They apparently met way back in 2005, but recently decided to come together and form a project to pay homage to 90s melodic black/death metal, such as (a less symphonic) Emperor, Gates of Ishtar, Embracing, Naglfar, Dissection, Unanimated, etc.

And based on this solid debut, I’d say mission accomplished, as the 45 minutes contained on Determined to Death and Beyond absolutely nail that era and sound. If you need actual, immediate proof, go to the album’s closing track, a ripping, spot-on cover of Emperor’s “Ye Entrancemperium”; when it started, I actually thought my playlist had switched to my recent Emperor concert playlist.

Opener “Above the Ice” gets the ball rolling, and makes no bones about the duo’s desired sound – they are not reinventing the wheel at all, and they know it. Semi-frosty, but razor-sharp melodic riffs, harsh, rasped vocals, some light synths – it’s all here, and the second track, “Wrath of the Witches”, leans into it even more, especially the latter Emperor song structures.

“Forest of Horrors” dips more into a melodic death metal pace and structure, complete with an acoustic bridge before an impressive blast beat and riff, before the mid-album instrumental “Requiem for a Doomed Soul” gives you a little break.

The back end of the album kicks off with “Abysmal Ascent”, complete with some Old Mans Child (another possible influence here)  / The Pagan Prosperity styled clean vocals, the slower “Path of Penitence”, and ultra spot on Dissection-ish “Into the Temple of Light”, by now, you kinda know what Archaic Oath are doing, where you can sort of predict time changes and signatures, but its still an enjoyable, nostalgic album that nails its chosen style.

If you are familiar with Switzerland’s Stortregn, then you know they started as a melodic black metal band on albums like Emptiness Fill the Void, but transitioned to a more technical death metal sound on later albums like Finitude.

Well, apparently Negro missed the band’s earlier style, as he has gone back to the more melodic black/death metal stylings of early Stortregn with No Plenitude Without Suffering.

He’s helped out by Merlin Bogado (Dyssebeia) on guitars & bass and Nicolas Muller (Akiavel) on drums to bring his vision to life. It’s a fine album of polished melodic black/death metal with a little nod to the likes of Dissection, Naglfar, etc., and of course Stortregn’s early works, but with a super clean, modern delivery.

There are some really good, enjoyable riffs here and there,  such as early highlights like the start of “Testimony of an Obsolescent World” and “Shining Amidst the Lights”, with its light keyboards.  As well as a mid-album acoustic break with ” Smells Like Dead Autumn Fire”.

“Black Flame Reviver” begins the album’s back end with a brief saxophone intro, before another fine riff kicks in, and a nice solo ends the track. And closer “Peregrination Towards Childhood Memories” sounds like a classic, more somber 90s melodeath number you might hear on a Gates of Ishtar album, rounding things out on a solid high note.

For over a decade now, Denmark’s Møl has been a steady force in the ever-growing work of Shoegaze-driven Black Metal, borrowing certainly from the likes of genre innovators like Cult of Luna and Deafheaven, though perhaps always more willing to reach more for the eccentricities of Converge’s melodic leanings of Rolo Tomassi. But as impressive as earlier releases certainly were, there was a sense that there was something more the band had left to prove.

Where 2018’s Jord (their first full-length) felt like a rock-solid Blackgaze record reminiscent of (and for my tastes, preferred to) Ghost Bath or ColdWorld, 2021’s Diorama felt like a band starting to forge their own path – adding more progressive and “post” elements to their sound in ways that felt more self-assured and authentic. Still, there were moments on that record where you could have said “ok, this is cool, but it’s just Deafheaven, right?” You’d need look no further than the earworm, but certainly derivative main melody of the opening track “Fraktur” to find one of many shining examples.

But as artists are (should be) wont to do, it seems Møl continued to evolve behind the scenes, not content to rest on their laurels until they developed a sound that, definitively, was their own. With DREAMCRUSH, it seems the band has not only achieved that, but has elevated their game to heights that should, deservedly, capture the attention of every extreme music fan on the planet. It’s a fucking masterpiece.

The thing that’s immediately noticeable about Dreamcrush is just how easy an album it is to listen to. From production and mastering, to the song structures and overall tone of the record, this is an album that begs prolonged listening sessions. There is, undoubtedly, a certain sector of the metal world that will sneer at this album’s accessibility, but I cannot fathom being turned off by a recording that sounds as lush and vibrant as this. From the opening crescendo of “DREAM,” which indeed sounds like the warming up of a pit orchestra at the beginning of some opera or grand stage performance, you know immediately that this is going to be something special, and after a bright, airy guitar intro introduces the band, you are very suddenly thrown right into the album in earnest, marked by vocalist Kim Song Sternkopf first of many higher-pitched screams and a storm of distorted guitars. But what really grabs you is the clean vocal section, accentuated by very pretty synth (or maybe it’s guitar, hard to say) hits that match the vocal melody. It is so simple, and yet so effective, showcasing a newer side to the band’s sound that is as welcome as it is intoxicating, marking a sense of balance that proves to be the hallmark of this entire album.

And indeed, “Sma Forlis” nails home the point, hitting first with a hard-hitting staccato delivery of fierce guitars, drums, and Sternkopf’s sneering vocal attack that borrows as much from early-2000s Metalcore as it does the more Blackened stylings we’re used to from the band. But before you think we’re going full-on blitzkrieg, the band pulls back into another brilliant clean section that lands like an eye to a category 5 hurricane – somewhat disorienting, but altogether welcome and strangely beautiful. Much like a hurricane, however, the brief respite only serves to make the impact of the back half of the storm hit all the more devastatingly, and at an economical 3 minutes 45 seconds, the band proves they’re capable of getting a lot done in a relatively small package.

The condensed delivery of the songs does serve the band really well on this album, as well. If there’s one criticism I’ll buy in a lot of Blackgaze/Atmospheric Black Metal, it’s the susceptibility to become over-bloated, or providing SO much space that the real impact of the songs is diminished. Not so much here, as Møl get right to the point on virtually every track, with standout singles “Young” and “Garland” each coming in well under the 4-minute mark (in fact, closer “CRUSH” is the only track to eclipse 5 minutes), and yet the band still has no trouble taking you on a journey with each and every effort. “Young” hits with such an uplifting, hopeful flair that I can’t help but think of a band like Astronoid as an apt comparison, even including one of the band’s rare instances of a really nice, if simple and effective guitar solo. But it’s the chorus’s main riff that really grabs your attention, and paired to the rumbling double bass attack of the verses, once again serves the duality of the album so beautifully.

Sternkopf’s impassioned vocal performance is once again a real highlight of this album, but this track, along with standouts like “A Former Blueprint” and “Mimic” proves that the work of Nikolai Hansen and Sigurd Kehlet absolutely cannot be ignored, pulling influences not just from the usual suspects, but also culling from places you may not expect. The verse guitars on “Garland” (which is, so far, my favorite song of a young 2026), as well as the opening riff of “Dissonance,” could very easily be mistaken for something recorded by Chevelle, and god damn if both aren’t effective in the context of these tracks.

What impresses me most is that everything on DREAMCRUSH seems so intentional and detail-driven. No part of this record is made without consideration of every other element put to recording, and the end result is an album that, despite its wide net of influences, feels wholly cohesive and complete. For the first time in Møl’s career, I don’t feel myself wanting more from the band. This feels very much like the band was meant to be all along, and I’m now just thrilled to see what the band is able to do with this newfound confidence and ability moving forward. Whether you’re already acquainted with the band or this is your first foray, I BEG of you to give DREAMCRUSH a listen. For me, it’s an instant classic, and perhaps even a new benchmark for the genre. Insane performance.

With a lineup that features former and current folks from the likes of Nightrage, Night Crowned, Avsmak, Dark Funeral, and Torchbearer, it’s no surprise that this is high-quality stuff, and these guys can shit this type of music out in their sleep. The nine songs all deliver razor-sharp, tightly wound, fierce, yet melodic black/death metal, featuring some keyboards, gruffer vocals, and a crystal-clear production.

From opener “As Humanity Falls” to closer “Luciferian”, there isn’t a weak song on the album, in particular “Regnum in Tenebris” and “Människan till kol”. And like its predecessor, some female vocals pop up here and there to make tracks like “All Shall Become None” and  “Ascend into Ruin” even better.

A fine follow-up to the debut and a veteran act that should truly take off when they release album number 3.

Just kidding. I know my opinion didn’t matter, but they have made some improvements to their bombastic symphonic black/death metal. They still cull heavily from the likes of the early US symphonic black metal movement like Scholomance, Dreamscapes of the Perverse, Vesperian Sorrow etc, but the song writing (albeit still a little long winded as the album clocks in at 52 minutes, vs Antiquity’s 54 minutes) is a little improved, as are the keyboards, though still not quite up there with some of their peers.

The vocals, however, still remain a bit of a sticking point for me, even though the spoken word/grumble is used less (i.e, opener “Purity Through Non Existence”, the Crematory sounding “The Autumnal Passing”, “ Shrines Of Offal Rise”), it’s still there, and Gabriel Luis, while a fine guitarist, isn’t quite doing it for me vocally.

The busy, solo-heavy songwriting has a few more memorable moments than Antiquity. The band continues to delve into religious dogma and rebellious, Luciferian themes. With the same lineup from the debut, there is some overall consistency in the band’s sound, influence, and delivery.

The slightly improved song writing still has a ways to go to be elite level, stuff, and the band struggles with ending songs abruptly (unless there was an issue with my digital promo), like they didn’t know where to go next  (i.e “Bloodlet the Lepers Created”, “Dancing Plagues of Modern Man”), but as the album goes along the songs get better after the three aforementioned shaky openers.

2nd half album tracks like the instrumental “Gotterdammerung”, “Shrines of Offal Rise”, “Agents Of Holy Death” (which has wafts of Ba-Sagoth) and closer “Perverse Christ Aeon” are all solid, but I’m still not completely enamored with these guys yet. Maybe the third album will fully do it for me.

There looks to have been some changes in the Istapp camp with only 2 members from that album still around, founder Flajar (drums) and Tizheruk (guitars/vocals). Three new folks have joined on bass, guitar, and vocals, but to be honest I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t done some research. Notably, new vocalist Gjallar (Skald), has a spot on Andreas Hedlund-styled Vintersorg/ Borknagar clean style similar to what Gangleri did on the prior album, maybe better, and that is still one of Istapp’s strong points.

Sól tér sortna (‘the sun turns black/dark’) continues the same frigid/icy (bundle up there’s gonna be a lot of wintery/cold references) melodic black metal formula that the band has perfected over three albums, but I have to admit, the formula is starting to sound a little familiar on some songs on this album, especially when I went back to revisit The Insidious Star. Case and point, the second track “Nifelheim” sounds an awful lot like “Eternal Winter”, but it is still soooooo good.

Gjallar immediately delivers the goods with the clean chorus of the opener “Under jökelisen” (It is also worth noting the band appears to have reverted back to all Swedish song titles and lyrics), then the aforementioned “Nifelheim” delivers Istapp’s classic, furiously frosty, melodic riffs in spades.

The next song, “Grýla” is a bit of an outlier, being a fairly generic mid-paced number, that’s not immediately identifiable as an Istapp song, with no clean vocals either.  Luckily, the next track “Storm av is” certainly is with delicate piano under Gjallar’s addictive chorus, and the crystalline mid-paced march.

“Frostdraken” returns to the more urgent, blasting pace of “Nifelheim” while the standout title track truly delivers Istapp’s signature frigid but fierce melodies perfectly. “Ragnarok” is another standout with a swaying, folky/Viking pace and yet another outstanding chorus from Gjallar.  The bouncy then bristling “Killbrand” and icy, windswept, but moodier “Vinterkrig” close the album out.

I’m not sure why Istapp released this album in March, as it’s far more fitting for the goddamn Ice-o-calypse the Midwest got in January. Ultimately though, the new lineup (especially the underused Gjallar) delivers the goods, even if I find myself preferring The Insidious Star a little more.

But the challenge is, can you follow up on such an album? Once that glow and fan excitement of a reunited legend fades, can you keep it up? We have yet to see with Naglfar as they have yet to follow up Cerecloth, but … And Oceans did OK, with the second reunification album As In Gardens, So In Tombs.  So how does Mörk Gryning fare with their second album after reuniting?

Well, pretty damn good, but not quite as truly stunning as Hinsides vrede.

As Hinsides vrede before it, with “Fältherren”, Fasornas Tid comes out of the gate strong with perfect 90s styled melodic black metal pulling from the above bands and of course Dissection with “The Seer” “Tornet”, “Before The Crows Have Their Feast”, arguably the album standout with the subtle but well-done synths on the chorus and some clean vocals arise here and there, but they are sparing and fit in decently.

That said, like its predecessor, the album’s back end tails off a bit, with two slower mid-album songs in “Savage Messiah”, and “An Ancient Ancestor Of The Autumn Moon” that drag the ferocious momentum down a bit. I’m all for some slower, songs to break up the pace, but two in a row really bring things down a bit. The mid-paced rollick of “Black Angel” instrumental acoustic interlude “Barren Paths” doesn’t help.

The final trio of “The Serpent’s Kiss”, particularly vicious “Det Svarta”, and “Age Of Fire”, bring back some of the energy from the album’s early stages, ending things on a solid note, as “Black Spirit” did on the prior album.

And while the album has some great riffs, nothing comes close to “A Glimpse of the Sky” from Hinsides Vrede, which was arguably one of my favorite songs in the genre from the last few years.  But Fasornas Tid is still a great 2nd album after the reunion and shows that Hinsides Vrede wasn’t just a one hit reunion.

And I mean come on! Look at that gnarly friggin’ cover art! While it can never be questioned what Ensiferum‘s contribution to the world of Folk Metal has been, it’s also fair to look at the band’s earlier work and wonder what the message they were trying to send the world was with their first string of album covers. Lots of white-bearded dudes, just kinda standing around in fantastical landscapes. At least on Victory Songs they had him looking pretty mighty on horseback, but honestly it all sorta looked like some medieval warrior showing slides of his vacation around Middle Earth.

Does cover art actually matter to the quality of work on an album? I mean, no. Obviously not. But I think it’s fair to say it can serve as a real tone-setter, and Winter Storm, I reiterate, is clearly not fucking around. This dude and his wolf friend? They’re tearing fools apart. They’re on the war path. They’re clearly making it a problem for these jamokes that they decided to wake up today.

And right away on “Winter Storm Vigilantes,” Ensiferum is hitting with the heavy artillery. Mighty-as-fuck guitar melodies ring in the track with a confident burst, with Petri Lindroos deploying all his tricks of the trade with familiar raspy vocals, and Pekka Montin’s soaring Power Metal singing leading the troops into battle. But it’s when the band launches into it’s ferocious trademark thrash folk riffing that it all becomes clear that the band is ready to take it full throttle. Fire up the circle pits and strap for battle because by the time Ensiferum launches into their full-band-backed chanting I’m about ready to burst through some wall of ice, swords blazing and ready for blood.

After the band flexes it’s more Power Metal-focused muscles on “Long Winter of Sorrow and Strife,” “Fatherland” lays back down on the accelerator with more ferocious riffing, and an all-timer of a chorus that, though I’m sure some weird war-painted right-winger will try to use this to make some overtly racist video edit on YouTube (we obviously can’t have nice things), should bring a welcome swell of vigor and might to any listener’s chest. It’s a doozy you just can’t help but sing along with, probably whilst raising some stein of beer or mead in celebration.

The sense of growth and confidence in the band’s songwriting is shown in spades on the more melancholy but really lovely “Scars in my Heart” (featuring Madeleine Liljestam of Eleine) which has the band throwing down a heart-wrenching tale of love lost and tragedy (that’s right it’s not all fields of battle and glory here, heathens). Even the more mid-paced “The Howl” (which, funnily enough, with it’s catchy keyboard melodies doesn’t sound so far removed from a Powerwolf track) is delivered with such confidence and strong songwriting that once again you can’t help but get just as whipped up in its powerful charm. If you’re not indoctrinated into the Ensiferum army  by the time album closer “Victorious” comes marching through your headphones or speakers, I’m sorry to say there’s no resistance. You’re going to war whether you like it or not. A clear throwback sledgehammer, this is the kind of metal anthem that we all knew Ensiferum perfectly capable of, but will no less get your dead heart racing with Heavy Metal pride.

The gauntlet thrown down with Thalassic as the band’s sort-of reinvigoration has proven to be just the start of Ensiferum’s reclamation of the Finnish Folk Metal throne. The vets have come back swinging and thoughts in prayers to any who dare step in their way. My soundtrack for the oncoming, inevitable fury of another northern winter has dropped just in time, and damned if I’m not good and ready to face it head-on.

I was hoping for a return to the more urgent stylings of the debut, but when the opening track, “Stjärnfall” starts, I immediately knew that The Star, the trilogy’s conclusion was going to be another more somber effort. However, it is still a superb album.

The word I kept coming back to for this album is ‘exquisite‘. The compositions, and the choruses ( especially the child-like choral arrangements used on a few tracks, are knee-wittingly good at times, even if less urgent than the first 2 albums. The riffs, at times border on Sentenced-like despondency (just listen to the opening riff of the second track “A Distant Glow”), just with a black metal sheen. Not suicidal like Shining though…. just wondrously emotive.

The Star is such a beautifully crafted album at every turn. Even with the somber tones. The rare expulsions of more fierce melodic black metal are a welcome joy when they do happen. But when you take each track in as a whole, it’s one of the most wondrously forlorn albums of the year.

The aforementioned opener “Stjärnfall” has both a superb melodic blast beat and one of the childish choral arrangements in its climax, making it a perfect opener and glimpse into the next 6 lengthy tracks. “A Distant Glow” plods with a steady gait, but has a chorus to die for.

“Liminal”  and “Galactic Blood” pick up the pace a little with stern mid-paced marches, but still dripping with melancholy, and even when “Galactic Blood” delivers a melodic tremolo blast- its emotional depth is not lost. The same can be said for the short blasting mid-section of the following song “Thousand Doorless Room”, but the last few minutes steal the show with a climax that’s a real melodic gut punch.

“Suffer Existence” is initially the album’s most visceral, traditional melodic black metal song. But its chord progression, folky little jaunt, and tear-inducing chorus are just hypnotic and make it one of the album’s best tracks if not one of the year’s most emotive songs.

“The 10-minute “Ro” ends the album as a three-album concept should be ended; beautifully, epically, and with all the emotions rolled into one track, putting an endnote on an album that is a masterpiece of hauntingly beautiful, somber black metal.

But now the story is told, can get back to the more biting, blistering melodic black metal of the debut, please?

The Way of Ancients, the second album, shows no sophomore slump as Volcandra incorporates a lot more atmosphere into this album with “Birth of the Nephalem” starting things off, with the rumbling drums and excellently crafted guitar melodies, the song gets faster and faster.  The blast beats kick in with the raspy black metal vocals and then the lower register death metal growling comes in and they sound great – Dave showing us he can bounce in between a variety of tones.  Around the 3.45 mark, one can hear the nods to Fallujah with those technical discordant and atmospheric moments.  The death metal vocals return as well and the song has a plethora of tempo shifts.  This is an exciting album opener!

“Nemesis Confession” starts off with some atmospheric sounds and then at the 45 second mark – BOOM!!! Right into the blasting metal madness, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, crank those headsets up, during that atmospheric ethereal buildup because you will blow your eardrums out once that music comes blasting in.  It’s unnerving how the music comes in and that also makes it quite interesting.  Check out those guitar melodies at the 2.28 section over the blast – simply mesmerizing and different than the norm.  The nice little growl at the 3.05 marker then right into that vintage 90’s death metal gallop will make you hold up those metal horns and thrash around the room, like a lunatic.  There are guitar solos over the blasting sections and elements of this band will have you thinking of classic Skeletonwitch, with the melding of death and black metal.  This is a terrific song and one of the best the band has crafted in their early career.

“The Blackened Temple” has a great opening melodic black metal riff right before the blast beats come in and these moments are excellent and that great main riff returns multiple times throughout the album and it’s quite catchy.  The title track ends the album and has a variety of tempo shifts, however it’s mostly a slower, atmospheric number drenched in emotive qualities, which the band does quite well.  It’s an excellent song to end the album with.

The Way of Ancients is a great release from Volcandra and sees the band incorporating more atmosphere and emotive qualities to their scorching blend of melodic death metal with smatterings of death metal across this sucker.  The production is the best the band has ever had and the songwriting is even stronger than their past releases and I loved those releases.  This album cover, is lacking a bit, though, as I prefer their prior release covers, this one seems a bit too basic.  For a title The Way of the Ancients, I would have expected something a little darker and more evil.  Small gripe on my part because Volcandra is an exciting band that I hope continues to release such quality music in the future.

Luckily, Chasing Euphoria doesn’t come out until mid-March, so there’s time. However, this should come out before then so you can pre-order it. Lutharo doesn’t change their melodic death metal approach one bit, but the songs are even better than the debut.  Take for example “Ruthless Bloodline.” It does follow the screamed verse, sung chorus formula, but that’s not uncommon. What matters is that the chorus is quite catchy. The quick solo sections serve to make the track better.

The next track strays slightly from that formula with the first section being singing. It also takes 2 minutes for the main hook. In a song that’s only 4 ½ minutes, that’s significant, but it still shows up multiple times. With less than a minute, it’s only vocals and strings, so you get to hear them essentially isolated. Slight tweaks in the formula make this one stand out as perhaps the best track.

Of course, I wouldn’t be doing what I consider justice to the album if I didn’t mention the title track, so let’s skip ahead. You will not be surprised to hear it does fit the songwriting formula. On display throughout. As mentioned earlier, it’s all based on whether you like the formula and the vocals. No metal is what I would call “radio ready,” but if that was a thing, every track would have the label.

Onward to the final track, “Freedom of the Night, which is nearly seven minutes and begins with some isolated bass before the guitars and everything else starts.  Halfway through, we get some isolated bass, then what I would call a classical guitar lead. I was going to say there wasn’t anything fast or flashy, but then a solo in that fashion takes over. The background strings add to the “finality” of it all, as well as the ending section with just bass and vocals.

After this, I must admit the album is not perfect. It does have flaws, but only a few. Perhaps it’s a little long, but 48 minutes is not egregious. It’s also the same formula all the time. That applies to their first album as well. However, they have a certain youthful energy, which propels them on their albums, as well as in the live setting. Their first album was quite good, and the new one is a step up. I am purchasing it and believe it will be in heavy rotation this year.

And with album number 6, the Swiss act finds itself as a long-running, veteran band, now consistently delivering high-standard, high-quality material, and Finitude is even better than the last excellent effort, 2021’s Impermanence.

The title track bursts out of the gates with shredding ferocity and flamenco-imbued leads, something which litters the entire album with great effect. “A Last Battle Rages On” continues the high-octane start to the album, and certainly Finitude comes out of the gate far more aggressively than I expected.

Then with one of the standouts “Xeno Chaos” (which is unfortunately not about Xenomorphs), starts a run of truly special tracks that lean a little harder into the more melodic and again more flamenco/ acoustic littered tracks with the likes of the blistering  “Cold Void” which acoustically bleeds into ‘Rise of the Insidious”, with its classically inspired solo work.

The last 2 tracks of the album though are absolutely stellar, “De Inferno Solis” and “The Revelation”. The first has some killer, melodic blasting, and the closer is the album’s best, shreddiest track.

Yet another polished, clinical, surgical album from these guys and 6 albums in they appear to have fully hit their stride and

Like Countrymates Oath of Damnation, King plays a blistering form of melodic black/death metal but the influence here is pretty clear: Immortal, and certainly the Immortal offshoots I, and Abbath . Vocalist Tony Forde (Ex-Blood Duster) has an Abbath-like croak and rasp, and guitarist Dave Hill (Fuck Im Dead) has locked into some very classic later Immortal-like galloping riffs as well as some searing Epoch of Unlight sounding melodies.

And of course, drummer Dave Haley needs no introduction but he carries over his intense work from bands like Abremalin, The Amenta, Psycroptic, Ruins, and Werewolves into King’s furiously melodic assault. Bassist Tim Anderson from bludgeoning death metal/deathcore act The Red Shore is just icing on the cake.

This thing just fucking rips from start to finish. It has a perfect blend of searing, shredding, slicing black metal and epic melodies. The Immortal reference is clear right away with “Perception Ignited” and then the little jaunts in the next killer track “Volcano”,  “Once and for All” or “Crepescular” could very well be from the first Abbath album. But they can bring absolute fire as well on “Black Dimension” and well.. “Into the Fire”. But plenty of moments that do both such as standout “Death in the Cosmos” or closer “To The Stars”.

The fact this is delivered by guys responsible for killer grind albums like Cunt, Str8outtnorthcote, and Bring On the Dead, and tech death like Scepter of the Ancients is kinda mindblowing. It’s better than a lot of Scandinavian bands and artists that have doing it for years (yeah, it is better than a couple of recent Immortal/Abbath albums as well) and is one of Australia’s better black metal exports since Astriaal’s Renascent Misanthropy.

Well here is the full-length debut on the very fitting label, Black Lion Records, and while it delivers the same sort of spacey atmosphere and melodies, it never quite improves on the debut or fulfills the promise of the songs on the debut EP.

That’s not to say, At One With The Night Sky isn’t a good record, as it’s pretty solid, and certainly fans of the EP or the bands mentioned above will enjoy the 7 songs contained here, there is just something missing. Where the EP had a few lovely standout moments whether be it riffs or delightful little bridges, (i.e. “Beyond the Cold Black Yonder” or “Dilation Sleep”), nothing on this really release grabs my attention quite as much.

Now, it’s still chock full of nice, 6/8 jangly, melodic tremolo riffs (“Tragedy in Starlight”, “Dimensionless Blackness”), mid-paced jaunts, and starry atmospherics, but the riffs seem a little more repetitive and the wondrous little piano sections and the atmospheric bridges (“Of Longing Spirit and Infinite Solitude”, “Ghostly Soliliquies”) seem just a little less wondrous.

The album does end with a fine track in “Earthbound” which ends the decent album with a very positive spin and shows these guys ere certainly players in the genre if they can be a little more consistent.

Then I dug into the band a little and found it a more melodic Swedish death/black metal-based project started by Harris Sopovic (ex-live guitarist for Diabolical, ex-Smothered), aided by current Diabolical bassist Paul Viscolit and another former Smothered member, drummer Viktor Eklund. Also, the band at some point featured Netherbird members and  Niklas Sundin of Katatonia, who appears as a guest on the track “Demon in Heaven”. So while not quite a supergroup giant, there are some veterans here, and it shows.

Interestingly, for album number 2, the band recorded two versions of all the songs; one with additional new symphonic/orchestral keyboards and one more like the debut, a more straight-up Swedish melo-death sound. The band apparently settled on the symphonic version, and thus we have Sodomisery‘s second album and a snazzy new logo to match the new sound heard on Mazzaroth (Hebrew term for ‘Constellations’).

And I’m glad they did. I went back and checked out the band’s 2020 debut The Great Demise, and it is a decent to good NWSDM album, but nothing special. But as with most things (in my opinion)- added keyboards make Sodomisery a far better act, and as a result, Mazzaroth is a killer melodic black/death metal album.

There’s a huge amount of polish and confidence on all 9 songs here that recall the genre’s late 90s and early 00s heyday (In particular, Grief of Emerald came to mind). The Ronnie Björnström (Centinex, Revolting, Bodyfarm, Ribspreader, Olkoth), mix/master is crystal clear and powerful, and the keys really add an extra element of grandiosity and majesty to the solid melodic black/death metal backbone.

All eight tracks are top-notch with moments to enjoy, but in particular, a few really stood out; opener “Coming Home”, with its Dan Swano-ish clean vocals, “A Storm Without A Wind”, with its wondrously catchy chord progressions, the lovely chorus of “Master Your Mind” and “Demon in Heaven”, whereas I already mentioned, Niklas Sundin helps out withy the choral vocal bridge.

Sodomisery’s Mazzaroth is up there with last year’s Pestilent Hex, I Am The Night, and Mist from the Mountains albums as far as pure 90s throwback glee and is a great little appetizer for an upcoming fall that features some similarly spectacular old school symphonic black metal releases from the likes of Moonlight Sorcery and Sylvatica.

But the follow-up EP, Nightwind: The Conqueror from the Stars, cooled those expectations a little with a more melodic typically Finnish development. And now with the full-length debut finally upon us, expectations should be tempered even more, as the trio has now fully leaned way more into a Finnish melo-death metal band akin to Kalmah, Children of Bodom, or even Swedes, Skyfire.

Now, I want to state this unequivocally, the album fucking rules. But it is a little different sounding band than the debut EP with a far clearer, bouncier melodic, and solo/lead-filled (and I mean FILLED) affair. The much more prevalent keyboards are much more ‘Finnish’ sounding with a brighter, more upbeat, crystalline tone, as are the much cleaner produced guitars and the riffs and melodies they are playing. The only thing that screams more traditional black metal is the vocals of Antti Mikkolainen, which are blackened metal howl still, and some occasional riffs and blasts that hearken a little more back to their older style (i.e. start of “Fire Burns the Horizon”).

But as I said, the album is fucking magnificent, just not the pure 90s Scandinavian black metal of the debut EP. The 9 songs are all absolutely top-notch, with riffs and solos for days, which essentially sounds like a black metal, frostier Kalmah.

The opener “To End the Day” immediately lets you know the band’s slight new direction with oodles of shredding, as do the likes of “In Cold Embrace”, “Yönsilmä” “Vihan verhon takaa” and instrumental “The Moonlit Dance of the Twisted Jester’s Blood-soaked Rituals” (basically a 3-minute solo). It’s all super shreddy, but superbly played, with sumptuous synths glossing everything.

And even with song titles like “The Secret of Streaming Blood”, “Into the Silvery Shadows of Night” (the album’s lone moodier, slower song), and personal favorite “Fire Burns the Horizon”, the corpsepaint and the icy, grim black metal lyrics, the overall tone and hue of the music is still surprisingly upbeat and lively.

Eight-and-a-half minute closer “Suden tie (Wolven Hour part II)” ends the album with a  rangy, epic,  and of course, lead-laden affair.  And while admittedly there’s a bit of solo fatigue going on at this point and I bit of me wishing the band bared their ‘grimmer’ teeth a little more, Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle is still a fantastic album and proves Moonlight Sorcery to still be a bright new star in Finnish metal.

Unrelated note- the CD version of the album has some sexy assed gold-embossed font that is super cool.

And while the aptly named Drama Noir delivered a solid, bombastic symphonic black metal album, in the vein of Dimmu Borgir and such, Swedens Avdagata (‘put to death’) has a little different approach that belies their Swedish roots and the ties of the band members and guest members that appear on The Faceless One.

With a trio of members with links to bands like Dark Funeral, Night Crowned, Nightrage, Still I Wither, and Entrails, Avdagata has a more 90s melodic death/black metal vibe. A vibe bolstered some guest appearances by Chris Amott (Dark Tranquillity, ex-Arch Enemy), Dean Paul Arnold (ex-Hate, Belphegor) and Patrik Gardberg (Solution .45), as well as some well-used keyboards to add a more epic element.

Naglfar or Mork Gryning came to mind quite a bit while listening to the often blistering 9 song, 40-minute affair, though certainly, the keyboards add the expected symphonic Dimmu Borgir hue here and there as well, though this is a little more tightly wound, vicious and blackened/death metal based, especially the gruffer vocals of founder Sebb Drago (Avsmak, Kythrone, ex-Sworn).

The 9 songs are all high energy, excellently produced, and hit the spot, especially the trio of personal favorites “Purifying Flame”, “Core ov Chaos” and “Invocation” with its burly militant pace. “Shimmering Black” adds some surprising female vocals out of nowhere, and a piano solo, that adds some elegance to the up-until-now, pretty face-ripping proceedings.

And speaking of face-ripping, the closing trio is indeed that. The de facto title track ” I Am the Faceless One”, is an absolute beast of a track, while “Noxifer” and more melodic  “Cor Aur Mors” could easily be Naglfar tracks with slicing melodies that end the album with deadly precision and make it a must-have for fans of the genre.

With current and former members of Rapture, Scorngrain, Alghazanth, Black Beast, and most importantly (when releasing melodic black metal at least),  Havoc Unit/…And Oceans, including two vocalists, the project is full of Finnish veteran talent and it shows, as Monumental-The Temple of Twilight is a goddamn spot-on delivery of the genre and bands mentioned in the promotional materials, especially the nature-based early days of Borknagar, down to Garm/ICS Vortex- ish clean vocals here and there. I’d even throw in Ulver’s debut, Bergtatt, and Mother North era Satyricon as a possible reference as well as the album has an organic but epic and crisp, clean, wintery, woodsy elegance.

From windswept opener “Empyrean Fields” (with the main riff that could be from Old Man’s Child debut) to closer “After God”, the above influences are immediately and impressively apparent, and the 8 song 38 minutes run time is absolutely enthralling and nostalgic from start to finish. The tracks all feature blustery, but melodic blast beats and militant, proud, pagan-infused, anthemic marches. The keyboards don’t make it a full-on bombastic, symphonic, orchestral affair, but add just enough subtle swirling, regal majesty to the proceedings.

Like “Empyrean Fields”, the second, standout track “A Paean to Fire” invokes Old Man’s Child with its frosty opening riff but you can also hear the Borknagar (especially about three minutes in) and Satyricon aura shine through the mists. “Thus Spake the Tongueless Serpent” delivers a stern mid-paced march, with some angelic female vocals, and the albums almost 9-minute centerpiece “With the Sun and the Skies and Birds Above” is basically pure Borknagar debut album wrapped into one song; folky acoustics, crisp blast beats, and witchy rasps. However, the closing track “After God” is somehow even more so, as it could have come from The Olden Domain with its wintery majesty, a perfect track for a hike in the snowy hills this time of year, replete with austere Viking -y clean chorals.

In all one of the better, purest forms of (very band-specific) 90s black metal worship I’ve heard since Northwind Wolves, Cold… Dark… Grim in 2017 and a band I hope to hear a lot more from in the future.

“A Tale of Frost and Stone” is up next and opening slower in nature.  The vocals at this point, which I started to notice on the opening track, begin to grate on me.  The John Tardy style works however it sounds maybe as if he’s oversinging- listen and tell me what you think like the vocals are maybe too high in the mix?  That could be it or maybe, because aside from his killer growls, his vocal tone never alternates so it becomes a bit monotone.  Regardless; the music is cool with some well-placed pinch harmonics and thunderous drumming.

“Hopeless Barricade” has some nice guitar melodies and the riffing is fast and heavy over the blast and the vocalist goes into a lower register at points and this definitely breaks up the vocal tones, making the variety a welcome addition to these ears.  A rather short song but it hits the mark really well. Well placed growls over the blast beats too.

“Shadow Cast by Eternal Sails” has many melodic passages with the riffing. I think this may be the most melodic track on the album.  Excellent riffing and then ending with an acoustic part.

Huronian’s debut As Cold as a Stranger Sunset is nicely crafted and the black metal influences are not as apparent as I first thought they’d be.  Vocals need to continue with different tones but by and large this is a decent debut.  The production does have organic elements and the musicianship overall is well represented and fits nicely with other melodic death metal bands.  The tempo shifts of blast beats and slower moments, which at times has atmospheric tendencies, are all varied and gel nicely. The album cover has some Dan Seagrave influence, so that’s a plus. Check Huronian out.

Arkivet (Archive) is the third album from stellar, fast-rising new Swedish melodic black metal act Wormwood, and their first two albums, 2017 Ghostlands (which made my year-end list that year) a 2019s Nattarvet, were both excellent albums that showed them as promising newcomers on the scene. But now, with Arkivet the band has cemented themselves as one of the genre’s elite, veteran acts.

A conceptual album from a Michael Stromberg novel (based on ideas from the band), tells the dour tale about ‘humanity’s destructive force, the inability to adapt to our nature and our inevitable and well-deserved death’, Arkivet is the band’s most somber and melancholic effort, despite still being gorgeous melodic black metal. But this more morose approach fits the album’s lyrical concepts of mankind’s selfishness and appetite for destruction of the planet earth, and you feel the sorrow and anger in every song that tells a different chapter in the inevitable fall of mankind.

Opener “The Archive”, tells the story written by the few who survived the apocalypse and carries the weight of that story in its deep, urgent melodic canter, but rending clean breaks and vocals at the song’s back end enforce the harrowing nature of the earth’s demise and the survivors desire to preserve memories of the human race. The second track “Overgrowth” explains how nature takes the planet back after mankind’s extinction, and mixes in a mid-paced, somber march with the deftly, melodic black metal, that again perfectly captures the mood of the saga unraveling.

Things get even more somber for the aptly titled “End of Message”, which despite its energetic canter, drips with apocalyptic despondency, especially the mid-song break into a more controlled, emotive stagger. “My Northern Heart” takes on the events with an, almost Viking approach, complete with bouncier, folky instrumentation, and pacing, with a killer melodic riff about 2 and a half minutes in, while”Ensamheten” has one of the albums best tremolo-picked harmonies amid its sentimental view of events from a Scandinavian point of view.

The last 2 tracks, “The Slow Down” and the 9 minute “The Gentle Touch of Humanity”, both deliver much slower, melancholic throes, some sobering samples, and ‘news’ reports ingrained in the latter. However, by this time in the album, I kinda want something a little more urgent, upbeat and harmonic, especially in my melodic black metal. I understand the subject matter is grim, and more importantly, incredibly relevant today, but I listen to music to get away from the real world. Still, Wormwood has taken on an ambitious topic, and the resultant album, while a fine effort, just isn’t quite as memorable as the debut.

https://climate.nasa.gov/

It also has given a lot of people a real opportunity to further explore some of their passions. Personally, I’ve logged more time on the water fishing in the last year that I probably ever have in my life, allowing me to rediscover a love I’d probably begun to take for granted. For Svalbard mastermind Serena Cherry – the down time has given her an opportunity to indulge in what are apparently two of her passions: Black Metal, and Skyrim.

I want to start by telling you, dear reader, that I don’t know dick about Skyrim. I know that it’s a video game? With like, orcs and mages and fantastical things? But that is genuinely about the depth of my knowledge here. I mention this only to say that my complete n00b status with Skyrim didn’t hinder my experience with Wretched Abyss a single bit, as the general themes at play aren’t really all that different from any Tolkein or Norse-based Black metal project. I’m sure if you’re a Skyrim fanatic, there’s plenty here for you to geek-out about and enjoy this even more, but really it’s Cherry’s distinctively emotive, melodic style of guitar playing that rightfully takes center stage, and while hints of her main gig with Svalbard certainly come across the song writing, this is still a very different but equally impressive beast.

As maybe you might suspect, this isn’t an all-out TRVE KVLT assault. Instead, Noctule takes a much more melodic approach, with plenty of hints of more modern Post-Black Metal, a good dose of Windir-esque Sognametal, and even some Melodeath elements thrown in the mix – namely on the beautiful “Labyrinthian,” which sounds very much like Insomnium’s more Blackened cousin with it’s epic, soaring leads and melodies that add a sense of mighty, upbeat triumph to the song. Similarly, “Deathbell Harvest” is full of some really clever riffing, paired with those signature Cherry-esque leads that give such a unique sound to anything she touches, not to mention throwing in some of her clean vocals that sound as innocent and pure as they do utterly haunting. The more Post-leaning elements shine through on tracks like “Winterhold” and “Unrelenting Force” which at times give off very Ghost Bath or Winterfylleth-like vibes. Again, these are all elements that you’ll certainly find familiar from other bands out there, but the delivery is very much unique to Serena Cherry.

And I think that’s what my biggest takeaway is here from Wretched Abyss – that for me, it solidifies that “Serena Cherry” sound. Yes, she’s certainly done that well enough on Svalbard’s work, but with her and her alone at the wheel of Noctule, we can start to really notice her distinct musical abilities. The guitars sound familiar to what you’ve heard from her prior work, and yet she’s created something here very much different from that project. She also deserves a TON of credit for the drum programming here. This isn’t just a relentless barrage of double bass or droning blast beats – they actually cater extremely well to Cherry’s playing, sounding as organic as you could ever hope for. They don’t just avoid being a distraction – they actually enhance the songs and the listening experience, and it shows a possibly psychopathic attention to detail that I can’t help but have a ton of respect for.

Look, I’m glad that things are turning around and pray to the Gods that bands will be able to start getting back together, making new music and hitting the road as soon as possible. But if things go south again and it means Serena Cherry is gonna have more time to continue making records like this? Well, then I guess it isn’t all bad. This is an awesome album, and I hope it’s not the last we hear of this project.

At that someone is Ric Galvez, who plays all the instruments (with the help of Dylan Gowan of Vesperia on session drums) here and does vocals. I grabbed this self-released debut as Galvez recently served in Canadian symphonic black metal act Astaroth Incarnate, who released a fine EP last year, and I’m always up for some shreddy, melodic shit.

But despite Galvez’s considerable talent and ambition (he recently graduated from York University with a Music Major), and time put into this album (it was recorded early last year but delayed due to COVID-19), and top-notch, polished, production there is something a little lacking in the final output.

That’s not to say there isn’t impressive stuff here, there is, and at times there is some serious skill on display. But as happens so often (especially on one-person albums), the skill doesn’t always translate to memorable songs, especially when we delve into 7,8 and 9-minute songs.

Galvez really likes his solos, and he’s really good at them, and occasionally does lock into a vicious, melodic, slicing riff here and there (i.e. “Malicious Divinity”, “Triumphant Return”), but also tends to get a bit overindulgent in the technicality of too many riffs and time changes rather than simply sticking with something that sticks (a problem with most ‘technical” bands) as heard in almost 10-minute closer “The Transcendence Of Isolation”. He also likes his acoustic breaks and bridges (“Into Subconscious Depths”, “In Time”). But when he keeps things short, sharp, and to the point like “Intuitive Realization”, it does the trick.

Still, an effort that shows some potential and certinly a passion for music, let’s see how he progresses with future efforts.

Doubling down on the doomier equation of their sound, Shores of Null take an ambitious route on their latest opus, a one track concept album based on the five stages of grief, developed by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. The heavy subject matter is immediately evident in the dreary soundscapes and heavy blanket of melancholy that shadows the album’s cohesive 38-minute run-time. The one track album is always a risky endeavour, so kudos to the band for taking on such a momentous challenge and managing to pull it off in generally fine style. Beyond the Shores (On Death and Dying) marks a pleasing return to form, following their slightly underwhelming sophomore album.

To assist in fulfilling their magnum opus and ambitious vision, Shores of Null enlisted some helping hands to bring the project to fruition. Swallow the Sun’s Mikko Kotamäki provides a typically strong and emotive array of heavier vocal styles, Thomas A.G. Jensen (Saturnus) likewise contributes vocals, while Inno’s Elisabetta Marchetti lends further vocal diversity and fragile beauty to the gloomy atmosphere and challenging lyrical themes. Meanwhile, Straccione’s own solid mid-ranged growls and excellent cleans more than hold their own. The different vocal counterpoints serve to add welcome dynamics and emotional resonance to match the album’s lofty musical ambition, forming an imposing vocal arsenal. For instance, Marchetti’s sublime voice possesses a spinechilling beauty, while the deeper growls cut an imposing weight upon the funeral march of the album’s slower, crushing moments. Some of the material lurches in an almost funeral doom crawl, yet it is the skilful dynamic shifts and livelier moments that ensure the album never gets tied down in sluggishness or repetition.

Various other guests provide telling support roles and instrumental depth, via the carefully integrated inclusion of piano, violin, and double bass, forming a satisfyingly rich musical foundation. Overall, the pacing and cohesion of the album is extremely well crafted, proving a consistently gripping, highly emotive, albeit bleak experience of death-doom. Bleak, fragile melodies are undercut with crushing moments of genuine heft, massively gloomy, heavy riffs proving the perfect foil to the mournful tones and frigid atmosphere of the album. There are no major faults, only minor nit-picks which do not greatly detract from a first rate platter. Firstly, this is not an easy listen, both due to the harrowing mood and weighty length, a point that may deter some listeners. Sonically, feel the album would benefit from a warmer, more dynamic production and master to really make things pop. However the serviceable production is by no means a deal breaker. Lastly, while I mostly cannot knock the pacing of the marathon arrangement, careful trimming of the fat, such as the extended stormy soundscapes at the conclusion, may have tightened up the finished product.

Shores of Null rolled the dice with Beyond the Shores (On Death and Dying) and delivered in a big fucking way. Rebounding from a slight sophomore slump, Shores of Null have crafted something special; a heart-wrenchingly emotive and beautiful journey of sorrow, anguish, pain, and acceptance. Beyond the Shores (On Death and Dying) is a splendidly sombre, brilliantly written opus of commanding death-doom that demands attention.

Fast forward to 2020 and the band has released a new album called Moonlit Navigation. From the home of the infamous Minneapolis Mangler comes this melodic black metal machine. The first thing I want to point out is that the drum sound I mentioned before is gone. On this one, front man Carl Skildum, is listed also playing midi and acoustic drums. I must however mention some issues regarding the production. Not that it’s out of the ordinary for the style, but the vocals are a little too buried in the mix for my liking. There aren’t a lot of dynamics within the production itself, either. It’s borderline brick-walled in that almost everything is on the same level and turned up to 11.

My production qualms out of the way, let’s talk about the actual music. The first track is called “Ouroboric State.” The guitar is the star. It’s honestly very standard melodic black metal for a significant portion, but the guitars are interesting. However, as mentioned above, the production is an issue because they don’t stand out as much as they should. Some clean vocals come in with about a minute left in the track, but they don’t stay around long before we’re onto track 2.

That second track is the title track, “Moonlit Navigation.” While the guitars stand out a little more on this track, for the most part, the underlying riffing is still buried. With a little over a minute left, there is a good lead with some choral vocals in the background, which definitely stands out from the previous track. The slight dirge at the end, as I am choosing to call it, would be very headbang-able if the production had a little more impact. If this is the best song on the album and representative of it as a whole, I hope they don’t make like a virgin engaging in his first time and blow their load far too early.

They didn’t do the above, but it was still not an All Star performance. I want to briefly mention the best track on the album, an interlude called “Wild Magic,” which is track 7 of 8. It’s barely over a minute and serves as the only reprieve from the monotony of the rest of the proceedings.

After that last statement, my thoughts are likely clear. I hate to say it, guys, but I really don’t feel any different about Moonlit Navigation than I did Lore of the Lakes, which is why I only wrote about a handful of tracks. I found myself listening… and listening… and listening, trying to assure myself that I was just missing something. I don’t think it’s me. I think it’s the lack of strong hooks, the production, and a general sense of every song being basically the same. I want to like this album far more than I do. I don’t want to trash it by any means because I think there’s potential here. Maybe they’ll be able to tap into it next time.

This is the band’ second album, and I’ve not heard 2017s One Within the Sun, but with a press release that name-dropped Ensiferum, Wintersun, and Dimmu Borgir as well as being named after one of my favorite Borknagar songs, checking The Winter Way out was a no brainer. And it turned out to be everything I hoped it would be.

Make no bones, this is pure Wintersun, Norther and Ensiferum worship like many of their Canadian brethren listed above. It’s epic melodic, bombastic power metal/melodic death metal with harsh rasps (as well as some clean make and female vocals) and lots of sweeping keyboards. In fact, the keyboards are some of the better ones I’ve heard in a while with a heavy-handed presence akin to their Finnish peers and even Swedes Skyfire.

As with Wintersun, these guys like their long-winded songs, as 6 of the 7 songs (“From the Ancient Stones” is an intro) flirt with the 10 minute and over mark. Some are slower and more patient (“The Atavistic Forest”, “The Winter Way”) but still epic as heck, some are faster (“Through the Hollow Raven’s Eyes”, “The Forbidden One”), and they are a bit more engaging, some are a bit of both (“Dawn of the Frozen Age”). The track I checked out first, that prompted a review and immediate preorder, “Through the Hollow Raven’s Eyes”, is a 9 minute, downright glorious bombastic, choral blaster with a few slower parts thrown in and one of the best songs in the epic, Finnish style since “Forgive Me Not” and “Of Clarity & Regret” from Frost Giant‘s The Harlot Star   or Crimfall’s “The Last of Stands” from a couple of years ago.

The rest of the album has a hard time matching that track, but it’s still full of solid, soaring Finnish majesty, if a little more controlled and paced. You get “Eternal Oceans” which as a pretty cool regal march at its final stages, then the varied “Dawn of the Frozen Age” has one its start.

If you are sick of Jari Mäenpää begging for money to record more underwhelming Wintersun releases every 5 to 8 years , give Atavistia a shot, as they certainly fill a niche and wear their influences unashamedly on their sleeves with excellent results.