This is the debut EP from German black metallers Bestialis.
Ritus provides 17 minutes of black metal, and serves as a good introduction to the nefarious talents of Bestialis. The band’s style is rooted in traditional black metal, but also contains elements of more modern styles too. As a very rough Continue reading
Ov Shadows are a Swedish black metal band and this is their second album.
Featuring a member of Obitus, Ov Shadows play ferocious, yet textured, black metal that should find favour with fans of bands such as Dark Funeral, Nordjevel, Nightbringer, Barshasketh, etc. Continue reading
This is the second album from Swedish black metallers Avslut.
Hot on the heels of last year’s Deceptis now comes Tyranni, with 47 minutes of cold fury. This is black metal of the old-school Swedish variety; vicious and evil. Continue reading
Christ Dismembered are an Australian black metal band and this is their debut album.
With a duration of only 28 minutes, this album goes for the throat big time. Yes, it’s time for some raw second wave black metal, and Christ Dismembered play their brand of misanthropic hatred very well. Continue reading
Lava Invocator are a Ukrainian black metal band and this is their debut album.
This is classic black metal, traditionally played with hatred and fervour.
Think a mix of bands such as Darkthrone, Mayhem, Dissection, and Dark Funeral to get an idea of the playing field they inhabit. Continue reading
Cadaveris are a Russian black metal band and this is their debut album.
This is half an hour of orthodox, occult black metal that comes across as a malevolent mix of Watain, Marduk, Mayhem and Dark Funeral.
Performed and executed with the passion of Continue reading
Wolfpack 44 are an industrial black metal band from the US. This is their début album.
This is a side project between members of Kult of Azazel and The Electric Hellfire Club, featuring guests from such bands as The Electric Hellfire Club, (again), Demonic Christ, Dark Funeral and Coven.
The Scourge is an album with a lot going on, and the band manage to Continue reading
This is the sixth album from this Swedish black metal institution.
With a new lineup, (including a new vocalist), this is the first Dark Funeral album in seven years, and it lands with the impact of a swinging broadsword.
Make no mistake; this is Continue reading
The Negation are a French Black Metal band and this is their second album.
French Black Metal always has something interesting to add to the genre and there are a large amount of quality and interesting Black Metal bands that call France home.
With this in mind, let’s have a look at The Negation. As becomes swiftly apparent, this is another gritty jewel in the French scene’s horned crown.
The Negation play grim-ridden Black Metal that stylistically speaks of bands like Deathspell Omega and Funeral Mist, mixed with the more orthodox Black Metal delivery of someone like Dark Funeral and the raging hatred of a band like Anaal Nathrakh.
Raging hatred is a good term for The Nagation; this is music that definitely rages and you can almost feel the heat come from the guitars. There’s an ugly brutality to this and the songs on Memento Mori are like dangerous slabs of spiked hatred-made-manifest.
Occasionally breaking out from the band’s onslaught are dark melodies and even the odd solo. These fleeting attempts to escape the nihilistic vacuum that the band creates are quickly drawn back into the fold though and smothered with darkness, not to be seen again until the next brief escape attempt.
Blackened screams that are seemingly filled with bile and disgust infest the music like malignant growths.
This is not pretty Black Metal. This is raw, evil and devastating. It’s also a damn fine listen.
French Black Metal wins again.
Daemonium are a Ukrainian Black Metal band and this is their début album.
Here we have a release full of savage Black Metal with a distinct Scandinavian quality and lots of evil feelings.
Evoking the spirit of bands like Marduk, Dark Funeral and Naglfar, as well as Dimmu Borgir and a taste of Emperor; Daemonium proceed to blast and pound their way through these songs like they really mean it.
This is somewhat of a nostalgia-inducing release for me as it takes me back to the late 90s period of Black Metal. This is no bad thing really, as Имя Мне Легион is produced, performed and delivered with real passion and bile.
The singer has a great, throaty rasp that is perfect for this style of music. He’s not adverse to going deeper too and his vocals never seem too far away from the action.
This album is packed full to the brim with Blackened, frosty melodies and razorblade riffing. Subtle keybaords lurk in the background adding extra flavour and their contribution shouldn’t be discounted.
I do enjoy this style of balls-to-the-wall occult Black Metal. The feeling of malevolent brutality and otherworldly sped-up hatred is a tough one to beat. The fact that it also comes wrapped up with an extra atmospheric element, thanks to the keyboards, is just a bonus.
Although the style is an old one, Daemonium play their Black Metal with such enthusiasm that it’s hard to be dismissive; plus the fact that they genuinely seem to know what they’re doing means they have written a really enjoyable album.
I’d definitely recommend this one for your further investigations.
