Nattehimmel are an international, (Norway/UK), black metal band and this is their debut album.
Featuring current and ex-members of Emancer, Ewigkeit, Green Carnation, In the Woods…, Old Forest, and The Meads of Asphodel, Mourningstar is a 45-minute journey into 90s black metal that’s nostalgic, yet still relevant, and has a few detours too. Continue reading “Nattehimmel – Mourningstar (Review)”
This is the debut album from Black Void, a Norwegian black metal band.
Featuring members of Borknagar, Ihsahn, In Vain, Profane Burial, and Solefald, Antithesis delivers 39 minutes of furious black metal cut with harsh hardcore punk, black ‘n’ roll, and some unexpectedly anthemic influences. Continue reading “Black Void – Antithesis (Review)”
The Mist from the Mountains are a Finnish black metal band and this is their debut album.
Monumental – The Temple of Twilight contains 38 minutes of 90s-influenced nature-inspired black metal. The promo blurb mentions bands from that era such as Old Man’s Child, Gehenna, Dimmu Borgir, and Borknagar, which, coupled with the enticing album art, meant I definitely had to give The Mist from the Mountains some of my attention. Continue reading “The Mist from the Mountains – Monumental – The Temple of Twilight (Review)”
This is the latest EP from Ukrainian post-black metallers White Ward.
Released to commemorate record label Debemur Morti‘s 200th release, this new EP contains two tracks, with a total duration of 17 minutes. Continue reading “White Ward – Debemur Morti (Review)”
This is the second album from Irish black metal band Corr Mhóna.
Abhainn is a 56-minute progressive black metal album that also contains a healthy amount of doom and folk influences. It’s ambitious and bold, but also very striking and well-realised. The band have clearly put a lot into this work, and it shows; Abhainn is Continue reading “Corr Mhóna – Abhainn (Review)”
Iotunn are a progressive metal band from Denmark, and this is their debut album.
Full disclosure – when I saw that this band is fronted by the singer of Barren Earth and Hamferð, I got quite excited and it immediately made me hungry to listen to their album. The man has one of my favourite voices in metal, and on Access All Worlds, he puts it to damn fine use. Continue reading “Iotunn – Access All Worlds (Review)”
Skogen are a Swedish black metal band and this is their fifth album.
Skogen play a mix of black metal and folk, producing an atmospheric and charismatic take on the style. Continue reading “Skogen – Skuggorna Kallar (Review)”
This is Spirit of the Forest’s third album. They play atmospheric melodic black metal and hail from Canada.
Are you a fan of Emperor, Dissection, Windir and Borknagar? If you are then I’ll happily point you in the direction of Spirit of the Forest and let you listen to their very satisfying new release.
For others that might require a bit more convincing, let me Continue reading “Spirit of the Forest – A Void into the Fields of Silence/La Nature Oubliée (Review)”
This is the third album from Israeli melodic/progressive Black Metallers Winterhorde.
Winterhorde use melodic Black Metal as a base to launch their epic brand of music from. On this base, they build firm structures of progressive Metal and symphonic/orchestral enhancements, all of which work together to produce Maestro, an Extreme Metal extravaganza.
If you combine elements of Black Metal with bands like Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar, Vintersorg, Arcturus and Nevermore, you’ll have a good idea of where Winterhorde are coming from. Continue reading “Winterhorde – Maestro (Review)”
Code are from the UK and they specialise in Progressive Avant-Garde Black Metal that’s a triumph of both style and substance.
A good musical starting point of reference would be bands such as Arcturus, Dødheimsgard and Enslaved, as well as aspects of Opeth or Borknagar. This is only a starting point however, as Code definitely have their own sound as well as masses of talent and songwriting skills.
Gleaming, obsidian riffs crash against each other in a sea of percussive paranoia and nightmare orchestration. It’s as if someone has been having fantastical dreams about a dark future and they have sprung fully-shaped into life in the form of this album.
The vocals criss-cross all over the complex music and create the impression of power, synergy and importance. Very impressive and brilliantly realised.
There is so much colour and depth to these songs that most bands sound one-dimensional by comparison. Multi-layered vocals take centre-point while the music is no slouch either, effortlessly conjuring up the impressions and feelings that these songsmiths wish you to experience as you travel with them on this wild journey.
This truly is an exceptional and individual release; the kind of album that keeps Metal alive and kicking; stops it from becoming stale and stagnant.
Favourite Track: Garden Chancery. Vocal harmonies to die for. But really I could pick almost any song – Augur Nox is that strong.
This is for all fans of Metal, or just for those with heavier Progressive proclivities. If there’s only one album you get in the near future then make sure it’s this.
Wonderbox Metal 