Mastermind Morten Veland returns with Sirenia’s latest full length melancholically entitled “Dim Days Of Dolor” which features opera singer Emmanuelle Zoldan as new lead vocalist.

“Goddess Of The Sea” delivers a powerful sense of grandeur with properly dramatic operatic choirs that gracefully supports Emmanuelle’s elegant vocal performance. Fascinating keyboards and orchestra arrangements keep a gravely melancholic mood while polished melodic guitar leads spice up the darkened theme.

The title track features an extremely catchy chorus and melodies that will get stuck on your mind even at the very first listening. The main music core is quite simplistic with an array of easy rock/pop guitar riffs and a super melodic solo always embellished by lovely atmospheric symphonic arrangements.

On “The 12^th Hour” Emmanuelle delivers compelling soprano vocals that effortlessly complement Morten’s signature growls. This track features a faster tempo and a more aggressive guitar approach but the main music theme continues to revolve around Sirenia’s renowned melodic symphonic style.

“Veil Of Winter” has a cold gothic attitude with the infamous Scandinavian wintry mix that influences each melody. Morten and Emmanuelle diligently share vocal duties in the midst of a decadent melancholic musical theme where orchestrations are very dominant and guitars are left a bit in the background.

On “Elusive Sun” Emmanuelle’s whimsical vocals illuminate the gothic tinged sadness while the operatic choirs keep the symphonic flame alive with extra somber vibes. Crispy guitars add a metallic sheen to the super catchy melody while the solos are all about clean shredding.

“Aeon’s Embrace” is the must have piano piece filled with tragic emotionally charged ethereal vocals. Even if we all listened repeatedly to similar songs, the effortless melodic flow and the heartfelt vocals will certainly attract the audience.

Overall, Sirenia tends to stay true to the original music formula nevertheless “Dim Days Of Dolor” shines for the exquisite vocals performed by Emmanuelle Zoldan and the highly harmonious fluidity with the right touch of gothic atmosphere.

Longstanding Polish extreme metal band Vader returns with the newest album “The Empire” which offers a rather safe collection of ravenous fast guitar driven tracks designed to trigger immediate heavy headbanging.

“Angel Of Steel” is all about thrash style fury perfectly portrayed by the relentless crunchy guitar riffs that build a strong groove while drums and bass keep a super tight rhythm.

“Prayer To The God Of War” features angered growls complemented by appropriate old school thrash metal guitar riffing while the fast ferocious leads add some stylish variety.

“Iron Reign” delivers highly catchy guitar riffs that grow violently stronger while the overall atmosphere gains a more darkened melodic feel at a slower pace.

“Parabellum” is another straightforward track that relies on a raw faster thrash approach with vicious growls, unrestrained drumming and a ferocious blistering guitar solo.

On “Send Me Back To Hell” the rhythm slows down significantly without sacrificing the evil nature of the song which shines especially for the fierce guitar solo licks that carry an understated melodic vibe.

With “The Empire” Vader delivers a cohesive work filled with the brutal musical concoctions expected by the band’s faithful fans without introducing any particularly surprising burst of creativity.

Australian band Départe debuts in the metal scene with the album “Failure, Subside” characterized by lengthy tracks with pronounced black metal influences and heavily dark atmospheres.

“Ashes In Bloom” features a painfully ominous mood with a chaotic mixture of super heavy breathless drumming in old school black metal fashion and quieter passages conveying a tragic gothic/doom musical theme.

“Grief Echoes (Golden Scars)” follows a similar blackened structure with a heavy rhythmic backbone embellished by introvert melodic guitar accents but also favors an exceptionally dark ambiance that evokes an absolute sense of hopelessness.

“Vessel” packs a vicious crescendo of guitar riffs but maintains a generous dose of depressing melodies buried in a rather asphyxiating atmosphere occasionally interrupted by progressive tempo variations and brightening clean vocals.

“Ruin” has a calmer atmospheric theme that evokes a perennial sense of desolation. Doom and black metal influences are dominant in the guitar riffs and rhythmic section while the slow breakdown features minimalist arpeggios that portray an introspective serenity.

“Failure, Subside” is definitely a cohesive music piece that due to its powerful enigmatic extreme metal nature would attract mainly a very specific audience.

American black metal duo Inquisition returns with an enigmatic new album entitled “Bloodshed Across The Empyrean Altar Beyond The Celestial Zenith” that promises to represent a confident mature milestone in the band’s career.

“From Chaos They Came” is all about raw guitar riffing breaking the cold ice of another winter day. Minimalist primitive black metal drumming provides the renowned breathless chaotic atmosphere but there are some scattered tempo changes that attempt to variegate the main blackened core.

“Wings Of Anu” follows the same primordial rules with super monotone croaked growls and/or rasps bearing immense suffering and tight guitar riffs and hyper aggressive drumming that build an introvert groove.

On “The Flames Of Infinite Blackness Before Creation” the tempo slows down dramatically to reach an ominous atmospheric depth filled with tragic doom style heaviness and somber guitar melodies.

“Through The Divine Spirit Of Satan A Glorious Universe Is Known” has a dirty melodic approach with acoustic arpeggios that create a feeble light to guide you through the mysterious vortex of colder, somehow catchy, guitar riffs.

The title track has a more atmospheric mystical theme with a slower tempo and dominant guitar work that offers a necessary enlightened sonic variety and leaves behind the redundant chaotic rhythm.

Overall, “Bloodshed Across The Empyrean Altar Beyond The Celestial Zenith” has all the right black metal treats that make people go insane but it often relies too much on a monochromatic music theme.

Legendary Norwegian duo Darkthrone is back with a new full length entitled “Arctic Thunder”. A delightful taste for the most primitive blackened heavy metal that you can wish for is omnipresent in every song and the whole album never fails to deliver the infamous Darkthrone’s raw signature music style.

“Tundra Leech” is a winner and a keeper with its inner darkened audacity embodied by Nocturno Culto sincere raspy vocals. Everything is doomed and all hope is lost as the breathless guitar riffs build a solid solemn groove that becomes addictive at the very first listening and might make you dizzy eventually.

“Boreal Fiends” shines for its mysterious doomish aura with super catchy guitar riffs that grow into an impenetrable obscurity where a melodic languid guitar solo provides a distorted cold light.

The title track features another generous dose of groovy guitar riffs layered on simple solid drumming in introvert old school fashion with an undeniable stomping attitude that gives way to a quite short icy cold guitar solo.

With a rather simplistic music structure “Throw Me Through The Marshes” delivers a creepy vibe with a darkened sound embedded in the tight guitar riffing and a faster rhythm in traditional black metal fashion.

“Deep Lake Trespass” revolves around a persistent series of blackened guitar riffs that, once again, successfully create the right gloomy groove that requires an immediate round of headbanging.

On a dark winter day, trapped in a world on the verge of apocalypse, leave your fears and doubts behind and let Fenriz and Nocturno Culto guide you to the safe primordial realm of “Arctic Thunder”.

Insomnium’s new album “Winter’s Gate” is definitely an impressive ambitious project that features one epic 40-minute song composed around an award-winning short story written by the band’s vocalist & bassist Niilo Sevänen. In terms of songwriting the band’s signature melodic death metal definitely has a dominant presence and has grown to reach a high level of maturity. The album also showcases a great inspiring musical variety pleasantly enhanced by highly atmospheric nuances that successfully offer the ideal soundscape for an enchanting Scandinavian fable. The icy cold melodies featuring vibrant guitar solos, lovely whimsical acoustic moments, fascinating classical piano pieces and elegantly majestic keyboards arrangements created by Aleksi Munter of Swallow The Sun never fail to deliver a dreamy melancholy that could easily conquer the listener’s heart. In true Nordic fashion Niilo Sevänen always delivers the right amount of enraging growls, often with a touch of traditional black metal style, to fit the heavier and faster primordial rhythmic sections or the doomish slow paced melodic gloom. There are no clear musical boundaries or abrupt style changes as all the instruments work together to achieve a kaleidoscopic musical palette.

“Winter’s Gate” would be best savored and appreciated as a whole piece of music if the listeners find the opportunity or the time to immerse into its darkened magical depth without hesitations.

Swedish fuzz rockers Truckfighters release their fifth album “V” just in time to celebrate the band’s 15^th anniversary. With a dominant mature stoner rock style, “V” feels like a relaxed trip through a friendly desert kicking in the fuzz pedal without any hesitation.

“Calm Before The Storm” delivers flashy psychedelic vibes in a dusty rock atmosphere and quite laid back rhythm. Slow paced guitar melodies embody a melancholic tranquility abruptly interrupted by faster fuzzy grooves.

“Hawkshaw” starts right away with a heavily bass driven groove that fades naturally into a slower calm, almost dreamy, melodic core. There is a bittersweet contrast between the smooth vocals and the crescendo of full blown fuzzy guitar riffs.

“The 1” focuses on a bold heavier rhythm with occasional psychedelic accents. Prominent bass lines and relentless energetic guitar riffs keep a steady thick groove emphasized by a super dizzy guitar solo.

“Fiend” has a dynamic desert rock rhythm with a catchy chorus and crispy guitar riffs that build up nicely to deliver a healthy stoner rock jam session.

“V” might not be a stoner rock masterpiece but it will please all the fuzz lovers around and certainly brings some promising bright ideas that one day could evolve into something shiny and beautiful.

Longstanding German extreme metal act Heaven Shall Burn returns with a brand new album entitled “Wanderer” that delivers an enjoyable mature mix of ravenous heavy guitar driven tunes and friendly melodic passages.

“The Loss Of Fury” has what it takes to be a strong majestic album opener. In the midst of an atmospheric synth background Heaven Shall Burn unleash a strategic dose of heavy guitar riffing that never feels overwhelming as it introduces the vicious rhythmic blasts of “Bring The War Home”. This track revolves around an energetic unrestrained guitar driven groove that delivers the band’s signature extreme style and will certainly please any stubborn headbanger.

“Passage Of The Crane” has a charming melodic nature with polished guitar leads but there is also space for heavier riffing and ominous screams. The softer breakdown features an atmospheric theme enhanced by graceful female vocals.

“Downshifter” has a classic heavy approach with dynamic guitar riffs and rather powerful drum blasts that build a harsh groove while somber melodic guitar leads smooth the rough core and brighten up the general darkened mood.

“Prey To God” is a straight forward track full of ominous screams and insane growls featuring guest vocalist George “Corpsegrinder“Fisher of Cannibal Corpse while packing a relentless dose of brutal thrash influenced guitar riff and aggressive drumming.

Heaven Shall Burn surprises with the enticing cover of one of My Dying Bride’s most beloved masterpiece “The Cry Of Mankind”. The band maintains the exquisite dark beauty of the original version and Marcus Bischoff’s enraging growls perfectly complement the melodic vocals elegantly performed by Aðalbjörn Tryggvason of Sólstafir.

With a powerful array of tight guitar riffing “Wanderer” keeps alive Heaven Shall Burn’s main musical core but also offers scattered shimmery style surprises that make the whole album more entertaining than expected.

Witchcraft’s fans are certainly familiar with multi instrumentalist and lyricist extraordinaire Magnus Pelander, therefore the release of his solo debut album “Time” will trigger great curiosity.

“Umbrella” shines for its catchy genuine melodies filled with folkish influences. The acoustic backbone has a minimalist approach but the addition of elegant flute and strings successfully enrich the music tapestry.

“True Colour” delivers a particularly gloomy atmosphere with decadently slow melodies and borderline dramatic vocals. The acoustic guitar solo momentarily breaks the somber mood with a series of uplifting notes followed by classical style strings.

“Precious Swan” is a quite unique track with an exquisitely sorrowful mood and prominent folk vibes. A generous dose of psychedelic rock enriches the dreamy acoustic theme while classical strings add a borderline cacophonic touch.

The title track focuses on smooth acoustic harmonies adorned by soft female vocals, occasional folk percussions and a highly nostalgic atmosphere.

Far away from the realm of doom rock/metal, “Time” is a full blown acoustic album focused on emotional depth and melancholic melodies that effortlessly embrace multiple musical styles celebrating true artistic freedom.

Following an impressive wave of worldwide successes, Epica returns with a brand new album entitled “The Holographic Principle” which has a scientific/intellectual lyrical concept concerning multiple realities and, in terms of songwriting, consistently stays true to the band’s notorious symphonic metal style rather than delivering some unpredictable innovation.

The classically triumphant intro “Eidola” creates an enigmatic sense of expectancy that prepares the listeners for the rich musical tapestry of “Edge Of The Blade”. This track features the beloved Epica’s symphonic triumphant soundscape full of cracking guitar riffs and shimmering arrangements. As expected, the musical recipe includes a soft dreamy breakdown and a short heavy blast of growls.

“Universal Death Squad” starts with a charming slow orchestration that gives way to a crescendo of metallic tight guitar riffs and catchy choruses. An explosive heavy rhythm is carefully embellished by somber operatic choirs and atmospheric, at times gloomy, keyboards with sumptuous symphonic accents.

“Beyond The Matrix” focuses greatly on memorably majestic operatic choirs on detailed layers of symphonic orchestrations. While Simone Simons delivers elegant operatic vocals Mark Jansen channels the heaviest side of Epica’s music style with his strong signature growls and thunderous guitar riffing.

“Once Upon A Nightmare” almost sounds like a traditional emotional ballad with classical piano and strings. The song’s structure focuses mainly on the fascinating clarity of Simone Simons vocals but there is still space for polished guitar melodies and grandiose symphonic layers.

“Ascension – Dream State Armageddon” features a darkened post apocalyptic atmosphere with super heavy drumming and blackened guitar riffs. Mark Jansen delivers highly charismatic brutal growls in the midst of a gothic style atmospheric orchestration and creepy spoken passages.

The rather lengthy title track offers plenty of opulent theatrical choruses and classical soprano vocals adorned by triumphant orchestrations that acquire an ominous aura due to the exceptionally heavy guitar riffs and ravenous growls. This song certainly has an elaborate structure with various style and mood changes but as a whole it keeps a cohesive symphonic metal theme.

With “The Holographic Principle” Epica reconfirm their shiny status in the contemporary metal scene and delivers, once again, a piece of music that will easily please their devoted fans.