Season Of Mist

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    1394 - The Wolf and the King (2024)

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    Feeling like getting hit by a bag of bricks to the face? Well, that is exactly how “The Wolkf and the King” feels thanks to its incisive rawness and pummeling aggression. 1349 returns after five years with their best release to date. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 40 minutes of music, this release reminds the listener that Black Metal is powerful and visceral, as the band keeps their sound raw and crushing while still delivering tons of stylistic and technical nuances. If you like uncompromising and pummeling music, this is the release for you.

    Opening with the crushing “The God Devourer”, we get massive drums, courtesy of none other than Frost (Satyricon), and Ravn’s signature fierce snarl. The riffing immediately fills the air with piercing precision and the throbbing bass guitar line masterfully adds to the mix. The band’s sound is raw and piercing, with pieces like “Ash of Ages”, “Shadow Point”, and “Inferior Pathways” always focusing on brutality amongst crafty tempo changes and interesting rhythms that quickly make the band stand out.

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    Oceans of Slumber - Where Gods Fear to Speak (2024)

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    Constantly improving with each release, Oceans of Slumber continue their storied career with the masterful “Where Gods Fear to Speak”. This release perfectly showcases the band’s unique style with Progressive Metal/Rock elements paired with the soulful vocals of Cammie Gilbert. Clocking in at over 50 minutes, the ten tracks in this release showcase the different facets of the band’s wide ranging influences, from Death/Black Metal to more playful and experimental styles.

    Opening with the album title track, we get a solid mixture of sultry female vocals, crafty drumming, and diverse tempos. The opener even features some hectic and heavy passages with harsh vocals and intense drumming. The heaviness continues with “Run from the Light” and ““Don’t Come Back from Hell Empty Handed”” with their hypnotic interludes alongside faster paced proggy sections. The drumming of Dobber Beverly is quite diverse, changing tempos very effectively to intricately make transitions during songs.

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    Vestige - Janis (2024)

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    Just when you think you have heard it all, a band like Vestige drops a release like “Janis”. Creating a very unique amalgamation of Post-Metal, Shoegaze, Alternative Metal and a hefty dose of melancholy, this release delivers nearly one hour of captivating music. With influences from bands like Alcest, SOM, Mountaineer, Cult of Luna, Deafheaven, just to name a few, this release is full of emotional swings and dreamy interludes that will captivate any fan of unique and atmospheric music.

    Setting a playful and engaging mood, “Différent” nicely leads into the dream-like opener of “Deviens la Nuit”, which quickly brings crushing riffs alongside dreamy vocals giving that Mountaineer meets Cult of Luna vibe as the harsh vocals come in. A good dosage of Alcest-like shoegaziness comes front and center with “Démence de l' me” and “Océan”, further cementing a very ethereal atmosphere alongside dramatic tempo changes.

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    Gravenoire - Devant la porte des étoiles (2024)

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    Unleashing an extreme level of grimness and rawness, today we have France’s Gravenoire and their debut EP “Devant la porte des étoiles”. Trying to bring some of that 90’s Black Metal spirit, this relatively new outfit, featuring members (and ex-members) of bands like BA’A, Anorexia Nervosa, Seth and Diablation, delivers some of the most stripped down and yet intense BM music in the last few years. If you are a fan of uncompromising Black Metal removed from commercial gimmicks and current trendiness, this is the release for you.

    Setting a regal mood with “Pavens”, the band really lashes out at the listener with the piercing “France de l'Ombre” featuring crafty drumming, intense riffing and the signature vocals of RMS Hreidmarr, perfectly augmented by Vicomte Vampyr Arkames equal rawness and sheer aggression. Besides the dual vocal onslaught, the music has that old-school rawness thanks to a lo-fi production, said to be recorded in a live rehearsal, which delivers a very organic and natural incisive edge to the music as tracks like "Ordo Opera Cultura” and “Aux Chiens” demonstrate.

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    Seth - La France des maudits (2024)

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    Unleashing an early candidate for Black Metal album of the year, today we have Seth and their engaging Symphonic/Melodic BM style delivering eight tracks and over 46 minutes of highly immersive crushing music. Riding the momentum of the brilliant “La morsure du Christ”, the band wasted almost no time in unraveling their latest opus, filled with extreme craftiness and a swift dose of brutality alongside lush atmospherics.

    Setting a very hectic and riveting tone with the opener “Paris des Maléfices”, the band quickly unleashes their fury with pummeling drumming, incisive riffing and the hellish vocals of Saint Vincent. The band’s current line-up is probably the best they ever had, as tracks like “Et que vive le diable !”, “La destruction des reliques”, and “Dans le cœur un poignard” perfectly blend melody with aggression and crafty atmospherics creating a fine aural assault.

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    Eivør - Enn (2024)

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    Hailing from the Faroe Islands, today we have Eivør with her major label debut “Enn”, released under Season of Mist. Featuring a very dreamy and upbeat sound, this release delivers eight tracks and over 40 minutes of highly addictive music. While not the usual stuff we review, there is a certain magic to Eivør’s ethereal vocals and style that we got hooked on, and hence reviewing for you.

    Setting a very dreamy vibe, the opening track “Ein Klóta” unleashes waves of hypnotic electronics and sweet angelic vocals. With “Jadartra” we get a nice droney melody with a mysterious edge, reminding us a bit of Kari Rueslåtten’s “Pilot” days. Just like something out of an Eurovision contest, “Hugsi Bert Um Teg” is a catchy track that quickly grabs your attention thanks to the masterfully crafted beat and dreamy electronics.

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    Rotting Christ - Pro Xristou (2024)

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    Hailing from Greece, Rotting Christ is finally back with another sinister exercise of aggression and melody with “Pro Xristou”. Featuring ten tracks and over 45 minutes of highly engaging music, the band shows no signs of slowing down and delivers another high quality release. Slowly refining their melodic Black Metal over the years, the band has it down to a science and unleashing ten of their most catchy and enjoyable tracks.

    Setting the stage with a dramatic atmospheric intro, “The Apostate” nicely takes on from where the band left off with their previous release “The Heretics”, and continues unleashing unholy atmospheric brilliance, paired with eerie vocal arrangements and the band’s signature riffing. Sakis Tolis has the band’s sound perfected to deliver crafty guitar melodies alongside his signature snarls, as songs like “Like Father, Like Son”, “The Sixth Day”, and the blistering “La Lettera Del Diavolo” demonstrate.

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    SYK - eartHFlesh (2024)

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    Holding us over until the new Ulcerate drops next month, today we have Italian outfit SYK and their pummeling release “eartHFlesh”. With eight tracks and over 45 minutes of highly intricate and punishing Death Metal with Groove and even some Djent elements, this release is as crushing as it is complexly layered to infuse maximum pain. If you like music that is brutal, relentless, filled with excellent ideas, and masterfully executed, this is an album you can’t miss.

    Opening with the ravaging “I Am The Beast”, the band sets a very disturbing and cinematic vibe with creepy atmospherics until the massive drumming and layered guitars make their appearance. The band’s ability to unleash sinister riffs is outstanding, as they pair perfectly with blistering drums and insane tempo changes. On tracks like “Where I Am Going There is No Light”, “I'll Haunt You In Your Dreams”, and “eartHFlesh”, the band rips through crafty tempo changes, hellish growls, and tons of Meshuggah-esque passages, showcasing masterful musicianship and execution.

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    Sylvaine - Eg Er Framand (2024)

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    Being huge fans of Sylvaine since their beginnings, we are quite excited to hear Kathrine Shepard taking a risk and releasing a very different release with “Eg Er Framand”. This EP features six tracks and nearly 30 minutes of dreamy Folk music, with absolutely no elements of Metal, showcasing a very different and raw side to Kathrine’s talents.

    The release opens with the solemn “Dagsens Auga Sloknar Ut”, and its very minimalist instrumentation that surrounds Kathrine’s clean vocals. If the organ didn’t create enough tension for you on the first track, “Arvestykker” introduces some excellent vocal layering alongside “Eg Veit I Himmelrik Ei Borg”, which features a bit more instrumentation and somber atmospherics.

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    Merrimack - Of Grace and Gravity (2024)

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    Unleashing one of the finest Black Metal releases of the last few years, today we have Parisian outfit Merrimack and their crushing return “Of Grace and Gravity”. As their first album in seven years, the band returns with thirst for vengeance and delivers over 40 minutes of excruciatingly brutal music that any fan of the genre will go nuts for. If you like incisive and punishing music with a perfect balance of atmosphere and swift brutality, this is the release for you.

    The release kicks off with a bang with the demolishing “Sulphurean Synods”, a track that blasts off with ravaging guitars, pummeling drums, and hellish vocals. There is certain rawness to the band’s approach that is quite savage and direct. With the intensity of “Sublunar Despondency”, the band has that viciousness of 90’s Norwegian Black Metal, giving a certain Satyricon edge that works wonderfully within the band’s aggressive style.

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