This is the debut album from UK dark/Gothic rock band Host.
Brought to us by the singer and guitarist of Paradise Lost, IX contains 42 minutes of electronically enhanced dark/Gothic rock. Imagine, if you will, a cross between Paradise Lost’s Host album, (and parts of the other albums surrounding this one), and the 80s Goth and New Wave scenes, and Continue reading “Host – IX (Review)”
This is the fifth album from Swedish dark rock band Avatarium.
Both 2017’s Hurricanes and Halos and 2019’s The Fire I Long For were very enjoyable records, showing good progression from one to the next that simply saw the band improving and diversifying. So what next for Avatarium? Continue reading “Avatarium – Death, Where Is Your Sting (Review)”
This is the debut album from Behind Your Fear, a Gothic/melodic metal band from Germany.
Featuring current and ex-members of bands such as Crimson Moon and Flowing Tears, Anthropocene provides us with 47 minutes of quality tunes. It succeeds in taking cues from the past to deliver a satisfying interpretation of an older style. Continue reading “Behind Your Fear – Anthropocene (Review)”
This is the debut album from Finnish dark doom rockers Mercury Circle.
Featuring current and ex-members of Swallow the Sun and Children of Bodom, Killing Moons contains 63 minutes of infectiously dark music. The overall style is one of doom-infused, moody, synth-enriched dark rock. Continue reading “Mercury Circle – Killing Moons (Review)”
The Hyena Kill are a UK rock band and this is their second album.
With a promo blurb that mentions bands such as Deftones, Nirvana, and Chelsea Wolfe, I was intrigued by what The Hyena Kill’s sound would actually be. It turns out Continue reading “The Hyena Kill – A Disconnect (Review)”
This is the debut album from Nicarus, a solo Israeli artist.
I confess that it was the album art that drew me to this release, as I’m not normally a huge fan of the less-heavy genres such as anything with rock in the descriptor. I’m glad that I did check it out though, as Coal People, Coal Puppets is an Continue reading “Nicarus – Coal People, Coal Puppets (Review)”
This is the debut album from US doom band Frayle.
I enjoyed 2018’s The White Witch, which was a hugely impressive entrance into the doom metal scene. We now have the band’s first full length album, and across 37 minutes the band prove that their first EP was no fluke. Frayle have got a real talent for their charismatic and atmospheric form of doom. Continue reading “Frayle – 1692 (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Belgian dark metal/rock band Diablo Blvd.
Just take a look at that album cover. I mean, how could you not be intrigued by that?
When you delve in, you’ll find that Diablo Blvd play a mix of classic and Continue reading “Diablo Blvd – Zero Hour (Review)”
This is the seventh album from German Black Metal band Todesstoss.
At 75 minutes in length this is a long album that only contains 3 tracks. I mention this purely to set the scene for the kind of sprawling, unconventional, Blackened vision that Todesstoss have.
This is Experimental Black Metal that takes the serrated core of Black Metal and adds Electronica, Ambient, Martial, Dark Rock, Avant-Garde and Depressive tendencies to it, creating songs that are unhinged marvels of deranged darkness.
Various instruments and flashes of sound compliment the core instrumentation and the mangled, psychotic vocals punctuate the music like stab wounds. His violent outbursts are quite disturbed and fit the uncompromising music.
Think bands like Bethlehem/Burzum/Deinonychus/Dødheimsgard, only stretched out to the extreme.
There are a lot of themes and moods spread across these tracks and it’s clear that a lot of work and effort has gone into perfecting the meaning and rationale for the existence of every part of this music. To some listeners it may seem as if occasional bits of noise or instruments are randomly inserted here and there, but I suspect that everything is where it is for a reason.
These certainly aren’t songs in the traditional sense, but rather canvasses of sound that are used for exploratory experimentalism by their creators to give voice to what dwells inside them. It’s a fascinating insight into a warped psyche as portrayed via the medium of mutated, corrupted Black Metal.
This is not an album you enjoy in the traditional sense. It’s an album you survive, and then, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, you develop an affinity for the abuse it puts you through and eventually go back to it time and time again for more punishment.
Let your re-education begin.
Corpo-Mente are from France and this is their début album.
Now this is something a bit different, a bit special.
This is exotic, sensual music that combines Dark Rock, Trip-Hop and Electro Avant-Garde.
This is powerful stuff that grips from the start with its highly individualistic sound.
The songs seem to slip and slide through the musical landscape and they seem to pulse with a deeply vibrant internal heat. The way the album moves through the running time is almost carnal in nature.
The vocals are operatic in nature and yet somehow still manage to remain intimate and personal. The singer has a strong voice and is extremely talented at what she does. She injects personality and charismatic inflection into the singing which results in the music avoiding the trap of rather faceless, impersonal operatic vocals that some bands who employ them can sometimes fall into.
The music is multi-textural and richly evocative of sumptuous soundscapes. It’s also filled with haunting melodies and quite beautiful compositions. There is a definite darkness here, sometimes quite menacing in tone.
With enough “hair-standing-on-end” moments to stop anyone in their tracks, this is a must. What a highly accomplished collection of songs!
If you like bands like Ulver, Lethe, Manes, etc. then this is a definite highlight to be seized.
A surprise and a pleasure; Corpo-Mente have made a firm fan here.
Wonderbox Metal 