Candlemass – Ashes to Ashes
By Gruesome Greg Last year, Candlemass released Death Magic Doom, an album that showed they’re still one of the top epic doom bands going…
Sweden
Revamp – Revamp
All in all, I’m not overly impressed by this release. Only by purposefully listening for something positive did I find anything worth more than one listen. The musicians on this record do a great job but they don’t mesh with Floor Jansen’s voice at all. The song writing on this just didn’t seem to be as much of a focus as the keyboard and vocal flourishes were.
Soilwork/ Death Angel/ Mutiny Within @ The Opera House, Toronto ON, July 19 2010
“On this occasion, however, while I certainly felt overindulged, I enjoyed the sonic gluttony. Whereas Death Angel left me feeling like the insides of my ears had been coated in burning pitch, Soilwork brought a delicious coolness to the show. Their bluesy, melodic death metal proved to be an excellent foil to Death Angel’s performance. These bands work exceedingly well together in this regard; the tour is well curated. Soilwork have matured well as a band, retaining all their punch and aggressiveness while becoming smoother and more balanced in their overall sound.”
Sabaton – Coat of Arms
I dare say that Sabaton make the most uplifting songs about war this side of ‘The Trooper’! On Coat of Arms, the sixth record for the Swedish warriors but first with a proper North American release, Sabaton focus on the battles of World War II.
Die Hard – Nihilistic Vision
Similar to a post-modern poem, the album is dispersed and features lack of structure, which can be presented well if thought-out correctly. Despite half of the musical mess, the guitar work of Hasse is strong and precise that expresses undeniable talent above a clutter of sounds.
Soilwork-The Panic Broadcast
After the huge letdown of Dark Tranquillity’s latest album We Are The Void it is really good to see Soilwork back on their game.
Solution 45-For Aeons Past
Solution 45 is really a showcase for the clean vocals of the singer and he really slays on every track, displaying a much higher range than on any of the old Scar Symmetry releases.
Rimfrost – Veraldar Nagli
As the album grows significantly colder, it is evident that Rimfrost are able to maintain a distinct black metal sound that isn’t too cliché. Their sound infiltrates each ear because of its varied elements and sub-genre qualities that intertwine with each other.
Postcards From Natalie Zed, Part 4
Hellbound readers, we’re sure that by now you are all familiar with our Natalie Zed, right? Natalie was our big grand prize winner way back in January, taking home more than 50 CDs + and shortly after she received her huge box ‘o CDs, Ms. Zed asked us over at Hellbound HQ if we’d be interested in running reviews of her winnings if she did postcard sized reviews of the albums. How could we say no?
So, after a long layoff (sorry NZ!), here is Natalie’s fourth installment (reviews #31 – 40 for those keeping stats at home) in what Hellbound likes to refer to as “Postcards From Natalie Zed”…
Blasphemy Blog: Arckanum – Rapid Re-Issue Reviews
By Ola Mazzuca After releasing seven full-length albums, two demos and six EPs, the musical project of Johan “Shamaatae” Lahger, otherwise known as Arckanum,…