Lokasenna

Mo’ynoq – Dreaming in a Dead Language Review

Mo’ynoq – Dreaming in a Dead Language Review

By Lokasenna on January 10, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Black Metal, 75 comments

“Mo’ynoq, Uzbekistan is a former fishing capital and trade hub now lain low. Once a place of bounty, the decline and poisoning of the Aral Sea by the agricultural practices of the Soviet Union have left it dying husk, its few remaining inhabitants stricken with cancer and illness even as they scratch out a living from their drying, dusty coastline. It is from this place that North Carolina’s Mo’ynoq borrow their nom de guerre. However, such an evocative (if obscure in the United States of 2019) moniker all but mandates high standards.” Dead seas.

Gorycz – Piach Review

Gorycz – Piach Review

By Lokasenna on December 1, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Pagan Records, Polish Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 15 comments

“There are certain things that will always warm a music reviewer’s cold, dead heart. Poland’s Gorycz, for example, made a good impression on me immediately, as I opened the promo to an actual lyric sheet. Granted, that wasn’t much help with reviewing their debut, Piach, as my knowledge of Polish goes only a little further than “kurwa,” but it’s the thought that counts. The band choosing to write in their mother tongue was, in fact, only another point in their favor for a multiculturalism-loving cuck like myself.” First impressions matter.

Eisregen – Fegefeuer Review

Eisregen – Fegefeuer Review

By Lokasenna on November 4, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, German Metal, Massacre Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 19 comments

“The metal underground has many virtues: ingenuity, a give-no-fucks attitude, and in many cases listener loyalty. How else does one explain a band like Eisregen, who have cranked out album after album over a twenty-year career, while still clinging tightly to the shadows? Fegefeuer marks these Germans’ thirteen release, one shrouded in mystery, teased as it was with a simple ‘Satan loves you.'”

Dark Ocean Society – Hymns for the Last Man Review

Dark Ocean Society – Hymns for the Last Man Review

By Lokasenna on November 3, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Stoner Metal, Progressive Metal, Stoner Metal, 28 comments

“As a metalhead, I always feel way behind on doom metal and its various offspring genres. It was the last genre I discovered, and further the last one I gained a bone-deep understanding of. Imagine my surprise to find an untouched, independent stoner prog album sitting in the promo bin. Chicagoan band Dark Ocean Society is one of those projects—one-man, home recorded, totally independent; it is the brainchild of one C.M. Tedor. You know, the kind of project you’d expect to spit out a shitty black metal record. Instead, we have Hymns for the Last Man, a piece on alienation and the pain of life in the modern era.” One Hymn, some waiting.

Into Eternity – The Sirens Review

Into Eternity – The Sirens Review

By Lokasenna on October 24, 2018 in 2018, Canadian Metal, M-Theory Audio, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 88 comments

“Well, this is a band I didn’t expect to see again; I actually didn’t recognize the name until several listens in, having gotten properly into metal after their mid-2000s heyday. These days, Into Eternity are possibly best known as the band from which Iced Earth poached their fifth and current vocalist Stu Block. However, they were always a force to be reckoned with and now they’re back with a vengeance after a decade since their last opus, The Incurable Tragedy.” Sing us a song, you’re a siren.

Eadem – Luguber Review

Eadem – Luguber Review

By Lokasenna on October 21, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Dutch Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Reviews, Black Metal, 27 comments

“There are phrases one never expects to encounter, phrases that raise more questions than they could answer on their own. One such phrase is “free jam black metal.” It raises such pressing questions as “why,” “who,” “how does such a thing come about,” and, of course, “…why?” The Netherlands’ Eadem offers no explanations, only their art.” Art for art’s sake.

Once – After Earth Review

Once – After Earth Review

By Lokasenna on October 16, 2018 in 2018, German Metal, Pride & Joy Music, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, Symphonic Metal, 77 comments

“There are few things that break my heart quite like seeing people with passion give their all to something and fail anyway. It’s inevitable in many cases, and often funny (darkly or otherwise), but something about it tugs at the heartstrings. Apropos of nothing let’s discuss Once, a German band named, presumably, for the Nightwish album you just thought of. Having toiled in the underground for a half-decade, Once are finally here with a debut album, After Earth. How does it stack up against the glut of material in their chosen milieu of symphonic power metal?” Once is enough.

Ethernity – The Human Race Extinction Review

Ethernity – The Human Race Extinction Review

By Lokasenna on September 18, 2018 in 2018, AFM Records, Belgian Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 79 comments

“I have a love-hate relationship with progressive metal, particularly power prog. Several of my all-time favorite acts are prog as fuck, or at least dip their toe in those waters. However, not many musicians know how to actually write progressively, bloating the scene with bland mediocrity. This is true of most music of course, but it’s particularly heartbreaking to see in genres with so much potential. So where do Ethernity, our new Belgian acquaintances, fit into this?” Prog extinction.