It was very kind of Vic Records to release this special 2-song material on CD format, as you may know it was originally released on 10" vinyl by From Beyond Productions in 2005. Of course, the magic of 10" black vinyl at 45 rpm is hard to beat, but this CD release is decent nonetheless. Also great to notice that the CD edition has the same front cover, back with band/studio photos, inside with band photo and credits as the vinyl edition, plus since the booklet is 8 pages in total, there are some extra things in it, such as liner notes by Wannes Gubbels, lyrics and related photos. These bonus features are definitely great, and Pentacle fans will certainly appreciate them. Fans of the Dutch death metal horde will also know that these two songs were recorded during the studio sessions of "Under the Black Cross", and the "Archaic Undead Fury" EP was released about 7 months after the LP. Therefore, the band's line-up is as follows: Wannes Gubbels (vocals/bass), Mike Verhoeven (guitar), Alex Verhoeven (guitar) and Robert Smissaert (drums). The songs were recorded at the legendary Harrow Productions, and thanks to Marc ter Braake, they have been given a masterful aural interpretation. The CD opens with "A Hellish Descend" (4:48), which is a pretty typical Pentacle song with all the beloved hallmarks. If I compare the sound to the vinyl version, I have to say that it was overdriven during the mastering process, which makes the sound less enjoyable on CD. That said, I found it a bit strange that the second track, "Blast Them from the Sky!" (4:21), was mastered differently and therefore sounds better, or shall we say more optimized. Well, this song is much more varied, perhaps because Alex was involved in writing it alongside Wannes. Since it's only two songs, I recommend the "Archaic Undead Fury" EP only for hardcore Pentacle fans, but if you can, get the vinyl version instead, because it sounds better!!!

I received this material from a friend who keeps in touch with Rob Moschetti. I don't think Rob needs any introduction to fans of punk, hardcore, crossover, thrash metal or even death metal, but of course most people know him from M.O.D. and Pro-Pain. So "Prisoner to No One" is his solo release, combining 10 songs with 41 minutes of playing time. All the songs are written, performed and produced by himself, but there are also a dozen guest musicians who have added their own trademark touches to the already superbly arranged songs, adding even more depth and variety to his solo album as a whole. Rob has a very honest, outspoken and in-your-face attitude that you can easily hear in his lyrics, but that's always been essential for any punk or hardcore band, hasn't it? The album opens with the title track, a solid cut that has all the ingredients of the aforementioned genres, plus a touch of Motörhead and Bobby Gustafson's impressive solo. This is followed by "Guardian Angel", which further intensifies the harshness and brutality both musically and lyrically. Definitely a highlight of the album. The third song is called "Life and Death". The emphasis here is on slow creeping but very catchy and sludge-like riffs. Then comes "It's Got to Be". It's not about being heavy, it's a kind of relaxing tune with lots of melody, especially in the vocal parts. "Dear Joan" is the fifth, a rather slow-paced song with an absolutely dark atmosphere, again focusing on the heaviness of the guitar riffs. To my surprise, one riff bears a resemblance to Unleashed's "Shadows in the Deep". By the way, it's the longest song on the album. The next is "Total Waste". It's quite groove-dominated, and maybe because of the vocals, but it reminded me of Machine Head here and there. On a related note, I would like to add that the backing vocals there are also very killer. This continues with the heavy metal anthem-like structure of "From a Stone", which is resplendent with both memorable guitar melodies and vocal arrangements. With "Immortal" Rob takes us back to heavier sounds and faster riffing. At 2:18 I found a small jump-like error in the left channel, nothing super serious, but certainly the result of a bad mixdown or digitizing process. The ninth track is "One Day", which sounds quite atmospheric thanks to its acoustic guitars and clean vocals. And as I had already subconsciously guessed, the last song on the album is another heavyweight track called "Once Was". The perfect song to end the album, with a very unexpected and abrupt ending, ha-ha... In short, we have a very varied album that both hardcore and metal fans will surely enjoy listening to. The digipak packaging has all the information you need about the album and the guests, although it's definitely a shame that it comes with a burnt CD-R instead of the factory pressed CD, but the music is great and that's what really counts! Oh, and to top it all off, the album was released on Rob's wife's label. A fantastic alliance for sure! So go now and get your copy from any of the links below!!!

Sarcovore is a really brutal and technical death metal band from Greece. Formed in 2019 by Theo (guitar & bass) of Birth of Depravity fame, the band originally started out as a one-man band. However, the debut album, "The Calling", was recorded as a trio, with Greg and Mitsos on vocals. The promo CD-R contains 9 songs, and with the exception of the instrumental track "In Purity of Darkness", everything is about brutal sonic destruction in the beloved death metal genre. Sarcovore's music is not about modern interpretations of brutal death metal, on the contrary, it is influenced by the initial brutality of the good old 90s American death metal bands, but also by the inhuman pace and technical bravura of the brutal hordes of the mid-2000s. The title track, for example, sounds very much like a tribute to the great Monstrosity. By this I mean that they are not only similar to them musically, but also in terms of vocal parts. Then there are songs where they go absolutely crazy in terms of speed and technicality, like "Smash the New World Order", "Adjacent Dystopia" or "Designed to Kill". At over 26 minutes, the album has a very transparent and balanced mix and sounds super massive. By the way, Greg and Mitsos do a pretty sick job on vocals, sometimes even reminding me of Glen Benton's dual vocal arrangements. And just so you know, they have a song called "Uncompromising Death Metal", so you better take this band seriously, because it's about the purity of death metal with maximum attitude. This great death metal material was released on cassette by Against Human Filth Productions and on CD by Sevared Records. I personally really enjoyed listening to "The Calling" and I bet all death metal fans will too, so if you're interested you can place your order using any of the links below. This is old-school brutal death metal at its best!!!

Sars is a four-piece band from Rzeszów (Poland), formed in 2018. "Synthetic Domination" is their most recent release, but they also have a 5-song EP called "thRough Reality" and a single called "Walk Through Shadows", both released in 2021. The band describes their style as "blastematicgroovecore". Quite a strange definition of style, isn't it? Well, their music is quite extreme and heavy, downtuned, abstract and futuristic, so very modern sounding. There are plenty of blast beats in their repertoire, but I'd say it's the combination of groove and ethereal atmospheres that dominates this 29+ minute debut album. Sometimes you get the vibe of Meshuggah and Decapitated, or an Asesino/Brujeria-like mechanical riffing in "The Race" and "Sinister Roar", but there's actually a lot more to their music. The membership of Sars is Marcin "Dyvan" Pitorak (vocals), Marcin "Cinek" Jasiewicz (guitars), Marcin "Baran" Barañski (bass) and Maciej "Surovy" Surowiec (drums). What the quartet did in these 8 songs is like capturing moving images of a decaying, self-destructive, post-apocalyptic world. And the end result is, dare I say it, mind-blowing and soul-stirring. Cinek is also responsible for the devastating soundscape, while Dyvan wrote all the lyrics. Mac Janas designed the cover artwork, which aptly sums up the concept of the lyrics. The 6-panel digipak is quite well designed and available directly from the band. If you're looking for quality extreme music with a futuristic approach and made in Poland, then I definitely recommend Sars!!!

"Victory Through Chaos" has quite an interesting story, as the music for the album was originally composed between 2004 and 2007, recorded as a demo in 2007, and then completely re-recorded in 2023. The CD-R contains 11 tracks, with over 57 minutes of playing time and a really excellent sound. The music here is a faithful reflection of what The Crypt was all about in 2007. And at that time they were inspired by all things dark, black and atmospheric, so musically you can expect quite an interesting mix, so to speak. For example, there are references to Dissection's third and last album, "Reinkaos", but also to Morbid Angel's early material, and I could go on... Their repertoire is mainly focused on ancient forms of death, thrash, black, doom, heavy and dark metal, but there are also instrumental, meditative moments, such as in the song "Dim at Noon", dedicated to Cliff Burton. Quite a variety of genres, you might say. Indeed, but with The Crypt, I think we're used to not expecting the same musical formula for their next material, because experimentation is everything for them, and it seems to have been the case even in 2007. Personally, I'm glad that this stuff is metal-oriented and has that old-school feel to it. The core of the band on this "blast from the past" album is Nate Yuggoth (bass & vocals), Adam Haste (lead guitar) and Aliaksandr Kubyshkin (lead guitar). And as always, they had a lot of guest musicians to help them with the final arrangements. The lyrics of "Victory Through Chaos" are dark and misanthropic, and completely lacking in subtlety. The 8-page black and white booklet features all of them, along with a great cover art by Doomesia. In short, they've got everything you need for a trip to the old-school metal realms, so if you're interested, check out their bandcamp page!!!

Ever experimental, The Crypt has returned this time with musical influences and lyrics from exotic places around the world. Yet the most unique feature of "Lux Libera Me" is that it features all-female vocals, sung in 10 languages. So, with 47 minutes of playing time, these 10 songs are about to transport you to some super relaxing, sometimes even hypnotic and ultra-soft soundscapes, with just a hint of metallic influence. Their second composition, which somehow reminded me of Mercyful Fate in general, shows this mild metal mood. But apart from that, the emphasis is more on weaving mystical essence into the most extraordinary patterns of ethereal melodies and magical shaping of harmonies. Thus, the keyword for this material is clearly "bewitch". Each song is different, but it's the enchanting and relaxing nature of each that binds them together. The main members are Nate Yuggoth (lead bass, 6 and 12 string acoustic guitars) and Adam Haste (synth, organ, lead guitars), who are joined by a long list of guests from all over the world. Let me just mention here the female vocalists who made this album both outstanding and strangely bizarre, they are the next Raquel Gomes, Rim Bouali, Gillie Rowland, Christine Restakyan, KavyaKriti, Rahel Teka, Deyah, Milagro Espin, Jone Agirre and Layal Soliman. As usual, the album was engineered, mixed and mastered by Daniel Pavlov. The burned CD-R comes with an 8-page booklet containing all the lyrics and necessary information about the album. If you admire relaxing, atmospheric and hypnotic music with female vocals, then be sure to listen to "Lux Libera Me"!!!

The Crypt have once again managed to release 2 albums in one year, both of course in a completely different musical style, as is typical for them. This second is an ambient release, containing two long pieces of just over 29 minutes. In a way, I can compare it to "Рудий Ліс" (2023), because that was also a kind of ambient album, and I could say that "Beholden to No One" is at some point an extension or continuation of that material. It's quite horror-centric, scaring you with different sounds and effects, while also using a kind of cyclical drone approach most of the time. The tracks are entitled "A Rogue Transmission" and "Intronaut". These were recorded by Nate Yuggoth (bass, glasses, 12 string acoustic guitar, jaw harp and vocals), Adam Haste (organ, synthesizers, 6 and 12 string electric guitars) and Dan Smrz (synthesizers, cymbals, djembe, sheet metal) with the help of Jacob Wegehaupt (vocals), Skyler Champeau (vocals), Paul Taylor (lead guitar) and Kadeem Ward (lead guitar). The sound engineering, mixing and mastering was done by Dan Smrz. The 4-page booklet contains everything you need to know about the record, as well as a great, but very abstract-looking cover art by Anhelina Vaschenko. "Beholden to No One" offers fewer musical ideas for fans of The Crypt, but it's still a good release, especially if you like experimental dark drone ambient music. Well, I'm really looking forward to their next release, which I'm already sure will contain some of the strangest and most bizarre musical aspects possible!!!

Well, obviously I had to buy the reissue of this great album on CD as well, because I love it so much. I have the first press CD version released by Koch International Poland in 1997, so I will compare it to that. Let me say right from the start that there is little difference in sound and levels from the original, which is definitely good news, but the reissue still has audibly improved sound quality. First of all, the sound is a bit sharper, which makes the whole album crisper and more in your face, and this newness is especially noticeable on the guitars. Secondly, the reissue waveforms are even less compressed than the originals, which is easy to notice visually in any DAW. So these new features are more than excellent and do justice to this fantastic album. The quartet, Peter (vocals/guitar), Mauser (guitar), Shambo (bass) & Doc (drums/samples), were definitely on fire when composing this sonic death metal monster. Another great thing about the reissue is that it includes the song "Anamnesis", which was previously a bonus track on the Japanese CD release. So there are 11 songs in total, with a playing time of 32 minutes. Now let's talk a little about the look and design of the CD reissue. It's a 6-panel digipak with a 16-page booklet. The front panel of the digipak features the original artwork by Jacek Wisniewski, as it should be. The booklet looks the same as the vinyl reissue, so it includes all the lyrics, individual photos of the members and some live photos. But when I start to flip through the original booklet, also 16 pages long, I find myself thinking how much better it is, and it has two more band photos, of course the live concert photos are only part of the reissue, but still the original booklet is cooler in every way. The first press releases are always the best, it's a proven fact! In any case, "Black to the Blind" is a death metal classic, so if you missed it before, this reissue might be a good choice to fill in the gaps in your collection. And remember, Vader rules supreme!!!