Black metal – Page 85 – Wonderbox Metal

Charnel Altar – Abatement of the Sun (Review)

Charnel Altar are an Australian blackened death metal band and this is their debut album.

Charnel Altar’s 47-minute debut album reeks of horrific misery and grim nightmare. The music combines doom, death, and black metal into a hideously twisted mass of guitars, bass, and drums. It’s blackened death/doom of a sort, only not what that appellation might initially conjure; Abatement of the Sun is bred from far older and darker stock, with an old-school underground feel that’s as infectious as it is authentically nasty. Continue reading “Charnel Altar – Abatement of the Sun (Review)”

Inherits the Void – Monolith of Light (Review)

This is the debut album from Inherits the Void, a French one-man black metal act.

Monolith of Light is 37 minutes long and contains a form of melodically-rich atmospheric black metal that hits the spot quite nicely. The promo blurb tells us that the artist behind the band wanted to aim for “a meeting between influences from the ‘90s Swedish black metal scene and a more current orientation of the genre”, and I’d suggest that this has been achieved. The album has an old-school core that’s enhanced by more modern post-blackened influences. Continue reading “Inherits the Void – Monolith of Light (Review)”

Vahrzaw – The Trembling Voices of Conquered Men (Review)

Vahrzaw are an Australian black/death metal band and this is their fourth album.

Having enjoyed 2014’s Twin Suns & Wolves’ Tongues and 2018’s Husk, I knew I wanted to check out The Trembling Voices of Conquered Men as soon as I could. This new album further develops the sound that Vahrzaw did so well on Husk, taking it Continue reading “Vahrzaw – The Trembling Voices of Conquered Men (Review)”

Ethereal Shroud – Trisagion (Review)

This is the second album from UK solo atmospheric black metal band Ethereal Shroud.

Now this is my kind of album. The album boasts three colossal songs, with a total duration of 64 minutes; Trisagion is a dark odyssey that’s well-worth embarking on. Despite being essentially a solo work from a creative perspective, there are a number of other musicians on the album that help to flesh out the artist’s vision, providing bass, viola, drums, and female vocals, (the latter on the 28-minute opener Chasmal Fires). Continue reading “Ethereal Shroud – Trisagion (Review)”

Monthly Overview – the Best of November 2021

Many fine records were released in November, too many to do justice to here. Instead I’ll just pick five of my favourites. The below albums are all quite different, but all striking in their own individual ways… Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of November 2021”

Doodswens – Lichtvrees (Review)

This is the debut album from Doodswens, a black metal band from the Netherlands.

Doodswens play black metal infused with the spirit of the Scandinavian second wave, and delivered with contemporary passion and mood-focused impact. Think a combination of the traditional old-school Darkthrone sound combined with the grim darkness of acts like Xasthur and Gnaw Their Tongues. Continue reading “Doodswens – Lichtvrees (Review)”

Aquilus – Bellum I (Review)

This is the second album from one-man Australian black metal act Aquilus.

Bellum I features 62 minutes of atmospheric black metal combined with folk and classical elements. The promo blurb states that Aquilus’ music is for fans of Midnight Odyssey, Skogen, and Falls of Rauros, which immediately caused me to be interested. I’d also add bands like Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Agalloch, and Wilderun to this list too. Continue reading “Aquilus – Bellum I (Review)”

Gurthang – Hearts of the Hollow (Review)

This is the seventh album from Polish black metal act Gurthang.

2019’s Ascension was an album that I enjoyed at the time, but which has only increased in my estimation since. As such, I was eager to hear their latest creation. Continue reading “Gurthang – Hearts of the Hollow (Review)”

Anomalie – Tranceformation (Review)

Anomalie are an Austrian post-black metal band and this is their fourth album.

Following on from 2017’s well-received Visions, (via an EP I haven’t heard), Tranceformation contains 44 minutes of new material, and comes with a newly-focused direction to boot. A rough reference point for what Tranceformation sounds like would be a mix of bands such as Schammasch, Enslaved, and old Anomalie, although to be honest this is only a very approximate guide at best, especially as some songs have a modern doom metal flavour too, (most notably opening track). Continue reading “Anomalie – Tranceformation (Review)”

Hemelbestormer – Collide & Merge (Review)

This is the third album from Belgian post-metallers Hemelbestormer.

I’m not the biggest fan of instrumental music, but sometimes a band comes along and makes it work notably well. With 2016’s Aether and 2018’s A Ring of Blue Light, Hemelbestormer were just one such band. Now they’ve returned with Collide & Merge, which boasts a whopping 73 minutes of new material. Can Hemelbestormer continue their upward trend? We shall see. Continue reading “Hemelbestormer – Collide & Merge (Review)”