Caïna are a black metal band from the UK. This is their seventh album.
What do you get if you combine raw black metal with industrial and dark ambient? You get Christ Clad in White Phosphorus.
The ugly, intense black metal parts are my favourite bits of this album, as they rage with an underground fury and intensity the likes of which most bands only aspire to. It’s not all about Continue reading “Caïna – Christ Clad in White Phosphorus (Review)”
This is the début album from Messa, a doom/drone metal band from Italy.
Messa provide the listener with almost an hour of occult retro doom and dark ambience.
This is akin to a strange-yet-effective mix of Sunn O))) and Pentagram, with deliciously seductive female vocals included. Some tracks are dark ambient/drone, full of mysterious atmospheres and distorted malice, while others take Continue reading “Messa – Belfry (Review)”
Abstracter are a Sludge/Doom band from the US, and Dark Circles are a Hardcore band from Canada.
Both of Abstracter’s full length albums, (Tomb of Feathers and Wound Empire), feature regularly in my listening. And with good reason; their brand of heavy, blackened Sludge/Doom is expertly done. On this release they contribute 2 tracks, lasting almost 20 minutes in total.
Barathrum starts off showcasing the band’s blackened aspect, with dark, murky blast beats charging through a sea of tar. This rather quickly spends itself, leading into a slow, sludgy crawl through murkiest waters as Abstracter embrace their dirty Doom side. Occasional forays into speed and groovier territories comprise the remaining running time, with the singer’s thick growl accompanying you the entire way.
If you haven’t encountered Abstracter before then this song is as good an introduction as any into their harsh, underground Sludge Metal.
But we’re not done yet, as there’s a second track; Where All Pain Converges. This is a little longer than the first and generally a bit slower and more considered. If Barathrum showcased the band’s harsher side then this one showcases their more atmospheric. That’s not to say this isn’t harsh and heavy, (it is), but that it also has more of a blatant emotive quality to the guitars than the soul-crushing nihilism of the first. Mixing slower sections with some more upbeat parts, the overall mood is maintained throughout and Abstracter once again show why they’re so very good at what they do.
After this onslaught of despair and misery, we leave Abstracter to wallow in their pit of pain, and approach, timidly, Dark Circles. This band offer up a different form of gloom with their characterful brand of dark Hardcore. Being familiar with their previous work on MMXIV, it’s good to catch up with them again and here they give us 4 songs, lasting just under 13 minutes.
Ashen starts us off with a squeal of feedback before violently picking up the pace with the band’s dark blend of abrasive Hardcore. One of the things I like about Dark Circles is their ability to inject an emotive bleakness into their raging chaos, engaging the listener and prompting them to move closer, despite the inherent danger. The second track Void follows on in a similar theme, (but with added atmosphere), and both initial tracks blur by in a haze of anger and distorted malice.
After these typically short and nasty affairs both of the next tracks are much longer by comparison, relative to this split and to their work on MMXIV. Isolate starts immediately, all blackened teeth and bile. The longer playing time allows the band the opportunity to flesh out the more atmospheric side of their sound that briefly reared its head during Void. This shows itself to be an apocalyptic Sludge/Doom influence, heavy and foreboding, before the Hardcore energy picks up once more.
The final track is called Epilogue (Quietus) OP. 28 No. 4 and is a little different, as the name suggests; here the band give vent to a dark ambient side and swamp the listener with a slow-building tense piece of drone that creates a nicely unsettling and worrying atmosphere.
Both bands have contributed some very nice work to this split release, and although they do play different styles they also have more than enough overlap and similar themes to complement each other perfectly. As splits go, this works a treat and is definitely one you should check out.
Moloch is a Ukrainian one-man Black Metal band. This is his latest album.
This is Old-School Black Metal that’s bookended by two Dark Ambient pieces, both of which are strangely effective.
The main feast is primitive, raw Black Metal that’s of the lo-fi persuasion and reminds of bands like Burzum and Xasthur. Elements of the Depressive Black Metal style rear their despondent heads on occasion, lending a painful edge to Moloch’s cold Black Metal.
These songs seem barely held together, but not because they are sloppily played or anything like that. The playing is in fact quite tight, but the style of Black Metal on Verwüstung has an inherently chaotic, tortured feel to it; it’s almost as if this has been created and released under extreme duress and some significant amount of pain.
The vocals howl, shriek and seemingly claw their way through the tracks with the sharpness of a sword. An impressive performance is given and I can only imagine the man was emotionally ruined near the end of the recording process. At least, it sounds that way.
Good variety and songwriting means that Verwüstung is an involving and engaging listen, with enough changes in speed and feeling to keep things interesting without becoming inconsistent.
With a recording that’s underground enough to be raw yet coherent enough to work well with the material, Verwüstung is a very satisfying album and a very strong listen.
Be sure to check this out.
Telerumination are from the US and this is their début release. They play Atmospheric Black Metal.
Purely Ambient/Drone/whatever music doesn’t really do it for me most of the time. Sure there are exceptions; I enjoy bands like Haate and Pogrom, as well as Wolves in the Throne Room’s experimentations. From a non-Black Metal perspective, you also have releases such as those from IIVII and Aires, which I have also taken to quite nicely. For the most part though, it’s not for me.
So, what’s this got to do with Telerumination? Well, over the years it’s occurred to me that one of the main things, (although not the only thing), that is missing from the style is drums. I’m a percussion man. I love drums, beats and everything associated with them. This rather long-winded introduction is essentially a way of saying that Telerumination is, at heart, a Dark Ambient release, only with percussion.
Hmm. Maybe I should have just said that at the start, brevity being the soul of wit, and all that…
Anyway, low-key drums, creepy, understated screams and the odd bit of guitar is added to a strong synth-based core to create music that takes the best of Dark Ambient and, in my mind at least, improves upon it.
One of the brains behind Telerumination is the guy who does Natanas, so in a way you can view this as a less evil, more atmospheric version of his work with his main project. Telerumination does have a restrained malevolence to it, but nothing like the overt nightmare sounds that Natanas fosters so well. If Natanas is a portal into the underworld, a vision of Hell and all damnation, then Telerumination is a mirror that shows what’s behind the suffering; the subtle torments that lie underneath.
This is an oddly relaxing release. I mean, it probably isn’t if you’re just Joe Public and you had to listen to it. God knows what they’d make of it. I imagine it would probably give them nightmares. For us seasoned music fans though, it’s as if a swathe of sentient darkness has been filtered through a lens so that only the finest and most subtle of horrors were allowed through, creating textured explorations of distilled Black Metal that can comfort and amiably disturb those who have the will to succumb to its soothing terror.
This is an impressive collection of music that succeeds in its task of spawning a Blackened Ambience that improves upon the purestrain parent style to become something greater.
Turn off the lights and enter the world of Telerumination.
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.
Top split, check it out.
Hymns of a Forgotten Homeland is the fourth album from this one-man Black Metal project from the US.
This is a strange and, I would guess, deeply personal release. It’s an album that’s all about creating mood and atmosphere and will undoubtedly not appeal to the vast majority of music fans out there, probably not even most Black Metal adherents.
Why? Because this may be rooted in Black metal but it’s equal parts acoustic/Drone/Ambient in scope. The tracks seep together with dark ambience and seem to corrode at the edges when you listen to them.
The brain behind the project creates a harrowing soundscape of brittle Folk and Blackened Depressive noise. It’s an ode to nature filtered through the Blackened tar-stained lens of Black Metal.
Percussion is used sparingly on these songs, with the main propulsion being the guitar work and low key sounds of cymbals and other noises.
Vocals are low in the mix and are entwined with the music; a sort of agonised braying that tugs at the hidden places in the mind.
The journey through these tracks is fraught with distorted longing and a deep sense of loneliness. It’s not an expedition that most people will want to take, and those that do would do well to remember not to leave home unequipped and unprepared.
So, if you’re made of stern stuff and prepared to open your heart to what Twilight Fauna have to offer, then Hymns to a Forgotten Homeland will accompany you on a journey into the raw, lonely beauty of nature.
Horizon is a one-man project from Finland. This is his second EP.
This is a short release containing Ambient soundscapes, Neo-Classical sounds and moments of Shoegaze that are all perfectly suited to night time reflection and introspection.
By its very nature a release such as this will be atmospheric and emotive and Horizon does a good job of playing to the innate strengths of the style.
There is also a good amount of variety of composition and delivery apparent in these 5 songs. We get ambient textures, piano, drums, bass, electronica, guitars and other sounds all used to create a vivid palette of emotional resonance with the listener.
This is strongly written music and creates the right mood of darkness with a hint of light; music for when night is starting to fade and dawn is approaching.
The compositions are mature and although they have elements of melancholy the overall beauty of the tracks doesn’t let this become overly negative.
The slight Electronica influence is subtle enough to have a positive impact on the songs without becoming stifling or overwhelming; rather it’s another string to the artist’s bow that he uses to enhance the songs and give them a modern flavour.
This is a very good EP and my only real criticism, such as it is, is that it’s a very short release. Apparently he’s working on a full album so hopefully this will make an appearance at some point in the future. Keep a close watch for it.
In the meantime, get a hold of this little gem. Sit back, relax and take it all in.
Hailing from Italy, Haate is a one-man project playing Dark Ambient music.
I must confess to being naturally suspicious of releases of this nature as so often they can be excuses for basically doing nothing for minutes on end and I just get bored. However, when done right such as with the latest by Wolves in the Throne Room it can be very good indeed.
Haate immediately impress by actually having changes and progression in the tracks. There are three long songs here, (34 minutes in total), and even a few minutes into the first song there’s a fair bit going on.
Haate specialises in dark atmospheres and gloomy introspection. It’s like someone has really paid attention to all of those musical proto-Classical interludes/intros on 90’s Black Metal albums and decided to create a full album out of it all. This is merely an observation, however, not a criticism, as the resulting work is surprisingly, (to me), good.
There’s a fair bit of substance here, and we even get some low-in-the-mix Black Metal vocals and blastbeats. This is most unexpected but most welcome.
In addition to the synths and keyboards there are other, quasi-industrial sounds and noises accompanying proceedings and these add a level of darkness to the textured music. It sometimes gives the impression of inorganic breathing, which is a vaguely unsettling sound and really enhances the songs.
I’m impressed with this. Cynically I didn’t think it would be very enjoyable and I’m very pleased that I’m wrong. And do you know what? The more I listen to it the more I like it. It’s shockingly good.
For Black Metal fans who don’t always need the Metal part.
This is the début album from Nights Amore from Sweden, playing Dark Ambient.
The album deals in weighty subject matter and negative emotions. These are realised through pianos and dark Electronica.
I’m not normally a massive fan of these kind of releases as they are not usually done that well and I can tire of them easily. The good thing about Nights Amore, however, is that they don’t really go in for the Drone aspect of this kind of music as much as some. Here, the songs develop and breathe rather than just repeat and turn stale.
That’s not to say, of course, that this is wildly dynamic and full of energy; by its very nature this style of music is slow, mournful, quiet and introverted.
It’s not pure misery though, as there are elements of their sound that sound almost hopeful in nature. It’s not all of the time, but it’s an aspect of their sound that prevents the album from becoming maudlin.
Musically this is good stuff, although there are too many samples for my liking; for the most part I think the music would be better off without them, but that’s just me.
This is late-night bedtime music; the kind of thing to throw on when you want to relax and soak up the melancholy.
If you’re in the right mood and have had your fill of Extreme Metal for the day then check out Subscribers of Death.
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