Black Metal

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    Thränenkind – The Elk (2013)

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    From the highly creative mind of Nathanael, of Bonjour Tristesse and Agrypnie fame, today we have Thränenkind’s debut full-length “The Elk”. Being released through LifeForce Records, this powerful exercise in desolate and depressive music combines Post-Black Metal elements with Depressive Rock and a huge knack for bleak musical passages. With influences from bands like Heretoir and Austere (among others) to more Post-Rock outfits like God Is an Astronaut and Godspeed Your Black Emperor, this is one emotional rollercoaster ride that you do not want to miss.

    Brilliantly setting the mood with the desolate “Monument”, we don’t have to wait much to get fully immerse in the band’s melancholic music. The first heavy hitting song is the ethereal “Just Another Way of Expressing Defeat”. Featuring dreamy guitars and a very mellow pace, this is one song that is very well constructed, transporting the listener back and forth from ethereal dream states.

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    Saligia - Lvx Aeternae (2013)

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    Keeping their cavernous and compact Black Metal sound from their debut full-length “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi”, today we have Norway’s Saligia and their sickening EP “Lvx Aeternae”. Delivering four track and 25 minutes of truly haunting Black Metal, this band is a combination of the rawness and directness of Watain with sickening atmospheric elements of bands like Bethlehem. If you like your Black Metal to be harsh, but obscure and focused more on cavernous atmospheres over extreme over-the-top tremolo-picking, you are in luck with this release.

    The band blasts this release wide open with the crushing “Per Aspera Ad Astra”. In this track Ahzari’s powerful vocals make up for 60% of the overall raw power of their sound, while his pulsating bass guitar line adds to the destruction. The cavernous atmosphere continue with the album title track, but make no mistake and think the production is weak, since you can listen clearly to every single cymbal of V’s drums.

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    Petrychor / Frozen Ocean – Autumn Bridges (2013)

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    Having released over 10 releases in the last two and a half years, the creativity keeps flowing for Russian’s one-man band Frozen Ocean. In this split with Petrychor, another excellent one-man project from the States, we get three powerful tracks of highly Atmospheric Black Metal that will surely make you want to find more material from each band and start enjoying their excellently crafted music.

    Opening with Petrychor’s “Tomorrow It Will Rain Over Bouville”, Tad Piecka treats us to a 133-minute piece of brilliant crafting that is both highly emotional and very powerful. Starting with a lush and slow intro section, the song quickly builds up to very melodic and straightforward Black Metal with a very dreamy atmospheric backdrop. The sharp vocals are excellent and provide an excellent contrast to the very mellow and melancholic feeling of the music. This track is anything but predictable and some of the acoustic/post-rockish passages are perfectly blended into the harsher and more brutal sections.

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    Sacrilegious Impalement – III: Lux Infera (2013)

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    Featuring members of Evil Angel and other Finnish BM outfits, today we have Sacrilegious Impalement and their crushing release “III: Lux Infera”. Pounding away at nine soul crushing tracks, this band’s Black Metal is pretty intense and expertly crafted. With an old-school vibe and a sense for savage riffs, this release is quite powerful and devastating, perfect for any fan of the genre looking for extreme war.

    The album opens with little room for fluff and cliché’s, “Angel Graves” immediately delivers waves of crushing riffs and pummeling vocals courtesy of Wrathprayer. The musical explosion continues with commanding tracks like “Down for Grim Lord” and “Scars for Scarred ones”, both punishing and relentless pieces of brutality. The band also does a great job in channeling their sheer aggression in melodic ways, with “For Sins of the Pigs” and “Through Punishing Gates” being great examples of this, filled with excellent drums, awesome guitar layering, and killer furious speed-ups.

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    Sombres Forêts - La Mort du Soleil (2013)

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    Beautifully adorned by Fursy Teyssier’s dramatic cover art, today we have Sombres Forêts and their third full-length ”La Mort du Soleil”. Being a one-man band, Annatar handles all instruments in this enigmatic Black Metal release. Heavily focusing on creating lush dissonant atmospheres, for over 50 minutes this release will transport you to dark and cavernous places.

    “Des Épaves” opens this release with a bleak atmosphere nicely complemented by acoustic guitars and a little taste of the madness to come as the first track bleeds into “Étrangleurs de Soleils”. This second track slowly builds up with hellish vocals and powerful guitars. All the elements in this track (and release) are very direct and emotive; the band focuses more on the raw power behind them rather overproducing them to polish them to perfection.

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    Gris – À l'Âme Enflammée, l'Äme Constellée... (2013)

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    As one of the most surprising releases of 2013, today we have Canada’s two-man project Gris and their sophomore release “À l'Âme Enflammée, l'Äme Constellée...”. This double CD album is filled with lush Neoclassical elements perfectly incorporated into moody Black Metal. Charged with emotive sections and a very dark atmosphere, this release will sneak up on you and catch you completely off-guard.

    The opening track “L’Aube”, greatly reminded us of Elend and their very dramatic instrumentation and chilling screams of desperation. “Les Forges” provides the first taste of the band’s excellent combination of classical string instruments with harsh Black Metal elements. In this 15-minute track the band goes back and forth between aggressive sections and lush instrumentation that makes the song very magical and totally unexpected.

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    Teratism – La Bas (2013)

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    Arriving in 12” LP format to Infernal Masquerade’s office, a rare thing these days, today we have USBM’s finest offering: Teratism, and their latest diabolical opus “La Bas”. In this four song EP we have Teratism at its finest delivering uncompromising diabolical Black Metal filled with sheer power and determination. Unlike many poser USBM releases, Teratism stays true to their calling and has managed to produce one fine piece of collectible vinyl with this one.

    Opening side A with a very dramatic and chaotically hellish intro to the track “Gospel of the Heliophobe” the band goes full blast in under a minute. Always characterized by the hellish riffing of Murder, and now ex-member Domitian, the band’s massive wall of devilish sound is instantly crafted. While never abusing of their raw power, they deliver solid and creepy atmospheric passages that will make you get goose bumps. Another stand-out element of this track is the piercing bass guitar line, courtesy of Giles de Rais, the band’s lyricist.

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    Spectral Lore / Mare Cognitum – Sol (2013)

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    Featuring two very interesting and intense one-man Atmospheric Black Metal bands, today we have the split release between Spectral Lore (Greece) and Mare Cognitum (USA) titled “Sol”. Out on I, Voidhanger Records, this powerful release features one very long track from each band, and a rather peculiar dual-composition song that mixes both of their atmospheric strengths in a very hypnotic song.

    Mare Cognitum does the honor of opening with a 29-minute epic titled “Sol Ouroboros”. This track nicely flows from the atmospheric intro into some very fast-paced and intense Black Metal sections. With all instruments, vocals, etc., handled by Jacob Buczarski, this band delivers quite an intricate dosage of moody BM that weaves back and forth between blistering speeds and atmospheric magic. There are some odd drone/noise-like sections here and there, only adding to the overall listening experience of this fine piece.

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    Gökböri – Balbal (2013)

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    With a very interesting sound mixing old-school Thrash with Black’n’roll. Punk/crust, and even some Doom elements, today we have Gökböri and their debut full-length “Balbal”. Featuring members of Daylight Dies, Pagan, and Sun Descends, this is one of those albums that is quite good, but very hard to peg down since every track offers a wide palette of sounds and influences.

    As the album begins, the opener “Sarp Geçitler İçinde/Balbal” is a very cool retro-sounding track that reminds us of the riffing power of Vreid and the old-school Black’n’Roll bands like Midnight. The same continues with the catchy “Ulu Dağlar, Atalar”, which really engages the listener with very effective riffs. The vocals are quite fitting for the music and also have that retro-vibe. However, there are some questionable clean vocals on this last song, luckily some solid growling remedies the situation.

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    Chthonic - Bú-Tik (2013)

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    After gaining quite a boost on outside of Taiwan popularity with “Takasago Army”, Chthonic returns with another very intense and equally interesting release. With “Bú-Tik” the band continues with their very thematic lyrical context and their majestic music that mixes Melodic/Symphonic Black/Death Metal elements with lush arrangements and authentic instrumentation. Proving that their last album was not a fluke, “Bú-Tik” continues with their musical intensity, and delivers ten tracks of top-notch quality.

    The album opens with the very dramatic “Arising Armament”, a lush instrumental intro with a very tense vibe. The band’s musical magic continues with the powerful “Supreme Pain for the Tyrant”, a very aggressive yet atmospheric and catchy track. The vocals of Freddy Lim are impressive, and add that extra level of intensity to the music. “Sail into the Sunset’s Fire” keeps things rolling with blistering drumming and excellent riffing, a highly underrated skill from the band if you ask us. Featuring some excellent solos, this track is one of the best of the album.

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