WILL 'O' WISP „Unseen”
Will 'O' Wisp is a bizarre sounding band from Italy. They have been around since 1992 and released 2 albums and 1 demo to date.
VINTERSORG „Visions from the Spiral Generator”
Upon first listen, Visions from the Spiral Generator may not seem as anything special or groundbreaking in the vast metal underground. Give the album multiple spins and it will grow on you, as it did for me.
SIGH „Hail Horror Hail”
Wow…where should I begin? For starters, the warning label on the back of the cd states that, “…every sound on this album is deliberate, and if you find that some parts of this album are strange, it isn't because the music is in itself strange but because your conscious self is ill-equipped to comprehend the sounds produced on this recording.” As open minded as I am, and as strange of metal bands I listen to, even I didn't expect such a diverse masterpiece from this Japanese trio. Sigh's third full length, released on Cacophonous Records, is one of the most unique pieces of metal that I have ever heard.
SJEL „Songs of the Silence”
Sjel is a gothic metal band from Poland and prior to this album, I have never heard of them. This is one of the better gothic bands I have heard in a long time.
HIDDEN „Spectral Magnitude”
Hidden is a mysterious doomy, death/black metal band. The reason why I said that they are mysterious is because they refuse to reveal any personal information regarding the members and origin of the band, so I don't know where they're from and who the band members are.
DESIRE „Locus Horrenaus – The Night Cries of a Sullen Soul”
I must say I quite enjoyed this album, even though I have not been aware of this band prior to my initial listen. Desire hail from Portugal and they have been around for 10 years now.
TOWNSEND, DEVIN „Terria”
Terria is the counterpart to Devin's Ocean Machine album, which was released with high praise in 1997. Ocean Machine was the water aspect and Terria is the earth aspect.
DIMMU BORGIR „Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia”
Being one of my favourite bands, expectations were high, following the release of the highly acclaimed Spiritual Black Dimensions. An ever changing line up has become a thing Dimmu Borgir's fans have gotten used to and it came as no surprise to me to see different faces previously not there.