Black Metal

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    Entropia – Vesper (2013)

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    Hailing from Poland, today we have Entropia and their debut full-length release “Vesper”. Mixing Black Metal with some Sludge and Post-Metal elements, this band shows great promise in their six tracks spanning over 49 minutes of music. While not being overly cliché, the band nicely mixes different influences to create some interesting atmospheres in their very decently crafted sound.

    Opening with “Dante”, we get a typical Black Metal opening followed by some powerful atmospheric keyboards and some solid Sludge/Post-Metal rhythmical section. “Gauss” shows off some of the band’s more melodic side while keeping their effective riffs and very well paced drums. Things get a bit more dramatic with the harsh screams of desperation in “Pascal”, one of the best tracks in this release thanks to the very slow tempo and rawness of the song.

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    Harakiri For The Sky – Harakiri For The Sky (2012)

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    Hailing from Austria, today we have two-man band Harakiri for the Sky and their self-titled curshing debut full-length release. Featuring over thirty minutes of music, this release nicely blends aggressive Black Metal with some melodic and Post-Rock elements to produce five high-quality songs. Being quite aggressive and direct, this release nicely stands out from the other bands that abuse dreamy guitars and effects to create atmosphere.

    “Lungs Filled With Water” starts this release with commanding riffs and very powerful harsh vocals. The band’s core Black Metal influences are nicely offset by the melodic nature of the music and the overall pace. “AM, Phychosis” starts off a bit more Post-Rock-ish in nature, but it quickly develops into another epic Melodic Black Metal anthem. While a bit repetitive, this track is quite delightful thanks to its very cool melodic passages and excellent tempo changes.

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    Vanhelga – Höst (2012)

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    Delivering twelve hymns of Black Metal with Depresive Rock undertones, today we have Vanhelga and their second full-length release “Höst”. This two person outfit from Sweden consist of 145188 handling all the instruments and 1853 (ex-Lifelover) writing the lyrics, it is quite a mystery who actually handles the vocals in this release. With razor sharp riffs and melancholic melodies, the band delivers quite enjoyable passive aggressive Black Metal.

    The opener “A Sinister Longing” is a very direct and pummeling track with powerful guitars and eerie vocals. The band’s rawness reminds us a bit of earlier Burzum, but with better vocals. There is an underlying melodic aspect to their music that starts surfacing more as you get into the remaining tracks of this release. “Lugn” and “Desperation” continue this release with mellow interludes and excellent harsh sections, bringing a perfect balance between the brutal and the depressive.

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    Summoning – Old Mornings Dawn (2013)

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    Finally, after seven years of waiting, Summoning returns with their seventh full-length record “Old Mornings Dawn”. This legendary two-person operation has been a major inspiration for tons of one or two-man projects that crate Epic/Atmospheric Black Metal music. Being huge fans of the band, we had been waiting for this release for quite a while, but we are a bit disappointed since the band’s sound now feels very outdated by current musical standards.

    Since the opener “Evernight”, the band delivers their signature atmospheric brilliance and trademark harsh screams. However, the music feels like it was made using a computer from 10 years ago. Today’s standards have bands using software that can produce high-quality orchestrations in a matter of a few clicks and Summoning still sounds like a MIDI band. This is quite disappointing for us since their creativity is excellent, but seems like technology has surpassed their music making skills.

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    Asofy – Percezione (2013)

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    Hailing from Italy, today we have one-man project Asofy and their latest full-length “Percezione”. With a very bleak and somewhat minimalist sound, Asofy delivers four tracks of very emotional Black/Doom Metal with some Post-Black Metal elements. The music is quite direct and very well paced, enough to enchant any Doom or Suicidal Black Metal fan, very similar to the experimental stuff of Svarti Loghin.

    On the first track, “Luminosita”, the Post-Black Metal influences nicely make this very melancholic song even more bleak and desolate. Tryfar handles all instruments and does a very good job with the guitars and bass guitar. The drums are programmed so they sound a bit fake in some points, but they are pretty decent compared to other releases. The pace of this song is quite slow and dabbles around some jazzy/doomy sections very nicely.

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    Progenie Terrestre Pura – U.M.A (2013)

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    Finally unleashing their debut full-length, today we have Italian duo Progenie Terrestre Pura’s “U.M.A”. Standing for Uomini, Macchine, Anime (Men, Machines, Souls), this band delivers purely atmospheric Black Metal with a very cool sci-fi theme. Focusing in creating lush and ethereal atmospheres, the band creates 50 minutes of magical music that will take you on an out of body interstellar journey.

    Opening with “Progenie Terrestre Pura”, the band immediately establishes a trippy and futuristic atmosphere that is quite unique and dreamy. Slowly making their way in to the ‘heavy sections’ the band does a great job not rushing things and letting their music set the mood. The unsettling “Sovrarobotizzazione” features quite powerful BM riffs that are masked behind their lush atmospheric elements and some excellent Post-Rock/Post-BM soundscapes.

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    Nahar – The Strange Inconvenience (2013)

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    Featuring a cleaner and more melodic sound than legendary Inquisition, Naha brings upon us their sophomore release “The Strange Inconvenience”. Hailing from France, this two man band unleashes six tracks of well-paced Black Metal that is quite crushing and yet somewhat melodic in nature. The band focuses more on creating a very cavernous feeling rather than delivering acrobatically insane furious Black Metal, thus they manage to create a very unique and dense release not apt for the weak of mind.

    Opening with “Grey Concrete... Comfort”, the band established a powerful wall of distorted guitars and commanding vocals. Clocking in at nearly 10 minutes, this song weaves back and forth from creepy harsh sections to creepy atmospheric passages. “Purifying Negativity” changes the pace a bit with faster sections, but the overall creepy atmosphere is still there. Things start getting a bit more experimental in “D.M.T.” and “Pessimist”, two tracks that showcase the band’s ability to craft melodic (and even jazzy) passages and mix them with the harsh vocals and BM riffs (on “Pessimist”).

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    Thaw – Thaw (2013)

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    Arriving today from Avantgarde Music we have Thaw and their self-titled debut full-length release. Jumping on the current wave of Experimental Black Metal, this Polish band does a pretty good job in delivering seven tracks of weird-but-brutal Black Metal. Combining trippy atmospheric passages with some Noise/Drone elements, the band greatly complements their relentless Black Metal with some nice flair.

    After the Noise/Drone intro “The Gate”, this release starts picking up with the crushing “Ancestors”. We particularly love the mixture of relentless BM with the creepy clean vocals. The band’s BM foundations are quite strong and deliver waves of powerful riffs and brutal drumming. The same could be said about “Divine Light”, another fine example of the band’s sheer power combined with some cool atmospheric passages.

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    Apocynthion – Sidereus Nuncius (2013)

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    Going over tons of releases every month, we rarely get to enjoy unexpected masterpieces like Apocynthion’s “Sidereus Nuncius”. Having received the promo directly from the band, we got immediately hooked into their music after the first song and we have been constantly listening to it non-stop since then. Delivering seven tracks of majestic Post-Rock/Post Black Metal with Shoegaze and some Doom elements, the band’s sound is quite moving and powerful.

    Opening in a very dreamy note with a sample from “2001: A Space Odyssey” on top of atmospheric arrangements, the band commands attention with this hypnotic opening. “Redshift” continues with a Post-Rock vibe, similar to Godspeed Your Black Emperor and God is an Astronaut, filled with cool percussions and dreamy clean vocals. This ten-minute track slowly morphs into Post-Black Metal territories with powerful and dreamy guitars accompanied by shrieks of desperation. The band reminded us of Heretoir, Lantlos and similar outfits, but they always keep their own musical identity.

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    Agony of the Bleeding Flesh – Everlasting Piracy (2013)

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    Hailing from France today we have the self-labeled Metal pirates of Agony of the Bleeding Flesh and their exciting debut release “Everlasting Piracy”. Delivering seven tracks of well-crafted Black Metal, the band focuses on having a powerful and direct sound with mostly traditional elements and an enhanced sense of catchiness.

    The album opens with a very solemn acoustic intro to the track “Those Buried Treasures” and it slowly builds up as the distorted guitars and shrieks come in. The drumming is quite solid and perfectly captured by the production of this release. Things gradually get more interesting as “The Call of The Sea” and “Return from Death” continue the riffing onslaught. The band perfectly combines fast paced sections with slower interludes to allow the music to grow and capture the listener’s attention.

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