Italian underground extreme metal scene is strong and Ulfhednar are hailing from Rome, Lazio and this is their second full length opus. What to expect here? Well, there are intro plus eight songs on this one. The music is basically melodic, epic black metal but with lots of death metal and even some thrash metal influences, sounding fresh and modern yet at the same time nodding head to the old masters of the genre. Vocals are cool, from black metal screeching to death metal growling, depending on the vibe in the song and main guitar melodies are such epic work, transgressing into thrash aggression and staccato of drums, evolving into more atmospheric visions of the songs. Lyrics are about inner demons and dealing with it. I would love to hear this band play live because I am sure this material sounds just fantastic live. My personal favorites are: Punto Omega, Famelica Brama and Ora Oscura.
A Dance in Yellow is a one man band or project if you want, hailing from Germany. This opus is the second full length and it contains intro and outro plus nine more stories told as songs. The music of A Dance in Yellow is basically melodic death black metal with lost of prog metal influences here and there and impressive musicianship, especially guitar work and vocals which range from death metal growling to black metal extreme singing and screeching, also some almost gothic singing I can hear in some song parts. Lyrical side of things is somehwere in Robert W.Chambers and H.P.Lovecraft influenced atmosphere of horror and listening to this one almost made me physically feel the cosmic horror and ancient ones lurking upon mankind. Atmosphere is vital with endeavors like this opus and here A Dance in Yellow manage to create a horror like prey upon unsuspecting individual listening to this opus. So, close your eyes, open your darkened hearts and souls, look to the sky, see the stars aligned and enter the world of bleak darkness and pain, but also enlightenment. Personal favorites: Fire and Steel, Born of the Ancients, Torn Apart.
Zerfall are hailing from Italy and it is a relatively new band, but the members have served in the scene in entities such as Ras Algethi or Enoch and this is the new opus and it contains seven longer songs. Music of Zerfall can be described as blackened doom death metal with thundering distorted bass, many slower rolling drums parts of the songs and some post black metal influences. Special mention goes to keyboard work which is awesome, creating such bleak and horror atmosphere like in my personal favorite Symmetric Caustic Waves, which, although it is an instrumental is an atmospheric masterpiece. Listening to it I feel like walking through the night time street with that uneasy feeling that someone is watching you from the shadows. Vocal lines on this album belong more into death metal side of things being growled with occasional scream here and there. Songs like Neutron Star Company(NOVA) or Zeitgeist Vernichtung are sure to become your personal favorites. This is a superb blackened doom death opus.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 