Valkyrja - 2005 - Funeral Voices

Out of Sweden comes this Black Metal band with their first demo. Three tracks of mid-paced to fast Black Metal are presented to us on this release, plus an intro and an instrumental interlude. The material here is actually quite good. Slightly melodic Black Metal which reminds me a bit of Marduk, Satyricon and Borknagar, but mostly of a more varied Dark Funeral.

The vocals sound similar to those done by Legion when in Marduk, with a slight touch of those from early Borknagar.

This demo has a really good production. The instruments and the vocals can all be heard clearly. The material presented on this demo shows that there are still new bands out there worth checking out. This is a band to keep your eyes on. Limited to only 50 copies, so act fast!


Standout track is "Another Prophet to the Wolves".

Sunday July 10 2005, by :Vragh:

Nightbringer - 2005 - Rex Ex Ordine Throni

Out of the United States comes this Black Metal act with a promo of their part of a split with Temple of Not, a band they share members with. This promo consists of 4 tracks of mid-paced to rather fast and slightly melodic, wellplayed Black Metal in the vein of Emperor and Carpathian Forest, with parts Watain and a less plastic sounding Limbonic Art at times, even. An interesting mix of Norwegian Black Metal with a slightly American sound.

The vocals remind me a bit of those in earlier Emperor, Ancient and Dark Funeral, but with a slight American sounding twist to them.

The production is a bit towards the thin, rather like the early days of the scene. The drums are what you hear most in the mix, with quite a De Mysteriis feel to the sound of the fills. There is also a keyboard present, which is more towards the front of the mix on the two last tracks. The use of the keyboard is the main similarity to Carpathian Forest. This has clear potential.

Standout tracks are "The Void" and "Mors Philosophorum".

Sunday January 14 2007, by :Vragh:

Helsefyr - 2004 - The Land Of No Return

Swedish Black Metal act Helsefyr have just released a cassette containing five tracks, including two covers, "Outbreak of Evil" by Sodom and Mayhem's "Deathcrush". The soundquality on this tape is quite good, perhaps the drums are a bit in the back of the mix, but otherwise I have nothing to complain about.

The music is slow to mid-paced repetitive Black Metal in the vein of Dark Funeral and Von with some parts Darkthrone added. The vocals remind me mostly of Von and Long Voyage Back and somewhat of those on Darkthrone's A Blaze in the Northern Sky.

Standout tracks are "The Pestilence" and "The Land of No Return".

Friday October 29 2004, by :Vragh:

Goatlord Corp. - 2003 - Early Beginnings of War

The first release by French Black Metal legion Goatlord Corp. is indeed a work of high quality. Four tracks of mid-paced to fast Black Metal with a groove not too common in this kind of music.
Musically this has some Thrash and Metal influences, while still sounding very much french like Black Metal. They have that specialsound you get from those parts. Reminds me a bit of Antaeus, but
with a fuller sound, similar to their De Principii Evangelicum album. Some Dark Funeral also finds its way into their music.

The soundquality is clear, and the music has been given a dark and murky atmosphere. The vocals are somewhat reminiscent of those of Dark Funeral and Von, sounding very aggressive, almost as if the
vocalist were possessed. Absolutely a band to keep your eyes on. Limited to 999 copies. Don't miss out!

Standout tracks are "Tormentor 666" and "In the Name of the Black Lord".

Wednesday December 29 2004, by :Vragh:

Excessum - 2005 - Death Redemption

Out of Sweden comes this Black Metal horde. On this release we are presented with eight tracks of wellplayed mid-paced to fast melodic Black Metal, including an intro. This does sound very Swedish, especially the guitar harmonies, but there is a heavyness to it that makes this stand out a bit more. The guitars remind me slightly of Dissection, and also of Thornium, Dark Funeral and early Necrophobic, among others. This reminds me of the '90ies wave of Death-/Black Metal.

The vocals are slightly in the back here, and sounding a bit like a Death Metal version of Varg Vikernes' vocals. Less shrieking, and more guttural.

The soundquality is slightly muffled, and somewhat chaotic, but you still hear the instruments quite clearly. The focus is on the guitars, with the drums being a bit in the back of the mix. This is well above average, and definitely worth checking out!

Standout tracks are "Ritual Through Holy Blood", "Death Redemption" and "Lies of the Deceiver".

Saturday October 21 2006, by :Vragh:

Corpus Christii - 2001 - The Fire God

Out of Portugal comes this Black Metal horde, with their second album. This here is the rereleased tape version with two bonus tracks, eleven tracks in all, one of which is a cover of "Buried by Time and Dust" featuring Necrobutcher on bass. The music presented here is not at all what I expected. Mid-paced to fast Black Metal with piano parts when you least expect it, sounding like something you'd find on an Arcturus album, and some minor industrial touches, due to the pounding drum machine. I do not mean that there are interludes with piano, they have the piano playing to blasting Black Metal. The album reminds me a bit of Reign of Erebus, due to a somewhat chaotic sound and parts sound a bit like early Koldbrann. Perhaps one could even say they sound a bit like Darkthrone and Dark Funeral on the bonus tracks.

The vocals makes me think of Mannevond of Koldbrann and Thurios of Drudkh. There are also some parts sounding like Marco Kehren of Deinonychus.

The sound on this album is rather thin, but clear, with a production that makes it sound very aggressive. The bonus material has been recorded at another time than the rest of the album, having a fuller sound. The guitars and the vocals are at the front of the mix, followed by the drums. A drum machine is used on this album, though they seem to have a live drummer on later releases. The keyboard parts are all in the foreground, above all other instrumentation and vocals. This is a strange blend of an album, and I must say I enjoyed it despite two things I usually find very annoying, keyboards and a drum machine. That is not at all bad!

Standout tracks are "The Burning", "Lusitånia (de Orghulo e Honra)" and "Reflex of Nothingness".

This release is limited to 666 copies.

Sunday August 23 2009, by :Vragh:

....Aaaarrghh.... - 2004 - Ruhlar Fisildiyor

Here we have the second demo by this Turkish Black Metal horde, consisting of eight tracks. The band has progressed a bit in the five years since their last demo, I must say. The traces of Beherit are mostly gone, the music is faster and reminds me of Von and Dark Funeral, with some Death Metal in it.

The vocals remind me of Nocturno Culto of Darkthrone and Graav of Armagedda, around Panzerfaust and The Final War Approaching respectively, but they are more in the back of the mix here, than on their previous effort.

The soundquality has been improved since the previous release, which is both good and bad. Personally, I prefer the murkier sound of their first demo, but that's because I thought that gave their music an extra edge. The drums are more towards the front of the mix on this release, which the vocals suffer a bit from.

Standout tracks are "Kara Doda", "Sinsi Karanlyk" and "Ebedi Yalnyzlyk".

Saturday October 21 2006, by :Vragh: