Black Metal

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    Svartsyn – Black Testament (2013)

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    Out of the tons of Black Metal releases we get each week at Infernal Masquerade, there are just a handful that are worth purchasing, sadly “Black Testament” is not one of them. One-man beast Ornias returns with Svartsyn and this very insipid release that while not bad, it is just too linear and predictable to generate any positive emotion from us.

    After a quite interesting and bleak intro track, the band blasts away with “Revelation In The Waters”, a very solid and punishing BM song that sadly is the only highlight of this release. After this track goes by, the rest of the songs feel just too similar. The music is quite decent indeed, but it lacks creativity and direction. We found ourselves getting pretty antsy to reach the end of the album very single time we listened to it (over five times… we counted).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Aborym – Dirty (2013)

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    Ever since Mysticum and Diabolos Rising/Raism disappeared form the Industrial Black Metal scene, there have been countless of uninspired bands and releases trying to achieve the same level of brutality, catchiness, and overall deranged awesomeness of said bands. Malignant Eternal and Aborym are the only two bands that ever came close to said greatness. With “Dirty”, Aborym returns with a double CD release filled with crazy electronics and massive drums, a considerably better effort than their previous release “Psychogrotesque”.

    Opening with the average “Irreversible Crisis”, the band really kicks things off with the mega-catchy “Across The Universe”. Filled with very tense electronics and clean vocals, this track is nicely elevated by Faust’s supreme drumming abilities. The band nicely keeps the intensity up with “Dirty” and “Bleedthrough”, both very brutal tracks that are quite solid and well crafted. Our favorite track in this CD is the atmospheric “Rapped By Daddy”, a song that creates a very deranged atmosphere, perfect to creep out my neighbors by blasting it at 3 am on a Tuesday.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Galaktik Cancer Squad – Ghost Light (2013)

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    With four full-length releases in less than 3 years, today we have one man project Galaktik Cancer Squad and ‘their’ latest opus: “Ghost Light”. Pushing the boundaries of Black Metal with their visionary music, “Ghost Light” keeps things rolling for the band with five devastating tracks of crushing Black Metal with amazing Progressive elements and melodic influences. With over 50 minutes of music, this release has some very harsh and brutal Black Metal sections that puts the band ahead of their competition, rather than just focusing on copying bands like Enslaved, GSC has their own unique style of destruction.

    The release starts very violently with the massive “Ethanol Nebula”, filled with hyper-fast drums and crushing guitar work. There are even some excellent Immortal-like guitars (around the 2 minute mark) that greatly add to the overall musical experience of this monumental track. The vocals are quite decent, but the complex music is what really gets you from this band. Things get considerably more melodic with the powerful “When the Void Whispers My Name”. Here the band reminded us of Agrypnie and their equally engaging and skillful Black Metal.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Entropia – Vesper (2013)

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    Hailing from Poland, today we have Entropia and their debut full-length release “Vesper”. Mixing Black Metal with some Sludge and Post-Metal elements, this band shows great promise in their six tracks spanning over 49 minutes of music. While not being overly cliché, the band nicely mixes different influences to create some interesting atmospheres in their very decently crafted sound.

    Opening with “Dante”, we get a typical Black Metal opening followed by some powerful atmospheric keyboards and some solid Sludge/Post-Metal rhythmical section. “Gauss” shows off some of the band’s more melodic side while keeping their effective riffs and very well paced drums. Things get a bit more dramatic with the harsh screams of desperation in “Pascal”, one of the best tracks in this release thanks to the very slow tempo and rawness of the song.

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    Harakiri For The Sky – Harakiri For The Sky (2012)

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    Hailing from Austria, today we have two-man band Harakiri for the Sky and their self-titled curshing debut full-length release. Featuring over thirty minutes of music, this release nicely blends aggressive Black Metal with some melodic and Post-Rock elements to produce five high-quality songs. Being quite aggressive and direct, this release nicely stands out from the other bands that abuse dreamy guitars and effects to create atmosphere.

    “Lungs Filled With Water” starts this release with commanding riffs and very powerful harsh vocals. The band’s core Black Metal influences are nicely offset by the melodic nature of the music and the overall pace. “AM, Phychosis” starts off a bit more Post-Rock-ish in nature, but it quickly develops into another epic Melodic Black Metal anthem. While a bit repetitive, this track is quite delightful thanks to its very cool melodic passages and excellent tempo changes.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Vanhelga – Höst (2012)

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    Delivering twelve hymns of Black Metal with Depresive Rock undertones, today we have Vanhelga and their second full-length release “Höst”. This two person outfit from Sweden consist of 145188 handling all the instruments and 1853 (ex-Lifelover) writing the lyrics, it is quite a mystery who actually handles the vocals in this release. With razor sharp riffs and melancholic melodies, the band delivers quite enjoyable passive aggressive Black Metal.

    The opener “A Sinister Longing” is a very direct and pummeling track with powerful guitars and eerie vocals. The band’s rawness reminds us a bit of earlier Burzum, but with better vocals. There is an underlying melodic aspect to their music that starts surfacing more as you get into the remaining tracks of this release. “Lugn” and “Desperation” continue this release with mellow interludes and excellent harsh sections, bringing a perfect balance between the brutal and the depressive.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Summoning – Old Mornings Dawn (2013)

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    Finally, after seven years of waiting, Summoning returns with their seventh full-length record “Old Mornings Dawn”. This legendary two-person operation has been a major inspiration for tons of one or two-man projects that crate Epic/Atmospheric Black Metal music. Being huge fans of the band, we had been waiting for this release for quite a while, but we are a bit disappointed since the band’s sound now feels very outdated by current musical standards.

    Since the opener “Evernight”, the band delivers their signature atmospheric brilliance and trademark harsh screams. However, the music feels like it was made using a computer from 10 years ago. Today’s standards have bands using software that can produce high-quality orchestrations in a matter of a few clicks and Summoning still sounds like a MIDI band. This is quite disappointing for us since their creativity is excellent, but seems like technology has surpassed their music making skills.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Asofy – Percezione (2013)

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    Hailing from Italy, today we have one-man project Asofy and their latest full-length “Percezione”. With a very bleak and somewhat minimalist sound, Asofy delivers four tracks of very emotional Black/Doom Metal with some Post-Black Metal elements. The music is quite direct and very well paced, enough to enchant any Doom or Suicidal Black Metal fan, very similar to the experimental stuff of Svarti Loghin.

    On the first track, “Luminosita”, the Post-Black Metal influences nicely make this very melancholic song even more bleak and desolate. Tryfar handles all instruments and does a very good job with the guitars and bass guitar. The drums are programmed so they sound a bit fake in some points, but they are pretty decent compared to other releases. The pace of this song is quite slow and dabbles around some jazzy/doomy sections very nicely.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Progenie Terrestre Pura – U.M.A (2013)

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    Finally unleashing their debut full-length, today we have Italian duo Progenie Terrestre Pura’s “U.M.A”. Standing for Uomini, Macchine, Anime (Men, Machines, Souls), this band delivers purely atmospheric Black Metal with a very cool sci-fi theme. Focusing in creating lush and ethereal atmospheres, the band creates 50 minutes of magical music that will take you on an out of body interstellar journey.

    Opening with “Progenie Terrestre Pura”, the band immediately establishes a trippy and futuristic atmosphere that is quite unique and dreamy. Slowly making their way in to the ‘heavy sections’ the band does a great job not rushing things and letting their music set the mood. The unsettling “Sovrarobotizzazione” features quite powerful BM riffs that are masked behind their lush atmospheric elements and some excellent Post-Rock/Post-BM soundscapes.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Nahar – The Strange Inconvenience (2013)

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    Featuring a cleaner and more melodic sound than legendary Inquisition, Naha brings upon us their sophomore release “The Strange Inconvenience”. Hailing from France, this two man band unleashes six tracks of well-paced Black Metal that is quite crushing and yet somewhat melodic in nature. The band focuses more on creating a very cavernous feeling rather than delivering acrobatically insane furious Black Metal, thus they manage to create a very unique and dense release not apt for the weak of mind.

    Opening with “Grey Concrete... Comfort”, the band established a powerful wall of distorted guitars and commanding vocals. Clocking in at nearly 10 minutes, this song weaves back and forth from creepy harsh sections to creepy atmospheric passages. “Purifying Negativity” changes the pace a bit with faster sections, but the overall creepy atmosphere is still there. Things start getting a bit more experimental in “D.M.T.” and “Pessimist”, two tracks that showcase the band’s ability to craft melodic (and even jazzy) passages and mix them with the harsh vocals and BM riffs (on “Pessimist”).

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