New Music Round-up: 2nd February 2015

Venom

After almost single-handedly inventing Extreme Metal as we know it on their debut album, Welcome To Hell, way back in 1981, Venom have been a band of mixed fortunes and haven't released a good album since 2000's Resurrection. It was a very pleasant surpise then, to hear that the new album is classic Venom - Thrashing Metal meets fast and furious Punk - and it is truly heart warming to have the mad. tongue-in-cheek Geordie bastards back!

Decimatus

Strangely enough, I was having a conversation a few days ago about (the lack of) internationally recognised Australian Metal bands and although I could name a few, the continent is still lagging a long way behind. This brings me on to Decimatus. The band's, admittedly formulaic, take on Groove Metal is unlikely to win them any originality awards, but when the band boast monster riffs and stomping grooves like this, maybe originality is over-rated. Falling somewhere between The Duskfall and Pantera with a hint of The Resistance, "Catalyst For Rage" might just be what you need to tide you over while you are waiting for the new Pissing Razors album to drop.

Finsterforst

While they are unlikely to be accredited with breaking mew ground, Germany's Finsterforst have, over the course of 9 years and 4 albums, honed their Pagan Black Metal sound to a razor sharp assault - think Moonsorrow or latter-day Thyrfing with a Teutonic edge. This is an enjoyable, if slightly derivative, take on the sound pioneered by the aforementioned Scandinavians and should definitely appeal to fans of the genre.

Thulcandra

 Another German Black Metal act, but unlike the epic, sprawling soundscapes of Finstreforst, Thulcandra deliver a colder yet melodic take on the genre and provide a perfect soundrack to the long, dark days of winter. Where they differ from the common-or-garden Black Metal legions, though, is with their distinctly Maiden-esque melodies which display some very talented musicianship throughout this otherwise ferocious album. All in all, if you are a fan of the genre, this is well worth a listen and if you're not, well this won't change your mind.