Formed in England Sectioned make their debut with their album Purulent Reality on Paragon Records. A lot of bands in this genre these days, there is plenty of old-school influences mixed with modern brutality. The band's sound is rooted in Swedish death metal of the early 90's like Grave and Entombed but its played with enough originality and passion to make this a powerful release on its own merits. There is some twisted uniqueness to the riffs on "Winter" and "Lonliest Man" while "Village of the Sun" is just one powerhouse riff after powerhouse riff. The lead guitar work on this album is very creative so this album should please old and new death metal fans alike.
www.myspace.com/sectionedx
From the French Alps comes Aldaaron who have made a atmospheric debut of epic droning black metal. With melodic tremolo riffing and rapid-fire double bass drums, Aldaaron takes the style of bands like Dissection and gives it a unique, melodic twist. Their black metal is interspersed with elements of drone that makes a sound similar to "Wolves In The Throne Room". "En Route Vers La Bataille" is a major highlight and "Prophetica" is a blasting dose of aggressive darkness. Some of this may test your patience but there is some real gems on this album.
www.myspace.com/aldaaron
Hungarian project Aetherius Obscuritas is a progressive, melodic black metal band that has been doing it for several years now. The music contained within is very atmospheric but is given a strange, original vibe by using some fine interplay between the instruments and counter-melodies. Not all of it works as the melodic elements clash against the technical side of the songs but when it does work, it is breath-taking. "The Moon Shield" is one of the tracks where the music really shines, it must be noted the crystal-clear production on Black Medicine is flawless and the album also includes a cover of Marduk's "The Black Tormentor of Satan" and the rather strange choice for a cover version which is Running Wild's "Black Demon".
www.myspace.com/aetheriusobscuritas
Dark Celebration from Brazil blends old school brutal death/black metal with melodic passages on this, yet another killer release on the Paragon Records label. While the seven songs are very intense, they are also relatively varied. The only downside is the drumming which gets buried in the mix at times but there is some killer material on here. "Reversed Creation", "Ocularis Infernum" and "Soul’s Harvester Machine" are all solid stuff with the latter featuring some odd guitar harmonies. The dual vocal approach and the total blurring riffage is exciting to listen to at times and despite some weak moments, the overall album is pretty good. The weakness comes with uneven songwriting but they are a band to look out for in the future as there is plenty to get excited about on this CD.
www.myspace.com/darkcelebration666
Another old schooled death metal release with a interesting cover that can't be shown here because of Myspace's terms and conditions. Faust from Italy is a truly remarkable band of superior musicianship, the precise guitar work is incredible as is the varied, multi dimensional drumming. What is surprising is the amount of melody and strong hooks on the album even though its mixed with guttural vocals and blasting drum work. Technical lead guitar work is all over the disc but it is mixed a little loud at times but the strange time signatures never get dull. One thing that bugged me a little was the clicking bass sound and the vocals which seem a little weak but the actual songs are very well written and played. The album has a bit of a all-star line-up that features Ghiulz Borroni (PROFANATUM) and Luca Princiotta (DORO, BLAZE, CLAIRVOYANTS) on guitar, Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, DEATH, ICED EARTH, TESTAMENT) on bass, and Darek “Daray” Brzozowski (DIMMU BORGIR, VESANIA, NEOLITHIC) on drums. The album was mixed and mastered by Juan Urteaga owner of Trident studios who has worked with Testament, Sadus, VILE and EXODUS to name a few.
www.myspace.com/faustband2
All these albums come from the great Paragon Records label that covers a wide range of extreme underground music from the neo-classical to the totally extreme end of death and black metal. With these albums reviewed here, Sectioned and Aldaaron stand out to me as being the best with Faust being the weakest overall but none of them are bad at all. Paragon continues to impress with its array of bands and its undying passion and support for underground music. With small, underground labels slowly disappearing from the metal landscape, its time to show your support to labels like Paragon. Check out their sites.
Paragon Records - Underground Metal Site
www.myspace.com/paragonrecords
Source - Doommantia.Com
