VALBORG - CROWN OF SORROW (2010)

genre : avant-garde/gothic/psychedelic black

similar bands : Bergraven, Angst Skvadron, Virus, Oranssi Pazuzu, Code
origin : Germany
strong spot : originality, clean vocals
weak spot : hmmm...

Fine and bizarre+intriguing+different black metal. If the minimalistic approach to black metal is not your cup of tea, stay away...

7,5 out of 10 goatheads

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ADOR DORATH - BESTIARI (2008)

genre : atmospheric/melodic death

similar bands : Kalmah, Ram-Zet, Vesania
origin : Czech Republic
strong spot : songwriting

weak spot : ''I've heard it before'' syndrome, production is weak

This is an interesting album that comes from Czech republic. I really hate female vocals in extreme metal (aren't they cheesy as hell??) but the combination of BM screams and female clean vocals works fine here. The rest of the details are available upon download.

8,7 out of 10 goatheads

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DUSTYNATION - ECHOING LULLABIES (2010)

genre : progressive/melodic death

similar bands : Opeth, In Mourning, Daylight Dies
origin : Greece
strong spot : songwriting, performance

weak spot : no obvious weak spot

This is a Greek band but surprisingly these guys don't play black metal. On the contrary, ''Echoing Lullabies'' is an album full of progressive and melancholic mid-tempo death metal compositions. They are more melancholic than Opeth and more progressive than Daylight Dies or In Mourning. The mixing and mastering took place in Abyss studios (Sweden) and what I really liked is the emphasis that was put on the bass which the listener can hear very clearly ( the performance of the bassist gives an extra flavour to the tracks). Overall, a very nice and mature album.

8,8 out of 10 goatheads

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BITTER FROST - BITTER FROST (2010)

genre : neo-classical, melodic black metal

similar bands : Keep of Kalessin, Solefald
origin : USA
strong spot : ''frozen landscapes'' atmosphere

weak spot : only few of the tracks push the limits while the rest are more or less conventional

I really enjoyed this album. The band plays more or less typical northern BM with a symphonic(neo-classical according to the band) touch. The combination of the dark or atonal melodies and the raw (sometimes messy) production works fine and occasionally sounds a little bit avant-garde. Even though the band's origin is misleading, the main guy behind this band is Scandinavian (Christopher Erikson) as his name implies.

8 out of 10 goatheads

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KEEP OF KALESSIN - REPTILIAN (2010)

genre : epic thrash/black metal

similar bands : Dissection, Naglfar, Iskald, Emperor
origin : Norway
strong spot : originality, compositions, incredible performance

weak spot : read short review below

Keep of Kalessin released the colossal ''Kolossus'' almost two years ago and it suddenly became one my favourite black metal albums ever. You can imagine that my expectations for ''Reptilian'' were really very very high. I cannot say I was disappointed, ''Reptilian'' has some awesome tracks (''The awakening'',''Reptilian Majesty'' ''The Divine Land'' etc) but it also has some ''hmm, this is ok'' tracks. I am not talking about fillers or mediocre tracks, Keep of Kalessin are not able to write a bad track... To be honest I expected an album full of tracks like ''The Awakening''( this would be the perfect album) but even so ''Reptilian'' is still a brilliant album that will definitely help the band reach a larger audience. If you liked ''Kolossus'', go for it!

9 out of 10 goatheads

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