Here's an excerpt from each one:

Scar Symmetry's "Holographic Universe":

“Holographic Universe” has all of the trademark elements that have made this band such an instant success. The heavy guitars coupled with the speedy melodic shred characteristic of the genre are in full force, and the band actually manages to pull out distinctly unique and catchy melodies alongside well structured rhythm.

Swallow the Sun's "Plague of Butterflies":

Swallow the Sun is the brainchild of one Juha Raivio, formed in early 2000. Their sound of choice is distinctly doom metal, at times reaching the unbearably slow pace of funeral doom, traditionally one of my most reviled styles of metal. Yet, Swallow the Sun’s approach to the genre is definitively melodic, fusing the crushing heaviness of doom with the more modern melodic death metal sound.

Next in the list are:

• ZXZW — Independent Culture — 14th—21st of September in Tilburg
  
• TodaysArt Festival — 26th—27th of September in The Hague

Genre: Doom/Death/Folk Metal (old), Middle-Eastern Folk Metal (new)
Lyrical themes: Abrahamic Religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
Country: Israel (Petah Tikva)
Official Website/Myspace: MySpace

Tracklist:

1. Birth Of The Three (The Unification) 06:57
2. Ocean Land (The Revelation) 04:43
3. The Kiss Of Babylon (The Sins) 07:23
4. A'salk 02:05
5. Halo Dies (The Wrath Of God) 07:29
6. A Call To Awake (The Quest) 06:10
7. Building The Ark 05:02 [view lyrics]
8. Norra El Norra (Entering The Ark) 04:24
9. The Calm Before The Flood 04:25
10. Mabool (The Flood) 06:59
11. The Storm Still Rages Inside 09:20
12. Rainbow (The Resurrection) 03:01

Bonus Disc:

1. The Evil Urge 3:28
2. A Never Ending Way 3:14
3. Mercy* 3:46
4. The Beloved's Cry 6:42
5. The Orphaned's Medley 9:33

Total time: 26:48

Download: Part 1 / Part 2

Banda:

Baixar: Link

Ice Monkey

Cult of Luna is a Swedish sludge/post-metal band from Umeå. They formed from the remnants of a Umeå hardcore punk band called Eclipse in 1999. They slowly garnered critical appreciation and underground popularity with early releases Cult of Luna (2001) and The Beyond (2003); however, it is 2004's Salvation that can be considered their 'breakthrough' release. By cutting down on the somewhat esoteric use of aggression so indicative of doom, it appealed to a new group of fans. Its calmer sound has earned it favourable reviews in the mainstream music press, a reputation built upon for the release of Somewhere Along the Highway in 2006, another largely well-received album.

In August 2006, the band released a remake of "Marching to the Heartbeats" from Somewhere Along the Highway entitled "Heartbeats" solely on the internet community MySpace. The song was available for download for a few days and was later removed. The point was to see if the song would be kept alive by file sharing, and was also apparently a statement against the conservative music industry, says keyboardist Anders Teglund in an interview.

In April 2008, the band announced the upcoming release of their fifth album entitled Eternal Kingdom. It was released on June 16 in Europe followed by its release on July 8 in the United States.

Download: Somewhere Along The Highway

Web: Myspace Page, Website

Even as the first track starts I can't help but constantly glance out the window, trying to look past the reflection of my own face to the darkness outside. The music isn't that much different compared to the much earlier Lustmord albums I have, like Heresy and The Place Where the Black Stars Hang. Yes, the sound is more modern, louder and cleaner, but still terrifyingly deep and bass-heavy with occasional thumps, bells, rattles, and distant howls.

As the first track, "Testament", transitions to the second, "Element", you can here strange whispers. What they say is unknown — it's a bit part of the whole Lustmord experience. I don't know what the strange sounds I'm hearing are, I don't know what is outside the window, I don't know if some frightening surprise could be coming up unexpectedly. What I find interesting is that the rising and falling drones that are the primary focus of the music here, the drones that seem to morph between voices and synths and guitars and howling wind, are not inherently scary. When I first listened to this album I listened during the day, with the lights on, in an environment that I was very comfortable in. The sounds Lustmord creates can only amplify any fear that already exists, so now, when I put myself in a situation in which I feel more vulnerable, the music has an entirely different effect on me.

Those things could probably be said about any Lustmord album, though, or at least anything that came after Heresy. What seems to be the biggest change of the album is the inclusion of some big-name guys-wearing-black-and-holding-guitars (that's what all three of them look like in their photos on Discogs, at least): Aaron Turner of Isis, Adam Jones of Tool, and Roger Osbourne of Melvins. Maybe these are natural pairings; Lustmord is, after all, now on a metal label, and the tracks featuring these guys seem to work moderately well, as long as you aren't looking for solo material from the guests. (There is one review on Amazon that I found humorous from someone who seemingly bought the album because of the Tool connection and was disappointed because it didn't sound like Tool.) "Godeater" is the album's longest track at almost 23 minutes and features some solid sludgy playing from Adam Jones. He moves up in the mix on the first half of "Dark Awakening" (side note: these track titles are sort of lame), but is cut off considerably in the second half before disappearing completely, only to make a brief appearance again at the end of the track. The extensive use of guitars reminds me of the dark ambient group Main — the resemblance is most striking on "Prime (Aversion)", where Roger Osbourne plays a repetitive, rhythmic passage alongside Lustmord's drones.

Still, I can't help but feel that Lustmord is most effective here alone. Whenever the guitars came in I lost the sense of terror that I had on the more drone-oriented parts. In a way, I think the guitars kill that unknown and the fear of it. I never looked out the window when the guitars were playing, and I never worried that that an aural shock might be coming up in the music. The minimalistic repetition is almost comforting. You never ask what is coming next when a slow, constant riff lets you know that things will continue as they are. And that's not what Lustmord is about.

Manilla Road a little lacking in thee bombast department for ya? Does listening to Manowar make ya wish they had a tad more flamboyance? Seldom has there been a band as committed to sweeping, breathtakingly EPIC tunesmithing as Piombino, Italy's Dark Quarterer. Their lengthy, ever-morphing ditties are packed with megalthic riffing, soaring vocals and labyrinthine arrangements that, upon first listen, might cause ya to be so disoriented, you'll figger ya didn't know thee secret handshake to enter their realm. Ya know what that means though, dontcha? That's right: Press play-->listen-->repeat, as with all masterpieces worthy of extended bouts of obsession. Although slightly hampered by the garagey production, their vision of uncompromising, 100 % Pure Fucking Metal with instrumental chops on par with most jazzbos remains undiminished.

Their roots can be traced all the way back to 1974 as cover band, Omega erre, consisting of Gianni Nepi (Vocals, Bass), Paolo Ninci "Nipa" (Drums), Francesco Longhi (Keyboards) and guitar genius/creative muse Fulberto Serena. The moniker switch to Dark Quarterer also brought about the band's first forays into penning original material, of which, terms like "eccentric" don't even begin to tell the tale. Sure, every metal band worth their salt has delved into thee mystical, magic(k)al and the occult at one point or another-- but never quite like these spaghetti slurpers. Take for example, "The Gates of Hell" which seemingly inverts thee typical Satanic storyline laid down by more bands than you could shake a studded wristband at-- BUT instead of praising Ol' Goat Horns, the protagonist's most fervent desire is to murder that goateed motherfucker and usurp his throne as thee ultimate exponent of evil!

With thee notable exception of Fulberto Serena, DQ are still going strong today-- I'd suggest checking out their latest, "Symbols," released earlier this year-- my pick for best of 2008 thus far. Of course, the option is always open for ya to buy whatever slab of hipster dreck Julian Cope or Pitchfork media are whoring incessantly, but I wouldn't recommend such things.

In comments.

BLACK HOLE - Land of Mystery (1980)

To borrow a song title from thee mighty Impaled Nazarene for purely descriptive purposes-- this obscure lil' opus provides a perfect soundtrack for the Lost Art of Goat Sacrificing. Or, you can insert yer own depraved, degenerate ritual that involves lots of virgin blood and ritualistic sex. "Soundtrack" is the key word here, as this LP is built around a nefarious, suffocating atmosphere moreso than crushing riffs. To take the lazy rockcrit route, a simple description would be to tell y'all to envision "Susperia"-era Goblin being sodomized by thee Paul Chain-led Death SS via Tony Iommi... but I loathe doing things the easy way. In reality, a much better touchstone would be Pagan Altar's debut album-- music that although firmly rooted in metal (particularly thee NWOBHM), transcends mere pigeonholing... a genre unto itself. It is thee mesmerizingly gloomy organ work that will suck you into thee surreal ambiance of "Land of Mystery." It's easy to envision unholy winds lashing deafening torrents of rain against the moldy windows of an eldritch house as you  hopelessly search for an escape route in a frenzy of sheer terror. Ok, that was a bit much: My apologies to Mr. Lovecraft... and to you.

In comments.

Genre: Funeral Doom/Death Metal
Lyrical themes: Disease, Hopelessness, Pain, ... & Death
Country: France (Lille, Nord-Pas-de-Calais)
Official Website/Myspace: Official Website / Official MySpace

1. Thief of Light - 10:39
2. Death Diaries - 09:13
3. Silencing the Moments - 11:16
4. These Hallways Are Eternal - 02:42
5. Fragments - 09:59
6. One Reckless Sleep - 11:58

Total playing time - 55:47

Download