Melodic Black Metal

Obsequiae – The Palms of Sorrowed Kings Review

By Saunders on November 21, 2019 in 20 Buck Spin, 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 66 comments

“Back in 2015 I was taken off guard and enchanted by the superb sophomore album from Obsequiae, entitled Aria of Vernal Tombs, which marked a strong improvement over their impressive debut. Despite operating a bit outside my regular wheelhouse, the album’s raw blend of folky and medieval melodic black metal struck a chord that left me gobsmacked, gushing over the album’s elegant melodies, accomplished song-writing and earthy tones. Well finally the band have awoken from their slumber, returning to the ye olden days with another taut yet epic collection of melodic black metal tunes on their long awaited third album, The Palms of Sorrowed Kings.” Royal tidings.

Midnight Odyssey – Biolume Part I: In Tartarean Chains Review

By Carcharodon on November 6, 2019 in 2019, Ambient Metal, Australian Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, I Voidhanger Records, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Ambient Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 46 comments

“Ok, be honest. If I told you today’s review was for a double album that clocked in at nearly 160 minutes and consisted of atmospheric blackened doom metal, what would you say?” Alexa, skip.

Cloak – The Burning Dawn Review

By Kenstrosity on October 24, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Rock, Season of Mist, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Rock, 26 comments

“If you listened to Cloak’s debut back in 2017, you know exactly what to expect from The Burning Dawn. If you don’t already know of Cloak, they play an accessible brand of black metal that feels like it was written in a scenic wasteland, evocative of dust and dusk, the scent of clean air and the sight of bloodred sun (cue Adam Burke).” Controlled burn.

Maeskyyrn – Interlude Review

By Carcharodon on October 14, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Hypnotic Dirge Records, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 63 comments

“I normally dislike interludes intensely – the recent, very good Tool album, for example, I recreated as a playlist minus the four interludes because they annoyed the crap out of me. So an album called Interlude, with three tracks actually titled “Interlude,” plus an “Introduction” and final track “The End,” put me somewhat on edge. Despite having really liked the advance tracks for Maeskyyrn’s Interlude, I was expecting to have to report that here is yet another really promising album ruined by bloat and plinky … well, interludes.” Interludes, man.

Obsidian Tongue – Volume III Review

By Carcharodon on September 28, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Bindrune Recordings, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 29 comments

“It’s six years since this Maine duo dropped their sophomore effort, A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time, a time when we still linked to Myspace pages in reviews. How time flies! A Nest of Ravens was a great record, atmospheric black metal, sprawling, blisteringly heavy in places with folky elements too. Their debut, Volume I: Subradiant Architecture, wasn’t too shabby either. That Obsidian Tongue mainman and multi-instrumentalist Brendan Hayter did a brief stint in the much-missed Woods of Ypres and currently mans the bass for metal-infused folksters Thrawsunblat maybe gives some sense of where Obsidian Tongue are coming from.” Tongue on the third date.

Vorna – Sateet palata saavat Review

By Master of Muppets on September 23, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Finnish Metal, Folk Metal, Lifeforce Records, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 45 comments

“With the annual pilgrimage to dead leaves and perpetual darkness underway, an appropriate soundtrack is imperative to survival; I need something that will simultaneously sonically augment the surrounding scenery as well as shield me from its scheduled sadness, something which will bring this death to life and save me from it. Such a savior has arrived in the form of Vorna’s Sateet palata saavat, and though I am loathe to share such splendor with the likes ov you, the urge to babble about said greatness has temporarily overtaken my selfish recalcitrance: you’re welcome, yo.” The autumn wind smells like Muppet.

Essence of Datum – Spellcrying Machine Review

By Kenstrosity on September 4, 2019 in 2019, Belarusian Metal, Instrumental Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Instrumental Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 35 comments

“Instrumental metal has been a difficult branch for me to get into. A big part of why I got into metal is due to the wild dynamics offered by a human voice (and in one particular case, a coffee grinder). But there are always exceptions to the rule that eventually break the rule entirely. In my case, the first band to pop my “vocals or bust” bubble was Nightwish, whose instrumental-only rendition of Dark Passion Play is so compelling I ended up preferring it over the standard edition. Then I discovered Sleep Terror, a fantastic instrumental tech-death/surf/funk band you all owe it to yourselves to investigate. From there I discovered Echopraxia, a ghost/supernatural themed instrumental metal act, and now I’ve stumbled upon Essence of Datum, an instrumental melodic prog-death couplet from Minsk.” Voices don’t carry.

Deadwood Lake – Immortalised in Death Review

By Emya on August 14, 2019 in 2019, English Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, UKEM Records, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 15 comments

“Sparkling cool water gently thrums against a piece of driftwood. A tiny squirrel scurries through the underbrush. I sit atop a picnic bench beside the rock strewn shore of Diamond Lake in southern Oregon mulling over how to articulate my heavy thoughts regarding an album by a band with a similar name to the very lake I overlook. When asked how they got their name, melodic atmospheric black metal band Deadwood Lake’s response is simply “we just thought it sounded cool.” It turns out that there is in fact a body of water in northern Wisconsin with the same sinister name as this relatively new yet prolific addition to the UK’s atmoblack scene.” Death at the lake.

Drimys Winteri – Excelsa Natura Review

By Doom_et_Al on July 8, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Chilean Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, 21 comments

“I was on a hike recently, and while trekking through the forest, I stopped regularly to admire the magnificent trees. Up close, each was different, with idiosyncratic patterns, leaves, and scars. When I made it to the top of a nearby hill, however, and glanced over said forest, I was struck by the homogeneity. The individual trees, all so unique at first, looked identical from afar. I imagined, for a second, that this is (a) probably how our Overlord views his army of writers and (b) how black metal bands appear to fans of the genre.” In metal, as in forests.

Funeral Storm – Arcane Mysteries Review

By Mark Z. on May 31, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Greek Metal, Hells Headbangers Records, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 42 comments

“Mystical. Archaic. Melodic. Militant. Triumphant. All words that could be used to describe Greek black metal, and all reasons why albums like Macabre Omen’s Gods of War – At War and Rotting Christ’s mid-00s material hold a special place in my blackened heart. Funeral Storm aren’t technically a new name on the scene, though you’d be forgiven for never having heard of them given they’ve released virtually nothing other than a few splits since their 2002 formation.” Putting the Hell in Hellenic.