This is the debut album from UK black metallers Praesider.
Enter the Praesidium contains 48 minutes of old-school symphonic black metal. Praesider’s music evokes such a strong sense of nostalgia in me for the 90s that it’s almost overwhelming. Make no mistake though, Praesider are a skilled bunch and know their subject matter inside out. Continue reading “Praesider – Enter the Praesidium (Review)”
This is the second album from US black metallers Azathoth’s Dream.
Solitary Forest Necromancy contains 36 minutes of 90s synth-heavy atmospheric black metal. If the classic, atmosphere-rich blackend style is to your taste, then this is for you. Me? I really like this. Continue reading “Azathoth’s Dream – Solitary Forest Necromancy (Review)”
Mara are a Swedish black metal band and this is their fifth album.
I thoroughly enjoyed 2019’s RÖK and 2022’s Loka Maer, so was pleased to see Sword of Vengeance appear on the horizon, threatening like a blackened storm. Yep, it’s time for 35 minutes of darkness come to swallow the world. Continue reading “Mara – Sword of Vengeance (Review)”
This is the latest EP/mini-album from Iku-Turso, a Finnish/Dutch black metal band.
Brought to us by current/ex-members of From the Vastland, Khanus, and Order of Nosferat, Wolfheart contains 30 minutes of material, consisting of four original tracks and an Emperor cover. Iku-Turso play old-school black metal, steeped in the lore of the Scandinavian second wave. Continue reading “Iku-Turso – Wolfheart (Review)”
Being a fan of Carpathian Forest ever since first getting Strange Old Brew way back in 2000, I knew I wanted to see this show. Black Altar were an added bonus on top. Then, recently, when Wolfbastard were added as opener, it simply meant I was looking forward to it even more. Continue reading “Carpathian Forest/Black Altar/Wolfbastard – Rebellion, Manchester – 18/03/25 (Live Review)”
This is the latest EP from UK black metallers Ninkharsag.
This has been a long time coming. In a similar way to the recent Abduction album Existentialismus, I saw Ninkharsag play songs from this release live back in February 2024, but it’s only now seeing the light of day. Has it been worth the wait to hear Ninkharsag’s brand of melodic black metal once more? Continue reading “Ninkharsag – The Black Swords of Winter (Review)”
Gràb are a German black metal band and this is their second album.
Containing ex-members of Dark Fortress and Winterfylleth, Gràb play classic black metal with a heart that belongs to the 90s. They do this it exceedingly well too. Continue reading “Gràb – Kremess (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 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.
Surprisingly, I haven’t done one of these columns since 2022! I was genuinely shocked when I realised this recently. So, it seemed like the perfect time to revisit it, and to get caught up on some of Avantgarde Music‘s releases. This is a label I rate highly, and never seem to get enough time to adequately cover, so here’s three new albums all seeing the light of day on January 31st 2025. Continue reading “Label Roundup: Avantgarde Music – Selvans, Skaldr, and Void of Hope (Reviews)”
Vyre are a German progressive black metal band and this is their fourth album.
I’ve enjoyed watching Vyre develop their sound, from the post-black metal of 2014’s The Initial Frontier Pt. 2, to the increasingly avant-garde stylings of 2018’s Weltformel. Which brings us to Voidserpent, a new album that offers us 42 minutes of new material from this expressive and interesting act. What have they done this time around? Continue reading “Vyre – Voidserpent (Review)”
A Thousand Sufferings and Kludde are both from Belgium. The former play doom, and the latter black metal.
A Thousand Sufferings start this split off with two songs totalling 13 minutes. I’ve enjoyed all of the band’s work so far, (Burden, Bleakness, Stilte), which made me eager to hear what Het Pact had in store. Continue reading “A Thousand Sufferings/Kludde – Het Pact – Split (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 