Dark Metal

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    Kuolemanlaakso - M. Laakso - Vol. 1: The Gothic Tapes (2016)

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    Hailing from Finland, today we have a very strange and totally awesome release from Kuolemanlaakso. Departing away from their typical Death/Doom influences, this release is Markus Laakso’s brainchild, allowing it to be weirder and less straightforward. While not the typical release for this band, this release delivers eight very unique tracks that showcase a different creative side from some of the band members.

    Opening with the gloomy “Children of the Night”, we instantly hear the difference when it comes to tempo and atmosphere. Laakso’s vocals are quite good for the genre, making the tracks quite mysterious while having the authentic deep Gothic Rock/Metal sound. With the catchy and somewhat “Rolls the Dice with the Devil” and “Where the River Runs Red” following up next, the band manages to sound like a mixture of bands like The Vision Bleak, Type O Negative and even some hints of H.I.M… all in a very good way.

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    Secrets of the Moon – Sun (2015)

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    As one of the most unique and compelling bands in the scene, Secrets of the Moon returns to further evolve their musical craft with “Sun”. Further moving away from their Doomy Black Metal days, the band manages to spill into Dark Metal territories with seven sinister tracks. The band’s signature atmosphere and tension is always present, but the mood shift is quite evident as the deliver song after song of magical musical darkness.

    Opening with the more ‘typical’ “No More Colours”, the band continues their older style with very dense distorted guitars and a very aggressive vocals/drumming combination. However, there is an evident change in their sound as this track feels darker and more sinister than normal. sG’s clean vocals are remind us of a mixture of Decoryah’s Jukka Vuorinen and Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman, allowing tracks like “Dirty Black” to works perfectly with a less distorted and aggressive stance.

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    Deathwhite – Solitary Martyr (2015)

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    Hailing from the USA today we have a very melancholic band named Deathwhite. Delivering their second EP, “Solitary Martyr”, the band perfectly captures the late 90’s Katatonia / Anathema vibe and presents us with five dark and atmospheric songs. With a heavy and yet very depressive sound, this is one of those short releases that you will be stuck listening to for weeks.

    Opening with the very dramatic “Pressure”, we are instantly transported to the year Katatonia’s “Discouraged ones” was released and that certain melancholic atmosphere that many albums had those days. The band’s music is quite well crafted greatly complementing a very heartfelt vocal performance. Not all songs are only mellow and the heavy opening of “Suffer Abandonment” is a great reminder of that. This track even features some excellent Doom Metal riffs thrown into the mix.

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    Cold Cell – Lowlife (2015)

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    With a certain familiarity to old-school Bethlehem, today we have Swiss outfit Cold Cell and their powerful sophomore release “Lowlife”. Featuring a very dark and sinister sound that mixes Black Metal elements with more restrained melodic passages and some sprinkles of ambient elements, this release is quite obscure and enjoyable. Clocking in at 53 minutes, this is one release that breaks the mold and nicely sets itself apart from your cookie-cutter BM albums.

    Opening with a atmospheric intro, the band’s sinister sound first creeps on you with the Black’n’roll-ish opening of “Lifestyle Lunacy”. In this very moody track we get to hear the band’s full aural spectrum with a very rich and diverse piece. Other tracks feature brilliant melodic/atmospheric passages like “Scum Eradication” and “Dogma”. With the individual named S providing the vocals, we are reminded of the deranged style of Rainer Landfermann in Bethlehem’s “Dictius Te Necare”, but with enough restraint and focus to not draw all the attention to them.

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    Moonspell – Extinct (2015)

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    Portugal’s greatest extreme music export Moonspell returns this 2015 with yet another very solid release that is quite diverse and engaging. Never compromising, “Extinct” shows yet another face of this outfit and delivers ten tracks of catchy Gothic/Dark Metal that is always perfectly led by Fernando Ribeiro’s extremely characteristic vocals. In a release that is sure to catch a few people off-guard, the band comes out triumphantly with a fresh an entertaining 45 minutes of music.

    Opening with the perfectly arranged “Breath (Until We Are No More)”, the band introduces some very dramatic middle-eastern influenced orchestrations and creates a very unique atmosphere in this opening track. As we progress to “Extinct” and “Medusalem”, we notice that there is a heavier emphasis on the orchestral/classical arrangements and that while the guitars are heavy, they mostly complement a very Gothic/Dark Metal structure to things. A particular thing to note is the killer solo in “Medusalem” that is nicely wrapped in other arrangements making them sound a bit like Orphaned Land for a moment.

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    Empyrium – The Turn of the Tides (2014)

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    Having waited for more than 10 years for a new Empyrium release, the arrival of this release was the highlight of our month. With “The Turn of the Tides”, Ulf Theodor Schwadorf and Thomas Helm return with a release that combines all elements from Empyrium’s past in a very fresh and masterful way. Featuring seven tracks of majestic atmospheric music, the band surpasses all the expectations and once again, sets the bar higher.

    The release opens with the ray of light called “Saviour”. In this track the somber piano opening perfectly sets the mood for this majestic release. As the atmospheric elements keep unveiling parallel to Helm’s vocals, the full Empyrium experience begins. The release continues with the already unveiled “Dead Winter Ways”, a majestic track that is both bleak and dramatic. Featuring distorted guitars, this is a first in a few releases for Empyrium.

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    Ewigheim – Nachruf (2013)

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    With an all-star line-up of musicians, led by Konstanz (The Vision Bleak), today we have Ewigheim and their fourth full-length “Nachruf”. Featuring 11 tracks of very diverse music, this band further expands their sound into very interesting and diverse territories like Dark and Doom Metal. With the help of Markus Stock (Empyrium), Yanit (Eisregen), and West, this band delivers one of the most unique and rich musical experiences of 2013.

    Opening with the (old) Empyrium-esque “Zwischen Menschen”, the band immediately makes a powerful impression with powerful guitars, melancholic vocals, and killer atmospheric keyboards. Things get a bit funkier with the Gothic “Die Augen Zu” that sounds a lot more catchy and inventive with cool electronic elements. The rollercoaster continues returning to darker and mellower territories with the solemn “Am Meer”, followed by the Lacrimosa-meets-Eisregen “Heimweh” and the more traditional Gothic “Ein Nachruf”.

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    Eisregen – Todestage (2013)

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    Eisregen has always been one of our ‘guilty’ pleasures band since their amazing (and controversial) “Krebskolonie” album. With “Todestage” the band delivers almost every single element that we loved from that album, but with a cleaner production and a great deal of more maturity in their sound. Presenting 12 tracks of their deranged brand of Death Metal, this release has everything a fan of the band could expect and more.

    Opening with the creepy “Waldgott”, the band immediately sets the mood for a sick release with tense atmospheric elements and the band’s sickening brand of Metal. The album continues in a ‘festive’ way with melodic and catchy tracks like “Todestag”, “DSDSL”, and “Hollenfahrt”. However, do not think that the band is only up to theatrics and antics, there are fine pieces of harsh and pummeling Metal filled with punishing riffs and powerful drumming.

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    Freitod – Regenjahre (2012)

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    Delivering a very interesting combination of Black Metal with some Gothic/Dark Metal elements, today we have Germany’s Freitod and their sophomore release “Regenjahre”. This journey through seven tracks and 52 minutes of brilliantly crafted music is a very unique one since the band keeps a perfect balance between harsh and aggressive Black Metal brush strokes and highly melancholic overtones creating a lush Post-Black Metal experience.

    The album start with the title track and the band immediately sets the mood with excellent guitar work and a very catchy pace. The melodic aspect of Freitod is excellent and on tracks like this one they use it perfectly. Combining crushing harsh vocals with dreamy Gothic Metal/Rock clean vocal sections the band creates a very unique and melancholic atmosphere. The band further uses these tools to contrast the brutality of their Black Metal roots with their lush melancholic side, and tracks like “Der Traumsturm” and “Neue Wege” are clear examples of this.

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    Nachtblut – Dogma (2012)

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    Being suckers for sappy Black Metal with high levels of keyboards and catchy melodies, we are pretty delighted to have found Nachtblut’s latest release “Dogma” in our review queue. Hailing from Germany, this band plays a more dramatic and industrial version of Siebenbürgen’s, Graveworms’s and Agathodaimon’s dabbles in the realm of Symphonic Black Metal. Nachtblut managed to keep our attentions on their music for the 50 minutes this release lasted... every single time we played it.

    The album title track “Dogma” quickly sneaks up on the listener with powerful guitar riffs, hellish vocals and very cool keyboards. There is nothing complex about this song, but the rather simple and direct approach of the track makes it very engaging. The band keeps building on their sound on “Der Weg Ist Das Ziel”, where they add more double-kick sections and a more dramatic synth orchestration background. The same applies to the circus-like “Ich Trinke Blut”.

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