Electric Moon: "Flaming Lake"

Putting the 'space' in space rock

When dealing with albums from Sulatron Records, you know there's always a pretty good chance that it'll be some real top shelf fuzz-tastic psychedelia. Though Electric Moon is still a relatively new band - they formed in 2009 - they were quick to find their sound and, by extension, their niche in the global music scene.

Swamp Witch: "Gnosis"

The soundtrack to your worst nightmare

Every so often a band will emerge with little to no warning and simply floor you with its sonic output. One such band is Swamp Witch, with their 2011 EP Gnosis, which forcibly injects tainted acid into the veins of the listener and sends them on a journey of murkey, distorted psychedelia.

AK-11: "Legendary, Demonic & Invincible"

Northern blasts of black metal warfare

Black is traditionally stripped down to the bare necessities of extremity, but this goes especially for AK-11, a self-proclaimed "triumphant black war metal" band from 2011. The project, fronted by - at the time - sole member Valak, never lets a breath go to waste with no effort spilled on fancy solos, lofty orchestrations or overly complex compositions.

Trou Noir: "Echoes in Black Holes"

Uninspired voyage into deep space

With members from Russia and France, Trou Noir is a project made possible by the great invention of the internet. In mid 2011 the international collaboration released their debut, the demo tape Echoes in Black Holes through Eerie Torture. Between them, the three members have released dozens of demos, EPs, splits and albums through different outlets, so in that regard these fellows are seasoned in the dark arts of black metal.

Six in Line: "U Shud Hev Invtd Me"

A bit too fun without too much thought about substance

Metal doesn't have to be serious business all the time, but it helps when the music doesn't have to be held up by a gimmick like comedy and humour. Seriousness about your craft and ideals can often be misinterpreted as self-importance and arrogance, or come off as goofy. Most comedic bands, however, are too caught up in their own inside-jokes to worry about the actual quality of their music. Everything in moderation.

Nordland: "Nordland"

A welcome addition to the black metal roster

Vorh, a resident of North East England, has with his project Nordland joined the forces of one-man black metal bands. Since the early days, bands like Burzum, Satanic Warmaster and Xasthur have proven that the basic concept isn't necessarily a stillborn attempt at the genre. A plethora of singular individuals have sought to mimic the success of the few; most have failed. But with the eponymous debut, Nordland from the UK is a strong contender among legends.

Black Chalice: "Prayers for Our Lord and Saviour"

Perhaps a bit too esoterical for its own good

Today we revisit Patrick Hasson's Black Chalice. The last review - of the Black Chalice 2011 demo Years of Flame - yielded a 6/10 score, and now the time has come to get acquainted with the Maine one-man project's debut demo, Prayers for Our Lord and Saviour - Unleashed upon mainkind earlier in 2011. As mentioned in earlier reviews, Hasson is a busy man, also being involved in the black metal outing Auspicium.

Prajna: "Lost in the Void"

South-American crowd pleaser, strong in attitude but thin in essence

Reviewing lesser known bands from all over the world can reveal huge talent yet unknown to the masses, but first and foremost there's a lot of surprise to be had. With Prajna from Colombia it's hard to tell what to expect just from the name and cover, but in essence it is a band whose efforts wallow in several 80s heavy metal currents, lending speed and power from bands like Helloween, Fates Warning, Anthrax and more.

Defilementory: "Infatuated with Deformity"

Two bass-driven death metal monstrosities

Defilementory is a band that has been lurking in the shadows of the Danish death metal scene only for a little while. While their 2010 EP Gory Defilement resulted only in a limited following, their 2011 demo Infatuated with Deformity is a bold statement on the state of brutal death metal. When I saw them warming up, along with Castrensis - another great Danish brutal death metal band, for Putrid Pile in Copenhagen they stood out as a talented bunch. The Danish quartet have a very precise way of conveying every delicate little detail within their music, even if it seems weird using a term like 'delicate' with this type of music.

Brain Famine: "Brain Famine"

Grindsploitation from the States, ready to fight

Grindcore, mostly too harsh for the masses, is a genre that on its own can be quite devastating, but combined with death metal, thrash metal - or both - is an even more lethal setup. Proven time and time again by bands like Frightmare and Ghoul, among many others, Brain Famine from Massachusetts, USA, take up the mantle of mosh-friendly grind with gusto and abrasive enthusiasm.

Garoted: "Evil Personified"

Strong death metal performance

Whether you enjoy your death metal at a high or low pace, there's bound to always be hordes of bands to satisfy your needs. If breakneck speeds are what gets you off, look no further than Garoted from Nebraska, USA, to fill your appetite. This band does not waste time building atmosphere, and even if crazy speeds and demented blast beats are what dominate their music most of their tracks exceed five minutes in length. The hallmark growled vocals, grisly riffs and ripping drums are all present to form an explosion of old school death metal on the Evil Personified EP.

Grenouer: "Computer Crime"

Is it rock or is it metal?

With the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has become a bigger and bigger part of the international music scene. In heavy metal, Russia has fathered several prominent slamming brutal death metal bands like Abominable Putridity, Katalepsy and Abnormity, but the band in question - Grenouer - doesn't quite fall under that classification.

Seeds of Iblis: "Jihad Against Islam"

Moderately good black metal with radical lyrics

It goes without saying that Islam, its believers and the Middle East and Arabic world are touchy subjects. Nevertheless the band Seeds of Iblis, supposedly hailing from Iraq, touches upon subjects that are highly blasphemic and Islam-critical. The band is surrounded with a great deal of mystery, with next to nothing about their history and members being completely certain.

The Blame: "Born"

Groove-laden and hard-hitting collection of compelling metal

The Blame is a Turkish metal band formed in 2006. They're about as straight forward as that introduction, and for a band that has only released a short demo prior to this album they've really got a hold of songwriting. Born from 2011 is by any definition a heavy and groove-laden album soaked in powerful electrical currents that come together in one big explosion of varied and compelling metal.

Dark Entropy: "Demo"

The winds of change are blowing, but in the opposite direction of Dark Entropy

You can usually liken revivalist bands to a few bands that they're definitely taking inspiration from. Suicidal Angels, as an example, sounds a lot like Slayer, while Trench Hell is more akin to early Celtic Frost. But with Dark Entropy there aren't any obvious inspirations, and as such their sound is more modern in tone, distancing themselves from the wave of retro-thrash that has been going on for a while.

Total Desaster: "Warfare Noise"

For when you need your own musical confidence bolstered

When Desaster aren't gruesome enough, there's always Colombia's trio Total Desaster to fulfill your needs. Presumably they took their name from the song by Teutonic thrash titans Destruction, but that's where the similarities end. The Colombian band point to an old kinship between thrash and black metal, a combination that was highly popular in the 80s in South America, for inspiration.

Snaegr: "The Hordes of Chaos"

Never above or below decent

Swedish death metal is arguably one of the most iconic branches of extreme metal with its buzzing chainsaw guitar sound, churning riffs, menacing atmosphere and filthy production. You can usually tell if a death metal band is Swedish miles away, and Snaegr are no different with their third demo The Hordes of Chaos.

Stillborn: "Los Asesinos del Sur"

Hitting a homerun but falling short on the long track

Poland isn't as poor in metal bands as one would think. Apart from the obvious bands like Behemoth and Vader, the eastern European country is also host to a healthy scene of lesser known death metal bands of a genuinely high quality. Stillborn borrows several elements from black metal, leaning heavily towards an early South American sound, albeit a variant more under control.

Countess: "On Wings of Defiance"

Anti-cultural assault of epic proportions

There are bands that, no matter what you do, just don't sit right with you. Then there are bands so obnoxiously awful that you have no idea why they've continued for so long or why, in fact, they even have fans. I may not be the biggest fan of The Beatles, but I can see why most find their easy-going style appealing. What I can't see is why anyone gives a hoot about Countess, a Dutch black metal band that has at the point of release of "On Wings of Defiance" steadily been releasing albums for almost twenty years.

Wendess: "Nuée Noire"

Immersing themselves in the shadows cast by their predecessors the band emerges victorious

The branch of black metal that usually deals in plus ten minutes tracks, long stretches of highly distorted tremolo riffs, reverbed vocals and monotonous drumming is in some circles frowned upon as an "easy" modus operandi in terms of songwriting. Some bands make it work, and some don't.