Watain

Enthroned – Cold Black Suns Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on June 4, 2019 in 2019, Belgian Metal, Black Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Black Metal, 72 comments

“I’ve drifted away from black metal over the years. In hindsight, the signs were there; my listening habits shifted away from the genre, I stopped actively seeking out new black metal, I read black metal reviews more for the writing than the record, and – the final straw – while browsing Bandcamp recently, I came across a record and, upon learning it was black metal, muttered “meh” and moved along without pressing play. Then along came Enthroned, with their follow-up to 2014’s great Sovereigns. Despite my ambivalence towards black metal, my interest was piqued; sometimes a bit of nostalgia and familiarity is needed to rekindle a flame.” Back to the black.

Psychotool – Rotten Paradise Review

By Lokasenna on June 2, 2019 in 2019, Black Sunset Records, German Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 13 comments

“Coming off a short hiatus from this ~~fetid cesspit~~ exalted hall, I find myself digging through the promo bin for something familiar, something to kickstart the ol’ critical faculties. Black metal? Nah, wrong weather. Doom? Certainly rainy enough to fit, but nah. Melodeath it is then!” Something is rotten in…paradise??

Wormwitch – Heaven That Dwells Within Review

By Eldritch Elitist on April 6, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Crust Punk, 91 comments

“I’m trying to be stricter with my scores so far this year, and in the process I’ve done a lot of thinking about what makes a great record… well, great. I could boil it down to some nebulous combination of songwriting, riffs, and melodic personality, but solid fundamentals aren’t enough. Those qualities alone would only result in an AMG 3.5 without that all important je ne sais quoi; the kind of elusive talent which enables moments that explode with vibrancy, reminding us why we are alive. And Wormwitch? Man alive, they’ve got it.” The early Wormwitch gets the Elitist.

Dødsferd – Diseased Remnants of a Dying World Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on December 17, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Greek Metal, Reviews, Transcending Obscurity, Black Metal, 24 comments

“Dødsferd is one strange duck. If there was a band you could sue for false advertising, it would be this one. I still remember the shock of hearing the band’s debut, Desecrating the Spirit of Life. I mean, how did this one get by me? I thought I’d heard every ’90s Norwegian black metal gem out there. After my friend realized I wasn’t joking, he gently corrected me. ‘Dude, these guys are from Greece and this is brand new.'” Contract the disease.

Sargeist – Unbound [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By Dr. A.N. Grier on December 3, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, World Terror Committee, Black Metal, 122 comments

“Like many of you, I respect the hardworking artists of the underground. Guys with main bands, side-projects, and loads of guest appearances. Black metal, in particular, is a genre full of artists like this. Shatraug is one. To the casual Finnish black metal fan, Shatraug is the guitarist for the mighty Horna. To others, he’s the man behind Gandr, Mortualia, and Necroslut, as well as guitarist for Hoath and Doedsvangr. And that only scratches the surface. The other band you might know Shatraug from is Sargeist. And their newest release, Unbound, might be their best to date.” A man of 50 shades.

Lucifericon – Al-Khem-Me Review

By Mark Z. on October 7, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Death Metal, Dutch Metal, Invictus Productions, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 21 comments

“Al-Khem-Me. Like alchemy. Get it? It’s kind of a silly pun, but upon further reflection, the word does serve as a decent metaphor for what Lucifericon are trying to do here. Ancient alchemists like Nicolas Flamel attempted to turn common metals into gold; by the same token, this Dutch quartet attempt to take decent riffs and turn them into vast and smoldering blackened death metal songs.” Lead or gold?

Bloodstock Open Air 2018 Review

By Akerblogger on September 2, 2018 in 2018, Blog Posts, Live Reviews, 40 comments

“On Thursday the 9th of August, myself and 19,000 others descended upon the grounds of an old manor house in the heart of the British countryside for a weekend of heavy metal, drinking, and debauchery.” AMG was there. Were you?

Invocation Spells – Spread Cruelty in the Abyss Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on August 10, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Chilean Metal, Hells Headbangers Records, Reviews, Suicide Records, Thrash Metal, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, 39 comments

“Two years ago, I passed on a little Chilean black/thrash band named Invocation Spells. Not because they, or their third full-length record, The Flame of Hate, sucked, but because I already had a handful of promos to prepare for review. So, when I saw their name pop up on the Almighty AMG Promo Sheet again, I knew I’d have to check them out. Though this little two-piece outfit ain’t the next generation of black/thrash, their Aura Noir-meets-Darkthrone approach—with the aggression of a second-wave black metal outfit—is a good fit for the genre.” Chile and means.

Acârash – In Chaos Becrowned Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on June 15, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Dark Essence Records, Norwegian Metal, Occult Rock, Reviews, Black Metal, Occult Rock, 114 comments

“When a band comes out of the woods calling themselves an occult rock band, I can’t help but think of Ghost. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t particularly think of Ghost when I think of occult rock (I more think of those odd, ritualistic LaVey recordings I’ve heard) but that seems to be the way many o’ metalhead think. The silly Satanic lyrics, the soaring vocals and the doomy, gloomy, rocking, old-school riffs of Opus Eponymous are what people associate “occult rock” with these days. On the immediate surface, Norway’s Acârash don’t disagree with this assessment of occult rock but, boy, do they have a darker, blacker outlook on the style.” Ghost reveries.

North Hammer – Stormcaller Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on March 20, 2018 in 2018, Canadian Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Folk Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Power Metal, 65 comments

“‘Just so you know I’ll be milking this for a long time.’ These were the first words out of my girlfriend’s mouth after acting willingly (albeit with trepidation) as a last-minute road trip and concert companion to see Watain and Deströyer 666 after the flu struck down two friends who were originally supposed to go. I knew that sitting through myriad episodes of Dr. Phil or Real Housewives of [Pick a Place with Pretentious Snobs Galore] was my price to pay for seeing one of black metal’s most entertaining live acts rampage through the excellent ‘Nuclear Alchemy’ and other great songs, and that was fine. I knew what I signed up for, and honesty is always the best policy.” Our word is our bond, until we break it!