Chimaira – The Infection

After kickstarting their career again with Resurrection Mark Hunter and Co returned to the studio to record its successor. As was the case with the other Chimaira albums, the band decided to embark on a different course with The Infection, so let’s see how that turned out.

Chimaira – Resurrection

Fresh blood in a long running band and a change in record labels can give the right kind of boost to make a great record. That’s certainly the case for Chimaira with former drummer Andols Herrick rejoining the fold and a welcome transition on the business side of things. Resurrection marks Mark Hunter and Co’s revisiting their familiar style during The Impossibility Of Reason days..

Melechesh – The Epigenesis

My first introduction to Melechesh and their “Sumerian Metal” was during my days as a radio host. The band had just released their Djinn album (2001), which was quite an innovative release in retrospect. At the time I wasn’t really interested in the musical exploits by Ashmedi and Co, so I soon lost interest. A couple of years later they managed to capture my attention again with Emissaries (2006). That album was a rich mixture of black metal, thrash metal and lots Middle Eastern musical flourishes forged together in quite an unique way. Last year the band released The Epigenesis, arguably their most comprehensive and ambitious album to date…

Immolation – Majesty And Decay

In my view Immolation are a criminally underrated death metal band who should have the same status as Morbid Angel, Deicide, Six Feet Under and Cannibal Corpse. They’ve missed the boat in the mid nineties due to label setbacks and several line up changes. Albums like Here In After (1996), Close To A World Below (2000) and Unholy Cult (2002) are just as good as any death metal classic from the early nineties. Last year Robert Vigna and Co released their latest opus, entitled Majesty And Decay.

Dimmu Borgir – Abrahadabra

Norway’s Dimmu Borgir went through a tumultuous period. The band were plagued by line-up changes and all the dirt that came along with it. Reduced to only three members Shagrath and Co started to work on their most ambitious offering to date. Aided by composer and conductor Gaute Storaas, Dimmu Borgir unleashed their most symphonic and bombastic album upon mankind, entitled Abrahadabra.

Orphanage – Driven

When it comes to so called “female fronted metal bands” or gothic rock/metal I’m definitely not the biggest of fans. In my opinion the focus is too much on fashion and good looks instead of delivering quality music. Before the whole genre became fashionable and it was still called doom/death, there were a couple of bands laying the foundation, including Celestial Season, The Gathering, Within Temptation and Orphanage. From those bands only Within Temptation reaped the rewards after drastically changing their style.

Samael – Above

Originally Samael started out as a black metal band on Worship Him (1991) and Ceremony Of Opposites (1994). Through the years they evolved into something totally different by adding more and more keyboards, electronic and industrial elements on albums such as Passage (1996), Eternal (1999), Reign Of Light (2004) and Solar Soul (2007). Despite their musical evolution Samael always managed to maintain a certain dark edge over their music. On Above, the band’s last album, the musical direction has changed again.

Nile – Those Whom The Gods Detest

Nowadays Nile are considered as one of the premier extreme metal bands around. Rightly so, because albums like Among The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka, Black Seeds Of Vengeance and Annihilation Of The Wicked are landmarks within the death metal hemisphere. The one thing that sets Nile apart from the rest is their profound fondness for Ancient Egypt, which runs as a central theme throughout their music and lyrics. Last year Karl Sanders and Co released a new album, entitled Those

Cathedral – The Guessing Game

With albums such as Forest Of Equilibrium and The Ethereal Mirror, Cathedral cemented their place in doom metal history. With each successive album after that the band moved towards a more rock orientated sound, especially on Caravan Beyond Redemption and The VIIth Coming. On Garden Of Unearthly Delights the band incorporated more progressive influences. On their latest album, entitled The Guessing Game, Lee Dorian and Co are back in full swing with a punishing ninety minutes worth of music spread out over two compact discs.

Filter – The Trouble With Angels

Filter’s creative mastermind, Richard Patrick, is finally on the right track again. After his flawed collaboration with the DeLeo brothers in Army Of Anyone he reformed his old band/project with Anthems For The Damned as a result. I wasn’t too crazy about that particular album. Filter’s latest output however, entitled The Trouble With Angels, is a worthy return to form. Let’s have a closer look.