FYRDSMAN

'Forgotten Beneath The Soil'

MYNYDD DU

Signed to Welsh label Mynydd Du Records, Farnborough's one man project Fyrdsman (pseudonym of Tim Shaw of who many will recognize as Alestorm's former guitarist) has shed Black Metal (namely Melodic BM) upon the coastal town and the surrounding Hampshire countryside, disturbing a few local flocks of sheep in the process. Technically there is Folk Metal influences, especially when the artwork is of rugged countryside which is very much like the Scottish Highlands. Regardless, Fyrdsman delivers a journey that Black Metal in England has not followed, not even English heavyweights Cradle Of Filth, lets face it, our history has been long gone, 'Forgotten Beneath The Soil'.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

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SEREGON

'Disposable Suffering'

Bristol Death Thrashers Seregon return with EP number three called 'Disposable Suffering'. The music itself has more variety than first thought, so all in all Seregon are doing something right, what that is remains a mystery, but what remains known is that Seregon are now amongst the resurging New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (mark 2). It seems lately that all the big cities are flushing out Metal bands like fire spreads in a wildfire, pretty fast. Seregon is no exception, take it like this, if you are not now, you will be the 'Disposable Suffering'.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/seregonuk

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ECHOVIRUS

'Invictus'

CASKET MUSIC

Brighton Melodic Death quintet Echovirus fire up the revolution with their debut album 'Invictus'. Taking your bog standard Melodic Death Metal, Echovirus add to the spine the flesh in the form  of Brighton brutality, epic guitar solos and all round Metal massacre. Brighton pier had to be shut off when Echovirus hit the studio, the extreme production caused the famous landmark to sway at epic degrees and so posed a threat to those who don't listen to Metal music. Echovirus has made it clear, no matter how people take the piss out of Metal, Metal will always be 'Invictus'.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

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RAVENS CREED

'Albion Thunder'

DOOMENTIA

Death Metal, one of the greatest Metal genres of all time has unearthed another fresh act, in the form of London's Ravens Creed. In 2009, they released their debut full-length 'Albion Thunder', crossing the UK underground Metal scene and at the same time causing issues in famous London landmarks. Whitechapel had another Jack the Ripper, the London Eye had to be closed, Buckingham Palace split in two, Camden Town got heavier and Big Ben snapped in half. Oh the possibilities that this quartets music could do, one thing for sure is it casted 'Albion Thunder' over London.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

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FORCHRISTSAKE

'Death Is But A Breath Away'

Well, for a four track EP, it is really a mixed response, err-hem. ForChristSake are a five-member Melodic Death Metal band from Northern Ireland who this year have released their debut EP 'Death Is But A Breath Away' and with it, well its a 50/50 scenario, on one side we have the 'what the hell?' songs and on the other its 'this shit is good'. The first two tracks are so unrealistic it undermines the Metal genre, however on 3 and 4 the quintet polish themselves and give it full whack. So in the end the EP was not disappointing but there is a little room for improvement.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/forchristsake1

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WINTERSOUL

'Frozen Storm Apocalypse'

NOKTURNAL HEMIZPHEAR

Location: unknown. Country: UK. Genre: Black... oh for goodness sake this is not a documentary, it’s a review. Wintersoul, Black Metal from the UK assaults the UK Metal underground with full brutal velocity at all angles and degrees of attack. Sheer speed rides on the blastbeats with the guitars merging into the background and the vocals shrieking as loud as someone being kicked in the privates. Black Metal will never be the same again as long as Wintersoul exist. Black Metal has come back to its origins.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

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TORMENTED VISION

'Incite Hatred'

West Bromwich Death Thrashers Tormented Vision set foot on the debutant list with their debut full length 'Incite Hatred'. There is a real trend happening in the Midlands, there seems to be a mass Metal moshpit developing, bands from West Bromwich, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, etc. In fact all of the Midlands cities, Metal bands are coming out of the woodwork and West Brom's latest offering Tormented Vision are one of those who look to be the next wave of Metal, it would not be at all surprising to see this band mentioned in Metal Hammer and Terrorizer (technically Terrorizer has now done it). Prepare for the oncoming storm.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/tormentedvision

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MERCILESS TERROR

'Deeds Of Inhumanity'

Death Thrash / Grindcore newcomers Merciless Terror caused extreme panic and hysteria with their debut demo 'Deeds Of Inhumanity' released in 2009. Interesting enough that iTunes detected the music on its system, hmm what does iTunes see that I don't? Don't answer that. Here we have Merciless Terror from Nottingham and well, Extreme Metal may as well be the most apt genre tag you could give them. The growling vocals are as deep as hell itself and are joined by some of the most killer riffs in town and some of the heaviest drums in Nottinghamshire, so what does this all come to? A fuck load of brutality!! A sure winner of Golden Gods in years to come but a definite candidate for best newcomer.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/mercilessterror

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SEVERENTH

'Live @ Central Station' + 'Severenth Demo' + 'The Age Of Paranoia'

ANT HILL

Severenth is a Thrash/Metalcore quintet residing in the city of Chester (close to the Welsh border). Mixing the newly designed Metalcore genre with existing Thrash Metal they in fact develop Thrashcore, or that may be a tad over the top. Regardless of genre tagging, the brutality is there and the excellent thing this quintet has done is shifting from one genre to the other very subtly and without any crystal clear notification which adds to the craftsmanship of pure excellency. With their live recording concerned, the music naturally sounds different because of recording levels but nonetheless it is deemed to be a good live recording. Much has been changed over the three releases, such as the music has better clarity and has of course different musical structures (kind of obvious, or is it?). Sure to become a regular Metal band in the UK Metal scene household.

[8 / 7 / 10]

http://www.myspace.com/severenth

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SHIELDWALL

'Lloegyr'

Shiedwall in all its glory comes from the county of Essex and with it they bring a variety of Metal music, lyrical content and atmosphere. Mixing Celtic music with Anglo-Saxon atmosphere and Briton ancestry, this Essex quartet delve into the counties history right back to the times of war and battles, even so squandering about Roman Colchester and not to mention Wickford (my hometown) being subject to Roman and Celtic heraldry. None the less, Shieldwall are one Black/Folk Metal band worthy taking note of no matter where you are from. Raise your swords fellow Metal comrades!!

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/shieldwall

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JACKS FAMILY

'One Big Disguise'

Residing in the Northern Essex town of Colchester (home of Essex University), Jack's Family returned with their sophomore album 'One Big Disguise'. Mixing Gothic Metal with similar genres like Power and Progressive Metal, Jack's Family take their second album further than their debut, to new extremes and in doing so, have gained attention of the media, interestingly enough Essex is becoming more and more ripe for new and fresh Metal bands. Good to know local bands are making the grade, even though this quintet is unsigned, that surely won't last any longer.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/jacksfamilyuk

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CARRIED BY SIX (CB6)

'The Beginning' + 'T.A.C'

Southend Thrashers Carried By Six released their debut EP 'The Beginning' way back in 2007 and with it they incorporate their native Southend brutality (and not those from mayhem - NOT THE BLACK METAL BAND) with Thrash Metal to develop their own unique sound, the first song from their debut EP is a real corker, fast music slows down which is a breakdown in itself. Somewhat got Slayer influences it is clearly imminent these guys know shit loads about Thrash Metal and have regurgitated it into one epic EP. No wonder Southend is getting a better rep for Metal when you have CB6 knocking gigs for six. Fast forward to this years release 'T.A.C', which presumably is an EP (having four tracks). Even more impressive is their soon-to-be-released sophomore EP 'T.A.C', the brutality has been doubled on this release and in comparison to the previous EP, the songs are shorter but brutality has increased, good move in hindsight future releases. In an overall statement, the Southend quartet crew means business, and business with music, means bloody decent music. Carried By Six, as far as Essex Metal is concerned, represent Southend thumbs up.

http://www.myspace.com/cb6

[9] + [10] RHYS STEVENSON

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