Weltbrand - 2006 - The Cloud of Retaliation

Out of the Netherlands comes this Black Metal horde, with their second fullength. Presented here are eight tracks of mostly fast Black Metal with the odd slower track thrown in for variation plus one industrial sounding interlude and an outro. The sound actually has somewhat of a  eath Metal feel to it.

The vocals sound like a mix between Nimroth, formerly of Cirith Gorgor, Maniac, and early Emperor, with some Aldrahn and Quorthon showing up every now and then.

Musically this reminds me mostly of the Zyklon-B sideproject from the '90ies as well as earlier Frozen Shadows. Not at all a bad combination.

The soundquality is slightly murky and, as with the music presented here, also quite similar to Zyklon-B and Frozen Shadows, and as mentioned earlier with rather a Death Metal approach to it. The vocals are at the front with the guitars and the snare drum quite high in the mix as well. The rest of the drums and the bass unfortunately disappear to a certain extent in the murky production. This is quite good. Released as a limited A5 digi, as well as regular CD.

Standout tracks are "Channeling Black Energy", "Descending of the Black Ash Rain", "...And the Winds Brought Death".

Tuesday October 14 2008, by :Vragh:

Domini Inferi - 2004 - In Nomine Domini Inferi

This is the first demo by this Dutch one man Black Metal outfit dating back to 2001, now rereleased by Satanic Propaganda Records on tape. Presented on this demo are nine tracks, including an instrumental intro, an outro and a newly recorded instrumental/ambient bonus track. The music is mostly midpaced Black Metal with a ritualistic feel to it, very much in the vein of Von.

As with Von, the songstructures are built on repetition of the same riffs, here accompanied by a drum machine and the vocals here are sounding similar to those by Goat in Von as well. The soundquality on this tape is a bit muffled, but not too bad.

Standout tracks are "Cult of Death" and "Blood Harvest". A cover of Von's "Veinen" is also presented here.

Monday August 23 2004, by :Vragh:

Carnal Leftovers - 2006 - Pressure Pleasure

Here we have the odd Dutch horde Carnal Leftovers. What makes them odd is the fact that they play humorous Death Metal. Not a lot of bands doing this, that's for sure. What's also rather amusing is that their music is really crushingly heavy. The music is slow to fast with some parts Pantera in some
of the tracks, as well as some Cryptopsy heavyness. There are some parts Cannibal Corpse and Arsonist here as well.

The vocals remind me of those by Lord Worm on the earlier Cryptopsy albums, but these are quite a bit clearer, and you can actually hear the lyrics from time to time. Some slight similarities to early Cannibal Corpse are also present.

The soundquality is thick and bassoriented, and you hear all the instruments clearly in the mix. Of the six tracks on this release, the two last tracks are live recordings, and the soundquality on those tracks is really good as well.

Standout tracks are "Lactose Intolerant" and "Pressure Pleasure".

Saturday October 21 2006, by :Vragh:

Among the Living/Dominatör - 2005 - Split

Two bands from the Netherlands are presented on this split effort. Among the Living play slightly melodic Thrashing Death Metal, with some small amounts of Doom in the mix, and are represented
here with four tracks. The music is actually really heavy, reminding me of both Slayer and early Metallica.

The vocals are barked out, reminding me more of Punk/Hardcore style vocals. They actually remind me somewhat of Max Cavalera's vocals, mixed with something I can't put my finger on at the moment. Can't really describe them better than that. At first I wasn't really that fond of them, but after a while you notice that they actually fit the music rather well.

The soundquality is very good indeed. The instruments can be heard clearly in the mix, and the sound is sharp. I would say that this is actually a lot better than average. This was the bands last recording.

Standout track is "Drown".

Dominatör plays a somewhat slower Thrashy Death Metal, with more Doom in the music, and are represented with five tracks, the last one being a live track.This is slower than Among the Living, and with a different heaviness as well. Traces of Slayer are present here as well, as a bit of Megadeth and even some slight amount of Testament.

The vocals are somewhat similar to those by Nathan of Graves at Sea, and they also remind me a bit of those by Chuck Schuldiner of Death, although these are not as highpitched.

The soundquality is somewhat murkier than the tracks by Among the Living, but I like it, and the individual instruments can still be heard clearly. The live track has a remarkably good soundquality, as well.

Standout track is "600 Days".

Saturday October 21 by :Vragh: