“Hmmm… a Greek black metal band that sounds like Marduk, Gorgoroth, and Ofermod? Yeah, that oughta work. And this year’s Death Clan OD is only their third release. Well, this should be easy enough. *Five minutes into 2012’s Seeing Through the Shadow Consciousness (Open Up the Shells)* What in the hell was that?! *Five seconds into the 2015 follow-up, Erotomysticism* What in the fucking fuck?! So much for an easy, middle-of-the-road black metal release.” Clan wars.
“Name another site out there with writers hiding behind silly monikers whom you know better than your best friends. Name a site you dared to lean on, pouring your heart out in the comments, getting positive and uplifting responses when you needed them most. Name a site you’ve spent as much time debating, loving, and sharing music as you have on AMG. You can’t.” Truth telling.
![Nocturnal Departure – Cathartic Black Rituals [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Noctural-Departure-Cathartic-Black-Rituals-01.jpg)
“With a purple, black, and white/grey color scheme, Cathartic Black Rituals immediately calls Mayhem’s Live in Leipzig—metal’s best live record—to mind. It screams second wave black metal, and as a fan of that little niche I heeded the call.” Running into the Nocturnal.
“Like Marduk, a fair comparison in sound and style, Ragnarok continues their reign of destruction upon the shoulders of a founding member. From the debut record, Nattferd, to 2012’s Malediction, Jontho has been the mastermind behind the band, as well as their sole drummer. A role he greatly succeeded at, as he is one of my favorites in the genre. Then in 2016, with the release of Psychopathology, he slithered out from behind the drums to lend his voice to the band. The jury’s still out debating if this was the best move for the band, considering that one of the best drummers in the field is no longer drumming. So, let’s bring them back in and see what the verdict is.” Personnel follies.
“Five years ago, Grier became more than a twinkle in AngryMetalGuy.com’s eye. Forever after, AMG was subject to the King of Clickbait. And, since then, you poor bastards have had to read the sometimes depressing, sometimes passionate, sometimes right and sometimes wrong moments of my career. In these early days of the Coming of Grier, there arose such an album that it still finds regular rotation for this ole Dok Tor. First, for its content—old-school, Scandinavian black metal. Second, for resurrecting a master of the black metal arts—Aldrahn. I loved The Deathtrip’s Deep Drone Master and still love it today. Not for its originality but, rather, for its commitment and flawless execution of ’90s Norwegian black metal. It wasn’t until I heard it that I realized how much I missed Aldrahn’s voice. But, Aldrahn has vanished once again. In his place stands Kvohst (ex-Code, ex-Void, and ex-Dødheimsgard).” Musical chairs and deathtrips.
“When’s the last time you heard a new “traditional” black metal album? These days it feels like every new black metal release is either symphonic, melodic, dissonant, atmospheric, post, or some variation thereof. What happened to the good old days of blast beats, tremolo riffs, and Satan worshippin’? That’s exactly what Norway’s Eternity seem to be asking with sophomore album To Become the Great Beast.” Beast or famine.
“Abbath needs no introduction, but Outstrider does. In the three years after his well-received eponymous solo debut dropped, Abbath has replaced his entire band and recorded a new record, which comes to us in the form of Outstrider. Predictably, this does little but change the window dressing of the record, as Abbath dominates the proceedings here as before, both visually and musically. Outstrider feels even more like an Abbath record than Abbath did. Abbath!
“Kristian Eivind Espedal, aka Gaahl, is a controversial yet prolific figurehead in the Norwegian black metal scene. His work with Gorgoroth, Trelldom, God Seed, and Wardruna showcases how influential and varied his vocal abilities truly are. Of course, felony charges for assault, receiving death threats for coming out as openly gay in 2008, giving eccentric interviews involving the dramatic uttering of one word, and teaming up with former Gorgoroth bandmate King ov Hell in a failed attempt to wrestle the name away from guitarist and sole remaining founding member Infernus in 2007 all have a tendency to overshadow any and all of your accomplishments, no matter how powerful. With all that in mind, we are now in possession of GastiR – Ghosts Invited, the debut full-length from Gaahl’s newest project, Gaahls WYRD.” Satan…is in the details
“Though everything SME has released is solid, III brought with it a new vocalist and direction. Building atmospheres now reign supreme over the band’s early days of traditional black metal. The result, as I mentioned in my III review, was something spontaneous, borrowing from a variety of black and death metal influences. Though III concluded the trilogy, there’s still loads of fun to be had on Hologram Temple.” Diversity stings.
“‘You guys remember Istapp?’ asked the Head Honcho Himself, as he shared the news of an upcoming release. Not to mention “I väntan på den absoluta nollpunkten,” from debut record Blekinge. A song from a record as novel as any the black/folk/Viking metal world has ever known. So much so that you’d guess these Swedes have been around since the beginning of time. Perhaps as a black metal outfit that morphed into a melodic, folky one? Or a group that invented the subgenre, releasing their first album before the almighty Bathory and his Viking trilogy? But, it turns out, the untouchable Blekinge is shy of only nine years of age.” Star power.
