Showing their breakthrough release “Liminal Rite”, was not a fluke, North American outfit Kardashev returns with the brilliant “Alunea”. Perfectly blending genres and creating totally unique aural experiences, this outfit delivers eight tracks of crushing melancholy. Taking their “Deathgaze” genre to new heights, the band showcases extra maturity and polish in one of our early candidates for album of the year.

Opening with the dreamy “A Precipice. A Door.”, the band embarks on a very ethereal journey that is perfectly flanked by completely crushing Deathcore onslaughts. Mark Garrett’s vocals are some of the most exhilarating in Metal music, as they go from dreamy cleans to insane growls and harsh shrieks, creating an extremely contrasting and yet satisfying experience, through tracks like “Reunion”, “Seed of the Night” and “Speak Silence”.

Unleashing a savage debut full length release, today we have Belgium’s Solfatare with “Asservis par l'espoir”. Featuring six tracks and over 40 minutes of crushing Black Metal, this release showcases that there are still bands pushing the limits of the genre and crafting releases that do not sound exactly like most. With a ferocious take on the genre and the musicianship to back this up, this release is as intense and fierce as they come.

Starting with the blistering “Des monarques anhédoniques” we get that crispy Mgła-esque guitar driven style, but with some sinister twists, creating a very haunting experience. The harsh vocals masterfully add that extra level of desperation and aural abuse that songs like “D'hommes et d'isoptères” and “Du deuil affairé” need to be pushed over the edge. There is a certain intoxicating nature to the sneaky melodic undertones of the guitar work that makes them more effective.

V. Wahntraum (aka J.J) has been on a roll as of recently, not only with his exploits in Harakiri for the Sky, but also with this upcoming crushing Karg release titled “Marodeur”. With eight tracks and over 54 minutes of piercing music, this Post-Black Metal release is full of visceral rawness. Masterfully crafting highly melancholic music, this release is both punishing and demoralizing, creating a very bleak and yet lush atmosphere.

Opening with the enigmatic “ Schnee ist das Blut der Geister”, which also features guest vocals from Perchta and solemn piano elements from Michael Eder, the band sets a very emotional mood. There are certain similarities to Harakiri for the Sky, due to the vocals and some of the guitar melodies, however, this band takes it further into darker and bleaker territories with more solemn and direct songs like “Findling”, “Yūgen”, and our favorite “Annapurna” and its very dramatic atmospherics and cathartic moments.

Six years have passed since the last release from the Swiss masters of Celtic/Folk Metal Eluveitie and they sure make up for it with the awesome “Ànv”. Filled with their highly crafty and melancholic brand of Metal, this release delivers twelve tracks and over 40 minutes of the band’s highly refined music with a few extra more modern influences thrown into the mix.

Starting with a mood setting atmospheric intro, the band quickly gets to business with the explosive “Taranoías”, a fierce track that sets a high-octane vibe from the get go. The hard-hitting “The Prodigal Ones” keeps the momentum going as Chrigel Glanzmann and Fabienne Erni deliver engaging alternating “Beauty and the Beast”-styled vocals, while the album title track changes the pace with an eerie ethereal piece that showcases Fabienne’s range.

Returning with her enchanting vocals, today we have Liv Kristine’s latest solo effort “Amor Vincit Omnia”. Featuring eleven tracks and nearly 45 minutes of music, this release was composed with Sascha Dannenberger, creating very enchanting compositions that are slightly different from her previous release, but yet deliver her signature sound. Filled with melancholy and very captivating, this release masterfully showcases the magic of Liv Kristine.

Opening with the album title track, we start strong with playful guitars, solemn vocal interludes, and a bit of a mixture of very old-school Theater of Tragedy (thanks to the harsh vocals) and the more modern influences of Liv Kristine’s latest solo efforts. This melodramatic tone continues through the dramatic “Ode to Life Pristine”, the melancholic and very dreamy “12th February”, and the catchiness of “Angel in Disguise”. Sascha perfectly leverages Liv’s vocal harmonies to create very engaging and powerful tracks that are very direct and effective.

Hailing from the UK, today we have Atmospheric Black Metal outfit Ahamkara, with their sophomore release “The Harrow of the Lost”. With a more than 10 year gap between releases, this outfit nicely delivers four tracks and over 42 minutes of music that blends elements from outfits like Saor, Fen, Fellwarden, and Panopticon. Creating a very organic and effective sound, this band masterfully crafts immersive atmospheres that will capture the listener’s attention.

Creating a very mellow and intoxicatingly bleak atmosphere, “The Circle of Remembrance” opens this release with a slow burning approach that quickly is flanked by piercing riffs and harrowing harsh vocals. Austin Lunn of Panopticon fame handles the drums in this release, keeping things tight and very versatile as each track changes moods. The band’s atmospherics are subtle and never overbearing, thanks to Alexandra Blenkarn-Durning keyboards and effects, like on “Our Scars Shall Abide In The Thaw”, a very elegant track that blends in fierceness with Alcest-like dreaminess.

Facing the herculean task of following up to their ground-breaking release “Close”, Messa returns with “The Spin” and manages to shake things up enough to create awe and excitement. After heavily touring the world after their previous release, the band took a different approach when recording this album, and managed to deliver another Doomy/Jazzy/Proggy offering with a few interesting surprises.

Quickly turning heads, the release opens with “Void Meridian”, a mysterious track that while having some of the band’s signature elements, it also introduces some intense Darkwave/Goth Rock vibes. With an eerie The Sisters of Mercy meets Tribulation meets Soror Dolorosa, the opener and “At Races”, and “Fire on the Roof” showcase the band’s on a different light, making them more dynamic and perfectly complementing their already hypnotic style. Sara Bianchin’s vocals are a perfect fit for such a style and are as haunting as ever, particularly on the solemn “Immolation”.

Damn, it is the first word that comes to mind when listening to Epica’s latest effort “Aspiral”. Just when you think that a band can’t get any better, this Dutch outfit returns with eleven tracks and over an hour of some of their most explosive and bombastic music. Filled with signature Epica-style moments and tons of melody and catchiness, this release completely surpasses the level of awesomeness that the band delivered a few years back with “Omega”.

Instantly opening with the banger “Cross the Divide”, the band fully immerses the listener into their world of dramatic orchestrations, lush guitar work, and a very hectic and yet digestible pace that is masterfully led by Simone Simons talented vocals. In a very epic fashion, the band perfectly blends dramatic choirs with crafty tempo changes. Creating mesmerizing songs like “Arcana”, “Darkness Dies in Light - A New Age Dawns Part VII”, and the super bombastic and catchy “Fight to Survive - The Overdrive Effect”, one of their best tracks to date.

Celebrating their 35 years of existence, Rotting Christ is unleashing a 25-track live release of their show in Lycabettus. If you have never seen the band live, the Tolis duo (and live musicians) always deliver a raw and powerful hypnotic experience that is very hard to describe. Luckily for all, this release brilliantly captures that energy and showcases the band’s very diverse and constantly evolving musical style with most of their popular songs.

Not banking on having an overproduced release, but rather a more organic and direct approach, this live release showcases the band’s crowd interaction and live antics that brings songs to life in slightly different versions (to the studio ones), as one can hear on “Sorrowful Farewell”, “Dies Irae”, and “Shadows Follow”, some of our personal favorite tracks. However, all those sick riffs and melodic passages are always there, and we can’t help ourselves from starting to headbang here and there.