4.0

Sacrificial Vein – Black Terror Genesis Review

Sacrificial Vein – Black Terror Genesis Review

“There’s that strain of black metal, straddling if not disregarding boundaries between atmospheric, post, melodic, dissonant, and second-wave, where the music, true to its occupying the less-mainstream corners of the genre, sits like a shadowy presence in peripheral vision—preoccupying itself not with Lovecraftian horrors, or overt, antagonistic portrayals of Satanism, but with terrors less far-fetched and obscure. An occultism of an introspective, existential bent, premised on the human mind. Sacrificial Vein, comprised of fragmented members of Nothingness, Aegaeon, and a mysterious JU, follow this dark trajectory.” Tapping some veins.

Hecatoncheir – Nightmare Utopia Review

Hecatoncheir – Nightmare Utopia Review

“The journey begins by following a dark silhouette, each installment describes surreal and dreamlike landscapes, strange characters, and objects—with monolithic importance attached in the strange way that dreams do. In the latter tracks, ever-vigilant eyes watch from the stars and assume a more horrific face as they emerge from the darkness as the cruel pelagic and empyrean deities and monsters among Lovecraft’s multitudes. Hecatoncheir’s uniquely dreamlike take on chthonic horror, balanced by its ambitions in liminal spaces, set one hell of a precedent for the music contained herein.” Fear and loathing in Slovakia.

Misotheist – Vessels by Which the Devil is Made Flesh Review

Misotheist – Vessels by Which the Devil is Made Flesh Review

“In the overcrowded field of black metal, it’s difficult to stand out. This is even more true when you commit to working within the confines of the genre, rather than, say, employing some gimmick like “black metal meets Barbie meets hardcore.” Yet within two albums, quietly standing out is exactly what mysterious Norwegian outfit Misotheist managed to do. Forging a path that threaded the needle between “accessible” and “dissonant as fuck.” Miso spooky!

Necrophobic – In the Twilight Grey Review

Necrophobic – In the Twilight Grey Review

“When I covered Necrophobic’s 2020 release, Dawn of the Damned, I spoke at length about what this band means to me as a reviewer and fan of heavy metal music. These guys singlehandedly got me into black metal, and when I hear other bands playing a similarly melodic, death metal-infused version of the genre, I can’t help but hold them up next to these guys, my personal archetype of what this style is supposed to sound like.” Necro-mongering.

Suldusk – Anthesis Review

Suldusk – Anthesis Review

“Way back in early 2020, Suldusk played the last show I attended before fun was canceled. I was introduced by the non-suspiciously departed Emya‘s excellent TYMHM piece on one-woman debut Lunar Falls. This sort of black metal-inflected atmospheric folk is incredibly My Thing, as you can tell from where Helga landed on my list last year. So Suldusk were a pretty important fixture for me, particularly in the tough early pandemic months. The whole thing has that slight air of unreality you get with memories from around then. Now they’re back—finally—with a full band and signed to Napalm, so the stakes are high for Anthesis.” Dusk throne.

Stygian Crown – Funeral for a King Review

Stygian Crown – Funeral for a King Review

“The clamor of zhangu, taiko, ahuli, tabor—even the timpani in a modern orchestral context—the steady hammering of the battlefield finds a comfort, an attachment to the mallet metronome of such simple instruments. In memory of sorrow, the rhythm of death metal through one of its most bass-rumbling pioneers, Bolt Thrower, finds that war-like march not just in pounding kicks but also weighted guitar harmonies and bass-throttled grooves that stir the warrior’s heart. Stygian Crown in their idiosyncratic expression of the metal arts embodies in part that low-end fueled, sword-rattling thunder. But as the title Funeral for a King may imply, and as the Steel One himself has explored before, Stygian Crown doesn’t just riff, they doom. Oh, do they doom!” Crown Thrower.

Borknagar – Fall Review

Borknagar – Fall Review

“No matter who fills in on vocals, guitars, and drums, the Borknagar continues releasing one fantastic album after another. After 2019’s fun and accessible True North, this year’s Fall reaches farther into the past to reset the needle, delivering some blackish attacks and headbangable energy. Worry not, they forever will retain that classic epicness, melody, and beauty.” Trust Fall.

Counting Hours – The Wishing Tomb Review

Counting Hours – The Wishing Tomb Review

“Tears freezing in the cutting winter winds. Life’s blood staining the freshly fallen snow. These are the things that bring Steel to the graveyard. Naturally, I love my sadboi doom as well, and the long-defunct Finnish act Rapture in particular. Their style of highly melancholic melodoom resonated deeply in my cold dead chest cavity, and though they’ve been gone since 2005 I still go back to those albums regularly. When the two guitarists of Rapture reunited to form Counting Hours and dropped the excellent debut The Will back in 2019, I was ecstatic. It was as close to getting new Rapture material as we were ever going to get and they hit all the same grim feelz as they fused the early days of Katatonia with Dawn of Solace into a cold grave of an album. Now a few years later we get the eagerly anticipated follow-up.” Counting hours and tears.

Ihsahn – Ihsahn (Studio version) Review

Ihsahn – Ihsahn (Studio version) Review

“Introductions to Emperor’s creative mastermind Ihsahn, as he drops his eighth (and ninth) solo LPs, seem unnecessary. However, a small note is needed for this review because there are two, entirely separate but inextricably related, versions of Ihsahn and I am reviewing only one of them. Ihsahn’s solo work has always involved a significant symphonic component, as did his writing for Emperor albeit to a lesser degree, but he has gone all-out orchestral for his selt-titled offering.” Symphonies of the night.