Black metal – Page 188 – Wonderbox Metal

Interview with Downfall of Gaia

You know that feeling when you listen to a band’s album and you just know that you’re going to be enjoying and exploring it for years to come? Downfall of Gaia’s latest release Atrophy is exactly one such release. I’m listening to it again as I write this, and it makes me quite excited to think that years from now I’ll still be listening to it, only I’ll know it even better than I do at the moment.

With a desire to find out some more about the band behind this superlative album, how else to get to know Downfall of Gaia even better than to reach out to the vocalist/guitarist of the band, Dominik Goncalves dos Reis, for a chat…?

What are your influences?

We are influenced by a lot of things. Musically I would break it down to black metal, doom and sludge as the main influence. Continue reading “Interview with Downfall of Gaia”

Abduction – Une Ombre Régit les Ombres (Review)

This is the debut album from Abduction, a black metal band from France.

Une Ombre Régit les Ombres consists of songs that are epic in length and vision, blasting out of the darkness with confidence, style and much aplomb. The music is a mix of progressive black/death metal, more skewed to the blackened side of things, if only due to the atmospheres evoked and the rasping screams of the main vocals. Continue reading “Abduction – Une Ombre Régit les Ombres (Review)”

Laster – Ons Vrije Fatum (Review)

Laster are a black metal band from the Netherlands and this is their second album.

We’ve met Laster before, both on their debut album De Verste Verte Is Hier and on their split with Wederganger. Both times they’ve impressed with their atmospheric black metal, and this continues with their newest release. Continue reading “Laster – Ons Vrije Fatum (Review)”

Drevorod – I Swear to Return Here (Review)

Drevorod are an atmospheric black metal band from Russia and this is their debut album.

This is atmospheric black metal with folk influences. It’s well-played and manages to balance the atmospheric/folk sides of the music well, so that the band have an obvious character to their music without it coming across as twee. Continue reading “Drevorod – I Swear to Return Here (Review)”

Vereor Nox – Noli Respicere (Review)

This is the debut album from Italian symphonic black/death metallers Vereor Nox.

In some ways this reminds me of The Forest Dreams of Black by Tine, which is one of my favourite examples of how to merge black and death metal with symphonic elements. Although Vereor Nox don’t sound like carbon copies of Tine, there’s enough superficial resemblance to make me instantly warm to the music on Noli Respicere. Continue reading “Vereor Nox – Noli Respicere (Review)”

Cowards – Still (Review)

Cowards are a blackened hardcore band from France and this is their latest EP.

I do so very much enjoy the work of Cowards. Their last album, 2015’s Rise to Infamy, was a tight ball of violent blackened extremity filled with hardcore’s passion and sludge’s ugly heaviness. Still continues this theme, boasting three new tracks and two covers. This is 19 minutes of music guaranteed to stop you in your tracks and then hit you around the head. Continue reading “Cowards – Still (Review)”

Ashes of Nowhere – Emptiness (Review)

Ashes of Nowhere are a post-black metal band from Italy and this is their debut album.

This is a release that combines a fair few different blackened styles into its 54 minute running time. Across the seven tracks one can hear raw, traditional black metal, atmospheric post-metal, melodic black metal, depressive shoegaze and a touch of the avant-garde.

Phew. Continue reading “Ashes of Nowhere – Emptiness (Review)”

Bearstorm – Biophobia (Review)

Bearstorm are a progressive black metal band from the US and this is their latest EP.

Bearstorm play progressive black metal, but if you haven’t heard them before I can all but guarantee that they don’t sound as you’d expect them to.

Their previous album Americanus was an unusual record. A very good one, but a very individual one that was probably too much of an acquired taste for most. A shame, but their loss, (whoever they are), is our gain. Continue reading “Bearstorm – Biophobia (Review)”

The Infernal Sea – The Great Mortality (Review)

This is the second album by UK black metallers The Infernal Sea.

This is sophisticated black metal that still manages to somehow sound filthy, ugly and grim. It’s a beguiling combination that sees the band combine atmosphere and ferocity in tantalising ways across this 42 minute release. Continue reading “The Infernal Sea – The Great Mortality (Review)”

Nuisible – Inter Feces et Urinam Nascimur (Review)

Nuisible are a blackened hardcore band from France. This is their debut album.

Inter Feces et Urinam Nascimur sort of sounds like what would happen if Darkthrone embraced a love of Scandinavian d-beat and produced one massively pissed off record. Add in some elements of crusty death metal and grindcore and you have 23 minutes of red-hot anger. Continue reading “Nuisible – Inter Feces et Urinam Nascimur (Review)”