Armed with their third full-length opus, this excellent German act is among us all to prove that in death nothing is absolute, and certainly not an end.
Initiated as a solo project by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Coldun himself in 2006 in Chemnitz, a city in Saxony, eastern Germany, Atmospheric Progressive Metal act Coldun has grown into a veritable formation through the years, being currently formed by the aforementioned Coldun supported by his henchmen ZK and MR on the guitars, and NC on drums. Now in 2021 those talented musicians climb the logical next step together with their enthroned throat emperor in the project’s new and third album with the inspiring title Grand Sun Ritual, a real soul slurper that shows influences from Doom to Post-Metal, connecting both worlds throughout its over 51 minutes of atmospheric passages and grandiose, progressive music. Mixed and Mastered by Greg Chandler at Priory Recordings in Birmingham, UK and featuring a minimalist but impactful artwork by KaGo.O_O, Grand Sun Ritual revolves around the eternally topical questions of humanity about the respective meaning of life and death, With its thought-provoking lyrics showing a radically positive basic tenor, which stands for Coldun’s personal conviction that in death nothing is absolute, and certainly not an end.
Featuring guest Markus Bär on saxophone, Middle-Eastern sounds permeate the air in the mesmerizing title-track Grand Sun Ritual, with sheer poetry flowing from the song’s lyrics darkly declaimed by Coldun (“Awaked in timeless space / Bright and dark at once / Where is the coloured field I lay? / Where is the blood, where is the pain?”) while NC dictates the pace with his Doom Metal-inspired progressive beats; and more of Coldun’s atmospheric sounds and passages come in the form of The Forest And The Soul, where ZK and MR will pierce your mind with their classy riffs and solos, reminding me of some of the latest creations by bands like Insomnium with a touch of the melancholy of HIM. Then dark clouds are above us all in the Atmospheric Metal aria Down Below, once again presenting striking guitar riffs and solos supported by the solid bass jabs by Coldun, who also fires his trademark, anguished vocals in a lecture in Atmospheric Progressive Metal.
Blending the sonority of progressive music from the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s, Coldun and his loyal squad deliver the also bold and epic Salvation Day, where ZK and MR are in absolute sync with NC, crafting a dense ambience perfect for another round of Coldun’s deep vocals. After such intense tune, it’s time to close our eyes and relax to the smooth sound of the acoustic guitars in Stories Untold, where we must all let their piercing guitar solos soothe our souls while NC keeps the rhythm as pleasant and enfolding as possible with his classic beats, and you better get ready for over nine minutes of heavy and imposing sounds in the multi-layered Hail Out To Thebes, uniting the Progressive Metal of Dream Theater with the obscurity and potency of Type O Negative and Danzig. Put differently, you’ll be absolutely stunned by such detailed and powerful aria, before Coldun close the album with the experimental, embracing song I Dreamed That Dream, where all band members do a fantastic job by crafting minimalist but dense sounds, in special their stringed trio that’s on fire from start to finish, not to mention the song’s beautiful atmosphere.
In summary, Coldun’s dark, pensive and progressive voyage offered in Grand Sun Ritual will undoubtedly please all fans of the more atmospheric side of metal music, while at the same time also point to a more introspective path ahead of this excellent German act. Hence, don’t forget to follow Coldun on Facebook for news, tour dates and other nice-to-know details about the band, to subscribe to their YouTube channel for more of their music, and above all, to grab your copy of their new album from their own BandCamp page or from Apple Music. As already mentioned, in death nothing is absolute, and certainly not an end, but in heavy music we can all say that the music by Coldun is forever, atemporal and eternal, carving Coldun’s name in the hearts of all metalheads who have the pleasure of listening to the band’s stylish creations like the ones found in their newborn opus.
Best moments of the album: Grand Sun Ritual and Hail Out To Thebes.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2021 Independent
Track listing 1. Grand Sun Ritual 7:41
2. The Forest And The Soul 6:23
3. Down Below 7:42
4. Salvation Day 8:32
5. Stories Untold 5:19
6. Hail Out To Thebes 9:16
7. I Dreamed That Dream 6:34
Band members Coldun – vocals, bass, Hammond, synths
ZK – guitars
MR – guitars
NC – drums
Guest musician Markus Bär – saxophone on “Grand Sun Ritual”
It’s time to embark on a 65-minute journey into the abyss in the form of contemporary Black Metal by an unrelenting Cologne, Germany-based horde.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mario Dahmen at Liquid Aether Studios in Schladern, Germany, the breathtaking opus A Grey Chill and a Whisper is an expanded vision of contemporary Black Metal by an unrelenting German horde formed in 2002 in the city of Cologne that goes by the name of Beltez, based on the original short story “Black Banners” written exclusively for the band by German writer Ulrike Serowy (known for her novella Skogtatt). Following up on their highly acclaimed 2017 record Exiled, Punished…Rejected and dealing not only with despair and hopelessness, but also with courage and strength, A Grey Chill and a Whisper is a 65-minute journey into the abyss (plus an incredible audiobook with the full “Black Banners” story backed up by Beltez’s original music), a monolithic entity that frightens as much as it allures thoroughly crafted by vocalist Marc, guitarists Dominic and Jens, bassist Christian and drummer Sebastian, showing again what artistic freedom could mean in Black Metal, yet without denying the roots of the genre.
Featuring guest Alex Newton of Dzö-nga on keyboards, the cinematic intro In Apathy And In Slumber sets up the stage for Beltez to crush in the atmospheric The City Lies In Utter Silence, where Marc roars the lyrics with tons of anger and hatred (“Silence / Absent are any signs of life / A nameless city under a cloud-laden Sky / Dwelling aimless in vain existence / Half-awake, half-alive, half deceased”) while his bandmates smash our senses with their fulminating riffs, bass lines and beats. Put differently, it’s Black, Doom and Post-Metal all at once, and above all, it’s pitch black darkness in the form of music. Then the band comes ripping like a beast from the underworld in the doomed Black Banners, where the scorching, razor-edged riffs by Dominic and Jens walk hand in hand with Sebastian’s menacing beats, exploding into vicious Black Metal for our vulgar delectation, followed by A Taste Of Complete Extinction, another top-of-the-line, bestial Atmospheric Black Metal spawn by Beltez where Sebastian sounds utterly infernal with his blast beats and fills while Marc keeps growling rabidly, supported by the phantasmagorical keys by Jens.
Christian takes the lead with his low-tuned, vile bass in The Unwedded Widow, again morphing into a reverberating fusion of Atmospheric Black Metal and classic Black Metal with Marc taking his enraged growling to a whole new level of despair; then a purely atmospheric and instrumental interluded titled From Sorrow Into Darkness brings some peace and serenity to our hearts before the title-track A Grey Chill And A Whisper arrives like a thunderstorm from hell, with Sebastian and his demolishing drums crafting a solid base for the headbanging riffage by Dominic and Jens and the inhumane gnarls by Marc in a lecture in contemporary Black Metal. The 14-minute full-bodied aria I May Be Dammed But At Least I’ve Found You begins in the most atmospheric way possible and gradually evolves into Beltez’s piercing music, with the band’s guitar duo breathing fire through their riffs building a menacing ambience for Marc to viciously scream the song’s words (“Dreadful fortress hovering high / Final destination after a fateful decision / Walking the road of the dead”), and curiously enough the band decided to end such grandiose album of Black Metal with a more visceral creation titled We Remember To Remember, where Christian slams his bass in great fashion together with obscure vocalizations and a sense of hopelessness, clearly drinking from the fountain of Blackened Doom.
As aforementioned, one of the versions of the album comes with a beyond special bonus called “Black Banners Audiobook”, a beautiful story that served as the inspiration for Beltez to compose the entire A Grey Chill and a Whisper, and the fact the band added background music to it plus the amazing work done by Dan Capp of Winterfylleth on narration, Corinne Henderson on female voices, Evan Hunt of MetalTower on the introduction, the artwork by Benjamin Harff and the booklet illustrations by Jana Kourgierakis gave it an even more vivid and thrilling vibe. It’s like a hybrid of storytelling and poetry that will please all metalheads who also enjoy a good reading (or listening, in this case), plus an acoustic and vile rendition of “We Remember To Remember”. You can enjoy A Grey Chill and a Whisper in full (except of course for the audiobook) on YouTube, follow those German metallers on Facebook and on Instagram, and purchase your favorite copy of the album from their own BandCamp page, from the Avantgard Music BandCamp page, from Sound Cave (in CD or LP format), from Season of Mist, from Amazon or from Walmart. Raising their black banners high, Beltez will drag you to the pits of the underworld in A Grey Chill and a Whisper, and I dare you to not get addicted to their splendid fusion of Black Metal and a captivating background story after that.
Best moments of the album: The City Lies In Utter Silence, A Taste Of Complete Extinction and A Grey Chill And A Whisper.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Avantgarde Music
Track listing 1. In Apathy And In Slumber 1:45
2. The City Lies In Utter Silence 10:48
3. Black Banners 6:04
4. A Taste Of Complete Extinction 9:50
5. The Unwedded Widow 6:39
6. From Sorrow Into Darkness 1:30
7. A Grey Chill And A Whisper 8:37
8. I May Be Dammed But At Least I’ve Found You 14:13
9. We Remember To Remember 5:37
Black Banners Audiobook (A Short Story By Ulrike Serowy) 10. Black Banners 49:49
11. We Remember To Remember 5:30
Band members Marc – vocals
Dominic – guitars, vocals, additional programming
Jens – guitars, vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, programming, keyboards and programming on Black Banners Audiobook
Christian – bass
Sebastian – drums
Guest musicians Alex Newton – keyboards on “In Apathy And In Slumber”
Dan Capp – narration on Black Banners Audiobook
Corinne Henderson – female voices on Black Banners Audiobook
Evan Hunt – introduction on Black Banners Audiobook
Belgium’s most auspicious Atmospheric Black Metal unity returns with another introspective and brooding work, telling stories of snowy landscapes, raging blizzards, regret and purgatory.
Two years after the release of the breathtaking EP Nowhere, Brussels, Belgium-based Atmospheric Black Metal/Post-Black Metal entity Soul Dissolution is back in action with another fantastic EP titled Winter Contemplations, again an introspective and brooding work, telling stories of snowy landscapes, raging blizzards, regret and purgatory. Recorded, mixed and mastered between July and September 2020 at Blastbeat Productions by Oliver Carell (Heretoir, King Apathy), Winter Contemplations offers us listeners a healthy dose of the band’s signature melodies draped in a thick, ice-cold atmosphere, courtesy of the band’s founder, lyricist, guitarist and bassist Jabawock together with his henchmen Acharan on lead vocals and Threnos on drums.
Just hit play and a slow and atmospheric intro will evolve into a scathing, grim tune entitled La Dernière Tempête, or “the last storm” from French, where Acharan presents all his skills as the talented growler he is while Jabawock brings tons of harmony, melancholy and anguish to the musicality with his razor-edged riffs. Put differently, this is a magnificent voyage through the obscure realms of Black, Doom and Post-Metal, sounding and feeling multi-layered, inspiring and epic until the very last second. Then featuring stunning orchestrations by guest 鬼 (also known as William Melsness) from Unreqvited, Where The Clouds Stand Still… also begins in a Stygian and pensive manner, feeling like it was taken from a movie score, with Jabawock extracting minimalist sounds form his guitar before being accompanied by Threnos’ slow and steady Doom Metal-beats. Furthermore, Acharan once again does a superb job with his harsh, acid vocal lines, resulting in the epitome of Atmospheric Black Metal while changing its shape and form majestically during its captivating 13 minutes, therefore showcasing all the undeniable talent of the guys behind Soul Dissolution.
It’s absolutely impressive how Jabawock and his loyal bandmates are capable of sounding so cohesive, diverse and captivating in all of their creations, it doesn’t matter if their songs have one or twenty minutes in duration, and Winter Contemplations (which is by the way available for a full listen on YouTube) is the perfect representation of their hard work and their evolution in the atmospheric and extreme music genre. Needless to say, you should definitely show your support to those amazing metallers from Belgium by purchasing their new EP from their own BandCamp page, from the Viridian Flame Records’ webstore or from Apple Music, and also by following them on Facebook and on Instagram, by subscribing to their YouTube channel and by streaming more of their breathtaking creations on Spotify. As Atmospheric Black Metal has always been a very entertaining and somewhat unexplored style, why not wandering through the somber lands brought forth by Soul Dissolution in their new EP? I’m beyond certain you’ll get lost in your own thoughts and never wish to return to the real world after such unique experience.
Best moments of the album: Where The Clouds Stand Still….
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Viridian Flame Records
Track listing 1. La Dernière Tempête 10:54
2. Where The Clouds Stand Still… 13:10
Band members Acharan – lead vocals
Jabawock – guitars, bass, additional vocals
Threnos – drums
Guest musician 鬼 (William Melsness) – orchestrations on “Where The Clouds Stand Still…”
Showcasing an equal passion for all things Post-Black Metal and American author Edgar Allen Poe, this UK-based one-man army is ready to stun you with his debut full-length album.
“Lo! ’t is a gala night Within the lonesome latter years! An angel throng, bewinged, bedight In veils, and drowned in tears, Sit in a theatre, to see A play of hopes and fears, While the orchestra breathes fitfully The music of the spheres.” – Edgar Allan Poe – The Conqueror Worm (1843)
Formed in early 2019 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ashley “Ash” Shannon with an equal passion for all things Post-Black Metal and American author Edgar Allen Poe, Bristol, UK-based Atmospheric Black Metal one-man army Sepulchre by the Sea has quickly grown from a single idea into a fully-fledged studio project, incorporating many different sounds from atmospheric soundscapes and traditional Black Metal riffing to more eclectic areas such as shoegaze and folk-based pieces. As a matter of fact, the project’s name was inspired by Annabel Lee, the last complete poem composed by Edgar Allan Poe, while another poem, The Conqueror Worm, which by the way is about human mortality and the inevitability of death, was the inspiration for Sepulchre by the Sea’s debut full-length, six-track opus Conqueror Worm, the follow-up to the 2019 demo …And So It Crumbles, creating something larger and more ambitious in scale, spanning nearly an hour and crossing multiple sub genres along the way.
And the project’s Edgar Allan Poe-inspired feast of melancholy and darkness begins in a truly atmospheric way in the opening track I Loved Alone, venturing through the realms of contemporary Post-Metal before Ash begins firing dirty, scorching riffs from his stringed axe and anguished gnarls in paradox with the song’s serene background piano notes. Then Ash hammers his guitar, bass and drums mercilessly in the furious title-track Conqueror Worm, blending the mystery of Atmospheric Black Metal with the violence and heaviness of Black Metal and even Punk Rock, not to mention his growls get even more demonic than before as the music progresses; and you better get ready for 12 minutes of fulminating blast beats, vicious riffs and an endless sense of despair and obscurity in And So It Crumbles, where Ash does an excellent job mixing classic Black Metal with Atmospheric Black Metal and Doom Metal nuances, also presenting Stygian, austere passages that perfectly represent his passion for the work by Edgar Allan Poe turned into extreme music.
Slices of Death is a pensive and enfolding composition by Ash where he focuses on the melody and all small details of the song instead of the usual harshness of extreme music; furthermore, it’s quite easy to sense how personal this harmonious ballad is to him, whereas our talented lone wolf and his Sepulchre by the Sea put the pedal to the metal in the visceral and austere Behind the Walls, enhancing his aggressiveness and rage through his hellish roars and fulminating Black Metal riffage, and ending in the most melancholic way imaginable. And last but (definitely) not least, you better be prepared as Ash will crush your senses for over 17 minutes with the closing tune Plutonian Shores, the icing on the cake in this multi-layered album of Atmospheric Metal where after four minutes of ritualistic sounds Ash comes ripping with his scorching riffage, also showcasing so many breaks, variations, changes in tempo and obscure passages it’s hard to describe the complexity of such grandiose tune in just a few words.
As I like to say, it’s always a pleasure to review the work by one-man bands like Sepulchre by the Sea, mainly because you can easily feel and enjoy all the hard work, all the passion for the music he plays, the musical evolution from song to song and, above all, all his respect and admiration for one of the greatest poets of all time (and the most beloved one by the metal community hands down). Hence, in order to show your support to Edgar Allan Poe’s right-hand man in extreme music, go check what Ash is up to on Facebook, and purchase your copy of Conqueror Worm from his own BandCamp page, from the Anthrazit Records’ BandCamp page, or from Amazon, and don’t forget you can also stream this fantastic display of Atmospheric Black Metal in full on Spotify anytime you want, savoring every single second of it like you would enjoy each word from Poe’s vast collection of amazing tales and poems.
Best moments of the album: Conqueror Worm and Plutonian Shores.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Anthrazit Records
Track listing 1. I Loved Alone 6:40
2. Conqueror Worm 6:40
3. And So It Crumbles 12:07
4. Slices of Death 7:34
5. Behind the Walls 7:49
6. Plutonian Shores 17:14
Band members
Ashley Shannon – vocals, all instruments
These four talented musicians from Poland continue to explore the space somewhere between Stoner, Doom and Post-Metal in their exciting new album.
Founded in Wrocław, Poland in 2015, the interesting Stoner/Post-Metal entity MuN continues to explore the space somewhere between Stoner, Doom and Post-Metal, with clearly audible influences from Progressive Metal and Ambient, in their newborn opus Presomnia, the follow-up to their debut album Opia, released in 2016, and to their sophomore effort Axis Mundi, released in 2018. Recorded at Jupiter Ranch Studio, mixed and mastered at Mustache Ministry Studio, and featuring a classy and beautiful album cover designed by the band’s own vocalist Ozimir Gaslonsky, Presomnia is also the group’s second work since expanding the lineup from an instrumental trio to a quartet with a vocalist, with Ozimir once again lending his unique vocal lines to the bold music carefully crafted by guitarist Paweł Jankowski, bassist Pedro and drummer Gniewko Świątek.
An atmospheric and enfolding intro warms up our senses for the visceral Scowl, starting with the tribal and rhythmic drums by Gniewko accompanied by minimalist guitar lines before Ozimir comes crushing with his deep, enraged screams in a Post-Metal extravaganza highly recommended for admirers of the genre; and the wicked bass by Pedro kicks off six minutes of madness and introspection curiously entitled Arthur, being gradually joined by his bandmates and with Ozimir’s delivering cryptic, anguished vocals while Paweł continues to gently shred his guitar. Their insanity in the form of Stoner Rock and Post-Metal hammers our heads once again in Topple, with Pedro and Gniewko bringing sheer groove and intricacy to the music with their respective weapons, being very entertaining from start to finish and exhibiting all of the band’s versatility and innovation, never sounding the same and never being tiresome or flat at all.
Then we’re treated to two minutes of rumbling bass punches, pounding drums and Stygian vociferations by Ozimir in the eerie interlude Deceit, before the quartet begins another dark and bold sonic attack titled Verity, uniting the most electrifying and enthralling elements from Post-Metal with Stoner and Doom Metal for our total delight. Furthermore, Paweł takes the lead with his infernal but at the same time very melodic riffs, while Gniewko is responsible for taking the song’s heaviness through the roof with his demented beats. Last but not least, closing the album MuN bring forward a 13-minute multi-layered, modern and grim musical journey named Decree, where Paweł and Pedro are in absolute sync while Gniewko dictates the pace with his progressive, intricate drums, all spiced up by the obscure, clean vocals and the infernal roars by Ozimir. Put differently, simply close your eyes and get lost in their sea of eccentricity and experimentations until the song’s very last second.
I’m sure you’re more than just curious to take a listen at Presomnia to better understand what the band means by “the space somewhere between Stoner, Doom and Post-Metal”, and you can easily do that by streaming the album in its entirety on YouTube and on Spotify. After getting addicted to their weird creations, you should obviously purchase the album from the band’s own BandCamp page, from Apple Music or from Discogs (or click HERE for all locations where you can buy or stream Presomnia) in order to show those Polish guys your utmost support, as well as by following them on Facebook and on Instagram. In the end, although the addition of Ozimir to the band was already crucial for the success achieved with Axis Mundi, it’s now with Presomnia that MuN sound more cohesive, tighter and more focused than ever, elevating them as one of the most entertaining names of the entire Post-Metal scene.
A bottomless ocean of emotions, worlds and experiences connected into something much larger, absorbing and liberating in the form of the debut album by an innovative trio from Russia.
Hailing from Moscow, Russia, the Black and Doom Metal trio known as Dunwich doesn’t limit themselves to just those two subgenres of heavy music, also adding to their music an array of distinguished elements from Darkwave, Post-Punk, Post-Rock and Progressive Rock, among others, resulting in a unique sound that frontwoman Margarita Dunwich has been crafting together with guitarist and keyboardist Anton Bronikov and drummer Mikhail Markelov since the band’s inception in 2018. Together, Dunwich are an attempt to dive into the bottomless ocean of your emotions, which is exactly what they’re offering us all in their debut effort entitled Tail-Tied Hearts, with each song from the album representing a separate world and a separate experience, but with all of those worlds and experiences being connected into something much larger, absorbing and liberating, showcasing the paradoxical beauty of the creations by those talented and passionate Russian musicians.
The phantasmagorical keys by Anton ignite the dark and sinister Glow, bringing forward elements from Atmospheric and Depressive Black Metal to their smoother sonority, setting the stage for Margarita to shine with her piercing vocals and roars in Through the Dense Woods, bringing forward doomed sounds perfect for Margarita to darkly declaim its cryptic lyrics (“Crawling bugs along the spine / You feel them, that’s what you’re think / Wolf howl in the ears and webs in hair / Slobbering mouth of fear exuding stink”), sounding cinematic, dense and Stygian from start to finish. And the gentle, acoustic guitar lines by Anton permeate the air in Solitude, with Margarita simply stealing the spotlight with her introspective and mesmerizing vocals while Mikhail delivers minimalist and at the same time tribal beats in this modern Darkwave composition, followed by Wooden Heart, where futuristic sounds and tones warm up our souls in one of the most progressive and groovier of all tracks, with Anton doing a superb job with both his riffs and keys, resulting in a lighter but still obscure version of modern-day Doom Metal.
Anton comes ripping once again with his Phantom of the Opera-inspired organs, generating a menacing ambience before the band ventures through more rockin’ and visceral lands in Mouth of Darkness, a lesson in Post-Metal where Mikhail dictates the rhythm with his classic beats in a fusion of the music by Cradle of Filth with Sisters of Mercy and Type O Negative, all spiced up by the witch-like roars by Margarita, whereas Fall is another grim and pensive creation where Margarita, Anton and Mikhail offer the listener a Post-Black Metal aria focusing on the serene vocal lines by our stunning frontwoman, growing in intensity until reaching a truly Stygian vibe. Sanctuary is a folk-ish song full of ethereal passages and an embracing atmosphere, with Anton alternating between gentle guitar lines and heavy-as-hell riffs while Mikhail brings sheer doom to the overall result with his sluggish beats, before The Sea concludes the album in the best possible way you can imagine. The song couldn’t have started in a more doomed and melancholic way, with Anton slashing his guitar in great fashion in over nine minutes of somber passages, classy beats and the always hypnotizing voice by Margarita, flowing smoothly and beautifully until its climatic finale.
If you have what it takes to dive into the dark and embracing world ruled by Dunwich, simply follow them on Instagram and on VKontakte for news and other nice-to-know details about the band, subscribe to their YouTube channel for more of their music and stunning videos, and of course purchase their newborn opus Tail-Tied Hearts from the Caligari Records’ BandCamp page or from Amazon. Margarita and her loyal bandmates might be a new face to the world of heavy music, but the high level of professionalism and the top-of-the-line production of their debut album make them look like true veterans to the scene, proving not only that they know exactly what they’re doing, but also that there’s nothing better than a wild and gripping fusion of dark music styles to flawlessly depict the never-ending rollercoaster of emotions we end up experiencing every single day of our lives.
Best moments of the album: Through the Dense Woods, Wooden Heart and Mouth of Darkness.
Worst moments of the album:Solitude.
Released in 2020 Caligari Records
Track listing 1. Glow 2:43
2. Through the Dense Woods 4:35
3. Solitude 5:46
4. Wooden Heart 5:47
5. Mouth of Darkness 6:39
6. Fall 5:28
7. Sanctuary 5:45
8. The Sea 9:13
Band members
Margarita Dunwich – vocal
Anton Bronikov – guitars, keyboards
Mikhail Markelov – drums
An infernal American duo is back with more of their sonic madness in their vicious new opus, instantly pulling you in with its killer mix of melodic and dissonant riffing.
Formed in 2015 in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States by vocalist and guitarist Andy Schoengrund (Coagulate, Empires, Wolvhammer) together with drummer Andrew Reesen (Censer), Feral Light are a mysterious enigma playing grim and sorrowful Black Metal entwined with savage and unyielding Crust Punk, resulting in what can be labeled as “Blackened Post-Metal”. After a demo, an EP and two full-length albums, this unyielding force of darkness returns in 2020 with their third full-length installment titled Life Vapor, building up on the foundations of its predecessor while increasing the intensity of the music displayed. Recorded and mixed by Kyle Kaliszewski, mastered by James Plotkin (Plotkinworks), and featuring a minimalist and obscure artwork by Unexpected Specter, Life Vapor instantly pulls you in with its killer mix of melodic and dissonant riffing, combining and incorporating various styles including elements of Post-Metal, Black N’ Roll, Doom Metal and Second-Wave Black Metal, materializing as a downcast howl of war-torn vocals funneled through a lyrical content dealing with mysticism and inner struggle.
Experimental and futuristic sounds kick off the scorching opening tune Blood in Sand, with Andrew blasting his drums with tons of rage and precision while Andy barks the song’s grim, austere lyrics rabidly (“A way forward scrawled on obscure hands / Scorched by the touch of the expanse / Grasp past the sun, tethers unravel / Pull from the dark and carry forth”). Then leaning towards classic Norwegian Black Metal we have the massive Assuage, with Andy not only vociferating like a demonic entity but also firing sharp and acid riffs accompanied by Andrew’s infernal drums, also bringing forward an amazing balance between Andy’s strident guitar and his low-tuned bass; and displaying a huge dosage of Doom Metal added to the band’s core sonority, we’re treated to the ominous and heavy-as-hell Walking Tomb, alternating between otherworldly, lugubrious moments and sheer savagery, with Andy’s guitar riffs once again cutting our skin deep without a single drop of mercy.
Exhaling progressiveness, obscurity and harmony, the duo jams in the lands of doom in Last Gasp Invocation, generating an enfolding atmosphere before all hell breaks loose, with the music gradually morphing into a visceral Black Metal onslaught, whereas modern-day Black Metal sounds and tones permeate the air in Hex of Inverses, where both Andy and Andrew sound at the same time venomous and very melodic with their respective weapons. Needless to say, their music will mercilessly penetrate deep inside your psyche and make your skull tremble. And finally, Andy’s slashing riffage and Andrew’s vicious beats will invite you to slam into the pit in the closing tune In Summation, presenting a sulfurous hybrid of old school Black Metal with more contemporary stiles the likes of Post-Metal and Melodic Black Metal, ending the album on a high and Stygian note.
If you want to give Life Vapor a shot, you can enjoy the album in its entirety on YouTube and on Spotify, but as usual in order to truly support underground metal music I highly recommend you purchase a copy of the album from the band’s official BandCamp page, from the Hypnotic Dirge Records’ BandCamp page or webstore (in regular CD format or as a fantastic bundle including the CD, an exclusive T-shirt, a patch and a sticker), as well as from Apple Music and from Amazon. The infernal Minneapolis-based duo known as Feral Light, who are also waiting for you on Facebook, are definitely paving a very interesting path ahead of them with the constant evolution found in their music, with Life Vapor being undoubtedly their most cohesive and multi-layered work to date. Having said that, you might be asking yourself “what’s next for Feral Light?” Well, only darkness will tell.
Best moments of the album: Assuage and Last Gasp Invocation.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Hypnotic Dirge Records
Track listing 1. Blood in Sand 7:32
2. Assuage 6:36
3. Walking Tomb 7:18
4. Last Gasp Invocation 7:26
5. Hex of Inverses 5:30
6. In Summation 5:03
Band members Andy Schoengrund – vocals, guitars, bass
Andrew Reesen – drums
Join those French metallers in the pitch-black streets of Paris to the sound of their new EP, filling the void and hatred that we bring to ourselves and to others.
A cryptic Paris, France-based Black Metal entity that goes by the stylish name of Acedia Mundi (which translates from Latin as “the world’s apathy”) is back in action three years after the release of their debut opus Speculum Humanae Salvationis with a brand new and exctinig EP entitled Selfhatred.Addiction, highly recommended for fans of what the band itself likes to call “Urban Black Metal”. Recorded, mixed and mastered at Nidstang Studio and featuring a Stygian artwork designed by the talented Faquin (Epectase, Imperial Triumphant), based on a shot from the 1995 film The Addiction by Abel Ferrara, Selfhatred.Addiction is a solid step in the career of the band currently comprised of vocalist and guitarist V., guitarist T., bassist W. and drummer A., pointing to a bright future ahead of them. Selfhatred.Addiction is S.H.S’ gnarly little brother. A turning point for us soundwise as our cold and surgical identity got warmer and passionate without abandoning our psychological trademark. This release deals with themes related to wandering, an aimless life, other than raw and bestial debauchery to fill the void and hatred that we bring to ourselves and to others. Three years have passed and a lot has happened for Acedia Mundi. We went from studio project to live band and a founding member was left behind. After a lot of line-up changes we are now working on a second album that will be released in 2021,” commented the band about their new EP.
The opening tune Nemo Me Impune Lacessit (I Will Kill You) couldn’t have started in a more obscure, crude and venomous way, with V. growling like a demonic entity while A. crushes and hammers his drums manically in an amazing display of contemporary Black Metal. Then we’re treated to almost six minutes of pulverizing German Black Metal with a vibrant French twist in their cover version for Katharsis’ 666 (Hohelied Der Wiedererweckung), featuring guest guitarist G. (Atavisma), where V. and T. are ruthless with their vile riffage accompanied by the low-tuned, eerie bass by W., living up to the epicness and sulfur from the original version from Katharsis’ 2000 album 666. After such demolishing tune it’s time for the second original track of the EP, Dic(k)hter, blending classic Black Metal with modern-day Post-Metal and Experimental Black Metal and sounding as wicked and austere as it can be. Moreover, the sick barks by V. are perfectly complemented by the infernal shredding and demonic beats blasted by his bandmates, making your head tremble throughout its four intense minutes. And lastly, featuring D. (Sanctuary) on the guitars, Acedia Mundi arise from the pits of the underworld with a grandiose tribute to The Stooges in I Wanna Be Your Dog, originally released in their 1969 self-titled debut album (check the original version HERE). I truly love Slayer’s cover version known as “I’m Gonna Be Your God” from their 1994 album Undisputed Attitude, but I must admit the guys from Acedia Mundi also nailed it with their scorching Black Metal vibe.
In case you’re curious to listen to the band’s new compositions and cover songs from Selfhatred.Addiction, you can take a full listen at the EP on YouTube and on Spotify, but of course to keep the band inspired to move forward and to keep delivering their extreme music for many years to come you should also purchase your desired version of the EP from their own BandCamp page, from MusikÖ_Eye’s webstore in CD, cassette or as a CD + cassette + poster special bundle, from Apple Music or from Amazon. In addition, don’t forget to follow those talented French metallers on Facebook and on Instagram to know more about their future projects, including their upcoming full-length album in 2021. Acedia Mundi definitely bring a breath of fresh (or maybe I should say sulfurous) air to the Extreme Metal scene with their new EP, leaving us eager for more of their music in the coming months and, consequently, more than ready to join them in their quest for heavy music in the pitch-black streets of Paris.
Best moments of the album: Nemo Me Impune Lacessit (I Will Kill You) and I Wanna Be Your Dog.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 MusikÖ_Eye
Track listing 1. Nemo Me Impune Lacessit (I Will Kill You) 5:41
2. 666 (Hohelied Der Wiedererweckung) (Katharsis cover) 5:55
3. Dic(k)hter 4:05
4. I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges cover) 3:27
Band members
V. – vocals, guitars
T. – guitars
W. – bass
A. – drums
Guest musicians D. – guitars on “I Wanna Be Your Dog”
G. – guitars on “666 (Hohelied Der Wiedererweckung)”
As summer is just around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere, let’s take a trip to a place known not for its hot and warm weather, but for its wet and cool climate, which by the way has led to the growth of extensive forests featuring some of the largest trees in the world. I’m talking about the region known as the Pacific Northwest, in the United States, more specifically the city of Corvallis, located in central western Oregon and around 120km from the state’s largest city Portland, where our metal chick of the month, the unrelenting Malaysian-born vocalist Avienne Low, frontwoman for Progressive/Melodic Death/Black Metal unity Vintersea, has been embellishing the Pacific Northwestern airwaves with her powerful voice since moving from Penang, a state in northwest Malaysia, to pursue her studies in American soil. As you’ll be able to see, you’ll be absolutely stunned by Avienne with both her clean, delicate vocals and her infernal roars, showcasing all her vocal range and talent as the lead singer for Vintersea.
Married to a guy called Nick Kiuttu in Keizer, a city located in Marion County, Oregon, in 2016, which led her to use the name Avienne Kiuttu for a while (and because she switched back to Avienne Low I have absolutely no idea if she’s still married), Avienne started her life and career in music when she found an acoustic guitar in a box under her parents’ bed when she was 11 years old, and after having the guitar dusted and tuned, she discovered her passion for singing and performing while playing covers and originals for her family and friends. During her college years, her love for performing grew bigger as she joined an all-ladies a capella group named Divine, a small group of singers hand-picked from Oregon State University’s Bella Voce that began in 2003, with whom she stayed for about a year and a half before fully directing her focus on being the vocalist for Vintersea. Avienne also stated that “I absolutely love fronting the band, and my past experiences have cultivated my ongoing passion for singing, screaming, and performing.”
Regarding her career with Vintersea, as you might already know they are a female-fronted metal band from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, from the aforementioned city of Corvallis, born in 2016 from the ashes of a previous incarnation of the band itself when it was called Asterion, combining the essential elements of metal’s most revered sub-genres with memorable and anthemic song-writing sensibility, therefore crafting a unique brand of crushing Blackened Progressive Metal inspired by the dark skies of the Pacific Northwest and leading the band to share the stage with renowned acts the likes of Jinjer, Ne Obliviscaris and Arkona, among others.
Shortly after entering the United States, Avienne found her home with Vintersea, with guitarists Riley Nix and Jorma Spaziano, drummer Jeremy Spencer and bassist Karl Whinnery rounding out their current lineup. The band was actually born in the summer of 2014 under its previous moniker Asterion when high school friends Riley and Jeremy put out an ad on Craigslist searching for the right musicians to form a new metal act, with Avienne and Jorma (who had moved to Oregon from the east coast, not even sure he was going to be in a band anymore) responding to their ad based on a few early demos. They quickly got together and started jamming out, and it felt like a really good fit right away, which led them to start working on music and playing a few shows as Asterion, which by the way was based on stars and constellations, leaning towards a modern and progressive side of music, almost to a Djent vibe, releasing that same year a five-track EP titled Constellations, which you can enjoy in its entirety HERE or HERE.
However, despite the high-quality of the music found in their debut EP, Riley, Avienne & Co. figured out pretty quick that the music by Asterion wasn’t exactly what they wanted to do. Heavily inspired by European Black Metal, Atmospheric Metal and Post-Metal, the band started playing a hybrid of Progressive and Melodic Metal types, making the collective decision to delve headfirst into that and develop their own sound and later changing their name to Vintersea, with “Vinter” being winter and “sea” because they are from the Pacific Northwest, as grey ocean waves are a heavy asthetic. After such significant changes, they released two official full-length albums, The Gravity of Fall, in 2017, and more recently Illuminated, in 2019, and you can enjoy several top-notch music videos for some of the best songs from both albums on YouTube, such as Illuminated, The Host, Skies Set Ablaze, Old Ones and Entities, as well as their official tour video for the song The Gravity of Fall, and you can also go to Spotify or BandCamp for more of their stylish creations. Furthermore, there are some great interviews with Avienne on YouTube where you can get to know more about her role with Vintersea, such as this one given to Metal Shop Steve where she talks about their 2019 album Illuminated and their music videos, and this one to Dani Zed Reviews where they talk about several topics including their albums, the feedback received on them and their live performances.
Avienne has already made it pretty clear in several interviews that she wants to be a great metal vocalist, not just ‘great for a female’ metal vocalist, as almost all of her main influences are male vocalists or bands with male vocalists, including Ghost Iris, Disentomb, Unprocessed, Logic, Devin Townsend, Ne Obliviscaris, Enslaved, Ihsahn, Between the Buried and Me, Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, TesseracT and Skyharbor, to name a few, with her vocal idol being Chris Barretto, from bands such as Ever Forthright, Monuments, Periphery and Haunted Shores. In addition, when Avianne was asked about how she discovered metal music and which artists and bands caught her attention while she was growing up in Malaysia, our talented vocalist answered by saying that because she didn’t have access to online platforms like BandCamp almost all the music she listened to as a child was either from the radio or MTV, mentioning Linkin Park from their Hybrid Theory days as a huge influence when she was only around seven years old. During the following decade, she got obsessed with discovering new metal bands after listening to the 2010 album Long Live, by American Metalcore act The Chariot, with bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Between the Buried and Me and Converge fueling her obsession. As she didn’t play any sports nor go to the beach at that time, she spent hours and hours developing her taste for metal and finding lesser-known bands online. Also, when questioned about which song by any artist she wishes she could have written, Avienne mentioned Celestial Violence, from the 2016 album Arktis. by Norway’s own Ihsahn, as Vintersea were all listening to Arktis. a lot during the recording of The Gravity of Fall, and that song in particular spoke to all band members with its severe changes in dynamics and epic conclusion.
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Regarding her vocal style, Avienne said that learning how to do harsh vocals and finding the perfect formula to combine them with her clean singing wasn’t an easy task at first. She complemented by saying that she started doing harsh vocals because she wanted to scream along to her favorite bands at that time, and there was a lot of trial and error while she was developing her style, also saying that one of her main techniques was to record herself, study those recordings, and look for areas of improvement, becoming familiar and comfortable with her own screams and playing around with different tones and styles to see what worked best. She also said that it is not only important to be aware of how your body feels when learning to scream, but to be patient throughout the process, complementing by mentioning that she takes care of her voice by doing vocal warm-ups and relaxing a little before hitting the stage, and avoiding spicy food prior to any concert because it’s not a good feeling to jump around the stage with a “ball of fire” burning inside her stomach.
Her view of the music industry is also quite interesting, as she said that in many ways she thinks the music industry has never been healthier, with the power being concentrated in the hands of the fans, the small labels, writers and so on, with the big, faceless corporations having lost most of the power they once had, letting truly innovative and independent bands to reach a much broader audience due to the evolution and changes to internet distribution. As long as fans keep listening to Vintersea’s music, buying their merchandise and supporting them at their live performances, Avienne said she’ll continue to write beautiful and meaningful music together with her bandmates, which is exactly what we all desire, don’t you agree? And talking about touring and live concerts, Avienne said one of Vintersea’s most memorable shows was when they shared the stage with the talented female-fronted Graveshadow, Mindmaze, Sirenia and Arkona at the Bossanova Ballroom downtown Portland in 2017, also saying that there are countless other bands they would love to play shows with or tour with, but as they’re all hugely fond of the guys in Ne Obliviscaris, she thinks it would be simply fantastic to have the opportunity to spend time on the road with that level of talent.
As it happens with pretty much all women who decide to venture through the realms of metal music, Avienne has also been asked countless times about how she sees the importance and influence of women in a music genre that’s still considered sexist by many, and her answers couldn’t have been more spot-on. “My advice is to acknowledge that misogynists and sexists are there, but don’t give them any fuel to their hateful fire. Don’t turn their hate into your hate. Focus on what makes you happy. If you focus on yourself, not only you will be happier in the long run, but your happiness and success will annoy the haters. It’s a win-win situation,” said our stunning vocalist, also saying that in her opinion the metal scene has never had so many badass, powerful and brutal women like nowadays, with more and more metal bands with women fronting them or slaying an instrument coming to light, which is a very inspiring situation for her personally. The metal scene has been exclusionary of women in metal for years, which is why she believes it’s important that there is more women in metal not only because they represents a significant portion of the listeners, but mainly because there is an endless amount of skill and talent that women in metal bring that should definitely be recognized. Moreover, when asked about who she considers the most influential women in metal today, Avienne cited the unstoppable Tatiana Shmaylyuk from Jinjer and Alissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy, saying it’s impressive what they can do with their vocals, and that they both have showed many people for the first time that women can bring endless energy and fire through harsh vocals.
When asked about her writing process (and of the entire band), Avienne said that before starting it they discuss as a band what the theme of the album should be, followed by determining each song’s theme and message, writing the music prior to the vocal parts and making sure each of their songs can be interpreted on multiple levels, from deeply personal to globally conceptual, all within the same framework. There are songs that can come together in a matter of days, but most of them take shape over a period of months with a lot of intense work, consideration and debate, with their collective vision usually coming together after a couple of weeks. There’s a lot of trust among the band members, and they have found that this dynamic and exciting process helps them produce their best results. Avienne also said that since the band’s inception she has developed and grown in both skill and style, helping her explore different facets of her voice and making the band’s songwriting more cohesive, mentioning the moment they started receiving messages from fans saying they were inspired by Vintersea or that their music helped them through tough times was a breakthrough moment for the band, making they proud of what they’ve accomplished so far. In addition, as an up-and-coming metal artist, Avienne said that the best advice she can give to new bands and musicians is that they shouldn’t be afraid to be who they are, saying people should find their own voice to be able to craft timeless music, instead of being a “one-hit wonder” molded by the industry, also saying we should never stop learning and never close our minds to new ideas. Well, I guess we couldn’t agree more with Avienne, wishing her and her bandmates from Vintersea a bright and healthy future in the world of heavy music, taking the band to new and unexplored lands in the coming years for our total delight.
“I love singing about things that can make a person think about things differently, and I love exposing things that are poignant yet not talked about or thought of enough. I view music as another mode about storytelling, and I know I’m on the right path if I can feel the emotions rising from deep within my body.” – Avienne Low
A raw, multi-layered fusion of noise, sludge and grunge by three old men from Chicago who still like to play rock music.
Describing themselves as “three old men who still like to play rock music“, Chicago, Illinois-based three-piece outfit Escape Is Not Freedom definitely knows how to combine elements of rock, noise, sludge and grunge in their creations, resulting is a feast of catchy and melodic sounds reminiscent of Nirvana, Soundgarden and The Melvins, to name a few. After the releases of their debut EP The Truants, in 2015, and their first full-length albums Goldsmith, in 2017, it’s time for Mike Gussis on vocals and guitar, Josh Parlette (from Soul Attrition, whose album Vashon Rain was reviewed at The Headbanging Moose not a long time ago) also on vocals and on bass and Darrin Wolf on drums to blast more of their first-class Sludge and Noise with their sophomore full-length effort, titled Surrounded By The Great Nothing. Produced by Shane Hochstetler at Howl Street Recordings and mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering, Surrounded By The Great Nothing continues to blend the band’s personal experiences with their dark humor and, of course, with an endless amount of distortions and noise, cementing the trio as one of the most interesting names of the genre not only in their hometown but also in the international scene.
And eerie, distorted noises already permeate the air in the opening track Brick, a modern-day Sludge and Stoner Metal tune with Mike kicking ass with his enraged riffs and deranged vocals while Josh and Darrin keep the atmosphere as thunderous as possible with their rumbling instruments, resulting in a thrilling welcome card by the band for newcomers to their musical world. Their powerful exhibit of madness and distortions goes on in Boomslang, with Darrin dictating the pace with his classic beats, alternating between more obscure, heavier moments and serene and melancholic passages; followed by Freezer Burn, where the band ventures through more contemporary styles such as Post-Metal and Indie Rock. Moreover, Mike continues to bark and roar rabidly while Josh blasts sheer heaviness through his bass punches, getting darker and more piercing as the music progresses.
Portraying a truly austere name, Drinking Bleach is a slashing and crisp song where the insanity flowing from Mike’s screams is effectively complemented by his dirty riffs and Darrin’s crushing beats, turning it into one of the most incendiary songs of the album, whereas Leonard is another solid display of Sludge and Post-Metal featuring the scorching guitars by Mike and the ominous bass punches by Josh, recommended for fans of the most aggressive side of Nirvana and going on for over eight minutes with all band members putting us on some sort of grim trance. Then, as opposed to its predecessor, Ruined Ground brings a more serene and introspective vibe, with Josh darkly declaiming its lyrics while Darrin smashes his drums slowly and steadily, bringing a good amount of distress to our hearts.
Back to a more vicious sonority, the trio offers the melodic and mesmerizing Underwater Birth, where Mike and Josh are in absolute sync with their metallic strings, resulting in an amazing option for banging your head alone in the dark and letting their Sludge Metal penetrate deep inside your mind, while in Slowly Falling off a Cliff it’s time to slam into the circle pit to the crushing metal music blasted by those three rockers, again fluctuating between demented sounds and ethereal moments and, consequently, elevating the album’s aggressiveness and wickedness to a whole new level, all spiced up by Mike’s flammable riffs. The second to last song from the album, Acid Blood, sounds like a more obscure version of Alice In Chains infused with Sludge Metal nuances, with Josh adding tons of groove to the music with his bass, not to mention this is perhaps the song where he delivers his most personal vocal performance. And lastly acoustic guitars ignite the closing tune entitled Rhea, evolving into a dense and melancholic extravaganza where Josh and Darrin bring forward a precise balance between heaviness and finesse.
In a nutshell, although Escape Is Not Freedom might not be considered a pure metal band, I personally believe they have what it takes to conquer the hearts of most metalheads from all over the world with their heavier-than-usual rock and grunge, with Surrounded By The Great Nothing being the perfect depiction of what they’re capable of and what we can expect in their future releases. Hence, don’t forget to follow Mike, Josh and Darrin on Facebook, and to buy Surrounded By The Great Nothing from their own BandCamp page, where you can by the way find all of their previous albums for sale as well. As the name of the band states, escaping from someone or something doesn’t necessarily mean freedom, but at least the music found in Surrounded By The Great Nothing can provide you a very entertaining escape from your daily struggles.
Best moments of the album: Drinking Bleach, Underwater Birth and Slowly Falling off a Cliff.
Band members
Mike Gussis – vocals on “Brick”, “Freezer Burn”, “Drinking Bleach”, “Leonard” and “Underwater Birth”, guitar
Josh Parlette – vocals on “Boomslang”, “Ruined Ground”, “Slowly Falling off a Cliff”, “Acid Blood” and “Rhea”, bass
Darrin Wolf – drums
Initiated as a solo project by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Coldun himself in 2006 in Chemnitz, a city in Saxony, eastern Germany, Atmospheric Progressive Metal act Coldun has grown into a veritable formation through the years, being currently formed by the aforementioned Coldun supported by his henchmen ZK and MR on the guitars, and NC on drums. Now in 2021 those talented musicians climb the logical next step together with their enthroned throat emperor in the project’s new and third album with the inspiring title Grand Sun Ritual, a real soul slurper that shows influences from Doom to Post-Metal, connecting both worlds throughout its over 51 minutes of atmospheric passages and grandiose, progressive music. Mixed and Mastered by Greg Chandler at Priory Recordings in Birmingham, UK and featuring a minimalist but impactful artwork by KaGo.O_O, Grand Sun Ritual revolves around the eternally topical questions of humanity about the respective meaning of life and death, With its thought-provoking lyrics showing a radically positive basic tenor, which stands for Coldun’s personal conviction that in death nothing is absolute, and certainly not an end.
In summary, Coldun’s dark, pensive and progressive voyage offered in Grand Sun Ritual will undoubtedly please all fans of the more atmospheric side of metal music, while at the same time also point to a more introspective path ahead of this excellent German act. Hence, don’t forget to follow Coldun on Facebook for news, tour dates and other nice-to-know details about the band, to subscribe to their YouTube channel for more of their music, and above all, to grab your copy of their new album from their own BandCamp page or from Apple Music. As already mentioned, in death nothing is absolute, and certainly not an end, but in heavy music we can all say that the music by Coldun is forever, atemporal and eternal, carving Coldun’s name in the hearts of all metalheads who have the pleasure of listening to the band’s stylish creations like the ones found in their newborn opus.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 