From Nicosia Reasoning Reflections' debut full length record is a "short sci-fi story about cycles of death and rebirth of the universe as viewed from the human perspective" Samsara is a progressive/technical death metal record that really reaches to some stratospheric highs as the tracks thunder with numerous time changes, fat breakdowns, fleet fingered guitar playing and heavy use of synths the album is bullet pointed by a three part Saṃsāra suite starting with the bass-driven opening of Explosion Sets The Canvas (Saṃsāra I), that sets the album off with a sound of modern Trivium. getting you ready for intriguing numbers like Inexorable Cognizance which has a maelstrom of brutal death metal riffage, guttural vocals but also some beautiful piano. The blistering Solar Breath and the choppy Oceans Of Clouds show some of the more of the clean vocals but still the intense prog metal style of the rest of the album. An absolute cornucopia of musical endeavour, Samsara is a journey that reaches heady heights it aims for Temporal Voyages brings some jazz jamming, as the album closes out with probably two of the most direct songs on the whole record; Symphonies of The Void (Saṃsāra II), Moksha (Saṃsāra III). There's real intelligence and brilliant music, this Cypriot band have produced a fantastic late addition to what has been an excellent year for music. 8/10
Dreamlord: Disciples Of War (No Remorse Records)
Dreamlord are a thrash metal band from Athens, Greece and they are a very old school prospect with pounding drums, riffs that get the headbanging and aggressive vocals. The band were formed in 1994 but their debut wasn't released until 2007, however this follow up has taken 12 years so was it worth the wait? Well it opens with the abusive one-two of the Slayer-like Out For Blood and the riff-fest of the title track which both gallop along at a fair pace before The 11th Hour brings more of a stomp and serves as great showcase for lead guitarist Yiannis Glykiotis who moves between Kirk Hammett melody and Jeff Hanneman frenzies as the track climaxes. There is a definite darker style of thrash on this record with nods to Kreator, Slayer and Megadeth as Babis Paleogeorgos (rhythm guitar), Christos Peveretos (bass) and Nikos Kousounis (drums) crank out the riffs, keeping things moving along at frenetic speed, while showcasing their mettle on the instrumental Act Of God. If you're a thrash fan then Dreamlord will satisfy a lot of your cravings, but it won't redefine the genre. 6/10
Oak: Lone (Transcending Obscurity Records)
Portuguese doom band Oak, like things slow, really bloody slow. Formed by Guilherme Henriques (vocals/guitars) and Pedro Soares (drums), the two of them combine to drag out some atmospheric doom metal that brings a feeling of hopelessness and despair to your listening experience, over the course for 4 tracks and nearly an hour Lone fills you with a sense of isolation and dread. The issue I have with this record is that nothing happens for minutes at a time, much of it is very repetitive, which I understand is the point to build a haunting atmosphere but it does make the attention wander, unless you're totally committed to this style. Putting the two longest songs one after another does mean that it gets to be a struggle after the first two songs on the album, a shame but I really didn't enjoy this album because it does become too tedious. 4/10
Uncle Woe: Our Unworn Limbs (Self Released)
Uncle Woe are Canadian sludge band ramp up the psych, with psychotropic effects in force from the opening grizzled, fuzzy chords. The majority of the record is instrumental, with the guitars, bass and drums doing most of the work here the vocals drifting in and out on the first two tracks though on Mania For Breaking has the cleanest vocal on the whole album. To be honest I drifted in and out of this album as with a lot of sludge it can be a bit samey and a bit slow too. Still if sludge is your bag you'll find much to admire on Our Unworn Limbs. 5/10
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