This is the third album from Finnish black metallers Ondfødt, a duo whose members are also in Dispyt.
I always like catching up with what Ondfødt are offering. I enjoyed 2014’s Hexkonst and 2019’s Dödsrikets Kallelse, so now it’s time to turn to Norden with positive expectations. Continue reading “Ondfødt – Norden (Review)”
Ulvik are a Canadian black metal band and this is their second album.
Cascades contains 32 minutes of atmospheric black metal. What it might lack in quantity it makes up for in quality. Ulvik have produced an enjoyable, satisfying slice of darkness here. Theirs is a largely aggressive strain of atmoblack, but one that’s not without nuance or dynamic differentiation. Continue reading “Ulvik – Cascades (Review)”
This is the third album from UK black metallers Craven Idol.
It’s great to have some new material from Craven Idol. 2013’s Towards Eschaton and 2017’s The Shackles of Mammon were both records that I hugely enjoyed, and the 41 minutes of new material on Forked Tongues continues this trend nicely. Continue reading “Craven Idol – Forked Tongues (Review)”
Erdve are from Lithuania and play blackened hardcore sludge. This is their second album.
Following on from 2018’s crushing Vaitojimas, Erdve have returned with 43 minutes of new material. Savigaila contains eleven songs, compared with Vaitojimas‘s six, yet is only five minutes longer due to the overall shorter duration of the individual tracks. Continue reading “Erdve – Savigaila (Review)”
This is the debut EP from US blackened death metal band Disimperium.
Billed as a mix of black, death, and grind, and labelled for fans of bands like Knelt Rote, Heresiarch, and Vermin Womb, how could I not check out the inaugural release from Disimperium? At only 12 minutes in duration, it’s like a foul breath of rotting air given twisted aural shape and venomous musical form.
The songs on this EP are feral and grim. Ultra-aggressive, the music pummels and grinds with inhuman intensity and daemonic fury. All three of the tracks are barbaric and savage, revelling in the mayhem they make and the damage they cause.
This collection of darkly brutal tracks is drenched in layers of blackened malignancy and is purely interested in destruction and chaos. It’s as belligerent as it comes, and the songs don’t care who or what gets torn down in their quest for carnage.
The sound is filthy and unfriendly, and therefore perfect for this sort of release. I find the deep, malevolent growls particularly satisfying, but to be honest everything here just reeks of grim nastiness, which is what you want from something like this.
For a first release Malefic Obliteration is well-formed and impressive. If you’re a connoisseur of underground extremity, then this is well worth your time to explore.
This is the second album from US one-woman blackened doom band Vouna.
Atropos boasts 57 minutes of richly textured doom metal. It’s an old-school brand of doom that’s spliced through with elements of black and Gothic metal, along with cinematic scope, epic grandeur, synth-laden atmosphere, and forlorn Continue reading “Vouna – Atropos (Review)”
This is the second album from Swedish black metal band Night Crowned.
Featuring current and ex-members of bands such as Nightrage, The Unguided, Dark Funeral, and Imperium, Night Crowned play a melodic mix of black and death metal, (weighted towards the former), influenced by the 90s Scandinavian scene. Continue reading “Night Crowned – Hädanfärd (Review)”
Kold are a black metal band from Denmark and this is their debut release.
For some reason Kold is billed as an EP, despite having a duration of 39 minutes. Regardless of what it actually is, the music is really good, and that’s all that matters. Continue reading “Kold – Kold (Review)”
This is the debut album from French one-man blackened death metal band Devolution.
Brought to us by a member of Antropofago, (and also ex-Sunnudagr), Consumer offers up 42 minutes of scathing aggression. Continue reading “Devolution – Consumer (Review)”
Noctambulist are a blackened death metal band from the US, and this is their second album.
Featuring the drummer of Cordyceps, Noctambulist play a blistering form of extreme metal. Formed around a core of brutal death metal, the band then expand on this with elements of black, dissonant, technical, and post-metal, making for songs Continue reading “Noctambulist – The Barren Form (Review)”
