Black Metal

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    Al-Namrood - Astfhl Al Tha'r (2009)

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    Playing very basic and raw Black Metal, today we have all the way from Saudi Arabia Al-Namrood and their debut album “Astfhl Al Tha’r”. While anybody would agree that the band’s Black Metal is very basic, the cool thing about it is the Middle Eastern influences on it reflected in the keyboards and atmosphere generated through this release.

    Opening with “A’hd al Jahiliyah”, the band’s hellish vocals take the spotlight and then the keyboards start to seep into your brain. The music is raw and simple, the percussions are very basic but the atmosphere is just completely different to what we are used to. This does get a bit annoying at times due to the high-repetition of sections in this trac, but it is also very cool indeed. The
    Doom-ier approach in “Ebadt al Basahr” and the considerably better drums make this song a big improvement from the first one. The Middle Eastern influences are also very evident in this track.

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    Abbey ov Thelema – A Fragment ov the Great Work (2011)

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    Making its way from Slovakia, today we have a very interesting release in the realm of Avant-garde/experimental Black Metal. “A Fragment ov the Great Work” marks the debut of Abbey ov Thelema a two person project that leaves no stone unturned and delivers a very promising album. Taking from the greats Arcturus and Blut as Nord, the band pummels through eight tracks of pure madness and aural aggression.

    Opening with organs on the intro “Left Hand Path”, the band quickly escalates things on “The One Who Walks the Left-Hand Path”. Mixing perfectly balanced atmospheric passages with aggressive Black Metal shrieks and commanding riffs, Abbey ov Thelema makes a strong impression immediately. The psychedelic synths are pretty deranged but great sounding and make the band’s songs be very appealing. There are plenty of melodic passages and crazy atmospheric interludes, like on “Unearthly Theophagia ov a Nonexistent Deity”, “Black Absinth Drunk While Analyzing the Writings ov Nietzsche” and “The Hidden Wisdom & Clandestine Legacy ov the Black Arts”, enough to satisfy the most demanding listeners.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Fallen Divine - The Binding Cycle (2011)

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    As 2011 winds down and big labels are saving their ‘big’ releases of the opening of 2012, it is very nice to hear fantastic self-released albums like Fallen Divine’s “The Binding Cycle”. Hailing from Norway, this band is ready to conquer the Metal world with crazy-fast guitars, demonic vocals, crafty drumming, and very intricate and skillful compositions. We are very surprised this band has not been picked up by any label yet.

    Immediately showing of their skills with “Dissension”, the band quickly delivers waves of powerful riffs, aggressive vocals and a pounding bass guitar line. The drumming keeps all things together in a very tight manner and nicely changes tempos several times during the song. The atmospheric keyboards give this already awesome track a bit more of flair and epicness. The ethereal atmospheric passage is nicely adorned by great guitar work and a pulsating bass guitar section. Pretty much this is the band’s formula for success and they greatly present it in different shapes through this release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Abigail Williams – Becoming (2012)

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    With yet another crushing blow, Abigail Williams is set on conquering the US Black Metal scene on 2012 with “Becoming”. In this release the band morphs once more from their Symphonic BM roots into a hybrid of Cascadian hipster Black Metal and straight-up European Melodic Black Metal. While many people might call them pretentious or undefined, we totally love how this band keeps popping up with different styles and overall excellently crafted music.

    Similar to tracks by Wolves in the Throne Room, “Ascension Sickness” opens this release with a hefty dose of atmospheric elements, crushing BM shrieks, powerful riffing and ultra-brutal drumming. The production is very similar to WITTR and such bands, but Abigail Williams brings their own elements into the mix with some nice classical string instruments and a more ethereal atmosphere. After the 11-minutes of ecstasy provided by the first track, “Radiance” keeps the decadent and Doom-ish atmosphere alive with inhuman vocals and crushing riffs.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Klabautamann - The Old Chamber (2011)

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    Delivering 47 minutes of forward-thinking Black Metal, today we have Germany’s Klabautamann and their very interesting “The Old Chamber” release. While every other BM band is trying to be more evil than the others, it is very nice to hear so many bands from Germany (like Farsot, etc) that are trying to keep alive a genre that is plagued by bad songwriting and toilet-sounding low-fi releases. With “The Old Chamber”, the band manages sound a bit like Primordial but keeping a bigger Black Metal edge.

    With “Mary’s Abbey” the band delivers commanding riffs and hellish vocals nicely surrounded by a dense atmosphere. The guitar work is excellent and carries this song nicely, never going over the top and establishing a very determined pace. Another onslaught of riffs is on the horizon with the more aggressive “Fog Spawn”. Here the band sounds very much like a mixture of Primordial with Vreid, very impressive we might add. In the vein of Taake and Horna, “The Crown of the Wild” delivers a traditional Black Metal formula but with some clean vocals and interesting ‘slower’ passages, keeping things fresh and enjoyable.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    AbsentiA – Our Bleeding Sun (2011)

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    As a late contender for ‘self-produced’ album of the year 2011, today we have AbsentiA and their monumental “Our Bleeding Sun”. With a sound that easily rivals Dimmu Borgir and other similar bands, this little ‘unknown’ band from Spain makes a huge ruckus with the nine superb tracks featured in this release. Being fans of Melodic (insert_whatever) Metal ourselves, AbsentiA does an excellent job in incorporation melody, aggression and heaps of surprises into their sound.

    After opening with the Dimmu Borgir-esque intro “All this Hell”, the band quickly delivers the first high-intensity track with “The end of the Line”. Featuring a healthy mixture of powerful riffs with perfectly timed keyboards and crushing vocals, the band has a very powerful and yet melodic sound, something that is unusual for unsigned bands. With “Inferno” giving a Dissection vibe, the band delivers another powerful track that is nicely adorned by a very effective melodic passage with a nicely crafted solo and enchanting female vocals.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Botanist – I: The Suicide Tree / II: A Rose From The Dead (2011)

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    Making its way from the USA, today we have one album that has been generating a lot of fuzz and even my non-Metal hipster friends (I apologize for them) have been talking about the last few months, Botanist’s double debut release: I: The Suicide Tree / II: A Rose From The Dead. In this ‘release’ we have a dude tired of playing traditional music going full-retard and delivering something very unique and disturbing: Black Metal with a hammered dulcimer and an extreme plant-loving concept.

    While we can’t deny The Botanist’s originality to some extent, we can also notice that the music is complete shit. Random attacks of aggression feature through the 17 + 23 = 40 total ‘tracks’ presented in this release. All songs are highly incoherent and are written around the crap hammered dulcimer elements with some random drums thrown in and so-so vocals. We love experimental stuff, but when these experimental sections sound like a retarded kid whacking at an instrument, we lose all respect for the album.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Skaur – Skaur (2011)

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    After releasing 10 demos and two splits, Skaur finally decides to unleash upon the world their first self-titled full-length release, and it is an excellent one we might say. While almost everything in Black Metal has been played or done before, Skaur manages to sneak by with six very interesting tracks that incorporate many of the traditional aspects of the genre, but have their own particular elements that make them stand out from the rest of the BM albums we get.

    Since the opener “Fullmaanesang” the band sets a furious pace with perfectly crafted melodic elements (like the bass guitar line) and some very powerful acoustic passages. This combination allows the band’s sound to be more devastating since it keeps you at the edge of your seat waiting for what is coming next. The riffing on track like “Nordnorsk Svartmetall” is pretty standard for BM, but the drum patterns nicely break the ‘traditional’ schemes the genre has and makes the songs more dynamic. The band also whips out some eerie clean vocals that out of nowhere give extra depth to an already interesting sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Atrum Inritus – Progantus In Vorago (2011)

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    Today we have a mysterious Black Metal outfit from Minnesota in the USA. Having formed in 2010, they already have a very mature and crushing sound, unlike many of the scene newcomers making us believe that some of the members have played in different bands before and they are hiding under new pseudonyms. Anyways, “Progantus In Vorago” is an excellent debut album if you like cold and raw Black Metal.

    After the cliché instrumental intro, the band opens with the cavernous and ritualistic “The Chains That Bind”. With a powerful guitar sound and very compact drumming, the band creates the perfect dark atmosphere for the hellish BM snarls provided by Vindicare. Falling deeper into the abyss, “Aegrus Everto” delivers waves of painful vocals with sick guitar riffs, a very well crafted BM song. Up until here, you can hear the quality of Atrum Inritus with their very well crafted songs that perfectly capture a raw Black Metal atmosphere with excellent execution.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Mhorgl – Heresiarch (2011)

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    Delivering waves of technical aggression with an old-school Thrash sound, today we have Australia’s Mhorgl and their devastating third full-length “Heresiarch”. With over 45 minutes of meticulously crafted Thrash/Black Metal, this band is set to make some noise in the scene with their relentless tracks filled with technical nuances that only a handful of bands can pull off. Just imagine Obscura playing Thrash infused songs and you will get a glimpse of what this band is unleashing.

    Starting with the hellish “Inheriting the Mantle of Power”, the band sets the standard very high with crazy guitar riffing, crushing solos and inhuman drumming. The vocals are also very demonic and they have that snarl that perfectly fits the whirlwind sound of the band. Pounding through tracks like “Ophidian Legacy” (featuring killer guitar wizardry and a punchy Southern vibe), “Black World Militia” and “Ravenous Wargod”, the band delivers high-octane music that will max out your heart rate.

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