NETHERBIRD

'Monument Black Colossal'

SCARECROW

Swedish Melodic Black Metal quintet Netherbird seek only the darkest realms of hell with their latest release 'Monument Black Colossal', whilst eradicating all silence surrounding the stereo's of the listener in terms of emitting solid and slick music combined with extremely raspy Black Metal vocals, a sort of amalgination of 'darkness' and 'grit', because in all seriousness Netherbird know what is going on, they know how to play it yet whilst playing it they know how to bend the music in the direction so many know them by, it would not take any genius to really recognise the true force exerted from this band, at all costs. From the coldest corners of Swedish Lapland to the darkest depth's of Black Metal, the five Swede's know what is going for them and what is not, and truth is, this release is very much likely to be in the top 20 Black Metal releases of 2010, it is one of those monumentous albums, a sheer composition of extreme adaquity based upon the darkened lands of their home town, Jönköping. May we hear the echoes of the 'Monument Black Colossal' sound around.

[7/10] RHYS STEVENSON

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DUNKELNACHT

'Atheist Dezekration'

M & O MUSIC

French Ambient Black Metallers Dunkelnacht see their five year career take a turn for the best with their debut release 'Athesit Dezekration' now in full flight under M&O Music. Punishing blastbeats, synchronous guitars and a hellish voice emitt from this French trio, even so insane guitar playing is imminent with many techniques and tricks installed on this album, it's a wonder why they didnt entitle the album 'Hearing Dezekration', for this record not only has sonic sounds to it but a sense of total annihilation, which until now was totally stuck in the shadows and so to speak was tied down and was waiting for a saviour to release its bottled up darkened filth, henceforth came galliantly three Frenchman to unleash the beast '666', but in no way is the band Satanic, rather Atheist and Anti-Abrahamic. If this was a meal, it would be a full English breakfast, it's enough to fill your ears with satisfaction up until lunchtime and with a top length of forty-four minutes, it concludes as potentially one of France's best Black Metal debut's of all time, watch out there's a new band operating the guillotine, who is first?

[6.5/10] RHYS STEVENSON

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MONARQUE

'Blasphèmes Et Cultes Morbides'

EWIGES EIS

Québécois (Quebecker) one man project Monarque released it's sophomore compilation album 'Blasphèmes Et Cultes Morbides' this year and with it comes a reckoning force of Raw Black Metal, raw because of it's low production sound and echoing vocals making it sound like as if the music was played down a very long hall, somewhat an ambience feel some may say, although if truth be known you could call it more than two genres at a time and it still would not be suffice, although it features the same beat that metalheads would expect from Mayhem, Darkthrone, etc. It make's it very much like a joking genre, per se 'True Canadian Black Metal'. Beside the genre itself, it is very ambient in it's approach and somewhat is straddled between Atmospheric, Ambient and Depressive Black Metal, so for argument's sake it is just Black Metal with those types of influences, a somewhat essential part to the genre is to generate an atmosphere as it is this that carries the music further than first heard and so in conclusion, it has a good basis but the tracks seem to lean slightly monotonous and therefore leaving a bad outcome, not one of the best but certainly one to listen to periodically.

[5/10] RHYS STEVENSON

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HARKONIN

'Detest'

BATTLEGOD PRODS.

Missouri's Blackened Thrashers Harkonin return with their latest offering to the masses which is entitled 'Detest' and also is a lengthy one hour and five minutes long even with one track clocking over 10 minutes, that is insane, what also is insane is the quality of music, it is as if your in the studio with them listening to them record the album, and yet whilst you hear them perform blistering-paced Thrash Metal along with deep and guttural Black Metal, the band combine the two genres in harmony in respect of their prolific discography they have accumilated, one demo, one live album and this being their fourth full length album results in them becoming one of the USA's hottest underground act as such, not just because the average metalhead may not have heard of them, but don't they say 'the underground is where everything else came from?', Harkonin is no exception and with that in mind they deliver a mind-blowing performance, they think it is all over, it is now... for now, until next time.

[7/10] RHYS STEVENSON