Six full length and a decade in and Greek esoteric crusaders Acherontas have unearthed the treasure once again. Amarta showcases all that Acherontas does so well – beautifully melodic guitar work, crushingly brutal blasting, mesmerising control over rhythm and pacing, otherworldly atmosphere and a ritualistic feeling that is both uncomfortable and a good place to…
Gnosis is the 7th full length from Czech BM act Inferno. This time around Inferno continue to explore the boundaries of modern BM, reaching for an introspective, nightmarish type of discordant psychedelica to complement their more aggressive side. This type of thing has been attempted by many BM and Post BM acts over the last…
Cloaks of Oblivion is the third full-length studio album from Slovenian thrashers Eruption. This is my first encounter with this band and I am very pleasantly surprised. This is excellent stuff. Eruption are not the most raging thrashers on the scene. Instead they opt for an approach with galloping mid-paced, Bay Area influenced chugging, with…
Earth Electric is the latest project from Mayhem’s Rune ‘Blasphemer’ Erikson. No, hang on, it isn’t really a project – this is a fully fledged band. In terms of genre this one is pretty hard to describe. This is a slice of retro-but-modern hard rock that references Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple. The…
The Infinity Complex is the second full-length from Canadian thrashers Torrefy. The style reminds me of the more metallic and progressive sides of Ludichrist and Crumbsuckers as both bands shot off into the black holes of their demise. So soundwise, that is a good thing as far as I am concerned. And certainly, Torrefy are…
There are quite a few Abhorrences out there but this lot is the Finnish one. Originally active from ‘89 to ’90, they played some fairly typical (for the time) northern European death metal. Possibly a bit too brutal and raw to pass for the kind of thing that was coming out of Sunlight Studios at…
Lycan Twilight Sorcery is the debut ‘mini full-length’ from Greek BM duo Cult of Eibon. It is listed as an EP on Metallum, but in fact at 32 mins runs longer than Reign in Blood, so go figure. This is a very cool album from an act that I will be following from this point…
New York’s Black Army Jacket were active in the 90’s, contributing heavily to the powerviolence movement. Their music was a schizophrenic, grinding maelstrom of violence that showcased influences from the hardcore scene, punk, crust, grindcore and even black and death metal. They were one of the earliest bands that Municipal Waste drummer Dave Witte…
Well here we are with album number 9 from Finnish Black Doom outfit Barathrum. If you haven’t heard these guys before the crushing twin bass wall of sound will come as something of a revelation. It does exactly what you want metal of this sort to do – it kneels on your back and smashes…
Obeisance to a Witch Moon is the fourth full-length from Swedish Black Metal purists Grafvitnir. In terms of style, this isn’t the most modern sounding, harking back to second wave Scandinavian tropes with plenty of blasting, icy tremolo picking and ghoulish vocals. However, I don’t have a problem with any of those things. In fact,…
I don’t go for quite a lot of modern death metal. I dislike the generic cookie monster vocals, the triggered-to-shit drums and the self-conscious attempts at things like adding fruity fretless bass lines in an effort to be progressive or of filling every gap with a dozen sweeps in the hope that someone will call…
Coven is the third full length release from Cultes Des Ghoules. Conceptually, it is a pretty awesome undertaking. The 5 songs clock in at around 100 minutes in total. Then, there is narrative, atmosphere and an approach that makes it feel as if you are attending the world’s first true black metal opera (and just…
Next up we have a reissue from hardcore/powerviolence act Spazz. Funnily enough Tankcrimes released Sweatin’ I & III in 2016, so this one is slightly out of step in the chronology, but it offers up all of the same fun as last year’s releases. Sweatin II is taken from various spilts over ‘95 and ’96,…
Xoth are one of those ‘great but low profile‘ bands that it is all too easy to miss or pass up on with the slew of releases coming out each week. In fact ‘Invasion of the Tentacube’ was quietly released in late 2016 to minimum fanfare. Hopefully this review will help bring the band to…
Funeral Twilight is the third full-length opus from LA powerhouse Dreaming Dead. Members include front-woman Elizabeth Schall (some of you out there might be familiar of her work with death/grinders Cretin). The first thing that hits the listener is the production – really warm and crisp, this brings out the melodic properties, while simultaneously harnessing…
German black metallers Paria have been around for over 15 years now, popping up here and there with an LP or EP, never really seeming driven to be the most productive and busy kids and on the block. Their sound owes a lot to orthodox BM but they always seem to find a riff here…
Swiss duo Bölzer have enjoyed massive cult status for the past few years thanks mainly to their Soma and Aura EPs. To be honest, I never really saw what all of the fuss is about and felt they were one of the most overhyped bands out there. I am happy to report that for their…
Tacent Semitae is the debut mini album from Finnish/US/Belgian act Adaestuo. Notably the Finnish part is VJS of Sargeist/Nightbringer/Kult of Azazel fame. This is some very modern-sounding tenebrous, anti-cosmic BM that nonetheless has an extremely driving aggressive engine. Usually this is the kind of thing that really appeals to me but this time around my…
Mayhem in Blue is the third album from Greek prog black metallers Hail Spirit Noir, and their first for Dark Essence Records. For those who have not heard this act before, expect a fairly even but schitzophrenic split between occult psychedelic rock and a kind of Mortuary Drape meets Greek BM sound. While you may…
Seventeen years after it originally crawled from the abyss, Moribund serves up a reissue of the famous sophomore album from this Finnish juggernaut. As far as I can tell the mixing and engineering are the same and only the artwork and liner notes are any different. No bonus tracks or anything of the sort are…
