Review by Michael on April 22, 2021.

Czech band Sněť will release their debut album Mokvání V Okovech on May 14th via Blood Harvest. Since I don't speak Czech, I can only judge from the music that the album is not about love, flowers or cupcakes. Mokvání V Okovech is a pretty vicious death-doom bastard that mills through the listener's auditory canals in stretches of groovy mid-tempo parts and crawling rhythm passages. The sawing guitars, the wonderfully rumbling drums and the singer, who rattles his soul out of his body and sounds as if he had to leave this life immediately, let a wonderfully musty and morbid mood arise. Maybe it's time for spring cleaning in my dark, damp cave.

Particularly standout songs include 'Demon' (I can understand Czech after all!!!), which is a pretty fast song, but also has some cool mid-tempo elements and invites you to bang along. 'Folivor' is a somewhat slower track that waltzes through the speakers for just under 3 minutes and features some pretty vicious riffing and of course the pretty sick vocals. 'Sarkofag' (another word I understand!!!) starts with an almost thrash-esque opening riff, which soon turns into pretty classic death metal riffing and delivers very varied breaks. 'Vesmírná Saliva' is a kick-ass last song, which reminds me of Bolt Thrower when the tempo is slowed down, but otherwise also knows how to convince.

In my humble opinion, the band has managed to release a solid and convincing debut, especially because of the absolutely sick vocals. Apart from that, they sound very cool in Czech (with Master's Hammer, for example, it always sounds a bit strange, even if they also like...). If you like bands that play absolutely sick death metal (I'll mention Funebrarum, Funebre, Demigod, Incantation...) in particular, you should check out Sněť at least once. Apart from the music, the band also has a cool cover for their debut, I don't even have to mention the totally cool logo!

Rating: 9.3 out of 10

Review by Adam M on December 23, 2017.

The new Sons of Apollo has a sound that has flairs of Dream Theater pop up. It is a progressive metal album in the vein of bands like that and Symphony X that features Mike Portnoy on drums. So, how does this band stand out from the pack and craft their own distinctive aura? They do so with a mesmerizing array of riffs that is constantly compelling and pushes their vision forward. There is the use of keys as well, but it’s the guitars that get the biggest emphasis on this work.

The song Signs of the Time makes for a highlight on the album with it’s nice guitar lines and killer use of theatrics. The album slows down a bit after this song is completed. This is just one of the many great moments on this album, however. There is a nice supply of strong moments, but that song is one of the better portions of the album. The music gets into Dream Theater worship at times, but it’s original enough to overcome this and showcase a nice variety of dynamics and shifts in energy. The music definitely has enough passion associated with it. There is a sense of fun and excitement with the band as they perform these songs to their maximum potential.  The album is still not perfect. This sounds very similar to Dream Theater, who has done superior work to this in the past. A comparison to the epic Scenes From a Memory sees this album coming up a bit short in comparison. It is not the best album of the style, but brings enough new ideas to the table to be interesting and enjoyable.

Fans of the bands name-checked in this review are highly encouraged to check out this album as it provides one of the better progressive metal experiences of the year.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Michael on April 22, 2021.

Czech band Sněť will release their debut album Mokvání V Okovech on May 14th via Blood Harvest. Since I don't speak Czech, I can only judge from the music that the album is not about love, flowers or cupcakes. Mokvání V Okovech is a pretty vicious death-doom bastard that mills through the listener's auditory canals in stretches of groovy mid-tempo parts and crawling rhythm passages. The sawing guitars, the wonderfully rumbling drums and the singer, who rattles his soul out of his body and sounds as if he had to leave this life immediately, let a wonderfully musty and morbid mood arise. Maybe it's time for spring cleaning in my dark, damp cave.

Particularly standout songs include 'Demon' (I can understand Czech after all!!!), which is a pretty fast song, but also has some cool mid-tempo elements and invites you to bang along. 'Folivor' is a somewhat slower track that waltzes through the speakers for just under 3 minutes and features some pretty vicious riffing and of course the pretty sick vocals. 'Sarkofag' (another word I understand!!!) starts with an almost thrash-esque opening riff, which soon turns into pretty classic death metal riffing and delivers very varied breaks. 'Vesmírná Saliva' is a kick-ass last song, which reminds me of Bolt Thrower when the tempo is slowed down, but otherwise also knows how to convince.

In my humble opinion, the band has managed to release a solid and convincing debut, especially because of the absolutely sick vocals. Apart from that, they sound very cool in Czech (with Master's Hammer, for example, it always sounds a bit strange, even if they also like...). If you like bands that play absolutely sick death metal (I'll mention Funebrarum, Funebre, Demigod, Incantation...) in particular, you should check out Sněť at least once. Apart from the music, the band also has a cool cover for their debut, I don't even have to mention the totally cool logo!

Rating: 9.3 out of 10

Review by Adam M on December 23, 2017.

The new Sons of Apollo has a sound that has flairs of Dream Theater pop up. It is a progressive metal album in the vein of bands like that and Symphony X that features Mike Portnoy on drums. So, how does this band stand out from the pack and craft their own distinctive aura? They do so with a mesmerizing array of riffs that is constantly compelling and pushes their vision forward. There is the use of keys as well, but it’s the guitars that get the biggest emphasis on this work.

The song Signs of the Time makes for a highlight on the album with it’s nice guitar lines and killer use of theatrics. The album slows down a bit after this song is completed. This is just one of the many great moments on this album, however. There is a nice supply of strong moments, but that song is one of the better portions of the album. The music gets into Dream Theater worship at times, but it’s original enough to overcome this and showcase a nice variety of dynamics and shifts in energy. The music definitely has enough passion associated with it. There is a sense of fun and excitement with the band as they perform these songs to their maximum potential.  The album is still not perfect. This sounds very similar to Dream Theater, who has done superior work to this in the past. A comparison to the epic Scenes From a Memory sees this album coming up a bit short in comparison. It is not the best album of the style, but brings enough new ideas to the table to be interesting and enjoyable.

Fans of the bands name-checked in this review are highly encouraged to check out this album as it provides one of the better progressive metal experiences of the year.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10