![Orphique – Consécration Cadavérique [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Orphique_Consecration-Cadaverique_01.jpg)
“Consécration Cadavérique is a relatively brief album, clocking in at just over 38 minutes, but that’s across only five tracks, meaning it boasts both a tight runtime and lengthy compositions. I generally avoid the latter in my black metal, as trem-heavy, blast-beaten repetition can quickly grow tiresome, my mind begins to wander and the unrelenting wall of sound quickly becomes indecipherable background noise. Yet Orphique make it work.” Long and short of it.
“2020 saw the overdue restoration of Finland’s …and Oceans, lost to the wastes for nearly 20 years despite their earliest music releasing in parallel with such peers as Emperor and Dimmu Borgir. Cosmic World Mother was a strong return to their original melodic black metal, tinged with symphonic and electronic elements they had acquired over subsequent releases. It featured a couple of my favorite black metal tracks from recent years which set up expectations for a successor. As in Gardens, So in Tombs has arrived but does it deliver?” Surf’s up.
“Bamberg, Germany’s Noise is a busy man. By my count, he put out three EPs under his Kanonenfieber moniker—two of which I covered here—and a very good full-length with his Non Est Deus project in 2022. Alongside that, he was, it seems, producing, in all senses of the word, another record as his third alter ego, Leiþa.” The many faces of Noise.
![Syn Ze Şase Tri – Ultimu’ lup [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SZST-Ultimu-lup-Cover.jpg.webp)
“Still on the excellent Code666 after all these years, Transylvanian Syn Ze Şase Tri’s fifth full-length is entitled Ultimu’ lup, and it is their strongest slab of driven, bombastic, orchestral black metal since 2012’s Sub semnul lupului. It’s been a long five year wait.” Wolf back.
![Morbikon – Ov Mournful Twilight [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/morbikon-cover.jpg.webp)
“Some supergroups stick close to home. An artist bursts with ideas in their chosen subgenre, and so–like Stephen King using the pseudonym “Richard Bachman” to crank out horror novels–the new entity produces something not so far-flung from the work that made them famous. Then there’s Morbikon. Ov Mournful Twilight sees Phil “Landphil” Hall of party thrashers Municipal Waste and Vrenth from blackened folk institution/oddity Finntroll join forces to birth a slab of frostbitten second-wave worship that comes complete with a deadpan v of trvth in the title.” Municipal Trolling.
“Firtan got a middling review from the gone-but-unforgotten Akerblogger, praising its atmosphere and moments of clarity but cautious of its scattered songwriting and inconsistent passages. To their credit, the German quartet listened, tightening up their songwriting to enhance its more streamlined approach. While it clocks in at quite a bit longer than Okeanos, the third full-length Marter makes the most of it, creating a distinct flow and balancing its power and atmosphere with concise performances and a lethal multipronged attack.” Flirtan with disaster.
“Back in the primordial days of this here blog, we attempted something called “AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö.” The basic idea was to select a bunch of unsigned bands and give them the collective review treatment to find the most worthy buried gems. It was our humble effort to remind folks that the metal underground is still an important part of the world of metal.” Autonoesis vs the Foul Magics.
“Let’s get one thing straight with these guys: avant-garde, avant-schmard. Unlike many French compatriots, wacky innovation is not the name of the game here. Wyrms stick rigidly to the melodic template which has been honed to a fine sheen since Dissection and Sacramentum first did their thing. Sarkhral Lumænor is about as modern as a jousting contest, and as subtle and flexible as chain-mail armor.” The wyrm you know.
“Three years ago, I covered Finnish black metal mourners Celestial Grave’s debut record, Secular Flesh. At that time, the album was released under a label which today gives me pause. That label isn’t a friendly place, for several reasons upon which I won’t elaborate here. However, Celestial Grave is now releasing their sophomore album, Vitriolic Atonement, under the much smaller and less problematic (for now, anyway) The Sinister Flame. And thus, I picked it up to give it the full treatment. I’m glad I did, too.” Welcome is a grave.
“The Route of Haeresis gave me a rare opportunity to nab a band that earned praise from the mighty Grier. The angrier doc gushed about Mimorium’s second release Blood of Qayin in 2020, comparing it favorably with Dissection’s classics. Mimorium is back with another album of energetic melodic black metal that tries to scratch the same itch as the iciest Swedish bands of the mid-90s. Many have tried this, and few have succeeded.” Theft in the autopsy suite.
