“Arizona’s Spirit Adrift, a one-man doom machine featuring the talented voice, musicianship, and songwriting of one Nate Garrett, dropped a promising debut last year with Chained to Oblivion. Just a hair over a year later, Garrett returns with a fully fleshed-out band, a slightly altered sound, and a new album in Curse of Conception.” Those adrift are not always lost.
“Their catchy-as-fuck 2015 debut, As Daylight Breaks, was the first. Then, last year’s “meh” Mirrorworld. And, now, Magic. Math ain’t my strong-point, but that should make three albums in three years. Sure, Vardan releases a baker’s dozen on an annual basis, but groups like Serious Black? I didn’t think it was possible—nor should it be. But, by god, here it is. Unfortunately, the intense schedule for releasing full-length albums on a yearly basis is starting to show. Since the debut, quantity over quality has been the name of the game for Urban Breed and co. Which results in a Serious Black bummer. ” The strings are showing.
“Everyone and their second cousin (twice removed) knows by now that there’s a glut of one-man black metal bands. You have a guitar, a barely functional computer, a mic, and some time to kill? That’s a perfect recipe to stave off boredom for at least a few months (or days, if you’re Vardan). One-man doom metal, though? That requires some serious time, dedication, and at least a decent knowledge of every instrument possible.” Bring forth the sad loner!
“Do you remember what life was like prior to 2015 B.V. (Before Vardan)? Back when the phrase “monthly visitor” meant something radically different than black metal’s most notorious one-man sweatshop, the busiest man in black metal was Ukrainian pagan mastermind Yaromisl and his own one-man machine, Zgard.” C’mon boys, it’s not a competition. You’re both totally obscure.
“There’s always risk involved when you reach into the Grymm Grab Bag™. Sometimes, I unearth gems that impress and floor me, and then I get those that just don’t even. I can say with absolute confidence that I’ve never pulled a release from not only a new band, but also from a new label, and that is exactly what I grabbed this week.” Grymm likes to gamble.
“There’s such a thing as too much of a good thing. Imagine if Agalloch had released Pale Folklore, The Mantle and Ashes Against the Grain over a four-month period. These are all great albums and given time, you can appreciate every glorious nuance that makes them the timeless beauties they are. But over such a condensed period, crammed together, each vying for your attention, you appreciate absolutely nothing and eventually they gather dust. This is the problem that plagues the “busiest man in black metal.”” Enjoy of deep catalog.
“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.
“”Do you realize that if you fall into a black hole, you will see the entire future of the Universe unfold in front of you in a matter of moments and you will emerge into another space-time created by the singularity of the black hole you just fell into?” Neil deGrasse Tyson probably didn’t picture those words describing the unfolding, infinity of one-man black metal artist Vardan’s latest journey into heartbreak and isolation, but they certainly do.” Black holes, ESL failures and a one man black metal act with awful corpse paint. It’s all here, folks.
