WAKING THEO

'Untitled Demo 2010'

Yes the demo is untitled, as far as knowledge goes, but hark here is Yorkshire Thrashcore bad boys Waking Theo, in light of their bassist Adam Wilson departing, the Leeds/Harrogate quartet recruited Chris Giles on bass to reformulate the quintet character they originally went for and came back with an aim to wreck havoc, cause eruptions amongst British metal fans and ultimately put up the middle finger to the recession to deliver three tracks worthy of notice by Terrorizer's Wretched Spawn. If you want your metal brutal, emmerdale-free and complex as a sheepdog grouping sheep together in this wintry climate of winter 2010, look no further, Waking Theo are here to stay, dominate and most of all, prove British metal is still alive.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/wakingtheo

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NOSDRAMA

'Äes'

Finnish Dark Gothic Metallers Nosdrama unleash their third breeze of darkness in the form of another full length album, culminating a industrial/thrash influenced extravaganza, none the less they prove that the Finn's were born with guitars, oh the pain that must have been, or was it just side orders? Somehow the atmosphere developed on this album is one of anxiety in a good way, but ultimately adventure, with riff after riff and a constant drum beat backing The 69 Eyes style vocals, Nosdrama are a band to watch out for, currently unsigned, but if this album is to go anything by, that could very well change, maybe we have the latest Poisonblack, only time will tell.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/nosdramaband

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REFAWN

'Lemur Of The Nine'

METALISM

Back in 2009 St.Petersburg's zoo was broken into; four zookeepers unleashed the rare lemur upon the world and in the form of this Russian Tech Death quartet, 'Lemur Of The Nine' is all about lemurs, pioneering really. It wouldn't be as low as calling it 'lemur metal' when this debut release has all that fits the criteria of Tech Death, with side orders. Brutal drumming is imminent with the guitars doing their bits and bobs behind a thick layer of growls, so much for democracy in the Kremlin, but this is no political affair, this is Refawn who are ready for a genocide, cover your ears, cause this s**t is about to get nasty.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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EASE OF DISGUST

'Chaos'

FONO

These aren't your average Deathcore band, the average being growling, grunting, growling, blastbeats, riffs, growling (in that order). No, instead Russia's East Of Disgust do the opposite, in a similar style to that of Whitechapel, carefully structured tracks full of drum blasting, solo's and riffs to drive yourself insane and vocals to make Whitechapel look like toddlers, this is Russian Deathcore, a Teutonic onslaught of mesmerising complexity based on a charismatic ensemble of rampaging Russians. Linking modern Deathcore with melodic and metalcore elements, this may as well be Russia's album of the year, summing up the strength and power still residing within Moscow, a perfect partner to vodka and caviar.

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

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ARCANUM

'Control Of Insanity'

Swiss Heavy Metallers Arcanum debuted with this epic number in 2009, featuring ten tracks of classic style Heavy Metal in Iron Maiden fashion albeit the distinctive female vocals, somewhat bringing in a softer touch and a more melodic presence as the album plays. It is clear where yodelling has links, not that Arcanum have developed 'yodel metal', although that might be a slight description of the music, instead it focuses more on melodies and alternative metal in its purest form whilst remaining attached to the heavy metal vain, it is clear to the listener that this quartet are in the 'New Wave of Swiss Heavy Metal' when they take 'Control Of Insanity'

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/arcanumrock

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WINTERBURST

'Winterburst'

French SymphoBlack sextet Winterburst emerge on the French dark metal scene with a fistful of blood-curdling compositions in the form of their self-titled demo released the beginning of 2010, staging a dark atmosphere from a country known for extreme black metal capabilities Winterburst in years to come may as well emerge as France's answer to Norway's Dimmu Borgir. Grimness, symphonies and insane hostility come to mind, but yet whilst winter claws the lands, the darkness pursues in a 'Winterburst'. The French answer to Dimmu Borgir has come, watch this space.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/winterburst

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BEWIZED

'The Scorch Of Rage'

CASKET MUSIC

Greek Metalcore outfit Bewized power their way through the metal underground in Thessaloniki to raise fists high as their awaited debut album 'The Scorch Of Rage' gets the green light for a 2011 release date, featuring what is potentially a contender in the European Metalcore scene, ignoring the mass commercialised American Metalcore scene, Bewized are one of Greece's latest promising acts to take forward the Greek Metal scene into global recognition, sounding similar to the newer Bring Me The Horizon but with Death Metal influences in the form of The Dead Lay Waiting, Bewized are ready to conquer, amaze, daze and rephrase 'The Scorch Of Rage'.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

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RAGESTORM

'The Meatgrinder Manifesto'

Hailing from the Aosta Valley (Italy), Deathrashers Ragestorm wield their debut EP 'The Meatgrinder Manifesto' and consequently are part of two metal scenes, the Aosta Valley metal scene and the Italian metal scene, but enough geographical talk, these bad boys have got the music up to the loudest volume permissible in the Alps and although this effort is evidently well done, the vocals lack clarity, so there is one let down, furthermore on an opposite note, the mountains have seen darker days, or have they? In the world of politics, Silvio Berlusconi maybe the Italian PM, but we all know there will come a time of 'The Meatgrinder Manifesto'.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/ragestormmetal

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CENTIMANI

'Usurping The Throne Of Flesh'

Symphonic Death Metallers Centimani hail from Colorado, USA and hold a sturdy presence in the underground, as their second EP entitled 'Usurping The Throne Of Flesh' is one of bizarre aesthetics, obscure composure and unique diversity, although the vocals at some parts are not the best, the symphonies make up for the lack of vocalisation in terms of clarity, but for a underground band it is not a bad release, interestingly enough they are classed simply as Death Metal, ah we'll see what the listener thinks. An epic piece of legislation if you look at it one way.

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.myspace.com/centimani

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HUMAN PARASITE

'Proud To Build The Insidious Catastrophe'

SOULFLESH COLLECTOR

Labelled Death Metallers (yeah right), unleash a torrent of obsurdity in musical notations via their debut full-length, was it they were choking on something, did the microphone have a nervous breakdown, or did they record someone being obscenely murdered? Claiming to be Death Metal when evidently it seeps into failed grindcore, naturally the guitars are crisp, the drumming is supreme, but the vocals, this would make Britney Spears appear more metal, ah what the hell, this might amuse people, a few people, namely four.

[2] RHYS STEVENSON