Lumnos – Ancient Shadows of Saturn

Band: Lumnos
Title: Ancient Shadows of Saturn
Label: Flowing Downward
Release Date: 12 February 2018
Country: Brazil
Format reviewed: Digital Promo

Most recently I’ve been taken to several journeys through the stars by couple of bands, and Lumnos – the one-man band, kindly invited me to take another Cosmic voyage. This time the destination is Saturn -  the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. The most typical feature of Saturn is the ring system surrounding the giant planet. This is the first paragraph from my tourist guide about Saturn.

However the main part in the guide is written by Lumnos and the journey can really become possible thanks to the great talent of Putrefactos – the main man behind the band, who is performing all the instruments. He receives interesting additional support when developing this record: lyrics by Saddy, B.M. – (black metal) vocals, mix, mastering; Unknown – clean vocals and additional synths in the “I’m born from the star” track. The album is produced by Nekkomix.

What is actually the “Ancient shadows of Saturn”? An epic, massive lo-fi, ambient black metal album combining cosmic, blackgaze, atmospheric black metal elements, in order to create the 51-minutes journey to the deepest Universe. Marvellous! As stated on the band’s page, the main idea of “Ancient shadows of Saturn” is to create a story around Saturn – since the beginning till a fatal end. “An ancient life born from a star longing in Saturn changing and elevating around. The primordial darkness was gone and ancient shadows of Saturn was set to conquer the entire galaxy”. All 5 tracks are deep, existential, airy and painful. Melancholic. Making us dream, yearn, crave, leaving us speechless. Because we are small parts of the infinity…

“Ancient shadows of Saturn” is an amazing escape of the reality. The album is for those moments when we all want to be alone, with no soul near. When we need to take a deep breath and try to answer all the existential questions for ourselves. It is for those nights when we just need to let go off the world, close our teary eyes and just sail away. For those moments when our thoughts wander almost in a dream in search for peace, but carrying the sorrow at heart. When words are just needless.

Oh hell, this Universal black lo-fi ambient journey is only for all the souls which can really feel it. 9/10 Count Vlad

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9/10 – Epic Storm


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Whipstriker - Merciless Artillery

Band: Whipstriker
Title: Merciless Artillery
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Release Date: 9 March 2018
Country: Brazil

Here's another Whipstriker release. 10 years in the game and full length Album No.4 (among 29 other singles/eps) from these maniacs of Brazilian Speed/Thrash Metal. Adorned with a splendid Rok/Sadistik Ex inspired cover art, it is blatantly clear just what this is all about! Skull crushing head removal. Yep, Merciless Artillery pretty much does what it says on the can!
Released in the latter part of 2017, we now see Merciless Artillery gain a wider distribution release via the bands new label in Hells Headbangers Records. Good work too, as this has massive appeal to those looking for straight down the line, no frills speed metal attack! If you are familiar with this band at all you certainly won't be disappointed in what you hear. In fact, this is possibly the band strongest work to date. Having said that, musically this is not a great leap from their earlier work, it's just that they've captured a particular vibe on this album that works on a different, more responsive level.
Newcomers? Well, think equal parts old school Venom/Motorhead meets the filthy crusty end of Hellhammer/Sodom inspired riffage. Dirty, raging speed metal anthems that arrive, inflict maximum damage and then leave you drained before you realize the album is over! Incredibly, and most surprisingly, embedded within this maelstrom of white noise and relentless double kick battering is some quite tasteful and, dare I suggest it, melodic lead work that adds a new(er) dimension to Whipstrikers sound. Vocally, Whip himself reminds me a whole lot of Cronos (Venom) with his harsh, rough as guts delivery suiting their style perfectly. Song wise, everything is on a par with everything else - pure, frenetic speed induced mayhem that asks nothing more from you than to bang thy head! Merciless Artillery has a wicked spirit about it and despite its absolute familiarity, one can't help but be enveloped in its atmosphere. No one expects high-brow convoluted compositions here...as stated, it does what it says on the can. You know what you're getting and as far as Whipstriker is concerned, that is good enough indeed.
If fast, loud filthy speed metal riffage is your go-to, then Merciless Artillery is begging for your attention. No pretentiousness here folks...this has spirit, this has balls. It is absolutely Metal in every way!  8/10 By KMaN

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Sepulchral Whore "Everlasting Morbid Delights"

Band: Sepulchral Whore
Title: Everlasting Morbid Delights
Label: Metal Ways Records
Release Date: 15 May 2017
Country: Brazil

Brazil has always been very generous when it comes to solid metal acts, especially in the heavier spectrum of the genre. This is even more valid when the reality is brutal, life is hard and vicious and people need to suffer for their sins. The sunny days are all over and now comes the misanthropic Everlasting Morbid Delights by Sepulchral Whore.
The trio originates from Recife, Brazil and has been around since 2015. Very much influenced by the 90s death metal, the band offers punching morbid old school death metal with some thrashier parts, with excellent changes in tempo, heavy riffs and slower melodic parts, as well as the heavy echoing vocals spitting hate and vomiting on the sacrileges in life. Everlasting Morbid Delights is a solid EP consisting of 7 dark whispers (9 in the limited version; the additional two are recorded live during band’s rehearsal), with total running time of 28 min for the short version of the album. Originally the band released independently this EP in May 2017, but it keeps on beeing released through various labels, even now in 2018. The mandatory Intro is there. With Malicious Conflagration the band leads its unholy army into the battle to destroy Good. The song is very vibrant, intensive and with a catchy melody at the same time. The title track Everlasting Morbid Delights offers fantastic riff in the best traditions of Swedish death metal and on top so heavy, so torturous slower parts, that the burden of the all the sins of the mankind and the pain of the false existence could be felt easily. In Slumber They Succumb has deep and hard first half which explodes into mid-fast second part with blast beats. Horrifying Weak is thrashier, with generally simpler and melodic riff, with a classic Scandinavian death metal melody in the end. Naturally it is shorter compared to the rest of the tracks. Of course the mandatory instrumental is here too – the atmospheric acoustic Rotten Wings of Creation, bringing stink from the nearby mass grave. Necromancer’s Rites is the crushing end of the album, praising the God of fatality and decay where “Domains are shrouded by storms/bloodbath along the surface/taken from the boundaries of hate/ the worthless logic of tragedies.” Everlasting Morbid Delights is a fantastic album, which will become a favourite to all the followers of death and thrash metal. The Brazilians show that they have been excellent students at the Death Metal University, but also they are bringing their own fresh morbid vibes to keep the darkest flame alive. 9.5/10 By Count Vlad

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