding member/guitarist Matt Fox and long time member/bassist Matt Fletcher…