Always uncovering unique talent, Naturmacht Productions is set to release Eskapism’s latest full-length release “Skresnava”. Featuring a very lively and engaging Atmospheric/Symphonic Black Metal sound, this release delivers four tracks and over 41 minutes of intense and very lush music. Recommended for fans of bands like Grima, Limbonic Art, Saor, and similar, this album is full of melody and magical soundscapes.

Opening with the melancholic “The Forest of Silent Shadows”, the band slowly builds momentum with crafty atmospheric, weeping guitar melodies and a very hypnotic pace. The band’s ability to craft long, over 10 minutes, songs that are cohesive and very cinematic is one of their strengths as founders Dyvozor and Zymobor navigate very emotional and melodic territories. As “Orison” continues the onslaught, we get those nice emotive guitar tones masterfully surrounded by subtle and yet very powerful atmospherics.

Unleashing a hefty dose of twangy Sludge/Doom Metal with some Stoner elements, today we have Denver’s In The Company Of Serpents with “A Crack in Everything”. As the band’s fifth full-length release, this album features over 43 minutes of engaging music that has a traditional vibe for the genre while infusing some Spagetti-Western undertones and a solid dose of heavy riffs. If you like bands like Yob, High on Fire, and Neurosis, check these guys out.

Opening with the crafty “Don’t Look In The Mirror”, the band opens the onslaught with some ripping riffs and a very catchy vibe. The raspy vocals perfectly blend with the tempo changes and the masterful melodies of the crushing guitars. Moving into funkier territories, the twangy “A Patchwork Art”, the playful “Cinders”, and the fierceness of “Endless Well”, the band experiments with a wider palette of elements, creating memorable tracks that induce plenty of headbanging moments.

Marking their return after six years, “A Void Within Existence” showcases the ever morphing Abigail Williams with a more crushing and dissonant sound. Featuring seven tracks and nearly 50 minutes of music, this release has the band unleashing a mixture of crushing guitar-driven tracks with a hefty dose of atmospheric elements alongside their usual experimentation to create a powerful and devastating mixture.

Opening with the heaviness of “Life Disconnected”, we get a barrage of raw and visceral riffs alongside technical craftiness with sick guitar leads. Moving into more melodic territories, “Void Within” unravels via the masterful drumming of Mike Heller, while “Nonexistence” delivers Post-Black Metal melancholics. Ken Sorceron’s vocals are vicious and perfectly align with the more violent onslaughts delivered on songs like “Still Nights” and the hypnotic “Talk to Your Sleep”, filled with crafty tempo changes and a vicious wall of distortion.

Unleashing a very lively and engaging Melodic Metal EP, today we have North America’s Dreams of Gray with “A Beginning”. Featuring an interesting mixture of Melodic Death Metal, Thrash, Progressive Metal, and a few other elements, this three song EP is very well crafted and showcases the promise behind Luis Rivera’s brainchild. If you are into bands like Dark Tranquility, Katatonia, In Flames, etc. this is a release to check out.

Canadian legends Cryptosy are back with one of their most vicious releases with “An Insatiable Violence”. Showing that the ‘old guys’ can hang out with the younger Brutal/Technical Death Metal crowd, the band further elevates their sound to be more brutal and faster in this one. Featuring over 33 minutes of music in eight tracks, the band makes a pummeling statement with this release.

Blasting away with “The Nimis Adoration”, one immediately notices that Matt McGachy vocals are more vicious and mean this time around,and so are the crafty guitar leads of Christian Donaldson. The band has managed to keep up with the times while still keeping their signature style, and unleashes bangers like “Until There's Nothing Left”, the blistering “Fools Last Aclaim”, and the more melodic onslaughts of “The Art of Emptiness” and its deep growls. All in-all, the band alongside Dying Fetus, are standing the test of time with their music.

As a re-recording and re-imagining of their 2007 masterpiece “Hangman's Hymn”, Sigh return with their usual madness, while giving this release a refresh with a (slightly) better production and infusion of their newer influences, elements, and band members. While we are great fans of the original version and its impact, at the given time, this refresh brings the album to a more modern context (in terms of the band) and will certainly appeal to any nostalgic fans.

Keeping things weird and unique as always, Mat McNerney is back with the current era of Hexvessel that has them playing a very frosty and powerful blend of Atmospheric Black Metal with some of the band’s earlier Dark Folk elements. In “Nocturne” the band shapeshifts a bit more, taking the BM elements of “Polar Veil”, and blending some harrowing bleak soundscapes with chilling vocals and a few guest appearances to keep things dreamy and weird.

With a mood setting opener and the chilling keyboards of “Sapphire Zephyrs”, the band sets a very desolate backdrop that masterfully is reinvigorated with piercing Black Metal-styled guitars and harsh screams. The transition to “Inward Landscapes” shifts the momentum to more atmospheric territories alongside Mat’s eerie clean vocals. One of our favorite tracks has to be the moody “A Dark Graceful Wilderness”, which gives us some “Dawnbearer” and “When We Are Death” vibes.

Unleashing a clinical onslaught of uncompromising Finnish Black Metal, today we have Sargeist with “Flame Within Flame”. As the band’s first full-length release in nearly eight years, and featuring Shatraug back on vocals, this album is fierce and punishing, just what we all expect from this congregation of masterful Black Metal musicians, which also feature Spellgoth handling bass guitar and backing vocals, and new drummer Nur-i-siyah.

Regardless of the line-up changes, Shatraug and VSJ keep the band’s style intact with their furious riffing onslaughts. Pummeling away with their signature style, “An Eternal Dream Beyond the Accursed Protent”, “Flame within Flame” and “The Chant of Rotting Tongues" perfectly transition between fast paced sections to more hypnotic and melodic passages that keep things eerie and highly atmospheric. With a timeless Black Metal style, this release masterfully mixes the gritty and raw with a polished production and crisp instrumentation.