Black Metal

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    Torn from Existence - Hearken the Darkened Skies (2024)

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    Perfectly capturing that old-school magic of late 90’s Symphonic Black/Death Metal bands, Colorado’s Torn from Existence drop their high-octane debut full-length release “Hearken the Darkened Skies”. Featuring seven tracks and over 32 minutes of highly engaging and dynamic music, this release is highly recommended for fans of early Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Vesperian Sorrow, and Tartaros, just to name a few.

    Opening with the pummeling “Crawl From The Crypt”, we immediately hear the band’s DNA with lavish keyboards, hellish screams, and a wide assortment of engaging guitar riffs and even some shredding thrown into the mix. This wide palette of influences is very well mixed together, crafting a very dynamic and engaging sound that also features some theatrical influences as “Of Curse, And Covenant” and “Sorcery Against Mankind” deliver playful tempo changes and lush atmospheric arrangements.

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    Paysage d'Hiver - Die Berge (2024)

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    Unleashing seven cavernous Ambient Black Metal tracks, today we have Paysage d'Hiver with “Die Berge”. For the uninitiated, this one-man outfit from Tobias Möckl, one of the masterminds of Darkspace has been lurking in the underground since the late 90’s with countless demos and EP’s until their debut full-length “Im Wald” in 2020. Featuring a relentless Burzum-esque vibe, this release is dense and slow burning, delivering maximum punishment for a whopping 100 minutes.

    Most songs in this release are over 11 minutes long, opening with the piercing “Urgrund”, where a thick and pummeling atmosphere is masterfully crafted alongside raw harsh vocals and very crafty tempo changes. The opener hooks the listener with its atmospheric undertones and its rawness, paving the way for “Verinnerlichung” and “Transzendenz” part 1, which keep an hypnotic pace, while laying everything on their path to waste.

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    Chaos Invocation - Wherever We Roam… (2024)

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    Unleashing one of the most fierce Black Metal releases of 2024, today we have Chaos Invocation and their latest opus “Wherever We Roam…”. Featuring members from outfits like Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, Darvaza, Porta Nigra, Ahnenkult, to name a few, this outfit takes on the genre with rabid ferocity and delivers eight tracks and nearly 45 minutes of pure destruction in this release.

    Quickly delivering the first strike, the album title track blasts away with pummeling drumming and incisive guitar work. The band’s sound is punishing and yet masterfully crafted, creating haunting dual guitar melodies alongside an intense bass guitar line. The ferocity continues as “Ideal Sodom”, “Golden Gates and Terrene Light” and “Bridges Aflame” unleash aural devastation with their sinister atmospheres and blistering intensity.

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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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    Nachtmystium - Blight Privilege (2024)

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    One thing not on our bing card for 2024 was Nachtmystium and talented fraudster Blake Judd making a comeback with a new full length release. “Blight Privilege” is the band’s first release since the 2018 EP “Resilient”, and marks an interesting return to the scene with seven crafty tracks that are both catchy and powerful, making them quite engaging. With a certain Uada flair to itself, this release is a good addition to the USBM ever evolving movement.

    The release kicks off with the crafty atmospherics of “Survivor’s Remorse”, perfectly paired with engaging riffs and a very melodic vibe. This masterfully continues on “Predator Phoenix”, a very catchy and fun track that gives us serious Uada vibes, and on the more melancholic and twangy “A Slow Decay”, a more experimental piece with very sultry atmospherics. Nachtmystium has always been an interesting band with a solid take on the genre and not afraid to experiment, it is refreshing to hear that is still the case.

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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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    Behemoth - XXX Years ov Blasphemy (2024)

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    If there is something that Nergal and company know how to do is to put out an intense live show. Now preserved for eternity, the band unleashes “XXX Years ov Blasphemy” an audio/video release capturing their 30th anniversary celebratory livestream. Covering all of the band’s large and illustrious career is tricky, but the band managed to capture most of their iconic tracks in this devastating package. This is definitely the best live release of 2024, so do not miss out.

    Split into three different acts, the band nicely sets up a nearly chronological approach to playing songs from their back catalog. Opening with “The Scorched Forest” act, the band delivers more refined and updated renditions of tracks like “Chant of the Eastern Lands”, which was on their debut release “Sventevith (Storming Near the Baltic)”. It is quite interesting to hear songs like “Pure Evil and Hate”, which have a more old-school Punk-infused Black Metal sound, showing how far the band has come over the years.

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    Gaerea - Coma (2024)

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    Unleashing the most cathartic and crushing release of 2024, today we have Gaerea and their latest opus “Coma”. Constantly rising through the ranks in the scene, over the last few years their sound has gotten sharper and yet has a visceral rawness that very few bands can achieve. With this release, the band sets an impossibly high standard through ten tracks and over 50 minutes of devastating music. If you thought their previous release was impressive, this one blows it out of the water.

    Opening with the fierce “The Poet’s Ballet”, we get a very moody piece that starts in a very fragile and dreamy state and it masterfully transitions to blasting drums, intricate guitar work and powerful vocals. The band’s ability to create piercing riffs and masterful tempo changes makes songs like “Hope Shatters”, “Suspended” and “World Ablaze” be cathartic experiences with just the right amount of melody and melancholy thrown into a very crushing package.

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    Doedsmaghird - Omniverse Consciousness (2024)

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    Not satisfied after releasing the best album of 2023 (“Black Medium Current”) with DHG last year, Vicotnik returns with Camille Giradeau under the moniker Doedsmaghird, to push things even further and weirder. With a more raw and less bounded perspective “Omniverse Consciousness” unleashes nine tracks and over 50 minutes of Avant-garde Black Metal madness that is chilling, trippy, and extremely awesome.

    Setting a very tormentous mood, “Heart of Hell” delivers harsh riffing, funky atmospherics, and the unique vocal antics of Vicotnik. Of course there are some inevitable DHG elements in this release, however they are merely components to a more complex and chaotic palette of sounds that tracks like “Sparker Inn Apne Dorer” and “Then, to Darkness return” showcase. With some songs being as fierce as they can, to others exploring weirder and more psychedelic territories, like “Endless Distance”, this release features a bit of everything for everybody.

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    1394 - The Wolf and the King (2024)

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    Feeling like getting hit by a bag of bricks to the face? Well, that is exactly how “The Wolkf and the King” feels thanks to its incisive rawness and pummeling aggression. 1349 returns after five years with their best release to date. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 40 minutes of music, this release reminds the listener that Black Metal is powerful and visceral, as the band keeps their sound raw and crushing while still delivering tons of stylistic and technical nuances. If you like uncompromising and pummeling music, this is the release for you.

    Opening with the crushing “The God Devourer”, we get massive drums, courtesy of none other than Frost (Satyricon), and Ravn’s signature fierce snarl. The riffing immediately fills the air with piercing precision and the throbbing bass guitar line masterfully adds to the mix. The band’s sound is raw and piercing, with pieces like “Ash of Ages”, “Shadow Point”, and “Inferior Pathways” always focusing on brutality amongst crafty tempo changes and interesting rhythms that quickly make the band stand out.

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