Lost Conception, Paroxysm of Despair (2011)

Tracklist:

1. Pathetic Existence
2. Useless Shell of Void
3. Urbanistic Echo of Evolution
4. Human Becomes an Idiot
5. One Step to the Grave
6. Torments for the Alteration
7. Society Equals Zero
8. Two-Faced Soul of Humanity
9. Infinity

 

Journeying to Siberia: a view to Eurasian culture, cuisine, and…uh, death metal?  No rest for the wicked, as my inter-cultural explorations were interrupted by an impromptu meeting with self-described technical death metallers, Lost Conception.  Krasnoyarsk’s own monsters of death metal are a 5-piece outfit, and Paroxysm of Despair, released last year on Russian label, Darknagar Records, is their debut 9-track, 41-minute outrage against humanity’s ills.

INTERVIEW: Lost Conception

Having had no plans to cover any music whilst on a work trip to Russia, I somehow fluked a meeting with Krasnoyarsk-based technical death metal band, Lost Conception.  Well known regionally, and with something of an international following also, they are just another talented extreme-metal outfit from the expanses of Siberia.  On arriving at a row of scruffy apartment-block garages, I am introduced to guitarist/second vocalist, Il’ya, and sound engineer, Artem.  Ahead of the promised arrival of lead vocalist and guitarist, Nikita, I prep my notes for what will surely be a full, frank, and utterly groundbreaking interview...
 

Ensiferum, Unsung Heroes (2012)

Tracklist:

1. Symbols
2. In my Sword I Trust
3. Unsung Heroes
4. Burning Leaves
5. Celestial Bond
6. Retribution shall be Mine
7. Star Queen (Celestial Bond part II)
8. Pohjola
9. Last Breath
10. Passion, Power, Proof
11. Bamboleo (bonus track)

Ensiferum stand as a flagship at the forefront of folk metal.  Over the course of their decade-and-a-half existence, their records have helped export the genre from Scandinavia to the heathen masses in Europe and America.  Unsung Heroes, their fifth full-length release in that time, may just about be the most anticipated of the lot.  On offer is a tale of war, death, and redemption, a blast of bombast, and much more besides.

The Beckoning, Demystifying the Oracle (2011)

Tracklist:

1. Bloodlet
2. Withered
3. Beyond the Dark
4. The Wrath to Come
5. Clothed in Crimson
6. Wielder of Plagues
7. An Omen in the Dark

Way back in the misty past, an unsigned Canadian band called The Beckoning released their full-length debut.  In a year, time goes by, the world changes, and music evolves.  But Demystifying the Oracle remains an intriguing record, well worth closer consideration.  Written and recorded independently by man and wife, Meghann and Roy Turple, then the only members of The Beckoning, it set itself the challenge of “fuse[ing] the aggression of Extreme Metal with the majestic ambience of Gothic soundscapes.”