Formerly called Arise From Thorns, the all new band Brave is one of those outfits walking the thin line between dark and metal, which is the very music the Dark Symphonies label is known for anyway. After their self-released EP "Waist Deep in Dark Waters" (and other releases as Arise From Thorns), "Searching for the Sun" is a full length work of love that delivers beautiful melodic songs played with a prog vein under a dark light. In some magic way, powerful guitar riffs and knowledgeable drumming are able to share the tracks with enchanting female vocals lovely merging with bright acoustic guitars and keyboard-strings orchestrations; even occasional nice synthetic atmospheres find their way through the light... The band is quite technical as well (the guitar player clearly loves Satriani but is able to keep his guitar playing almost un-affected by this influence, or else it would quickly become cheesy; and the drummer too plays well, with a nice touch and right in the pocket) which of course makes it all even more enjoyable. Engineer Kevin Guitierrez has performed a nice job a Assembly Line Studios, except sometimes I would have given the bass a little more presence and fullness. Think 3rd and the Mortal if you like, but there are many other bands from the same area that could be mentioned. The album is diverse and beautiful in its calm movements and its guitar-intensified dark-metal compositions. This album is a great pleasure to listen to and even comes with catchy "rock" tunes that could have a commercial potential. In conclusion, a good example of the best of both worlds. The artwork is by The Soil Bleeds Black member Michael Riddick.

It's been quite a long time since last time I got something from Daft records (or their sub label Body records, in this case) and it's been quite a long time since a band has been compared to Cat Rapes Dog and Project Pitchfork, so it is with great pleasure and curiosity that I put on "The Banished", by Belgian Dj and electronic artist Geert de Wilde, here under his moniker IC 434, name of a galactic fog. This is his 3rd full length album and presents hard hitting edgy industrial-dance drumming, minimal but punchy power electronic textures, overall saturation, dancy techno-rave lines and buried distorted vocals according to the book of true electronic body music of Mittel-European origins. The commercial catchy lines of the dancefloor clash with the brutal noise fierce here. Beat is the key here, fast and slow but always pounding, along with the analog synths and the digital sequencing. Instrumental compositions but also interesting lyrics in some songs and sampled vocals in others (like in "Our Great Nation", where a war-making US president Bush practically declares war right after September 11). And it was with great surprise that I found out that there is one more electronic band (along with Australia's Eye, but sadly not many others) who cares about animal rights and who sings about it in a song. My hat goes off to that!

Those who know Nightbreed recordings know what to expect: metal guitar driven gothic music with dancefloor beats, in a nutshell. UK four piece Pro Jekt successfully attempts to bring together the nu metal kids with the most open minded goths of the scene. The overall impact is quite powerful. Nice electronic patterns ranging from liquid to plastic sounds, hammering industrial-dance beats and heavy and pounding guitar riffs that give it that rough and aggressive scratchy approach. The (male) vocals are not much treated so a melodic vein transpires quite well through the solid surface, and the fact that the register varies from deep throat tones to mid-high timbre helps the band to slightly detach from the usual comparisons. Of course it's almost a law that they can't escape the Sisters comparison, but at least this time around we can add bands like Rammstein and Orgy to the soup bowl. The CD was produced by members of Midnight Configuration and Suspiria and among other things comes with a beautiful art work.

Greek label Capp-Glaufx (CAPP stands for Creepy Awesome Predacious Prelacy) presents this new CD which unfortunately comes with confusing liner notes and not much information, so basically I am unsure whether it is a split between two bands called Dark Runner and Master Save Us or if it's jus the one band Dark Runner. Anyway, what we are dealing with here is an uncompromising mixture of power electronics, ebm and industrial noise. Almost no trace of melody is to be found so you will just have to cope with four aggressive power-ebm compositions and four more dark-industrial pieces. The music is intense and there is this ritual and earthly vibe to it and to the CD's graphics. Interestingly the band very carefully lists the bands they sampled and the lyrics are by Poe. This CD comes with a 24x24 cm poster which pretty much is an enlargement of the front cover.

Anthony.P, aka ALfa.P., is one of the leading electronic composers in Greece and as a matter of fact he is mainly known for his work as Stereo Nova. As I am not very familiar with his main project either, I cannot tell how the ALfa.P. is different, but my first approach with his music is prized by a positive impression. His electro-ambient music packs a lot of melody and beats into a unique blend of spacey and trippy atmospheric sounds grounded on minimal electronic rhythmical structures. Vocal samples of radio communications with the Shuttle, thin synthetic layers and lovely slim sounds color the playful palette of down to earth beat patterns that remind of Aphex's "Selected Ambient Works" and other innovative English music of the same kind. Ethereal, cosmic, relaxing, beautiful and soft. Sit down and chill out with this greatly enjoyable plate of delicate sounds and calm ambience... This was a truly pleasurable discovery: highly modern sounds from a country with one of the most ancient cultures in humanity.