Black Metal

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Inquisition – Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult (2010)

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    Thanks to Hell’s Headbangers now many people can rejoice with Inquisition’s ultra Satanic masterpiece of Black Metal. “Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult” should be in every self-respecting Black Metal-head top 10 list of all times. Hailing from Colombia, this is one of the bands that took a different approach to raw low-fi Black Metal and made it sound fresh and interesting (back in 1998).

    With their characteristically mournful and almost spoken vocals, the band managed to infuse the genre with that extra level of creepiness unlike anybody else was doing at the time. In this re-mastered re-release of the album we can hear everything 10 times more clearly than before, and this re-mastering is done in such a way that you still get the low-fi production values with added clarity creating a very effective mix.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Chaossworn – Chalice of Black Flames (2010)

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    Formed under the moniker of Creeping Death, the band changed names to Chaossworn in 2009. As a promising but underachieving band they released 3 demos and 1 EP before changing names, now with “Chalice of Black Flames” the band is unleashing three powerful songs of pure chaotic Swedish Death/Black Metal.

    If you love bands like Dissection, Einherjer and Naglfar, then you will love what Chaossworn brings to the table in this short but sweet EP. While some people might argue that ‘there is nothing new’ presented in “Chalice of Black Flames”, but there is nothing wrong about ‘similar but good’. Because of the lack of releases that feature this Swedish Death/Black sound, we think that Chaossworn deserves a chance in the spotlight since their music is spot on in every single level.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Armagedda – I Am (2010)

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    For fans of the now defunct cult Black Metal band Armagedda, Eisenwald/Nordvis is releasing a lost recording of 2001-2002. The band dissolved after their epic “Ond Spiritism: Djæfvulens Skalder” and with this EP we get another little glimpse into the band’s hate fueled Black Metal rawness.

    During the 24 minutes of music in “I Am”, the listener is transported to Armagedda’s cold and grim parallel world that sparks hatred and destruction. Fueled with grim ‘traditional’ riffing, and mournful rasps of pain, you will be brought to your knees by these powerful songs. And after the CD is over, you will find yourself playing it over and over again, just to relive the whole experience once more.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Blood of Kingu – Sun in the House of the Scorpio (2010)

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    Being a side project from members of Ukrainian underground legends Hate Forest and Drudkh, we expected a very atmospheric and epically raw Black Metal album that would be worthy of Roman Saenko. However, in “Sun in the House of the Scorpio” we get a mixed bag of raw and aggressive Black Metal that is much unlike Hate Forest and Drudkh.

    Yes, Blood of Kingu is brutal and aggressive but the atmospheric elements are highly inconsistent. We sometimes get some interesting atmospheric elements in the way of chants on songs like “Incantation of He Who Sleeps” but they are usually drowned by the dullness of the riffing. The rest of the songs also feature nice highlights but they all get killed by the overall dullness behind the music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Thy Disease – Anshur-Za (2009)

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    With a very unconventional sound today we have Thy Disease, a Polish band that will surely turn heads when you are blasting this release through your car stereo or out in your back yard. Starting off a second place finish in Poland’s “Metal Millennium Party” back in 1999, Thy Disease has released 5 full-length albums in over 10 years and it’s finally making its way to America through Armoury Records.

    With a very rich mixture of elements in their music, Thy Disease will surely make an impact as one of the bands with one of the most interesting styles in the Metal scene these days. In “Anshur-Za”, the band combines Death/Black Metal elements with some Industrial/Electronic sounds and some interesting chorus sections (featuring clean vocals) that will surely make you scratch your head more than one.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Yaotl Mictlan – Dentro del Manto Gris de Chaac (2010)

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    Yaotl Mictlan has always been one of the most interesting bands that we have ever heard to come out of Mexico. With a mixture of indigenous Aztec and Mayan elements, the band crafts their Death/Black Metal with a ‘folk-ish’ aspect, but the end result is something that you wouldn’t expect. The band’s sound is indeed very heavy and just uses these elements to highlight parts of their songs, not to revolve around them.

    In these days, every band out there has to have a gimmick in order to be successful (or have ridiculously good musicians), and Yaotl Mictlan’s indigenous gimmick is what actually makes them stand out from countless average Death/Black Metal bands in the world. However, this gimmick is not just for show purposes since the band spends quite a good deal of effort to make their lyrics historically relevant and incorporate part of their heritage into their music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lustre – A Glimpse of Glory (2010)

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    Hailing from Sweden, Lustre (one man band) brings us his second full-length release with “A Glimpse of Glory”. Mixing Ambient elements with the raw beauty of Atmospheric Black Metal, we get a very solid release that instantly became one of our top 10 releases of 2010 so far. During the 40 minutes of “A Glimpse of Glory”, Lustre reminded us of bands such as Enid, Blut aus Nord, Velvet Cacoon, etc. combined with the ethereal nature of artists like raison d'être and Robert Rich.

    Each of the three tracks found in “A Glimpse of Glory” focuses more in creating a very enthralling atmosphere than on the ‘Black Metal’ aspect of things. There are distorted guitars through most of the album (two thirds maybe), but there is only a little section (on track one) that has harsh BM screams. We didn’t even care if anybody was singing since each song crafts a mysterious atmosphere that gave us chills while listening to them at night.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Primordial – Spirit The Earth Aflame (2010)

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    Hailing from Ireland, Primordial is one of our top 50 bands from all times and “Spirit The Earth Aflame” is one of our all-time favorite albums. When we heard that Metal Blade was releasing this timeless classic we got psyched about the possibility of some great bonus material on this version of the album (we currently have 2 other versions).

    If you know who Primordial is, you probably worship this album as much as any other fan of the band and can skip till the next paragraph of this review. If you don’t know who the band is, then we must tell you that this band was one of the first to successfully combine Celtic/Folk influences with aggressive Black Metal elements, giving them a very dark and powerful sound that was unheard off back in the late 90’s and early 00’s.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sezarbil – Dark God (2009)

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    Hailing from the Czech Republic today we have Sezarbil, a Black Metal band that while not very original it’s actually very entertaining. Sezarbil, like countless other Black Metal band has a tick and brutal sound that is very brutal and destructive in nature but it’s nothing we haven’t heard before.

    However, if you are a connoisseur of Black Metal we all know that bands in this genre sound a like, but the good ones are equally effective in creating the destructive atmosphere that we all love about this genre. Sezarbil falls in the category of the good bands since with “Dark God”, they have crafted 9 tracks of pure Black Metal hatred against humanity and religion.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Teratism – Via Negativa (2010)

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    Two years after “Pure Unadulterated Hate”, USBM band Teratism is finally back with another hard-hitting grim as fuck Black Metal release that will rattle your insides. With a full-on devil worshipping and the occult concept, Teratism is one of the top flight USBM bands this days and with “Via Negativa” the have pushed their diabolic sound to new heights.

    Summer time is the time for warm weather and sunny skies, but Teratism creates a very thick and chilling atmosphere with a relentless Black Metal attack very similar to its Nordic counterparts that will bring forth darkness and bleakness to any sunny day. “Via Negativa” has a very raw sound to it, but it never feels like it was recorded in a shed or a toilet; the production highlights the raw and destructive sound of the band while maintaining enough quality to rival any big budget BM production.

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