Viverrant, lucid, and depressing, this band simply dominates! What's so amazingly clear is the lyrics fitting the music so well. What we have here is a conglomerate of atmospheric doom, equipped with time signature changes which bring about more morbid behemothic transcendence. A combination of darkly doomish vocals alongside a maiden's gentle heir on occasion, drowning this release into a sea of cosmic tears. The music especially the guitar is very slow, filled with distorted tones along with acoustics and bearing atmospheric synthesizers. It puts this into a whole realm of its own.

I've never even heard about this band before and was introduced to it by someone which I'm surely opiated that I was able to hear about them. Definitely an aura so unimaginable and mellow. The songwriting is so amazingly calculated which if you're in a mellow mood, it'd be great to chill to. The riffs are filled in some cases with hardcore distortion mixed up with melodies that swarmed deep into the depths of depression. Whispered words alongside these kind of overtures and mocking at the end of existence. Just chillingly captivating, it would take countless hearings to be able to lead to unwavering bliss.

A mellow mood overall, which signifies why they're into this sort of unknown, unwavering genre. Not only is the music amazing, so are the lyrics. They're filled with such depth and despondency. Truly gifted musicians to the core mastering in this drama of a release. There are so many different time signatures, none are fast, just some more upbeat than others. The female voice along with the hoarse throat deeply gives the release variety and vigor. Overall, the atmosphere on most songs are so unmistakingly grim, sounds original and melodies drifting alongside acoustics brazing along with the female voice.

The most of what dominates is the vocals and vibe, it's so aesthetic that it's lucid, grim, angry in the male voice whereas the female brings upon an utter utopia. A shame that these female vocals have been replaced with another, just appreciating her with the time that she spent with the band. A full viverent mixture of anger and joy, which reigns superior to other doom metal bands I've heard in the past. The voice brings with it a dusk of guitarwork that's so shifting and moving, true emotion expressed in clean and in heavy. A definite release that's calming to the soul and gothic due to the whole atmosphere.

More people need to know about this band and the wonder that they are to the metal community. The music is wholly original and captivating. My first impression was that I had to have this after hearing a song on YouTube. I was more than happy after hearing the whole album because it brought me into the realm of lucidity and exuberance. Finally a metal band that isn't just non-comprehensive waste of the human expense. So well worth looking into, songs like no other, lyrics so in depth and well thought out and production that's solid with everything so mixed well into the album as a whole. A band to definitely check out and admire. I'm curious to hear what they will sound like next!

These Swedish natives have been existence since 2008 and this is their first full-length death/doom metal release. The lineup here is as such: Niclas Ankarbranth on vocals, Wilhelm Lindh on guitars, Francisco Martin on bass, and Juan Pablo Donoso on drums. The main beef that I have with the release is the production quality, but this is the band's first full-length effort and I think that they did a good job in the songwriting department, though it took repeated listens to in order to get into the music. Some Opeth influence here on the guitars.

The music isn't blindingly fast, but there are some tracks that are pretty memorable. The tempos to the them are moderate and I'd consider the band to be more of a doom metal act than a death metal one. The leads are fantastic and Wilhelm can really shred. His writing on the guitars riff wise feature complex overtures with palm muted outputs mixing in some clean tone guitar with it. I think that the vocals ruin the guitar though because Niclas can't really sing too well. His vocals range from low burly segments mixed in with screaming outputs.

I really dug the music despite the vocals however. The band needs to get someone that can augment their melodic sound to better fit the music. Niclas just needs to have better vocal segments than anything else. The guitar riffs were interesting and moderately tempo based. There aren't any songs on here that were fast and furious. They were mostly slow paced and fit the doom metal genre more so than the death metal one. The vocals make the band into being a dual genre act.

The production was decent, though the snare drum sounded flat. That's the only negative really to say about the album in this department. The guitars featuring the clean tone, heavy distortion and bass were all mixed into this release pretty well. The vocals suited the music but I just couldn't get into Niclas's voice. It could be that it's because I'm not a huge fan of doom metal. It pretty much bores me. The guitar melodies make up for the boredom that I experienced listening to this album.

I wouldn't say to run right out and purchase this release ASAP. YouTube some of the songs first before you make any kind of conclusion as to whether or not you like the band. I think that they're decent like Moonspell just not as much quality as that band. The melodies were amazing though. Wilhelm really put forth rock solid guitar work both on the rhythms and leads. I think that because of his efforts it got me more into the band on a whole scale. If you want decent death/doom metal, this album does cut it.

Formed in 1994, this current trio puts out some solid death/doom metal. Page Townsley is the frontman on vocals/guitars, Jeremy Partin on bass and Remy Cameron on drums. Don't expect any blast beating on "Gravehammer" because these guys play some seriously heavy no nonsense death/doom metal to the core. It's hard to believe that being around since then they're still on an independent label. Their music is plenty good enough to be on a major record label. They've toured with some well known bands as well, but still remain to be self-released.

The music on here features thick chunky palm muted guitar riffs in the vein of Six Feet Under and Page on vocals sounds a lot like Glen Benton of Deicide. Their music is not overtly technical, it is straight forward tremolo picked lines which also feature heavy chords that are slow and doom laden. The guitar fits well with the vocals. I was very impressed also with the solos. They're played with precision and are quite technical. I'd conclude that the leads are far above par by Page. He seriously shreds and for a more doom fashion metal band that quality is hard to find.

I can't compare this album to previous ones because because this is the first one that I've heard by the band. Supposedly some of the older releases received better ratings. I was surprised about that because "Gravehammer" is a gem of a release, especially when 2011 was lacking in some good metal outputs by well known bands. This is one that is worthy of praise because not only is it dark and grim, it still has innovation and creativity. The riffs are well played out with vigor. Lines that stick to your brain even some clean tone exhibited briefly here.

The mixing is well rounded with everything heard very well. Another surprising feature because again they're an independent. The guitars, bass, drums and vocals are all well in there so that nothing is left out. In essence, production quality was solid and the band was able to put in enough monetarily to finance the recording of this release. Definite quality, they need to sign onto a major label! However, you can buy their CD's on Amazon.com. I'm hoping that they will eventually be on a major label in the next upcoming releases. Very talented musicians!

I'd have to say that I was shocked how well this band put together such an amazing concoction of riff-writing, bass that is quite auditory and drums that are orchestrated in double bass fashion for an immense amount of the album depending on what the guitar is doing. Again Six Feet Under style of lines riff-wise and quite noteworthy to say the least! I'm not entirely convinced that they should've gotten a poor rating for this album because I think it's high quality metal especially when again 2011 was a year of disappointment in the metal industry. If you want classic death/doom metal, "Gravehammer" is it!

Pure straightforward death metal to the core on this EP. It's an explosion of tremolo picked guitars, blast beating drums, low end throat, and a grim aura that accompanies this release. Everything is mixed in well here. Guitars are on key, vocals unrelenting doom infested, mixed with grim darkness. Black Horizon is everything to look for on a release. Where they come from on here is truly original and memorable. The intensity is the main factor. Only a few tracks that exhibit slower tempos. Not many though.

This EP features a production sound that's quite well done. Everything flows perfectly. No instrument is left out without bad mixing and the album shines in abyssal gates. Not a whole lot of lead guitar playing, just crazy fast picked guitar with a letup in tempos invariably. The band is wholly original sounding here nothing copied from anyone else that plays in death metal. I was quite impressed here. A band that shows pure promise for the future.

It's good that they don't have much lead guitar going on because a lot of death metal bands feature it and it ruins the release due to poor outputs. So they shied away from that and focused mainly on constructing solid metal guitar rhythms. All of the songs deserve praise. Very intriguing set of tracks constructed here. Only 22 minutes, but still worth every moment of this. It's an EP that you can never get sick of that's for damn sure. This one will be on repeat for a while.

The great part of this EP is that the band seemed to contribute all as one here. I can't wait for them to finally release a full-length album if they stay together. I'm sure that they will and more power to them because they are quality death metal. Uncompromising intensity and vigor here. The vocals go along well with the guitar. Everything fits together in unison. Most of the riffs here are tremolo picked guitars with a few chord outputs. Mainly blast beating songs with little let up on intensity.

If you want an album that displays pure talent without a whole lot of technology, Black Horizon hits home. I can't say any more good enough about this release. It's truly a gem of a contribution to the metal community. Everything stays original here like I said and the guitars hit home with amazingly awesome riffs. A definitely great contribution of originality, quality, technicality and interesting bits here that does metal in the right way. Pick this one up ASAP!

This band needs an introduction because they're quite an unknown at the moment. This EP features Shanda Fredrick on vocals, Philip Burns on guitars, Jeremy Brenton on bass and Patrick Warren on drums. Their music even though they're within the genre of doom metal, seems more like death/thrash because the guitars feature a strong crunch tone to them, but really slow paced. That would be the reason why they're put into the doom metal genre.

The vocals are oddly orchestrated. They're not typical doom metal type vocals even though it's a female doing the singing. They're quite unique and fit with the music quite well. Every song is slow tempo paced with some clean guitar bits, but not that many. I love the guitars the most because to me they're quite original. They don't sound like any band that I've ever heard. Doom metal to me is yes slow paced, however, the guitars sink it more into a death/thrash sound. Every song is dark and grim.

A band that definitely needs to be more widely well known because of their individualistic sound. There are no solos on this EP, just the rhythm guitar seeping well in the the feel of the doom sound vocals. No tempos that are fast paced at all. Still that doesn't take away the originality of the EP. All of the songs feature palm muted guitar chords mixed with a little bit of single string picked notes with hammerons and pulloffs. These bits mix well with the rhythms.

The production even though it's independent is quite well orchestrated. You can hear the guitars, vocals and drums quite clearly. The bass is a little hard to hear over the main guitars though. That's the only beef that I have with the production sound. Otherwise it's wonderfully orchestrated and well worth the money they put in to produce it. I'm sure that if this band stays together, they're going to do quite well when a full-length from them comes out.

I'd have to be honest and say that the EP didn't strike me as being anything interesting to listen to, but after a couple more spins, it became more intriguing. I'm hoping to hear a follow-up since they are still active as a band. Definitely worth checking out if your taste is amongst the death/thrash/doom genres. Just a really laid back metal EP with nothing but quality in songwriting and vocals that accommodate the guitars quite well. Pick up this one, it's a gem of an EP!

What an atmosphere, deranged lunacy to the morbid settings that come arie when listening to this release. You'll get a bulk of an hour's worth of darkness seemingly to be visible. As a usual mild tempo of even slower guitars, musically that peaks as its' aura is deeply tranquil, yet quite alluding to death's door. A mixture not only of just heavy duty chunks of guitar work, it's filled with other braziningly moderate musical concoctions of piano work alongside spoken word overtures that don't stagnate, they keep the vibe at their unique genre. A very well produced release where everything just is in the right place, the way a "gothic doom" sound that blissfully is great to "chill" to.

The female vocals add a little variety to just heavy throat, plus the lyrics fit deeply well into this sorrowful chain of music that needs more followers. Not enough people know about this band and their blitz with frayed ends of insanity regarding the tonality of their releases. You get it all here, except the fact that their focus is not aggression, it's an open door to the gates of eternity. Such a well played release with unique sounds coming from all over the recording. The guitars focus mainly on such moderate blends of chords and melodies which are wholly original, never copping out always seeming to be so "them."

A sure band that invests in sounds that are so mild, it makes the mind seem at ease where the darkness is vivid with lost sanity in the lyrical compositions. Not only do they invest in just a moderate form of doom, but also take pride and write about such morbidity with creativity mixed with the music that devours the souls that are lifted into eternity. I only have this one and their 2011 release, but both are exceptionally well composed with death as their venture into existence gets spewed out of your speakers hearing only that utter words of blatant intensity. There is so much to this piece of work that holds true to their own sound, missing nothing, hearing everything that is death-like.

An album that requires no expectations of anything but just their own unique metaphysics in regarding to their artistic sense of demonic love of true doom and a presence of otherworldly encounters of such divine intervention. You get it all here, the spoken words, the occur of hoarse vocal outputs, female voice present in moderation, tempos that are so desolate they seem to touch the soul with tranquillity and music that is baffling to the listener because of it's sole presence of just emotion, driven to the essence of doom with destruction rampant. The release definitely posed capitalizing on originality in songwriting occurs.

If you're into some really mellow metal thats' premonition is that of darkness when listening to, Arcane Rain Fell holds the vivid truth in their essence living up to the stock of sheer morbidity with music that's spellbinding in metal that is great to listen to when you want a break from something that is truly an epic hour of 8 tracks flowing through the forests and drastic pillars of death lurking within their own essence of it all on here. I'd say from all I've heard from this band, this one is their best one. But on all to which they've released in album form, they dominate with such an atmospheric deathly doom of dreadery. Own it, you won't regret it at all!

Kind of a "raw" sort of production with the total Swedish death metal vibe. The vocals are just hate-filled and if you read the words it suits the music to perfection. It's not just a total death metal album. There are instances where you hear some melodic guitar riffs, but for the most part this album is just brutal. Its heavy, original, and thought-provoking riffs and stifling leads personify it. At first I thought that the album was kind of a bore, but after hearing it repeated times, it just makes sense in terms of the brutality factor. Definitely one of their best releases that I've heard, but maybe slightly a little less so than, say, "Like An Everflowing Stream" - that album will just blow your hair back.

But all in all, the music features low-tuned guitars to achieve total death metal fury. It's on all tracks, just pure destruction in a musical sense, that is to the eardrums. They really put together some awesome bar chord thickness with a massive amount of tremolo-picked, furious riffs. There are a lot of tempo changes throughout the whole album, not totally drastic as in a progressive sense, but really a lot of variety in the musical department. All of the songs are a pure massacre of pure sickness and is an album that takes time getting used to I'd say if you're a fan of the now-defunct, furious, death bad asses.

There is absolutely no variety in the vocals, which isn't surprising; they're just a hoarse throat that usually is played alongside the fast and furious guitars. I'd say the whole of the album does feature the Swedish melodic sides to it, but for the most part there is utter originality to the music and scorching riffs. 

A definite end of a legacy for the band and it's sad to see them depart from the death metal world. But they left behind a true spirit of ever-flowing death metal. I think that the highlight of the album isn't just the music, but also the intensity that it was played at and by a band that never really abandoned its roots.

"Europa Burns" is definitely a great track to listen to via YouTube, but really, the concept of the album was straightforward death metal with a fluent taste of fury regarding death and utter hatred for mankind, bluntly put. I think that it takes time getting into, but when you hit repeat, it'll make sense in a fashion that is bloody downright gory and strongly fixated on just purely noble justice in a death metal album. The riffs are what are the catchiest on the album and I'd say that they are like no other. This band has pretty much always been a great impact on the death metal world of pure and sinister evil.

Try out maybe a couple of songs on YouTube; they are all filled with fury. I felt that total and utter demolition of fury the whole way through and not just the opening track, but on every track. But if you're an avid death metal listener that has tracked down this band over the years, you'll find that it's total and utter intensity. A great thing has happened here and I think that from a musical standpoint it gets out that pure aggression, then reverts a little to the past in terms of featuring some melodic riffing like I stated previously. Worth checking out? Absolutely. You'll really feel that uncompromising morbidity and gruesomely-filled rampant death metal all the way.

1st album that I've owned by this band, was interested because I figured that if it is Max Cavalera's band, they must be GOOD. Not to seem biased, but since he was the frontman for Sepultura alongside his brother for years, his own band I concluded I'd give it a try! I was not disappointed at all really and since the focus was on groove/thrash metal, that sparked my interest in them. After hearing this latest CD some times now, I thought that everything seemed to fit together-the music, lyrics and genre(s). There really wasn't anything that I disliked about this release, it is at the top of the list for best albums in 2013.

That I felt so strongly about because it's wholly creative and original not to mention an album to "chill" to. The lead guitar work was also good and well played out on that aspect, it wasn't in any way half-assed or just annoying executions, there was real talent here that Max recruited, not to mention playing with his 20 year old son now on drums. Amazing production, thickness in the guitar riffs (I'd say they're in B-tuning). Not really overtly aggressive songs with exceptions of course. Ultimate creativity in the songwriting, lyrical concepts, vocals and mixing. The fact that they're on Nuclear Blast says something great which is another reason why I picked this out to try.

Everything seemed to fit together and the concept of pure hatred wasn't the only goal I think Max wanted on this album, I also think that the focus was originality in the music alongside lyrics that people could relate to. I'd have to say that the backup vocals/guest vocals fit the album quite well. Some of the music was really atypical though, giving it more of an aura about it which brought about more depth. There wasn't a song on here I disliked. All of the music and vocals I enjoyed immensely. A very groove-laden release and definitely a CD that's well worth hearing. If this sparked some curiosity in my review, YouTube "Cannibal Holocaust" and you'll hear what I'm talking about.

The thickness in the guitar is what stuck with me and Max's vocals seemed more higher pitched than what I was used to on Sepultura releases that he was on. I actually like his voice here more than on Sepultura, which is quite a thing to say regarding the album. Definitely good to have variety in the vocals so that you're not stuck hearing monotonous screaming or low bellowing bouts it's a little bit of both on here which is another reason why I like this release. No regrets here, the musical compositions are just so darn creative and expansive. Max definitely remains high still on the creativity factor.

Savages will hit you hard with heavy guitar work and tempos that are simply awe-inspiring. I don't think that this one you'd get bored with, like I said, a mild metal album with a modicum of fast tunes, mainly just riffs that'll just knock you on your ass. Totally awesome work here and the band needs more recognition with this one because Max does a great job at coming up with music and lyrics that really rock! It'd be great if they stick with this kind of style because it really is an album that deserves more praise. Definitely not a sell-out at all, a balls out release with great riffs. Get it and you may come to the same conclusion!

I'd say that this one hits the melodic death/doom metal genre given the atmosphere of it. The keyboards make it into an eerie, sort of gothic vibe and the vocals go well with the music. A lot of really slow tempo songs and entirely melodic and depressing. I suppose Peter's aim is to hit the cosmos with his sci-fi lyrics and guitar riffs that bleed on a deathly doom mixture. The whole album is really filled with songs that just crush minus the aggression factor. I think that the guitars/keys/production sound quality was superb and no complaints on those ends. The music is what's key to me on a release, but if I could relate more to the words, I'd appreciate the album more.

This one is a total "B" rating. I think that the most intrinsic points of the album are the combination of death-like vocals mixed with screaming plus the crunch tone on the guitars are riveting. It sets it aside from newer bands that are in the melodic death scene. There really were no super high intensity guitar playing or much lead guitar work, just mainly rhythm backed up by the atmospheric keys. There wasn't a song on here that I disliked, I think all were an invigorating, epic and melodic guitar with degrees of utmost sound aura. I think that this was the main focus Peter's concept for the album was to be.

The production quality was in the superior category as usual and everything seemed to fit together nicely. Horgh from Immortal is behind the set on this one. An excellent effort by all musicians. I'd say the high points of the album was definitely the music in general, nothing too innovative here though, however, nothing that was overtly striking. Some good tracks to check out are the title-track and "United We Fall", but I'd say pick any track off here and it's good melodic death. The riffs didn't stick with me that well, but on repeat I seem to hear everything little thing that's different that I didn't hear before.

End of Disclosure is a laid back melodic death/doom release with excellent atmospheric work (as previously discussed) and it deserves to be looked into. For me, the highlights are the guitars. They're so epic and lucid, with a conglomerate of melodic guitar to the core. This one though is like a transformation for the band. They've really mellowed out as age does, but still the music is quality. There are tremolo picked licks (which encompass a lot of the release), bar chord heavily muted chunky sounds and an immense doom with those keys in the background.

Be sure to YouTube those tracks and judge for yourself how this album sounds to you. I think that it's quite good, just a little bit short of a masterpiece. I didn't like the lyrics much though, I think that the sci-fi words aren't thought provoking enough to me. But the music is just so darn good which makes up for the lack of ingenuity in lyric writings. Definitely an album to check out because musically it's original and mild. Nothing too intense, just mainly atmospheric. Peter I think was shooting for something good here in the songwriting portion, but if he could've made the lyrics easier for the listener to relate to, I would've given it a higher score. However, pick it up!