All it really takes is firing up your music-playing program of choice to realize that DarkThrone have been on an absolute tear over the past few years. Old Star released in 2019, and it was only last year that I was reviewing Eternal Hails, which is why I was pleasantly surprised when I was given the opportunity to review their latest effort, Astral Fortress.
Read MoreIf an album’s title can be interpreted as a statement of artistic intent, then the confidence Watain have in this one is completely undeniable. The band themselves are setting this album up to be compared to the already ridiculously high watermark set by the trinity of Casus Luciferi, Sworn to the Dark and Lawless Darkness. I’m here to tell you that said confidence wasn’t even remotely unwarranted.
Read MoreEveryone’s favorite Norwegian politician/postal service employee, Gylve “Fenriz” Nagell, and his ever-silent, ever-watchful supplier of friendship and dark money, Ted “Nocturno Culto” Skjellum, have managed to find time out of their busy schedules of campaigning, letter sorting and fundraising to grace our ears with another album from their little-known side project, DarkThrone.
Read MoreIt is with a slow, methodical march to which this album propels - a purposeful dolorum of chilling winds and ambience carried on the back of the gargantuan doom metal beast…
Read MoreThe music is somber, introspective, still evocative of a “Great Beyond” from previous Mare Cognitum albums, yet there is an urgency to these compositions, a moribund tether that continues to guide the listener forward.
Read MoreIf you happened to miss the inaugural incantation woven by the staff and steel of Erythrite Throne and Seregost, A Sacrilegious Ritual Upon Once Holy Ground, the diabolical duo have returned and arrived at the Gates of the Obsidian Kingdom
Read MoreFinnish underground stalwarts, FÖRGJORD return to the fore with their latest exhortation into black metal miasma - Laulu Kuolemasta. A well-kept secret from Finland, the band is not quiet on their musical offerings, rather, delivering a high intensity, thoughtful evocation of raw, yet cogent black metal. Raw, bleeding, and with plenty of cadences to keep the rhythms moving forward, the production on Laulu Kuolemasta is laceratingly chilly, tinged with bitterness, and sung in native Finnish tongue.
Read MoreWithered Flesh Arise is the latest ritualistic offering from the altar of Obsidian Relic Records. The Lords of Seregost call forth from the crypt— Serpentis! To begin this crawl into the cemetery, the listener is beckoned beyond by the haunting haze, the chilling calm before the sacrilegious storm that is Walking Among Corpses. The wrought iron gates whisper their tale on the wind. The cold kiss of the grave festers a certain fear. The fear of familiarity. Your wishes for revulsion are replaced by a righteous reverie for the rot. You’re unnerved by your very nature as your toes cling to the touch of the damp soil. Longing to dance with the lich, you proceed to the Crypts of the Undead.
Read MoreOne of Finland's best-kept secrets, Morketida return with a mini-album offering, Traveler of the Untouched Void. The Finnish emissaries of blackened mysticism return in full force with a blistering quadripartite compendium of blackened blasts clocking in at twenty-two minutes in total length, and is a dichotomy of almost whimsical allure at times, but quickly dissolves into furious flurries of (un)righteous, angry guitar sawing and drum pulses, carried by the sickening guttural croaks of the vocals.
These four tracks contain more depth and form than many full-length albums, while also taking time to explore sonic departures with seemingly hypnotic rhythms; rhythms that seem to meander, however merely act as a lure - a way to lull the listener into a false sense of calm, for no sooner has the ear become accustomed to the whimsical trot than the rhythm drives head first into comfortable, chilling, black metal.
Read MoreIf you’re a fan of modern dungeon synth then you likely know both Erythrite Throne and Seregost. Over the past couple of years, they’ve released consistently strong content with original voices that rise above the rest. They both wowed with amazing sets at Northeast Dungeon Siege MMXX this year. Now, they’ve joined forces for a split release that keeps the legacy of underground camaraderie alive. Obsidian Relic Records is set to release A Sacrilegious Ritual Upon Once Holy Ground on May 1st.
Read MoreConceived, and performed by sole member Heolstor (Mystagos) with help from guest female vocalist, Maya, "Through Doors of Midnight" is a ritualistic centerpiece of artistic endeavor; seven hymns of invocation and introspective spellweaving, and an evocation of sound design and aesthetic presentation. Combine this with a delicate mix (provided by Simón Alvar (The Empty Hall Studios) and artwork by Orryelle Defenestrate-Bascule, and it is a demonstration of artistic poise and purpose.
Read MoreNot content to rest upon their thorny bed of thrash-laden black metal, Avslut return with their second offering, Tyranni.
I first discovered Avslut by accident last year while perusing black metal tags for some gym music, and was immediately enamored with this band's delivery of tight, thrashy black metal in their album, Deceptis. Not content to rest on their laurels, Swedish metal outfit Avslut return with yet another black metal offering, tightening their visceral assault into an even sharper musical design.
Read MoreThe debut album of Finland’s Bythos, The Womb of Zero, featuring current and former members of Behexen, Sargeist and Horna is set to be unleashed on April 24th via Terratur Possessions.
Today, however, the band revealed the new track, Omega Dragon, on the Official Black Metal Promotions YouTube Channel and it definitely stands shoulder to shoulder with all the legends of Finnish Black Metal. Take a listen:
I haven’t listened to as much music this year as I probably should have. That being said, there are definitely a few albums that stood out among my (admittedly limited) listening this year. With that out of the way, here are my top five Metal albums of 2019 in no particular order. If you see something you like, make sure to support the bands by visiting the links provided.
Read MoreHave you ever wondered what a Black Metal album written by two direct-descendants of one of the leading judges in the Salem Witch Trials would sound like? Well, wonder no more, because Ceremonial Castings’ Salem 1692 is the album you’ve been looking for and it’s every bit as relentless and uncompromising as John Hathorne himself.
Read More