Ambient

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    Ulver - Neverland (2025)

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    Always an event when the wolves of Ulver return with their signature antics and superbly produced sound. Waiting until the last day of 2025 to unleash “Neverland”, the band continues to expand and explore with their sound, removing all vocals and focusing on creating trippy ambient soundscapes that capture subtleties of other genres like Post-Punk and Synth-pop. For 11-tracks and over forty minutes, the band weaves back and forth between dreamy and ethereal soundspaces, to darker and hypnotic pieces, always being uniquely Ulver and completely enthralling.

    Setting a somber opening mood, “Fear in a Handful of Dust” creates a very ethereal vibe, similar to outfits like Hælos. The exploration of synths/pianos of the sultry “Elephant Trunk” and “Weeping Stone”, takes us back to the band’s “The Assassination of Julius Caesar” sans the vocals, while “People of the Hills” has that funkiness to it of walking into a time machine. Crafty tempo changes and Ambient elements make "They're Coming the Birds” and “Horses of the Plough” be dark and yet quite refreshing, alongside more catchy pieces like “Hark Hark The Dogs Bark”.

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    Fauna - Ochre & Ash (2025)

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    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.

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    Iggor Cavalera / Shane Embury - Neon Gods / Own your Darkness (2025)

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    Cranking out two tracks of chilling Drone/Ambient/Industrial music, today we have Iggor Cavalera and Shane Embury. Featuring dystopian music full of unnerving atmospherics and haunting passages, each track creates its unique atmosphere and slowly envelops the listener into alternative worlds that both Iggor and Shane do not get to showcase on their main bands.

    Opening with “Neon Gods”, this nearly 20-minute piece slowly creeps into the listener’s psyche with a disturbing Drone nature. Reminiscent of some of Masona’s and Merzbow’s work, this track delivers a slow burn that will be seared into the listener. Just think of the movie “Event Horizon” and you’ll slightly know what to expect.

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    Jonathan Hultén - Eyes of the Living Night (2025)

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    Creating a very unique and ethereal release, today we have Jonathan Hultén (ex-Tribulation) and his sophomore release “Eyes of the Living Night”. Perfectly blending dreamy pop and grunge elements with dark rock and ambient passages, this release creates a very engaging and playful atmosphere that while has not much to do with his early Metal days, it does deliver some excellent guitar work and crafty arrangements.

    Setting a very dystopian vibe with the opener “The Saga And The Storm” and its lush atmospherics, we get a certain Hexvessel-meets-Chelsea Wolfe vibe. This opener leads to more ethereal pieces like “Afterlife” with its pastoral/synth pop elements and the dark folkness of “Falling Mirages” and its lush acoustic guitars. The baritone vocals are always front and center and in pieces like “Riverflame” they deliver raw and unfiltered emotion, perfectly paired with subtle catchiness.

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    Unreqvited - Pathway to the Moon (2025)

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    As one of the most anticipated releases of 2025, Unreqvited finally returns with the highly melancholic and head turning “Pathway to the Moon”. Perfectly expanding on their Post-Black Metal/Shoegaze style with some more dreamy and ethereal elements, this release delivers over 40 minutes of some of the most engaging and goosebump-inducing music we have heard in quite a while. If you are a fan of the ban or the genre, you will certainly not be disappointed.

    Opening with the ethereal “Overture I: Disintegrate”, we get a very moody start with dreamy clean vocals and lush piano arrangements. This nicely transitions into the fierce “The Antimatter”, which showcases the band’s duality as it quickly escalates into a brutal onslaught of harsh Black Metal frostiness, flanked by lush atmospherics and a very melodic vibe. This song masterfully transitions into more restrained territories, fully unleashing clean vocals alongside dramatic arrangements. Surprisingly enough, this track gave us some later Dimmu Borgir vibes at times.

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    Paysage d'Hiver - Die Berge (2024)

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    Unleashing seven cavernous Ambient Black Metal tracks, today we have Paysage d'Hiver with “Die Berge”. For the uninitiated, this one-man outfit from Tobias Möckl, one of the masterminds of Darkspace has been lurking in the underground since the late 90’s with countless demos and EP’s until their debut full-length “Im Wald” in 2020. Featuring a relentless Burzum-esque vibe, this release is dense and slow burning, delivering maximum punishment for a whopping 100 minutes.

    Most songs in this release are over 11 minutes long, opening with the piercing “Urgrund”, where a thick and pummeling atmosphere is masterfully crafted alongside raw harsh vocals and very crafty tempo changes. The opener hooks the listener with its atmospheric undertones and its rawness, paving the way for “Verinnerlichung” and “Transzendenz” part 1, which keep an hypnotic pace, while laying everything on their path to waste.

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    Ellende - Todbringerin (2024)

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    Today we have a very pleasant surprise from Austria’s Ellende, a re-recorded and reinterpreted version of their amazing second release “Todbringer”. With “Todbringerin”, the band takes control of the music behind this release by re-recording it (no studio masters from the original exist) and making it available in all formats for listeners. We are huge fans of the original, and have a physical copy of that release as one of our treasured items on our collection, so we were psyched to hear how the band, eight years after, would take on such an excellent release.

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    Akhlys - House of the Black Germinus (2024)

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    Taking their nightmare inducing sound to a whole new level, today we have Akhlys and their latest opus “House of the Black Germinus”. With an Industrial edge to their already piercing Ambient Black Metal sound, this release delivers six tracks and over 50-minutes of some of the most hellish soundscapes you will ever witness.

    Opening with the Blut Aus Nord-esque “The Mask of Night-speaking”, the band sets a very intimidating atmosphere flanked by crafty synths, crushing drumming, and pummeling Black Metal onslaughts. Naas Alcameth is a master in creating unsettling atmospherics with excruciating tempo changes, with tracks like “Maze of Phobetor” and “Through the Abyssal Door” being perfect examples of this.

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    Eivør - Enn (2024)

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    Hailing from the Faroe Islands, today we have Eivør with her major label debut “Enn”, released under Season of Mist. Featuring a very dreamy and upbeat sound, this release delivers eight tracks and over 40 minutes of highly addictive music. While not the usual stuff we review, there is a certain magic to Eivør’s ethereal vocals and style that we got hooked on, and hence reviewing for you.

    Setting a very dreamy vibe, the opening track “Ein Klóta” unleashes waves of hypnotic electronics and sweet angelic vocals. With “Jadartra” we get a nice droney melody with a mysterious edge, reminding us a bit of Kari Rueslåtten’s “Pilot” days. Just like something out of an Eurovision contest, “Hugsi Bert Um Teg” is a catchy track that quickly grabs your attention thanks to the masterfully crafted beat and dreamy electronics.

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    Midnight Odyssey - Closer to the Sky (2024)

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    Always consistent and oozing creativity, Dis Pater and Midnight Odyssey return with an epic EP titled “Closer to the Sky”. In this five track, thirty-three minute outing, the listener is treated to magical ambient soundscapes that are masterfully adorned with harsh screams and relentless Black Metal onslaughts. Filled with quality music and engaging atmospherics, this is yet another triumphant release from the band.

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