Black Metal

  • They Came From Visions - The Twilight Robes (2024)

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    Creating a very captivating blend of Black Metal with Post-Metal/Rock elements, today we have Ukraine’s They Came From Visions and their sophomore release “The Twilight Robes”. Featuring seven tracks and nearly 45 minutes of elaborate music, this release perfectly delivers waves of fury alongside moody melodic passages, creating uniquely haunting and desolate atmospheres.

    Opening with the folky mood setting “Lughnasadh”, the album kicks into gear with the blistering riffing of “Equinox Ablaze”, a very crafty track that while having some of that 90’s Black Metal luster, it also features lush clean interludes filled with dreamy vocals and guitars. Our personal favorite track has to be the furious “Burning Eyes Blackened Claws” and its intense opening, and then perfectly transitioning into more melodic territories alongside pummeling drums.

  • Merrimack - Of Grace and Gravity (2024)

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    Unleashing one of the finest Black Metal releases of the last few years, today we have Parisian outfit Merrimack and their crushing return “Of Grace and Gravity”. As their first album in seven years, the band returns with thirst for vengeance and delivers over 40 minutes of excruciatingly brutal music that any fan of the genre will go nuts for. If you like incisive and punishing music with a perfect balance of atmosphere and swift brutality, this is the release for you.

    The release kicks off with a bang with the demolishing “Sulphurean Synods”, a track that blasts off with ravaging guitars, pummeling drums, and hellish vocals. There is certain rawness to the band’s approach that is quite savage and direct. With the intensity of “Sublunar Despondency”, the band has that viciousness of 90’s Norwegian Black Metal, giving a certain Satyricon edge that works wonderfully within the band’s aggressive style.

  • Isenordal - Requiem for Eirênê (2024)

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    Unleashing one of the most powerful and disarming releases of 2024, today we have Isenordal and their latest opus “Requiem for Eirênê”. Filled with melancholy, this release features five tracks and over 50 minutes of majestically crafted music that transports the listener with mysterious and bleak soundscapes. Filled with lush instrumentation and perfect execution, this is one of our early candidates for best release of the year.

    Opening with the 15-minute behemoth “A Moment Approaches Eternity”, we get a slow atmospheric progression adorned by solemn viola accents, just until the moment when crushing Doom riffs lead way to harsh screams. The level of bleakness induced by the weeping guitars and the masterful tempo is unparalleled, and it only gets better as the track progresses with even more dramatic instrumentation and some hellish aggressive passages.

  • Besotten/Funerelic - Abyssal Synodality (2024)

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    There are some days that you just want to play the foulest and most ravaging thing you can find to get through the day. For those days, “Abyssal Synodality”, a split release between Besotten and Funerelic, is just what the doctor ordered. Featuring four tracks, two a piece and nearly 20 minutes of music, this release is quite engaging and punishing.

  • Ponte Del Diavolo - Fire Blades From the Tomb (2024)

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    Just when you think you have heard it all, there comes a band like Ponte Del Diavolo with a very unique and intoxicating sound. Mixing elements of Black Metal with Doom, Psychedelic/Dark rock, “Fire Blades From the Tomb” delivers nearly 45 minutes of enigmatic music that quickly sets a very sultry and devilish mood from start to end.

    Opening with “Demone”, one would easily think, great, another typical (but intense) Black Metal release, however, as Erba del Diavolo vocals come to play, the mood shifts into sinister and yet playful territories. Weaving back and forth between BM onslaughts and Doomy riffs, the band creates a very unique and engaging sound that is not quite conventional as songs like “Covenant” and “Red as the sex of She who lives in death” keep exploring new dark corners.

  • Farsot - Life Promised Death (2024)

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    Always delivering some of the most unique and intricately crafted releases, Lupus Lounge presents Farsot’s latest offering “Life Promised Death”. Seven years have passed since the band’s last release and it seems like no time has passed as this album has nearly 50 minutes of expertly crafted music that reminds us of bands like Fen, Eïs, and Todtgelichter.

    The release opens with the fierce “Nausea”, a piece that slowly builds momentum and delivers crafty layered guitars alongside moody tempo changes. The piercing “Buoyant Flames” and “Into Vertigo” are some of those greatly moody tracks that perfectly blends aggression with more introspective and slower passages that create beauty and contrast.

  • Necrowretch - Swords of Dajjal (2024)

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    Unleashing over 37 minutes of pure hell, today we have France’s Necrowretch and their latest release “Swords of Dajjal”. Spread over eight tracks, the band delivers swift and well crafted onslaughts of Black/Death Metal brilliance, with a style similar to outfits like Necrophobic and Destroyer 666. However, these guys are far from a carbon copy of the previously mentioned bands as they add their own sinister twists to their music.

  • Ihsahn - Ihsahn (2024)

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    Delivering his most ambitious album to date, today we have Ihsahn and his eponymous release, the eight full-length album of his solo career. After a couple of EP’s in between releases, Ihsahn blends cinematic orchestrations with his already quite refined and yet constantly evolving Proggy Black Metal. Featuring both a ‘Metal’ version, and a purely orchestral version, this release is quite the musical journey and a stop above the excellent quality we always expect from Ihsahn.

    After the mood setting orchestral opening, “The Promethean Spark” brings us back to more familiar territories with crafty tempo changes and Ihsahn’s signature mixture of clean and harsh vocals alongside playful riffs. While the ‘Metal’ side of things is familiar, the interplay with the classical instrument arrangements is quite engaging and intoxicating. Tracks like “Pilgrimage to Oblivion” and the lush “Twice Born”, showcase a very unique blend of heaviness with fragility and a splash of vibrancy that is rare to find in Metal.

  • Hulder - Verses In Oath (2024)

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    After taking the scene by surprise with their crushing 2021 debut full-length “Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry”, Hulder returns with a more refined and equally brutal release with “Verses In Oath”. With over 40 minutes of music, this release is packed with powerful atmospherics, crafty execution, and very engaging tempo changes that keep the songs fresh and sinister.

    Blasting away with the piercing “Boughs Ablaze”, you immediately feel the band's firepower with pummeling drumming, fierce riffing, and subtle atmospheric keyboards. These elements create a very unique European Black Metal vibe, that merges Folky melodies with raw power. The production, while raw and direct, is clean and effective, keeping the band’s sound intense while being tidy, perfect examples of this are “Verses In Oath”, “Cast Into The Well Of Remembrance”.

  • Borknagar - Fall (2024)

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    After blowing everybody away with their 2019 release “True North”, Borknagar is back stronger and even catchier than ever. The band has always distinguished themselves as one of those Folk/Viking/Black Metal with signature Progressive and melodic elements, and with “Fall”, the band takes them even further. If you like any of the band’s previous releases, this one has a bit of everything from all their stylistic changes over the years.

    Opening with the epic “Summits”, this track has all the Borknagar staples: soaring clean and harsh vocals, crafty drumming, proggy guitars, and atmospheric magic. As the first single of this release, the band fires in all cylinders and creates a very powerful and dynamic atmosphere. As you can expect the deadly combination of clean vocals from both Lars and Vortex, makes this band the equivalent of having two of the best players, of any sport, on the same team.

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