Black Metal

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    Nychts / Mortualia – “Nebelstern Des Nichts” (2010)

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    Featuring one monolithic track of 40 minutes of pure depressive (and ‘kozmik’) Black Metal, today we have Nychts and Mortualia’s split CD “Nebelstern Des Nichts”. Combining the two bands in a very unconventional way, Sun and Moon records has release this behemoth of emotional music that is not for the faint of heart.

    Providing 13 minutes of music, we have Finland’s own Mortualia, a side project band from the one and only Shatraug of Horna, etc., etc. fame. The remaining 27 minutes of music (and instrumental section) is provided by Switzerland’s Nychts, a band that is excellent at creating atmosphere, but should get a better singer or replace him with a cat getting hit by a car.

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    Graveworm – Fragments of Death (2011)

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    Continuing on the right path after their very impressive release “Diabolical Figures”, today we have Graveworm and their latest opus “Fragments of Death”. Most of the Gothic Metal pleasantries away, “Fragments of Death” delivers 11 punishing tracks of very well balanced Death/Black Metal with a high melodic content, but always aggressive enough to make your speakers explode.

    Opening with the high intensity “Insomnia”, the band shows fierce Death Metal influences with a nice Melodic edge in terms of riffing and some atmospheric keyboards. Stefan’s vocals are as good as always and his mixture between growls and shrieks is just excellent. The melodic/brutal assault continues with the ‘slower’ “Only Death in our Wake”, but quickly picks up with some excellent chorus section on “Absence of Faith”. In this track, the melody makes a huge different in making a repetitive song very catchy and powerful. Some sections in this track even feel a bit like their sound back on “As the Angels Reach the Beauty” but will less flair.

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    Midnight – Satanic Royalty (2011)

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    Presenting a very interesting mixture of Speed, Heavy and Black Metal with some occult/psychedelic Rock elements, today we have Midnight and their debut full-length release: “Satanic Royalty”. After achieving a great kvlt/underground status for years it is about time that Midnight comes to the spotlight with their super catchy music. Having only released EP’s and singles, the band has perfected their sound over the years, and with “Satanic Royalty” they will storm the scene by surprise with their hard-rocking tunes.

    For over 30 minutes and 10 tracks, Midnight brings back that good old sound of bands like Venom and Motorhead, but making it their own with some occult Rock elements. Since the opener “Satanic Rotalty”, the overall hard-rocking feeling is very evident. The ‘harsh’ vocals are more of a powerful scream that can easily be understood and the overall production of this song (and album) is a very effective mixture of old-school with modern cleanliness giving it a very crisp and authentic sound.

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    Ordo Obsidium – Orbis Tertius (2011)

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    During our reviewing sessions it is very interesting to find bands that make us wonder where they come from and why we haven’t heard from them before. Ordo Obsidium is one of those bands that after listening to their devastating debut album “Orbis Tertius made us wonder where they come from since they have a very interesting Scandinavian/European sound. However, to our surprise the band comes out from the Bay Area in the USA.

    Delivering five aural assaults of Doom-influenced Black Metal, this band means serious business since they can keep the kvlt side of things alive while bringing the tempo down a bit and not sounding dull or repetitive. The crushing opener “Nequaquam Vacuum” delivers the first 11 minute attack of powerful riffing and bestial drumming all surrounded by a melodic and nicely paced atmosphere. The vocals are as hellish as they can get, but they never get in the way of enjoying the underlying melody behind this track. The dreamy passages (i.e around the 6:45 mark) create excellent contrast with the high paced section.

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    Chasma – Declarations of the Grand Artificer (2011)

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    Featuring members of Nanda Devil, today we have the American band called Chasma and their experimental Black Metal sounds. With a very experimental European sound, it is nice to hear that some bands in the USA are not getting stuck with the typical USBM approach to things and are crafting some very interesting releases with foreign influences.

    With three monolithic tracks each clocking on average around 10 minutes, the band creates very emotionally charged music that flows from instrumental sections to harsh-scream filled passages that will rattle your ears and soul. Mixing some Doom Metal influences with Black Metal, the band creates a less pretentious ‘Depressive Black Metal’ sound that only a handful of European bands can achieve.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Dystopia Nå! – Syklus (2011)

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    Presenting their first full-length release “Syklus”, today we have Dystopia Nå!. In this very interesting release, the band mixes influences of Doom Metal, Shoegaze and Black Metal to create a very unique and excellent sounding album. For eight tracks the band will surely grab your attention whether you like doom-ish distorted guitars, Black Metal assaults, or beautiful Shoegaze passages that will hyptonize you.

    Immediately after the mood setting (and momentum gainer) “Vemod”, the band delivers “Piller”, a very diverse song that shows a hefty amount of Doom Metal influences. After some BM assaults, the song nicely transforms around the 4 minute mark to a full-on Doom Metal tuned down guitar opus. However, just before finishing we have another BM onslaught and some very cool ‘alarm clock’ like sample allowing the listener to wake up from the hypnotic trance of this song.

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    Thrall – Vermin to the Earth (2011)

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    All the way from Australia today we have Thrall and their sophomore release “Vermin to the Earth”. Featuring seven tracks of hard hitting well-produced Black Metal, Thrall does a great job in following up their debut release “Away from the Haunts of Men”. The band plays very typical BM but with a crispier production and nice tempo changes that sometimes shake things up allowing them to not bore the listener to death.

    The guitars are very well constructed and in all tracks they nicely shine due to the excellent production. The vocals are probably the most exciting part about this album since they bring that hellish scream that singers like Attila Csihar love to deliver, and they never get to high-pitched to the point of making your ears explode. In the first two tracks (“Vermin to the Earth” and “Oblivion”) we can nicely hear the tempo changes in the songs, making them less vanilla than your average BM release.

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    Taake – Noregs Vaapen (2011)

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    As the saying goes: “if you want stuff done right, do it yourself”, Hoest delivers us the latest and finest Taake album to date: “Noregs Vaapen”. Featuring the traditional Norwegian Black Metal that we all love from the band plus a few surprises here and there, Hoest has greatly enhance the aural power of the band’s raw and aggressive sound.  Delivering waves of brutal Black Metal for over 46 minutes, Taake shows no signs of aging and continues to be one of the best Black Metal bands in the world.

    Opening with some traditional BM guitar work, “Fra Vadested Til Vaandesmed” delivers waves of BM pleasure. The brutal yet rhythmical drumming is one of the main trademarks of the old-school Norwegian BM sound, and on this track (and album) is one of the best elements. Hoest vocals are as hellish as usual and the speed-ups in this track are excellent. Keeping a similar atmosphere “Orkan” and “Nordbundet” keep the album flowing very effectively with some melodic sections that nicely blend into the brutality of this release.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Farsot – Insects (2011)

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    There are tons and tons of Black Metal bands these days, but it is very hard to find the ones that manage to deliver and original album that keeps you wanting for more. Farsot managed to achieve that with their previous release “IIII”, and now with “Insects” the band proves that they are not a one-album kind of band. Playing Black Metal with an edge of Doom and Post-Metal, “Insects” is by far one of the most interesting and different sounding albums this 2011.

    “Like Flakes of Rust” opens this release with an atmospheric section followed by heavy guitars and very desolate vocals. Here you can start noticing that while music is aggressive, there is just something that makes it different from the cookie cutter bands (like the subtle bass guitar in this track). “Empyrean” delivers a very effective atmospheric section with nicely distorted guitars and some amazing clean vocals in the same vein as Ulver and similar bands. The riffing is excellent and nicely creates a very powerful atmosphere without being completely on your face.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lantlôs – Agape (2011)

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    After releasing the impressive “.Neon” last year, Lantlôs returns with an even better release with “Agape”. In this album, Herbst basically takes apart Post-Black Metal and infuses brilliant instrumental passages and a nihilistic raw energy that creates an even more crushing and beautiful sound than ever before. While at first glance “Agape” might catch you off guard, this release is truly worth your attention to detail and how all elements weave together in a big bleak dark atmospheric could unlike anything heard before from Lantlôs.

    The opener “Intrauterin” quickly exposes some Drone-like elements with some Doom influences in its first few minutes. Very similar to Funeral Doom, this makes a very harsh and quick statement about the intensity and rawness of some of the songs to follow. The guitars are heavy and crushing, but they very effectively switch when the instrumental passage kicks in. Having some minor Post-Black metal hints to it, it feels like being pulled out of the water after almost drowning. Just before you think that the song will end quietly, there is another onslaught of harsh vocals and pummeling guitars, very nicely arranged.

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