In these corrupt times we live in, some bands have to take a stand, it's happened throughout history and with this compilation, Dødsferd compile older songs, newer songs and covers all of which pay homage to fighting corruption and tyranny. Wrath, the driving force of Dødsferd, barks out all of these tracks with his vicious delivery and even throws some guitar into the mix too, as Neptunus is the bass beast and the rest of the songs have a mixture of Dødsferd members from last and present.
So to the songs, there's two Turbonegro covers tracks here, especially recorded as tribute to Hank Von Helvete and that glam/punk/metal style translates really well into black metal, as do all of the covers to be honest at showcasing that link strong link between black metal and punk. Other covers include We Are The 138 by Misfits, Bite It, You Scum by G.G Allin, Braincell Battle by Anti Cimex, and Iron Fist by Motorhead, all bands who rally against tyranny and the status quo, some of music's great mavericks who have inspired Wrath and Dødsferd as a whole.
It's not all covers though as there's some Dødsferd deep cuts here from their earlier release that recent fans may not be familiar with, they have some re-recorded moments to them which will make them appeal to long time fans as they're interpretations of classic songs.
It's not all covers though as there's some Dødsferd deep cuts here from their earlier release that recent fans may not be familiar with, they have some re-recorded moments to them which will make them appeal to long time fans as they're interpretations of classic songs.
Purification Forms puts inspirations with originals together into a record that shows the foundations this Greek metal institution are built on. 8/10
Temple Of Katharsis - Worshipers Of The Ancient Necromancy (Theogonia Records)
After praising their debut Macabre Ritual back in 2023 it's time to enter the heretical world of Temple Of Katharsis again for more odes to the dark lord himself.
Temple Of Katharsis - Worshipers Of The Ancient Necromancy (Theogonia Records)
After praising their debut Macabre Ritual back in 2023 it's time to enter the heretical world of Temple Of Katharsis again for more odes to the dark lord himself.
Blending the Hellenic and Scandinavian black metal traditions, band founder Hellmaster 666 (bass/vocals) takes his band further down into the depths of darkness with album number two. Ripe with the stench of death, the horrors of war and in praise of Satan, album number two continues where the debut began, emerging from the underground scene as full throttle force but turns up the fires of hell to burn any believer's of the Judeo-Christian dogma.
In the accompanying information it's claimed that this record contains "necromantic sorcery and occult fire" and begins with a lovely bit of raw tremolo picking as an instrumental that leads into the the ferocious Season Of The Blood, the basslines of Hellmaster 666 just as grizzled as his vocals.
In the accompanying information it's claimed that this record contains "necromantic sorcery and occult fire" and begins with a lovely bit of raw tremolo picking as an instrumental that leads into the the ferocious Season Of The Blood, the basslines of Hellmaster 666 just as grizzled as his vocals.
It gets speedier with Celebrating The Coronation Of Grand Evil, guitarists Zeratul and Souleater trading off riffs and solos, as L-Drac is almost unstoppable behind the drums on the black metal tornado of Tainaro which comes out of the Scandi influence as The Darkness Which Swallows The Dawn owes a lot to Rotting Christ and Varathon in it's chugging middle section.
I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Temple Of Katharsis as they're from Kastoria which is where my wife Mrs Musipedia Of Metal is from, but if you're a black metal lover you'll definitely be inducted into their cult with this second album. 8/10
Conatus - Fractured Radiance (Self Released)
Another one man outfit but this one feels a bit more au-naturel. Well at least the vocals are real anyway. E.K is the only member of Conatus, playing, composing and performing everything as well as co-producing alongside David Prudent.
Fracture Radiance is a four track EP consisting of four cuts that are between seven and a half minutes and thirteen and a half minutes long and deal with the exploration of the human psyche as they put it "delving into the complexities of existence and the emotional turmoil that often accompanies our journey through life".
This journey through conflict and oblivion is soundtracked by blackened post metal that draws from Ghost Bath, Heretoir and Harakiri From The Sky. Each brooding atmospheric moment of post metal dissonance, segues into incandescent black metal rage or slow moving doom crush shows that E.K is out to impress on the debut record from the Conatus project. 7/10
InfuseR - A Tale Of Tales (Self Released)
InfuseR is the name of a project and a man, the man is Manos Psarros who is a devout follower of the works of Tolkien and the project is his way of paying homage to the epic storytelling and world building that Tolkien is famed for.
There aren't that many writers who manage to transcend the written word or who inspired so many heavy metal bands. The works of Tolkien, are very well covered in the metalsphere, but more so in the world of symphonic and power metal.
So InfuseR, the man has created InfuseR, the band, to write yet more symphonic/power metal music that takes from Tolkien, so how is it? Well musically I have no issues with it, Psarros does most of the work here playing or programming everything from guitars and keys to horns and orchestrations, he also produces, mixes and masters the record.
He's joined by a few special guest guitarists to play the solos on the record but there is quite massive elephant in the room on this album, something that I wholeheartedly disagree with if I'm honest. He has two singers, Afroditi T. from Empty Mirror doing the female cleans and Ilias "BlackBones" Zounis of Moral Corruption doing screams and growls.
However there's also male cleans on this record and it's only if you read the information supporting it you realise that these male vocals are actually Afroditi's voice manipulated using an A.I software called Moises. Chryssa Kleanthi who narrates the album also has her voice processed through the same A.I. voice studio.
I can't get behind this, it's pointless in my estimation, there are plenty of vocalists out there who would have fit the project. Now of course being basically a solo project some of you may be shouting, well a lot of the instruments will be from computer software etc, loads of bands do that.
Yes that's true but my issue is the processing changing female to male vocals, you have two perfectly good singers, and plenty of bands have the clean female/harsh male approach so just stick with that. Unfortunately this has really irked me and no matter how good the music is I can't stop thinking about how much of this is actually authentic. 5/10
I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Temple Of Katharsis as they're from Kastoria which is where my wife Mrs Musipedia Of Metal is from, but if you're a black metal lover you'll definitely be inducted into their cult with this second album. 8/10
Conatus - Fractured Radiance (Self Released)
Another one man outfit but this one feels a bit more au-naturel. Well at least the vocals are real anyway. E.K is the only member of Conatus, playing, composing and performing everything as well as co-producing alongside David Prudent.
Fracture Radiance is a four track EP consisting of four cuts that are between seven and a half minutes and thirteen and a half minutes long and deal with the exploration of the human psyche as they put it "delving into the complexities of existence and the emotional turmoil that often accompanies our journey through life".
This journey through conflict and oblivion is soundtracked by blackened post metal that draws from Ghost Bath, Heretoir and Harakiri From The Sky. Each brooding atmospheric moment of post metal dissonance, segues into incandescent black metal rage or slow moving doom crush shows that E.K is out to impress on the debut record from the Conatus project. 7/10
InfuseR - A Tale Of Tales (Self Released)
InfuseR is the name of a project and a man, the man is Manos Psarros who is a devout follower of the works of Tolkien and the project is his way of paying homage to the epic storytelling and world building that Tolkien is famed for.
There aren't that many writers who manage to transcend the written word or who inspired so many heavy metal bands. The works of Tolkien, are very well covered in the metalsphere, but more so in the world of symphonic and power metal.
So InfuseR, the man has created InfuseR, the band, to write yet more symphonic/power metal music that takes from Tolkien, so how is it? Well musically I have no issues with it, Psarros does most of the work here playing or programming everything from guitars and keys to horns and orchestrations, he also produces, mixes and masters the record.
He's joined by a few special guest guitarists to play the solos on the record but there is quite massive elephant in the room on this album, something that I wholeheartedly disagree with if I'm honest. He has two singers, Afroditi T. from Empty Mirror doing the female cleans and Ilias "BlackBones" Zounis of Moral Corruption doing screams and growls.
However there's also male cleans on this record and it's only if you read the information supporting it you realise that these male vocals are actually Afroditi's voice manipulated using an A.I software called Moises. Chryssa Kleanthi who narrates the album also has her voice processed through the same A.I. voice studio.
I can't get behind this, it's pointless in my estimation, there are plenty of vocalists out there who would have fit the project. Now of course being basically a solo project some of you may be shouting, well a lot of the instruments will be from computer software etc, loads of bands do that.
Yes that's true but my issue is the processing changing female to male vocals, you have two perfectly good singers, and plenty of bands have the clean female/harsh male approach so just stick with that. Unfortunately this has really irked me and no matter how good the music is I can't stop thinking about how much of this is actually authentic. 5/10
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