Black Metal

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    Code – Augur Nox (2013)

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    Making a dominating comeback, today we have Code and their third full-length release “Augur Nox”. Pushing the sonic boundaries of Black Metal, this UK band delivers 12 uncompromising and very unique songs. Perfectly recuperating from the exit of long-term and unique vocalist Kvohst, Code delivers 51 minutes of very interesting and complex music on their own terms, allowing them to push their legacy to new levels.

    Opening with the contrived “Black Rumination”, the band’s unique musical signature is immediately present with intricate guitar work and catchy drum patterns. The mixture of clean and harsh vocals is as good as ever with Wacian doing a great job in capturing the band’s essence. Mixing Progressive/Avant-garde elements into their music, the band further evolves their signature style on tracks like “Becoming Host”, “Ecdysis”, and “Glimlight Tourist”.

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    Natan – Às (2013)

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    Going in the stack of ‘why the hell is this band not signed yet’ promos, today we have Belgiums Natan and their sophomore release “Às”. With over 45 minutes of a very unique blend of Pagan Metal, Black Metal, and tons of Avant-garde influences, this release is one of the few that immediately caught our attention and we have been listening to it non-stop. Having a bit of everything for everybody, this band has a truly unique style that is impressively well-crafted.

    Opening with a bang, “Asch” immediately reminds us of Greece’s Aenaon and their very crafty music. The riffing is quite funky and the vocals very harsh, giving a very unique and somewhat progressive vibe to the music. The addition of the clean vocals really gives the band an extra dimension that your average band usually lacks. The intense “Ride Out!” gives us very cool tempo changes and powerful riffs constructed in a very unique and progressive way, reminding us of Enslaved at points.

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    Yith – Demo 3 (2013)

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    Bringing back the days of tape trading and home-made demos, today we have Yith and ‘their’ “Demo 3” on a Maxell tape. This American one-man battalion delivers six tracks of punishing Black Metal with Doom Metal influences. As we dusted off our tape player, this demo is quite well produced and will send shivers down your spine with its devastating riffs and demoralizing atmospheric passages.

    Opening with “Beneath the White Mountains”, the Yith immediately punishes the listener with savage Black Metal riffs and vocals. The moment of awesomeness comes when the track mellows out a bit and atmospheric keyboards and a Doomy passages breaks through the cloud of BM onslaughts. “The Woman in Black” is a more ‘mellow’ track where the Black/Doom vibe is very well crafted and creates a very bleak landscape.

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    Malignant Monster – Yours in Murder (2013)

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    Featuring a solid ensemble of musicians from bands like The Amenta and Mhorgl, today we have Malignant Monster and their Aussie Black/Death/Thrash Metal attack. In “Yours in Murder” the band delivers over 40 minutes of crushing music combining traditional Death and Thrash Metal elements with a BM edge and a very modern and refined sound.

    Making their presence felt, Malignant Monster delivers crushing riffs since the first song. This track has a vibe similar to The Amenta, but this suddenly changes with the band’s piercing tempo changes and devastating drumming. Certain melodic moments of songs like “Until It Withers” and “Nothing Left” nicely give a different edge to the band’s already polished sound.

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    Cult of Erinyes – Blessed Extinction (2013)

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    Hailing from Belgium, today we have the Cult of Erinyes horde and their sophomore full-length release “Blessed Extinction”. Filled with 43 minutes of hateful and chaotic Black Metal, this band has greatly improved over their debut release “A Place to Call My Unknown”. With some Avant-garde touches, this band creates epic Black Metal tunes with a knack for bizarre atmospheric passages.

    Chaos instantly ensues with the crushing “From the Shattered Skies” and its dissonant guitars. The song structure is quite convoluted, creating an excellent chaotic feeling while retaining a good dose of melodic riffs. With its clean vocals this song and the album in general, gives that Code-like vibe that fans of Avant-Black Metal are always looking for. The relentless “Jibaku” keeps up a high level of intensity thanks to brutal drumming and inhuman vocals that send chills down the listener’s spine.

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    Handful of Hate – To Perdition (2013)

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    Four years have passed since their punishing “You Will Bleed” release, and Handful of Hate is ready to rock your world with an even more vicious release with “To Perdition”. In this devastating exercise in Black Metal brilliance, this Italian band delivers 11 tracks of relentless aural assaults that will leave you beat to a pulp. If you like the power of bands like Taake, Gorgoroth, Immortal, etc., this is one album that you can’t miss.

    Opening with the ultra-violent title track, this release starts with a bang and keeps going like this for over 40 minutes. The riffing is quite punishing and very BM-esque, but the intensity of the drumming and hellishness of the vocals is what makes this band stand out. The band’s power goes unrivaled through epic tracks like “Cursed Be Your Breat”, “Far Beyond All Scourges”, and our personal favorite “Swines Graced Gods”. These songs provide a whirlwind of brutality and great levels of intensity that very few bands can delivers with such a quality production package.

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    Glorior Belli – Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls (2013)

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    After causing a lot of frowns and confusion with their solid “The Great Southern Darkness” release, France’s Glorior Belli returns with a more compact and fully integrated sound. In “Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurs” their combination of Black Metal elements with a Southern Rock and Sludge comes to full fruition and delivers one of the best albums of 2013. With their previous album being a bigger jump of what we expected, we are glad that they regained control of their sound and produced 45 minutes of brilliant music.

    Immediately as the album opens we have crushing twangy riffs that bleed Sludge and Southern Rock influences. The vocals are quite powerful and nicely complement the band’s knack for intoxicating melodies. While the band’s style change was very evident and in your face on their previous album, songs like “Wolves At My Door” and “Ain’t No Pit Deep Enough” quickly show how the tamed their explosive sound and combined better in this release.

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    Lustre – A Spark of Times of Old (2013)

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    Nachtzeit’s one man project Lustre returns with another killer MCD featuring one 19 minute track title “A Spark of Times of Old”. For all fans of Atmospheric Black Metal, Lustre has been delivering very engaging releases since 2008, and with this EP the project continues to push forward their raw and uncompromising Black Metal filled with lush atmospheric elements and a certain feeling of bleakness that works great with this kind of music.

    Opening in a very dramatic fashion, “A Spark of Times of Old” delivers a chilling introduction for what it’s set to be another epic Lustre release. The minimalistic atmospheric keyboards greatly setup a backdrop of ambiance for the crushing riffing and demoralizing vocals of Nachtzeit. We particularly enjoy how well Lustre manages to combine simple elements into a web of depressing and bleak soundscapes that very few bands can achieve, let alone in the first three minutes of a song. As the song progresses the atmosphere has slight changes thanks to the excellent keyboards, varying a bit from the basic structure but staying in tune with the overall nature of the track.

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    Frozen Ocean – Likegyldig Raseri (2011)

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    As a release dedicated to Ildjarn, “Likegyldig Raseri” is a very raw and direct release by Frozen Ocean. While we are fans of the band’s Ambient Black Metal and Ambient/Drone escapades, we can’t say that we really got into this one. Featuring almost no atmospheric elements, this release focuses on barbaric riffing, hellish vocals, and ponding drums, something perfect for your average Black Metal fan, but from this band/project, we expected a lot more.

    While not bad at all, from tracks I to VIII we only get skull crushing sawing guitars and demonic shrieks of pain, something that many would call paradise. We find these tracks a bit linear since the riffing gets to be quite repetitive, but for what it is, it is actually not that bad for the standard in the scene. It is not until IX that we get a torturous break with some creepy atmosphere and some nerve wrecking vocals.

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    Frozen Ocean – Vestigial Existence (2011)

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    Originally recorded in 2009, today we have Frozen Ocean and ‘their’ release “Vestigial Existence”. This highly active one-man outfit keeps cranking out releases like they are pancakes, but impressively enough they are all pretty good. Whether they are Dark Ambient/Drone or Atmospheric Black Metal, the releases by this band are very well crafted and deliver the right amount of melody, atmosphere, and aggression. Luckily for us, this release is more on the Metal side, and we can enjoy some cool atmospheric elements thrown in with punishing riffs.

    Immediately after the ambient intro “In Derelict”, the guitars start pounding on “Winter – Aelean Being”. In this track, a very melancholic vibe is present thanks to the solemn riffs and powerful vocals. The song structure is quite engaging and you can hear that is some of Frozen Ocean’s earlier work since their style is not as refined and sounds rawer. The catchiness is always present with “Mute Walls” and some cool sort-of-electronic elements that make this song very appealing for fans of Industrial Black Metal.

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