A few years ago, I blindly grabbed Haimad’s EP 2017 The Return at a random sale at a distro somewhere. I really enjoyed it, and researched the band to find that this Swedish act has actually been around since 1995, with a demo and three EPs in the 90s, before an extended break where then sole member, Azradan (ex-Impious), reformed the band, adding keyboardist Szhethil.

So, despite the 30-year existence, this is the band’s debut album, and it follows the 90s melodic /symphonic black metal hues to a ‘T’, as if the material was stuck in a time capsule since 1995-1998 and is just now being unearthed.

The Scandinavian influence of the early mid-’90s scene is deeply imprinted here; Dissection, early Arturus, Emperor, early Dimmu, Abigor, Limbonic Art, Old Man’s Child, the list goes on.

The keyboards of Szhethil have that starry, cosmic, yet slightly classical and majestic feel, and the overall sound has that cold, slightly tinny, shrill, almost bassless tone that recalls the genre’s early days to a ‘T’- think In The Nightside Eclipse.

That’s all you really need to know, really. Though the album takes a couple of songs to really warm up, as it’s not until ” Where Serpents Wait in Withering Ruins” that my ears really perk up, but then, tracks like the moodier “Naur”, the fiercely frosty “Voice of the Dread Abomination”, or the epic almost 8-minute standout, “Of Smokeless Fire and Smouldering Ash”, just scratch that 90s melodic/symphonic black metal itch perfectly.

I would say these guys are similar to other recent nostalgic bands that pay homage to the style, like Northwind Wolves, Winter Eternal, Warmoon lord, etc, but these guys were actually around for the genre’s birth, and it certainly shows on this long, looooong-awaited debut album.

Autumn’s Dawn, Winter’s Darkness is Akul’s 8th album somehow since 2018 (Jute Gyte vibes anyone?), and apparently, the early albums focused on more purely ambient atmospheric/dungeon synth-type stuff, which I can’t speak to, but certainly on this sprawling 75-minute effort he has come into his own which an album that puts the last couple of Summoning albums to shame, and is up there with Caladan Brood and Urdôl Ur as far as Summoning type black metal.

Now, this has a little caveat- this isn’t quite as keyboard-based as Summoning, not leaning quite so hard intothe brass-heavy synths, and will also have some appeal to fans of bands like label mates Saor as well. But still, for much of the album’s run time, and in many of the long songs, there are plenty of plodding, austere riffs, distant rasped vocals, choirs, and regal, medieval acoustics and atmospherics to where, multiple times throughout the album, I found myself saying to ‘oh, that’s a bit Summoning-ish. But I’d stop a little short of saying this is a pure homage.

With themes of nature and seclusion (imbued in the gorgeous artwork “Multnomah Falls” by Albert Bierstadt), the album is not a quick or easy listen, with 5 of the 8 songs hovering around or way over the 10-minute mark and littered with lengthy (but often gorgeous) acoustic/atmospheric songs (“Tn the Twilight of the Night”, ‘Woodland Songs of the Aspen Forest”) bridges and breaks. Covering all of the songs in detail would make for a dissertation of sorts- but chances are you’ve already made your decision to purchase or not based on the references above.

That said, while the whole album is fantastic, a couple of tracks and moments did really enthrall me a little more than others: “A Dawnfire of Old” is where is get my first heavy Summoning vibe with its somber but regal gait and ending choirs. “The Majesty and Beauty of a Fallen World” is a little more triumphant with some brass synths that again imbue Summoning (they show up again to end “Light of the Eternal Dawn” in majestic fashion), but it also has a pretty vicious, stern final few minutes of more direct, militant black metal (again, also in “Light of the Eternal Dawn”). The Monk-ish chants in “Vales of Darkness” hit a nice, summer/majestic balance and closer is my personal favorite with 15 minutes of basically everything I just mentioned.

I don’t know what they are putting in the water in Australia that produces these amazing one-man/woman atmospheric metal ( Aquilus, Christian Cosentino, Woods of Desolation, Fryktelig Stoy, Runespell)

.  So this year when I first heard this album I really thought I was listening to some Gothenburg type of black metal band from the mid 90’s.  Holy crap I was surprised when I discovered it’s one dude, living in Texas, who released this album, with a previous ep a few years prior.  If you’re a fan of Dissection, up to and including the Where Dead Angels Lie ep, then this album needs to be in your collection.  I am not a fan of the third Dissection album –  Reinkaos and that album, to me, sounds nothing like the previous Dissection.  The band opting to go for a more blackened death n roll sound, which sounded like Goatwhore and nothing like Dissection.  Close your eyes and listen to Sinira’s The Everlorn and tell me if this does not sound like the true third Dissection album.  Take the ep, The Somberlain and  Storm of the Light’s Bane, mash that crap into a blender and add some more atmosphere and out plops Sinira.  The band has also covered some classic Dissection songs in the past as well, so hey, the connection is real.

The Everlorn is 8 songs in 56 minutes and 2 of them are instrumentals.  Just like the classic black metal bands from a few decades ago and Dissection, these songs are long.  Opening with the 7+ minute “Where Starlight Does Not Shine” that opening riff is classic Dissection, equipped with melodic passages and the main riff is emotive, fast and super duper catchy.  The song settles into a classic galloping speed and I do believe, I apologize if I am incorrect-but this is a drum machine.  It’s programmed very well and at times I think it’s a real drummer.  Knell is listed as the person doing all the instruments and vocals.  There is a guest pianist who provides those sounds.  There’s some monster blasting going on and then the song slows down a bit.  The middle of this song has a great atmospheric arrangement which goes into a mid-paced part, then slower and the guitar tone is, well it’s one of the best black metal tones for all of this year.  Vocals are more on the raspy, cavernous tone, rather than higher pitched squawking.  This opening song is terrific.

The title track is over 9 minutes and the isolated opening guitar riff is moody, fast and also melodic, then the song picks up a nice galloping speed, and again, I cannot further emphasize the guitar tone and riffing is some of the best you will hear, of any genre, for 2021.  The vocals come on in and I swear Knell has conjured up Jon Nödtveidt, because his spirit lives in these vocals and musical arrangements.  The song slows down and then the fast blasting comes in, then goes back to the galloping speed.  Some excellent atmospheric moments, brings in more of the melody as the guitar riffing turns the corner and settles into a very melodic passage, bringing forth an excellent headbanging moment with a classic heavy metal guitar solo, which begs the listener to throw up their horns in unison.

“Dawnless Twilight”, is the longest song at over 11 minutes and the song has an abundance of tempo shifts, just like all the other songs.  The song gets into a double pounding, not quite blast beat speed, then shifts to a more pummeling mid-paced moment. This song will take you for the loopty loops all around the amusement park and there are some excellent vocals on this track.  The song gets slower and more melodic as it shifts towards the end of the song.

Sinira’s The Everlorn is a monstrous debut, drenched in the classic Dissection sound.  The album has tempo shifts galore, atmosphere, and very catchy song structures, which are the result of terrific guitar playing.  The production is crisp, clean and precise.  There is bass guitar on the album and as I previously mentioned, the drum sound seems to be that of a drum machine, but nevertheless, is programmed well enough for you to forget that it is.  The album cover is striking with the purple logo, waves and land ahead.

This year has been amazing for black metal, between post-black metal bands and more traditional sounding black metal.  Sinira’s The Everlorn may very well be my favorite, but that damn Harakiri for the Sky, may slightly be in the lead.  Crap I don’t know.  Who the F cares, right???? Sinira’s The Everlorn is amazing – go and get it now.  Buy or Die!!!

Vallendusk play a form of uber melodic, soaring, uplifting black metal akin to many of their label mates like Saor, Woods of Desolation, and such as well as bands like earlier Vindland, Deafheaven and Ghost Bath, so those looking for grimmer, primal black metal should just move on. This is shimmery, triumphant, bright, airy, black metal, with lots of subtle, brilliant keyboards (though not as prevalent as the last album). And while the last album added a slight In Flames/melodic death metal undertone, it seems to have been lessened a bit here, with album number 4 being a little more like Homeward Path.

There are 7 songs, making for 65 minutes of, at times, utterly stunning music. Seriously, these guys pen some of the most gorgeous, majestic melodies going right now in the genre, and how they don’t garner more recognition is beyond me. I mean the first two tracks alone, the densely melodic “The Last Soar as the Feathers Fall” and the shrill, regal gallop of “Towards the Shimmering Dawn” are utterly gorgeous, both chock full of just captivating, 6/8 harmonies to die for. The third track (more on that later) is a bit of a misstep, but later in the album, you get  “Solivagant Heart”, one of the album’s standouts that just drips with captivating emotional crescendoes, and stunning 11-minute closer “The Sovereign”, that is up there with “Foghymn” from the self-titled debut EP, or”Among the Giants” from Black Clouds  Gathering as one of the best songs the band has written (which at times come across like a blistering, black metal version of “Canon in D”).

That all said, I think Heralds of Strife is just a very slight step back from the last 2 albums. While I’m smitten with the above songs, there’s a few I’m not completely enamoured with  (“Ethereal Echoes of Devotion”, “Marching Ballad of the Unsung One” and “Immemorials in Eternal Slumber”). Though I still enjoy them, I’m just not all warm on the inside and grinning from ear to ear when I hear them like I am with the rest of the album.

Maybe it’s the bar set incredibly high by the last two releases, maybe its other, thunder stealing releases by the likes of Paissieme, Christian Cosentino,  AARA or And Now the Owls Are Smiling. Maybe, it is the weird clean vocals (the only time used on this album) used on the third track, “Ethereal Echoes of Devotion” that kinda irked me a bit, (especially when they were done so well on tracks like “Coronation”, “Higher Ground” and “The Shield” from the last album) and the song’s main riff is something you’d hear on a Bad Religion album. I’m not sure, but either way Heralds of Strife isn’t quite the best album of the year shoo-in for me like the previous two, despite still having some truly magnificent moments.

Holy shit, I guess I was objective after all….

The sound is still the sweeping jangly, airy melodic/atmospheric,  3/4 or  6/8 based black metal that has loose ties to the likes of Ghost Bath, Woods of Desolation, (earlier) Deafheaven , Alcest and such, but there appears to be an added Gothenburg, melodic death metal element in some of the dancing solos and leads that recalls early In Flames and Dark Tranquillity (listen to 2:20 and 3:29 of “At the Heart of the Storm”).  But these guys literally have the best grasp of these kinds of melodies of any of those acts, and frankly virtually any band Iv’e ever heard. When these guys lock into a riff or chord progression, it’s truly amazing. It often makes me feel like Christian Bale’s character in the movie Equilibrium, when he hears music for the first time.

Case and point, glorious opener “The Presences”, at about 5:40, 6:30 and 10:08 they deliver a riff so goddamn fucking breathtaking I find myself yelling out loud, “These guys are soooo fucking good!” – which was very awkward for the other passengers on the plane by the way. And there are soooo many of these utterly awe inspiring moments, it’s ridiculous. The four 4:05 mark of “In Reverie”, the opening  and 6;55 point of perfectly rendered and paced album closer “The Shield” (a track which again really shows the In Flames influence), shimmering, uplifting  march that starts “Eons” or its 4:15 moment  and absolutely stunning 6:39 transitional riff. And it’s not just all happy, jangly melodies, check out the 3:30  and 7:07 marks of “Higher Ground” where they flat out fucking rip.

As with Homeward Path, a very subtle Hammond organ makes an appearance here and there (“At the Heart of the Storm”, “Eons”) as well as some clean vocals (“Coronation”, “Higher Ground”, “The Shield”), but they are superbly implemented, adding to an already masterful sound. And even with 7 songs and an hour’s run time, there isn’t a single moment on this album where I’m not mesmerized.

If you can’t tell, I really like these guys, and Fortress of Primal Grace is somehow slightly  better than Homeward Path, so in the immortal words of Dennis Green,  “Crown their ass !” even though its only March.

Hailing from Jakarta, Indonesia, (hopefully they are not pulling a Ghost Bath), Vallendusk, play a similar form of atmospheric, shoegaze-y, emotive, depressive but melodic, breezy black metal as the any of the above referenced bands, but also has clear roots in the likes of , envy, Deafheaven (In fact, had I heard Black Clouds Gathering  earlier it would have given Sunbather a run for its money in my year end list) , early Alcest and the Cascadian scene. So if you are one of the hipster hating hater that thinks Ghost Bath/ Deafheaven are not black metal and should be nothing but spikes and church burnings, this isn’t for you.

A little has changed from the debut. Raspy vocals and warm, tremolo picked riffs still rooted in airy, despondent 3/4 or  6/8 canters are the prevalent and often repeated sound. But some slightly 70s ish keyboards and a few lean vocals have found their way into the mix. The Opeth-y keys are subtle but actually work really well, making already brilliant songs like “The Anchors” and “Eyes of the Watcher” even better. But when the riffs are just this damned well done, with a simply addictively , melodic gait and delicately rending hue, (and even simultaneously uplifting as heard on “Ring of Fire”)the keys are just bonus. There are many moments on Homeward Bound, as with the debut, where the chord progressions and melodies make my heart simply ache.

The aforementioned “The Anchors” and “Eyes of the Watcher” certainly are stunning highlights and personal favorites, but even with a overarching pace for most of the album, every track is superb if similarly paced. These guys just know their way around a evocative riff. The somber, but at the same time majestic chord progressions are just to die for,  even if simply variations of three based time signatures. The 7 lengthy songs and 62 minutes of music is captivating from start to finish as the mesmerizing tremolo picked notes dance and flutter over repetitive drum patterns with deft but frantic melancholic ease.

Whether its the opener aptly titled “Windswept Plain” or 11 minute closer “Grains of Horizon”, and everything in between, I’m absolutely in love with every note on this album. And it never comes across as pretentious,  artsy or hipster as Deafheaven seem to often do (and I love Deafheaven), but as sincere, honest and wide eyed with un-tainted energy.

It’s been a long time that fallen so hard for a band so quickly, but Vallendusk is the very apex of my current atmospheric/ black gaze black metal binge, but will have far greater staying power as I move onto other genres, as its almost guaranteed to be one of my vary favorite albums of 2015, if not beyond.

And where there is a fine line between homage and rip off, the duo of Shield Anvil (Keyboards, Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Programming) and Mortal Sword (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards) add enough of their own character to give Caladan Brood just enough identity to come across as a respective homage than pure clone, though at times in the album, even the most ardent listener would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two if forced to listen blindly.

With some additional pacing and tempo changes as well as some simply fucking gorgeous clean vocals that come across like a choir of Vintersorgs and Tyrs, as well as a slightly more  austere, melancholy overall atmosphere, Echoes of Battle, comes across as much more than an appetizer for Summoning‘s impending Old Morning’s Dawn. And in truth, Summoning should thank Caladan Brood for drumming up interest for their imminent release by releasing such an engaging album that points to a very similar, distinct sound.

Echoes of Battle isn’t a quick, catchy listen with a 70 minute run time and the songs range from 9-15 minutes with many of the jaw dropping moments contained within the 6 songs are buried deep within the tracks, requiring a full journey to fully take in. Whether it be the majestic close of opener “City of Azure Fire”, the stunning horn/brass bridge at 4:39 of personal favorite “The Walk the Ashes of Dead Empires” or the utterly breathtaking choral arrangements in “Wild Autumn Wind” and that start (and reprise) in closer “Book of the Fallen”, Echoes of Battle is at times awe inspiring regardless of influence.

Subtle nuances such as a blast beat (“To Walk the Ashes of Dead Empires”, “A Voice of Stone and Dust”- which also has a killer piano tinkling last two minutes), classic 80s metal solos (“Wild Autumn Wind”, “A Voice in Stone and Dust”), subtle vocal shift and (“A Voice of Stone and Dust”-  a shift to less hoarse vocals, which I actually preferred over the dry rasps) or more up tempo trot, break the pure (and lest be honest, awesome) Summoning hues and allow the duo to carve out just a little of their own niche, but there’s no mistaking the primary influence.

Does Summoning‘s next release have more hype and expectations? Undoubtedly. But don’t be surprised if those lofty expectations and 6 year lay off result in a let down and folks turn to Caladan Brood‘s Echoes of Battle as a proxy release that litters a few year end lists and to fulfill the void if Old Morning’s Dawn disappoints or underwhelms.