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:

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:

Soulless - 2005 - Summoning Heresy

Here we have Polish Death/Thrash Metal act Soulless, with their latest mini CD. We are presented with 5 tracks, including an intro and a cover of the Sepultura classic "Necromancer", which leaves us with 3 of their own creations. The music is mostly mid-paced, but with faster, blastbeating parts. This sounds similar to Fallen Christ, with a good portion Morbid Angel. An overall rather American sounding release.

The vocals sounds like a mix of old Thrash vocals, American Death Metal screams and Polish Death Metal growls. Quite brutal!

The soundquality is rather chaotic and raw, with the bass being mostly somewhat muffled. The drums are towards the front, together with the vocals, with the guitars a bit in the back.

Standout tracks are "Infernalis in Favorem" and "Beheaded Messiah". And the Sepultura cover kicks ass.

Sunday January 14 2007, by :Vragh:

Baphomet's Throne - 2003 - Spiritual Evil

Polish Black Metal horde Baphomet's Throne (a great name for a band, I must say)have released this demo on the world. Four tracks of keyboard based Black Metal, including an outro have found their way onto this recording. Musically this sounds like a more organic sounding Limbonic Art (sans the drum machine) with parts later Dimmu Borgir and Metal elements. There are quite a few progressive parts present here. The music is mid-paced and with good harmonies throughout. These guys can handle their instrumens quite well.

The vocals are more towards the Death Metal sound, reminding me mostly of those by Ares
on Aeternus' A Darker Monument album.

The soundquality on this recording is very good indeed, everything can be heard clearly, and the keyboards aren't too high in the mix. Normally I am not that fond of keyboard based Black Metal, but this is actually really good.

Standout tracks are "Spiritual Evil" and "Bitewny Zgielk".

February 13 2005, by :Vragh: