Crown Of Asteria are a solo-outfit by Meghan Wood, who formed this project in 2011. There seem to be some releases before, like a first full length in 2013 (called North), as well as a split with another excellent solo-project, Twilight Fauna, and after listening to this album a couple of times, I will certainly search for etc. etc. etc.
I can, and will, be very short about this newest Axegressor-album. I was not that enthusiastic with their former albums (Command and Next, both released via Dethrone). These Finns won’t convince me either this time, even though this third full length (they did have a self-released mini-album as well in the past) sounds slightly more professional than before.
Wormreich, hailing from the East of the United American States of Milk and Honey and stuff (???), were formed in 2009. The band (at that moment a duo: Chris ‘Obsidiam Vulk’ Pyle and Ian ‘Nazgul Vathron’ McKinney) self-released the album Edictum DCLXVI in 2011.
The Dutch band Winter Of Sin (hailing from the city of Groningen) was formed at the end of last century by Ricardo ‘Schmerz’ Gelok (also active in Gheestenland and previously in bands like Krematorium IV, Finsternis, Windsmear or Hagel; Ricardo also owns the small yet highly interesting Dutch Death / Black-label Non Serviam Records) and Dirk ‘Schrat’ Barelds (ex-Katafalk / Cantara
With the 2012’s debut The Dragon Lineage Of Satan, this band’s first official studio recording on Moribund (KULT!), this American trio did surprise me enormously, if only because of the richness of their inherent poverty (richness and poverty in one shell…). Check out the review on this album, still available on the Archive-section, update July 6th 2012, sardonically done by undersigned.
Note: Fuoco Fatuo was the moniker for Eversin until 2008; this is a Prog / Thrash / Heavy / Power / Epic Metal act from Sicily. This review, however, deals with the young act from Lombardy with the very same name, and it has nothing to do with the Sicilian band (and I praise my personal gods and goddesses for that – salve and slava and stuff…!).
Despite an enormous discography (a handful of EP’s, even more full lengths, and a couple of splits) built up in less than a decade of existence, I hadn’t heard any of Frozen Ocean’s stuff before, I think. This Russian solo-project by a guy called Vaarwel (which actually is Dutch (!) for ‘goodbye’ or ‘farewell’) recently signed to Kristallblut Records (one of those underestimated yet superior labels, hailing from Germania).
Snuff // Hiroshima is the third full length album (the band recorded some EP’s and released a DVD as well in mean time) by German act Fäulnis, a project by Ben ‘Seuche’ (the one from BlackShore and Sakramortem, not the guy involved with e.g. Pestkult or Northern Hate). It lasts for fifty minutes and appears as regular CD and as double 12” vinyl long player.
Austrian Harakiri For The Sky (I have to admit that this moniker is pretty original, though probably somewhat silly???) are a young band (formed in winter 2011-2012) that debuted in 2012 with a self-titled full length (also through Germany’s Art Of Propaganda). Pretty soon after, this release got followed by several live shows with bands like Fäulnis, Heretoir or Whiskey Ritual in their home country, yet also in Germany and Italy.
Californian band Gravehill was formed in 2001, but they had a short-lived history with one EP only (which was called Practitioners Of Fell Sorcery). The band split up shortly after, but in 2007 they reformed, with the EP Metal Of Death somewhat later that very same year, and 2009’s Rites Of The Pentagram as proof of their glorious comeback.
