February has Been an Epic Month

Eluveitie, Rotting Christ, Borknagar, Finntroll, Dark Tranquillity, Martriden, Burzum, Kawir, Whispered, Embryo, Shaolin Death Squad, De Profundis, Scythia, Daysend, Throes of Dawn, Jack Slater, Ov Hell, Nydvind, and Immolation have all released CD’s.

I’ll try to give you a one or two sentense preview of each one:

Eluveitie – Everything Remains as it Never Was

The best folk metal out there. Get it. Here is my review.

Rotting Christ – AEALO

Not as catchy or memorable as Theogonia but still a really good release.  Some of the songs will really get you head-banging.

Borknagar – Universal

This reminds me a lot of Epic. I think I need to listen to it a few more times before passing any judgement. It seems to be a really interesting release.

Finntroll  - Nifelvind

This is so much better than their last release. It is still dark (like the last album) but the music is so much better. The idiots at Century Media decided to release the album on March 9th in North American. This means ever American fan is going to pirate the European release. If you steal it, buy a damn t-shirt from them or see them live!

Dark Tranquillity – We are the Void

These guys pretty much invented Gothenburg style melodic death metal.  This sounds pretty solid so far. I haven’t had enough time to devote to it considering all the black metal and folk metal that is coming out. I’ll try to give it a fair listen sometime soon.

Martriden – Encounter The Monolith

This is epic. I like to describe it as blackened melodic death metal. Read my review here.

Burzum – Belus

If you like raw sounding black metal get this. It is raw but the production sounds much cleaner and fuller than most raw black metal. It also has a lot of good melodies.

Kawir – To Uranus

The pagan black metal masters are at it again. This release is loaded with aggression and atmosphere.  I would say that only fans of pagan metal or rbm will like it.

Whispered – Thousand Swords

Hell yes. Epic power metal from Finland with crazy sweeping guitars and harsh lyrics. I love this album. The keyboards are a bit silly on a few tracks but the folk elements are welcome. It’s even cooler that the folk elements have this insanely cool oriental style to them.  One of the best release of the year so far. Thanks to renzuokun for turning me on to these guys. Check out his review!

Embryo – No God Slave

This is brutal, chugging music. It’s mostly brutal and melodic death metal. Check it out, you might like it.

Shaolin Death Squad – Five Deadly Venoms

This is some very interesting progressive rock/ metal. It’s not really that heavy but it is intense and complex. If you like prog rock, get it.

De Profundis – A Bleak Reflection

They are described as a progressive extreme metal band. Their music has a lot of mood and atmosphere. I would recommend it for fans of atmospheric black metal, folk metal, and dark metal. This is another of my favorites so far this year.

Scythia – …Of War

This is folk metal and I’m not sure if I like it or not. It has some likable elements and some silly elements.

Throes of Dawn – The Great Fleet of Echoes

I really like these guys. They play dark metal. It sounds like a mixture of progressive metal, folk metal, and doom metal with clean vocals. There are some harsh vocals, but only when needed. This is all about atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Jack Slater – Extinction Aftermath

These guys play technical brutal death metal. This album will be coming out on the 26th. It’s their best work so far.

Ov Hell – The Underworld Regime

This is what happens when you get members of Gorgototh, Keep of Kalessin, Dimmu Borgir, and 1349 together. This is straight-up modern black metal. It rocks.  King ov Hell wrote most of the music. If you like his style you will like this.

Nydvind – Sworn To The Elders

I love pagan metal. Lots of chanting and melodic moments. This music really puts me right in the middle of a cold forest. This was released on January 29th, but I decided to include it anyway.

Immolation – Majesty And Decay

It’s death metal and it’s solid!

Let me know what you are liking and what you think sucks.