Usipian - Dead Corner Of The Eye
Death Metal, Denmark
Full-length, Metal Fortress Entertainment
July 18th, 2005
This danish band is pretty much unknown to the scene, maybe due to the fact that they only released one album before disbanding. At first glance "Dead Corner of The Eye" comes across as a pretty typical guitar based Death Metal album. But as the album envelops we're treated to a whole lot of variation and creativity along with a solid onslaught of good riffs. This band isn't quite like any other.
The key element here is thoughtful and varied songwriting. Usipian is not the most brutal band ever, not the catchiest or the most atmospheric. They mix all these elements into a sound where every pattern has its place in the song structure. Many of the songs have almost psychadelic clean guitar parts that fit almost seemlessly right into the sound. Using these kind of dynamics usually results in a loss of direction or at least a sense of lacking structure.
The songs themselves are also distinguished enough to stand on their own. While "Selfless" and "An Everborn" are pretty straight Death Metal songs based solely on good distorted riffing there are songs like "Shadows of The Once Unseen", "Multiplied Inhuman Disrupture" and "Predators of The Unbound Sea" where the band really gets into their own style. The clean parts I mentioned take a big space in these songs and in a way that is deeply impressive from a songwriting aspect. Usipian definitely is Death Metal with a whole lot of feeling.
Vocal wise there's also some pretty good things on here. The vocalist Toke sounds a lot like Frank Mullen from Suffocation, and manages to accompany a lot of the riffs with good passion and precision. Production is one of the few low points on this album. It's not overtly bad, but it could've been better considering it's a 2005 release. The drums come off sounding a bit muffled, especially in the blastbeat parts. It's a minor complaint though.
It's really sad that this band broke up. It still leaves me with a paradoxal feeling, since I don't think they could ever write an album quite like this again. Maybe it's better to quit while you're ahead.
Original review at http://www.metal-archives.com/
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28 de fev. de 2009
21 de fev. de 2009
Otargos - Fuck God-Disease Process
Black Metal, France
Full-length, Rupture Music
January 15th, 2009
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Mencea - Dark Matter Energy Noir
Yesterday I watched a long documentary about the universe. Starting from the paltry yet essential clod close to the sun – our planet earth – they went back in time to the ultimate outskirts of the firmament, there where imploding stars become black holes and white dwarves and clusters of sulphuric acid majestically glide through eternal space. This spatial information always fascinates me and it brought me to Mencea, a new Greek band who recently released its excellent debut ‘Dark Matter Energy Noir’.
As you can read in the interview, Mencea was founded by a number of young Greek musicians. Two of them were already fairly skilled in recording processes. It took some time before they reached their unique musical identity, but since they did not act without discretion, it resulted in a very mature debut. It manifests itself at full power. ‘The Passing’ creates confusion by its unusual timbres. Extensive death grunts, sometimes at the edge of screaming vocals (with a tinge of hardcore) may deter some of you, but mark the amazing textures and undercurrent of melodious notes. There is absolutely more than meets the eye! This is a jaunt through modern metal, meeting with serpentine Amon Amarth riffs and soaring keyboards in ‘Ardad’. Solid Swedish steel on the other hand in ‘Deep In The Under’. The sound is like a massive rock, sometimes close to black metallic accelerations. In addition everything is so groove-laden that it remains catchy. This is a true challenge they surely achieved! ‘When Strife And Greed Collide’ summarizes all this one more time in nine minutes beauty: maximum velocity against drawling slowness, powder away against atmospheric parts (made me think of Hypocrisy’s spatial era). It is all within this gem, in which even the staccato tightness of industrial pops up for a second. It may be obvious that ‘Dark Matter Energy Noir’ turned into a delicious titbit for people who love innovative metal without boundaries.
Original review at http://www.metal-nose.org/
Progressive Death Metal, Greece
Full-length, indie recordings
October 14th, 2008
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Vreid - Milorg
‘Milorg' is already the fourth album of Norway’s Vreid in scarcely five years time. Fortunately this productivity has not gone at the expense of quality. In fact, with every album this band seems to improve. Just like on ‘I Krig' the Norwegian resistance during the second world war served as an inspirational source and particularly the resistance group Milorg. I find such thematics refreshing in the sometimes rather smelly black metal scene.
Vreid’s style has been preserved but has become clearly more serious without sacrificing the melodies. On previous albums some songs seemed lost and out of place. That problem has now been resolved and as a result of which the album sounds like a unit. They regularly show their epic or progressive side, as in songs like ‘Alarm' and ‘Speak Goddamnit'. The rock influences are somewhat downplayed now, allowing the melodies to carry the songs this time. Also there is more balance between aggression and melancholy also aided by a fine organic but clear sound. The mood of the album can be characterised as nostalgic without being kitsch. Vreid again takes a step forward in quality and therefore can I securely state that this is their best album so far.
Original review at http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/
Melodic Black Metal, Norway
Full-length, Indie Recordings
January 5th, 2009
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9 de fev. de 2009
Nox Inferi - Adverse Spheres
NOX INFERI is the new project of Wraith, mastermind of Australian band NAZXUL, helped in this dark affair by Lurker on drums (TOIL, ex-VROLOK) and NH on prophetic vocal rendition (CORPUS CHRISTII). Ghoulish, apocalyptic and experimental black metal of the highest level.
Feels like you’re the last human contemplating citadels in ruins while rejoicing at the thought of your own forthcoming decay.
Any form of life has long since then left this putrid cadaver.
Original post at http://www.nwnprod.com/
Black Metal, Australia
Full-length, Those Opposed Records
September 1st, 2008
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V:28 - SoulSaviour
"Soulsaviour" is the second part in the V:28 trilogy. The trilogy started with "NonAnthropogenic" in the year 2003 and it showed a band with a complete own sound and style. It actually is very difficult to give a good musical description though I guess industrial post black metal will come quite close. For the aforementioned debut album the band had put much effort in getting the cover, lay-out, image and music to fit well together. With success that is. And I've told it my review from "NonAnthropogenic" already; V:28 definately managed to create something completely new and that album even did belong to my personal favourites from the year 2003.
Now in 2005 the story continues with "Soulsaviour...providing a bright future". First of all I want to say that V:28 did an excellent job in continuing the story through the cover and lay-out. For example "NonAnthropogenic" had ten songs and "Soulsaviour" therefore starts with track number eleven. Also the printing on the cd, which shows number 1 to 28 continues in the same vein. On the debut album the first ten numbers were printed thicker and brighter while on the second album the numbers eleven to nineteen are printed thicker and brighter while the remaining numbers are more vague to see.
Another continuation can be found on the cover. Once more the billboard next to a road is the most important part on the cover, this time showing a sexy nurse with the album title "Soulsaviour....providing a bright future". Maybe this nurse will be the only 'bright future' because all land is destroyed after the all-destroying apocalypse? The last connection I want to mention here is that same billboard, now on the back of the cd-cover. On the debut album there were only ten songtitles to be seen on that billboard. Once more that billboard can be seen though now the first ten titles are fading away and only number eleven to nineteen are clearly to be seen. There are actually even more connections to be found though I'll leave that for you to find out! There are more bands who have connections between albums but in all fairness, I haven't seen one band who's done such a good job as V:28 did so far. Excellent!
But no matter how good a cover might be and no matter how well-though the connections are between both albums, it still is the music that counts. Well, I can assure you that V:28 once more released another great album and for me "Soulsaviour" already belongs to my favourite albums from 2005. Just like the previous album also this one has got a very good, heavy and clear production, this thanks to LRZ from Red Harvest who produced the album. The sound is actually exactly the same as "NonAnthropogenic" so also soundwise there is a connection between both albums. The musical style is, how surprising, also a logical continuation of the debut album. Therefore I don't see the need in talking about each specific song, simply because the complete album must be seen like one piece. And it is even better to play both albums after oneanother to 'really' get into the story.
So if you're into post apocalyptic sounding industrial alike post modern black metal than V:28 is definately thé band to check out. Both their albums are among thé most important industrial black metal albums of all time.
Original review at http://www.archaic-magazine.com/
Atmospheric Black/Death, Norway
Full-length, Vendlus Records
May 24th, 2005
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