Deified are a UK metal band and this is their latest EP.
Here we have 20 minutes of metalcore/groove metal, with a healthy amount of aggression. Continue reading
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Tag Archives: Arch Enemy
Tantal – Ruin (Review)
Tantal are a Russian metal band and this is their third album.
Mixing elements of modern, progressive, melodic, and Gothic metal into 49 minutes of music, Ruin is the follow up to 2014’s Expectancy, which was a good starter for getting to know Tantal’s sound. Ruin sees the band Continue reading
Witchery – I Am Legion (Review)
This is the seventh album from Swedish blackened thrash metal band Witchery.
Hot on the heels of last year’s In His Infernal Majesty’s Service, this Swedish supergroup, (Arch Enemy, The Haunted, among others), have returned suprisingly quickly with another collection of sharp, vicious tunes. Continue reading
Arch Enemy – Will to Power (Review)
This is the tenth album from Arch Enemy, a Swedish melodic death metal band; although it’s likely that this is a band that you need no real introduction to.
On Will to Power Arch Enemy sound invigorated and full of fresh life. It has the trademark Arch Enemy sound and style, of course, but enhanced and honed to a deadly point. In some ways it’s probably their most diverse album to date, although you should obviously take that within the context that it’s meant. Continue reading
The Night Flight Orchestra – Amber Galactic (Review)
The Night Flight Orchestra are a Swedish hard rock band and this is their third album.
Featuring members of Soilwork, Arch Enemy, and Witchery, (among many others), this is something of a different beast from these other bands, and presents us with 50 minutes of classic rock with some progressive overtones. Continue reading
Pokerface – Game On (Review)
This is the second album by Russian thrashers Pokerface.
This is the follow up to 2015’s Divide and Rule, which I liked quite a bit. They’re now back, only with a new lineup which includes a new singer. Continue reading
Oracles – Miserycorde (Review)
Oracles are a metal band from Belgium, this is their debut album.
Featuring current and ex-members of Aborted, System Divide and Dimlight, as well as guests from current and ex-members of Black Dahlia Murder, Scar Symmetry, Nevermore and Arch Enemy, this is a release that’s something a little different and backed up by a wealth of experience. Continue reading
Inner Sanctum – Legions Awake (Review)
Inner Sanctum are an Indian Thrash/Groove Metal band and this is their début album.
After a rather cinematic opener, Inner Sanctum reveal themselves in their full glory as Thrash/Groove Metal with some Death Metal influences included for added impact. Think the mid-00s-type NWOAHM, only with a darker, more classically Death Metal side to it that emphasises the European Melodic Death Metal heritage of the American style.
The album boasts a sexy, professional sound that’s polished and strong.
The singer has a gruff voice that shouts out with the best of them, occasionally including some semi-cleans that remind me of some of Darkane’s work in places.
The songs are well-written and it’s clear that these tracks have been constructed with care and enthusiasm. The Thrash and Groove influences never take over or embrace the mediocre side of both styles; Inner Sanctum play their brand of heaviness with vibrancy and passion. They deliver everything on here with skill and it’s clear that the band have the talent to succeed.
Legions Awake is a strong collection of songs that make a good impression and showcase a band who really know what they’re doing. If they were American and picked up by a large music label then they would get very far indeed, I think. Unfortunately that isn’t the case, so make sure you support them – bands like this deserve it.
For fans of – Pantera, Lamb of God, Chimaira, Shadows Fall, Darkest Hour, Legion of the Damned, Kreator, Arch Enemy, Testament, etc.
Thorns of Sin – Destroy the Light (Review)
Thorns of Sin is a one-man project playing Melodic Black Metal.
This is well-played and well-recorded Melodic Black Metal in the Dissection vein.
The music is very professional and accomplished, with plenty of shine and polish on display. This would be notable for a full band and is even more so as one person played and recorded everything.
Keyboard accompaniment adds highlights and splashes of colour while melodic guitars shine in their time in the light.
This is Extreme Metal easy listening, and that’s a compliment; Thorns of Sin positively flow out of the speakers and are received most gratefully by yours truly.
The vocals remind me of Dimmu Borgir and there’s a little bit of their, (older), style to this release, as well as a touch of Arch Enemy here and there..
The songs are very enjoyable slabs of Metal and make me nostalgic for the late 90s/early 00s too. There’s 6 originals and a faithful cover of Death’s The Philosopher.
A quality release and one that’s easy to enjoy and recommend; make sure you check out Destroy the Light
Mercy Brown – Mercy Brown (Review)
This is the début album from US band Mercy Brown. They play Metal.
This is a band that takes Heavy Metal and Death Metal, stitches them together and then sits back with satisfaction as its creation takes on a life of its own.
The music is on the harsher, heavier end of the spectrum and this is frequently augmented by more melodic moments and other Metal accoutrements.
The singer has a diverse voice, varying between deep growls, high screams and cleans. She has a powerful and charismatic voice no matter the style she sings in, and her different vocals work well with the more Death Metal-oriented music.
The band have a heavy sound that makes the most of their crushing delivery. This is Metal through and through. The sometimes-angelic female vocals shouldn’t make you think of bands like Lacuna Coil and Nightwish; this is more akin to Whitechapel mixed with Arch Enemy, only with clean vocals added in.
There’s a decent amount of stuff going on here. Apart from the straight-ahead Death Metal and Heavy Metal there’s plenty of other things happening to add depth and atmosphere. The band take the time to slow down and relax a bit on occasion, increasing the effectiveness of the heavier parts as well as these more reflective sections working well in their own right too.
I like this a lot as it’s a little different from the norm and well-delivered. Check them out.
