Ungfell

Ungfell – Es grauet Review

Ungfell – Es grauet Review

By El Cuervo on May 3, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, 21 comments

“Ungfell launched into life with 2017’s Tôtbringære, an album displaying a singular blend of weird atmospheres with melodic black metal. 2018’s Mythen, Mären, Pestilenz developed this a little but stalled on the potential of the debut, failing to balance the punchy atmosphere with punchy music. A longer gap to write and more time for the music to stew boded well for their sequel, entitled Es grauet (It Is Dreadful) and I was keen to hear how they had progressed. Above all else, their themes and atmosphere are prized by the band but I wanted to hear music to match.” Mood over meat.

Sagenland – Oale groond Review

Sagenland – Oale groond Review

By El Cuervo on January 14, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 14 comments

“Oale groond is apparently steeped in the history and traditions of Twente, a region our resident Dutch expert told me is a rural area in the Eastern Netherlands. Releases following such long periods of seeming inactivity tend to go one of two ways: the first is that the resulting product is highly polished and evidently the labor of many hours; the second is that the band was truly inactive and subsequent albums demonstrate the lack of imagination which had previously stunted the band. Which way does this go?” groond to a halt.

Calyx – Vientos Arcaicos Review

Calyx – Vientos Arcaicos Review

By Master of Muppets on May 23, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Black Metal, 55 comments

“Maybe an album haunts you with its recollective ghosts, maybe a certain genre only dances with you in the frozen dark of a winters night, maybe that song left a scar that only bleeds when you hear the words. The marks and meanings, the songs and sounds… These things vary uniquely from person to person, but we all experience this phenomenon in some way or other. Spain’s Calyx have added yet another piece to my own perpetually expanding puzzle of music mandated mindsets. To wit, their debut Vientos Arcaicos (“Archaic Winds”) makes me want to turn the lights off, smoke my brains out, and play Skyrim til the Nordic cows come home.” Nordic cows will kill you and everyone you love.

Ungfell – Mythen, Mären, Pestilenz Review

Ungfell – Mythen, Mären, Pestilenz Review

By El Cuervo on March 27, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Eisenwald Records, Folk, Reviews, Swiss Metal, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 40 comments

“2017 saw the release of the début full-length by Switzerland’s unusual, folksy black metal band called Ungfell. I was introduced by the ever-insightful Alex at Metal-Fi who held it up as one of his best of the year. While Tôtbringære was only just shy of real greatness and probably deserved a nice write-up, I never put pen to paper. Scarcely a year later and I’ve resolved to rectify this deficiency by reviewing their sophomore album called Mythen, Mären, Pestilenz. Does it stack up?” Swiss misery.