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    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Mythraeum - Oblivion Aeternam (2024)

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    Proposing a very lively and engaging Melodic/Symphonic Black Metal, today we have North American outfit Mythraeum and their sophomore release “Oblivion Aeternam”. With a sound similar to Vesperian Sorrow, Limbonic Art, and to a point mid-career Dimmu Borgir, this release unleashes nearly one hour of superbly crafted high-octane music that any fan of the genre will certainly love.

    Opening strong with “Crown of Sepsis” after a flashy intro, the band quickly delivers waves of powerful guitar driven melodies perfectly accompanied by hearty snarls and a good dose of atmospherics. The band’s sound is very well crafted and polished, allowing tracks like “Harbinger’s Chant” and “Halls of Forgotten Will” to focus on mixing melodic passages with more faster-paced headbanging moments. Masterful tracks like “Terrestrial Despair”, showcase the band’s core influences, while still crafting their own style with tons of tempo changes and dramatic arrangements.

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    Hippotraktor - Stasis (2024)

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    Berlin based Pelagic record always finds some of the most interesting and genre-bending bands, with Hippotraktor the tradition continues. Blending elements of Post-Hardcore, Post-Metal and even some progressive touches, “Stasis” marks the band’s latest offering. Featuring seven crafty tracks filled with expert instrumentation and engaging tempo changes, this release delivers over 46 minutes of highly engaging music.

    The album sets a very hectic page with the Djent-ish “Descent”, a track that has a nice Cult of Luna meets Meshuggah meets The Ocean, thanks to its crafty intensity, crushing vocals and ripping guitar work. As “Echoes” and “Silver Tongue” roll around, soaring clean vocals perfectly add an extra level of epicness to the band’s very well crafted and layered music. The drumming is top notch, unleashing some pretty cool patterns and brisk tempo changes on longer pieces like “Renegade”.

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    Teramaze - Eli - A Wonderful Fall from Grace (2024)

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    Hailing from Australia, today we have Progressive Metal juggernauts “Teramaze” and their latest opus “Eli - A Wonderful Fall from Grace”. Featuring eight tracks and over 55 minutes of music, this release is highly polished and engaging, showcasing the band’s evolution over the years and abilities to craft superbly catchy and engaging tracks. While some might not like the band’s lyrical themes, the music is superb and definitely worth a listen for fans of the genre.

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    Deathcult - Seven Are They (2024)

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    Spewing some blasphemous old-school Norwegian Black Metal, today we have Deathcult and their latest 7” release “Seven Are They”. Featuring Hoest from Taake (and others) and the brothers Thurzur and Skagg, which also play or have played with many other Black Metal bands, this release gives the listener a little taste of the band’s commanding sound and blistering energy.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Brume - Marten (2024)

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    Featuring a very sultry and jazzy sound, today we have Bay Area outfit Brume and their latest full-length release “Marten”. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 50 minutes of music, this release has a very hypnotic and enigmatic pace, nicely mixing Doom/Occult Rock with more experimental influences. If you are looking for something unique with a chill vibe, but with some heaviness to it, this is a very interesting release to check out.

    The release opens with the magical “Jimmy”, a six-minute piece filled with moody tempo changes and hypnotic doomy riffs. Susie McMullan’s vocals are quite sultry and perfectly fit the loungey nature of the music, with tracks like “New Sadder You” and its magical cellos, “Faux Savior” and its melancholy, or the dreaminess of “Otto's Song”, showcasing the bands versatility and uniqueness of their style.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Heimland - Tronearvingens doed (2024)

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    Hailing from Norway, today we have Heimland and their 7” release “Tronearvingens doed”. As a teaser after their 2023 release “Forfedrenes taarer”, this 2 song release continues to show the bands fierce Norwegian Black Metal style. With a very uncompromising and raw sound, this outfit demonstrates they are the real deal and should be kept on any BM connoisseur radar.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Trail of Tears - Winds of Disdain (2024)

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    As one of our favorite bands, it was quite a shock when Ronny Thorsen ended the band back in 2013. However, we, as many others, were quite excited that they decided to come back in 2020 and with none other than Aylin on vocals. Fast-forward four more years and we finally have a new release, an EP this time, from this band and it is all that we expected and a bit more. If you've ever been a fan of 2000’s Gothic Metal, you will certainly be familiar with the band, and if not, this is a great release to get you started.

    Opening with the explosive EP title track, we get the band’s powerful distorted guitars paired with crafty drumming, subtle and yet dominant atmospherics and the singular vocals of Aylin. Bringing back members like Runar Hansen (guitars) and Jonathan A. Perez (drums), the band sounds like in their best days, with superbly catchy and engaging tracks like “Take These Tears”, which send chills down our spine, bringing back memories of the earlier days of the band.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Amiensus - Reclamation: Part 1 (2024)

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    Unleashing a very interesting and crafty Progressive Black Metal release, today we have Amiensus and their moody “Reclamation: Part 1” release. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 55 minutes of highly intricate music, this album has vibes from bands like Enslaved, Agalloch, all the way to Cynic. With each track introducing an interesting mix of ideas, this release is definitely one of the most unique and enjoyable albums of 2024.

    Opening with the moody atmospherics of “Blink of the Moment'', the band sets a very Agalloch-esque vibe thanks to its engaging guitar-driven core and excellent vocal (clean and harsh) onslaughts. This dreamy atmosphere bleeds into the catchiness of “Reverie”, a more dynamic piece that features an interesting mix of Progressive elements and engaging melodic passages. The band’s ideas nicely blend different genres and elements together as the mellow “Senses Amplified” showcases.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Dödsrit - Nocturnal Will (2024)

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    Creating something new and different sounding in Metal these days is quite a hard task, however, Sweden’s Dödsrit has managed to do that and pushes it to the limit with “Nocturnal Will”. Over the years the band has been refining their mixture of Melodic Black Metal, Punk, Crust, and even some traditional Heavy Metal. In this release, the six tracks and nearly 45 minutes of music showcase a high-octane sound that is quite epic, melodic, and yet heavy and powerful.

    Opening with the ravaging “Irjala”, the band starts off with some very Heavy Metal sounding riffs that made us think we had put on an old Dio/Iron Maiden release. The track quickly picks up with intense drumming and a hearty sense of melody, thanks to some excellent melodic passages and exciting guitar leads. The band’s sound is nicely layered to incorporate elements that need more than a few listens to discover, as “Nocturnal Fire” and “Utmed Gyllbergens Stig” demonstrate.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Dødsferd - Wrath (2024)

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    Hailing from Greece, today we have the sinister Dødsferd and their latest opus “Wrath”. Featuring ten tracks and nearly one hour of crushing Black Metal, this band shows the listener no mercy with their high-octane tracks and fierce sound. Highly recommended for purists of the genre, this album packs a lot of punch and shows that the band means business.

    Waiting no time to establish a pummeling atmosphere, “Restoration of Justice” opens the release with incisive guitar work and hellish vocals, courtesy of Wrath, one of the most consistent and fierce vocalists in the scene. The band pummels through pieces like “Decay of Sanity”, “Raging Lust of Creation”, and “Spiritual Lethargy”, unleashing long tracks (up to 10 minutes long) of sheer brutality.

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