Things haven't been going well for Crematory recently due to numerous line-up changes throughout the past decade, financial difficulties and some heated online exchanges between band leader Markus Jüllich and some fans. Still, Crematory has shown lots of consistency, integrity and perseverance over the past few years and has now released its fifteenth studio album Unbroken.

The record doesn't offer anything new but summarizes the band's strengths very efficiently on fifteen entertaining tunes with a very generous running time of sixty-six minutes. ''Unbroken'' is a sinister industrial metal stomper with discordant keyboard sounds, electronically processed vocals and heavily roaring guitar riffs to open the hostilities with a bang. 

Up next comes ''Awaits Me'' that is much faster and quite melodic. It successfully introduces new clean vocalist and rhythm guitarist Connie Andreszka. 

The mellow but not shallow ''Rise and Fall'' has the greatest commercial potential on the album. It should also please fans of smoother gothic rock or even gothic pop music. 

''Behind the Wall'' introduces some Electronic Body Music elements to the band sound. It makes for an energetic but also danceable track. I could imagine this song being played in gothic discotheques around the world if it received some more promotion.

''My Dreams Have Died'' has a more epic note and calmer tones. It might be described as efficient power-ballad. This song pushes the limits of Crematory's songwriting capacities.

All other tracks on the album fit into the genres of the five tunes described above. On one side, the album delivers everything Crematory fans could be craving for. On the other side, the record becomes predictable and repetitive after a while and includes a few too many fillers. 

Personally, I'm also still having trouble digging Connie Andreszka's clean vocals. They don't sound as melodic as Matthias Hechler's or as passionate as Tosse Basler's and feel a little bit unspectacular. Perhaps, he needs some time to adapt to his dual role as rhythm guitarist and second vocalist. Time will tell whether he will end up being a good fit for the band. So far, he leaves an average impression as singer and a good impression as rhythm guitarist.

To conclude, Crematory fans will certainly like Unbroken that focuses on the band's different soundscapes and strengths that have kept the band going for three decades now. Those who have despised the band and aren't into gothic metal won't be convinced by listening to this output. If you have never listened to Crematory so far, you could start your journey with the excellent compilation Black Pearls or listen to the equally diversified but better executed studio albums Believe, Revolution or Pray. Fans of old date and collectors should pick up this record's limited boxed set with two brand new tunes, a cover version of White Lion's ''When the Children Cry'' and some alternative cuts of two songs of this album's regular version.

Final rating: 70%

Thai thrash metal veterans Donpheebin consisting of three brothers on drums, guitars as well as bass combined with vocals had two very distinctive sounds throughout their career. On one side, the band focused on oppressive death and thrash metal sounds that could especially be found on the band's earlier outputs. Secondly, the band focused on calm progressive tunes with lyrics related to nature or entirely instrumental approaches. This release's title seems to indicate a connection to the latter concept which is completely wrong. This live album actually features the band's first official concert under the Donpheebin banner and doesn't include any appeasing, intellectual or progressive tunes. The concert wasn't recorded in a rural community either but in downtown Bangkok. Even the song ''Return to the Nature'' from the band's first album wasn't played that night.

Instead, we get to hear ten oppressive thrash metal tracks with variable vocals between clean and harsh parts. Especially the second half of the concert focuses on more progressive song structures and carefully crafted melodies. ''อุบาทว์-อุบัติ'' shows the band's creative potential and meanders fluidly between fast and raw passages and slow and appeasing moments that make for an exciting roller coaster ride.

On the atmospheric side, ''ทำไม?'' has the most enthusiastic crowd participation. The singer has only just announced the song when the crowd cheerfully sings along and provokes the concert's most haunting moments.

''สุดแท้ทางเดิน'' ends the concert in appropriate manner as the band's most brutal tune with discordant guitar sounds, pumping bass guitar and speedy drum patterns. This style recalls several American thrash metal veterans that used to close their pioneer records with the most brutal tunes. This song here takes no prisoners either and offers four and a half minutes of relentless energy before the band bids farewell.

Despite several positive elements, this concert also has a few downsides. The opening speech that drags on for four minutes before any music is played is boring and starts the album on a very low note. The first few songs sound rather exchangeable and offer oppressive thrash metal by the numbers as only the second half of the set list does the talented, diversified and creative band justice. The guitar solo in the middle of the concert feels like an odd break that plods on for far too long, especially since it's actually longer than about half of the songs on this output.

Still, we must keep in mind that this was the band's very first concert under the Donpheebin banner and it must have been a great joy for local metal fans to finally see the country's most important genre group on stage. The atmosphere is great, the communication between the band and the crowd is excellent and especially the concert's second half is filled with creativity, energy and passion. This record is highly recommended for anyone interested in the South East Asian metal scene and serves as a solid introduction to local legends Donpheebin's early years.

Final rating: 67%

Chapters is a very good retrospective in anti-chronological order to introduce fans to Amorphis' early years from its progressive and psychedelic rock masterpiece Am Universum back to the grumpy death metal outbursts on The Karelian Isthmus.

This compilation is generously filled with seventeen songs and a respectable running time of seventy-seven minutes. It's interesting to note that this release doesn't only cover songs from the band's five excellent studio records but also some obscure material from singles and extended plays. The songs aren't fillers for collectors however but of a surprisingly excellent quality. Sadly, the release doesn't feature any unreleased material.

Highlights of this release include, in chronological order, the blistering and atmospheric death metal track ''Exile of the Sons of Uisliu'', the melancholic fusion of death, folk and gothic metal in band hymn ''Black Winter Day'', the mantra-like dreamy progressive folk rock tune ''My Kantele'' and the ambitious, emotional and progressive masterpiece ''Alone''.

This compilation also includes a DVD featuring five music videos. That is a waste of space and the release's only downside. The record company could have included some live footage, some interviews or perhaps even a documentary about this outstanding band.

Despite the missed potential of the additional DVD, the music itself represents Amorphis' amorphous, changing and experimental sound very well. The band evolved from grumpy death metal over progressive extreme metal with Nordic folk influences to progressive and psychedelic rock soundscapes in just a decade. This compilation includes the band's greatest hits as well as some excellent obscure material. Newcomers and collectors should pick this release up alike.

Final rating: 75%

The first time I listened to this outstanding record was more than a decade ago on a warm summer night with a few friends around a campfire close to a river. The album fit perfectly under these circumstances and I asked the friend who had brought the portable stereo player and the record more about it. For years, I had been looking for this record in numerous stores and couldn't find it. Recently, I've had the occasion to listen to it again and I'm planning on purchasing it one day as well. Needless to say that this album has left a lasting impression to be remembered so fondly twelve years after having listened to it for the first time.

Swedish quintet Manegarm usually plays a mixture of black, folk and viking metal that isn't bad by any means but nowhere near as outstanding as this atmospheric acoustic folk release. The album might only feature six tunes plus a very short overture for a running time of twenty-seven minutes but every second is pure magic. This release is worth the price of a regular studio album.

Apart of acoustic guitars and percussive elements, we can also hear cello, flute and violin as well as guest musicians on cowdrum, djembe and enchanting additional female vocals that complement the soothing clean male vocals perfectly. Each song sounds appeasing, creative and inspiring recalling the optimism of traditional folk tales as much as the more intellectual twist of the neofolk genre. If it were up to me, Manegarm could entirely drop its metal records and only focus on this type of music.

The shining highlight of this album are the sounds of nature that connect the different tracks. They give you the impression to sit around a campfire as you hear burning logs, rain, thunder, wind and even animals living in the nearby forest. Few bands have created this kind of effect so efficiently. Only obscure Thai thrash metal veterans Donpheebin come to mind with their overlooked Return to the Nature concept.

To keep it short, anyone who likes folk music and the spirit of nature should check Manegarm's overlooked experiment Urminnes hävd - The Forest Sessions out. It's worth being tracked down and even the slightly elevated price for this rather short release is justified. Listeners will get twenty-seven minutes of pure folk magic that is far away from the band's usual sinister metal soundscapes. Spin this masterpiece to celebrate the return of spring these days.

Final rating: 90%

Stallion is a German quintet that celebrates classic heavy metal of the eighties on its third studio record Slaves of Time. Its mixture of heavy, speed and thrash metal is truly energetic and in the spirit of the golden era of said genres. The youngsters already sound like experienced veterans with tight rhythm section, energetic guitar play, diversified vocals and appropriate production for the instrumental work.

Especially the vocals are noteworthy, sounding like a mixture of Judas Priest's Rob Halford and King Diamond in the late eighties and early nineties. Highlights include the pitiless ''No Mercy'' with its energetic gang shouts and variable vocals that could even appeal to extreme metal fans thanks to their pitiless delivery. ''Time to Reload'' shows the band's more melodic side and has obvious hard rock influences in the key of AC/DC without sounding too bland, conservative and predictable thanks to excellent guitar play and emotive vocals. ''Die with Me'' clocks in at seven minutes and turns out to be a haunting power ballad that could come from Accept in its best years.

This very good album however has a few flaws as well. First of all, the heavily nostalgic songwriting is at times quite predictable and missing an own note to offer a creative take on the genres it worships with so much passion. The second and most important flaw is the echoing effect on the lead vocals that gets rather nerve-firing after a while. While the instruments sound precise, organic and dynamic, the vocals seem to have been recorded in a cave. Perhaps the band wanted to give the album a unique sound or add some underground production value with this but the combination of the excellent instrumental sound and the flawed vocal mastering is an odd mismatch.

In the end, Stallion's appropriately titled Slaves of Time is a feast for fans of hard rock, heavy metal and thrash metal of the late eighties and early nineties. Instead of spinning the classics by Accept, Judas Priest, King Diamond, Running Wild and W.A.S.P., you should give these five motivated German youngsters a chance. They certainly don't reinvent the genres they are worshipping but especially the charismatic vocals and excellent guitar play elevate this record above so many exchangeable heavy metal revival groups around the world these days.

Final rating: 75%