Stutthof - For the Glory of the Knights of the Temple EP (2009)

For the Glory of the Knights of the Temple is a highly limited 7" EP released through Zyklon-B Productions. It does not actually feature any new Stutthof material (since the band was content to move on to their newer project Acherontas), but a pair of tunes that were penned around the time of their sophomore album And Cosmos from Ashes to Dust (2004). I was not quite a huge fan of that period, as I found the band to be a middling Hellenic approximation of their obvious Scandinavian influences like Emperor, but nor was it the most incompetent stuff of its sort. I'm afraid that, had these tracks been released back then, it wouldn't have made much difference, because they're not exemplary, but certainly they are on par with anything from the first two albums.

There are two parts to this "For the Glory of the Knights of the Temple" saga, with the first being "The March" and the latter "The Fall". The former is accurately titled, because it is a straight charge of blasted black with streaming, thick tremolo guitars cast beneath the towering rasp of Acherontass, with a few varied riffs that keep up the momentum and become gradually more intricate neared and after the bridge. The latter is naturally the more atmospheric, since it's a pure keyboard ambient piece, but nice enough for that style. Seeing that the band has lifted soundtrack scores directly onto previous releases, it's hard to be sure that it's original, but despite the choirs and vibrant atmosphere, it seems like something they could easily have composed.

Like most of these rare pressings, there must be under a 1000 of these EPs out there in circulation, thus they were never intended for mass consumption (no Stutthof releases ever were). I can't see myself listening to this again anytime soon, but for what it is, you could ask for worse. The production is just as rounded as anything they released previously, but I'm more a sucker for what they are doing in Acherontas, a far more dynamic and compelling entity.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]

Varathron/Desolation - Darkness Has Landed EP (2009)

Darkness Has Landed sees a natural team up of the Greek legends Varathron with another long-standing Hellenic band (Desolation) which performs with a brand of death metal not unlike Deicide or Vital Remains, with some thick, thrashing riffage. The cover here looks enticing, a pagan ritual of seduction and sacrifice under the watchful goat and its horns, but the music is unfortunately not that great from either party. No big deal, really, since there were only about 500 of them made and most will just be experiencing the music through the internet.

Varathron can certainly survive this, and their piece is the better of the two, a vicious atmospheric black metal track called "To Thou Who Condemn the Light" with full, deathlike vocals and an air of that classic Greek atmosphere from their earlier albums like Walpurgisnacht (or Rotting Christ). Once it surges into the speed metal licks at its core, and the grandiose atmosphere of the final minute, it really starts to shine like their great Stygian Forces of Scorn album (the same year), but it feels a little tilted towards its latter half. As for Desolation, well, this is a band that have existed since about 1991 in various forms, but never really released anything until theri 2006 effort Eternity of Hell. And now they're back on hiatus. They once had members like Sakis Tolis in their ranks, plus a bunch of dudes from other Greek death metal bands. This song is wholly average, and it had already appeared on the album of the same name...

If I can say something good for them, it's that they offer a lot of variation. The acoustic intro transforms into a pummeling blast beat with melodic speed rhythms under ghastly growls, and they go into a few walls of melody near the bridge (one nice dual muted descending pattern at about 3:00 doesn't rescue it). But nothing really stands out here, not the vocals nor the riff selection, and I'm afraid "Eternity In Hell" is not about to win the veterans much in the way of an expanded fan base. But it's not bad, and the production is pretty tight. At any rate, the coupling of these tracks is sort of a given, since they flesh out a similar expanse of atmospheric territory, but the quality of the former and redundancy of the latter don't make for an engrossing experience, and the cover feels superior to the musical content in the end.

Verdict: Fail [4.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/varathron
http://www.myspace.com/thetruedesolation

Zemial - I Am the Dark EP (2009)

Zemial is a band that has not quite sat still through the sparse schedule of releases they've produced over two decades, each representing a slight shift towards or away from the primal black metal aesthetics that first inspired them. So it's not a big surprise that the I Am the Dark EP sounds little like its predecessor, the majestic In Monumentum full-length, which was as much an epic heavy metal record as anything else. No, the two tracks present here probe back into the annals of time, to drag forth a raw, pumping, black thrash & roll element which seems like a cross-strain of Hellhammer, Bathory, Venom and perhaps even a bit of Mr. Kilminster. Then again, even between this pair of creations, there is a distinct variation...

"I Am the Dark" is pretty much what I described, a straight laced, black rocker with groovy blues rhythms. There's a nice, dark atmosphere here created by the reverb in the growling, carnal vocals, not to mention the thick guitar tone, but ultimately the chorus feels a bit 'common' and predictable like any given NWOBHM or archaic power metal piece. "Words from the Temple of Shadows", on the other hand, is a dirty, blunt speed/thrasher which is saved by its addictive use of samples and effects after the strong lead sequence, and the ensuing barrage of melodic percussion. Otherwise, it too might have suffered from a streak of familiarity that would hardly compel any further listening.

All told, though, it's not a bad mutation. Zemial has always grasped back into the depths of extreme metal's past for their inspiration, and even though this is not so glorious or keyboard laden as In Monumentum or their debut EP Sleeping Under Tartarus, it rocks just enough to maintain the attention span. Too bad that there wasn't just...'more' of it, and thus I Am the Dark becomes another collector piece more than something most will turn to in need of their Greek black fix. But it's nice that Archon Vorskaath cares enough about this band to keep updating it from time to time, even with such a short amount of output.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10] (you think you'll stop me?)

http://www.myspace.com/zemial

Diabolical Principles - Beyond the Horizon (2009)

2009 marked a year in which several obscure fixtures of the Hellenic underground would 'officially' launch their other projects upon indie labels. That's not to say that these were all new bands, for example this Diabolical Principles project was around before the turn of the 21st century, but until about this time they were nothing more than a few demos and footnotes. Fascinatingly, I actually find that several of these acts are superior to those that spawned them, which holds true for this band, involving members of Mortuus Caelum, Burial Hordes, Unholy Ritual, Obsecration and a long list of Greek extreme metal acts. Beyond the Horizon might take some getting used to, due to the fact that it's production feels a little too skewed towards the symphonic keyboards, but I actually found its blend of atmospherics and primal, black substrate much to my liking.

This isn't the sort of 'symphonic' black metal that comprises intricate swells of strings and horns, more of a dull and numbing, cold and blatant use of minimalistic keyboard lines that are rather loud against the rambling rasp and streaming tremolo melodies of front man Gareth. I also can't consider it highly unique, as there's a pretty stock Scandinavian subtext to how the guitars and synth lines are composed. But as far as transporting me to a shadowed night-realm of grandeur, Beyond the Horizon does the trick ably, through both its frenzied, forward compositions like "Might Though is Sadness" and "The Legions Revival (The 3rd Era)" and the slower, surefooted majesty of "Journey Into Infinity" or "Darkness". There are a few sequences throughout the album in which the band becomes more complex in orchestration, using light, synthesized strings, as in the intro "Passage to a New Dimension" which is very well developed, or deep in the depths of "Might Though is Sadness", but in general it's the crude guitar tone and narrow palette of pads that give this its charm.

Unfortunately, an album like this one so often seems to slip straight past the audience that would appreciate it. With such an enormous wealth of symphonic European black metal out there, it is difficult for Beyond the Horizon to stake its own ground. The production here does not rival the big league chew of Dimmu Borgir and Emperor, and there are no flashes of indulgent excess or showing off to be had. This is not a 'freakout' album by any means, it simply ebbs along and assimilates the listener into its withered limbs. Many would undoubtedly be turned away by the perceived imbalance of keys to guitars, but I take exception here due to the soothing and eerie majesty and malevolence the technique creates. There are few outstanding guitar riffs on the album, nor are the vocals exceptional, but all told it's a nice twist on the mid-90s Scandinavian black metal aesthetic that bands like Ancient and Emperor hurled into the stratosphere.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/diabolicalprinciples98

Primeval Mass - As Solemn Maelstrom... (2009)

There is nothing remotely 'solemn' about this maelstrom, but that fact does not entirely render it inert or ineffective. Primeval Mass is another of those side projects of an underground Greek act, in this case Orthanc of Eschaton (who I have yet to be impressed by). The sound here is more storming and tangible than that other institution, but you certainly wouldn't be disappointed to cross the streams from one to the other. Primeval Mass had itself already existed for nearly a decade, so it's not as if As Solemn Maelstrom... is some sudden manifestation. Thus, one should not expect an amateurish offering, but a competent tribute to chaos that blasts away without abandon as it vaults itself into the firmament to wage war against the light.

To that extent, it has its weaponry: a hefty share of blasted drums, and a pretty wide array of fibrous, deadly riffing that spans from the expected tremolo melodies to surges of thrashing undertow or stop/start chords resonating against the implied darkness. The guitar passages are not the most catchy sort, but fans of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas and In the Nightside Eclipse, or Swedish bands like Marduk and Watain would feel right at home with the sky shattering hostility of "From the Crypts of Outer Chaos", "Burial Anthem for the Undead" or "Blackened Sky Upon the Mournful Throne of Suicide". But they're not exactly a one trick pony, there are ambient and symphonic pieces here like the intro ("Through Passages...to Pantheon"), guitar tinged outro ("Elegeion to Chaos Atermon") or the superior interlude ("Catachtonium") with its brooding ritual whispers and swells of atmosphere. These help to break up the monotony of the primal, thundering discourse.

Still, though, As Solemn Maelstrom... doesn't really stand out all that much. It's marginally more intense and exciting than the Eschaton full-length Causa Fortior, and reliable in its level of aggression and acceleration, but the black metal content here feels like yet another 'also ran' striving for a piece of the primordial pie. I can't question the competence or evil underpinnings, but outside of the sheer speed and violence with which the band performs, the notes never seem to adopt the menace many demand out of the genre. Primeval Mass have quite a lot going for them...I love the cover art, I love the band's name, and their balance of the ambient and black metal poles, but there's not much impetus to choose this over its influences, and there are a good number of Northern European bands who do the same thing but better. But if you're keen on, say, a more atmospheric take on the Mayhem and Marduk formula of the mid 90s, then As Solemn Maelstrom... is something you might wish to experience at least once for yourself.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/primevalmass

Nihasa - Brahamanda Xul Grimoire (2009)

Nihasa is a peripheral project of Acherontass, who most will know as the front man and guitarist for Acherontas (formerly Stutthof). From a style standpoint, it's not much different than that of the new mutation of his mainstay: precipitous environments of longing and death anchored by a fascination for the ancient and occult. This is an album that one must pay pretty close attention to, especially to the guitars which are writhing just below the current of ambient choirs and synthesizer orchestration, if you want to capture its subtleties. In truth, though, there aren't many hidden in there, and it's a fairly stock experience for the genre, even if its beautiful to look at and the overtures to Mayan, Babylonian and Southeast Asian mythology are intriguing.

It's always tricky to begin an album with an extended intro, and "Reflections" is precisely that, an eight minute ritual intro which lots of voluminous choirs, bells and keys and a steady beat beneath to keep it all in check. Unfortunately, aside from a few swerves in notation for the choir, nothing exciting ever really happens outside of its inevitable escalation. "Shibalba" brings forth the hissing undertow of the guitars, and Acherontass' bloodied, carnal rasp, but these are set against a pretty loud swell of further atmosphere that never lets them shine. About midway through the track, Nihasa breaks into a faster pace, but considering that this is an 11:30 song, I would have expected a more climactic occurrence to develop. Instead, this all feels like a largely level playing field with little variation. Better are "Rakhasas" which is another 7 minute ambient drill with distorted guitars ringing forth, and spacious vocals; or "Brahamanda Xul Grimoire", which gives a Filosofem-like feel affixed to soaring choir chaos, but even here the guitar riffs and vocals never assemble into the sort of hypnosis one wants to continuously relive.

In fact, disappointingly, my favorite track on the album is the ambient, martial finale "Nibiru the Winged Sphere", which at least has an appreciable escalation of bombast and shimmering veil of immediacy. And this, too, is just not all that exceptional, but brighter and more dramatic than the majority of the record. Like much of the album, I felt a dimension of Summoning influence, though the music is nowhere near so engrossing and majestic. Or maybe a more symphonic alternative to US bands Leviathan or Xasthur (the latest Nihasa logo even looks astoundingly like a Xasthur ripoff). At any rate, this is no competition for Acherontass's other band Acherontas, and if you want to hear the guy in finer shape, check out Theosis or Tat Tvam Asi (Universal Omniscience). Brahamanda Xul Grimoire is ultimately a dense, dull and harrowing journey into nowhere, with a few fragments of vile black shine.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/nihasaxul

Embrace of Thorns - Prevalence: A Decade of Atomic Genocide (2009)

Prevalence: A Decade of Atomic Genocide is exactly the sort of compilation effort that the fans should get behind, because it does all of the legwork in collecting a good band's out of print, obscure output. I won't promise that all of the material here is quite so impressive as the Embrace of Thorns full-lengths, but it certainly syncs up in terms of its stylistic involvement and you can clearly experience the band's progression into the dark depths of their 2007 debut, ...For I See Death In Their Eyes... and their success in becoming what just might be the best 'old school' or retro sounding death metal band among the entire Hellenic scene.

The album collects the Greeks' first three demos and their side of the 2009 Abominable Ceremonial Torment split (with countrymen Nocturnal Vomit). They seem to be set forth in reverse order, so I'd advise that anyone wishing to mark the band's try and find a way to listen in reverse order. The material from the In Embracing of the Goat split seems to be omitted here, but it's basically the Stench of the Deceased Martyrs demo anyway, so no real loss. What's most amusing is that some of the songs here make even the band's later full-lengths seem rather tame in comparison, so raw and forceful the music and carnal vocals feel, but the songwriting is often just not on par.

From back to front, we start with The Inevitable Twilight of the Judeochristian Lie demo (2003), which features a trio of writhing, rugged black/death metal tracks with both rasped and incredibly ominous guttural vocals. These are arguably mixed in a little loud, stealing away from the mix of the instruments, but then, the riffs are your pretty standard early 90s mesh of chords and tremolo picking without much of an evil direction or impressive selection of notes. "Emerald of Hate" is probably the best of this lot, though "Blinded Whores...Addicted to the Nazarene" has a few moments of enjoyable ineptitude. They've also included the "Satanic Blood" cover (Von), which is more or less a raw rehearsal that feels every bit as crude as the original, but not really matching the band's own studio tracks.

After this is the Chants of Atomic Genocide rehearsal demo (2004), which is more substantial, though much of its content is also reprinted here as the Stench of the Deceased Martyrs EP (also 2004). So you have your choice...an infernal mass of live evil with tinny drums and guitars, ovebearing vocals and admittedly a lot of authentic character. Or the studio incarnation, which is no less atmospheric. I chose the latter, since tracks like "Mass Annihilation Project" and "I Am the Face of Genocide" sound darker through both their black/death metal tribulations and the horrific ambient fixtures. Finally, though, we come to the 2005 split songs: the disturbing, percussion-less resonance of "The Crumbling Realm of Whitewinged Cadavers" (what a title) or the total underworld bulldozer that is "Corpus Christii...Behold Thy Decline", the best and most sinister song on this entire collection, followed by "The Virtuous Whore", which is similar.

I think the only real downside here, if there is any, is simply the redundancy of some of its track order (live and studio versions, often quite close to one another on the playlist), but then...the band and label were concerned with 'completion', which they have achieved. I also appreciate that most of this material was NOT re-released on the debut ...For I See Death In Their Eyes.... The only exception is "Semptinernally Cursing the Weak", but most of that material was newly written for the album, so most of what you hear on Prevalence will be your first exposure, unless you are one of a handful of people who owned or downloaded the demos in advance. Embrace of Thorns have ultimately gathered a victory for their fans, even if these songs are passable for the later stuff.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/embraceofthorns

Embrace of Thorns - Atonement Ritual (2009)

Atonement Ritual is build from the same basic stock as Embrace of Thorns' debut ...For I See Death In Their Eyes... A convocation of primal, evil old school death metal with roots in everything from Incantation, Bolt Thrower, Pestilence, Asphyx, Autopsy and Blasphemy, that last in the straight blasting that often dominates the rhythmic manifesto. This is absolutely the sort of album that will hold appeal to those unwashed, amassing legions who in the past few years have placed the worship back on the 90s forefathers of the genre as opposed to the technical showmanship of modern death. But despite it's large and cavernous trappings, Atonement Ritual is also appreciably varied, with a ton of fast passages and ambient cutaways that make the album feel that much more wide and fulfilling.

As the superb cover image aesthetically implies, this is the stuff of nightmare, pain, blood and suffering with absolutely no hope for redemption, no light at the end of its oppressive bedlam womb. From fore to aft, this is 34.5 minutes of fucking darkness, and about half way through you'll feel your stomach start to quake from the horrors. But the band won't release you that easily, and songs like the death/doom driven "Venom in Veins" or the thick, blasted perversion of the "Ceremonial Rites of Fornication" will easily hold the attention of anyone seeking out such primordial, blasphemous indulgences. The vocals are again a median between Karl Willetts and Martin van Drunen, ghastly and fulfilling, often layered in their torment. The ambient pieces are almost all appropriately terrifying, from the spacey "Litanies of Inversion" to the ritualistic "Impure Orgasm" to the alien-like brooding of the "Altars of Malefic Triumph" outro. These Greeks have conspired here to feast upon the thin sanity of their audience, and to that extent, Atonement Ritual is a triumph.

That's not to say it's perfect...a lot of the riffs wind along predictable courses, and the blast bits can occasionally feel just as monotonous as they would be elsewhere unchecked, but as some cohesive chasm to the domain of the damned, or an underworld overgrown with undeath, you'll not want to excuse yourself for one stinking minute. Atonement Ritual was slightly ahead of the recent tide or retro morbidity, so if you're into other old school proponents like Cemetary Urn, Truppensturm, or Blaspherian, then this is one act of disturbance of which you will surely wish to partake, even if it's not the best of its class. Embrace its thorns, and embrace the horns of its master, and you'll never feel the same way when the lights go out again...

Verdict: Win [8/10] (celebrate vengeance)

http://www.myspace.com/embraceofthorns

Deivos - Demiurge of the Void (2011)

Deivos might not have made new in-roads with their latest choice of cover art, a stretched and diabolic facade all too close in tone to the prior two albums, but Demiurge of the Void is another practiced exercise in well-balanced brutality and technicality which should see their star continue to rise among the fields of modern death metal. The songs here come with such a concrete barrage of hostility that they can often feel overwhelming at first, but upon closer scrutiny they've still got quite a lot going on under the hood, and engine of progression and variation that operates with exacting devastation. Decidedly more brutal than their countrymen Vader, Behemoth and Lost Soul, this effort shows all signs that it will appeal to the follower of the heavily structured, acrobatic USDM scene currently exploding from the west coast.

Deivos hammers along at about a mile a millisecond here, and early tracks "No Gods Before Me" and "Code of a Dead Deity" seem about as subtle as a truckload of steel girders being dumped upon the listener's head, but there is intricacy to be found in their silky, psychotic leads and the grooving dynamics that materialize once the opening artillery pauses for reloading. I do feel that as the album progresses, the songs become slightly stronger, with a clinical substrate of neurotic riffing inherent in "Born to Loathe", "And the Word Became Flesh" and the impressive, mechanical rigor of finale "Panacea", but this largely relates to the shift in opening strategies and superior note selection rather than any inconsistencies. Of the eight tracks, there are none exempt from the Poles' brutal athletics and the pure bludgeoning of 'Angelfuck's' delivery, save for where they incorporate brief seconds of ambient or industrial effects (like the closeof "And the Word Became Flesh").

On the whole, I did not find Demiurge of the Void quite as potent as Gospel of Maggots, simply because there were less riffs worming their way into my memory. The styles between the two are clearly comparable, though this album ultimately seems simultaneously faster and less schizoid. Still, the production is pretty clear, callous and calculated like much of the modern tech death internationally, and the performances are spine wrenching. Deivos might not seem the natural frontrunner of the Polish underground, but along with peers like Nomad and Calm Hatchery they certainly represent a solid second string for the superstars of that scene, and it's a bit irritating that something like Decapitated's latest, an exercise in futility and mediocrity, will get any attention at all while Demiurge of the Void languishes in obscurity. This is the REAL Polish death metal, people. It might not singe itself upon my brow eternally like the new Vader, but the effort here is inarguable, and brutal death knights the world wide should be penning Deivos in to their schedules of attention.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.deivos.pl/

Glorior Belli - The Great Southern Darkness (2011)

With The Great Southern Darkness, French curiosities Glorior Belli seem to have finally honed in their admixture of black metal and atonal, dissonant and adventurous rock to the intended edge. While it lacks some of the biting, acerbic treble of its predecessor Meet Us at the Southern Sign, and thus feels distinctly less 'black', it compensates with a more full-bodied production, rich guitars, curving bass and flexible drumming that give an earthen impression that you're sitting in a wooden room with the band, and that they're quite a solid block of musicians. Considering that the 11 as in Adversaries album The Intrepid Experience of Light was the originally intended fourth full-length from this lot, The Great Southern Darkness might not seem quite so experimental, but its still clearly left of center.

Glorior Belli don't go for an all-out sensual assault like their countrymen Deathspell Omega or an ambient sheen like Blut Aus Nord, but they nonetheless stand out among the French scene due to their willingness to embrace variation and influences that range from psychedelic rock to post-hardcore. Vocalist/guitarist 'J' can rasp alongside the best of them, but he in no way restricts himself to this realm, also performing a dreary clean vibe in the title track or "Horns in My Pathway" redolent of Monster Magnet's brooding stoner fix. There are still a number of pieces which fall directly within the black metal field, like the charging clamor of "Bring Down the Cosmic Scheme" or the desperate, double-bass driven tremolo breadth of "Negative Incarnate" or "The Science of Shifting", but I felt that the swerving, dissonant-tipped rock rhythms in "Secret Ride to Rebellion" or "They Called Me Black Devil" were just as exhilarating, or better yet, the junctions like "The Foolhardy Venturer" where both climes collide. The brooding, sludgy instrumentals like "Dark Gnosis" and "Per Nox Regna" are also solid.

As I might have hinted, the production is truly the star of this show. Few albums I've heard seem so organic and well balanced, allowances made for everything from the flowing bass lines to the ringing strummed guitars alongside the seething eruptions of chords. This is not necessarily a 'catchy' album, but more of an intricate, moody river that often accelerates when it strikes its emotional rapids, only later to restrain itself once more. Fleshy, innovative and remarkable rock & roll for something so nihilistic. But then, this is a band known for thinking somewhat outside the lines. Individual ingredients to their music might not feel so fresh or innovative, but when performed in tandem they feel streaming, cohesive and strangely shadowy. And you can't have an album called The Great Southern Darkness without this light-leeching quality. I'm not going to say that this is the best of their records yet, since I enjoyed Manifesting the Raging Beast quite a lot, but this is by far the most accessible and curious, without every feeling coy or trendy.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.gloriorbelli.com/