It is not very usual to receive promos from bands from countries like Iran, so today we are quite excited to review Erancnoir’s self-titled third full-length release. This one-man outfit delivers over 40 minutes of punishing Atmospheric Black Metal with similarities to bands like NONE and Lustre. With a thunderous approach to the genre, this release is certainly a very interesting contribution to the genre that fans should not miss out on.

With only two tracks covering the album’s duration, the first piece clocks in at 25 minutes and it is certainly a punishing and excruciating journey through dark and sinister worlds. This title track slowly builds up into hellish shrieks of pain and droning riffs that increase in intensity. The atmospheric keyboards are subtle enough to create a magical aura and perfectly complement a ravagingly raw musical core.

Unleashing a 34 minute dose of Atmospheric Black Metal, today we have Iceland’s latest export: Óreiða. In this self-titled debut release, this one entity outfit delivers a dissonant Black Metal sound filled with hatred and brutality. While not as raw as your typical BM bands, the music presented here is crafted to incite discomfort and repulsion… in a good way.

Opening with the pummeling “Dagar”, we get a powerful wall of sound crafted by the hellish distorted guitars and the furious pace. The guitar layering gives this track that extra punch to incite unrest. The violent onslaught continues with the raw brutality of “Draumar”, a track that slowly builds up by adding some atmospheric elements and creating a more dramatic aural assault.

After taking the scene by surprise with their amazing sophomore release “Litany”, Dead to a Dying World is back after four years with an even more impressive and masteful release with “Elegy”. Perfectly blending elements of Doom/Sludge/Black Metal with very emotional vocals and dramatic viola arrangements, this band crafts a very unique sound that is both intoxicating and ravaging. Focusing on creating immersive atmospheres and melodramatic moods, this outfit has created a near perfect release.

Opening with the dreamy western-eques “Syzygy”, the band creates a very martial and enigmatic end-of-time mood. Quickly shifting into 5th gear, “The Seer’s Embrace” delivers crafty guitar riffs and intense vocal arrangements. The mixture of heavy guitars and viola sounds a lot like late 90’s band Forty Days Longing, as it creates a very unique and powerful contrast. The band focuses on crafting unique melodic passages, as this track evolves into many different up and down moods.

Unleashing a masterful aural experience, today we have France’s Lost in Kiev and their latest opus “Persona”. Featuring nine tracks and over 44 minutes of lush Atmospheric Post-Rock music, this band is set to dominate audiences with their keen sense of melody and crafty tempo progressions. Being fans of Post-Rock music, it is quite interesting to hear how bands create an even more immersive experience with heavier atmospheric elements like in this album.

The release sets a very lively mood with the futuristic album title track. Crafting a very dense atmosphere, the band creates the perfect backdrop for their intricate guitar work and song development. Tracks like “Lifelooper” and the magical “The Incomplete” showcase the band’s focus in creating lush and expansive soundscapes, while dropping crafty tempo changes to keep things interesting.

Riding high from their 2016 opus “Proponent for Sentience” and their countless tours, Allegaeon finally returns with new music in “Apoptosis”. Featuring eleven tracks of neck snapping Technical Death Metal, this release improves on their last effort while delivering catchy and highly memorable songs. With heavy competition from European bands, Allegaeon clearly establishes themselves as one of the premiere Technical DM outfits in the world thanks to this killer release.

The album opens with an acrobatic bass guitar line that slowly transforms into a more melodic piece in “Parthenogenesis”. This track is the perfect lead-in to the crushing “Interphase // Meiosis”, a track filled with crushing growls and very dreamy melodic passages. Blending intensely melodic passages with technically proficient acrobatics is the band’s specialty and on “Extremophiles (B)” we get treated to a good dose of it. With songs being short and direct to the point, the band’s sound is quite brutal in nature as you can hear from “The Secular Age”.

Bringing back memories of the simpler days of Melodic Black Metal, when bands like Limbonic Art, Emperor, ...and Oceans added keyboards and orchestrations to the genre, today we have Vargrav and its sophomore release “Reign in Supreme Darkness”. Delivering over 40 minutes of lush arrangements, solid BM core elements and crafty songwriting, this one man unit unleashes a timeless sounding release that should not be overlooked.

After the traditional intro, Vargrav goes full steam with the lush “The Glory of Eternal Night”, a brilliant old-school sounding track that reminds us of Emperor’s classic “I am the Black Wizards”. The pacing and intricate tempo changes make this song quite enjoyable and a very strong opener. As “Dark Space Dominion” and “In Streams from Great Mysteries” roll in, we find ourselves impulsively headbanging thanks to their ravaging and yet playful nature. Both tracks are filled with majestic atmospheric arrangements, perfectly offset by catchy riffs.

Canadian Black Metal has been surprising us in the last few years with excellent bands like Monarque, Délétère, Csejthe, and countless others. Ossuaire is the latest addition to this wave of blast beats and tremolo picking from the North. With their debut release “Premiers Chants”, the band unleashes 40 minutes of ferocious music that reminds us of bands like Au Champ Des Morts, Vanum, Anorexia Nervosa and Glaciation amongst others.

Jumping at the listener’s throat, the album starts furiously with the pummeling drums and intense riffing of the album title track. The band’s sound is very well defined and nicely produced to sound devastating and yet melodic in nature. With “La Procession des Flagellants”, the band takes a darker approach filled with highly precise guitar melodies and Hérésiarque’s hellish vocals, just the perfect mix of a growl and a shriek, allowing them to be quite commanding and intimidating.

We receive over 40 album submissions each weak, so it is quite tricky to find what exactly to listen to and what to unfortunately discard. Luckily for us, we recently stumbled upon Úir’s second EP titled “Óenach Tailten”. Creating a very unique and dense Atmospheric Black Metal sound, this EP delivers three brilliant tracks that showcase the band’s raw power and boundless talent. Featuring members of unique bands like Haar and Úlfarr, this outfit is a band to keep an eye out for.

Opening with the sinister riffing of “V.S.F.P.A.”, the band sets a very hypnotic and cavernous early mood with a slow build-up. With a very martial pace, this track delivers powerful distorted guitars intertwined with a playful bass guitar line and hellish Watain-esque screams. After a devilish opener, the metalic sound of the guitars opening “Deiwos” is just perfect. This track turns a bit more hectic with a more defined wall of sound and ravaging onslaughts of total madness, thanks to the versatility of the vocals, which sound very mournful and haunting at times.

Embracing the contrast between dreaminess and aggression, today we have Azerbaijan’s one-man battalion Violet Cold and his latest full-length release “kOsmik”. Perfectly blending elements from Shoegaze, Post-Black Metal, Post-Metal, with very interesting more mainstream elements, the band’s releases are always very interesting to dissect since you will spend days trying to peel all the layers to be found. Clocking in at 36 minutes, this album will fly by very quickly, but it just means you get to start it again.

Creating a very soothing and uplifting mood with the opener “Contact”, this vibe transforms with the heaviness of “Black Sun”. The Shoegazey guitars are nicely contrasted with harsh vocals as this track travels between atmospheric passages, somber female vocals and an overall more aggressive and hectic pace. Creating a very Alcest-like heavenly mood, “Mamihlapinatapai” is definitely one of the most magical and engaging songs in this release thanks to its vocal arrangements and overall pace.