Proclamation - Nether Tombs of Abaddon (2012) Review

The final album by the Spanish war metal horde didn't diverge even to the slightest from delivering exactly what was expected, and exactly at the same manner: bestial chaos in reverb and echo. As daring this style inherently is, Proclamation had decide to fully compromise to its definition parameters with a record that sounded like their previous works, sounded like well-known war metal, focused on efficient simplicity and primitive aggression you already know of. 

It's hard to tell tracks apart, as they all move at the same fast-tempos and feature a thick, noisy production that turns the guitars into a layered sound rather than a more noticeable aspect. The few riffs and solos that one can notice are great, yet the overall frantic attitude of the record is executed well, but repeated to exhaustion not just by Proclamation, but by the whole of this genre. A ten-track runtime feels a bit tedious, it relies too heavily on washed-out reverb and sits well as a product of a stale, yet clear-cut formula. Fans of black / death metal are right to worship this band, especially as one of the voices of its more recent status and rebirth 15 years after the classics of the '90s, but that's about it. Combined with the never-failing, red-and-white blasphemous cover art, the purposeful murk and raw noise in visuals and music, Proclamation made just another standard war metal album, before breaking up a year later. Being active for a decade (2003 to 2013), the band was infamous in the '00s inside that niche's circles, and the record proves why. 

It works like a charm, given that you already are a fan and have the appetite for this specific sound. I wouldn't be able to say which Proclamation album I prefer even if my life depended on it, and despite their shortcomings whenever I listen to them again, I somehow always suggest them around for a listen. A mediocre yet acceptable blast of underground chaos.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 

Panopticon - Kentucky (2012) Review

Kentucky, Panopticon's fifth full length album, is nothing short of magnificent. Throughout this project's evolution, main-man Austin Lunn has shown many hints of unique greatness, but all his strongpoints wonderfully align in this record, the perfect combination between atmospheric black metal and blue grass. A rather personal record, discussing the musician's home state and touching upon real struggles of land and people, it is a treat starting from the lyrics, which should be no means be skipped this time. Kentucky breathes through heavy emotions and expresses its worldview, while being capable of taking the listener by hand and along all the different scenes of the tracks, which are also musically perfect. Lunn is an extremely creative and efficient composer, and this is obvious with both the folk and the metal parts of this album. His guitar style endorses melody through riff and solo, on top of fast-paced atmospheric black metal foundations with added flutes for the more epic feels, yet his non-metal tracks are separate entities of well-delivered blue grass. At the same time, all content is connected and one, for conveying the message, which is a loud one. The vocals in Kentucky are also wonderful, when singing with a clean voice or the raspy, worn out screams of the black metal parts of the album. There's several interesting samples to be heard during the listen as well, just making the story even richer. In terms of black metal, Panopticon diverge significantly not only lyrically but also in terms of music, yet works like Kentucky stand as absolute sincere works of the artist that will put a lot of self-proclaimed devil worshippers out there to the test. I fully appreciate this album's lyrical content, its topics, the top-notch quality of the music and the truthful vision of the creator, who hit a smashed the mark with this work. Don't skip any track, enjoy all the nuances and absorb what it has to say. Releases like these are quite rare in extreme metal. [4.5/5 - Brilliant]

Spectral Lore - Sentinel (2012) Review

Release date: 2012
Genre: Ambient Black Metal
Origin: Greece
Label: Stellar Auditorium Productions
Listen: Bandcamp

And here is where Spectral Lore followed through. As if Ayloss was fully aware of the weaknesses of his previous works, a five year window is taken to fully fix and re-engineer the band’s sound into a new form that exposed the music for what it can truly be: perplexing, potent black metal with interesting lyrics and more distinct, spacey ambient oriented synths. One can tell how much inspiration must have been employed for Sentinel, which at the time was completely discernible from Spectral Lore’s previous albums, yet more of what we know them to be about today. Similarities to Mare Cognitum start to arise at this time as well, let alone the collaborations that followed, in the music as well as the stellar cover art.

The first two songs are everything you need. Well, and the last one. As some have described it as the milder side of the album, “Atlus (A World Within a World” in its thirty minutes of length, has impressively deep layered synths, a truly monster space ambient track that defined the project at the time and still is well ingrained in its name. While the staggering riffs in “All Devouring Earth”, and especially “The Dejection of Arjuna”, are always at the spotlight of Sentinel, it’s not just that which has been perfected in the album. The touching compositions bloom as the well-thought and structured guitar lines unravel, demonstrating how unique Spectral Lore is. One can find hints of French black metal, US atmospheric black metal, even – and very very slightly – traditional greek melodies, beautiful soloing, fine keyboard work and the production that a record as Sentinel would deserve.

In its own world, the conceptual follower would only come nine years later with Ετερόφωτος, as Sentinel has a very interesting story to tell with its lyrics. Comfortably between intensity and ambiance, it has a lot of characteristic and memorable sequences where Spectral Lore properly channel inspiration into the creative process. It’s almost impossible not to be amazed with the blistering tempos and riffs of “The Coming of Age”, or the melodies of “My Ascension into the Celestial Spheres” and how it gives way to the great outro. Most of Spectral Lore’s audience was obtained through this release, and how the band would soon get into the collective of atmospheric, space-related black metal bands with a clean, melodic sound (Mare Cognitum, Midnight Odyssey etc…). 

“Quest for the Supramental” is the only track I can’t seem to enjoy that much from Sentinel. While it has a few interesting guitar lines, it feels like its pending for too long and never arrives to a conclusion, at least not in the bombastic manner that it happens in other tracks. I would really appreciate the guitar work here in a different kind of release but just for me, this song doesn’t click that much with the flow of the rest of the album. A small price to pay for so many other great moments, Spectral Lore’s discography from then on reached the ears of the mainstream metal scene, and well deserved.

I wrote a little piece for the band's next album, and their most popular, III, back when it was released. This leaves us a with a few split releases, some singles and of course the latest full length, to have an overview of Spectral Lore. When the time comes.

Tracklist:

1. All Devouring Earth

2. The Dejection of Arjuna

3. The Coming of Age

4. Quest for the Supramental

5. My Ascension into the Celestial Spheres

6. Atlus (A World Within a World)

Damage: 3.5/5 [Great]

Fauna - The Hunt (2012) Review

While listening to The Hunt, only recently I realized that the release has been remastered, reworked and granted a tracklist, splitting the original one-hour long compositional into sequential parts. Live drums were recorded for the re-release, and the cover art was updated to what is seen below, making this record quite more accessible and at the same time, not putting any of its merit to jeopardy. It's easier to suggest The Hunt to someone when it consists of seven tracks, than one long piece, however the audience that has been molded into the band's work surely never had a problem with the immersive ambiance and repetitiveness of Fauna. 

As the originators of Cascadian black metal, in my opinion, this group resides on top of the ladder within this subgenre, even above the widely more popular Wolves in the Throne Room, offering listening experiences that are deeply introspective, unique, and simply mindblowing. The Hunt is the band's second album, and instead of describing it I will retrieve an answer from an interview found (and you should read all of it) here:

""Could you tell us a bit more about The Hunt, and any plans the band have in the near future?

“The Hunt” is a mythic journey into our ancient past, an exploration of the transcendent wisdom of hunting in all its ramifications. An attainment to totemic consciousness, we worked with the skins, bones, spirits and meat of our ruminant brethren, enacting a psychic journey from the hunger of our modern catastrophe to the rejoining of our animal selves to the flesh of another through the rite of consummation.

Thus sated, we moved on to our 3rd Cycle, known as Avifauna. For this chapter we worked with the bodies and the metaphor of birds, weaving owl, seagull and falcon into our world as part of an ascensional rite of flight and transcendence. Our 4th Chapter, undertaken in MMVIII, took us further into the Red Light of the Earth, and was performed thrice on Cascadian soil.

“The Hunt” has been reworked and will be re-released on Aurora Borealis on or around this summer’s Solstice. We will be recording and releasing our 3rd and 4th Cycles at some point in the coming years, and will be returning to the spiraling skyward that is “Avifauna” in live environments throughout the West Coast this year. We are also currently seeking assistance with a journey we wish to take on European soil this Fall.""

In this reply, Fauna also mention what would later be released as Avifauna in 2012, their most outstanding album and one of the best of its decade. I am not certain if the band is still active today, but Echtra, their vocalist / guitarist, has moved on with his own project of the same name. Bear in mind, that you would need to invest more time and attention before going into the material of this set of musicians, but it is rewarding all the way. 

Listen to The Hunt:

Coffin Lust - Beyond the Dark (Demo, 2012) Review

Country | Australia
Genre | Death Metal
Label | Sarlacc Productions
Dynamic range | DR10

I have to admit, that I have connected Australia with the hardcore / whatevercore scene in general and not with much activity outside that whatsoever. Of course I'm wrong and there are numerous, obvious exceptions, but still there are more than enough bands like that over there. However, Coffin Lust come from Victoria with a first demo that seems to be very close to traditional, solid and appreciated death metal, simple minded and yet very beautiful in execution. The record contains four tracks of around three to five minutes in length each.

Musically, the band uses catchy riffs straight from the nineties, as well as regular drum patterns behind each track, followed by the present but a bit quiet bass work. A highlight of the demo is the vocals, which are straightforward caveman growls, similar to these of classic death metal bands we all love. The production is amazing and equal to one of a full length, offering a polished and powerful sound.

In the veins of bands like Autopsy, Bolt Thrower or Grave, these guys avoid pointless technicality and aim high with slower and more hurtful compositions, creating a both brutal and evil outcome. he band doesn't have it's own sound completely, but in a way it produces something above average, somewhere between old school death metal and doom / death, with hidden highlight moments like in the tracks "Fading Life" (which begins with a cool sample of wind and a church bell) and "Forsaken". The closing "Beyond the Dark" is as fast as they get and it's fanatical about it's roots, also a wonderful song.

As a debut demo, it's legit and very promising for what's going to follow in the future. The demo was originally released on tape but the copies were sold quick, so a second CD press was released a bit later, in a remastered version. The remastered tracks sound a bit cleaner, but only towards a better result.

DAMAGE: 7.75/10

Facebook

Lustre - They Awoke to the Scent of Spring (2012) Review

Lustre "The Awoke to the Scent of Spring"
Autumn 2012, De Tenebrarum Principio

Facebook

This Swedish outfit is a project of Nachtzeit (ex-member of Hypothermia) and it specializes in slow-paced, woeful music, embodied with a natural aura and influenced from the elements themselves. "They Awoke to the Scent of Spring" is the third full length by the band and as I suspected, the music again is tenuous, lacking any extraordinary instruments or tools, and most of all relaxing.

The only characteristic that reminds of anything that has to do with metal here is the vocals. The voice of Nachtzeit sounds like a desperate echo in a vast forest, moves between screaming and whispering and definitely adds to the atmosphere, instead of displaying a kind of difference in any way. Compared to their older records, the vocals have not changed in various ways. Apart from the sound, which is identical, their spot in the album is as it was, distinctively recounting the very few lyrics and mainly standing back from the guitars and the synths to chisel the album's familiar sound. The album is split in four parts and only the first two have lyrics, leaving the last two completely instrumental. The length of the album is also close to what Lustre usually produce, counting 40 minutes of solitude.

One needs to be on a certain state of mind to follow the album without getting frustrated or falling asleep, since it is monotonous and minimalistic in a way that nothing resounding happens while it's playing. The slow tempo and the sparse variations might work for some to sink into the dreary musical journey that Lustre is, while at the same time, might as well disappoint and bother others, who prefer more activity and energy in their music.

Part 1 and Part 2 can be described as the solite hypnotic black metal that Nachtzeit composes and they are similar to their earlier albums, especially in "A Glimpse of Glory". Consisting of distant vocals and very few drums, synths and pianos, they do create an atmosphere of nostalgia and awe to the magnificence of nature, but still they do not surpass what the band has already released. There are fewer samples and a bit more key usage in this side of the album. Part 3 and Part 4 are quite different, as in Part 3 one can hear the sad melodies of a non-distorted and non-fuzzy guitar, along with the synth in the background. The whole track has a repetitive guitar and synth line, with simple drumming added towards the end of the song. Part 4 is the most organic song of the album and has sounds of rain and laid back ambiance for almost eight minutes.

I did not hear anything new from the band when I checked this album, they are at a certain level without degrading, but not improving either. The eerie music of Lustre needs to be dealt with at night, only then will it be admired more, even though this one is not as enticing as other pieces of his.

Track listing:
01. Part 1
02. Part 2
03. Part 3
04. Part 4

DAMAGE: 6.5/10

Nordor - Erga Omnes (2012) Review

Nordor "Erga Omnes"

Summer 2012, Deathrune Records

Facebook

Is this another Nordor full length album? These dudes released three demos in a period of six years, and then nothing. Everyone thought they were dead, and the fans were feeding on the 3-demo compilation that was released (finally) by a label in 2003, or by the handmade and handnumbered copies of their early work, and nothing more. Despite having a poor discography, a movement was behind their backs the whole time. Until 2007, when a new EP named "Mandattu" came out, and that gave a sparkle of rebirth to Nordor, similar to the spasms of a dead body for about a second, when you electrify it.

In 2008, the long awaited moment arrived, the band came through to release their first ever full length after 19 years as a gift to the supportive fans, a true feast it was. It was mean, straightforward and breathtaking for the most part, without managing to surpass the limit of excellence because of it's production and compositional strength. Despite that, the album was directed to a cast of people and these people devoured it, guaranteeing that the mighty Nordor, one of the first death metal bands from Greece, was back. At a time when any experimentation in death metal results into mediocre melodeath or overproduced technical death, a band from the past is of some use, since it's intentions and visions are deeply rooted to the original cause that was introduced two decades ago. This is not another act that i would include in the new wave of old school death metal (which is a great wave anyway). And yet, four years after the release of Honoris Causa another album was announced, titled "Erga Omnes". Man, i hope this is going to be good.

If they have done anything different, it was just filling the missing parts of the first album and improving it in every way. The great artwork is a trademark of Spiros "Seth" Antoniou's work, who plays in Septic Flesh and has done covers for many bands, including Dagoba, Belphegor, Heaven Shall Burn, Nile, Moonspell etc... So, there's a first step up for the band. From the art, it seems like professional work has been done here, and that is matched with the music itself.

There are 14 songs this time and the album lasts a little longer (40 minutes, to be exact), so that means that they have increased the length of each song. I thought of the short songs in the first album as something that should be done otherwise, and they probably understood it as well. We have some 3-4 minute songs that don't end abruptly, they are fully developed and that means that the composition process worked just fine and it helps the band to show its musical briefcase in a better way. Of course there are some two minute songs again, but they have a good structure and contribute to the album's easy listening process. The production is as clean as it needs to be, its quite pleasant and powerful, especially compared to the first album. After a short introduction, the first song starts and it does have chunks of Six Feet Under and Cannibal Corpse combined, in fact the singer does sound like Chris Barnes, but with much better high screams. It reminds of a more death metal version of Six Feet Under, since there are no rock'n'roll riffs around here. It seems like these guys had still room for an improvement in the musicianship, the songs are well constructed, tight and heavy. It's definitely a solid album, to say the least. The previously superficial progressive elements have now risen and they are making their presence more apparent.

Lyrically, they have not changed that much. The anti-religious and occult element is all over the album again and there is a really cool initiation to Satan song called "Vow", where a priest calls a girl's faith in thy lord. There are far less greek lyrics this time, even though the subjects are not completely off-topic, as in the songs "Thelisis", "Labyrinthian", "Hyenas Embrace". There are some catchy grooves here and there, enhanced with ferocious blast beating and heavy bass, not to mention that Lordwinter (the singer) has literally, a hell of a voice for the genre. Credits should also be given to False Prophet, the guitarist of the band, who is self-taught and a prodigy in creating solid riffs and solos for the band.

To sum up, i think this album is the best Nordor offering we have so far, because of the musical improvement and the correction of past mistakes, they erased any misgivings i had about them being a great band. I saw them live last year, and i purchased this album from there, it was an amazing show and they can handle delivering their brutality as good as it sounds on the CD. Recommended for fans of Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, a bit of Six Feet Under, and solid death metal in general.

Track listing:

1. 5a
2. Memories from the Future
3. Misanthropic Κaleidoscope
4. Salvation from the Stench
5. Thelisis
6. Iscariots Fireshower / A Hymn to Traitors
7. Lycan
8. The Child of Mandragora
9. Vow
10. Bow to Me
11. Eye Contact With a God
12. Labyrinthian
13. Entrance to the World of Stars
14. Hyenas Embrace

DAMAGE: 7.5/10

Elysian Blaze - Blood Geometry (2012) Review

Elysian Blaze "Blood Geometry"
Summer 2012, Osmose Productions

Facebook

When we're talking about really long album, Elysian Blaze's Blood Geometry should come to mind. This funeral doom/depressive black metal one-man project from Australia released this album last year in two CDs/parts, each one of them lasting around an hour. A monotonous drone is needed in albums like these, but if you decide to listen to this particular album as a whole, prepare to sink in the deepest void.

I am convinced that this is their best album to date. There is finally the perfect balance between the instruments and the guitars, in the first albums the guitar work was a bit unlear and cast aside by the synths. This is not the case here though, a previous flaw has been fixed and Elysian Blaze are even closer to excellence. The atmosphere of the whole album is magnificent, through its variety of synths, gloomy melodies and a sorrowful woe of screams. The whole idea is that the music stays slow, thick and depressive, so i would say its for the fans only. Inside the dark vibe of the whole album, i noticed an ounce of epicness at the end of the first CD in the self-titled track, an elegant ray of light between oblivion.

I personally love the way Mutatiis handles the pianos and the synths behind them. The ambience he creates is remarkable, and that places him among the top artists of funeral doom/depressive black. His music is complex and inspirational, by all means artistic. He is not hesitant to compose long tracks that go up to 36 minutes, a true manifest of pianos, orchestral parts, guitars, percussion and organs. Intriguing instruments are also used here and there, like this somewhat xylophone in the middle of "Pyramid of the Cold Sun". The ambient and black metal parts are close to depressive black metal, in terms of speed and sound, whereas there are groundbreaking funeral doom riffs as well. A surprise might be, that some guitar lines in the album are glorious and shiny, meticulously placed at the correct places, that can tend be uplifting, despite the general despair it provokes.

I didn't give this the attention needed the first time i listened to it and i came back accidentaly, now i can see what a fool i was. It is an amazing album by an amazing band, that will please the fans and not only. It is also one of the best active one-man projects out there, look out.

DAMAGE: 8.5/10

Chao - Spiritus Sankti (EP, 2012) Review

Chao "Spiritus Sankti"

Spring 2012, Terratur Possessions

Listening Needs

I got this as a gift, a neat red tape with a simple one side booklet. CDs, tapes and vinyls, when their package has been well taken care of, are like musical jewelery. You keep them at a safe place, you spend some minutes just looking at them now and then, it feels great when you use them. Instead of wearing them, you listen to them.

Chao originate from one of the steady and low profile countries when it comes to metal, Iceland. I don't know if you have ever listened to a band from there, be sure to do so though, seldom will one find a lame band from these distant cold lands. This is the debut EP and they are working on their first full length too, as we speak. I decided to check this because it was released on Terratur Possessions, which is a solid label to me, all the bands promoted from there are of quality and talent. I was looking for an obnoxious, inhumane band and i found it.

The record consists of three tracks, timing from six to eight minutes each. They have been constructed to defend the once glorious but now almost humiliated ideals of black metal, aiming to keep the compositional part as innocent and pure as possible. Using the various riff patterns like pieces of a puzzle, they have pieced together an amazing body of guitar work, with lots of variations during each track. The immense production of the sound makes them sound even more unworldly, something that pleases the ear of an aware listener very much. Imagine this as a looming presence somewhere inside the modern urban nothingness. I can't find any source for the lyrics (neither the booklet has them) but the EP gives me a feeling of despair coming from the every day life's depletion (like Leviathan for example) and less from the inside or a desolate location.

There are some clean yells and samples used in the songs. Strictly and carefully placed, they add their bit of misery on the album. There is also a church bell in the second track, quite enjoyable moment, i have to say. Entitled with simplistic and direct titles, it gives away the attitude of the band right away. "Darkness Liberates", the last track of the EP, is the best part to me. With a somber title that incurs and is common among many blacksters' minds maybe, it is a wonderful song that makes a perfect ending. 

This release verges on the orthodox style, so if you enjoy bands like Ofermod, Ondskapt or similar, you will like this as well. It is a promising first offering and im definitely after new stuff by them.

Facebook

DAMAGE: [8.0/10]

Deathhammer - Onward To The Pits (2012) Review

Deathhammer "Onward To The Pits"

Spring 2012, Hells Headbangers Records

Listening Needs

Physical Needs

When you see a band logo patched in a Darkthrone cover, you can't help but look for more information about it. Judging from the fact that Darkthrone are slaves of the old school themselves, it is obvious that their suggestions would point to bands that worship that particular sound. Either its old school heavy, or thrash, or black, or anything. Deathhammer are a thrash/black metal band from, surprise surprise, Norway. Active since 2005, they have released some demos, splits, compilations and two full length albums. Under the aegis of Hells Headbangers and Darkthrone recommendations, we are not dealing with a modern melodeath album with too much mediocre cleans.

First of all, i really like the cover art. A concept of a demon dwelling in the flaming depths of hell is appropriate, its not a perfect drawing but it serves its purpose. It somehow describes the music in its own way, it is known that an album is more than the songs themselves. Here's the proof.

Right from the start, skipping any unecessary introductions or preludes, the album takes off like an assault. A fast paced song with vaulting drums indicates the level of raw violence the band is all about, hammering down riffs and screams with no remorse. The album could easily be a major part of the 80s thrash/early black metal scene if it had been released back then. The guitar work reminds a lot of the early black/speed metal Bathory style, influenced by bands like Kreator and early Sodom. Deathhammer is not yet another band that puts some overplayed riffs with repeating drums to create their songs, as many new black/thrash bands do. They are precise and punctilious with their compositions and the flow of the album, not overtrying to put the correct sounds together, mastering the craft of solos perfectly and exactly as it is needed here.

They have a good grip of the certain music style and their songwriting skills help them to prove the point. Vicious and straightforward old school thrash metal rooting almost 30 years ago, with a balanced approach to black metal of the same period. Now, the vocalist of the band is remarkable. Mainly a thrash voice, it has that rough black metal sound at some points (again close to early Bathory) and he does not hesitate to throw some really high pitched falsetto words around. One can listen to some clean screams here and there, reaching an ear drilling octave. Lyrically, the poetry stinks of cemeteries, death, evil, hell, sorcery and all of the above combined. Standout tracks for me are "Lead Us In Hell", "Deathrashing Sacrifice", "Fullmoon Sorcery", "Arms of Death". All i can say is that this album is pure 80s metal madness that could be used to kill posers and nu-metal kids.

Facebook

DAMAGE: [7.5/10]

ArchDaeva - Illuminates Of Thanateros (Demo, 2012)

Album: Illuminates Of Thanateros
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Independent
Website: Blogspot

A new horde coming from Athens, Greece and im in touch with their bassist so i could get my hands on a copy of their debut demo. It is damn good and has an approach on that necrosound that many bands have applied to their music back in the day, im keen on listening to more stuff by them and its definitely a band to look out for. As for now, they are in the progress of recording songs and releasing a new album.

Menace - Mentally Ill (Demo, 2012)

Country: Greece

Genre: Old School Thrash Metal

Label: Independent

Website: Facebook

This is a local band, and there are not lots of serious bands around my town, thats why demos or even song recordings receive the talk of everyone or so. Its what the genre states, thrash metal old-school-sound with really high vocals and screams.

I've seen them live and I've met some, influences from Exodus, Dark Angel, Vio-Lence and Destruction can give you an idea... Purchased this demo at their concert, self-made and self-promoted. Its not a waste of time to check this out and their performance was a hell of a mosh pit, old school style.