Primalfrost-Prosperous Visions

Maple Metal Records
2014

Active since early 2012, Primalfrost is a one-man band/project from Toronto, Ontario. With Dean Arnold (ex-Will of the Ancients, ex-Lesion) being the sole member and with just one other release to the band's name (2012's EP, "Chapters of Time") "Prosperous Visions" makes the proper full-length debut from this Canadian band. At 55 minutes plus the album, which was engineered, mixed, and mastered by Thomas Ireland at Icehouse Studios in Goderich, Ontario, Canada in late August of 2013, aims at covering as much ground as humanly possibly and by the Gods of all things metal if it just doesn't accomplish that and then some! It's a toss up as to what is more amazing here. Is it the fact that Dean Arnold not only composed all of the music and lyrics on "Prosperous Visions", but handled all of the instruments, vocals, and programming or is it the overall epic feel of everything that makes it so great? "Prosperous Visions" finds Dean trekking through the untamed forests of folk metal while simultaneously embracing blackened power metal, death metal, orchestral music and symphonic metal. In Dean's Arnold's skilled hands everything bounds together nearly seamlessly and as a debut-LP one couldn't ask for more graceful and well-timed material then this!  With Dean's harsh vocals steering the music at hand into dark and uncharted waters and song-structures that beg to tell the story of a longer-established act Primalfrost (as a band) is near the top of it's game and they've only just begun! 


PS. Did I mention that Dean Arnold is only 18? I didn't? Well, he is and as good as he is now just imagine how scary it will be when he really hits his stride! Yeah.....

Nothgard-Age Of Pandora

Trollzorn Records
2014

It has it's perks. Being a writer for this blog that is. Here we have Germany's Nothgard who are another new (as in new to me) band for which I have a PR friend to thank. This tech-minded, Deggendorf, Bavaria-based band crossed my path thanks to Markus Eck (http://www.metalmessage.de/) and while I am highly-impressed by their upcoming sophomore release I will admit that I am at a lose as to how to properly describe their sound in full. We'll get to that point in a second, but for now let's do a role-call to see who it is we are set to chat about and how it is that they got from point A (their formation) to point B (this stellar work of EPIC metal!). Founded in 2008 by singer and lead-guitarist Dom R. Crey (Equilibrium, Wolfchant) and former drummer Tonie this German band first started out under the name of Nordavind before changing to their current moniker in 2009. Along the way there would be line-up changes to go along with the name change as well as some experimentation with sound and style (by all accounts it appears as if the band's original aim was to combine symphonic metal with death metal, folk metal, traditional heavy metal and power metal). There would be a 2009, 3-track demo released followed by the well-received debut album, "Warhorns of Midgard", in 2011. Now here it is three years later and we find that this well-oiled machine of a band, which, besides skilled vocalist/lead guitarist Dom R. Crey, currently consists of Vik S. (Bass), Daniel K. (Rhythm Guitar), D. Ziegler (Drums) and Skaahl (Rhythm Guitar), is truly blessed with a high-class style all their own! On paper it's either spelled out as epic melodic death metal or melodic death/pagan metal,but the truth of the matter is it's all of that and then some! First off the use of three guitars gives Nothgard a technical skill-level all their own! We're talking double lead guitars here and the way in which they are fused together so perfectly is nothing short of amazing! Having previously read up on this band for research purposes (that is prior to being able to actually sit down and listen to this album for myself-long story short, but with family in town until this very morning it proved to be a difficult challenge (downloading promo material and then cranking it loud and proud!) finding time to be alone) I was really not expecting these German metalheads to be as well-rounded and polished as they were! Or for that matter as mature and graceful either! And yet that's pretty much what we are looking at when it comes to Nothgard's 2nd full-length release. Overall the high-class music packed within "Age Of Pandora" comes across as if it is has been orchestrated with greatness in mind. Have no fear though. As stylistic and classy as Nothgard appears to be here they are equally as heavy and aggressive! The band's insanely epic sound is still ground in METAL after-all and that comes screaming across the sky by way of those previously mentioned double-leads (one's which are fiercely speed metal-tinged at times!), sharp (as in flesh-cutting!) rhythm guitar, POUNDING bass and drums and, last but CERTAINLY not least, Dom's demonic voice! His sinister delivery is the icing on top of this prized cake and come mid-September Nothgard should be riding high atop the success of this rampaging release! While you wait for that drop-date be sure to check out Nothgard's back catalog and like their Facebook page so that you can keep track of this pagan band and their daily festivities!

Sound of Memories-Living Circles

Self-Release/Independent
2013

Sounds of Memories, who call Paris, Île-de-France home, are another up-and-coming act who have signed on with Contorted Records. Formed in 2010, and with bands as diverse as Iron Maiden and Carcass serving as their musically influences, this French melodic death metal act released "Living Circles", their debut (and so far only) recorded output, late last October. This three-track EP was recorded, mixed and mastered at ZOE H Studio by Zoe H (Herrschaft, The CNK, Outburst, etc) and it finds this young five-piece trekking into the same territory that house acts like In Flames, Amon Amarth, Dark Tranquillity, At The Gates - Hypocrisy, The Black Dahlia Murder and Arch Enemy. The only difference would be that Sound of Memories, which is fronted by Flo (Florent) and features lead & rhythm guitarist Del, lead & rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist Lucho, bassist/backing vocalist Fab and drummer Nacim, almost come across as if their music was built upon a solid heavy metal foundation and then it was built up, riff by brutalizing riff, into the death metal monster that stands before us today! Well, there's that and then the fact that this group of well-skilled musicians also seems to draw upon a bit of the melodic death/metal power metal of bands like Mercenary and Children Of Bodom. When all of that is compressed and squeezed through it's French' filters  what you get is a dastardly little EP like "Living Circles"! So far that makes two for two bands on the newly reshaped Contorted Records and if these are the kind of acts that we can expect from this independent label then I say BRING IT ON!   

Check out "Living Circles" here:
 http://soundofmemories.bandcamp.com/

Check out the band's Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/soundofmemoriesofficiel