Monday, March 31, 2014

Synful Ira - "Between Hope and Fear" [2012]

Artist: Synful Ira
Title: Between Hope & Fear
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Country: Italy
Year: 2012

Track List:
  1. Sound of Life
  2. True Lies
  3. Behind the Suspect
  4. Shining Tracks
  5. Revenge of Mind
  6. Inside My Fears
  7. My Friend
  8. Hope
  9. 8.45
  10. New Love
  11. Fatal Temptation
  12. Destiny
Italy is well known for having a very big symphonic/gothic metal scene, but as I've said in my previous entry, I prefer quality over quantity. Knowing that Synful Ira were a Nightwish & Evanescence cover band in the beginning, I initially didn't expect much from them, but "Between Hope and Fear" turned out to be quite good for a debut album. Reminds me of Lacuna Coil's early stuff (namely their first 3 albums, before they started to play blatantly commercial alternative rock).


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Reenforced - "Time Shift" [2013]

Artist: Reenforced
Title: Time Shift
Genre: Progressive/Groove Metal
Country: Russia
Year: 2013

Track List:
  1. Clockmaker Paradox (instrumental)
  2. Land of Ice and Chains
  3. Time Shift
  4. Eyes of a Child
  5. Gravity
  6. Eclipse
  7. Wrong
  8. The Fountain
  9. The Phase
  10. Atmosphere
  11. Alchemistry (instrumental)
Reenforced are a relatively young (formed in 2011) 4-piece band from the Urals (Ekaterinburg). Unlike many other female-fronted metal bands, they doesn't play stereotypical symphonic metal; their music is best described as "cosmic" progressive/groove metal. "Time Shift" is a very atmospheric release, quite impressive for a debut work; Irina Marchuk's vocals are clean and beautiful. The band isn't very known outside their home region yet, so I hope my blog will help at least a little. According to the band members themselves, they're going to make "Time Shift" officially available for free download, and will be thankful for any help with giving it more publicity.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Baradj - "Nardughan" [2012]

Artist: Baradj
Title: Nardughan
Genre: Folk/Pagan Metal
Country: Russia (Tatarstan)
Year: 2012

Track List:
  1. Suz Bashi
  2. Nardughan
  3. Khiyal: Shefeg Jile
  4. Sumbul-Nauruz
  5. Dala Iyase
  6. Khiyal: Dever Sulyshy
  7. Irek
  8. Kachkyn
  9. Khiyal: Lale Chechek
  10. Lale Chechek
  11. Khiyal: Bure Sheulese
  12. Ashina
  13. Harkemnen
  14. Khiyal: Qunaqchyllyg
  15. Qurai
  16. Bars
Unlike most bands from the "exotic" countries that I've posted here before, this band comes from a city that's only 400 km away from me (Kazan). Yet they're pretty unique; at least I don't know any other metal bands with lyrics in Tatar language. Not to offend anyone, but all Turkic languages (not only Tatar) sound like some incomprehensible babble to me when I hear them spoken on the streets; however, this album shows that the very same language could sound quite beautiful when used in songs. As for the music, it isn't quite your typical pagan metal: Baradj have released several post-rock EPs prior to this LP, and this one has a certain post-rock/metal touch as well. The vocals are dual (male and female), but mostly female (like in case with Infinite Tales, especially taking in consideration that "Nardughan" has some elements of MDM as well). To give you an example, here's one of the best songs from "Nardughan":


The whole discography of Baradj is officially available for free, so if you liked this album, feel free to check out their earlier releases as well - but keep in mind that their instrumental post-rock EPs and singles doesn't sound much like "Nardughan". Their first demo "Altynchen" is worth listening to as well, even though the quality of production isn't very good and the lyrics are mostly in Russian. I'd describe it as less heavy and more melancholic than this album.

Hope I'd be able to visit Kazan this summer, and maybe even see Baradj playing live. By the way, happy Nauruz-bayram to all Tatars who might be reading this post (I know for sure that at least one half-Tatar will read it ;)).

Friday, March 21, 2014

Divahar - live at Highland Metal Fest [2012]

Artist: Divahar
Title: live @ Highland Metal Fest
Genre: Symphonic Black Metal
Country: Armenia
Year: 2012

Track List:
  1. Areakan
  2. Kraki Kanch
  3. Otary
Beside Mystica Girls, there are several other relatively obscure all-female (or at least female-fronted) metal bands that deserve more publicity. Let's start from a very unlikely place for having such bands - Armenia.

Divahar were formed in 2008 (or early 2009) by Dev (vocals) and Urubani (guitars) with an intention of becoming the first all-female metal band in Armenia. The lineup was completed by Skadi (guitars), Freya (bass) and two session members (drums & keyboards) during 2009-2010, so they were finally able to play their first concert on 6th of March 2010. Since then, they've played live over 10 times, both in Armenia and abroad (including the "Metal Heads Mission" festival in Crimea, and released an official video for the song "Alien". They haven't released any album yet, though (mostly because of various problems with the studio and the people they're cooperating with), so I can post only a recording of their songs played live at the Highland Metal Fest 2012 (the only international metal festival in both Armenia and Georgia).

The main source of inspiration for Divahar is mythology, both Armenian and Norse. Since a lot of names from the ancient Armenian mythology are used as ordinary names in everyday life, some members of Divahar chose to take Nordic-sounding pseudonyms instead. According to Dev, her moniker literally means "demon", and the word "Divahar" comes from the same root, meaning "possessed (by a demon)" or something like that. Divahar position themselves as a non-religious band in a strongly religious country:

"It’s definitely not religion which makes us love and be proud of Armenia. What inspires us about our fatherland is it’s glorious past. It's that our roots are going back deep into time, and various values which sadly are unknown to the world. In fact, DivahaR doesn’t follow any religious view as upon our comprehension the religion always was and remains a violent, rude form of control over humanity and nothing more"

Divahar's music is mostly influenced by classic Norwegian black metal such as Burzum, Emperor, Limbonic Art, Dimmu Borgir, Immortal, Satyricon, Dark Funeral, etc., as well as other well-known bands such as Slayer or Morbid Angel - so don't expect to find anything particularly innovative or "exotic" on this record, even though it isn't bad at all. The "Alien" video is quite good too, even by the Western European standards:


Saturday, March 8, 2014

Mystica Girls - "Metal Rose" [2011]

Artist: Mystica Girls
Title: Metal Rose
Genre: Heavy Metal, Gothic Rock
Country: Mexico
Year: 2011

Track List:
  1. My Dinner
  2. Rabia
  3. Mi Sangre
  4. Metal Rose
  5. Tortura
  6. Diluvio
After listening to Elfica, I didn't expect much from this band (which is also an all-female metal band from Mexico). However, it turned out to be better than I initially expected - not great, but still nice and showing a certain potential for the band's musical growth. A lot of sites call it gothic metal/rock, but I think it's just plain heavy metal for the most part. I think today would be a perfect day to post it, for an obvious reason ;)

Friday, March 7, 2014

Zerokarma - "Mathematics" [2001]

Artist: Zerokarma
Title: Mathematics
Genre: Industrial Metal/Alt-Rock
Country: Russia
Year: 2001

Track List:
  1. Lifedawn MMI
  2. Waiting
  3. Moral Holocaust
  4. Hate/Negate
  5. Adore You
  6. Karmaphobia
  7. Zerokarma
  8. My Goddess' Charms
  9. Freedom And Love
  10. Fatal Submersion
  11. Erebus Brine
  12. Broken Pride
  13. To Where Wander Eternally
  14. Eternity (Metalbioindustry Version)
  15. Солнышко (Демо cover)
First I heard this album shortly after it was released (around 2001- 2002), and it left a great impression on me. Back then I was a teenager listening to Rammstein and Oomph, and it was a revelation for me to find out that there's a band playing such kind of music in Russia (and, more surprisingly, not in St.Petersburg or Moscow, but in the Far East). Of course this album sounds naive by modern standards, but it was a major breakthrough back then. Despite obvious associations with Zeromancer (both the sound and the band names are similar), there's no plagiarism, I think - since nobody in Russia knew about Zeromancer back then. However, this comparison will give you a good idea of what you'll hear on this album.

What's interesting about it - I generally prefer ballads/love songs (such as "My Goddess' Charms") over more agressive tracks with political/social lyrics ("Hate/Negate"). Almost all songs are very catchy, except maybe for a couple of filler tracks close to the end. The last track is a cover of a very well-known Russian pop song of the late 90's, and it sounds completely hilarious. The band is still active today, and has 3 albums in their discography so far. While the first one, "Eternity" (1999) sounds mostly like "hey, look how we can play our instruments!" (but no, I'm not saying it's bad), the latest one, "The 7th Dimension" (2007) is quite similar to "Mathematics" in terms of sound. "Mathematics" is still the best album out of all 3, though.

 Zerokarma back in early 2000's:

Zerokarma now:

Dreams After Death / Nagaarum - "Kuiper" [2013]

Artist: Dreams After Death / Nagaarum
Title: Kuiper
Genre: Dark Ambient, Atmospheric Black/Doom Metal
Country: Hungary
Year: 2013

Track List:
  1. Dreams After Death - Beyond the Planets
  2. Dreams After Death - Gate to the Unknown
  3. Dreams After Death - Frozen Light
  4. Dreams After Death & Nagaarum - Kollidum
  5. Nagaarum - Impakt
  6. Nagaarum - A Peremnél
  7. Nagaarum - Dave
  8. Nagaarum - A Null-dimenzióhoz
Here's one more proof that space-themed avantgarde music from Hungary is one of the best worldwide. Well, maybe calling this split "avant-garde" might be a stretch too far - because it's nice but not particularly mindblowing. Dreams After Death is an one-man funeral doom project from Budapest, of which I haven't heard before. Nagaarum is an one-man project too, whose only member have played in Sunseth Sphere, Éjfény, Guilthee, and a few more obscure projects. As I have already said, their split turned out to be good, but nothing outstanding (and a bit too lengthy). However, if you're into space-themed music (dark ambient and doom metal in particular), or Hungarian underground scene - you won't be disappointed IMO.

Ved Buens Ende - "Written in Waters" [1995]

Artist: Ved Buens Ende
Title: Written in Waters
Genre: Post-Black Metal
Country: Norway
Year:1995

Track List:
  1. I Sang for the Swans
  2. You, That May Wither
  3. It's Magic
  4. Den Saakaldte
  5. Carrier of Wounds
  6. Coiled in Wings
  7. Autumn Leaves
  8. Remembrance of Things Past
  9. To Swarm Deserted Away
Speaking of avant-gardge metal - here's a band which was already mentioned on my blog several times. Ved Buens Ende were arguably the first band to play what's now called "post-black metal", and their only full-length release sounds very innovative and unusual even today. The Wikipedia article on "Written in Waters" describes it quite accurately:

"The album is unique and unusual. It incorporates many elements from various music forms (for example the whole song Autumn Leaves is without distorted guitars nor any grunted vocals), from usual Norwegian Black Metal (like at the end of Coiled in Wings) to jazz-inspired and dissonant riffs. Vocals on this album are mournful and sad by Carl-Michael Eide's crooning (accompanied by Kristine Stensrud) which makes a part of the album's uniqueness. As usual Eide's lyrics are rather unconventional and apparently deal with fantasy and dream. Whenever Vicotnik appears on vocals, his style of strident shrieks is just as much original for the time...

William York of AllMusic wrote, "Ved Buens Ende's sole full-length, Written in Waters, is an album of esoteric, experimental black metal that, years after its release, still sounds like nothing else...""

For me, the general mood and atmosphere of this album is more reminiscent of the 90's death/doom metal than Norwegian black metal. "Written in Waters" is a masterpiece and another great example of Norwegian avant-garde metal of the mid-90s (along with early In The Woods and Fleurety). For some reason, no other country and time period has had so many metal bands with this unique kind of sound.

Watch My Dying - "Klausztrofónia" [2004]

Artist: Watch My Dying
Title: Klausztrofónia
Genre: Technical Death Metal
Country: Hungary
Year: 2004

Track List:
  1. Idomtalan
  2. Carbon
  3. Klausztrofónia
  4. Nullpont
  5. Horizont 16:9
  6. Technika Angyala I
  7. Technika Angyala II
  8. Túladagolt Idő
  9. Nicht vor dem Kind
  10. Gyúlékony Csíra
  11. B-Terv
  12. Nyers Hát
  13. Kék Ég, Zöld Fű
Now, for a change, have some Hungarian avant-garde metal that's not based on black metal. Watch My Dying are playing a kind of technical death/thrash metal with a lot of "industrial-esque" elements since 1999, and have released 3 full-length albums so far. "Klausztrofónia" is their debut full-length, released in 2004, and it's officially available as a free download off the band's site. I personally liked it better than, say, their 2009 album "Moebius" or their latest EP "4.1" (these ones are good too, though, but in a different way). I'd recommend "Klausztrofónia" to those who likes Machine Head, Fear Factory and other industrial/groove metal bands that are known for their aesthetic obsession with technology.

Angel Reaper - "Exhumált Világ" [1992]

Artist: Angel Reaper
Title: Exhumált Világ
Genre: Proto-Black/Thrash Metal
Country: Hungary
Year: 1992

Track List:
  1. Exhumált Világ
  2. Élve Eltemetve
  3. A Halál Határán
  4. Reinkarnáció
  5. Nukleáris Pusztulás
  6. A Kéj Birodalma
  7. A Brutális Gyilkosság
  8. Vérengző Evolúció
Speaking of experimental Hungarian black metal, here's a very early example of said music. Surely the quality of recording is horrible (no more horrible than on many other classic 1st-wave black metal demos, though) - but this is a rare example of a raw black metal release that truly carries the atmosphere of insanity and apocalypse, and not just claimed to be "bestial", "misanthropic" or whatnot. As I already have said before, not a lot of "true" black metal albums do it for me: "Deathcrush" and "De Mysteriis..." by Mayhem, "The Blood Must Be Shed" by Zyklon-B, this one, and not much else (maybe Abu Lahab also should be mentioned, even if his music has little in common with black metal). That was the main reason why I decided to post this demo instead of the earlier one, "A Végzet Utolér" (1989). "A Végzet Utolér" sounds more interesting and not monotonous as this one, but the atmosphere on "Exhumált Világ" is much gloomier and unsettling.

Angel Reaper is often referred to as "the Hungarian Bathory", and while their music indeed sounds similar to the first two albums of Bathory, for some reason they remind me more of early Nord'N'Commander with their specific "blackened metal" sound. ...And yes, both Angel Reaper and N'N'C have espoused some questionable ideologies, but I don't think it's that big of a problem.

Perihelion - "Nap Fele Néz" [2014]

Artist: Perihelion
Title: Nap Fele Néz
Genre: Progressive Black Metal
Country: Hungary
Year: 2014

Track List:
  1. Nap Fele Néz
  2. Élj
  3. Verőfény (VHK cover)
I have zero information on this Hungarian band and their previous releases (if there are any at all), so I guess this EP is their debut release. It actually was very little to do with black metal, being more similar stylistically to latest two releases of Thy Catafalque than to anything else (imagine Thy Catafalque playing covers of VHK, and you'll get the idea). For a debut release it's very good: excellent atmosphere and melodies, clean vocals performed in an unusual style, and a quality of songwriting only slightly lower than on "Rengeteg" by Thy Catafalque. Certainly recommended for all admirers of the Hungarian avant-garde metal scene.

Forest Stream - "The Crown Of Winter" [2009]

Artist: Forest Stream
Title: The Crown Of Winter
Genre: Symphonic Black/Doom Metal
Country: Russia
Year: 2009

Track List:
  1. Intro (Feral Magic)
  2. The Crown Of Winter
  3. Mired
  4. Bless You To Die
  5. Autumn Dancers
  6. The Seventh Symphony Of Satan
  7. The Beautiful Nature
  8. Outro (My Awakening Dreamland)
Forest Stream are among the most long-standing and best known Russian doom metal bands. Formed in 1995, they initially were highly influenced by Katatonia and British death/doom bands. First I heard them on some pirate MP3 compilation I bought roughly 7-8 years ago, which included their debut album "Tears of Mortal Solitide" (2003). This one is a follow-up album (and their latest one up to date). They took a more progressive vibe on there, drawing influences from Opeth and Emperor. The atmosphere is great, as well as the musicianship and the vocal work (especially the clean vocals). This could be an excellent release, although the atmospheric parts sound a bit too lengthy and "filler"-ish to me. Maybe it doesn't get on the level of "Omnio" by In The Woods (to whom Forest Stream are often compared), but it's still one of the best progressive doom metal releases to come from the Russian metal scene.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Electric Uranus & X-NAVI:ET - "Voices Of The Cosmos II" [2013]

Artist: Electric Uranus & X-NAVI:ET
Title: Voices of the Cosmos II
Genre: Dark Ambient, Noise
Country: Poland
Year: 2013

Track List:
  1. Northern Lights
  2. Geomagnetic Storm I
  3. Solar Wind
  4. Geomagnetic Storm II
  5. PSR B1933+16
  6. In Aurora Point
  7. Solar Activity
  8. White Dwarf B
  9. Silver Star
"This Dark Ambient album features original extraterrestrial sounds captured from space by radio-telescopes. "Voices of the Cosmos II" is the continuation of the previous album. In this case the radio signals, related to the activity of the Sun, became the main source of inspiration. The record was created during the 2013 solar maximum (activity cycle no. 24).  In the compositions, a whole range of signals, accompanying the aurora borealis can be heard. They originate in the bombarding of the Earth’s magnetosphere with charged solar wind particles. While listening to these pieces they fully realise the permanent interaction between the Sun and the Earth. The project was partially financed by the Scholarship of the Grudziadz City in the sphere of the Culture and Art. 6-panel digipak"

Electric Uranus & X-NAVI:ET - "Voices Of The Cosmos" [2011]

Artist: Electric Uranus & X-NAVI:ET
Title: Voices of the Cosmos
Genre: Dark Ambient, Noise
Country: Poland
Year: 2011

Track List:
  1. Start (Mercury-Atlas 7)
  2. PSR 0950+08 (Close Encounter With An Alien Ghost)
  3. The Astrophysics (1952-1960)
  4. PSR 0833-45 (Vela Pulsar)
  5. Pulse 5, 6, 7 And 8 (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus And Neptune)
  6. PSR 0950+08 (X-Ray Emission)
"VOICES OF THE COSMOS is a duo of Rafał Iwański a.k.a. X-NAVI:ET and Wojciech Zięba a.k.a. ELECTRIC URANUS.

Astronomical consultation: Sebastian Soberski.
Sound sources/instruments: radio telescope sounds of aurora and magnetosphere + analog synthesizers, digital drummer, effects.

Performed & recorded in Planetarium and Astronomical Observatory in Grudziądz, Poland, May 8, 2013. Edited & mixed in June 2013.
Mastered by Łukasz Miernik"

Most people know Wojciech Zięba as a member of a martial industrial project Krepulec, but his works as "Electric Uranus" are worth checking out too. This particular collaboration is unique due to its "scientific" approach to the music, although one might compare it to Bad Sector and other science-themed space ambient/noise projects. Wish I had been listening to this album while studying radiolocation in my university (we've studied radio astronomy and ionosphere physics there too). Alas, it was a few years before the release of this album, so I was listening to "Cosmic Genesis" and "Visions from the Spiral Generator" by Vintersong instead.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Dimensional Psychosis - "Magical Matrix of Dimensional Continuum" [2005]

Artist: Dimensional Psychosis
Title: Magical Matrix of Dimensional Continuum
Genre: Industrial Death/Black Metal
Country: Netherlands
Year: 2005

Track List:
  1. Matrix Mindscan Transition (Wormed Beyond)
  2. Psychedelic Blackish Psychosis (Eternal Magick Unfolds)
  3. Paradoxal Hologram from Sirius I'm (Universal Symbiosis)
  4. Eerie Spiritual Vulture (Disconnected From Gravity)
  5. Trapped in the Infinity of Limbo-Dimensionism (Humanoid Limits Erased)
  6. Virtual Spectrum of Extensive Transparency (Visualize Transcendetal Dreamscapes)
  7. Choronzonic Evilution of Genius Dementia (Futuristic Intelligence of Ancientness)
  8. I'm the Cosmic Storm Raging (Ultimate Chaos of Infinity)
  9. Intermezzo & Mensenhaat (Remix)
  10. End
Very intense Dutch industrial black/death metal, recommended to this who liked "Delphic Doctrine" by Tristwood. You may check out their second album "Architecture of Realities" as well, though I didn't like it as much as this one ("Architecture of Realities" has more elements of brutal death metal, which was a bit turn-off for me, and the song structure in general is a bit less interesting than on this album).

Monday, March 3, 2014

Rain - "Starlight Extinction" [2002]

Artist: Rain
Title: Starlight Extinction
Genre: Industrial Metal
Country: Switzerland
Year: 2002

Track List:
  1. The 4 Messengers of Neptune
  2. Annihilation of the Centuries
  3. The Cyclic Flood
  4. Aurora Borealis
  5. Like Dying Fireflies
  6. Narcotik 00
  7. Starclouds & Cosmic Seas
  8. Dance of Infinity
  9. Dead Planets
  10. Meteor Rain
  11. Amethyst
  12. The Final Extinction
Rain was the first project of Drop C, the founding member of Sybreed. He recorded his first (entirely instrumental) demo in 1997, when he was only 13 years old. Year later, he found a vocalist and recorded the first full-length album, "Sephiroths". By the time when their second album, "Natural Order", was released, they became a 4-piece band. "Starlight Extinction" is their third and the last album before Void and Drop C left the band to form Sybreed. Surely it isn't the best industrial metal out there, but I like this album more than any of the works by Sybreed - maybe because it's more influenced by late-90's "dark metal" bands (such as their compatriots Samael) than modern MDM and groove metal.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Forgotten Winter - "Origem da Inexistência" [2013]

Artist: Forgotten Winter
Title: Origem da Inexistência
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Portugal
Year: 2013

Track List:
  1. Cosmos da Alma
  2. Vespertina Transmigração Astral
  3. Chuva II
  4. Anoitecer Dum Pulsar
  5. Antares
  6. Amanhece a Era da Grande Unificação
Forgotten Winter were formed in 2004, and their early demos featured uninteresting raw black metal (at least that's the impression I got from the reviews; I haven't listened to these demos by myself). During the 10 years of existence, they've evolved into a remarkable space black metal band. "Origem da Inexistência" isn't a masterpiece (and it would be, if only all tracks on it were as good as "Chuva II"), but it's still very much worth listening to.

Mirrorthrone - "Carriers of Dust" [2006]

Artist: Mirrorthrone
Title: Carriers of Dust
Genre: Progressive Black Metal
Country: Switzerland
Year: 2006

Track List:
  1. A Scream to Express the Hate of a Race
  2. Mortphose
  3. De l'Échec et de son Essentialité (point I. Marginalité Démystifiée)
  4. Ils Brandiront leurs Idoles
"Mirrorthrone is a one-man Melodic Black Metal band with Symphonic and Avant-Garde influences born in June 2000, Switzerland, when Vladimir Cochet, the sole member of the project, decided to create a more eclectic and symphonic music than what he was used to do in his other musical activities. Two demo CDs were recorded respectively in February 2001 and December 2002. The latter drew the attention of Red Stream Inc. who released in May 2003 the first official Mirrorthrone album entitled “Of Wind and Weeping”, a collection of early recording and demo tracks. This debut CD got an overall positive welcome from the specialized press and other music enthusiasts worldwide.

In 2006, Mirrorthrone released “Carriers of Dust”. Keeping the radical Romantic and Baroque base lead by a blasting extreme metal pace that had built the identity of the previous release, this new opus integrated more diverse influences which give an almost progressive taste to the music. Benefiting from a massively improved production, this especially on the drum level, “Carriers of Dust” was a real step forward in the development of Mirrorthrone.

After remaining silent for two long years, Mirrorthrone is now about to unveil its new album “Gangrene”, still on Red Stream. Musically, this latest recording is an instable stream where extremities tend to gather constantly; hence the unusual cohabitation of powerful and epic tones alternating with suicidal and desperate colors.

Regarding the title and lyrical content of the song “A Scream to Express the Hate of a Race”, Vladimir states:

“This is an answer to the polemic which is current at the moment on the Internet. No, Mirrorthrone is NOT racist, nazi, white pride or whatever you call it. The lyrics of the song “A Scream to Express the Hate of a Race” target the human race in its entirety. It attacks what is called the “nihilism” of a certain form of society that has been spreading around the globe and that envelops the “moral, social, religious and scientific” paradigms. I am not going to develop more for my aim is not to offer text analysis of what I have written; I only want to clarify the situation”" - Last.fm

Well guys, now here's a masterpiece. It's very hard to believe that "Carriers of Dust" was recorded by an one-man project, the music is very rich and well-produced (on the level of the world's best metal bands). It's my favourite out of all 3 Mirrorthrone's albums, and the only thing I can complain about it is the predominate use of French language in the lyrics. Yes, that's only my personal opinion, but I don't like most Francophone metal bands, so "A Scream to Express the Hate of a Race" (with lyrics entirely in English) is my favourite track off this album ;) Some people also find the cloing track to be too lengthy, and the music in general to be too "mechanic" and "inorganic" (as all the instuments on there, other than guitars, were programmed/synthesized), but I don't have a problem with any of that.

Dødheimsgard - "666 International" [1999]

Artist: Dødheimsgard
Title: 666 International
Genre: Industrial Metal, Avant-Garde Black Metal
Country: Norway
Year:1999

Track List:
  1. Shiva-Interfere
  2. Ion Storm
  3. Carpet Bombing
  4. Regno Potiri
  5. Final Conquest
  6. Logic
  7. Sonar Bliss
  8. Magic
  9. Completion
Dødheimsgard were formed in 1994 as a standard Norwegian black metal band of the 90's, but this particular album was very innovative for its time, being one of the best examples of early industrial black metal:

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Tristwood - "Delphic Doctrine" [2006]

Artist: Tristwood
Title: The Delphic Doctrine
Genre: Industrial Death/Black Metal
Country: Austria
Year: 2006

Track List:
  1. Indoctrination (Intro)
  2. The Delphic Doctrine
  3. Chronos
  4. The Call Ov Seth - Invocation Of The God Of Blood And War
  5. Anbeheh
  6. Pandaemonic Paradoxon
  7. Nemesis - The Cyberstorm
  8. Through The Nineth Hall Of Utuk'Ku
  9. Daedae Taengri
  10. Exdoctrination - The Blackest Void (Outro)
"Tristwood have been wise enough not to just throw beats and samples here and there, but rather to employ certain industrial / techno intensity added to the ferocity and speed of their death / black metal hybrid". Couldn't said it better. For the most part, "Delphic Doctrine" is just death metal, but I'd tag it as "industrial metal" without a shadow of doubt. Out of all 3 albums from this Austrian band, this is my favourite one, although it may seem to be a bit repetitive at times.


2 Bullet - "You're Downloading Anarchism" [2007]

Artist: 2 Bullet
Title: You're Downloading Anarchism
Genre: Dark Electro, Harsh EBM
Country: Japan
Year: 2007

Track List:
  1. Humankind
  2. Burn Their Flag
  3. Gung-Ho Guns
  4. Worthless Future
Following a good tradition of posting dark electro/EBM albums which were made available for free by the bands themselves, here's an EP from a Tokyo-based project 2 Bullet. They're among the best known Japanese industrial/electro projects here in post-USSR, and Dee Lee (the mastermind of the band) is well aware of it. Hope I'll see them live one day; the only Japanese band I've seen live so far are their friends Gothika (a/k/a Euthanasie).

Last.fm biography:

"2 Bullet is an industrial band from Tokyo, Japan. It was formed in 2003, and currently features among its members K (vocals), Dee Lee (guitar/programming), Romy (vocals/bass) and Kentaro (vocals/live performance).

N.O.N.E. (a.k.a. Non-Chang) had previously left the band and was replaced by Aki, but Aki left in late June 2007, and N.O.N.E. was available to take up bass duties as well as keyboards, however on 29th December 2007, N.O.N.E once again left the band. In July 2009, Romy joined the group to enhance live performance and play bass.

The band name “2 Bullet” relates to the idea of balance of power, and conjures up imagery of two people pointing a gun at each other. This also implies the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction. The band themselves are anti-totalitarian, and perform live in military camouflage and warpaint, in a similar vein to bands such as Funker Vogt. Their motto is “In a revolution, one triumphs or dies”"

Reaxion Guerrilla - early tracks [2008]

Artist: Reaxion Guerrilla
Title: early tracks (2005-2008)
Genre: Dark Electro, Harsh EBM
Country: Peru
Year: 2008

Reaxion Guerrilla are the most well-known project out of all presented on "Vade Retro Machina", and probably the best industrial act in Peru. This is a collection of their early demo tracks, recorded during 2005-2008, while they were searching for a label. Like in case with Subliminal Code, the music isn't particularly outstanding, but it's an excellent example of Latin American dark electro.

V/A - "Vade Retro Machina" [2009]

Artist: (various)
Title: Vade Retro Machina
Genre: EBM, Dark Electro
Country: (various)
Release date: 2009

Track List:
  1. Frontrunner - The Fork and The Wretch
  2. Psyborg Corp. - Interdimensional Hyperdrive
  3. Humanoides - Disease
  4. LastraX - What Do You Want (Club Mix)
  5. By G.O.N. - A Era dos Extremos
  6. Euphorbia – Arcturus
  7. Broken - Ask Can Born Again
  8. Vigilante - Hardcore
  9. Oocito II - Forgotten World
  10. Tatari Gami - The Last Song 1.0
  11. Reaxion Guerrilla - Cyberkillers (Generation 6.6.6.)
  12. R-aktor T-tra - Nunca Jamas
  13. Aire'n Terre (feat. Bad Cock) - Stories Untold
This compilation is surprisingly rare,even it was officially released as a free download (Creative Commons license). It features 13 artists from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Argentina and Portugal, and was released by a netlabel called Phantasma 13. Their site went down since them, along with the download link (for some reason they decided not to upload the compilation to archive.org - which, I think, should be done to all free releases). There were also some torrents and rapishare links, but they all are dead by now, so it took me a long time to gather all these tracks. Musically, "Vade Retro Machina" is no better or worse than other Latin American electro/EBM compilations, so I'm posting it only to make it available for free again, as it supposed to be.

Elfica - "El lado oscuro de Venus" [2008]

Artist: Elfica
Title: El Lado Oscuro De Venus
Genre: Gothic Metal/Rock
Country: Mexico
Year: 2008

Track List:
  1. Melodía Muerta
  2. El Llanto De Un Ángel
  3. Fuego Sagrado
  4. Recuerda Que Las Rosas
  5. El Lado Obscuro De Venus
  6. Donde Estarás
  7. Resucitar En Tu Piel
  8. Pacto
Another female-fronted metal bad from Latin America which has some potentially interesting material, but the vocal work and the overall quality of recording is a serious letdown. Elfica are an all-female band from a mid-sized town in Mexico called Delicias, and this EP is their only release so far. The music is rather simplistic, but they do have some nice melodies, and of course Spanish is an ideal language for such kind of music. The vocals leave a lot to be improved, though. Maybe they sound better live, but it isn't realistic for me to get on their concert (I don't think they play live outside Mexico, and I'm not going there or elsewhere in the Americas any time soon)...