Gorod - A Perfect Absolution (Listenable, 2012)

Track Listing:

1. The Call To Redemption (1.10)

2. Birds Of Sulphur (3.58)

3. Sailing Into The Earth (4.55)

4. Elements And Spirit (5.07)

5. The Axe Of God (3.46)

6. 5000 At The Funeral (5.53)

7. Carved In The Wind (6.19)

8. Varangian Paradise (4.32)

9. Tribute Of Blood (4.02)

Synopsis: Gorod are back with their highly complex and challenging interpretation of death metal on "A Perfect Absolution", an album that isn't easily digested but rewards with multiple listens. There are a lot of twists and turns throughout and it is fair to say that they cram a great deal into the duration including the odd surprise that can catch you off guard when it happens. This certainly isn't an album that can be listened to for a straight forward bludgeoning, though it is capable of that if need be, but technical death metal doesn't get much better than this either.

www.facebook.com/GorodOfficial

Skon - ...At The End Of A Journey... (Hexencave, 2010)

Track Listing:

1. Forever Lost (9.06)

2. Hopeless Words (7.10)

3. Cold Ways (5.12)

4. At The End Of A Journey (7.19)

Synopsis: This one man project from Slovakia is built around a staunch devotion to classic Katatonia and "...At The End Of A Journey..." does, to it's credit, sound like a decent replication of that sound albeit with a bit of doom and black metal thrown into the mix. If anything the cover of "Cold Ways" is the most disappointing song on the CD largely due to the mediocre guest vocalist however, putting that aside, the music here does have that downcast feeling and melodic air that gives the three (un)original compositions some degree of merit.

Rote Mare - Serpents Of The Church (Altsphere, 2011)

Track Listing:

1. Serpents Of The Church (11.15)
2. Crossroads (10.36)
3. Slow Decay (Sonic Mantra) (7.55)
4. Funeral Song (14.35)
5. The Martyr (12.35)
6. In Dooms Name (The Chosen Ones) (7.33)
7. Children Of The Sabbath (11.50)

Synopsis: Rote Mare worship at the altar of traditional doom metal and, as certain song titles would indicate, they do this with clear conviction. Whilst the song lengths might scare off the uninitiated Rote Mare do mix things up from the slow, heavy riffing that one would expect to groovier passages and some downright aggressive moments and it is this variation, always within the scope of their chosen style, that makes "Serpents Of The Church" such a fine doom metal album. The band states that "Doom metal is true metal" and a couple of listens to this album might just convince you they are right.

http://www.rotemaredoom.com/

Ketzer - Endzeit Metropolis (Necroshrine, 2012)

Track Listing:
1. Endzeit Metropolis (3.54)
2. A Requiem For Beauty (5.47)
3. The Fever's Tide (4.14)
4. Aesthetics And Ecstasy (4.48)
5. Farewell, Fade Away (1.57)
6. Collector Of Worlds (4.08)
7. Redeemed By Truth (4.07)
8. He, Who Stands Behind The Rows (9.03)

Synopsis: This is an excellent thrash album that manages to sound reminiscent of the classic German bands, you can no doubt guess who, but also adds a contemporary, darker edge to the music. Admittedly I haven't heard their debut but, for only their second album, Ketzer show themselves to be a band with a firm grasp on their sound and they play to their strengths at all times. "Endzeit Necropolis" is one of the better albums I have heard in this style, and is sure to spark nostalgia in some, and it will certainly appeal to those who love blackened thrash such as Desaster or Aura Noir.

http://www.ketzer-official.de/