Album Reviews

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Darvaza - We Are Him (2025)

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    Unleashing one of the most hellish Black Metal releases of 2025, today we have International duo Darvaza and their sophomore full-length release “We Are Him”. Delivering over 42 minutes of cavernous and nihilistic music, spread in seven piercing tracks, the band continues their onslaught with a crushing sound that is both visceral and punishing. For fans of raw and pummeling BM, this release sets a new bar for the band, once that sets them apart from the rest.

    Opening with dramatic atmospherics, “Holy Blood” quickly transitions into raw and in-your-face riffing onslaughts. Wraath’s snarl is as piercing as always, modulating between a harsh stance and some more demented screams. The band’s furious pace makes tracks like “A Last Prayer in Gethsemane”, “Lazarus”, and “Chaos.Fire.Devotion” be as pummeling as possible, with some masterfully crafted tempo changes and momentum building passages.

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    Lamp of Murmuur - The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy (2025)

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    Unleashing a timeless ode to the early days of Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal days, today we have Lamp of Murmuur and their latest opus “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy”. Featuring a sound reminiscent of Tartaros, (early) Limbonic Art, and most recently Moonlight Sorcery, this release unleashes nine tracks of superb catchiness and haunting melodies with a hefty dosage of rawness.

    Setting a very dark and sinister mood with the opener, the album quickly escalates with the crafty “Forest of Hallucinations”. In this track we get that old-school sound of the genre, perfectly captured by lively keyboards/synths alongside M’s harsh snarls around engaging tempo changes. The playfulness behind tracks like “Reincarnation of a Witch”, and “Hategate (The Dream-Master's Real)” show the band’s timeless influences of gaudy (to some extent) atmospherics alongside fierce Immortal-esque riffing onslaughts.

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    1914 - Viribus Unitis (2025)

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    Hailing from Ukraine, 1914 has been unleashing their very atmospheric and emotional Blackened Death/Doom Metal for over a decade with great success. Focusing on World War I and related themes, the band’s music is piercing, emotive, and very well crafted. Delivering ten tracks and nearly 60 minutes of music, “Viribus Unitis” showcases the band’s sonic evolution, perfecting their signature Doomy style with more poignant atmospherics and craft vocal arrangements.

    After a mood setting atmospheric, “1914 (The Siege of Przemyśl)” blows open this release with fierce riffing and blistering drumming. The mood setting intros on each song perfectly frame the stories the band portrays providing context to tracks like “1915 (Easter Battle for the Zwinin Ridge)”, “1916 (The Südtirol Offensive)”, and “1917 (The Isonzo Front)”. Blending punishing onslaughts with more melancholic sections and great guest appearances like Aaron Stainthorpe (ex-My Dying Bride) on “1918 Pt 3: ADE (A Duty to Escape)”

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    Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin - Stygian Bough: Volume II (2025)

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    Unleashing one of the most demoralizing and gut-wrenching releases of 2025, today we have Bell Witch pairing with Aerial Ruin to deliver the second volume of “Stygian Bough”. Featuring four tracks and nearly one hour of monumentally crushing Funeral Doom Metal, this album is as bleak as they come. Erik Moggridge of Aerial Ruin perfectly complements Bell Witch, creating a very punishing and lush release that won’t easily be forgotten.

    Opening with the moody vocals of “Waves Become the Sky”, they perfectly blend into the weeping Doomy riffs, creating a very desolate and punishing atmosphere. The tempo slowly drowns the listener in misery as the opener seamlessly blends into the bleakness of “King of the Wood”, a more atmospheric piece. The band’s ability to create slow and very uneasy soundscapes is just magical, as these tracks fly by and they are over 12-minutes each.

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    Waldgeflüster - Knochengesänge (2025)

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    Unleashing a massive double full-length release, Waldgeflüster showcases their multiple facets in a very emotional and devastating manner. With the first album clocking in at nearly one hour and the second around 50 minutes, we get to hear the band’s heavier and more complex amalgamation of Black Metal with Post Metal/Rock elements in the first, and a more stripped down version of them in the second. Very emotionally charged, this release is truly a journey into the band’s psyche and trajectory.

    Opening the first album with “Krähenpsalm”, we get lively Post-Black Metal riffing and massive atmospherics, reminding us a bit of outfits like Austere, Heretoir, and Harakiri for the Sky. This style is very predominant in this first album, with highlights of very emotional tracks like “Bamberg, 20. Juni”, the hypnotic “Von Hypnos und Thanatos”, and the dreamy “Lethe - Der Fluch des Schaffenden”. The mixture of harsh screams, fast riffs, is very nicely offset by lush clean vocal arrangements, and crafty atmospherics.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Novembre - Words of Indigo (2025)

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    Hailing from Italy, Novembre was one of those early bands with a strong melancholic Death/Doom sound when Katatonia, Anathema, My Dying Bride were rising up. Over the years, the band shifted into more Progressive and even Gothic Metal territories with excellent releases filled with emotions and intricately crafted music. With a very melancholic sound, Carmelo Orlando returns with a brand new cast of musicians to deliver eleven tracks and over 60 minutes of dreamy and highly emotive music, with some of their best songs to date.

    Not a very constant presence in the scene, the band after their 2007 release, dropped off the radar, in terms of releases, for nine years, and then after their 2016 release, dropped off again for another nine years. That being said, once “Sun Magenta” opened this release, we were instantly cured of missing the band’s signature ‘mopey’ sound. Being a mixture of mid-stage Katatonia with older Anathema and some sprinkles of Fall of the Leaf, songs like “Statua”, “ Neptunian Hearts”, and our favorite “House of Rain”, are very dreamy and engaging pieces full of atmosphere and craftiness.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Omnium Gatherum - May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way (2025)

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    Aging like a fine wine, today we have Finland’s Melodic Death Metal juggernauts Omnium Gatherum and their latest offering: “May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way”. Featuring nine tracks and over 40 minutes of polished and very engaging music, the band sticks to what they do best, which is release extremely catchy and crafty Melodic music, filled with soaring vocal arrangements and masterful guitar work.

    Always setting a very dynamic and engaging mood with their opening tracks, the band leverages the album title track to create momentum as it transitions into engaging pieces like “My Pain” and “Last Hero”, tracks that bring back the band’s signature riffing style and atmospheric complement. As soon as Jukka Pelkonen's harsh vocals come alongside the catchy instrumentation, the headbanging must commence.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Häxär - Teufelskult (2025)

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    One-man battalion Häxär is ready to unleash its third full-length release titled “Teufelskult”. Featuring an interesting combination of different Black Metal subgenres, like Atmospheric, Melodic to some Pagan influences, this release delivers over 36 minutes of uniquely crafted and very engaging music. With the scene releasing more than one album a day, on average, it is refreshing to find releases like this one that challenge the status quo and mark their own path.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Outlaw - Opus Mortis (2025)

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    Hailing from Germany, but with Brazilian members, today we have Outlaw and their late 90’s/early 2000’s inspired ravaging Black Metal onslaughts. With “Opus Mortis”, the band brings back the days of crafty BM similar to Old Man’s Child, Thulcandra, and Dissection. Featuring seven tracks and nearly 45 minutes of intricate music, the band showcases creativity and masterful execution while creating interesting atmospheres and plenty of headbanging moments.

    Blasting things wide open with the pummeling onslaughts of “Blaze of Dissolution”, we get that nice old-school BM vibe, with melody oozing from the band’s guitar attacks. There is something magical about melodic guitar driven BM, as the band showcases in “Through the Infinite Darkness”, “The Crimson Rose”, and “A Million Midnights”, creating some blistering tempos while adorning them with subtle atmospherics, bringing those Dissection vibes front and center.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Centinex - With Guts and Glory (2025)

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    Keeping the flame of old-school Swedish Death Metal alive, Centinex returns with their crushing latest full-length release “With Guts and Glory”. Unleashing eight tracks of chugging riffs and alongside a stern snarl and crafty drumming, the band shows no signs of aging. Recommended for the nostalgic metal head, this release brings back the days when bands like Grave and Entombed ruled the scene, with fierce guitars and plenty of headbanging.

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