This is the debut album from Malaysian one-man black metal band Iravu.
A Fate Worse Than Home contains 34 minutes of expressive, cosmic black metal. Mixing the atmospheric, ambient, and progressive styles into an engaging whole, the artist behind Iravu has crafted something quite special here. Continue reading “Iravu – A Fate Worse Than Home (Review)”
So here we are again. It’s December, and year end lists are flying around like shrapnel. Due to the inherent subjectivity of music it’s always interesting to see what people have made of the preceding year.
For me, I made a concerted effort to drag myself away from the depths of black metal’s always-enticing abyss to spend some more time with other genres and styles that I also love. I said something similar last year, but I feel this year I was more successful in achieving that end. Of course, I still love black metal, still listen to it constantly, and you’ll still find some great examples of the blackened arts in the list below.
2022 was a strong year for death metal for me, and I enjoyed more death metal bands in a deeper way than I have done for some time. In every year there are standout releases, but I felt this year the standard was raised throughout. Possibly I was simply more receptive to it. Either way, you’ll find more death metal-related acts, and in higher spots, in this selection than you’ll have seen in my lists for a while.
As with last year, grindcore was largely absent from my year, disappointingly, as was hardcore. Additionally, the sort of lengthy, ugly, abyssal doom that I love so much has been largely lacking too. It’s all probably out there somewhere, but I didn’t catch it.
The top two spots this year are both claimed by albums/bands/styles that I simply could not have predicted would be at the pinnacle of my list by the year’s end, (one of the bands I hadn’t even heard of in January). I hope you enjoy these excellent records even half as much as I do.
Lastly I just want to say a big thank you to any and all that might read this site. It’s only a small endeavour, and I do it purely for the love of all things METAL and to support bands that I enjoy in whatever minor way I can, but if this is you, a heartfelt thank you for enduring my scribblings.
On to it! Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2022”
Orphique are a Canadian black metal band and this is their debut album.
Consécration Cadavérique contains 40 minutes of music, and is an exemplary introduction to Orphique’s charismatic take on black metal. Continue reading “Orphique – Consécration Cadavérique (Review)”
This is the debut album from US black metal band Skythala.
Boreal Dispair offers discerning listeners 57 minutes of avant-garde black metal, which is a really simplistic way of describing a work that’s the complete opposite of simple. Continue reading “Skythala – Boreal Despair (Review)”
Firtan are a German black metal band and this is their third album.
Marter offers a 58-minute feast of expressive atmospheric black metal. Richly anointed with post-rock detail and progressive depth, this is an album of impeccable taste and commanding presence. Continue reading “Firtan – Marter (Review)”
Ashenspire are a post-black metal band from the UK and this is their second album.
Holy crap. This is not your standard album, not at all. It’s striking, individual, shockingly emotive, and relentlessly harsh in atmosphere and tone. To set the scene somewhat – Ashenspire play a form of post-black metal with strong avant-garde, experimental, and progressive tendencies. Featuring current and ex-members of Barshasketh and Falloch, Hostile Architecture is a 44-minute journey into the contemporary urban heart of darkness. Continue reading “Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture (Review)”
This is the debut album from Bekor Qilish, an extreme metal solo act from Italy.
Across 28 minutes the artist behind this band delivers his vision for extreme metal – a complex and layered avant-garde assault on the senses. Blending the technical and progressive strains of black and death metal into an experimental extreme metal framework, Throes of Death from the Dreamed Nihilism is a jarring and unfriendly piece of work, that nonetheless rewards connoisseurs of esoteric underground extremity. Continue reading “Bekor Qilish – Throes of Death from the Dreamed Nihilism (Review)”
This is the debut album from US black metal band Tómarúm.
Featuring a member of The Ritual Aura, and session members from Inferi and Virvum, Ash in Realms of Stone Icons contains 60 minutes of progressive black/death metal. Continue reading “Tómarúm – Ash in Realms of Stone Icons (Review)”
Terzij de Horde are a black metal band from the Netherlands and this is their second album.
2015’s Self was so long ago that I wasn’t sure we’d ever hear anything from Terzij de Horde again. They’re back though, with 30 minutes of new material – spread over three tracks – that are as fiery and as destructive as the album’s striking cover. Continue reading “Terzij de Horde – In One of These, I Am Your Enemy (Review)”
Falls of Rauros are a black metal band from the US and this is their sixth album.
Here’s one I’ve been looking forward to, that’s for sure. Falls of Rauros’ last three albums, (2014’s Believe in No Coming Shore, 2017’s Vigilance Perennial, and 2019’s Patterns in Mythology), all showcased a band on a continual upward trajectory, with each album improving on what its predecessor offered. So, to say that Key to a Vanishing Future carried great expectations would be an understatement. Continue reading “Falls of Rauros – Key to a Vanishing Future (Review)”
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