While not the biggest purveyor of great metal bands, Spain apparently has some hidden gems here and there, and this is one of them. Great, pulverizing riffs, surprising tempo changes and overall coolness of this band shouldn't go unnoticed.
If you're into either doom or death, you should enjoy Onirophagus.

[URL=http://www.reverbnation.com/onirophagus]Have a taste here.[/URL]

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Screw all your tech death bullshit fretboard wankers who forgot what death metal is and only churn out chaotic assemblies of soulless hogwash mistakenly called music. Asphyx is the shit, ladies and gentlemen. Let Deathhammer pulverize you.

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Endorsed by: X-Ray Rod, Baz Anderson, White Winter Sun, Marcel Hubregtse, wormdrink414, Ag Fox, !J.O.O.E.!, Doc G., BitterCOld, Promonex, Nefarious, BloodTears

Old, established prog bands are becoming stale and repetitive. Riverside isn't.

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Endorsed by: Milena, BloodTears, X-Ray Rod, Nefarious, Introspekrieg, Dane Train, Ivor

Classic doom metal doesn't get better than this. If you want an album that you will remember every single song off of, this is the one.

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Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, Nefarious, White Winter Sun

If you know the band, you know what to expect. They deliver what you expect and then some. Less than 5% of metal population will appreciate this morose journey. It's better to be among the few than among many...

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Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, Nefarious, Troy Killjoy, KwonVerge, X-Ray Rod

The songs are still too long at times, but the irressistible enegry that squirts from every note of this album is truly overwhelming. Machine Head have just released what could possibly be their best album since the classic Burn My Eyes.

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Endorsed by: Nefarious, Marcel Hubregtse, hanna of steel

I usually try to pick less known stuff, but this time it has to be Symphony X. Iconoclast is utterly brilliant. It's the most brilliant release I've heard in 3 years. It's also the best-produced fucking brilliant metal album in history. Oh, did I mention that it's brilliant?

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Endorsed by: Introspekrieg, White Winter Sun, Ag Fox, BloodTears, Darkside Momo, Milena

Byfrost is now less thrashy and more blacky than on their debut, Black Earth, but it's still a wonderful, in-your-face, straightforward slab of unadulterated black metal filth. Groovy as hell too. Watch your head, and prepare for severe neck pains tomorrow morning.

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Endorsed by: Fat & Sassy!, X-Ray Rod, Ag Fox, Susan, wormdrink414

A surprisingly mature, deliciously adept and well-sounding debut album. Remember Barren Earth? Enthrope don't stand too far apart, yet they manage to be unique enough. Powerful and crisp production compliments this sleeper hit.

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Endorsed by: Ag Fox, Milena, Nefarious

At first sight, or, to be precise, at first listen, Samael made their new album using the same template as usual. But this time the result is exceptionally good. It takes enormous skill to compose twelve songs of similar structure and make them all sound different and unique. And incredibly catchy too, if that is possible with harsh vocals and customarily hateful anti christian lyrics. Those Swiss heretics are as hell-bent on hating religion as usual, but the whole background to their hate, all those marching rhythms, intricate and inspired keyboard passages and abrasive rasps mix together to form some of the nicest surprises of this year so far. Their best since Passage.

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Endorsed by: Ag Fox, KwonVerge

Hailing from Germany, these guys took me by surprise with their debut full-length, whose title I refuse to even try to spell here. If you're into groovy, well-produced doom metal that speeds up quite often, Essenz will rock your boat till you fall out of it. Pseudo tribal chanting, eerie female voices, headbang-inducing riffage, pounding drumming, even a song that has no sound in it. If you try this, you'll be in for some seriously weird offering. It may amaze you, it may bore you, but it will not leave you indifferent. Most likely, Essenz will put you in a trance. It put me at least. A solid debut, promising a lot for the future.

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Can you define cool? It's something that's not necessarily brilliant, or inventive, or grounbreaking, or world-changing. It doesn't redefine anything, it doesn't discover new realms. But you love it anyway. It hits this part of your brain that expects simple pleasures, without justifying why they are so pleasant.

That's how I perceive Byfrost's debut album. It delightfully tickles my ears and massages my belly with its groovy, bassy rhythms and riffs. It spellbinds my hands so that I can't take the CD out of my player and I'm forced to press "play" again. Oh, it also sounds great in my car. It makes traffic jams a lot less unbearable. And it makes drivers around me look at me in bewilderment as I rock, jump, and do air-guitar to the sounds of Byfrost.

Do not miss out on those simple, un-pretentious pleasures. Let Byfrost bring you one.

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Endorsed by: Susan, Marcel Hubregtse, X-Ray Rod