VNV Nation - Transnational (2013 NN Promo)

"There was one point in my life where I regarded VNV Nation as one of my personal favorite electronic acts, and that was just after I had heard 1999’s Empires. A sense of morbidity flowed through the band at this time, like a sense of frailty that really spoke to me. But the band has changed quite a bit since then, and Transnational shows the electronic act in a much brighter light, especially when the optimism of “Everything” sets in to open the disc. It’s one of the disc’s strongest tracks and could double as a strong single for the disc. However, “Primary” left me a bit bored, with the vocals sounding as if they weren’t even necessary for the song. In other words, these guys might be getting a bit rusty, as comes with time. “Retaliate” manages to pump up the volume with dance-grooves, and in some form recaptures the essence of the band that I remember..."

Read More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-vnv-nation-transnational/

Vulture Industries - The Tower (2013 NN Promo)

"Well, it took them a while, but these guys finally managed to pull off a terrific (and unique) avant-garde metal album. As obvious, the influences from Arcturus and Ved Buens Ende are here, possibly even Winds and far more bizarre material, but it’s all bundled rather nicely in a staggering compilation of styles and sounds that still reverberate as Vulture Industries. “The Tower” is filled with great melodies and operatic vocal utterances, as well as slight progressive twinklings that help to make it an interesting and stereoscopic piece. Such ideas continue to ebb and flow through “Divine – Appalling,” which makes me think that Arcturus’s La Masquerade Infernale was being played quite a bit during the time this album was being composed. “The Hound” introduces a bit of blues to the mix, but still manages to keep things quite melodic and classy. “Blood On The Trail” brings a barrage of oncoming heavy riffs, which manage to showcase a great clean vocal chorus, among so many other oddities. Vulture Industries is not without their weirdest and this is their most refined, yet strange album yet..."

Read More: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-vulture-industries-the-tower/

Bloody Hammers - Spiritual Relics (2013 NN Promo)

"This sophomore album from American southern goth rockers Bloody Hammers is something of a bold and curious departure from their last release and the band’s self-titled debut album. While the band’s previous work seemed to be based in more gothic realms, like black magic, witchcraft and vampirism, this album seems to be more about, of all things… relationships. Now I’m not one to be emo about this sort of thing and the music itself is hardly that in presentation, but I sort of just shrugged my shoulders as I listened to a disc that incorporated such a dreadfully depressing ballad such as “Science Fiction” and their odd “The Source” cover, which also seems to detail a relationship..."

Read More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-bloody-hammers-spiritual-relics/

Leaves' Eyes - Symphonies Of The Night (2013 NN Promo)

"Though I’ve known about Leaves’ Eyes for quite a while now, I haven’t had much desire to check out their music until I was recently invited to by their longtime label, (and home of sister band Atrocity) Napalm Records. But I can honestly say that I’m truly glad for this opportunity, because this record was well worth listening to. Most of the work Leaves’ Eyes has done in the past was based more in history and folklore, but this material seems to have taken a bit of a darker tone as it seems to shadow Atrocity’s latest album and return to death metal form in Okkult. As such, there are explosive moments of death metal on this disc, beginning with “Hell To The Heavens” which offers a shoutable and fist raising chorus amidst operatic elements. Liv Kristine’s voice has always been sinfully sweet, but this album showcases her as an operatic powerhouse; especially on the album’s title track and “Saint Cecilia,” which is an unforgettable exercise in classical opera. Wagner would be pleased, I should think..."
Read More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-leaves-eyes-symphonies-night/

Eden's Curse - Symphony Of Sin (2013 NN Promo)

"The first Eden’s Curse album with former Alogia and Dreyelands vocalist, Nikola Mijic is definitely a powerhouse of melody and thunder. There’s no doubt about the opener “Symphony Of Sin” and it’s inclusion into the top spot on the disc. Recorded with a 46-piece orchestra and containing an incredible vocal performance which is ultimately memorable throughout the entire album, this track caught me from the very beginning and made me a fan of the album from the very first listen. Yet there are even stronger tracks like “Evil & Divine”, which is literally as good as the market speak claims. The guys are making a video for this one, and I can personally think of no other song that I liked more on the disc than that one. So they’ve made a great choice there. Yet apparently, the band also wanted to take a stab into pop-metal with the ballad “Unbreakable”, which I wasn’t so sure about at first, but after really absorbing Nikola Mijic’s vocals (the man really is a gift to the genre) I’m reminded of great power-pop metal like Edguy that I love for the same damn reason. It’s catchy and it’s light-hearted..."

Read More: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-edens-curse-symphony-sin/

Germ - Grief (2013 NN Promo)

"Much heavier than his past outing Wish, this new album sees Tim Yatras going back to his old days in Austere, but with more of the experimentation offered from a Germ release. As such, we have the floating of keyboards (“The Stain Of Past Regrets”), the humming of electronics (“Departures”), the inclusion of dance grooves (“An End”), and several experiments in musical atmosphere which are too numerous to name. At a certain point in the album, the whole thing starts to envelop into one large and melancholic, yet beautiful atmosphere (“I Can See It In The Stars”) that seems to be too wondrous for words..."

Read More: http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-germ-grief/

Interview With Izegrim Now On New Noise!

"Congress Of The Insane is an incredibly fierce record. In some ways, I think it’s even heavier than Code Of Consequences. What was the attitude like going in to record this album and what was your goal for the disc? Were there any albums in particular that you looked to for inspiration?

Jeroen: Thanks ! Mission accomplished I guess [laughs]. While we are still very proud of our previous album, we all knew the new one had to reflect the rawness that we expose when performing the songs live. From the moment Bart and I wrote the first guitar-riff, we aimed for a non-polished sound, brutal, heavier and more “in-your-face” compared to the previous albums. These songs just screamed for a new approach and a different sound. Slow passages are now really slow and gloomy and the aggressive, faster songs are absolutely kicking serious ass. Actually, our own live-performances were the main inspiration; one could say that all our fans we met over the years are the main inspiration for this album. We tried to capture the energy we get on stage, that adrenaline-rush when the audience goes berserk. Sure, we have our favorite bands too; Bart finds his inspiration in Cannibal Corpse, Carcass and Nevermore (to name just a few), I tend to listen more to the death metal genre like Asphyx and Entombed. A cool mix of bands that Bart and I blend into our own compositions."

Read More Here: http://newnoisemagazine.com/interview-izegrim-hates-classification-female-fronted-band/

More of these ARE coming, but I'm not telling you any more than that right now.