Black Metal

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Deschain - Sea of Trees Forest of Gallows (2011)

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    Usually when we get promos with two songs clocking over 30 minutes they are pretty bad. However, Deschain totally proved us wrong with their self-released Melodic Black Metal assault titled “Sea of Trees Forest of Gallows”. With minimal ‘cascadian hipster Black Metal’ influences in their sound, we are completely puzzled as how they have managed to fly under the radar with such a rich and diverse European BM sound.

    Hailing from Indiana, this very young band (formed in 2008), has already two self-produced releases under their belts and with this one they are looking to storming the scene by surprise. It is rare that a band can pull off 15+ minute songs that never get dull or repetitive, but Deschain seems to not have any problems doing this. In a time when most ‘average’ Black Metal bands shy away from songs over 6 minutes, it is very cool to hear that some folks can belt out these mammoth pieces and totally rock while doing so.

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    Foret D'Orient – Essedvm (2011)

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    With a very interesting combination of atmospheric and folk elements with brutal Black Metal, Foret D’Orient delivers us their first EP called “Essedvm”. In this release the band instantly reminded us of the early Dismal Euphony releases, a feat that no band has done to date. Featuring six brilliantly crafted tracks, this Italian band delivers just the right amount of melody and atmosphere to offset the Black Metal side of things and create very emotional and powerful songs.

    With a lush and epic opening track with “Campo Di Marte”, the band really generates expectation in the listener. The acoustic sections are very well introduced and nicely help in the build-up process. “Sagitta” wastes no time and delivers powerful riffing accompanied with hellish vocals, this song nicely evolves into a more melodic territories as the song progresses. The use of the harp in this song is very eerie and works wonderfully when paired with some whispers, just to fully explode into powerful riffs and harsh vocals. This hypnotic atmosphere is what we usually yearn for, and this band excels at it, too bad the song ends somewhat abruptly.

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    Empyrean Plague – Imprint Evidence Destiny (2011)

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    Hailing from Canada, today we have Empyrean Plague and their very well crafted Melodic Death/Black Metal that will surely grab your attention immediately. “Imprint Evidence Destiny” delivers seven aural assaults that very creatively combine Melodic Death/Black Metal with Folk and Viking Metal elements; this creates a very rich palette of sounds that even after a considerable amount of listens you will not be able to fully discover this release.

    With oozing melody, the band opens the album with the 7 minute epic “Deciphering The Norse Code”. The guitar work is excellent and has that semi-rough feeling that only young bands usually have. The vocals are powerful but never overly done giving that nice contrast to the music. The bass guitar is very present and nicely balanced in the mix as well. “Imprint Evidence Destiny” continues in a similar fashion with super catchy melodic sections and very effective ‘speed ups’. The drumming is also very good and both songs (and the rest) have a wide variety of different patterns.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Demonic Death Judge – The Descent (2011)

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    Rounding up the promo package we received from Inverse Records, today we have Demonic Death Judge and their highly entertaining mixture of Sludge Metal with Black Metal. Before you start frowning in disgust, you actually have to give this band a chance and listen to their very original musical approach. The only band we can think that plays something in this alley is Glorior Belli on their last album “The Great Southern Darkness”.

    Opening with “Nepal”, the band fully explodes into some crunchy riffing and very hellish vocals. While this combination might sound odd at first, it slowly grows on you. The guitar work is very traditional Sludge/Southern inspired and the atmosphere feels this way, but the vocals gravitate towards another area. There are some very good acoustic melodies thrown into the mix that makes this song even more appealing.

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    Alcest – Les Voyages de l'Âme (2012)

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    Flying high on the success of their classic “Écailles de Lune”, Alcest has managed to tour the world and still found time to record “Les Voyages de l'Âme”. In this new release, the band efficiently re-hashed “Écailles de Lune”, toned down the Black Metal aspect of things, and still delivers 8 brilliantly atmospheric tracks. However, the ‘originality’ or ‘something different’ factor is lacking a bit with this release.

    Opening with “Autre Temps”, Alcest makes it very clear that their sound is untouched and delivers a very ethereal track. The vocal harmonies are as heavenly as possible and they beautifully contrast the powerful guitars. The bass guitar and drums are also very well incorporated and perfectly mixed to be in the background of the atmospheric elements.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Aenaon – Cendres et Sang (2011)

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    After delivering two impressive EP’s: Phenomenon and A Parallel Zoetrope, Aenaon finally signed with Code666 to release their debut full-length “Cendres et Sang”. In this very impressive freshman release, the band makes use of their superior ability in crafting interesting and unique sounding Black Metal songs and deliver 10 tracks of majestic music that many veteran bands wish they would have in them.

    Since the Jazzy opener “Kafkaesque”, you know you are in for a treat and a very unique album. This intro nicely blends with the second track “Suncord” and when the riffing starts we are immediately reminded of bands like Farsot and similar creative-Black Metal acts. The melodic aspect of the band’s sound is what makes them so special, particularly in the intricate passages crafted in the middle of this track that feature a hefty Jazz influence.

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    Saturnian Mist - Gnostikoi Ha-Shaitan (2011)

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    With a very peculiar ear-raping Black Metal sound, Saturnian Mist delivers their debut full-length release titled “Gnostikoi Ha-Shaitan”. The band pummels through eight tracks of putrefied Black Metal that at first will make you want to turn it off, but once you warm up to it, you will find it very refreshing and somewhat different to all other BM releases.

    Firing up the riffing machine since the opening track “The Regicide”, the band delivers very crunchy guitars (somewhat similar to some Sludge albums) that are nicely utilized to transmit hellish Black Metal sounds. The pounding bass guitar is pretty well mixed in-between to add more rawness and brutality to the music. The vocals are more like growls than your average BM snarl, but the weirdest part is the Hardcore-ish sound they have to them.

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    Ave Maria – Chapter I (2011)

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    With a very interesting (and disturbing) cover, today we have Ave Maria and their debut full-length release “Chapter I”. This Black Metal duo from Germany delivers around 49 minutes of very psychotic Black Metal that while not extremely original, it is creepy enough to send chills through our spine.

    Taking from older Norwegian bands and their very raw-yet-clear sound, the Black Metal presented in “Chapter I” is top notch and very effective. The band creates a very eerie atmosphere only with crafty guitar work and hellish vocals. The production is very clean giving this release a very organic Black Metal sound that we can totally picture the band perfectly playing these nine songs live.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Eclipse Eternal – The Essence of Hopelessness (2012)

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    Delivering nine hectic hymns of powerful Black Metal with some atmospheric elements, today we have Canada’s Eclipse Eternal and their latest full-length release “The Essence of Hopelessness”. In this very diverse release, the band rips through very well crafted tracks that feature traditional BM sections accompanied with melodic passages that nicely change the pace of things and keeps the listener fully engaged with the band’s music.

    After the traditional keyboard intro, “Ragnarok” delivers waves of furious guitar riffs accompanied by hellish vocals and some tight drumming, exactly what the doctor ordered. This song gives the impression that you will be listening to a very typical BM release with not much to offer, but as the album keeps going the band jumps into some very ritualistic and melodic passages that give a flair of European Black Metal that is more typical of labels like Prophecy Productions.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Opera IX – Strix - Maledictae in Aeternum (2012)

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    Eight years have passed since the band’s last release “Anphisbena”, and with “Strix - Maledictae in Aeternum” Opera XI intends of regaining their momentum and status in the Metal scene that they acquired with excellent releases before the year 2000. “Strix - Maledictae in Aeternum” delivers a heavy dosage of Black Metal tracks infused with Dark Metal elements but fails to fully capture the listener’s attention and quickly gets old.

    After opening with a very typical atmospheric prologue, the band fully jumps into action with “1313”. In this track the atmosphere is very dense and chaotic (perfectly crafted) but the singing and the guitars feel a bit outdated. The crazy guitar leads are nice, but we’ve heard them many years ago in other Black Metal acts, the vocals are deranged and very powerful but they are also something that band’s have already done in the past (circa early 2000).

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