Kludde – In de Kwelm (Review)

Kludde - In de KwelmKludde are a Belgian black metal band and this is their second album.

Inspired by second wave black metal, this is old-school, raw, and menacing. A death metal influence can be heard in the music, giving it more muscle and thickness than some black metal out there. Pinches of crust’s energetic urgency can be detected too here and there, propelling a particular passage along at a punishing rate. There’s even a doom/sludge influence; this mainly Continue reading “Kludde – In de Kwelm (Review)”

Ancient Hostility – Ancient Hostility (Review)

Ancient Hostility - Ancient HostilityAncient Hostility are a Ukrainian/US black metal band and this is their debut album.

This is, on the surface of things, a second wave black metal album, full of the sort of misanthropy and hatred that you’d expect for something like this. Scratch the surface, however, (and by this I mean actually listen to it), and you’ll also find a bit more than the norm here. Continue reading “Ancient Hostility – Ancient Hostility (Review)”

Funeral Storm – Arcane Mysteries (Review)

Funeral Storm - Arcane MysteriesFuneral Storm are a Greek black metal band and this is their debut album.

Funeral Storm channel early second wave energies into 42 minutes of occult black metal. Yes, Rotting Christ are the obvious name to drop, but there’s also a Varathron cover here, which should give you further indication of the band’s influences. Continue reading “Funeral Storm – Arcane Mysteries (Review)”

Sidious – Temporal (Review)

Sidious - TemporalThis is the second album by Sidious, a UK black metal band.

Sidious made a strong impression on me with their debut album Revealed in Profane Splendour, and now that it’s finally time to get some new material from them, they have changed almost completely. Now I’ve heard their new album, I’m actually somewhat surprised Continue reading “Sidious – Temporal (Review)”

Blyh – Awake to Emptiness (Review)

Blyh - Awake to EmptinessBlyh are a German black metal band and this is their second album.

Awake to Emptiness is 45 minutes of raw, melodic black metal, spread out over five lengthy tracks. Continue reading “Blyh – Awake to Emptiness (Review)”

Aethyrick – Praxis (Review)

Aethyrick - PraxisThis is the debut album from Aethyrick, a Finnish black metal band.

Praxis features 39 minutes of occult black metal, and I have to say this is quite a captivating underground gem of an album. Continue reading “Aethyrick – Praxis (Review)”

Ondfødt – Dödsrikets Kallelse (Review)

ondfødt - dödsrikets kallelseOndfødt are a Finnish black metal band and this is their second album.

We’ve met Ondfødt before on 2014’s Hexkonst, which I found to be quite an enjoyable blast of largely traditional rawness. Continue reading “Ondfødt – Dödsrikets Kallelse (Review)”

Barshasketh – Barshasketh (Review)

Barshasketh - BarshaskethBarshasketh are a black metal band from New Zealand/the UK and this is their fourth album.

My past encounters with Barshasketh have always been very positive, (see their split with Void Ritual and split with Outre), but this is my first exposure to a full length from the band.

Well, I enjoyed the band’s previous work that I’ve heard, but this is something else. Continue reading “Barshasketh – Barshasketh (Review)”

Thron – Abysmal (Review)

Thron - AbysmalThron are a German melodic black metal band and this is their second album.

Thron play professionally-recorded black metal influenced by the second wave, with bands such as Dissection, Dimmu Borgir, Naglfar, Necrophobic, and Marduk worthy of mention as decent starting points for Abysmal. Continue reading “Thron – Abysmal (Review)”

Paths – In Lands Thought Lost (Review)

PathsThis is the third album from Paths, a Canadian black metal band.

Paths is a one man project aided by a session drummer, (from Panopticon). Together they play Scandinavian-influenced atmospheric black metal. For fans of this kind of thing, I have to say that In Lands Thought Lost is definitely above the average, and should be sought out at the earliest opportunity. Continue reading “Paths – In Lands Thought Lost (Review)”