Album Reviews

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    Havukruunu - Tavastland (2025)

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    Quickly taking the Pagan Metal Scene by storm, Finland’s Havukruunu have graciously evolved their sound in the last couple of years and with “Tavastland” they almost achieve perfection. With a very regal and explosive nature, the band’s fourth full-length release features eight tracks and over 53 minutes of lush and dynamic music that will have you marching towards battle while also headbanging until your neck hurts.

    Starting with the ravaging “Kuolematon laulunhenki”, the band creates a very effusive atmosphere with crafty guitar work, captivating vocal arrangements and an overall very explosive and engaging vibe. The band continues to showcase their masterful songwriting skills as “Yönsynty”, “Havukruunu ja talvenvarjo”, and “Tavastland” roll around with excellent melodic passages, an hypnotic tempo, and a plethora of epic atmospheric elements, just think of Ensiferum-meets-Thyrfing with some Bathory sprinkles.

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    Bong-Ra - Black Noise (2025)

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    With some Godflesh/Ministry industrial vibes, today we have Bong-Ra and their latest exercise in dissonance “Black Noise”. Featuring nine tracks of aural abuse, this release takes the band to its roots while still unleashing Doomy and Industrial craftiness. Masterminded by Jason Köhnen, this outfit always pushed the boundaries of music, and the listener’s comfort levels, so make sure to strap in for this one.

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    Gràb - Kremess (2025)

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    Unleashing an elegant and masterful piece of Black Metal, today we have Germany’s Gràb and their sophomore release “Kremess”. Clocking in at nearly one hour of music, this release is full of excellent details that ooze melancholy and somberness alongside traditional BM elements, making each one of its eight tracks a true listening experience. If you like bands like Agalloch, (old) Ulver, Winterfylleth, and Empyrium, this is one release you should not miss.

    Opening with “Waidler” the band sets a very raw and yet atmospheric tone with harsh shrieks and ravaging guitar riffs that suddenly transport the listener to the early, and fiercest, days of Black Metal. However, there is always a melancholy infusion into the band’s music that keeps things far from ‘standard’ and provides them a signature style. On the album’s title track, we get a more somber approach with haunting atmospherics and dulcimer action, while the track quickly transforms with magical keyboards and a solemn pace that feels very visceral.

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    Malacath - Eternal Roar of the Thunder and Rain (2025)

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    Unleashing waves of old-school Black Metal, today we have Malacath and their latest offering “Eternal Roar of the Thunder and Rain”. Featuring a timeless and quite raw sound, this band delivers incisive BM for over 53 minutes with a few surprises. For fans of early Ulver and similar outfits, this release packs a mean punch while satiating primal urges.

    Opening with the album title track, the band unleashes its fury after an atmospheric build up. We instantly got 90’s BM vibes from this outfit thanks to the razor sharp guitar tones and the simplistic and yet effective structure. However, not all is as it seems as after a while this track suddenly transforms into Ulver’s “Bergtatt” with lush acoustic guitars thrown into the mix. The tempo is again picked up on “Call of the Specter”, a ravaging piece full of ferocity and enigmatic melody.

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    Ofnus - Valediction (2025)

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    Hailing from Cardiff, Wales, today we have Ofnus and their majestic blend of Melodic and Atmospheric Black Metal. With “Valediction”, their sophomore full-length release, the band takes their sound to a whole new level, blending elements from bands like Saor, Winterfylleth, to more craft influences of Enslaved, Agalloch, to create a very dreamy and yet pummeling style that is hard to come by these days. Treating the listener to almost one hour of music, this release packs a mean punch.

    Opening with the ravaging “The Shattering”, we get a taste of the band’s perfect balance of punishing aggression with fierce riffs, vocals, and drumming, alongside elegant atmospheric and some crafty proggy tempo changes. Taking a more dramatic turn, “Reflections of Delusion” starts with an enigmatic opening that slowly escalates into aggressive onslaughts and elegant atmospheric passages. The band does a great job in creating tracks that quickly change directions while always maintaining a high degree of atmosphere, as the stunning “Throes of Agony” delivers.

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    Bleeding Through - Nine (2025)

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    Unleashing their first full-length release since the band’s return, today we have Bleeding Through and their crushing album “Nine”. Featuring their signature Metalcore sound that was always above the norm, this release delivers over 40 minutes of punishing and yet catchy music, filled with atmospheric keyboards and crafty breakdowns. Keeping a relevant and fresh sound, this band is ready to show the scene who is king.

    Opening with the pummeling “Gallows”, we get a very Symphonic Black/Death Metal vibe that slowly transitions into their Metalcore roots. The band’s sound has always been very ‘in your face’ and this is not the exception as tracks like “Our Brand Is Chaos”, “Dead, But so Alive”, steamroll through the listener with their dynamic tempo changes, multi-pronged vocal onslaughts and massive atmospherics. The band’s sound back in the day was ahead of its time, and heavily copied, but still manages to be relevant and masterful.

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    Demonical - Välkommen undergång (2025)

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    Death Metal royalty Demonical are back with a 2-track single release with a couple of live songs from their Latin American tour of 2023. Full of their signature crushing music, these two tracks showcase the band’s raw power in the live setting, which was perfectly captured in their 2024 ”Victorious Death - Live in Latin America” release. However, in this single you will be able to get a special track that fans of the genre will love.

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    Pyre - Where Obscurity Awaits (2025)

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    Providing a journey back in time to the days of 90’s Death Metal, today we have Russia’s Pyre and their crushing “Where Obscurity Awaits”. Blending elements from bands like Grave, (old) Hypocrisy, Suffocation, Incantation, etc., this release unleashes over 35 minutes of superbly crafted DM filled with chugging riffs, intense guitar leads and crafty vocals. If you are a fan of the original roots of this genre, this release brings back those memories.

    Making a statement with the pummeling album title track, we got a chill down our spines as memories of Centinex and Grave’s earlier stuff quickly came to mind. The band’s sound is timeless and yet clean, with a certain modern edge. As the band levels through tracks like “From the Stygian Depths”, “Domains of the Nameless Rites”, and “Murderous Transcendence”, the band showcases both songwriting skills and technical chops as the guitar work is catchy and engaging while masterfully incorporating crafty drumming and tempo changes.

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    Saor - Amidst the Ruins (2025)

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    Unleashing their best album to date, today we have Saor and their sixt full-length release “Amidst the Ruins”. Featuring nearly one hour of lush and high-octane Atmospheric Folk/Black Metal, this release delivers five majestic tracks filled with dynamic tempo changes and dreamy melodic arrangements. With each track over 8 minutes long, and most over 11 minutes in duration, this release shows a band perfectly growing into their element while incorporating more elegant elements into the mix.

    Opening with the lavish title track, Andy Marshall fiercely delivers blistering riffing and drumming that temporarily subsides for more folky and atmospheric passages. The track expertly grows into melancholic passages filled with dreamy traditional wind and string instruments. Real instruments give this release a very organic vibe as tracks like the opener and “Echos of the Ancient Land” incorporate dramatic string instruments into very harsh guitar driven melodies, and highly melancholic slower passages.

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    Jinjer - Duél (2025)

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    Continuing their meteoric rise, today we have Ukraine’s Jinjer and their latest opus “Duél”. Adding some extra polish and flair to their Djenty Progressive Groove/’Modern’ Metal, the band unleashes eleven crafty tracks that perfectly balance their technical proficiency, aggression, and mellowness. Fronted by the talented Tatiana Shmayluk, this outfit continues to improve their sound by creating intricate songs filled with brilliant moshing passages and sultriness.

    Wasting no time, “Tantrum” fully explodes in the listener’s ears with a pummeling start, mixing harsh vocals and a playful bass guitar line. The band’s melodic nature follows suit with nice tempo changes and a barrage of alternating passages, showing the band’s proggy side and versatile nature. Cruising along with Djenty tracks “Hedonist”, “Rouge”, and “Tumbleweed”, we get the band's signature style of intricate transitions and alternating clean and harsh vocals, creating a very deadly and efficient combination.

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