Cold Colours Release: 31 May 2013, through Sleaszy Rider Records. The band hails from Minneapolis and the mastermind behind the project Cold Colours is Brian J. Huebner. Live and studio performers: Aaron Lott, Chris Arnold, Will Maravelas. The first track from the album is Orifice, starts of with a clean strumming acoustic riff that has a BM feel to it - then when all the instruments kick in I instantly begin moving my head, like been caught in the rapture of its dark harmony, its a great song to open with. Up next, "Disgust", bands like Samael and Satyricon come to my mind as I listen. "The Process of Dying", starts with low guttural style of vocals followed by catchy and captivating composition, there are also deep rhythms with obscure passages for a few measures in the middle section, this has to be my favorite song so far. "This Devotion", drums are highlighted with thunderous double kick work, dual vocals clean and BM style blend nicely together. "Suffering God", setting a dark atmosphere, a vast void unraveling inside my head. This is a song that requires your full attention and imagination to be able to capture its dark essence. "A Loss of Faith", clean guitars with chorus effect, then a cymbal build up into a heavy verse with sliding guitar fills and dual clean plus BM vocals, well executed. "Of Sand and Tears", a somber mid paced track with clean vocals this time, somewhat surprising and a bit different than the first several songs, I do enjoy it, it shows how versatile the band can be and still set a dark mood with heavy overtones. "Silent Speech", this particular song reminds me a lot of Samael in its delivery, Guitars achieve memorable harmonies and create a solid composition worth spinning several times on my stereo. Cold Colours is the closer which is a Rotting Christ cover, I never heard it before so its hard to say exactly what the comparison is, based on what I heard - its well performed, drums are precise and there are several solos towards the end that will remain in my head for a time to come. Overall its been and intense listening experience. Definitely BM rooted and also melodic at moments. I recommend for fans of early Satyricon, Samael or Emperor. ~Artemortifica www.coldcolours.com/ facebook.com/coldcoloursmetal
Winterwheel EP released June 21 2013 under Cascadian Alliance. Moss Of Moonlight hails from Bellingham, WA. The group is comprised of two members: Cavan Wagner, Jenn Grunigen. their style is Cascadian Folk Metal. The first track on the EP is Gaet, I instantly get a sense of adventure. Production is good, I like the sound of the guitars - distortion is warm and subtle allowing the vocals to cut through effectively. There are two vocalist, Cavan does mid low growl style and clean, Jenn does some really impressive high vocals with much harmony and range. This track is epic at eleven and half minutes and is able to keep me intent as to what's coming next. "Eole", spoken word speaking of nature and pagan origins, musically beautiful with dual vocal harmonies and an engaging story unfolding. The song merges into a heavy rendition of the first verses and blends perfectly together. I have to be completely honest and say I am not familiar with folk metal and the only thing that I can compare this to is Arkona or Turisas, that is the extent of my experience in the genre. "Catte", is the third song, many open chords and another type of instrument is apparent. The vocals on the this track for a few measures resemble somewhat BM style for a couple of bars. Flute and guitar solo arrangements are catchy and stick in my mind. A long journey with many twist and turns, a blend of several styles folk, black and doom, you will find something of interest in the song of epic proportions at thirteen minutes long, prepare for the ride. "Hraefne", this is the final song on the EP. a harmonious and titillating start- meaningful and powerful message about nature. Perfect way to close this experience, I will more likely be looking forward to more music from this band as well investigating others in the same genre. ~Artemortifica facebook.com/MossofMoonlight last.fm Moss of Moonlight Official site mossofmoonlight.com
Self released June 25th 2013. To The Pain hails from Long Island NY and consist of members: Steve Shaver - Lead Guitar, vocals, John Intagliata - Lead Vocals, Mark Trojanoski -Guitar, Jeremy Lustig - Bass, vocals, Jimmy Klimatas - Drums. To The Pain is the debut album, First track is, For The People, Buy The people, good quality production, the vocals are very distinguishable, I can understand all the lyrics which is sometimes rare to find in metal bands. "Silent Horror", my first thoughts are- good dynamics on the double kicks, the riffs are metal all the way, like the early era of Savatage or Saxon. "City of Flames", war, sirens, gun fire intro- fitting for the title of the track. Solid bass lines, a clear tone with a certain punch that will get your head moving."The Smell of Sulfur/ Rise of The Demons", long title and the intro caught me by surprise, for some reason my mind thinks of early Megadeth influence for the beginning riffs. "Burn With Me", the early roots of metal are evident and are experienced in this composition. "Fuel Injected Nightmares", memorable chorus lines, and dual verses are a highlight on here, we also hear some cool guitar harmonies in the middle measures, well executed. "A Good Revolution", we come to the end of the album, open chords followed by a hard driven rhythm. A faster paced arrangement than the other songs with a good message about taking back the power to the people from the leaders. An excellent way to close the album. Overall, enjoyable to listen to, many elements of early metal influences are exhibited. ~Artemortifica facebook.com/ToThePainNY
A self released album, August 2013. Tritton is a Heavy Metal band from Mexico City. Members are Yohann Torres - Drums, Enrique Torres - Lead Guitar, José Gómez - Lead Guitar/vocals, Victor Varas - Bass, Lorena Cabrera - Lead Vocals. Face of Madness is their debut album. "Wanton War", is the first track. My first thoughts are- excellent production, every instrument is clear and solid. Lorena Cabrera has an amazing voice, reaching some high vocals ranges effortlessly. "Martyr", this song is just awesome, it has melody, power, and catchy verses that will stick in your mind."Face Of Madness", title track- speed and aggressive riffs come ripping through my speakers, these are some very talented guitar players. The quality of tone on the guitars is captured perfectly, warm yet heavy and when the solos come in they are fluid and crystal clear. "Asphyxia", if you want to hear how creative the rhythm section dynamics are then you will want to check out this song, the main riffs get my head moving. I get a feeling like the heavy thrash metal from early Overkill or Judas Priest era. We also get to hear a slow mosh type of rhythm towards the last measures with a catchy solo over it, well executed. "Insurrection", guitars achieve captivating harmonies on this track, the bass lines are punchy and the vocals continue to impress me, there are a few dual phrases that blend really well together. "Flash of The Blast", broken glass sample then into a speed metal lick that just blows my mind away, hammer on and pull offs with an aggressive assault by the drums driving this song at a high speed, then it slows down with an incredible melody that just keeps me captivated, there is so much emotion and feeling. This song is an instrumental with the melodies creating the story only your ears and mind can understand. Excellent work and will say this is my favorite song. "33 Degrees North" is the final track, the beginning of it reminds me of early Megadeth like "So Far So Good So What" album, there are several bass lines that stick out in my mind, like in the chorus part, the production quality really brings out the tone and clarity in the bass lines. The song ends at about three minutes and a half, and there is a hidden spoken word arrangement at the end if you listen long enough, it caught me by surprise but a nice touch after all. An excellent debut by these talented musicians. You can tell a great deal of time was spent composing the music. Production is really top notch, every instrument was captured crystal clear and nothing sounded buried, good levels from song to song. Overall I recommend it for metal fans world wide, If you enjoy early Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Overkill or Judas Priest you can find many of the same elements influenced here but keeping it within their own form of expression. ~Artemortifica Tritton FB
Self released May 7th 2013. Biomimic hails from Chicago IL and members consist of Scott Vyper - Vocals, Keys , Zackulus Clinkman - Bass , Max Voloshin - Guitars , Joe Korkis - Drums , Alexander Kon-I Ho - Guitars. Exogenous Embryonic Empire EP is three tracks. First up is Hollow Earth, my first impression is "great guitar sound", noticing different elements as I listen, drums in particular are complex and full of dynamics, vocals have several ranges from low to mid to clean and this is only the first track. Really enjoying the solo and clean guitar towards the end of this composition, its well fitting and interesting to my ears. Reptilian Intellect, is track two. Brutal start, furious drums attacking my senses. Memorable verse riff with dual vocals into an alien like voice. I hear many metal styles, but they do it in such a way to keep me interested on what will come next. I also have to say the vocal phrases at times have a black metal tinge to them, well done, this track is also worth cranking up on your stereo. Double Helix, ah yes- I am familiar with this particular song. I had the privilege of listening and filming this song live and actually impressed me the very first time I experienced it. Very pleasing to hear the recording of it here. There are some solid and complex guitar arrangements that captivate the listener, a long journey of composition with many layers of intricacy. Its probably my favorite track from this EP. If I had to compare Biomimic to other bands I would say Illogist, Gorod or Gigan come to my mind, fans of these bands would definitely enjoy this EP, but I recommend it to all metal fans world wide. There is something in each song that will capture your imagination no matter what style you are into. ~Artemortifica facebook.com/biomimicband biomimic.bandcamp.com
Onward To Annihilation - released on August 6 2013 through Deathgasm Records. The band hails from Kentucky, U.S.A. and have been devastating with their brand of brutal DM since 1993. "We Are Coming", is the first track, starts with a sound of demons rising from the depths of the earth. Heavy blast beats and aggressive guitars set the mood in true brutal form. Conquerors of Dust, very catchy and captivating riffs lead us into an onslaught of solid double kicks and mosh inducing rhythms. "Left To Rot", this is a song from Hypocrisy's first album Penetralia, I remember listening to it back in the early nineties and this is a very nice surprise to listen to it here, they have definitely put their own mark on it and I rather enjoy the dual vocals of high/low mix- it adds another dimension to it for sure. "Battlescarred", a dark atmosphere building start with the drum and bass leading the charge into some open chords, then we take a detour into chaos with some grinding drums and speed picking medley. "Onward To Annihilation", title track, the roots of DM are expressed in every riff I hear, the drums are consistent and have great production value. "Hold Your Ground", this has thrash metal distinction and is yet another surprise, the track is awesome and I can easily sink my head into it. "Beside The Dying Flame", we get to hear the bass in good clarity in the beginning of this particular track, reminiscent of early Grave, Gorefest or Morbid Angel. Good arrangements and will surely get an audience slamming in a live situation. "Legions Of Hell", is the closing song, brutality galore as all the elements come together to finalized the chaos that was unleashed through their music. Overall a great album and I recommend it for all fans of DM plus with a few surprises your bound to find something of interest. Check out their other releases and follow them on FB. ~Artemortifica facebook.com-Abominant
L.A. Neo-Classical-Melodic metal band Northwind Wolves self release album Astronomy. The band consist of, Noor - Lead Vocals/Guitar, Astaroth - Guitar, Alec - Keyboard, Gory Cory - Bass. The album starts of with the song Terrestrial Hellworld, sample intro about suicide, then some fast keyboards and guitar solos, great production- all the instruments are well balanced. Next up "Cold Celestial Northwinds", aggressive guitar lick, early metal style open chords with heavy palm muted transition. The drum accents did sound somewhat in the background at first. Many keyboard progressions can be heard and are well executed. Conjuration of The Plague Star, solid transitions and massive grinding on the guitar rhythms. The bass player can be clearly heard on this song and has a wicked sound. There is also an exchange of solos towards the end of the track that really perked my ears and I had to listen to it several times. Starlit Funeral Forest, the guitar tone is punchy and stomping through my speakers, this is complimented with elaborate keyboard progressions full on many notes played rapidly and with precision. "Astronomy", title track, very interesting name. This song definitely gets my head moving, great riffs that are catchy and easy to remember - the drums are thundering through this beast at high velocity while the strings interchange a variety of arrangements. This is probably my favorite track thus far. I have to take a moment and compliment them on their logo, its shape like a howling wolf and its probably one of the most unique logos I have seen in the metal genre this year. "Black Ritual Stardeath - The Vampires Waltz", an epic beginning. The vocals are done in a BM style and remind a bit of early At The Gates. There is also a memorable solo towards the end of this track which stays in my mind. "Sea of Storms", is the final song on this album. A symphony of chaotic intention, feels like all the elements come together to leave the listener enthralled and wanting more. The track seals the journey and it feels like a short one, but I have experienced a wealth of talent in each track. The hard work they put into each song is apparent. Northwind Wolves is a band that all metal fans should listen to. The album is available via Reverbnation and Youtube and should not be missed. ~Artemortifica facebook.com/NorthwindWolves reverbnation.com/northwindwolves
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