Nocra - The Haunting

From the Russian Federation comes this female duo consisting of Lady S on guitar, bass, keyboard and vocals and Tesana on drums.The album paces beautifully in atmospheric/melodic black metal rich with melody and shredded vocals. The keyboards are used to great effect to add texture to the raw brutality of the album without being overplayed. This is an evil gem and is a limited release of 500 copies.



Tracklist :

1 Saturn's World
2 Broken Wings
3 Enlightehed by Death
4 One Winter Evening
5 Omen
6 Damned
7 Butterfly
8 In My Dreams
9 Memories
10 Et Avis

Website : http://www.myspace.com/nocraofficial

Label : Agni Productions

Release Date : February 21st, 2011

The Terminal Orchestra - The Seasons

The Terminal Orchestra is a six piece exploration of melancholy folk from Marquette, Michigan  that blends the isolated atmosphere of their northern surroundings with the world weary but hopeful compositions on this disc. Songwriter Jesse DeCaire is able to inspire compelling music from this band of three guitars, bass, violin and percussion with the result being cinematic and dramatic gold. The plaintive cry of the violin on the 8th track Winter Song lays plain the seriousness of mood that can be conjured by this group. This release is perfect listening for late night winding down or early morning coming of consciousness with the after party blues.


Tracklist:

1 Introduction
2 Summer Song
3 Interlude No. 1
4 Fall Song
5 Interlude No. 2
6 Winter Song
7 Interlude No. 3
8 Spring Song

Website : http://theterminalorchestra.bandcamp.com/album/the-seasons

             http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Terminal-Orchestra/139745606052790

Label : Phratry Records

Release Date : February 22nd, 2011

Clara Engel - The Bethlehem Tapes

Clara Engel is a singer songwriter based in Montreal by way of Toronto. Her music can best be described as dark folk but that title doesn't come close to conveying the depth of emotion and sorrow that bleeds from her voice with accompaniment on acoustic guitar and cello. The album was recorded in an afternoon while travelling in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and proceeds dirge like with haunting beauty that engrosses the listener with it's poetic sadness. This is an amazing release from Clara and accompanist Taylor Galassi.



Tracklist :

1 Accompanied by Dreams
2 Trembling Dust
3 I Only Bet on the Rain
4 Hole in the Sun
5 Heaven of Leaves
6 Light Years
7 Skywalk to Crescent Town

Website : http://claraengel.bandcamp.com/
                http://www.myspace.com/claraengel

Label : Independent

Release Date : April 24th 2010

Hellas Mounds - New Heaven / New Earth

Sometimes an album is able to capture a moment in time and this EP by Phoenix, Arizona's six piece Hellas Mounds does just that with an instrumental offering of dark, brooding post-rock that reflects the turmoil raging in my mind. The songs build from glacially paced emotive moods to crashing crescendos reminiscent of GYBE! and the best of the genre.


Tracklist :

1 Passage I
2 Movement I
3 Movement II
4 Passage II
5 Movement III

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUGDQaV0At8

Website : http://hellasmounds.blogspot.com/

Label : Saw Her Ghost Records

Release Date : March 2nd 2010

A Death Cinematic - Your Fate Twisting, Epic In Its Crushing Moments

A Death Cinematic is a one man project originating from the midwestern United States that features multiple layers of looped guitar and improvisations done  with minimal post recording manipulation. The EP begins menacingly  and sets the tone for a journey through madness including washes of anger and detuned wonder. The final track opens with amp noise and feedback but gives way to a beautifully simple guitar that awakens emotions  long thought dead. I can't end without mentioning the packaging for this disc. A Death Cinematic is an artist of many disciplines and the digipack is entirely hand made with wood veneer, cardboard, artwork, and a poem typed on paper that he constructed. In an increasingly digital era this is a release that I treasure for it's visual and tactile art as well as it's audio.



Tracklist :

1 Your Fate Twisting, Epic In It's Crushing Moments

2 .

3 In The Tumbling Dawn Lights, Their Eyes Fall Frozen Through The Mist And Rain

Website : http://www.myspace.com/adeathcinematic

Label : simple box construction

Release Date : July 3rd 2011

Zakhm - The Way for Suicide

This ep finds Zahedan Iran's Zakhm mining the depths of human misery on it's third release. The minimalist ambient/DSBM project of lone member Sad is entrancing and draws the listener into a world of pain and suffering that is raw and oppressive through the first five tracks with the last drops of blood exiting during Last Tear. The end track leaves us with the contemplation of what remains in the shadow of our existence.


Tracklist :

1 Sad Funeral (intro)
2 The Way for Suicide
3 Must Kill
4 Last Winter's Sunset
5 End of Life
6 Last Tear
7 Push Me Down

Website : http://www.zakhm-home.com/blog/

Label : Rigorism Production

Release Date : January 7th 2011

Sig:Ar:Tyr - Godsaga

Godsaga is the third full length release from London Ontario's Sig:Ar:Tyr which is comprised solely of Daemonskald playing all instruments and singing. The album blends black metal, folk and ambient beautifully and deals with the concept of loss and sacrifice in the Icelandic epic of Egil's saga and Odin's hanging from Yggdrasil. The blending of acoustic guitar and blackened riffs works to great effect and projects a mood consistent with the lyrical themes. The level of musical proficiency is high and impresses with the fact that it is all accomplished by one man.



Tracklist:

1 Nights All Nine
2 Midwinter Sacrifice
3 Blood of the North
4 Black Sun's Bane
5 Eternal Return
6 Sleep of the Sword
7 Sonatorrek
8 Godsaga
9 Distant Northern Shore

Website : http://www.sigartyr.com/SIGARTYR/News.html

Release Date : May 3rd 2010

Label : Morbid Winter Records

Garden of Sadness - Travesty of a Human Being

Garden of Sadness is a one man project from Poland consisting of Marek playing and singing on this depressive opus full of despair and isolation. The album progresses at a funereal pace with the only trajectory being downward as the listener is drawn into an existence rife with anguish. The mood created is unrelenting and serves as a fitting soundtrack for those that feel the heavy burden of this life.



Tracklist :

1 Distorted in Pain
2 My Empty Life
3 Chains of Infirmity
4 Another Failure
5 Surrounded by Their Laughter
6 Kill Another Day
7 No Shelter From Suffering
8 Self - Loathing

Website : http://www.myspace.com/gardenofsadness27

Label : Beneath The Fog Productions

Release Date : January 1st 2009

Lantlos - .Neon

Neon is the second album from the German post metal/shoegaze band consisting on this release of multi instrumentalist Herbst and vocalist Neige. The blend of light and dark that is this genre is infused with jazzy chords in some of the softer parts to create an interesting contrast with the more blackened moments. The album plays with an almost soothing effect and is realised in an overall optimistic mood.


Tracklist:

1 Minusmensch
2 These Nights Were Ours
3 Pulse/Surreal
4 Neige de Mars
5 Coma
6 Neon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_ApaSELFUM

Website: http://lantlos.com/

Label: Prophecy Productions

Release Date: June 14th 2010

Wintercult - Neverending Selfhatred

Wintercult is a one man project from the Russian Federation in the depressive black metal genre. The production on this album is raw which furthers the atmosphere of misery that is unrelenting and oppressive. The vocals exist in the realm of suicidal agony and take the music to a place haunted by the demons of isolation and despair. The album cover is a perfect representation of the images conjured during a listen to this fine release.



Tracklist:

1 Frozen in Melancholy
2 Neverending Selfhatred
3 Submerged in Desolation
4 Nocturnal Silence
5 The Somber End

Website: http://www.myspace.com/wintercultofficial

Label: Unsigned

Release Date: December 7th 2010