This is the second album from Greek doom band Church of the Sea.
Church of the Sea play an evocative form of doomgaze. The component parts of Eva are doom, shoegaze, electronic rock, and darkwave. These are brought together by the band into a 31-minute exploration of ethereal soundscapes. Continue reading “Church of the Sea – Eva (Review)”
This is the debut album from Italian blackened doom metal band Ponte del Diavolo.
Okay, so here we have something quite interesting. When the promo blurb mentions both Electric Wizard and Darkthrone, you know it’s one to take an interest in. I will say that this doesn’t fully cover what you’ll find on Fire Blades from the Tomb though, so I’ll also mention here bands such as Messa, King Woman, Vanishing Kids, and Siouxsie and the Banshees, to give a broader impression. Continue reading “Ponte del Diavolo – Fire Blades from the Tomb (Review)”
Boris & Uniform, the former an experimental doom/drone/metal/rock act from Japan, and the latter an industrial rock/metal band from the US, have teamed up together on this collaborative album.
I like Boris, and I like Uniform, so listening to this release was a given. Bright New Disease combines the two act’s talents into new and twisted ways, resulting in an album Continue reading “Boris & Uniform – Bright New Disease (Review)”
Bosco Sacro are an Italian doom band and this is their debut album.
Inspired by the awe of the natural world, Gem is a 32-minute journey into textured darkness and emotive sound. Continue reading “Bosco Sacro – Gem (Review)”
Remah are an international black metal band and this is their debut album.
Une Main adopts a modern approach to its black metal, one which adapts elements of the depressive, second wave, and atmospheric styles for its own nefarious use. Alongside this sit darkwave and psychedelic influences, both of which add extra depth to the band’s blackened repertoire. Continue reading “Remah – Une Main (Review)”
Midnight Odyssey is an Australian one-man black metal band and this is his third album.
As ridiculous as it sounds, I almost didn’t want to review or even listen to this album. Why? Because the band’s last album – 2015’s immense Shards of Silver Fade – was so hideously good that I couldn’t imagine being anything but disappointed with Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains. After all, Shards of Silver Fade claimed the coveted top spot in my end of year list for 2015, so this new one had a lot to live up to.
Anyway, enough preamble. Time to judge Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains on its own merits, of which there are many. Apparently this is the first in a trilogy of albums. I can’t wait to hear the next one already. Continue reading “Midnight Odyssey – Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains (Review)”
This is US blackened doom band Atriarch’s fourth album.
The band’s last album An Unending Pathway was a notable, individual, and very engaging release from 2014, managing to combine elements of doom, black metal, and deathrock effectively and enjoyably. Continue reading “Atriarch – Dead as Truth (Review)”
Buioingola are an atmospheric doom band from Italy and this is their second album.
Il Nuovo Mare is the follow up to the band’s 2013 debut Dopo l’Apnea. This was a release that established Buioingola as a band that were travelling their own way, and a release that firmly stuck in my mind as one of the more memorable ones of that year. Continue reading “Buioingola – Il Nuovo Mare (Review)”
Midnight Odyssey is an Australian one-man Black Metal band and this is his second album.
Well, what an epic release this is. Eight tracks, lasting a colossal 143 minutes. Shards of Silver Fade demands a big investment of your time. Is it worth it? You’re damn right it is.
Midnight Odyssey has a Black Metal base that has been expanded to include Ambient, Darkwave, Funeral Doom and Post-Black Metal, resulting in the weighty collection of tracks here.
In many ways it’s difficult to review a release such as this. It would be far better for you to just accept the fact that this is an album you need to get and go and get it. Once done, make a night-time trip to the top of some local hill or mountain, put on your headphones, gaze at the night sky and get lost in Midnight Odyssey’s transcendental, elemental, cosmic embrace.
In lieu of this, however, a darkened room will suffice for now; just zone out and concentrate on nothing but the music.
Anyway, if you have yet to hear them then my feeble prose will have to do. This is not a band to dip into for a quick fix of whatever you fancy, this is a band to pay attention to and take notice of.
These songs combine spacious Progressive Ambient/Doom with ancient Blackened moods that sound like they were old before metal was even invented. The combination of Darkwave, Doom and Black Metal is one that works incredibly well and sounds flawlessly delivered.
Grand orchestral passages sweep across the heavens and invoke feelings of loss and grandeur, frequently at the same time. This is highly emotive music but probably not in the way that you might think. Moving, is probably a better description. This is music that’s moving.
The vocals don’t let the side down either, with croaking Black Metal rasps sharing the stage with charismatic cleans that seem imbued with some form of long-lost wisdom.
An intriguing, ambitious and ultimately victorious merging of Burzum and Vinterriket; Shards of Silver Fade is easily up to the task of fitting in with such hallowed company.
If I haven’t made this clear by now, Shards of Silver Fade is a must listen. It’s a long one, of course, but well worth it. I suggest you start now.
Manes are from Norway and this is their fourth album.
Following on from their last release Teeth, Toes and Other Trinkets, which was an anthology, this is the first new Manes album in seven years.
Manes play a beguiling blend of artistic Rock, Darkwave Trip Hop, Avant Garde and 80’s-style Pop. It’s subtle, charming, disarming and insidious.
These songs have a laid back quality to them that’s almost detached from the actual music; as if something has been created by the music that hovers just out of view yet its effects can be felt by a lasting aura of deceptive comfort and false familiarity. This lends the songs a certain flavour of the otherworldly and the different.
There is a low-key catchiness to the tracks as well. Again, it’s a subtle affair, as even though the songs obviously contain hooks the first time you listen to them, it takes multiple listens for them to fully work their magic. Such is the nature of all great albums that have true longevity and depth.
There is so much to experience here. Manes create across a vast canvas using a rich palette of colours. There’s a lot that’s easily missed on first glance and only after taking it in for a good amount of time can you really appreciate what they have done here.
The singer’s captivating vocals are on strong form and the bleak-yet-uplifting-yet-not melodies that he uses complement the instruments perfectly adding layers of emotion to already emotive and layered songs.
This is music for dark nights and even darker activities. This is music that drips with soul and is ethereal in nature.
Fans of bands such as Arcturus, Ulver, Lethe, Dødheimsgard, Green Carnation, In The Woods…, etc. will lap this up, and with good reason.
It’s time to enter the world of Manes.
Wonderbox Metal 