Savage Circus - Of Doom & Death (2009)

Formed by Thomen Stauch as an attempt to return to the mid to late 90s appeal of Blind Guardian (just before they started over producing and tracking their albums into cubicle sterility), the Savage Circus Dreamland Manor debut in 2005 was exactly that. Four years later, the followup has arrived, and ironically, Thomen Stauch has been replaced with able veteran and scenester Mike Terrana. The band still features Jen and Emil from Persuader, Piet Sielck and Yenz of Iron Savior, and a style which still remains a hybrid of Blind Guardian's Imaginations from the Other Side and most of Iron Savior's discography.

Essentially, while sitting at a stopgap, waiting for the next Blind Guardian record (which, I'm predicting, will have good songs but sound like ass due to the lazy, excess multi tracking), Savage Circus gives you the opportunity to experience what that band might sound like if it was still producing its best material. Jen Carlsson is nearly a dead ringer to Hansi, just a little more conversative. Piet Sielck's presence is also huge, and I find this band to be best when the two work in concert, which they do often.

Of Doom & Death is strong, stronger than Dreamland Manor; with a powerful, chugging bottom end to weigh down its myriad melodies and the soaring melodies that these two crooners evoke. The album is simply loaded with excellent, driving rhythms, Blind Guardian-level guitars and a wondrous atmosphere. All of the songs are good, though I was truly smitten by "The Ordeal", the mystical "Chasing the Rainbow", and the epic, thundering "Empire".

What more to say? If you loved Dreamland Manor, you will probably like this even more. Thomen may no longer be with the band, but they haven't changed all that much. Since the project was established by a member of Blind Guardian to sound like Blind Guardian (and Iron Savior), it's difficult to call Savage Circus a complete ripoff. The difference is less than Coke vs. Pepsi. So if that possibility offends you, skip it. I'll award no points for originality, just for asskicking, and this album is up there with Grave Digger and Rebellion for the strongest German power metal of late. And it's better than A Twist in the Myth...

Highlights: The Ordeal, Devil's Spawn, Chasing the Rainbow, Empire

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

http://www.savage-circus.com/

Guthrum - The First Ode to Many EP (2009)

Guthrum is the product of one man, Mark Wood (who has recently joined Winterfylleth), and pretty impressive. For this debut EP, he has established a professional quality of sound that many veteran bands cannot muster. But even more intriguing is the style at play, a hybrid of melodic black/death metal with folk elements and an intensely grooving bottom end.

"Erstwhile" is an intro which features the intonations of bells and an angelic female choir, over ambient effects that transform into flutes and acoustics. "Foel Grach" haunts with screaming melodic streams of picking, over a crazy double bass roll, which almost carries an industrial metal effect (Fear Factory, etc). A simplistic, chugging line begins to pick up the general pace of the track, while the vocals (courtesy of Elliot Vernon) bark across the massive sound. "The Anthem of Our Late and Great" is a faster track, with a driving black/death rhythm reminiscent of Hypocrisy's slower work, and some symphonic embellishments. The instrumental "Primoris Cruor" closes the EP, an anthem that charges off with some of the busiest riffs yet, and some folkish lead melodies.

Apparently this project has evolved into a full live band with contributions from members of Winterfylleth, etc. The First Ode to Many sounds enormous, and it's a fairly unique approach to folk metal with a modern edge to the writing. The individual tracks do not carry many individual, mind-blowing riffs, but the EP forms a concrete foundation from which future works can improve.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/guthrumuk

Serpens - Nox Irae (2009)

Serpens is a Russian black metal band which has been around for over a decade, but produced only a few demos up to this point. Nox Irae is their first stab at a proper album, and it has a bright, vibrant quality you don't often hear from underground black metal.

The guitars are extremely thick and pungent for this style. Though the basic riffs follow the conventions of genre closely, they exhibit a sensitivity for sad melodies that weave within and above the driving chords. The material ranges from the faster, oft blasting of "Initsiatsiya Smertyu" and "Namestnik Vselennoy" to the more somber and atmospheric "Sumerki", which is one of my favorite pieces on the album. But all the songs are very well paced, and the album flows from beginning to finish, maintaining a constant level of immersion.

Nox Irae sounds titillating, with its brazen, charging axework and the cautious, powerful snarls of Mihail. The bass here is playful, the sparse use of synths effective. Serpens may have opted out of the raw as fuck style many of their peers eschew, but their contribution loses very little menace as a result. Truly, a lot of the riffs here feel familiar, but when performed with such punch, it's hard not to follow them as they meander towards a bleak resolution. Occasionally, the band will conjure something above and beyond the mere call of their demonic devotions, and as a result, Nox Irae reeks of potential.

Highlights: Nox Irae, Sumerki, Na Koster

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.metal-guild.ru/Bands/serpens.htm

Fragments of Unbecoming - The Everhaunting Past: Chapter IV A Splendid Retrospection (2009)

The Everhaunting Past Chapter IV: A Splendid Retrospection is quite the redundant mouthful of an album title, and perhaps the band should have sunk more time into the music. This is the 3rd album from the Germans, a dense offering of the very typical Swedish melodic deathstyle, with the usual influences in Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates. The band's previous album Sterling Black Icon was quite weak, and though small steps have been made, with a darker tone, I can't say I like this much more.

Though many of the band's breakdowns are the typical type you expect from any derivative metalcore/melodeath crossover band, and the vocals are mediocre and sound like countless other impostors of the genre's forefathers, Fragments of Unbecoming do shine in a few places, when the drums and rhythm guitars are conjoined and the leads and melodies scream over them. This is usually during solos like in "Run Ashored in the Yesteryears" or the bridge during "A Voice Says Destroy!".

These guys have enough tense energy to create mosh paradise, and often they evoke fond nostalgia for Soilwork's better days, or Dark Tranquillity. Some of their titles seem pretty thoughtful and inspiration, but the music is mostly contained within the safety of a genre that has already been trampled to death by countless awful bands like The Black Dahlia Murder. And unless you favor such bands, I cannot offer any recommendation for this.

Highlights: A Voice Says "Destroy"!, and a few of the other guitar solos and melodies

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.fragmentsofunbecoming.com/

Decrepitaph - Ressurected and Rotting EP (2009)

Following up last year's decent debut album, Condemned Cathedral, Texan old school cult Decrepitaph have issued a limited edition 7" EP with a pair of new tracks, an intro and outro.

"Resurrected (intro)" swells with dark ambient synths for just over a minute before the death-doom tones of "Apocalyptic Pandemonium" embark on their bleak journey. Once the track picks up, it becomes another decent offering in the vein of total oldschool, crushing madness ala early Asphyx, Grave, Death, Bolt Thrower and Autopsy. Most of the chords are lumbering, fuzzed out behemoths, so when a simple melodic guitar line enters it carves out a vile moonlit path through the crush. "The Undead Shrines" opens with a distorted, doom bass line and some subtle dischords, gradually picking up into the better of the two tracks. The "Rotting (outro)" offers a brief closure with some more creepy synths, and the EP has come and gone.

Resurrected and Rotting features the same, bludgeoning tone as their debut album, so consider this an after-dinner mint, or a glass of the wine of ages, to lull you into despair before their next cobwebbed, full-course meal.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.decrepitaph.com/

Gorezone - Brutalities of Modern Domination (2009)

The third effort from Germans Gorezone is not about to stimulate either half of your brain, but it will stomp on it, repeatedly, until it becomes liquefied organic mush on which the rats will feed. Brutalities of Modern Domination is an all too honest title for this record, the stench of carrion and blasphemy permeates its apocalypse of superhuman drumming and relentless, twitchy chugging rhythms, with dual snarl/grunt vocals blasting at you from the furnace of Carcass nostalgia and a solid grind ethic.

You're more apt to enjoy this album if you venerate the faceless masses of brutal, start/stop chugging USDM, but Gorezone are a little above average for the style. They don't craft the type of memorable riffing that makes your jaw hang and your finger dial for a replay, but their mix of brutal efficiency and ever-winding hooks is enough to rattle the ADD from your ears. Tracks like "Driven by the Cells of Bigotry" and "The Waterboarding Complex" are about as educational as an 18-wheeler running over your family on a Sunday afternoon, but they are fun enough to listen through once or twice. Perhaps the most memorable riff is the Napalm Death-like blasting intro to "The Privilege to Breathe", which sadly succumbs to rather average chug-squeal.

Brutalities of Modern Domination sounds quite strong, as a superb mix of guitars buzz by your ears like corpse-flies honing on the carnage. The drumming is strong, if to be expected in this style, and the vocals sufficient. Gorezone does not have an original style, as they present a collage of many hundreds of bands before them, but if you desire only to have your head examined...AFTER having it smashed open, then this should satisfy.

Highlights: Driven by the Cells of Bigotry, The Waterboarding Complex

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/gorezoneinyourface

Hellbastard - The Need to Kill (2009)

Hellbastard made a few waves back in the late 80s with their albums Heading for Internal Darkness and Natural Order, which transformed the band from their crust/punk/crossover roots into pretty much a straight razor of brutal thrash metal. Many years passed, some albums of material were collected and released, but the band truly reformed in 2007 and this new full-length follows largely where Natural Order left off.

The Need to Kill is just under 50 minutes of socially aware thrash metal, 10 new tracks with a few re-recordings tacked on the end. The material is energetic, fun street thrash that would probably appeal equally to fans of Municipal Waste and Destruction. I banged my head out to a few tracks here: "Fir Bolg, Bow to Slough Feg", "Big Business Pig Hole" and "Going Postal", but in all I wouldn't say the album left a lasting impact.

The riffs are punchy, the vocals filthy and aggressive, and worthy of a 1990 mosh pit, but I actually prefer some of the re-recordings of the earlier tracks to the new material. "Justly Executed" from Natural Order is likely the best song on this entire album, and they include a number of decent remakes from the debut. The band is about as good today as they were during the thrash explosion, so if you fondly remember their previous efforts you are the most likely to dig on this.

Highlights: Fir Bolg, Bow to Slough Feg, Going Postal, Justly Executed

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/rippercrust

Shaded Enmity - Like Prayers On Deaf Ears (2009)

Shaded Enmity are a band out of Washington State who perform a very intensive study on the roots of melodic Swedish death. Take the earlier works of a band like In Flames or Dark Tranquillity, like Lunar Strain or The Gallery, then dial up the level of aggression sixfold. Like Prayers of Deaf Ears is the band's second full-length, following Thoughts & Remembrance from 2005. This is a much faster album, with more blasting and walls of melody that crash at you from lightning fingers.

Prepare yourself for an immediate assault, as "Beneath Her Wretched Sky" and "The Perfect Incision" open up like a hail of angelic machine gun fire, passionate melodies spitting shrapnel into your face. The title track gives you a brief acoustic break before once again snaring you into its graceful vices. Many of the songs follow suit, tranquil intros followed by molten aggression, but never without a fair to strong range of melodies. Favorites would include "Her Gorgeous Eye" and "The Last to Perish", as well as the acoustic piece "Adventures in Suicide", but much of the material is consistent.

Like Prayers on Deaf Ears is perhaps one of the best albums of its type from the US this year, with a stronger foundation of functional melodies, and a level of energy which will force the listener into a state of hyperventilation. If anything, the album can often become tiring in its pursuit, and the Lindberg-like snarl of Joe Nurre rarely mixes it up. But to listen for a few tracks at a time, the album shines.

Highlights: The Perfect Incision, Her Gorgeous Eye, Adventures in Suicide, The Last to Perish

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/shadedenmity

Sacred Steel - Carnage Victory (2009)

Though they have ever brandished a competent blade of Germanic power/speed metal, Sacred Steel has always presented a huge barrier to entry in the form of vocalist Gerrit P. Mutz. Mutz is a frustrating frontman because he clearly is capable of doing some wicked sounding vocals, yet intentionally incorporates cheesy screaming that makes the band sound like a caricature.

Simply listen to the opener "Charge Into Overkill", a bombardment of great, heavy power metal riffing. Now listen through the vocals... there are some fine gang shout moments, and some bridges where Mutz uses a very catchy snearing style, only to blow out of proportion into some god awful shrieks. Henning Basse or King Diamond this guy is not, and it saddens me that the band (or Mutz himself) never calls this out when mixing the record. If not for those terribad, high-pitched vox this could be one of the contenders for power metal record of the year...the riffing is intense, especially on "Don't Break the Oath", "Crosses Stained With Blood", and "The Skeleton Key".

The production on Carnage Victory is quite good, it's dirty and spiteful power speed just like the great days of the 80s, when this style was actually considered heavy and not extensively overdubbed and saccharinated into irrelevance. The album is only a few cards short of a full deck, and the vocals are the sole culprit. It's not a matter of Mutz having a bad voice, but the bad choices he makes with that voice. Somehow the band has survived seven albums, on numerous decent record labels, but I found this latest album to be another exercise in 'should have been, could have been'.

Highlights: all of the music, very few of the vocals

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.sacredsteel.de/

Ignitor - The Spider Queen (2009)

Ignitor sees the return of a pair of thrash metal icons to the fold; guitarist Batlord (i.e. Stewart Lawrence) of cajun redneck thrashers Agony Column has been with this band for all three of their albums, and ex-Watchtower screamer Jason McMaster replaces former female vocalist Erika Swinnich. Those accustomed from McMaster know what to expect, an over the top performance from his shrieking, cutting vocals, and they can often prove distracting on The Spider Queen, though it is interesting to hear his various ranges colliding across the tracks.

As for the band, they perform an old school US power/speed metal that recalls bands like Omen, Savage Grace, or Lizzy Borden, but with a modern tone and little propensity to fly off the handle (McMaster has that covered). The riffing is constrained and fits the retrogression of the band, but there are some really bad tracks on the album that soil even its stronger moments. Where "Evil Calling" and title track "The Spider Queen" might adequately rock out the nostalgia for melodic 80s power and horrible cover art, you have a track like "I Never Knew", with its lamenting guitars and really bad vocals over the verse. The vocals just feel detached on a number of the tracks, absurd despite the McMaster's capabilities.

The album has a moderate mix with flowing, melodic guitars and crashing drums, but I often don't feel they support McMaster's insanity, as he weaves through snarls, wavering lower range lines, and a Fleming Ronsdorf (ex-Artillery) shriek. It's not quite the ironic metal mockery of, say, Three Inches of Blood, but it did not feel focused to my ears.

Highlights: Evil Calling, The Spider Queen, Rune of Power

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/ignitor