Atmospheric Black Metal – Page 57

Bhleg – Draumr Ást (Review)

Bhleg are from Sweden and this is their début album of Atmospheric Black Metal.

This is underground and under-produced with the result that the music has a brittle quality to it that still somehow retains a strength – like shards of ice. The fragile guitar tone still manages to inflict lacerations with how sharp it is as the scything vocals scream out from behind this torrent of frostblades.

Theirs is a blend of the atmospheric and Blackly melodic. To cold for the more perky Melodic Black Metal tag, instead they go the path less travelled down a cold winter path, lonesome and desolate. Many others have gone this way over the years, of course, but Bhleg are content to not mix with any other travellers and instead keep to themselves, exploring the snowy landscapes.

Okay, okay; enough of the ice and the frost and the winter – you get the idea. Suffice to say that this is Black Metal that harkens back to an earlier time and an influence from bands of these earlier eras can be heard in their sound, Burzum for one.

The Black Metal is offset with more atmospheric forays into lighter territories and these parts help break up the release.

Screaming vocals are joined by cleaner approaches on occasion, adding another aspect to the delivery of the band’s message. The Bhleg vocalist has a clear, powerful scream and the cleans are performed well.

An enjoyable album. The kind of album to just drift off with and become almost hypnotized by the droning Blackened riffs. Give Bhleg a spin and see if they can show you their frosted visions of a natural landscape.

Maahlas – Nightmare Years (Review)

Maahlas are from Norway and this is their début album. They play Melodic Black Metal with a progressive edge.

Well, this wastes no time in making an immediate impact on the listener with its blasting melodies and sharp vocals. It’s dynamic and bright, with lots of colourful leads and atmospheric flourishes.

This is quite a varied mix within its sub-genre as it contains elements of Atmospheric, Melodic and Progressive Black Metal all rolled into a very well produced album.

Maahlas manage to show very early on that they can play in a very aggressive manner as well is also being able to demonstrate subtlety and nuance. This largely manifests itself through the inclusion of lighter and more sensitive moments that are littered around the album’s blistering Black Metal. This is further enhanced by more Progressive and Atmospheric Black Metal elements.

Nightmare Years boasts a heady combination of the above and results in an album that sounds very accomplished. The musicianship is tight and the riffs are inventive and interesting. There are lots of great additional enhancements and ideas dotted throughout these 11 tracks and it’s an easy album to digest and enjoy without it becoming too staid or formulaic. It’s not an easy line to walk but the band do it naturally and with ease.

Each song is well-written and delicately masters the trade-off between aggressive tendencies and more restrained, considered influences. Clearly the band have a natural talent for this and their passion and personality shines through.

The vocals are very well delivered, with the singer alternating Blackened shrieks with deeper growls and everything in between. It’s a strong performance and crowns the music like a dark jewel. Unexpected clean vocals also appear on the fourth track and add yet another string to their bow.

Nightmare Years is a stunning victory of a début album. I look forward to getting to know this album even better over the coming months and years; it’s already made a big impression on me and I think this one is very firmly a keeper.

Laster – De Verste Verte Is Hier (Review)

Laster are from the Netherlands and this is their début album.

I’m a fan of Laster’s first release Wijsgeer & Narreman so was looking forward to hearing this. The quality album cover was the first thing I liked, and the music soon followed.

Laster play raw, underground, atmospheric Black Metal that’s epic in length and epic in scope.

The band seem to play from beneath a shroud of distortion and hazy guitar fog. The drums and vocals swim just beneath the surface, prowling like unnatural predators seeking the souls of the weary and weak.

De Verste Verte Is Hier is less about individual riffs and more about dark feelings evoked by the instruments that howl and gust like the wind. Laster create dark sonicscapes of reverberating nightmares and ever-present darkness.

Atmosphere is a big part of Laster’s identity and they wield it like a weapon. Desolation, despair and negativity are commonplace, but less common are the little rays of hope that occasionally pierce the gloom, such as on the main starting riff of Tot de Tocht ons Verlicht.

These are not songs to idly listen to, these are songs to experience.

For fans of bands like Vinterriket, Fell Voices, Ash Borer and the like.

Mare Cognitum – Phobos Monolith (Review)

This is the third album by US one-man project Mare Cognitum. He plays Atmospheric Black Metal.

This is Black Metal of the most expressive and epic variety. Inspired by the mysteries of the cosmos and powered by Blackened harmonies and thick atmospheres, Phobos Monolith takes the listener on a journey through the unexplored natures of the universe.

The songs on this album are exploratory and impressively composed and performed. It’s almost a full 6 minutes before any vocals first appear, so confident is the music in its ability to capture and hold the attention alone. With good reason; the music is an impressive blend of Atmospheric, Post- and raging underground Black Metal.

This is an album that, for all its grand designs and lofty concepts, actually manages to forge an emotional connection with the listener and the result is a very personal-feeling experience. These songs are simply that good.

There are so many bands/albums/etc. these days that simply sound as if they are going through the motions. For Mare Cognitum, however, this is clearly not the case at all. This is an album that has the true mark of a labour of love, and it’s this, combined with the impressive sonicscapes that have been created, that resonate so strongly with the listener.

Find somewhere open to the sky, play this album loudly, stare up at the stars and get absorbed in the endless possibilities that there are out there.

This is an album that has surpassed all of my feeble expectations.

Saille – Eldritch (Review)

Saille are from Belgium and this is their third album. They play Symphonic Black Metal.

Eldritch boasts a strong, sharp, clear sound that the band put to good use showcasing their aggressive brand of Symphonic Black Metal.

A punchy drum sound underpins Blackened melodies and serrated vocals whilst haunting, malevolent keyboards play over the top.

I particularly like the vocalist’s screams as they seem quite passionate and unhinged. His is not a performance that’s merely by the numbers; it’s a forceful and powerful delivery. Understated cleans also make appearances adding another element to the band’s sound.

The band make good use of Dimmu Borgir-style keyboards and sound effects without them ever becoming overbearing or ostentatious. Saille are comparable to an older Dimmu Borgir in other ways too; this is Symphonic Black Metal with real bite and an underground feeling to it despite the shine and polish the album has.

The songs are fast, churning affairs that are enhanced by the Classical influences. They’re enjoyable and it’s nice to hear the atmosphere mixed with real aggression and hatred.

Eldritch is a quality listen; a heady combination of dark atmosphere and blasting fury.

A recommended listen.

Askrinn – Hjørleifsljóð (Review)

Askrinn is a solo Black Metal project from France and this is his début album of Melodic Black Metal.

This is Black Metal with mellifluous melodies and a sound like cold water running down a mountain. It puts me in mind of atmospheric/melodic Black Metal bands like Vinterriket and Windir, and although Askrinn don’t sound the same as either of the two mentioned they share the same kind of feeling to my mind.

The tracks on this release seem to roll out of the speakers like a newly discovered fresh spring, bringing vitality and renewed vigour to all that sup from it. The style is an enjoyable one and the constant, rolling atmospheres that Akrinn creates means that it’s easy to like Hjørleifsljóð.

The music is Pagan/Viking theme, with lyrics apparently sung entirely in Old Norse. I say apparently, as the vocals consist of sharp rasps that fit the music perfectly but are completely indecipherable, at least to me. Either way, the vocals, like the music, have a melodious liquid quality that sees them streaming alongside the fluid music and adding bucketfuls to the emergent atmospheres.

This is the kind of release that it’s easy to just fall into and get swept away with, like a fast-running river. The atmospheres and melodies created are easy to absorb but are not lacking in depth despite this. It’s testament to the brain behind the outfit that these songs are well-composed and delivered so competently.

A top quality Black Metal release. It’s time to hunt this one down.

Myrkur – Myrkur (Review)

Myrkur is a one woman Black Metal project from Denmark. This is her début EP.

Myrkur combines the rawness and bleakness of second-wave Black Metal with ambient and atmospheric sounds to create frostbitten and ice-filled sonicscapes that scar the imagination and enchant the brain.

Ethereal clean female vocals and raw Black Metal mix in such a way that helps the music to transcend the usual genre constraints and become something greater than the sum of its parts.

There are medieval influences to some of the guitar sounds, (when they’re not wrapped in grim darkness of course), and even a touch of the Post-Metal/Post-Black Metal on occasion.

Think a pared down Wolves in the Throne Room, or a more atmospheric Darkthrone, or a less synth-powered Vinterriket; add angelic female vocals and this is the space Myrkur inhabit. It’s not all beauty however as she can also scream and shriek with the best of them when needed.

It’s rare that you find harsh Black Metal skilfully interweaved with music that’s atmospheric and epic in scope. Here the two are thoughtfully and flawlessly intertwined. Usually this is only accomplished by the elite and cream-of-the-crop bands like Agalloch.

Add to this a softer feminine touch that usually, if incorporated into Metal at all, just sounds tacked on; here it’s an integral, fully embedded and realised part of the Myrkur experience.

And to think, this is only a début EP. Imagine what she can do with a full album of material? The mind boggles. The mind can’t wait.

Chaos Moon – Resurrection Extract (Review)

Chaos Moon are from the US and play Black Metal. This is their third album.

This is Atmospheric Black Metal with violent tendencies and a core of pure darkness.

The Black Metal created here is enhanced at all times by a layer of dark ambience that follows the songs around like an omnipresent shadow. This has the net effect of saturating every song with Blackened feelings and melancholia tinged with bloodshed.

Esoteric and obscure melodies are made full use of and there’s even a touch of the Post-Black Metal to some of the sections on Resurrection Extract. It all adds to the appeal of the tracks and ensures that the listener is sufficiently drawn into the world of Chaos Moon.

This is an album with many strings to its bow, whether this is the blasting hatred of the fast sections or the sorrowful mournfulness of the slower; Resurrection Extract hits you where it hurts and the combination of gratuitous atmosphere and razor sharp violence is a winning one.

A highly recommended listen that takes you on a journey through Blackened soundscapes and unexplored lands. Get ready to praise the Chaos Moon.

Ars Moriendi – La Singulière Noirceur D’Un Astre (Review)

Ars Moriendi are from France and this is their third album of Black Metal.

This is atmospheric and creative Black Metal that makes a left-of-centre entrance under the guise of some form of slinky lounge lizard whilst retaining a core of darkness so you know you actually are playing the right album.

When the Black Metal truly kicks in though it’s noticeable and memorable. Propelled by interesting riffs and subtle but meaningful effects the music is stimulating and diverse.

The vocals are Black Metal croaks that have some personality to them and the singer appears to have a good range to his voice rather than staying too monotone.

Long songs allow for plenty of variation around the central theme and the band allow themselves the luxury of exploring and developing the soundscapes they create.

Progressive Metal elements make appearances here and there, adding character to the songs and increasing the listener’s depth of appreciation for the tracks.

The production is low-key and surprisingly warm and organic for a Black Metal release. The adds another facet to the album and the songs are very easy to listen to and enjoy; the music is warmly absorbed like a fine wine.

This is a quality release from a band who are likely to be overlooked by many. Don’t make this mistake – give Ars Moriendi your full attention.

Frozen Ocean – The Dyson Swarm (Review)

This is the eighth album from Russian band Frozen Swarm.

The band play atmospheric Black Metal/Ambient.

They open with Syzygy which is a wonderfully composed piece of Dark Ambient that sounds straight out of a science fiction film and is a great piece of music.

The second track CE-4 starts in a similar vein until the addition of drums and light Black Metal-esque guitars add a gentle beat to the emerging aural tapestry.

Vocals are present, very much low-key and used like another instrument.

The Sci-Fi/cosmos-themed album is powerfully atmospheric with Black Metal, Electronica and quasi-Industrial sounds merging with a cinematic soundscape to create and involving and absorbing journey into deep space and beyond.

This album has surprised and impressed me.