Strevlosh Zvezda - 2005 - Strevlosh Zvezda

Out of Serbia comes this band with their very own brand of Black Metal. Haven't really heard that many hordes using classical guitar as the most prominent instrument in Black Metal, I must say. This is quite good, mostly slow but with faster parts from time to time. On this promo we are presented with four tracks, and the last one is a rehearsal version of track three, but the finished demo will contain six tracks, without the rehearsal. For the most part there's just the classical guitar and the vocals, and here and there the songs explode into faster parts with blasting drums. Some parts of this album reminds me musically of Empyrium's Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays and Ulver's Theme's from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, with the vocals reminding me mostly of the harsh vocals by Garm on the first Borknagar album.


The soundquality here is very good, the guitar and the vocals can be heard clearly, and the drums are just slightly towards the back of the mix, keeping the focus on the guitar and the vocals in the parts with drums. The rehearsal track gives an interesting insight into how the band sounds outside the studio. A very interesting listen, this demo. It is not often you are taken by total surprise when you put a demo in the player to review it. The only bad thing about this disc is that it is far too short. I want more of this. Most highly recommended!

Standout tracks are "Nocturnus..." and "Leve Ruke Staza".

Wednesday January 18 2006, by :Vragh:

Angelgoat - 2005 - Demo

Out of Serbia comes this Black Metal act with their first demo. Three tracks are presented here, and the music is mid-paced to fast. Somewhat towards Von and Goatlord Corp., with a slight Death Metal influence. The drums are rather simplistic, mostly, sounding much like those in Von.

The vocals also remind me somewhat of those in Goatlord Corp., although they are a bit more twisted here. They also remind me of those by MkM of Antaeus, but perhaps being a bit more towards the highpitched spectrum.

The soundquality is somewhat muddled and raw, but you can hear the vocals clearly, and the other instruments can be heard as well. The drums are what comes through most in the mix, with the really aggressive guitar sound being a nice surprise.

Standout tracks are "Armageddemonia" and "The Final Funeral". The last track seems to have been recorded at another time than the two first ones, having a bit better soundquality.

Saturday October 21 by :Vragh: