“American Gothic continues Wayfarer’s signature sound, forged on A Romance with Violence. While the base of black metal remains, like many US compatriots, Wayfarer use this as a starting point to explore different and atypical musical terrains. This unique aesthetic is then fused to themes and sonic templates of the American Wild West, highlighting the echoes of America’s fraught and violent past while drawing parallels with its present.” Gunsmoke is black.
“For those who missed my tongue-bathing in 2021, Mānbryne is an enigmatic black metal band from Poland consisting of members from a bunch of groups, most notably Blaze of Perdition. The musical template is straightforward black metal, but the execution of their debut set it apart. Most impressive was the balance between old and new. The fresh songwriting of Renz combined with the experienced hands behind the other instruments to give us the best of both worlds.” No man is a bryneland.
“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.
“A “Valravn” is a supernatural being, often in the form of a knight or raven, that consumes the dead on the battlefield. The name is apt because the band’s sound is a cannibalization of many black metal bands that have come before. Specifically, the icy combination of melodicism and aggression pioneered by Dissection, Sacramentum and Darkthrone.” Devour to evolve.
“Listening to Shade Empire’s discography is as perplexing as it is enlightening. The early albums demonstrated a band finding its feet and establishing an epic, symphonic black metal sound that charmed as much as it impressed. Although ostensibly a black metal band, Shade Empire’s sound has changed so radically from its earlier days that it’s now more symphonic prog.” Empire in the shade.
“It’s become a cliché around the halls of AMG that stoner doom is difficult to do badly, but even more difficult to do well. As a result, it tends to hang in the “difficult to review” window of 2.5-3.5. There’s also not a whole lot of energy from readers. Whether stoner-selection bias is responsible (munchies trump comments), or the genre itself fails to excite ordinary metal fans, the fact remains that anticipation around these releases is generally low.” Sleepytime tales.
“UKĆ is the brainchild of Łukasz ‘Icanraz’ Sarnacki, a Polish artist who has knocked around the local scene for a while. Billed as “black-prog from the heart,” I was impressed by some of the early singles, and the promo pit wasn’t exactly overflowing with goodness, so I grabbed Coming Out.” Out in the cold.
“For a while there, around 2013, when black metal briefly flirted with being cool, it seemed like everyone and their dog were trying to be the next, “Black metal but with [insert random genre here, the weirder the better].” One of the weirder projects, both conceptually and in name, was The Netherlands’ An Autumn for Crippled Children (AAfCC). Fusing black metal and dream pop, it was shoegazey… but lighter; post-metally… but shriekier.” Crippled but able.
“Yeah, Blackbraid I wasn’t perfect: it sounded a bit like an EP, relied too heavily on its singles, and felt, at times, a bit undercooked. But there was more than enough there to get most fans hyped for the follow-up. Blackbraid, fortunately, hasn’t made us wait long. Blackbraid II is here…” Braid surgery.
“Craving have been around since 2006, managing to fly under just about everyone’s collective radars. After the release of their third album in 2016, the band basically split, leaving guitarist and vocalist Ivan Chertov to reform things. Which (surprise!) he did. Although you’d be hard-pressed to notice, given the band’s aesthetic has barely changed over the years. Craving play an entertaining blend of hyper-melodic black metal, mixed with folk and more than a hint of power metal.” Attractive nuisances.
