Darkestrah is a pagan metal band inspired by Central Asian shamanism that originally hailed from Kyrgyzstan. Today, the band is based in Germany, its label is Canadian and the musicians performing on this output hail from Iceland, Iran, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. The band has been going through quite some line-up changes in recent years but now seems to be set and ready to strike.

This wonderful extended play entitled Chong Aryk is published digitally and physically and will also see a vinyl release later on. It features three tracks with a generous total running time of twenty-one minutes.

''Gift of Mud and Venom'' has been released as a single last year but has been reworked a little bit for this output. It's by far the best song on this extended play. It opens with mysterious folk sounds performed by instruments such as long-necked lute azeri tar, string instrument cuatro, long-necked lute divan, long-necked lute tanbur, jaw's harp temir komuz as well as the shamanic drum and some atmospheric keyboard layers. This folkloristic overture suddenly evolves into a thunderous epic black metal song with cold guitar riffs and speedy rhythm section. Çaruk Revan's vocals are quite outstanding as her unchained growls are as intense as her bleak howling while her clean vocals are also surprisingly hypnotizing and deserve to be used even more in the future. Despite a challenging running time of ten and a half minutes, this song never gets boring and deserves to be explored over and over again due to its intriguing details.

Up next comes ''The Warrior Poet'' which is a pagan black metal song without too many experiments. The guitar riffs are even more brutal and the rhythm section quite pitiless while the vocals focus on desperate howling reminding of cold wind racing through forlorn steppes. The song might lack some variety throughout its seven minutes but will be hailed by genre purists for its bleak energy.

Closing song ''Broken Wheel'' is more melodic and playful and shows the band's versatility best. However, the song rather feels like a teaser for greater things to come since it already ends after three minutes and a half. Perhaps the band could develop this promising tune into a conceptual epic on a future release.

At the end of the day, Darkestrah's new line-up seems creative, energetic and versatile and this extended play should please any fan of pagan black metal. Especially the epic opener is an instant masterpiece while the other two tunes are good but could have been fleshed out a little bit further. I'm curious to see what will come from this line-up on a possible full length effort in the future as the group seems to be on track to release some stunning material in this formation.

Final Rating: 75%

It took industrial thrash metal band E-Force six and a half years to release a successor to the dynamic Demonikhol. Quite a few things have changed in between both records as only founding member Eric Forrest from Canada remained on board and is still performing bass and vocals. French musicians Sébastien Chiffot on guitar and Patrick Friedrich on drums joined the band four years ago and perform on this record.

Despite these line-up changes and long break between two releases, E-Force hasn't modified its sound too much. The band still plays industrial thrash metal focusing on cold, depressive and dystopian atmosphere. This sound heavily recalls Eric Forrest's works with Canadian progressive metal band Voivod in the nineties and it doesn't come as a surprise that the closing tune on this new album is a revamped version of Voivod's ''Insect'' that sounds quite decent but obviously also similar to the original material.

The other tunes are able to compete with the sounds of Negatron, Phobos and Kronik from the nineties and should also please fans of bands such as Vektor, Sepultura and Ministry or even the more experimental side of Morbid Angel and Septicflesh. The band convinces most when it focuses on its atmospheric side with brief sound collages, longer running times developing cinematic soundscapes and progressive songwriting structures that are cleverly employed but never sound too complicated. Single ''Hellucination'' exemplifies in five minutes everything E-Force stands for and the epic ''Hypnotic'' isn't only the record's longest tune but perhaps the track with the greatest replay value due to its creative details that make it worth discovering over and over again. The cold production blends in perfectly and makes this album sound like a surreal sonic nightmare.

At the end of the day, E-Force's fifth album Mindbender is just as strong as its predecessor Demonikhol despite the line-up changes and long break between both albums. This band is a perfect choice for those who appreciate dystopian industrial and thrash metal sounds recalling the approaches of bands such as Voivod and Kreator in the mid- to late nineties. Bands who play this particular style have become quite rare and it's great that at least one great band performing this genre is still around these days. E-Force deserves more attention and recognition and here's hope that the international trio might embark on a world tour once this dreadful pandemic is finally coming to an end. Meanwhile, Mindbender is an appropriate soundtrack to the current state of affairs in the world and might strike a chord with anyone looking for a balanced combination of aggression, atmosphere and intellectualism.

Final Rating: 80%

Hamada Mari is a pioneer who has paved the way for numerous female singers in the rock and metal genres in Japan, from Show-Ya over Band-Maid to Lovebites. No other country has such an impressive variety of female performers in said genres as Japan. Hamada Mari's impressive solo career started at the tender age of twenty, after having already performed in all-female rock band Misty Cats, punk rock band Mari Band and as backing vocalist in Hamachan. On her debut record which translates to Lunatic Doll - Assassination Warning, the talented singer from Nishi-Shinjuku gets supported by an excellent backing band, consisting of Loudness drummer Higuchi Munetaka, Make-Up guitarist Matsuzawa Hiroaki, session bassist Nagasawa Hiro who would later on work with 44 Magnum, guitarist Kitajima Kenji who played in numerous bands such as Fence of Defense, Pearl and TM Network, guitarist Yuasa Shin who had a short but impressive career with glam rock and heavy metal band X-Ray from Osaka and keyboarder Nakajima Yuki who played in multiple early heavy metal bands such as Eastern Orbit and Heavy Metal Army. While this backing band reads like a who's who of the early Japanese heavy metal scene, lead singer Hamada Mari is the shining star on this output.

Hamada Mari certainly deserves the status as Heavy Metal Queen of Japan as she is often called. She had been playing in numerous bands in her childhood and teenage years, accumulating much experience in the process. She is a hard-working artist who doesn't only practise different vocal styles but who has also provided lyrics for her songs since her debut album. Her consistent career has been going on for nearly four decades, underlining an impressive flexibility, longevity and stamina that only few other artists have ever achieved. Hamada Mari's stage presence is incredibly energetic as she runs around and cheers with her fans without reducing the incredible quality of her vocals. Her stylish looks have always been on the pulse of time without looking forced since they only underline her stunning diversity. While other rock stars have been living in the moment without truly taking care of themselves, Hamada Mari has always kept a passionate but professional attitude and her impressive vocal range as she is nearly sixty years old now and her mesmerizing beauty that makes her look better today than many other singers who are half her age underline her dedication to her career. If you thought Warlock's Doro Pesch has been the most important female heavy metal singer of the eighties, you might be about to rightfully change your mind by listening to Hamada Mari's Lunatic Doll - Assassination Warning.

The opening ''Noah'' hits you in the face without any warning. Aggressive drum play, angry bumblebee bass guitar sounds, fierce guitar riffs flirting with speed and thrash metal genres and Hamada Mari's immediately unique, skillful, passionate, high-pitched and energetic vocals take you on a wild rollercoaster ride that simply makes you want to listen to this track over and over again.

''Tokio Makin' Love'' is a song that put Hamada Mari on the map right from the start and the playful heavy metal anthem sounds absolutely timeless. The playful guitar riffs, the powerful bass guitar tones and especially the vivid drum play including a short solo section prepare the stage for Hamada Mari's diversified vocals that vary from charming lower registers over passionate natural tones to high-pitched screams recalling Judas Priest's Rob Halford in his greatest years. This is a party anthem for the ages and if you don't feel like joining the ride by now, then it simply can't be helped.

However, Hamada Mari has always been a versatile singer and she already proves this quite impressively on her debut record. ''All Night Party'' goes away from the heavy metal genre of the relentless opening duo and enters mid-paced hard rock territory. Hamada Mari's register is more natural here and she even explores some atmospheric lower registers. The instrumental section has slowed down a little bit but is performed with a tightly swaggering groove where especially the drum play shines once again. This song is the perfect single candidate since it's catchy, danceable and joyful.

This album even features a wonderful power ballad with melodic guitar play and soothing vocals that makes you want to invite someone for a romantic dance. The song in question is ''Runaway from Yesterday'' and already foreshadows Hamada Mari's successful later career shift towards adult-oriented rock and pop rock genres in the nineties. As it would later turn out, Hamada Mari isn't only the Japanese Queen of Heavy Metal but also the Japanese Queen of Pop Music. In the context of the debut album, this atmospheric, dreamy and heartfelt ballad offers a welcome break from the heavy metal frenzy.

Her opening record remains versatile even when Hamada Mari is not performing herself as can be witnessed in two short, inspired and atmospheric instrumentals called ''Love Maker'' and ''Mistress'' that provide some breaks between the record's genre shifts and give listeners some time to digest the passionate material on display.

Hamada Mari's Lunatic Doll - Assassination Warning is a convincing debut for the Japanese Heavy Metal Queen and convinces with energetic heavy, thrash and speed metal material, danceable hard rock tunes, dreamy rock ballads and even two smooth instrumental tracks. This potpourri might sound slightly confusing on paper but Japanese musicians have often combined different genres on one single record and sometimes even in one single song. This approach presented here would once again inspire future generations of Japanese metal, rock and pop singers and musicians to combine different genres, open their minds and walk off the beaten path. This album has certainly stood the test of time and still sounds relentlessly passionate today while also providing a portrait of Japan's free-spirited rock and metal scene of the early eighties. Anyone who likes the aforementioned genres should check out Hamada Mari's groundbreaking debut record. In my opinion, Hamada Mari is one of the greatest female rock and metal singers I have ever come across and it's time for people outside Japan to finally discover this remarkable artist.

Final Rating: 80%

Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû might be one of the worst band names in the history of music, the end of its preceding outfit Absu was quite controversial to say the least and the previous studio album in this trilogy was released a whopping ten years ago, making the new self-titled output something of an extreme metal version of Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy. But just as the latter turned out to be a decent album without  being able to compete with the classics from the early years, Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû is a very good release that should please genre fans as it provides an aggressive dose of blackened thrash metal about mythological topics.

A first look at the product proves that the band has only changed its name but certainly not its style. This starts with the beautifully detailed, epic and gloomy cover artwork, continues with the challengingly overloaded track titles and concludes with the twelve new songs on display. The production is firmly rooted in the underground as it's loud and organic but not too underproduced or unstable as the eerie atmospheric layers and remarkable individual musicianship manage to stand out here and there. The guitar riffs are cold and fierce, bringing images of desolation and misery to mind. The rhythm section with drums and bass is ferocious but at times lacking outstanding moments. Acoustic guitars, flutes, keyboards and mellotron are employed to provide some occasional brief atmospheric transitions but make no mistake; since this isn't a folk or a symphonic metal album but simply a creative blackened thrash metal band staying true to its unique identity. The timeless vocals deserve much praise as well as they sound as if they had just been recorded moments after the preceding output ten years ago. Gritty snarls meet high-pitched screams and offer much atmospheric entertainment. The chemistry among the different new and old band members is excellent and might indicate a bright future if they are able to keep things going without derailing the train like they did on multiple occasions throughout the past decade.

A few songs manage to stand out right away such as the uncompromising, sudden and intense opener ''Amenta: Accelerando: Azyn Including Hierophantasmal Expounder'' that takes no prisoners and sounds like the musical equivalent to a blistering snow storm on a pitch black winter night. ''Caliginous Whorl'' is perhaps the most accessible track, bringing the band's charismatic blackened thrash metal to the point in three and a half concise minutes without any distractions. The closing ''Every Watchtower Within Is the Axis of a Watchtower Without Including Totemic Thresholds'' is the exact opposite, meandering from pitiless extreme metal sections to laid-back acoustic breaks and back again without properly developing the transitions and leaving listeners back scratching their heads.

These three examples show the at time meandering songwriting qualities on this output. Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû certainly needs a lot more time to grow that its two excellent predecessors. While this new output convinces with gritty intensity and the band's charismatic trademarks, the different songs often fail to stand out right away and end up sounding chaotic and repetitive. This might have been the attempted effect contemplated by the band but the two predecessors were more accessible, focused and memorable in my book.

At the end of the day, fans of the band and its preceding outfit should nonetheless listen to and purchase this output that will certainly find its way onto many lists for best record of the year. In my opinion, Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû is very good but not as brilliant as Abzu and Absu that are essential additions to collections of any extreme metal fan.

Final Rating: 75%

It might sound harsh but Juha Raivo's musical creativity had been pushed to astonishing limits after the tragic death of his partner Aleah Stanbridge, resulting in masterpieces such as Swallow the Sun's experimental single Lumina Aurea and the conceptual record When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light. Five years have passed since that tragic event and Swallow the Sun has now released a new output with Moonflowers. While the record has all the trademarks of its predecessors, it's however missing that desperate creative spark that made the preceding releases so authentic, experimental and unique.

The opening quasi title track ''Moonflowers Bloom in Misery'' is by far the greatest song on this output, meandering from atmospheric traditional doom metal to unchained funeral doom metal with energetic harsh vocals that send shivers down the spine. This is a song that should also appeal to any black and gothic metal enthusiasts and anyone looking for an authentic soundtrack for desolate autumn nights and cold winter days. This intensity is only achieved again in the closing ''This House Has No Home'' that has an even more disturbing atmosphere because the transitions between the different parts are more sudden and less fluid.

In between these two songs, the band often slows things down and flirts with depressive rock soundscapes reminding of the middle years of Paradise Lost or current outputs by Katatonia. ''The Void'' for instance has a hypnotizing, numbing and sorrowful atmosphere that might take a few spins to grow but has the greatest replay value on this output. Guest singer Cammie Gilbert of American progressive metal band Oceans of Slumber who has recently been performing on Ayreon's superb conceptual masterpiece Transitus, appears on soulful ballad ''All Hallow's Grieve'' that would have been all the rage twenty years ago when bands like Evanescence, HIM and Nightwish had their most commercially successful moments.

The main issue with this release is that some of the eight songs fail to stand out and are lacking a creative spark. They fail to leave a mark even after multiple spins. This is a flaw that weighs an album with only eight tunes down here and there.

Moonflowers' highs are however remarkable and while it can't compete with its immediate predecessors and their consistent atmospheres, Swallow the Sun is still one of the most creative doom metal bands out there. Patient listeners will be rewarded since several tunes have the potential to grow as time goes by. At the end of the day, Swallow the Sun's Moonflowers is a very good album but a slight step down in the band's impressive career.

Final rating: 78%