I sort of enjoyed the two prior releases from Sweden’s cosmic black metal act, Lightlorn; the debut EP, These Nameless Worlds, and the 2023 debut full-length, At One with the Night Sky. I own both physical CDs, and they fill that early Deafheaven, Soul Dissolution, Alkhemia, Vallendusk, Numeron, Vela Pulsar, Spectral Lore styled melodic/atmospheric black […]
It’s safe to say that I’ve never heard of Italy’s Dawn of a Dark Age until now. Ver Sacrum mixes two genres that I love: Black Metal and Jazz. Vittorio Sabelli is an ubër talented mofo, and it’s his warm-as-butter Clarinet that elevates this album to Avantgarde status. Ver Sacrum marks nine albums since 2014, […]
Back in 2022, I reviewed the solid third album, Lélekharang, from the Hungarian duo, WitcheR (not based on the Andrzej Sapkowski books or Henry Cavill show). It was a very well done style of Summoning-ish styled atmospheric black metal, focusing on more doomy, and moody pacing, complete with programmed drums and tinny guitars, just like […]
When it comes to regional, geographical sounds and styles in metal, except maybe Stockholm, I don’t think there is any more distinct and recognizable sound than the New Orleans/Louisiana sound; Crowbar, Down, Eyehategod, Thou, Soilent Green, Acid Bath, Goatwhore, etc. That swampy, moist, fuzzy sound. You know it. So when I got a promo for […]
Loosely meaning ‘The Wild Hunt’ from Norwegian lore, it is the band name that got me to check out the promo for the third album from this Californian, not Norwegian duo, as well as that kickass stained glass dragon on the cover. Further digging revealed that this used to be a one-man project with Jay […]
Ghost Bath hath returned with Rose Thorn Necklace, which is my second favorite type. They went hard this time on those DSBM vocals, as the torture, not quite Silencer-level shrieks, can be heard throughout the first real track, “Rose Thorn Necklace.” What stands out immediately is the production, highlighting the guitars, front and center. It’s […]
I knew absolutely nothing about Toronto trio A Flock Named Murder or their label, Hypaethral Records, other than they play post/atmospheric black metal, which has kind of been my jam lately, so I randomly grabbed the promo. Then, because I’m a goddamn professional (sometimes) I actually did some research on the band, only to find […]
I once saw progressive black metallers, Dawn of Ouroboros shortly after their debut, The Art of Morphology was released at one of my favorite Pittsburgh area venues, Black Forge Coffee House. I had reviewed it, enjoyed it, and went to the show thinking it would be sparsely attended. Unfortunately, I was right, but they still put on a […]
Finland’s Havukruunu ( ‘coniferous crown’) first got on my radar with 2017’s Kelle Surut Soi, but in 2020, they obliterated my radar with 2020’s Uinuos syömein sota, which was my clear-cut favorite album of the year. The funny thing is, we have never actually reviewed them! Well let’s fix that together, shall we? The word […]
Sometimes, an album contains all great songs, no filler, no skips. Sometimes an album has a few good songs. Sometimes you buy an album because you saw one good video on MTV Headbangers Ball in the 90s, and the rest is terrible. Sometimes an album has one really killer song that makes the whole thing […]
Scotland’s Folk/Pagan Black Metal band Saor, under the sole guise of Andy Marshall, and guest musicians, return with Amidst the Ruins, their sixth album. This is their most adventurous and most expansive album to date. The 12+ minute title track leads the charge, opening this terrific album, with a long blast beat which has other […]
You can virtually cut and paste my review of 2021’s Maere for this Austrian duo’s 6th album, as they are so locked into their despondent, post/ shoe gaze/ atmospheric black metal sound, it’s scary. That said, at a trim 67 minutes on 1 CD as opposed to Maere’s 2 CD, 84-ish minute affair, the band […]
I’ve followed Yoth Iria for several years now, and reviewed their debut ep Under His Sway, in 2020. Since then this Greek black metal band released a killer debut album in 2021 As the Flame Withers. Last year they put out an interesting two-song ep Flame of the Whirling Swords that was more ethereal and […]
A Finnish supergroup of sorts (former and ex-members of …And Oceans, Black Beast, Rapture, Scorgrain), The Mist From the Mountains released a superb debut back in 2022, that made my year-end list with its excellent take on the classic, folky second wave black metal sound, culling heavily from the likes of Borknagar, the first Ulver […]
I’m not familiar with Germany’s Servant, having not heard the band’s prior two albums. Still, I’m always down for some ‘melodic-yet-furious black metal’ (per the promotional email). Especially as I dig a lot of the music that AOP Records puts out, especially the likes of Firtan, Waldgeflüster, Groza, Finsterforst, and Harakiri for the Sky. So I […]
I’ve been on a huge Lord of the Rings/ Tolkien kick recently and have been seeking out some music to satiate my need, enter Swedish duo Morcaint. Mornië Utúlië is the follow-up to last year’s Ellesar EP, and the duo of Ulvtyr and main composer Heruhim certainly know their way around Tolkein-themed atmospheric and melancholic […]
Henry Kane (AKA Jonny Petterson from Wombbath) has released two fine grindcore/crust albums under this Poltergeist-named project; 2017s Den förstörda människans rike, and 2020s appropriately named Age of the Idiot. Both delivering furious, Nasum-ish-styled Swedish grind/crust. However, his third release is a completely different beast altogether. and you should probably brace for it a little bit. […]
Devourer of All is the second album from Belgian black metal band Nyrak, (I could not find who or what a ‘Nyrak‘ is) a new band to me, but based on this excellent second effort they will be a regular band in my playlist and a band with a bright future. Playing a blend of […]
Mining-obsessed German duo Dauþuz (‘Death’) has been on my radar for a while now. I initially heard them on their third album, Monvmentvm in 2019, and then in 2021, they crept onto my year-end list with Vom schwarzen Schmied. I wondered how they would, like other specifically themed bands (i.e. Alestorm) how they would continue […]
I went blindly into the promo for this release, as I have been in an ‘atmospheric black metal’ mood of late. But then I dug into the project more and was even more excited as it’s a multinational trio comprised of Jacob Buczarski of Mare Cognitum on drums, an Argentine dude named Dany Tee on […]
35 years. Existence and longevity come from quality and excellence. Releasing album after album with diabolical precision has been the Rotting Christ ethic throughout their career, since 1988 when they were a Grindcore band and then transitioning to Black Metal in the early 90s with 1993’s Thy Mighty Contract, they have forged and put together […]
I don’t know if Ihsahn’s new album qualifies for one of my most anticipated of 2024 because I received the (streaming-only) promo slightly before it came out. It still hit me out of nowhere. I will confess to being a fan, but his solo works haven’t done much for me on the last few records. […]
I kinda dug, These Nameless Worlds, the debut EP from this atmospheric/melodic black metal duo from Sweden. Despite the light-less moniker, it was a cosmic-themed, uplifting, bright take on the genre with some very pleasant melodies in the vein of Ghostbath, Vinland, Numeron, and Vallendusk. Well here is the full-length debut on the very fitting […]
I grabbed the prom for this Swiss one-man project as the moniker, album title and French song titles screamed Antiq Records-styled medieval, epic, and atmospheric black metal (i.e Passéisme, Veheménce). And I wasn’t too far off. The brainchild of one Marc Dalton (also of the solid melodic black metal band Tyrmfar, who released a fine […]
In the end, how do you want to be remembered? Will you be remembered at all? The ultimate weight of our own legacy hangs like a formless specter, bearing down on us with every waking moment, growing heavier and more gnarled with every step towards this life’s inevitable conclusion. And that’s kind of a bitch, […]