I’ve decided to do something new for 2020 – a second End of Year list. If you’ve missed it, my standard, definitive best of 2020 list can be seen here, and is made up of albums I was lucky enough to get to review. However, this year I want to also highlight some of the many albums that I’ve enjoyed listening to, but for one reason or another never had the chance to review. So, consider this a complementary list of sorts to the main one. Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List EXTRA! – Best Non-Reviewed Metal of 2020”
Tag: Atmospheric Black Metal
Saarkoth – Cult of Nature (Review)
This is the second album from UK black metal band Saarkoth.
Saarkoth’s Bandcamp page says that they are inspired by bands like Winterfylleth, Agalloch, and Emperor, and this serves as a good starting point for approaching Cult of Nature. However, although you can hear the influences and recognise the style, I’m pleased to say that Saarkoth have found their own voice within it. Continue reading “Saarkoth – Cult of Nature (Review)”
Sepulchre by the Sea – Conqueror Worm (Review)
This is the debut album from Sepulchre by the Sea, a one-man post-black metal band from the UK.
Sepulchre by the Sea’s music is a hybrid form of modern/traditional black metal, expressed in an atmospheric style and enhanced with elements of post-rock and blackgaze. This approach results in a sprawling post-black metal epic that unfolds across 58 minutes of evocative, well-written music. Continue reading “Sepulchre by the Sea – Conqueror Worm (Review)”
Varde – Fedraminne (Review)
This is the debut album from Varde, a Norwegian black metal band.
Fedraminne contains 59 minutes of black metal that mixes folk influences into an atmospheric journey. Continue reading “Varde – Fedraminne (Review)”
Isolert – World in Ruins (Review)
This is the second album from Greek black metallers Isolert.
Isolert specialise in Scandinavian-style second wave black metal, and I like the way they play it. Thus far, 2015’s Isolated Soul, 2016’s No Hope, No Light…Only Death, and 2017’s Towards the Great Dissolution, (a split with Insanity Cult), all satisfied, and now the band are back Continue reading “Isolert – World in Ruins (Review)”
Shaidar Logoth – Chapter III: The Void God (Review)
This is the third album from Shaidar Logoth, a black metal band from the US.
Here we have 48 minutes of atmospheric black metal, a mixture of the beautiful and the harsh. Although you may think that these two things oppose each other, Shaidar Logoth ably show that this does not have to be the case. Parts of Continue reading “Shaidar Logoth – Chapter III: The Void God (Review)”
Beltez – A Grey Chill and a Whisper (Review)
This is the third album from German black metallers Beltez.
Following on from 2017’s well-regarded Exiled, Punished…Rejected, A Grey Chill and a Whisper is well-received and quite exceptional. Across 65 minutes Beltez brutalise and mystify with a compelling tale of darkness and despair, but with some glimmers of hope. Continue reading “Beltez – A Grey Chill and a Whisper (Review)”
Monthly Overview – the Best of October 2020
For me, October was all about the black metal. Sure, there were some very fine non-black metal releases, but I’ve decided to focus below on albums that are all different blackened variants in their own dark ways. Enjoy!
Let us start with Anaal Nathrakh’s Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of October 2020”
Arkheron Thodol – Rituals of the Sovereign Heart (Review)
This is the second album from Arkheron Thodol, a black metal band from the US.
The follow up to 2017’s Thaw, Rituals of the Sovereign Heart contains 51 minutes of atmospheric black metal for connoisseurs of the style to get their teeth into. This new release finds the band developing their Continue reading “Arkheron Thodol – Rituals of the Sovereign Heart (Review)”
Auðn – Vökudraumsins Fangi (Review)
Auðn are an Icelandic black metal band and this is their third album.
Auðn play atmospheric black metal, and I like what I hear here very much. Theirs is a form of music that’s rooted in classical atmospheric blackness, but is not limited to the second wave by any means. This is a very contemporary release, despite its Continue reading “Auðn – Vökudraumsins Fangi (Review)”
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