CD

(Here's an intro I'll be using for both the CD and DVD format of this release) Holy crap...what kind of hoax is this!? I mean, are we to believe this is a new release, just because the label made the trouble of changing the copyright date at the back of the CD and/or DVD package, when really both this live CD and DVD were actually released in 2009, and except for changing the copyright year at the back, nothing has been changed! No extra tracks, no bonus features, no altered artwork...no nothing!? Well, I ain't quite sure about the story in the booklet, really!

Hum...weird one, this! When you look up the Amazon page on the album, you'll find out it was originally released by Red General Catalog in Europe (in actuality, I am quite uncertain which distribution area the album had over here), and by Nightmare Records in the USA, but when you search the labels' website for more info, you will nót find the album. Fact is, it was released in November 2011...so why do we still get the download sent for review?

This Industrial Metal act was formed in 2007, after singer KVN (also known as Kevin) and bassist Wim of Antwerp based Groove Metal act Tud Russel decided they not only wanted to head in a more brutal and heavy direction with higher pace and aggression levels, but also in a more diverse one. With their then current band, such a thing turned out to be impossible, and in fact later that same year TR split up.

Although I have heard of the band, Norska, I had actually never heard any of their music. So assuming they are sort of a doom/sludge band with Yob bassslayer I took on the job to listen in and give a short verdict. Norska is highly hypnotic music with purpose and is full of cryptic lines that are truly inspiring. Sometimes growling vocals drag things down a bit, but after a few spins, you can't imagine them being any other way.

Unlike most of the metal albums I've listened to, this album seems to be a little more ambitious. There are few poor parts on the album and while I could find fault with most of the songs, they do seem to be able to stand on their own. The CD clocks in at just over 40 minutes, and every track is between 4-7 minutes long. This allows the band to expand on their ideas a liitle bit for each track. My favorite so far is “Tiphareth” which has impressive guitar work, and is just a well-crafted song.

Holy cow! What else can be said about this guitar virtuoso, which has not already been said several times before?

For about two decades and a half, Immolation can be considered one of the most important names when it comes to technical Death Metal. Throughout the years, these guys created a very specific sound, which did, and still does, influence the international (not only the American) scene. Even though the many albums do differ a little from each other, the band’s self-developed identity characterizes the essential importance of their existence, and with this new album they even step further to prove the undeniable importance of their raison d’être.

Hey...you know something, it would seem that I reviewed Turner's previous albums Poetry Of the Deep (2009) and England Keep My Bones (posted 13/06/2011 and again on 17/07/2011), as well as the EP Rock & Roll (issued in Dec 2011, but review posted only 23/02/2012)...so that's where I'll direct you for his history story up to that point.

Francesco Marras is a guitarist from the town of Sassari, in the North-West of Sardinia. He started his career back in 1997 in the Heavy Metal act Eruption, which recorded only the one 1999 demo Where I Am Nothing, and changed its name (with the same members) to Screaming Shadows in 2001.

When my editor-in-chief suggested that I should review this album, I took on a frown, and tried to remember whether I'd ever done anything on this Emo Pop Rock band. The Chief feeling sure that I had, I took the CD home with mixed feelings, and have since found out that I never even got any of the guys' albums, let alone ever reviewed anything by 'em!