The debut album “Like A Broken Leaf” by Belgians My Lament is out almost three years after their promising “Beneath The Hidden” demo. Mournful Doom / Death Metal in the veins of My Dying Bride is what the band delivers in this magnificent debut. Slow tempos, melancholic musical parts, clean desperate vocals, stormy breakings enforced by growling vocals just after tombstone Doom / Death Metal moments. Great stuff that takes us back into mid 90s: the golden age of Doom / Death Metal.

S:T Erik from Sweden got also a debut album released after their 2007 demo “Uppsala” (which is actually the name of their home place).  “From Under The Tarn” is nothing more and nothing else than a huge sonic trip under on the band’s Doom and Psychedelic universe.  If bands like Acrimony, Electric Wizard and Acing King are your pieces of cake this one is definitely for you. A mix of psychedelia, Stoner Rock and Doom Metal is what the band plays and they are doing it very well. Check em out.

Back into dark places with the second album (after a demo and a debut) by Tales Of Dark from Serbia.  “Perdition Calls” is a wonderful mix of Gothic and Doom Metal. Emotional and very sad music you will be able to hear in this release. There are some Doom / Death Metal moments around the album only to make it more powerful to your ears. For sure here we got a band that have worked very carefully on their compositions making them even more rich adding slow and emotional moments –enforced by keyboards-, mid tempo adevnturus parts and raging faster moments with the Death Metal vocals taking the first role in there. Apart for the Death Metal vocals we will be able to hear some very good melodic female and male ones. Of course one point should be made about the great acoustic parts of the album. Well this is a must, for the fans of early Theater OF Tragedy, My Dying Bride, Sirenia.

“Through Eternity” is the re issued by BadMoodMan Music debut album (originally out on 1997) of S.C.A.L.P. from Russia. The band delivers an old school Gothic Metal based mostly on guitars. Someone should flashback in early 90s to find the roots of their music straight in to the mid tempo and faster parts of the debut Anathema album (“Sleepless” song is a good example). In many parts the band also reminds me very much of the Gothic Metallers Danse Macabre from Belgium. There are also moments where the band sounds even heavier and faster than an everyday Gothic Metal band. There is sadness but their also rage in the band’s music and this is more clear in their latest “Chuzhaya Voina” album. There is also the compilation “In The Years Of Madness – The Early Years 1994-1995” that gathers all the three demos of the band. Well I like this old school feeling they are delivering under their music. For sure S.C.A.L.P. is not the typical example of the band that simply copies some standards because after all under their influences and their inspiration they are building a unique sound. Check em out.