Surprises 2008: In Mourning - Shrouded Divine

In the last one of my "surprises 2008" I will talk about one of the best discoverings of 2008. The great album of In Mourning, a swedish band that started making a slowlier music in those early demos than in the debut album. That gothic metal became a gothic-doom-melodeath in Shrouded Divine, a majestic album that inmediately set In Mourning as one of the best bands in 2008. With a palpable progressive touch and very origininal environment, clean and mostly harsh vocals and delicate and atmospheric melodies sometimes and melodeath catchy riffs other times, Shrouded Divine is probably my personal best discovering in 2008, and shouldnt pass over any open minded metal fan (even no-metal fan), due to the wide of their offer, the lots of genres they are touching and becoming solid under the same.

1.	The Shrouded Divine	07:11
2.	Amnesia	03:35
3.	In The Failing Hour	04:22
4.	By Others Considered	06:24
5.	Grind Denial	04:28
6.	The Art Of A Mourning Kind	05:29
7.	The Black Lodge	08:13
8.	Past October Skies	06:33

In Mourning - Shrouded Divine

Surprises 2008: Martriden - The Unsettling Dark

Martriden is a black/melodic death band from USA. They released their first album on 2008 after the well criticized EP in 2006. They have very melodic parts but also very brutal with powerful drums and blast-beats, production is great and voice is mostly black metal oriented. Riffs goes mostly from melodeath rythms to fast black metal tremolos, though they are not so varied or original sometimes. Some acoustic guitars and effective background keyboards that appear in some moments make this album to have a nice different touch.
Anyway, The Unsettling Dark is a good debut album, another band to look forward future releases.

1.	Intro	00:40
2.	The Enigma of Fate	05:35
3.	The Calling	05:07
4.	Ascension Pt. 1	03:26
5.	Ascension Pt. 2	04:07
6.	Processional for the Hellfire Chariot	04:35
7.	The Unsettling Dark	06:15
8.	Prelude	05:15
9.	A Season in Hell	04:48
10.	Immaculate Perception	03:33

Martriden - The Unsettling Dark

Surprises 2008: This Haven - Today A Whisper, Tomorrow A Storm

This Haven is a swedish band that mixes from Hardcore to Stoner to Melodic Death to Deppresive Rock Riffs but in a very rock-heavy metal feeling with progressive way of composing. I know you are confused about howcome all this mix could work or maybe just could sound. It's difficult to explain "Today A Whisper, Tomorrow A Storm", but although being the first album of the band it really gives the impression of maturity.
Sound is perfect, and nothing to hesitate if I tell you the producer was Dan Swano, and performance is also great. Voice is clean but with an important Stoner/Jonas Renkse from Katatonia touch, and we can hear in a secondary scene sometimes acoustic guitars or keyboards, even in "Plague" a female voice.
It really is a complete album of hmm I will take the risk :P alternative progressive metal? I tried lol

1.	It's The End	04:42
2.	I Will Deceive	04:13
3.	Welcome To Delirium	04:47
4.	The Fallen	04:08
5.	Hero Of Your Hell	04:57
6.	Itch!	05:15
7.	Apocalyptical Anthem: I. B.C., II. A.D.	06:24
8.	And The Devil In Me Smiles	05:01
9.	Plague	07:07

This Haven - Hero of Your Hell (Live)

This Haven - Today A Whisper, Tomorrow A Storm

Surprises 2008: Alestorm - Captain Morgan's Revenge

Alestorm is probably the biggest surprise in 2008. Just with the first album they got to be known among most of the metalheads and they are currently having an extensive tour and will play in numerous festivals. First known as Battleheart, after that demo in 2006 the company Napalm Records offered them a deal in 2007 and they changed the name due to the similarity with the finnish Battlelore.
Alestorm' style is selfdefined as "true scottish pirate metal", a kind of power-folk metal, that could be a mix of Running Wild and folk epic melodies (and drinking songs environment some times) that could recall to bands like Turisas.
First time I listened to it, it wasn't actually a very good impression. Those cheesy keyboards and melodies and the singer... but after some time I listened more and some songs are quite catchy.

1.	Over the Seas	03:55
2.	Captain Morgan's Revenge	06:42
3.	The Huntmaster	04:59
4.	Nancy the Tavern Wench	04:52
5.	Death Before the Mast	03:17
6.	Terror on the High Seas	03:51
7.	Set Sail and Conquer	04:38
8.	Of Treasure	02:58
9.	Wenches & Mead	03:42
10.	Flower of Scotland (The Corries cover)	02:37

Alestorm - Captain Morgan's Revenge
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Surprises 2008: Carach Angren - Lammendam

Carach Angren is a symphonic black metal band coming from Netherlands. They are playing a kind of symphonic black metal, very influenced by bands like the old Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir. Somehow I thought they were from France, maybe because they also sound similar to that band called Anorexia Nervosa in the blastbeats with orchestral arrangements, which are thoroughly and amazingly executed. The mixing and producing is really amazing for a first album.
Melodies have that evil-theatrical taste, which can recall sometimes to Arcturus, and that I personally adore, and vocals are really effective though sometimes the similarity with Shagrath is quite palpable. If you like orchestral black metal, Lammendam is a must listen.

1.	Het Spook van de Leiffartshof (Intro)	01:28
2.	A Strange Presence Near the Woods	04:13
3.	Haunting Echoes From the Seventeenth Century	05:05
4.	Hexed Melting Flesh (Bridge)	06:54
5.	Phobic Shadows and Moonlit Meadows	02:06
6.	The Carriage Wheel Murder	03:40
7.	Corpse in a Nebulous Creek	05:24
8.	Invisible Physic Entity (Bridge)	01:21
9.	Heretic Poltergeist Phenomena	04:08
10.	Malediction de la Madame Blanche	07:07

Carach Angren - Lammendam

Surprises 2008: Tiarra - Post Scriptum

Tiarra is a young romenian band of gothic doom metal. Influenced by the classical slow and romantic doom metal of those bands in the middle and late 90's but strongly as well by the swedish Draconian or germans Haggard, bands that came to my mind often, Tiarra uses one cello and one violinist in the line-up, giving a very sensitive and melancholic feeling to their music. Post Scriptum is a great debut album, slow, very melodic and with the beautiful voice of Anda leading, present in most of the vocal parts and making the growls totally secondary.
Really difficult to choose one better song than others, it is a very solid release and if you like gothic doom metal, it will be hard to quit listening after the first "Prologue", amazing song with the best following possible, "Ielele".

1.	Prologue	03:38
2.	Ielele	05:46
3.	In The Arms Of An Angel	08:31
4.	Tiarra	05:33
5.	Everything For Her	07:02
6.	Requiem (Pentru Un Erou)	08:00
7.	Post Scriptum	05:51
8.	Broken Echoes	10:03
9.	Epilogue	03:12
10.	Door Of Innocence (Bonus Track)	04:36

Tiarra - Post Scriptum

Surprises 2008: Consecration - Aux

Consecration , formed in Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro in 2000, (formerly known as The Lack Of Motivation), plays prog/post-rock influenced doom metal. Bands like Anathema, Opeth, Katatonia are coming easily to mind when I was listening to Aux, even in some parts, the most experimental Phlebotomized or the prog70's King Crimson.
There were few albums of that doomish post-rock that I liked, lots of those bands try to copy other "great ones" like Kyuss or Tool (bands that I dont like too much), or make a metalized version of Radiohead, but somehow, I enjoyed with the first album of Consecration everytime I played it more and more, mostly those melancholic passages like Cliffhangers or Shelter Me.
They call themselves the "Def Leppard of Doom Metal".

1.	Aimless	05:56
2.	Rinasek	06:39
3.	Passage (aux)	06:43
4.	Cliffhangers	07:33
5.	Absinthe	03:35
6.	Shelter Me	06:07
7.	Mercury Room	13:39

Consecration - Aux

Surprises 2008: Synesthesia - From Amnesia To Apocalypse

Synesthesia is a greek band (appearing lots of good bands from that country!) that makes a kind of progressive very melodic death metal. But, the style is wider than that, they play with many influences, growls and a personal clean voice that sometimes could recall a mix of some gothic male singer and Ville ex-Sentenced, some electronic keyboards, clean guitars, atmospheric moments, and in general very varied songs that makes us to enjoy and listen quite easily their debut album.
Many influences and delicate taste in melodies and composing make this From Amnesia To Apocalypse one of the worthest albums of 2008.
Just like anecdote, some of their members are also part of other interesting projects that came lastly from Greece like Transcending Bizarre?, Dol Theeta or Dol Ammad.

1.	Temptation	05:09
2.	In Silence Digress	06:56
3.	Field Of Sorrow	05:06
4.	Threshold	04:27
5.	The Distance Within	05:38
6.	Frozen Rose	06:19
7.	Through The Eyes Of Ambivalence	08:00
8.	Departure	05:05
9.	Frozen Rose (radio edit)	05:04

Synesthesia - Threshold


Synesthesia - From Amnesia To Apocalypse Part I
Synesthesia - From Amnesia To Apocalypse Part II