Wewelsburg - 2007 - Ultima Intolerance

Out of Russia comes this NS industrial Death/Black Metal band. Musically I find influences from a lot of different genres and groups. Mysticum and The Kovenant are apparent in the first track, Morbid Angel with a big dose rock n' roll in the second, the third track starts off with a classical piano piece, then moves on to more The Kovenant sounding elements. Track four is straight forward Death Metal. Over all this reminds me of early Stiny Plamenu.

The vocals are also reminiscent of The Kovenant, metallic and distorted but with more reverb, but as
with the music, the vocals change throughout the album. On the track "Gott Mit Uns", rather influenced by white power music, for instance, the vocals are deeper and much more catchy.

The sound is set very high on this album which tends to result in a chaotic effect, which indeed is the case here as well. They use a drum machine, with the cymbals set a bit too high which is annoyingly in the foreground at times. There is also a keyboard present. The vocals and the  drum machine are in the foreground, closely followed by the guitar. When there is a solo without any singing the guitar steps up to the foreground. There is also a keyboard present, fighting with the other instruments to be in the front. Despite all this this is a fascinating album, somehow, most likely because you do not know what to expect next. It is also a tiring album to listen to, since the recording level is so high and there is a lot of stuff going on. This is not bad, but it is not very focused. I think it would have been better if there were different bands for the different musical ideas.

Standout tracks are "Ultima Intolerance" and "There Where the Winds Sing Their Songs".

Sunday August 23 2009, by :Vragh:

Vesania - 2005 - God the Lux

Out of Poland comes this Black Metal act with their second fullength. 12 tracks of slow to mid-paced, slightly melodic Death/Black Metal with keyboards is what we are presented with here. There is an industrial feel to the music as well. Musically this sounds like later Malignant Eternal and Dimmu Borgir as well as Emperor and Arcturus with a distinct Death Metal approach.

The vocals sound like those in Behemoth, which really comes as no surprise since it's the same person singing in both bands. More towards the darker, deeper spectrum, actually reminding me somewhat of the deeper vocals from earlier Cradle of Filth. They remind me of those in Malignant Eternal as well.

The production is full and quite industrial sounding. More towards a Death Metal production, really. The keyboards are present throughout the album. At times they play their own thing, and at times they are just laying down background ambience, but this is actually handled rather well. I am usually not a big fan of keyboards in the music I listen to.

Standouttracks are "Rest in Pain", "God the Lux", "The Mystory" and "Legions are Me".

Monday November 27 2006, by :Vragh:

Pandemonium - 2006 - The Autumn Enigma

Out of Sweden comes this band, presenting us with their second fullength. What we get here are 8 tracks, including an outro, of rather melodic, progressive Death/Black Metal. Musically this reminds me of Embraced and Amorphis.

The main vocals are rather deep but still quite clear growls, slightly towards those by Dan Swanö in early Edge of Sanity, with clean sung passages that remind me of Amorphis, as well as vocals sounding similar to those by Kalle Johansson of Embraced, and somewhat towards the Cradle of Filth kind of vocals. Perhaps also a bit of Chuck Schuldiner in them.

The soundquality is very good. The vocals are ever so slightly in the front, with the drums close behind, but you hear all the instruments in the mix. A keyboard is used throughout the album, but this is done very well. It is not used, as in many symphonic Black Metal bands, too excessively and in the front of all the other instruments, but as one of the instruments, and that is just the way to do it. The keyboards mostly remind me of those on Amorphis' Tales from the Thousand Lakes album, but varies from track to track.

Standout tracks are "The Fire", "The Nameless Season", "Autumn Enigma" and "Reflecting Mirrors".

Monday November 27 2006, by :Vragh:

Goatvomit666 - 2003 - Demo

British act Goatvomit666 have released their, as far as I know, first demo. They play slow, doomy Death/Black Metal, and we are presented with 5 tracks on this demo. I really like this. They have a somewhat murky production that puts the bass quite a lot in the foreground, which fits the music nicely, and at times they also have some serious groove in their music.

The vocals are handled well too, classic Black Metal vocals, but with a nice edge to them. The track "The Fall of Heaven" actually reminds me of Blodulv, but without the drum machine. The track "The Fall of Heaven" reminds me strangely enough of a track by Lumsk, despite the fact that their music sounds nothing like them.

The only thing I can complain about here is the fact that they have an intro, a Sodom cover ("Blasphemer / Burst Command til War") and an outro, which leaves us with only 2 tracks of their own material. I would really have liked to hear more. At the time of writing they are on their way to record a second demo.

Sunday February 15 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:

Devilry - 2006 - Muslim Genocide 7"

Out of Finland comes this Black/Death Metal horde with their latest offering. Presented on this 7" are two tracks, an intro and an outro. The music is mostly fast, with a lot of grind. Some similarities to Goatlord Corp. can be found in the music, as well as some Fuck... I'm Dead, Disrupt and War (Swe).

The vocals are rather Thrash inspired, only deeper and darker, with growl added at times. Reminding me of those by Nacht formerly of Goatlord Corp. and Seth.

The production here is rather good, but perhaps a bit thin, sounding similar to the Death Metal productions of the early '90ies. All the instruments can be heard in the mix. Both the tracks on this 7" are actually quite good.

Saturday October 21 2006, by :Vragh: