“The lines are so blurred now. To a large extent, gone are the days when you could look at the geographical location of a band and know exactly what they had in store for you. Nobody made the death of the old order clearer to me than an obscure band operating out of the rural mining areas of Bergslagen, Sweden going under the chic moniker of Murg.” I hate those blurred lines….
“Much like rap-rock legends 8ball, Galar got dynamics. A lazy person might describe Galar’s music as “what Windir would sound like if they were a bit sadder, less widdly, and exchanged the cheesy synths for real instruments.” To be fair though, there’s more to them than that.” Need more black in your diet, maybe Galar is for you?
“When further listening to Skym and reading everything the good folks at Hammerheart sent our way about Kjeld, I was surprised. Not in the “huh, neat” way, but in Keanu Reeves’ infamous “whoa” way.” We didn’t see this one coming.
“As 2015 makes her grand and stately entrance, bear with and support me as I try to hunt down even more new blackened death metal albums that sound exactly like Septicflesh.” Madam X has her foibles, but she also has plenty of quirks. Join her as she unveils a Top Ten(ish) list sure to bumfuzzle and befuddle.
“Taake are back and pimping their Norwegian black metal wares as only the gloriously bare chested Hoest can do! Yes you read right, it seems the obligatory three year wait since the release of Noregs Vaapen is over and it’s time for the sixth and newest “exciting” chapter in the band’s extensive catalogue. So what of it?” Bare chested bravado only goes so far in black metal, even if Madam X appreciates it more than most.
“When you consider the type of metal associated with Greece, your mind probably jumps to some of the more well known outfits like symphonic death giants Septicflesh or extreme metallers Rotting Christ. You’re not too far off here, Varathron not only shared members with Rotting Christ, but their early albums are considered cornerstones of the Hellenic black metal stage, alongside the releases of Necromantia and the other aforementioned leaders.” Madam X continues her stalking crusade against Septicflesh and all things Greek despite the restraining order from Sparta.
“With a career spanning a near lifetime (20-years to be exact), Kampfar refuse to sit squarely in any one particular niche. They shamelessly delivered their self-titled EP, Mellom Skogkledde Aaser and Fra Underverdenen as part of their first creative wave, hitting you up with old school black metal with the typical raw traditionalism you’ve come to expect of a two-man Norwegian act. When that didn’t translate into a particularly nifty live performance, more members were added and the the band forged ahead with with their second creative wave delivering Kvass and Heimgang….” Madam X surfs the waves of black metal as brought to you by Kampfar. But is their next wave worth catching?
“With a hefty eight years under their bullet belts since the release of WW, Gehenna make their long-awaited return with their latest funeral doom offering… uh no wait, scratch that! It’s most definitely snow-capped, Norwegian, black metal following in the same general direction as say Taake or Urgehal. With a hulking eight year wait, I was holding my breath in expectation of a funereal dirge at the very least…” Madam X thought these cats were long dead and buried and since she loves listening to funeral music, she’s a bit put out that they’ve come back from the Great Beyond. Regardless, she’s a professional so she does her job and gives some grim analysis.
“I don’t know what’s more unusual — the fact Satyricon are still around or the fact that one of the most pivotal Norwegian black metal bands are signed to Roadrunner. It’s probably fairer to judge the band by their merits instead of their label, and their laurels are notable. With such 90s classics as Dark Medieval Times and Nemesis Divina still held as black metal masterpieces even now, it’s hard to question their relevancy to black metal history. They’ve also had some arguably decent albums in the past decade too, but what about now and how does their self-titled LP stand up to its forbearers?” Noctus delves into one of the most anticpated albums of the year and let’s us all know if these evil wood trolls still have the dark magic of olden days.
For every Velvet Darkness They Fear or Something Wicked This Way Comes or Blackwater Park or Nightfall in Middle-Earth there is a Theatre of Tragedy or Iced Earth or Orchid or Blind Guardian – records mediocre compared to the things that would come (or even just straight up mediocre). I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I wanted to put together some of my personal favorite debut albums. Records that kicked ass out of the gates, and in some cases were really the best material that the band ever even produced. So here, filling up the July lull in releases, is another Top 5 list. Now it’s true that I’ve left off some records that I thought of adding (it would probably be a Top 10[ish] list that’s needed), so don’t get your panties in a bunch when you don’t see Cynic or Entombed on here. ‘Cause those are great records, but they’re not my favorites.
