GWAR - Battle Maximus (NN Promo 2013)

"After a lengthy break, The Scumdogs Of The Universe are back again, with this time their thirteenth release in the form of Battle Maximus. Now the story as Oderus roughly described it, involved some type of great horn that isn’t mighty enough and what could best be described as an Uber battle between the Maximuses that finally ended up in the newest member of GWAR, Pusutlus Maximus..."

More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-gwar-battle-maximus/

Emblazoned - The Living Magisterium (NN Promo 2013)

"Emblazoned is a brand new death metal beast, and this EP is a great introduction to them. These guys kill from beginning to end, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t check them out if you’re a fan of metal at its most extreme. The album contains a dual vocal (gravel and scowl) style backed by pummeling drums, thick bass lines and at times groove and thrash..."

More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-emblazoned-the-living-magisterium/

Sinner - Touch Of Sin 2 (NN Promo 2013)

"German heavy metallers Sinner are at it again and this time with an album that serves as a re-recording of some of their classic hits simply entitled, A Touch Of Sin 2. These songs may be old, but they sound just as good as ever with tracks like the opener “Born To Rock” and “Come Out Fighting” shining right out from the beginning of the album. There’s no better way to re-introduce your fans and bring newcomers in, then to open your disc with powerful rock anthems and that’s just what these guys have done..."

More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-sinner-touch-sin-2/

Vattnet Viskar - Sky Swallower (NN Promo 2013)

"When I look at the band, and I listen to the album; I’m noticing some stark contrasts between these four hipsters from New Hampshire and their music. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from American black metal, it’s that when a bunch of hipsters get together to play black metal, it’s going to be something fucking amazing; even if you can’t believe it. Take Inter Arma, for instance. In this day and age of “we don’t need no fucking corpse paint to be black metal”, it’s certainly apparent that the spirit of the music still exists regardless of what the musicians themselves look like..."

More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-vattnet-viskar-sky-swallower/

Haken - The Mountain (NN Promo 2013)

"It’s difficult to know what exactly to expect from an album titled The Mountain, but some might even go out on a limb to say that it has a certain level of pretension applied to it that hasn’t been seen on previous Haken releases. Immediately, the release beings with the piano-laden “The Path” which serves as an introduction to a much different style of sound than we witnessed on Aquarius or Visions. Rather, on this new outing the band sounds like they’re grasping for a greater sense of maturity and hence the Dream Theater comparisons are going to continue..."

More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-haken-the-mountain/

Anneke Van Giersbergen - Drive (NN Promo 2013)

"Yes, I’m reviewing another Pop/Rock album. But I’ve got another good excuse this time and the excuse is that it’s an album from Anneke Van Giersbergen most known for her current work with Devin Townsend, her past work with The Gathering and her additional work with musicians like Danny Cavanagh (Anathema) and on the most recent November’s Doom album, Aphotic. So with so many different musical credentials, I really had no idea what to expect from this one..."

More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-anneke-van-giersbergen-drive/

Monsterworks - Earth (NN Promo 2013)

"These guys wasted absolutely no time in crafting this brand new release right on the heels of 2012′s Album Of Man. Yes, you heard me right. They just released a new album, so this is their new, new album. Although I hadn’t expected the work to have been thrown together so quickly, Monsterworks has never given me a reason to doubt them and I have to say that I prefer this effort much more than I did the Album Of Man. The band have really upped the ante on this one, with death metal playing side by side with all sorts of progressive fervor, sprinkled with some of the most beautiful melodies I’ve heard from them yet..."

More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-monsterworks-earth/