Black metal – Page 169 – Wonderbox Metal

Rauhnåcht – Urzeitgeist (Review)

This is Austrian Black Metal played with style and fervour.

Harking back to the glory days of the cream of the second wave of Black Metal, Rauhnåcht evoke the same feelings of mystical grandeur that bands like Emperor and Gehenna were so good at playing back in the 90’s.

The cold Black guitars are accentuated with keyboards that are obvious enough to help steer the songs but subtle enough to not be overwhelming. They provide an intoxicating accompaniment to the other instruments.

The songs charge, stalk, slash or prowl through their playing time, depending on the kind of mood the band are going for. Rauhnåcht seem perfectly willing and capable to excel at either fast or slow sections, usually both and everything in-between during the space of a song. Due to this the shortest song is 5:56, (Urzeitgeist), and the longest is 10:08, (Rauhnachtskind).

Vocals hiss like corrosive steam escaping from a vent, reminding me of the vocalist of Naglfar in their delivery. Subdued cleans also make an appearance at select moments and these are not over-used.

I really enjoyed this album. Along with the recent release from Akrotheism this has made me very happy that there are bands out there still doing this style of non-symphonic atmospheric Black Metal and doing it really, really well.

Treat yourself to this.

Panychida – Grief for an Idol (Review)

This is the third album by Panychida who come from the Czech Republic. They play Black Metal with a heavy Pagan influence.

Take a powerful Black Metal core, add some atmospherics and keyboards, infuse a bit of Primordial and old Dimmu Borgir into it and soak in a heady strain of Paganism and you have a good starting point for Panychida.

The songs are stirring and involving. They have aggression and exploration written into the guitars, as well as a good amount of epic Metal riffage.

Panychida offer a good variety of vocals, with almost every type making an appearance – screams, growls, whispers, cleans; they’re all here and all done well. Krastina (Grief for the Idol) is a great example of this as the vocals alternate between all of these and more in a short space of time.

Folk influences and instrumentation appear and these are done well without sounding out of place.

Panychida have produced a quality album. Give them a listen and see what you think.

Suffering – Chaosatanas (Review)

This is the first EP from Polish Black Metallers Suffering.

They blast off straight away into hyper-speed Satanic Black Metal with fingernail-scraping vocals and a sound that can kill small animals.

They also know when to slow down though and lock into a prime Darkthrone-esque groove that lets the Blackness develop and embrace the listener fully.

The riffs are as sharp as swords and the bleak melodies are as cold as death. Each song passes by in a daze of frozen distortion and melodic twilight.

The vocals are to be commended as they are ultra scratchy and are absolutely full of venom and hatred for all. Spewed out over blast beats and icy melodies it can be quite the Hell-raising experience.

Almost 29 minutes of darkness and Devil worship. Who doesn’t love Black Metal, eh?

Paramnesia/Unru – Split (Review)

Paramnesia are a French Black Metal band and their half of this split is a track enigmatically named III.

This is epic, searing and mystical Black Metal with some atmospheric Post-Metal/Doom sections included in the 15 minute play time. If you think of Black Metal such as Deafheaven you’ll be in the right area stylistically.

The song is very well laid out and evokes the appropriate feelings of Blackened tragedy and remorse. The sound, and in particular the drum sound, is flawless and allows the song to shine brightly.

Unru are from Germany, play Black Metal and they contribute a song called Die Welt in der wir sterben to this release.

Unru’s offering is a real mood-builder, with melody and Post-Metal influences tempered against the harsh, icy Black Metal core. The anguished vocals slice through the music and as with Paramnesia’s track the sound is first-rate and everything flows perfectly.

The song is almost 13 minutes of involving and caustic Black Metal that draws the listener in and holds attention.

A top quality release from two top quality bands. I can’t see any reason why you shouldn’t get hold of this Split straight away. Do it now!

Barbelith – Untitled (Review)

This is the latest from US Depressive Black/Post-Metal band Barbelith.

Their first EP was a corker, so I was looking forward to what this 2 track release would bring.

As with their previous release the band enshroud themselves in bleakness and woe, with anguished, tortured vocals lashing out at an uncaring world and a fate undeserved.

Barbelith manage to combine a mournful atmosphere with a style of Blackened Hardcore for the first track Caverns of the Mind. It’s interesting as the song seems to gain and lose momentum multiple times during its 6 minute length, switching between Depressive Black Metal and Blackened Hardcore as if it’s never sure whether it wants to end it all now or persevere for one final, desperate lunge at life.

The second song Rebirth takes less of its cues from Hardcore and more from Post-Metal, while retaining the aura of misery and lost hope. It has somewhat of a Deinonychus feel to it and as such is swamped in negative feelings and emotions; unlike the pure-strain misery of Deinonychus however, the net result here is strangely uplifting. The addition of angelic clean vocals as a background juxtaposition is an inspired choice.

2 tracks, 12 minutes. Utterly worth it.

Cultfinder – Hell’s Teeth (Review)

This is UK band Cultfinder and they play Black Metal with a hefty Thrash influence.

A relatively short release of 24 minutes; after a perfunctory intro, (and one interlude), we get 5 tracks of blazing, bestial Blackened Thrash full of Satanic energy coursing through its corrupted veins.

The songs are primitive and atavistic, harking back to simpler times of a purified Metal lineage without outside influences or detractions. The band are fully aware of the path they tread and do so with pride.

The vocals bark their way from the gutter and scrape like nails down a blackboard. Even so, they manage to effectively deliver a wealth of hooks.

The wills of the various musicians are nefariously bent towards the creation and propagation of primeval Metal, and they do this admirably and to full effect. The songs and the riffs stick in the brain even after the final song The Scourging Angel ends in a squeal of feedback.

Apart from a previously released demo this is the band’s first release, and thus is laid a foundation for the future. A terrifying future where Cultfinder’s Blackened vision has come to pass. Get in on the action early and have a listen to Hell’s Teeth.

Eissturm – The Purpose (Review)

This is US band Eissturm and they play Black Metal with Ambient and Folk touches.

This is Black Metal in the style of Vinterrikket with Metal tracks interspersed with more Ambient, Folky numbers.

In the Metal parts the guitars are fuzzy, atmospheric and concentrate on building mood with layers of ice cold depth. It’s heavily distorted and laden with reverberation.

The guitars aim to create maximum emotion and the extra effects create a veneer of feeling that radiates outwards from the songs like a cyclone.

The vocals are either emitted like static; scratching and screeching their way through the storms, or howling and tortured; crying out in anguish against the wind.

The ambient tracks reinforce the fact that this is Black Metal born of a frigid, desolate environment where survival is hard and night is perpetual. Each one adds to the mystique and flavour of the album and draws you into their world even more.

Like walking through a snowstorm in a barren landscape with no food or shelter for days. Icy and atmospheric Ambient Black Metal done well.

Sammath – Godless Arrogance (Review)

This is Sammath’s fifth album of Black Metal misanthropy from the Netherlands.

Oh but this takes me back! This is for the people who couldn’t get enough of Panzer Division Marduk – this has the same intensity and visceral assault.

Straight away the band are a whirlwind of razorblade riffs and frenzied drumming. As brutal as a stabbing and as clinical as a missile; these songs are not interested in who gets hurt but only in the wanton amount of collateral damage they can cause.

Accompanied by savage vocals sharp enough to tear reality the music is ferocious and vicious as only scathing Black Metal can be.

Dark melodies cloaked under waves of rhythmic misanthropy truly manifest themselves over time in the 8 hymns to warfare and death that the band deliver.

This is cold and violent. This is murderous and intense. This is Godless Arrogance.

Thy Flesh – Thymiama Mannan (Review)

Thy Flesh are a Black Metal band from Greece who play a particularly Daemonic brand of Blackened darkness.

The songs have a ritualistic quality to them in addition to the usual razor sharp guitar lines that pepper a release like this.

The vocals are savage and vomit their word-made-shadow out into reality from places unknown.

Frozen and obscure melodies strike from these barren hymns of ice and lash out at the listener from behind barricades of pounding war drums. They speak of eerie atmospheres and unearthly longings, voiced in the language of Black Metal and oncoming apocalypse. Perhaps Thy Flesh herald something long forgotten, something returning to exact payment for a disturbed slumber that should have gone undisrupted.

Mixing elements of Dissection and Ondskapt, Thy Flesh have crafted an expertly delivered offering of occult Black Metal that more than hits the spot. The band have enough instant appeal to satisfy but have sufficient depth to their compositions to allow digestion over time to improve satiety even more.

Well played and decently written; this is a worthy addition to the genre and a quality début for the band. You can feel the darkness approaching, heralded by a storm of knives.

Kaoskult – Secret Serpent (Review)

This is the first album by Polish Black Metallers Kaoskult.

The band play occult-influenced Black Metal steeped in the raw stuff of other worlds.

The vocals are primal and operate almost as a form of chanting over the slashing guitars. Utterly evil and devoted to darkness, they’re mainly deeper than a lot of Black Metal bands get away with. They also experiment with some subtle clean vocals that seem to swim under the knife-like guitars and these work well.

The guitars rip and slice their way through the 39 minutes of offerings and know when to slow down as the ritual demands rather than being full-on all of the time.

Certain tracks lock nicely into a satisfying mid-paced groove for parts of the song. When the faster sections arrive they are no less gratifying however. We also get treated to some chuggy, almost-Thrashy riffs on occassion. Eternal Threat, for example, has all of these within its 6:10 playing time.

The black melodies infect the brain and there are some choice riffs on these songs.

A quality album full of spite and bile.