This is the second album from Italian black metallers A Pale December.
A Pale December play bleak atmospheric/melodic black metal, riven with despair and devoid of hope. Mixing old and new influences with ease, Death Panacea is quite the impressive piece of art. Continue reading “A Pale December – Death Panacea (Review)”
This is the debut album from Vorga, a German black metal band.
Here we have 45 minutes of sci-fi-themed black metal. It’s sharp and lethal, honed to a killing edge, and has a more technical delivery than that of your average black metal act. Continue reading “Vorga – Striving Toward Oblivion (Review)”
This is the debut album from Belgian black metal band Darkest Mind.
Oracle of Death saw the light of day at the end of last year, and I confess that I overlooked it largely due to its cover. Not that it’s bad artwork by any means, but the bright colours didn’t inspire me to check it out. My loss. Having now had the album brough to my attention once more, Continue reading “Darkest Mind – Oracle of Death (Review)”
The Mist from the Mountains are a Finnish black metal band and this is their debut album.
Monumental – The Temple of Twilight contains 38 minutes of 90s-influenced nature-inspired black metal. The promo blurb mentions bands from that era such as Old Man’s Child, Gehenna, Dimmu Borgir, and Borknagar, which, coupled with the enticing album art, meant I definitely had to give The Mist from the Mountains some of my attention. Continue reading “The Mist from the Mountains – Monumental – The Temple of Twilight (Review)”
This is the debut album from US one-man black metal act Antimony.
Antimony’s black metal is a combination of the progressive, atmospheric, and melodic styles. These are mixed together to produce lengthy songs that describe a journey into existential dread. The promo blurb states that it’s reminiscent of Moonsorrow, Mgła, and Drudkh, and this should give an appropriate starting reference for the style you’ll find on Ending. Continue reading “Antimony – Ending (Review)”
Yes, it’s that time of year again! 2021 gave us some very, very good metal, and I feel honoured to have been able to have listened to as much of it as I have done. There are some notable absences, (for me at least), from the below list, but there’s just not enough time or space for everything, dammit!
2020 was a very blackened year for me; I listened to a lot of black metal, and the list for that year reflected that. At the start of 2021 I decided I’d consciously try to ensure I cast my net a bit wider again, reconnecting more deeply with some of many other styles of metal that I enjoy. 2021’s list reflects this. However, I’ve still ended up with much more of a black metal presence in the list than I was initially expecting. What can I say? I’m a sucker for all of the myriad blackened flavours of the style. However, there’s also a lot of other stuff here that I hope you’ll dig into and enjoy too. I felt that there was a notable absence of grindcore in 2021, as well as some of the more extreme styles of doom. What do you think?
I hope you enjoy perusing some of my favourite records from this year, and I hope you find something new to tickle your fancy. What’s your number one this year? Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2021”
This is the debut album from Inherits the Void, a French one-man black metal act.
Monolith of Light is 37 minutes long and contains a form of melodically-rich atmospheric black metal that hits the spot quite nicely. The promo blurb tells us that the artist behind the band wanted to aim for “a meeting between influences from the ‘90s Swedish black metal scene and a more current orientation of the genre”, and I’d suggest that this has been achieved. The album has an old-school core that’s enhanced by more modern post-blackened influences. Continue reading “Inherits the Void – Monolith of Light (Review)”
This is the fourth album from German black metallers Dauþuz.
Vom Schwarzen Schmied gives us 57 minutes of well-crafted black metal to sink our teeth into. Continue reading “Dauþuz – Vom Schwarzen Schmied (Review)”
This is the debut album from US black metal band Necrofier.
Necrofier feature members of Oceans of Slumber and Church of Disgust in their lineup, (and other bands), and Prophecies of Eternal Darkness provides a compelling slice of melodic black metal across 36 minutes that manages to merge professional delivery with underground fire. Continue reading “Necrofier – Prophecies of Eternal Darkness (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This new column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.
Les Acteurs de L’Ombre Productions has released some very strong albums over the years, so I always like to keep up with what they’re putting out. Imagine my horror when I discovered that I was a good couple of months behind with their releases. To rectify, I’ve collected the three below for your delectation… Continue reading “Label Roundup: Les Acteurs de L’Ombre Productions – Limbes, Mütterlein, Aorlhac, & Hegemon (Reviews)”
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