Dawn Of Winter were formed in 1990 (!) as Cemetery, paying tribute to bands as Candlemass, Trouble, Saint Vitus, Witchfinder General, Black Sabbath etc. After a short period, the members did choose to change the band’s moniker into the current one, and at the same time they decided to change their style into the initial approach (tributing the gothfathers of Doom), mixed with specific own-faced structures. Dawn Of Winter were born…
My Kingdom Music is a label that confuses me time after time. They do balance in between extremes; at the one hand, you have a lot of quasi-poppy, modernised and/or happily Pop/Rock/Metal material, and the other extreme balances towards the most obscure, underground-oriented Black-edged evilness. When I need to review a new record, released through this Italian label, I’m always worried: will it belong to the first category, or rather to the second one (or somewhere in between both of them).
Originally released in 1998 through the very same label, Til Et Annet… was the second recording by Trelldom, a band with Kristian ‘Gaahl’ Espedal – think: Gorgoroth, Gaahlskagg, Sigfader, God Seed. Glad to hear it again, because it has been many years. Not because I dislike the stuff; on the contrary.
Totengeflüster (whispers of the Dead) were formed in 2007 by Totleben, who wanted to create his own interpretation of grim Black Metal with classical-symphonic elements. Soon he joined forces with a same-minded guy, Narbengrund, who wrote lyrics that did fit well to the music and ideas of Totengeflüster. Narbengrund takes care of the vocals too, by the way. And the line-up gets finally completed by Schattendorn, who performs the session drums (live as well).
For those who are new to the band, Pagan Altar is one of the best heavy metal/NWOBHM acts to date. The group was formed back in 1980 and quickly reached a cult-status for the fans of the genre. This is a re-release of their 2006 album and it is a solid proof of their underrated genius. Pagan Altar are a metal band I'm always looking forward too to listen to. There are only a few bands playing metal at such an original level as they do. Their music is very difficult to describe, anyway, there's not a second band sounding similar to them.
King Dude is a nickname for Book Of Black Earth’s T.J. Cowgill, and under this moniker he’s active as Folk-artist.
Killswitch Engage is a metal-core band with melodic death metal influences, from Westfield, Massachusetts, USA and formed following the disbandment of the bands "Overcast" and "Aftershock" in 1999.
Intractable are a Swiss quartet (Benjamin Kottmann-v, d; guitar players Markus Hospenthal and Dominik Meier; Michael Schuler-b). The band was formed in 2006 and released a first demo (with the title First Eruption) about two and a half year ago.
Greek band In Utero Cannibalism was formed nine years ago and released two albums before, Psychotic Killing Lust and Frenzied, both via OBSE Productions. They were also able to perform along known acts like Napalm Death, Pungent Stench, Malevolent Creation, Massacre or Nile. During summer 2010, however, In Utero Cannibalism were put on rest, at least for a while.
Germany’s Epitome Of Frail were formed more than a decade ago. Throughout the past eleven years, the guys recorded a handful of recordings that did not really reach a proper audience. Nevertheless, Epitome Of Frail were able to play lots of shows in their home country with major acts like Hatebreed, Napalm Death, All Shall Perish, Fall Of Serenity or The Black Dahlia Murder.
