This is the second album from Swedish black metallers Avslut.
Hot on the heels of last year’s Deceptis now comes Tyranni, with 47 minutes of cold fury. This is black metal of the old-school Swedish variety; vicious and evil. Continue reading
Category Archives: Black metal
Bölzer – Lese Majesty (Review)
Bölzer are a Swiss black metal band and this is their latest EP.
Bölzer’s music is impressively creative and idiosyncratic, and their take on blackened metal is both enjoyable and infectious. An EP this may be, but there’s still 29 minutes of material here. Continue reading
Mara – RÖK (Review)
Mara is a Swedish one man black metal band and this is his third album.
Sometimes you just need a hit of the black stuff, and RÖK offers 36 minutes of the darkness you need. Spread across 5 tracks, this is cold black metal played as if it was still the 90s. Continue reading
Earth and Pillars – Earth II (Review)
This is the third album from Italian black metal band Earth and Pillars.
2016’s Pillars I consisted of four monolithic tracks that made a very good impression. A release full of dark delights, it was a memorable album that still holds itself very well three years later. Continue reading
Endless Voyage X – Opaque (Review)
This is the debut album from Endless Voyage X, a black metal band from the US.
Here we have 34 minutes of music that takes a second wave black metal base and builds on it with additional melody and atmosphere. Continue reading
Schammasch – Hearts of No Light (Review)
Schammasch are a Black Metal band from Switzerland. This is their fourth album.
Was it really 2016 that the epic Triangle was released to an unsuspecting world? Apparently so. An incredibly strong release, it narrowly missed out on the top spot for my best albums of 2016 list. It was followed up in 2017 by the even more avant-garde EP The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite, which provided a compelling dose of atmospheric material. Continue reading
Midnight Odyssey – Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains (Review)
Midnight Odyssey is an Australian one-man black metal band and this is his third album.
As ridiculous as it sounds, I almost didn’t want to review or even listen to this album. Why? Because the band’s last album – 2015’s immense Shards of Silver Fade – was so hideously good that I couldn’t imagine being anything but disappointed with Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains. After all, Shards of Silver Fade claimed the coveted top spot in my end of year list for 2015, so this new one had a lot to live up to.
Anyway, enough preamble. Time to judge Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains on its own merits, of which there are many. Apparently this is the first in a trilogy of albums. I can’t wait to hear the next one already. Continue reading
Frostmoon Eclipse – Worse Weather to Come (Review)
Frostmoon Eclipse are an Italian black metal band and this is their seventh album.
Frostmoon Eclipse play black metal that blends together elements of old and new(ish), coming across like a combination of where the classic second wave sound was circa 2000, while also having more than enough of the band’s own contemporary personalities mixed in. Continue reading
The Great Old Ones – Cosmicism (Review)
The Great Old Ones are a black metal band from France and this is their fourth album.
Any fan of atmospheric/post-black metal would be advised to check out Tekeli-li, and EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy. Both are great examples of quality blackened journeys crafted by a band that know their art well. On Cosmicism the band have spread their wings further, while also staying true to what makes them such an engaging act. Continue reading
Dawn Ray’d – Behold Sedition Plainsong (Review)
This is the second album from Dawn Ray’d, a black metal band from the UK.
Dawn Ray’d play classic, second wave-inspired black metal, with moments of folk interspersed here and there. Violin features prominently, and enhances the music in unobtrusive ways. Continue reading
