Back in the day, this Norwegian band was derogatorily referred to as a “life metal”-band by scenesters. Especially their sophomore effort Silence suffered a reputation of being an exceptionally weak, pretentious and – above all – boring release. Although recent years have given rise to sporadic reevaluations of the band’s work, Fester remains largely neglected to this day (and some would say deservedly so).
11 CommentsTags: Black Metal, death metal, fester, norway, silence
One of many promising acts who fell by the wayside in the early 1990, Swedish melodic death/black band Sarcasm made a somewhat unexpected return in 2015 with the long overdue release of their 1994 debut full-length Burial Dimensions. Then in 2017 came their return proper with Within in the Sphere of Ethereal Minds, an aesthetically pleasing marred by haphazard assembly. With Esoteric Tales of the Unserene (2019), Sarcasm return to previously explored territories; maybe in the hope of striking a better equilibrium between the style’s main constituents: black-, death- and heavy metal.
5 CommentsTags: Black Metal, death metal, esoteric tales of the unserene, sarcasm
While primarily known for his work with black metal/noise-pioneers Abruptum and assorted non-musical activities in the – at least locally – infamous “True Satanist Horde”, it is the strange entity of Ophthalamia that remains as Tony “IT” Särkkä’s (RIP 1972-2017) greatest artistic achievement. Ophthalamia’s debut album A Journey in Darkness stood out in the early 1990s black metal-environment with its anachronistic and all-around peculiar mode of expression. In rough terms, the music can be described as a blend of black-, doom-, and heavy metal with the conceptual and structural trappings of 1970s progressive rock.
4 CommentsTags: Black Metal, Dan Swanö, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, jon nodtveidt
In wait of their sophomore full-length album, premiere Pure Goblin Black Metal (PGBM) band Orcrypt released this demo recording some time ago. Dice and Damnation retains the sound and vibe displayed on the previous effort Mercenaries of Mordor; a fearless blend of cavernous black- and heavy metal that somehow dodges the obvious trappings of such a composite. But rather than settling into a comfortable template, the band choose to approach the material from a slightly different angle.
No CommentsTags: Black Metal, Heavy Metal
When doing research for the recently published review of Godkiller’s The Rebirth of the Middle Ages I stumbled upon this earlier demo-proposal by the band. Released the year before the EP, The Warlord consists of a short introductory instrumental piece + two lengthier compositions spanning over ten minutes each. Of particular interest in this context is the second track, entitled “Path to the Unholy Frozen Empire”. Those who’ve previously acquainted themselves with The Rebirth of the Middle Ages will recognize the song by music, lyrics and title as the predecessor to the EP’s centerpiece number, although rawer in presentation. This observation is – by all means – anything but spectacular. More interesting is the fact that the demo features the song in elongated form.
No CommentsTags: Black Metal, godkiller, warlord
Before morphing into some kind of industrial hybrid act, Monaco’s Godkiller released this charming yet flawed bagatelle of medievalist melodic black metal. Stylistically, it could be described as a loosely knit mélange of early Satyricon, Emperor and Summoning if channeled through the warm, emotive dialect of Mediterranean culture. That much of the material is voiced in a quirky, mannerist voice tells us that this can only be the work of a solitary artist.
4 CommentsTags: Black Metal, godkiller, the rebirth of the middle ages
If the 1990s had a theme, plurality fit the role, whether in parallel or layers, and this influenced song composition. Bands like Enya and My Bloody Valentine tried to follow Kate Bush and William Orbit in using layers of soft, fading and surging sound on the edge of noise to create a dream state, and Havohej picks up this idea.
8 CommentsTags: Ambient, Black Metal, havohej
Somewhere in that realm between heavy metal and the underground metal to come, where Venom and Necromonicon dwelled, some bands planted a foot and stayed despite the evolution of the form. This allowed metal to branch, and it should probably be argued that this is a different genre, much as Possessed is “not quite” death metal.
2 CommentsTags: baxaxaxa, Black Metal, Heavy Metal
Furious melodic war metal band Sammath published its stream of its sixth album, Across the Rhine is only death, late last night. This new album shows the band integrating the streams of its influences from death metal, black metal, hardcore punk, ritual music, and war metal into a single voice.
This will delight those who think that metal lost its guts and balls, but also who are tired of melodyless and repetitively-structured three-chord “NWN/FMP” styled bands which hold zero musical interest for minds above the yeast level. You can acquire your copy via preorder. Blast it loud and make your neighbors, friends, family, and coworkers weep in terror!
15 CommentsTags: Black Metal, melodic war metal, sammath
Abyssum creator Rex Ebvleb disperses his current thinking through a series of side projects under the name El Nigromante (the Necromancer), and the latest of these has popped up (better than “dropped,” I think) as a project named Desolation with a new demo, “Demo 5: Ultimo Viaje.”
No CommentsTags: Abyssum, Black Metal, el nigromante, Rex Ebvleb, ritual ambient
