“Al-Khem-Me. Like alchemy. Get it? It’s kind of a silly pun, but upon further reflection, the word does serve as a decent metaphor for what Lucifericon are trying to do here. Ancient alchemists like Nicolas Flamel attempted to turn common metals into gold; by the same token, this Dutch quartet attempt to take decent riffs and turn them into vast and smoldering blackened death metal songs.” Lead or gold?
“What’s always been appealing about Deathhammer is their remarkably particular niche, one which nobody really knows they need until they hear it. Take the earliest Sodom and Slayer material, and pretend a band existed alongside them which kept more of the speed metal influence around and played their music with all the tact and professionalism of early Venom and you have a good idea of what to expect.” Bring down the Hammer.
“The appeal of Shone’s work, to me, has never been in its horizontal structure but in its exploration of novel pathways to create sound and the ways that Shone pieces novel noises together to act as riffs and melodies that produce memorable—dare I say catchy—music. How he produces a sound that’s so thoroughly chained to the physicality of its own creation. How he uses actual weight, in the form of a prison-like array of custom-fabricated instruments, to produce what, when we experience it, we call ‘heavy.'” Building the machine.
“I don’t listen to much Taake (hell, I’m not even sure I pronounce their name right), and this lack of familiarity puts me at an immediate disadvantage for reviewing Orkan. Observant readers will note that “Orkan” is actually the title of a Taake song, but the connection goes beyond that: Orkan actually consists of Taake’s live guitarist and former live bassist, who formed the project in 2008 along with fellow members of Norwegian black metal band Enchanting Darkness.” Taaking it to the streets.
“Sir David Bowie. The Duke, The Chameleon, The Goblin King. In January 2016, the world lost one of the greatest musicians it had ever known. Throughout his illustrious career, Bowie wore many faces, but even at his darkest, he retained a sultry air with his seductive voice and androgynous personae. First-wave black metal would place near-last on my list of metal genres that could pair with the Duke, but that’s exactly what ,b>Lydia Laska aim to do.” Look back in blackness.
“Guess who’s back, again: The Necromancers are back, so tell a friend, yo! A scant year and change after rocking the Hall straight to Hell with their diabolical debut Servants of the Salem Girl, the fresh faced French foursome stand at the door and knock with their party supplies in one hand and Of Blood and Wine in the other.” Muppet knows corpse magic.
“If you know Professor Black, you know he is the ultimate Motörhead fan. And I Am the Rock is his (and the world’s) ultimate study/tribute to one of the greatest bands ever.” We are the Black crew.
Chris Black (A.K.A. Professor Black) is an entire music scene unto himself. He’s played with Pharaoh, Superchrist and Nachtmystium as well as being the founder of Dawnbringer, High Spirits and Aktor. Now he’s releasing not one, not two, but three new albums under the Professor Black brand, all on the same day, all with vastly different styles and intents. Because I’m powerful and full of Viking ape rage, I took Sunrise, which is a lovingly trve ode to Bathory’s Viking era, as well as classic metal artists like Running Wild and W.A.S.P.” Black for the Viking attack.
“Chicago legend Chris Black has liberated himself of labor and label and instead plunged headlong into an endeavor to facilitate all and any of his creative yearnings. Professor Black is the name and, apparently, whatever the fuck he wants is the game. As he is releasing, not one, but three albums simultaneously, it falls to me to quantify LVPVS, an instrumental project of progressive proportions.” Taking back the Black.
“The Virginia metal scene is quite impressive these days, launching a number of interesting acts into the metal consciousness. One of the bigger tickets is the monolithic stoner doom harnessed by Windhand. Led by the sultry vocals of Dorthia Cottrell, the band crafts monstrously oppressive odes to distortion and weight, taking plenty of inspiration from Saint Vitus and Electric Wizard.” Eternal wind.
