Black metal – Page 203 – Wonderbox Metal

Nomad – Tetramorph (Review)

This is the latest EP from Polish Blackened Death Metallers Nomad.

Here we have 4 songs, 16 minutes of music; a glimpse into the world of Nomad. This world is brutal and ugly, but surprisingly nuanced and with an interestingly Blackened Sheen. The songs seems to barge out of the darkness to commit heinous, blasphemous acts before disappearing back into the night once more.

This is solid Death Metal, corrupted by Black Metal influences to tinge the riffs a shade darker than they would normally be and infusing the songs with dark atmospheres and an occult presence. They kind of remind me of a band like Blood Red Throne if they were more of a Blackened Death Metal proposition and were mixed with a band like Zyklon.

Nomad’s songs seem to be less about the individual riffs or parts and more about holistic atmosphere and feeling. This is an approach more commonly used by Black Metal bands than Death Metal ones, and thus befits their hybrid status. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some choice riffs on display here though; there are, and the overall impression that Tetramorph makes is extremely positive.

Dark growls that are more emotive than the norm for this style are combined with sickly screams and all kinds of other incantations to produce a focal point for these Blackened hymns.

Having never heard Nomad before, this is not what I was actually expecting. It’s always nice to be surprised and hear Blackened Death Metal done well, especially when the two styles are blurred so well like they are here.

Recommended.

Lunar Mantra – Genesis (Review)

This is the début release from UK Black Metallers Lunar Mantra.

This is scathing, occult Black Metal with a bit of Dark Ambient thrown in for good measure.

The guitars have that Old-School fragile-yet-sharp-and-dangerous tone to them, like an icicle sharpened to a killing point. The riffs follow suit, and Lunar Mantra show their worth with dark melodies and esoteric auras in abundance.

Theirs is a raw, underground sound. Even so, you can still hear everything nicely, including the bass, (which is a treat).

The guitar melodies seem to twist, slide and writhe over each other like they’re living things, possessed by some form of malignant serpentine sentience.

Guttural vocals that sound like they have been retching up far too many daemons are used sparingly and the singer seems to merge with the music at a visceral level, urging the listener to ever greater heights of dark worship. But worship of what?

A very enjoyable release that bodes well for the future of this band, join them in their mysterious adulations and become part of their Genesis.

Haiduk – Demonicon (Review)

Haiduk is a one-man Black Metal project from Canada. This is his second album.

This is an album full of distorted blasting and hate-fuelled invective. It’s Black Metal with a pinch of Death Metal added for good measure. Although you could call this Blackened Death Metal, Black Metal is very much the main star of the show.

The Death Metal influence raises its ugly head in the added brutality and forcefulness of some of the riffs, as well as, more blatantly, the growled vocals.

The music is fast, well-constructed and hits the spot like a knife hitting its target. The riffs are full of Blackened melodies and harsher rhythms. Energetic and not afraid to add streaks of colour to its grimness, the music pummels and lacerates the listener at the same time.

The songs still manage to create atmosphere on occasion, so it’s not all a one-dimensional assault. This is the exception rather than the rule though, and to be honest, it’s good enough and well-played enough not to matter, regardless.

One-man Black Metal bands frequently take the less aggressive route, but Haiduk has proven that there’s no real reason for this to be the case. Demonicon is ugly, nasty and has enough quality riffs and dark melodies to be a dangerous proposition.

Like being hunted down in the dark and lashed at with razor-whips; this album somehow makes this prospect appealing.

Recommended.

Nyx – Home (Review)

Nyx are a Black Metal band from Germany and this is their début album.

Featuring only two members, Nyx make an impressive début that would do justice to a full band.

The music on this 45 minute album is quite varied and features elements of different sub-genres as well as the core of Black Metal that they play so well.

A few Classic Metal licks appear here and there, as well as a decent Post-Metal influence, especially in some of the guitar melodies. There’s enough of this ethereal, transcendental influence to label this Post-Black Metal, although the icy, frozen core of the pure style is still here, corrupting it so that it’s projected out through the prism of urban decay.

The singer’s screamed vocals are ridiculously strong; her voice is blood-curdling and powerful in the best tradition of Black Metal shrieking. Cleaner vocalisations are also used and these add emotional content and a rather ritualistic, sinister aura on occasion. These too are powerful and have real presence. Occasionally they even add in a bit of a more traditional clean singing style, and these parts sound just as good as everything else.

The songs are barbed, twisted and full of unexpected subtlety and shading. There’s a lot of ideas on display throughout these 9 tracks and the band have produced an album that has both immediate impact and lasting depth. The production is sharp and serrated, allowing the music to showcase its dangerous edge.

This is not a run-of-the-mill release, this is sophisticated Black Metal Art.

Very impressive.

Terra Deep – Part of This World, Part of Another (Review)

This is the third album from US Progressive Black Metal one-man group Terra Deep.

The music on this release is a complicated and sophisticated Progressive Metal feast that’s born out of the corrupted undergrowth of Black Metal’s fertile roots. Progressive and Post-Black Metal elements take control of proceedings quite early on, reinforced by a dark core of frozen steel.

Deep, unsettling growls, evil shrieks and powerful cleans all add a multitude of texture and feeling to music that successfully combines the cold malignance of Black Metal with the expansive, exploratory nature of Progressive music. This is further enhanced by elements of Doom/Depressive Black Metal that add a forlorn, lonesome sheen to some of the tracks. It all adds up to a multifaceted release full of quality music and songs that engage.

Richly textured tracks seem to bleed shades of pain and grim tidings, while still fostering a highly emotive side that connects with the listener in a visceral way. The songs are advanced exemplars of what can be done with a Black Metal base and a will to explore.

The production is solid and allows the music to hit the right balance between heaviness and nuance. It’s a good sound that satisfies and does justice to the differing parts and influences that make up Part of This World, Part of Another.

These five songs are impressively-realised affairs that speak of the experience and talent of the brains behind the outfit. He obviously has a coherent and well-rounded vision for Terra Deep and has the ability and skill to achieve it.

If you combine Opeth, Enslaved, Forgotten Tomb and Ihsahn then you’ll have a good idea of Terra Deep’s style.

There really is a lot here to offer the discerning Extreme Metal fan and I can’t really recommend this highly enough.

Vreid – Sólverv (Review)

Vreid are a Black Metal band from Norway and this is their seventh album.

Vreid play Melodic Black Metal that’s sharp and fast. They specialise in colourful, rich melodies that run through the Blackened music like a stream cutting through a mountain.

Vreid originally arose after the end of Windir, a band that I always loved. For some reason, I never got around to checking out Vreid before now, (partially through laziness/lack of opportunity, and partially as Windir were so damn good that it almost didn’t seem worth it. Odd reasoning I know…), and I sincerely regret this, as Sólverv, (and presumably the rest of their work), effectively carries on the spirit of what Windir were about. Oh how I’ve missed these elegant and distinctive atmospheric melodies! There’s a lesson here folks – always check out that band who, for whatever reason, you haven’t had the time or inclination to.

The rhythm guitars are full of energy and play with speed and groove with equal relish. The leads are frequent and highly textured, giving the band a superbly atmosphered collection of songs that are highly emotive and engaging. Subtle keyboards further enhance the tracks where necessary, adding another layer of feeling.

These songs are atmospheric in ways that it’s hard to express. It’s like the guitars have plugged into a primal wellspring of Blackened mood and ambience, lost since the rise of second wave Black Metal and found and kept safe by the band for their own special ministrations.

Of course it’s not all about the guitars, although these are a defining point of the music. The other instruments and the singer play their parts too. The bass and drums provide a framework for the guitars to work their magic, while the singer’s rasping screech adds a serrated edge to the flowing, melodic music.

It is with great regret that I mourn the lost years where I had the chance to follow up on the mighty Windir’s legacy and failed to do so. More fool me. From now on, Sólverv will be on heavy rotation.

Heartily recommended.

Arcturus – Arcturian (Review)

Arcturus are a Norwegian Avant-Garde Progressive Black Metal band and this is their fifth album.

This legendary band finally make a return with their unique and charismatic take on Metal. This is 48 minutes of extravagance, style, class, eccentricity and outright esoteric musicality. The level of skill and talent involved in a release like this is staggering really, when compared with the average band. But then Arcturus have always been outliers.

This album is somewhat of a blend of their earlier and later work. It’s more accessible than the pure theatricality of La Masquerade Infernale, but less cautious than Sideshow Symphonies; the result is an album that takes the right amount of cues from both.

Arcturian is a perfectly judged melting pot of disparate influences that balances them all off against each other in a coherent-yet-varied way. From blast beats to orchestral oddness and everything in between, this is highly-textured and richly evocative music that’s not afraid to pile on the layers of atmosphere and feeling. The songs have depth, dynamics, pacing and personality.

As a focal point, we have the amazing voice of the singer. He has always been one of my favourite vocalists, no matter what band he has been playing in, and on Arcturian he excels in every way. Boasting one of the most distinctive and powerful voices in Metal, he complements the expansive and nuanced music with a strong presence and commanding performance. Hot stuff.

I’m extremely pleased to say that Arcturus’ first offering in a decade is a resounding success, at least with me it is. Music is highly subjective and a lot of people just won’t ‘get’ this, (more fool them), but for those that do, this heralds a wondrous homecoming. Arcturian is a return to form after their last album, (which was good, but lacking that something special that their other work had), and an album to listen to and absorb over and over again.

An important release.

Moloch – Verwüstung (Review)

Moloch is a Ukrainian one-man Black Metal band. This is his latest album.

This is Old-School Black Metal that’s bookended by two Dark Ambient pieces, both of which are strangely effective.

The main feast is primitive, raw Black Metal that’s of the lo-fi persuasion and reminds of bands like Burzum and Xasthur. Elements of the Depressive Black Metal style rear their despondent heads on occasion, lending a painful edge to Moloch’s cold Black Metal.

These songs seem barely held together, but not because they are sloppily played or anything like that. The playing is in fact quite tight, but the style of Black Metal on Verwüstung has an inherently chaotic, tortured feel to it; it’s almost as if this has been created and released under extreme duress and some significant amount of pain.

The vocals howl, shriek and seemingly claw their way through the tracks with the sharpness of a sword. An impressive performance is given and I can only imagine the man was emotionally ruined near the end of the recording process. At least, it sounds that way.

Good variety and songwriting means that Verwüstung is an involving and engaging listen, with enough changes in speed and feeling to keep things interesting without becoming inconsistent.

With a recording that’s underground enough to be raw yet coherent enough to work well with the material, Verwüstung is a very satisfying album and a very strong listen.

Be sure to check this out.

Dalla Nebbia – Felix Culpa (Review)

Dalla Nebbia are a Progressive Black Metal band from the US. This is their second album.

This is sophisticated Black Metal that incorporates elements of the Progressive and Atmospheric sub-styles into itself, as well as some Doom/Death elements here and there.

Featuring an added violinist on most of the tracks, this is expansive and exploratory music that may have a firm base in Black Metal but refuses to be constrained by its traditional trappings.

The band are clearly talented, imaginative and ambitious, which is a fine combination. Dalla Nebbia are the kind of band that brings influences from some of the best aspects of Emperor, Agalloch, Opeth, Arcturus, Windir and other similarly lofty bands together into one place and then makes them their own.

The songs have a high emotional content that seems to come naturally to the guitars. The tracks aren’t simple, straightforward affairs either, so this rich, emotive quality is even more impressive. Background synths and effects add a further layer to the variety of riffs and melodies used, with the intention of everything being to take the listener on a Blackened journey into the dark places of the world. With Dalla Nebbia as your guide, this is a trip worth taking.

Mainly propelled forwards with traditional Blackened screams; cleans, growls and other vocalisations also appear and reinforce the impression of a varied and interesting band who are happy to do things their own way.

This is a varied release that covers a lot of ground. It’s not something that can easily absorbed in one listen as there’s a lot going on here; each spin brings something else to your attention, and there’s a lot of quality content to notice on Felix Culpa.

Very impressive and very enjoyable. Make sure you look out for this one.

Tine – The Forest Dreams of Black (Review)

This is the début album from US Symphonic Blackened Death Metallers Tine.

Blackened Death Metal is a funny beast. Frequently just a Death Metal band with some added Blackened spite, you also occasionally get a Black Metal band with some added Deathly brutality too. Very occasionally, however, you get bands that actually combine both styles in a convincing, equal way.

Tine are one such band. Combining the darkness and atmosphere of Old-School Black Metal with Death Metal’s feral core, The Forest Dreams of Black is a feast of spectrally enhanced Metal that takes elements of bands such as early Emperor and Behemoth to create 53 minutes of emotive Blackened Metal.

The Symphonic elements are nicely understated, making sure that they don’t overpower the rest of the music. They add and enhance, rather than overtake or smother. One of my all-time favourite Atmospheric Black/Death Metal albums is Depresy’s Sighting, so it’s a big compliment that The Forest Dreams of Black puts me in mind of this.

The music is clearly a passionate and personal affair for its creators, and this shines through in the music with a dark, poisonous light.

I have really enjoyed this release. There’s real feeling and atmosphere here, with an underlying emotional intensity that’s hard to ignore. The two different genres both come out in the songs in different ways and the commanding vocals are full of presence, bringing everything together to a charismatic focal point. A satisfying sound that isn’t too polished rounds off the impressive package and I am left with fond memories of a walk through a dark and dangerous forest, one that I’m happy to revisit again and again.

Highly recommended.