It’s always a sardonic pleasure to listen to a (new) album on Lower Silesian Stronghold. With this sixth album by Poland’s Demonic Slaughter it’s no difference. This time in co-operation with French label Hass Weg Productions, Lower Silesian Stronghold prove once more that they are able to find qualitative bands (and releases) that are able to please a selected yet superior audience, and able to irritate the stupid, ignorant masses on our filthy globe.
Enthroned Darkness are quite an active outfit by Simone ‘Nex Umbra Domini’ Ghizzinardi, whom you might know from for example Absum, Suspiria Profundis, Aevum, Nebbia and many more. Under the Enthroned Darkness-moniker, Simone returns with a third full length studio album, which he did record during Winter 2014-2015 at his Dark Sound Studios.
Okay, the Finnish band Sad Parade might surely not hit the very same status of acts like, let’s say, Sisters Of Mercy, Christian Death or Nine Inch Nails, but for sure they are of a comparable level of craftsmanship. During the nineties, they were quite influential, especially in their home country, with a couple of attractive EP’s going around. At the very beginning of this new century, the band ceased activities, but the rumour goes that Aku-Tuomas Mattila has plans to reform this band???
Actually Missa Mortvm were formed almost five years ago, but Et Lux Perpetua Luceat Est isn’t but this Chilean band’s first official release. The album was initially released independently the digital way in very, very, very early 2015, and then pressed on CD in order to get released via the unholy trinity Satanath Records, Sphera Noctis Records and Darzamadicus Records (a co-operation that appeared before in other constellations).
One of the many releases that did came out on Russia’s Satanath Records in 2015, and since I promised label owner (and friend) Aleksey to give my attention to all of them, is Ecstasy, the third full length of Polish act Manipulation. This band was formed at the very beginning of this millennium, but after the recording (+ release) of their debut, they did split up. Eventually, the band reformed, and some more releases did follow, but their ‘success’ remained somewhat local.
Assisted by a score of big names in our music genre, like Michael Sweet (Stryper), Jeff Pilson (Dokken), Tony Martin (Black Sabbath) and a whole list of other artists, this is the first solo album by Veronica Freeman, frontwoman of heavy metalband Benedictum.
Saga is a Canadian rock band that has been around for some forty years or so, who over that period have released 21 studio albums if I’m correct. It is however not one of my preferred bands, although they have some good songs.
Rob Moratti started his career in the nineties as lead vocalist and songwriter of the band Moratti. Around the millennium he teamed up with songwriet Mladen and they formed Final Frontier. In 2008 he became the singer in famous Canadian rockband Saga.
Being a fan of Journey himself, he decided it was time to bring a tribute to them, so he recorded these 12 songs. Among them some of my all time Journey favorites like ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ or ‘Anyway You Want It.
Just like another band I’ve recently revied, Full Devil Jacket this band, Pyogenesis has taken over a decade to release new material. And just like FDJ and even more so, this is a band I’d never heard of before.
Having checked up on this band, I found out this band was founded in 1991 in Stuttgart, and that they were in some sort the founders of the Gothic Metal Genre.
This iis already the sixth studio album from this German band that was created in 2003 by brothers Charles and Matthew Greywolf. It took them a while to complete the line-up of the band, but in the end they found the perfect key-stone in the person of Romanian Attila Dorn, who became their vocalist.
And, while I knew the band existed, I had never felt the urge to listen to one of their albums, thinking it would be the umpteenth German metal band. But I now have to admit I made a big mistake.
