Stromptha: "Necronirisme"

Embers burning beneath heaps of snow

There is undoubtedly some interest to be garnered just from being from a place as unusual as Greenland, and true, that was the very reason I sought them out. But Greenland with its vast vistas of nothing but ice, snow and barren rock should be as likely a place for cold hearted metal as any! Even so, the question remains if the compositions and execution stands on its own.

Fetid Zombie: "Grotesque Creation"

Grave concerns for the future of one of death metal's most prominent artists

Mark Riddick is by most considered a stable in black and death metal artwork, having made logos and artwork for more bands that you could count. His visual output is iconic and appalling in its stark white-on-black style, and while his main musical project Fetid Zombie has had a steady output since its inception - much like his drawings - the quality of which has shown to be of a quality more varying than his other endeavours.

Urðun: "Horror and Gore"

Stupefyingly rotten and delinquent death metal from the island of black metal

These days Iceland is primarily known for their export of fantastic, naturalistic black metal, and with good reason. But apart from its glorious nature and vast black metal scene, the beautiful island also has a serving of horror and gore-laden death metal on offer.

"Logos from Hell" by Mark Riddick

A high quality celebration of the rich history of metal logos

When you're met with the morbidly beautiful black and white drawings of various assortments of devils, demons, snakes and goats by Daniel Corcuera on the cover and a dripping, gothic logotype spelling out "Logos from Hell" you should know what to expect. But as they say, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

Intrinsic: "Nails"

Back from the dead, American power-thrash act Intrinsic finally release their original sophomore album

Connoisseurs of all American power-thrash may recall a certain Californian outfit from back in the day known as Intrinsic. After the release of their eponymous debut in 1987, and the Distortion of Perspective EP from 1990, the group found that the industry had shifted toward a more mainstream, groove oriented sound - A sound that their sophomore album, to be called Nails, did not fit. The Nails album was shelved until 2014 when Divebomb Records agreed to finally release the forgotten gem.

The Souljazz Orchestra: "Resistance"

Warm tunes from the cold north

Afrobeat, as the style is so affectionately called, has really been gaining speed these last few years. Not only that, but the overall quality of the groups is also at an exceptionally high level. Having released a steady stream of retro keyboards and daring brass since 2005, The Souljazz Orchestra from Canada aren't exactly newcomers to the international afrobeat dancefloor. Their style revels in a luscious spread of genres rooted in jazz, Resistance being their latest majestic offering of engaging rhythms.

Nicola Cruz: "Prender El Alma"

The ethnotronic El Dorado the world has been waiting for

Ecuadorian musician Nicola Cruz' musical upbringing in both Western and traditional folkloric tunes serves him very well on his first full length record, Prender El Alma. Though he started out as a percussionist before becoming the electronic music producer and DJ that he is today, his music is still tightly bound to flexible rhythmics. Cruz testified that his ambition for the album was to be a direct result of his many years of musical exploration, and in that I would say he succeeds.

Disco Rundown: Blind Guardian

Blind Guardian - A Tale of Power and Speed

Evolving from the speed metal band Lucifer's Heritage in 1986, Blind Guardian have been turning heads on the international power metal scene ever since. With ten full length albums and a slew of other releases in their back catalogue, by 2015 they're a heavy metal mainstay. Almost universally acclaimed, every album shows a band still ready for more with fresh ideas and hard-hitting compositions.

Den Sorte Skole: "Indians & Cowboys"

Den Sorte Skole stand out through the complete dedication to their craft - This is REAL DJ'ing!

Every so often an act pops up that is so tenacious, different and well-crafted that you can do nothing more than stare in awe at what you've come across. Den Sorte Skole from Denmark are one such act, and though they've only been around in this incarnation since 2004, their legacy is already mindblowing. They started out as pioneers of Danish mash-up DJ'ing, captivating audiences with unlikely combinations, but ultimately evolved into the form we see before us today: The duo that sample their way through the history of music.

Cosmo Cocktail: "Cosmotronic Racing"

Oversaturated neon-nostalgia

Cosmo Cocktail's album comes courtesy of 30th Floor Records, a label dedicated to the synthwave genre. Though not a veteran per se, they were definitely one of the early movers within the scene to organize and release synthwave albums from independent artists. Cosmo Cocktail, based in Italy, prides himself on his use of hardware synths, sequencers and drum machines, and with good reason. With a morass of new artists emerging from the scene every day there's more than a few who rely solely on standardized VSTs and digital sequencer software, often resulting in an amateurish feel to otherwise groovy synths in a rude and entitled celebration of the fact that nowadays "anyone can make music".

Eero Koivistoinen Quartet: "Hati Hati"

Well-crafted jazz opus that speaks in colourful volumes of a great musical journey

Originally a student of music at both Sibelius Academy in Finland and Berklee College of Music in Boston, Eero Koivistoinen has remained a fixture in the Finnish jazz scene since the sixties, his first release being with the rock group Blues Section's first album of the same name in 1967. Since then the saxophonist has played with and composed for many musicians and band itterations. Already in 1972 did he enjoy international acclaim with his solo album "Wahoo!", but already as early as 1969 did his band at the time win the band competition at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival. His extensive discography, over thirty albums at the time of writing, explores several different genres and subgenres, although jazz has always been his mainstay.

Sammal: "Myrskyvaroitus"

Standing out with howling praise

A part of the struggle of participating in trends is standing out from the lot, and those that achieve this are ironically often those that give the trend the most unusual twist. The vast majority will suffer from being unimaginative and ordinary, which when done well may be a strength on its own. Often the boundary between blindly following a trend and expanding into new territory becomes blurred; At which point exactly does music go from simply paying tribute and drawing inspiration from something to discovering new areas to colonize? The Finnish band Sammal, who are with the release of Myrskyvaroitus now three releases into their journey, seem to be an example of this question.

Anna von Hausswolff: "The Miraculous"

Apocalyptic, gothic beauty

Anna Michaela Ebba Electra von Hausswolff, shortened to Anna von Hausswolff with good reason, has achieved quite the following with her music. The Swedish singer and songwriter has far exceeded her heritage as daughter of noted sound artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff, and her outings have seen her tour with acts like Lykke Li, Tindersticks and earned her well deserved comparisons to legends such as Kate Bush.

Hard Action: "Sinister Vibes"

Leather-rocking biker music with everything that entails

Everything about this band screams "we're one of those seventies hard n' heavy clones from Sweden that land somewhere in the midst of a circlejerk consisting of early Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Girlschool". The promo shots features sunglasses, denim, beards and a bandana. The cover presents wrecked guitar equipment and a stylish seventies design. Songtitles like Watch Me Burn, Cut to the Bone and Dead Dogs really does the trick. It's a sure thing, right? Well, no, not really.

Death Hawks: "Sun Future Moon"

Consistently ambitious and well-crafted nature-rock

The Finnish folk and rock scene has many gems hidden to the rest of the Western world. If you're not acquainted with the progressive grooves of Sammal, the ecclectic ramblings of Paavoharju or the laid back finesse of Riitaoja, all I've got to say is get going! One of the many surprising acts that the land of a thousand lakes has to offer is Death Hawks, a group which has been consistently releasing albums and touring Europe since 2010.

Gouge: "Beyond Death"

Dirty, roughed up death metal by the numbers and then some

Kolbotn, Norway, is perhaps best known for fathering Darkthrone. With Gouge, there's really no semblance to those legends, turning more towards an American style of thrashing, grinding, old schooling death metal in the dirtiest style imaginable.

Symphony X: "Underworld"

The gods of power-prog return with full force

Introducing Symphony X should almost be unnecessary. Symphony X have been a mainstay in both the progressive and the power metal scene for many years now, each album reaping heaps of great reviews and praise from critics and listeners alike. Their reach is far and wide, spanning neo-classical, progressive and groovy compositions. Fronted as always by the immensely talented Russell Allen, Underworld is an album that needs only a few listens to convince.

Electric Moon: "Theory of Mind"

A psychedelic, ever-transforming Rorschach-test

For those unfamiliar with Electric Moon, they're a German trio founded in 2009 by bassist and painter Komet Lulu, prominent Sulatron label boss, guitarist and acid-kraut practitioner Sula Bassana and drummer Pablo Carneval. Carneval was later replaced by Marcus Schnitzler. Though Sula has had a lengthy career in various psych bands, Electric Moon is the newest outlet for his ramblings. Electric Moon forms a unified front of modern and underground psychedelic bands together with the likes of Ufomammut, Yuri Gagarin, Øresund Space Collective and Baby Woodrose.