Black Lion Records

Kvaen – The Great Below Review

By Cherd on March 25, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, Viking Metal, 94 comments

“What’s there left to say about Kvaen beyond five little words, four of which are “fire?” Back in early 2020, Jakob Björnfot came out of seeming nowhere with a fully formed meloblack/speed metal aesthetic and a keen songwriting ear to deliver one of the the most vital sounding throwback records of the year. The Funeral Pyre had something going for it that a lot of good, even great records don’t. Beyond technical musicianship—which Björnfot most certainly has—beyond reverence for a genre’s history, that record was fun. As. Hell. It didn’t matter that no new ground was being broken, it only mattered that Björnfot was driving it like it was stolen.” Hell Alone 2: Electric Burning You.

Wormlight – Nightmother Review

By Doom_et_Al on May 9, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, 19 comments

“Nightmother is a malevolent ode to the “unholy feminine.” The band promises an “opus bereft of the warmth of the womb” and a “sublime and bacchanal celebration of matriarchal sovereignty.” I’m not 100% sure what this all means, but it looks suitably fun and debauched. The sound Wormlight employs is a (relatively) accessible form of melodic black metal.” Happy Nightmother’s Day!

Ghosts of Atlantis – 3.6.2.4 Review

By Twelve on March 24, 2021 in Reviews, Progressive Metal, Symphonic Metal, 25 comments

“The best way to get my attention is with an awesome album cover. More than genre tags, credits, stylistic themes, or lyrical themes – more than nearly anything else – an awesome album cover is what I go by when I explore the wonderful world of metal. That’s how the English band known as Ghosts of Atlantis got my attention, although the rest did line up very nicely: they credit themselves as something of a supergroup, boasting experienced musicians from bands across various well-known labels trying out something different, tagged in my promo package as “symphonic progressive extreme metal.”” Ghost in the calculator.

Ablaze My Sorrow – Among Ashes and Monoliths Review

By Doom_et_Al on February 9, 2021 in Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 19 comments

“Melodeath is a tough sub-genre to review because it exists in a constant state of tension. It’s pulled in three directions constantly: death metal at one point, traditional heavy metal at another, and power metal at the third. The ebb and flow between these is what makes it enjoyable, but it’s also what divides fans. Err too much to one end and the music sounds “death metal-lite.” Err towards another and it resembles strained power-metal without any heft. The best melodeath is able to resolve these tensions, creating a palatable middle-ground. The Swedish melodeath scene of the 90s mastered this, and was pivotal to the movement’s popularity. A minor, but not inconsequential, contributor was Falkenberg’s awkwardly titled Ablaze My Sorrow.” Pain in the ash.

Nemesium – Continua Review

By Grymm on June 12, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 12 comments

“There are times that that little hunger for the visceral creeps up, and I need to have that itch at the very least tickled, and only the most extreme of extreme metal can satisfy that particular pang. Do Aussie newcomers Nemesium succeed in flaying my skin raw with their debut, Continua?” Rage show.

Tethra – Empire of the Void Review

By Twelve on March 21, 2020 in 2020, Black Lion Records, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Italian Metal, Reviews, 6 comments

“Space is very metal. I don’t refer to the space between you and the nearest hunting knife, of course, but rather to outer space, which has captured the imagination of metalheads from all walks of the genre’s spectrum. Today brings Tethra’s Empire of the Void into the mix, a monstrous slab of death-doom designed to crush and inspire.” Void rage.

Kvaen – The Funeral Pyre Review

By Cherd on February 26, 2020 in 2020, Black Lion Records, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Speed Metal, Swedish Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Speed Metal, 43 comments

“Kvaen is the solo project of Swedish musician Jakob Björnfot (The Duskfall), although he employs a number of guest musicians to flesh out his vision. With The Funeral Pyre, he joins acts like Sun of the Sleepless and Spectral Wound as artists who play throwback melodic black metal with such verve and venom that it sounds as fresh as when it first emerged from the primordial forests.” Higher, higher, feel the pyre!

Apotheus – The Far Star Review

By GardensTale on November 10, 2019 in 2019, Black Lion Records, Melodic Death Metal, Portuguese Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 36 comments

“Every now and then you run into something that seems to have been made specifically for you. It’s like someone reached into your head, downloaded a copy of your soul, extracted exactly the sort of things you enjoy, and made something that panders to the template it found. Apotheus’ promo described a progressive melodeath band with a sci-fi concept album about interstellar colonization. Periods for emphasis, but Sign. Me. The. Fuck. Up.” Swallow the wvrm.

IATT – Nomenclature Review

By Eldritch Elitist on October 10, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Lion Records, Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, 23 comments

“IATT—FKA I Am the Trireme, the one-time recipients of an AMG 1.0—is a band I hoped would capitalize on my renewed craving for a smarter kind of blackened death metal. Much of Nomenclature certainly qualifies as prog—and as such, scratches that particular itch—but like the best music in the style, it is great music first, progressive music second. Through theatrical songwriting and melodic grandeur, IATT has assured that their second record is a deeply captivating experience.” You can call this a comeback.

Nihility – Thus Spoke the Antichrist Review

By Mark Z. on May 23, 2019 in 2019, Black Lion Records, Black Metal, Death Metal, Portuguese Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 117 comments

“It’s been said that the scariest monsters are those which are vaguely familiar. From zombies to the shape-shifting alien in The Thing, it seems the best way to leave a sense of lasting fear in your audience is to take familiar traits and twist them into something grotesque and appalling. Metal (usually) isn’t designed to scare people, but the same basic principle applies. The new releases I enjoy the most are those which take recognizable features from other bands and morph them in their own unique way. Portuguese quintet Nihility are a great example of this. With their Thus Spoke the Antichrist debut, the group take the Behemoth and Belphegor influence promised in the promo blurb and mutate it with an injection of brutal death metal.” Familiar Hell.