Vampyric Winter are hailing from Spain, formed in 2021 and being relatively new band in the scene, but members played and are playing in many other bands and projects. This is their second full length. What to expect here? There are seven songs on this opus and the music is mainly raw black metal played with lots of blast beats but also some atmospheric mid tempo parts reminding me a lot of nineties black metal being my favorite bm period. The guitar deliver melancholic melodies and aggression at the same time and vocals are not typical bm screaming, rather growling and if you are into this music you will understand a lot what is being sung about. Lyrics are in English and deal with vampirism, darkness and death. My personal favorites are A Gift Of True Suffering(The Death Is Complete) and also Thy Unholy Presence. This record makes you feel like you stand at the ruins of the castle on the hill on windy night with some presence watching you. Melancholy plus aggression equals great black metal.
Having grown up in the nineties, I never dug this newer technical skate punk and melodic hardcore with so many metallic influences, progressive and technical song parts, but UK veterans DARKO were one of the first bands that made me listen to more of the genre and started to love it. Well, this one has been out for couple of months but, no matter UK melodic technical hardcore veterans deliver four songs on this one. What to say? I have a feeling, after this record finished, like I listened to one epic song and by that I don’t mean it like it is a bad thing. From long epic The Ladder, to gentle atmospheric opening of Quite this is a lesson in technical, fast yet mathematically tightly played hardcore punk. New vocalist only added more energy to the band and brought fresh force to this well oiled machine. I recommend you to go check out one of the Darko’s shows if you are near, they will melt your face off with well played epic melodic hardcore/technical skate punk.
Here is nice little split e.p. release with four songs. Lifecrusher are coming from Switzerland and their two songs represented here are similar to what we called new school hardcore back in the nineties, meaning metallic guitar riffs and moshing parts, plus some punk rock influence thrown in here and there. Their two songs ‘The Price’ and ‘The Plague’ – I love this one more, because it is faster but that is only my taste, reminded me a bit of Earth Crisis. Maybe it is only me. Singer Rami has really powerful screaming energetic voice. Nice having discovered this band. Frantic State are from UK and their two songs ‘The Cost’ and ‘Mantra’ are brutal hardcore, with lots of metallic street core style, in your face hardcore not unlike Walls Of Jericho, Terror, Jesus Piece and some other UK bands like Knuckledust for example. Vocals are screamed at the top of the lungs with some nice backing gang vocals just made for singing along at gigs. My personal taste likes Lifecrusher a bit more, but this is a decent split e.p. so go get yours.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 