Tag Archives: luxembourg

Album Review – Sleepers’ Guilt / What Remained (2022)

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Dealing to a large extent with questions about the end of humanity as we know it, this Melodic Death Metal from Luxembourg begins a new era in their career with their thrilling and furious sophomore effort.

Hailing from Dippach, a commune and small town in south-western Luxembourg that is part of the canton of Capellen, Melodic Death Metal outfit Sleepers’ Guilt is back in action with their sophomore opus, entitled What Remained, marking the beginning of a new era in the band’s career with the debut of their new frontwoman Sany Faihrmann. Recorded, mixed and mastered by the band’s guitarist Marc Froehling, What Remained deals to a large extent with questions about the end of humanity as we know it and the challenges we might face in the near or more distant future, all that without being a concept album according to the band itself.  In addition to the classical instrumentation and the usual samples, Sany and Marc, together with their bandmates Chris T. Ian also on the guitars, Philip Rio Ries on bass and Ben Thuy on drums, dare to experiment with more exotic instruments, such as bouzoukis, mandolins, didgeridoos, and cellos, among others, to give the arrangements more opulence, while at the same time the music never loses its heaviness and always demands the listener’s attention.

Futuristic sounds ignite the band’s metal machine in the opening track Posthuman, with Philip and Ben dictating the rhythm with their heavy kitchen while Sany roars nonstop like a true she-demon, whereas Chris and Marc continue to extract sheer electricity from their axes in Wrath of Gods, another Melodic Death Metal extravaganza showcasing all the band’s heaviness, talent and passion for extreme music. As the name already says, Eye of the Storm is indeed a metallic storm by the quintet with Sany’s roars leading her bandmates into the eye of “you know what”, with the band’s guitar duo delivering classic riffs and solos for our total delight, therefore keeping the album at a high level of insanity. Let’s keep banging our heads to the pounding drums by Ben in Freedom Undone, a neck-breaking tune where Sany’s screams sound like a devilish version of Overkill’s Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth; and slowing things down a bit it’s time for the somber Ultimate Sin, not as powerful as the rest of the album but still very melodic, with Chris and Marc showcasing a great performance with their riffs and solos.

Train of Thoughts feels like a heavier, more devilish version of the Melodic Metal played by Stratovarius, with Sany delivering a dark and thrilling vocal performance by roaring deeply accompanied by the classy beast by Ben; and get ready for 10 minutes of high-quality Melodic Death Metal made in Luxembourg with Tides of Fate, starting in a serene, melancholic way before morphing into an experimental sonority and exploding into the band’s core sound with an epic touch, with Sany delivering her usual she-wolf growls while her bandmates keep the atmosphere as dense and electrifying as possible, not to mention their soulful, striking guitar solos. Then blackening their core essence considerably it’s time for the almost pure Death Metal onrush titled Pyre, also bringing to our ears elements from Groove Metal thanks to the amazing job done by Philip and Ben with their respective bass punches and venomous beats. Last but not least, Sleepers’ Guilt offer us all the Arch Enemy-inspired tune The Remains, with hints of the music played by Soilwork and In Flames while Chris and Marc are on fire armed with their guitars, providing Sany all she needs to gnarl like a creature form the abyss.

You can start following such promising name of the Luxembourger metal scene on Facebook and on Instagram, staying up to date with all things Sleepers’ Guilt, and also watch their videos and  stream all of their creations on YouTube and on Spotify. Furthermore, above all that, don’t forget to show them your utmost support by purchasing the excellent What Remained by clicking HERE. In a dystopian world, humanity is on the brink of extinction and the machines have taken over. But is it really the machines, or rather those who control the machines? And is there life outside the dystopian illusions, in solitude, amid an exhausted, repellent nature? Simply hit play in What Remained and let the band answer those questions to you, while of course you keep banging your head nonstop to their venomous music.

Best moments of the album: Wrath of Gods, Train of Thoughts and Pyre.

Worst moments of the album: Ultimate Sin.

Released in 2022 Independent

Track listing
1. Posthuman 4:23
2. Wrath of Gods 4:19
3. Eye of the Storm 6:39
4. Freedom Undone 5:52
5. Ultimate Sin 4:29
6. Train of Thoughts 6:04
7. Tides of Fate 10:15
8. Pyre 7:17
9. The Remains 9:24

Band members
Sany Faihrmann – vocals
Chris T. Ian – guitars
Marc Froehling – guitars
Philip Rio Ries – bass
Ben Thuy – drums

Album Review – Theophagist / I Am Abyss (2020)

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Symbolizing the reincarnation of a project long believed dead, this five-piece act from Luxembourg comes crushing with their debut opus of cannibalistic and visceral Death Metal.

Founded in 2015 in Luxembourg, the “Gibraltar of the North”, by a group of friends, with the band’s roots actually dating from the years of 2007 until 2009, the up-and-coming Death Metal five-piece act known as Theophagist symbols today the reincarnation of a project long believed dead. Picking up where they left off a decade ago, Theophagist bring the listener the finest Death Metal made in Luxembourg highly influenced by many great Thrash, Black and Death Metal artists, old and new alike, finally uncovering now in 2020 their first full-length album titled I Am Abyss after four long years in the making. Currently comprised of lead singer Sven Schosseler, guitarists Tiago Perdiz and Jo Conter, bassist Ben Schreiner and drummer Michel Conter, Theophagist seem to have finally reached their desired shape and form, with the music found in their newborn spawn perfectly depicting everything those talented Luxembourgians have to offer to the world of heavy music.

Simply hit play and a massive wall of infernal sounds spearheaded by Michel’s thunderous beats will invade your senses in Cannibal Preacher, showcasing disturbing words vociferated by Sven (“Your guilty flesh will be purified / Close your eyes, I purge the sins away / A rotten life served as tasteful bites / Pray to me, I purge the sins away / A hollowed scream, your first sacrifice / Bow to me, I purge your sins away”), and after such devastating start it’s time for a mid-tempo, heavy-as-hell extravaganza titled Burn That Witch, where Sven’s deep guttural is perfectly complemented by the scorching riffs by Tiago and Jo, inviting us all to break our necks headbanging in the name of witchcraft. And keeping the atmosphere dense, dark and infernal, the quintet blasts old school Death Metal infused with more melodic nuances in Recipe for Human Cake, with both Ben and Michel sounding truly menacing with their respective instruments. Moreover, I’m not going to write down the lyrics here, just search for them online and have an absolute blast with the band’s wicked and fun “recipe”.

A reverberating cello in the instrumental bridge Awakening The… sets the stage for the brutally heavy Terrors from the Deep, presenting classic, psychological Death Metal lyrics (“Your waves are endless, your foam, a dying star / A sea in millions, withering like a rotting scar / Terrors from the deep, lurking in me / Terrors from the deep, taking over me”) accompanied by a rumbling and intricate sound crafted by all band members, with Tiago’s and Jo’s furious, Black Metal-inspired riffs adding a touch of evil to the musicality, whereas in Epileptic Seizure the band ventures through more modernized and alternative lands, with the bass jabs by Ben sounding utterly metallic, therefore generating a bold background vibe perfect for Sven and his bestial roars. Then going absolutely berserk the band offers our avid ears the demolishing tune R.I.S.E., with the band’s guitar duo slashing their stringed axes in great fashion while their bandmates make sure the music remains as venomous and rebellious as it can be.

In Adeptus Astartes a Western-like intro quickly morphs into more of the band’s classic Death Metal, with Michel taking the lead with his pulverizing blast beats while Sven keeps on growling and giving the whole song a more aggressive punch, and the second to last blast of their straightforward Death Metal comes in the form of Agony of Christ Upon the Cross, following a similar pattern as its predecessor with its guitar, bass and drums smashing our skulls mercilessly. Finally, closing the album we face the ominous and old school Apocalypse (Redux), which was actually written during the first stages of the band over a decade ago, showcasing an amazing riffage blasted by Jo and Tiago boosting Sven’s harsh gnarls effectively, and ending in a climatic and grim manner as the true apocalypse draws near.

In case you’re curious to know how Death Metal made in Luxembourg sounds like, you can enjoy each and every track from I Am Abyss on YouTube and on Spotify, and if you like what you hear you can show your utmost support to those brave metallers by purchasing their debut opus from their own BandCamp page, as well as from Apple Music or from Amazon, or you can also click HERE to select the version of the album that better suits your needs. In addition, as it’s not everyday that we have the pleasure of facing a metal act from the tiny and beautiful Luxembourg, you should definitely follow the band on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, keeping updated with all things Theophagist and helping them spread the cannibalistic and visceral Death Metal to all four corner of the earth.

Best moments of the album: Cannibal Preacher, Terrors from the Deep and R.I.S.E.

Worst moments of the album: Adeptus Astartes.

Released in 2020 Independent

Track listing
1. Cannibal Preacher 4:07
2. Burn That Witch 3:25
3. Recipe for Human Cake 3:58
4. Awakening The… 2:37
5. Terrors from the Deep 6:24
6. Epileptic Seizure 4:02
7. R.I.S.E. 4:47
8. Adeptus Astartes 5:37
9. Agony of Christ Upon the Cross 4:50
10. Apocalypse (Redux) 3:20

Band members
Sven Schosseler – vocals
Tiago Perdiz – guitar, backing vocals
Jo Conter – guitar
Ben Schreiner – bass
Michel Conter – drums