Undivine - A Deceitful Calm

Undivine - A Deceitful Calm

It’s finally here, the debut album by Undivine. It was ages ago since I first heard they were recording it, and it’s been delayed for reasons unknown to me. Delayed for so long that they’ve even had time to record their second album before the first one even got released. Let’s hope that one doesn’t take as long to hit the streets.

Compared to their demo "A deceitful calm" has got a slightly more melodic edge to it. And the vocals have also changed a bit, sounding much like those of Sacramentum; meaning harsh and raw screams with an undertone of gurgle, hehe. Sacramentum would also be a fair comparison music-wise, if you blend in Dissection and a touch of Lord Belial.

Undivine is a collection of seriously talented lads, as some riffs are almost orgasmic. The entire song "In lust and disgust" is one long set of mesmerizing riffage, combined with trance-inducing vocals. The tunes are so skillfully written it’s extremely hard to believe it’s a debut. And no matter the speed I’m always nodding and stomping along. And speaking of speed, I’m surprised to have some of their slower material as favourites, like for instance "In lust and disgust" and "Catholic". However, I’m in no way negative towards their killer blasting counterpart "The cleansing", which possesses an amazing guitar solo.

The musicianship is flawless, as well as the full and warm sound of the recording. The only thing I don’t like about this album is the spoken vocals in the beginning of "My silence", as it has some form of metalcore-ish vibe about it. But trust me, this is an album of powerful melodic death/black metal.

Originally written for http://www.mylastchapter.net

Black/Death Metal, Sweden
Full-length, Aural Offerings Records
June 20th, 2008

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Aeternam - Disciples of the Unseen

Aeternam - Disciples of the Unseen


There are some bands who have real skill and talent but still go by unknown. Aeternam is one of those bands. From the first song on this album, you can tell that the band is very skilled. The music in short is epic yet brutal and unlike some modern, so called 'symphonic' bands, they don't try to hide behind layers of programmed keyboard music.

The band is very skilled. The song-writing is really amazing and you can feel that from the intro itself. Most of the songs have some time signature changes and some catchy yet brilliant choruses, all which fits in precisely and perfectly. The guitars sound raw and brutal and the guitarists play some kick ass riffs. Most of the guitarring is fast and to the point. A few slow parts too which are well executed. The bass guitar is too under-produced, and is rendered inaudible. That was my main qualm with this album and due to which I deducted 5 points. The lead guitar work is mind-blowing too. It's not overly technical but it fits perfectly with the album's ambiance.

The drumming is brutal yet catchy. The drummer has some undeniably good talent. From the first few seconds, it becomes clear that the drumming is no joke on this album. The drumming for the most part is fast and on the uptempo side. Now about the keyboards, they are quite nice. They aren't over-used and neither do they bury other instruments like a lot of other modern bands. What the keyboard actually does on this album, is to add to the overall atmosphere in a vital manner. Without the keyboard, the album will sound different, in a bad way. The vocals are good too and quite versatile. Most of the album's vocal comprise of growls (similar to Amon Amarth). The rest of them are clean choruses which fit in perfectly well. The lyrical work is decent too.

The production on this album is nice though nothing to write home about. The bass guitar is buried in the mix which made me deduct some points. Though, in the end, this is a brilliant album. If you see it anywhere, be sure to pick it up. It is bound to impress anyone who likes metal in general. I really wish that this band gets some mass appreciation.

Original review at: http://metal-archives.com/

Symphonic/Folk Death Metal, Canada
Full-length, Self Released
2009

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Usipian - Dead Corner Of The Eye

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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password: www.infiernometal.com

Mencea - Dark Matter Energy Noir

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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