Leukotomy – Eternal Path to Eden (Review)

Leukotomy - Eternal Path to EdenLeukotomy are a Vietnamese black metal band and this is their debut album.

Eternal Path to Eden delivers 51 minutes of black metal that has a second wave base which has been adorned with avant-garde enrichments. Continue reading “Leukotomy – Eternal Path to Eden (Review)”

Returning – Severance (Review)

Returning - SeveranceThis is the debut album from US black metal band Returning.

Containing 48 minutes of music, Severance is a journey into the horrors of ecocide and a hymn to the natural world. Blending black metal with the ambient and atmospheric styles to create immersive soundscapes that exude emotional power, Severance is a shock to the system and a call for better times. Continue reading “Returning – Severance (Review)”

Iravu – A Fate Worse Than Home (Review)

Iravu - A Fate Worse Than HomeThis is the debut album from Malaysian one-man black metal band Iravu.

A Fate Worse Than Home contains 34 minutes of expressive, cosmic black metal. Mixing the atmospheric, ambient, and progressive styles into an engaging whole, the artist behind Iravu has crafted something quite special here. Continue reading “Iravu – A Fate Worse Than Home (Review)”

Givre – Destin Messianique (Review)

Givre - Destin MessianiqueThis is the third album from Canadian black metallers Givre.

Givre play atmospheric black metal and on Destin Messianique they provide 35 minutes of raw and underground black metal with an academic and historical theme. Continue reading “Givre – Destin Messianique (Review)”

Olhava – Reborn (Review)

Olhava - RebornOlhava are a Russian ambient/post-black metal band and this is their fifth album.

2021’s Frozen Bloom was an enjoyable blend of atmospheric post-blackened intensity and shimmering dark ambience. Have Olhava managed to recreate their dark magic once again? Continue reading “Olhava – Reborn (Review)”

Bhleg – Fäghring (Review)

Bhleg - FäghringThis is the fourth album from Swedish black metallers Bhleg.

I always enjoy it when a new Bhleg release comes along, (Draumr Ást, Solarmegin, Ödhin), so Fäghring is well-received by yours truly.

Bhleg’s atmospheric brand of folk-enriched black metal spreads Continue reading “Bhleg – Fäghring (Review)”

Ennoven – Empty Passes, Silent Trails (Review)

Ennoven - Empty Passes, Silent TrailsThis is the second album from Polish one-man post-black metal band Ennoven.

This is the follow up to 2014’s Redemption, which was a very enjoyable debut record. Empty Passes, Silent Trails, however, is on another level entirely. It contains only four tracks, but lasts 47 minutes, and spans a world of emotion and mood. Continue reading “Ennoven – Empty Passes, Silent Trails (Review)”

Olhava – Frozen Bloom (Review)

Olhava - Frozen BloomOlhava are a Russian black metal band and this is their fourth album.

Frozen Bloom is a 59-minute exploration of loss and mournful intensity. The band’s post-blackened brew is concocted from the bones of atmospheric black metal, blackgaze’s warmth of emotion, dark ambience, and synth-driven drone. Continue reading “Olhava – Frozen Bloom (Review)”

Order of the Wolf/Pessimista – Split (Review)

Order of the Wolf Pessimista - SplitThis is a split between two solo bands rooted in black metal – Order of the Wolf from the UK and Pessimista from Brazil.

This actually came out last year originally, but is now getting a tape release. This is my first encounter with both bands, and this split acts as a very good introduction to them. Continue reading “Order of the Wolf/Pessimista – Split (Review)”