Dark Essence Records

Taake – Stridens Hus Review

Taake – Stridens Hus Review

Taake are back and pimping their Norwegian black metal wares as only the gloriously bare chested Hoest can do! Yes you read right, it seems the obligatory three year wait since the release of Noregs Vaapen is over and it’s time for the sixth and newest “exciting” chapter in the band’s extensive catalogue. So what of it?” Bare chested bravado only goes so far in black metal, even if Madam X appreciates it more than most.

Sarkom – Doomsday Elite Review

Sarkom – Doomsday Elite Review

“End days… Fimbulvetr… the cold, darkness of three consecutive winters; the sun and moon torn from the sky; the dead rising from their graves and poison filling the air – all-encompassing despair! That’s what comes to mind when you pick up Sarkom’s Doomsday Elite, well that and cardio; double-tap; limber up and it’s a marathon not a sprint, unless it’s a sprint, then sprint already! But I digress, Norwegian based Sarkom play the kind of black metal that’s packed with jagged, razor sharp blast-beats, inflicting a bite as deep and destructive as say Gravdal, Endezzma or Nidingr.” End days, marathons, cold and darkness. Some of these things make Madam X happy. Find out which!

Slegest – Løyndom Review

Slegest – Løyndom Review

“I typically associate the Norwegian style of black metal with either the raw aggression of say Gorgoroth, Carpathian Forest or Taake or the more classic atmospheric beauty of Burzum or Ulver. One of my favorite movie depictions of this very dedicated brand of black metal is that goose-bump moment in Until the Light Takes Us when Fenriz is sitting on the train and Ulver’s “Not Saved” starts playing… atmosphere as thick as mist you can’t help re-playing that moment over and over. So when did this very somber brand of metal, so dedicated to opposition, start to follow the crowd and take on such a dirty, ear-friendly, catchy groove?” This is a valid and intriguing question and Madam X demands answers! Comply or get whipped.

Shining – 8 ½ – Feberdrömmar I Vaket Tillstånd Review

Shining – 8 ½ – Feberdrömmar I Vaket Tillstånd Review

“I came across Shining for the first time while reading Angry Metal Guy’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time back in 2011. Since then Kvarforth and his menagerie of Scandinavian black metal projects and collaborations (Shining, Skitliv, Diabolicum, Den Saakaldte and Bethlehem) have been a constant on my playlist. I’d go so far as to say that, were I to have some kind of guarantee that it would arrive on my sunny shores, I would absolutely order a copy of When Prozac No Longer Helps – hand numbered in Kvarforth’s blood of course!” Madam X and Kvarforth are clearly a match made by the Sid & Nancy Dating Service and/or Hell. Will love blossom once again or will the knives come out?

Aeternus – …and the Seventh His Soul Detesteth Review

Aeternus – …and the Seventh His Soul Detesteth Review

“Over the course of their career, Aeternus have taken me on a sonic ride full of dizzying highs, crushing lows and Milquetoast middles. Their highly acclaimed Beyond the Wandering Moon opus is a truly special album with an atmosphere and mood all its own and I find myself going back to it regularly over time. Their unusual blend of Norwegian black metal and symphonic death came to be known as “dark metal” and that summed up their original sound rather nicely.” But like all true love…one day it withered on the vine. Steel Druhm is bitter, but he’s still going to detail the trials and tribulation of the typical Aeternus fan. Give him your support and beers.

Vulture Industries – The Malefactor’s Bloody Register Review

Vulture Industries – The Malefactor’s Bloody Register Review

Another one of those bands that has floated in and out of my ‘sphere of knowledge’, I’d never really given Vulture Industries a fair chance. Part of this was probably just laziness on my part, but also the undeniable fact that the band had been pigeonholed as an Arcturus rip-off certainly didn’t make me want to check them out very much. As I’ve been pretty consistent about, I think that rip-off bands are usually boring, unimaginative and frustrating. And with a band like Arcturus that is easily one of the most unique bands to ever show up from the black metal scene, I couldn’t see how it could possibly be even remotely good. Certainly a band cannot re-imagine the most imaginative band from the first wave of Norwegian black metal.

Galar – Til Alle Heimsens Endar Review

Galar – Til Alle Heimsens Endar Review

It would seem that Angry Metal Guy is actually forming review themes, like some sort of ongoing process wherein I discuss the ups and downs of the metal scene while reviewing records, and even debate them with some of the other reviewers. Because reviewing is an ongoing process here, often times things get lumped into groups in my head that others might not see. But what’s interesting is how during this big debate about whether or not bands should really be striving for an original and unique sound I am basically reviewing NÃ ttsol’s new record and Galar’s new albums side by side. Like NÃ ttsol, Galar is a young Norwegian band that is working in the footsteps of Ulver. Released by Dark Essence Records, Til Alle Heimsens Endar (“Until the End of All Worlds”) is the second album from the band, whose first record Skogsvad was released in 2006 and I, incidentally, have never heard it. The record itself is based on the work of Snorri Sturluson’s “Heimskringla”.