This compilation is done in fond quality and the listeners get an overview concerning the unmanageable domain Black/Death/Viking Metal. Markus Eck of online fanzine Metalmessage did a great job! The booklet offers a lot of information about every band including homepage and group members´ names. Cool! The cover has been designed by Mike Schindler and it is really old school and goes hand in hand with the “Support The Underground” idea.
Also the musical contents are of good quality, well known bands like LUNAR AURORA, ULVHEDIN or UHRILEHTO are combined with underground hopefuls such as SVARROGH or DAEMONLORD. One could see the experience and broadly based competence of compiler Markus, so that boredom has no chance while listening to these 12 tracks. I do not write comments about all the tunes - I just give information about outstanding songs.
The first above-average band is SVARROGH who enjoy playing kind of Black Metal loosened up with some acoustic guitar components. I am also taken with the self titled ULVHEDIN song from their demo, which is played in convenient speed and is featured by nice melodies and heroic vocals – Viking Metal at its best! The band NO MANS LAND from Russia has committed itself to a mid-tempo and impulsive variation of Black Metal with diversified vocals. Even an Austrian composition takes part on Metal Message Vol.1, namely BLOODFEAST's Tears Under My Mask; it sounds up-to-date and melodic. All Death Metal fans could like MY COLD EMBRACE, afterwards CARVED IN STONE invite us to stay for a while with the ballad Heldentod sung in German. In addition there are following bands among the 12 track sampler: CERBERUS (Black/Thrash), UHRILEHTO (Midtempo Black), SAXORIOR (heroic Pagan Metal) and LUNAR AURORA competing with the ten minute opus Der Abend.
As a conclusion I can say that this compilation is a felicitous and praiseworthy foray through Black/Death/Viking Metal revealing some interesting bands!