“Atmospheric black metal. Some run to the hills, disgusted by the label, while others embrace it with an incredible fervor, an addict in desperate need of his next fix. Part of the beauty, or tedium, of the ‘atmospheric’ label is its elusiveness. Ranging from one-man bedroom-studio synth-heavy releases to six-piece major-label indie-black-digeridoo extravaganzas and everything in between, I never really know what freakish concoction awaits.” Life is like a box of kvlt chocolates.
“After spending hours on the web searching for the band Eerie, I’ve finally found them and their self-titled debut. With a band name like that, I passed by everything from comic books to Polish black metal to unsettling porn. And, as it turns out, it was well worth the frustrating Google search. Debuting on Tee Pee Records (a much easier name to search), the label describes the band as being black metal/rock—a combo that could go many ways.” When Google goes wrong….
“Everyone and their frostbitten mother knows about Norway’s infamous Black Circle, giving birth to church burnings, murder, and of course the second wave of black metal. But did you know that in America, another Black Circle lies waiting in the wings? Yep, the Black Twilight Circle, led by Eduardo “Volahn” Ramírez, is a prolific, young collective based out of Southern California that shares members of various bands within its ranks.” In the circle you will find your flute.
“As this site’s self-appointed Angry Metal Bottom Feeder, I take it upon myself to devour all the metalcore, post-black metal, and trendy bullshit that I suspect my more evolved brethren often don’t want to touch. I guess part of me still has fond memories of older albums in these genres and continues to hold out hope that new releases will be just as good. While this means filtering through a lot of mediocrity, occasionally I’ll stumble upon a gem that makes it all worth it.” The AMG catfish may have found gold down there in the muck.
“We, as humans, tend to gravitate towards comfort. More often than not, we settle into a nice daily routine, indulge in the same foods, listen to the same bands over and over again, etc. Sure, we can sometimes venture out of our comfortable norms and find some new, exciting things to fawn over, but we have our own little bubbles and dang-nammit, we ain’t leavin’ them! One of those things that has grown comfortable as of late is the variety (or lack thereof) of black metal as a whole.” Bubbles? Bubbles?? I’m the Prince of fookin’ Darkness!
“Dante Alighieri once said “The path to paradise begins in Hell.” Andy Curtis-Brignell and Laurence Taylor, the backbone of Caïna, hold these powerful words true and no album makes this more apparent than their new outing – Christ Clad in White Phosphorus.” If you’re going through Hell, keep going.
“Want to hear a bunch of metal bands you probably like chopped up and thrown together in some sort of audial stir fry? The Revenge-y titled Hope Misery Death is here, it’s Pestifere, and now I’m going to write about it.” Black metal salad, anyone?
“For an American who’s never visited, Australia seems like the coolest place on Earth. I get emissions testing done on my Toyota and listen to an old Army veteran reminisce about the beachy weather and beautiful women he met during his R&R travel there. I talk to a co-worker and hear stories about young women writing their phone numbers on tennis balls and tossing them onto the deck of his ship as it pulled into Sydney. I shotgun a Fosters while riding a kangaroo, wearing Globes, and blasting Deströyer 666 loud enough to crush my balls. I may have made one of those up. Point is, I love Australian metal, and Denouncement Pyre is no exception.” Disparaging the Boot is a bootable offense, Mark!
“Instead of a dull description of the five tracks and 44 minutes of Fen-like black metal on this Canadian quintet’s debut, let’s do something else. Take out a blank sheet of paper, draw a five-by-five square grid, and write one post-black cliche in each square. Ready? Good, because it’s time for POST-BLACK BINGO!” When you play Post-Black Bingo, you win or you…shoegaze.
“There is a hole in North American metal. The Great Cold Death of Agalloch was abrupt though not unwarranted given the air of similarity by the release of Marrow of the Spirit and the questionable success of the experimentation in The Serpent and the Sphere. It’s preferable to leave your audience wanting more than ultimately tiring them. But such was their influence that there are many bands, particularly from the Cascadian scene, which bear clear lines of affinity to them.” The mourning has not broken.
