We're back here with another fairly slow week, however these releases are pretty eclectic. In this week's edition we have Taiwan folk metal, some sirens, epic prog and more. To the metals…
Chthonic – Ián-Bú DVD 
Genre: Melodic Black Metal
Origin: Taipei, Taiwan
Label: Eagle Rock
Buy now on Amazon.com
Chthonic, Taiwan's favorite metal band, is no stranger to a live release. This one will actually mark their fourth. If it is anything like their last two, Final Battle at Sing Ling Temple and A Decade on the Throne, it will be a fascinating, epic watch.
Hopeless Youth – Disgust 
Genre: Punk Metal
Origin: Montreal, Canada
Label: Candlelight
Buy now on Amazon.com
These guys are a bunch of pissed off Canadians. They're music walks that border between hardcore and metal, but regardless of genre, they are all aggression and emotion.
Lenore S. Fingers – Inner Tales 
Genre: Gothic Metal
Origin: Reggio Calabria, Italy
Label: My Kingdom
Buy now on Amazon.com
In a world with bands like Leaves' Eyes, Within Temptation, and the likes, it is mighty difficult to play symphonic female-fronted goth metal and stand out. From the little I heard so far, Lenore S. Fingers does a great job to break the mold. Singer/guitarist Federica Lenore Catalano has a lovely and unique voice and her band is proficient beyond big power chords.
Vanden Plas – Chronicles Of The Immortals: Netherworld
Genre: Progressive Power Metal
Origin: Kaiserslautern, Germany
Label: Frontiers
Buy now on Amazon.com
I'd be hard-pressed to find a power metal band I enjoy more than Vanden Plas. Yes, they have all the cheese of Sabaton and Wintersun, but they have just the right amount of a progressive angle to them to make them stand out. In fact, they could be in the same breath as a Fates Warning.
The Wounded Kings – Consolamentum 
Genre: Doom
Origin: Dartmoor, England
Label: Candlelight
Buy now on Amazon.com
Female-fronted doom from the birth country of metal. Can't help but think of bands like SubRosa, Avantarium, or Blood Ceremony listening to these guys. This isn't a bad thing, of course. It is simply rather that this genre is starting to become a bit saturated, and those I named have been able to stand out. We'll see if the same can be said for The Wounded Kings as I now seek out their back-catalog.
Also dropping today…
Agael – Trost (Naturmacht)
Atacama Death Experience – Wasted Time And Broken Bones (Cimmerian Shade)
Devil's Heaven – Heaven On Earth (Helldiver)
Doom's Day – The Devil's Eyes (PRC)
Esoteric Youth/Caïna – Split (Swarm Of Nails)
Folge Dem Wind – To Summon Twilight (Code 666)
Horizon Ablaze – Dødsverk (Code 666)
House Of Lords – Precious Metal (Frontiers)
Jagged Vision – Harvest Earth (Retro Futurist)
Jesters of Destiny – Fun at the Funeral Re-Release (Ektro)
The Kindred – Life In Lucidity (Sumerian)
Lethal Dosage – Consume (Battleground)
Metalocalpyse – the Doomstar Requiem: A Klok Opera Soundtrack (BS)
Morfin – Inoculation (FDA Rekotz)
Omnium Gatherum – The Redshift Re-Release (Candlelight)
Sado Sathanas – Homos Harmartia (Naturmacht)
Shattered Hope – Waters Of Lethe (Solitude)
Stamina – Perseverance (My Kingdom)
W.E.T.- One Live In Stockholm CD/DVD (Frontiers)
Will Of The Ancients – To Our Glorious Dead (PRC)
