Are you in the mood for some melodic Black / Death Metal à la early NAGLFAR, SACRILEGE, IN FLAMES and stuff like that? Bands that you picked up from the already defunct Swedish labels like Black Sun Records and Wrong Again Records? HAILSTONE, however, does not ‘hail’ from Sweden but from Munich, Germany instead. This German quintet is well prepared for giving a lesson in the glorious times of the melodic Swedish Black / Death Metal scene – and if those two aforementioned labels still existed, HAILSTONE would most probably be on their roster, too. I mean, they do their plagiarism from that past, particular scene in question so well on "The Greater Counterfeit" that one could easily mistake them to some Swedish act, not being aware of their nationality. In other words, if you ever felt homey with that melodic, early 90s Swedish Black Metal sound, then nothing should stop you checking HAILSTONE out. This sounds all too familiar to me but apart from a clear lack of originality in them, I get pretty much pleasure by listening to the band’s debut album. It’s a true homage to the Swedish Black / Death Metal scene of early times, which has deservingly earned a special place somewhere in my blackened soul. Highly unoriginal but still sufficiently cool enough stuff here nevertheless. More about HAILSTONE at: www.facebook.com/hailstonemunich