Artist: Pokerface
Release Title: Game On
Year: 2017
Label: M & O Music
Genre: Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1.The Bone Reaper
2.The Fatal Scythe
3.Play or Die
4.Blackjack
5.Straight Flush
6.Cry. Pray. Die.
7.Creepy Guests
8.Bow! Run! Scream!
9.Jackpot
10.Game On
Continuing to spread their message, Russian thrashers Pokerface have taken their experience and relentless touring schedule into fine-tuning a more vicious and modern take on classic thrash than many of their contemporaries and results in a genuinely intriguing offering. Featuring a revamped lineup with new vocalist LadyOwl as well as guitar-team Xen Ritter and Vadim Whitevad, the groups’ sophomore full-length was released March 31, 2017 on M & O Music.
Much like their previous efforts, the album features a rather strong and engaging type of traditional thrash attack that gives this one plenty of enjoyable elements. The main focus away from the traditional crunch of the revivalist acts as instead they end up going for the heavier swirling approach common in death metal is a major reason for the appeal here, utilizing a much more vicious and ferocious attack. The deep, churning riffing and blast-heavy drum-work throws up a rather furious and intense style attack that’s incredibly appealing here given that this is kept at a higher tempo than normal and gives this the kind of generally favorable rhythms when dealing with the thrash attacks here, forcing this one along at these ravenous paces as the tight riff-work carried along throughout here is fast, dynamic and highly appealing which is a big factor of their debut that was expanded upon here and really wins this one over quite readily. There’s a small issue here in that the album tends to feel like it’s on repeat far too often and doesn’t really spread itself out as much as it could’ve based on the type of attack here since this one is pretty straightforward from the get-go and doesn’t really vary itself from relentless intensity as it’s main selling point. However, this isn’t really all that much of a detriment and barely dents the album as a whole.
There’s a lot to like here as the band has certainly grown since their debut days into a far more vicious and intense act that doesn’t really do much wrong beyond repeating themselves too often, but that’s not nearly enough to hold this one back from those that prefer this more intense thrash or are tired of the revivalist bands and want something else in the genre.
Artist: Seven Kingdoms
Release Title: Decennium
Year: 2017
Label: Nightmare Records
Genre: Power/Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1.Stargazer
2.Undying
3.In the Walls
4.The Tale of Deathface Ginny
5.Castles in the Snow
6.Kingslayer
7.The Faceless Hero
8.Neverending
9.Hollow
10.Awakened from Nothing
Bound to continue their hard-working style, Floridian power/thrashers Seven Kingdoms have brought along plenty of dedication which manages to infuse the traditional blend of power and thrash metal with a fine blend of professionalism and maturity. Following the previous years’ EP release and a full five-year gap from full-length albums, the groups’ Kickstarter-funded fourth full-length was released January 30, 2017 on Nightmare Records with a reissue May 5 on new-label Napalm Records.
Firing off almost immediately, it’s quite apparent from the onset that there’s a much more pronounced attack that yields some of the most impressive work of their career. This is mostly based around tight, thunderous thrash rhythms and paces while packing in sparkling melodies and a grandiose choral approach that effectively mixes their work together, fitting this one with plenty of stellar work between these sections. This one offers up the kind of fiery riffing volley at those higher tempos that there’s plenty of fireworks generated by the frantic patterns bringing these churning thrash efforts alongside the furious melodies and stellar vocal dynamics that is quite apparent throughout here. Not nearly as impressive but still wholly enjoyable, when the band slips down into steadier, more mid-tempo realms there’s a rather marked dynamic here where the album prefers going for stellar chugging and thicker grooves in their rhythms to offset the melodic firepower. That leads into some rather fun and enjoyable efforts where it keeps the fire and bombast with a slightly varied approach that renders this one incredibly enjoyable overall. However, these being the primary functions of the album, that does end up being the lone factor against this one since it runs into familiar ground rather quickly with each other, tending to come off rather similar and being filled with overly cliched moments as a result since it relies on these same two formats for the majority of the tracks. It isn’t that detrimental on the whole, but it does lower the album.
While it does come across somewhat familiar and rather one-note in a series of familiar tactics throughout here, none of that detracts from what is a rather fun and endless series of enjoyable up-tempo thrashing power metal anthems that will certainly appeal to all fans of their previous work as well as fans of power/thrash in general.
Artist: Fading Azalea
Release Title: Maze of Melancholy
Year: 2017
Label: Self-Released/Independent
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Tracklisting:
1.Rêverie funeste
2.In the Name of Justice
3.Heart of Darkness
4.Flames of Death
5.Surface
6.Time to Realize
7.Dying Paradise
8.Fall of the Mask
9.Here I Am Again
10.I Lost My Way
11.Burning to Ashes
12.L'ombre derrière l'âme
13.Where I Belong
Formed in 2013, Swedish melodic metallers Fading Azalea have set out to merge their hometown of Gothenburg’s famous style of pounding melodic fury alongside plenty of fiery rhythms that made the city renown to begin with over two decades earlier. Overcoming a host of lineup issues that has brought them down to a duo, their self-released debut effort was originally released March 1, 2017.
Attempting to impress immediately, the group manages to get a lot accomplished with their manner of strong symphonics and blazing melodies throughout. The predisposition to using the keyboard-based symphonics is the driving force here, utilizing the bombastic atmosphere and grandiose rhythms to give this one a great base for the rather striking melodic riff-work. These tend to work together rather nicely, going from the gothic-influenced sprawling melodies with full-on keyboards blaring alongside the tighter, more power metal-influenced rhythms that give this one a greater sense of variety here. That comes across rather well with the occasional dips into the frantic, blistering attacks throughout here with the frantic drumming and over-the-top symphonics of the keyboards matching the fiery and frantic rhythms utilized here and making for quite the nice amount of dynamics in the music here. While that does make for a solid time overall here, there’s still one big detrimental issue throughout here in that the softer, more mid-tempo arrangements here aren’t all that impressive, ranging from the light middling riff-work to simply letting lilting piano notes accompany operatic crooning which sounds impressive but leaves a sour taste for those wishing the rest of the music is as good as their up-tempo work. As well, the fact that the album is quite bloated and overlong with a few too many tracks, especially for a debut offering, makes it somewhat of a slough to get through and makes this one feel longer than it really should, although it’s still quite enjoyable overall with the caveat of this being a debut.
With plenty of solid Gothic-styled influences and an overall enjoyable symphonic atmosphere carrying this one along quite nicely, this one has some rather fun positives to overcome a few minor flaws and makes this a nice choice for those into melody-driven symphonic metal or female-fronted metal in general.
Artist: Valfreya
Release Title: Promised Land
Year: 2017
Label: Independent/Self-Released
Genre: Melodic Folk/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1.Horizon
2.Odin's Fury
3.Mortal Supremacy
4.Pandemonium
5.The Icelanding Sagas
6.Shame and Despair
7.Peuple du nord
8.Promised Land
9.The Choice
10.Warlords
11.Evolution
12.Undying Tale
Trying to harness their sound, Canadian folk/black metallers Valfreya have spent many years being able to hone their unique and engaging mix of folk and black metal together in a fine mix of styles that continue to show inspiration and influence from Norse mythology. Having dominated the live scene in the interim, the group finally returns from a five-year gap with their self-released sophomore effort January 10, 2017.
Coming across immediately, the band offers a stellar outpouring of their chosen style as they offer some of the finest concoctions of their style as they can. The major focus here is on the tight, lock-step riffing that manages to simultaneously merge their stuttering folk leanings chugging along with the stellar tremolo-picked melodies of their black metal side. This framework makes the material here come off with a highly appealing side as the folk-driven black metal is tinged with nice symphonics to complete an engaging overall atmosphere that captures the epic spirit involved in the conceptual storyline running throughout the album. Given that this epic splendor results in the vast majority of the album containing a rousing, bombastic feel throughout this is played at a bouncy, up-tempo pace that perfectly suits the album’s given themes and manages to give this a strong, stylish and engaging tone that makes for a really enjoyable listen. The biggest issue here is that the album tends to come off rather stuffed and full, especially in the later half where it’s simply more of the same being presented here since this one doesn’t really offer up too much all that different from the vast majority of the other tracks here which means that the album runs together and becomes hard to distinguish from itself quite easily. However, this isn’t that big of a detriment with all the enjoyable material present elsewhere.
Although it’s a little bit longer than what it really should be, the fact that there’s far more to enjoy about this one with its strong mixture of raging folk tunes and fiery black metal rhythms makes this one a fine choice for aficionados of folk-influenced black metal or this type of material in general.
Artist: Enemy of Reality
Release Title: Arakhne
Year: 2016
Label: F.Y.B. Records
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Tracklisting:
1.Martyr
2.Reflected
3.Weakness Lies Within
4.Time Immemorial
5.Nouthetisis
6.Afraid No More
7.Showdown
8.The Taste of Defeat
9.In Hiding
10.I Spare You
11.A Gift of Curse
After the success of their previous works, Greek symphonic metallers Enemy of Reality have taken the style and musings of their Greek heritage to present yet another concept album about the titular spider’s creation and carries on from what occurred in the debut. With keyboardist Marianthie being replaced by Leonidas, the groups’ second full-length effort was originally released October 23, 2016 on F.Y.B. Records.
Once again fueled by the bands’ leanings, the main focus here is once again dwelling mainly in bombastic and grandiose rhythms and melodies as befits their symphonic leanings. Loaded with swirling operatic rhythms at the forefront of the music here with the main use of cinematic keyboards offering the dramatic and wholly soaring material present here which cuts through the album as a whole nicely, and fits alongside the remaining parts of the album. Featuring plenty of progressively-tinged Gothic riff-work, dripping with atmospheric touches and a rather strong beefy tone it creates quite an impactful connection here which makes for a much nicer and cohesive whole here that’s given quite a wide berth over the album with the remaining sections going for a more plodding operatic style that keeps this one much more inline with the simplistic side of the Gothic spectrum. Combined into a cohesive whole there’s quite a lot to really like here as this one gets quite a complete sound together, though it does stand as a bit out-of-place at times when it goes for the raspy male shrieks here as the vast majority of the album is quite competent with the dual vocalists together while those other parts just stick out quite badly. It’s not nearly enough to ruin the experience but it’s distracting at times.
Despite a few minor elements where it’s not nearly as impressive as it really could’ve been, for the most part, this here is a highly enjoyable and impressive slice of Gothic-infused symphonic metal that really comes off quite nicely here for hardcore fans of this style or those looking for impressive female-fronted metal acts.
Artist: Afterlife Symphony
Release Title: Moment Between Lies
Year: 2016
Label: Revalve Records
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Tracklisting:
1.Half-Moon Night
2.The Abyss
3.Under the Sleeping Tree
4.My Existence to You
5.Broken Breath
6.Dreamer's Paradox
7.Seventh
8.Last Hope
9.Novembre, Pt. 1
10.Novembre, Pt. 2
11.Genesis of Eternity
Finally making their mark on the genre, Italian symphonic metallers Afterlife Symphony added the last segment to the name yet still keeping their blend of orchestral grandiosity with the strong sense of progressive riffing which strikes as quite the impressive overall attack. With the re-branded group finally prepared to unleash their pleasing sound, the groups’ second full-length album was released September 9, 2016 on Revalve Records.
Even with the name change, it’s still quite obvious the band has still kept up their glorious sound in full force throughout here which really goes for the grandiose and the symphonic throughout this one. The riffing in particular keeps itself aligned mostly in the mid-tempo chugging realm while still being draped in harmonious melodies and mesmerizing symphonic rhythms throughout here which makes for a much lighter and immersive experience here by bringing in plenty of the orchestral elements not to add bombastic grandiosity but more of an operatic approach here which goes hand-in-hand with those chugging mid-tempo rhythms in the riffing. This offers up the kind of challenging, swirling rhythm-work throughout here that gives it a progressive tinge to the music while still offering up that lighter atmosphere to give this the kind of near-Gothic approach that mixes in the warmer melodies rather than enhanced speed, leaving this one quite dramatic and emotional which goes so well with the professional arrangements and the gorgeous female vocals. Indeed, the fact that this one is at it’s fastest in the mid-tempo realm might be seen as a detriment to some by keeping this one solely devoid of the main element in favor of it’s appeal here with the gregarious power and over-the-top grandiosity, as the heavily emotional feel derived from the rhythms here aren’t that typical style and highlights this factor somewhat throughout here. Still, that’s clearly not the main aim here and there’s quite a lot to really like here.
Offering up plenty of enjoyable elements here even though the album’s main focus on going for the mid-tempo style leaves this one feeling quite sluggish at times if the focus is clearly kept away from their assumed intentions which makes this one quite enjoyable for fans of Gothic-tinged power metal or emotional symphonic metal in general.
Artist: Uncoffined
Release Title: Ceremonies of Morbidity
Year: 2016
Label: Memento Mori
Genre: Doom/Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1.The Horrors of Highgate
2.Plague of the Uncoffined
3.Ceremonies of Morbidity
4.Ill Omens of Death and Disease
5.Awakened from their Dormant Slumber
Becoming one of the country’s finest exports, UK-based doom/death metallers Uncoffined have taken the dark and depraved work found in their previous work into a further extreme by drawing even more on the creeping, crawling atmosphere into higher degrees here. With a three-year gap between releases, the group prepares it’s sophomore release October 24, 2016 on Memento Mori.
For the most part here this one plays with the predominantly doom-laced part of their sound for a rather chilling aspect of music that continually churns and oozes with the scalding atmosphere prevalent in that style. The utterly slow, crushing riffing spends an ornate amount of time here readily working through a never-ending series of vile, oppressive rhythms full of these straightforward efforts that take these rhythms into dark passages with the imagery present. As the riffing containing these passages spells out the dark, cryptic atmosphere here with the sound clips edited into here which complement those deep, churning patterns and agonizingly slow, drawn-out rhythms so well by keeping the same consistent atmosphere throughout here. Despite the quality and consistency of the rhythms and atmosphere throughout here, there’s a minor flaw throughout here in that this one doesn’t really offer up much variety or really strike very many creative endeavors throughout here. With the album for the most part incredibly consistent and straightforward in doling out the dark, cryptic graveyard-spawned rhythms here, this one seems to go for these singular style of rhythms here for the entirety of the record so it’s quite easy to lose yourself in the album quite easily with it replaying that here and it creates quite a prolonged, drawn-out feeling here which is enhanced by the extreme length of the songs themselves, but that isn’t all too big of a deal overall here.
While there’s times where it does feel it’s length, especially due to the repetitiveness of the whole affair, the strong darkened atmospheric vibes and utterly pummeling work throughout this one is much more impressive and readily makes this quite an appealing effort for any doom/death fan or horror-centric extreme metal fan.
Artist: Misteyes
Release Title: Creeping Time
Year: 2016
Label: Maple Metal Records
Genre: Gothic/Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1.The Last Knell (Intro)
2.Creeping Time
3.Brains in a Vat
4.Inside the Golden Cage
5.Lady Loneliness
6.The Prey
7.Destroy Your Past
8.The Demon of Fear
9.A Fragile Balance (Awake the Beast - Part 1)
10.Chaos (Awake the Beast - Part 2)
11.Decapitated Rose
12.Winter's Judgement
Initially forming in 2012, Italian gothic/death metallers Misteyes underwent a drastic changeover in the beginning as their sound quickly shifted away from a melodic death/black sound to a more prominent gothic-influenced approach heralded by rounding out the bands’ lineup with female vocals and a permanent keyboard. Ready to bring their vision of light and darkness center-stage, the group prepares its full-length debut release April 8, 2016 on Maple Metal Records.
As befits the bands’ style, the album is generally awash in lush, vibrant rhythms that take the steady, straightforward riffing style of gothic metal which is powerful, tight and rather light-hearted melodies which are the major focus here. This is somewhat technical yet still allows for plenty of extended sections of tight, swirling speed-metal riff-work that enables for harmonic meshing with the keyboards keeping in perfect sync with the tight rhythms as the album shifts dynamically between these explosive sections and a more mid-tempo prowl that works wonderfully here. These slower, more haunting passages are augmented by the operatic female vocals for the most part which is a glorious contrast to the lighter sections elsewhere that are dominantly featured with the melodic runs and swirling keyboard work creating this style and both wonderfully complimenting each other quite well. As this work here is the dominant vibe on the material, it’s given plenty of dynamic vibes by the wholly drastic manner in which it changes over throughout here as it’s quite adept at maneuvering through these change-overs quite well with the sudden crashing riffing blowing up the slower tempos while still retaining the harmonic gothic undertones present. While all of this is exceptionally enjoyable and made all the more so for it being a debut release, the fact that this is somewhat bloated in the second half with a few too many tracks does make this a little overlong and somewhat difficult to get all the way through here as the running time does make this a struggle at points especially with it featuring some weaker tracks. However, it does get a pass at this for being a debut.
Overall, this was quite a strong and dynamic release that offers up plenty of enjoyable elements with only a minor flaw here in their overzealousness to present too much of their material to the world that enables this to readily appeal to many fans of the gothic or symphonic metal soundscapes who will find a lot to like here providing that one element isn’t a detrimental one to the listener.
Artist: Kinnefret
Release Title: The Coming of Age
Year: 2016
Label: Self-Released/Independent
Genre: Melodic Death/Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1.The Awakening
2.Victim Eyes
3.Losing Grips to Gain Grips
4.The Warrior
5.Salvation
6.A Far Cry for Freedom
7.Bleed Out the Sickness
8.Eternal Damnation
9.Death
10.The Prophets
11.Coming of Age
Formed in July 2011, Oakland melodic death/thrash newcomers Kinnefret have struggled with numerous lineup shuffles throughout here which whips through a series of members that continues to this day. At the time of their debut release that was independently released in May 2016, the Persian-inspired group was stable enough for a complete lineup before bass player Arses Ariamanesh left the group after the recordings.
Once this gets going, the band is quite clearly adept at their style throughout here which manages to take equal influence from the death and thrash scenes with it managing to fully utilize the kind of technical thrashing patterns as the main basis here. It’s a tight, technical series of riffing that carries plenty of up-tempo vibes throughout the running time here as these are mixed alongside more modern-sounding rhythms with hints of groove and breakdowns to generate the kind of explosive, violent feel with the choppy patterns and dynamic dual vocals helping to generate the death metal tone here. That’s in the backburner of the group, as the intensity of the more modern rhythms and stylistic melodies that crop up here are much more dominant throughout here. What also stands out quite with the album is the influx of Persian melodic accents also becoming quite prominent here in appropriate formats with minor accents sprinkled throughout the album and generating the kind of distinct flair that helps to compensate for the album’s lone falling. The main drive here being the use of the violent, vicious rhythm-work does give this a great intensity with it’s furious blasts, but it also causes this to come under so many more prominent labels here which causes the band to become yet another band in the field with this approach. While the Arabian melodies is a distinguishing factor, their more dominant aspects do feel quite similar-sounding to numerous other groups in this field.
Though it suffers somewhat from over-familiarity here due to the rather frequent use of familiar rhythms in their general approach here, this is still a highly-enjoyable and impressive debut that starts them off on a fine note which should appeal quite nicely for fans of modern melodic death metal or those looking for something else to compliment their collection.
Artist: Helion Prime
Release Title: Helion Prime
Year: 2016
Label: Self-Released/Independent (Divebomb Records reissue)
Genre: Power Metal
Tracklisting:
1.Into the Alien Terrain
2.The Drake Equation
3.Life Finds a Way
4.Into the Black Hole
5.A Place I Thought I Knew
6.You Keep What You Kill
7.The Ocean of Time
8.Moon-Watcher
9.Apollo (The Eagle Has Landed)
10.Live and Die on This Day
Formed just a few years ago, Sacramento-based power metallers Helion Prime wasted no time in setting a course for their career, as their first EP was released just a few short months after forming. Now ready to release their full-length self-titled debut February 15, 2016 independently with a reissue on Divebomb Records August 12, this release comes loaded with special guests and total science-fiction driven lyrical matter.
This is a wholly enjoyable and dynamic release that manages to get a lot of enjoyable elements here out of the bands’ striking musicianship. Rattling off straightforward riffing in a slightly technical bent while showcasing the ability to drive out swirling leads rife with speed-driven rhythms or charging along at a steady mid-tempo crunch, this basic attack is quite appealing at the diversity it affords them with the ease of switching between these varied elements oftentimes with the same track for a great progressive edge. As the riffing is slightly-technical to begin with, that extra boost as well gives this one a rather impressive charge with the bands’ science-fiction themes as that extra boost from the technicality is meshed together into a series of impressive arrangements fully encompassing those themes and atmospheres to the fullest. This strong science-fiction attitude is further greeted by the nominal power metal melodies running throughout the riff-work and just simply makes this one so rousing and energetic with the band fully able to employ those elements together into such a cohesive, competent attack that the music’s varied moods allow for a diverse, well-rounded and highly enjoyable effort. There’s one slight problem running throughout the album, which results in the band tending to be such accomplished musicians here that the need for all the guests doesn’t really seem all that obvious with them all getting mostly buried in the album so much that it’s hard to pick out what they’re doing or why they’re even there to begin with. It’s all so nicely accomplished and polished that the guests seem superfluous and somewhat unnecessary here as they tend to drag out some of the songs on the second half a little longer than what they should’ve been, but it’s not nearly a detriment at all.
On the whole this is a wholly enjoyable and impressive debut effort that gets much more right than it does not, and for the most part this here really tends to come off on the enjoyable end of the spectrum and results in a fantastic debut that will undoubtedly appeal to all sci-fi-obsessed metal fans or those who prefer the energetic side of power metal.
Artist: Dark Oath
Release Title: When Fire Engulfs the Earth
Year: 2016
Label: WormHoleDeath Records
Genre; Melodic Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1.Land of Ours
2.The Tree of Life
3.Battle Sons
4.Watchman of Gods
5.Thousand Beasts
6.Death of Northern Sons
7.Wrath Unleashed
8.Vengeful Gods
9.When Fire Engulfs the Earth
10.Brother's Fall
From their start in 2009, Portugese melodic death metallers Dark Oath have endured a rotating stream of musicians between releases, leaving guitarist Joël Martins as the sole original member. With vocalist Sara Leitão returning from the previous release and now joined by bassist Afonso Aguiar and guitarist Sérgio Pinheiro, the group prepares to unleash their full-length debut April 15, 2016 on WormHoleDeath Records.
The most obvious part about this album is the fact that from the start it really stacks on the epic tag with plenty of moments focused mainly on weaving that within the music as often as possible. Ranging from the utterly epic song-lengths to cinematic-style backing keyboards and even massive, majestic rhythms blaring away with a progressive edge due to needing to fill out those overlong arrangements, this release does sound quite massive and truly epic. It balances all this out with a fiery edge from the engaging and wholly melodic riff-work that employs a driving charge with the drumming that captures a death metal sound but yet flirts quite egregiously with power metal rhythms which keeps this focused on gorgeous melodies and tightly-wound rhythms for that warm melodic charge against the raging full-throttle tempos. With plenty of fun progressively-tinged technically-challenging patterns being played out here with the rhythms it all makes for a grand, stylish attack. The problems with the album surface again right from the very start, where you only have to look at the running time of the tracks for it’s complete total to see that the band clearly has problems with their writing. This is severely in need of trimming down as this is the epic kind of writing that’s exhausting overall rather than immersive as there’s times where the band will run through a dynamic section of the track then switch it up for no real reason other than to drag the running time out and make the tracks appear far longer than they need to be. Chopping off about five-to-ten minutes total here would do wonders for this album as it wouldn’t have to keep returning to arrangements simply because the track isn’t over yet and would still keep the epic part of their sound intact.
While this is a wholly overlong and incredibly bloated release that could easily do with some slight trimming-down, it’s a facet that comes with a debut album and might be a feature that’s fixed in the future so it’s not nearly as detrimental as it could’ve been and results in this being a solid choice for those looking for more melodeath in their lives or appreciate female-fronted extreme metal acts.
Artist: Dakesis
Release Title: The New Dawn
Year: 2016
Label: CapsAArx
Genre: Progressive Power Metal
Tracklisting:
1.Overture
2.The New Dawn
3.Betrayal
4.Destined for the Flame
5.The Great Insurrection
6.To Conquer or Die
7.Intermezzo Meridian
8.Judgement Day
9.The Sacrifice
10.Autumn
11.The Seventh Sky
12.Call to Freedom
13.By the Fading Light
The second album from UK progressive power metallers Dakesis offers a strong and truly engaging effort that contains a lot of really likeable elements present. The Birmingham quartet seems positively inspired and energetic here that should likely catapult them into the forerunners of the genre here on this effort released March 11, 2016 on CapsAArx.
Being a keyboard-dominant band, that is in effect the ground-work for the majority of the album as this one tends to really utilize a lot of striking and majestic bombastic notes featuring the keyboards throughout the music, ranging from wholly over-the-top cinematic style orchestrations to more melodic accentuations brimming along the main rhythms. These here are so wholly fun and dynamic that there’s a great deal to like with their bouncing enthusiasm and infectiousness running alongside the remaining elements here which come from strong riffing and full-throttle, pounding drumming. The riffing in general flows through grand dynamic and fiery patterns with everything from tight speed-metal trappings and symphonic workouts with the bombastic keyboard work while definitely keeping the complexities and technically-challenging arrangements at the forefront alongside those sparkling keyboard work, and in the end it all manages to make for a wholly enjoyable and fun time here with the bright melodies and challenging arrangements. There’s strangely not a whole lot to dislike here as the main element that works against this one is the fact that there’s just no real use for the band to include the two ten-minute plus epics, one of which is nearly twenty minutes and really stretches out the length of this one considerably. Though the two tracks are undoubtedly highlights, there’s little need for such material to be spread out here when the band was clearly competent and performing engaging work in much shorter spans, so the need to indulge in such epics will likely cause burnout for those attempting to indulge this in one sitting but it’s all that’s really wrong here.
Though the need for including those two overlong epics is a little questionable, there’s little else to dislike about this effort which really does feature plenty of enjoyable and engaging elements that makes this a worthwhile look for those who prefer such fast-paced power metal or the genre in general.
Artist: Dimlight
Release Title: The Lost Chapters
Year: 2015
Label: Sliptrick Records
Genre: Symphonic Gothic/Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1.The Inception
2.Spawn of Nemesis
3.Shattered Idols
4.Invoking the Hunter
5.Dark Things of the Desert
6.Children of Perdition
7.Torrents of Blood
8.Fear of Heavens
9.Clash of Immortals
10.Fields of Carnage
The third full-length from Greek gothic/death metal unit Dimlight offers even more to like here with the bands’ take on symphonically ornate gothic overtones with death metal ferocity. As can be expected here, lush, grandiose keyboards swirl around throughout the majority of the work here which makes for an over-the-top display of orchestral work here from the keyboards being accompanied rather nicely with the operatic vocals being featured. Mixing the striking clean female soaring vocals with the raspy male counterparts may seem like gothic metal basics but it works here with the slow, pounding rhythms at the forefront of the bands’ other attacks. Coming complete with pounding drumming and the occasional deluge into romantic arrangements within the rest of the music here, it’s all quite fun and dynamic here with this one mostly utilizing the up-tempo work and offering plenty of gothic-tinged symphonics to put a lot of enjoyable work on display here. For all this good points, though, the band does tend to fall into minor trouble with the fact that there’s nothing really unique or creative about this kind of symphonically-charged gothic/death metal as it’s pretty basic and by-the-numbers styled work generating all the rather familiar notes here with one-note blistering drumming, up-tempo riffing and orchestral-styled keyboards offering a bombastic symphonic undertone. They’re clearly competent and cohesive enough but not without a lack of identity to really stand out here even if the songs themselves are enjoyable.
The first half here sets this up quite nicely. Instrumental intro ‘The Inception’ features a deep droning noise intro with a spoken-word storytelling set-up that leads into proper first track ‘Spawn of Nemesis’ featuring blistering drumming amidst grand orchestral keyboards charging along into a frantic series of symphonic flurries while keeping the Gothic rhythms at the forefront with the over-the-top keyboards and drumming continue swirling along into the light choppy rhythms throughout the final half for a fun overall effort. ‘Shattered Idols’ uses grandiose symphonics over blazing drumming and tight riff-work carrying along simple rhythms while keeping the over-the-top symphonics buzzing along through the series of thumping patterns with the extended instrumental interlude carrying the symphonics throughout the finale for a dynamic highlight. ‘Invoking the Hunter’ features a dark, haunting swirling series of riffing alongside the sweeping patterns and pounding drumming into a steady mid-tempo attack as the swirling rhythms lift for romantic keyboards and soft riffing that off-sets the quiet energy throughout the final half for a decent enough effort. The instrumental mid-album breather ‘Dark Things of the Desert’ simply serves as a brief storyline segue to lead into the next track.
The second half is rather enjoyable much like the upper half. Bleeding through the previous effort, ‘Children of Perdition’ opens with swirling riff-work and a blistering series of orchestral symphonics alongside utterly raging drumming that soon settles into a mid-tempo series of meandering rhythms and light melodic work carrying through the slight variances in tempos throughout the finale for a solid if unspectacular effort. ‘Torrents of Blood’ takes a swirling operatic intro with the symphonic keyboards leading into blasting drumming and sweeping riff-work leading the tight chugging riff-work and light symphonics plodding along to a slow, sluggish pace with plenty of sweeping orchestral work in the final half for another overall solid-if-unspectacular offering. ‘Fear of Heavens’ uses strong swirling symphonic keyboards alongside blasting drumming with plenty of tight riff-work that flows into a steady mid-tempo series of chugging symphonic patterns with blasting drumming carrying the bombastic keyboards along into the charging symphonic-led finale for a strong and impressive offering. ‘Clash of Immortals’ features light, soft romantic patterns before exploding into furious drumming alongside sweeping majestic symphonic keyboards and light gothic riff-work that deviates nicely between several strong tempos with sweeping orchestral work coming through into the final half for an overall fun effort. Lastly, ‘Fields of Carnage’ takes epic symphonic keyboards and haunting melodic notes to gradually build into crushing drumming blasting throughout the sweeping majestic keyboards that turns into driving mid-tempo symphonics with plenty of tight rhythms and ornate symphonic orchestral movements leading throughout the grandiose finale for a solid lasting impression.
For the most part, there’s a lot to like here with this one that ends up making it one of the more impressive and enjoyable entries in the style and as long as those can stand to overlook the flaws here with this one it’s a solid listen for those who enjoy impressive gothic-tinged metal or symphonics as well.
Artist: Антиллия (Antilla)
Release Title: Древние силы (Ancient Forces)
Year: 2015
Label: Self-Released/Independant
Genre: Symphonic Power Metal
Tracklisting:
1.Последний звездопад (Last Starfall)
2.Тайна (Mystery)
3.Рассвет (Sunrise)
4.Штурм (The Assault)
5.Смертный бой (Mortal Fight)
6.Свечи (Candles)
7.Древние силы (Ancient Forces)
8.Шаман (The Shaman)
9.Одиночество (Loneliness)
10.На краю света (At World's End)
11.Пленённый бессмертием (Captivated By The Immortality)
12.Антиллия (Antillia)
13.Вселенная (Universe)
14.Эпилог (Epilogue)
The debut full-length from Russian symphonic power metallers Антиллия (Antilla) offers a nice, well-rounded display of styles that certainly makes them seem poised to become the leader of the movement. From the outset this release tends to favor far more modern styles of the genre where the expressive keyboards adopt more of a cinematic style that lends itself to feel at home scoring an epic fantasy battle sequence with the overall style on display. It’s bombastic, majestic and grandiose sweeping arrangements give this a rather heavy tone here where it tends to recreate the dramatic energy and emotional resonance alongside the generally explosive power metal riff-work where this one manages to utilize all the prototypical patterns where it tends to either spend the majority of the time either featuring those impeccable speed-metal riffing styles that allow this to fly along at dynamic, up-tempo speeds or the crushing mid-tempo chugging variant that leaves this rather dynamic style quite nicely alongside the rest of the riff-work on display. Even getting the kind of dueling vocal patterns featured here where there’s plenty of grandiose fun to come from the operatic leads from both the male and female vocalists this leaves the album with plenty to like overall. Though this is the case, it does seem to stumble from minor flaws in the sense of basically feeling bloated with too many songs here that it can feel like a struggle to get to the finishing line at times. Getting there based on the fact that there’s several tracks on the later half that goes for the same overall mid-paced plodding without changing up the tempo or playing order leaves with a rather familiar air as it makes it’s way throughout here where it really does get to the point of feeling overdone without much reason to. The ambition on a debut does get them a free pass here, but the quantity could’ve been scaled back slightly to great effect here.
The first half here gives a solid impression of what to expect here. Opener ‘Последний звездопад (Last Starfall)’ takes a grandiose intro turning into a series of sweeping keyboards and charging riff-work blazing with dynamic drumming and operatic vocal choirs over the pummeling, chugging chords taking the majestic, grandiose rhythms thumping along into the solo section sweeping along to raging final half for an utterly spectacular opening impression. ‘Тайна (Mystery)’ uses a moody acoustic intro and melancholy riffing leaving a haunting feel that settles nicely into a chugging mid-tempo feel with majestic keyboards over the rumbling rhythms keeping the steady pace in check through the series of romantic leads carrying along into the solo section and into the finale for another fine effort. Brief interlude ‘Рассвет (Sunrise)’ offers cinematic clanging drumming that sets the stage for ‘Штурм (The Assault)’ that takes rousing drumming and grandiose thrashing rhythms full of bombastic driving keyboards keeping the energetic riff-work tightly wound to the raging drumming and pounding rhythms chugging along to the up-tempo paces into the solo section and leading through the light acoustic-driven final half for another solid effort. ‘Смертный бой (Mortal Fight)’ takes a steady series of bombastic rhythms and grandiose keyboards that swell into a stylish swirling pace with the chugging riffing staying along with the thumping drumming and majestic, operatic keyboards charging along into the mid-paced finale for a strong, powerful effort. ‘Свечи (Candles)’ features a steady chugging intro with plenty of swirling keyboards over the plodding mid-tempo operatic rhythms sweeping through the majestic keyboards and flowing alongside the pounding drumming with the grandiose keyboards keeping the plodding majestic paces in check through the final half for an enjoyable enough effort. Another brief interlude
‘Древние силы (Ancient Forces)’ simply features bombastic choirs and pounding cinematic drumming throughout.
The second half does come up a little short but still has some quality within it. ‘Шаман (The Shaman)’ utilizes scorching riffing and bombastic drumming driving along to a furious up-tempo pace with the driving rhythms holding the scorching cinematic melodies through the charging atmosphere with the utterly blistering drumming carrying the urgent rhythms along into the blazing solo section and keeping the raging leads through the finale for another spectacular highlight offering. The ballad ‘Одиночество (Loneliness)’ features impassioned, romantic piano lilting over light, melodic riffing as the romantic vocal trade-offs hold the simple, breezy patterns into the lighter piano-driven pattern through the final half for a decent enough if utterly skippable track. ‘На краю света (At World's End)’ brings it back to the blistering drumming and grandiose keyboards raging through the churning mid-tempo rhythms against the operatic vocals and the barreling drumming making for the symphonic battles against the thumping chug-laced riffing into the sol section and continuing into the blistering finale for another strong highlight. ‘Пленённый бессмертием (Captivated By The Immortality)’ features strong dexterous keyboards swirling along through the cinematic rhythms as the keyboards drop into a strong chugging riff-work with pounding drumming carrying through the majestic patterns of the steady final half for an enjoyable effort. ‘Антиллия (Antillia)’ uses rolling drumming and bombastic keyboards into a stellar mid-tempo pace full of thumping rhythms with the plodding riff-work carrying through the bombastic keyboards with plenty of strong majestic keyboards holding through the solo section and into the finale for an enjoyable enough effort. ‘Вселенная (Universe)’ uses the extended sampled intro to lead into plodding, rhythmic drumming and steady, mid-tempo chugging riffing that holds the bombastic symphonic vocals soaring operatically over the steady build back into dramatic mid-tempo rhythms and pounding drumming that carries on through the final half for a stylish effort overall. Finally, album-closer ‘Эпилог (Epilogue)’ takes the bombastic and swirling cinematic rhythms along throughout for an enjoyable finishing touch to make for a solid lasting impression.
Offering up enough enjoyable elements to really make an impression despite a few missteps here and there, overall it ends leaving this one as a rather enjoyable and somewhat notable act to follow for fans of this bombastic, cinematic style of power metal or just undiscerning power metal fans in general.
