POWERLINE A.D.

Project: Failing Flesh
The Conjoined
Got this from a friend who is close to the band for review. Most notable is the fact Eric Forrest (ex-Voivod) provides vocals here and while I wasn't a big fan of Voivod during his tenure I can't fault him at all as no one was ever gonna replace Snake in my eyes and ears. Add in the challenge of doing double duty as Blacky's replacement on bass and this was a no win situation
for anyone one daring to take on the task, so I will give at least credit where credit is due.

    I was way into the industrial thrash genre at the time and looking high and low for bands to take on the cyber thrash style and was quite satisfied by bands such as Supuration and Tenebrae doing so, I just wasn't willing to give up my beloved Voivod to it. This style was short lived in the 90s as Godflesh clone never being giving its fair shake as the modern progressive rock it really stands to be and you wouldn't think this style would be in the revival stages as it was always so far ahead of its time, I was hoping for it to progress rather than die out as it did and glad to see attempts at moving it forward once again.

    Project: Failing Flesh nods a bit to Voivod's then industrial aggro cyber/thrash leanings but also takes on the task of progressing on the already progressive. I here some influence of post-avante garde / black metal ala current Ulver, Fleurety, Solefald at certain moments as well as mid period Neurosis, Thorn, Soulstorm and Release. Very classy and overwhelmingly huge in its boldness, Project: Failing Flesh stand head and shoulders above most bands in the modern metal scene. These guys would crush under foot anything current on Century Media or Relapse and I really wouldn't expect to see a release of this caliber on anything less than say Universal alongside Satyricon and yet here they are on the small indie Greek label Burning Star. If you are progressive minded and embrace the technical and challenging then I highly recommend Project: Failing Flesh to you, so a call to all fans of Meshugga and Gojira to take note of Project: Failing Flesh for that and then some!

— swayingball

website: http://www.projectfailingflesh.com/

Saratan
The Cult of Vermin (4 song promo)

Poland's Saratan bring forth heavy handed thrash of a very superior nature.

Near flawless delivery gives a way to a crushing rhythm that leaves no room
for error. I can go on trying to think of witty ways to explain how well
they achieve this thrash perfection but the reality is this is just thrash
the way thrash should be done. Tight as fuck and heavy as hell. Not overtly
technical to point of arithmetic, this seems to have only the intent to be
aggressive and strike at ones nerves. None of that blatant retro style raw
with 80s cliché and 90s Scandinavian thievery that seems to be so popular at
this time. This is solid as NYHC and strong as Bay Area Trash with a mix of
90s groove death slanted for the modern day man. Highly recommended

Saratan is failsafe thrash for the purist at heart! Fans of current Exodus and
Lazarus can find more to their liking in Saratan for sure!

website: http://saratan.metal.pl/

— swayinball

Black Raven
The Day of the Raven
(5 song promo)

Italy's retro heavy metal revivalists take influence from 80s epic heavy metal and mix it with 90s styled power metal. A couple listens allows you to settle in a bit and be taken aback to their true metal world. I hear a
strong Scandinavian and German influence like a mix of Wizard and Storyteller perhaps and as I am a huge fan of 80s Italian heavy metal and wish more Italian bands would draw from their own country's resources like
say Blood Thirsty Demons, rather than elsewhere I will say Black Raven does a fine job at this style and I commend them for their efforts. Seeing that
their influences listed with the letter attached suggests a much more pretentious style it was a great surprise to hear a more subdued and melodic style rather than a blown out symphonic metal Italy has been so renowned for in the past. So Id say if you are an mid 80s epic heavy metal revivalist you might find liking in Black Raven it will be nice to hear what these guys aredoing once they get a chance to settle into the seen and really developed.

— swayingball

Band website: http://www.myspace.com/blackravenheavymetalband