Primordial are from Ireland and this is their eighth album.
A new Primordial release is always a bit of an event to be greeted with great anticipation. They’re a band who have carved out their own niche in the world of Metal and can rightfully say they’ve achieved what they have through their own hard work and individuality.
The first thing that always comes to mind when thinking of Primordial is the talented and dramatic vocals of their singer. This is not to belittle the musical content in any way, but this has always been the focal point of the band for me.
On Where Greater Men Have Fallen he’s on top form as always; power and passion are the cornerstones of his delivery. His performance is first-rate and he still has a great turn of expression and a strong theatrical presence.
The music, as always, is bold and striking whilst simultaneously having nuance and depth. The driving riffs will be instantly familiar to Primordial fans and the colourful, emotive world the band exist in is welcoming from the get-go.
The songs cover upbeat charges and more atmospheric, considered parts. Primordial do both very well and both get equal consideration on the album.
Primordial’s Black Metal background has allowed the band to retain a certain edge to their songwriting, even though these days there’s only a few Black Metal traces left in their sound. For the most part this is roaring, passionate Heavy Metal through and through, but without a cliché in sight.
Nobody really sounds like Primordial, and Primoridal don’t really sound like anyone else. A lot of this is down to the singer, but musically this is true as well. When you hear them you just know who the band is.
This album is a jewel in the crown of Primordial’s considerable back catalogue. Their previous album, (Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand), was good but not quite up to the usual Primordial standard for some reason. With Where Greater Men Have Fallen they’ve corrected this slight dip in quality with an album that sits alongside the best of their work.
If you already know Primordial then you’ll need little convincing to get this album. If you’re new to the band then this is a perfect introduction.
Witchclan are from the UK and this is their second album. They play Black Metal.
This is raw, underground Black Metal with more melody than you are probably expecting and more evil than you can fit into a very large box.
Sinister, inhuman vocals scream out hatred and occult messages whilst the band play at breakneck speeds.
Surprisingly thick rhythm guitars provide a powerful base for the Blackened melodies to dance over, some of which are unusually upbeat. The entire production is unusual actually, and it lends the band a definite edge over their peers as The Dark Binding just sounds different.
This is added to by the band’s songs themselves. This is not your usual Darkthrone-worship. Witchclan have a lot more personality and individuality than that.
Don’t get me wrong; this is recognisably Black Metal and no-one would think otherwise, but the sound they have and their choice of melodies and riffs…Witchclan are forging their own way through a genre that has seen it all before and they should definitely be commended and supported for this.
Rather than just echo the Black Metal greats, Witchclan put their own individual spin on things in a superb way. They have ended up producing an album that is very obviously Black Metal but with a rotten freshness that puts most other raw Black Metal bands to shame.
Witchclan court their auras of darkness and mystery with great zeal and fervour, and the hymns to fell powers that are recited on this release have all of the requisite components to engage and terrify the listener in equal parts.
If I was to sum up this album in one word, that word would be evil.
There’s Underground Black Metal, and then there’s Witchclan. This is a dark gem and a must for connoisseurs of supreme Black Metal art.
Favourite Track: Dawn of the Serpent Kings. One of the shortest tracks here, but with a brilliantly realised air of malevolence and an otherworldly martial quality. Music for a daemonic invasion.
This is a split between Haate, who are from Italy and play Dark Ambient, and Chiral, also from Italy and playing Black Metal. Both are solo projects.
Haate’s contribution is made up of 3 tracks, 2 of which we’ve heard before on As The Moon Painted Her Grief. The remaining track, (the first one on this split), is new, or new to me at least.
Everything stated in the review of As The Moon Painted Her Grief about Haate is still true here, and the additional track follows the same theme.
Dark atmospheres and much expanded proto-Classical 90’s Black Metal interludes/intros are the order of business, and judging by this business is booming.
Only one of these three tracks may be new, but it’s a joy to hear all of them regardless. And if you’ve never heard Haate at all, then do yourself a favour and have a good listen now.
Chiral are a relatively new band and I’ve really enjoyed following the development of this artist from first demo Winter Eternal to début EP Abisso. For such a very talented and promising band I was excited to hear Chiral’s contribution to this split, especially as it’s a whopper of a track at 20 minutes in length.
Synths start us off before guitars, blasting drums and screaming daemons join the party. The brain behind Chiral, once more, has outdone himself.
This is quality Atmospheric Black Metal, frozen to the touch and icy to the core. It’s a highly emotive and engaging work with variation and good pacing.
The song – Everblack Fields of Nightside – seems to draw you into its dark embrace and keep you there. The Blackened melodies are enhanced by keyboard backing in a way that seems to be both subtle and overt, which is quite an achievement.
The general sound is extremely satisfying, with everything having the right level in the mix and the drums in particular sound well-rounded and surprisingly warm for such a frigid release.
Chiral keep getting better, there’s no other way to say it.
Valdrin’s début release Beyond the Forest is an atmospheric Black Metal delight with none of the pomp and plenty of bite and an all-round highly enjoyable listen. Vocalist/guitarist Carter Hicks provided some background information to this compelling album…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
My name is Carter and I play guitar and do vocals in a black/death metal band called Valdrin.
Give us a bit of history to Valdrin
Valdrin was formed in 2010 and spent the years of 2011 to 2012 recording the debut album Beyond The Forest. The line-up during the recording was Carter Hicks: Guitar/vocals, Avik Subedi: Guitar, James Lewis: Bass. We released the album on bandcamp in February 2013 and eventually on a digipack cd format limited to 100 copies. Ryan Maurmeier joined on drums in early 2013 and Avik left the band in the summer of 2013. In early 2014 we signed to Blast Head Records and they released Beyond The Forest on CD. Since then we’ve played out as much as possible to spread our message and our dark story to those who are willing to understand it. We are currently working on new material and trying to expand to playing in other territories.
What are your influences?
Metal wise, mostly 80s first wave black/death, early 90s black/death stuff, thrash and traditional metal of course. Bands like Bathory, Destruction, Sarcofago, Sodom, Dissection, Windir, Sabbat (JAP), Sigh, The Chasm, Possessed, Order From Chaos, Morbid Angel, Immortal, Voivod, Mercyful Fate, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost…etc, the classic essential extreme metal to us. My favorite band along with Bathory would probably have to be Pink Floyd. My favorite composer is Nobuo Uematsu. Ryan (our drummer) shares these same influences with myself. James also has a deep background in the blues. With a lot of these influences we’ve been able to craft our sound and find our identity. We listen to all kinds of music of course, but these artists that I just named have given us all that inspiration we needed to create our own identity. We’ve noticed our identity from the early stages of the band, and since then we’ve mostly looked inward for inspiration as opposed to looking outward.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
Bands like Order From Chaos, The Chasm, Cenotaph, (old) Morbid Angel, Inquisition, are some bands that have been favourites of mine in the recent years. I still gain influence from most of the classic bands I named above as well. However, discovering an album like Procreation of the Inner Temple by The Chasm was life changing. Never before had I heard something so truly ancient and majestic sounding. The strange melodies, the dusty recording, it just sounded otherworldly. That’s the music I like the most. I remember hearing it for the first time with our old guitarist Avik, around 5:00 AM after a long night of drinking….the perfect state of mind to hear that album! I get fascinated by cryptic recordings that are hard to decipher, not just bestial black/death…but stuff that actually has a lot of depth and articulation underneath the lo-fi sound. Albums like Stillbirth Machine and An Ending In Fire by Order From Chaos had this same quality and they are some of my favourite albums.
What did you want to achieve with your new album?
Well calling it new isn’t possible for us. Yes, it is new to the world, but to us its over 4 years old. I’m definitely proud of the album though. We all had goals that we wanted to achieve through the album and I think we accomplished most of them. I specifically had a certain indescribable calling to make an album taking place in an abyssal underworld. The inspiration came when I heard Bathory – The Return…… an album that changed my path in life, and still to this day is my all time favourite album. That was the first piece of metal I’d ever heard that took me away from where I was standing at the time of hearing it. It oozed pure darkness and evil, and it instantly clicked with my imagination. I wanted to make a soundtrack like that, to the blackest of black worlds. I know that obviously Beyond The Forest sounds nothing like The Return…. and that’s a good thing of course. That album, along with some old RPG games I used to play as a kid on MS-DOS, provided most of the inspiration to create The Orcus underworld in Beyond The Forest.
My favourite track is Beyond the Forest, an epic and empowering song. Tell us a bit more about this one.
Beyond The Forest was actually the last song written on the album. It was compiled with most of the left over riffs that had not gotten into other songs. The song really just wrote itself. I remember James getting behind the drum-kit at the time and helping guide me through the song. Of most of the songs, that one came out the most natural. I remember writing it very fast, but spending a good deal of time on the lyrics. I still view those lyrics as some of the most important I’ve ever made. It really sets up the premise of the story, and I’m very proud of what came out of that.
Are you happy with how it turned out?
Definitely. Being a musician is like a creating a timeline for yourself. It connects you to the most pure feeling you had at each point in your life. Yes, when I look back, there are a million things that could’ve been done better. But there is no use in worrying about the past. What’s done is done and I’m certainly proud that it has reached so many people.
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
Without going into great detail, I can say this: the lyrics are conceptual and based on what we call The Wolf Ausadjur Mythos. This mythos is collectively inspired by all forms of spirituality fused all into one story. Its a re-interpretation of the creation story, only with human beings as the conductors of the spirit realm(s). The story looks into man’s evolution out from the wild with emphasis on one key point: the evolution of inventive thought, or imagination. This power is to be considered the most crucial factor in the creation of tribes, language, culture, civilization…etc. These are all by-products of our ability to imagine what’s not there and replicate what’s in our minds using the natural tools we have on earth. Most importantly from imagination comes the conception of good and evil. In our story, these concepts are literal forces created by the human mind, using the conduit of what we call The Spirit Genome. This is a metaphysical organ within the brain that allows us to access the powers of good and evil from the dimensions that we have created. These worlds are known as The Orcus (latin: underworld) and The Aurae (latin: heavens, or light). The story of Beyond The Forest deals with our protagonist, Valdrin and his descent into the underworld of the Orcus and the subsequent journey that follows. Everything else can be described within the lyrics on Beyond The Forest.
Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process, and how do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
The songwriting process usually begins with me making a basic skeleton of a song. I’ll usually program some drums based on what I believe would sound good over each riff. After that, I sit back and let the song tell me what’s happening in the story and that’s where the lyrics come from. Once I show the song to the rest of the guys, we go through a process of trial and error in figuring out what works best for song. Recently however, we’ve written a lot more material together in the rehearsal room and often James and Ryan have ideas about where the song should go. Its becoming a more collaborative process due to us all fully understanding our concept and having faith in each other’s abilities.
What’s next for Valdrin?
We are working on recording our new mini-lp “Two Carrion Talismans” it should be finished somewhere in mid 2015. We are also playing often in new territories and looking to put together a tour around the mid-west and east coast. We have many plans in the future and we are very driven to deliver our new music unto this world. Hails to all our supporters! We cannot wait to conqueror more territories and spread our netherworld metal!
Sarpedon are from Norway and this is their début album. They play Progressive Metal.
This is sharp Progressive Metal with charismatic vocals that lead the way. Think a band like Nevermore for a quick and easy comparison; Progressive Metal with an emphasis on the Metal.
The music is solid and full of expressive leads and solos. Good rhythmic riffing and dependable drumming underscore everything, but the vocals are definitely the focal point.
Powerfully sung, they have a theatrical quality to them that imbues every song with character and personality.
The music is both technical and melodic as well as featuring a slight Blackened edge that colours some of the riffs now and again. The inclusion of blast beats and the styling of the band logo means that Sarpedon have a definite Black Metal feel to them; like a Black Metal band with clean vocals in places – akin to Vintersorg, for example
The songs are definite growers; repeated listens reveals hidden depths to the music whilst the vocal hooks and harmonies further borrow into your subconscious.
A recommended listen; give Sarpedon the time to get to know you and get inside your skull.
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.
Toxoid are from India and this is their début album. They play Black Metal.
The frigid Black Metal winds are strong with this one. Upon pressing play you’re almost immediately hit with a wall of ice at hurricane strength. Toxoid have arrived.
This is a band who have nailed their Blackened sound down completely and have tailored their recording to suit. This screams out from the classic Black Metal template and has the warped, spiky riffs to prove it.
Over six songs lasting just under half an hour, Toxoid demonstrate their infernal art and it’s a grim pleasure to let it wash over you and seep into your pores. This kind of Black Metal will never go out of style and Toxoid worship the dark gods as well as any devotee.
The shrieking vocals are delivered at perfect temperature and the riffs are sharp enough to draw blood. I love their Blackened melodies; they’re like colossal sheets of ice infused with iron scraping across each other in the night.
This is true Norwegian darkness in everything other than geography. These are anthems to hate and malice writ black.
This is not innovative or new; there’s no experimentation or fanciness here. This is Raw Black Metal and it does its job perfectly.
Unfathomed of Abyss is a one-man project from the US. This is his début album of Symphonic Black Metal.
It’s clear from the start that the brains behind this album is a very talented individual as the musicianship and songwriting is at an advanced level.
The drums are the only instrument he doesn’t perform. Rather than going the easy route and opting for a drum machine however, instead he has enlisted the considerable talents of Kevin Talley, (Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Chimaira, Misery Index, Six Feet Under, etc.), which lends the album much more presence than a mere drum machine ever could.
Symphonic Black Metal can sometimes lack bite and attack, but this is not the case here. Unfathomed of Abyss boasts an aggressive demeanour which is only enhanced by the keyboards, effects and piano additions.
Powered by the relentless drumming, the songs are lengthy and layered in thick atmospheres. Care and attention has been spent on these creations that much is clear. Strong soundscapes and expansive Blackened auras permeate everything.
There’s more to these songs than just Black metal though, as influences from Death Metal and even wider genres, (elements of Doom and Djent, for example), can be heard in some of the riffs.
The vocals run the spectrum from deep growls to the very high pitched screaming that forms the bulk of the performance.
Taking off where early Emperor left off; Arisen Upon Oblivion manages to capture a similar feeling to those early classic Black Metal albums. Mix this with a bit of Ihsahn’s solo work and Peccatum and you have an album that manages the admirable achievement of being strongly influenced by a notable Metal legend without sounding like a pale imitation.
This is an enjoyable album that won’t please everyone, but then again that was never the aim of Black Metal was it?
Death Comes Pale are from Denmark. This is their Death Metal début album.
This is Death Metal that carries melody well and has a good songwriting ethic.
The production is top notch and does the music justice. It’s both heavy and clear.
If you think Death Metal with a keen melodic edge and a Blackened feel in places – akin to The Black Dahlia Murder – then you’ll have the right idea of Death Comes Pale’s sound.
Deep vocals growl out from dark places and these are backed up with the screams of the damned.
The band take the time in their songs to explore their musical scenery and don’t always take the most direct route. Slower and more considered parts are included as well as lighter melodies amongst the carnage.
In fact, even though the band’s primary setting is heavy and loud, they do intersperse enough light and shade to their work; fragile melodies and more nuanced guitar work add to and enhance the overall brutality of the band. It’s interesting to hear a band like this creating a larger sound than normal and avoiding the pitfalls that would lead a lesser band into the trap of one-dimensionality.
Death Comes Pale have clearly taken their time composing these songs. They’re well-written, well-thought out tracks and good songwriting is obviously important to the band.
A really enjoyable and mature release of Death Metal. Recommended listening.
Lord of Pagathorn are from Finland. This is their début album of Black Metal.
Now this is the stuff! Underground Black Metal that’s both scorching and frozen to the touch. The fires of fury and the frost of winter combine in Nekros Philia.
Lord of Pagathon have got Black Metal’s aura of frosted damnation and Hellish torment down to a fine art. The vocals scythe and scathingly burn whilst the guitars ply their dark melodics and groovy Blackness like they were born to it.
The blistering speed is offset by mid-paced malevolence and small interludes. The band successfully set the stage for their icy Black Metal and then populate it with Blackened fire and storms of razor sharp ice.
This is passionately played and delivered with real bile and venom. There’s a palpable aura of darkness and hatred emanating from these songs and you can feel the weight of Black Metal history pressing down as you listen.
Lord of Pagathorn have produced an album that documents an aural descent into the maelstrom and straight into the heart of the abyss.
Primordial are from Ireland and this is their eighth album.
Wonderbox Metal 