1349 - Massive Cauldron Of Chaos (2014)

1349 was when the year the Black Death arrived to Norway, wiping out 2/3 of the population and ending the Golden Age of Norway.
1349 rose from the ashes of "Alvheim" in 1997, with Ravn (vocals, drums), Tjalve (guitars) and Seidemann (bass), as well as Balfori (guitars). Ravn and Seidemann played in "Hofdingi Myrkra" which started in 1994 before becoming "Alvheim".
Numbering of tracks in all releases of 1349 since 2003 starts from 11 instead of 01...yeah i know...weird shit indeed.

For many people this band sounds exactly as Satyricon´s lost sound after Nemesis Divina...for me they do have that norwegian sound that is so unique in black metal...and specially in this album it is a trademark indeed in each track you hear...those grim hellish vocals from Ravn are quite distinctive...but i understand on how people mention this satyricon comparison...but that is not fair for any band...both are good on their own.

Massive Cauldron Of Chaos is a great album...no bullshit no intros...straight to the point as it should be in this black metal style they have since their first album "Liberation". this album is really good..it took me by surprise how good it is since the single didnt cheer me up that much...but the whole album is something else...it worked fine and also its variety besides the traditional blast beats...it has some rythmic sections that actually changes how the flow of the album should be...and thats the beauty of it...bacause even though it is raw crude and fast...also knows when to pause and ease the flow of its rage and fury...its like you have the control of it...cause even those eerie guitar solos are perfectly fitted in...the tracks are enriched with all those elements making song by song a journey by itself.

Totally recommended for black metal fans who are looking for class act materials.

Enjoy!

Ayreon - The Theory of Everything (2013

Country: Netherlands
Genre: Progressive Metal/Heavy

Arjen Anthony Lucassen is a well-known multi-instrumentalist from the Netherlands. He's been involved in many projects (which end up being almost solo projects) such as A.A. Lucassen, Star One and Ayreon, just to name a few. In overall, he holds more than 25 albums under his belt. He is just one of these geniuses that produce music throughout all of their lives and get little or no credit for achieving such levels of artistic proficiency. Actually, sometimes I feel very bad about him because he should be enjoying the fame of anyone in the big (commercial) leagues. Maybe that's not what he is looking for. Enough from this.
About the record. This record seems like a very defined and obsessive idea that one day came into AAL's mind and was written, executed and recorded just the way he imagined it. It has all this small details which sound like a symphony, like music you hear in your dreams and then wake up and say: "I was literally composing the music!". Too bad because most of us won't remember almost anything or will have the capacity to write any of the notes. But AAL was able to put all these pieces together, write it in a "rondo" fashion (think of Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, "The Emperor") and invite some friends to sing and sound exactly as he had in mind. The vocal arrangements are truly my favourites here, the metal genre has great vocalists but not great vocal composers, and AAL is certainly one who stands out of the crowd. If you have an eclectic musical taste, like some art rock combined with metal and can stand the fact that the whole recording is the pulsating ego of AAL, this record is for you. Not everyday you get beautiful music like this, give it a try.

ngx981

Download:
http://goo.gl/oXmhW7

VA - Jazz & Blues The Best Collection Songs For The Soul (3CD) (2012)

For all the fans of jazz and blues...this is a compilation that will suffice your needs...specially because of the names this 3cd compilation has...i enjoyed it back in 2013 when i found it...and quite frankly it helped me a lot to discover a musical genre that i have abandoned for years...jazz. you see...when we get into metal...most of our day is joined by our favorite songs and our own playlists that we make to get up and boosted depending on how the day develops...but there is something left to be fulfilled...and this is when this genres come into mind. a moment of peace during a break...or even enjoying your lunch...whatever the reason it is...this is a great companion for those moments when all you need is to relax. so...i recommend that you pick at least one cd to be in your playlist...during those moments...and you will see how your mood will change and even get better...for the rest of the day.



Enjoy!!!


JZZBLS2014

Emeth - Aethyr (2014)

I dont know what surprises me the most...either that this band is so damn good and it already has 4 albums (being this one their most recent material) or...they are from Belgium...whatever the answer may be for my shocked brain...this album nails it! straight into your face riffs...some tempo changes acompanied for the classic chuggy guitars and an insane drumming...which makes me wonder that some drummers specifically in the tech brutal death subgenre they must have a metronome instead of a heart...amazing album overall...there's no waste in it...not even the final songs...that for some albums in this genre weakens the whole album concept or idea. but not this one...check it out...you wonr be dissapointed. Just a reminder...Emeth means truth in hebrew. truth for metal insanity.

Enjoy!


EMETH20114

Solerrain - Fighting The Illusions (2010)

Hailing from St. Petersburg...this melodic death metal band really knows how to do their job. back in 2010 when the melodeath scene was in a turmoil...several bands had risen from unexpected countries...and this is one of them. and album with so many influences...most of them scandinavian...but also a distinctive strength not that common nowadays...some critics called them the" children of bodom from moscow"...but they rejected that comparison in an interview and sent a warm message to the critic who said that by giving him the middle finger live in a metal show...ahh isnt that what metal is about? never the less it may sound a little bodom-esque...they are a little apart from that style...sounding even more death metal in some parts and even neoclassical in others as well.

an album for true melodeath fans...and for people who arent into melodeath...well...google the subgenre fisrt so you can even ger excited or dissapointed...and leave room for others that really want to listen to this.

Enjoy!


SLRRN2014

Obliteration - Black Death Horizon (2013)

Country: Norway
Genre: Black/Death Metal

Don't let yourself be fooled by the chaotic and undistinguishable cover art (the logo deserves the same adjectives) from the third full length by these Norwegians. It kicks off with "The Distant Sun", a very progressive track, slow and dense in the beginning, which effectively unleashes its power in a  energetic and neck-breaking mid-section. "Goat Skull Crown" hits you in second place, and waits no time providing a healthy dose of speedy black/death metal. I would like to comment on two musical elements, which also need to be praised in this effort: the vocals and the drums. Vocals sound so desperate and haunting, emotional at the same time. It's like the voice of someone escaping death, like someone begging for mercy from its victimiser. Another remarkable feature in the vocal department is a suitable mix: not too much on the foreground, not too much on the background, the listening experience is full and plentiful. I don't take for granted what some personalities say about some releases, because one can become incorrectly biased by compromised statements. However, before listening to this album I had the chance of reading what Fenriz, of Darkthrone-fame, had said about it. He said the record to be "organic", but this term has become so void and overused because in most of the so-called organic albums you just find that there's nothing really special about them. I was wrong and can tell you this is pretty much the first real "organic" sounding metal release that I have heard lately. Mics were probably used in a different way, but let me tell you, the drums have a primitive sound whilst the arrangements are tight and ugly-precise so you have this delightful final product which embodies both ugliness and beauty in a single artistic expression. I forgot to say that another of the important actors in this act is the sound of the bass. The bass has this rich and trebly metallic sound which fights and counteracts against the guitars. They don't provide the rhythmic foundations but instead, they continuously defy the guitars, like preventing them from becoming more important at any stage of the musical experience. In overall, this release should keep you full of ugly energy and wait for another Obliteration to be released in the future. I don't like to talk the future, but this band will be huge someday... Just saying.

ngx981

Download:

http://goo.gl/lC2I8A

Volbeat Discography

Formed in 2001, this band is quite hard to label...for instance...since their first album...they had this distinctive sound between hard rock, good old groove, a little rockabilly, and even some western spaghetti music...a whole other concept that broke all the conventionalisms in music...refreshing it with his originality.
i met them back un 2008 when a friend of mine told me that i should check this band...3 days before christmas...and man...at the beginning i was...wtf is this? johnny cash meets hard rock?...and actually put the album aside...months went by...and then my friend who was already a fan...he showed me their latest album "beyond hell/above heaven"...and woow...it was really good...still they had that unique touch which i didnt like...but i really dont know what happened but i enjoyed it...since that day i became a fan...this danish fellas really know how to make great music...and also to innovate in a almost saturated scene...we need more bands like them...otherwise...we may see in the future more copies of Volbeat...and that will suck indeed.


Enjoy!!!



VLBT2014