Violet Cold

Gruppe Planet – Travel to Uncertain Grounds Review

By Doom_et_Al on August 3, 2020 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Post-Metal, 5 comments

“Ambient music and metal, on the surface, appear to have little in common: ambient’s gentle, relaxing melodies are, superficially, a far cry from the furious pummeling and screeches that defines most metal. And yet, the two go frequently hand in hand, possibly because, when you adjust to it, metal, like ambient, can be hypnotic and soothing. It would explain why bands such as Wolves in the Throne Room and Violet Cold have both released ambient records, in the form of Celestite and the Sommermorgen trilogy, respectively. Now we have Gruppe Planet, a German supergroup of sorts.” Travel restrictions.

Huck N’ Roll’s and Eldritch Elitist’s Top Ten(ish) of 2019

By Dr. Wvrm on December 28, 2019 in 2019, Blog Posts, Lists, 94 comments

Huck N’ Roll and Eldritch Elitist weigh in with their own Top Ten(ish) of 2019 lists, and they have a lot to say.

Fen – The Dead Light Review

By Doom_et_Al on December 4, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, English Metal, Post-metal, Prophecy Productions, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 58 comments

“The bleak and harsh Canadian Winter has drawn us into her icy bosom. Days are short, temperatures are lower than the last run of scores I’ve given, and rain and snow abound. It’s the perfect weather for the frosty kiss of good atmospheric black metal, and yet there has been a relative dearth recently. The English trio of Fen aim to change all that with their sixth release, The Dead Light.” Fen is coming.

Violet Cold – kOsmik Review

By Doom_et_Al on April 10, 2019 in 2019, Avantgarde Music, Azerbaijan Metal, Black Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 70 comments

“It has been described as the world’s most succinct word: “Mamihlapinatapai.” From the near-extinct Yaghan language, it means, “A look shared by two people, each wishing that the other would initiate something that they both desire, but which neither wants to begin.” It also happens to be the name of one of the songs on Violet Cold’s new album, kOsmik. If you look at the philosophy of Violet Cold, the one-man post-black metal project of the prodigiously talented, and prolific Emin Guliyev from Azerbaijan, this word seems to sum it up perfectly.”

Thormesis – The Sixth Review

By Eldritch Elitist on March 8, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, German Metal, MDD Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 227 comments

“Thormesis is a band that should have been doomed to eternal mediocrity. As a long-time follower of this blog, I’ve seen similarly underwhelming bands succumb to a vicious cycle: album falls to an unwitting reviewer; reviewer, underwhelmed, doles out a middling score; band releases follow-up record two years later; reviewer, out of obligation, hands out a nearly identical score, irritated by the lack of improvement. When I eyed The Sixth in the promo pit, I was all but certain that I was about to cement Thormesis’ place in this cycle.” Rise above.

Arkuum – Die Letzte Agonie Review

By Master of Muppets on August 16, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Doom Metal, German Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 59 comments

“There are some truths which we all hold to be self-evident no matter who we are. Examples of such universal certainties include that you will breathe oxygen under a blue sky, fire will be hot eleven times out of ten, and that, one day, you will die. Most do their damnedest to disarm that last trvth bomb, but it’s the only thing Germany’s Arkuum are thinking about on their sophomore effort, Die Letzte Agonie. With a fittingly foreboding production and a staunch refusal to smile, one man fatalist army Arkas cradles that aforementioned bombshell like a kvlt and cvddly baby, singing life itself to sleep with a 50-minute blackened lullaby.”Hvsh little baby.

Skyborne Reveries – Winter Lights Review

By Master of Muppets on June 15, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Black Metal, Epic Metal, Naturmacht Productions, Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 88 comments

“It’s not exactly a secret that I enjoy of deep atmospheric black metal just as much as the next guy deems to be unhealthy, though even I don’t know where my own obsession with the sounds ov misanthropy came from. Maybe it was Maine, maybe it was Northern winter nights. Maybe it was you people, maybe it was me and my staunch opposition to joy that lead me here; whatever the case, it sure felt right to pluck Skyborne Reveries‘ Winter Lights from the promo bin after a bit of… unpleasantness.” Muppet and the winter moon.

Totalselfhatred – Solitude Review

By Treble Yell on May 7, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Finnish Metal, Osmose Productions, Post-metal, Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, 42 comments

“The Australian summer is defined by a great many things but none more so than the irresistible sanctuary of our sprawling beaches. Umber bodies glisten and preen, hot chips sting the air with vinegar and the roar of the surf is a siren that beckons with a deafening song. Those sun-dappled waves bear a deception, however, because beyond the surface of their undulating splendor belies the dark rips that drag people down into an airless oblivion. I kept thinking about this frightful dichotomy as I listened to Solitude by Finland’s Totalselfhatred, a musical cry for help bifurcated by aching beauty and self-destruction.” Fear and loathing at the beauty parlor.

Record(s) o’ the Month – July 2017

By Steel Druhm on August 28, 2017 in 2017, Blog Posts, Record o' the Month, 124 comments

“In the days when dinosaurs walked the Earth, and land was swamp and caves were home, you had to wait a long, long time for the Record(s) o’ the Month to arrive via delivery monkey. In our glorious modern age, the coveted selections drop into your laps with alarming semi-regularity, requiring only a modicum of patience. Even that small condition of service is too great for the average AMG reader however, and by the 15th of each month they lay siege to the AMG offices like a suburban mall in a George Romero movie.” OCCUPY AMG.

Violet Cold – Anomie Review

By Treble Yell on July 24, 2017 in 2017, Azerbaijan Metal, Black Metal, Fólkvangr Records, Reviews, Tridroid Records, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 61 comments

“To say that 2016 was a tumultuous year would be an understatement akin to calling the thirty-year siege of Ceuta a “brief skirmish.” For all the trials and tribulations endured, last year did produce a heady number of quality metal albums that offered some comfort for the unfolding apocalypse. One of those albums was Magic Night by one-man black metal act Violet Cold, a bittersweet hour of instrumental blackgaze that earned a place on my year-end Top 10 list. Emin Guliyev, the sole puppeteer of Violet Cold, returns with a new album entitled Anomie, except this record re-inserts vocals for a release in line with traditional atmospheric black metal albums.” One man blizzard.