Tag Archives: atmospheric black metal

Album Review – NONE / NONE (2017)

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Over 30 minutes of chilling and despondent Atmospheric Black Metal by an unknown entity from the Pacific Northwest that will darkly guide you on a one-way journey to emptiness.

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Chilling and despondent music from the Pacific Northwest is what you’ll hear on the impressive self-titled debut album by Atmospheric/Depressive Black Metal entity NONE, a dark, full-bodied album comprised of three freakish and distinct arias interconnected by the howling winds of winter that will certainly appeal to fans of the Atmospheric Black Metal and DSBM (Depressive Suicidal Black Metal) crafted by groups such as Shining, ColdWorld and Woods of Desolation. Misery, grief, negativity and hopelessness are just a few elements you’ll find in the music by NONE, darkly guiding you on a one-way journey to emptiness.

Formed in 2015 in the city of Portland, Oregon, in the United States, NONE doesn’t carry its simple but enigmatic name in vain. NONE is precisely that, as they have no faces and they are no one, being solely represented by the depressive and obscure sounds emanating from each one of the three multi-layered compositions of the album. Drawing influences from the most melancholic and austere forms of atmospheric extreme music, NONE can quickly become the soundtrack to your most obscure moments, showing you that solitude might not be a bad solution at all in our lives.

In the opening track, simply titled Cold, the atmosphere couldn’t feel more sinister and disheartened, with its background noises and smooth piano notes quickly exploding into a puissant sonority. This is beautiful Depressive Black Metal perfect for closing your eyes and letting darkness embrace you, showcasing not only demonic gnarls and Stygian Black Metal guitars, but also presenting acoustic elements to bring some sort of false peace and hope to our hearts, before its climatic ending gets back to a somber and heavy sonority.

Also phantasmagorical and doomed, Wither is a direct sequel to its predecessor, with its Black Metal sounds invading our ears and souls while its hellish growls transpire hatred and despair. Furthermore, it brings forward a distressing aura found in the most sluggish and evil form of Blackened Doom, resulting in a delicate and at the same time powerful creation by NONE. And in Suffer we finally reach the stage where all songs together become one, displaying anguished screams and slow-paced Doom Metal beats complemented by the song’s serene piano notes. It’s a strong conclusion to the story being told by this arcane creature known as NONE, morphing into a desolated ending where it’s clear that darkness has taken full control of our souls.

You can purchase a digital copy of NONE at the Hypnotic Dirge Records’ BandCamp, but if you prefer to actually put your hands on such bitterly cold and mordant Depressive Black Metal work-of-art, the album is available in a 6-panel digipack (limited to 300 copies) at the Hypnotic Dirge Records’ webstore, where you can also find it as a T-shirt + CD bundle, or at Discogs. You already know that after following the dark path crafted by this unknown entity there’s no way back, but I guess you really don’t care about the consequences. Quite the contrary, that’s exactly where you want to be.

Best moments of the album: Wither.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2017 Hypnotic Dirge Records

Track listing
1. Cold 11:57
2. Wither 8:45
3. Suffer 9:25

Band members
*Information not available*

Album Review – netra / Ingrats (2017)

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The perfect soundtrack for late-night walks in the city, combining several different music genres into a coherent stream of melancholy, might be right in front of your eyes thanks to this exquisite Urban Black Metal one-man project.

Conveying images of a grey, boring and anxiogenic city life, Urban Black Metal one-man project netra is back with its third full-length album, titled Ingrats (which is French for “ungrateful”), the perfect soundtrack for late-night walks in the city, combining several different music genres such as as Ambient Black Metal, Trip-Hop and moody Jazz into a coherent stream of melancholy. Put differently, the music found in Ingrats is highly recommended if you like bands such as Manes, Katatonia or Burzum, and especially if you are not afraid of trying something truly new that will defy your senses and concepts in music.

Formed in 2003 by French multi-instrumentalist Steven Le Moan in Quimper, a citiy located in Brittany, in northwestern France, netra relased its first album Mélancolie Urbaine in 2010. Two years later, netra presented the highly claustrophobic Sørbyen, recorded after relocating to the city of Gjøcik, Norway over the course of a year. In addition to that, netra also collaborated with Californian rap duo We’rewolves in 2013 to create a true hybrid between Hip-Hop and Black Metal, the EP entitled Dreading Consciousness. Now in 2017, after moving to Auckland, a major urban city in the North Island of New Zealand, Steven and his netra found the right amount of inspiration to mesmerize us once again with the Depressive Black Metal and all other styles featured in Ingrats.

Gimme a Break, a Jazz-like intro with smooth piano and drums, introduces us to the universe of Ingrats before netra’s Black Metal strikes the listener like a lightning bolt in Everything’s Fine, a dark and aggressive composition where netra manically grasps the song’s lyrics, full of anguish and hatred. Furthermore, the song’s hints of Jazz and Experimental Metal, together with some clean vocals by the end of the song, make the whole experience of listening to this multilayered tune even more exciting. In Underneath My Words the Ruins of Yours, an atmospheric instrumental composition alternating between electronic music and sheer obscurity, simply close your eyes and savor its musicality, getting ready for the melancholic Live with It, continuing with netra’s wicked fusion of sounds and proving music doesn’t need to be heavy and fast all the time to be good. Its clean vocals are spot-on, not to mention the gentle balance between acoustic guitars and electronic elements, turning it into one of the top moments of the album in my opinion.

Infinite Boredom, an instrumental bridge displaying gentle piano notes under the rain, paves a gray and sorrowful path for Don’t Keep Me Waiting, a movie-inspired creation by netra where all instruments keep growing in intensity, transpiring melancholy and pain. It’s interesting to notice how the saxophone somehow “replaces” the vocal parts, with a dense background voice, as well as the song’s Atmospheric Black Metal beats, enhancing the overall darkness present in the music. And A Genuinely Benevolent Man, the most modern and electronic of all songs, blends Trip-Hop with Atmospheric Black Metal elements, with the music gradually increasing in intensity while netra delivers only a few sick growls throughout the whole song.

The hopelessness depicted by netra continues in the ambient Paris or Me, where subtle hints of Jazz and Black Metal coming from the piano and guitar lines add to this instrumental piece a delicate feeling of solitude; whereas in Could’ve, Should’ve, Would’ve I highly recommend you keep your eyes closed and follow netra in his walk through the dark and hazy urban streets where he lives. Bringing forward Industrial and Alternative Metal nuances, there’s no sign of happiness in the music, which can be felt through his clean but acid vocals, reminding me of some of the best creations by Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. And how about a sweet Jazz song as the closing act of this unusual album? In Jusqu’au-boutiste you’ll not only get that, but netra also offers trenchant riffs and blast beats in the best Atmospheric Black Metal style imaginable, like a sharp razor cutting our ears while the piano parts give peace to our souls, ending the album in a tempestuous fashion.

Only time will tell what’s next for the urban black metaller netra, but based on the amazing quality of the music found in Ingrats (which you can listen in its entirety HERE), I don’t think he’ll take too long to release more of his eccentric music. While we all wait for another blast of his multilayered creations, let’s keep in touch with him through his Facebook page, and purchase a copy of Ingrats through the Hypnotic Dirge Records’ BandCamp (where you can find some interesting bundles like the “ultimate netra listener pack”) or official webstore in a 4 panel sleeve with 8 page booklet format or as a fantastic package containing the CD, a 11cm x 7cm all-weather vinyl netra sticker and a beyond awesome “Urban Black Metal” shirt, as well as on Amazon and on CD Baby. Now please excuse, as I’m going for a lonely walk through the dark and cold shadows of Toronto, and I guess you know which album I’ll be listening to.

Best moments of the album: Everything’s Fine, Live with It and Could’ve, Should’ve, Would’ve.

Worst moments of the album: A Genuinely Benevolent Man.

Released in 2017 Hypnotic Dirge Records

Track listing
1. Gimme a Break 1:19
2. Everything’s Fine 5:24
3. Underneath My Words the Ruins of Yours 3:36
4. Live with It 4:30
5. Infinite Boredom 0:44
6. Don’t Keep Me Waiting 4:32
7. A Genuinely Benevolent Man 5:10
8. Paris or Me 3:32
9. Could’ve, Should’ve, Would’ve 5:00
10. Jusqu’au-boutiste 5:55

Band members
netra – vocals, all instruments

Album Review – Lorn / Arrayed Claws EP (2017)

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Absorb the music found in these five psychotic and violent tracks that perfectly exemplify the evolutionary path within the Black Metal field of this distinguished Italian act.

Rating4

ivr068-lorn-arrayed-clawsListening to the distinct Atmospheric Black Metal engendered by Italian act Lorn feels like contemplating a work-of-art by an unusual modern artist, changing its shape and form and bringing forward new elements every single time you stare at it. Since its inception in 1999, this alluring band from Bolzano, a city in the South Tyrol province of north Italy, has been delivering fresh extreme music through each of their releases, never sounding repetitive or outdated, with their full-length albums Towards the Abyss of Disease (2006) and Subconscious Metamorphosis (2013) being their most remarkable works to date. Now in 2017 Lorn are back with Arrayed Claws, featuring five psychotic and violent tracks that perfectly exemplify their evolutionary path within the Black Metal field.

If Subconscious Metamorhposis was a transcendental mental journey towards a superior illumination, Lorn’s new album looks more like a physical and desperate odyssey through the regions of Death. Featuring a classy artwork by Joel Angelini, with layout by Francesco Gemelli, Arrayed Claws will disturb your peace of mind and take you to the obscure realms of Black Metal crafted by the band’s mastermind and multi-instrumentalist Radok. Hence, as aforementioned, every instance you take a listen at such eccentric album you’ll experience different thoughts and feelings, expanding your comprehension of what atmospheric and experimental Extreme Metal truly means and, therefore, enhancing your personal connection with the music by Lorn.

In the opening track, titled Disharmonic Feticism, a darkened squall of brutal, extreme music hits the listener without clemency, with drummer Chimsicrin discharging furious old school Black Metal beats while Radok showcases all his skills through his demonic gnarls and violent riffs, not to mention its beautifully deranged lyrics (“Intentness / So that nothing correspond / Intolerance to the familiar / Orgasmic grate”). After seven minutes of violence and chaos, we face four minutes of a calm atmospheric passage to help soothe our souls, proving how broad extreme music can be when played by the right musicians (especially if they come from Italy, a never-ending source of high-end Black Metal). Their sonic demolition comes back in full force in Abstract Trap, a solid display of vicious Black Metal with Death and Thrash Metal elements to make it more aggressive, with the beastly Chimsicrin being unstoppable behind his drums. Moreover, this is another long, complex composition where again after around four minutes the band transitions their demonic music to an eerie atmospheric aura, with the difference that this time their havoc returns after a short while, with its ending feeling phantasmagorical and menacing.

lorn-logoThe second half of the album offers the listener two songs inspired by the Altaian mythology, two stages of a purification path. Toybodim, a fast-paced high-end Extreme Metal tune showcasing possessed vocals and lancinating guitars, takes its name from a black lake where the souls of the dead fall and become larvae, which can be seen in its lyrics (“Miserable parasite / The cowardice inebriates your void / Hidden haughtiness / Allegiance frighten your rotten self”); whereas the multilayered instrumental tune Sut-aq-Kol is a lake of milk where the spirits get purified, a placenta for the newborns. Musically speaking, this second song continues with Lorn’s banquet of extreme music, once again displaying boisterous drums and infernal riffs. The transition between these two tracks to the atmospheric Aus Nebel Turm aims at leaving the listener beaten and dismayed, with the painful awareness of being only a grain of nothing, lost in mysterious fogs of existence. After an ominous beginning, the music flows into pure Atmospheric and Experimental Black Metal, concluding the transcendental journey proposed by Lorn.

As mentioned in the beginning of this review, every single time you take a listen at the music by Lorn you’ll feel different,  and if you’re ready to experience and absorb all the fury and complexity found in the five tracks of Arrayed Claws, simply go to the I, Voidhanger Records’ BandCamp or webstore to purchase this unconventional and extremely well-crafted album. Also, in order to keep track of such distinguished act, go visit Lorn’s Facebook page to know more about their music, future releases and other details, as a project like this that can unite harmony and disharmony in such enthralling way definitely deserves our sincere support.

Best moments of the album: Disharmonic Feticism and Toybodim.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2017 I, Voidhanger Records

Track listing
1. Disharmonic Feticism 10:53
2. Abstract Trap 10:15
3. Toybodim 6:09
4. Sut-aq-Kol 4:56
5. Aus Nebel Turm 6:40

Band members
Radok – guitars, bass, synth, vocals
Chimsicrin – drums

Album Review – Gaerea / Gaerea EP (2016)

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This five-piece faceless and nameless horde from Italy will blast your ears and minds with the darkened, dissonant and furious extreme music flowing from their debut self-titled album.

Rating5

front_coverPlaying darkened, dissonant and furious Black Metal without displaying any hints of mercy for mankind in the demonic 27 minutes of their self-titled debut EP Gaerea, Italian Black Metal quintet Gaerea will please fans of controversial groups such as Mgła, Secrets Of The Moon, Celeste and Behemoth, among others, bringing an infinite amount of obscurity and consternation to our ears and souls. Hailing from the cities of Rome and Lazio, this five-piece faceless and nameless act is one of the biggest promises in the Italian underground scene, and after listening to this professional and multi-layered album I’m sure the beautiful name of this phantasmagoric horde will stick inside your mind forever.

“Let’s make one thing clear. We need to stress the fact that our era is lost in a huge void of numbness. We are here to bring and present you what your system could not solve by itself. We’ll cover the daylight with ashes and smash the massive skull that’s blocking your brain and will to evolve. We’re Gaerea.” Those interesting words spilled by the band itself are precise in describing their musicality, a dense mix of different extreme styles such as Blackened Death Metal and Funeral Doom, which obviously leads to tenebrous lyrics and a total lack of happiness or hope in each one of the five tracks of the album.

An ominous intro with eerie background noises grows until guitars and deep guttural vocals join the musicality in Santificato, a demonic display of Black and Doom Metal that sounds disturbing from start to finish, setting the tone for the next tune, titled Final Call. Boisterous bass and guitar sounds open the gates to the underworld in this darkened chant blending Atmospheric Black Metal with elements from Funeral Doom and traditional Doom Metal, with its lyrics dealing with our personal struggles and all issues our society faces in this rotting world (“Why we all fight if the end is the same? / Six feet under is deep enough to make us equal like an unborn child / Black or white we want to be someone / We are all made of choices so why do we choose the wrong one? / War is not the answer to stop this carnage / So stand up and face it”).

img_0429Crisp guitar lines ignite the blackened tune Pray To Your False God, where drums come crushing like a steamroller. Moreover, desperate growls and an obscure vibe are the main ingredients in the most menacing of all songs, with its second half getting more sluggish with Black and Doom Metal flawlessly merging into one forbidding organism; followed by the sinister Through Time, a song fans of Behemoth and Triptykon will enjoy for sure due to its flammable Black Metal guitar riffs, anguished screams and a rhythmic and fierce drumming. And singing about death (“You scream for silence / You yell for pain / You just want to be quiet / On this pleasant dream / It burns you must feel / Your flesh going to ashes”), Void Of Numbness is Blackened Death Metal at its finest with a great performance by all band members, closing the EP in a more-than-fantastic and somber way. Furthermore, its drums sound amazingly powerful and heavy, making a precise duo with the satanic gnarls blasted by the band’s phantom vocalist.

Gaerea can be found (but not unmasked) at their official Facebook page, with their devilish EP being available for purchase at their BandCamp page and at the Everlasting Spew Records’ BandCamp page or webstore, but if you want to put your perverse hands on an awesome bundle containing the album and an exclusive, stylish T-shirt, simply visit the Everlasting Spew Records’ webstore for that very special offer. In short, Gaenea might be faceless and nameless, but they’re undoubtedly a solid evil identity that will reach the darkest depths of your mind with their unrelenting music.

Best moments of the album: Pray To Your False God and Void Of Numbness.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2016 Everlasting Spew Records

Track listing
1. Santificato 3:32
2. Final Call 6:25
3. Pray To Your False God 5:50
4. Through Time 6:31
5. Void Of Numbness 5:09

Band members
*Information not available*

Album Review – N.K.V.D. / Totalitarian Industrial Oppression (2016)

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Join the metallic army of Industrial Black Metal brought forth by an interesting project from France inspired by dictatorship, totalitarianism and oppression.

Rating4

nkvd_tioNarodnyi Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del (Russian for “People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs”), or simply N.K.V.D., was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin, being active from 1943 to 1946. Almost 60 years after its dissolution, here we have the new generation of N.K.V.D., this time an Industrial Black Metal project formed by French multi-instrumentalist Loïc.F in Montpellier, a city in southern France, blasting their disturbing and uproarious dark music inspired by dictatorship, totalitarianism and oppression, among other obscure topics from a not-so-distant past.

N.K.V.D.’s brutal, cold Black Metal has been haunting the souls of the living since 2005 with a series of outstanding releases, those being their debut EP Diktatura in 2007, their first full-length album Vlast in 2011, and finally the album Hakmarrja in 2014. By the way, an extract of the song “Hakmarrja” appears in the recently released movie The Blair Witch Project, just for you to get a sense of how obscure their music is. After a decade of existence, as both Diktatura and Vlast have been sold out for years, Loïc.F together with Krucyator Productions and Clan of Exclusion decided to release a compilation entitled Totalitarian Industrial Oppression, uniting the two records in one with a remastered version of Vlast. Featuring a tyrannical artwork by H & Secret Shelter, this special compilation offers the most solid and disquieting Industrial Black Metal you can think of, taking you to the darkest years of political repression in the history of mankind.

The menacing and phantasmagoric intro Ch.R.I kicks off the first part of the album, the EP Diktatura, opening the gates for a pulverizing Industrial Metal hymn with a true Black Metal aura titled Kadyrovski Klan, which makes Ministry and Nine Inch Nails sound like the Teletubbies so heavy it is. Moreover, Loïc.F was capable of creating such a diverse and dense sounding by himself he truly deserves to be called a one-man army, not to mention the song’s sensational marching ending. Then we have another dissonant and disturbing composition, Die Blinde Wissenschaft (or “the blind science” from German), even more furious than its predecessor and a delight for the lovers of the genre, where all spaces are filled with metallic and aggressive sounds; followed by Incipit SSSR, a song that will pierce your mind so belligerent it is, the perfect soundtrack for a warlike horror movie with the vocals by guest musician Eric Syre sounding truly demonic and full of hatred. And closing the EP we have the perturbing soundtrack-inspired track Sloboda, which somber ambience in the beginning gives place to pure epicness in the form of Industrial Metal that “marches” powerfully until the song’s end.

promo-pictureLet me warn you that the second part, the remastered album Vlast, is not going to be any lighter than Diktatura, starting with the thunderous and explosive noises that smoothly morph into mean Atmospheric Black Metal in Geheime Staats Polizei (German for “Secret State Police”), where although drums are programmed, they add an impeccable level of violence to the overall result. The second version of Incipit SSSR, featuring guest musician H.S on vocals, is as epic and obscure as the original version, with its demonic warlike aura embracing the listener while Loïc.F does a great job by adding the necessary samples to the music, making the whole song more realistic; whereas Ibn Al Khattab presents a flammable feast of blast beats, menacing voices and another killer performance by H.S, with Loïc.F creating an eruption of dark sounds in the background, turning it into one of the best tracks of the album. And in Alkhan-Kala, we face a wicked narration in the beginning followed by more sheer darkness in the form of Extreme Metal, sounding like an industrial army marching to war.

Get ready for war in the last batch of industrialism and dictatorship from Totalitarian Industrial Oppression. In Geniul Din Carpati (or “Genius of the Carpathians” from Romanian), Loïc.F definitely knows how to start a song in a very impactful way, with the strident and resonant sound of drums penetrating your mind despite the entire song not being  as gripping as the rest of the album. As industrialist as possible, Krasnaya Paranoia shows no sign of happiness or peace, with its imposing background being the perfect stage for guest vocalist Tyrant Moloch to provide his gnarls to another brutal creation by N.K.V.D., while in Socijalisticka Federativna Republika Jugoslavija we have an army chant to kick off things in a proper, ominous way. If you pay good attention to the entire album, you’ll notice this is an alternative (or more complete) version of “Sloboda”, exhibiting similar samples, rhythm and tempo changes, but with a stronger vibe and density. The last track of the album, Grozny, is simply disturbing, showcasing heavy guitar sounds and fierce drums in a solid fusion of Black and Industrial Metal, something Loïc.F has mastered doing. It’s basically an instrumental tune that would have been much more effective if slightly shorter, but still quite enjoyable.

If you want to join the metallic army of N.K.V.D. forged in their autocratic realm of Industrial Black Metal, simply visit their Facebook page for more information on this unique project. And obviously don’t forget to support the independent scene by purchasing your copy of Totalitarian Industrial Oppression by visiting their BandCamp page, the Krucyator Productions’ BandCamp page or webstore, or also at Discogs.

Best moments of the album: Kadyrovski Klan, Geheime Staats Polizei and Ibn Al Khattab.

Worst moments of the album: Geniul Din Carpati and Grozny.

Released in 2016 Krucyator Productions

Track listing
Part 1 (Diktatura EP)
1. Ch.R.I 1:14
2. Kadyrovski Klan 4:48
3. Die Blinde Wissenschaft 4:16
4. Incipit SSSR 4:42
5. Sloboda 6:39

Part 2 (Vlast)
6. Geheime Staats Polizei 5:37
7. Incipit SSSR 4:32
8. Ibn Al Khattab 3:02
9. Alkhan-Kala 4:12
10. Geniul Din Carpati 4:17
11. Krasnaya Paranoia 4:25
12. Socijalisticka Federativna Republika Jugoslavija 5:47
13. Grozny 5:11

Band members
Loïc.F – guitars, bass, programming, samples

Guest musicians
Eric Syre – vocals on “Incipit SSSR” (Diktatura version)
Masterssatan – vocals on “Die Blinde Wissenschaft”
H.S  – vocals on all Vlast album, except on “Krasnaya Paranoia”
Tyrant Moloch – vocals on “Krasnaya Paranoia”

Album Review – Gespenst / Forfald (2016)

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Four lengthy, atmospheric and lugubrious tracks not recommended for the lighthearted, thoroughly crafted by a brand new Danish Black Metal act that will mercilessly disturb your peace of mind.

Rating5

gespenst-forfald-cover-artHailing from Aarhus, the second-largest city in Denmark located around 190 kilometers northwest of the capital Copenhagen, Black Metal act Gespenst (translated to English as “phantom”) is a fresh and uproarious new project featuring former members of Glorior Belli, Woebegone Obscured and Horned Almighty, among other bands, who together bring forth an atmospheric and ominous fusion of Scandinavian Black Metal with Funeral Doom, adding touches of Dark Ambient to their already eccentric extreme music. And the result of that devilish amalgamation, their debut full-length album entitled Forfald, will definitely disturb your peace of mind.

Forfald is the Danish word for “decay”, and that’s quite the sensation you’ll feel while listening to the album’s four lengthy and disturbing tracks. Listening to Forfald is like witnessing the ruin of mankind, descending into an abyss of anguish and darkness to the sound of the lugubrious music engendered by Gespenst. In its almost 40 minutes of duration, Forfald doesn’t provide any single second of tranquility or happiness, always extracting the deepest fears and most obscure thoughts from the listener. Another important piece of the music by Gespenst is the fact that some of their songs are entirely sung in Danish, a bold move that adds an extra layer of mystery and rawness to their music, enhancing the experience of listening to such somber album.

The blackened guitar lines by guitarist and keyboardist Genfærd kick off the demonic hymn Sorgens Taage, which would translate as “sorrow fog” in English, bursting agony and hatred while lead singer and bassist Galskab fires his devilish growls, increasing the obscurity of such an atmospheric and epic composition. This 9-minute aria brings forward somber Atmospheric Black Metal with hints of Funeral Doom and a sensational darkened vibe, with all the changes in rhythm, ferocity and melody adding an extra taste to it, with the doomed ending led by the sluggish beats by guest drummer Andreas Joen piercing your heart mercilessly. Even slower and more tenebrous, Revelation of Maggots offers the listener old school disquieting Funeral Doom, with highlights to the disturbing lyrics grasped by Galskab (“A sea of worms, in crawling pace / All over me, consumes my face / But I still see, without my eyes / As maggots feast, and hatch to flies”). Furthermore, Genfærd makes sure his guitar emanates grief and harasses the listener’s mind, and despite a few breaks a melancholic rhythm is maintained throughout this damned creation by Gespenst, with yet again a sepulchral ending, this time enhanced by a somber narration and anguished screams in the background.

gespenst-photoMin Sjæl Raadner (Danish for “my rotten soul” or “my soul rots”), the shortest of all tracks, presents an atmospheric and sinister beginning before the band attacks us with their dynamic blend of Black and Doom Metal, where the guitar riffs once again sound dark and harmonious, consequently dragging us to the Stygian world of Gespenst. Put differently, this is a song that can easily become a funeral hymn for lovers of extreme music. And in Life Drained to the Black Abyss we’re treated to 12 minutes of sheer darkness, with a horror movie-inspired intro progressively growing into beautiful Funeral Doom with the beats by Andreas getting sharper than before, feeling like a storm is about to begin in the background while Galskab spews the song’s lyrics about the derangement of the human mind (“My eyes have been eternally fixed / At the spectrum of darkness / A blackened stream of despair / It seems I have always been here”). In addition, when the musicality gets heavier, leaning towards classic Black Metal, it’s time for Genfærd to take the lead and guide the band’s demonic performance, haunting our perverted souls until the song’s obscure conclusion.

In summary, this is another of those albums not recommended for the average listener due to its disturbing level of agony and pain, but if you love that extremely dark side of music I can guarantee Forfald has a lot to offer you. You can take a listen at the entire album HERE, and go check Gespenst’s Facebook page for more details on the band’s current and future plans. And if you want to purchase Forfald, you can do so by visiting the band’s BandCamp page, the Hellthrasher Productions’ webstore and BandCamp page, or the Duplicate Records’ webstore and BandCamp page. This Danish Black Metal group has all it takes to take the underworld of extreme music by storm, with Forfald representing exactly what they are capable of with their instruments in their hands and a lot of darkness in their hearts.

Best moments of the album: Min Sjæl Raadner.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2016 Hellthrasher Productions / Duplicate Records

Track listing
1. Sorgens Taage 9:04
2. Revelation of Maggots 10:54
3. Min Sjæl Raadner 7:17
4. Life Drained to the Black Abyss 12:14

Band members
Galskab – vocals, bass
Genfærd – guitar, synths

Guest musician
Andreas Joen – drums 

Live musicians
Christian Søgaard – guitar
Andreas Tagmose – bass
Mads Mortensen – drums

Album Review – Forteresse / Thèmes pour la Rébellion (2016)

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Métal Noir Québécois at its finest by the progenitors of the genre, enfolded by pure insurgency and a strong sense of patriotism.

Rating4

sp044One of my favorite expressions in heavy music is “Métal Noir Québécois”, not only because it sounds beautiful, but mainly due to the fact it truly represents the unity, patriotism and epicness of Extreme Metal hailing from “la belle province” of Quebec. That powerful designation was originated back in 2006 when Atmospheric Black Metal act Forteresse, formed that same year in Quebec City, released their debut album titled Métal Noir Québécois, and now ten years later this talented quartet  reinforces even more the concept they created with their fifth installment named Thèmes pour la Rébellion.

Singing (obviously in French) about the history of Quebec and its separatist movement, Forteresse continue their rebellious and vengeful path thoroughly built through the years within each of their releases, with Thèmes pour la Rébellion being a further step from their previous release, their 2011 album Crépuscule d’Octobre. If you love dark and dense sounds with a passionate and violent storyline behind them, this album will definitely blow your mind, and even if you’re not a huge connoisseur or admirer of Black Metal there’s still a lot to enjoy in all eight tracks from an album that, above all things, lives up to the recent but already distinguished legacy of Métal Noir Québécois.

The intro Aube De 1837 (“dawn of 1837”), inspired by the Rebellions of 1837, takes you into the battlefield, setting the tone to Spectre De La Rébellion (“spectrum of the rebellion”), emanating blast beats and an infernal atmosphere from its very first second, with Athros transpiring pure rebelliousness and anger through his harsh growls. Although it sounds like old school Black Metal at first, I believe we can call this Epic Black Metal due to its rising energy, its more melodious lines and its truly climatic ending. In the also dense Là où Nous Allons (“there where we are going”), guitarists Matrak and Moribund fire extreme aggression through their riffs and solos, while drummer Fiel accelerates his beats even more, generating the perfect background for the song’s belligerent lyrics (“Armez-vous de vos mousquets les plus fidèles / La charge sera brutale et sans pitié / La monnaie des cartes est inutile là où nous allons / À l’aube, le destin aura été scellé”). At this point of the album, you’ll be already able to realize all songs will be epic from start to finish, with no exceptions.

forteresse-2016aForteresse’s metallic artillery do not cool down in the slightly less destructive and more melodic Par la Bouche de Mes Canons (“through the mouth of my cannons”), with highlights to the amazing job done by Matrak and Moribond on guitars once again, while Athros keeps sending an insurgent message through his combative vociferations. In addition, you can sense the pain and anger growing towards the end of the song, which ends up working as a bridge to the magnificent Le Sang des Héros (“the blood of heroes”), where a wicked intro with a short narration explodes into sheer brutality. This is high-end Black Metal where Athros and Fiel unleash hell on earth, an intricate composition that fills the air with hatred and sorrow, with its nonstop electricity and endless pugnacity helping turn this into one of the best moments of the album (needless to say, I would love to witness them playing this song live).

The last part of the album begins with Forêt d’Automne (“autumn forest”), where traditional riffs continue to spread darkness whereas Fiel delivers more of his rhythmic and complex beats and fills, not to mention that, as the story advances, you’ll notice Athros gets more and more enraged on vocals. Vespérales (“vesperal”), the second to last tune, brings forward more violence and anger, being one of the most epic of all songs with its seven minutes of cutting riffs, vicious growls and a fierce atmosphere, an amazing example of what Métal Noir Québécois truly is; followed by Le Dernier Voyage (“the last voyage”), an outro that beautifully represents a real aftermath, with its atmospheric passages signing the war is finally over, therefore concluding such a great album on a melancholic but strong note.

You can take a good listen to this thrilling album in its entirety HERE, as well as visit Forteresse’s Facebook page to know more about the band and their music. And in order to provide them your full support, go buy your copy of Thèmes pour la Rébellion at the Sepulchral Productions’ webstore, at Discogs or at the Season of Mist’s webstore. Forteresse do not just offer Métal Noir Québécois, they do it almost to perfection to guarantee you understand and absorb everything they want to tell you through their music. This is Métal Noir Québécois at its finest, and if I were you I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to join Forteresse’s army and get into the battlefield alongside them.

Best moments of the album: Spectre De La Rébellion and Le Sang des Héros.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2016 Sepulchral Productions

Track listing
1. Aube De 1837 0:46
2. Spectre De La Rébellion 5:33
3. Là où Nous Allons 6:09
4. Par la Bouche de Mes Canons 6:14
5. Le Sang des Héros 6:51
6. Forêt d’Automne 5:20
7. Vespérales 6:59
8. Le Dernier Voyage 4:55

Band members
Athros – vocals, additional guitars, additional keyboards
Matrak – lead guitars
Moribond – rhythm guitars, bass
Fiel – drums, keyboards

Live musician
G. – bass

Album Review – Cairiss / Fall EP (2016)

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Enjoy this outburst of different emotions and feelings, embraced by the heavy sounds of Post-Metal and the delicate but obscure ambience of Atmospheric Black Metal.

Rating5

Fall ArtworkThe album I’m going to talk about belongs to one of those bands that are capable of transforming all the ravage, darkness and anger of raw Black Metal into daintiness and melancholy without losing that inner aggressiveness necessary in good extreme music. However, don’t ask any of the members from British Atmospheric Black/Post-Metal act Cairiss how exactly they do that, as there’s no magic formula to reach the musicality presented in their debut EP entitled Fall. They simply let their hearts guide their creativity, resulting into an outburst of different emotions and feelings embraced by heavy passages, piercing sounds and a delicate ambience.

Founded in Southampton, UK in 2013 by guitarist Ethan Bishop in collaboration with his partner, vocalist Freyja Brown, this promising female-fronted band released their first demo track, named Disgraced (one of the songs from the EP, by the way) in 2014, which has generated so far over 80,000 views on YouTube and over 600 downloads via their Bandcamp page. Highly influenced by bands such as Opeth and Alcest, Cairiss offer in Fall a 30-minute passionate voyage through the worlds of Atmospheric Black Metal, Post-Metal and Progressive Metal split in three distinct compositions, all wrapped up by a dark and minimalist artwork designed by Freyja herself.

For The Lives He Stole, with its serene and charming piano notes, brings forward a soothing ambience that gradually moves to a heavier sounding beautifully enhanced by the smooth voice of Freyja, suddenly exploding into demonic growls and, consequently, reminding me of the contemporary music by Danish one-woman project Myrkur. Furthermore, Ethan and his bandmate Martin Williams do a great job on guitars, firing melancholy and pain through their riffs while drummer Connor Frapwell adds his share of Doom Metal and Atmospheric Doom to the musicality with his hefty beats. Not only that, the slow and somber breaks and soulful guitar solos are more-than-welcome ingredients to this 12-minute aria, with the darkness contained in the musicality growing until the song’s introspective ending.

cairissStrong emotions arise when the classy chant Disgraced, their aforementioned debut single, kicks off with beautiful Doom Metal riffs boosting its obscurity while its angelic ambience brings peace to our hearts. In this precise fusion of traditional Black Metal and Atmospheric Black Metal, the amazing Freyja ranges from the most charming clean vocals to pure hellish screeches (which obviously bring with them some traditional blast beats by Connor to properly blacken the whole composition), turning this into the most complete, exciting and well-crafted of the three tracks in Fall.

Last but not least, we have the title-track, Fall, a delicate Post-Metal composition focused on the smooth vocals by Freyja accompanied by some acoustic guitar lines and a calm environment. It’s undoubtedly the least Black Metal of all songs, getting closer instead to being a soundtrack to a drama movie with a touching ending. In other words, this is another taste of the uniqueness this talented band is capable of delivering to fans of complex and heavy music, leaving the doors open for more of their stylish Post-Metal in a not-so-distant future.

Which surprises the minds of Ethan and Freyja have for us as Cairiss evolve as a band only time will tell, but in the meantime there’s already a lot to relish in Fall, which can be listened in its entirety on their YouTube channel and purchased at their BandCamp page or on iTunes. Let’s just hope the wait for the next step in their career doesn’t take too long and that they release either another EP or maybe their first full-length album soon, permeating the air with their sophisticated and heartwarming music once again for our total delight.

Best moments of the album: Disgraced.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2016 Independent

Track listing
1. For The Lives He Stole 12:47
2. Disgraced 9:35
3. Fall 7:56

Band members
Freyja Brown – vocals
Ethan Bishop – guitars
Martin Williams – guitars
Sam Weston – bass
Connor Frapwell – drums

Album Review – Rapheumets Well / The Exile (2016)

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Once you let your soul become part of the electrifying saga brought forth by this unstoppable Extreme Metal act from the United States, there’s no turning back.

Rating4

Rapheumets Well - The Exile 2016 - Album Cover- smallNot only the small city of Hickory, located in the state of North Carolina, United States has a Symphonic/Progressive Black Metal band, but the music played by this band is so complex and thrilling I wouldn’t be surprised if suddenly the city turned into a worldwide reference for this type of Extreme Metal. Thus, if you like the theatrical havoc generated by Fleshgod Apocalypse and Dimmu Borgir, for example, you’ll fall in love for the music found in The Exile, the brand new concept album by the symphonic horde known as Rapheumets Well. Formed in 2008 and having released their debut album Dimensions in 2014, which featured ten songs that progressively tell a larger story portrayed in a complex saga of Atai (ancient architects), who aid in the propagation of sentient life throughout the multi-verse, Rapheumets Well return with the second “chapter” of a narrative that will blow your mind while their music penetrates deep into your soul.

Taking place during the “Soyumoth’s War” in the plain of Sovael, The Exile is in fact a fictional journey that viciously represents the hardships of life in a weird and complex way, thoroughly engendered by drummer and lyricist Joshua “Nassaru” Ward. In order to get in touch with this alternative universe created by Joshua, you can take a look at Sovael – The Great Divergence, which is indeed the inspiration for both of the band’s albums, or maybe I should say the albums are the soundtrack for the saga. Either way, I recommend you take a deep breath before you dive into the world of Rapheumets Well, because things are about to get extremely serious, heavy, symphonic and epic.

The acoustic intro in the opening track, Resurrecting The Blood Gate, doesn’t last long as symphonic and blasting sounds quickly invade our ears in a majestic way, with lead singer Tripp King vociferating the lyrics like a lunatic beast. Moreover, the sonority crafted by Joshua on drums is nicely complemented by keyboardist Aaron Rogers, enhancing the complexity and punch of this tune. In The Blight of Sotath Shal, wicked keyboards explode into brutal Black Metal with guitarists Daniel Presnell and Hunter Ross delivering solid riffs while Joshua keeps firing his blast beats, whereas in The Epic of Darmak, even more imposing and dense, the beautiful female vocals by Annette Greene provide a gentle balance to all destruction led by Tripp, turning this into one of the best songs of the album for sure.

Rapheumets WellCrucible of Titans (an awesome name for a song, by the way) couldn’t sound less violent and transcendent, with its polished production enhancing the reach of each instrument and therefore making us feel them inside our minds during this powerful blend of Atmospheric and Symphonic Black Metal; followed by Resurgence, a chant full of melancholy and anger where all three vocalists have amazing performances and, once again, the keyboards by Aaron generate a wicked atmosphere. In addition, this is the best song to enjoy the intricate bass lines by Jon Finney, especially if you’re a lover of the rumbling sound generated by this distinct instrument.

In Witch of Dark Spire, a lot more direct but as powerful as all previous tracks, the guitars by Daniel and Hunter are absolutely on fire, turning this into the most metallic of all tunes. However, in order to add some romance to this sonic havoc, we have Annette sounding like an angelic spirit with her smooth vocals. The title-track The Exile elevates even more the overall quality of the album, showcasing an astral intro that gently flows into potent and visceral music. Joshua is insanely amazing on drums with his fills and unstoppable beats, not to mention the yet again elaborate guitar riffs by both Daniel and Hunter and the demonic growls by Tripp. And as a formidable conclusion to this epic saga, Planetary Cenotaph brings forward more Symphonic Metal and huge doses of brutality meticulously tailored for all types of metalheads, with highlights to the entrancing ambience crafted by both Aaron and Annette.

While the aforementioned “Soyumoth’s War” goes on at the plain of Sovael, you can join Rapheumets Well on Facebook, YouTube, ReverbNation and SoundCloud, and grab your copy of this intense and multilayered soundtrack named The Exile at the band’s BandCamp page or at the Test You Metal Records’ Big Cartel page. But let me warn you that once you let your soul become part of the electrifying saga brought forth by Rapheumets Well, there’s no turning back.

Best moments of the album: Resurrecting The Blood Gate, The Epic of Darmak and The Exile.

Worst moments of the album: The Blight of Sotath Shal.

Released in 2016 Test Your Metal Records

Track listing
1. Resurrecting The Blood Gate 4:44
2. The Blight of Sotath Shal 3:53
3. The Epic of Darmak 4:59
4. Crucible of Titans 4:14
5. Resurgence 6:07
6. Witch of Dark Spire 5:17
7. The Exile 6:13
8. Planetary Cenotaph 5:05

Band members
Tripp King – harsh vocals
Annette Greene – choir, female clean vocals
Daniel Presnell – guitar
Hunter Ross – guitar
Jon Finney – bass
Aaron Rogers – keyboards
Joshua “Nassaru” Ward – drums, clean vocals

Album Review – Cult of Erinyes / Transcendence EP (2016)

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High-quality Ritualistic Black Metal blasted by an up-and-coming cult of infernal goddesses that will definitely devastate your mind.

Rating5

CultOfErinyes-EPIn Greek mythology, the Erinyes (also known as Furies) were female chthonic deities of vengeance, sometimes referred to as “infernal goddesses”. Having said that, try to imagine what would happen if a cult dedicated to those hellish deities of the underworld decided to converge all their strength and energy into extreme music. The result would be the Ritualistic Black Metal bred by the skillful Belgian act Cult of Erinyes, who are just about to release a 19-minute opus in cassette format (limited to 100 copies) entitled Transcendence.

Hailing from the always pleasant city of Brussels, Belgium, Cult of Erinyes have always been crafting music in seek of the trinity, the purest form of the universe, which ends up providing a particular atmosphere of their sonority that explains the label of “Ritualistic Black Metal”. The band has already released an EP and two full-length albums since their inception in 2009, but in case you have never heard of them before I should say their new EP Transcendence is a highly-recommended option to join their cult. Featuring a distinguished artwork by Business for Satan, from the city of Strasbourg, France, this obscure EP doesn’t need more than its duration to devastate your mind and make you addicted to their eldritch metal music.

Cult of Erinyes come blasting their evil music from the very first second in Degree of Solitude, a solid fusion of raw Black Metal with a heavy and demonic ambience, with its second half becoming a bestial onslaught of Extreme Metal where lead singer Mastema growls like an ancient demon. In the title-track, Transcendence, the band’s mastermind and warlock Corvus fires his evil riffs and thunderous bass lines, while Mastema continues his vocal tribute to evil. This song showcases lots of elements from Doom Metal, Blackened Doom, Atmospheric Black Metal and Blackened Death Metal, resulting in a demonic composition that will definitely drag you down to the pits of hell.

CultofErinyes_official1And as a sophisticated bonus to admirers of Extreme Metal all over the world, this talented Belgian band offers us their kick-ass cover version for the classic chant Pagan Fears, originally recorded by Mayhem, known as the trailblazers of Norwegian Black Metal and one of the most controversial bands of all time (if not the most controversial one). This is undoubtedly an amazing tribute with the necessary amounts of darkness, despair and violence requested, and in case you want to compare it to the original song you can do that by simply clicking HERE.

To sum up, although Transcendence has only three songs, the quality of the music found in its 19 minutes of brutality and occultism is indeed beyond average, making us all eager for what this cult of infernal goddesses can offer us next. In order to know more about Cult of Erinyes and their high-end Black Metal, go check their Facebook page. And if you truly want to support the underground of extreme music, go purchase Transcendence at the Caverna Abismal Records’ BandCamp page (remember it’s limited to 100 copies only), and relish it while we all wait for another demonic rite by these talented Belgian metallers.

Best moments of the album: Degree of Solitude.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2016 Caverna Abismal Records

Track listing
1. Degree of Solitude 5:46
2. Transcendence 6:40
3. Pagan Fears (Mayhem cover) 6:32

Band members
Mastema – vocals
Corvus – guitar, bass, keyboards
Baal – drums*

*Former member