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    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Fluisteraars - Bloem (2020)

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    Unleashing contrasting brutality with unfathomable melancholy, today we have Fluisteraars and their third full-length release “Bloem”. Delivering over 30 minutes of highly creative and unique music, this band explores a wide spectrum of sounds, instruments and elements, infusing them into a high-octane raw Black Metal core to create a brilliant release. If you like non-linear BM that explores the boundaries of the genre, do not miss out of this album.

    Starting with the (early) Ulver-esque rawness of “Tere Muur”, the band sets a furious BM pace that nicely continues into the first minute or so of “Nasleep”. This last track slowly turns more melodic with a lively bass guitar line and catchy passages. As the song descends into madness it suddenly leads into one of the bleakest and most disarming melodic passages ever written. The oozing melancholy of the second part of this song is brilliant as it creates a truly oppressive atmosphere.

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    Karg - Traktat (2020)

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    Oozing melancholy, today we have Karg’s latest opus “Traktat”. As a one-man project from J.J of Harakiri for the Sky fame, this band focuses more on a more dreamy Post-Black Metal style, perfect for any fan of the genre. While this project has evolved from Atmospheric Black Metal territories to this more compact sound, this release shows the evolution of a musician refining his signature elements and further complimenting them with subtle improvements. Delivering the perfect mixture of bleak desolation and harsh aggressiveness, this release is certainly an intense ride.

    Opening with the dreamy layered guitars of “Irgendjemand wartet immer”, this release sets a very moody atmosphere that is quite traditional of Karg. With J.J handling all instruments, you can hear the very effective interplay of the drums and guitars. The vocals are the typical harsh screams that add anxiety inducing helplessness to the songs, perfect examples of this are “Jahr Ohne Sommer”, and the doomier “Stolperkenotaphe” and its excellent string arrangements.

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    Greve - Nordarikets strid (2020)

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    As a highly mysterious duo from Sweden, Greve unleashes upon the masses their debut full-lenght release “Nordarikets strid”. Featuring an eerie retro Atmospheric/Symphonic Black Metal sound, this album transport the listeners across aural planes with its incisive furious onslaughts and dramatic atmospherics.

    Setting the mood with a dreamy intro, “Vid Dödens Tröskel” fully unleashes Greve’s fury with pummeling drums and piercing shrieks. The band’s Black Metal core is on point, delivering waves of crushing riffs and crafty tempo changes to keep things interesting as one can hear on the album title track and the Dissection-esque “I Svarta Solens Magi”.

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    Serpent Noir - Death Clan OD (2020)

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    Hailing from Greece, today we have yet another crushing Black Metal band to come out of World Terror Committee’s label roster. With a very visceral and incisive sound, Serpent Noir sounds like BM, but not like everybody else does. Mixing elements from genre greats with a crystal clear production and a vicious passion, “Death Clan OD” is one hell of a pummeling release.

    After the typical mood setting intro, the band wastes no time and delivers the cavernous “Cutting the Umbilical Cord of Hel”, a track filled with pummeling guitars and dramatic atmospherics. Taking a more melodic stance, “Hexcraft” delivers waves of hypnotic drum patterns, a throbbing bass guitar line and sinister vocals. The release turns into more mystical and ritualistic territories with the creepy “Asmodeus The Sword of Golachab”, one of the densest and most powerful tracks in this release.

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    Mavorim - Axis Mundi (2020)

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    Starting 2020 on fire, German label Purity Through Fire unleashes yet another excellent Black Metal release with Mavorim’s sophomore full-length release “Axis Mundi”. Presenting a mixture of Ambient elements with Melodic Black Metal spurts, this release clock in at around 60 minutes of engaging and crafty music. As a one-man entity, this outfit’s sound is a bit retro, folk-like, heavy and powerful at the same time.

    After the mood setting into, we get the mystical “Aus Asche auferstanden” filled with subtle synths and a demolishing BM pace. The harsh screams perfectly blend in with the powerful riffs and the very well marked drums. This very martial musical structure is quite effective in creating well delineated songs that are enjoyable and yet predictable, as the dreamy “Wo kriegergleiche Kräfte walten” and its magical clean vocal arrangements.

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    Aethyrick - Gnosis (2020)

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    Unleashing one of the first 2020 contenders for Black Metal album of the year, today we have Finland’s mysterious duo with “Gnosis”. While most bands follow a marked path, Aethyrick brilliantly blends elements of traditional BM with more refined atmospheric/Post-BM influences with an overall punishing but melodic approach. Always keeping the listener engaged, this release features over 40 minutes of dramatic and high quality music.

    Opening with the moody “Will Embodied”, Gall and Exile set a furious tone with blistering riffs and hellish drums, however it is the melancholic guitar leads and the overall oppressive atmosphere that sets the band apart. With certain influences of outfits like Vanum, Ash Borer and Post-Black Metal elements, the band’s style is quite refined and cut-throat as we can her in crushingly melodic tracks like “Oneiric Portals” and the heavily atmospheric “Stellar Flesh”.

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    Goats of Doom - Tie on Hänen Omilleen (2020)

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    Aside from the cringey name, Goats of Doom hails from Finland and it is ready to kick some ass with their high-octane Black Metal that reminds us of the melodic brilliance of Catamenia. Unleashing over 35 minutes of frosty music, the band does a great job in crafting intricate melodies that are just perfect for headbanging on a nice cold winter night.

    Kicking off with the catchiness of “Mustan Unen Äiti”, the album sets a very intense and yet melodic tone that is rare to find these days. The epic guitar leads and hash vocal perfectly blend as the pace intensifies and the riffs continue to rip through our speakers. Avoiding repetition, the band’s track have blistering tempo changes and crafty drumming to keep things interesting when contrasted by slower paced passages with clean vocals and folky/pagan Metal vibes on tracks like “Kuolonkorjaaja” and “Sinne Mihin Valheet Ei Yllä”.

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    Vananidr - Damnation (2020)

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    Today we have a highly melodic Black Metal entity called Vananidr and their latest full-length release “Damnation”. With a vicious edge to their sound, this band perfectly blends old-school Melodic BM elements with modern production values and a knack for long and seizure inducing headbanging passages. Showing that you don’t need too many bells and whistles to deliver a punishing performance, this album is one of the most direct and yet well-crafted releases we have heard in quite a while.

    Opening with the hurricane like-tempo of the blistering drumming of “Distilled”, the listener is treated to a ravaging song with crafty tempo changes and a very oppressive atmosphere. The harsh vocal snarls perfectly pair with the sinister atmosphere crafted by the band’s mixture of piercing guitar riffs and melodic tremolo-picking passages, as perfectly outlined on the album’s title track and in the superbly catchy “Hunter”.

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    Sargeist - Death Veneration (2019)

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    Sneakily released on the 24th of December, Sargeist unleashes nearly twenty minutes of their signature brand of Black Metal with “Death Veneration”. As one of the premiere bands of the genre, these Finns craft four intense anthems filled with furious riffing, devilish vocals and blistering drumming. As a great addition to any BM collection, this EP deserves to be heard and purchased.

    Blasting the listener straight to hell with the pummeling “To Make Wolves of Men”, we have Profundus spewing his inhuman shrieks to the tune of Shatraug and VJS furious guitar work. With their signature rawness and intensity, the band transitions into the machiavellian “To Feast on Astral Blood”. We particularly enjoy this piece a lot thanks to its highly memorable melodic passages that are just brilliant for an intense headbanging session.

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    Officium Triste - The Death of Gaia (2019)

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    As the days get shorter and the dark nights get longer (in the Northern Hemisphere), Officium Triste arrives with perfect timing and their bleakness inducing full-length release “The Death of Gaia”. Unleashing over 55-minutes of devastating Death/Doom Metal, we are reminded that this Dutch outfit is by far one of the best at their craft.

    Opening with the misery inducing dramatic arrangements of “The End is Nigh”, the band sets a very dark and funeral-esque vibe that features some slight glimmers of hope. The interplay of Pim Blankenstein crushing growls, the incisive guitar riffs and the melodramatic keyboards creates a superb atmosphere that sets the mood for a very somber release. With some crafty percussions and melancholic headbanging passages, “World In Flames” continues that oppressive atmosphere with a plethora of weeping guitar leads and crafty tempo changes.

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