Babylon Doom Cult Records

Hagetisse – De verminkte stilte van het zijn Review

By Cherd on October 29, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, 37 comments

“Maurice de Jong has had a rough go of things within the hallowed halls of this website. Perhaps best known for Gnaw Their Tongues but involved in no fewer than 15 current projects according to Metal Archives, many of them of the one-man variety, the Dutchman has been reviewed here in his various forms eight times by my count. His scores? A shocking 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.5, 2.5, a 3.0 that our resident shark person has since demoted to a 2.5, and two presumably un-recanted 3.0s from former site writers long since missing under suspicious circumstances. Hagetisse is straightforward, riffy black metal and a far cry from the experimental blackened noise shenanigans de Jong is best known for.” The law of averages.

Alburnum – Buitenlucht Review

By Doom_et_Al on July 14, 2022 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 12 comments

“Certain things just go together. Prawn and avocado. Holdeneye and 4.0s. Ozzy and Black Sabbath. You get the gist. Two of those things are “black metal” and “nature.” From its early pagan roots, black metal has always had a close affinity with the great outdoors, rejecting rigid theism for a more atavistic, mystical spiritualism. It’s why half the shitty black metal videos you see happen in forests or on mountaintops. New Dutch band, Alburnum (another name for “Sapwood”) are therefore trodding well-worn ground; when compatriots, Fluisteraars have an album with flowers all over the cover, you’re going to have a tough time out-naturing the competition.” Play outside!

Freja – Tides Review

By Twelve on April 25, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Doom, 9 comments

“I’m a simple creature, really. If you make your album even vaguely Nordic-themed, I’ll pay attention. The mythologies that have spawned countless legends, a whole lot of music, and many other artistic expressions are so enduringly popular for a reason, and their themes have similarly lent themselves to some really good metal. Freja is among the newest bands to find influence in this striking topic, a Dutch duo of one C. and W., who describe their style as one of “towering, thundering” atmospheric black metal.” The tides are a raider.

Unru – Die Wiederkehr des Verdrängten Review

By Dear Hollow on March 8, 2022 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Crust Punk, 21 comments

“There’s something about abstractness in music that rides a fine line between tantalizing and off-putting. While anything tagged “avant-garde” is immediately greeted by a chorus of hissing and boos, there are ways to create effectively challenging tunes using relatively standard methods. Some metallic styles are born out of this aesthetic, as post-metal’s emphasis on landscapes or drone’s focus on overwhelming density spring to mind, but black metal has always maintained a bit more straightforward nostalgia in the unholy trinity: tremolo, blastbeats, and shrieks. Unru seeks to challenge such things.” Dare to be difficult.

Koldovstvo – Ни царя, ни бога [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]

By Carcharodon on January 9, 2022 in Things You Might Have Missed 2021, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 48 comments

“Sometimes a thing defies proper indexing or categorization. Tags may be applied to that thing and they may not be incorrect but nor do they properly encapsulate what that thing is. The nominally atmospheric black metal, probably Russian, project Koldovstvo, is just such a thing.” Words fail us.

Lhaäd – Below Review

By Maddog on December 15, 2021 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, 13 comments

Below is the debut full-length from one-person ambient black metal project Lhaäd. This description is likely to conjure up worrisome images of self-indulgent hours-long snoozefests that use tepid atmospheres to mask lazy writing. But Belgian multi-instrumentalist Lykormas, Lhaäd’s prolific mastermind, is not so easy to pigeonhole.” Pigeons without homes.

Alkerdeel – Slonk Review

By Dear Hollow on February 12, 2021 in Reviews, 9 comments

“As you’re reading this, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Alkerdeel. Why does that sound so familiar?” You ask yourself if it’s a similarity to the British Akercocke – maybe? Well, perhaps a similarity to the illustrious Akerblogger, and you question if in fact the good lad was named thusly – nah, that’s not it either. You give a brief overview of their discography, noting that 2012 album Morinde features a somewhat abstract but violent portrayal of, what, a wolf beating a rabbit to death? That seems excessive for a predator with, y’know, teeth. Oh look, they were involved with Hypertension Records’ The Abyss Stares Back split series that’s fucking impossible to find.” Rabbit don’t come sleazy.