Forest - Like a Blaze Above the Ashes
From Russia hails Forest, a band on the BlazeBirth Hall roster (read: NSBM). Like many other bands associated with BlazeBirth Hall, Forest is heavily influenced by the likes of Burzum and old Emperor (not to mention ancient Bathory). Like Burzum, Forest is dark, atmospheric and enjoys writing epic-length songs. Like a Blaze Above the Ashes is about 45 minutes long and has four songs. If you average things out, that means each song is roughly 11 minutes in length - give or take a couple seconds here and there. Minimalistic riffing and song structures abound on this album, beating one good riff into the floor before starting another one. The production isn’t as treble-heavy as the bulk of this particular genre tends to be - though they’re nowhere near as heavy as Drudkh or Weakling. This is definitely a step upwards from their debut, which was also pretty decent. While their political opinions are kind of radical, they don’t let it infect their music. If you didn’t know BlazeBirth Hall was NS oriented, you’d never know it from listening to Forest. NS or not, this is still a solid piece of Norse-influenced Black Metal.
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Flowing Tears - Razorbliss
The tears in question are obviously those of any heterosexual who has been subjected to Power Metal’s answer to Evanescence.
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Fleshies - Gung Ho!
Cheap, sloppy, noisy, thrown together Punk Rock. These guys don’t take themselves too seriously, and coincidentally no sober individual that hears this album will either.
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Fission - Crater
This band plays an absolutely exhausted style of Gothenburg Death/Thrash with about half of the heaviness and aggression that even most lower tier copycats can muster. And the “Folk” aspects are merely moments of Journey awkwardly thrown in. In summary, a forgettable compound of boredom and cheese. Cheddar apparently does not make every bite better.
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Final Breath - Let Me Be Your Tank
To say that this will appeal to fans of Slayer, Lamb of God, Unearth, and The Haunted is insulting, not only to me, but to anyone who’s ever heard music. Not to mention it’s a complete lie. This sounds like some fucking JL America/Turbo Thrash! Rehashed, remastered, and repackaged for resale. Stunningly average. A couple of fucking breakdowns doesn’t make you Unearth. So far, this Magick label hasn’t shown me shit.
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Fearbringer - Le Notti del Peccato
Extremely well done Black Metal in the ancient vein. Misanthropy and melancholy are conveyed to perfection amidst an ominous feel of evil and contempt for the clergy. The sad melodies atop the blasting on “The Mad Nun” fill my head with visions of impending winterkill in a torrential blizzard. The occasional Maniac-style clean singing took a short time to get used to, but there isn’t a whole lot that could ruin the feeling of old that Fearbringer so convincingly evoke. If you consider yourself a hardcore fan of Darkthrone, Burzum, Abigor, Graveland, or Ulver (before they started playing Easy Listening), you will welcome the chore of seeking out this obscure release. Plus, I’m pretty sure this band is from Italy. Go wops! We’ve got four good bands now!
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Fallen Empire - Skepticism
Yet another in an endless sea of Gothenberg clones. As is usually the case, decent songs, good melodies, and sharp vocals, but it has been done and done and done over and over and over again to a painful fucking death! Since the glory days of At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, and In Flames, 10-15 bands pop up a year that sound very much or identical to what Fallen Empire is doing on this EP. Sorry, guys. You’ve got the talent, you’re just a decade-plus late.
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Fall of the Leafe - Volvere
It’s been quite a few years since I’ve heard this band. In fact, the last I remember hearing of them was way back on their Evanescent, Everfading album, which was before they went all “Art Rock.” The press release says something about how much you’ll like this is you like current stuff from Paradise Lost or Sentenced, and all I can think of is how sad it is if that’s true and those once-great bands really are this lame now, all this time after I’ve given up on them. I mean, this sounds like it could be on the radio. Just imagine what the radio stations are like here in tiny little Elkhart, Indiana! This might get better after the second track, but it was too headache-inducing for me to proceed any further.
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Fall of the Bastards - Dusk of an Ancient Age
Black Metal with a Thrashlike rhythmic diversity, that is to say, they mix speeds well. The vocals, riffs, and production are all fine, but for whatever reason, this bores me to absolute fucking tears. Good musicians, but it’s so run-of-the-mill it hurts. Try harder.
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