Black metal – Page 147 – Wonderbox Metal

Spektr – The Art to Disappear (Review)

Spektr are a Black Metal band from France. This is their fourth album.

Spektr specialise in harrowing Industrial-tinged Black Metal that laces elements of Ambient throughout this bleak journey into the fractured darkness of the human psyche.

Blackened melodies are twisted and warped to fit the band’s grim vision of what the music should sound like. Spektr have never been a standard Black Metal band and on The Art to Disappear they continue to provide a nightmare soundscape onto which they paint broken ideas of urban claustrophobia and mechanised fear.

Listening to Spektr is like listening to the living embodiment of a rhythmic, pulsing evil. They have always been somewhat of an acquired taste for this reason, as their non-standard take on the genre is simply too much for some. This is music that pushes boundaries by the very nature of the terrible conceptual understanding of horror that lies at their very core.

The Art to Disappear plays out almost like a film soundtrack, ebbing and flowing with different darkened moods throughout the 41 minutes playing time. Although, if this actually were the case, I imagine it would be the most terrifying film of all time. It’s a very holistic album for this reason, with each song acting as a different scene, each more upsetting and disturbing than the last.

All credit to them, this level of unpleasantness is not an easy one to achieve.

Dare you listen to this?

Furze – Baphomet Wade (Review)

Furze is a one-man Norwegian Black Metal project. This is his sixth album.

Furze’s Black Metal is not the conventional kind. Full of unusual riffs and strange melodies, Baphomet Wade is definitely not your average release. Stylistically rooted in the Second Wave of Black Metal, it’s as if this take on the genre has been interpreted through a maze of Chinese whispers, resulting in a distorted version of Black Metal that’s still recognisable as such, but isn’t quite right nonetheless.

Riffs are unusual and inventive, taking their Black Metal heritage and filtering them through Doom, Psychedelia and who knows what else to end up with the twisted melodies that are on display here.

The interesting thing, (one of many), is that for all of this unusualness, the songs are still very good in their own right. This isn’t wild experimentalism; there are a lot of standard components, parts and sections to the tracks on Baphomet Wade, it’s just that these standard parts are inventively created and interpreted, resulting in songs that are in many ways standard Black Metal songs, but in other ways are something quite special.

A lot of it is about the guitars. Why settle for something generic when you can put a creative spin on things? This seems to sum up the mindset behind this quite nicely, and it’s one that more bands would do better to adopt.

The closest I can come to a comparison would be the warped offspring of a merger between Forgotten Woods, Tjolgtjar and Sigh – individual, expressive, unusual and inspired.

The end result? 41 minutes of engaging, enjoyable music that’s full of songs that grab hold and demand your attention.

Highly recommended.

Exterminas – Dichotomy (Review)

Exterminas are from Italy. They play Black Metal and this is their second album.

Dichotomy is 40 minutes of Orthodox Black Metal that’s fast, aggressive and venomous.

Exterminas have managed to inject a decent amount of atmosphere and melody into this release without watering down their inherent aggression or hatred. It’s a great combination to hear, as the razor-sharp guitars do what they need to for the songs; strike out in deadly haste, pull back in contemplative readiness or soar up high with colourful grace.

The singer’s dark growls are full of malice and the music backs his sentiments up to the hilt. He’s probably channelling pure evil through his throaty delivery, but whatever he’s doing it works as a brutal counterpoint to the sleek, sharp songs.

Featuring a great combination of speed and malignant groove, Exterminas certainly know their stuff and Dichotomy is a well-wrounded and complete Black Metal effort.

A strong sound cements the package, giving the band the base of power needed to propel the songs higher without compromising the integrity or feel of the underground aesthetic.

Very highly recommended. Cult Black Metal with a bit of personality and plenty of style. Seek this out.

Ende – The Rebirth of I (Review)

Ende are a French Black Metal band and this is their second album.

This is traditionally-styled Black Metal that is both raw and atmospheric, creating frozen soundscapes with an effective use of dark melodies and icy riffs.

The vocals howl out from the frosted wind, screaming with venomous diatribes and foul incantations. The singer’s voice has a wonderfully liquid sharpness to it that flows alongside the fluidity of the music very well.

The sound is perfectly judged; the right combination of raw fragility and distorted power. Combined with the effortlessly mood-driven riffs these songs easily transport the listener to lands full of coldness and pain. Which is what we want, obviously.

As Black Metal goes this is up there with the best of them really. Black Metal is a multi-faceted and constantly evolving beast, but sometimes you just want a quality dose of the classic Blackened style done extremely well, and Ende do this better than most. The added emotive, atmospheric aspects of the grim guitar melodies simply cement Ende as having more to offer than the average purveyor of this style.

Highly recommended.

Windfaerer – Tenebrosum (Review)

Windfaerer are a Black metal band from the US. This is their second album.

Windfaerer have a Black Metal base which they build on with Melodic Death Metal and Folk-style influences. Their Folky Black Metal vibes are melodically fluid and have an added bite via their Melodic Death Metal influences.

Sharp and streamline, these songs create atmosphere via a variety of delivery methods; whether that be through fast guitars and relentless drums, dual guitars that are subsumed into the Melodic Death/Black easily, or slower, more evocative sections.

Added to all of this is a violin that speaks of the band’s Folk influences and the overall melancholic atmosphere that Windfaerer foster through the faster sections as well as more reflective, slower parts.

These songs are both familiar and friendly; it’s a joyful listening experience, despite some of the darker atmospheres that infuse the music, and it’s one that’s easy to digest and enjoy. These seven tracks are well-paced and well-judged, delivering just the right amount of diversity to hold the interest while remaining cohesive overall.

Windfaerer have produced a strong album that’s a recommended listen for anyone who likes a bit of Melodic Black/Death Metal with some nicely-played violin.

Mephorash – 1557 – Rites of Nullification (Review)

This is the third album by Swedish Black Metallers Mephorash.

Throughout the four extended tracks on this release Mephorash demonstrate their approach to elite, sophisticated Black Metal art. Theirs is Black Metal that conjures effective atmospheres without neglecting the rest of the music; the band have both heaviness and bite to them when they need it.

Managing to create music that’s both resplendent and uplifting as well as drenched in the occult and mysterious is no mean feat, but this album manages to juxtapose those two aspects of Black Metal quite nicely.

The band fuse the style’s core delivery with influences from Atmospheric/Post-Black Metal to create a contemporary spin on the genre that nonetheless has all of the essential elements in place to produce something both recognisable and special.

Featuring all kinds of additional enhancements, (keyboards, choral singing, guest vocalists), that work well within the music to add layers of depth to it, these songs are strong exemplars of the style of Black Metal that bands like Watain/Deathspell Omega pioneered so well.

There’s a vibrant unlife pulsing through these songs and they bristle with dark energy. It’s a joy to hear and the strong production allows them the space to do what they do unfettered.

Mephorash have created something really impressive with this album and I know I’ll be listening to it and trying to unravel its dark secrets for some time to come.

Naðra – Allir Vegir Til Glötunar (Review)

Naðra are an Icelandic Black Metal band and this is their début album.

This is noisy and aggressive Black Metal that manages to create a frosted, dangerous atmosphere. It’s a passionate display of Blackened spite that sees the band explore their grim musical vision with apparent relish.

There’s plenty of high speed attack, but Naðra also take the time to slow things down when they need to, leading to Allir Vegir Til Glötunar having sufficient depth to hold attention throughout the 40 minute playing time.

The singer seems just one short step away from a full break from reality as he tears through the material with maniacal haste; even when the music slows down, his intensity does not.

Allir Vegir Til Glötunar only has 5 songs on it but there’s enough content here to satiate. The tracks have that wonderful secret ingredient that’s essential to underground Black Metal and makes releases like this so special. Listening to this, it’s easy to feel the modern world slip away and to become absorbed in far away places full of threat and mystery.

Recommended.

Kampfar – Profan (Review)

This is the seventh album from Norwegian Black Metallers Kampfar.

Kampfar play Black Metal with speed and melody, drawing the listener in and then slicing at them with hidden blades.

Serrated screams and powerful cleans are both used to great effect on this release. The screams provide the focal point as they are meant to, while the cleans add an emotive enhancement to the songs that works really well.

Kampfar incorporate influences from both Melodic and Pagan Black Metal into their sound, as well as Progressive Black Metal elements akin to, (but not as pronounced as), a band like Enslaved. This results in songs that have a characterful epic feeling to them in addition to the razor sharp edge of Blackened aggression that they foster so well.

The songs are well-written and played, with lots to keep the interest of the listener. Some of the guitar melodies are particularly compelling and taken holistically there’s a grand amount of atmosphere contained on this release.

Highly recommended.

Hatecrowned – Newborn Serpent (Review)

This is the début album from Lebanese Black Metal band Hatecrowned.

This is an album that finds its origins in Old-School Raw Black Metal. The band take this base though and expand upon it, introducing some darker Death Metal influences and atmosphere.

Bleak melodies and leads occasionally break the Blackened surface, but for the most part this is an album that’s swamped in atmospheric distortion from the rhythm guitars. It’s like a fuzzed-up wall of grim auras, ready and willing to crush, smother and consume all in its path. There are also solos, which I approve of big-style.

This methodology works well for the band, and the songs on Newborn Serpent are compelling hymns to hatred and malevolence. The dark Death Metal elements are combined skilfully into the even darker Black Metal core of the band, resulting in songs that just seethe misanthropy.

Screamed vocals are complemented by deeper growls, providing the songs with enough tools to spread their sinister manifesto.

I like that the band don’t stick to just one way of writing throughout; there’s a good amount of variety here for the style. Some songs are pure Black Metal, while others let the Death Metal seep in. Some songs are all about the bile and venom, while others have more atmosphere or pacing. Fast/slow, long/short; the band don’t limit themselves to just one method of assault and should be roundly commended for this.

Very good, very good indeed. Hatecrowned have impressed.

Terzij de Horde – Self (Review)

This is the début album from Black Metal band Terzij de Horde, who are from the Netherlands.

This is modern Black Metal that combines sophisticated music with high-concept ideas.

Black Metal’s intrinsic rage and fury is combined with elements of Progressive/Post-Black Metal to create an engaging release that is varied, intelligent and full of Blackened mood and feeling.

The riffs are interesting and varied, screaming out of the passionate music like rabid animals. Sharp and emotive, these are combined with more introspective moments to create something that is worth exploring over the near-50 minute playing time.

The singer’s voice is full of snarling anger and ugly malice. It fits the music perfectly and has a maniacal quality to it that wouldn’t be out of place on a savage Grindcore release.

Self is not your average Black Metal release, and if you’re only looking for more of the usual then simply move along to something else. If, however, you’re after Black Metal fit for 2015, full of spite and Black emotions, then this is the release for you.

Splendid.