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Horizon Ablaze – The Weight of a Thousand Suns Review

Horizon Ablaze – The Weight of a Thousand Suns Review

“Records that pair abstract, artsy gore with a thematically rich title are the telltale wrappings of albums that may as well be the metal world’s equivalent of Oscar bait; you don’t have to listen to Horizon Ablaze to know that they deal in a progressive, forward-thinking strain of black/death metal. And yeah, most of those records are good, but The Weight of a Thousand Suns is especially fucking good.” There goes the tease.

Watain – Trident Wolf Eclipse Review

Watain – Trident Wolf Eclipse Review

“From Rabid Death’s Curse to Lawless Darkness, Sweden’s Satanic three-piece, Watain, have enjoyed one of the best careers the black metal community has ever seen. With each release, the band explored more and expanded farther than the record before. The result is that 2007’s Sworn to the Dark and 2010’s Lawless Darkness are a couple of my favorite albums of all black metal. But, then, a peculiar thing happened. That thing was 2013’s The Wild Hunt.” Hunting season is over.

Wiegedood – De Doden Hebben Het Goed II Review

Wiegedood – De Doden Hebben Het Goed II Review

Wiegedood’s debut may not be as pretentious as a band like Deafheaven (hallelujah!), but it’s thick with atmosphere and post-black attitude. The sequel hints at this heavy atmosphere, but De Doden Hebben Het Goed II never lets it meander for long. II, instead, unleashes a brutality fitting to a second-wave Norwegian outfit like Gorgoroth. The amount of hate and emotion set forth from II is enough to burn a hole right through your black heart.” That wasn’t part of the deal, Black Heart! That…wasn’t…part!

Sarkom – Anti-Cosmic Art Review

Sarkom – Anti-Cosmic Art Review

“The biggest difference between 2013’s Doomsday Elite and their previous work is the amount of inspiration they brought into every track of Doomsday. They brought in The Kovenant’s Psy Coma to handle the closing orchestral arrangements, Negator’s Nachtgarm for vocal assistance, and the guitars of Keep of Kalessin’s Vyl. And Anti-Cosmic Art is here to take it one step further. The band brings more guests, unleashes more riffs, more blastbeats, and a plethora of guitar solos. The result is Sarkom’s best release to date. ” Is this the Avantasia of blackness?

Crest of Darkness – Welcome the Dead Review

Crest of Darkness – Welcome the Dead Review

“Ingar Amlien is a persistent fellow. Having formed Crest of Darkness in 1993 to pursue darker fare than his progressive main band Conception would allow, Amlien weathered line-up changes and several fine-tunings of their blackened thrash formula. Their last album, 2013’s In The Presence of Death, impressed our very own Madam X with their rifftastic blasphemy, goofy cover notwithstanding. Now it’s my turn to enjoy deep of Norwegian black-thrash with their seventh album, Welcome the Dead.” Welcome…to your grave!

Zørormr – The Aftermath Review

Zørormr – The Aftermath Review

“Poland’s been the source of some great metal over the years. Behemoth probably comes to mind first, being that Nergal’s the master of controversy and the court room. But putting that aside, there’s Vader, Decapitated, Hate and Lux Occulta, who along with many others have been delivering the goods and then some. Somewhere in the throng, the talents of one-man, black metal or dark ambient artist, Fabian Filiks (Moloch) of Zørormr became a little obscured.” One does not simply hear all the bands in Poland.

One Master – Reclusive Blasphemy Review

One Master – Reclusive Blasphemy Review

“I’m not going to lie. When I got handed the new Reclusive Blasphemy release from New England/New York’s One Master, I immediately assumed they were another one-man outfit nestled firmly in the bosom of pretentiousness, gathering mid-paced black clouds, and smothering the listener in an atmospheric bla(n)ck(et). Not only is One Master a full band, but it also has a sound as raw as sewage.” More black metal fury from New York, because it’s an angry kind of state.