Benighted – Asylum Cave

These French fiends have passed me by until now, and on this evidence I’ve missed out on some cracking albums. Asylum Cave is the SIXTH release from the band since 2000, and given the sheer quality of this record I’m keen to go back and check out the rest of their work.

Interview With Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy

One of the nice things of being an editor/reviewer is the discovery of new and exciting bands. Recently I came across Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy, a folk/doom metal band from the Czech Republic. Their Navaz album is stacked to the brim with majestic compositions and elaborate arrangements. Singer Pavel Hricner and guitarist Mirek Petrek were more than happy to answer my questions on the band’s early days, the writing and recording sessions for Navaz, the deeper meanings behind the lyrics and Pavel’s passion for music in general.

Ava Inferi – Onyx

Female fronted metal, it’s not my genre to put it politely. I feel it’s more about the good looks of the female singer and not that much about the music. Fortunately, there are always bands that prove to be an exception to the rule. Ava Inferi are one of those bands. Lead by former Mayhem guitarist Rune Eriksen and female singer Carmen Susana Simões the band released several albums, including The Silhouette (2007) and Blood Of Bacchus (2009). Their latest record, entitled Onyx, is the subject of this review.

Rotting Christ – Aealo

Rotting Christ, Septic Flesh and Nightfall are the elder statesmen of the Greek extreme metal scene. They all experienced various amounts of praise and success, but they managed to cause quite a stir with their mixture of extreme metal and Mediterranean influences. Rotting Christ managed to captivate me with their Theogonia album. Last year Sakis Tolis and his henchmen released a new record, entitled Aealo. Let’s see what it’s made of.

Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy – Návaz

One of the more satisfying things of being a music reviewer is the discovery of unknown musical gems. Last year I was really pleased with Pin-up Went Down from France, who blew me away with their 2 Unlimited and 342 albums. Some weeks ago I discovered Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy, a highly talented doom/folk metal ensemble from the Czech Republic. Recently their Návaz album saw the light of day, so let’s dive into the musical wealth of these Czechs.

Septic Flesh – Communion

Communion marks the return of Greek symphonic death metal band Septic Flesh after a hiatus of several years. After the release of Sumerian Daemons in 2003 their former label went bankrupt and the band disbanded. Some members ended up in other bands like Firewind and Nightfall. Other members started their own projects, like Chaostar for instance. Without further ado, let’s take a closer at their comeback album.

Mayhem – Chimera

Norway’s most notorious outfit Mayhem came with a new album four years after the release of Grand Declaration Of War, their most progressive and avant-garde effort to date. That release tore the extreme metal community in two. The conservatives loathed the unorthodox approach and the grandiose themes, while the more enlightened part raved about its uncompromising musical vision. With Chimera Mayhem opted for a somewhat back-to-basics approach, with a couple of twists of course.

Mayhem – Ordo Ad Chao

Mayhem are the godfathers of (Norwegian) black metal. Every band in the genre is in some way inspired by their music. Their historical past is way more notorious then their initial output, although that changed for me with Grand Declaration Of War. That album sent shock waves through the extreme metal world, pretty much rewriting the rule book of black metal. Purists hated it with a vengeance, while more enlightened people hailed it as a masterpiece. A couple of years later the band released Chimera (2004) and Ordo Ad Chao, their last album in quite a while.

Mar De Grises – Stream Inwards

I have to admit that I’m not very familiar with the metal scene from Chile, but I’ve always admired Mar De Grises for their knowledge to add majestic grandeur and tasteful progressive elements to their music. Their The Tatterdemalion Express and Draining The Waterheart are some of my dearest albums when it comes to doom metal. Earlier this year they released their third record, entitled Stream Inwards. Let’s see whether it can hold its own to its illustrious predecessors.

Atheist – Jupiter

Back in the early nineties death metal was booming, with bands like Morbid Angel, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse en Suffocation leading the charge. Chuck Schuldiner and Death embraced progression and technique, thus paving the way for bands like Pestilence, Atheist and Cynic to experiment with fusion and jazz. That didn’t go well with the death metal crowd and thus signalled the end for Atheist and their peers. The musical climate changed over the years and people