Kassapu is a ritual ambient band who also play some black metal. We are working on a CD right now as well as some concert stuff. Most, if not all of our ritualistic beliefs are done in the style of Sumerian magic. Most of our songs are done entirely in that language as well. More updates and pictures to come

Chaos Theory will be released in February of 2011, and I will make it available on to all for free. If it does well, I will make a second ambient album and so on and so forth.

The writing process has been delayed a bit due to monetary complications and a busy schedule, including applying for other bands. I'm sorry, but I'll try to post a few songs every once in a while.

There will be 12 tracks, and the relative track length is 3-5 minutes. This whole album will be ambient, though most dark, the next side will be more lighter, happier.

I have a few ideas for cover arts, but this is the one that pops out most in my brain.

Any questions, contact me, and I will answer as soon as possible.

I have been experimenting with Ambience recently, and I have found a sound that I am starting to develop. The tracks should start to get increasingly better, especially since I found that my sound is more along the lines of Ildjarn and Merzbow.

Thanks for your patience and listening.

I have three tracks I am happy with right now, and those will be uploaded asap, The album I will be making is called Chaos Theory. It is putting many emotions into dark ambient, so be prepared for experimental.

-Athanati Este

3 reviews in one! Sorry for the lack of posts, I haven't been able to get on internet, so it's been hard. These are all available to read on metal archives.

Equilibrium's Rekreatur review:

Folk metal has had many faces since one of the pioneers, Windir, came to be. One of the better sides has been Equilibrium. It's safe to say that folk metal is still one of the genres still sticking to it's roots. Equilibrium, circa 2001, has always impressed me, and with this release, I'm sure that the path they are on is a good one indeed. Rekreatur is one of the best folk metal albums since 1184 (Windir, 2001). To be honest, folk metal is probably one of the genres I enjoy most. I listen to many different bands in that genre. I've noticed a trend in folk though: bands usually have one or two good releases and then start to decay. Ensiferum, Eluveitie and Korpiklaani have shown it, but Equilibrium has not.

Rekreatur is the latest addition to the Equilibrium discography and I must say that it's great. I love each of their releases, including their demo, but this one seems to be their best. It brings back the epic sounds of Turis Fratyr and adds the metal aspects of Sagas. It's so well rounded as a folk release. This band, though relatively new has shown to be one of the best folk (or metal for that matter) bands out there at the moment.

The drums in this release followed Polka tempos, waltz tempos and metal ones. The polka tempos gave it a quickened beat and gave the song a mosh feel, while the waltz brought it a dance-oriented feel and the metal gave it an all around epic sound. The music aspect of the release was really good. It was all mixed perfectly and it didn't have that feel that it was trying too hard, which is common in a lot of folk metal, such as some songs where they just talk on and on about the "Glory for their brothers and for Asgard". It brings the same shit, spins it and gives it a new flavor.

Vocally, the album wasn't astronomical. I wasn't impressed with Robse's vocal work. It was truly cut and paste, kind of like what Cradle of filth did with Thornography. I do, however, think Robse is a better vocalist. It has been clear to me that he can do a lot, and I respect him as a vocalist, but on this release, I wasn't too happy. It didn't always fit the mood, especially the growl. To be honest, I had hoped to hear some chants on the music, and maybe some melodic vocals to round the folk aspect. I guess not every folk band can do that, but it would've been nice to hear it.

To end this rant, I think that Equilibrium will bring us more great music and if you haven't heard them do their thing, nows the time to start. I would recommend them to anybody and this album tops their career.

Highlights: Der Wasserman, Aus Ferner Zeit, Fahrtwind, Kurzes Epos

Ozzy Osbourne's Scream review:

You know, I've always been an Ozzy fan ever since I was about 3 or 4 and my father introduced me to him among bands I still love to this day. I remember the awesome guitar riffs thanks to the god of the six string, Randy Rhodes. I also remember the crushing atmosphere of songs like Bark at the Moon and Diary of a Madman. When I think Ozzy, I think nostalgia. I also think of how I began my journey on the metal road that I still walk this day. Nobody hasn't heard of Ozzy Osbourne, especially since hits like Crazy Train, Flying High Again and No More Tears hit the radio, not to mention his media exposure with the Osbourne's Show. The problem is that he's so washed up now that it's tough to listen to him. He broke his neck, struggled with addiction and has had many tough aspects with his life. It's no wonder his music has taken a dive, only he still decided to continue his career. After a long hiatus, Ozzy returned with the sophomoric release, Black Rain. It was a...well...different sound to his melodic heavy metal. I did in fact enjoy the release, but it was way worse than anything that he released before No More Tears.

Scream is the newest addition to the Ozzy discography. I first saw the cover when I logged on to this site about a month ago and all I could say is "goddammit". I then instantly went to youtube and listened to the title track, "Let Me Hear You Scream" and I wanted to vomit. I seriously cried at the fact that Ozzy was this bad. I remember seeing him do live shit last decade and he was horrible at that as well. He's one of the geriatric old men of metal that should have quit, especially concerning his past uses of drugs and hospitalization.

Zakk Wylde was fired in late September 2009, but you know, I really can't tell at all. All the riffs sound exactly like Zakk's. I thought this was horribly ironic. Gus G is a great guitarist and I enjoy a lot of Firewind's music, but on this it seriously sounded like he just tried to mimic Zakk. I even wondered if Zakk would sue him for copyright infringement it was that bad. Ozzy stated that the reason that he let Zakk go was because his music was "beginning to sound like Black Label Society". Now that is a perfectly legitimate reason to fire a guitarist, however, hiring a power metal guitarist and telling him to sound exactly like the previous guitarist is asinine.

Ozzy's vocals are (as always) the central focus of the album. It's slightly better than Black Rain, but it didn't impress me all that much. I thought it basically sounded like a raspy, tone deaf, less melodic Ozzy. Even the lyrics were horrible, not that they were ever amazing. I felt a little less depressed then when I heard Black Rain. Honestly it was mediocre, but it was extremely boring to hear Ozzy say something along the lines of "I am black and I'm bruised, beat up but still I take blows" every song. Yeah, Ozzy, you've dealt with a lot, but you're still a has been.

All in all, I guess I liked the title track a bit, as it's a bit catchy, but other than that, nothing stood out to me due to the fact that I was just so used to the way Ozzy used to sound. Everybody loves the original Ozzy. Diary of a Madman, Blizzard of Oz, Bark at the Moon...all great, all classics. Scream will go down in history the same as Nostradamus did - a crappy attempt to re-energize the band and start a new sound. Well Ozzy, Just quit while you're ahead, so you can at least end your career with some dignity.

Highlights: Let me Hear you Scream

Struck by Lightning's Serpents review:

First thing's first - Wow. Now that I've got that out of the way, I heard about these sludgy, hardcore death metal band when I heard they were lining up behind Weedeater in a new tour. I had never heard the name, so I decided to check them out, and I'm so happy I did. I instantly fell in love with the band. This whole release fit so many sounds that I liked, it was hard for me to put it down for almost a week. I think in the month or two I've had it, all 11 songs on the album have at least 15 plays each in my ITunes.

Serpents is the debut release by this band, and it was an interesting improvement to the scene that they are in. I can say that aside from a few hardcore bands, I detest the scene for the reason that it is just so fucking boring. This band hits sounds that remind me of Samothrace, Nihilist, Malevolent Creation and the Cro-Mags. I was astounded at the immense amount of weird, intense death metal influenced by punk on this record.

For a punk influenced band, the instrumental parts of the record were phenomenal. So much passion was in the music. The guitars fit well with the bass, which was amazingly heard, unlike a lot of death metal or punk. In fact, I think the bass was the highlight of the album. It was really loud, very atmospheric, just all around a lovely sound that just makes you sit back in awe. Drums on the album were slightly easier then I would have put on there though. As a drummer myself, the fills were slightly slower then the average punk plays and the songs themselves follow a sort of doom metal feel at times, but it's a good feel to the album. I'd sit back and chill to this album any day.

Vocals were ASTOUNDING. For a band that uses the crust/hardcore style of singing, it felt so right. I didn't know what to thing when I heard the song "Silent and Still". It was honestly like the Cro-Mags met Kataklysm. It was so crushing, that my chest felt heavy, yet so soothing my spirit felt at ease. I even felt a sense of passion in them that I have not heard in a long ass time. Another good thing about the album is that it's so angry, yet so focused. I hate it when bands just sound like chaotic messes due to their anger, which is why Anaal Nathrakh pisses me off a lot of the time. This band feels so channeled, that it the album is just right.

Highlights: Silent and Still, The Watchful Eye, Widowmaker, Tightening the Noose, Collectors of Teeth

1349 is a band that any black metal enthusiast has heard, most likely enjoyed, has a CD of and has gotten bored with. To start 1349 are not a great band, nor are they bad. They're really mediocre and even more boring than anything. I have been listening to black metal since I was a teenager, and 1349 was one of the first bands I got into. That's really all they're good for - getting angsty teens to listen to their music. They're the Slipknot of black metal. That being said, 1349's only good release was Hellfire. The release was solid, tight end, in your face black metal at it's finest. I find myself listening to it every once in a while and it's really just a fun listen more than anything.

Demonoir is a release that, to me, seems to be a bit of an overuse of the blast beat. Many bands do it, but mostly deathcore or metalcore. All I heard in the record was that frost was going at a steady 260 - 300 bpm rate. I couldn't hear much else. It was a huge annoyance. Now mind you, I prefer this to the release that came right before this (which was an astronomical shit upon black metal), Revolutions of the Black Flame, but that's not saying much. 1349 have not really changed that much. Ravn is still being a screechy cat, Frost is still being a drummer obsessed with his own speed. This band is really just an extension of Funeral and early Satyricon.

Guitar was stereotypical in this record. Either it focused on the chugga chugga riffs or the really fast paced, whiny black metal tremolo picking. It was just boring. For being a band that Tom Gabriel Warrior backs up, it's pathetic. I don't even know why he does to be honest. The bass is unheard of, hell its hard to even say they have a bassist. I looked into their songs and all the bassist does is sit back and play the same notes over and over the whole song in a really quiet fashion. Another stereotypical black metal thing this record hits on...

Another thing that pisses me off about this record is all the ambient tracks in it. Does every track REALLY need an intro? Of course not. That's an absurdity in music. It's just as bad as Nostradamus (Judas Priest, 2006). I can't really say that this record made me sit back and go "wow, that was great", nor can I say it made me retch for being so bad. All you can really do for this album is pass it up. It's an album on the lower side of black metal. Hell almost half the 1349 ones are. If you want a good black metal band that's still astounding in it's music go to Marduk or Urgehal. Both of the bands are basically the same principal in the music, been around longer, still kick ass. As I sit here, finishing off my pack of smokes, I just came to realize something. This release should have been 100% ambient. I mean at least the ambient pieces were good, but there were too many. If it was just an ambient piece (something like Ildjarn did) I'd be astounded, but this...this is boring.

Highlights: all the ambient pieces, none of the metal.

Ramesses is a band I'm not entirely familiar with, however I love the band. With sludge, doom and psychedelic metal at their peaks right now, it's no wonder many new bands are coming around. Bands like Struck by Lightning and Ramesses are popping up all over the metal radar, and it's a pleasure to hear new talent. Ramesses isn't technically a "new" band, but as they haven't been around for too terribly long, I still consider them relatively new.

I first heard of Ramesses after asking a friend of mine who loves sludge and doom metal for recommendations on the genres. The first band he said was Ramesses, followed by Acid Witch. I can say that Ramesses was a great addition to the music I listen to, and easily snaked its way into my top 50 bands of all time. This new record just proves that they can do so much with their music and it's an amazing thing to see a band hit sounds reminiscent of Electric Wizard, Acid Bath, Eyehategod and early Doom. I was extremely impressed with the new record.

It starts off with a faster paced track then the rest of the album follows, but it's probably one of the better tracks on the album. The drums focus on a simplistic blues beat and follow a progressive fill. It's mostly like many of the other drums in doom metal. In fact I think drums in doom metal is the weak point. The only band that astounds me in doom is Minsk. To be honest the music is pretty weak, but it fits perfectly. I would say that even though you may not like the music that Ramesses play, you can at least give them the fact that they are always on time with one another. It's relatively hard to find bands like that these days.

The Vocals follow both blues oriented doom and death oriented doom, being that they hit growls and melodic vocals. In fact, the track, "Terrasaw" uses the Acid Bath technique with growling over the singing. It's a surreal sound to the music. Many of the songs flow together, so the record can be boring at times, but I still think it fits the mood to chill out and listen to with a few friends, especially if those friends love doom metal.

Highlights: Iron Crow, Black Hash Mass, Take the Curse, Another Skeleton

1349, 16 Bit, 2Pac, 311, A7IE, ...Aaaaarrgggh..., Abhorer, Abigor, Ablaze My Sorrow, Abnormality, Abominable Putridity, Aborym, Abruptum, Absu, Absurd, Abyssic Hate, Abysmal Sorrow, AC/DC, Accept, Achocarlos, Acid Bath, Acid King, Acid Witch, A Cloud in Circle, Ad Hominem, The Adicts, Adorior, Adultery, Aerosmith, Aesculetum, Aesthenia, Aesthetic Perfection, A Forest of Stars, Afroman, Agalloch, Aguynguerran, Ahab, Akercocke, Alabama Thunderpussy, Alcest, Aldebaran, Alestorm, Alice Cooper, Alice in Chains, Alien Vampires, Almighty Emperor, Allman Brothers Band, Altaria, Amduscia, Amebix, Amesoeurs, Amon Amarth, Anaal Nathrakh, Ancient, Ancestral Luminous, Angantyr, Angra, Angra Mainyu, Anhedonia, Anorexia Nervosa, Antaeus, Anthrax, Anti, Anti-Cimex, Antisect, Arckanum, Arkona, Armaggedon, Arthemesia, Aryan Art, Askival, Asmodeus, Atheist, Audioslave, Avichi, Avinar, Avsky, Aysenlur, Azaghal, Baal Gadrial, Bad Brains, Bad Religion, Bang Camaro, Barbarity, Barthezz, Bathory, Bauda, Behemoth, Beherit, Behexen, Belenos, Belinus, Belketre, Belphegor, Benighted in Sodom, Beyond Light, Biggie Smalls, Black Cobra, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Black Death, Black Flag, Black Funeral, Blackguard, Black Label Society, Black Pyramid, Black Sabbath, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Blind Guardian, Blind Illusion, Blind Mellon, Blink-182, Blood Stained Dusk, Blue Öyster Cult, Blur, Blut Aus Nord, Blutklinge, Bob Marley, Bon Jovi, Bong, Bongripper, Bongzilla, Boondox, Bootsy Collins, Boredoms, Boris, Borknagar, Bornholm, Boston, Bourbon Crow, Branikald, Breaking Benjamin, Brenoritvrezkore, Brocken Moon, Brown Jenkins, Buckethead, Burning Witch, Burzum, Butthole Surfers, Cage the Elephant, Candlemass, Cannabis Corpse, Cannabal Corpse, Carcass, Cara Neir, Carpathian Forest, Carved in Stone, Celtic Frost, Ceremonial Castings, Cheeseburger, Chaos Moon, Children of Bodom, Church of Misery, Cindarella, The Circle Jerks, Circle of Ghosts, Cirith Gorgor, Cobalt, Cold Void, Coldworld, Combichrist, Common Grave, Concubia Nocte, Cor Scorpii, Corpsefucking Art, Corpus Christii, Count Basie, Cradle of Filth, Craft, Cream, Crimfall, Cro-Mags, Crom, Cruachan, Cry of Silence, Cypress Hill, Dantalion, Danzig, Dark Forest, Dark Fortress, Dark Funeral, Dark Lotus, Darkspace, Darkthrone, DatsiK, David Meshow, Dawn of Ashes, Dawn of Tears, Daylight Dies, Dead Kennedys, Demonizer, Death, Death Cube K, Deathcult, Deathspell Omega, Deathstars, Deep Purple, Def Leppard, Deicide, Derek And The Dominos, Deströyer 666, Desaster, Dethklok, Die Sektor, Dimmu Borgir, Dio, Dir En Grey, Disfear, Dissection, Disturbed, Diversant 13, DNA, Dødheimsgard, Dokken, Dominia, Doomriders, Doom, Doom:VS, The Doors, Dopamine, Down, Dragonauta, Dragonheart, Dragonland, Dream Theater, Driller Killer, Dropdead, Drowning the Light, Drudkh, Dub Buk, Dysthymia, Edguy, EgoNoir, Einherjer, Electric Wizard, Element of Eclipse, Elffor, Elite, Eluveitie, Eminem, Emperor, Empyrium, Endstille, Engelmacher, Ensiferum, Enslaved, Enthroned, Entombed, Eohl, Equilibrium, Eric Clapton, Esoteric, Ethere, Ethereal Beauty, Ex Deo, Exiled From Light, Exodus, The Exploited, Extinction Front, Eyehategod, Faith No More, Falkenbach, Fen, Fenris, FGFC820, Fiend, Finntroll, Finsterforst, Five Finger Death Punch, Flagellator, Folkearth, Folkodia, Foo Fighters, Forest, Forgotten Tomb, Frailty, Frank Zappa, Freternia, Frostmoon, Fukpig, Funeral Mourning, Gallhammer, Galneryus, Gamma Ray, Gataka, Gehenna, Genghis Tron, Gerard K. Marino, The Germs, Ghoul, Glittertind, Glorior Belli, Goatmill, Goatwhore, God Dethroned, God is an Astronaut, Godflesh, Godsmack, Gorerotted, Gorgoroth, Gorguts, Gorillaz, Grand Magus, Grateful Dead, Graveland, Green Jelly, Grendel, Gris, Guns N' Roses, Gwar, Hagalaz' Runedance, Hammerfall, Hate Forest, Heartwire, Heidevolk, Helloween, Helvetespine, Herbie Hancock, Heretoir, Hocico, Holy Grail, Hordak, Horna, Human Error, Hypothermia, I, Iced Earth, Ichor Kanker, Ihsahn, Ildjarn, Immortal, Impaled, Impavida, Infected Mushroom, Infernal War, Inquisition, Insane Clown Posse, Inverna, Invictus, Iron Maiden, Iron Savior, Isengard, I Shalt Become, Isis, Isolation, Iuvenes, IXXI, Jethro Tull, Jim Carroll Band, Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, Journey, Judas Iscariot, Judas Priest, Jupiter Toadstool, Kæltetod, Kältetod, Kalmah, Kamelot, Kampfar, Karl Sanders, Kataklysm, Katatonia, Keep of Kalessin, Keldian, Khold, Khanate, King Diamond, Korn, Korpiklaani, Kottonmouth Kings, Krallice, Krohm, Krokus, Kult ov Azazel, Krypt, Lantlôs, The Legion, Lemuria, Les McCann, Leviathan, Liam, Life is Pain, Lifelover, Lord, Lord Belial, Lord Foul, Lordi, Lord Wind, Lujhboia, Lunar Aurora, Lurker of Chalice, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lyrinx, Make A Change...Kill Yourself, Malevolent Creation, Månegarm, Manowar, Marcy Playground, Marduk, Marilyn Manson, Mastodon, Matricide, Mayhem, Meatloaf, Megadeth, Menhir, Mercyful Fate, Merrimack, Metal Church, Metallica, MF Doom, Mgla, Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, Minsk, Mirzadeh, The Misfits, Mistress of the Dead, Mithotyn, Moloch, Moonsorrow, Morbid Angel, Mordheim, Mordhell, Mortician, Mortiis Dæmonium, Mötley Crüe, Motörhead, Mournful Congregation, Mourning Dawn, Mudvayne, The Murderdolls, Mütiilation, My Dying Bride, Myrkgrav, Mysticism Black, Nachtmahr, Nachtmystium, Nae'Blis, Nagelfar, Naglfar, Nargaroth, Nartulran, Nasum, Nattefrost, Nazareth, Necromantia, Necrovore, Neurosis, Nifelheim, Nihilist, Night Conquers Day, Nile, Nirvana, Nocternity, Noctiferum, Nocturnal, Nocturnal Depression, Nocturnal Necropsy Nokturnal Morutm, Noothgrush, North, Norther, Nortt, Nunslaughter, Nurzery [Rhymes], Oakhelm, Octavia Sperati, Öde, Odroerir, The Offspring, Of The Wand And The Moon, Oingo Boingo, Old Man's Child, Old Wainds, Om, Ondskapt, Onheil, Onryo, Orange Goblin, Overkill, Ovskum, Ozzy Osbourne, Pantera, Panthiest, Panzer AG, Paradise Lost, Paysage D'Hiver, Pearl Jam, Pensées Nocturnes, Pentagram, Pest, Peste Noire, Pestilential Shadows, Pink Floyd, Poccolus, Poison, Possessed, Potluck, Primordial, Primus, Prince, Psycopathic Rydas, Psyclon Nine, Psycroptic, Queen, Queensryche, Quiet Riot, Rage Against the Machine, Ragnarok, Rainbow, Ramesses, Rammstein, The Ramones, RATT, Raventale, Reaktor 4, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Repulsion, Reverend Bizarre, Rhapsody, Rhapsody of Fire, Rick James, Rise Against, Ritual, Rob Zombie, Rome, The Rotted, Rotting Christ, Rush, Sabbah Navahthani, Sabbat, Sacrificia Mortuorum, Samael, Samayoi, Samhain, Sancta Poenas, Santana, Sarcófago, Sargeist, Satan's Blood, Satanic Slaughter, Satanic Warmaster, Satriani, Sator Marte, Satyricon, Savatage, Schallfaktor, Schizophrenia, Scorpions, Scum, Secretly In Pain, Seol, Sepultra, Serj Tankian, Seth, The Sex Pistols, Shadowbreed, Shadows Fall, Shape of Despair, She Wants Revenge, Shining (NOR), Shining (SWE), Shyy, Sigh, Skaldic Curse, Skeletonwitch, Skid Row, Skitliv, Skitsystem, Skream!, Skyforger, Skywave, Slavogorje, Slayer, Sleep, Slightly Stoopid, Slipknot, Snoop Dogg, Sociopath, Sodom, Sombres Forêts, Sonata Arctica, Sonic Youth, Sort Vokter, Soulgate's Dawn, Soundgarden, Spinal Tap, Sterbend, Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Storm, Stutthof, Sublime, Suicide Commando, Suma, Summoning, Sunn O))), Sun Ra, Survivor, Svarga, Swallow the Sun, Swashbuckle, Sworn, Sympathy, Syrgðr Skógr, System of a Down, Taabut, Taake, Tactical Sekt, Talamyus, Talking Heads, Tearstained, Tech N9ne, Temple of the Dog, Tenacious D, Terror, Terrorfrequenz, Testament, Thergothon, Theudho, Thin Lizzy, Thorns, Thoth, Thränenkind, Thronar, Throne Of Katarsis, Thule, Thy light, Thyrfing, Todeskult, Tool, Total Negation, Toxic Holocaust, Trap Them, Triptykon, Trist, Triste, Tsjuder, Turisas, Tvangeste, Twilight, Twisted Sister, Twiztid, Type O Negative, Tyranny, Tzolkien, Ulver, Unearthly Trance, Ungod, Unholy Matrimony, Unholy Trinity, Unter Null, Urgehal, Van Halen, Veil, Velvet Cacoon, Velvet Revolver, Venom, Versailles, Vérzivatar, Vinterland, Vinterriket, Vintersorg, Vlad Tepes, Vobiscum, Volahn, Volkolak, VON, Vowels, Vreid, Walknut, Wardruna, Warrant, The Warrior Dubz, Watain, Waylander, Wedard, Wednesday 13, Weedeater, Wehemut, When Mine Eyes Blacken, White Zombie, The Who, The Widdler, Wigrid, Wiht, Windir, Wintersun, Wodulf, Wolfbrigade, Wolfchant, Wolfpack, Wolfmare, Wolves in the Throne Room, Wulfgar, Wyrd, Xasthur, Yggdrasil, Yngwie Malmsteen, YOB, Zombie Nation, Zrec, Zyklon-B, ZZ Top

Lantlôs is a relatively new band, even to the scene it hails from; which is relatively new itself. Post-black metal, blackened shoegaze or whatever you want to call it is a fairly new genre to the metal world. Unlike most post-black metal bands, however, Lantlôs usually uses faster drumbeats and higher oriented chords revolving around a jazz based sound. I first heard about them when they released their first album, and I fell in love with their sound. It was a fresh sound to the black metal scene, especailly since most bands these days just sing about the same shit over and over.

The album starts with a simple jazz oriented chordal opening. To be honest, I wasn't that impressed with the first song until the chorus, when the entire beat of the song changed up and they started using double bass. The song is good, but it just made it feel a little too slow with the simplistic jazz beat. The chordal structure was great, focusing on more then just 1/3 drops, power chords and reversed power chords, which is hard to do in the style of music they play.

Like most shoegaze, they used many effects, and an extreme amount of track overlay. I could probably hear 5 guitar tracks in the loud parts of the song, and each one had either a reverb or a gain blast on it making the album 20x more atmospheric then with just one guitar. I actually enjoyed it, even though I hate it when bands mask their sound with a bunch of delays and reverb.

The instrumental parts of the songs weren't too difficult. An novice could play most of the songs. The only real difficult parts were the switches, especially the 5/8 timing on some of the songs. I loved that they didn't stick to the traditional 4/4 or 3/4 timing in all their songs, so that also gave it a unique feel.

All in all, Lantlôs has surprised me again; in more ways than one. I can honestly say that of all the post-1990's albums, this is the best one I've ever heard. It ranks up there with Crack the Skye and Wormwood for me, which is hard for a band to do. I could even go as far as to put it as one of my top 10 albums of all time. It's the sweet melodic sounds that their jazz influenced shoegaze puts out. It just feels so right when you listen to this record. There is honestly no words to describe it.

Highlights: These Nights Were Ours, Pulse/Surreal, .Neon

So Nachtmystium is back with their second installment in the "Black Meddle" albums, eh? It almost feels like yesterday when they released "Assassins - Black Meddle Part I". Maybe because that was almost exactly this time; two years ago. And between the two albums, Doomsday Derelicts was released. It looks like Nachtmystium have nothing better to do than to release albums and EP's every single year, not that this is a bad thing.

The album opens up with a sort of Drum-esque ambient piece reminiscent of Lustmord or Merzbow, but on top of that, they spell out "nothing hurts more than being born". All I have to say about that is that it's too emo, even for Nachtmystium, who have always talked about sadness and death. The piece itself is good, but could be done better, as it's off tempo a bit and it seems to have too much effort put into a drum ambience piece. Even Ildjarn and Niddhog didn't try to make their ambience anything more then what it was.

This release was so much more experimental then the first one being that it had many tracks that used some form of background noise that almost put your mind into an acid trip. I like this type of music, but I never expected Nachtmystium to do it, which threw me off when I first heard the single "No Funeral", which used a keyboard to create a slow, almost electronic feel to the music, especially in the choruses, where the only thing that made it sound like the song itself was that it used the same drum beat. I thought this song was the weakest out of the bunch, but it was still a fun listen.

This album seemed to resemble a lot of what Leviathan had done, but I guess that is to be expected with Wrest being on the writing crew as a session musician. I think that Wrest's drumming was probably the best part of the release. As a drummer myself, I can tell when a beat is barely off, but Wrest did damn good in the fact that even slow songs, like "Then Fires", he kept a beat that was amazingly well and pulled the music together flawlessly.

Blake Judd's vocals were better then in Assassins, but I still think Nachtmystium's highlight in their career was Instinct:Decay, which was the start of their psychedelic/experimental change. His vocals seemed more punk oriented in this release, which threw me off, because they're still considered "black metal" by many, and punk vocals are on the other end of the chain then black metal vocals. He does his best job in the song "Addicts" where he actually carries a melody (mind you, not a great melody, but a melody nonetheless)

I've gone on about this album and all it's good points for far too long now. It's almost as if I can't find something wrong with it, but that's speaking to fast. The thing I didn't like about the album is that it did NOT sound like Nachtmystium. It was a major change from Assassins, even bigger then Assassins was from Instinct:Decay. It almost sounded as if their label asked them to change their sound to downplay not only their talent, but to get out of the underground and into the mainstream. I guess it's just me nitpicking, but it's still an annoyance of mine.

Highlights: Nightfall, Then Fires, Addicts, Ruined Life Continuum

When I think of Watain, one of the starters of the Orthodox black metal genre, I think of the fact that they have never changed. In almost 12 years, they have never changed. All their records seem to flow together in a sort of mediocre paste that you can lap up and almost enjoy. However, this new record is a lot more deep and meaningful to me in the fact that they turn down Danielsson and the drums and tone up the lead section. It's nice to hear the guitar over his screams for once.

This band has always come off to me as a starter black metal act, in which you listen to them in the beginning, but then ditch them later to listen to black metal that actually has a progressive feel and moves around in their music (ex: Cobalt). I mean, people can only take so much of "O thy dark lord, take my soul for however you so choose!" over and over. It's almost as bad as "Its a small world". I will say that they do better at their monotony then Slayer, but that's not saying much. Now, I'm not saying I hate Watain, nor do I say they're my favorite band. I do like their music, and Casus Luciferi was a great album when I was 15, but now, I can't listen to them for too long.

Lawless Darkness was an album that sort of brought back the sound of Casus Luciferi and spun it around a bit. It was more thrash oriented then Casus, but at the same time, kept the overall feel of the album. I loved the leads in the songs, especially Reaping Death, (Released in April, two months before the actual release of Lawless Darkness) even though the solo was really just guitar wanking and a bunch of higher end power and barre chords. Another thing - What's with bands adding "Funeral" in their song titles for their newest releases? I mean, there is "My Funeral" (Dark Funeral...go figure) and "No Funeral" (Nachtmystium). Now there's "Total Funeral"? It just seems like bands these days have lost their creative juices.

Another thing I noticed about the album is that it was more progressive then the last ones. It didn't focus solely on blast beats and tremolo picking like the earlier releases. Most of the album is very high octane, yes, but much follows a progressive feel. The drums don't just sound like popcorn popping in the microwave, and the guitar doesn't feel like a gradeschooler playing the same 6 notes over and over again. I like that aspect of the release more then anything.

Danielsson's vocals also improved a lot. He is more focused, less screechy. He sounds like he's going to try a more Mortuus (Marduk from Sweden) feel to his vocals. This is a great thing because I was tired of the whole black metal that sounds like a dying cat screaming into a megaphone thing.

There's really not much to say that hasn't been said about Watain, especially since they started going more and more mainstream. Next thing you know they're going to be the next Gorgoroth, so enjoy their semi-unknown-ness while you can, because the second they can get signed to a huge label, it's all over for them.

Highlights: Reaping Death, Lawless Darkness, Waters of Ain