Orphique – Consécration Cadavérique (Review)

Orphique - Consécration CadavériqueOrphique 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)”

Skythala – Boreal Despair (Review)

Skythala - Boreal DespairThis 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)”

Helvellyn – The Lore of the Cloaked Assembly (Review)

Helvellyn - The Lore of the Cloaked AssemblyHelvellyn are a black metal band from the UK and this is their debut album.

Containing 38 minutes of material, The Lore of the Cloaked Assembly delivers black metal steeped in the old ways; Helvellyn worship at the altar of 90s second wave black metal. The band have clearly been blessed by their dark gods, as their music recalls the classics, while also offering something worth listening to in 2022. Continue reading “Helvellyn – The Lore of the Cloaked Assembly (Review)”

Jordfäst – Av Stoft (Review)

Jordfäst - Av StoftThis is the second album from Swedish black metallers Jordfäst.

Av Stoft contains just two tracks, the first of which lasts 16 minutes, and the next 17 minutes. During these two lengthy songs we are taken on an epic, windswept journey into Jordfäst’s world.

If you think of bands such as Skagos, Ulver, Primordial, Wolves in the Throne Room, Bathory, and Skogen, (the singer of which guests here), you’ll have a rough idea of what Av Stoft contains. Continue reading “Jordfäst – Av Stoft (Review)”

Eternal Helcaraxe – Drown in Ash (Review)

Eternal Helcaraxe - Drown in AshThis is the third album from Irish black metal act Eternal Helcaraxe.

On Drown in Ash Eternal Helcaraxe provide 47 minutes of music that’s dark and personal, dealing with intimate themes of depression and loss. As such, the music is a forlorn and melancholic form of black metal that drips with feeling and emotion. Continue reading “Eternal Helcaraxe – Drown in Ash (Review)”

Firtan – Marter (Review)

Firtan - MarterFirtan 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)”

Wampyric Rites – The Wolves Howl to the Moon (Review)

Wampyric Rites - The Wolves Howl to the MoonWampyric Rites are a black metal band from Ecuador and this is their second album.

The Wolves Howl to the Moon contains 35 minutes of raw, undergound, old-school black metal. There’s no messing around; Wampyric Rites mean business. Continue reading “Wampyric Rites – The Wolves Howl to the Moon (Review)”

Blackbraid – Blackbraid I (Review)

Blackbraid - Blackbraid IThis is the debut album from black metal solo act Blackbraid.

The music on Blackbraid I is a form of black metal that takes from the classic and atmospheric styles to create something all of its own. Native American folk influences can also be heard, and these are well-integrated into the music’s Continue reading “Blackbraid – Blackbraid I (Review)”

Northmoon – Shadowlord – My Soft Vision in Blood (Review)

Shadowlord - My Soft Vision in BloodThis is the debut album by Austrian black metal band Northmoon.

Dedicated to the 90s era, Shadowlord – My Soft Vision in Blood contains 41 minutes of frosted old-school black metal. Continue reading “Northmoon – Shadowlord – My Soft Vision in Blood (Review)”

Auriferous Flame – The Great Mist Within (Review)

Αuriferous Flame - The Great Mist WithinThis is the debut album from one-man Greek black metal act Auriferous Flame.

Brought to us by the artist behind Spectral Lore and Mystras, The Great Mist Within contains 39 minutes of black metal influenced by the classic second wave era. It’s modelled on the traditional style, but can’t escape the contemporary feel that the artist brings to it. Continue reading “Auriferous Flame – The Great Mist Within (Review)”