Omega Massif - Geisterstadt

Back from the dead, literally. Omega Massif is a German band that plays instrumental Sludge in a very, if I can say it, relaxing way. This is one of those bands that the listener doesn't actually need to focus on the actual music, everything flows in a very subtle and 'elegant' way. The riffs are very good, some of them kind thrashy, others doomy, and others punkish. One thing that I particularly like about this band is how it sorts of takes you to a trip, specially the last song of the album. The riffs are the reason for this, they are slow and with a nice glass of Belgian beer you could go wherever you want with their music. The bass is present throughout the whole album, it would have been better if he was more present in the foreground rather than on the background, but still a good record and I won't take any points for that. The drummer is very proficient at what he does, knows when and how to fill the spaces and keep the listener interested. The production is flawless, no need to even use an EQ, using an EQ misses the whole story of this album which is to feel how is life in a mine. I would particularly recommend, if available, to listen to this album with a good pair of Headphones or IEM, the trip would be even better. I rate this album 10 out 10.

Ramesses - Baptism of the Walking Dead

This may well be one of my most precious EPs I own. This is Ramesses at their best. It's mysterious, dark and above all skullsmashingly heavy. Ramesses begins with a quote from the famous Christopher Lee horror flick Dracula A.D 1972. Ramesses' vocalist Adam and at the same time bassist, deserves a special mention. His deep death growls and evil snarls add so much to the general mood of this EP. He sounds like the ultimate misanthrope, who calls upon all evil to emerge (just like Johnny Alucard) and enslave the weak human race. There's no laid back hippie bullshit to be found here. Nothing but the deepest contempt for humanity and the worship of all that is ugly, filthy and misanthropic. The artwork is stunning and contributes highly to the overall feel of the EP. Fans of old horror classics or of the sabbathian riff need this NOW! One of the best of 2009 and a personal favorite.

Ramesses - Baptism of the Walking Dead (320)

Saturnalia Temple - UR

UR is fuzzy, psychedelic and all-around heavy. Saturnalia Temple presents the ultimate way of escaping, through the tick smokey stoner riffs that create a mist through which these occultists preach their ways. The vocalist sounds particulary peculiar with his echoing, soothing, but sometimes also harsh voice and generally dramatic performance although not to the extent which S:t Erik took it. UR allows you to get lost in occultists traditions, black magic and darkness created through psychedelic leads and riffs that build to a certain momentum or just get endlessly repeated until you've completely passed out, while the drums provide for the perfect backdrop. Saturnalia Temple is slowly leaving the demo phase behind and have recently released a split album with some black metal bands, as well as a new EP. If you worship the altar of Come My Fanatics... or Baptism of the Walking Dead, then you know what to do.

Saturnalia Temple - UR (320)

Disma - The Vault of Membros

From the US of A comes a magnificent slab of chunky old school death metal. This band is formed by well a really veteran crew, the vocalist is no less than Craig FUCKING Pillard! With that being said the quality of this demo is already known. That's not it though, the guitarists are from Incantation and Funebrarum, does it get any better than this? Well the drummer is also the current drummer of Funebrarum. A lot of people tend to say, I'm one of them, that metal bands formed by 'metal stars' don't tend to work, but this time is not the case. This is death metal in a really morbid, dark, and sinister way. The riffs are most of the time mid paced, but also slow paced which feel like a sledge hammer crushing one's skull time after time, again and again. The solos are also pretty fucking good. The drumming is extremely good, but that's something to expect. Craig Pillard like usual, delivers great vocals that can't be compared to anyone else. His growls are deep, evil, and extremely gassy. Enjoy this new release, and hopefully we shall write reviews more often.




















Disma - The Vault of Membros

Decrepitaph - Condemned Cathedral

"The book of Death gives the power to summon

From the graveyard they are beckoned to live again

Smell of rotting flesh is in the night air

Up from hell they rise to feast on your skin"

Decrepitaph are a US-based death metal band. They describe themselves as playing ancient, primitive dark death metal influenced by the old masters Incantation, Asphyx, Derketa, ... . They are part of the Razorback catalogue and as is custom with that label their lyrics take inspiration from old horror flicks. When Elektruktioner was asked wether they would ever write a song that doesn't involve zombies, he promptly replied "No!". Decrepitaph came to life in 2004 with their Grotesque Dwellings demo and by the time they released the Ancient Death Metal promo they managed to spark the interest of Billy from the Razorback label. I am personally not the biggest Razorback fan, but at least they support death metal in it's most ancient form and that's always a good thing.

On a band picture of Decrepitaph you can see Elektrokutioner supporting a Nortt shirt. That should give you somewhat of an indication, that Condemned Cathedral is going be pretty heavy. The guitar tone is incredibly distorted and very vile. The vocals are mostly deep guttural growls with some filthy snarls in between and the drums are interesting all the way through. Mostly venturing in mid-paced territory, sometimes a bit faster and at times devestatingly slow like on the closer track Crawling Out From The Crypt or the ending of A Burial In Hell. The slower moments make for a perfect template to add some really morbid riffs and leads and that's exactly what is being done, just listen to the ending of Crawling Out From The Crypt. Crushing heavy death metal while a morose guitar lead graces the background solemnly. Decrepitaph don't try to cram a thousand riffs into one song. They use repetition to their advantage, but still provide the necessary variety by throwing in particulary effective guitar leads and changing the paste frequently. Condemned Cathedral is heavy and doomy, but the whole album supports a sickening kind of groove (Worship The Dead), which makes it perfect for your headbanging pleasures. This is a blind purchase for anyone who likes their death metal ancient and primitive. And from what I gather, a new album is in the works and to be released soon!

Decrepitaph - Condemned Cathedral

Imindain - Monolithium

Imindain released their second demo a year prior to And The Living Shall Envy The Dead. The reason why I chose to review the demo instead of the full-length is because I prefer the somewhat rawer sound the demo has. Monolithium consits of three tracks. All tracks are also featured on the debut album. Now, Imindain are immediately the proof that to achieve a sick sound, you don't have to have a minimalistic or repetitive nature. Monolithium is quite melodious and relatively accessible. Vocally we have no less than four approaches. You will hear standard grunts and blackish screams both are executed very well. Now, the special thing about Imindain are the two other vocal styles. The cleaner ones are superb and it's amazing to find a vocalist in this kind of extreme doom that has such a good voice. Tastefully added are the super high screams. You will hear them seldomly, but that is a good thing, because in that way the effect they are supposed to create remains special. Now, as you might expect these sound quite insane and well...sick.

Monolithium is most of the time mid-paced with some speedier parts to be found here and there, as well as fairly headbangable moments woven into the anguish and gloom. This Empty Flesh starts just like that, up-tempo with clean vocals and generally solid memorable riffing. The first half of the song continues in the same fashion, some small differences in paste and good riffs that will linger in your head for quite some time. Some time in the second half of the song, things take a grim turn, as a melanholic clean breaks presents itself with anguished screams in the background. It sounds like this might be the climax to which the song builds, but you are mistaken. A gripping guitar lead comes into play when the most foul, anguished and insane screaming ever heard is coming from all sides in the background. Absolutely amazing! Black Water features great militaristic drumming and again top-notch vocal performances. A great, saddening riff enters the mix at around one minute, surely one of the headlights of Black Water, while again the venomous vocals spring forward. Towards the middle of the song you'll hear dual vocal action of the standard screams and the higher ones, followed again by a militaristic drumming style. Imindain have continued with their high quality doom on their debut. I urge everyone to purchase that one and be on the look out for the coming split with Ataraxie!

Imindain - Monolithium

Reverend Bizarre - In The Rectory Of The Bizarre Reverend

In The Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend is a monumental chapter of doom and a lone highlight in the musical career of the Reverend. This is a mammoth of an album, that most of the times crawls forwards in a slow to extremely slow paste, almost funereal in its execution. The absolute focal point of Reverend Bizarre remains Albert - the man has a throat like no other and has an incredible range, going from softer more mellow parts to complete epicness in just a matter of time. His voice fits the music completely and takes it to unseen heights. I especially liked his vocal performance during Doomsower. But, of course, a good album needs more than just a really good vocalist. First of all, the drums, Earl of Void is a very competent drummer, his play is slow and crushing, that seldomly speeds up. The riffs are, however, what truly make this record a future classic - just listen to In the Rectory, a perfect build-up leads to more up-tempo part, where we see the guys rocking out, accompanied by a memorable riff evoking a rare moment of cheerfulness amidst the gloomy setting, but then, as a real tsunami, all joy is washed away, the rare moment of hope has completely faded and we're given one of the most memorable moments of the album, a very moving riff, sets the beginning for a short, but absolute haunting passage. Really, simply those couple of minutes alone, are reason enough to buy this album. It's difficult to put to into words, how it makes you feel, I can only suggest you give it a listen yourself.

Next to the excellent riffing, In The Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend, is a highly bass-driven album, again a reference has to be made to In The Rectory, specifically to it's intro, but just the entire song does justice to the earth-shattering bass-lines. So far i've only been talking about In The Rectory, which only makes up for roughly 13 minutes of this album, while In The Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend has a play-time of almost 75 minutes and each minute is equally memorable as In The Rectory, wether it be the touching, saddening The Hour of Death or the hate-filled Burn In Hell and lets not forget the gigantic monster Cirith Ungol. In The Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend is an album that is consisent throughout, something which has been a bit of a problem for the Rev during their entire career. While the follow-up was by no means bad, it couldn't reach the same level of the debut. After that Reverend Bizarre quickly declined in quality and began releasing a lot of filler material with some occassional highlights, but moreover the material became inconsistent and too ambitious for it's own good. People who were amazed with Warning's second album, released and praised in 2007, might find solace with In The Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend, although they are two seperate entities, they both manage to create a true, unsurpassed, blackness, that will crush even the most enduring souls out there! A good alternative for the now defunct Reverend Bizarre would be finnish Fall of the Idols, who have already beaten the Rev at their own game or British band The River, who released a superheavy doom album with Drawing Down The Sun that should definitely appeal to Rev supporters. In The Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend remains one of the best doom metal albums out there and a personal favorite. BUY IT NOW!

Reverend Bizarre - In The Rectory Of The Bizarre Reverend

Fall Of The Idols - Womb Of The Earth

The River - Drawing Down The Sun

Dolorian - Dolorian

Dolorian, an obscure finnish act part of the italian Avantgarde Music label. Dolorian have always been somewhat of an enigma and this also reflects itself in the music. To classify Dolorian isn't an easy task. The music they produce on their self-titled album is again oppressive as fuck, a trait which also the two other albums share, but perhaps not as much or as clearly present as on this one. Looking at the lyrics and listening to the music require a certain ability to think in abstract forms and to think outside the traditional confinements that the doom or black metal genre generate. Describing the music of Dolorian is an impossible task due to it's abstract nature. To recommend this simply to anybody would be unwise, because in reality Dolorian haven't got the usual aspects of Heavy Metal that we have all come to love. This is some damn inaccessible metal and yet it's not that extreme at all. A band like Wormphlegm is inaccessible due to the extreme nature of it, but such is not the case with Dolorian. The thing with Dolorian is, you won't find any catchy choruses, riffs or melodies. There are no upbeat parts to be found and no singing whatsoever (there are vocals however). And yet words cannot describe just how awesome this is. Like on When All Laughter Has Gone they play a slow, dark and evil type of doom metal with mystifying keyboards; the blackish screams that were present on their debut have been replaced by haunting whispers, giving the music an oppressive sound that is unrivalled. Dolorian wave psychedelic soundscapes with complex and avantgarde song structures and slight ambient touches while never forgetting the heaviness. The result is a deranged and psychotic piece of music that has got the most evil vibe going on and will leave you empty, alone and inhuman. Many will be put off by the abstract and inaccessible nature of this beast, however...

"Therefore, it is recommended that you attempt to forget all the initial unconsious and conscious preconceptions that you might have – try to destroy the fixed patterns of your personality and eventually the material will reveal its ultimate form to you – the most primal and fundamental form." -an extract from a rare Dolorian interview with French Metallian magazine

Dolorian - Dolorian

Cruciamentum - Convocation of Crawling Chaos

This is a living proof that not everything that is old in metal rules! Cruciamentum is a band hailing from UK, and boy they deliver one of the best demos of black/death that I have listened to in recent years. This is not your typical modern black/death band that only talks about worshiping the devil and so on, these guys took a lot of time and effort to do this. This can be felt through their riffs, which deliver an atmosphere comparable of bands lie Dead Congregation's demo, it might not sound as evil as them, but sure as hell is good. Another interesting aspect of them is the use of synthesizer to create an even more haunting experience, the vocalist kicks ass, the growls are exactly the kind that I enjoy, long, deep, and "gassy." The music is pretty much mid paced, sometimes it gets very slow others extremely fast, this doesn't bother me, the tempo changes are always interesting, and it's always good to see how a band would sound and if the musicians can do it with no problem. The production is pretty flat, which is good for a demo, every instrument can be heard with no problem. I recommend to listen to this band with earphones, why? The reason for that is pretty simple, the atmosphere just gets better and better with them, with speakers there is too much space between the actual music and the listener. Enjoy and lets hope for a full length somewhere soon.











Cruciamentum - Convocation of Crawling Chaos

Marblebog - Forestheart

Marblebog are a relatively well-known and highly praised entity in the black metal underground scene. Active since 1998 and since then released 3 full lengths and a plentitude of splits and a lone demo in the beginning of their existence. Marblebog have achieved the creative peak during this album suitably titled Forestheart. The type of black metal they play is one that's rather repetitous (in a good way) and hypnotic, creating tremelo picked riffs that flow naturally into one another and will evoke images of lone forests and mountainous regions. Marblebog excel at using the repetitive nature of the music to their advantage and as a consequent of this Forestheart is very consistent, with little to no faults. What attracts many black metal fans to Forestheart are the excellent riffs that aren't out there to create a frostbitten, grim or cold atmosphere, but more one of solitude, nature and everything relating to introspective themes, almost sounding ambient-like at times especially during the longest track Closing where Marblebog make use of droning ambient backed up the gutwrenching vocals that reek of despair and hatred. Forestheart has an almost ritualistic feel to it, often making use of typical samples such as wind, birds, etc. that are tastefully added. To keep the entire hypnotic feel going, it's necessary for Marblebog to make frequent use of blast beats, therefore the drumming isn't technically much interesting, but sometimes it's better to sacrifice technical proficiency and to go for a certain element of your music that you feel like highlighting, in this case the entire feel of the record. Some slower moments are however present as well as for example during Flame Of Wisdom. I would recommend Marblebog to those who can appreciate a sound similar to Velvet Cacoon, but performed a lot more consistent and well...more interesting or to those who have enjoyed the shoegazing quality of one-man band Trancelike Void, who were also previously discussed here (july 2009).

Marblebog - Forestheart