RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://gerseydeoful.bandcamp.com/album/reign-ov-hoof-and-wing I could not have been happier (nor more excited for that matter) when I saw that the New Jersey-based black metal outfit known as Gersey Deoful had unleashed a fresh new torrent of tunes collectively titled Reign ov Hoof and Wing. Their previous offerings have been a most welcome addition…
PHOTOGRAPHER: John Hesse.Photos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. About a month ago I happily stumbled on a ferocious and relentlessly intense 2-track EP on Bandcamp appropriately titled Entropic, which blew me away and instantly turned into a bit…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/descendants-of-evil You can never really go wrong with an inhumanely brutal barrage of blackened death metal from Poland when it is released by the long-running Godz ov War Productions, and this eight-track juggernaut by Upon the Altar is a perfect example of a solid and perversely enjoyable listening experience. The pure,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://koldbrann.bandcamp.com/album/ingen-sk-nsel Last year’s 2-track release titled Den 6. Massedød (Manna fra en Annen Himmel) was a caustic, face-melting delight that worked its nasty, bone-chilling magic on this scribe rather splendidly. Naturally, their upcoming full-length record appropriately named Ingen Skånsel had to be something to look forward to and worth getting excited…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://mana666.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2024 I accidentally stumbled on this wild and reckless demo output by the Finnish act named Mana, and it turns out that this potent three-track offering of theirs is a solid and well-written slab of raw and ugly black metal that works like a charm right now thanks to yours truly…
The twisted Norwegian ensemble known as Koldbrann is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and morbidly engaging black metal acts out there today, and their impressive back catalogue as well as their intensely aggressive and perfectly maniacal live shows speak for themselves and have garnered them a reputation that many of their peers would die…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://edgedcircleproductions.bandcamp.com/album/seven-are-they Yes, this is exactly the kind of thing we all need and what the of the mood of this week calls for – a new output containing exclusive material by what is unarguably one of the very best and most sinister-sounding bands out there, namely Deathcult. With its evocative artwork…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://vestindien.bandcamp.com/album/verdande In all honesty, I did not think it possible for the uniquely gifted masterminds behind Vestindien to top or better their flawless debut offering entitled NULL, but by some perverted and wonderful miracle these six twisted souls have conjured up a new work of radiant brilliance that transcends barriers and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/tetrahedra Not knowing quite what to expect from this visually intriguing album sporting a painting by Henri Martin as its cover artwork, I was pleasantly surprised by it morose mixture of catchy black metal, goth rock, and industrial music. La Mer sounds different to pretty much everything else out there and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/dominion-of-suffering-phobonoid Fucking hell, this is some delightfully intense, unsettling, and interesting stuff courtesy of Dominion of Suffering (Slovakia) and Phobonoid (Italy). While the former serves up claustrophobic, fast-paced, and somewhat deranged black metal that recalls certain French Orthodox BM outfits, Phobonoid is a far trippier and more surreal listen and one…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/sacrum-funeral What we have here is a six-track album by the Polish horde named Cultum Interitum that dabbles in murky and unpleasant black metal with a charcoal-stained mood and a grimy vibe to it. The sound is so frigging pitch-black that I am absolutely positive they recorded this sinister musical curse…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/inn-of-the-vaticide This is my first encounter with the infernal black metal trio from the US known as Black Eucharist, and I must say that I am utterly pleased with this crushing slab of musical unholiness that they have vomited forth. For one thing, efficiency and catchiness seem to be the order…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://erstwhilebm.bandcamp.com/album/ancient-steel I became aware of this melancholy black metal duo not that long ago thanks to the brilliant and ever-reliable Regimental Records who released the Steeling of a Soul album by Erstwhile on CD. This 3-track EP is hauntingly effective and drenched in an impressively solemn atmosphere that is underlined and…
The tail end of December saw the lo-fi ambient post-rockers known as Picture Ann grace a doomed planet with a full-length album comprised of six sprawling compositions that all revolve around the idea of losing one’s way in life, of being misled and losing oneself somewhere terrible only to find the way back home an…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/blood-oaths The American black metal combo known as Vein specializes in raw, claustrophobic, and downright oppressive music of the most loathsome and sinister kind. These twisted fucks manage to weave a thick and nasty atmosphere together by means of simple yet efficiently dark riffs, sick effects, and demented vocals, and the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://lnk.to/lagranvictoriadelmal The manic and maniacal brand of fiercely intense black metal spawned by Cryfemal rarely fails to excite me. As with the solid and morbidly entertaining 2020 offering titled Eterna Oscuridad, this upcoming 30-minute shroud of musical darkness delivers a proper kick to the abdomen and sounds outright vicious and insane.…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://nethermostcaverns.bandcamp.com/album/ancient-spells-within-a-stalagnate-crypt This ceaselessly grim and melancholy eight-track offering by the US black metal horde known as Nethermost Caverns is one that I have been looking forward to ever since they released the Shadows of Seclusion demo a few months ago. Ancient Spells within a Stalagnate Crypt is an unpolished and raw-sounding…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://gerseydeoful.bandcamp.com/album/gersey-deoful Here is a grim and ugly treat for all you lovers of raw, unfiltered black metal from the American underground, namely the self-titled offering by the skilled horde from New Jersey known as Gersey Deoful. This short and concise 6-track EP is only seventeen minutes long but do not…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://nethermostcaverns.bandcamp.com/album/shadows-of-seclusion-demo This fierce two-track demo by the brand-new US black metal outfit named Nethermost Caverns is one that contains heaps of promise and potential, and I was immediately attracted to its melancholy aura and melodic qualities the very first time I immersed myself in it. While ‘Shrouded in Funereal Grey’ is…
Inspired by the Gothic setting and ominous tone of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by author Robert L. Stevenson, the predictably unpredictable musical entity known as Picture Ann has unearthed a brand-new slice of melancholy and darkness titled Dedication that weaves traits and elements of post-rock, drone ambient, and lo-fi black…
