This is the debut album from UK blackgaze band Æl-Fierlen.
Æl-Fierlen play an evocative form of blackened Gothic metal, (for lack of a better term), that incorporates atmospheric black metal, doom, blackgaze, and folk into a compelling musical framework. Containing 34 minutes of music, All Is Far Away is an underground gem of an album. Continue reading “Æl-Fierlen – All Is Far Away (Review)”
Silhouette are a post-black metal band from France and this is their debut albm.
Les Dires de l’Âme contains 46 minutes of blackened post-metal that takes from the atmospheric and blackgaze styles with skilled ability. It’s an interesting, enjoyable, and well-rounded album that Silhouette have put together. Continue reading “Silhouette – Les Dires de l’Âme (Review)”
Schammasch are a black metal band from Switzerland and this is their fifth album.
I have been really excited to hear this one. I’ve been a big fan of everything I’ve heard from Schammasch; make sure you check out 2016’s Triangle and 2019’s Hearts of No Light, both of which are top tier records, and both of which placed on my end of year lists for 2016 and 2019. Interestingly though, The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean is the spiritual follow up to Schammasch’s 2017 avant-garde EP The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite, making me even more interested to find out what this new opus had to offer. Continue reading “Schammasch – The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean (Review)”
This is the debut album from French modern metal band Vestige.
To give a flavour of the sort of hybrid style that Vestige play, the promo blurb states that Janis is for fans of Deftones, Alcest, Loathe, and Sylvaine. In practice, this means a modern metal blend of post-metal and black/shoegaze. This results in songs that are highly atmospheric, yet also song-focused. Continue reading “Vestige – Janis (Review)”
Fvnerals are a German doom band and this is their third album.
Bringing together doom, shoegaze, and dark ambient into a 40-minute cataclysmic declaration, Let the Earth Be Silent is the end times given aural form. Continue reading “Fvnerals – Let the Earth Be Silent (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”
March was yet another good month for metal releases. I’m aware that I pretty much say that every month, but it’s true. Dig into these albums and let me know what your favourite was last month
Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of March 2022”
This is the fourth album from Norwegian blackgaze/post-metal one-woman act Sylvaine.
Nova is a highly atmospheric journey. If you’re a fan of the shoegaze/blackgaze genres, then this is for you. The promo blurb states that this is for fans of bands such as Alcest, Deafheaven, Harakiri for the Sky, and Emma Ruth Rundle, and it’s hard to argue with that. Continue reading “Sylvaine – Nova (Review)”
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