Icy cold melancholic melodeath from Finland! Finnish band As the Sun Falls has been around for a few years and released a 4-song EP earlier this year in May called “Pohjoisen Sydän.” This is atmospheric, melancholic, and crushing melodic death metal, icy and cold in the Finnish tradition. All lyrics are in Finnish, so I […]
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HEAVY gothic symphonic metal with cinematic flair! I rarely review EPs, but this one smacked me so hard that I had to! Meteroa hails from Hungary and recently released this 4-song EP, “Broken Mind.” This is heavy symphonic gothic metal with wonderful orchestration and a heavy helping of death metal. Crushing guitars, intense drums, killer
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Progressive metal with 90’s rock sensibility and a Björk vocal delivery that works amazingly well! Have you ever listened to a band for the first time, not really knowing what to expect based on the description, and a couple songs in wonder why you are just now discovering this band? I just had this happen
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Crushing, melodic, and emotional progressive metal! Italian band Beriedir released their first EP in 2015, and they released their third full length, “Liminal Spaces,” earlier this year. I am admittedly not familiar with any material prior to this album, though my understanding is that they had a much heavier power metal influence in their earlier
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Pre-Hispanic instruments & Aztec lore bombastically melded with brutal death metal! The ehecachichtli, more commonly known as the Aztec death whistle, is utterly creepy. Shaped like skulls, they were apparently used during sacrificial rituals and emitted atmospheric wind-like sounds. Larger modern reproductions make a higher pitched shrieking sound (which may not be true to the
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Epic symphonic extreme folk metal from Australia! I love folk metal when it is done well. If you have figured me out at this point, you know that any metal that appeals to me most does its core elements exceptionally while adding in good variety, technicality, and some uniqueness. I was introduced to Australia’s Valhalore
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Speedy melodic symphonic power metal with progressive fabric! I love discovering new bands, particularly smaller bands that should be more known. Such is the case with Madison, Wisconsin, symphonic power metal band Queen of Dreams, who released their latest full length, “Subnivium,” back in January of this year. Melodic, powerful, heavy, technical, and with some
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Fabulous progressive metal that is cinematic, technical and melodic! Halloween was a great day for metal releases this year, with two I reviewed already in contention for my annual top 20. This album will be the third from that release day, and it is in similar company. Danish progressive metal band Defecto released their new
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Incredible doomy progressive death / thrash metal! US Progressive thrash / death band Sacrament is criminally unknown, subject to the fate that many bands on smaller labels, particularly those in the early Christian market, faced. They released 2 outstanding full lengths, but their best, in my opinion, was their 1989 debut, “Testimony of Apocalypse.” Fast
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Symphonic classic mastery collides beautifully with brutal death metal! I was a band kid for half of my school life, an accomplished clarinet player who sadly didn’t do much beyond high school. During this time, my appreciation for classical and baroque music grew. There isn’t anything quite like it, with the complex arrangements, various movements,
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