"The post-rock, experimental music, drone ambient done with passion for analogue"
Ancient Beliefs rating 10/10 (genre: Post-Rock, Experimental, Ambient)

Yep, guitar can be used in many ways, tired of shredding guitars? Try a great release put out by Grzegorz Bojanek, a sound artist from Poland more know under the moniker Eta Carinae. From the first moment I have listened to his sound-art works I felt in love with the warmth of the sound, with the inspiring experimental soundscapes, with the 'nowhere' music I like to remain lost on for hours.

We are speaking here of truly unconventional approach on doing music and the sound part has really something special by using analogue home-made gear both in capture and in mastering stages. This kinda takes us back in time...

Grzegorz Bojanek was also present on the Mechanics Of Silence compilation put out by Essentia Mundi label this year. And during all of the year he is doing live concerts with artists alike, having collaboration projects with many sound artists from all over the world.

The delicious live captured sounds are presented in the form of a live album that took place this year on 07 May in Cafe Belg for a good cause.The final result is dark in mood, a great soundtrack of the life 'movie'.

Grzegorz Bojanek uses: electric guitar, old Chinese cymbal from Wuhan, iPod touch, laptop
Mastering: Krzysztof Orluk

"A great release meant to remind you why you're here in the first place..."
Ancient Beliefs rating 9/10 (genre: Death Metal)

'Morbid Angel - Illud Divinum Insanus' was a long awaited album. It is a release that also marks the return in a studio album by Morbid Angel with David Vincent as front-man for a long time now (last time he was present on 'Domination' released in 1995.)

The most disputed aspect of the release is the 'experimental' part of it. Some are blaming the release being too extreme in that respect, but they forget (or they were never aware of that) that metal is essentially about unorthodox facets, be it musical or conceptual. The scene has grown so trendy that this aspect is taken as defect rather than an intrinsic powerful characteristic.

I think this is a fresh musical effort that deserves all the attention, this is not a weak release nor it is outstanding (miss the progressive parts) but it returns to the extreme metal its essence: desecrate. If you feel offended that's your problem, you're here (in metal) maybe just accidentally.

I also doubt the release sets new standards but it is absolutely enjoyable. It goes very well in a very 'Covenant-ish' way, fast parts, great voice (to me sounds better than on 'Domination') and some refreshing riffs and solos by the distinct's Trey guitar play.

The rhythm guitar (by former Myrkskog member: Destructhor) and drums (Tim Yeung, former Hate Eternal drummer) are fitting very well their shoes for this release.

"The 2011 release of Bad Sector offers a great noire sound jewel"
Ancient Beliefs rating 9/10 (genre: Dark Ambient)

'Chronoland' continues what 'Reset' album began to offer in therms of music and sound effects. We find here subtle voice manipulation but with a dark, haunting even 'noire' type of music background. We recognize also the same glitch sound effects that makes Bad Sector the unique project that it is.

During the last years Bad Sector (M. Magrini) performed quite a lot live. My efforts to bring him to my town in 2007 were useless. Quite a few knew his music, but I think these kind of projects will now begin to go more live (to have more offers). In 2011 the Dark Ambient scene gained an unprecedented spread.

To mention that also Lustmord is wandering a lot in Europe to perform live, also there are numerous re-releases, re-mastered materials from renowned projects. A sign that the scene is moving forward. But it is a scene that will always remain in underground, it is the special music that make it so, certainly better to be absorbed in solitude, not really a socializing type of activity. Everyone with himself!

Ost Mountain Fest. 2010 (first edition)
Location: Busteni (RO)
Date: 6-7-8 August, 2010

The OST festival was at its first edition and while the location was very impressive (but also making home of capricious weather) the bands and music styles spread over a lot of metal genres: from folk to death-black horrors.

Very interested about this event and about the special location I headed to Busteni's 'Valea Cerbului' with impatience. I heard stories about savage bears in that area...the valley is really in the wild. So what could be more interesting than a metal festival in the wilderness of the mountains? 

But what I had not expected, and it seems the organizers were too taken by surprise, was that the weather conditions. The weather was...also wild. Overall the festival was very good planned and organized, but pity that there was no 'plan B' for the scene location. The festival was close to ruination because of the rainy weather.

But let's jump to music, I could say it was a good bands lineup overall, with balanced music styles from folk, gothic, thrash, melodic black metal to extreme death. The headliners per day were: Negura Bunget, Ava Inferi and Belphegor respectively.

"Evil incarnates in the form of dissonant black metal.
A good release that marks the close of an equally good trilogy."
Ancient Beliefs rating 8,5/10 (genre: Avantgarde Progressive Black Metal)

Officially, about Deathspell Omega is not that much to say when it comes to the members of the band, there are only rumors. But musically they have achieved (among black metal listeners) a kind of cult status band. The members of the band are powerful personalities that are deeply involved into the extreme music scene for at least 10-15 years. They have prepared, for many years now, a trilogy said to represent the god-man-evil struggles, somehow pretentiously done in a metaphysical way* and by the use of some Latin texts.

This release represents the last chapter of this 'inner and nihilistic' journey that began in 2004 with "Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice" and continued with "Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum" in 2007. The music and concept has been, quite normally, kept thorough the whole trilogy but the style departed from the early recordings of the band, from the rawer black metal style. The actual music ranges from avantgarde to progressive black metal and this latest release "Paracletus" (released Nov. 2010) is musically great, especially that nowadays it is very hard to come up with something of genuine quality and with something that shows the 'penetrating' personalities that lies behind the music.

HATEWORK FESTIVAL 2010
Location: Bucharest (RO), “Fabrica” Club
Date: October 31, 2010

The festival is at its third edition already and so far, it can be concluded that it mostly focuses on death metal sonorities. At past editions major bands like Nile, Sinister, Belphegor, Grave and others played at the festival.

The first band of the evening, Malpraxis (RO), brutal death metal, very good throaty voice, began in force with two short songs and without any further introduction, taking the audience by surprise. Unfortunately, the opening bands almost always don’t have much support from fans. The next track "Necrophagist" can already be considered "the hit" as the guys in the band call it. The following songs were short but very intense pieces, characteristic of the genre. From my point of view it was a great show overall, although a little short. Anyway, I think they will have a lot more to say, especially because the band has almost no competition on the Romanian metal scene. Moreover "Malpraxis" is preparing its first studio release.