Having been huge fans of the band’s earliest Gothic/Doom work, we have been reluctant to fully enjoy their most recent releases until this one. In “Antiadore” Lacrimas Profundere belts out 12 Gothic Rock anthems that are quite moody and catchy. The band has finally won us over with very catchy tunes, signature deep vocals, and excellent arrangements that make their music very dynamic and enjoyable.

Led by the only remaining original member, Oliver Nikolas Schmid, on guitars, the band opens with “My Release in Pain”, a very catchy and emotional song. The band quickly warms up with tracks like “Antiadore”, “What I’m Not”, and “Dead To Me”, perfectly combining their powerful dual guitar attack with catchy keyboards and the trademark vocals of Rob Vitacca.

Finally, after seven years of waiting, Summoning returns with their seventh full-length record “Old Mornings Dawn”. This legendary two-person operation has been a major inspiration for tons of one or two-man projects that crate Epic/Atmospheric Black Metal music. Being huge fans of the band, we had been waiting for this release for quite a while, but we are a bit disappointed since the band’s sound now feels very outdated by current musical standards.

Since the opener “Evernight”, the band delivers their signature atmospheric brilliance and trademark harsh screams. However, the music feels like it was made using a computer from 10 years ago. Today’s standards have bands using software that can produce high-quality orchestrations in a matter of a few clicks and Summoning still sounds like a MIDI band. This is quite disappointing for us since their creativity is excellent, but seems like technology has surpassed their music making skills.

Finally returning with a full length since “Rubicon”, today we have Tristania and their latest opus “Darkest White”. Being one of the few surviving bands of the original wave of Gothic Metal bands from the late 90’s, Tristania has been evolving with time and adapting their sound to be catchier and diverse. Since the departure of their iconic singer Vibeke back in 2007, this band has slowly been coping for this loss with the addition of Mariangela Demurtas and Kjetil Nordhus vocal talents.

“Darkest White” delivers the best songs of this latest era of the band, delivering over 50 minutes of lush symphonic elements, excellent vocal arrangements, and quite powerful music in general. Opening with “Number”, we immediately thought we had the wrong album playing since this track starts very heavy and almost Black Metal-esque. As the chorus part comes in, we immediately get the traditional Tristania vibe thanks to its richness and catchiness.

Hailing from Italy, today we have one-man project Asofy and their latest full-length “Percezione”. With a very bleak and somewhat minimalist sound, Asofy delivers four tracks of very emotional Black/Doom Metal with some Post-Black Metal elements. The music is quite direct and very well paced, enough to enchant any Doom or Suicidal Black Metal fan, very similar to the experimental stuff of Svarti Loghin.

On the first track, “Luminosita”, the Post-Black Metal influences nicely make this very melancholic song even more bleak and desolate. Tryfar handles all instruments and does a very good job with the guitars and bass guitar. The drums are programmed so they sound a bit fake in some points, but they are pretty decent compared to other releases. The pace of this song is quite slow and dabbles around some jazzy/doomy sections very nicely.

Finally unleashing their debut full-length, today we have Italian duo Progenie Terrestre Pura’s “U.M.A”. Standing for Uomini, Macchine, Anime (Men, Machines, Souls), this band delivers purely atmospheric Black Metal with a very cool sci-fi theme. Focusing in creating lush and ethereal atmospheres, the band creates 50 minutes of magical music that will take you on an out of body interstellar journey.

Opening with “Progenie Terrestre Pura”, the band immediately establishes a trippy and futuristic atmosphere that is quite unique and dreamy. Slowly making their way in to the ‘heavy sections’ the band does a great job not rushing things and letting their music set the mood. The unsettling “Sovrarobotizzazione” features quite powerful BM riffs that are masked behind their lush atmospheric elements and some excellent Post-Rock/Post-BM soundscapes.

Featuring a cleaner and more melodic sound than legendary Inquisition, Naha brings upon us their sophomore release “The Strange Inconvenience”. Hailing from France, this two man band unleashes six tracks of well-paced Black Metal that is quite crushing and yet somewhat melodic in nature. The band focuses more on creating a very cavernous feeling rather than delivering acrobatically insane furious Black Metal, thus they manage to create a very unique and dense release not apt for the weak of mind.

Opening with “Grey Concrete... Comfort”, the band established a powerful wall of distorted guitars and commanding vocals. Clocking in at nearly 10 minutes, this song weaves back and forth from creepy harsh sections to creepy atmospheric passages. “Purifying Negativity” changes the pace a bit with faster sections, but the overall creepy atmosphere is still there. Things start getting a bit more experimental in “D.M.T.” and “Pessimist”, two tracks that showcase the band’s ability to craft melodic (and even jazzy) passages and mix them with the harsh vocals and BM riffs (on “Pessimist”).

Arriving today from Avantgarde Music we have Thaw and their self-titled debut full-length release. Jumping on the current wave of Experimental Black Metal, this Polish band does a pretty good job in delivering seven tracks of weird-but-brutal Black Metal. Combining trippy atmospheric passages with some Noise/Drone elements, the band greatly complements their relentless Black Metal with some nice flair.

After the Noise/Drone intro “The Gate”, this release starts picking up with the crushing “Ancestors”. We particularly love the mixture of relentless BM with the creepy clean vocals. The band’s BM foundations are quite strong and deliver waves of powerful riffs and brutal drumming. The same could be said about “Divine Light”, another fine example of the band’s sheer power combined with some cool atmospheric passages.

Going over tons of releases every month, we rarely get to enjoy unexpected masterpieces like Apocynthion’s “Sidereus Nuncius”. Having received the promo directly from the band, we got immediately hooked into their music after the first song and we have been constantly listening to it non-stop since then. Delivering seven tracks of majestic Post-Rock/Post Black Metal with Shoegaze and some Doom elements, the band’s sound is quite moving and powerful.

Opening in a very dreamy note with a sample from “2001: A Space Odyssey” on top of atmospheric arrangements, the band commands attention with this hypnotic opening. “Redshift” continues with a Post-Rock vibe, similar to Godspeed Your Black Emperor and God is an Astronaut, filled with cool percussions and dreamy clean vocals. This ten-minute track slowly morphs into Post-Black Metal territories with powerful and dreamy guitars accompanied by shrieks of desperation. The band reminded us of Heretoir, Lantlos and similar outfits, but they always keep their own musical identity.

Hailing from France today we have the self-labeled Metal pirates of Agony of the Bleeding Flesh and their exciting debut release “Everlasting Piracy”. Delivering seven tracks of well-crafted Black Metal, the band focuses on having a powerful and direct sound with mostly traditional elements and an enhanced sense of catchiness.

The album opens with a very solemn acoustic intro to the track “Those Buried Treasures” and it slowly builds up as the distorted guitars and shrieks come in. The drumming is quite solid and perfectly captured by the production of this release. Things gradually get more interesting as “The Call of The Sea” and “Return from Death” continue the riffing onslaught. The band perfectly combines fast paced sections with slower interludes to allow the music to grow and capture the listener’s attention.

Arriving all the way from Spain, today we have the debut release of Embersland, a very interesting and unique band. In “Sunrise” the band mixes elements of Gothic Rock, Symphonic Metal, and even some growls are thrown into the mix to create a very different and enjoyable sound. Featuring almost 50 minutes of music, this self-released album is quite diverse and will constantly keep you guessing what is coming up next.

Opening with the epic “Why”, the band starts in very HIM-like manner with the deep male vocals. Growls and diverse backing vocals make this track (and album) quite tricky to pin down, and this is one of its best attributes. The keyboard arrangements are quite lush and the guitars quite powerful making for very engaging and enjoyable music. The band’s ability to switch between moods in a song is quite good, and the best example of this is the progression of the song “In Vain”.