VERJNUARMU

'Ruatokansan Uamunkoetto'

DYNAMIC ARTS

Hailing from the icy lands of Finland, this Melodic Death Metal quintet are unlike any other, applying their own character persona within the band as seen in the photo, they sing in the Savo dialect and are noted as probably the only Metal band to do so. Verjnuarmu in English means bloodscratch. 'Ruatokansan Uamunkoetto' makes it Verjnuarmu's sophomore album and a force not to be reckoned with, albeit the language barrier, they have some Black Metal drum influences but major influences are more like Wintersun during their majestic opus'. Hark; Verjnuarmu is one Finnish Metal band worthy of taking note of.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

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TWENTY-SIX OTHER-WORLDS

'Manipulated'

Heading south past Italy, Twenty-Six Other-Worlds are from one of the smallest islands and countries in Europe, Malta. This Power Progessive quintet make a statement with their debut 'Manipulated' in 2009, that they maybe from a small country, but they have enough brutality to overthrow their next door neighbours Italy. Well, it is clear 26 Other Worlds have enough strength to unleash tracks of over 11 minutes long, four tracks summing up to over 35 minutes of Maltese Metal, proving that Malta is as strong as it always has been, just look at world war two, Malta earned a St.George's cross and 26 Other Worlds prove that Malta is still as strong.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/26otherworlds

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TÝR

'By The Light Of The Northern Stār'

NAPALM

The Faroe Islands are moreover in general associated with fishing forecasts and, fishing. But now, they are famous for one metal band, in particular, Týr. These Faroese Progressive Folk Metallers consist of four Faroese Vikings battling it out over the North Sea amongst their Scandinavian relatives. Featuring tracks in English, Icelandic and their native Faroese, Týr are probably the most famous band to come from the island archipelago between Scotland and Iceland. The sort of music you would have on a Viking longboat, hence dubbed 'Viking Metal', but even now Heri Joensen, the vocalist has a side band called Heljareyga from which bandmembers of that band also play in Synarchy the Faroese Thrash Metallers. Follow your path and if your a Viking, that means 'By The Light Of The Northern Stār'.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

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LAMENTS OF SILENCE

'Restart Your Mind'

MY KINGDOM MUSIC

This Melodic Death Metal/Gothic Metal outfit hail from Catalonia (Spain), the autonomous region which seek independence and with it, Laments Of Silence fire their music to the battle line with their debut album 'Restart Your Mind' in an aggressive way, furious drumming and vocals are encased in the compositions with epic strumming. Dark in image, brutal in sound, with these two assets, Laments Of Silence are sure to become Spain's new hottest metal export.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

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LAST ACT OF DEFIANCE

'Sadistic Blessings'

Thrash Metallers Last Of Act Defiance unleash their debut full length 'Sadistic Blessings' with extreme force and Slayer-esque compositions. Hailing from the Republic Of Macedonia (Simply put Macedonia or FYROM), this quartet is one of few notable bands from Macedonia, and with it they bring a unique style of Thrash Metal. Mixing Thrash Metal with Crossover is what Last Act Of Defiance have achieved and in doing so become Macedonia's flag flyers, its time for Europe to receive its 'Sadistic Blessings'.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/lastactofdefiancemacedonia

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MAGICA

'Dark Diary'

AFM

Romanian Melodic Power Metallers Magica hit for six with their latest album 'Dark Diary'. Conjuring up some of the most insane and beautiful guitar solos the Eastern European quintet can offer and produce for their motherland Romania. Hailing from the Romanian port of Constanţa which resides on the Black Sea, Magica summon on the charm of this Eastern land and fuse it with their style of Metal, which in turn summarizes the sonatas bestowed upon this album of crystal clear purity, such words only can be written within a 'Dark Diary'.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

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THE YEAR ZERO

'Time Demo'

Travelling back in time to the year 2006, we find The Year Zero's debut demo released entitled 'time demo'. Hailing from the young city of Riga in Latvia, this Gothic Metal sextet have been rather inactive since as four years have passed and no release has been made, nor any up-to date news on their website, so whether the band has split or is on hiatus it is unclear, but what is clear is that this demo, is one of the best from Latvia so far in the Metal scene history, it wont be ignored, be assured of that. Melodic music and vocals with a dark atmosphere created alters the mood of the listener. Welcome, to The Year Zero.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.yearzero.lv/

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ALASSË

'The Fall Of Nemrael'

This Slovakian Symphonic Black Metal duo unleashed the darkness of the Slovak Republic in their debut debut entitled 'The Fall Of Nemrael'. Their music much encorporating the sounds from The Lord of the Rings trilogy in certain parts of their songs whereas in other parts the true mysticism of Symphonic Black Metal takes its realm. The demo title refers to their past band of which 'Nemrael' was considered the first ever Slovakian Black Metal band. A long way then these two musicians have come. 'The Fall Of Nemrael' may have occured, but it will be a long time before 'The Fall Of Alassë' comes about.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/alassecult

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SWEET SORROW

'1000th Millennium'

Sonic blasting echoes from the Eastern side of Europe from the land known as Slovenia. Sweet Sorrow are a Melodic Death Metal band who are not to be messed with, taking their latest release (2009) called '1000th Millennium' it seems that they have their wits about them, salvaging the most deepest guttural vocals permitted by E.U. law whilst making sure Slovenian customs dont penalize them for the extremity of their music, let alone give a health and safety warning to listeners, this by far is brutal and is sure to cause a torrent of turning heads in the underground. Representing much like the modern Arch Enemy meets Scar Symmetry, this quartet transport their listeners from the 21st century to the '1000th Millennium'.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/sweetsorrowslo

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NECRO STRIKE

'Red Is Out'

Estonian Death Metallers call it three with their latest album 'Red Is Out', so far the brutality of the Estonian Metal Scene is far more envious than of its Western European rivals. Necro Strike is in their eighth year of existence with three albums and two demos' already to their name yet they are still independent. So much for the Baltic Sea being cold and Estonia deriving from old Soviet Russia, it almost seems paramount that the 'Red Is Out' could refer to the Soviet Red, although the Baltic States would beg to differ. Nonetheless, Necro Strike is one of Estonia's old guard's and they remain to dominate that corner of Europe. The 'Red Is Out'.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/necrostrike