Tag Archives: atmospheric black metal

Album Review – Plutonium / Born Again Misanthrope (2016)

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Extremely toxic, flammable, unorthodox and unique. That’s the transuranic radioactive Industrial Extreme Metal engendered by Swedish multi-instrumentalist Mr. J.

Rating5

albumcoverBAMThe “most common” form of plutonium known worldwide is the transuranic radioactive chemical element with symbol Pu and atomic number 94, with very harmful effects on the human body due to its radioactivity and heavy metal poison effects. However, what would happen if those lethal characteristics were converted into heavy music? Well, I guess the result would sound pretty much like the eccentric Industrial Extreme Metal by Swedish one-man band Plutonium, as you’ll be able to experience while taking a listen at his brand new full-length album, entitled Born Again Misanthrope.

Plutonium was formed in 2003 in the city of Karlskoga, Sweden by Mr. J (also known as J. Carlsson) as his creative oasis and getaway, and since them the world has already witnessed the uprise of a demo named Wind Of Change (2004) and the full-length albums One Size Fits All (2007) and Devilmentertainment Non-Stop (2011). Featuring nine songs that not only have an unorthodox approach but also present idiosyncratic names, Born again Misanthrope signs an evolution in the music by Mr. J and his radioactive Plutonium, and if you’re expecting something easy to listen and absorb I must warn you this album is definitely not for you.

You can feel how experimental the album is from the very first notes of the opening track, Born Again Misanthrope, a fusion of Black and Industrial Metal with Blackened Doom where a hellish ambience together with demonic (and somehow robotic) growls and traditional Black Metal double bass will pulverize your mind. And even more electronic and deranged, Cortex Vortex would be an excellent soundtrack to a futuristic horror flick, with Mr. J crafting what we can call “Extreme Disco Metal”. Besides, its guitar riffs keep the song at the right level of heaviness in its almost eight minutes of violent experimentations.

The Inverted Panopticon Experience, a demented march of evil that goes on and on for six minutes, is a modernized version of Atmospheric Black Metal with an extra dosage of metallic noises, which might also be called Industrial Black Metal, while Casque Strength presents a hellish video-game sounding in a more melodic form of Industrial Metal. In addition, its constant electronic riff and the hobgoblin-like vocals by Mr. J are very interesting and end up working really well in this high-octane tune. And just when you think Mr. J will bring forward another blasting tune, he delivers the Blues-ish Progressive Doom Metal chant The Masque Of The Green Demon, a weird and obscure tune completely different from the rest of the album, sounding like a psychedelic voyage inside the mind of this crazy Swedish multi-instrumentalist.

plutoniumThe second part of Born Again Misanthrope is as otherworldly as possible, starting with the semi-acoustic and totally ominous composition Renuntiationem, another wicked surprise in the album where the music feels like a representation of a desolated planet, with Mr. J whispering the lyrics instead of screaming, followed by the vibrant Electric Barbwire Crown Of Thorns, a rawer Black Metal chant with the impact of its blast beats and harsher growls being enhanced by huge amounts of progressiveness. Then we have Alice In Plutoniumland (Two Minute Hate Part III), a two-minute instrumental track full of eerie noises and a somber atmosphere (and that’s basically it), before Confessions Of A Suicidal Cryptologist, which is perhaps the most brutal of all tracks, closes the album in the darkest way you can imagine. I’d like to see more of this blackened side of Mr. J, growling like an old school Black Metal vocalist while delivering blazing guitar riffs that will rip your soul apart.

Maybe an extra dosage of electronic background effects and a better sound recording for the drums would elevate the overall quality of the album to a whole new level, but we must acknowledge that Born Again Misanthrope is at a very decent standard taking into account the fact Mr. J is a 100% independent artist who recorded and produced everything without any external help. In other words, imagine what this guy could do with some proper support? And if you’re interested in knowing more about the transuranic radioactive Industrial Extreme Metal engendered by Mr. J, go check his Facebook page, SoundCloud and ReverbNation, and buy Born Again Misanthrope at his BandCamp page. As aforementioned, this is not an easy listen at all, being extremely toxic, flammable and unusual, but I’m pretty sure Mr. J has never wanted his uncanny Plutonium to be anywhere close to the mainstream. Quite the contrary, he is extremely comfortable with where he stands today with his music.

Best moments of the album: Electric Barbwire Crown Of Thorns and Confessions Of A Suicidal Cryptologist.

Worst moments of the album: Renuntiationem.

Released in 2016 Independent

Track listing
1. Born Again Misanthrope 4:37
2. Cortex Vortex 7:53
3. The Inverted Panopticon Experience 6:08
4. Casque Strength 7:35
5. The Masque Of The Green Demon 5:30
6. Renuntiationem 5:32
7. Electric Barbwire Crown Of Thorns 6:34
8. Alice In Plutoniumland (Two Minute Hate Part III) 2:00
9. Confessions Of A Suicidal Cryptologist 7:13

Band members
Mr. J – vocals, all instruments

Album Review – Ghost Horizon / Astral Possession EP (2016)

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An excellent Black Metal release exhaling agony, torment and depression, crafted by a promising American duo that has all it takes to succeed in the world of extreme music.

Rating5

Album CoverStraight from the city of Phoenix, located in the southwestern state of Arizona, in the United States, comes a band that aims at bringing pitch-black darkness not only to their precious Valley of the Sun, but also to the rest of the world with their unconditional rage and hopelessness. This wrathful band is called Ghost Horizon, and the quality of the music they offer us metalheads during the 12 minutes of Melodic and Atmospheric Black Metal found in their debut EP, entitled Astral Possession, is undoubtedly beyond what anyone could expect from such a fresh new act.

Formed in 2015 by ex-Severed Receptors and Psychobliss guitarist Dan Stollings, the obscurity crafted by Ghost Horizon will definitely please fans of bands such as Wolves in the Throne Room, Woods of Ypres and Alcest, among other eccentric Extreme Metal groups. Moreover, when you listen to the music in Astral Possession, you can rest assured you’re listening to truthful music and not to any type of shenanigans many bands tend to deliver just to sound badass or evil. “Ghost Horizon, to me, is everything I ever wanted in a band. I can express both my anger/depression and happiness to whatever degree I wish, while also allowing the two opposite emotions to marry.”, commented Daniel on the direction of the band.

Ghost Horizon pic2The ominous intro in Pale Apparition warms up the listener for a brutal fusion of Doom and Black Metal effectively fired by the duo, with the desperate vocals by Uræus being exactly what the music needs to be more imposing. In addition, string-man Daniel keeps delivering flammable guitar and bass lines until the music flows into a melancholic ending. Spectral Threnody gets even more somber, sounding like Blackened Doom with deeper growls and a sorrowful ambience where Uræus does a superb job on drums with all his tempo changes and blast beats. And lastly, the demonic composition Astral Possession (The Cold Years Unearthed) closes the EP  in a powerful way, bringing forward modern but at the same time raw Black Metal perfect for fans of old school extreme music who are looking for something new in their lives. It’s indeed a feast of classic Black Metal riffs by Daniel which do not sound outdated at all, while Uræus keeps spreading electric darkness through his devilish vocals.

All the agony and torment provided in the form of extreme music by Ghost Horizon can be relished at their Facebook page and SoundCloud, and Astral Possession can pretty soon be purchased through their BandCamp page or on Amazon. Put differently, if you love extreme music exhaling anger, depression, anguish and sorrow all at the same time in a solid and convincing way, don’t waste your time and go check the high-end Black Metal by this dynamic American duo right now.

Best moments of the album: Astral Possession (The Cold Years Unearthed).

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2016 Independent

Track listing
1. Pale Apparition 4:31
2. Spectral Threnody 3:08
3. Astral Possession (The Cold Years Unearthed) 4:08

Band members
Uræus – vocals, drums, additional instruments
Daniel Stollings – guitars, bass

Album Review – Frozen Ocean / The Prowess Of Dormition EP (2016)

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Open your ears and your heart, and follow the ear-splitting sound of a frozen ocean of Atmospheric Black Metal hailing from the almighty Russia.

Rating4

hi-res coverSince the year of 2005, Russian multi-instrumentalist Vaarwel (who’s also a member of the excellent Russian bands Goatpsalm and Smothered Bowels) has been crafting music of incredible power, imagination, diversity and depth, releasing his creations under the banner of  Frozen Ocean. Hailing from the city of Moscow, Russia, this unstoppable metaller seems to have an endless fountain of creativity inside his blackened mind, always expressing his unique view of obscure themes such as winter, death and depression, and always avoiding any labels or preset formulas (let’s simply call his music Atmospheric Black Metal for you readers to understand the whole concept a little better). For instance, he was capable of delivering nothing less than 7 (seven!) Frozen Ocean albums in 2011, five of those being full-length ones. And now, in 2016, he has already started spreading his starless arias all over the world with a brand new EP entitled The Prowess Of Dormition.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of bands such as Moonsorrow, Borknagar and Sigh, or if you prefer rawer Black Metal acts like Dark Funeral and Immortal, the music found in The Prowess Of Dormition will definitely leave a (good) scar on your metallic soul due to its beauty, heaviness and complexity. Featuring an absorbing artwork by British artist/photographer Kieran Wakeman (Divine Chaos Art), who has already worked with bands such as Cadaveria, The King is Blind and Terror Universal, the EP has a lot to offer us metalheads in its 25-minute journey through gelid landscapes and dark thoughts, split in four distinct harmonious tunes.

The atmospheric intro in No Blizzard promptly invites the listener to the cold and desolated realms of Frozen Ocean, with Vaarwel making sure the harmony and pace of the song generate the necessary ambience for his harsh growls. In addition, Doom Metal elements are brought forth especially by the song’s gentle keyboard notes and constant beats delivered by Vaarwel, luring us to go even deeper into his dark world. And this doom-ish vibe goes on in the very somber and melodic Once Aglow, where there’s a lot of melancholy and sorrow flowing from Vaarwel’s growling. Moreover, the nice break halfway through it provides the listener some well-deserved peace of mind, before obscurity returns in this flawless fusion of Atmospheric and Symphonic Black Metal.

Frozen Ocean 3Det Siste Snøfallet (Norwegian for “the last snowfall”) begins at full force with its relentless beats and riffs, which aim at representing the harshest snowfall in the history of mankind. It’s a captivating instrumental tune where Vaarwel showcases all his abilities as a musician (and as a lover of dark music), working as an “extended” intro to the title-track, The Prowess Of Dormition, an amazing composition that offers the listener Frozen Ocean’s trademark Black Metal with hints of Folk and Viking Metal. Its keyboards get even more prominent and sinister, yet again providing a smooth break with endless amounts of feeling and melancholy until the music flows into a climatic ending, therefore concluding the album brilliantly.

In a nutshell, although The Prowess Of Dormition has been released as “just” an EP, it’s substantially more intricate and intense than most full-length records you might find anywhere, proving how talented Vaarwel is and providing hints of what this Russian one-man army might breed next. And in order to keep updated with everything happening with Frozen Ocean, go check their Facebook, VKontakte, YouTube, SoundCloud and BandCamp, and also buy your copy of The Prowess Of Dormition at the Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings’ official BandCamp and Big Cartel pages or at CD Baby. Just open your ears and your heart, relax, and follow the ear-splitting sound of this frozen ocean of extreme music.

Best moments of the album: The Prowess Of Dormition.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2016 Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings

Track listing
1.No Blizzard 6:06
2.Once Aglow 7:10
3.Det Siste Snøfallet 5:19
4.The Prowess Of Dormition 6:15

Band members
Vaarwel – vocals, all instruments

Album Review – Deep Mountains / Lake Of Solace (2014)

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An atmospheric music experiment full of melancholy and Chinese elements.

Rating5

coverLooking for a complete different experience in the world of heavy music? If so, I suggest you “travel” further east and listen to the debut-album from Chinese Atmospheric Black Metal band Deep Mountains, or 深山 in their own language, the lugubrious and intense Lake Of Solace (or 忘忧湖) . I must warn you the music from this band formed in 2009 in the city of Tai’an, in the Shandong Province, is not easy to absorb: there are no fast songs, no shredding, almost no solos, and in many moments it doesn’t even sound Black Metal. But again, as I said it’s a totally distinct music adventure from the traditional bands we know, and if you take that “risk” you might be very pleased in the end.

What I’m going to say may not make a lot of sense, mainly because the comparison I’m going to make is not exactly a comparison, but before listening to Lake Of Solace I felt almost the same as when one of my Chinese friends told me to watch two great Chinese movies, Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. I was really skeptic about those movies, in other words, how could they be better than many Hollywood blockbusters as he said? Give me a break, a good Chinese movie? Well, they’re definitely not the best movies in the world, but really well-done and above the average, and after watching them I realized how stupid my prejudgement was. And the same is valid for this album.

Throughout the whole album, it’s easy to notice the band’s use (and abuse) of Nature and Chinese Culture as their main themes, which already starts with 引子 Intro. I love those intros that connect with the history and culture of the band’s homeland, and in this case all the Chinese elements, especially the soothing sound of the water from the “lake of solace”, work like a spiritual prep for what’s next, the very atmospheric song 毀滅 Sin, with its deep vocals giving us a feeling of agony while the beautiful acoustic parts provide us some peace of mind.

九黎之舞 Wind And Stellar, with its nice guitars in the beginning, is a more acoustic track that turns into more traditional Atmospheric Black Metal with devilish vocals, while 超脫 Detachment, which starts with a very engaging narration (“To deliberate believe in lies…”) talking about how humans should be to be accepted by society (as they say it’s a “Marketing Holocaust”), has a pleasant instrumental and, although it’s a very melancholic and depressive song, will hold your attention from start to finish. It’s the best song of the album, and would also be the perfect choice for a very in-depth music video.

deep_mountainsThen we have a two part song with some highs and lows:  忘憂湖 壹 Lake Of Solace Pt.1 is an instrumental track totally focused on the sound of an acoustic guitar and some nature elements, and I’m not sure if this can even be considered Black Metal at all; and 忘憂湖 贰 Lake Of Solace Pt. 2, which begins in a similar way as the first part but with a more metallic sonority and some “vocals of despair” again, is a very sad song, complemented by an interesting guitar solo and clean vocals.

Lake Of Solace ends with the atmospheric ballad 渿河謠 Ballad Of Nai River, a beautiful composition that sounds a lot like traditional Chinese music, full of nature elements and smooth female vocals, and the peaceful instrumental outro 李鳳華 Li Fenghua, the shortest track of the album. And that’s it! Do not expect any epic songs or other Heavy Metal clichés, as the objective in Lake Of Solace is to be more atmospheric than Black Metal, which ends up working pretty well.

The instrumental is quite fundamental and the vocals are always more desperate than tuneful, but that’s not an issue for the purpose of the music here. Add to that the beautiful album art, and you have a sincere and captivating music experimentation from this honest and fresh East Asian music group.

Best moments of the album: 毀滅 Sin, 超脫 Detachment and 渿河謠 Ballad Of Nai River.

Worst moments of the album: 九黎之舞 Wind And Stellar and 李鳳華 Li Fenghua.

Released in 2014 Pest Productions

Track listing
1. 引子 Intro 3:09
2. 毀滅 Sin 4:11
3. 九黎之舞 Wind And Stellar 5:58
4. 超脫 Detachment 8:24
5. 忘憂湖 壹 Lake Of Solace Pt.1 7:36
6. 忘憂湖 贰 Lake Of Solace Pt. 2 7:41
7. 渿河謠 Ballad Of Nai River 3:36
8. 李鳳華 Li Fenghua 2:58

Band members
Liu Qiang – vocals, guitars
Song Chen – guitars
Chen Xiao – bass
Zou Qiang – drums