Album Reviews

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    Groza - Nadir (2024)

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    Unleashing waves of highly melancholic Black Metal, today we have Germany’s Groza and their latest opus “Nadir”. With a vibe similar to Ellende, Heretoir, and Harakiri for the Sky, this outfit explores the depths of darkness with fierce aggression and technical proficiency in six tracks that span over 42 minutes of excellent music. This emotionally charged release is a rollercoaster of unadulterated raw power that is rare to find these days.

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    Trelldom - .​.​.​by the Shadows​.​.​. (2024)

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    Unleashing one of the most unexpectedly interesting releases, today we have Trelldom and their long awaited fourth full-length release, titled: “.​.​.​by the Shadows​.​.​.”. While many will be waiting for a traditional Black Metal release, the singles have steered people in a completely different direction as the album is more of an avant-garde/experimental release. Featuring a sound reminding us of the later stages of The 3rd and the Mortal, Lethe, and similar outfits, this release features seven tracks of unconventional and highly engaging music.

    Setting a very chaotic and contrived tone with “The Voice of What Whispers”, this release starts its aural explorations with a jazzy and a bit proggy piece that clearly signals this is going to be a very different release than expected. As “Exit Existence”rolls in, we get a sultry sax playing alongside Kristian Eivind Espedal’s (Gaahl) haunting vocals, creating a very eerie and yet intoxicating effect. We particularly love how this track transitions into sinister Black Metal riffs and a heavier nature as it progresses.

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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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    Tour d'Ivoire - Tour d'Ivoire (2024)

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    Creating a very hypnotic and dream-like atmosphere, today we have Atmospheric Black Metal outfit Tour d'Ivoire with their eponymous debut release. With four tracks and over 33 minutes of music, the band’s sound reminds us of one of our favorite bands: Enid. With a good dose of synths, multiple vocal styles, heavy guitars, and a very mellow tempo, this release creates a very dense and immersive vibe that only a handful of more experienced outfits can deliver.

    Setting a very mystical mood with “La Tour”, we get a taste of lush atmospherics paired with a river of distorted guitars and harsh vocals. This harshness is masterfully contrasted by ethereal clean vocal choirs, creating a very dissonant and yet pleasing effect. With “Brouillard” and “Forteresse de Marbre” this outfit fully immerses the listener into their world with more waves of catchy and melancholic melodies that continue to showcase the band’s duality.

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    Glare of the Sun - Tal (2024)

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    Unleashing a hefty dosage of Doom/Post-Metal brilliance, today we have Austrian outfit Glare of the Sun with their latest release “Tal”. Featuring a very well balanced sound that mixes elements of bands like Swallow The Sun and The Ocean, this release delivers nine tracks and nearly one hour of highly emotive and yet crushing music. Highly recommended for fans of bleakness with a dose of heaviness, the music here is both emotive and crushing.

    Opening with the Swallow the Sun-esque “Colossus”, the band unleashes powerful riffs and thunderous harsh vocals. This first track showcases a Doomier side of the band that slowly gets transitioned as other songs like “Rain”, “Äon”, and “Relikt” introduce more layers to the band’s sound like excellent clean vocals, and highly melancholic (and slower) interludes. The mixture of atmospheric elements alongside piercing riffs keeps tracks like “Stonefall” quite balanced and diverse, avoiding falling into formulaic territories.

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    Winterfylleth - The Imperious Horizon (2024)

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    Over the years the Atmospheric Black Metal scene has exploded and many bands have crowded it, however, Winterfylleth has always been at the top thanks to their creativity and ability to greatly improve with each release. With “The Imperious Horizon”, the band takes their sound to a whole new level with over 70 minutes of bombastic music that perfectly balances aggression and melancholy.

    Setting an enigmatic and lush mood with the instrumental opener, the blasts away with the piercing “Like Brimming Fire”, a track filled with crushing drums and savage riffs, giving us a certain Der Weg einer Freiheit vibe. After the furious opener, “DishonourEnthroned” keeps the intensity but carves some masterful melodic elements into the mix, creating a very enveloping sound, with Chris Naughton harsh vocals brilliantly adding to the turmoil. With no sign of slowing down, “Upon this Shore” and the album title track perfectly deliver a delicate balance between ravaging brutality and melancholy, with some epic headbanging passages and dramatic keyboards/clean vocals.

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    Wolfheart - Draconian Darkness (2024)

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    Tuomas Saukkonen continues to be one of the most busy persons in Metal, dropping a new Wolfheart release in 2024. With “Draconian Darkness”, the band continues its illustrious career delivering nine tracks and over 40-minutes of catchy and engaging Melodic Death Metal. Featuring the band’s signature sound plus a few tweaks, this release perfectly balances aggression with melody, creating epic headbanging moments in its wake.

    Opening with “Ancient Cold”, we get the band’s signature melodic riffing alongside subtle atmospheric arrangements, creating a very immersive atmosphere. One particular tweak is the use of more clean vocals, compared to their previous release, with both Lauri Silvonen and Vagelis Karzis contributing to this. As the band pummels through “Evenfall”, “Burning Sky”, and “Death Leads the Way”, the band further explores this more balanced approach with a nice addition of some orchestral arrangements, courtesy of Saku Moilanen, further enriching the experience.

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    Wintersun - Time II (2024)

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    Unleashing one of the most cinematic Metal releases of 2024, today we have Finland’s Wintersun and their opus “Time II”. Filled with the band’s signature Melodic Metal approach mixed with lush symphonic elements, this release delivers six dramatic tracks that cover nearly 50-minutes of superbly engaging and elegant music. The band continues to improve and enrich their sound and this release elevates it to a whole new level.

    Opening with the instrumental “Fields of Snow”, we get a continuation of the Asian elements that the first “Time” release had, creating a very lively and engaging atmosphere. The epicness starts with the ravaging “The Way of The Fire”, featuring some insane lead guitars by none other than Teemu Mäntysaari, alongside dramatic symphonic arrangements and very well crafted tempo changes. This song gives vibes of a mixture of Children of Bodom meets Warmen meets Ensiferum, so you know it is beyond awesome.

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    Avmakt - Satanic Inversion of.... (2024)

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    Spewing a grim style of Norwegian Black Metal today we have Avmakt and their debut release “Satanic Inversion of....”. With a sound reminiscent of Dark Throne, Sarke, and Tulus, this outfit keeps the old-school flame alive with six crushing tracks. As a no-frills approach to the genre, this release is primal and raw, unleashing 45 minutes of gut-wrenching music.

    As the release opens with “Ordinance”, we get that raw and unfiltered vibe from the music as the riffing and drumming create that old-school vibe while the harsh snarls add that extra punch to the music. The band’s style is familiar and yet engaging enough to deliver tracks like “Poison Reveal” and “Sharpening Blades of Cynicism”, with their catchiness and subtle Black’n’Roll/Punkish elements.

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    Amiensus - Reclamation: Part II (2024)

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    Hailing from the USA, Progressive Black Metal outfit Amiensus returns with part II of their “Reclamation” saga. Released a few months back, part I showcased the band’s excellent musicianship and creativity, and with part II, the band continues to unleash superbly crafty and engaging songs with elements from bands like Enslaved, Agalloch, alongside their distinctive vocal onslaughts.

    Opening with “Sólfarið”, we get a pretty intense track that slowly builds up to a hectic cathartic closing, instantly reminding us of the proggy-ness of Enslaved alongside the band’s diverse vocal onslaught. After making an impression with the opener, “Acquiescence” has more of an Agalloch dreamy opening that quickly expands to heavy riffs, pummeling drumming, and hellish harsh vocals. The band expertly mixes slower and dreamy passages with some pretty engaging blistering sections that weave back and forth different moods and tempos.

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