This compilation offers the listeners a grab out of what Black/Death/Pagan/Viking Metal has to bid nowadays. MetalMessage Vol.1 is a limited-edition import CD from Metal Message, Germany: only 500 copies were made! They feature some exclusive tracks like the self titled song from Norway’s Ulvhedin, and a soon-to-be released track by Austrian Bloodfeast. In the blooklet we can find extra information about all the bands such as their websites, and the names of all group members plus pictures. The cover provides us an old school design, and leans towards the Support the Underground idea. The musical content is a combination of songs of more common bands such as Ulvhedin and Lunar Aurora, and songs of promising underground bands such as Svarrogh. Thus the compilation is also certainly a way for underground bands to get more recognition. I am just going to give some more information about the songs who, by my opinion, stood out above the others. And then, the rest of the CD is for you to check out! Svarrogh provides the first highlight of the CD. They play Black Metal, combined with softer acoustic guitar parts and components. Ulvhedin, the self titled song from their album, is Viking Metal at its best. It is a mixture of nice melodies and melancholic vocals. Then we have Bloodfeast’s Tears Under My Mask, a melodic mid-tempo song combining Black and Death Metal influences. With this track, Bloodfeast gives us a preview of what they next CD is going to sound like. Now my favourite song of the compilation: Melatonin of My Cold Embrace. It is melodic, fast and the drums sound very tight. This, added with fitting Death Metal vocals provides a track that definitely should appeal to all Death Metal fans out there, like myself. Carved in Stone is in contrast with the other songs. They are a Folk project, providing the compilation with Heldentod, a balad sung in German. To end with there’s Saxorior. They add an aggressive Pagan Black Metal song to the CD. There’s a great use of blastbeats, and melodies and vocals that fit right into the dark atmosphere of Saxorior’s Expiation. MetalMessage is a quality CD that will give you an overview concerning the current domain of Black/Death/Pagan/Viking Metal. It is a compilation that will warm the black hearts of Underground Metal fans out there!
10/10 Points – reviewed by Lyra
official Website: http://www.metalmessage.de