This is the fifth album from Austrian solo black metal band Rauhnåcht.
My last encounter with Rauhnåcht was 11 years ago (!) on Urzeitgeist, so I’m long overdue a visit to these pagan black metal lands. Across 41 minutes of material, Zwischenwelten reveals an artist that has apparently only continued to refine and improve his art over time. Continue reading “Rauhnåcht – Zwischenwelten (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)”
This is the second album from UK black metal band Ofnus.
Ofnus, (who feature an ex-member of Agrona), present us with 58 minutes of atmospheric black metal on Valediction. I’d heard good things about the band’s debut album, (I need to go check that out), but this is my first time hearing Ofnus and they have exceeded expectations. Continue reading “Ofnus – Valediction (Review)”
Havukruunu are a Finnish black metal band and this is their fourth album.
Tavastland is the 54-minute follow up to 2020’s well-regarded Uinuos Syömein Sota, and is an album I’ve been looking forward to hearing. Havukruunu play black metal with heavy, folk, and pagan metal influences, and their latest record continues their ascent. Continue reading “Havukruunu – Tavastland (Review)”
Alburnum are a black metal band from the Netherlands and this is their second album.
The Withered Roots of Reality is a 35-minute black metal album that combines elements of the atmospheric, folk, pagan, and melodic styles. Alburnum tie their influences together well, making for an easily enjoyable album with much to recommend it. Continue reading “Alburnum – The Withered Roots of Reality (Review)”
This is the third album from Swedish black metal solo act Kvaen.
The name Kvaen hit the black metal underground hard with 2020’s The Funeral Pyre, and then followed this up in 2022 with The Great Below, which showed that the quality of the debut was no fluke. Another two years have passed, and now we have The Formless Fires. Do the 39 minutes of new music here still demonstrate a continuation of these quality levels? Continue reading “Kvaen – The Formless Fires (Review)”
This is the fifth album from Australian black metal band Runespell.
I’ve enjoyed following Runespell’s progress over the years, (be sure to check out previous work Unhallowed Blood Oath, Order of Vengeance, Voice of Opprobrium, and Verses in Regicide), so listening to Shores of Nastrond was pretty mandatory. This new album contains 46 minutes of new material, and is also Runespell’s first as a full band, rather than just a solo act, (with current/ex-members of bands like Illimitable Dolor, The Slow Death, and Temple Nightside). Continue reading “Runespell – Shores of Nastrond (Review)”
This is the ninth album from Norwegian Black Metallers Kampfar.
It’s been a while since I last caught up with what Kampfar were doing, (2015’s Profan). Their brand of pagan black metal is always entertaining, so when Til Klovers Takt appeared I was eager to check it out. Continue reading “Kampfar – Til Klovers Takt (Review)”
This is the second album from Vermilia, a one-woman black metal band from Finland.
Sometimes you happen upon an album that instantly strikes you as something exceptional. Ruska is exactly one such album. It delivers a 37-minute album of pagan and folk black metal; this simple description does not even begin to do justice to Vermilia’s work though. Continue reading “Vermilia – Ruska (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 