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)

The Wounded Kings - Embrace Of The Narrow House

Finally, some occult doom that is not rooted in '70 style, but instead continues the lovecraftian tradition of Witchcult Today but with an own unique, oppressive twist. Organs are prominently present, the singing is all about taking the gloomy ambiance to a disturbing level and creates a morbidness seldomly seen. This is Requiem of December done the traditional way and mandatory for early Cathedral or as previously stated new Electric Wizard admirers. These Brits have immediately released their debut full-length one year after their formation, no previous material was officially released before this one, and have managed to sneak into my TOP 5 records of 2008 and together with Ancestors released the strongest debuts of 2008.

The Wounded Kings - Embrace Of The Narrow House