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resurgam
Saturday 22 March 2025 - 18:04:32
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Amalgama —2025 - Icewind Tales (LP)

I looked at the numbers: 2025, and the first quarter of the 21st century is coming to an end. Wow, how time flies! This time has been marked by an intriguing phenomenon in the musical life of Russia, something I've written about repeatedly—NWORHM, the New Wave of Russian Heavy Metal. The reasons and origins behind it will be pondered by cultural historians.
For now, let’s listen to the latest album by AMALGAMA, one of the leading bands in this trend. A group that didn’t wait for favors from nature but simply took everything within its reach. For instance, they participated in a global tour, promoting Russian Metal across both hemispheres of our blessed planet.
"Icewind Tales" is the band’s eighth full-length album, now in English, following their previous album "Счастья нить" (Thread of Happiness). Sometimes, one can’t help but marvel at the team’s speed, work ethic, and creativity.
AMALGAMA starts off, as expected, with a solid banger, "Midnight Fever", intense enough to showcase the band’s true aspirations: dense, precise, and electrifying Heavy Metal. It embraces the melody of old-school metal while remaining genuinely hard-hitting and dynamic. The vocals, as I hear, have acquired new tonal nuances compared to their earlier works, supported by choral parts and rapid, intricate guitar work.
The band knows its craft and continues to deliver intense Heavy Metal, playing with tempos and creating beautiful moments of tension, both vocally and instrumentally. The choral backing, it seems, is a hallmark of this album, adding epicness and musical maturity time and again.
Speaking of epicness and mood shifts, there’s the anthemic "Are You Metal?" with subtle nods to Manowar, polished vocal layers, and a "heroic" main line. It’s an intense track, largely due to the powerful vocal delivery, which soars to great heights multiple times.
The reflective and “roadworthy” track "Night Train" slightly slows the album’s rapid pace but gradually picks up momentum, echoing the rhythm of rail joints. A word must be said about the rhythm section, which not only prepared superbly for the album's rhythmic challenges but also plays with soul, carefully crafting each new tempo pattern.
It’s hard not to mention the guitarist, who, in my opinion, was finally given the space to shine in a full-length album. While staying true to Heavy Metal’s style, the guitarist relentlessly guards the melodic bastion, delivering lyrical solos in one track and stirring up the song’s atmosphere with intricate riff structures in another.
To top it off, AMALGAMA decided to venture into the territory of ’70s rock with the lyrical ballad "Wings of Hope", allowing the vocalist to showcase their abilities in this challenging genre for any singer.
Recommendations? The highly dramatic "Hold Fast", where several moods collide: genuinely epic, almost Viking-like, melancholic, and threatening. This track also features vocal harmonies and guitar "defibrillations."
In "Piston Hurricane," the band pays a heartfelt tribute to Judas Priest and Scorpions in their prime. The spirit of "Painkiller" and "Blackout" hovers over the musical canvas of this composition. And for dessert, they offer the powerful power ballad "Icewind Tales," with monumental choral parts and a narrative that makes you ponder the eternal. An excellent closing track!
Let’s not forget the unsung heroes of the production process—the sound engineers, who provided a complex yet accessible sound, carefully handling each instrumental layer to let the listener fully appreciate what the musicians painstakingly created in the studio.
Music: Andrey Smirnov, Vlad Ivoilov.
Lyrics: Vlad Ivoilov.
Art: I rarely mention this, but Leo Hao nailed it.

https://vk.com/amalgamaband
 
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resurgam
Tuesday 25 March 2025 - 15:10:46
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MIDAEV — 2025 - Return My Joy — (Single)

Ruslan Midaev continues to release vibrant gothic singles, but it seems there's a theme brewing that suggests he might soon drop an album. I haven't been counting (…autumn is the season for counting), but it feels like the already released tracks could make up half an album.
However, the artist might choose to include previously unheard works in the full-length release. After all, even the music for this track, "Return My Joy", was written ten years ago. So, there's a good chance the creator of such soulful and emotionally powerful music has a few more treasures tucked away.
Ruslan is an excellent melodist, a fact he demonstrates right from the start of the track. And it’s not just melancholic, "sorrowful" melody—there's a true gothic essence here that evokes the roots of Gothic Rock and Gothic Metal. It’s also clear that, as a composer and arranger, he doesn’t take the easy route. In addition to the main vocal line, there’s a secondary, "cinematic" narrative line—let’s say, a harsher one—while the primary line is reinforced with "shadowy" vocal supports.
The artist doesn’t aim to fill every inch of space with music and vocals (thankfully), but what we hear is a multilayered lyrical piece imbued with an "autumnal" mood. However, by the finale, the musical idea becomes more complex, revealing melodic undertones that add genuine drama to the composition. Midway through the track, a solo guitar emerges, vibrating with the performer’s mood like a windblown echo.
After nearly every Midaev single, you're left with the feeling: "Hey, what’s next?"
P.S. I think Ruslan’s own comment is the most important here:
"The track ‘Return My Joy’ is about how important it is not to lose hope, even when it feels like everything around you is falling apart."

https://vk.com/midaevmusic

 
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resurgam
Sunday 30 March 2025 - 15:10:14
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Gone are the Days - 2025 - Суть всякой плоти - (Album)


Modern Extreme Metal, and in some places, the band is described as Melodic Death Metal / Metalcore / Progressive, which is quite intriguing, especially the "Progressive" part.
This is the fourth full-length album from the St. Petersburg-based band. On the one hand, in such cases, people usually say that the band must have gained some serious experience. However, I must note that the musicians established themselves as a solid project right from their debut album.
Power, drive, and progressiveness hit you from the very first track. It's also worth highlighting the almost sacred atmosphere achieved by collaborating with a specific specialist in the studio.
I see progressiveness here in the clean vocals, which unexpectedly engage in a collaboration with aggressive, extreme ones. Well, the opener is inspiring. It made me think that it would be great to have more such tracks on the album.
The tempo accelerates in the second track, bringing vocal variety (again, the clean vocals fit hellishly well) and swift yet intricate guitar work. The melodies have a certain Eastern flavor. Clearly, the lyrics in the booklet deserve a closer look (I hope there will be a booklet).
The intense banger "Tulpa" kicks off energetically, with guitars creating a whirlwind of interplay. Kudos to the string players and the sound engineer. There's a dynamic dialogue between extreme and clean vocals. It seems like the musicians poured a lot of their skill into this track. They've masterfully combined basic extreme elements with melodic parts, crafting a truly effective Fusion of MDM and ecstatic Power Metal.
Want some thrash? Sure thing! "Watchdog" is here to deliver. However, the thrashy dynamics unexpectedly shift into insane Progressive Melodic Metal... And then another change of scenery. Perhaps this is the most unpredictable track on the album. One might wonder: how many such compositional surprises does GONE ARE THE DAYS have in this record?
Then there's GONE ARE THE DAYS feat. NEUROPOLIS - "Golden Nerve Fibers". A lyrical track with impressive vocal interplay and an overall spiritual, mystical aura. It's good that this song is placed at the heart of the album.
As it turns out, the band never lets up on power, melodic fantasy, or compositional frenzy. There's no room for filler tracks here. Absolutely not! The track "The Eye" is pure brilliance: thrash and Metalcore elements are thrown into aqua regia (a mix of three acids that dissolves noble metals), melting and simultaneously rebirthing—basically, a Phoenix on steroids. This might just be the album's highlight.
That said, tracks like "Beast" (a highly successful cover of Rammstein's "Tier") with its dark, macabre dynamism and kaleidoscopic vocals, and the final track "All" with its rocking guitar rhythm and an impressive vocal showdown, are not far behind. The clean vocals burn so intensely in the finale that you could almost light a cigarette from them.
GONE ARE THE DAYS have created a true monster of an album, one you'd want to pull off the shelf to experience real modern metal.

https://vk.com/gonearethedays


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WinterfroSSt
Wednesday 02 April 2025 - 04:54:32

Hate Forest- "Inmost Winter"



resurgam
Wednesday 02 April 2025 - 18:57:56

 

Lead Horizon — 2025 - Prisoner of Loop (Single)

 

The Siberian girl band LEAD HORIZON has unexpectedly released a powerful single, "Prisoner of Loop." And for a considerable number of music lovers, this is just another masterpiece from their favorite band.

LEAD HORIZON plays in the Nu Metal style, but this time, we also hear elements of hard-hitting, groovy Industrial, plus a hundred percent aggression and relentless frenzy.

And yet, it all started so beautifully... with a menacing Industrial-Ambient intro featuring synths, held together by gleaming bolts of forged beats. A remarkable, well-established pop-rock vocal takes the lead (seemingly consuming all of the listener's attention), backed by a mystical whispering voice. But time is precious…

Midway through the track, dark clouds roll in, and a tense vocal emerges, trying to grind the song’s content into dust. However, it’s the next voice that truly succeeds—utterly monstrous—roaring like a mad siren, pushing human limits.

For a brief moment, the two extreme vocals sing in unison, and as if from miles away, another Godzilla-like entity responds to this monstrous choir. The atmosphere and imagery in "Prisoner of Loop" are off the charts. It feels as though LEAD HORIZON recorded this track for a horror movie.

An intriguing project that will soon make its mark on live stages.

https://vk.com/leadhorizon

 

 



resurgam
Tuesday 08 April 2025 - 15:20:57

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Sunwalter – 2025 - “Rebuilding the Universe” - (Album)

This clears up a few questions: SUNWALTER (“Lord of the Sun”: from the English word Sun and the German Walter — “Lord”) is one of the directions in heavy music called Sci-Fi Metal.
Sci-Fi Metal is defined by its thematic focus in the lyrics.
SUNWALTER plays Cyber Melodic Metal, and for clarity, we can add that it's also Progressive. On their album Rebuilding the Universe, the band adopted a certain brilliance reminiscent of the legendary British band Bal-Sagoth. By the way, they also worked in the realm of cosmic battle fantasy.
Welcome aboard the intergalactic ship; everything is going to be fascinating. SUNWALTER has its own universe, which they've been developing for many years. That’s why, I think, their results are not just solid but also captivating.
Oops! Wait! The band now performs a Sci-Fi Metal Musical, which has undoubtedly influenced their material.
The overture is absolutely stunning. I particularly enjoyed how one of the aliens was gnashing their synthetic teeth.
SUNWALTER invited a significant number of guest musicians to participate in the musical. This comes as no surprise since musicals are a serious business... with their own boundaries, vision, and the genre’s inherent “sacrifices.” For example, incorporating their own OST into the track framework with the sounds of laser battles... and much more.
The keyboardist delivered an outstanding performance. His parts permeate the entire album, adding not only an otherworldly melodicism but also an incredible sense of cinematic and fantastical immersion. By the way, it seems the master of the black-and-white keys is well-versed in the classical works of planet Earth, especially those of rock keyboardists from the early ’70s. Did he overshadow the guitar work?
He didn’t. But that wasn’t the intention. The virtuoso guitars here form the muscular framework and power of the tracks, combining aggression with lyrical transitions, no need to hide it. From what I gather, the guitarist was occasionally tasked with creating melodies that feel not entirely of our origin (Vindicator).
Bold MDM (Melodic Death Metal), epic Power Metal, and Melodic Black Metal all come together in this interstellar battle. The initial, rather ambitious compositional concept has achieved high-quality arrangement status, and the musicians rose to the challenge admirably. The studio fighters also excelled.
Did I mention the involvement of multiple (many) vocalists? The musical genre demands it. It’s a pity they didn’t quite reach the level of our King Diamond (though the attempt was there). Extreme vocals, clean male vocals, and transitional—mutating under the influence of cosmic radiation—forms.
Among them shines the supernova-like female vocals of Olga Sol, which often unexpectedly shift the musical balance of power, sometimes building their own vocal cosmic colony. Emotionality, lyricism, and confident artistry—those are the highlights from this ufologist-vocalist’s dossier.
Two more guest female singers also appeared on the album.
The performers didn’t miss the chance to sing in unison—clean female and extreme male (Alien Savior). In general, the vocal arrangements are genuinely complex, in my opinion, crossing the red lines of rock musicals and breaking into the doors of metal opera.
This is 10 out of 10.

https://t.me/sunwalter_band

https://vk.com/sunwalter_band

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resurgam
Friday 11 April 2025 - 23:20:26


GENSEK - 2025 — "The First" (Music Video)
April 12th, once celebrated in the USSR and now in Russia and Belarus, is marked as Cosmonautics Day. What some might not know is that April 12th is also the International Day of Human Space Flight, established by a resolution at the 65th session of the UN General Assembly on April 7, 2011.
To honor this monumental date in human history, the project GENSEK has released a music video titled "The First".
Opening with cosmic guitar riffs, GENSEK delivers a slightly melancholic yet confident and deeply powerful Metal track. The song marches forward with a precise rhythm, much like Yuri Gagarin walking to report to Khrushchev after his historic flight. The track moves with a steady tempo, featuring darkly triumphant guitars and ethereal solos floating in the background. Composed in mid-tempo, it incorporates lyrical, airy bridges but shifts gears midway through, as rhythm guitars loosen the riff structure and expand into broader soundscapes—breathing deeply as if freed from a spacesuit.
The track also features an embedded broadcast from TASS announcing the successful flight of the first human in space, lending an authentic historical spirit to this epic piece.
Some might wonder why the composition leans toward such a dramatic tone. I initially questioned it too, but upon reflection, the emotional atmosphere of the video genuinely aligns with not only the fate of our first cosmonaut but also the monumental efforts of the Soviet Union that culminated in this achievement. These efforts weren’t just accompanied by triumphs and celebrations but also by immense challenges.
"The First will forever remain the first." (c) GENSEK
P.S. The musicians (whose identities remain unknown) note that "the video was created using neural networks and does not claim historical accuracy." That’s fair. After all, the Komsomolskaya Pravda front page with the headline "Man in Space" is authentic!
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resurgam
Thursday 17 April 2025 - 22:16:20
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Montfaucon — 2025 - For The Dark Gods (Single)


It's time to introduce and coin the newest abbreviation, NWORDM – New Wave of Russian Death Metal. This thought struck me after listening to the debut single from the Samara-based band MONTFAUCON, titled "For The Dark Gods."
The musicians (and I suspect seasoned ones, as you can't create or record something like this on a whim) have crafted a powerful single. Let's hope this track is just the beginning of a larger endeavor, paving the way to another single, an EP, and eventually a full-length album.
MONTFAUCON kicks things off with an atmospheric intro, where melodic lines smolder and melt, only to be temporarily overshadowed by a massive, relentless, slamming rhythmic pressure. The band boasts multiple guitarists, and it seems that by each contributing their ideas, they've achieved a remarkable collaboration. This effort has resulted in a brutal, precise, and driving guitar sound.
(Special mention goes to the excellent production team behind this ironclad product—the bass frequencies are absolutely on point.)
What’s striking is that the string players somehow managed NOT to descend into a chaotic mess. Instead, within the track's concise runtime of 4:20, they constructed an organic, mid-tempo, all-encompassing onslaught with its own mystical (yes!) musical idea, its own narrative, and a fully realized compositional structure. This sets it apart from many other singles I’ve heard, which often feel like fragments of something larger.
The mature vocalist, with his commanding harsh growling, seems intent on pressing the entire non-metal world into the dirt. You can hear that he’s capable of tackling even more complex tasks within the framework of MONTFAUCON. Additionally, at certain points, a choral mode was employed (for extra dread), showcasing the singer’s other, even harsher, avatar.
It seemed to me that MONTFAUCON simultaneously demonstrated their capability in Brutal Death Metal while hinting at the potential to explore themes within Doom Death Metal if desired.
P.S. I can’t shake the impression of a tiny figure running inside a gigantic, clanking machine, with looming, crashing gears ready to crush him at any moment. Hmm...
All that's left is to name the creative crew who took part in this ritual:
Alexey — guitar, Rinat — guitar, Pavel — guitar, Anton — bass, Pavel — drums, Nikita — vox.
As well as the specialists:
Mix: Saturos Studio, Recording: Elevator Records, Artwork: Timur Khabirov Art.

https://vk.com/montfaucon_official
 
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resurgam
Thursday 24 April 2025 - 20:49:42
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The Prophet - 2025 - My Last Prophecy - (Album)

A band with a solid background has decided to finalize (or so it seems) their musical journey with a 2025 album prophetically (?) titled "My Last Prophecy."
By this time, the musicians from Tomsk have already released six albums (including this one), so rest assured, they know exactly what they're doing and which buttons to press. The band started their journey in 2010 and spent 15 years exploring the Melodic Death Metal (MDM) genre, gradually incorporating some Doom elements into their sound.
Oh, and before I forget, the artists mentioned an interesting detail: some tracks were written as early as 2018, while the majority were crafted between 2021 and 2023. Typically, such a spread results in a diverse array of tracks that might lack cohesion. But here?
Here, for instance, I wouldn’t have guessed there were years between the tracks or that they had been meticulously refined over time. The album exhibits a unified compositional core and mood, enveloping the tracks in a distinctive "2025 cocoon." Moreover, the compositional techniques vary from song to song but do so advantageously, not in the sense of "let's stick to tried-and-true formulas." The long development period allowed the band to polish the instrumental parts meticulously, tweaking them to perfection.
Through trial and error, THE PROPHET arrived at an atmospheric and somewhat transparent version of MDM on "My Last Prophecy." It's worth noting that the artists tagged the album with #Melodic_Death_Doom_Metal. This detail is crucial, as the album includes interludes (e.g., piano, organ) that hint at a slowdown in tempo. These are high-quality neoclassical moments.
As the album progresses, the Doom influences become more pronounced, vibrant, and—most importantly—constructive. The musicians tactfully and skillfully guide listeners to this point. The keyboardist's and guitarist's craftsmanship shines through, delivering a signature, profound melodicism. Orchestral arrangements appear more than once on the album. While they might initially seem out of place, as the metal content intertwines with the symphonic pieces, everything falls into place beautifully (and yes, the accordion in "Blood of the Forest" was a brilliant touch).
In the track "Desperate Epistle," the band treads the straight path of Trad Doom Death Metal, blending harsh male vocals (featuring a whole architecture of vocal layers—backing tracks, harmonies, shadowing—structured well) with a touch of operatic female soprano. This addition is unexpected, as it doesn’t appear elsewhere on the album.
The lengthy recording process of this album is perhaps most evident in the vocalist's performance, which defies any embedded uniformity within the album. Alternatively, it’s a testament to the singer’s versatility, delivering everything from aggressive growls to indifferent or melancholic passages with extreme vocal mastery. Additionally, a guest vocalist with a clean singing style appears in a few spots.
The album flies by quickly yet leaves a strong impression of cohesion and constructive completeness.
High marks!

https://vk.com/theprophetband
 
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resurgam
Thursday 01 May 2025 - 20:20:21
GENSEK - 2025 — Первомайская

The GENSEK project continues its exploration of the Soviet past. Let us recall that its debut single and video, "The First," was dedicated to Cosmonautics Day. Following the calendar closely, the group has prepared a new track for May 1. In the USSR, this day was celebrated as the Day of International Workers' Solidarity, while in modern Russia, it is marked as the Spring and Labor Day.
The task at hand is not easy—combining the grandeur of the celebration, a marching tempo, and the drive of rock music. Notably, the musicians did not settle for a light and airy sound. Instead, they opted for a heavy sound, which, whether intentionally or not, gravitates toward industrial music, largely due to the marching tempo. Incidentally, a touch of orchestral sound also found its way into the composition.
The track logically begins with the sound of a massive crowd, singing as they march in a demonstration, accompanied by a brief excerpt from an archival congratulatory speech by a Soviet General Secretary. It transitions into a hefty guitar arrangement that takes on a commanding and self-sufficient character.
The composition is infused with a distinctive atmosphere, primarily due to the presence of demonstrators in the background, periodically shouting slogans, as is customary. This, combined with the heavy guitar riffs reminiscent of old-school industrial bands, creates the authentic feel of an epic soundtrack.
A few words about the vocals: The singer performed in a unique clean voice and with a "choral" effect. Vocalists often say, "I'm not a hundred-dollar bill to be liked by everyone." The choral parts were well-conceived, executed precisely, and fit perfectly. However, the clean vocals seemed a bit too "nervous" for such content. They needed to be tougher, more confident, and more assertive—like those heard at a demonstration.
P.S. The musicians note that "the video was created using neural networks and does not claim historical accuracy." AI is increasingly permeating our daily lives, so it's not worth looking for precise details here. I wrote this and realized the same could be said about big-budget historical drama series!

https://vk.com/gensekband

https://vk.com/video-229885808_456239028

 


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