Candlelight Records

Hum...Orange Goblin's Healing Through Fire, eh? About time the band's 6^th album was made available at a bigger scale!

Every once in a while even your more experienced reviewer, no matter how varied his musical preference or how extensive (s)he collects music outside those albums (s)he comes across in (her/his) journalistic career, will come across some long-existing band (s)he never heard of. Okay...so the “long-existing” thing is relative...but the guys have nevertheless already put their mark on the UK's scene!

Abaddon Incarnate from Ireland were formed when Bereaved were put to rest in 1994. After some demos, they were signed by France’s label Season Of Mist, and in 1999 they released The Last Supper, followed in 2001 by Nadir (through Sentinel) and Dark Crusade in 2004 (Xtreem Music).

Liverpool-based act Coltsblood was formed in 2010 by John McNulty shortly after he left Conan, but it took quite some time before the band showed on with material. 2013 saw the release of the demo Beyond The Lake Of Madness (self-released on tape, and done on vinyl a couple of months later on via Ulthar Records), and that very same year there was a split-EP as well, with city fellowmen of Crypt Lurker.

Despite a huge variety within the first and last efforts, I have always appreciated The Wounded Kings’ Doom a lot. Both first albums (Embrace Of The Narrow House and The Shadows Over Atlantis), as well as In The Chapel Of The Black Hand, do belong to my favourite Doom albums in the year they had respectively been released (i.e. 2008, 2010 and 2011). When it comes to the latter, it was the first one with a new vocalist, a female one this time.

Ancient Ascendant are an English four-piece that recorded two minis and one full length before. When it comes to the latter, that full length, which was called The Grim Awakening, I would kindly like to ask you to search for the review done by truly-yours-undersigned, posted on October 2^nd 2011 as part of the ‘Siege Of Amida Records Special 2011” I did.

The Virus Conspires hit the decks with full on angry US (Death Angel, Exodus, Heathen, Forbidden) and German (Kreator, Destruction , Tankard) sounding-like thrash metal like “Kingdome come”, “Titan” and “Pseudocommando” with exceptional guitar solos, pounding drums and a Petrozza-like growl bite that hurts for days. Such songs as “22” and “Red Terror” to name but a few explore the passion, blood and sweat that is spread throughout the CD.

Earth Crisis is an American metalcore band from New York. The band originally formed in 1989, but its initial lineup was short-lived. Karl Buechner, (original bassist) formed a new lineup within the band in 1991, switching to lead vocals in the process. Buechner was joined by guitarists Scott Crouse, Ben Read, bassist Ian "Bulldog" Edwards and drummer Michael Riccardi.

In a series of bands I do not want to introduce anymore, because it will be a waste of time, this Dutch act comes next. Those who do not know Pestilence better skip reading, because for this band is one of the most important ones within its specific genre, you simply have to know them. But again I cannot just go onto the specific review without at least giving a very limited impression (read: I’m too lazy to add a full biography, but I am so willing to give my personal opinion about the band; if you do have a problem with that, please F.O.

Norwegian top-act Throne Of Katarsis sort of is a constant element within my end year lists. Their Candlelight-efforts Helvete … (2009) or Ved Graven (2011), for example, did end up with a very high personal score (both reviews I did on these full albums are still available within the Archives-tab). So I was very pleased to receive the promotional edition of this band’s fourth studio album.