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Album Review – Shores of Null / Homesick (2026)

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This Italian Melodic Death and Doom Metal outfit is back with their striking fifth full-length offering, combining their trademark melancholy with a renewed sense of identity and purpose.

Following their acclaimed 2023 album The Loss Of Beauty, Italian Melodic Death/Doom Metal act Shores of Null continues to expand their emotional and sonic universe with their fifth full-length opus, titled Homesick, a record that combines their trademark melancholy with a renewed sense of identity and purpose. Recorded at Bloom Recording Studios, the new opus by vocalist Davide Straccione, guitarists Gabriele Giaccari and Raffaele Colace, bassist Matteo Capozucca, and drummer Emiliano Cantiano sees the band continue to broaden the expressive range of their sound, moving beyond genre boundaries while preserving the melancholic intensity and refined songwriting that have become the hallmark of one of the most distinctive voices in today’s melodic death and doom landscape. Conceived as a complete listening experience rather than a simple collection of individual songs, Homesick moves through a wide range of emotional states – longing, loss, anger, vulnerability and the search for a place to belong. Each track offers its own identity and emotional weight, but the full picture only emerges when the album is experienced from beginning to end.

Allies Before Defeat already kicks off with an overdose of Doom Metal riffs by Gabriele and Raffaele while the vocals by Davide sound deep, intense and dark; whereas Two Mountains sounds even more captivating, as if Insomnium decided to go full Doom and Gothic Metal, and when Davide fires his deep guttural things get even more exciting and incendiary. Matteo and Emiliano make the earth tremble in the Doom Metal aria Bleed to Life, accompanied by the crying guitars by the band’s axe duo, whereas the title-track Homesick leans towards the melancholic, obscure sounds blasted by the mighty Paradise Lost, dragging our souls to oblivion. And Son of the Tide is another stunning creation by those Italians, with Emiliano delivering a solid fusion of darkness and intricacy through his beats and fills.

Then featuring Shaun MacGowan of My Dying Bride on the violin, Dreaming of a Scar offers a killer fusion of the heaviness of extreme music with the finesse of the violin, while Davide continues to alternate between his devilish gnarls and anguished clean vocals, followed by Society Is the Murderer, perfect for headbanging in pitch black darkness, sounding very emotional and dark with Davide delivering passionate clean vocals. The Numbing Void, showcasing Natalie Koskinen of Shape Of Despair on vocals and Shaun MacGowan again on the violin, is perhaps the most Doom Metal of all songs, where Gabriele and Raffaele are once again on fire armed with their axes, while Another Breath is an excellent song musically speaking, despite lacking the darker vein of the other songs in the album. And lastly, Disappear brings the band back to their core doom-laden sounds, presenting a striking ending to the album to the hammering drums by Emiliano.

“I’m fascinated by themes such as nostalgia, loss, belonging, and the ways in which the past continues to shape who we are. Sometimes inspiration simply comes from observing the world around me. Other times it starts with a question I can’t answer, and writing becomes a way to explore it. With Homesick, I found myself reflecting on the idea of ‘home’ as something much deeper than a place. Many of the lyrics revolve around that tension between longing and pain, between the desire to return and the fear of what might still be waiting for us there,” commented Davide, inviting us on a sonic journey for fans of Paradise Lost, Amorphis, Swallow The Sun, Katatonia, and Borknagar. Don’t forget to follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram, to stream their music on Spotify, and of course to purchase Homesick from Dusktone’s BandCamp (please note the vinyl edition will include a short intro created specifically for the format, designed to enhance the Side A / Side B listening experience without altering the essence of the album). Homesick is undoubtedly one of the strongest statements of their career, a deeply emotional, carefully crafted and immersive record that confirms their place among the leading forces of Melodic Death and Doom Metal, transpiring an array of emotions that only the heaviest and darkest of the subgenres of heavy music can provide to our suffering souls.

Best moments of the album: Two Mountains, Son of the Tide and The Numbing Void.

Worst moments of the album: Another Breath.

Released in 2026 Dusktone

Track listing
1. Allies Before Defeat 4:35
2. Two Mountains 4:34
3. Bleed to Life 4:09
4. Homesick 5:31
5. Son of the Tide 4:18
6. Dreaming of a Scar 5:08
7. Society Is the Murderer 4:30
8. The Numbing Void 6:18
9. Another Breath 3:52
10. Disappear 4:33

Band members
Davide Straccione – vocals
Gabriele Giaccari – guitars
Raffaele Colace – guitars
Matteo Capozucca – bass
Emiliano Cantiano – drums

Guest musicians
Natalie Koskinen – vocals on “The Numbing Void”
Shaun MacGowan – violin on “Dreaming Of A Scar” and “The Numbing Void”

Album Review – Monachopsis Art / An Empty Existence (2023)

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A newborn Finnish creature is ready to darken the skies with their debut opus, inspired by early first and second wave Black Metal as well as more recent Atmospheric Black Metal.

Playing brutal yet hypnotic and hauntingly beautiful music straight from their woeful souls, Finnish Black Metal trio Monachopsis Art was formed in 2022 by members from such bands as The Abbey, Henget, Shape of Despair and Licht des Urteils, aiming at creating music that is organic and raw, but still powerful and feeling-evoking, which is exactly what you’ll find in the band’s debut opus, titled An Empty Existence. Mixed and mastered at Studio Beyond North Star by the band’s own guitarist, bassist and keyboardist J.H. (aka Jesse Heikkinen), the album is inspired by early first and second wave Black Metal bands such as Venom, Bathory and Burzum, but also more recent Atmospheric Black Metal acts such as ColdWorld and Lustre, while the lyrics revolve around war, suicide and the meaningless struggles of human life, all played with passion and hatred by the aforementioned J.H. together with N.K. (aka Natalie Koskinen) on vocals, and A.K. (aka Antti Kaislaranta) on drums.

Atmospheric and sinister from the very first second, the intro Thee Darkness Gathers… will darken the skies before the trio comes hammering our hearts with Seeds, a solid fusion of old school, raw Black Metal with more contemporary sounds and nuances led by the venomous gnarls by the she-demon N.K., whereas Silent Torture presents a hypnotizing rhythm led by the Doom Metal beats by A.K. while J.H. adds his share of horror to the music with his somber keys and sharp riffage. Following such powerful tune, the band brings forth River of Blood, offering us all devilish lyrics grasped by N.K. (“Hear the sound / Of the burning wood / Feel the power of / Pure disgust / See how the light (is) fading away / Watch how flesh…buried under the tone”) amidst a dense and Stygian sonority.

Then featuring guest vocals by the demonic Spellgoth (Horna, Trollheims Grott), who makes a phantasmagorical duet with N.K., we have A Dark Place, with J.H. extracting pure evil from his guitar and keys; followed by Stargazer, once again bringing to our avid ears a grim hybrid of Black and Doom Metal while A.K. dictates the song’s lugubrious pace and N.K.’s witch-like vociferations and introspective clean vocals permeate the air beautifully. J.H.’s keys continue to give their music a theatrical vibe in Flesh Will Be Humiliated, while their core Black Metal sound is perfect for summoning all creatures from the underworld; and the trio continues to walk straight into darkness in No Desire to Live, with J.H. and A.K. making a sinister duo and, therefore, making our heads tremble with their devilish sonic weapons. Finally, we face Flame of Night, which is not a bad song but the keys sound a bit excessive during its entirety, taking away a bit of its heaviness. N.K. is awesome on vocals as usual, though.

The name of the band couldn’t have been more appropriate than Monachopsis Art, as “monachopsis” is defined as the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place, plus the word “art” to depict how the band members see their creations as a different form of art that doesn’t follow the rules of the existing music scene, all carefully brought into being in An Empty Existence. Hence, go check what such promising trio is up to on Facebook and on Instagram, and above that, go grab your copy of their idiosyncratic debut album from the Nordvis webstore or by clicking HERE, and you can also find all things Monachopsis Art by following this link. The music by Monachopsis Art is evil, atmospheric, delicate and captivating, turning An Empty Existence into the perfect soundtrack for one of those dark days with no end in sight.

Best moments of the album: Silent Torture, A Dark Place and Stargazer.

Worst moments of the album: Flame of Night.

Released in 2023 Forgotten Friends/Silent Future Recordings

Track listing
1. Thee Darkness Gathers… 2:05
2. Seeds 3:50
3. Silent Torture 4:02
4. River of Blood 5:00
5. A Dark Place 3:06
6. Stargazer 3:34
7. Flesh Will Be Humiliated 2:55
8. No Desire to Live 3:30
9. Flame of Night 4:25

Band members
N.K. – vocals
J.H. – guitars, bass, keyboards
A.K. – drums

Guest musician
Spellgoth – vocals on “A Dark Place”