Stormtroopers of Death - Speak English or Die (1985)

Stormtroopers of Death (commonly abbreviated to S.O.D.) came into existence in New York City back in 1985 when Anthrax was in the studio recording their sophomore release, 'Spreading the Disease.' Bored and waiting for the final results of the album, Scott Ian and Charlie Benante began writing random riffs inspired by their love for hardcore punk music, which was a thriving genre in New York at the time. Eventually Scott drew up the concept of Sargent "D" (the bands mascot) and former Anthrax bassist Dan Lilker joined up as well Billy Milano (former Anthrax roadie) was added as the bands vocalist and in August of '95 their debut, 'Speak English or Die' was released.

Speak English or Die effectively blended the aforementioned hardcore punk music with thrash metal and while D.R.I. & Suicidal Tendencies are considered the godfathers of the genre, its probably safe to say this recording served as extra inspiration for bands like Cryptic Slaughter, Agnostic Front and C.O.C. to create music in this style. However the big difference between S.O.D. and the aforesaid founders is that S.O.D. was all about hilariously offensive lyrical content whereas everyone else wrote serious lyrics about politics, society and the daily trials of life.

Although twenty one songs grace the album the whole thing is said and done in just twenty eight minutes and during that duration S.O.D. hits the listener with a high octane delivery of pummeling fast drumming, thrashy punk influenced riffs, heavy bass work and Milano's angry loud mouthed shouts, which cover such topics as suicide, moshing, immigrants not speaking English, united music scenes, war as well as a great deal of overall humor and silliness, none of which was probably meant to be taken seriously, but since it was in the 80's around the time of the P.M.R.C. some folks probably took it deadly serious.

Regardless of its effect on religious fuck asses, politicians and good for nothing overly sensitive parents, I've always really loved this album. Seriously how can you resist the head banging thrashfest that is, 'Sargent 'D' & The S.O.D.' & 'Kill Yourself' or the eight blasting seconds of 'Anti-Procrastination Song.' If you've ever wished people around you would just shut up and speak English you'll totally love, 'Speak English or Die' as well, 'What's That Noise' is an all out hilarious romp where Milano loses his cool due to some weird tape scratching sound in the studio while, 'Fuck The Middle East' should be our new national anthem and the six second tribute to rock legend Jimi Hendrik titled, 'Ballad of Jimi Hendrix' is just great too. The two other super short fast grindy numbers, 'Hey Gordy!' & 'Diamonds and Rust (extended version)' make me smile as well, especially the latter since its actually only six seconds, but all in all the whole album is a fun time.

The various re-releases of the album are a good time too since they feature live songs from a gig in Japan, and Milano proves right here if he wasn't a vocalist he'd be one fine stand-up comedian since he makes fun of the Japanese culture during his stage time though unbeknownst to the non-English speaking Japanese crowd who respond with a friendly cheer after each thing he says.

Being just a side project and joke band, S.O.D. eventually got back together in '99 and recorded, 'Bigger Than the Devil,' but it lacked just about everything that made this debut such a blast. A world tour followed, but sometime in 2001 things went sour between Scott and Billy and eventually S.O.D. was buried, forever, but their label still cashes in on the bands name by releasing DVDs, live albums and compilations.

If you've never experienced the crossover genre then consider, 'Speak English or Die' as its surely one of the finest entries and definitely not one to be missed!

Welcome DreadfulYgg to LH

The new guy over here helping out with Lunar Hypnisis is, DreadfulYgg, and in case you didn't notice he's responsible for the Ulcerate review from yesterday, as well he'll have plenty of interesting reviews to come. He also does his own blog called, 'A Dose of Dread,' which you can check out HERE if you feel so inclined to do so. Anyway, welcome to the crew!

Ulcerate - Everything Is Fire (2009)

Back at the end of 2009, this second release of theirs was getting a good amount of underground buzz about the way it turns contemporary death metal on its head, not to mention its inclusion on many best of 2009 lists. I'll admit that the artwork was intriguing, and to hear about a band actually making death metal interesting again peeked my curiosity. Death metal used to be an exciting genre for me, yet slowly but surely, either by the staleness of the sound or because I wasn't spending my time in the right places, it was starting to become a minimal presence in my music library, at best. So, I was anxious to see if Ulcerate were up to the task of rekindling that death metal flame.

Since that time, my experience with Everything Is Fire has been a roller-coaster of a journey. Straightaway, I noticed that this band sounded much different than the vast majority of garden variety death metal that exists today. It's a palpable difference, and yet it's not. A lot of this has to do with the tone they present. It's got a "holy shit, this world is fucked" vibe going on, which is what death metal should evoke, at least partly.

Ulcerate is also technical. Very technical. There's so much going on within each song, that it feels like if you stray for even 5 or 10 seconds, you feel like you've missed a lot. In fact, you feel tempted to restart the song so that you can fully soak in, or at least try to soak in all of the riffs being thrown and tossed around your ears. Believe me, they fly around on a near constant basis, like bees around those bushes in spring. Your ears get as much of a work out listening as the musicians clearly get with playing. So far, I've had a difficult time deciding if this challenge is something I'm fond of, or if it's plain annoying. But I think it all comes down to what mood I'm in.

As I touched on already, a big plus with this album is its atmosphere. It's absolutely crushing and uncompromisingly bleak. In fact, the title is appropriate, considering that this band could easily be the soundtrack to watching the world be consumed by flames. The band delivers with a ferocity that you simply don't get from a lot of death metal these days. I feel the production is a big credit to this success. It doesn't have that processed, triggered feeling that is so prevalent in many a death metal release. The sound of Ulcerate feels natural and human. This is an attribute that I'd love to become a more prominent aspect in not just death metal, but metal in general. Not every metal band warrants this "human" feel, since it would depend on what the band is trying to accomplish with their music to begin with. Nevertheless, it needs to be played up on more. But I digress.

When all is said and done, Everything is Fire can either be one of the best death metal experiences you can have, or the most frustrating. Ulcerate (and I) both dare you to find out. I personally can't wait to dig into their newest album, The Destroyers of All, as soon as I can.

Paradise Lost - Gothic (1991)

My first experience with Halifax, England, UK Doom legends, Paradise Lost feels like a lifetime ago or at least a decade ago through a compilation titled, 'Peaceville Classic Cuts,' which had an assortment of great songs on it from bands such as, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Katatonia, Darkthrone, Opeth and At the Gates (among a few others) and it may or may not have served as an intro to some of these other bands too, which kind of makes you wonder why I sold it, especially since all of these bands I can list among my all-time favs these days. Well, anyway, it wasn't until about 2003 that I got my hands on a re-issue of the bands debut full-length, 'Lost Paradise,' which I thought was okay and it wasn't until much, much later that I happened to find this old original press of the bands sophomore release, 'Gothic,' which in case you didn't know is often considered a milestone within the death/doom genre.

It's likely that most people that hear this now twenty year old record for the first time might not consider it to be much of a release, but what you must understand is that in March of 1991 no one, absolutely no one was playing music in this style. In '91 pure death metal reigned supreme, but these weirdos somehow came up with the idea to blend both death metal with slow ultra heavy doom metal characteristics, a few crafty solos, random keyboard orchestration and brief female vocal enrichment into a style that would soon be dubbed death/doom... and then imitated by thousands.

'Gothic' is a strange album though as the song writing isn't the best, parts of it sound outright awkward and the production is awful, but in terms of melody, mood and overall progress from their debut, Paradise Lost succeeds greatly here. The riffs from Gregor Mackintosh and Aaron Aedy are catchy, but truly bleak and the solos are immensely foreboding and gorgeous throughout the entire affair as well the tempo tends to vary a bit more than you'd expect as some clear death metal influence shines through, especially on, 'Dead Emotion.' Nick Holmes' low grunts are fantastic and full of emotion from the get go and the occasional operatic female voice of Sarah Marrion is ethereal perfection. Stephen Edmondson's bass guitar is there, somewhere, kinda and Matthew Archer's drum work sounds suffocated and minuscule next to the powerful riffs and low grunts, but for all I know the re-issues of this release may have enhanced these setbacks. The keyboards, although brief are used wisely and only enhance the dark ghostly somber mood further.

However like I already said Gothic is a strange album, those thirty eight minutes blow right by and you wont get it on the first spin, especially if you have a good decade of listening to this style behind you like I did when I finally heard it. But, you know, once you give this album a number of spins it really starts to all come together and when you consider its age and influence you'll finally get why Gothic is a death/doom masterpiece.

The album has been re-issued twice in the past decade, most recently as a 2CD that comes with a DVD of an old live performance from '91, which really gets my curiosities going.

Massacre - From Beyond (1991)

Massacre was originally formed in the early 80's as a power/speed metal band, but in 1984 when Kam Lee and Allen West joined they began taking their first steps towards death metal. Between '86-'90 three demos were recorded with various line-ups and these are very important releases in extreme metal since the '86 demo is said to be the first recording to feature a 'death growl,' of which, Kam being the inventor of this nowadays typical style. In March of '91 the band finally solidified a stable line-up and entered Morrisound Recording studio with Colin Richardson to lay down the tracks that would make up their massive debut full-length, 'From Beyond.'

Its interesting to point out right away that the four members responsible for this recording; Kam Lee, Rick Rozz, Terry Butler and Bill Andrews had all spent their formative years playing alongside Chuck Schuldiner in Death, which means these guys knew what death metal was all about and without question this album delivers the goods.

Guitarist Rick Rozz draws a lot of influence from Slayer with his solos and although none of them are lengthy or overly brilliant its his super charged riffing that will likely grab your attention. I mean his riffing isn't immensely technical or necessarily influential, but these fast rhythms have the tendency to make me bang my head like a freakin' psycho and the thick fuzzed up tone to the guitar makes this brand of heavy metal even heavier. As for Kam, well, what can I say other than I love this guys vocal work. He specializes in one of those low guttural cookie monster-ish roars that erupts from your speakers in commanding fury and his maniacal laughter and high pitched shrieks are intense too. Terry's bass is surely there, though it hardly does much other than follow Rick's guitar (this improved on the following EP, 'Inhuman Condition') and Bill's drumming is not especially technical either, but its your rather dosage of standard thrashy drumming, which works just fine with me.

There's a lot of favs from this album, but, 'Dawn of Eternity' is surely one of the best death metal songs ever with its creepy blood freezing intro and ensuing death metal chaos or the majestic synth intro that greets the listener on, 'Chamber of Ages' is quite similar to something you'd find on early black metal albums. As well the closing cut, 'Corpse Grinder' is a cover of an old Death song, which ends this album perfectly. If you pick up the CD re-issue (I have both that and the original LP) you'll also get the, 'Inhuman Condition' EP from '92, which is largely more of the same, but I can't complain much about that, as well the cover of Venom's, 'Warhead' with Cronos himself singing is a fun little treat.

Unfortunately from '93 onwards line-up problems plagued Massacre once again, but in '96 Kam got a reliable line-up and recorded, 'Promise,' which is often regarded as one of the worst albums ever and after a quick visit to youtube to check it out it sounds like Kam and the boys may very well have been one of the first nu metal bands out there. Yikes...

Massacre folded quickly thereafter but in the past ten years Kam has tried to get Massacre back together as well as formed a few new bands, but nothing has worked out, yet.

Regardless of their later career failures, 'From Beyond' is a certified genre classic and its likely that influences from this album have been drawn on a lot of what followed, but it just is a shame that this is their only worthy offering.

Entombed - Left Hand Path (1990)

I can say with much ease that if there is any record out there that simply must be owned or at least heard in ones lifetime it's Entombed's crushing 1990 classic debut, 'Left Hand Path.'

Recorded in December 1989 by Tomas Skogsberg at the then unknown Sunlight Studio, in Stockholm, Sweden, Left Hand Path is quite simply the perfect union of heavy hitting guitar riffs, blazing solos, low guttural vocals, stunning drumming and catchy songs, all of which combined in a absolute demolishing and influential way and not since has any death metal band come close to touching it.

Entombed originally formed in Stockholm around 1987 under the name Nihilist by a couple of kids in their mid-teens who went on to record three demos in the following years before a slight line-up change and taking on the name Entombed in late 1989. It was in fact Nihilist's guitarist Leif "Leffe" Cuzner who defined the style of Swedish death metal by being the first to come up with the "buzzsaw" guitar tone, which was achieved by heavily detuned electric guitars with a maxed out Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Pedal and the DS-1 Distortion pedal into a Peavey amp. However even as Leif came up with the technique that countless other Swedish bands later on used, both he and bassist Johnny Hedlund were later booted from the band and although Johnny formed Unleashed Leif did not go onto any other bands.

From the opening seconds of, 'Left Hand Path' and the terrifying Celtic Frost-ish intro that greets the listener and the first pummeling riffs and pounding drums its clear immediately that these Swedes were up to something absolutely diabolical on this debut. As the songs continues on in a raging head banging fury it eventually segues into a melodic ending, which is a metalized version of the Phantasm movie theme. Chances are you'll be left completely awestruck with this devastating opening cut, but things just continue onward with more erupting death metal chaos on the songs, 'Drowned' and 'Revel in Flesh' the latter of which is a galloping fist pumping hair flying masterpiece that gets me charged up more so than pretty much any other song out there. However things just keep going with other big highlights being the short but killer, 'Supposed to Rot' & 'But Life Goes on,' which again is death metal mastery and it's chorus lyrics are beyond awesome. 'Bitter Loss' is a lot like Revel in Flesh as its just an absolutely fast, catchy and energizing song with an underlying punk flair that puts me in the mood for even more classic Swedish Death Metal while the final song, 'The Truth Beyond' is the perfect closer to the perfect album.

What a lot of people may not realize is that this IS the album that defined the Swedish Death Metal scene and set it in motion and although somewhat equally great records soon surfaced they still could never hope to top this record. This was also the first record to have that classic Swedish buzz tone on the guitars and, yes, its fucking amazing sounding, but its also important to point out that the nearby Norwegians would soon adept a very similar tone to their black metal music even if fucking bigot assholes like Jan Axel "Cashhammer" Blomberg so boldly claimed Entombed to be shit in interviews.

Curiously somehow this album passed me by in my youth as back then I preferred black metal over death metal and although I've owned this record for a few years now it really didn't fully click with me until reading Daniel Ekeroth's brilliant, 'Swedish Death Metal' book last year. Why it didn't hit home with me initially is a bit beyond me, but I guess it all goes back to my former love of black metal whereas in the past year or so my life has been dedicated in tracking down and owning various classic Swedish Death Metal records as well as just old school death metal in general.

I don't really know what else to say because this is a record to take the words out of your mouth and head and in the end all that's left is the feeling of knowing you've just listened to one of the most monumental metal recordings ever. Absolutely mandatory and beyond description Entombed's, 'Left Hand Path' is death metal perfection.

Veneficum - Enigma Prognosis (2003)

I first came to know the Orland Park, Illinois, USA based band Veneficum back sometime in 2001 and I recall being greatly impressed with them through their debut MCD, 'Dysphoria' as well as simply the fact that a band playing in this style was fairly close to where I lived.

Veneficum and their '03 debut full-length, 'Enigma Prognosis' follows the coattails of Scandinavian symphonic black metal bands such as Limbonic Art, Dimmu Borgir and Emperor rather adequately even though its not direct copycatism on display here all the typical elements are present. However where Veneficum stood out amongst the crowd of SBM clones is that their music was produced decently with all the instruments being audible whereas many bands in this genre constantly thrived solely on the synthesizers to draw attention.

Surely though the synths performed by founding member Antarktis are beyond exceptional with a keen sense of darkness and atmosphere in his work, but there’s a more beautiful side as well to this album whether it be during the main songs or the couple purely ambient tracks that grace this record. In any case its full on symphonic black metal keyboard work here just like your favorite Scandinavian bands were doing before them and whether or not that's a good or bad thing is entirely up to you.

The guitar work of Aric and Chris is exceptional with plenty of perfectly audible and catchy headbanging riffs as well as a few well placed guitar solos. The drums, bass and lead vocals are handled by G. Reymond and although his drumming mostly consists of blastbeats there are some interesting fills here and there as well plenty of drum rolls, while his bass work is audible, but doesn't make a dramatic overall impact on the work, but its his vocals that I've always admired which bring this record to extra levels of excellence. He screams with a screechy throat lacerating howl, occasional low growls as well as a few spoken parts which just seem to work perfectly with the music on this album.

In the end, 'Enigma Prognosis' is over seventy minutes in length through eleven different songs and although I wont claim it to be better then their Scandinavian heroes it is along with fellow American Symphonic Black Metalers, Vesperian Sorrow, some of the finer sounding SBM 'round these parts.

Throughout Veneficum's history, which dates back to 1999, the band has had constant line-up issues, but it seems after a huge delay they finally got a steady crew together and released their second album, 'In Tranquil Absurd' late last year, which definitely makes me curious to hear.

Taake - Nattestid Ser Porten Vid (1999)

By the end of the 90's the once proud and elite Norwegian black metal scene had long past its peak and once godlike purveyors of sonic extremism, for instance; Emperor, Satyricon, Darkthrone and Mayhem had lost their creativity, direction and were set to release some of the weakest material of their careers, of which none of these examples have redeemed themselves upon either.

Originally operating under the Thule moniker from '93-'94, by the will of Ørjan "Hoest" Stedjeberg, Taake (Norwegian for Fog) was born in '95 quickly followed by a demo and an EP the following year. Recorded in the famous Grieghallen studios between 1997-98, with Pytten as producer, 'Nattestid Ser Porten Vid' was the first Taake full-length album and remains as a pillar of excellence within the Norwegian Black Metal scene.

As soon as Nattestid Ser Porten Vid and as each of its seven untitled tracks pour into your ears you'll feel your very soul being assaulted by this wave of blizzardly cold tremolo picked riffs that although harsh in character still have an underlying and catchy melody within them. The very first riff upon pressing play is proof enough of that as it makes me shiver just about every time I hear it, but curiously enough as the record progresses you'll notice the riffs occasionally have a folk-ish sentiment to them as well, which brings me back to the early Ulver and Satyricon albums as well some of the riffs are totally Celtic Frost headbanging licks too. The outcome is an authentic assailment of chaotic chainsawy fuzzed up classic Norwegian Black Metal riffs with memorable majestic melodies and rocking sensibilities all wrapped up with a total underground and classic black metal production.

Hoest's vocal attack also stands as one of the finest every laid down as he absolutely breaths pure raging emotion into everyone of his vile shrieks and screams. Sometimes sounding like a twisted ghoul exhumed from the earth that's hellbent for revenge and at other times his voice gives off a sorrowful character, plus I've always been a fan of his grunts too. Needless to really say, they are excellent. Drummer/bassist Frostein S. Arctander occasionally adds some cleanly sung operatic vocals which give the album a more epic character, but they are rarely used, which is kind of shame, because it would have been interesting if he would have backed up Hoest during his most maniacal moments. His drumming is also mostly relentless blasting, but the rest of the kit doesn't go unnoticed either. Also with the production being so harsh you wouldn't expect the bass to be present, but underneath all the chaos you surely can hear his heavy bass picking, which only adds to this albums faultlessness.

Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes new black metal listeners make is buying into the new groups and forgetting the founders. Personally I was just getting into black metal when this album came out and I can say first hand that it got me on the right path even if it didn't click immediately as I probably favored the more melodic and symphonic bands initially. However I never gave up on the record and its remained with me for many years now and is an absolute favorite. As you may know Taake still exists today and has released three more albums, several EPs/splits and frankly speaking if you are going to go with a modern black metal band, then choose Taake because perhaps they'll enlighten you to what true black metal is all about.

Utlagr - 1066 - Blood and Iron in Hastings (2007)

Hailing from Québec City, Québec is Utlagr, a five piece melodic black metal band. Although I've seen them use the term Vinlandic Pagan Metal, which sounds cooler and the title, '1066 - Blood And Iron In Hastings,' is from the historical Battle of Hastings where the Normans conquered the English. Of course who can overlook the viking warrior on the cover either. So, perhaps entering them into the viking metal genre is possible too.

Regardless of genre classification the guitar work is mostly mid-paced, slightly epic in character and never becomes overly frantic and crazy like a brutal black metal band, and fortunately there are plenty of interesting riffs to be found in this album, yet not a solo to be heard. The drums on the other hand tend to be a bit more brutal, but diverse enough so they don’t become overpowering, while vocally the words are screamed out in a fairly normal black metal tone. Lyrically speaking four of the songs have words wrote in French while the other six have English with lyrics detailing on the bands outlook on society, Norse mythology and hatred directed at Christianity, though the lyrics are well wrote and not immature at all.

While, ‘1066 - Blood and Iron in Hastings’ has some memorable parts to it with some great guitar work, what it lacks is diversity as things just sound kind of unchanged from track to track. Still curiously there is such a hard driven spirit behind the music that I still find the whole thing to be quite engaging. Just as the albums title is based around a battle, Utlagr triumphantly pounds away for nearly fifty minutes of glorious devastating black/viking metal carnage. Of course I'll still say if the band added some acoustic guitars, synth or the aforementioned guitar solos it would have benefited their music tremendously.

In 2010 the band released a 7" EP titled, 'L'éveil de Jormungandr,' which ultimately proved to be the bands final creation as guitarist, Jacques Villiard died of complications related to cancer and the band split up. Unfortunate they lost a talented guitarist and friend and never managed to record a second album and it would have been interesting to see what they would have come up with.

Deafheaven - Roads to Judah (2011)

Deafheaven are a San Francisco-based five-piece signed to, interestingly enough, Deathwish Records (who usually specialize in hardcore and similar genres, as opposed to the post-metal/black metal mix we have here). 'Roads to Judah' is their first full-length following a hugely successful demo.

'Violet' opens the album with a calming ambiance that builds into a methodical post-rock/shoegaze jam. Then, at around the four-and-a-half minute mark, it switches gears to atmospheric black metal. While the production is decidedly better than most black metal bands, none of the raw energy is lost. The vocals are your usual black metal screams, but the fit perfectly with the music. Deafheaven aren't afraid to go into more sludge/post-metal breakdowns, changing tempos while maintaining their heaviness throughout. They do not limit themselves to one genre; they mix and meld like an apothecary at his craft. The clean guitar intro that opens 'Unrequited' is evidence: it could easily be found on a Gifts from Enola album, or some similar post-metal band, but instead they use it to calm the listener before arguably the heaviest, rawest song of the album. The four tracks on this album span almost 39 minutes, and every one of those minutes is a foray into amazing soundscapes and music.

This kind of music seems to leave no one on the fence; either it's fantastic or absolute shit. Bands like Deafheaven, Altar of Plagues, Wolves in the Throne Room, etc. all fall (unfairly so) under this umbrella of "hipster black metal" or some other ridiculous moniker, decidedly not 'cult' but instead expanding the genre, much to the chagrin of people who choose to keep the blinders over their eyes. And I'm not referring to anyone who doesn't like this particular album, just anyone who is too stuck in the mud to appreciate genre expansion and music boundaries being broken as a whole. Fuck it, listen to what you want and what you like, and let others do the same. And although this album may be more crew-cut and buttoned shirts instead of leather and spikes, for me, this is a front runner to be one of the best albums of the year. Fans of previously mentioned black metal, as well as bands like Jesu, Gifts from Enola, and other ambient, post-metal, or shoegaze bands will find this album powerful. Though 'Roads to Judah' won't be released until April, all preorders come with a free, high-quality download of the album.

Gallhammer - Gloomy Lights (2004)

I originally wrote the following review in early 2005, just a few months after this albums original release date of November 11th, 2004. Why re-post you ask? Simply because I like this old review and it shows how much I was into them at the time (still love this album too) and as well since Gallhammer is something of a known name these days a lot of what I say wouldn't make since all these years later. Anyway...

"Get this, and I kid you not. Gallhammer is an all female black/death/doom metal band from Nakano, Japan. They take the stage in long white dresses; wear black paint around their eyes and lips and look like three girls killed on prom night that have now risen up from the grave to pay tribute to the old school metal gods. It’s a friggin’ dream come true I tell ya!

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but with their first album, ‘Gloomy Lights’ Gallhammer is paying tribute to the old Swiss band Hellhammer. Listening to Gloomy Lights is like taking a trip back to 1984 when Hellhammer wrote, 'Apocalyptic Raids' and the whole death and black metal scene was just getting started. The music’s pace is for the most part in the sluggish to mid paced range with the faster parts only popping up here and there. Can anyone say Triumph of Death! Lead guitarist and vocalist Mika Penetrator’s (yes, yes, fuck yes!) vocals alternate between painful brutal shrieks, which she shares with bassist Vivian Slaughter who uses more of a typical doom growl. The line up is complete with Risa Reaper who handles the drums, kinda sloppily might I add, but that’s the only way to play this sort of old school music anyway, right? Actually come to think of it everything including the production is pretty sloppy and minimalistic, but the music is ridiculously gloomy, atmospheric, depressive, and reeks of evil fishy black breath. True maybe the world doesn’t need another Hellhammer tribute band, but to find one from Japan and to have them be all females is just amazing as far as I’m concerned. I may be in love!"

Quoted

I've been quoted and that makes me happy. You can see it HERE at this most excellent blog dedicated to the New Wave of Thrash Metal, which if you know what's good for you you'll check out.

Meridian - The Seventh Sun (2002)

Meridian was a short lived ('99-'02) melodic black metal band hailing from Geneva, Switzerland who back in 2002 released an overlooked gem titled, 'The Seventh Sun.' Playing at both dashing fast and mid-paced melodious speeds, Meridian also included odd dark electronic/EBM like intros/interludes in their music that gave the album a very distinctive feeling as well as Emperor-ish atmospheric synths.

While its true that an amalgamation of melodic black metal and dark electronics has been done before and is actually quite accepted these days, as far as I recall it wasn't so common back in 2002. Possibly influenced by the legendary Thorns and their monumental debut from a year earlier, Meridian took some characteristics of that release and created a wholly original experience on this album.

Now I should point out that I have no interest in EBM or really any electronic music these days. Years ago I bought a bunch of big names in those scenes and while it captured my interest and scored me a date with a hot chick back then in the end it was about as memorable as them turds I flushed down the toilet this morning. However somehow the way Meridian perfectly places the dancey EBM parts and aggressive electronic beats amongst their raging black metal attack absolutely appeals to me and has done so for many years now.

The vocals are performed by a guy named Paris as well by Jack D. Ripper of Morgul fame, though the booklet doesn't clearly indicate who sings what, but his/their diverse raspy screamed voices, which also occasional have some effects placed on them work entirely to well with the music of Meridian. Drakon's faultless and catchy guitar work is full of character and you'll find many agreeable moments, possibly followed by the banging of your head too. M.T. Random's drum work is intense fast paced powerful technical drumming and Arwan's synth work is damn cool, but I think I already made that obvious. Plus the album is produced near perfectly, which was a good idea since this sort of music would have sounded odd with an underground production.

As I already said, many bands these days have explored the idea of mixing electronics with black metal, but never did a band pull if off so extraordinarily as Meridian did on, ‘The Seventh Sun.’ It's just a shame they did this one and only album and called it a career.

Looking for Additional Writers

Since this blogs inception or continuation (depending on how you view it) in late 2009 its mostly been my own personal playground of writing and other random nonsense with only occasional help from friends here and there. Fact is during Lunar Hypnosis' original tenure ('01-'08) both myself and several other writers (probably close to 40 different people) contributed on both a grand and minuscule level and thus helped make the 'zine what it was, and for those that missed it I can tell you first hand that there was a lot of content. However the initiation of this blog meant a restart since I wasn't going to post anyone else's work and pretty much all of my reviews from the early days were horrendous. May of 2011 will mark ten years of Lunar Hypnosis and when I stop and think about that I'm amazed I've dedicated so much time to this thing over the years, but its always been a blast and things just got better when I hopped over hear to blogger.

So, with that said I'm interested in finding additional writers to help with this 'zine. It doesn't matter if you'll be able to contribute a lot or a little but if the interest and passion to write about your favorite metal bands/albums is there then definitely get in contact. Those that are interested can contact me by email (luciferoverlondon@gmail.com) or stop by my last.fm profile and leave me a message or alternatively just reply to this post.

For those that do wish to contribute I can't promise you promos, fame and fortune or big titted bitches, but I can assure you that you'll be contributing to one of the longer running Internet 'zines out there and that you'll also be enlightening people on all the great metal and metal related release out there (if that means anything to you). Thanks, hope to hear from you.

Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution (2005)

Judas Priest's 2005 release, 'Angel of Retribution' marked a re-birth in the bands career as the Metal God himself, Mr. Rob Halford reunited with Glen, K.K., Ian and Scott after a twelve year absence from the band during which he pursued various other musical adventures. JP was also initially on hiatus upon Rob's departure, but in the late 90's Tim "Ripper" Owens stepped in to try and fill Rob's vacant slot and together they released, 'Jugulator' in '97 and 'Demolition' in '01, but not with much success or conviction behind these records. So, eventually Rob took his throne of metal supremacy once again and Angel of Retribution was the result, which strangely seems to have received mixed reviews, but I think this record is absolutely excellent.

The album opens with the powerful opener, 'Judas Rising' and its apparent immediately that JP is back in full hard hitting force. However things just get better when the speedy and quite catchy, 'Deal with the Devil' erupts from my speakers and goddamn do I ever love the third song, 'Revolution.' Rob sounds absolutely fantastic on this anthem and you'd think after thirty plus years of singing his voice would have given out, but no, he sounds just as fantastic as ever. 'Worth Fighting For' is a bit mellower and with a little bit of classic 70's JP charm here too while 'Wheels of Fire' is one of those driving songs, you know the ones you blast at obnoxiously loud volumes to drown out the disgusting everthings of society, yeah one of those numbers and I love it. 'Angel' is the albums ballad and its perfect and utterly beautiful in its delivery too whilst 'Hellrider' is another one of those straight forward heavy metal blazing balls of fire that you just got to love. The tenth and final song, 'Lochness' is JP's attempt at writing a lengthy (14 mins) epic and while I find the chorus to be quite memorable other parts of the song are not so lasting and after a while the song just becomes repetitive, but its not awful.

Also if you get the digipak version of this album you'll get a bonus DVD, which has a documentary with the band discussing the reunion as well as a short eight song live set that consists of JP classics.

While AoR is by no means the greatest entry in the legendary Judas Priest catalog it is in fact quite a good record and a successful comeback for Rob. I think folks problem with this album is that they were expecting Painkiller part II, which to me would have been pointless, because you really can't top one of the most classic metal albums ever and its probably not worth trying either. This album does however have plenty of Painkiller-ness within it, but there's also a great deal of 70's JP included, especially, 'Stained Class,' and 'Sad Wings of Destiny' seem to be the most obvious albums they referenced.

I never got around to hearing the bands most recent, 'Nostradamus' album, but much like this one the reviews seemed to be quite mixed, which may very well mean I've been missing out on a fantastic record. In the end if you're longing for some modern metal played in the classic and true way then look no further than Judas Priest's most awesome, 'Angel of Retribution.'

Aiumeen Basoa - Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik (2010)

My first experience with the Spanish Basque Country band, Aiumeen Basoa, was back in 2001 through their split release, 'Triarchy of Vasconia,' which also featured Spanish natives, Ilbeltz and Adhur. Much like Ilbeltz, no less than nine years separate this old release and their debut albums, but for all the waiting, 'Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik' was absolutely worth it, because its quite an impressive debut.

Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik is an extraordinary mixture of traditional Basque folk music which I believe is influenced from the Cantabrian region as well as some flamenco tendencies, a smidgen of black metal influence and some progressive touches all intertwined with a keen sense of melodicism, lyrics dealing with esteem for nature and Paganism and an absolutely incredible atmosphere throughout the six songs. Four of the songs are new while the remaining two are re-recordings from the aforementioned split and here they get slightly re-worked and ultimately perfected too.

To give you an idea of what an Aiumeen Basoa song is like, 'Kantauriko Trabain Erruak' opens with the warm sounds of an acoustic guitar, which gives me this sensation of sitting on the beach on a warm summer day, when before long an accordion, flute and violin make their appearance. Shortly thereafter the first signs of metal arrive at a blasting pace followed by a ghastly scream, a wash of atmospheric synths and commanding raspy lead vocals. From here on the song continues on for several minutes at both fast paces and entirely soft folky moments too with fantastic progressive changes. The stunning guitar (both electric and acoustic) work from Mikelot and Beleak is tasteful and melodic at all turns and when paired with the violin, occasional female vocals and other instruments the results are quite epic, to say the least, but you'll just have to hear the ending of this incredible eleven minute song to know what real majestic folk metal is all about.

'Jentil Odola' as well is a catchy little number that features everything that makes the previous song as well as all the others just so special. This song does however feature some cleanly sung male operatic-ish vocals, which are paired alongside the female voice to great effect too. Again here the music shifts between galloping black-ish metal paces to calm purely folk sounds and reaches a point of absolute brilliance when the solo pops up. 'Aintzinako Guduen Oroimenak' is one of the old songs from the split release and although it sounds only vaguely changed it sounds better since the production on this release is considerably improved and I'm also quite happy that the band kept the beautifully melancholic woodwind/violin ending to this song.

From here on the album continues onward fairly similar to what we've already heard, but there's little subtle differences like the wonderful blues part in, 'Akelarrearen Sua,' which completely took me off guard, but I adored it. 'Ekaitzaren Begitik' is also interesting since parts of it does away with the jovial mood in favor of something a bit more melancholy as well it makes great usage of piano during the middle of the song, which is followed by a most impressive death/doom part. 'Aiumeen Basoa (Arlekina)' is the other re-recorded song and again quite similar, but vastly improved nonetheless.

In the end and after several plays later, 'Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik' has found a very special place in my heart and I can only hope the band continues to prosper from this point. Honestly though every last aspect of this release is superb, from the impressive guitar work to the stunning female voice, the various folk instruments and even the raspy screamed vocals and the drum work are performed perfectly.

Unfortunately Aiumeen Basoa is signed to a tiny label called, 'Erzsebet Records,' which probably means you wont be finding it in your local record store, but its absolutely worth the hunt on eBay or other online distros. If you've heard folk metal and thought it wasn't for you I absolutely urge you to check out this release as well as Illbeltz's, 'Auskan Gabiltz Olatun Gainian (1598 Potrobizargorri I),' which I reviewed a few months ago, because frankly I think you'll see this is far better than your average Ensiferum or Falkenbach clone and thus proves that folk metal is a worthwhile and flourishing genre of music.

Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit (2010)

This is an F'ed up off way to start a review, but here goes, anyway.

My anticipation and eventual appreciation for the new Agalloch album was completely ruined for the following reasons:

1) The album leaked. Oh yes, like every album these days it leaked a good month or so before its actual release date, thus making it available in mp3 format for all of the degenerates out there that can't support the artists they claim to love. The days of going to the record store or receiving a package in the mail on the day of release are a thing of the past. I mean, fuck, why would you want an actual physical release when you could have a file? Personally I've always preferred physical over files, but that's just me.

2) The Viva Hate Records Fiasco. Although information of its existence was completely unknown to the public, Agalloch released a special version of this album through some bogus German label, which I truly hope goes out of business real soon and their offices go up in flames. Y'see these special versions were supposed to be shipped before the actual release date, but something went wrong and I ended up having to wait no less than two additional weeks before my CD/t-shirt package arrived. Some people waited over a month. Oh, and best of all they sent me a shirt sized for a fucking midget, instead of the large I requested. Thanks, assholes.

I could go on, but wouldn't you rather hear about the album? Nah, you already stole it from the Internet already, anyway, but I'll let you know my thoughts regardless.

The album opens with, 'They Escaped The Weight Of Darkness,' which is an overly long intro that features a cello, birds chirping and the sounds of rushing water, though I'll let my favorite Goonie accurately describe this song for you, "Sounds like my grandfather taking a leak. Thrillsville." This eventually leads into the pummeling, 'Into The Painted Grey,' which although faster and slightly black-ish in style the song reminds me of parts from the last album at times, which may be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Parts of the song are truly great though, its a song to get hyped up for and headbang too, which is weird for Agalloch, but then again these guys are already reinventing themselves. So, why not. The album starts to get really good from here.

Having been an Agalloch fan since the Autumn of 2000 the one thing I've always enjoyed about the band is that they've constantly changed styles and none of their previous releases sound exactly alike. Similar characteristics are surely present, but, 'Pale Folklore,' 'The Mantle,' and 'Ashes Against the Grain' are three very different sounding albums to my ears, but Marrow, as I already said, tends to sound similar to the last album, at least a good portion of it, but that could just be me. And again, that could be good or bad depending on what you expect out of these guys after all these years.

The first truly great song is, 'The Watcher's Monolith,' which again wouldn't have sounded out of place on Ashes at all, but I really enjoy this song; superb riffs, catchy and a good driving rhythm behind the whole thing makes it one of the albums finest moments.

'Black Lake Nidstång' however is the albums most stunning piece and at just slightly over seventeen minutes it packs a lot in. One of the aspects of Ashes I disliked was that it wasn't melancholy in any way whatsoever, which was quite a contrast to their previous releases, but BLN brings back that wonderfully atmospheric misery that I've been loving in Agalloch's music for the past ten years. The song offers up a fair balance between prog, post rock, doom metal and krautrock during its epic duration, which has a mood somewhere between absolute sorrow and vivid physchelia as it unfolds, as well John delivers one of his more memorable vocal performances on this number. Everything about this song is utterly perfect.

'Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires' is the albums other major standout as the intro directly reminds me of vintage Pale Folklore era Agalloch, which eventually segues into more of the bands current sound with glorious results too. Again great riffs pop up, one monumental ending solo, catchiness, a strange sort of springtime renewal like atmosphere and even a brief black-ish section grace this impressive nine minute song. The final song, 'To Drown' is considerably different and although there's something of a melancholic mood to the whole thing it just isn't as convincing as some of the bands older mellower pieces. At least here the cello is put to good use amongst the acoustic and distorted electric guitars, Mr. Haughm's whispers and the ominous piano tinkling, and the cataclysmic outro, which for some reason puts an image in my brain of an empire falling and burning to the ground.

'Marrow of the Spirit' was recorded entirely in analog on vintage equipment at Audible Alchemy Studios in Portland, Oregon, with Steven Wray Lobdell, which is kind of weird since all past releases were recorded by a guy named Ronn Chick, and with fairly decent results too. I don't know much about recording techniques, but apparently analog on vintage equipment is a crafty way of saying that the albums production isn't really that good. Truly even if you do fancy the album you'll have to admit the production is severely lacking and why the band opted for this production is beyond me, but it hurts the album, greatly. As a result of the production the solos are not up front and dynamic enough in their delivery as well the drums sound just awful, tough luck for the new guy, I guess.

In the end my feelings on the album are mixed as there are some truly great songs and moments on this beast, but for the moment I do consider it Agalloch's weakest effort, but then again I said the same thing when reviewing Ashes years ago and that thing really grew on me. Perhaps this one will too. Time shall tell.

Janvs - FVLGVRES (2007)

Born back in 2004 as the solo project of Vinctor, this Italian band has since expanded into a three piece, releasing their debut in 2004 and now following up that well received record with, ‘FVLGVRES’ in 2007.

With possible comparisons to Drudkh, Helrunar, and early Ulver material, Janvs offers up quite a show with their sophomore effort. The music is a sort of epic melodic black metal with ample usage of acoustics for a more melancholic sound and keyboards for a darkened atmosphere plus full lyrics in their native tongue gives it the authentic Italian feel. The music also has a sort of progressive quality to it as the music often shifts between brutal parts and more melodic sections and also sometimes into purely acoustic or ambient territories. You’ll also notice that the percussion is well done as it’s never full on blasting, but rather diverse the whole way and even sort of martial sounding at times. Though a big difference compared to Drudkh or Ulver would be that the recording is recorded rather pristine like with even enough room for the bass guitar to be heard.

Due to the bands progressive qualities it makes the album flow rather nicely. It offers the fare balance of brutal parts and easier to digest melodic sections for the timid, and although the acoustic and ambient parts are somewhat repetitive at times it invokes a sort of dreamy hazy feeling I much enjoy. As for favorites, I’d definitely have to point to the lengthy instrumental, ‘Vesper’ or the title track, which features guest vocals from Spite Extreme Wings main man. However the album as a whole is considerably well done and definitely well deserving of your attention.

Although perhaps not the most original thing to be heard, FVLGVRES is still one of the finer black metal releases unleashed in 2007, and with that said I definitely look forward to hearing more from this band, especially the follow-up, 'Vega,' which is said to be considerably engaging.

Bonded by Blood - Feed the Beast (2008)

I know what your thinking and the purists have been saying it for a couple of years now too. Your thinking to yourself, "Why should I listen to a thrash metal album from 2008 when I can listen to one from 1988?" The answer is simple, friends:

BECAUSE ITS GODDAMN THRASH METAL AND IT FUCKING RULES!

These young Hispanic thrashers from Pomona, California formed back in 2005 and much like Gama Bomb I'd previously never heard them before, in fact the first time I heard Bonded by Blood was at the same gig as Gama Bomb and their performance was so convincing I ran over to the merch table soon as their set was finished.

After a demo in 2006 titled, 'Four Pints Of Blood' and an EP under the name, 'Extinguish the Weak,' the following year, 'Feed the Beast' was issued by Earache Records in mid-2008.

As soon as 'Immortal Life' blasts out of my speakers in a breakneck bolting pace its clear from the start that these exhilarated thrashers our out for blood and determined to take thrash metal's glorious roots and influences and define their own style, even if this debut album is fairly by the numbers, there's no telling where they'll be ten years down the road. Alex Lee leads the rhythm attack with a onslaught of technically impressive and jaw droppingly crazy solos and catchy riffs with Juan Juarez following closely behind in a pursuit of thrashy headbanging fury that never relents. Ruben Dominguez picks away at the bass hastely and craftly while drummer Carlos Regalado absolutely shines and blasts away behind the drum stool perfectly. Vocalist Jose "Aladdin" Barrales has a nasally angry voice that reminds me of old thrash vocalists like Rich Gonzales (Recipients of Death) and John Connelly (Nuclear Assault) while Alex, Ruben and Juan back him up with those always fun and killer thrash gang vocals.

Despite the band being named after one of the genre's classics these guys bare little similarity to Exodus as they are simply faster, catchier, more technical and generally just a lot better than anything those guys ever delivered, but then again I say that based off only hearing one Exodus album in my entire life, so it could be that I missed something, somewhere. Never the less consider the current state of Exodus with Rob Dukes as vocalist and I think you'll understand why I like Bonded by Blood much more.

Since this album both Ruben and Jose have departed from the band, but it didn't slow the band up as they quickly found replacements and released, 'Exiled to Earth' last year, which I really need to get my hands on.

It should be interesting to see what the future holds for these guys as they prove on this debut to be one of most proficient and exciting thrash bands currently writing music.

Gama Bomb - Citizen Brain (2008)

I can describe this album in one single word for you:

FUN!

Having formed back in 2002 in Newry, Northern Ireland, these guys were completely unknown to me until a few months ago when they were playing in front of me as an opening band for the recently reunited legendary Bay Area thrashers, Forbidden. Gama Bomb's music isn't much different as its full throttle thrash metal, but what makes the album such a blast for me is not only that its fast and relentless with catchy riffs and killer solos but the simple fact that the band throws in a great deal of humor into their music.

Throughout the fifteen songs and thirty eights minutes that this album lasts the band covers such topics as zombies, history, global warming, Robocop, headbanging, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Superman villians, alcohol, war, Armageddon, video games and being true to old school thrash metal, all with a great deal of humor in absolutely every single song too. The fun is only increased by the fact that vocalist Philly Byrne screechs, screams and hoots and howls in a variety of different ways and all of them tend to bring a smile to my face. It may seem like a novelty act due to this and perhaps it is, but why be grim and unhappy when you can just drink beer and be a happy little thrasher with your friends?!

Luke Grahan and Domo Dixon handle the guitars which as I already said are fast and relentless, but also totally crunchy and tight sounding while bassist Joe McGuigan keeps up and adds a wonderfully heavy tone to the album. It's important to point out that the songs are fairly short too with only three songs slightly over three minutes, but what makes all of this impressive is that these guys toss in so many riffs and solos in these short songs. Paul Caffrey also does his part behind the drum kit sounding tight as hell and quite complex in a few areas.

'Citizen Brain' is technically the bands second album although their first album, 'Survival of the Fastest' from 2005 was self-released and some of the songs from that record were re-recorded here for this Earache debut, which in my eyes kind of makes it more like their debut, especially with Survival being ultra limited in copies.

I've been playing this album for a few months now and I've constantly found this one to be an enjoyable release, as well I really need to get my hands on their other albums. In the end if raging fast thrash metal with a punky fun attitude that's got skilled musicians and great diverse vocals is your thing, then make Gama Bomb your thing too.

Emancer - The Menace Within (2005)

Since the bands second album, 'The Human Experiment,' the Norwegian duo of Mithrin and Gorbag who collectively operate under the Emancer moniker have been dubbing their music, 'Extreme Metal Art.' It's not a bad way to describe their music either as its certainly not your usual dosage of Norwegian black metal here, though oddly enough that's how the band began when they formed in 1996 under the Utumno name, but things change, probably for the better in the case of these guys.

When, 'The Menace Within' was released in 2005 it was already the fourth album in four years for this duo and largely I consider it to be their most triumphant moment too. The Menace Within continued where the previous effort, 'Invisible' left off and further explores the ideas expressed therein as once again the listener is treated to an original futuristic sounding melodic and avant-garde black-ish metal release, but there are some slight differences, which have made this band even more interesting.

The most noticeably thing would have to be that the band fully expands on the progressive nature of their music on this release as the sudden changes in speed, the occasional clean guitar and keyboard breaks all seem reminscent of progressive music while the cleanly sung parts actually remind me of Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth.

Other differences seem to be more usage of the keyboards to help build atmosphere and to further develop the futuristic industrial sound that Emancer had somewhat become known for at this point in time. Gorbag’s vocals seem to have improved slightly as well, grim and raspy in character, but still perfectly understandable and they even feature some strange effects added to them at times. The drums are also created through the usage of a drum machine, but they are not played at blazing fast speeds, but in fact sound quite authentic, but they also give the music further industrial-ness, which I dig. And of course Mithrin’s guitar work is just fantastic. Once again he creates some very exciting and original sounding riffs that’ll either have you banging your head in delight or you’ll be in complete awe by how cool they sound.

Favorites would certainly include hard driven and catchy opener, ‘Enter Goddamned CNS’ or ‘Volatile Winter’ with its odd James Bond-ish theme like opening, and ‘Enticing Defeat’ has a very nice calmer clean vocal part in it that segues into a great solo and then back to full speed black metal ferocity. However I think I truly admire, 'Reclamation Of Merciless January' since it has an epic sort of build to it and its dedicated to Terje "Valfar" Bakken who had passed away the previous year. Also the final song, 'Explicit Repugnance (of dying)' has a little bit of that epic-ness to it as well, but all in all the damn thing just flat out rocks hard.

Since this album the bands activities have slowed up a bit having only released, 'Twilight and Randomness' in 2008 and been silent since then, but perhaps the next chapter from Emancer is on the horizon. Hope so since these guys have always been fun to listen to.

Yggdrasil - Kvällningsvindar Över Nordrönt Land (2007)

I have to admit that back in 2007 when this album was released I had more or less thought the Swedish folk metal band Yggdrasil had broken up. Perhaps I’m not the only one though, since over five years had past between the bands second demo, ‘I Nordens Rike’ and this debut album titled, ‘Kvällningsvindar Över Nordrönt Land.’ The funny thing is this, Yggdrasil didn’t forget me or rather Lunar Hypnosis since were right there in the thanks and hails list. Awww, how sweet of them.

At any rate to clear some things up, one of the band members joined the military back in 2003, which set the band aside for awhile, and originally this album was recorded in 2005, but because their previous label was incompetent it never saw the light of day, but finally Det Germanske Folket signed and released this album back in late 2007.

If you missed the bands two demos from ’02 & ’03 then you overlooked some fairly decent Swedish folk metal inspired mostly by acts like Vintersorg and Otyg. The bands sound has remained the same, and in fact everything single song on this album is re-recorded from the two demos. However the band has really refined their sound quite well and now you can find parts that may remind of bands like Thyrfing, Falkenbach, Mithotyn or even Moonsorrow, but enough with the random name dropping.

Yggdrasil’s music is mostly mid-paced without any blast beat percussion or much speedy guitar work and features some really catchy folky guitar riffs, superb solos, violins, fiddle, keyboards, both clean operatic and growled vocals and lyrics wrote completely in Swedish. I suppose it shouldn’t be to hard to figure out what these guys sound like if your at all familiar with the bands above since elements from all of them can be found, even so I think Yggdrasil has established themselves as a band with their own sound.

I’m not sure who handles the main clean vocals on this recording, but on the old demos bassist Gustaf Hagel did and its pleasing to see that they sound greatly improved and all around excellent. There are also a few places where the band throws in some of the typical Viking metal choirs, which of course sound great too. There are also some female operatic vocals handled by Michelle Maass, and naturally they fit in nicely along the male vocals. The guitar work is mostly huge with lots of interesting vivid riffs that have that unique ability to get caught in my brain and keep me coming back for more. Although I think I wouldn’t mind if at times the music was faster, but at least for now things remain fairly mid-paced.

Since this debut Yggdrasil has gone on to release, 'Vedergällning' in 2009 and it looks like a new album by the name of, 'Irrbloss' is coming in a few months. The band has also expanded to four members recently, which may very well mean that this new album is the best they've released so far. Will just have to wait and see.

All things considered, Yggdrasil has created a unique debut album with, 'Kvällningsvindar Över Nordrönt Land,' even if it’s completely re-recorded material that I first heard years ago. If you fancy yourself enjoying any of the bands mentioned above or just Swedish folk metal in general then you’ll definitely want to check out this release.

Tyrant - Grimoires (2005)

Not to be confused with the horde of other bands that are both currently and having previously operated under the Tyrant moniker, this particular Tyrant is from Yokohama, Japan, and formed back in 1994. Since then they've released a demo, a couple of albums here and there and finally this third long play, 'Grimoires' in 2005, which may or may not be the bands last album since activities have been quiet around this band since.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Tyrant has changed much since their previous efforts, such as 2002's, 'Legend,' and as it stands there really isn't anything original about the band in the first place since this is heavily synthesized black metal, but if anything they’ve certainly strengthened their craft on this third release as they deliver the optimal harvest of blackened symphonic metal adequately.

Guitarist Z3 really handles his instrument well here revealing lots of superb melodic guitar riffs, killer solos, occasionally acoustic breaks and even some semi-technical show-off-ness, which like the previous album, seem to show more influence from classic and thrash metal than say grim black metal, but that's probably obvious. Keisuke’s vocals are blackened hoarse screams with occasional growls and spoken narration (Noted as 'Devil Voice' in the booklet), which he delivers rather effectively, but you've probably heard Shagrath and Mr. Filth before, so ya know how it is.

Of course this is symphonic black metal and naturally one of the biggest highlights is the keyboard work of Ayumi, which I hope is in fact a chick, because she's really quite thee hottie, but this is Japan were talking about here and there could be a penis underneath all that cuteness. And, umm, yeah..., anyway, just like the previous album her keyboards are very mysterious, orchestral and grandiose sounding; there’s even a few short synth interludes in the album that transports your mind to a more serene vicinity as you listen, yep not to bad at all. Also the album is produced decently and as a result of that the keyboards don't dominate over the guitars or other instruments much, which is certainly a nice change from their previous records.

Songs to pay attention to you ask? Well, shucks, there’s a bunch, but the ones that stand out the most for me are both, ‘Rebellion parts 1 & 2,’ ‘Babylon the great’ and ‘Riding the Breeze.’ Both of the Rebellion songs are magnificent symphonic black metal songs at there best, and the same certainly goes for the Babylon song since I believe that features the strongest keyboard work. I also really appreciate the short instrumental Riding the Breeze, which is a really stunning synth interlude. Oh yes and I mustn’t forget the very pleasing, ‘Devil’s Pact’ that shows the keyboards taking on more of a medieval feeling.

Lyrically the album is, as you might have guessed, a very satanic themed album, but the words are not written in a worshipping manner. They seem to be written in a more storytelling method with certain characters speaking at times, perhaps as if they took ideas from the bible and wrote their own stories from them. If you like dark poetry then you’re sure to enjoy these words.

Obviously when it comes to this sort of music the largest emphasis is placed on the keyboards and if you enjoy such things then you’re going to totally dig Grimoires. Little else can be said other than if you really enjoy melodic symphonic blackened metal in the vein of older Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Old Man's Child, Covenant and so on, then I give Grimoires my approval.

Unholy - Gracefallen (1999)

Originally formed in 1988 in Imatra, Finland under the name Holy Hell, this young band quickly produced a demo tape titled, 'Kill Jesus' a year later when not long there after they shortened the name to simply Unholy in 1990. Over the next decade they released two more demos, one EP and four full-length albums before eventually breaking up around 2002.

I first became acquainted with Unholy already about ten years ago through their third album, 'Rapture,' which is fantastic mind you, but their final offering from 1999, 'Gracefallen' is simply impeccable.

Unholy plays a brand of death/doom that's really within a league of their own and that's truly why I love them so much. The music moves at a sluggish pace and is crushingly heavy in its delivery with a trembling thick bulky guitar tone that's quite different from anything I've heard on any other band within this genre. Both Jarkko & Ismo Toivonen's guitar work is creepy and atmospheric and I truly can't even put it into words, but maybe you've felt it before. Its the sort of feeling you get when the hairs on your arms stand up on end and it truly gives the sense of something disastrous approaching. The few solos are also a bit short, but are tasteful and are greatly executed, just incredible to be honest. Pasi Äijö's bass guitar is equally beefy as slow wicked licks guide along with the guitars, which only adds to the incredibly ominous mood that Unholy creates through their music.

The keyboards handled by both Ismo and female vocalist Veera Muhli are beyond exceptional too. Again they offer up the sentiment of total dread on the horizon but at the same time they are fairly symphonic in their delivery almost sounding like the synths used on Emperor's, 'In the Nightside Eclipse.' It's that sort of half evil, half beautiful sound, which I gotta admit I really dig, at least when it works out, which it does here... and then some! Alternatively they also bring me back to classic horror movies of the 70's & 80's and I'm sure no one can argue with that sound.

The vocals appear as both low growls, which Pasi pulls off exceptionally, though Veera's female voice dominates the record. Her voice has this sort of echoed effect to it, which makes you think she's singing from afar. Her voice gels perfectly with the foreboding and depressive mood of this record, but through her voice the music also achieves a strange sort of unreal hypnotic effect, which makes me feel like she's singing for me and only me and through her words she's trying to possess me. I accept your invitation my dark mistress.

It's a bit hard to say, which song truly stands out since all nine songs are brilliant, but you certainly can't go wrong with, '...Of Tragedy,' 'Immaculate' or 'Daybreak,' but then there's also the somewhat speedier instrumental, 'Haoma' or 'Athene Noctua,' which has creepy spoken male vocals for its entire duration, but in the end the whole album is exceptional and I wouldn't hesitate in calling it one of the best death/doom records ever.

Sometime around 2002 Unholy split-up and it seems the members really didn't do much after that, but its been rumored that they reformed in 2009, though the band has crushed that rumor but said nothings impossible. Either way the band is set to release an LP boxset of the three demos and one EP as well Peaceville Records is planning to re-release all of the albums soon, which is fantastic since the first two albums have been impossible to hear for years and I'll be grateful when I can finally get my hands on those and have waves of utter melancholy and horror wash over me as the tide takes me out to hopeless oblivion.

The Mist and the Morning Dew - The Mist... (2005)

The Mist and the Morning Dew is/was a group of semi-star Finnish musicians that first formed together back in 1999, released a demo in 2002 and has otherwise been completely quiet since then.

The band features the talents of Jarno Salomaa (Shape of Despair) handling the acoustic & lead guitars, Henri Tuomi & Mikael Karlborn on drums & rhythm guitar (both members of The Seventh Planet), Sami Uusitalo (Shape of Despair, Finntroll, Funebre) on bass, Jaakko Lemmetty (Shaman) on violin and finally the delightful lead female vocals of Veera Muhli (Unholy, Shaman). This self titled debut EP (apparently otherwise known as the 'The Mist...') is a re-release of the 2002 demo, and is being released by Vendlus Records in just a 1000 copies as a means to prepare us for their debut album, which now just a little over six years later has still not arrived.

Through all these years that I've been listening to this EP I've constantly discovered new things that make me keep changing my mind on what exactly their music could be labeled as. All uncertainties aside though the best way to describe this band would be to call them something like atmospheric melodic folky doom metal.

The songs feature incredibly, really catchy beautiful riffs and solos from the hands of Jarno and Mikael that just completely blow me away with their excellence. They are weird however since they have this odd atmospheric repetitive quality at times that just completely possess my mind and takes me to places I’ve never experienced before. I suppose I shouldn’t be to surprised though since Shape of Despair has a similar feeling to their music, but whereas Shape of Despair is just utterly dark sounding The Mist and the Morning Dew is more lively, blissful and illusory sounding. Plus with the occasional inclusion of the acoustic guitars and the violin the band achieve more of a folky sound that I much enjoy.

The name of this band and the artwork is another interesting aspect since it will probably make most people think of autumn, but to me they have more of a springtime sound I guess you could say. Listening to this EP I can picture myself waking up early in the morning finding misty fields, dew on tree leafs and snow melting away as the sultry summer approaches us.

While this all sounds dandy there is just one single thing holding this band back from perfection, and that happens to be the production. Apparently the original master tapes were lost after this material was originally recorded and thus making re-mastering impossible. I wouldn’t complain, because generally production isn’t much of an issue with me, but there are times throughout this EP where Veera’s vocals are rather hard to hear and the same occasionally happens with the acoustic guitars and the rhythm guitar sounds like one big fuzzy mess. But, ya know, surely this recording has some short comings, but, damn it all, this thirty two minute EP is still fantastic to me!

Still this EP made a huge impression on me back in '05 and continues to do so all these years later, and as much as I'd like to think a full-length is coming, it's probably safer to bet against such happenings.

All at once The Mist and the Morning Dew is atmospheric, dreamy, harmonious, swirling gorgeousness, and if this EP is still out there I'd suggest getting your hands on it, because frankly I’ve never heard anything that sounds exactly like this.

Sculptured - Apollo Ends (2000)

After a high school thrash metal band by the name of Necropolis came to its logical ending in '94, Don Anderson formed Sculptured in Seattle, Washington, USA in 1996. In that same year a limited (100 copies) demo tape titled, 'Fulfillment In Tragedy' was released and two years later the debut, 'The Spear of the Lily Is Aureoled' through Mad Lion Records, but was eventually re-released by The End Records due in part to Mad Lion being a rip-off label. By 2000 when, 'Apollo Ends' was released Don had already established himself as the lead guitarist in Agalloch through their brilliant debut, 'Pale Folklore,' and for this album he also brought his Agalloch comrades to fill in the vacant bass guitar and drum duties.

Although I've been listening to this record since its initial release I've also always found the music of Sculptured to be rather hard to describe since it seems several influences present themselves on this recording. In short though if you could imagine a more progressive version of Iron Maiden mixed with jazz influences and some growled vocals you might be close to understanding what Sculptured sounds like. Now, I have no idea whether or not that's going to sound outstanding to you, yet the music of Sculptured truly is something of total brilliance and innovation. This is certainly one of those bands that need to be heard since words could never fully describe them.

Even though all the music was wrote by Don Anderson, Sculptured consists of six talented musicians that bring all of their influences together to form one unique metal experience. We have Don handling the harsh vocals and guitars, Jason Walton on bass, John Haughm on Drums, Brian Yager singing cleanly and Clint Idsinga & Burke Harris performing the brass portion of the music via a trombone and trumpet.

The funny thing about, 'Apollo Ends' is that technically I should hate it, because that's just it, I tend to really hate overly technical mumbo jumbo progressive whatever the fuck have you music, yet somehow this album has always impressed me. Assuming you are into said mumbo jumbo then you'll probably find that almost every track here is tremendous and will completely grasp your attention.

Don plays some extraordinarily catchy and technical guitar riffs that will remain in your head all day and will have you coming back for more and more. I've always thought it to be interesting because Don has such a unique way of playing that once you hear it you just know its him. Seriously if you listen to Sculptured and then go to any Agalloch record you'll total notice what I'm talking about and for that I truly admire his talents.

Clint and Burke's trombone and trumpet playing is also very captivating and will appeal to you even if you’re no big fan of jazzy music. Somehow all of the little brass riffs in this thing are insanely awesome to me and I remember when I originally heard this record I instantly searched for any and all metal bands that use brass instruments, which eventually lead me Hungry's Sear Bliss. Jason Walton's bass work also sounds quite good in this recording although it's a bit buried in the next, much like John's drum work too, which sucks. Finally Brian does an outstanding job with the clean vocals and Don's growly voice is far from being extreme as you can understand everything he says, but that's fine because it works well with this type of music.

I can honestly say I really love every song on this album, but damn, 'Between Goldberg' defines excellence, especially the instrumental part to this song. I guess a lot of people also either love or hate, 'Apollo Destroys, Apollo Creates' since it opens with four minutes of ambient guitar feedback, but eventually it progress' into a proggy Godspeed You Black Emperor-ish ending, a mighty fine one at that. I also really dig the opening song, 'Washing My Hands Of It' since it has something of a harder edge to it and just really grabs you right from the start. 'Snow Covers All' is great as well and the title alone reminds me of an old Simpsons episode where Bart melts the family Christmas tree and buries it in the snow while saying, "Snow covers all, pure white snow." Hell, even the short little instrumental called, 'Summary' at the end of the album is fun.

In conclusion, ‘Apollo Ends’ is a creative album that deserves a lot more attention then it ever received. After this album Don resumed his work with Agalloch and I guess nowadays there huge, but eventually Don got back to Sculptued in 2008 and released, 'Embodiment: Collapsing Under the Weight of God,' which really excited me upon hearing the good news, but I thought it was a hopelessly bland record that lacked everything that made this record so good. Oh well.

When you think about the endless list of bands that copy and rip off each other it’s really nice to see a band that has their own original sound that no other band has. If you have any interest in the musical styles mentioned above or these guys other bands then Sculptured’s, ‘Apollo Ends’ is an album you should not be without.