Svart Records

Foreseen – Grave Danger Review

By Huck N Roll on April 25, 2017 in 20 Buck Spin, 2017, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Speed Metal, Svart Records, Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 30 comments

“When I was thirteen years old I snagged an album with a wicked (cool word in 1983) cover. It was a drawing of what looked like a cynical, smartass devil. The album was Venom’s Black Metal, and my pals and I thought it was damn near the funniest thing we’d ever listened to. Crappy production, crappy musicians, goofy songs, and horrible vocals. We played that record to death, much to the displeasure of our mothers, girlfriends, and girlfriends’ mothers. C’mon, Huckles, why are you blathering on about Venom? This is supposed to be a writeup for Grave Danger, the second album from Finnish miscreants Foreseen. Well, that is what I’m doing here, but my point is that Grave Danger is basically another Venom album.” So he pulled up quick to get ve’nom!

Horte – Horte Review

By Akerblogger on April 7, 2017 in 2017, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Rock, Svart Records, Rock, 13 comments

“Scant information about Horte can be found online. Presumably Finnish but definitely human, Horte perform a difficult-to-define noise-ridden electronica-infested female-fronted bass-led fuzz-rock that combines both dreamy beauty and startling harshness. Horte, their debut release, is essentially one long song that flows from minute zero to minute 38 with an organic continuity.” GMO-free avant-rock ripe for the picking.

Alunah – Solennial Review

By El Cuervo on March 18, 2017 in 2017, Doom Metal, English Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, 18 comments

“I’m wary of praising bands in overpopulated genres but I believe Birmingham’s Alunah to be one of the best retro-doom bands operating. Beyond the nostalgic warmth and simplistic riffs offered by their peers, these guys boast a stand-out vocalist, a cracking tone and a fervor for folklore which lends a certain charming mysticism.” Wicked mystics.

PH – Eternal Hayden Review

By Huck N Roll on March 14, 2017 in 2017, Ambient Metal, Doom Metal, Drone, Finnish Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Ambient Metal, Doom Metal, Drone, Post-Metal, 10 comments

“Last week I reviewed an album called Eternal Rituals for the Accretion of Light. This week, my album of choice is called Eternal Hayden. Both albums are post-metal. Both bands — Junius and PH — have done trilogies of albums, and these Eternal albums are their fourth.” What did we say about triple albums?

Lubricant – Swallow This Review

By Mark Z. on March 9, 2017 in 2017, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Rock, Svart Records, Death Metal, Rock, 26 comments

“One of death metal’s weirdest phenomenon was the so-called ‘death ‘n’ roll’ movement. First popularized by albums like Entombed’s Wolverine Blues and Carcass’s Swansong, death ‘n’ roll is kind of like your weird older cousin at the family reunion. On one hand, you have to love him because he’s family — but at the same time, nobody really talks about him or seems to be totally comfortable in his presence. Point is, death ‘n’ roll is one of those genres that most people seem to tolerate rather than actually enjoy, and maybe that’s why bands like Lubricant are so often overlooked.” Death rock in a tight place.

Bathsheba – Servus Review

By Grymm on February 22, 2017 in 2017, Belgian Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Doom Metal, 31 comments

“It always disheartens me when bands with so much potential turn to ash shortly after burning brightly. For instance, remember the buzz surrounding Belgium’s Serpentcult? Their 2008 debut Weight of Light caught many a doom aficionado’s ear with their sludged-out grooves, crushing basslines, and the otherworldly vocals of Michelle Nocon. Fast-forward three years, and the Nocon-less follow-up, Raised By Wolves, while still heavy and uncompromising, lost its spark with her departure. Now here we are in 2017, and Nocon’s plying her voice in a new band.” Can the Nocon magic happen twice?

Hymn – Perish Review

By Eldritch Elitist on February 6, 2017 in 2017, Doom Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Doom Metal, 27 comments

“As a music critic I am strictly prohibited from judging albums by their covers, yet it’s a behind-the-scenes hobby of mine to analyze album art as a thematic companion to the sounds that lie within. A successful album cover shouldn’t just serve as a pretty face; from art style to color palette, it should be a reflection of the band’s ideas and personality, something that sticks in one’s subconscious as a valuable piece of the overall experience. Norwegian doom duo Hymn opt for an exterior aesthetic that’s more in line with black metal than doom on their debut record Perish, exhibiting a stark, monochromatic mountain ridge.” Feel the mountain.

Kairon; IRSE! – Ruination Review

By Lord Lucan on January 27, 2017 in 2017, Finnish Metal, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Shoegaze, Svart Records, Progressive Rock, Shoegaze, 28 comments

“True originality can be an elusive commodity to come by in the modern music environment. With the number of untapped creative avenues steadily decreasing with every new album release, many musicians merely end up putting their own spins on pre-established formulas. When a band comes along that laughs defiantly in the face of such convention—opting instead to carve out their own path—it’s only right they’re accorded the recognition they deserve. Finnish progsters Kairon; IRSE! are a band who embrace this mentality emphatically.” Band out on a limb.

Initiated – World on Fire Review

By Huck N Roll on November 23, 2016 in 2016, Finnish Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Heavy Metal, 15 comments

“I don’t know what the hell is going on in Finland these days. Late last year the quirky northerners gave us a band by the name of Speedtrap, a proto-thrash garage band who put out a messy but fun album, Straight Shooter. Now we get Initiated, another garage band naturally featuring Speedtrap’s guitarist on the lead axe (I don’t know if there are enough people in Finland for bands to not share members), for a less thrashy but no less messy record, World on Fire.” Raw power or raw chowder?

Spiritus Mortis – The Year is One Review

By Steel Druhm on November 15, 2016 in 2016, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Doom Metal, 47 comments

“This has been a really good year for doom, with Khemmis, Messa and Northern Crown dropping stellar platters of mawkish mopery, and Spiritus Mortis wants to help send 2016 out with even more funereal notes and appropriately bowed heads. This Finnish doom troupe has been around a while and The Year is One is their fourth album, but somehow I’ve slept on them and am just coming to grips with their material.” The Year is Yuge.