Music — Monsters, Madness and Magic

Aegri Somnia Speculates Transhumanism in the new album Nusquam

Ethereal yet moribund drones create a tension and aura resonating throughout the whole of the album, with field recordings and mechanical and electrical sound effects injected, giving the songs a digital inflection while remaining organic.

Music, Museum of Macabre MediaDaniel EdenfieldSeptember 23, 2020Aegri Somnia, Nusquam, Cryo Chamber, music, review, soundscape, ambientComment

The Mysterious -S- Offers A Meditative Journey Through the Experience of Killing Time

The enigmatic band, -S- has crafted a compelling EP of what the band itself deems to be dark, occult funk. The title of the EP, Zabijanie Czasu, roughly translated as “The Killing of Time”, represents the first part of a planned trilogy devoted to the notion of Time.

Music, Museum of Macabre MediaGuest UserSeptember 8, 2020-S-, Zabijanie Czasu, The Killing of Time, review, metal, monsters, madness, magic, I, Voidhanger, voidhanger recordsComment

The Depths of Finality, by God Body Disconnect - A Gentle, Personal Reckoning with Mortality

Intimate and graceful, with a gentle melancholy, The Depths of Finality by God Body Disconnect shows the artist displaying his own personal transoms of mortal reckoning, while also delivering a peaceful listening journey; a much needed respite for those who enjoy relaxing ambience.

Museum of Macabre Media, MusicDaniel EdenfieldSeptember 8, 2020The Depths of Finality, God Body Disconnect, Cryo Chamber, review, soundscapeComment

Onirik's Latest Conjuration Brings Forth A Fevered Vision Of A Metaphysical Hellscape

Onirik’s 5th album, “The Fire Cult Beyond Eternity” can be best described as a feverish descent into nightmare-inducing black metal conjured forth by Onirik’s creator Gonius Rex.

Museum of Macabre Media, MusicGuest UserSeptember 8, 2020Onirik, The Fire Cult Beyond Eternity, Black Metal, IVoidhanger, Portugal, Gonius RexComment

SpellBook Pulls Pages From the Tomes of the Greats With Magick & Mischief

Formally known as Witch Hazel, SpellBook’s debut album “Magick & Mischief” delivers a much-needed infusion of brilliant classical rock and proto-metal in an anemic 2020 music landscape for such offerings.

Museum of Macabre Media, MusicGuest UserSeptember 8, 2020SpellBook, Magick & Mischief, review, heavy metal, nwothm, cruzdelsur, Cruz Del SurComment

Blazon Rite Raise Their Swords On Primal Debut EP

Blazon Rite’s 2020 EP “Dulce Bellum Inexpertis” is a welcomed addition to the NWOTHM movement that offers a unique take on the traditional metal genre while blazing its own trail as a standout in a crowded field of contenders.

Museum of Macabre Media, MusicGuest UserSeptember 7, 2020Blazon Rite, NWOTHM, heavy metal, review, metal, monsters, madness, magicComment

PROMETHEUS Delivers A Cyclopean Death Doom Opus

…a cosmic hellscape of relentlessly oppressive guitars, expansive and pummeling drums, and guttural vocals channeling the miasma of a desolate canyon in the blackest pits of an interdimensional tomb… fans of bands such as Portal and Immolation should feel right at home… Prometheus delivers wholly original soundscapes… The music is dirty, dismal, and masterfully constructed - it is the music of the Cyclopes

Museum of Macabre Media, MusicDaniel EdenfieldSeptember 4, 2020PROMETHEUS, death metal, doom metal, greece, I, VoidhangerComment

Lash Strikes Flesh in the Brilliantly Foreboding "Mortal Shell" Soundtrack from Atrium Carceri

…a decisive direction, displaying pure mastery of minimalist grandeur through sound evocation.

Museum of Macabre Media, MusicDaniel EdenfieldAugust 28, 2020Atriun Carceri, Mortal Shell, Lash, review, ambient, Cryo Chamber, monsters, madness, magicComment

Furnace Brings A Beloved, Gothic Melodeath Sound with A Lovecraftian Edge

Do you remember when you first heard Draconian Times, hearing the directions that Paradise Lost had toyed with, yet finally mustered (and mastered)? I felt that same nostalgia and whimsy when listening to Dark Vistas. Gruff vocals, chunky, driving guitars, chorused guitar interludes - you could tell me this released in the mid 90's and I would believe you.

Museum of Macabre Media, MusicDaniel EdenfieldAugust 28, 2020Furnace, Dark Vistas, review, metal, monsters, madness, magicComment

Mount Shrine and Alphaxone Deliver an Introspective Concept of Spiritual and Cerebral Inflection

Cryo Chamber's newest release gives us a joining of two colossal figures in the dark ambient scene… The songs are a journey through the dreamscape, the psyche, and the traveler’s (listener’s) imagination sets the mood…

Museum of Macabre Media, MusicDaniel EdenfieldAugust 15, 2020Cryo Chamber, Alphaxone, Mount Shrine, review, music, soundscape, ambientComment

Fledgling Dungeon Synth Project Ghulin Mines Classic Tones On "Otherneath"

The vaults are opening again. Wrought Records is coming back with an artisan batch of freshly forged releases and I’ve had the pleasure of early access to one of these shining gems. Midwestern newcomer Ghulin will be releasing their debut release Otherneath on cassette and digital August 22nd.

Tineidae's Debut "Exo" is a Mural of Celestial Master Strokes and Dark, Galactic Wonder

The textures of sound carry the narrative of this masterwork perfectly through an aural escort. This is the ambiance of cosmic horror, and dark, galactic wonder; of hard sci-fi and political intrigue over the backdrop of space.

Medhelan's "Nocturnal Wanderings" Offers a Solitary Trip To The Space Between Worlds

“What we can see is just a small part of reality... there's a whole invisible world existing along with our 'real' world, and there are places where the fine line between them becomes blurred until it dissolves.”

Phonothek Propels Along A Dread River of Textured Ambiance in the Newest Album 'Styx'

“...dark and atonal atmospheric journey... by following the river that flows between two worlds, all the memories, the fragments of life melts away…”

Museum of Macabre Media, MusicDaniel EdenfieldJuly 19, 2020Phonothek, Styx, Cryo Chamber, ambient, dark ambient, reviews, review, music, monsters, madness, magicComment

Guild Of Lore Strikes A Vein Of Terror On The Skin Witch Soundtrack

Put your ear to the ground and you’re likely to hear a wind whistle, carrying chants and incantations whispered by lantern-light. Somewhere deep below a presence is lurking, stalking long-forgotten tunnels, and trailing claws along walls of carved rock. A creator in Columbus, Ohio had a story to tell of vile things that dwell in forgotten mines where men once toiled, but they needed the sonic atmosphere to seal their folk-horror package. So they turned to one of the most proficient producers in the Dungeon Synth scene: Guild of Lore.

Harken to the Haunting Harmonies of Harrow's Peak in The Night Keep's 'Vindemia'

Since the release of the inaugural incantation that is A Tale of Shadows in September of 2013, award-winning production company The Night Keep has hexed haunt and horror fans alike with immersive, arcane-infused audio dramas bound by passionately crafted, sinister scores that are second to none. Vindemia, the latest album from the connoisseurs of the crypt, was released last October and joins Shade of Night, Ex Tenebris, Heretica, and In Musicka as an instant masterpiece of the macabre. I encourage you to stoke the fire, pour yourself a fine vintage, close your eyes, and sip at your leisure as your soul drifts to the sea-side port town of Harrow’s Peak. Do enjoy your stay.

Dronny Darko and ProtoU Offer Another Meditative, Organic Hymnal of Excellence

There is no agenda with this piece, no exacting compulsion to hammer a point; rather, this is a relaxing, meditative hymn of inflection, allowing the listener to turn inward. A definite must-have for those seeking a relaxing musical escape.

Finnish Underground Stalwarts FÖRGJORD Return with an Ode of Black Metal Intensity

Finnish 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.

MusicDaniel EdenfieldJune 22, 2020black metal, black metal reviews, FORGJORD, reviews, music, monsters, madness, magic, monsters madness and magicComment

The IXth Key Unlocks "Rusty Chainmail" On Wrought Records

It’s that time again, friends. Check your inventory, equip yourself well, and come into the dungeon with me. Wrought Records has once again put a key into my hand and bid me a safe journey. So, let's light our torches and see what the IXth Key will unlock on June 29th.

Crawl Before The Crypts of the Undead as Serpentis Commands Withered Flesh To Arise

Withered 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.