In Silence - One For All
metal
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"One for all, all for one, we will stand strong", that's an excellent statement from Swedish melodic metal band In Silence. Their music fits perfectly into the so-called Götheborg scene, even though they reside in Karlstad. Bands like In Flames, Arch Enemy and Soilwork often pop up in my head while I listen to these delicious riffs. Frontwoman Erika ''Rejka'' Jonsson does an excellent job and the men behind her are quite talented as well. Plus, In Silence dare to experiment with electronics, which gives the whole thing something extra. It's as if the nineties have never ended...
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Hope Erodes - Rainwalker
metal / death metal
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After a few line-up changes, Belgian horde Hope Erodes returns with a dark, aggressive and brutal EP. 'Rainwalker' contains four tracks, each one a fierce slab hardcore infused of death metal. Yet, there is a lot more to be found than gut wrenching riffs and soul destroying drums. At least one of the guitarists is an Iron Maiden fan, which results in brilliant guitar play and the new vocalist, Sam, is a monster with the vocal range of Satan himself. This is the stuff that will undoubtedly demolish stages and venues all over this puny little country. So, if you want music to beat you down into a bleeding pulp, you need this one.
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Lacrimae - Entropia
progressive rock / experimental
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Hailing from Athens, Greece, Lacrimae delivers highly enjoyable progressive rock with a light avant-garde feel. The EP opens with a beautiful piano intro before 'Necromancer' blasts off. Influenced by bands like Porcupine Tree and Riverside, this act delivers potent pieces of rock music, plus vocalist Annette delivers some interesting vocal lines. My favorite track here is 'Inhale / Exhale', in which Annette seems to experiment with the strangeness of Diamanda Galas for a little while. This is a fun EP to listen to. Progressive and immersive but not too complex. I like it like that.
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Kavod - Wheel Of Time
psychedelic rock / doom
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Doom metal as a ritual, that is what Italian trio Kavod is all about. Influenced by acts like My Sleeping Karma, Tool, Ufomammut and Om, Kavond comes up with three pieces of musical exorcism. Of these three, 'Absolution' is my personal favorite, a gritty, slow and repetitive piece of psychedelic doom, which might have lasted longer. It makes me wonder about live performances, because, with a good soundman and a minimal but effective light show, this might turn into something utterly overwhelming. Let's see what the future has in stock for Kavod, might something really interesting...
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Harbour of Souls - Doomsayer
hard rock
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The stunning cover art for this EP alone is worth getting your hands on a copy of this five track EP, and if you're a fan of seventies hard rock and NWOBHM, you might want to start drooling now. Dutch rockers Harbour Of Souls got stuck in the era of old Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and so on, which results in flashing guitar solos, heavy metal thunder and everything else that made this style of music one of the most popular things on earth. 'Queen On Her Throne' is an instant classic and the others tracks, too, will get you shake your ass and bang your heads. So yeah, hard rockers, you better check this out.
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Voldt - Voken
progressive metal
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German three piece Voldt does something odd and unusual with progressive metal. Their sound is unique, laced with elements from black metal, industrial and epic, progressive heavy metal, as if Queensryche and The Kovenant had decided to start a jam. On this EP, the band delivers six tracks, with opener 'To Forge Ahead' immediately confusing the listener. Then again, once you're used to the unusual sound of Voldt, you might start to realize that 'A Tractate Of Doom' is a stunning, genre defining piece of music. In any case, this is different, this is pretty damn awesome. Just give it time to grow on you, alright?
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Mount Soma - Origins
psychedelic rock / doom
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Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, Mount Soma launches sludge metal into space. Driving on muddy riffs and psychedelic guitars, this quartet steps into the footsteps of bands like Yob, Black Tundra, Slomatics and so on. 'Origins' is a three-track EP where heavy riffing and chilled out psychedelica seamlessly meet. Opener 'Nebula' is simply outstanding, a trance inducing doom metal track, immersive as fuck. The short tweener 'Origin' is a nice song which functions as a bridge between the two mesmerizing anthems. 'Lazarus' comes very close psych doom perfection. Baffling stuff.
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NŪR - Light Emerges
sludge metal / doom
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Formed from the ashes of several bands in the Israeli underground, this pummeling quartet comes up with an earth shattering blend of post metal, doom and sludge metal. The three tracks on this EP, 'Trader', 'Water' and 'Wise', are equally destructive, overwhelming and terrifying pieces of music, destined to slowly tear apart your very soul. Sluggish riffs, battering drums and hardcore infused vocals create a cathartic whole, something which fans of bands like Amenra, Neuroris and Cult Of Luna. So, if you want music to resemble a steamroller, this surely is your thing.
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Blodskam - Là-Bas
black metal
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Swedish duo Blodskam seem to travel between the madhouse and the graveyard. Their music is rough, primitive and psychotic black metal with lyrical themes of insanity, hallucinations and fear.The whole takes me back to the nineties, when vile and putrid releases by Scandinavian underground bands started flooding the market. Yet, even today, 'Là-Bas' is a consciousness shattering piece of work, where the main theme of psychosis is perfectly illustrated in every aspect of the music. Fierce riffs, pummeling drums and haunted screams. This simply is an obscure gem, no doubt about that.
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Kooba Tercu - Kharrüb
alternative rock / psychedelic / noise rock
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And we end this heavy, intense and raging version of Brieviews with something... well, heavy, intense and raging. Greek act Kooba Tercu is what would happen if Einstürzende Neubauten meet up with Melvins or The Jesus Lizard. The music on this album is downright bizarre and quite undefinable but that makes it incredibly interesting to undergo. Yes, undergo. You don't just listen to Kooba Tercu. You'll allow yourself to get emerged into their strange, noisy and rattling sound. You will love it, too, I can almost guarantee that. Unless you hate it with all your guts. Those are the only two options you have here.
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