55th part of short reviews.
NORDEN – Z popiołów i krwi…
Year of release: 2018
Label: Werewolf Promotion
Rating: 6,5 / 10
NORDEN is a Polish project with a 27-year history, however not rich on releases. Apparently, NORDEN was originally created under the influence of BATHORY's Viking albums, and nothing has changed over the past years. “Z popiołów i krwi ...” offers an honest BATHORY worship with really good music, which is very difficult to listen to because of the dull vocals. The double vocal track consists of a muffled muttering past notes and creaky declamations with no more energy than in a burned-out fuse. It’s a pity, because with such songs as “Powiedz, ojcze ...”, the album could lay claim to the laurels of the Polish “Twilight of the Gods”. The record closes with a cover of “The Lake”, to which all of the above applies.
CORONARY – Demo 2018
Year of release: 2018
Label: self-release
Rating: 6 / 10
Heavy Metal from the long-haired Finnish dudes, bassist of KORPIKLAANI is among them. Despite the vigor and good musical quality of the material, it does not cause associations with those bands that created the Heavy Metal scene, but rather with those that came to it for their five minutes of fame. Although the project, which is quite obvious, was created for nostalgic reasons, therefore it should be absolutely honest... Recommended to fans of ACCEPT.
XANTAM – Altered State
Year of release: 2019
Label: Blood Harvest
Rating: 5,5 / 10
This release attracts attention with its cover that includes something that seems Cacodaemon from afar and Beholder from the closer distance, but in fact it turns out to be a monster Xantam from Baldur’s Gate. Unfortunately, the cover is the only interesting element of the mini-album. The disc contains a mediocre American fantasy Death Metal with a lousy sound, generously seasoned with independent keyboard fragments / tracks, which, oddly enough, turned out to be even more boring. Usually, you expect more from Blood Harvest.
EPITAPHE – I
Year of release: 2019
Label: Aesthetic Death
Rating: 8,3 / 10
Aesthetic Death has recently shown a pleasant tendency to release more or less robust doom-oriented music, rather than sounds of buzzing bees or aimless experiments. Against the background of, say, the new REIDO album, the debut brick of the French EPITAPHE already seems somewhat avant-garde. The label characterizes the band's style as the "funeral death metal", which is perfectly true. Initially, it seems that this is not a very traditional funeral death doom, but then you understand that in fact it is Death Metal performed at a lower speed, and it’s quite technical. When the music picks up speed, it becomes more obvious. Nevertheless, the British label in many respects remains true to itself: “I” is difficult to compare or match with anything. The only banal thing here is the album's name. The album will not appeal to everyone - it’s in a very hostile mood, and those who are able to overcome emotional pressure and withstand the monstrous duration of songs will be tested by complex song structures (surprisingly, not copying masters of dissonance, such as GORGUTS or ULCERATE).It is amazing that such a large-scale work can be taken from the band's Bandcamp for free - take the opportunity, but then buy the CD, this album deserves your investment.
COMANDO PRAETORIO – Ignee sacertà ctonie
Year of release: 2019
Label: Aeternitas Tenebrarum Musicae Fundamentum
Rating: 7,2 / 10
This album, created in Italy, has extremely interesting content that you can look at superficially by clicking on the full-screen Bandcamp page link below and reading the press release. The musical accompaniment, however, does not hold out: melancholic, leisure and atmospheric metal from COMANDO PRAETORIO is struck by a typical illness of this kind of music - an acute lack of riffs. The Italians perfectly support the mood, skillfully mask the banal tremolo movements, but the fact remains: “Ignee sacertà ctonie” is an album to absorb, not to listen to.
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