Black Metal

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    Mora - Hmlisté obdobie (2015)

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    Arriving all the way from Slovakia, today we have Mora, an Atmospheric Black Metal outfit with a very raw and visceral sound. In their demo “Hmlisté obdobie”, the band presents six songs of sickening raw Black Metal with creepy atmospheric elements that will haunt your dreams for weeks to come.

    Immediately after the piano intro, the band sets a very bleak and sinister mood with mid-tempo traditional BM riffs and ‘swishy’ drums. “Neviditelne zlo” is the perfect momentum builder for the band’s savage vocals that nicely appear after a few minutes of creepy music. The vocal style is quite deranged and dissonant, mixing growls with shrieks, this will leave an impression on you for the foreseeable future thanks to songs like “Mrtvolny chlad” and “Jesenna depresia”.

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    Pavillon Rouge – Legio Axis Ka (2015)

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    Industrial Black Metal is one of those genres that are quite hard to get right. Mysticum and Diabolos Rising did a great job igniting the flame, and others like Aborym, Diabolicum, and Malignant Eternal took good stabs at the genre, more than a few years ago. Fast-forward to 2015 and we finally have a promising band in this genre: Pavillon Rouge. Filled with over 47 minutes of devilish catchy beats and sickening soundscapes “Legio Axis Ka” marks the band’s sophomore release.

    The album opens with the blistering “Prisme vers l'Odysée”, a track that sets a very dreamy and yet crushing atmosphere that is very well contrasted by the harsh vocals of Kra Cillag. The album’s atmosphere continues to grow with psychotic tracks like the awesome “A l'Univers”, and the aggressive “L'enfer se souvient, l'enfer sait”. For others looking for catchy and more ‘techno’ stuff, “Droge Macht Frei” reminded us of Turmion Kätilöt and their Industrial Metal.

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    Svoid – Never To Return (2015)

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    Every time we receive a package from Romania’s Sun & Moon Records we brace ourselves for very good and very unique releases that will make us listen to them over and over. This time is the turn for the 2015 re-release of Svoid’s debut full-length “Never to Return”. Featuring a very filthy Black Metal sound with direct influences from bands like Watain, this re-release is definitely needed as this band’s sickening music must be heard.

    The album opener, “Eleven Alpha” oozes with that filthy Black’n’roll-ish playful sound that is nicely complemented by S’s harsh vocals and a vibrant bass guitar line. The band’s sound is raw and very basic, but yet manages to be extremely efficient and engaging. The percussions are quite funky at times, greatly enhancing the experience and keeping the listener engages as on tracks like “Queen of Those Below” and the sort-of Punk-ish opening of “The Pulse”, which masterfully transforms into something completely different… and awesome.

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    Howls of Ebb – The Marrow Veil (2015)

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    Hailing from San Francisco, CA, today we have the miscreants of Howls of Ebb and their crushing “The Marrow Veil” EP. Being on the longer side of what people call EP’s (over 34 minutes); this is one dense release that wills truly challenge your musical preconceptions. Crafting a sickening mixture of Death/Black Metal with a thick atmospheric component this music is superbly raw and punishing.

    Opening with the 19-minute dissonant piece “Standing on Bedlam, Burning in Bliss”, this trio projects a very dense and raw sound that is quite hard to find. While some times they sound like old Sepultura and even Deiphago, the band also reminds us a bit of early The Ruins Of Beverast. There basic structure behind this track is quite catchy and enjoyable, making it a very unique and disturbing experience at the same time.

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    Hands of Despair – Hereafter (2015)

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    Hailing from Canada, today we have Hands of Despair 2011 debut release “Hereafter” finally pressed on CD by Deathbound Records. Featuring a very unique mixture of Death/Doom/Black Metal, this release is truly a gem as it has tons of replay value just to discover all little elements thrown into the mix by the band. Featuring Egan O'Rourke of Daylight Days handling clean vocals in two of the six songs, this album has something for everybody and will appeal a wide variety of listeners.

    Opening in a doomy and atmospheric manner, “The Departure” nicely sets a very melancholic mood that is quickly unsettled by the harsh growls of David-Alexandre Brousseau but perfectly offset by Egan’s clean vocals. Clocking in around 10 minutes, this is one hell of an opener. Nearly with a 180 degree twist, “Shattered Memories” blasts off with some furious Black Metal-esque riffs and very dramatic atmospheric elements. While having plenty of atmospheric passages, this track is also quite heavy and rooted with Death/Black Metal elements.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Immortal Bird – Empress/Abscess (2015)

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    Brilliantly pivoting between Death and Black Metal, today we have Immortal Bird and their crushing debut release “Empress/Abscess”. Pummeling through five tracks and over 30 minutes of material, this band’s sound is very unique and powerful, making them one of the freshest sounding artists of 2015. If you are a fan of music that is challenging, brutal, and melodic, this is one of those rare releases that will satisfy your cravings.

    Opening with the dissonance of “Neoplastic”, the band sets the mood with piercing riffs and massive drums. With a certain melodic flair to a mixture of Death/Black Metal riffs that weaves back and forth between old-school Entombed-like Death Metal to Watain-caliber riffage, the band instantly grabs your attention. With Rae Amitay delivering a punishing vocal performance, it allows the band to deliver brutal tracks like “Sarophyte”.

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    Outre – Ghost Chants (2015)

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    In a year filled with truly innovative and thought-provoking Black Metal releases, Godz ov War Productions present us with the decadent “Ghost Chants” from Polish new-comers Outre. Perfectly deconstructing the genre and making it their own, this album features seven track of truly sickening Black Metal unlike anything you have ever heard before. The band’s unique pummeling musical approach sounds like a mixture of Watain, Behemoth and Weapon with some of the Shining/Bethlehem craziness sprinkled into the mix.

    Setting the stage with a pummeling wall of noise decadent opening ‘intro’ titled “Chant 1. – Departure”, which feature some eerie ritualistic vocals. It is until “Chant 2. – Shadow” that the band’s blasting blasphemy commences with a pummeling track filled with oppressive riffs and deranged vocals. The Black Metal aural devastation is excellently crafted to be as demoralizing as possible thanks to the killer drumming and intricate guitar work that is viciously present on
    “Chant 3. - The Fall”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Cradle of Filth – Hammer of the Witches (2015)

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    As one of the biggest surprises of 2015, today we have the infamous Cradle of Filth and their 12th full-length release “Hammer of the Witches”. Bringing us back to when the band was turning heads left and right with their “Dusk and Her Embrace” and “Cruelty and the Beast” releases, this is by far the best release from them in over 10 years. Delivering 11 punishing tracks of lush Symphonic Black Metal we are sure that most old fans of the band will come flocking back to them.

    After the warm-up intro, things are blown wide open with the intense drumming of “Yours Immortally…”, courtesy of Martin Škaroupka coming quite close to the glory days of the band with Nick Barker. The mood is as magical as on “Cruelty and the Beast” with crushing tempo changes and the howling of Dani Filth. The band finally got back to their mojo of crafting songs with tons of tempo changes and perfect combinations of howls, growls and clean male and female vocals as in “Enshrined in Crematoria” and “Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess” (one of our favorites).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Amestigon – Thier (2015)

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    Hailing from Austria, today we have Amestigon and their soul crushing sophomore release “Thier”. Featuring almost one full hour of music divided in four tracks, this release delivers waves of old-school Black Metal packaged between atmospheric passages that nicely create a very oppressive vibe.

    Slowly warming up with “Demiurg”, we are treated to demoralizing riffs and hellish vocals. The combination of some clean chants nicely allows this track to be extremely eerie. The band’s raw and old-school Black Metal is very effective and brings back memories of bands like Horna meets old Satyricon. Stepping things up, “358” features a pulsating bass guitar line and in some part, higher intensity moments than on the first piece. The atmosphere is again nicely worked into the song, allowing it to change the direction of the music at any given time.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Abyssion - Luonnon harmonia ja vihreä liekki (2015)

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    Arriving from Finland and being heralded as the next big thing, today we have Abyssion and their third full-length release “Luonnon harmonia ja vihreä liekki”. Released via Svart Record’s imprint Secret Trees curated by Mathew "Kvohst" McNerney, this album delivers a very unique sounding Punk-fueled cracked-out Psychedelic Black Metal that is equally weird as it is brutal. Clocking in around 35 minutes of music, if you are a true explorer of Black Metal, this is one you haven’t really heard before.

    Opening with the sonic abuse of “Luonnon harmonia”, you get your standard fare of Black Metal riffing with some odd atmospheric elements thrown into the mix. The vocals are quite disturbing and greatly enhance the level of brutality crafted by the tight drumming and punishing riffs. As the Burzum/Dark Throne vibe of “Kosmoksesta tuli hautani” arrives, we are totally hooked on this band’s crushing sound.

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