Season Of Mist

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    Rotting Christ - 35 Years of Evil Existence - Live in Lycabettus (2025)

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    Celebrating their 35 years of existence, Rotting Christ is unleashing a 25-track live release of their show in Lycabettus. If you have never seen the band live, the Tolis duo (and live musicians) always deliver a raw and powerful hypnotic experience that is very hard to describe. Luckily for all, this release brilliantly captures that energy and showcases the band’s very diverse and constantly evolving musical style with most of their popular songs.

    Not banking on having an overproduced release, but rather a more organic and direct approach, this live release showcases the band’s crowd interaction and live antics that brings songs to life in slightly different versions (to the studio ones), as one can hear on “Sorrowful Farewell”, “Dies Irae”, and “Shadows Follow”, some of our personal favorite tracks. However, all those sick riffs and melodic passages are always there, and we can’t help ourselves from starting to headbang here and there.

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    Saor - Amidst the Ruins (2025)

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    Unleashing their best album to date, today we have Saor and their sixt full-length release “Amidst the Ruins”. Featuring nearly one hour of lush and high-octane Atmospheric Folk/Black Metal, this release delivers five majestic tracks filled with dynamic tempo changes and dreamy melodic arrangements. With each track over 8 minutes long, and most over 11 minutes in duration, this release shows a band perfectly growing into their element while incorporating more elegant elements into the mix.

    Opening with the lavish title track, Andy Marshall fiercely delivers blistering riffing and drumming that temporarily subsides for more folky and atmospheric passages. The track expertly grows into melancholic passages filled with dreamy traditional wind and string instruments. Real instruments give this release a very organic vibe as tracks like the opener and “Echos of the Ancient Land” incorporate dramatic string instruments into very harsh guitar driven melodies, and highly melancholic slower passages.

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    Thy Catafalque - XII: A gyönyörü álmok ezután jönnek (2024)

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    Always pushing the envelope and creating some truly unique releases, Tamás Kátai’s Thy Catafalque returns with their latest opus “XII: A gyönyörü álmok ezután jönnek”. Featuring eleven tracks and over 50 minutes of very diverse and dynamic music, this release is truly an Avant-garde music lover paradise. With each track, the album explores a wide palette of sounds ranging from crafty folky elements to traditional Death/Black Metal, to more atmospheric and explorative pieces.

    The release opens with the playful and dreamy “Piros kocsi, fekete éj”, which features live vocalist Martina Horváth alongside Attila Bakos, creating a dynamic and yet somewhat folky vibe. Shifting gears into heavier territories, “Mindenevö” delivers powerful guitars and harsh vocals, providing a nice contrast to the first track while keeping the band’s dynamic sound thanks to lush choir arrangements. This playfulness and exploratory nature continues as “Vasgyár” delivers more heaviness with some weirdness, “Világnak világa” keeps things atmospheric, and “Nyárfa, nyírfa” unravels that Folky catchiness that the band always exploits.

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    Gaerea - Coma (2024)

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    Unleashing the most cathartic and crushing release of 2024, today we have Gaerea and their latest opus “Coma”. Constantly rising through the ranks in the scene, over the last few years their sound has gotten sharper and yet has a visceral rawness that very few bands can achieve. With this release, the band sets an impossibly high standard through ten tracks and over 50 minutes of devastating music. If you thought their previous release was impressive, this one blows it out of the water.

    Opening with the fierce “The Poet’s Ballet”, we get a very moody piece that starts in a very fragile and dreamy state and it masterfully transitions to blasting drums, intricate guitar work and powerful vocals. The band’s ability to create piercing riffs and masterful tempo changes makes songs like “Hope Shatters”, “Suspended” and “World Ablaze” be cathartic experiences with just the right amount of melody and melancholy thrown into a very crushing package.

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    1394 - The Wolf and the King (2024)

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    Feeling like getting hit by a bag of bricks to the face? Well, that is exactly how “The Wolkf and the King” feels thanks to its incisive rawness and pummeling aggression. 1349 returns after five years with their best release to date. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 40 minutes of music, this release reminds the listener that Black Metal is powerful and visceral, as the band keeps their sound raw and crushing while still delivering tons of stylistic and technical nuances. If you like uncompromising and pummeling music, this is the release for you.

    Opening with the crushing “The God Devourer”, we get massive drums, courtesy of none other than Frost (Satyricon), and Ravn’s signature fierce snarl. The riffing immediately fills the air with piercing precision and the throbbing bass guitar line masterfully adds to the mix. The band’s sound is raw and piercing, with pieces like “Ash of Ages”, “Shadow Point”, and “Inferior Pathways” always focusing on brutality amongst crafty tempo changes and interesting rhythms that quickly make the band stand out.

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    Oceans of Slumber - Where Gods Fear to Speak (2024)

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    Constantly improving with each release, Oceans of Slumber continue their storied career with the masterful “Where Gods Fear to Speak”. This release perfectly showcases the band’s unique style with Progressive Metal/Rock elements paired with the soulful vocals of Cammie Gilbert. Clocking in at over 50 minutes, the ten tracks in this release showcase the different facets of the band’s wide ranging influences, from Death/Black Metal to more playful and experimental styles.

    Opening with the album title track, we get a solid mixture of sultry female vocals, crafty drumming, and diverse tempos. The opener even features some hectic and heavy passages with harsh vocals and intense drumming. The heaviness continues with “Run from the Light” and ““Don’t Come Back from Hell Empty Handed”” with their hypnotic interludes alongside faster paced proggy sections. The drumming of Dobber Beverly is quite diverse, changing tempos very effectively to intricately make transitions during songs.

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    Vestige - Janis (2024)

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    Just when you think you have heard it all, a band like Vestige drops a release like “Janis”. Creating a very unique amalgamation of Post-Metal, Shoegaze, Alternative Metal and a hefty dose of melancholy, this release delivers nearly one hour of captivating music. With influences from bands like Alcest, SOM, Mountaineer, Cult of Luna, Deafheaven, just to name a few, this release is full of emotional swings and dreamy interludes that will captivate any fan of unique and atmospheric music.

    Setting a playful and engaging mood, “Différent” nicely leads into the dream-like opener of “Deviens la Nuit”, which quickly brings crushing riffs alongside dreamy vocals giving that Mountaineer meets Cult of Luna vibe as the harsh vocals come in. A good dosage of Alcest-like shoegaziness comes front and center with “Démence de l' me” and “Océan”, further cementing a very ethereal atmosphere alongside dramatic tempo changes.

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    Gravenoire - Devant la porte des étoiles (2024)

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    Unleashing an extreme level of grimness and rawness, today we have France’s Gravenoire and their debut EP “Devant la porte des étoiles”. Trying to bring some of that 90’s Black Metal spirit, this relatively new outfit, featuring members (and ex-members) of bands like BA’A, Anorexia Nervosa, Seth and Diablation, delivers some of the most stripped down and yet intense BM music in the last few years. If you are a fan of uncompromising Black Metal removed from commercial gimmicks and current trendiness, this is the release for you.

    Setting a regal mood with “Pavens”, the band really lashes out at the listener with the piercing “France de l'Ombre” featuring crafty drumming, intense riffing and the signature vocals of RMS Hreidmarr, perfectly augmented by Vicomte Vampyr Arkames equal rawness and sheer aggression. Besides the dual vocal onslaught, the music has that old-school rawness thanks to a lo-fi production, said to be recorded in a live rehearsal, which delivers a very organic and natural incisive edge to the music as tracks like "Ordo Opera Cultura” and “Aux Chiens” demonstrate.

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    Seth - La France des maudits (2024)

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    Unleashing an early candidate for Black Metal album of the year, today we have Seth and their engaging Symphonic/Melodic BM style delivering eight tracks and over 46 minutes of highly immersive crushing music. Riding the momentum of the brilliant “La morsure du Christ”, the band wasted almost no time in unraveling their latest opus, filled with extreme craftiness and a swift dose of brutality alongside lush atmospherics.

    Setting a very hectic and riveting tone with the opener “Paris des Maléfices”, the band quickly unleashes their fury with pummeling drumming, incisive riffing and the hellish vocals of Saint Vincent. The band’s current line-up is probably the best they ever had, as tracks like “Et que vive le diable !”, “La destruction des reliques”, and “Dans le cœur un poignard” perfectly blend melody with aggression and crafty atmospherics creating a fine aural assault.

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    Eivør - Enn (2024)

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    Hailing from the Faroe Islands, today we have Eivør with her major label debut “Enn”, released under Season of Mist. Featuring a very dreamy and upbeat sound, this release delivers eight tracks and over 40 minutes of highly addictive music. While not the usual stuff we review, there is a certain magic to Eivør’s ethereal vocals and style that we got hooked on, and hence reviewing for you.

    Setting a very dreamy vibe, the opening track “Ein Klóta” unleashes waves of hypnotic electronics and sweet angelic vocals. With “Jadartra” we get a nice droney melody with a mysterious edge, reminding us a bit of Kari Rueslåtten’s “Pilot” days. Just like something out of an Eurovision contest, “Hugsi Bert Um Teg” is a catchy track that quickly grabs your attention thanks to the masterfully crafted beat and dreamy electronics.

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