Uziel - 2006 - Long Perished Rebels

Out of Poland comes this horde with their second demo of slightly melodic Death Metal. 5 tracks are presented here, with some killer samples to boot. Musically this reminds me of some Swedish melodic Death Metal bands like In Flames, as well as Behemoth, with some parts reminding me of Nile. Some parts remind me of Swedish Pandemonium as well. As with so many other Polish bands, a keyboard is utilized.

The vocals remind me somewhat of those in Behemoth, as well as those in Nile and Aeternus.

The soundquality is good, if a bit chaotic. The vocals and the guitars are what's more towards the front in the mix, with the keyboards and drums just behind them. I find it a bit annoying that so many Polish bands think they have to use keyboards. Their music could actually manage quite well without the keyboards. The keyboards here are not used too excessively, just mainly adding a layer of sound to add depth to the music.


Standout tracks are "Death by Burning" and "Forever With You".

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: