This is the fourth album from US black metal band Black Anvil.
2014’s Hail Death was a firm favourite of mine. They’ve now produced the follow up to this, and it’s great to have them back.
Black Anvil play black metal that combines elements of thrash metal with a more epic, expansive side. Continue reading “Black Anvil – As Was (Review)”
Diktatur are a French black metal band and this is their latest EP.
Do you like black metal that’s raw, sharp and full of aggression? If so, then you should check out Diktatur’s latest release.
This is a band that have a traditional, vicious sound with enough elements of Continue reading “Diktatur – L’Agonie d’un Monde (Review)”
Athos is a one-man Greek black metal band and this is his fourth album.
Here we have almost 40 minutes of authentic second wave black metal for your delectation.
Scathing blackened melodies slice like razor blades through the frosted Continue reading “Athos – Noht Lerapot (Review)”
This is the latest EP from one-man black metal band Råttkung, who hails from Denmark.
Råttkung’s debut EP Dark Is the Beginning was 17 minutes of raw, underground black metal that reached back to the early days of the second wave for inspiration.
In some ways this influence is continued on this latest short release, but we also see another side to Råttkung too. Here we get a mere three songs in 10 minutes, but what this EP lacks in length it makes up for in blackened malice and ambition. Continue reading “Råttkung – Unborn Undead (Review)”
This is the fourth album by Swedish black metal band Grafvitnir.
Influenced by the second wave of black metal, Grafvitnir take the traditional template and for 39 minutes bend this to their will, providing the listener with sophisticated brutality and thoughtful harshness. Continue reading “Grafvitnir – Obeisance to a Witch Moon (Review)”
This is the third album from Ukrainian black metal band Balfor.
This is upbeat black metal that uses blackened melodies and aspects of death metal as weapons in the war against their enemies. If you’re looking for music that’s direct and aggressive, yet still has depth and longevity, you’ve come to the right place. Continue reading “Balfor – Black Serpent Rising (Review)”
This is the latest EP from US black metallers Thralldom.
Returning after an absence of a decade, the band have re-cast themselves and emerge as a reborn, terrifying proposition. Thralldom’s black metal delivers us a 28 minute release that sounds quite disturbing and individual. Continue reading “Thralldom – Time Will Bend into Horror (Review)”
Mayhem are a Norwegian black metal band, but do they really need any introduction?
In case the cave that you inhabit doesn’t get wifi, this is the live incarnation of the band’s 1994 landmark debut album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. This is a black metal must-have, of course, so you already know that the songs on this live version are absolute classics, so all that remains to discuss, really, is the band’s performance and the quality of the live recording. Continue reading “Mayhem – De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Alive (Review)”
This is the latest EP from Gravespawn, a black metal band from the US.
This is cold, malignant black metal that draws influence from the second wave era and successfully and authentically produces five songs of enjoyably grim orthodoxy.
As a side note – it’s worth mentioning, I suppose, that at 33 minutes in length this EP is actually longer than some albums. Continue reading “Gravespawn – Inexorable Grimness (Review)”
This is the third album from Ukrainian experimental black metal band Balance Interruption.
All I knew about this band before I listened to them was that they were a black metal band of some description. As such, I was not prepared at all for what I found inside Door 218.
Here we have an album that might not sound as you expect it to upon hearing the black metal tag. Yes, a lot of the familiar elements are present and correct, but there’s a lot of unusual aspects to the music too. Continue reading “Balance Interruption – Door 218 (Review)”
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