Mountains Crave are a UK black metal band and this is their debut album.
This is black metal that skilfully builds progressive, atmospheric, and post-metal elements into its construction. Continue reading “Mountains Crave – As We Were When We Were Not (Review)”
Au-Dessus are a black metal band from Lithuania.
This is tension-building black metal that incorporates aspects of post-black metal to create involving atmospheres and dark soundscapes. Think a cross between Mayhem, Deathspell Omega and Schammasch, maybe. Continue reading “Au-Dessus – End of Chapter (Review)”
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 “Cadaveris – The Ceremony of Worshiping (Review)”
Fides Inversa are an Italian black metal band and this is their latest EP.
Featuring almost 20 minutes of black metal art, this EP is occult, Satanic black metal that’s littered with dark incantations and grim atmosphere. Continue reading “Fides Inversa – Rite of Inverse Incarnation (Review)”
Mayhem are a Norwegian black metal band, but do they really need any introduction?
In case the cave that you inhabit doesn’t get wifi, this is the live incarnation of the band’s 1994 landmark debut album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. This is a black metal must-have, of course, so you already know that the songs on this live version are absolute classics, so all that remains to discuss, really, is the band’s performance and the quality of the live recording. Continue reading “Mayhem – De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Alive (Review)”
This is the third album from Ukrainian experimental black metal band Balance Interruption.
All I knew about this band before I listened to them was that they were a black metal band of some description. As such, I was not prepared at all for what I found inside Door 218.
Here we have an album that might not sound as you expect it to upon hearing the black metal tag. Yes, a lot of the familiar elements are present and correct, but there’s a lot of unusual aspects to the music too. Continue reading “Balance Interruption – Door 218 (Review)”
Créatures is an avant-garde/experimental black metal one-man project from France and this is his debut album.
The vocals on this release are quite varied, shifting and morphing in line with the demands of the music. Apparently multiple guest vocalists contribute to the tracks, each having a different part to play in the narrative.
Sometimes we get a voice that’s full of commanding authority and blackened malice, sometimes even Continue reading “Créatures – Le Noir Village (Review)”
This is the second album by UK black metallers The Infernal Sea.
This is sophisticated black metal that still manages to somehow sound filthy, ugly and grim. It’s a beguiling combination that sees the band combine atmosphere and ferocity in tantalising ways across this 42 minute release. Continue reading “The Infernal Sea – The Great Mortality (Review)”
Schammasch are a Black Metal band from Switzerland. This is their third album.
Here we have a bold, monster of a release; divided into three parts, each lasting about 35 minutes, the entire body of work clocks in at a massive 105 minutes in length.
Schammasch play forward-thinking music that’s rooted in Black Metal, but also visits other styles such as Doom, Post-Black Metal and Progressive Metal.
Cult of Erinyes are a Black Metal band from Belgium. This is their latest EP.
Featuring 19 minutes of Black Metal, (2 originals and a Mayhem cover), Cult of Erinyes play sharp Black Metal with ritualistic auras.
The EP has a strong sound that allows all of the instruments to be heard well, even the lesser-spotted bass guitar gets to play its part.
Poisonous riffs and black moods pervade the tracks and the guitars give a good account of their time in Hell. At least, I’m assuming that’s where they’ve come from.
The songs are of the classic style, wrapped in darkness and grim portents. It’s mainly a mid-paced affair that gives the listener plenty to think about as the band attempt to bring on the apocalypse.
The singer’s icy rasp is well-performed and heavy with contempt. It sounds good.
Transcendence is probably my favourite track out of the three. It boasts a crawling, malevolent aura and really slow-builds to an unnerving ending; the music slows down and takes on a mystical quality while the singer repeats “remember my name” over and over.
An enjoyable EP that provides a good blackened fix.
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