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    Anomalie - Riverchild (2024)

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    Delivering waves of crafty Post-Black Metal, today we have Austria’s Anomalie and their latest effort “Riverchild”. Keeping things simple, catchy, and polished, this release unleashes nine tracks and over 50 minutes of intense music filled with melody. Far from your traditional Post-Black/Progressive Black Metal outfit, this one-man band is hard to describe as it explores different aural palettes with a hefty foundation of Black Metal elements.

    Opening with “Mothers of Stars”, an hypnotic offering filled with crafty vocal arrangements and incisive guitars, there are certain familiar elements from the band’s previous offerings with additional polish and refinements. Slowly building up in pace, “An Unforgiving Tale”, “Perpetual Twilight”, and the funky “Heart to Beat” give a more progressive feeling, similar to Enslaved’s current period, where clean vocals deliver engaging atmospheres while the harsh ones provide contrast as the music sets different moods and tempos.

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    Einst - Einst (2024)

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    Oozing waves of melancholy and misery, this self-titled debut release from Austria’s Einst is definitely one of the best Atmospheric Black Metal/Post-Black Metal releases of 2024. Featuring six tracks and over 42 minutes of music, the band delivers very well crafted and masterful music that has vibes of outfits like Heretoir, Harakiri For the Sky, NONE, and yet has its own DNA to keep them apart. With tons of releases in these genres, it is hard to find a good one that is not just a copy of others, luckily, Naturmacht Productions has unearthed a diamond in the rough.

    Opening with the bleakness of “Mere Reflections of Your Former Self” gets the listener warmed up as this track slowly progresses from atmospheric to raw savagery thanks to a crafty build-up and hellish screams. The band mastermind is Patrick Stoiber, who handles everything but the drums, and he is masterful in creating lush progression filled with darkness alongside some more crushing cathartic moments. Perfect examples of this have to be “Zu Oft Verlebt, Zu Wenig Wirklich Gelebt” and the disarming “Couldn't You Have Done Better” and its depressing piano opening.

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    Horna - Nyx (Hymnejä yölle) (2024)

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    Never fucking around, Horna returns for their 30th anniversary with the crushing “Nyx”. Featuring six tracks and over 45 minutes of neck breaking Black Metal, the band clearly shows why they are the kings of the genre thanks to their punishing sound and firm grasp of the genre. With their usual no holds barred attitude, this release punishes the listener with a barrage of piercing guitar work and furious drumming.

    Opening with the blistering first hymn, Shatraug and company unleashed all hell with sinister guitar riffs and Spellgoth’s signature harsh vocals. The band’s ability to inflict the listener with raw aggression, is more punishing thanks to how refined and masterfully executed their music is, as hymns “II” and “III” showcase. The sinister aural created by tracks like “IV” is still one of the band’s best features, as it delivers their message with much more finesse and style than any other band of the genre.

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    The Mist From The Mountains - Portal - The Gathering of Storms (2024)

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    Delivering waves of highly melancholic and melodic Black Metal, today we have Finland’s The Mist From The Mountains and their sophomore full-length release “Portal - The Gathering of Storms”. Perfectly balancing aggression with melody and some folkiness, this album features six tracks and over 56 minutes of lush and crafty music. For fans of 90’s melodic/symphonic Black Metal, this release has tons of familiar elements, perfectly upgraded with the band’s unique spin.

    Opening with the (old) Empyrium-esque “And So Flew the Death Crow”, this track sets a very melancholic mood with weeping guitars and a doomy pace. There is a certain Folkish edge to the band’s sound that enriches the experience, while still delivering some heavier onslaughts. The catchiness continues to the brilliant “The Seer of Ages” and its lush vocal arrangements and engaging riffing. There is a certain Borknagar-epicness to this track, but with the band’s own signature style that we loved.

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    Agrypnie - Erg (2024)

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    As one of the most underrated Post-Black Metal bands, Agrypnie has been one of our favorite bands for quite a while thanks to their ‘heavier’ take on the genre. With “Erg”, Torsten and company continue to polish the band’s sound, making it tighter and equally explosive and melodic as before. Having had a wide variety of musicians participate through the history of the band and in the live setting, this outfit features familiar elements from like Heretoir, Harakiri for the Sky, Anomalie, and Theotoxin, but always creating its own unique brand of madness and atmosphere.

    Opening with the piercing “Aus rauchlosem Feuer”, we quickly get that duality of melodic and slower interludes with fierce guitars and Torsten’s signature snarl. There are always surprises around the corner, like the dramatic choir arrangements of “Meer ohne Wasser”, or the more solemn and moody nature of “Sturm”. Then, quickly transitioning to instrumental songs, like “Blut” part I, and then back to oozing melancholy with part II. This is certainly one of the specialties of this band.

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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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    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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    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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    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.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Zeal & Ardor - GREIF (2024)

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    Returning with another very interesting and totally intoxicating release, today we have Manuel Gagneux and Zeal & Ardor with their latest opus “GREIF”. Featuring fourteen tracks of pure genius, this release feels more chaotic and yet more raw than their previous ones, thanks to the full incorporation of the band’s live members into songwriting and recording roles. With a very unique and hard to pin down style, the band presents a very diverse and dynamic palette of sound, ranging from completely wild experimental pieces to your ‘standard’ Black Metal-infused heaviness.

    Opening with the solemn “the Bird, the Lion and the Wildkin”, we get a nice warm-up featuring crafty atmospherics and Manuel’s Signature vocals, preparing us for the madness that is to come. With a more epic feel, “Fend You Off” we get the band’s multi layered vocal approach that creates such epic soaring melodies, alongside a hefty dose of heaviness. With a great knack for catchiness, “Kilonova” creates a very lively and engaging atmosphere, with an excellent chorus section and highly addictive percussions.

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