Black metal – Page 168 – Wonderbox Metal

Endemise – Far From The Light (Review)

This is Canadian Death-infused Black Metal from Endemise and this is their second album.

The band combine the heaviness and brutality of Death Metal with the Blackened atmosphere and symphonics of a band like Dimmu Borgir. Alternatively; imagine a band like Behemoth; now tone down the Death Metal and increase the presence of keyboards – you’re now in the right area that Endemise inhabit. Bands like Alghazanth and Gloria Morti are also good examples.

The songs manage to weave in between these two genres with ease, although they stray mainly into Black Metal territory for most of the album. They might be blasting away full of fury before a keyboard flourish changes their tack and all of a sudden they’re going all grandiose and orchestrated.

True to the rest of the album the vocals fluctuate between high-pitched shrieks and lower growls.

Although a little rough around the edges in places this is an enjoyable album with a few really good moments that they can build on for the next release.

Chthonic – Bú-Tik (Review)

Melodic Black/Death Metal from Taiwan; I haven’t heard Chthonic since their excellent Seediq Bale album so I was looking forward to seeing what Bú-Tik had to offer.

Chthonic embody orchestration and fury. Highly melodic and razor sharp, the songs are flourished like swords as only a master can.

Precise, tight riffing and swathes of keys and strings are combined with folk-Asian influences to produce songs that are reminiscent of the symphonic Dimmu Borgir’s and Cradle of Filth’s of the world but with the origins of the harmonies coming from a much different background. Chthonic very much have their own character.

The drums and multi-layered venomous vocals dominate this release, with the orchestration pitched at the right level. The guitars are sheets of serrated steel working underneath everything, and the bass is muted at best.

With good songwriting and an expert understanding of this genre Chthonic have once again produced a well-rounded and thoroughly enjoyable release. There’s an intensity to these tracks and the molten Metal barely lets up until the album fades. With a whole hat-full of ideas and quirks rolled into their sound repeated listens are recommended. The direct assault of the songs works immediately, but after that has gone you’re left with the insidious harmonies stalking you when you least expect it. Symphonic Black Metal earworms indeed.

An impressively realised album that has obviously had a lot of work put into the compositions and structure of the tracks. Check them out and see what you think; just beware the pointy bits – those swords are sharper than they look…

Mord’A’Stigmata – Ansia (Review)

This is Polish Black Metal from Mord’A’Stigmata; their third full-length.

This album features long exploratory tracks that are based in Black Metal but have spread out like a ravenous plague to devour tasty chunks of Post-Metal and Doom.

The riffs and melodies are involving and well-considered, drawing the listener into a maze of blackened misanthropy and trapping them there forever to stare at a twisted reflection of a real world they will never inhabit again.

When the band are playing furious Black Metal they do it perfectly well, but when they are playing parts that are rooted around slower and more emotive riffs this is where they truly shine.

The more Post-Metal moments are studied examples of atmosphere and mood done right, and the blackened riffs are hypnotic and enticing.

The vocals are either Black Metal shrieks of the usual variety, or a more haunting, droning clean vocal that ramps up the atmospheric quotient when crooned over the expressive music.

The vocals and music combined make this a hugely impressive album with lots to like and lots of replay value.

This is an excellent release from a band that deserves a higher status than they currently have. If you like well-crafted and intelligent music with a cold, dark core then I defy you to not like this.

Omnizide – Death Metal Holocaust (Review)

Omnizide are from Sweden and play Black Metal with a hint of Old-School Death Metal.

The band favour the type of Black Metal riffery of older Dark Funeral or Marduk, (but without the all-out speed of some of their assaults), combined with a Carpathian Forest feel to some of their work. Mix this with some rotten Old-School Death Metal and you’ll have a general idea of where Omnizide are coming from.

Even though the band call themselves Death Metal, and the album title has it in its name; this is still predominantly a Black Metal release for me. A lot of the riffs, the production and sound, the raspy vocals, the general feel of the songs – it all has Black Metal stamped over it in large indecipherable letters as far as I’m concerned. Not that it really matters of course; all that matters is that as soon as you play this you’re instantly transported to times past and you can really feel the darkness and hate flowing into your system.

The songs rage and chew their way through the running time. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, always reeking of antagonism and contempt. This is very authentic music. There is nothing fake or staged going on here. You can almost taste the blood on the singer’s lips as he shreds his vocal chords in the name of his art.

Overall a very good album that anyone who likes this kind of music should be able to get something from, and it just gets better with repeat listens.

Amiensus – Restoration (Review)

Amiensus are from the US and play Progressive Black Metal with plenty of melody and epic feelings.

Keyboards and other effects transform the already pronounced melodic talent of the band to another level, washing over the listener in waves of atmosphere.

Restoration skillfully blends aspects of bands such as Opeth, Agalloch and Dimmu Borgir into a talented melting pot and adds something of its own personality to the mix to avoid sounding derivative; the results of which have led to this pretty special release.

I usually find this genre of music a bit too sickly and derivative, essentially it’s easy to do but hard to do well. Whatever this magic, secret ingredient is that makes an album like this great without sounding like another clone of the aforementioned bands, Amiensus appear to have it in spades.

Meaty guitars cloaked in wistful mood and dripping with ear-candy dominate this release, while angelic vocals croon and soar alongside harsher cries and grunts. Female vocals are used to punctuate the atmosphere when needed and are a great asset to the band.

The album flows easily from one song to the next; the symphonic nature of the band working perfectly to accentuate every harmony and lamentation into a seamless whole until suddenly the 46 minutes playing time has elapsed and you’re left simply wanting more.

As début albums go this is high quality indeed and quite an achievement for such a young band. If album number one is this accomplished I can only imagine what album number two will be like.

Here’s to more in the future. You should get this.

Ritual – The Resurrection (Review)

Here we have some Black Metal from the US in the form of Ritual.

It starts off all plinky-plinky, (a technical term), before the drums start and then a mournful guitar sweeps in. It’s an unexpected entry into the album as I was ready for a more traditional blastbeat-heavy entrance, (probably after some perfunctory intro), so this was a welcome change of pace.

This is early 90’s-style Black Metal with a sorrowful NWOBHM edge to it, and highly enjoyable it is to.

The vocalist is full of passion and has a good set of lungs which he uses to scream praises of evil and hate. The vocal rhythms fit perfectly over the mid-paced riffs and the songs are simple but effective.

Short songs with good composition rule the roost and melodic guitars slip easily into the ear.

This is an easy album to listen to; the scything, razor-edged vocals and the Black melodies dripping with scorn and melancholy create an enjoyable listen. Recommended.

Root – Viginti Quinque Annis In Scaena (Review)

Coming from the Czech Republic; Root play Black/Dark Metal and this is a live album spanning the band’s 25 year career.

The songs are veritable feasts of riffery that show the origins of Black Metal and darkened Thrash and are used effectively to create highly enjoyable Old-School Metal. Well-written songs in the hands of veteran Metallers was always going to end well.

The vocals are experimental, playful, varied and above all commanding and powerful – this is a singer who knows exactly what his voice is capable of and revels in showing off its abilities. He lends a very unique sheen to an already strong musical passage.

Boasting a raw yet clear and dynamic sound; this live album really makes you feel part of the show. More than just a recorded document it allows the songs to breathe and flex their considerable musical muscles and expand into your head so that you can feel the blood, sweat and passion exuded by the band.

A lot of live albums fall short of the mark for me, but this one does everything it is meant to do. As an overview and celebration of Root it’s just a great performance.

Inferno – Omniabsence Filled By His Greatness (Review)

Coming from the Czech Republic veteran Black Metallers Inferno start off their sixth album quietly and softly with PERVASION… before blasting off with first song proper, The Firstborn From Murk.

An enjoyable album that takes the Swedish Black Metal template and injects more of an eerie melodicism into it. After listening to this album I’m convinced this is an area worthy of exploration and Inferno have made a good start.

Inferno write long songs filled with dark praises and incantations to forgotten powers. The drums may spend a lot of their time going at full speed, but the guitars don’t always follow suit, creating a juxtaposition that probably shouldn’t work as well as it does.

In amongst the aggression and hatred on display in these songs there is a feeling of sorrow, of something lost or perhaps never had. This is chiefly displayed in the mournful guitar melodies and plaintive tones explored by them.

The vocals are low in the mix and combine the epitome of brutal Black Metal rasping with deeper, darker vocalisations. They play their part alongside the subtle keyboards and effects to enhance the overall feeling of the aforementioned juxtaposition between melody and brutality; light and dark; beauty and terror.

Fans of Black Metal can’t go too wrong here – give Inferno a listen and let the fires wash over you.

Nefandus – Your God Is A Ghost (Review)

Nefandus are from Sweden and ply their Black Metal trade with passion and gusto.

Black Metal gone stoner doom? Not quite, although second track Temptress of Thantifaxath makes a damn good case for it. At least for the first part of the song and then it changes into a galloping NWOBHM-style riff followed by the stoner riffing once more with a nice solo on top. And this is only one of the four top-notch songs on here.

The remaining songs are more traditional than this one, but no less special for it. The riffs speak for themselves, and the band makes full use of them.

Favourite Track: Temptress of Thantifaxath. Variety is great especially when done well.

At less than 20 minutes this EP simply whets the appetite and leaves the listener wanting more. But ’tis better to have tasted the fruits than to never have known…

Glorior Belli – Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls (Review)

Opening with a Stoner/Doom riff to die for, Glorior Belli know how to get things started. This French band play a Sludge/Black Metal combination with a heavy southern US vibe that makes them both instantly familiar, yet also very unusual. Like that estranged friend you have a bad feeling about from years ago but can no longer remember why.

The vocals sound like serrated glass being drawn across stone and are impressively savage. Initially such harsh vocals can seem slightly at odds with some of the more southern-style riffs; indeed the combination of the stoner and Black Metal vibes on the whole takes some getting used to on first listen. Later, you wonder why you thought there was anything untoward going on, as on subsequent listens the transitions from Black Metal atmosphere to all-out Stoner Rock-athon seem much more natural and unforced.

In fact; as you listen to the album and get to know it it’s precisely this seemingly-jarring, (at least initially), melding of disparate styles and feelings that elevate this release from just-another-Black Metal album, or just-another-Sludge album. These are the hooks that keep you returning, that lend a far more traditional Metal and Rock swagger to the Black Metal foundation.

An album to divide; Sludge fans will probably find this easier to like than Black Metallers, although music is subjective of course and it’s always dangerous to make generalisations or assume too much. Combing the two different genres into Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls was always going to be a gamble for the band; I think it has paid off in the main, but the question is will people stick around long enough to accept it? Hopefully.

Like someone has smashed together Black Metal and Blues Rock then picked the best looking pieces and rebuilt them together in the form of Glorior Belli. If you can embrace the merging of the styles, (and you should), then you have an enduring album worthy of repeat visits. Try them out!