Experimental

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    Blind Equation - A Funeral In Purgatory (2025)

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    Unleashing over 32 minutes of musical madness, today we have Blind Equation and their self-described “Cyber Grind” music. Mixing elements from chiptune, deathcore, grindcore, and videogame-styled music, this release delivers some pretty interesting and extremely catchy songs. While not our usual cup of tea, this release is quite amusing as it is quite engaging and very different from your run-of-the-mill whatever-core music these days.

    Opening with the dreamy synths of “This Eternal Curse”, the band quickly layers distorted guitars, harsh vocals, alongside some soaring clean vocals and plenty of catchiness. Opening with a Prodigy-esque intro, “Nothing” keeps the momentum going with plenty of crafty synths and catchy tempo changes, this track reminded us of the Cybergoth movement mixed with some early Metalcore elements, particularly as tracks like “It Feels Like The End” and the moody “A Funeral..” come around.

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

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    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.

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    Bong-Ra - Black Noise (2025)

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    With some Godflesh/Ministry industrial vibes, today we have Bong-Ra and their latest exercise in dissonance “Black Noise”. Featuring nine tracks of aural abuse, this release takes the band to its roots while still unleashing Doomy and Industrial craftiness. Masterminded by Jason Köhnen, this outfit always pushed the boundaries of music, and the listener’s comfort levels, so make sure to strap in for this one.

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    Ulver - Liminal Animals (2024)

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    Mostly first released over the last year as singles, “Liminal Animals” marks Ulver’s latest opus, filled with their usual catchiness with a flair of darkness. Dedicated to the late Tore Ylvisaker, this release sees the band continue their dreamy/catchy endeavors of the last two releases, and also push forward with more somber and experimental elements thrown into the mix. Masterfully structured, this album makes all previously released singles come to life and showcase a different side to themselves, so be prepared for some aural exploration.

    Opening with the superbly dreamy “Ghost Entry”, the band sets a very glamorous and ethereal vibe, similar to their last few albums: catchy AF. The transition into “A City in the Skies” and “Forgive Us” are masterful as the percussion and electronics set a very futuristic mood. We have always been huge fans of Kristoffer Rygg’s vocals and the way they blend with the atmospherics of the music and the choir arrangements is just magical. Providing some nice change of pace, “Nocturne #1” has a great cinematic feeling, while the second part further explores more dynamic atmospherics.

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    Oranssi Pazuzu - Muuntautuja (2024)

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    There is ‘normal’ experimental/weird music, and there is Oranssi Pazuzu weird, which is 100x more intense than the latter. Unleashing their sixth full-length release with “Muuntautuja”, the band goes down into the depths of hell and delivers seven unnerving tracks that are both intense and insane. Anybody familiar with the band would not expect anything less, and for nearly 45 minutes, they manage to push the boundaries of aural assaults with their music, creating one truly chaotic and ravaging release.

    In no time, the band immediately grabs the listener with their hypnotic opener “Bioalkemisti”, a track that slowly lures them into the band’s madness. The hellish vocals and crafty samples work wonders until the deranged guitar work unleashes its magic. With the album title track we get an interesting ‘drum and bass’ core aligned with crazy samples and electronics to create a very bleak soundscape. If the listener is not smitten already, “Voitelu” and its creepy subtle keyboards allows the band to further expand the atmospheric madness of this release.

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    Trelldom - .​.​.​by the Shadows​.​.​. (2024)

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    Unleashing one of the most unexpectedly interesting releases, today we have Trelldom and their long awaited fourth full-length release, titled: “.​.​.​by the Shadows​.​.​.”. While many will be waiting for a traditional Black Metal release, the singles have steered people in a completely different direction as the album is more of an avant-garde/experimental release. Featuring a sound reminding us of the later stages of The 3rd and the Mortal, Lethe, and similar outfits, this release features seven tracks of unconventional and highly engaging music.

    Setting a very chaotic and contrived tone with “The Voice of What Whispers”, this release starts its aural explorations with a jazzy and a bit proggy piece that clearly signals this is going to be a very different release than expected. As “Exit Existence”rolls in, we get a sultry sax playing alongside Kristian Eivind Espedal’s (Gaahl) haunting vocals, creating a very eerie and yet intoxicating effect. We particularly love how this track transitions into sinister Black Metal riffs and a heavier nature as it progresses.

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    Vuur & Zijde - Boezem (2024)

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    Dramatically moving away from their original Atmospheric Black/Post-Black Metal sound, today we have enigmatic Dutch outfit Vuur & Zijde and their debut full-length “Boezem”. Featuring members from bands like Laster, Terzij de Horde, and Grey Aura, there is no surprise that the music presented in this release is captivating and truly unique, with seven tracks and nearly 46 minutes of hypnotic music. This release is for fans of bands like Beastmilk/Grave Pleasures with some Wave influences and featuring sultry female vocals.

    Opening with the mysterious “Onbemind”, the band sets a very unique Post-Punk vibe that quickly escalates into fierce guitar riffing and pummeling drumming. One would think that the harsh vocals would follow, but they never really do, instead we get the dreamy clean voice of Famke. This gives the band’s sound a very unique proposition, with heavier passages with more restrained drumming and a very organic and catchy vibe, perfect examples of this are songs like “Zusterzon”, “Omheind”, and “Us”.

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    Nel Buio - Nel Buio (2024)

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    Unleashing a pretty nifty and weird Black Metal adjacent release, today we have Nel Buio and their eponymous EP. Led by Claudio De Rosa with members of Blasphemer and Electrocution, this outfit pushes the boundaries of the genre with their futuristic five tracks and 22-minutes long release. If you like electronic/darkwave elements in your music, you are in luck as this release perfectly blends them with a very aggressive BM core.

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    Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God (2024)

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    Abundantly delivering on one of the most awaited releases of 2024, Ulcerate returns with another incisive release titled “Cutting the Throat of God”. Featuring seven tracks and nearly one hour of punishing music, filled with raw brutality alongside crafty instrumentation and hypnotic melancholy. Slowly getting better and better over time, we thought it would be hard for the band to surpass “Stare into Death and Be Still”, but they managed to completely leapfrog it and set a whole new standard.

    Opening with the crushing “To Flow Through Ashen Hearts”, the band over the years has moved away from a more traditional Technical/Brutal Death Metal into more expansive and experimental Avant-garde territories and this track is one perfect example of that. The mysterious mood is perfectly flanked by textured guitars, pummeling drums, and harrowing harsh vocals, however, it's the crafty tempo changes and sinister melodies that make it interesting.

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    Botanist - Paleobotany (2024)

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    We always had a love and hate relationship with Botanist and their music since their earlier more ‘experimental’ release. While totally flamed them on their first albums, we have grown to actually like them as their later stuff has been more structured and genre-bending. In “Paleobotany”, the band unleashes ten tracks and nearly forty five minutes of quite interesting and complex music, ranging from Post-Metal/Rock elements to Progressive Metal/Rock passages, to darker and more experimental efforts.

    The release opens with the dreamy “Aristolochia”, a piece that has a certain Katatonia-esque sound, with proggy and Post Rock-ish elements, something we didn’t quite expect from the band, but we totally dig it. The dramatic clean vocal arrangements make tracks like “When Forest Turned to Coal” and its Black Metal riffs, “Magnolia” and its moody madness, have a very lively and engaging nature, as well as an interesting interplay with the growls and the melodic nature of the dulcimer.

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