Bannerwar - Centuries of Heathen Might (2006)

The shift from their memorable, crueler looking logo (To Honour Fatherland) to a mere stock font might have signified some sort of musical evolution in Greeks Bannerwar, but I'm sad to report that neither this new 'look' or the newly written material does anything to heavily further the band's position among a wealth of similar, stalking wolves in the immeasurable woodlands of European black metal. There are a few vicious, appreciable pieces here which are well enough written to enforce the band's trademark competence and execution, but despite its excellent title, Centuries of Heathen Might once again fails to truly distinguish itself beyond that expansive field of peers, even if it proves their most consistent effort to date.

The writing here is perhaps the most aggressive of their career, dropping the incessant melodic fabric of their debut To Honour Fatherland for a more ripping and straightforward sound in the vein of Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse. This is inherent in the band's faster fare like "Pagan Bane", "Warspirit" and "Symbols of Solar Might", which make firm use of various ingredients like timid keyboards, howling wolves and airy vocal reverb to manifest a belligerent grandeur. But there is another side to the band here reminiscent of Bathory's epic/Viking works like Twilight of the Gods, Hammerheart, and so forth, and that culminates in the clean guitar passages like the intro to "White Mountains" or the opening of "The Return of the Twelve Gods", or the deep and accented spoken vocals that are cast into the glorious gloom on several occasions here.

Still, when it comes to the actual riffing, there's naught but the typical driving chords and tremolo picking that had already been beaten to death. I mean, for the love of Odin or Zeus whatever deity these pagan/nationalistic bands pray to, could they not look into their own pasts and determine what precisely it was that spurned their love for metal? Fucking guitar riffs. That is the answer. That's why we all crawled out of our basements and dungeons to explore this genre, whether it was with Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Burzum or Enslaved. Like so many other haunts teeming in the underground, Bannerwar simply does not deliver on this aspect. They have technique. They explore tempos. They dial down and up the distortion where necessary. They are not shy on atmosphere. But they just cannot glue a sequence of notes to the listener's memory, and this continuously condemns them to the middle of the pack.

That aside, Centuries of Heathen Might is not really a 'weak' album, merely a solid experience for those seeking out the familiar eaves of the medium. The songs never extend too far beyond their welcome, even those that pass the 7 minute mark, and the lyrics continue to venerate the sacrifices and mysticism of their (now-pagan) forefathers, and the later corrupted symbol of the sunwheel. I certainly enjoyed this album a fraction more than the debut, if only because there is a more predatory strength to the proceedings here than that album's overly mechanical drums and over-saturated melodic sensibility. The cover of Graveland's "Ancient Blood" (off Creed of Iron) is a nice tribute, but tinnier sounding enough that it feels somewhat misplaced among the new originals.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (his chariot rides the winds)

Abyssgale - The Coming Plague EP (2006)

It's unfortunate that its members have not done more with the band, because Abyssgale has something somewhat unique to offer on the Greek landscape, a dense and fevered hybrid of textured Swedish style black metal (Watain comes to mind) and a few furious d-beat aesthetics. For an independent release, The Coming Plague sounds like the precursor to a promising stint: it's fusion stemming from a pair of popular sounds, with pretty high production values compared to the band's peers. I won't say that there's a lot of replay value, and the riffs do occasionally come off stagnant and familiar, with vicious vocals that are all too standard for the genre. But as a first offering, it at least curries some favorable potential. The question is, with the involvement of various personnel in Dodsferd, Nadiwrath and other underground sects, will anything more even come of this?

All four of the tracks on the EP hover around the 4 and a half minute mark, with opener "Signs of Decay" probably the strongest. Tight drumming and barreling, thick riffs alternate between muscled faster sequences and even a slower, bouncing breakdown redolent of modern Slayer. They build simple but effective enough riffs and stick to them, and sadly there are few if any surprises manifest in their depths, but the solid mix of the material marginally compensates. The next track, "Process into the Abyss" brings in the d-beat, rocking element, but it accelerates into some standard black blasting with forceful, dissonant melodies spat over the framework. The other tunes, "Infected Winds of Creation" and "Enthroning the Disease" have more atmospheric breakdowns, which offer some shelter from the pretty bland war-blast patterns that lead into them, but again, none of the riffs are quite infectious enough to endure in the listener's ear.

Ultimately, The Coming Plague is more a curiosity of style than substance, but the roots are firm enough that better riffing could conjure remarkable results. If you've heard drummer Maelstrom in another of his bands, the Dosdferd side project Nadiwrath, then you'll hear a few of the subtle punk and d-beat influences taken to bear further fruit. In fact, Nihilistic Stench is quite a better album than what pans out on this 18 minute excursion into violence, but with further development along the songwriting axis, Abyssgale might have had some legs to stand upon. A great band name, effectively grim cover art, and an approach not common among the Greeks, but with six years now passed on no further releases, the future of this project is anyone's guess.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/abyssgale

Arkona - Слово (2011)

With the enormously bold and expensive-sounding 2009 album Goi, Rode, Goi!, Moscow's Arkona established themselves as one of the forerunners in symphonic extremity, combining classical, folk, and black metal influences into a sound that we hadn't quite heard before. Sure, we'd had orchestras in metal music aplenty, but not with the traditional Russian folk instrumentation and melodic inclinations, or Masha's incredibly distinct vocal presence. If that album had one flaw, it was that it set the bar so high that there was very little chance that Arkona could themselves top it. As a result, Слово (Slovo), their 6th full-length, does not feel so much a step forwards as sideways, but there is still a tremendous amount of appeal here for those who have enjoyed the multiple layers of their songwriting.

Слово seems slightly less 'intense' on the whole, but there are still a number of flighty, storming melodic black metal passages throughout that derail any plausible notion that the band are slowing down or milking their success into a more accessible, mainstream commodity. Tracks like " Больно Мне (It's painful for me)" and "Аркаим (Arkaim)" continue to surge along with polished black precision, while they also implement some punchier, thrashing punishment into the rhythmic subtext of "Никогда (Never)" that functions impressively alongside the sailing, potent cleaner vocals that this singer specializes in. Admittedly, there are a few pompous and mug swilling, LCD folk metal tracks like "Леший (Leshiy)" which did little for me, but when the band abandons the metal almost entirely for the pagan anthems "Заклятие (Incantation)" or "Во Моём Садочке... (In My Garden)", they transform into the Russian equivalent of the excellent Swedish Garmarna: all thudding percussion, beautiful vocal passages and glimmering, intense strings.

They've even coughed up another of their vocal-based pieces in "Там за Туманами (Behind the Mist)" which could easily earn them a widespread appeal well outside the genre, if Masha should choose to once again careen about a few local woodland glades or fields for some viral video. But for myself, the true centerpiece of the album is the title track, a gorgeous folk metal aspiration with lots of flutes, thundering percussion and glorious escalation. The vocals are incredibly well arranged throughout all of Слово, and the services of the Choir of Moscow State Conservatory and Chamber Orchestra of Kazan State Conservatory N.G. Zhiganova have been retained for much of the playtime, giving the album a rich, robust depth that obviously required a great deal of effort to complete. It also never hurts that Russian is, like, the most seductive language ever.

There are those that will immediately shun Arkona for the high standards here, no expense spared, as if they were primed for radio/pop exposure, but when managing such a large array of vocal styles and instruments, there's little choice but over the top. The individual elements of their sound are not highly complex, but when brought together it's nonetheless impressive. The band maintains its close ties to Russian folklore and history, so long time adherents to their sound should be content. There are probably about 10 minutes I would have clipped from this hour length experience, and it's not quite so mighty as its predecessor, but Слово is not short on the thrills and creativity that defined their back catalog, and once again Arkona prove they have the pride and guts to trample all over the field of fashionable female fronted fairy-tattoo drivel espoused by international 'sensations' like Nightwish or Epica.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://arkona-russia.com/

Athos - The Awakening of Athos EP (2005)

The Awakening of Athos is a Greek rarity which was released in two separate incarnations: first as an EP in 2005 with six tracks, and later a full-length in 2007 with two additional tracks that the band had already recorded for a previous demo ("Nykta") and video ("The 300 Spartans"). For the sake of completion, I'm covering the whole shebang here, though I've placed it under the EP's header. Athos are another of those anomalous, one man projects without many ambitions to break the mold of the black metal genre, but the chops and competence to at least 'get it right', assuming its audience is not one to mind the lesser production standards.

Buzzing, tremolo picked patterns cast over a matrix of machine-like, emotionless blasting is the modus operandi here, with a vulture-like rasp breathing lyrics of Hellenic pride and spite for the Christian invaders who stomped out the pagan faiths of Europe in their incessant assimilation. For most of the metallic tracks, at least, Athos seems to move at a single pace of bleeding speed, and so "The Awakening of Athos", "A Tale of Christian Love", "Kerveros (Guardian of Hades)" and "In a Temple's Ruins" do develop into a numbing monotony, though several of these have cleaner breakdown passages which I assume are meant to curb the listener's tedium. I actually enjoyed the dark ambient intro "The Last Christian Ritual on Mount Athos" and the full-length album additions more than the original EP content.

"The 300 Spartans" is appreciably grimy and I enjoy the cheesy, epic bridge, and "Nykta" is unique in that it uses this basic programmed drum beat as if from some old keyboard, glazed in Cure-like Gothic keys and clean guitars with a snaking, distorted line that pairs itself with the grisly vocals. The latter is almost like a Gothic-pop-black hybrid, and while it's not likely to sate the fans of the bloodcurdling norm for this genre, it at least provides something fascinating beyond the confines of the expected. As a whole, The Awakening of Athos does not bring much novelty to the table, but its razor kissing melodies and tinny mix should might very well appeal to fans of albums like Ulver's Nattens Madrigal, though the Greek is nowhere near as noisy, understated or evocative.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10] (as the Aeolian winds proclaim)

http://www.athosblackmetal.cjb.net/

Legion of Doom - God is Dead (2005)

Perhaps the most melodic and atmospheric of Legion of Doom's works, God is Dead expands upon the average but appreciable legacy of the prior albums with a better sense for variation and narrative embellishments. That's not to say that I necessarily like it more than Kingdom of Endless Darkness or For Those of the Blood, and in fact I feel it has less of an ultimate impact. But it's clearly a positive that the band would mildly reinvent themselves for such a release rather than persist as a 90s Scandinavian sound-alike. The classic artwork and Nietzschean overtones of the title seem like a swerve away from the mythological and fantastic Greek elements the band were lyrically incorporating, but this is not actually the case: God is Dead is just as concerned with the divine, occult and ritualistic as its precursors.

The Legion of Doom truly paces itself with this album, giving the majority of the tracks room to breathe. "Necromantion" is almost Cradle of Filth-like, with a ton of Gothic based keys, a cutesy rasp and deeper, conversational narrative being applied to the thrusts of moderate speed. "Bridge of Lunar Tears" returns to a raunchier, desperate melodic strain of writing with thick streams of melancholia in the notation; while "Lasselanta" hones further in on the guitars, for some memorable, mid-paced melodies that accelerate much like a lot of the Swedish 90s melodic death metal (At the Gates, Dissection, old In Flames or Dark Tranquillity). Ditto for "Sacrifice and War" and "Ancient Wisdom Within", the latter my favorite single track on the album. There are also a couple of pompous, ambient/organ pieces like "Message from the Gods" and "Illusions" that are very well managed, although they don't necessarily do wonders for the overall structure of the album.

God is Dead does feel a decade too late. Had this album dropped in 1995, it would have likely become a veritable cult favorite. The sound, the riffing, all seem highly redolent of black and melodic black/death releases of that period, and it carries a clear current of accessibility when compared to either of the previous records. Then again, they DID release two decent efforts during that period, and received little fanfare, as those fascinated by the emergent Hellenic scene were likely more interested in the unique sounds of Rotting Christ, Necromantia, etc. I will admit that the album plays it rather safe, and there's not a song among these which I'd rank alongside past pieces like "ARSIS...God of Brutal War", "The Black Queen", "For Those of the Blood" in terms of total quality. The cleaner production and generally slower tempos here are not unwelcome or unpleasant, but it doesn't scream cult classic either. One of those albums I could listen to and nod along with, then subsequently forget that I ever had experienced.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (I ignore them from my throne)

http://www.myspace.com/legeones

Macabre Omen - The Ancient Returns (2005)

One might assume that Macabre Omen is the least productive black metal project in all the Greek scene, but I'd like to think that its progenitors are simply those who like to choose their battles with great care, and this partially explains the consistent quality of their sole full length in 17 years: The Ancient Returns. The band started out with a pair of demos in the mid-90s, and then went on to participate on a fair number of split recordings with artists from other countries, but this is the one official long form recording the band have yet produced, and even then it's but 5 tracks and 38 minutes of content. Fortunate, then, that the writing is this good, because The Ancient Returns shines like a grim, glimmering crown among the viscera of so many underwhelming Hellenic acts of the 21st century.

Don't be fooled by Macabre Omen's scarce throughput, because the constituents here have a great deal of experience in other bands, a number of them big figures on the Italian scene. Claudio Alcara has played with Frostmoon Eclipse and Handful of Hate, while drummer Gionata Potenti has stamped his beats on albums by dozens of bands (Glorior Belli, Kult, 11 as In Adversaries, Ad Hominem, Hiems and Melencolia Estatica are a mere handful). The Greek member, Alexandros, who performs guitars, bass and vocals, has also played in The One, Australian supergroup Razor of Occam and the UK's black/death/thrashers Scythian. So it stands to reason that there is an enormous amount of talent involved on this recording, and that they enforce that with strong atmospheres and memorable compositions is but an extra smattering of blood on their blades. As the barbaric, manly figure shadowing the band's logo on the cover might imply, they manifest a certain level of epic 'barbarity' in their material, almost as if Nocternity and Immortal had birthed a Hyborian warchild.

The album is enormously well-paced, the band wisely choosing to eschew the standard blasting monotony for passages of spacious, open grandeur, like standing in some mass field of the dead, the ring of their clashing steel long having faded into the cries of blackbirds. "In Memory..." is pretty much all crisp melodies flown over the fallen standards of war, with a curious mix of deep, somnolent background narration and tortured rasping redolent of Burzum or Nocternity. The music itself creates an almost Manowar feeling integrated with slower-paced Immortal or even a touch of Rotting Christ's driving, melodic glamor. Another creeper is the 12 minute finale "Hellas - Ode A/Ode B", with incessant, brazen guitars over solid beats that intensity into molten double bass sequences. Macabre Omen can also blast away relentlessly when desired, as evidenced in "A Call from Gods to God" or "The Perfect Sound of North vs. South", but they never choose to forsake the variation that lies at the heart of a good song.

Speaking of good songs, "An Ode to Rhode" is perhaps my favorite here, with lovely acoustic guitars that morph into surges of majestic force, then back again, while the riffing landscape continues to deliver one memorial, memorable guitar line after the next. The lyrics are rather sparse on the album, and certainly such compositions could have benefited from more meat for the mind, but their simplicity is a stunning trait in its own right, and the massive, airy pain felt in Alexandros' tone does somewhat compensate. Production-wise, The Ancient Returns is both broad and searing, not polished off enough to turn away the rawheads, but also clean enough in its delivery that some obvious effort was placed in maintain the material's resonance. The drums offer an appreciable charging undertow, the bass ever present and distinguished, and the axes felling neck and limb, blade and shield as they pitch through spikes of tremolo bliss and rushes of chord-initiated atmosphere.

There are few flaws at all here, but if one could be noted, it's just that Macabre Omen never quite carves out a category of their to explore. All of the strengths in their writing fall under a mightier precedent, so I could never rate this at quite the level of its influences formative works of wonder. But in an era where many of the fresh Greek faces were simply mirroring their clear Scandinavian forebears, The Ancient Returns still brings a lot to the table, if only because of its seamless execution and brooding immersion. A tribute to the fallen warriors of many Hellenic confrontations that feels authentic and easy to take seriously. A damn good effort that falls only marginally short of greatness. How about another, gentlemen?

Verdict: Win [8/10] (no future, just a sound)

Order of the Ebon Hand - XV: The Devil (2005)

While their 1997 debut The Mystic Path to the Netherworld was about as mediocre as European black metal albums could get in that decade of expansion and exploration, subsequently dashing all my geek-driven fantasies of Magic the Gathering derived extremity, I'll have to admit that the Order of the Ebon Hand spent the next eight years honing in their chops. XV: The Devil is everything that album wished it might have been, and then some. In fact, this is an admittedly tremendous effort all around, precisely balancing both the tenets of wrath and variation into smoldering and thoughtful visions of sadism and fell majesty. It trumps the debut in every conceivable category, from the strong production values to the thrilling, ecstatic mirth of the consistent songwriting.

The album hits like a brick-truck of blasphemy, through the sheer walls of driving chords being wrought above Lethe's thundering beats. "For Marchiosas" and "To Alloces" might not be the riffiest black metal tracks you've heard, but the patterns evoked are potent and immersive, and the symphonic elements that hover at the edge of the mix are well integrated into the storming metallic force, building tremendous levels of adrenaline excitement. The leads are moody and eloquent, the vocals ripe with hostility (if tonally cliche to a number of Swedish and Norse acts), and the band is quite competent in breaking velocity for some slower fare that is just as dynamic. "Gateway to Silence" bridges from a creepy, haunted ambiance into double bass driven chaos; "Eibon" plods along with a firm punctuality, female vocals drifting as a psychotic background narrative; while "Spellbound" phases between cleaner guitars to swells of violence.

Hell, the finale, "(You Are) The Gleaming King" is perhaps the most epic on the album, with an abundance of swaggering melodies. Not a track goes by throughout that doesn't have at least something memorable to offer, even if the band don't win points for innovation or originality. XV: The Devil is merely a well written exercise in blackened ballast, with a rich and full bodied mix that brings it in line with some of the larger named symphonic black metal groups like Dimmu Borgir, Emperor and so forth. Surprisingly, the style itself is not a major deviation from their ill-fated debut, they just pull it all together into something enduring. Even the lyrics have come along, chocked with evocative imagery and a stimulating meter, while engaging the fantastical concepts the band's very name evokes (though they're sadly not dealing with the card game).

Order of the Ebon Hand is hardly an A-lister for the style, and unlikely to ever attain such a status, but there is no doubting the massive strides they've made here. If you're a fan of well plotted, harrowing versatility in the vein of the Norwegian acts I mentioned above, or perhaps the Australians Nazxul (specifically their sophomore Iconoclast), then this is worth tracking down.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (grant me the will of the arrogant)

http://www.myspace.com/theorderoftheebonhandofficial

Enormicon - Storm of Swords (2011)

It's hard not to see the words 'Storm of Swords' and not think upon the George R.R. Martin novel from A Song of Fire and Ice, so of course I thought the Texan band Enormicon's debut might revolve around the subject. Turns out not to be the case, but they do in fact seem to use mythic and historical concepts in the lyrics, not unlike the bands they bear much in common with. I was pretty heavily reminded of listening to Mastodon, at least in the level of variation they write with, but you'll hear all sorts of sludge, grunge and stoner influences here being shuffled into a manic, hardcore foundation with multiple, angst-ridden vocals. However, while the band feels as if their material might be prone to jamming in the live setting, the contents of this album are quite solidly structured.

Thick, flowing bass lines, chords and mutes are used to anchor the omnipresent grooves of "Slaghammer", slowly building towards climax, almost as if The Sword had written the Alice in Chains sophomore Dirt. Here you get the first taste of Clayton 'The Abomination' Davis' cutting, clear vocals, which are redolent to some of the higher pitched Clutch lines. The next few tunes are a bit heavier on the guitars, but they also introduce small flights of dissonant atmosphere, even a bass interlude in "Pray for Death". "Brotherhood of the Plague" is perhaps the strongest here, for the way the organic, earthen distortion crunches up against the vocal pattern, and a spacious bridge passage with hints at hypnotic psychedelia. Another subtle influence I'm hearing would be Voivod, at last in the mechanical manufacture of the chord patterns and the strong substrate of bass in tracks like the closer "Fury". But the lyrics and themes are wildly different.

I'll give Enormicon this: they manage to stand out as an amusing hybrid of their influences, and with some polish and stronger riff writing, they could have something going for themselves. I actually do like the vocals, I only wish they were configured into more memorable patterns. The constant pump and grooves creates a constant, steady weight and velocity, and I like that the band are prone to experimentation rather than droning ever on in the same stagnant patterns. The trio plays well together, and the mix is rather honest and under-produced to give a more rehearsal room feeling to the proceedings. I like their eye for art, and their ears for attempting something slightly outside the envelope of safety, but this particular 32 minute set of songs just didn't last for me in the end. If you're of the sort that enjoys a fusion of stoner and grunge aesthetics with post-hardcore pacing and occasional fits of gut-churning intensity, give it a spin.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.enormiconmetal.com/

Atra - Up-Turning the Curse EP (2011)

It might just be something in the air Down Under. Perhaps Atra has been bitten by the same insect that catalyzed the highly prolific discographies of other Australian necromancers Drowning the Light or Striborg. Either way, in just two years, Blackheart has released two full-lengths, a handful of demos, and now another EP which follows in the same distant, desolate footsteps of its elders. I'm not complaining, mind you, as I've enjoyed both of his albums (Death Coven in particular), but there's always the possibility that excess productivity can lead to redundancy, or worse, a quick burnout. At any rate, I'm thankful that hasn't happened yet, because Up-Turning the Curse conjures up the same overwhelming sense of oppression and callous atmospherics as its predecessors.

This Australian isn't so much about complexity as he is about straight, grim black metal riffing that is slathered in such resonant, decrepit vocals and airy, lurching production that hearkens back to the Norse masters Darkthrone in their early spin towards the genre (Ablaze in the Northern Sky and Under a Funeral Moon more than Transilvanian Hunger). The riffs are admittedly simple and derivative for the genre, but Blackheart's carnal, abusive rasp and the blood sucking enthusiasm he has for this style truly make the difference. "Wander the Absence" has thick layers of fuzzed out power laden in evil, winding melodies that evoke the cryptic doom of enclosed caverns and sepulchers. "Up-Turning the Curse" transforms from freakish, swelling ambiance that would have been right at home in some tense, cult horror scene, into a rifling, overwhelming surge of howled vocals, while the organs/keys continue to ring aloft.

In fact, the ambiance seems to be well integrated in general. The EP is book-ended by a suitable pair of nightmare scenarios ("Invocation of the Departed", "Possession") while a number of the songs encrypt more atmospheric resonance than anything off the sophomore In Reverence of Decay. My choice pick of this litter would be "Graveless Apparitions", a crushing burden of noisy, full-bodied dissonant guitars that rise to the level of the guy's prevalent, torn throat. It's pretty cool in general, and while it might not rise to the level of Death Coven's beautiful, wintry current, it's functionally suicidal and hope-consuming. Recommended if you don't mind a mildly noisier interface with the necrosis inherent to the medium.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://www.adverseordermusic.com/

Naer Mataron - Discipline Manifesto (2005)

So I'd been waiting three albums already for Naer Mataron, a band who cultivate some measure of respect in the Euro underground, to knock me on my sorry ass. Up from the Ashes was a solid start, but both of its successors offered little more than the tedious and frankly commonplace Norse-style scathing rhythms that have already been foisted to death upon the medium's legions of admirers. Not that the style is necessarily unwelcome, but bands in this niche really need to bring the strong riffing and distinctive level of composition at least to the level of their forebears, and it hadn't seemed that the Greeks were up to the task. With Discipline Manifesto, the underwhelming streak continues, but not without pounding a nails into the listener's wrists.

This is probably the most forceful and potent of the band's albums, if not a far cry beyond River at Dash Scalding or Skotos Aenaon in overall style. The blasting, predictable tremolo picking and hoarser than usual black rasping all return for another round, but I feel that the band paces the material better, especially in longer tracks like "Extreme Unction", with the Immortal-like riffing flow at its climax; or "Last Man Against Time", which has a lot of resonance through the buzzing layers of the guitar and cruel streams of dissonance. Another standout: "Blast Furnace", in which the swerving bridge bass meshes quite well with the churning melodic apex of its bridge. In general, the songwriting is stronger and mildly more varied than River at Dash Scalding, and sparse elements like cleaner vocals ("Land of Dreams") make it a fairy rounded experience.

Unfortunately, while functional for the form, there are still many moments of tedious blasting and riffs that entirely fail to stick, and so it's not about to raise Naer Mataron from the mire of samey sounding bands the world-wide. If you seek the sincere, slicing aggression of your Norse and Swedish backlogs (Marduk, Immortal, Satyricon, Burzum, Emperor), with no other deviation or distinction, then Discipline Manifesto is admittedly nothing to scoff at. But I always have this wrenching feeling in my gut that these Hellenic veterans have a lot more in them than what we're getting on the actual albums. A bit more focus on the craft of the riffing, a few more exciting transitions and tempos being explored, and these guys could easily break my neck and elevate themselves upon the world stage of sadism. Discipline Manifesto gets the job done, but with absolutely no room to spare.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/naermataron