Alpthraum - Eyes of a Monument

Alpthraum's Eyes of a Monument is symphonic metal. Think Dimmu Borgir symphonic not Nightwish symphonic, despite it having nothing to do with black metal. The metal itself takes backseat to the well crafted orchestration. The riffs are almost too simple to stand on their own, but work very effectively when combined with the symphonies.

The word "Alptraum" (without the H) means nightmare in German, and Eyes of a Monument does work as a epic score to your dark dreams. Like a metalized version of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds, not about conflict from outer space, but from the inner dreamworld. Here's the review from Don't Count on it Reviews.

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Septicflesh - The Great Mass

Renowned metal label Season of Mist have setup shop on Bandcamp! The bands have individual pages, each featuring their Season of Mist discography. Among the 44 bands available now, we find symphonic death metal giants Septicflesh from Greece, and their three albums from the Season of Mist catalog: Sumerian Daemons, Communion, and The Great Mass from 2011.

The Great Mass is a fully orchestrated death metal album, with the orchestral elements perfectly integrated into the metallic fabric. This is not a new or groundbreaking approach, but Septicflesh perfectly balances the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, a full choir, powerful death vocals, brooding clean singing, brutal riffing, and songs that switch from blazing speed to crawling slowness in an instant. Impressive. Here are reviews from Angry Metal Guy and From the Dust Returned.

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Fire in the Cave - Fire in the Cave

Review by Aaron Sullivan.

Artwork by Jean Saiz (Shroud Eater).

From the ashes of Bad Actor comes a new band Fire In The Cave. Consisting of the same line up but with a different approach. This time with a more atmospheric type Sludge. The riffs are meaty and the vocals have a Hardcore Punk feel to them. The ebb and flow of the songs work well. They balance the heaviness with the softer parts, allowing songs to breathe and progress naturally. The lead work is also something that stands out adding an old school metal feel to it. Only two songs. But they show the promise this band has. Hoping to hear much more from these guys in the future.

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