Neptune - Prelude To Nothing - Album Review

Year: 2013

Italy is not a country known to many in terms of metal music. Very few bands come out of Italy but each of them is so power packed that nothing can raise a finger at them and point out that they're doing this part wrong or anything regarding their music. Neptune is just a perfect example of that. Getting influenced from Swedish bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquility, the band changed their sound from death metal to melodic-death metal with time. And after a gap of 5 years they released their 2nd album 'Prelude To Nothing' in December 2013.

Frostwork / Cruelty's Heart - Beyond Bloody Banners Far And Haunted Winters Graven - Album Review

Year: 2014

Europe is the hub for black metal. Though black metal exists outside Europe, the European bands have the better quality and quantity. UK is one place which played a vital role in the shaping of this genre with bands like Venom giving a big boost to black metal. But today, there are very few black metal bands from the UK. Is the black metal scene there dwindling? Or is it just a myth? Judging by this release, it sure looks to be the latter. 

Landskap - I (LP) - Album Review

Year: 2014

Very few bands are able to make music like  free flowing water, with little or no friction. From the streets of London, England comes the psychedelic rock / doom metal band Landskap, to do just that and achieves it beyond everyone's expectations. With shades of funeral doom all over its music, Landskap (Swedish for landscape) brings out a very simple and no frills debut EP record through Iron Bonehead Productions.

Septuagint - Negative Void Trinity EP - Album Review

Year: 2014

In the warmth of an early may morning I felt a cold I hadn’t felt in a long time. Sitting in my room I was taken by surprise. I had had the EP for over a month, and had been sleeping on the latest Septuagint release. I was afraid of what I was going to hear. Not that black metal scares me- it was that I wasn’t sure what I was going to hear would agree with my idea of this specific genre. Truth be told it took me back to a mix CD my elder brother had given me. It was a plethora of noise that was so alien to me I didn’t know if I hated it or loved it. 'Negative Void Trinity' did just that, it confused me. There were elements all too familiar yet it was unique to itself.

Orion - On The Banks Of Rubicon EP - Album Review

Year: 2013

The one aspect that everyone universally expects from music is memorability. Be it any genre, the listeners always want to hear something that will stay with them for a while after they've listened to the album. When dealing with a genre like death metal, catchy song writing is a particularly hard feat to achieve. So death metal bands instead, focus on technicality and brutality as opposed to catchiness. So when I stumbled upon a death metal band that was both progressive and immensely memorable, it came as a surprise indeed.

Trobar - Charivari - Review

Year: 2014

This album 'Charivari' by the band Trobar is indeed an adventurous experience. Some songs like ‘Troubadors’ have a dark and yet beautifully orchestrated presence which come together as if it were a collage depicting one thing from a lot of different pieces. With that said, I need to elaborate on the fact that the vocals bring out a demonic feel to the music while the music presented itself is both elegant and beautiful, so this could be mixed form on a whole.

Church Of Disgust - Unworldly Summoning - Album Review

Year: 2014

Which is the worst kind of death? Most people would say that the worst kind is the kind that takes it's time to slowly kill a person, while relishing every moment of it as the person suffers in agony. As ghastly and disturbing the thought is, this is the flavour that is captured in the music of Church of Disgust, a death metal band from San Marco, Texas. This is a band that unleashes a gargantuan wall of sound capable of crushing anything and everything in its path.

Insane Prophecy - Apogee Of An Inquisition - Album Review

Year: 2012

Never judge a book by it's cover. This is something which can be applied to any field and any situation and even metal is not an exception. I say this because every time I listen to this band, I am reminded of how I first got introduced to them. It happened a few months back when I was attending Black Metal Krieg 3. Although I was familiar with most bands on the roster, Insane Prophecy had always been that one band which I had heard only in passing and never really paid serious attention to. So when a couple of short, nerdy looking kids got on stage, I was quite surprised and completely oblivious to the hell these guys were about to unleash. So that's why I say, never judge a band based on their looks. 

Cognitive - Cognitive - Album Review

Year: 2014

When I ask you to describe a band that truly represents what death metal is, your mind will probably hark back to the old school legends like Death, Possessed and Cannibal Corpse, right? Now let me ask you another question. Name bands that represent all aspects of death metal including progressions, technicality, brutality and melody. Well, whatever few bands pop into your head, it's time that you added another band to that list. I'm talking about Cognitive, a new band hailing out of New Jersey.

Coshish - Firdous - Album Review

Year: 2013

It was truly a delight to review this album ‘Firdous’ by the band Coshish. Truly the word to signify this album is pure and utmost elegance. The drumming in particular was very well done and the other elements in the songs such as the melodic progressions and the high range singing which went well together brought out a beautiful sense of music you’d just get yourself immersed in.

Grossty - Grossty - Album Review

Year: 2013

These days, metal bands try too hard to stand out in an already overcrowded genre. They try to be more brutal, more technical and more dark, that in the process their albums become a type of a serious affair. In such a time, perhaps the only way to stand out is to let go of the usual conventions and just have fun with the music. That is a concept well understood by Bangalore based grind band, Grossty, as illustrated in the band's self titled debut. By being random, the band has crafted for itself, a sound that can be instantly associated with them.

Shroud Of The Heretic - Revelations In Alchemy - Album Review

Year: 2014

The occult and metal have always shared a close relationship. Over the years, numerous band have incorporated themes of the occult and esotericism into their lyrical content and at times, even the music itself. Bands succeed more often in the former, than the latter, because attempts mixing occult themes with the song writing often end up sounding cheesy. Shroud of the Heretic is a band that succeeds where most other bands fail, as they conjure up one of the most twisted and evil sounding record to come out this year.

Hiss From The Moat - Misanthropy - Album Review

Year: 2014

Bands that usually do a mix of black and death metal often tend to stick to the old school roots of both the genres. It is quite rare to see a band mix both the styles in their modern version. It is not to say such bands do not exist. However, they are very few and far in between. The few bands that do exist are unjustly grouped under the tag of blackened deathcore and are often overlooked, as the mix of styles does not come off very effectively. That is not the case for Hiss from the Moat, which is the side project of Hour of Penance drummer James Payne.

Multinational Corporations - Jamat-al-Maut - Album Review

Year: 2014

No matter how many styles exist out there, that speak about rebelling against authority, none would ever come close to the glory of Punk. This is the music that stands for rebelling against any and all forms of oppression. Alas, this music of the rebels has fallen from its former glory and today there are only a handful of bands that still adhere to this style. Multinational Corporations is one such duo, hailing from Lahore, Pakistan.

Bookakee - Whorrific - Album Review

Year: 2013

A band’s name and how they look, is as important as how their music sounds. All first impressions are made from the name and the appearance of the band. So when I googled Bookakee, I got pictures of men in black paint, covered in what could only be described as Hulk semen. Plus, the name of the band itself is a tongue in cheek reference to a pornographic act. Usually, when bands go for such daring names and looks, their music usually is a joke. That is not the case of Bookakee fortunately.

Sabbath Assembly - Quaternity - Review

Year: 2014

This beautiful album entitiled ‘Quaternity’ by the band Sabbath Assembly, who refer to themselves as ‘Sacred Folk-Metal’ was a delight to review. This album portrays deep meaning in every song as the drummer Dave Xtian Nuss and vocalist Jamie Myers bring life to church hymns in their own interpretations.

Harlott - Origin - Album Review

Year: 2013

Something happened when I listened to this record. It was a cold evening in the north eastern Arizona in winter, and the only sounds were that of the traffic on the highway. Under the sound of the distant cars I sat outside somewhat loathing what I was about to hear. Although I had made up my mind to explore the current underground thrash movement, I was convinced that there wasn’t going to be anything to smile about. The judgment was made on prior experience with current thrash bands. One thing was for sure, and that was, I wasn’t ready for what I was about to hear.

Sammath - Godless Arrogance - Album Review

Year: 2014

There are two types of people in this world. A normal music fan would look upto his music and expect to find something that soothes him and relaxes him. Then there is the other kind that look upto their music and expect something powerful and ferocious, something that takes him on a dark and wild ride. Black metal is a genre that often caters to the second category and this is a band that should satisfy anyone looking for a vicious force to impact him. Sammath has been an underground powerhouse since the dawn of the genre itself and though it hasnt gotten the same amount of recognition as it’s Norwegian and Swedish peers, this band has been putting out raw and insanity filled black metal over the past 20 years.

Brood Of Hatred - Skinless Agony - Album Review

Year: 2014

Though I know that metal exists all over the world, Africa is one continent that I am not so familiar with in terms of metal. Recently I encountered a band from Tunisia, before which I didn’t even know that they had metal there. I decided to give this band a listen and since then, this band has not left my playlist. The band that I am talking about is Brood of Hatred. This is a band that managed to shatter all my expectations and offer something (almost) new.

Diabolus Arcanium - Spellbound - Album Review

Year: 2014

Black metal is one sub-genre of metal which I believe is very versatile and can only turn out to be good if it's written and played with heart. If you're only playing black metal because it's cool and you're not passionate, you will never be a good black metal artist. It's not worth it if it's not from heart and you dont feel every moment of it. I'm not a fan of pure black metal but I love symphonic black metal, because I feel it to be more emotional and connecting than just black metal. It has that emotional connection that tells you it's written from heart. In the countries like India, black metal is a very rare genre. You'll find metal bands of all genres but not usually black metal.