This is the latest EP/mini-album from Iku-Turso, a Finnish/Dutch black metal band.
Brought to us by current/ex-members of From the Vastland, Khanus, and Order of Nosferat, Wolfheart contains 30 minutes of material, consisting of four original tracks and an Emperor cover. Iku-Turso play old-school black metal, steeped in the lore of the Scandinavian second wave. Continue reading “Iku-Turso – Wolfheart (Review)”
This is the sixth album from French black metallers Darkenhöld.
Following on from 2020’s Arcanes & Sortilèges, Le Fléau du Rocher gives us 48 minutes of new material from Darkenhöld. The band’s medieval black metal hits the spot, conjuring landscapes of blackened texture for the listener to explore. Continue reading “Darkenhöld – Le Fléau du Rocher (Review)”
This is the second album from Gaahls Wyrd, an avant-garde/dark metal band from Norway.
I really liked both 2019’s Gastir – Ghosts Invited and 2021’s The Humming Mountain, so the 42-minute Braiding the Stories is gratefully received. This is not music to be casually experienced, but an experience to be explored at length. Continue reading “Gaahls Wyrd – Braiding the Stories (Review)”
This is the debut album by Sacred Noose, a black/death metal band from Northern Ireland.
Vanishing Spires offers up a 31-minute concoction of poisonous black, death, and doom metal, all poured into a think tar-like substance of misery, pestilence, and woe. Sacred Noose are like a shroud of horror and violence hiding a deeper malevolence that just wants everything to decay and wither away.
Coltsblood are a doom band from the UK and this is their third album.
Following on from 2019’s split with Un, (which I thoroughly enjoyed), it’s great to have a new album from Coltsblood to get to grips with. It’s four songs, 42 minutes of hideous blackened doom nastiness. Continue reading “Coltsblood – Obscured into Nebulous Dusk (Review)”
Trivax are an Iranian/UK black metal band and this is their third album.
Trivax made a good start with 2017’s SIN, but then totally ascended a level with its 2023 follow up Eloah Burns Out – a record that has only grown in power over time. Relatively quickly though we now have the 43-minute The Great Satan, and it’s time to see if a speedy turnaround has been good to Trivax or not. Continue reading “Trivax – The Great Satan (Review)”
This is the seventh album from Finnish black metallers …And Oceans.
I thoroughly enjoyed 2023’s As in Gardens, so in Tombs, so I’ve been eagerly awaiting The Regeneration Journey. On their new album, …And Oceans deliver 47 minutes, (54 minutes with the bonus tracks), of their compelling black metal. Buckle up, as it’s going to be a furious ride. Continue reading “…And Oceans – The Regeneration Itinerary (Review)”
This is the debut album from French blackened death metal band Hexekration Rites.
Brought to us by an ex-member of Azziard, Hexekration Rites play a darkly brutal mix of black and death metal. Misanthropic Path of Carnal Deliverance is a 44-minute record that will destroy everything around you quite convincingly. Continue reading “Hexekration Rites – Misanthropic Path of Carnal Deliverance (Review)”
Labyrinthus Stellarum are a black metal band from Ukraine and this is their third album.
Rift in Reality contains 37 minutes of engaging black metal with a sci-fi theme. Labyrinthus Stellarum play black metal that’s enhanced with electronic elements and extraterrestrial keyboards. Overall it’s a mix of melodic, atmospheric, and industrial black metal, although There are actually a few other styles mixed into the DNA of this too, including a bit of symphonic deathcore, to name just one. Continue reading “Labyrinthus Stellarum – Rift in Reality (Review)”
This is the second album from US black/death metal band Drouth.
It’s been five long years since 2020’s Excerpts from a Dread Liturgy, but now Drouth are back, with a new bassist in tow, (current/ex-Cormorant/Ursa). So, let’s turn our attention to the five new songs we have here in the form of the 41-minute The Teeth of Time. Continue reading “Drouth – The Teeth of Time (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 