Black metal – Page 78 – Wonderbox Metal

Label Roundup: Grind to Death Records – Belarus Beaver, Eldprov, & Beyond the Catacombs (Reviews)

Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

In this edition of this column we’ll take a look at Swedish label Grind to Death Records. It’s not a label I’m familiar with, so how better to get a good look at what they do than this? Besides, how could I resist a grindcore album about beavers… Continue reading “Label Roundup: Grind to Death Records – Belarus Beaver, Eldprov, & Beyond the Catacombs (Reviews)”

1/2 Southern North – Narrations of a Fallen Soul (Review)

This is the debut album from 1/2 Southern Soul, a one-woman blackened doom band from Greece.

Narrations of a Fallen Soul is a 67-minute journey into lesser travelled terrain. Powered by a single creative artist, but fleshed out by many guests on different tracks and instruments, (including drums, saxophone, violin, davul, kaval, and dahare), 1/2 Southern North provides an unusual album that is well-crafted and realised. Continue reading “1/2 Southern North – Narrations of a Fallen Soul (Review)”

Grima – Frostbitten (Review)

This is the fifth album from Russian black metal band Grima.

Containing members of Second to Sun, Frostbitten presents us with 49 minutes of atmospheric black metal, and it does so with singular skill, talent, and delivery. Continue reading “Grima – Frostbitten (Review)”

Belphegor – The Devils (Review)

Belphegor are an Austrian black/death metal band and this is their twelfth album.

Influenced by the 90s era of both black and death metal, The Devils contains 36 minutes of unholy new material, (or 42 if you include the bonus track, which is a rerecorded medley of two older songs). Continue reading “Belphegor – The Devils (Review)”

Triumvir Foul – Onslaught to Seraphim (Review)

This is US death metal band Triumvir Foul’s third album.

The third album from Triumvir Foul brings us another 35 minutes of apocalyptic death metal horror. I always enjoy witnessing what primeval new terror the band have conjured up, (see, for example, this, this, and this), and have thoroughly enjoyed watching their development since they started. On their first new album in five years, Triumvir Foul have produced a monster capable of cementing their legacy. Continue reading “Triumvir Foul – Onslaught to Seraphim (Review)”

Wake – Thought Form Descent (Review)

Wake are a Canadian extreme metal band and this is their fifth album.

The development between Wake’s 2018 album Misery Rites and 2020’s Devouring Ruin was impressive. Both are great records, but Devouring Ruin saw the band take big steps forward, moving their filthy grindcore into expansive blackened extreme metal waters. So what does Thought Form Descent bring us? Continue reading “Wake – Thought Form Descent (Review)”

Panzerfaust – The Suns of Perdition – Chapter III: The Astral Drain (Review)

Panzerfaust are a Canadian black metal band and this is their sixth album.

It was with high expectations that I turned to Panzerfaust‘s new record, and I have not been disappointed. I admit to apprehension when I saw that there were no less than four tracks tagged as interludes. However, only three of these are really interludes, (one is a 6-minute instrumental), and while none of these three are really essential, they’re not complete wastes of space like most interludes are. Regardless, The Suns of Perdition – Chapter III: The Astral Drain is still an exceptional album, so let’s get to it. Continue reading “Panzerfaust – The Suns of Perdition – Chapter III: The Astral Drain (Review)”

Imperial Triumphant – Spirit of Ecstasy (Review)

This is the fifth album from US avant-garde black/death metal band Imperial Triumphant.

After 2020’s Alphaville, any Imperial Triumphant release is going to be much-anticipated, and now we have it; 55 minutes of new material in the form of the warped, mutating Spirit of Ecstasy. Continue reading “Imperial Triumphant – Spirit of Ecstasy (Review)”

Label Roundup: Black Mass Prayers – Lykten, Urluk, & Valadier (Reviews)

Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This new column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

For this edition we turn to Black Mass Prayers, an Italian label that states it is “supporting the Italian Black Metal underground and aiming to spread its glory worldwide”. Neither other the label nor the bands on it were familiar to me prior to this, so it felt like a good time to dig in and explore what they had to offer… Continue reading “Label Roundup: Black Mass Prayers – Lykten, Urluk, & Valadier (Reviews)”

Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture (Review)

Ashenspire are a post-black metal band from the UK and this is their second album.

Holy crap. This is not your standard album, not at all. It’s striking, individual, shockingly emotive, and relentlessly harsh in atmosphere and tone. To set the scene somewhat – Ashenspire play a form of post-black metal with strong avant-garde, experimental, and progressive tendencies. Featuring current and ex-members of Barshasketh and Falloch, Hostile Architecture is a 44-minute journey into the contemporary urban heart of darkness. Continue reading “Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture (Review)”