“Bonjour tristesse: hello sadness. Nathanael — the bassist, guitarist, and lyricist for Thränenkind (who are now King Apathy) and Heretoir — focuses his attention on the oppressive realities of existing within depressing, lonely and bitter industrial societies.” Cities at night.
“Like most of my peers, I try to spread out my metal listening; variety being the spice of life and all that. Despite this, however, I frequently find myself short on new black metal. Instead, I return to old standbys; kvlt, traditional and the bravely exotic. Unfortunately, the promo sump is rarely a good way to fix this problem, as so few black metal bands are interested in innovating. This is particularly true at the offices of our friends at Iron Bonehead, an established where ingenuity isn’t welcome. Still, Australian studio-project Runespell’s sophomore release—Order of Vengeance—is at least less baffling than the last Australian black metal act I covered, pulling firmly from the Norwegian second wave with smatterings of other scenes and styles to keep things from growing stale.” Leftover Norway.
“I am a particularly busy man. I’m married with a toddler who requires extra attention due to special needs. I hold down two jobs that currently occupy all seven days of my week. And yet I do my best to hold to my commitment of contributing at least one review to this blog each week; not just for the benefit of you, dear reader, but also for the artists who pour their hearts and souls into their music. I’ve never reviewed a record whose artistic vision and intent has eluded me; good or bad, I’ve always been able to sense the passion and the love for the craft. But Dunnock… oh, Dunnock.” Little music.
“If you read my review for Falls of Rauros’ 2014 release, Believe in No Coming Shore, the score may have surprised you. How could someone sound so “impatient” with an album still give it a 3.5/5.0?” Chronic Hyper Overrating Disorder Epidemic (C.H.O.D.E.), perhaps?
‘Your daily dose of self-loathing, self-pity, and existential dread is brought to you by Austrian nihilists Anomalie. Visions, their third full-length, is 51-minutes of lead-heavy post-black depressiveness that’s intensified by stretches of sparse atmospherics and solemn neo-folk.” Ennui for you and me.
“I like folk metal. It’s best when it takes the form of black metal infused with instrumentation and arrangements native to its respective country. Saor, Panopticon, and Nechochwen are truly great examples of this. The upbeat frolics of Finntroll, Korpiklaani, and their ilk are not merely average by comparison but actively annoying. I find their attempts at inducing happiness grating and vapid. There are logically two conclusions which I would likely reach following my random selection of Atlas Pain’s What the Oak Left: delight or irritation.” Not liking Korpiklaani is like hating dogs.
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“North America has actually developed into a great purveyor of folk metal in recent times: Wilderun; Panopticon; Nechochwen; Thrawsunblat. But a new challenger approaches.” Mournful wood.
“With roots reaching as far back as Bathory, acoustic guitars have long subverted the conventions of traditional black metal, adding vibrancy to a scene born of minimalism. The last fifteen years have seen acoustic-laden acts like Agalloch and Panopticon transcend the genre with atmospheric forestscapes that owe a great deal to the Grandpa’s guitar. This evolution lit a new path through the early darkness of winter and allowed Netherbird to find fresh inspiration later in their career.” Evolve or die.
“Having first encountered Munich’s Waldgeflüster on their split with Panopticon earlier this year, I was intrigued and further encouraged to investigate their brand of atmospheric black metal. A couple from our valued community rate their work as among the best in the genre. Try though I did, I found myself somewhat underwhelmed.” El Cuervo vs. buzz.
“Having recently relocated from South Carolina (a.k.a. The Land of Eternal Swampass), the name Marsh Dweller immediately piqued my interest when I saw it on our promo list. I always seem to find myself applying band and album names in stupidly personal ways, and a moniker like that reminded me of the long nighttime walks I used to take through a nearby salt marsh while listening to Baroness and picking my underwear out of my asscrack.” This too, shall ass.
