“Formed in 2006 by guitarist Sykelig, the band has previously featured members from Shining, Gehenna and Dødheimsgard. Unfortunately, most of these folks have gone, raising the question about whether Den Saakaldte still qualifies as a “super group” anymore. There’s one way to shut up the doubters and that’s to release a killer album.” Kill or be filler.
“Shining have a carefully calibrated reputation as one of the saddest bands in history. A single spin of the renowned V: Halmstad is enough to know that it’s a reputation well earned. Oppressive, dark and full of despair— it’s rightfully considered a seminal depressive suicidal black metal record. The band’s record since then has been spotty, however. Incorporating more acoustics and clean vocals brought variety but did not increase the gut punch the band was known for. Attempts at re-aligning the band’s direction were made and unmade, naming traditions were dropped and picked up again, and the misanthropic flame started to sputter.” The definitive Shining?
“An existence spanning over twenty years in the Japanese underground brings an unsurprisingly bleak atmosphere to Kokyou De Shinu Otoko. From the grim blackness of the cover art to the translation of the title—roughly A Man Dies in His Hometown—Seek doesn’t bring even the smallest shred of happiness to the table.” Hometowns kill.
Dr. A.N. Grier delivers the goods with a Top Ten(ish) of 2021 to shock and awe the unwashed masses. Experience it.
“While many a reviewer despises grabbing black metal promos stuck in the ’90s, I love it. For nothing else, it gives me an itch for my favorites. Sometimes I won’t even finish the new promo before I abandon it for the road down memory lane. I always start with Darkthrone—sometimes Transylvanian Hunger, other times it’s Hate Them. Then it’s Mayhem’s De Mysterii Dom Sathanas and Wolf’s Lair Abyss. From there, it’s Gorgoroth, Immortal, Funeral Mist, and Horna. Before I know it, the review is past due and the album is already on the shelves.” Lateness and decadence.
“Like Mephorash, Decline of the I relies on key atmospheres, orchestration, and beautiful female choirs. The main difference here is that Decline of the I is French. Meaning that you can expect some weird-ass shit on their albums. With a new lineup to support founding member A.K., let’s explore Johannes.” The Decline of Western Civil-I.
“Calyces’ mastermind is singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/producer Manthos Stergiou, late of Tardive Dyskinesia. This time around, Stergiou and his bandmates are going for a sound that is heavily influenced by Mastodon, Baroness, and Tool. This has been done to death, so the key to making it work is writing great songs and establishing your own original take on those bands’ sounds.” Impulse to ape.
“Quebecois trio Shezmu, formed in 2016, already sports a startup of two EPs and a demo compilation, ultimately culminating in their first full-length, À Travers Les Lambeaux. I hesitate to label the project, because if there existed a Venn diagram of black, death, and doom, it would be smack dab in the middle.” Extremity buffet.
“In spite of listening to this stuff for the better part of my life now, I still realize how much I don’t know about so many sub-sub-subgenres, such as doom’s vast array. While I delved into the melodic death flavors of Saturnus, Swallow the Sun, and Novembers Doom, I let the cavernous stuff pass me by. It all comes full circle, when Swedish duo Saltas punishes me with a lethal dose of suffocatingly dense doom to whom comparisons are sparse.” Saltas the earth.
“Modern life is safe. Extreme danger and fear are rare, which makes experiences that mimic them memorable. The genre of depressive/suicidal black metal (DSBM) appears to support this, because not much is more extreme than profound depression and suicide. Yet those of us who listen, do so because it makes us feel better; that dabbling in the pain through music lessens its impact in the real world.” Depression lite.
