LIK-Lekamen Illusionen Kallet/The Second Wind/Nordvis Records/2011 CD Review

 Lekamen Illusionen Kallet called LIK for short are a band from Sweden with some well known members of the Swedish black metal scene that mixes black metal with occult and gothic rock together and this is a review of their 2011 album "The Second Wind" which will be released by Nordvis Records.

Drums range from slow to mid paced drumming with no fast playing or blast beats present on the recording, while the bass playing has a very dark tone which is mixed down low in the mix and seems to follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and at times they sound very powerful with a 70's rock feel.

Rhythm guitars alternate between slow to mid paced riffs that combine black metal with 70's and Gothic rock with an avant garde and doomy feel and there are little to no guitar solos or leads present on the recording.

Vocals alternate between grim sounding black metal scrams and clean singing that mixes gothic rock and avant garde together, while the lyrics are written in a mixture Of English and Swedish and touch on Occultism, Religion, Mysticism and  Spiritism, as for  the production it has a very dark and raw feel to it.

In my opinion LIK are a very good and original band that mixes black metal with Avant Garde 70's and Gothic Rock, and if you are looking for something original sounding, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TACKS INCLUDE "Death Breeder" "The Delusionist" and "The Second Wind". RECOMMENDED BUY.

www.myspace.com/lekamenillusionenkallet 

Cruachan/Blood On The Black Robe/Candlelight Records/2011 CD Review

  Cruachan are a band from Ireland that has had an album reviewed in this zine in the past, with a style that mixes pagan/Celtic/folk music with black and traditional metal and this is a review of their 2011 album "Blood On The Black Robe" which will be released by Candlelight Records.

Drums alternate between slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats, while the various folk instruments bring a medieval folk music feel to the music, as for the bass playing it has a very dark, powerful and distorted tone with some heavy riffing.

Rhythm guitars alternate between slow, mid paced and fast riffing that combines black metal and traditional metal together with a good amount of melody, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding without a lot of guitar solos, since the music concentrates mostly on rhythm, as for the acoustic guitars when they are utilized briefly they use full chords to enhance the darkness of the music.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with some occasional clean singing female vocals that bring an esoteric New Age feel to the music, while the lyrics cover Irish Paganism, Folklore, Mythology and History with some anti- Christian themes, as for the production, it has a very heavy and professional feel to it.

In my opinion this is another great album from Cruachan and it is their heaviest and most black metal sounding album in years, while still retaining the folk elements and if you are a fan of their previous albums, you will not be disappointed. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "I Am Warrior" "Blood On The Black Robe" "The Voyage Of Bran" and "Pagan Hate". RECOMMENDED BUY.

http://cruachan.metalfan.nl

Withering Soul/No Closure/Mortal Music/2011 CD Review

 Withering Soul are a band from Chicago, Illinois that plays a very symphonic form of black metal mixed with melodic black/death and this is a review of their 211 album "No Closure" which was released by Mortal Music.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with a lot of brutal blast beats, while the keyboards are very atmospheric and atmospheric sounding,as for the bass playing it has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and at times they sound very powerful.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast black metal riffing that is also very melodic and utilizes influences from both death metal and traditional metal, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding metal guitar solos.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams mixed in with some deep death metal growls and some clean singing mixed in with a short use female vocals, while the lyrics cover Ghosts, the Paranormal, and Horror, as for the production it has a very professional and heavy sound to it.

In my opinion Withering Soul are a very good melodic, gothic, symphonic black metal band, and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Phantasmal Chaos" "Sadistic Redress" and "Lifeless They Lie". RECOMMENDED BUY.


www.witheringsoul.com