A Swarm of the Sun

Oak – Disintegrate Review

Oak – Disintegrate Review

“After submerging myself in copious death metal throughout January and early February, Steel‘s well-seasoned body needed a soak in the soothing tides of funerary doom-death. And so I happened upon the sophomore release by Portugal’s Oak. The side project of Gaerea lead guitarist/vocalist, Guilherme Henriques and featuring various current and former Gaerea members, it attempts a style far afield from what that black metal outfit is known for. This is classic funeral doom death across the boards, though it has a fair amount of blackened elements bubbling up as well. The gimmick here is that Disintegrate is but one 45-minute track.” Counting the rings of tragedy.

Swallow the Sun – Moonflowers Review

Swallow the Sun – Moonflowers Review

“There hasn’t been much positivity coming from the Swallow the Sun camp these last few years. The tragic passing of guitarist Juha Raivio’s partner and Trees of Eternity collaborator Aleah Stanbridge led to a grief-driven release from Raivio’s Hallatar project as well as the unrelentingly depressive When a Shadow is Forced Into the Light from this group. Years pass and pain diminishes, but based on what we get on Moonflowers, it seems Mr. Raivio is still struggling to get back to the light.” Aphotic hypnotic.

Record(s) o’ the Month – January 2019

Record(s) o’ the Month – January 2019

One month down in 2019 and we’re off to the races. January was by most accounts—excepting the eventual contrarians in the comments section, a relatively disappointing month. After an almost overwhelming and backloaded 2018, the first month of 2019 felt like a pretty tepid start to the year. Fortunately, there were still some diamonds in the rough. So here’s three albums—two which received the reviews they deserved and one which was unfairly maligned—that I think that you should give your consideration from January of 2019.

Eneferens – The Bleakness of Our Constant Review

Eneferens – The Bleakness of Our Constant Review

Steel Druhm reviewing a one-man atmospheric black metal album? How can this be happening? Does Vardan have him by the short back hairs? Did he get triple ape dared by that trickster, Muppet? No siree, Bob. Steel is reviewing the new Eneferens album because of what it is and what it is not. It is the product of one man named Jori Apedaileman, and it is an absolutely beautiful work of art spanning black, death, folk, post-metal and doom as effortlessly as I skip over metalcore in the promo slump.” This is the Winter of our sadboy content.

Arkuum – Die Letzte Agonie Review

Arkuum – Die Letzte Agonie Review

“There are some truths which we all hold to be self-evident no matter who we are. Examples of such universal certainties include that you will breathe oxygen under a blue sky, fire will be hot eleven times out of ten, and that, one day, you will die. Most do their damnedest to disarm that last trvth bomb, but it’s the only thing Germany’s Arkuum are thinking about on their sophomore effort, Die Letzte Agonie. With a fittingly foreboding production and a staunch refusal to smile, one man fatalist army Arkas cradles that aforementioned bombshell like a kvlt and cvddly baby, singing life itself to sleep with a 50-minute blackened lullaby.”Hvsh little baby.