This is the third album from US one-man Black Metal project Palace of Worms.
Here we have Black Metal that manages to retain a raw and nasty demeanour while simultaneously offering enough melodic aspects to be enticingly emotive. It’s not overly melodic, but there’s enough colour and texture through the sinister melodies to add another dimension.
This is the latest EP from US Post-Black Metal band Tombs.
Tombs continue to be one of the better and more interesting bands in Metal today. Here we have 34 minutes of new music, in equal parts heavy, atmospheric, grand and intimidating, as only Tombs do so well.
Blending Metal, Sludge, Black Metal and Hardcore into a potent brew, their last release Savage Gold is a firm favourite of mine and it seems that All Empires Fall is going the same way, albeit for a few different reasons; Tombs have progressed and changed in some ways since their last release, and the Black Metal component of their sound is much further to the front now, along with added keyboards.
The World Is Made of Fire is a short intro track that essentially sets the scene and sounds quite imposing and epic in scope.
Second song Obsidian showcases the band’s Black Metal side to great effect, with scything screeched vocals and cutting, frozen riffs. Blasting aggression, energetic atmosphere and blackened Hardcore thuggery combine with some deft melody to create a really enjoyable darkened exploration.
After this we get Last Days of Sunlight, which is quite different. Featuring some exotically alluring clean croons, the song stalks along like a hungry predator, all menace and lethal intent. It’s a highly atmospheric slow-burner that showcases a different side of Tombs and once again demonstrates their multi-talented skills.
Deceiver is up next. It’s heavy, memorable and has a catchy, punky, blackened sheen that would do Wolvhammer proud.
The final track is the longest and simply named V. Here we get a mixture of pretty much everything that has come before it, including cleans, blackened riffs, melodic sharpness and catchy delivery.
Like the mighty Rorcal, Tombs are at the top of their game when it comes to modern Post-Black Metal that seethes with power, recognises the past and combines non-blackened genres into its stylistic package.
An essential listen.
This is the second album from this one-man US atmospheric Post-Black Metal band.
This has a rich, warm sound, making it clear very early on that Entropy is all about the emotive content and taking the listener on a journey.
High-pitched near-static screams are employed to provide a focal point for the colourful music. I favour this brand of ultra-shrieked screams for this kind of extremely atmospheric Black Metal, so was not disappointed to hear them when they first appeared. Deep growls also appear here and there; these are unexpected but work well alongside the mellifluous music.
These songs have a good grasp of mood and feeling, effortlessly played out across long tracks and glorious soundscapes. This can be essentially seen as one 72 minute piece of music broken up into smaller slices, but however you look at it it’s an extremely effective work.
Featuring elements of psychedelic, progressive and depressive Black Metal, this is very atmospheric and richly textured. Resplendent melodies, extended guitar solos and understated synths all enhance the flavour of the emotive riffs and Entropy is an album to be savoured and enjoyed in its entirety.
I’m very impressed by this, and it’s criminal that this will effectively get no real exposure other than a few lucky people that stumble upon it; it really is that good.
Krigsgrav are a Black Metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.
This is long and expansive Black Metal with a melodic edge. It’s vibrant and exploratory without losing focus and across these lengthy tracks the band take the time to unfold their vision of what Black Metal should look, feel and sound like in 2016.
If you take the depressive core of a band like Forgotten Tomb and add some Post-Black Metal influences, then you’ll be in the right area of where Krigsgrav lurk. Elements of depressive and melodic Black Metal round this out, as well as some aspects of funeral Doom.
With a decent recording the band’s compositions take on a dark life of their own. All of the instruments sound clear and precise, and I always like an album that you can hear the bass on, especially when it makes a valid and noticeable contribution to the music.
Additional instrumentation appears here and there, adding extra tools to the band’s repertoire and deepening the depths of sound that they create.
The vocals are notably impressive; ragged screams that sound like the singer is ripping his throat out are enhanced by the occasional deeper growl and some powerful cleans.
The songs describe harrowing tales of misery and hopelessness, set against a backdrop of just enough light and possibility so as to make the dark atmospheres all the worse. The mixture of lighter sections and heavier, blackened distortion work well and the build/release Post-Metal mechanic is used effectively in a Post-Black Metal environment.
Waves of Degradation is an impressive listen and has more than enough content to compel you to visit it again and again.
Recommended.
Pogavranjen are a Croatian avant-garde Post-Black Metal band and this is their third album.
Pogavranjen are one of many Post-Black Metal bands who are not content with the base genre and are intent on pushing boundaries and experimenting with the genre to help them get to the sound they want. In this case, this means twisting the core style in avant-garde, progressive, jazz and psychedelic ways, mutating it into the end result on Jedva Čekam Da Nikad Ne Umrem.
In addition to the standard instruments, the band use keyboards, synths, trumpets and trombones to achieve their vision. All of these are well-played and the musicians clearly know what they’re doing, whether it’s playing more straightforward parts, more involved, jazz-inspired free-form chaos, or building atmosphere with grim intent.
Coming across as a curious mix of Ephel Duath, Arcturus, Manes and Solefald, the band spend 45 minutes building up intricate and textured soundscapes, taking the listener on a compelling journey into the abyss.
The vocals mainly consist of well-performed cleans that are full of presence and an authoritarian charisma. They immediately catch the attention and provide a focal point while the music travels down multiple paths of darkened delights.
Jedva Čekam Da Nikad Ne Umrem is a real slow-burner of an album, requiring multiple listens to truly give up its secrets, and even then it keeps some back, jealous of its esoteric knowledge. It’s worth the effort though, as Pogavranjen’s avant-garde stylings are definitely on the right-side of quirky and this album is full of impressive sounds and moods.
Recommended.
This is the second album from Polish Post-Black Metal band Entropia.
As a firm fan of their stellar début album Vesper, Ufonaut is long-awaited and well-received.
In Entropia, Progressive Metal and Post-Metal meet a fiery Black Metal heart; combined together they take the airwaves by storm and Ufonaut’s blackened blend of atmosphere, shoegaze, Post-Rock and psychedelia is a hit.
Heavier and darker than its predecessor, Ufonaut is a more mature beast to an already forward-thinking début. On the whole the songs are also shorter and more focused, resulting in an album that knows precisely what it wants to do and goes about doing it with shadowy panache.
High-energy blackened delivery meets more depressive, introspective moments. As the songs progress there’s more and more to get lost in as the band build momentum and atmosphere. Tsunamis of pounding drums and otherworldly synths add to the textures of the songs in places, creating the atmosphere in firm, energetic layers.
With involving and engaging tracks, this is an album that makes the most of its time in the abyss and furnishes the listener with all manner of listening pleasures, so much so that Ufonaut is a real embarrassment of riches in some ways.
After waiting three years for their second album I have not been disappointed. All hail Entropia!
This is the first release from Stellarvore, a Black Metal band from Germany.
This is slithering, dark Black Metal that epitomises the style and uses the tools at its disposal to great effect.
Shards of melody are used as weapons and Stellarvore have a good melodic grasp of what makes an enjoyable Black Metal song.
These tracks are both melodic and atmospheric without being overly so; you wouldn’t describe this as Melodic Black Metal or Atmospheric Black Metal, for example, even though both aspects are used effectively throughout.
These songs are paeans to darkness and evil, manifesting in dark worship and malevolent moods. The singer’s cold rasp is like liquid, carrying with it a fluid quality that speaks of melted ice.
Discounting the intro and outro tracks, we get 4 longish songs that demonstrate a band who understand how to make music worth listening to. This is Black Metal that has its roots firmly in the second wave of Black Metal, but that also incorporates melody, atmosphere and even a bit of Post-Black Metal reflection into its delivery.
Tehom is an involving and engaging 35 minutes. It’s an impressive début for a new band and I look forward to hearing more from them in the future.
Go check them out.
This is the third album by Swedish Black Metallers Mephorash.
Throughout the four extended tracks on this release Mephorash demonstrate their approach to elite, sophisticated Black Metal art. Theirs is Black Metal that conjures effective atmospheres without neglecting the rest of the music; the band have both heaviness and bite to them when they need it.
Managing to create music that’s both resplendent and uplifting as well as drenched in the occult and mysterious is no mean feat, but this album manages to juxtapose those two aspects of Black Metal quite nicely.
The band fuse the style’s core delivery with influences from Atmospheric/Post-Black Metal to create a contemporary spin on the genre that nonetheless has all of the essential elements in place to produce something both recognisable and special.
Featuring all kinds of additional enhancements, (keyboards, choral singing, guest vocalists), that work well within the music to add layers of depth to it, these songs are strong exemplars of the style of Black Metal that bands like Watain/Deathspell Omega pioneered so well.
There’s a vibrant unlife pulsing through these songs and they bristle with dark energy. It’s a joy to hear and the strong production allows them the space to do what they do unfettered.
Mephorash have created something really impressive with this album and I know I’ll be listening to it and trying to unravel its dark secrets for some time to come.
This is the début album from Black Metal band Terzij de Horde, who are from the Netherlands.
This is modern Black Metal that combines sophisticated music with high-concept ideas.
Black Metal’s intrinsic rage and fury is combined with elements of Progressive/Post-Black Metal to create an engaging release that is varied, intelligent and full of Blackened mood and feeling.
The riffs are interesting and varied, screaming out of the passionate music like rabid animals. Sharp and emotive, these are combined with more introspective moments to create something that is worth exploring over the near-50 minute playing time.
The singer’s voice is full of snarling anger and ugly malice. It fits the music perfectly and has a maniacal quality to it that wouldn’t be out of place on a savage Grindcore release.
Self is not your average Black Metal release, and if you’re only looking for more of the usual then simply move along to something else. If, however, you’re after Black Metal fit for 2015, full of spite and Black emotions, then this is the release for you.
Splendid.
This is the third album from US Progressive Black Metal one-man group Terra Deep.
The music on this release is a complicated and sophisticated Progressive Metal feast that’s born out of the corrupted undergrowth of Black Metal’s fertile roots. Progressive and Post-Black Metal elements take control of proceedings quite early on, reinforced by a dark core of frozen steel.
Deep, unsettling growls, evil shrieks and powerful cleans all add a multitude of texture and feeling to music that successfully combines the cold malignance of Black Metal with the expansive, exploratory nature of Progressive music. This is further enhanced by elements of Doom/Depressive Black Metal that add a forlorn, lonesome sheen to some of the tracks. It all adds up to a multifaceted release full of quality music and songs that engage.
Richly textured tracks seem to bleed shades of pain and grim tidings, while still fostering a highly emotive side that connects with the listener in a visceral way. The songs are advanced exemplars of what can be done with a Black Metal base and a will to explore.
The production is solid and allows the music to hit the right balance between heaviness and nuance. It’s a good sound that satisfies and does justice to the differing parts and influences that make up Part of This World, Part of Another.
These five songs are impressively-realised affairs that speak of the experience and talent of the brains behind the outfit. He obviously has a coherent and well-rounded vision for Terra Deep and has the ability and skill to achieve it.
If you combine Opeth, Enslaved, Forgotten Tomb and Ihsahn then you’ll have a good idea of Terra Deep’s style.
There really is a lot here to offer the discerning Extreme Metal fan and I can’t really recommend this highly enough.
Wonderbox Metal 