“Greece loves heavy metal. This is known. From symphonic blackness to cheese-coated dragon and sandal power silliness, they’re well represented as fans and performers alike. Now Diviner joins the eternal fight to defend the faith with their Fallen Empires debut, weaponizing a kind of traditional metal with deep roots in the mid-80s American scene.” Enter the No Dragon Zone!
“There is no greater genre for intentional anonymity than black metal. Sure, the music should speak for itself, but you gotta admit that there’s a glut of faceless kvltery going around, and I’m not talking about corpsepaint, either. Hooded robes, gas masks, ski masks, demon masks, you name it, are being utilitzed ad nauseam with mixed results. Greece’s Awe trumps them by not only eschewing with the whole mask thing, but also the whole bandmember-naming convention, as there isn’t a band photo or even a line-up mentioned anywhere on the Interwebz.” Attach the Horn of Shame!
“If you know jack shit about extreme metal drumming, you already have a good idea of what this album is going to sound like. If you don’t know jack shit about drumming, it’s time to learn.” It’s time for some schooling.
“On the hunt for some mid-eighties style hybrid black thrash packed with blasphemous Venom? Well, as luck would have it the Greek titans, Satan’s Wrath, are back in black, sporting a lineup change, and they have just such a putrid platter!” With a cover like you, you know you’ll need a patched denim vest.
“Greece has churned out some pretty incredible music over the last few decades. After one album and a few splits, Kult of Taurus arrives with Adversarial Paths: The Sinister Essence, hoping to join their brethren in the pits of Hades….” Greece is the hotbed of black metal and economic crisis.
“Greek black metal seems to earn its fair share of acclaim, be it Acherontas’ latest album, meloblack torchbearers like Rotting Christ, or the epic pagan-isms of Macabre Omen. But while I love the bigger names, exploring the scene in depth has always been something I’d do ‘one day,’ just like finally watching the episodes of Twin Peaks after Laura Palmer’s killer is revealed, or cleaning up that mysterious stain in the corner of my living room.” Stain first, Greek exploration second.
“They say don’t judge a book by its cover. But when its cover fuses the great sphinx and pyramids from Powerslave with the red sky and robots from Somewhere in Time, you can’t help but jump to conclusions.” I for one have been waiting for a Powerslave in Time album.
This post has been removed because it promoted Nazi or Nazi-adjacent metal bands or musicians. We apologize.
“Frankly, decent thrash metal has been hard to come by in recent years. Sure there’s been some gems along the way and several stalwarts and rising upstarts have dished up quality albums. But overall the genre that sparked my interest in metal in the first place has provided slim pickings. Fortunately Greek thrashers Bio-Cancer are here to breathe some much needed life into the genre with their interesting blend of razor sharp extreme thrash.” Blackened thrash from Greece sounds like just what the doctor ordered to chase away those winter doldrums.
“When you consider the type of metal associated with Greece, your mind probably jumps to some of the more well known outfits like symphonic death giants Septicflesh or extreme metallers Rotting Christ. You’re not too far off here, Varathron not only shared members with Rotting Christ, but their early albums are considered cornerstones of the Hellenic black metal stage, alongside the releases of Necromantia and the other aforementioned leaders.” Madam X continues her stalking crusade against Septicflesh and all things Greek despite the restraining order from Sparta.
