Countess - Sermons of the Infidel [EP] (2013)

Country | Netherlands
Genre | Black / Heavy Metal
Label | Self-released
Dynamic range | DR7

| Ancient fires are lit again |

Countess have a huge history and discography behind them, rooting back to the early nineties and the beginnings of the second wave. With medium ranged but steady and solid albums, it's a band that has lived in the underground for more than two decades and the mastermind behind it, Orlok, still has some ideas to put into practice. My first experience with the band was when I found their first four albums, back when I was listening to any black metal release of 1990-1995 I could get my hands on. They were a bit unstable musically, but he managed to snap out of the fatigue and release some really good albums in the mid 2000s, like Heilig Vuur and Blazing Flames of War. I still need some time to examine all his albums more closely.

Sermons of the Infidel is the latest EP by the band and it was released in the early summer of this year, as a digital release. I think it was only released digitally because of the missing budget to finance physical copies, but it doesn't matter that much to me. Despite being an EP, it's thirty five minutes length could easily fit for a full record release of a regular band, but not Countess of course. Orlok chooses to release full lengths that feature over an hour of music at least. Nonetheless, a booklet of the album is included in the digital purchase. It's also not completely an one man project anymore, since there is another member named Zagan that plays the guitars (he has helped the band with albums before).

The production here is pretty gratifying and by no means noisy. It sounds polished and warm, keeping a specific tone over the album which is not comparable to shitty recording by an obscure black metal band. The drums, the guitars, the vocals and the bass are highly audible, allocating the listener with a legit result that gives the music the space it deserves. However, one can say that it is a bit overdone with the mixing, as it's almost sterile as a whole and lacks any ounce of dirt that some fans actually crave for. A lot of work has been done in the studio and this production fits to the essence of a digital release, as it relegates to "digitalized" sound.

The tracks of the record represent very well the uncompromising playing style of Orlok, which can not be labeled in one specific genre at all. Paying respect to the old underground attitude and classic black and heavy metal bands, Sermons of the Infidel includes simple compositions of lot's of guitar riffing and synths, the two main elements of the record. One can listen to various styles and subgenres of metal in there, knitted nicely by a really talented musician who knows what he's doing by now. Listening to tracks like "Child of the Millenia" and "Son of the Dragon", you can't directly match it with another band and it just sounds like Countess, proving it's originality even after many years.

A component that does not go completely well with the shiny sound is his vocals. Coming from the extreme underground, Orlok still possesses a harsh and ominous tongue that spits his anger perfectly, but with the instrumentation not following the same menace, it sometimes fail in delivering. It also doesn't serve the more heavy metal driven moments of the albums like in the song "Chosen by the Gods", which im my opinion, would be great even if it was an instrumental track. The record is generally middle paced and the total of eight songs go from three to five minutes, focusing on building up atmosphere and melody over than brutality.

The two tracks that I think are the most memorable and stand out on top among the rest, are the first two. "Hymn to the Gods of Yore" has an awesome synth line and great lyrics, as well as very good melodies for you to enjoy by the time the album opens, since it's also the first track of the record. The second "Trumpets of Dawn" contains a couple of very cool riffs and a more nostalgic synth part in moments, as well as a melodic solo towards the end. I could not find the lyrics for this or any other track of the album except the introductory one, but still the vocals are distinguishable for the most part.

In general, Sermons of the Infidel is a nice record with the familiar Countess feel. It's easy to reach to a conclusion of disliking them because of their character, but after a couple of listens it's easy to recognize some things that worth the listen and even if it's not a full album, it does show what the band sounds like today. I myself enjoyed a couple of tracks a lot and I think this combination of black and heavy metal is meant only to serve underground quality music and nothing more. For newcomers, I suggest you get a taste of their first albums as well and then go into this, there is something for everyone in the box.

DAMAGE: 7.5/10

Bandcamp
Facebook
Blogspot

Cellgraft - Cellgraft LP (2012)

Country | USA
Genre | Grindcore
Date | July 29th, 2012
Label | Self-released

| Gain and dejection |

Cellgraft was a short lived band from Tampa, Florida (the birthplace of a whole bunch of death metal bands) that was created in 2008 and ended in 2012, with a couple of demos, EPs, splits, sadly no full length. They were heavily influenced by Insect Warfare (they have taken their name from a track of this band), using the same album structure with many songs of a short length, and a repetitive, chaotic sound as grindcore has.

In their short jam period, they pretty much rocked the house with powerful releases and stayed "true" to that scene, even though the underground grind bands are known to have plenty of passion. Cellgraft EP is the swan's song of the band and it's a twelve minute EP that contains 17 tracks, ranging from a few seconds to two minutes, right in the spirit of the genre. The production is very polished and creates a massive, heavy sound like a brick wall coming your way as the intro song "False Sequence of Value" plays, the slowest song in the record and the only one that reaches two minutes of length.

Already, one can feel the massive ear assault  the band has composed, which is not at all long but very cool for it's style, with nice riffs and vocals of growls, screams and growls / screams at the same time. You can't really tell the difference between the tracks, except "Ley Line" which only lasts five seconds, but if you look at them as a whole, it does give sense to insanity in a very distorted way, as if the notes sound random but were given care.

The grindcore freaks out there should receive this like a Christmas present, as I believe they will be blown away. As it was supposed to happen, everything ended too quickly for me to get an idea so I had to listen to it a couple of times more in order to point out some nice moments, like the sweet lines in "Conduit Conversion" and "Ebb of Cipher", while the short length is a bit disappointing after all.
As a fan of long, droning albums, I would like even more madness of something like thirty tracks, hoping that the band would have been able to create such a thing without overstaying in the same spot for too long. The album was never released in physical form and only exists on the interwebs, that's why you can buy it for free (or by naming any price) via Bandcamp.

DAMAGE: 7.25/10

Official blogspot

Carpe Noctem - In Terra Profugus (2013)

Carpe Noctem "In Terra Profugus"
Autumn 2013, Code666 Records

Over the last few years, more and more bands from Iceland that I've been listening to are incredible and even though their metal scene is not big in numbers, it is huge in quality. Carpe Noctem were formed in Reykjavik back in 2005 and eight years later, their debut full length album "In Terra Profugus" is unleashed via Code666 / Aural Music. I have to say that I discovered them with this release, even though they have released a demo and and EP in the past years, and the least I can say, it was a pleasant encounter.

The typical blast-beating, fast-paced riffing and shrieking rumpus of a lot other mediocre black metal bands is amiss here. instead there is a dim, bleak atmosphere that awakes real darkness and claustrophobia. The school of Deathspell Omega has bred a lot of monstrosities, and "In Terra Profugus" will directly grab you and sink you into a thick and colourless soundscape, with no escape until the album is finished. They blend pummeling black metal with dull and gloomy doom/death, as well as ambient-esque clean melodies in a way that the music is droning, stressed and mesmerizing. The flow of the album is perfect and each song is precisely connected to the previous one, giving the impression of one 52 minute long composition, split in five chapters.

Opener "III. Odium Somniferum" starts of with a murky introduction and a doomish, painful part, that explodes into choral dementia in the third minute. Perfectly sculpted, excessive structure, with hellish guttural vocals and compelling riffs, it closes with a heartending melody, along with whispers, that continue to the beginning of "II. Ars Moriendi". It is a discordant track right at the level of the first one, and by now the band's sound is fully established. "I. Vitriol" sets off with a meditating intro, which transforms into the familiar blackness for the middle part of the song, before ending with an equally tormenting delivery. The fourth track "II. Metamorphoses Maleficarum" contains dripping rhythms and sharp, agressive noise, as well as calmer parts with clean guitars and whispering deep vocals whereas "III. Hostis Humani Generis", the longest piece on the album, moves into slow and fast parts, acclaiming the ordeal of the impending end.

Carpe Noctem's music wrings the listener off any energy, submitting them into a total devotion and attention to it's misery. Their propensity to switch between chaotic vehemence to funereal pace, combined with the remarkable musicianship create a nominee for this year's top releases. It is built from the excellent work on the skilled vocals, the tingling guitars, the double bass and the hammering drum lines, reminding a lot of their countrymen Svartidaudi. As much as I enjoyed their "Flesh Cathedral", this one stands besides it as a little brother, a sequel. It is also a conceptual record, revolving around matters of life, the self, death and the hard path towards wisdom, captured into the music as well as the lyrics and the outstanding artwork of Antti Salminen.

Very close to the core of the genre itself, "In Terra Profugus" places itself among the masterpieces of it's period. It's menacing aesthetic and notable content replenish the need of the fans for quality in new releases, it ensures that the band will be under observation, for we shall see their march forward, after this promising debut.

Track listing:
1. III. Odium Somniferum   
2. II. Ars Moriendi   
3. I. VITRIOL
4. II. Metamorphoses Maleficarum
5. III. Hostis Humani Generis

DAMAGE: 8.5/10

Bandcamp | Facebook | Youtube

Cataract - Cataract (2008)

Country: Switzerland
Genre: Thrash / Death Metal / Metalcore
Label: Metal Blade Records
Website: Facebook / Myspace

Cataract were originally quite hardcorish, i dislike that genre a lot so i skip their first album, however, in their newer ones, they have some modern metal elements and their music has become quite cool, one can recognize their origins on this album too, but still they have improved to a better mix of genres. Metal Blade has done its job and they've gotten quite popular, i have my doubts on that, it should not discourage you to listen the album though.

Cruciamentum - Engulfed In Desolation (2011) [EP]

Country: UK

Genre: Old School Death Metal

Label: Nuclear Winter Records

Website: Facebook

A band ive been watching since the first demo, even if they have recently formed they sound completely like a band from the early 90s.

All of their songs are a must and this EP is an awesome release when it comes to rotten, anti-mainstream and anti-scene kid death metal, as it should be, the guys have made a name for themselves in the underground.

Im glad they are signed to the supreme greek death metal label Nuclear Winter because those who run it are serious, and the bands they have are serious as well.

In case you think the extreme metal you like died somewhere during the change of the millenium, grab this and listen to it with a beer. Its gonna draw the "Oh yeah" look in your face.

Caliban - The Awakening (2007)

Country: Germany
Genre: Metalcore
Label: Roadrunner Records
Website: Facebook / Myspace

Even if i got into this band with "Say Hallo To Tragedy", i wanted to have an original of them and i found this one around. Caliban are in the family of the first thrash metal/core bands that lately evolved into the whole metalcore genre that every "good" metalhead hates today. Along with Darkest Hour, Shadows Fall, Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage and similar bands, they formed the modern sound of extreme music that keeps growing.

Don't get me wrong, i dont like their fans or their looks, i admire some bands and thats all. Here we have a solid Caliban release but not the best, it has its melodies, its clean vocals, its heavy parts, everything. You might dig into their latest two albums and their covers EP, if you like this one. I haven't listened to their early stuff that much.

Candlemass - Lucifer Rising (2008) [Ep]

Country: Sweden
Genre: Doom Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Website: Facebook / Myspace

A relatively recent EP, in between "King Of The Grey Islands" and "Death Magic Doom" , both beloved records by them for me. This contains a live set they did here in Greece and three studio recordings, from which the two are my favourite songs by them ("Lucifer Rising" and "White God").

I know all of you probably prefer their first years, i love it too but some songs off their newer are the best to me. There is no point in arguing on this anyway, Candlemass will always be an amazing band and this is a pretty good EP.

Children Of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll (2003)

Country: Finland
Genre: Melodic Death / Power Metal
Label: Spinefarm Records
Website: Facebook / Myspace

Ok, the last of the CoB ones i have, and its been a long time since i bought it. Apart from the facts that ive mentioned so far, the story of the name of the band is quite interesting, unsolved murders have always been an intriguing mystery to me.

Grim Reaper (the guy in the covers of their albums) is the one that the survivor of that night in Lake Bodom said he saw, killing his friends. Even though there were not enough clues, he was a suspect for the murders. Anyway, this album contains their best song "Sixpounder".

If you liked the other two albums, one more is even better.

Children Of Bodom - Follow The Reaper (2000) [Reissue 2008]

Country: Finland
Genre: Melodic Death / Power Metal
Label: Spinefarm Records
Website: Facebook / Myspace

Probably my favourite release by them, based on the ones ive heard because i havent listened to all their albums. They have faster songs and more intense keys on this one, the different lines are bound perfectly together and the result is a melodeath awesomeness. The music would fit to battles in dark tales, even though the band does not have to do with this kind of themes.

The reissue contains 2 bonus tracks (the single version of "Hate Me" and a W.A.S.P. cover) and it contains some classic songs by them like "Everytime I Die" and "Bodom After Midnight", two of the most often-heard songs they have. "Hate Me" is my top though, for it has an awesome bridge to the chorus.

Children Of Bodom - Hatebreeder (1999) [Reissue 2008]

Children Of Bodom "Hatebreeder"

Spring 1999, Spinefarm Records

Lots of talking goes on around CoB, they have a die hard fan club but also there are plenty of haters around. As for me, im not a fan since im not following the band's news or album, i listen to their stuff and i like them, because despite the gay looking poser Laiho is, he is a great guitarist. This is their second full length, their debut was released in 1997.

I believe the originality of this band and the melodic riffs and solos made them überpopular, they still have very entertaining albums. "Bed Of Razors" and "Hatebreeder" are my favourite songs off this release. Lots of teenage kids support them and the old school elitists don't like that, but hey, do not judge a book by its cover.

Facebook