Atmospheric

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Remina - The Silver Sea (2025)

    cover

    Unleashing one of the most dreamy and otherworldly releases of 2025, today we have Remina with their sophomore release “The Silver Sea”. Formed by Heike Langhans and Mike Lamb, and now with Shayne Roos on drums, this outfit delivers one hell of an Atmospheric Gothic/Doom Metal release that will send shivers down your spine. For seven tracks and nearly 45-minutes of music, the band creates some of the most atmospheric and haunting music ever created, so be prepared to be blown away.

    Opening with the sidereal dreaminess of “Trust No One”, Heike’s solemn and charismatic vocals are perfectly embraced by trippy and crafty atmospherics alongside powerful riffs. Featuring a more prominent Doom vibe, “Algol” has Mick Moss (Antimatter) in an amazingly engaging duet with Heike. The second guest appearance comes under “Vanta Ray”, a very lively piece featuring Tony Dunn of Sgàile and very crafty guitar work, alongside playful drumming and a very melancholic vibe.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Fauna - Ochre & Ash (2025)

    cover

    Creating one of the most harrowing and primal releases ever, today we have Fauna and their long awaited “Ochre & Ash”. Thirteen years have passed since the release of “Avifauna”, and fans have been craving for a new album from this Pacific Northwest duo. More than worth the wait, this release unleashes nearly 70 minutes of crushing music that creates discomfort and hands out punishment from the opening atmospherics all the way to the closing riffs.

    Opening with the ritualistic “A Conjuring”, the band sets a very feral and Heilung/Wardruna-esque atmosphere that masterfully transitions into the crafty drumming and dissonant riffing of “Nature and Madness”. Shifting gears, the duo unleashes hell with great intensity and violence. The drumming and screamed vocals remind us a bit of Mike Rekevics in Vanum/Fell Voices. As the dense atmosphere dissipates a bit, the track moves into a cavernous direction with enthralling atmospherics and a wall of distortion.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Mesarthim - Isolate X (2025)

    cover

    We have always been fans of pretty much any band that Avantgarde Music discovers, as they always find completely unique and totally awesome outfits and releases. However, around 10 years ago, the label released in CD Mesarthim’s debut “Isolate”, a very forward thinking and completely captivating release that mixed Atmospheric Black Metal with electronic/trance elements.

    Fast forward to today, the label is unleashing the ten year anniversary of this masterpiece with a special extra disc, featuring reinterpretations of the songs via other Avantgarde outfits. The release opens with Remina’s reworking of “Osteopenia”, a masterful piece that not only takes you to outer space, as it also features the enchanting vocals of Heike Langhans, giving this song a whole new level of dreamy and ethereal vibes.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Årabrot - Rite of Dionysus (2025)

    cover

    Creating a very weird and hypnotic Dark/Noise Rock atmosphere with tons of pastoral elements, Norway’s Årabrot returns with the magical “Rite of Dionysus”. Featuring ten tracks and over 43 minutes of music, Kjetil Nernes and Karin Park take the listener on a very unique aural journey, through moody atmospherics and catchy madness. As one of the most unique sounding bands we enjoy, Årabrot always proposes something different and with teeth, providing a unique listening experience to any Rock fan.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Eskapism - Skresnava (2025)

    cover

    Always uncovering unique talent, Naturmacht Productions is set to release Eskapism’s latest full-length release “Skresnava”. Featuring a very lively and engaging Atmospheric/Symphonic Black Metal sound, this release delivers four tracks and over 41 minutes of intense and very lush music. Recommended for fans of bands like Grima, Limbonic Art, Saor, and similar, this album is full of melody and magical soundscapes.

    Opening with the melancholic “The Forest of Silent Shadows”, the band slowly builds momentum with crafty atmospheric, weeping guitar melodies and a very hypnotic pace. The band’s ability to craft long, over 10 minutes, songs that are cohesive and very cinematic is one of their strengths as founders Dyvozor and Zymobor navigate very emotional and melodic territories. As “Orison” continues the onslaught, we get those nice emotive guitar tones masterfully surrounded by subtle and yet very powerful atmospherics.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Abigail Williams - A Void Within Existence (2025)

    cover

    Marking their return after six years, “A Void Within Existence” showcases the ever morphing Abigail Williams with a more crushing and dissonant sound. Featuring seven tracks and nearly 50 minutes of music, this release has the band unleashing a mixture of crushing guitar-driven tracks with a hefty dose of atmospheric elements alongside their usual experimentation to create a powerful and devastating mixture.

    Opening with the heaviness of “Life Disconnected”, we get a barrage of raw and visceral riffs alongside technical craftiness with sick guitar leads. Moving into more melodic territories, “Void Within” unravels via the masterful drumming of Mike Heller, while “Nonexistence” delivers Post-Black Metal melancholics. Ken Sorceron’s vocals are vicious and perfectly align with the more violent onslaughts delivered on songs like “Still Nights” and the hypnotic “Talk to Your Sleep”, filled with crafty tempo changes and a vicious wall of distortion.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Hexvessel - Nocturne (2025)

    cover

    Keeping things weird and unique as always, Mat McNerney is back with the current era of Hexvessel that has them playing a very frosty and powerful blend of Atmospheric Black Metal with some of the band’s earlier Dark Folk elements. In “Nocturne” the band shapeshifts a bit more, taking the BM elements of “Polar Veil”, and blending some harrowing bleak soundscapes with chilling vocals and a few guest appearances to keep things dreamy and weird.

    With a mood setting opener and the chilling keyboards of “Sapphire Zephyrs”, the band sets a very desolate backdrop that masterfully is reinvigorated with piercing Black Metal-styled guitars and harsh screams. The transition to “Inward Landscapes” shifts the momentum to more atmospheric territories alongside Mat’s eerie clean vocals. One of our favorite tracks has to be the moody “A Dark Graceful Wilderness”, which gives us some “Dawnbearer” and “When We Are Death” vibes.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Katatonia - Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State (2025)

    cover

    As the first Katatonia release without Anders Nyström, “Nightmares as Extensions of the Walking State” continues the band’s moody and melancholic journey with ten emotional songs. While losing Anders was a big blow to the band, Jonas Renkse and company compensate by creating a very dreamy and crafty release that weaves back and forth between bleakness and heaviness, but at the end of the day, still feels as just a continuation of their efforts from the last few years.

    The release starts heavy with powerful riffs that very quickly dissolve into the band’s weepy style. New guitarists Nico Elgstrand (ex Entombed) and Sebastian Svalland (ex In Mourning), are definitely capable musicians and imprint some of their personal styles on tracks like “The Liquid Eye”, “Lilac”, and “Departure Trails”, they still mimic some of the older ‘Katatonia-style’ riffs and arrive at a very familiar and traditional sound, which is not band for people expecting more of the same, but it does now grow the band’s musical range.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Austere - The Stillness of Dissolution (2025)

    cover

    This Aussie two-man band went away for over ten years and returned recently in 2021 and has dropped an album a year since 2023, making it one of the most productive in the scene. For the uninitiated, Austere was one of the originators of the Depressing Black Metal style back in the 2000’s and they continue to spew their bleakness with “The Stillness of Dissolution”. Evolving more into Atmospheric Black Metal territories, this release is engaging, catchy and yet very desolate in punishing, just what the doctor ordered for a cloudy and rainy day.

    Opening with “Dissolved Exile”, the band showcases their technical chops with a very melodic and crafty piece filled with engaging guitar leads, melodic passages, and crafty drumming alongside a good dose of harsh vocals. One of the signature styles from all of Tim Yatras’ bands is the dramatic clean vocals, that gracefully add that extra level of bleakness to the very well composed and expertly layered core music. Immediately inciting the listening to headbang alongside the catchiness of the guitar work, “Rusted Veins” is one of the album’s stand-out tracks, just completely intoxicating.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Kardashev - Alunea (2025)

    cover

    Showing their breakthrough release “Liminal Rite”, was not a fluke, North American outfit Kardashev returns with the brilliant “Alunea”. Perfectly blending genres and creating totally unique aural experiences, this outfit delivers eight tracks of crushing melancholy. Taking their “Deathgaze” genre to new heights, the band showcases extra maturity and polish in one of our early candidates for album of the year.

    Opening with the dreamy “A Precipice. A Door.”, the band embarks on a very ethereal journey that is perfectly flanked by completely crushing Deathcore onslaughts. Mark Garrett’s vocals are some of the most exhilarating in Metal music, as they go from dreamy cleans to insane growls and harsh shrieks, creating an extremely contrasting and yet satisfying experience, through tracks like “Reunion”, “Seed of the Night” and “Speak Silence”.

Pages

Recent Image Galleries