Evolving from death metal over doom metal to gothic metal, Swedish quintet Katatonia has been cementing its very own contemporary style for more than a decade by now. The group plays dreamy, gloomy and melancholic alternative rock with a hypnotizing atmosphere and psychedelic soundscapes. The band's most recent output Sky Void of Stars might be the group's strongest release in this genre thus far. The regular edition offers ten brand-new tracks with a total running time of forty-six minutes while the limited edition includes eleven songs for a total length of fifty-one minutes. Let me tell you right from the start that the limited edition is certainly worth its price.

The record starts dynamically with rhythmic and catchy opener "Austerity" that gets right to the point in three and a half minutes and represents all of the group's contemporary trademarks. Precise and tight drum play meets concise and gloomy bass guitar sounds. The guitar play is eerie, melodic and sluggish despite a mid-paced song structure. The emotional and melodic vocals evoke sadness and warmth all at once. This song right here is easy to digest and should give you an appropriate idea whether you are going to appreciate this record or not.

Another recommendable tune is "Birds" that is rather dynamic by Katatonia's standards with an engaging rhythm section, passionate vocals and a catchy chorus. The melodic guitar play recalls commercially and critically successful gothic rock bands from the late nineties and early years of the new millennium such as HIM. People who have grown up back in those days might certainly find an intriguing nostalgic appeal here.

Another noteworthy track is "Impermanence" that is much slower, has a hypnotizingly sluggish atmosphere and could be described as a sad ballad that invites to dream yourself far away on a rainy autumn night.

The record's most epic song is the closer of the regular edition entitled "No Beacon to Illuminate Our Fall" that starts with simple but melodic guitar sound effects as well as fragile and smooth vocals. The song picks up some energy when rhythmic bass guitar sounds and drum loops kick in to give the song a slightly industrial tone. This structure is broken up time and again with psychedelic transitions with haunting vocals and dreamily meandering guitar sounds. These transitions from psychedelic dream-like sequences to energetic industrial passages make for a creative ride that entertains through six fascinating minutes. This song might need a few spins to grow but ends up unfolding the highest amount of magic on the new record. This is a true hidden gem and my favourite tune on the album.

One should certainly also mention bonus track "Absconder" that justifies the purchase of the limited edition as it's stronger than several of the regular cuts. Katatonia's bonus tracks are of a particularly high quality in general as you can hear on excellent compilation Mnemosynean. This bonus track here impresses with epic symphonic undertones and danceable patterns in the background. The bass guitar and drum play are particularly versatile within their genre boundaries. The guitar riffs are a little bit heavier than usual and lead towards a memorable, energetic and catchy chorus. The vocals meander fluidly between clean passages and somewhat distorted vocal effects making once again for a slightly psychedelic note. This song is one of the best on the entire record and deserves attention and acclaim.

As you can read, Katatonia has kept its dreamy, gloomy and melancholic alternative rock style with a hypnotizing atmosphere and psychedelic soundscapes and refined it on Sky Void of Stars. Fans of old date who are hoping for the band to return to its death, doom and gothic metal roots might be disappointed but anyone who has been appreciating anything the band has been releasing in the past dozen years or so might consider this new album as the band's greatest accomplishment in this vein thus far. It doesn't come as a surprise then that this album was featured on quite a few personal and professional lists of greatest records of the past year.

Final Rating: 90%

Snowy Shaw is an incredible multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who has been working with and for bands and projects such as symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, power metal outfit Dream Evil, occult heavy metal group King Diamond, epic progressive doom metal legends Memento Mori, progressive gothic metal group Notre Dame and symphonic metal legends Therion to only name a few examples. This creative mind had the idea to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of heavy metal by releasing one new single for every new month in the year 2021. There are numerous different versions of the completed project entitled This Is Heavy Metal, Plain & Simple. Some versions include the twelve singles, others add up to fifteen songs with bonus material and there are even complete versions with bonus tracks leading to a whopping seventeen tunes. Depending upon which version you choose, you can get between one hour and one hour and a half of vibrant heavy metal entertainment.

In addition to performing most instruments and vocals himself, Snowy Shaw has also been inviting artists and friends for the different songs. The list is once again very long and includes guitarists such as Christopher Amott of melodic death metal group Arch Enemy fame, Gus G. of heavy metal outfit Firewind and Hank Sherman of occult heavy metal band Mercyful Fate as well as vocalists like Björn Strid from melodic death metal group Soilwork, Marc Lopes of heavy metal band Ross the Boss and Ralf Gyllenhammar of stoner metal band Mustasch to only name a few. The list of involved musicians reads like a who's who of the heavy metal scene and might even make the minds behind projects such as Avantasia and Ayreon jealous.

The music can most certainly be described as heavy metal but offers enough extravagant eccentricity that makes Snowy Shaw himself so particularly unique. Highlights on this release include but aren't limited to catchy, melodic and simple anthem "Tell Me, Tell Me" that impresses with powerful female guest vocals and a most memorable chorus, chaotic, creative and extroverted "Metallicus Tinnitus Satanicus (The Devil's Orchestra)", positively exaggerated, joyful and playful genre anthem "We Sold Our Souls to Rock N' Roll (That Is Our Religion)", occult heavy metal tune "If I Was King for a Day" that convinces with atmospheric depth and epic ballad "The End of an Era" that invites to reminisce with a smile upon your face. Despite a production that has some highs and lows regarding consistency and quality, the overall listening experience is decent and entertaining.

While not every single song is a killer and while the project's diversity might make it at times tough to digest over a length of up to one hour and a half, Snowy Shaw's sincere passion project This Is Heavy Metal, Plain & Simple deserves both attention and acclaim and should be discovered by anyone who claims to be a heavy metal fan or wants to become one. This release serves both as an excellent introduction to and as a wonderful summary of one of the most beautiful genres in the world.

Final Rating: 80%

Villain in Me is a melodic gothic metal band hailing from Estonia and Dark Harmonies is its second full length effort. This release comes around with one instrumental opener, one acoustic song and eight regular genre tracks clocking in at a concise total running time of thirty-eight minutes.

Dark Harmonies should certainly appeal to fans of melodic gothic metal, melodic heavy metal and even melodic power metal. The band uses keyboard layers that sometimes add some mysterious atmosphere, sometimes make you want to dance along and sometimes are as elaborate to describe them as neoclassical passages. 

The mid-paced guitar play blends in fittingly as it's overall melodic and simple. The balance regarding lead melodies performed by the keyboards, by the guitars and by both together is one of the record's strongest points. The chemistry between the involved musicians is very good which adds to the joy of listening to this output in one sitting.

The bass guitar sounds serviceable but could add some more oomph in the rhythm section. This is due to the mellow production but also the lack of involvement of this instrument in the songwriting department. The bass guitar is simply stated present but fails to play a significant role.

The same could be said about the mid-paced drum play that is solid but never takes centre stage. Adding a few more technical elements would make for a few surprises while enjoying this release from start to finish. The drummer is overall keeping things a little bit too simple.

The lead vocals are dark and melodic. They are easy to digest and quick to enjoy but lack a little bit of charisma, meaning that they lack an own identity and aren't particularly memorable. However, they fit wonderfully with the group's instrumental approach and lyrical topics revolving around overall darker subjects. 

The production can be described as mellow. Upon listening to the first track, my impression was that the mastering was lacking oomph. The longer you listen to the record however, the better the production blends in with everything else and listeners will start ignoring the obvious flaws to see the bigger picture. 

The latter is a coherent, consistent and entertaining melodic gothic metal output without any significant ups or downs. This release should work wonderfully as background music during a gothic festival or as the soundtrack to a Halloween party with friends. 

If I had to point out some highlights, I would recommend the catchy, epic and melancholic "Gone Are the Days" which is the longest tune on this ouput, "Bed of Nails" that isn't an Alice Cooper cover but rather a catchy, danceable and focused single candidate as well as beautiful acoustic tune "I Want More" that showcases the talents of the guitarist and the vocalist best.

At the end of the day, Villain in Me is a band that deserves your attention and acclaim if you like melodic gothic metal, melodic heavy metal and melodic power metal revolving around gloomy and intellectual topics. The band's sophomore release Dark Harmonies entertains from start to finish with wonderful melodies and catchy vocals. The rhythm section and production could need some improvement for the future. Overall, this record is above average and even good as genre fans should keep this band in their ears and on their minds alike.

Final Rating: 70%

Dominum might be a brand-new band but its four band members have already been or are still involved in quite a few interesting bands. Singer Dr. Dead has been playing guitar and singing for twelve years with Hyrax and has already been playing as a guest for power metal band Freedom Call and symphonic metal band Visions of Atlantis. Drummer Victor is involved in Brazilian progressive metal band Stormental as well as symphonic rock band In Legend that should definitely come around with some new music after nine years of silence. Guitarist Tommy has also been playing with the aforementioned Hyrax and Winterstorm as well as with Neue Deutsche Härte group Maerzfeld. Bassist Patient Zero has also been playing with Maerzfeld but was also involved in numerous other groups such as symphonic metal bands Ad Infinitum and The Dark Side of the Moon. As you can read, these four men have much experience and have been knowing one another for quite some time.

These are the reasons why Dominum's debut full length effort Hey Living People sounds so coherent, experienced and tight and why the band has already been touring with experimental heavy metal band Die apokalyptischen Reiter and folkloristic metalcore outfit Equilibrium. The band's debut Hey Living People is only a few days old as I'm writing this review. Its regular version features eleven songs with a total running time of thirty-nine minutes. The limited version features thirteen tunes for a length of forty-six minutes. Three of the thirteen tunes are cover songs as the band has been using songs by electropop artist Billie Eilish, dance-pop band Dead or Alive and alternative rock band Midnight Oil.

Dominum's music is often described as hard rock, heavy metal or power metal. In my humble opinion all three categorizations miss the point. The band isn't traditional, rhythmic and gritty enough to qualify as hard rock, not even as a melodic take on the gente. The group doesn't have the complexity, energy and image to qualify even remotely as classic heavy metal band. The quartet lacks the epicness, speed and technical skills to fit into any power metal genre.

I would describe the band as melodic gothic rock band and not even consider it a metal group at all. The songwriting is short and simple with songs based around classic structures with verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge and chorus. The lyrics focus on horror topics such as zombies, infections and cannibalism. In the rhythm department, bass and drums are exclusively in the mid-tempo range. The guitar work is simple and melodic and rarely takes the spotlight. The vocals are melodic with a slightly gritty undertone and clearly dominate the band sound. Every song comes around with a catchy chorus that is meant to be sung by fans at concerts and festivals. The production is mellow and should appeal to a wider audience. This kind of approach has been working for many other bands in Germany and if the band has enough stamina, it's going to be just as successful.

Regarding the quality, this album is consistent, fluid and homogenic from start to finish. The songs invite to clap your hands, to dance along and to sing with your friends. It's the perfect record for Halloween parties or gothic festivals of which there are many in Germany. This record doesn't have much depth, if any at all, but it offers forty-six minutes of infectious fun. If this is what you're looking for, purchase this album and enjoy yourself to the fullest. If you want something more serious related to horror imagery, go give The Vision Bleak a spin instead.

Final Rating: 70%

Gotsu Totsu Kotsu is Japan's most commercially successful and critically acclaimed death metal band. Back from the Underworld is the trio's sixth full length effort after five years of silence. This album comes around with ten songs and a total running time of sixty minutes which logically means that the songs are on average six minutes long.

The most stunning element about this band is its excellent musicianship. The drum play is incredibly variable and offers everything from lower mid-tempo passages to thunderous speed. A few solos here and there add further energy at the right moments without dwelling on for too long.

The bass guitar play also deserves much praise. The instrument is played loudly, quickly and skillfully throughout the record. There are even some solo sections that shine brightly. They last long enough to be memorable but not too long to come off as exaggerated.

The guitar play is good but overall more serviceable. The riffs enter traditional death metal territory while the short solos are of a more technical approach. The guitar play is overall however a lot less experimental, outstanding and skillful than drums and bass.

The vocals are certainly the most boring element about this record. They offer standard growls that rush by without leaving any significant impression. From one song to the next, they sound completely exchangeable.

Regarding the songwriting, this output would have benefited from some more diversity. The bass guitar solos and stunning drum passages are certainly impressive but once you hear them for the third time, they start to sound a lot less spectacular. The guitar riffs and vocals start to sound tired after a few songs already. Only few songs break out of traditional songwriting stuctures with fast musicianship, long verses, short choruses and the technically appealing bridges. There simply aren't enough surprising songs like "Severed Head on the Prowl" that include some hypnotizing folk chants recalling the likes of Sepultura and Soulfly.

Traditional and technical death metal tend to be extremely overrated on many metal-related websites and Gotsu Totsu Kotsu already have a massive fan base. What Back from the Underworld offers is technically appealing death metal with excellent drum play, refreshing bass guitar sounds and intense production. The guitar riffs and solos as well as the vocals are only just above average. The songwriting is often by the numbers. Genre fans should be pleased once again but occasional listeners might only value this output as a good one as it's missing some distinctive courage to qualify as very good, excellent or even perfect.

Final Rating: 70%