Sea Mosquito – Majestas (Review)

Sea Mosquito - MajestasThis is the second album from UK black metallers Sea Mosquito.

Majestas contains 44 minutes of esoteric black metal. As a rough starting point, think of a compelling mix of bands such as Aara, Blut Aus Nord, Inherits the Void, Deathspell OmegaLabyrinthus Stellarum, Mare Cognitum, Selbst, and Vorga, although Sea Mosquito do offer up an experience that’s their own. Continue reading “Sea Mosquito – Majestas (Review)”

Fortress Festival 2025 – Scarborough Spa, Scarborough, 31/05/25-01/06/24 (Live Review)

Fortress Festival 2025 - Scarborough Spa, Scarborough

I’m so happy to be back at one of the world’s best black metal festivals. I love it here at Fortress Festival, and I can’t wait to work through such a great lineup again. If you haven’t been here before, make sure you don’t miss the 2026 edition.

Last year’s Fortress was excellent. I saw every band available, with the exception of a mere few when I needed to find food, essentially. This year I’m going to try an adopt a more sensible approach, (at least from one perspective), and not kill myself trying to catch everything again. Having said that, I’ll still be trying to watch as many bands as I realistically can, while factoring in food, downtime, circumstances, etc. This year’s lineup is so good though, that every band is worth seeing, and in an ideal world I’d do just that. Regardless, we’ll see how we get on. And also, there are some bands playing this weekend that are just absolutely mandatory.

Before we get into it – as was the case last year, I have once again been blessed to be able to use the stunning photographs from the very talented Aleksandra Hogg, (which is why they are far, far, far superior to the photos I normally take when left to my own devices). I urge you to check out her work at Acidolka here, here, or here. Continue reading “Fortress Festival 2025 – Scarborough Spa, Scarborough, 31/05/25-01/06/24 (Live Review)”

Selbst – Despondency Chord Progressions (Review)

Selbst - Despondency Chord ProgressionsThis is the third album from solo black metal act Selbst, originally from Venezuela, and now Chile.

Following on from 2020’s Relatos de Angustia, Despondency Chord Progressions contains 44 minutes of new material. The artist behind Selbst, (also in Animus Mortis), is aided on this release by the drummer of Aversio Humanitatis/Eternal Storm, and has created something quite special. Continue reading “Selbst – Despondency Chord Progressions (Review)”

Selbst – Relatos de Angustia (Review)

Selbst - Relatos de AngustiaThis is the second album from one-man black metal band Selbst, originally from Venezuela, and now Chile. He’s backed up by guests, including clean vocals from a member of Ty.

Here we have 42 minutes of textured black metal that embraces a range of styles and influences to produce a very enjoyable and captivating slice of modern darkness. Continue reading “Selbst – Relatos de Angustia (Review)”