Tag Archives: radiant gloom ep

The Year In Review – Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2019

Posted on by
1

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” – Voltaire

The year of 2019 might be reaching its inevitable end in the blink of an eye for most of us, but if there’s one thing we must admit is that it has been indeed a year of countless events, episodes and changes with a huge impact on how pretty much everything works in our Heavy Metal universe. For instance, 2019 was the year where we unfortunately witnessed the ultimate campaign by Thrash Metal titans Slayer, who at the same time left an undisputed and brilliant legacy to Heavy Metal and a giant hole in our hearts and in the global Thrash Metal scene. Do you think there’s any band that can fill that gap created by the end of Slayer? In my humble opinion, although I love bands like Exodus, Testament and Death Angel, I doubt anyone can claim Slayer’s throne as the meanest, most demonic and most pulverizing band of all time, but that doesn’t mean Thrash Metal is dead and gone. Quite the contrary, it’s still alive and kicking, with many of the underground bands reviewed at The Headbanging Moose contributing to keep the flame of such distinct subgenre of heavy music burning bright.

In addition, 2019 was also the year we lost many of our rock and metal icons, including André Matos (vocalist of Angra, Shaman and Viper), Larry Wallis (former guitarist of Motörhead), and Timi Hansen (former bassist of Mercyful Fate and King Diamond), as well as several talented musicians from non-metal styles like Marie Fredriksson (lead singer and keyboardist of Roxette), Keith Flint (frontman of The Prodigy), and the “King of the Surf Guitar”, Mr. Dick Dale. However, even with all those significant losses, we can say 2019 was a productive year for rock and metal music, with many iconic and underground bands delivering some fantastic albums for our total delectation, and that’s why here we are again with The Headbanging Moose’s Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2019, excluding EP’s, best of’s and live albums, to prove once and for all that heavy music will never, ever die. Having said that, enjoy our list of top metal albums for this year that’s coming to an end, and keep raising your horns high together with us in 2020!

1. Rammstein – Rammstein (REVIEW)
A magnificent lecture in Neue Deutsche Härte from the bottom of the flaming hearts of the pioneers of the genre.
Best song of the album: Deutschland

2. Necronomicon – UNUS (REVIEW)
Canadian powerhouses of Blackened Death Metal return with the heaviest, most obscure and most infernal opus of their career.
Best song of the album: Infinituum Continuum

3. Rotting Christ – The Heretics (REVIEW)
It’s time to burn in the fires of the dark and occult Black Metal crafted by the greatest Greek institution in the history of heavy music.
Best song of the album: Fire God and Fear

4. Soilwork – Verkligheten (REVIEW)
Swedish Melodic Death Metal masters return in full force with a fresh, groovy and addictive album of first-class heavy music.
Best song of the album: Stålfågel

5. The Agonist – Orphans (REVIEW)
Canadian juggernauts of Melodic Death Metal return with a brand new album that’s more extreme, more melodic and more exciting than ever.
Best song of the album: Blood as My Guide

6. Helevorn – Aamamata (REVIEW)
Embrace darkness and melancholy with the breathtaking new opus by one of the most interesting names from the current Spanish scene.
Best song of the album: Aurora

7. Slipknot – We Are Not Your Kind (REVIEW)
The world’s most famous masked metallers are back with a fantastic album that proves once again why Heavy Metal is our kind of music.
Best song of the album: Unsainted

8. Amon Amarth – Berserker (REVIEW)
Raise the shield wall, hold your hammers high, and unleash the berserker that lives inside you together with Amon Amarth.
Best song of the album: Shield Wall

9. Target – Deep Water Flames (REVIEW)
Let’s all dive into the incendiary deep waters of Technical and Progressive Death Metal ruled by this amazing band from Chile.
Best song of the album: Oceangrave

10. Singularity – Place of Chains (REVIEW)
The emotions of being wrongfully imprisoned turned into an ass-kicking hybrid of Technical Death Metal and Symphonic Black Metal.
Best song of the album: Ritual of Regret

And here we have the runner-ups, completing the top 20 for the year:

11. Grand Magus – Wolf God (REVIEW)
12. Hiss From The Moat – The Harrier (REVIEW)
13. Lucifera – La Caceria De Brujas (REVIEW)
14. Alunah – Violet Hour (REVIEW)
15. Dö – Astral Death Cult (REVIEW)
16. Rifftera – Across the Acheron (REVIEW)
17. Rage Of Light – Imploder (REVIEW)
18. Rexoria – Ice Breaker (REVIEW)
19. HerezA – Death Metal Drunks (REVIEW)
20. Aephanemer – Prokopton (REVIEW)

Also, let’s not forget about some of the best albums which, although might be short in duration, they did bring to our ears an endless amount of heaviness, speed and harmony this year, accrediting them to be part of our Top 10 EP’s of 2019. As you can see, those EP’s were recorded by the most diverse types of bands and artists from all over the world, becoming some sort of “tasting sample” of what we can expect from those metallers in a not-so-distant future.

1. Eleine – All Shall Burn (REVIEW)
2. Quilombo – Itankale (REVIEW)
3. Master’s Call – Morbid Black Trinity (REVIEW)
4. Violent Life Violent Death – Sadness Rains (REVIEW)
5. Angra Demana – Triptych Of Decay (REVIEW)
6. Vorga – Radiant Gloom (REVIEW)
7. Shuulak – Citrinitas (REVIEW)
8. Moanaa – Torches (REVIEW)
9. Exuviated – Déliquescence (REVIEW)
10. Sophist – Betrothal To The Stone: Conception of Mephisto (REVIEW)

Do you agree with our list? What are your top 10 albums of 2019? And, as usual, don’t forget to tune in every Tuesday at 10pm BRT on Rádio Coringão to enjoy the best of classic and underground metal with Jorge Diaz and his Timão Metal, and every Thursday at 8pm UTC on Midnight Madness Metal e-Radio for the best of underground metal with The Headbanging Moose Show!

Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year! See you in 2020!

And before The Headbanging Moose takes a well-deserved break to recover our energies and return in full force in 2020, how about we enjoy what’s probably one of the best and most detailed “Christmas” songs of all time, the fantastic Valhalleluja, recently released by Italian Heavy/Power Metal outfit Nanowar of Steel? This is the perfect soundtrack for your Christmas night with your loved ones, especially if you give someone anything from IKEA as a Christmas gift. Well, simply watch the official video below and follow the lyrics to understand what I’m talking about. Having said that, let’s all pray to Odin, drink beer and sing Valhalleluja together with Nanowar of Steel, my friends!

Album Review – Vorga / Radiant Gloom EP (2019)

Posted on by
1

Combining modern Melodic Black Metal aesthetics with atmospheric and cosmic influences, this up-and-coming multinational horde is ready to bring us all chaos and devastation with their debut EP.

Formed by multi-instrumentalist Atlas back in 2016 in Scotland but currently located in the city of Karlsruhe, Germany, the multinational Black Metal unity known as Vorga aims at creating emotionally resonant music that could capture the spirit of dissonance, frustration and harm in the modern world, which is exactly what you’re going to feel while listening to their debut EP, entitled Radiant Gloom. With members from the UK, Bulgaria and Germany, Vorga’s intention has always been to create music that combined modern Melodic Black Metal aesthetics with atmospheric and cosmic influences, with a lyrical focus on looking at the world from an anti-anthropocentric stance.

Mixed and Mastered by Simon Jameson at Black Art Audio Studios, and featuring a dark and cryptic artwork by Bulgarian artist Georgi Georgiev (Moon Ring Design), Radiant Gloom is a powerful welcome card by this talented quartet comprised of Пешо Спейса on vocals, Volker on lead guitar, the band’s founder Atlas on rhythm guitar and bass, and Jervas on drums, leaving us eager for more of their music in the form of another EP or, even better, a full-length opus in a not-so-distant future. Hence, you better be prepared before hitting play and listening to Radiant Gloom, because although we’re talking about only four songs in the span of 22 minutes, it’s already more than enough to bring chaos and destruction to your twisted mind.

Jervas and his unstoppable beats ignite a feast of darkened sounds named The Black Age, before Пешо begins roaring like a demonic entity while Volker and Atlas sound infernal with their axes. Put differently, it’s fast, furious and heavy just the way we like it, blending the most powerful elements from old school Black Metal and contemporary Melodic Black Metal. Argil is another rhythmic and obscure creation by the quartet, showcasing rumbling bass lines, razor-edged guitars and a demonic aura, with Пешо’s growls getting more piercing and devilish as the music progresses, not to mention how bestial but at the same time precise Jervas is once again on drums, resulting in a top-notch Melodic Black Metal extravaganza for your metallic heart.

Divine brings forward a tornado of obscurity led by the crushing riffs by Atlas and Volker, sounding absolutely perfect for going mental inside the circle pit or banging your head nonstop. Furthermore, get ready to be consumed by the flames of hell in almost seven minutes of classic Black Metal, courtesy of this sulfurous entity that goes by the name of Vorga. Then sounding utterly menacing and mesmerizing from the very first second, Hunger showcases a neck-breaking rhythm boosted by Jervas’ pounding beats, while Пешо uses his hellish gnarls to vociferate the song’s austere words manically before the music fades into darkness, putting a beyond somber ending to the EP.

Enter the realm of Melodic Black Metal ruled by Vorga by listening to Radiant Gloom in full on YouTube and on Spotify, by following this promising new name of the underground scene on Facebook, and by purchasing a copy of the EP from their own BandCamp page, as well as from iTunes or Amazon. In a music genre that several people consider as already saturated, it’s always a pleasure seeing the birth of excellent bands like Vorga, shutting those unbelievers up with huge dosages of talent, hard work and loyalty to the foundations of Black Metal, with Radiant Gloom representing just their first of many steps in the right direction, no doubt about that.

Best moments of the album: The Black Age and Divine.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2019 Independent

Track listing
1. The Black Age 5:01
2. Argil 5:02
3. Divine 6:48
4. Hunger 5:17

Band members
Пешо Спейса – vocals
Volker – lead guitar
Atlas – rhythm guitars, bass
Jervas – drums