Summoning

Hand of Kalliach – Corryvreckan Review

Hand of Kalliach – Corryvreckan Review

By Eldritch Elitist on March 9, 2024 in Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 25 comments

“A Scottish husband and wife duo, Hand of Kalliach is self-described as melodic death metal that is interwoven with Celtic and Gaelic folk music and has been making wholly distinct music defying implied genre confines since 2020. Their yet-brief existence has already spawned an independent EP and LP, and now a sophomore full-length under the Prosthetic Records banner. Swift underground successes and unique sonic signifiers are all well and good, but when it comes to Corryvreckan, does innovation translate to a worthwhile listen?” Marriage Metal!

Suotana – Ounas I Review

Suotana – Ounas I Review

By Twelve on March 26, 2023 in Reviews, Melodic Black Metal, 44 comments

“Finland—is there something in the water? Is the air cleaner, the skies bluer, the nighttime cooler? Really, I don’t know what it is, but when you put the words “Finnish” and “black metal” together, the result is, on average, just better. And no, I don’t have stats to back this up, and I don’t plan on finding any either. All I’m going to do here is explain that between that cover over there and that country over there, I have unreasonable expectations for Ounas I, the fourth full-length release from Finnish melodic black metal act Suotana.” Fin living.

Noctule – Wretched Abyss Review

Noctule – Wretched Abyss Review

By Dear Hollow on June 3, 2021 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 36 comments

Serena Cherry has a knack for melody. In her storied career with Svalbard, the charismatic vocalist and guitarist has co-written and performed a decade of melodic hardcore tinged with post-hardcore, post-metal, and black metal. Now, Cherry tries a little something different in her new solo project Noctule, hoping to “spread her dragon wings and take off in an intriguing musical direction on her own. A labor of love and isolation, Cherry composed and recorded the Noctule debut while in the UK Coronavirus lockdown. Opposed to the melodic hardcore leanings of Svalbard, she now bets it all on black in blackened release Wretched Abyss, an album themed after the popular RPG Skyrim.” Dragon, why do you cry?

Toadeater – Bit To Ewigen Daogen Review

Toadeater – Bit To Ewigen Daogen Review

By Dear Hollow on September 29, 2020 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 27 comments

“I see you sitting there, sipping coffee all judgmentally or taking a condescending dump on your break. You’re expecting the ol’ standby, but you ain’t gonna get it. You’re expecting me to call out that name Toadeater. Trust me, I know, it’s like a Princess and the Frog situation gone horribly wrong. But if you think I’m gonna rant, you’re wrong, buckaroo. Metal band names may be the first line of defense to size up the fortitude of your next blackened opponent, but I have the upper hand here.” Toad the wheat croquette.

Horn – Mohngang Review

Horn – Mohngang Review

By Dear Hollow on May 23, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 24 comments

“It’s neat seeing a progression of an artist across a project’s discography. From Anathema’s death/doom to prog-rock stylings, Ahab’s crushing funeral doom to, like, pretty funeral doom, to the deathcore to symphonic black metal to straight-up black metal of Abigail Williams, it shows true growth and maturity to acknowledge the past while stepping into the future. Today’s is German act Horn, comprised of sole member Nerrath, a prolific pagan black metal act with two demos, eight full-lengths, and an EP since 2002.” Change is in the air.

Old Corpse Road – On Ghastly Shores Lays the Wreckage of Our Lore Review

Old Corpse Road – On Ghastly Shores Lays the Wreckage of Our Lore Review

By Dear Hollow on May 18, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, 18 comments

“”I’m gonna take my hearse down the Old Corpse Road, I’m gonna… hooooowl ’til I can’t no more.” I’m running out of decent black metal introductions. Like, how many dead horses do I have to beat in order to get across that, gee whizz, ye fuckwads, it’s another black metal album. I guess I could go into how these Brits are somewhere in concept between Winterfylleth and Primordial, but I don’t know, that sounds as fresh as quarantine-old crackers on top of that soup that’s been “aging like a fine wine” at the back of my fridge.” Corpse in the water.

Golden Ashes – In the Lugubrious Silence of Eternal Night Review

Golden Ashes – In the Lugubrious Silence of Eternal Night Review

By Dear Hollow on May 16, 2020 in Reviews, Ambient, Atmospheric Black Metal, 13 comments

“Black metal is great at it, as its entire purpose is to conjure blasphemous and decrepit images of icy forests and iconoclastic rituals, but there are twists to your snow-crusted Norwegian fjords and the sounds of Hail Satans: Austere’s desolate Australian deserts, Blut Aus Nord’s hellish industrial landscapes, and Saor’s Scottish highlands, to name a few. While images painted are up for grabs, the general consensus is one of darkness, bleakness, and spiritual desolation. But what happens when the black metal is, ya know, not that?” Bright darkness.

Empire of the Moon – Εκλειψις Review

Empire of the Moon – Εκλειψις Review

By Dear Hollow on January 7, 2020 in 2020, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Greek Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 18 comments

“Another year has passed us by. As 2019 drifts to memory, I contemplate all the love the AMG community has shown me, a now somewhat less maligned contributor to a respected forum of metal journalism, feeling the love, feeling the camaraderie, feeling the–oh shit, there’s a review due this week?” Better get to it before the Task Monkey gets to you.

Sear Bliss – Letters from the Edge Review

Sear Bliss – Letters from the Edge Review

By Eldritch Elitist on August 28, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Hammerheart Records, Hungarian Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 51 comments

“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.