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The Halo Effect - March of the Unheard (2025)

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Unleashing an earlier contender for album of the year, The Halo Effect returns with the excellent “March of the Unheard”. Continuing their In Flames-meets-Dark Tranquillity explorations of the Gothenburg Melodic Death Metal sound, the band delivers twelve tracks and over 42-minutes of superbly catchy and engaging music with a certain softer tone to keep things more mellow and accessible.

Opening with the bombastic “Conspire to Deceive”, we get the signature riffing of Niclas Engelin and Jesper Strömblad alongside Mikael Stanne’s snarls in a very catchy and engaging package. As the album progresses with “Detonate”, “Our Channel to the Darkness”, and “Cruel Perception”, the band showcases their signature sound while inserting some versatility with different tempos, dramatic guitar leads and an overall mastery of melody and pace.

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Патриархь - Пророк Илия (2025)

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Finally putting all their legal messes behind,Bartłomiej Krysiuk’s Batushka is now Патриархь or Patriarch, and they are back with an impressive release titled “Пророк Илия”. Keeping some of their ‘old’ stylistic themes and sound, but also adding some extra layers and new dimensions, this release unleashes over 40 minutes of highly ritualistic and hypnotic music, that while not close to “Литоургиiа”, it does show the band in a new light and with a unique identity.

The release kicks off with an atmospheric piece that slowly transitions into the chilling “Вершалин II”. This track perfectly exploits the band’s eerie choir arrangements alongside a good dose of Black Metal harshness and some new string instruments. The full effect is quite cinematic, unveiling new layers to the band’s sound while keeping their own uniqueness. This bleeds into “Вершалин III”, another engaging ritualistic track that masterfully incorporates some haunting female vocals.

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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Top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2024

This year we had tons of excellent Black Metal releases so we decided to make this list dedicated to this genre. It was quite hard to decide on a certain order, but we managed to reach a consensus:

Honorable Mention: Tsatthoggua - We Are God (2024)

Returning after 26 years, these crazy Germans return with their sleazy take on the genre and deliver one hell of an engaging release.
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Top 5 Symphonic <something> Metal releases of 2024

In order to not have a billion different lists, this year we are merging anything that has to do with Symphonic elements into one single category. One thing to be sure about, all these releases have some killer symphonic arrangements regardless of the genre:

Honorable Mention: Torn from Existence - Hearken the Darkened Skies ((2024)

Hailing from Denver, Colorado, this outfit delivered one of the most engaging and fun Symphonic Metal releases of 2024 and it was just their first release. Please be sure to keep an eye out for these guys.
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Top 5 Atmospheric, Dreamy, and weird Metal-ish releases of 2024

Top 5 Atmospheric, Dreamy, and weird Metal-ish releases of 2024

2024 was a very interesting year with tons of very dreamy and highly atmospheric releases that dabbled into some dark corners of music:

Honorable Mention: Whispering Void - At the Sound of the Heart (2024)

Very unique Dark Rock music from this stacked Norwegian outfit. Definitely one of the more different releases of 2024.
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Helloween - Live at Budokan (2024)

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Keeping up with the tradition of epic live releases recorded at Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, today we have Helloween and their intense show of September 16, 2023. Featuring over 2 hours of music, the live album part of this release, is a must have for any fan of the band as the pumpkins show up in full-force with Andi Deris and Michael Kiske on vocals, alongside Kai Hansen and company, belting out the band’s classics.

Perfectly capturing the band’s high-octane live shows, this release wastes no time to warm-up and kicks off with the 12-minute epic “Skyfall”. The (mostly) reunited band has been making waves in the last few years, both with their eponymous 2021 release and a series of tours. This magical energy is very well captured as the rip through pieces like “Eagle Fly Free”, “Future World”, and “Save Us”, some of our favorite tracks.

  • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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Aara - Eiger (2024)

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Swiss Atmospheric Black Metal outfit Aara continues their desolate path, after completing their “Triade” trilogy, they now take on “Eiger”. In this release the band’s masterminds got inspiration in the book “The White Spider”, which tells early stories of attempts to climb this famed mountain. The music, as expected, is both chilling and highly emotional, crafting eight dramatic tracks filled with raw intensity and harrowing melody. As one of the best Atmospheric BM releases, this is one hell of a frosty journey to close out the year.

Opening with blowing wind atmospherics, the release quickly sets a very frosty and desolate vibe as it slowly builds up with crafty percussions and intense riffs. The band’s signature style of perfectly pacing their songs, be it unleashing furious onslaughts or bleak slow passages, makes songs like “Die das wilde Wetter fängt”, “Senkrechte Welten”, and “Felsensang” very cinematic. The way the album develops, with ebbs and flows, allows the listener to really feel the story.

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