The promo for this new act got my attention because it is black metal on Purity Through Fire, and they have been killing it in that arena in 2020 with the likes of Mavorim, Kryptamok , SAD, Slagmark and Noidva. Also, Eisenkult features members of Mavorim as well as Totenwache and Meuchelmord, bands I am […]

2020’s run of high-quality black metal continues with the debut from Finland’s Gloom, a band that features members from Nekrokrist SS, whoever they are. And they are not Gloomy or depressive black metal at all as the name might lead you to believe. Blending a bit of Finnish black metal nastiness (especially the vocals) and […]

All hail Hail Spirit Noir who hail from Greece. These gentlemen caught my ears and eyes when they released Oi Strigoi all the way back in the “before times” in 2014. I was, and remain a big fan of that album, so I was excited when they released Mayhem in Blue in 2016. While I […]

I’ve been feeling a bit… contemplative, lately. Join the club, right? We’re all finding ourselves in a world that just sorta… isn’t the one we knew it to be. And all this time in quarantine has given everyone time to really think about their lives. Are you happy with the way that it’s going? Are […]

As I mentioned in my Glaciation review, Ive been on a French metal kick and the third album from Abduction might be the best of the bunch so far this year. One of my cohorts reviewed their prior album A L’heure du Crépuscule, and succinctly threw around bands like Borknagar, Arcturus, Ved Buens Ende, and […]

Ever have frostbite? Ever touch dry ice? Ever touch something so cold, your skin blistered up? Well, if you handle the debut album from Finland’s Kryptamok, you very well might experience those things, as it’s a brilliantly frosty, nasty display of second wave black metal. The brain child of Hex Inferi, formerly of Finnish black […]

“Warning! What you about to hear is extremely extreme. If think you can handle it by all means listen. However, if you have a preexisting condition that is aggravated by things that are evil, extreme, infernal brutal, cult , unholy or just sort of negative in general, you are urged to turn off this recording. […]

Ante-Inferno is a new black metal act hailing from the moors of Yorkshire, England, and has former and current members of other UK black metal acts like Petrichor and Sathamel. But don’t go expecting a band like either of those bands or like other recent UK black metal like the symphonic Argesk or Darkthrone worshiping […]

I’ve been digging what Germany’s Purity Through Fire has been releasing of late, especially when it comes to quality black metal. Notably releases from Greve, To Conceal The Horns, Nefarious Dusk, Noidva, The Dying Light and this one man act from Bavaria, who has been super prolific since 2015 with 2 splits, 2 EPS and […]

Maybe it’s the Relapse Records lineage, but I always seem to forget just how heavy Tombs are. That’s not to say there aren’t heavy bands on the Relapse roster because there most certainly are. However, I am always expecting something sludgy, along the lines of Baroness or Mastodon. Then, I press play and have a […]

Before Khold, there was Tulus, who released 3 albums in the late 90s. When Khold, one of the 00s most consistent (some would say annoyingly so) Norwegian black metal bands went on hold in 2006, Tulus was reformed with 2 of the original Khold/Tulus member Sarke (drums) and Bludstrup (vocals- also known as Khold’s distinctive […]

Sometimes it’s the dumbest things that cause you the most stress. When I was younger, dumber, and usually a whole lot drunker, choosing a playlist at a house party was so much easier. For one thing, college kids are usually more open to experiences and surroundings that they might not be all that familiar with, […]

Ok folks so this year of 2020 you will see some new and expansive reviews from yours truly.  I do not claim to be a Black Metal expert by any stretch of the imagination, however that’s not to say I do not like Black Metal.  My origins with Black Metal are rooted in more of […]

You know the whole “Glow Up” thing? Basically, people on social media post a side-by-side photo comparison of themselves when they were younger, more awkward, and not quite fully developed – next to a recent photo of their more grown up, mature, and (assumedly) more attractive selves. A modern-world representation of The Ugly Duckling, if […]

I am new to the Obsequiae hype train and after my good buddy Graham, from Deepsend Records-RIP, recommended this album to me, I could not be more than happier with his recommendation.  Under this name the band has been around for over a decade and released Suspended in the Brume of Eos in 2011 and […]

Here is a remastered reissue of Ungfell’s self released debut album, and for those unfamiliar with Swiss duo Ungfell, as I was, they play a form of raw, demented black metal inspired by medieval times and the dark ages. Think Peste Noire meets Lugubrum and early Abigor (Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age/Orkblut). It’s a […]

Sometimes I get in the mood for some good old fashioned, no frills, second wave black metal, and occasionally a release comes along that fills that void perfectly. Earlier this year it was Germany’s Darkened Nocturne Slaughtercult and their album, Mardom, and here in the fall/winter as the nights grow longer and darker, the fittingly […]

When a promo manages to name drop Insomnium, Turisas, Monnsorrow and Omnium Gatherum it its one sheet press release, you get my attention, if just to see how bloated the claims are. But this Finnish act has somehow managed to cull from all of their fellow Finns and drop a solid third album full of […]

I’m unfamiliar with female fronted Minnesotan black metal act False, but seeing as their second effort was released on the usually reliable Gilead Media, who recently dropped the magnificent third Falls of Rauros album, I though Id give this a go. And what I was greeted with was some fantastic 90s styled , Scandinavian semi […]

After Whitechapel’s The Valley, you could argue that Thy Art is Murder’s’ Human Target, and Carnifex’s 7th album are 2019s other ‘big name’, veteran deathcore releases. And while I have yet to hear Human Target, The Valley was phenomenal, so where does World War X stand? Well, I had some reservations when I saw/heard first […]

I’m not familiar with Germany’s long running, female fronted black metal act Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, so despite being apparently respected in the German scene and having been around for about 20 years, Mardom , their sixth release, is the first album or release I have heard from them. But it won’t be the last. What […]

Norway’s Darkthrone return with their 18th album and Old Star is ass-kicking from start to finish.  First a few things.  Outside of Bathory’s first 6 albums and the 2 Nordland albums, Darkthrone are my favorite black metal band of all time and this is coming from a person that only dabbles in the black metal genre and not full on into all the bands, as many know […]

Louisiana’s wrathful extreme music scene gets another notch on its termite-gnawed bedpost with this debut album from Pale Misery.  This musically dank, fetid trio rams the spiked gauntlets of black metal down the throat of crust-addled punk all across Black Candles and Gutter Scum’s sickening six tracks.  Goatwhore this is not as precision, tightly-bolted song […]

Skulls? Czech. Wild corpse paint? Czech. Black attire? Czech. Hooded/cloaked member? Czech. Spiked wrist band(s) and/or gauntlets? Czech. Finger claw ring thingy? Czech. Satan as the bands frontman? Czech. Wait…What? That’s right friends, Hnus Umirajici’s frontman/vocalist is apparently the Prince of Darkness himself, or at least according to the band’s press bio. In fact, the […]

Der Rote Milan is a black metal band from Germany that has couple of members of solid death metal band Ichor in its ranks, so I thought their second effort, Moritat was worth a look, especially seeing as the version I got for review was packaged in a  pretty cool deluxe A5 digibook format with […]