Since Eastern Front will be playing in in London on Sunday (alongside The Furious Horde and more), I thought it would be a good idea to write something about their album, “Blood on Snow”. I’m full of great ideas, me.
This isn’t really a new release, so I’m going to treat it as a Re-discovering Old Music review. Although, in fairness, it’s not that old! Not that it makes a huge amount of difference…
“Blood on Snow” houses a collection of tracks that are at home on the battlefield. They are grim, angry and dangerous; dressed in bloodied uniforms and armed to the teeth. However, Eastern Front do not rely on sheer ferocity alone – there are also melodic interludes (“Dvenadtzat Kilometrov Ot Moskvy”), perhaps signaling a lull in the battle; or the calm before the storm. This results in an intense and powerful listening experience. The combination of different tempos and atmospheres make the album feel like a living, breathing entity – rather than a two-dimensional record that can be instantly forgotten about.
The riffs alternate between being seductively hypnotic and terrifyingly savage, and the vocals display an impressive range (this is particularly awe-inspiring for an extreme metal band). It would probably be clichéd to say that the drumming was like machine gun fire… but that really is the case here. Not only does it drive the music along and hook you in, but it also (once again) makes you feel like you’re in battle, hiding in a trench, gun at the ready.
Eastern Front’s “Blood On Snow” has the makings of a classic Black Metal album and is well-worth your hard-earned pennies.
Sidenote: Eastern Front are NOT a political band. I just wanted to make that clear.
Rating: 96%
wartornblackmetal.com
facebook.com/EasternFront
myspace.com/easternfrontuk
Ok, so this isn’t a metal related post, but it does concern another of my passions: Horror.
Independant movie-maker Ad Lane (you may know him as @indywoodFILMS on Twitter) has been raising money and awareness for his film, “Invasion of the Not Quite Dead” for the past few years. The following comment is taken from the films website:
“My name is Antony Lane, many of you will know me from Twitter aka @indywoodFILMS – this movie project has been my life now for over 5 years. I could have made this film with NO BUDGET, but it wouldn’t have been the movie I have in my head, the film in my head is of HIGH production value, cinematic, a movie that has the potential to be a future cult classic, we don’t need MILLIONS, but we do need a reasonable budget to make this film as professional as we possibly can. I have put my heart & soul into fundraising for over 30 MONTHS on Twitter, this is my last big push to raise a minimum of £20K so we can go into MAIN SHOOT production in JANUARY [2012] & spend 2012 making “INVASION OF THE NOT QUITE DEAD” for a 2013 release…”
If you’re a horror fanatic like myself (especially when it comes to stuff with zombies in!), then you may be pleased to know that you can help to get this project going and be a part of cinematic horror history. If you head over to indywood.co.uk you have the opportunity to become a ‘producer’ or buy a deliciously awesome zombie USB stick (please note that the last day to order these bad boys for Christmas is TODAY). The producer packages and the USB packages all come with more perks than you can shake a decapitated zombie head at, so make sure that you check out the site for full details. Seriously, there’s everything from being a zombie in the film, to getting your name in the credits, to DVDs, to exclusive content.
In April 2011, Indywood FILMS began shooting ‘INVASION OF THE NOT QUITE DEAD’ in Bulgaria, here is a 30 second teaser video from the INTRO shoot, this is not an official trailer or teaser, just 30 seconds of clips, to say thank you to everyone who has put their money & faith in the fan funded film project.
Please visit indywood.co.uk for more information on this FAN FUNDED horror film. You can also keep up to date on Twitter: @indywoodFILMS
Controversial one-man Black Metal band (well, controversial-ish… some people seem to get upset about it!) VERKRAG has released a brand new video. The video is for a track called “Doomsday Prophets” and can be watched below. Please note that this is a demo version of the song.
The final version will appear on the next VERKRAG album coming 2012 and that in principle will be called “Anti-God”. The music was written by Anton van Niekerk and the lyrics are by Anton van Niekerk and A.H. Miller. The lyrics can be viewed below (I especially like the final two lines):
With piercing eyes you roam your turf
Seeking sinners, seeking dirt
“Repent or die!” your high pitched scream
your condescending eyes they gleam“You will be judged, you filthy scum,
before our god you all will come”
You doomsday prophet, you evil saint
what gives you the right to name my fate?Your form is godly but you deny the power
You stand for justice and yet you cower
You crawl in the dark like a rat on heat
Seeking to destroy, seeking to defeatWho is this god you talk about
The God of truth? The God of light?
“Go in love”, He summonsed you
Where is that love, you malicious few?Why is it then your holy gold
Reflects the soul of one not whole?
You’ve missed your calling, you’ve gone astray
Your very own you turn awayMindless beings – Unevolved creatures
Superstitious primitive half ape
Blindly following and believing
Existence governed by fairytale lawsThis prosecuted prophet you blindly follow
Believing him god yet he’s dead
Rotting for more than 2 millennia
Remove the blindfold use your headScreaming on street corners like whores
I watch you as you walk and prance
For your hypocrisy all can clearly see”
Leeches latched to open soresRepent or burn in the fires of hell
you say to those who don’t obey
Pretty little dressed up porcelain dolls…
Nothing but empty shells“You will be judged, you filthy scum,
before our god you all will come”
You doomsday prophet, you evil saint
What gives you the right to name my fate?Your form is godly but you deny the power
You stand for justice and yet you cower
You crawl in the dark like a rat on heat
Dismember and feast on innocent meatWho is this god you talk about
The God of truth? The God of light?
“Go in love”, He summonsed you
Man made god misunderstood JewChurch rule dominate like days of old
Threatening eternal damnation of souls
What is the purpose to all of this?
Why do we even have to exist?Left man drenched in guilty blood
Victoriously i will rise as my own godReligion is a lie
Look for the god inside yourself
verkrag.com
facebook.com/VERKRAG
reverbnation.com/VERKRAG
twitter.com/VERKRAG
youtube.com/VERKRAG
ilike.com/artist/VERKRAG
Ok, I just want to get one thing clear – this giveaway is run by Panzer Clash and not me (I’m just spreading the word because I think it’s awesome)… So, no amount of bribery will help you 
Would you like a FREE copy of Panzer Clash – the Card Game AND the Panzer Clash Soundtrack? Yes? Of course you bloody well would! Get yourself along to the official Panzer Clash Facebook page and give that ‘like’ button a good ol’ click. Then all you need to do is get all of your friends to do the same thing! Simples!
For every 100 ‘likes’, the lovely folks at Panzer Clash will giveaway one package of Game & Soundtrack to one uber lucky winner.
The page is currently at around 161 ‘likes’ (or, at least, it was when I last looked), so the next giveaway will be at 200 ‘likes’… so, get ‘liking’! The more the merrier!
The winners will be picked at random and the contest will end on 22nd December 2011.
Game Info:
Panzer Clash is a light, card-based wargame for two to four Players about Second World War Panzer battles by Andreas Propst.
Pick a side, either Axis or Allies, and build a deck of 40 to 60 cards out of a pool of 100 different cards in order to defeat your enemy.
The deck or Supply contains Factories, Units, Events and Terrain Modifiers. Factories are needed to build Units and Terrain Modifiers as well as to power Events. Units and Events, which usually belong to one or more of the four factions (Germans, Japanese, Americans and Soviets) are used to attack and deal damage to the opponent, have certain beneficial effects on the game or are used to weaken the opponent. For each point of damage a Player receives through Units and Events, he or she puts one card from his or her Supply (deck) onto his or her Junkyard (discard-pile). If a player unable to draw a card from the Supply, he or she loses immediately.
Panzer Clash game rules can be found here.
The Soundtrack:
The Panzer Clash soundtrack boasts an impressive selection of metal from across the globe! Contributers include: Sabaton, Hammerfall, Marduk, Endstille, Unleashed, Sodom, Warbringer, Huer, Blackshore, Kommandant, Eastern Front, Jag Panzer, Nightforest, Hatehordes, Garden of Grief and Rigor Mortis.
I’m pleased to say that I discovered December Flower on MySpace (does anyone still use MySpace?) a fair while ago and instantly became hooked on their demo, “Moloch”. “Moloch” was an insanely promising dose of melodeath that made me want to hear more… so, since then, I’ve been waiting (rather impatiently) for a full length album to be released.
Now, in December 2011, I have my full length and the tension in the air as I was about to press ‘play’ for the very first time was palpable. On the strength of the demo, I had decided that whatever December Flower released in the future would be pure gold. By my calculations, “When All Life Ends…” should be the melodeath equivalent of the Holy Grail. That’s a lot of pressure to put on one album.
Let me get one thing straight: “When All Life Ends…” is not the Holy Grail. Nor will it necessarily change your life. You will find, however, that December Flower have achieved what they set out to do – they’ve created neck-breakingly impressive melodeath record. The band gives nods of apprecation throughout the release to the Gotherburg scene – particularly In Flames (as you might expect) and Dark Tranquility.
The fact that “Despise Your Life” from the “Moloch” demo makes an appearance made me do my Happy Dance (I really should get that dance trademarked) and it was great to hear it alongside the newer material. “Despise Your Life” was one of my favourites from the demo, so it’s odd to think that it’s NOT one of my favourites on the album. It’s clear that the band have progressed immeasurably since “Moloch” and the newer material is absolutely blinding. New favourites now include: “As Darkness Reigns”, “Aeon”, “And Blood Has to be Shed” and “The Fountain”.
I know it’s nearly the end of 2011, but don’t let this album pass you by.
… and, you never know, perhaps it will reach that Holy Grail status after multiple listens…
Rating: 97%
