We love it when bands push the limits of music and Sigh is a fine example of how to continue finding odd ways to further expand your sound in the most bizarre and exciting ways. With “Graveyard” the band continues down their path of madness and delivers one of the most exciting releases of 2015. Featuring a plethora of guest appearances and a central theme around Italian zombie flicks and Fabio Frizzi’s compositions, this is one of the must have releases of 2015.

Leading with guest Kelly Simonz’s guitar leads on “Kaedit Nos Pestis” and the dramatic atmospheric/psychedelic elements of “Graveward”, the band sets a very atmospheric and chaotic mood right from the start. Mirai Kawashima and Dr. Mikannibal have an amazing chemistry and their insane vocal incursions are just one of many things that make Sigh quite unique. The madness reaches new level with the very cinematic “The Tombfiller” and its killer symphonic arrangements, brilliant guitar solos (courtesy of Kelly S again) and crazy effects.

Instantly showing that their debut “To Sail Black Waters” was no fluke, Bay Area’s outfit Secrets of the Sky delivers an even more mature and expertly crafted sophomore release with “Pathway”. Finding their home in Metal Blade Records, the band fully explores their musical capabilities with the 13 tracks presented in this very unique and different sounding release.

Opening with the relaxing sound of waves on the ‘instrumental’ “I”, this swiftly transforms into the band first real onslaught titled “Three Swords”. Expertly manipulating the atmosphere of their music, this opener sets a very mellow mood that fully explodes as the band rips through some thunderous Doom riffs between peaceful interludes. Placing nice tempo-shifting interludes between the tracks, Secrets of the Sky perfectly manipulates and guides the listener’s experience.

As a side project of Blake Green of Wolvserpent, Aelter produces some of the most enigmatic and hypnotic music that we have heard in quite a while. Mixing some ambient elements with Americana, Darkwave, and other murky influences, this release is truly a very unique album with tons of chilling moments and a very somber vibe.

Slowly building into “Death Eternal” with a well-paced intro track, Aelter sets a very mysterious and ritualistic mood with sparse percussions and hypnotic guitars. The extremely bleak mood of the songs make for an excellent aural experience that features some nice atmospheric highlights and a chilling cinematic vibe, a clear example of this is one of our favorites “Love Eternal”.

Six years have passed since the monumental “Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt”, a new episode in the history of Gorgoroth that does not include disgraced previous members Gaahl and King ov Hell. The band returns with a new vocalist and a thirst for blood and crushing Black Metal brutality. Featuring eight songs of dense and diverse music, the band quickly establishes an oppressive and bestial sound that only a handful of elite acts can deliver.

Kicking off with the monumental “Radix Malorum”, we are treated to outstanding devilish riffs courtesy of Infernus. With such a vicious foundation Atterigner (of Triumfall fame) lays his commanding vocals, creating a demolishing and painful sound that will delight any fan of the genre. “Dionysian Rite” continues the massacre with another quick onslaught of pummeling drums and blistering bass guitar lines. It is not until “Ad Omnipotens Aeterne Diabolus” that the band continues their musical approach from their previous album with riffs that are just oppressive to hear when paired with melodic passages that further elevate the music.

At Infernal Masquerade we usually receive anywhere between 20 to 40 promos each week, so going ‘off script’ to review something requires a killer release. Wallower and their savage mixture of Black Metal with Shoegaze have managed to stand out enough for us to review their killer debut EP. Under the title “Vanishing In Bloom”, we are presented with four brilliant songs that deliver a rare mixture of melody and harshness perfectly in harmony.

The release explodes wide open with their pummeling “Meteor”, a blistering track that features ear-piercing vocals and superb guitar work. The bands demolishing sound is very raw and brutal, perfectly balanced by the shoegazy parts thrown into the mix. While not as cathartic as Deafheaven or atmospheric as An Autumn for Crippled Children, the band perfectly captures the rawness and bleakness behind acts like Ghost Bath and Heretoir, as shown in the crafty “Dispel”.

The highly consistent Sirenia returns with yet another masterful Gothic/Symphonic Metal release. Morten Veland has always been known for his consistency and signature approach to the genre and with “The Seventh Path”, he delivers another quality release that fans will absolutely love. Featuring 11 tracks of majestic female vocals paired with dramatic and bombastic music, this is one of those albums that will stand out this 2015.

After the lush opener “Seti”, the band delivers the explosive “Serpent”. In this moment you are instantly transported into Sirenia’s world, as the band delivers a fully immersive experience with their music. The signature growls and riffs from Morten Veland make their way, and we instantly felt right at home. With a bigger emphasis on more Symphonic elements, “Once My Light” features some very cool Gregorian-style chorus arrangements that take the song to a whole new level.

One man American outfit Aureole is finally releasing their demo on CD and Avantgarde Music has taken to the task to do so. With a very bleak and hypnotic sound, “Alunar” delivers five songs and around 40 minutes of Atmospheric Black Metal that nicely entertains and relaxes the listeners.

Stating with “Citadel Alunar”, M.S. creates a very bleak atmosphere that is suddenly ravaged by low-fi distorted riffs and hellish vocals. The tension is perfectly introduced and developed in the first track and some tension is relieved on the faster harsher parts. “The voice of Nebular Flame” provides a very bleak backdrop with minimalistic atmospheric elements solid riffs, very contrasting to the mostly atmospheric “The Serenity of the Hourglass”. Luckily, the raw Black Metal harshness is back with the 12-minute behemoth “Crusade of NGC 5128”, a very trippy and engaging track.

With a certain familiarity to old-school Bethlehem, today we have Swiss outfit Cold Cell and their powerful sophomore release “Lowlife”. Featuring a very dark and sinister sound that mixes Black Metal elements with more restrained melodic passages and some sprinkles of ambient elements, this release is quite obscure and enjoyable. Clocking in at 53 minutes, this is one release that breaks the mold and nicely sets itself apart from your cookie-cutter BM albums.

Opening with a atmospheric intro, the band’s sinister sound first creeps on you with the Black’n’roll-ish opening of “Lifestyle Lunacy”. In this very moody track we get to hear the band’s full aural spectrum with a very rich and diverse piece. Other tracks feature brilliant melodic/atmospheric passages like “Scum Eradication” and “Dogma”. With the individual named S providing the vocals, we are reminded of the deranged style of Rainer Landfermann in Bethlehem’s “Dictius Te Necare”, but with enough restraint and focus to not draw all the attention to them.

Leaving us wanting more after their last release, Six Feet Under returns with another opus of catchy and grooviness inspired Death Metal with “Crypt of the Devil”. Led by Chris Barnes and Steve Swanson, this band has been refining their sound over the last 10 years and is far from sounding like any other Death Metal band in the scene. Dividing 37 minutes of music through 10 tracks, this release has enough catchiness to send you to the hospital from a neck injury after a day of extreme head banging.

Kicking off with the traditional sounding “Gruesome”, the band gradually increases their effectiveness through tracks like the hyper catchy “Open Coffin Orgy” and the brutally titled (and crushing) “Broken Bottle Rape”. The Six Feet Under signature sound is always present in the tracks in this release as Chris Barnes iconic vocals shine through. There are killer guitar solos and funky riffs in all tracks, but we particularly love the insane solos on “Broken Bottle Rape”. The band can switch up the tempo quite effectively with the chugging “Break the Cross in Half”.

As one of the most refined bands of the early wave of Norwegian Black Metal, Satyricon has kept pushing their sound over the years. In “Live at The Opera”, we get to hear some of their earlier works and their most recent pieces play seamlessly together in a 94 minute concert that incorporates a 55-person choral arrangements into their music. Allowing the band’s sound to be more sinister than ever, this is one hell of a live release…. And we have only heard the audio portion of it.

Slowly starting with an extra creepy version of “Voice of Shadows”, the band sets the mood quite effectively with the second track “Now Diabolical”. With a very subtle usage of the choir arrangements to create very oppressive moods, the band greatly improves on songs like the previously mentioned one and other classics like “Repined Bastard Nation”. The band’s newest songs “Nocturnal Flare” and “Our World it Rumbles Tonight” feature very effective arrangements to make already catchy songs even more dynamic and engaging.