Deafheaven

Wiegedood – De Doden Hebben Het Goed II Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on February 2, 2017 in 2017, Belgian Metal, Black Metal, ConSouling Sounds, Reviews, Black Metal, 40 comments

“Wiegedood’s debut may not be as pretentious as a band like Deafheaven (hallelujah!), but it’s thick with atmosphere and post-black attitude. The sequel hints at this heavy atmosphere, but De Doden Hebben Het Goed II never lets it meander for long. II, instead, unleashes a brutality fitting to a second-wave Norwegian outfit like Gorgoroth. The amount of hate and emotion set forth from II is enough to burn a hole right through your black heart.” That wasn’t part of the deal, Black Heart! That…wasn’t…part!

Astronoid – Air [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]

By Mark Z. on December 21, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Black Metal, Blood Music, Reviews, Shoegaze, Things You Might Have Missed 2016, Black Metal, Shoegaze, 35 comments

“Fearless. That’s the word I keep coming back to when trying to describe this Boston quintet’s debut. Sure, there may be better ways to describe the music – carefree, blissful, soaring – but nothing captures the spirit of Air quite like “fearless.”” Fear is the mind killer.

Sibiir – Sibiir Review

By Eldritch Elitist on December 11, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Fysisk Format, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Hardcore, 18 comments

“Ah, another week, another black metal hybrid album. I’ve been snatching these up like candy lately, and for good reason: the only albums I’ve awarded a 3.0 or higher thus far have paired the genre’s trademark icy dissonance with a variety of other styles to great effect.” Blackened candy is best served cold.

Violet Cold – Magic Night Review

By Treble Yell on December 4, 2016 in 2016, Azerbaijan Metal, Black Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Tridroid Records, Post-Metal, 40 comments

“If you had said to me that an experimental, one-man shoegaze black metal album would end up as one of the best releases of the year, I would’ve replied with ‘Who are you and what are you doing in my home?’ Incredulity would twist the contours of my face as I struggled to reconcile that such a combination could come together so beautifully, stripping away my defenses and pouring itself into every exposed cavity.” Dental metal?

Downfall of Gaia – Atrophy Review

By Mark Z. on November 11, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, German Metal, Metal Blade, Post-metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 29 comments

“When you get right down to it, the world fucking sucks. Even ignoring the current political situation in my home country and the environmental degradation occurring globally, what really gets me are the everyday frustrations. My printer stops working. My friends don’t text me back. My fucking car gets towed because it’s parked a few inches closer to the road than it’s supposed to be. Sometimes it feels like we’re all just stuck in a mad carnival of constant digital interruption and arbitrary regulation, to the point where we either drink ourselves to death from anxiety or say “fuck it all” and go live in a shack in the woods somewhere.” Doom Shack! Rusted.

Imperium Dekadenz – Dis Manibvs Review

By Grymm on August 23, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Black Metal, 100 comments

“There’s some saying we Westerners adopted about having too many cooks in a kitchen spoiling the meal. For the most part, it’s accurate. As we’ve seen with duos such as Godflesh and Anaal Nathrakh, it does take two to make a thing go right. German black metallers Imperium Dekadenz are another duo who’ve been at it since 2004, with multi-instrumentalists Horaz and Vespasian holding firm the entire time.” But what happens when they add a little Deafness to the mix?

Harakiri For The Sky – III: Trauma Review

By Mark Z. on July 19, 2016 in 2016, Art of Propaganda, Austrian Metal, Black Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Black Metal, 44 comments

“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.

Numenorean – Home Review

By Mark Z. on July 12, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Shoegaze, Black Metal, Shoegaze, 77 comments

“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.

Entropia – Ufonaut Review

By Kronos on February 7, 2016 in 2016, Arachnophobia Records, Black Metal, Polish Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 9 comments

“I’ll be honest with you; the only reason I’m even passingly familiar with Entropia’s existence comes from their commendable decision to sample a few lines of dialogue from the excellent (and yes, very brutal) Christopher Nolan film, The Prestige. The late David Bowie’s tempered portrayal of an eccentric and misunderstood Nikola Tesla living out his days in a quasi-exile in Colorado Springs brings a wistful sort of conscience to the film’s dueling protagonists, and a story of such single-minded self-destruction couldn’t be more suited for a metal adaptation. That’s just low hanging fruit, metal bands, I’m doing your work for you here.” And we don’t get paid to do PR!

So Hideous – Laurestine Review

By Mark Z. on October 17, 2015 in 2015, Ambient Metal, American Metal, Black Metal, Post-metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Shoegaze, Ambient Metal, Black Metal, Post-Metal, Shoegaze, 11 comments

“So Hideous occupy an interesting niche for me. As a post-black group with orchestral flourishes, their sound is unique enough to stand out in an over-saturated genre, but it’s never been compelling enough to make me a fan.” New York City continues to pump out some interesting variants on black metal. Must be something in the hot dogs.