Satyricon

Dalkhu – Lamentation and Ardent Fire Review

Dalkhu – Lamentation and Ardent Fire Review

“Wow, it’s been three years since I reviewed Dalkhu’s Descend… into Nothingness? Where in the hell has the time gone? When I reviewed it, a new life had just begun for me, right when this fantastic black/death record dropped in my lap. Ever since then, I’ve come back to Descend… with regularity. Not only is it an exceptional piece of deathy Dissection but it marked a huge progression for Dalkhu. Within one release, the band morphed from the sharp—and, sometimes, unpleasant—attacks of the blackened Imperator to the polished, passioned, and death-centered Descend… As one would expect, I had high hopes for more of the same treatment from this year’s Lamentation and Ardent Fire. But, it seems, the band is incapable of sitting still.” Mud, fire, death.

Sear Bliss – Letters from the Edge Review

Sear Bliss – Letters from the Edge Review

“In my mental compendium of underappreciated metal treasures, Hungary’s Sear Bliss holds a somewhat unique position. Though they’ve only released one truly great album in my eyes (2007’s The Arcane Odyssey), they have a relatively extensive back catalog of solid records, making them an easy selection whenever I want to throw on an uncomplicated black metal album that offers a few unique instrumental twists. The band’s incorporation of trombone had always delivered a distinct sense of heavy, brassy atmosphere that effectively combined second wave tropes with Summoning-esque majesty. With Letters from the Edge, the latter has stayed intact, but the former has fallen to the wayside in favor of something a bit more absorbing and melancholic.” Blackened trombone.

4 Days of Death: The Maryland Deathfest Diaries

4 Days of Death: The Maryland Deathfest Diaries

“Anyone who’s seen The Wire knows Baltimore can be a rough place, but on Memorial Day weekend every year, things get especially brutal. Hundreds of rabid metal fans from all over the world descend on ‘Charm City’ to participate in Maryland Deathfest, and the result is four days of moshing, headbanging, and partying like it’s 1989.” Death to all.

Acârash – In Chaos Becrowned Review

Acârash – In Chaos Becrowned Review

“When a band comes out of the woods calling themselves an occult rock band, I can’t help but think of Ghost. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t particularly think of Ghost when I think of occult rock (I more think of those odd, ritualistic LaVey recordings I’ve heard) but that seems to be the way many o’ metalhead think. The silly Satanic lyrics, the soaring vocals and the doomy, gloomy, rocking, old-school riffs of Opus Eponymous are what people associate “occult rock” with these days. On the immediate surface, Norway’s Acârash don’t disagree with this assessment of occult rock but, boy, do they have a darker, blacker outlook on the style.” Ghost reveries.

Spite – Antimoshiach Review

Spite – Antimoshiach Review

“With a new year upon us, I’ve given myself a new challenge as we enter yet another spin around the sun: how long can I go without reviewing a one-person black metal album? Seeing as how that’s all we have in the promo bins every January, the answer is ‘not long at all.’ Mind you, there are some excellent examples of one-person black metal done right, with Ashbringer and Myrkur springing immediately to mind. But for the most part, the genre instills as much joy in me as watching a Don Bluth animated feature with a razor blade to my wrists does.” New year, new basement black metal.

Deconstructing Sequence – Cosmic Progression: An Agonizing Journey Through Oddities of Space Review

Deconstructing Sequence – Cosmic Progression: An Agonizing Journey Through Oddities of Space Review

“I’ve reviewed a decent amount of crappy records for AMG, and each one elicited a unique reaction. Some made me laugh; some made me cry; others still bored me to sleep or left me scratching my head wondering “why all the hype?” Listening to Cosmic Progression: An Agonizing Journey Through Oddities of Space, the debut LP of Poland’s Deconstructing Sequence, made for an unexpected new emotional response to add to my repertoire of negative thinkpieces: I was actually rooting for this band.” Fight, fight, fight for our love!

Taake – Kong Vinter Review

Taake – Kong Vinter Review

“But the ones I came back to the most were the underrated groups, like Ofermod, Svartsyn, Urgehal, and Taake. To me, this latter group has some of the best black metal ever recorded. In Taake’s case, Nattestid ser porten vid, Over Bjoergvin graater himmerik, and Hordalands doedskvad still make me dribble over my lower lip like a fucking vegetable. But, like most black metal giants, Taake’s recent material has begun to slip in quality. Their 2014 release, Stridens hus, left my throat parched and now my need for nourishment is at an all-time high. The question is: will Taake’s newest release, Kong Vinter, wet lips or will it cause them to crack and bleed?” Lip care is crucial in a frostbitten kingdom of ice.

Cloak – To Venomous Depths Review

Cloak – To Venomous Depths Review

“I like myself a good homage, but Atlanta, Georgia upstarts Cloak are a bit of a weird one. Admittedly, I’m being presumptuous by calling them an homage act but, man, does their debut album ever recall memories of Tribulation’s two-years-young The Children of the Night, and the fact that the band’s first demo dropped six months after that album’s release doesn’t help my suspicions.” Trials and Tribulations.

Urarv – Aurum Review

Urarv – Aurum Review

“Without a doubt, the darkest moments of my life have involved vocalist Aldrahn. At first, it was an unfortunate coincidence. But then his voice and his music became my go-to during those dark days and nights. Be it his groundbreaking introduction with Zyklon B and Old Man’s Child, his psychotic direction with DHG, or his genre-setting contributions to Thorns. This one man has haunted my dreams (and nightmares) for close to two decades. I’ve considered suicide as his voice rang out on my speakers and I even attempted it while listening to Thorns. Then, no more music. But, three years ago, Aldrahn came back to us with The Deathtrip’s Deep Drone Master. While Deep Drone Master was fun, Urarv’s Aurum is something else.” The voice of pain returns.

Satyricon – Deep Calleth upon Deep Review

Satyricon – Deep Calleth upon Deep Review

“Looking back on the past few years of black metal history, I’m hard pressed to think of a bigger middle finger to genre elitists than Satyricon’s self-titling of their hugely divisive 2013 album. I consider myself a Satyricon apologist, but it’s considerably more monumental as a symbolic statement than one of sheer quality; if the ties between the band’s legendary initial trilogy of records and their modern material hadn’t yet been fully severed, the act of attaching no name but their own to such a minimalist and decidedly un-black metal affair certainly did the job. Yet going into Deep Calleth upon Deep four years on, my attention wasn’t divided by that particular affair.” A poke deeper in the eye of the kvlt.