All shades of silence

I was listening to Katharsis again recently and passed by their short split release with Antaeus, released in 2009 and right before the end of the band’s glorious journey in black metal. It was out in February that year, a few months prior to the amazing final EP, Fourth Reich, when the curtains dropped for one of the genre’s most hard-hitting entities at the time. 

A lot has already been written about the main albums of their discography, as well as more generally when writing related articles, which are all focused on full-length releases of bands or movements at certain time periods. I’ve done so myself as well, intimidated by the sheer amount of material out there if you consider every EP, demo or split that gets pressed today. 

Nevertheless, a few split releases always stand out over the years. I tried to limit myself to cases of just two featured bands, not more, and also looked at duration lengths similar with those of a full-length, at least 25 - 30 minutes or more. This is a crude listing of the quickest examples of this category that came to mind, and I’m sure there’s so many that could be added. Let’s get into it.

Arckanum & Svartsyn - Kaos svarta mar / Skinning the Lambs

Summer 2004, Carnal Records

I’ve talked about both these artists in the past, as I always feel the don’t get nearly the recognition and they deserve. Look at how many gems remain hidden in their back catalogs! 

At the time of release, Arckanum were going through a decade-long gap between full-length albums from Kampen (1998) in what would prove to be a later series of masterpieces in the late ‘00s, in the form of Antikosmos in 2008, and of course, ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ in 2009. 

Ornias of Svartsyn was already blackened by the gunpowder of Destruction of Man (2003), and was fueling his next assault that would follow a year later, Bloodline. A really great moment for a masterful, groundbreaking split, right?

How well these two bands fit in the same release, as well as how striking the memorability of the tracks they included in it, is a black metal wonder. The split feels archaic, authentically dark, and full of top-notch frostbitten melodies that make impossible to not be amazed by if you’re into black metal.

I appreciate the direct first track by Arckanum, as well as his shamanistic side in moments of “Ætergap”, “Frana” and “Spitælsker”. Start the whole split from the track “Skinning the Lambs” by Svartsyn, if you want a sample of peak riff work, structure and echoed devilish vocals. 

The middle-paced tempo on "Blåkullaförbannelsen" is haunting, and both "A Night Created by the Shadows" and "Furnace in Purgatory" are awesome, explosive tracks. You know what they say: if you like this, you like this genre, if not, then you don’t.

 

Drudkh & Paysage d'Hiver - Somewhere Sadness Wanders / Schnee (IV)

Summer 2017, Season of Mist Underground Activists 

 

In my article about Paysage d'Hiver's compilation Schnee (which I own original, a marvelous piece of art), I referred to their split with Drudkh as "a breathtaking mini-album also for a different post". 

 

Firstly, it only took six years for that post to arrive, and secondly, I'm not sure why I called it a "mini-album", since this split is a good 40 minutes in duration. Long for full-length / split standards, but maybe a common day at the office for the specific artists included.

 

Drudkh's side includes two tracks of evocative atmospheric black metal with pristine sound, inspired by and borrowing their lyrics from Ukrainian poems, as the band has done at different occasions in the past. Their classic guitar charge is here, especially shining through the great riffs of the second piece, "The Night Walks Towards Her Throne". 

 

The introductory "All Shades of Silence" includes stripped down ambient that cuts the track in half, separating the composition into distinct sections. For the likes of Drudkh, there's considerable outward-driven energy into these tunes, which is a stark difference compared to the 20-minute track of icy black metal that follows.

 

Paysage d'Hiver does what it always does, laying down long-form ambient black metal textures of the eternal winter in this piece. Repetitive even for the project's standards, it slowly grows into something more grandiose as the composition progresses, but it never turns its back on the outmost austere identity of Wintherr. If you let this play and close your eyes, it somehow absorbs its surroundings and you become one with it.

Unlike Arckanum and Svartsyn, this collaboration would have been harder to see coming, yet I imagine it happened after internal communication and respect of the two sides towards each other. I'm drawn to these sounds as much as the average man - isn't this artistic acumen recognized everywhere?

 

Co-released with Kunsthall Produktionen. While you're here, check out a recent, relevant post about Nordlicht.

 

Pan-Amerikan Native Front & Kommodus - Immortal Ceremonies

Spring 2021, Goatowarex

 

There are many options I could choose from this group of bands, but I'm going with the one I'm most familiar with. This is specifically due to the involvement of Pan-Amerikan Native Front, a project whose full length albums are held in quite a high regard on Arson Cafe.

 

Immortal Ceremonies is a partnership between the aforementioned and the infamous project Kommodus, which I discovered with the demo An Imperial Sun Rises in 2019, and have loved ever since. Both names have excellent recording threads so far, and have managed to maintain a sort of contained audience in the underground. 

 

A middle-paced, epic riff starts on the first track, "Sacrifices To Jupiter", that immediately recalls of Rotting Christ (yes), but quickly gets dragged in the American indigenous mud, with the guaranteed personal touch of Lepidus Plague himself. Variation of tempos, ancient black metal guitar riffs alongside a hostile vocal reverberation, including several compositional twitches to make this material even more clearly above average.

 

My favorite track here is "To Wrestle With Angels", because it combines Kommodus' vision all the more evidently. Usage of acoustics, distorted unique melodies from the characteristic middle section halt towards the glorious end of the track, as well as the main, harsher but always melodic guitar lines, it somehow manages to sound aggressive and pained at the same time.

Pan-Amerikan Native Front start off with ringing bells and a military-paced track "Kiva Flames of Rebellion", then unfold further on "Hasan'owane Breathe of Remonstration". It's an anti-Christian track with lyrics taken from the speech of Sagoyewatha, a.k.a. The Red Jacket, in 1805 - remonstration meaning a forceful expression of opposition.

Amazing acoustic guitars end the split at its final track, "Washani Stones of Resurrection", another anti-colonial piece with great references to learn, especially for one unaware of this history. Doesn't it blend marvelously with such high quality of black metal?

 

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A few more for your ears only: 

 

These are five more splits that I considered, and would perfectly fit, for this article. I don't want to say much about neither of these, in case we discuss them later on, somewhere in the next six years again. 

• Antediluvian & Adversarial - Initiated in Impiety as Mysteries (2012) | Would this count as a death metal release, for a change?
• Ash Borer & Fell Voices (2010) | Quintessential recording right at the time of bloom of Cascadian black metal, by two of its most proficient projects.
• Moonblood & Deathspell Omega - Sob a Lua do Bode / Demoniac Vengeance (2000) | The first that came to mind, but I've already talked about it.
• Necromantia & Varathron - The Black Arts / The Everlasting Sins (1992) | The best among the classics, and that comes from someone who's more into the Scandinavian than the Greek sound.
• Revenant Marquis & Lamp of Murmuur (2020) | Raw black metal, another solid take by fresh blood infidels.

The scythe and the harvest

Discovering old obscure releases with little or no recognition is a great past time of mine. As much as I like to boast about how much of this genre I've listened to, records always skip through the cracks, not to mention all the demos and EPs that I'm still, after all these years, clueless of. 

Furthermore, older releases also usually have that sound, you know what I'm talking about. As of today, we're looking at the first and only record by Athenian black metal band Mournblade, self-titled and originally released through Kyrck Productions & Armour in 2001. Actually, I'd like to write about that label separately one day (Wild Rags is another case of a brooding article) because of its approach and quality. 

This short-lived project featured a person named Arioch on vocals, not the Swedish frontman of Marduk but still someone that I found no information on, then Merkaal (Order of the Ebon Hand, and at the time, active on Nocternity too) on bass / guitars and vocals too. 

The drumming, plus keyboards, was done by Lethe, a.k.a. Akis Kapranos, a known name in Greece for his involvement as a writer at Metal Hammer, his general film criticism and also at the time of Mournblade, member of Order of the Ebon Hand and Septicflesh, among others. 

Lastly, additional guitars were handled by Pavlos Houliaras, later active with death metal / grindcore band Slavebreed. A charming line-up for sure, mainly driven by Order of the Ebon Hand / Nocternity members, essentially people heavily involved in the Greek black metal scene at the time. 

"All the enslaved nations of the East
are coming down upon, against few men"

A Tolkien influence is evident from Mournblade's album cover, depicting a figure that I would guess is Melkor, and when looking at the track named "Of Melkor and Ungolianthe", it could be that the rest of the blackened figure might be the giant spider. 

A magnificent artwork if you ask me, perfect for the time of its release and the nostalgic warmth it conveys, which by the way, has just been re-pressed on vinyl through His Wounds. Get one while you can. 

One would think that Mournblade is a purely Lord of the Rings-inspired record, but there are several different topics the band touched upon with the record, other than our favorite fantasy writer. A few epic, warlike tunes are included, like the glorious opener "The scythe and the Harvest", the clear reference to the battle of Thermopylae on "300", and"Aries", in what I believe is a reference to the battering ram, not the God of War Ares or the constellation (?).

There are some Greek lyrics to be found in these tracks, but there's also a track title, in Greek, "Ο αιώνιος πρόμαχος" = the eternal outpost, of the same content. Another clear reference is "On the Stone of Erech", which you already know, right? I am not sure if the second track, "White Wolf", combined with its lyrics, is linked to Elric of Melniboné (by Michael Moorcock) before you freak out about the choice of color. 

In total, there is a bunch of interesting themes in the album, despite looking like a stricter conceptual bundle at first, and it could have perfectly worked as one. But hey, all this text and I almost forgot to talk about the music!

"The ground tremors
And hands stripped from their flesh"

Mournblade's an excellent mixture indie pop and alternative electronica rooted in the late '90s... Aha, no! You'll get a superb production of old-school black metal that builds melody and atmosphere through  potent guitar riffs, generous fast-paced blast beat drumming in the vein of the Scandinavian winter whistling winds, echoed distant vocals and a great flow and variety of well-thought ideas put on paper / recorder.

Hard-hitting and inspired by the faster, more intense Norse contemporaries of the genre, indulging in the frosty riff work of bands from the other side of the continent, with a raw but powerful sound and all the expected aggression to back up its thematics.

In that way, Mournblade is not the typical Greek black metal album and most likely, it was not intended to be one, as it's more possible that it was composed as a homage to the northern sound, executed by people fascinated by it under a side project, rather than the main musical activities they had then. 

Other bands have also engaged in this practice throughout the years, but the reason this record managed to stay with me when I first discovered it was the sense of wonder I felt around the project itself. 

Also, there's not a bad moment here: amazing middle-paced melodies on "Aries!", Norsecore hack-and-slash on the opener, "White Wolf" and "Ο αιώνιος πρόμαχος" (including a neat clean vocal part), well-rounded and compositional visions on both "On the Stone of Erech" and the grandiose "300", dungeon synth on the last track... Textbook perfection.

It does not transcend the parent records that it praises, but that's beside the point. Who managed to do that anyway? The vocal performance deserves a mention, at times reaching the higher, more painful levels of screaming as you could almost hear the voice break.

This is the back cover of the LP re-press, wonderful:

 

Bonus mention: Order of the Ebon Hand & Macabre Omen - Two Years Standing Proud in Valhalla... 

In 2006, Order of the Ebon Hand connected with Macabre Omen, one of the best black metal bands from Greece in history, for a short split release as a tribute to the passing of Quorthon. 

 

The split had two tracks, one from each band, both Bathory cover songs: " Through Blood by Thunder", and "A Fine Day to Die". As much as I would have preferred just another pick than the latter, just because of how popular it is (and deserving, an absolute peak of a metal track), these recordings sound amazing.

 

The mini-release was put on 7" vinyl through the Cypriot label Necroterror Records, active around that time yet I haven't heard from them in a long time. 

 

Macabre Omen would continue with another split release of the same kind next year, "Three Years...", that time with a Canadian band named Thesyre. Unfortunately, I know nothing about it. 

 

But, what I know is that Macabre Omen's obsession with Bathory, has made it the project that it became. Gods of War - At War!

 

Lo-fi lowlife - D. 7

Continuing a series of short playlists started about seven years ago. 

Back then a solo venture, now as a sequence of tracks discussed within a close circle, actively brainstorming the next selection while the music plays. Void of strict genre direction.

No links, imagine this given to you in secret in an old, folded piece of paper. Does it even mean anything, or is it just words?

 

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Assault on the inner life 

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Omegavortex - Mutilation Paradise
Temple Nightside - Adrift in Sepulchral Entropy
Azarath - Sign of Apophis
Witchburner - Apocalyptic Visions
Cadaveric Incubator - Through the Flesh
Dismember - Under a Blood Red Sky
Heresiarch - Swarming Blight
Ascended Dead - Nexus of the Black Flame
Ebony Pendant - Conjuration of Sophistry Exalted (Being of Oblivion's Maw)
Saidan - Kanashimi
Ripped to Shreds - Righteous Fist to the Teeth of the Wicked

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Previous lowlists found here.

Proclamation - Nether Tombs of Abaddon (2012) Review

The final album by the Spanish war metal horde didn't diverge even to the slightest from delivering exactly what was expected, and exactly at the same manner: bestial chaos in reverb and echo. As daring this style inherently is, Proclamation had decide to fully compromise to its definition parameters with a record that sounded like their previous works, sounded like well-known war metal, focused on efficient simplicity and primitive aggression you already know of. 

It's hard to tell tracks apart, as they all move at the same fast-tempos and feature a thick, noisy production that turns the guitars into a layered sound rather than a more noticeable aspect. The few riffs and solos that one can notice are great, yet the overall frantic attitude of the record is executed well, but repeated to exhaustion not just by Proclamation, but by the whole of this genre. A ten-track runtime feels a bit tedious, it relies too heavily on washed-out reverb and sits well as a product of a stale, yet clear-cut formula. Fans of black / death metal are right to worship this band, especially as one of the voices of its more recent status and rebirth 15 years after the classics of the '90s, but that's about it. Combined with the never-failing, red-and-white blasphemous cover art, the purposeful murk and raw noise in visuals and music, Proclamation made just another standard war metal album, before breaking up a year later. Being active for a decade (2003 to 2013), the band was infamous in the '00s inside that niche's circles, and the record proves why. 

It works like a charm, given that you already are a fan and have the appetite for this specific sound. I wouldn't be able to say which Proclamation album I prefer even if my life depended on it, and despite their shortcomings whenever I listen to them again, I somehow always suggest them around for a listen. A mediocre yet acceptable blast of underground chaos.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 

All Shall Perish - The Price of Existence (2006) Review

As the band celebrates the 20th anniversary of this album with a 30-day tour and the release of a remastered version, coupled with the roll we have going on here with related posts, it is high time we discussed one of the foundational deathcore releases, and undoubtedly one of the best. I don't think I'm mistaken, but All Shall Perish's live shows around 2005–2006 were among the first instances in which the genre term itself was even being uttered, alongside Despised Icon's "Montreal deathcore" tag. On The Price of Existence, however, the band's aerobatics reached high enough to gaze over into the neighboring territory of death metal. 

Not many people picked up on these guys when they released their first album, Hate, Malice, Revenge (2003), on Amputated Vein Records, but someone at Nuclear Blast recognised the potential, re-released the record two years later, and set the stage for a follow-up that would eventually leap several bounds ahead of the already entertaining early material. Not to say I don't enjoy the debut too; I think that, for a long time, I would think of this band instead of Lamb of God whenever I heard the track title "Laid to Rest". 

As a matter of fact, though, The Price of Existence was a significant step forward in every respect, both for All Shall Perish and for the scene they helped kick-start. The production had improved considerably, while interesting themes of social criticism, the deconstruction of modern pseudo-values and ecological concerns were backed by freshly forged, heavy beats beneath the raw mixture of hardcore breakdowns and death metal-inspired riffing. Meanwhile, Eddie Hermida's voice is at its absolute peak on this album, a peak that has never been topped since. I don't think his performances with Suicide Silence match the monstrosity he achieved on The Price of Existence, and I sometimes secretly wish he had stayed with All Shall Perish all along.

The record begins with two of deathcore's greatest tracks ever, "Eradication" and "Wage Slaves", both of which belong on any list of the genre's most influential or groundbreaking songs from its formative era. The songwriting embraces a duality of brutal force and tremolo-picked melodic passages, reminiscent of At the Gates and occasionally bordering on Cryptopsy, rather than relying on the standard deathcore formula of groove and breakdown-heavy momentum. This instantly clicked with me back then and still hasn't worn out to this day. 

Hefty guitar lines parade through "The Day of Justice" and the yet another classic "There Is No Business to Be Done on a Dead Planet", both excellent pieces through which to explore the album's thematic concerns as well. All Shall Perish reveal a more reflective compositional palette on "Better Living Through Catastrophe", whose introduction vaguely reminded me of As I Lay Dying's "I Never Wanted", before moving into the breakdown-driven "Prisoner of War" and the clean-guitar instrumental "Greyson". The band returns to demolition mode on "We Hold These Truths", followed by the pure brute force of the magnitude-10 "The True Beast"—that opening pig squeal alone is menacing.

The Price of Existence contains countless signs that it was ahead of its time, with so many structural patterns, sonic choices and tempo alterations that would later be overused throughout modern deathcore. This goes a long way toward explaining why All Shall Perish will forever remain one of the style's undeniable overlords. The album slows down on "Promises" before broadening the scope of its sound on the final and longest piece, "The Last Relapse", which incorporates acoustic guitar and symphonic passages and brings this epic listen to its conclusion.

Twenty years later, the album's impact is arguably easier to recognize than ever. What once sounded like an unusually ambitious strain of deathcore has become a subconscious standard for many newer artists, even if they don't realize it. Yet The Price of Existence still possesses something I'm struggling to find in its descendants, the idea of authentic personality. It remains one of those rare records that can simultaneously represent a scene's formative years and transcend the limitations of its era. For me, that is precisely why returning to it after all these years still feels worthwhile.

The blood of tortured souls stains me
i can't bear it
we must see where this lies leading
then we'll listen, then we'll listen to
a cry from earth for changes 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Chelsea Grin - Eternal Nightmare (2018) Review

I remember very distinctly hearing "Crewcabanger" from Chelsea Grin's self titled EP in 2008, and the excitement surrounding the announcement of their debut full-length, Desolation of Eden, in 2010. Between those releases, there was a lot of discussion when that album would finally arrive and what shape it would take, as fans had little more than a short EP to obsess over. The band's reputation had already outgrown the modest runtime of its available material. A similar case was that of Thy Art Is Murder during the gap from Infinite Death EP (2008) and The Adversary (2010), though that is a story for another time. 

Desolation of Eden is still widely regarded as one of deathcore's landmark releases, perhaps alongside My Damnation (2011). Personally, however, nothing ever matched how it felt during those first years. I never fully absorbed the albums that followed throughout the mid-2010s, and, in fact, did not return to Chelsea Grin until the release of Suffer in Heaven / Suffer in Hell double album in 2022. This encouraged me to work backwards through the now grown discography of the band, making my first stop 2018's Eternal Nightmare, second release under Rise Records and the first to feature a new version of the band.

Structural changes had Chelsea Grin slim down to a quintet, with Stephen Rutishauser taking full control of the guitar sector, while longtime vocalist Alex Koehler had been replaced by Tom Barber, who had arrived fresh after leaving Lorna Shore. Barber delivers a commendable performance throughout Eternal Nightmare, including a thankfully selective usage of the famous "blegh", effective as it always is. However, the issue for me lies in the songwriting. Nearly every track leans heavily on the familiar, paint-by-numbers deathcore conventions that don't develop naturally, but instead feel like a sequence of disconnected ideas based on how we know the genre sounds like.

Interestingly enough, I would not describe the album as repetitive though, on the contrary to more popular outlets out there. The problem is more that different sections struggle to become memorable. The heaviness is certainly there, as is the expected polished production, but what feels absent is the distinctive personality of Chelsea Grin as it was built in their earlier work, particulary up to the first half of the 2010s. Tracks such as "Across the Earth" —despite its elegant piano introduction—, "9:30am", and "Limbs" leave surprisingly little despite their impact at face value. Likewise, "Scent of Evil" proceeds in a mild mid-tempo that ultimately comes across like a filler, and "Hostage" is based entirely on a single prog / djenty stop-start breakdown melody (love-it-or-hate-it).

Eternal Nightmare opens with its stronger material, at the introductory sample and the notable "Dead Rose", while "The Wolf" is one of my favorites due to its mechanical tempo and heaviness. Fourth number "See You Soon" has one of the album best riff grooves, although it is somewhat brought down by the track's sloppy pacing later. Barber's delivery shines, and some of the record's strongest moments arrive at the significantly slower breakdowns of "Nobody Listened" and "Outliers", foreshadowing the direction deathcore had took with the employment of this vital element of the genre. At the end, chanting "welcome to your eternal nightmare" remains another highlight of the album.

The professionalism is in place here in terms of presentation and assembly, designed to satisfy the genre's audience, and admittedly, anyone looking for an addition to their gym playlist. It's packed with enough hooks to keep deathcore fans engaged, but for me, there is a certain fluctuation of the songwriting level that affects the outcome in a way that I can eventually not fully roll with. If this style or Chelsea Grin is your natural habitat, I bet Eternal Nightmare is a great record, and you'll enjoy it more than me.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Oceano - Ascendants (2015) Review

Both Oceano and deathcore had entered a transitional phase around the time Ascendants was released, one that, for the band at least, was necessary after the release of the weaker Incisions in 2013. As increasingly polished production and cinematic orchestration was slowly entering the genre, the Chicago outfit has always tried to stand behind the same formula of testo-chug: lay down a set of monotonous, simple riffs and let Adam Warren sound like the apocalypse. 

I'm a big fan and own both Depths (2009) and Contagion (2010), with the former having achieved landmark status within the genre, and the later having several enjoyable tracks nonetheless. I've personally even had a blast with Incisions despite the colder response from the press ("Slave of Corporotocracy" and "Blasphemous Mask" are really great). But who are we kidding, we're talking about a band wholly hated by the non-core metal community. Another reason to listen to them.

Thus, at that point of the scene's transition and the experimentation with prog or melodic ambitions by flagship or smaller bands, Oceano slightly re-directed their hammers without altering anything essential. Ascendants remains unmistakably their own in terms of sound, but the concept moves to the extraterrestrial and a light sense of atmosphere is introduced, if that's even possible for this particular outfit. The first hint is given from the spectacular artwork by Dusty Peterson, as the record still relies heavily on dropped-down groove, exposed heavy riffs and above all, its leading vocalist.

Opening piece "Nephilim" begins with a fast-paced, black metal-esque introduction followed by a bare one note breakdown section, and the first indications of a more expanded sense of melody come with the clean guitar motifs behind the distortion on "Transient Gateways" and "The World Engine", which are both otherwise quite straightforward, as is the whole of Ascendants. The production offers as much sonic space as possible for the guitar lines to sound colossal, always keeping Warren in the forefront.

In my view, few vocalists in deathcore can pull off the combination of sparse high-pitched screams with growls that often drop to unfathomable gutturals (exactly where he sounds best for me), as well as this guy, as he alone has preserved my interest for this band even at times of listening to a lot more "perplexed" underground death metal. The first track that truly stuck out for me on the record was "Dead Planet", but there are a lot more memorable moments all around, especially at the record's end: "The Dulce Incident", "Arc of Creation", and "External Existence".

Very little is out place, yet there are very little elements that puzzle this album together anyway. Oceano consciously attempt to repetitively perform at a certain pace and variety, detonating groove after groove and breakdown after breakdown, yet there are sparks of melody that add a texture to the band's clear deathcore portfolio. Very subtle electronic layers and ambient passages give Ascendants the broader vision the band didn't have up to that point, which is evident almost everywhere (indicatively, check "Dawn of Descent").

The record includes both of the above without either of the two losing screen time, as the band somehow went for a more coherent work rather than chasing thin peaks of memorability in specific moments or parts. Perhaps my expectations were simply shaped too heavily by the band's earlier catalogue. I still associate Oceano with those absurdly heavy, almost cartoonishly violent records that first initiated my interest for this style, even though Ascendants shows growth that doesn't replace the direct force that characterizes the band.

At an interesting middle ground and mirroring the scene's state of affairs during the mid-2010s, the record retains their brutality while cautiously incorporating a little bit more expansive songwriting. It would have been illogical for this to be another Depths in 2015. A perfect album to mindlessly nod to, and easy to completely dissect if you put the "strict reviewer" glasses on. I feel lucky to have at least caught this undercurrent at its birth and evolution.

Rating: 3 out of 5

 

Annotations of an Autopsy - Before the Throne of Infection (2008) Review

One of my earliest and shortest posts on here in October 2012, was about Annotations of an Autopsy and their second full-length album, II: The Reign of Darkness. A more death metal-related record compared to the band's discography, it was the next step after a straight-up brutal deathcore / hardcore debut titled Before the Throne of Infection, in 2008. 

Driven by the charming youthful excess of that era, these British lads grew a notorious name for themselves by encapsulating all the best and the worst of UK deathcore, while being one of its most characteristic presenters. Building on the considerable attention through the Welcome to Sludge City EP, whose introduction, samples and grotesque visuals got legend status in the Myspace generation, this full-length expanded on the palette but stayed true to that circle. 

Nostalgia has undoubtedly colored my perception of this record, but I want to believe the quality, for its kind is there. Other than the obvious epic "Sludge City", hearing the different parts of "Human Dust", "Years of Disgust" and "Deities" transports me back to a time period authentic and long gone. Then, you have the rippers in the likes of opener (after the short intro) "Keeper of the Plague Lands", "Prosthetic Erection" and the heavy self-titled final track. 

Unlike everything else on the album, the band includes a clean guitar, dreamy interlude in the vein of late '00s The Faceless on "The Childsnatcher", which is definitely worth mentioning and especially how it clicks with the first seconds of "Prosthetic Erection". Anthemic shouting in some tracks (loved in hardcore, but hated in death metal circles), some crushing noise breakdown instances here and there now used a lot in slam, a lot of more direct death metal riffs, pig squealing and disgusting lyrics that you regret following when you can. 

Thirty minutes, often groovy and slow but generally in the mood of never holding back, Before the Throne of Infection has the satisfyingly primitive sense of early deathcore, despite an expansive ambition the band had at that time. The grit, the brutality and the imperfection is there, and it's perfect to bring up in a pure death metal discussion if you're a joker like me. 

I've not followed the band since 2010, and never checked the 2019 World of Sludge EP, in fact sometimes avoiding even this release due to some lyrics I find indefensible. Thankfully, the gutturals are sufficiently inhuman — brutal deathcore at its... Messiest.

Fun fact: The Dark Days EP (2011), a mini-album released right after The Reign of Darkness, has an average of 10% rating from eight reviews. A feat!

Rating: 3 out of 5

Nordlicht - Nebelmeer (2002) Review

If you're a regular visitor of this blog or have somehow landed here of your own accord, there's a good chance you are already familiar with the Swiss artist Tobias Möckl (a.k.a. Wintherr) and his involvement in the prolific projects Paysage d'Hiver and Darkspace. 

I've spent some time reviewing a couple of releases from both projects, even though a deeper dive is borderline mandatory and would be the perfect counterweight to surviving this dreadful summer. Apart from the interest in the discography, a more observant listener should have already noticed that Paysage d'Hiver material is consistently being released on Wintherr's own label, Kunsthall Produktionen.

Kunsthall has been operating essentially since the beginning of the project itself in the late '90s, almost exclusively licensing its own releases with very few exceptions (like Trist, Nordgeist and Devilgroth). What you might have missed is that back in the day, the label used to be co-ran with another individual named Nimosh, who also made music under the moniker Nordlicht.

Nordlicht from Bern released a full-length album named Nebelmeer in 2002, which is the sole and main release you'll find around. The album title (sea of fog) may have been inspired from the famous painting Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818) by Caspar David Friedrich, or it might just be a term similarity, we'll never know.

I've bought Paysage d'Hiver's Shnee (2020) compilation, which features the track "Schnee (III)" taken from a split of the project with Nordlicht way later, in 2017. And somehow, I still didn't pick up the memo for checking the latter too. It must have been an inner collaboration between the two musicians, for old times sake, but it has a 16-minute piece that I need to check out after listening to this album.

Nebelmeer consists of four main ambient black metal tracks, sprinkled with short interludes in between, yet the total length of the record is not anything like what you imagine from this description. Everything happens in just 28 minutes, but it somehow feels enough.

The pure dark ambient tracks are quite more varied than I would have guessed, often touching astral textures apart from the obvious wintry ones. I thoroughly enjoyed the moments of pure black metal, where Nordlicht focuses on riffs that don't shy away from repetition and aggression, sometimes even in the vein of Hate Forest.

This is especially clear on the first track "Winterweg", as a more traditional raw / atmospheric black metal pattern is adopted for the spacey followers "Nebelhall", and "Herbstrot". Wonderful piano segments can also be found around in their most exhausted form, as sometimes employed in Nortt, or yes, Paysage d'Hiver.

Vocals are high-pitched, distant and almost echoed, while drums are stripped down to the most basic form of monotony, almost as if they stand on the side for the rest of the instrumentation. The record has the infamous underground black / death metal distortion of its time and actually even earlier, as it would totally fit somewhere in the '90s too.

One of the moments I found the most interesting is the eerie guitar melodies of the last track "Nebelherr", followed by middle-paced offbeat riffing and some clean vocals. Nebelmeer may try to present itself as minimal, but there's surprising variation in such a short total length.

Of course, it's for fans only, and especially people into the music of the aforementioned bands from Switzerland. Even after all these years of frequent digging and searching, I somehow completely ignored the existence of this project or this album, until just a few days ago. Better late than never.

Kunsthall Produktionen

Sallow Moth - Hydrophilous Brood (2026) Review

I discovered Sallow Moth through last year's Mossbane Lantern, a truly captivating exercise in tech and prog death metal whose complex songwriting set it apart from the genre's overcrowded landscape. It also somehow marked a rebirth for the project, which had limited its activity between 2022 and 2024, but since then Garry Brents has been quite active. Hydrophilous Brood arrives less than a year after its predecessor, a short turnaround considering the ambition of both records. Sallow Moth consists of Brents, also the driving force behind Gonemage, Demon Sluice, and formerly Cara Neir, joined by Hypaethral / Sanguinary Consummation drummer, Alen Gingerich. Two minds are better than one.

An enchanting cover artwork serves as an apt gateway into the album's bizarre sci-fi mythology. Hydrophilous Brood continues the thematic touch established on Mossbane Lantern, transporting the listener to the realm of Pamugara, a world where living organisms are constantly reconstructed into new hybrid species. Each track expands upon artifacts introduced in the previous record, exploring the unpredictable transformations left in these relics' wake. Expansive enough to sustain an entire fictional universe, one can only hope its potential beyond music may be realized.

The record delivers a staggering display of mixing brutal / tech death metal, recalling the mastery of Deeds of Flesh and Mortal Decay, but the projects freely pushes additional elements from progressive, jazz, and dissonant experimentation as well as surreal atmosphere into its mix. Being one of the record's most direct tracks, opener "Nebulous Appendages of Vacillant Seafoam" explodes into a whirlwind of animated riffing, relentless tempo shifts and flashy tempos, but any sense of familiarity dissolves midway through "Distended in Panglacial Advent". As soon as textural distortion is introduced in that second track, Sallow Moth fall back to it frequently for the rest of the album. 

Engagement with juggling seemingly incompatible ideas is what characterizes Hydrophilous Brood more than tending to traditional death metal songwriting, and such moments are integral components to the album's unconventional flow. Impressive guitar work unfolds on "Driftmoth Vivisector" with its unsettling noisy outro, as "Biohybrid Virulence" and "Arcane Benthic Umbilicus" are wonderfully connected by a similar, alienated experimental dark ambient interjection, yet one couldn't say the riffs themselves are any easier to follow. The latter especially is a track that Sallow Moth go even deeper into abstract jazz and the vocals dive into the abyss of Artificial Brain-like growling. How fitting!

On the last few tracks, Hydrophilous Brood ventures more into the avant-garde with "Polymorphic Gnaw" (one of the record's most baffling pieces), the prog-driven title track and the adventurous "Serene Aqueous Leech". Passages here still resemble death metal but there are multiple layered arrangements that are easy to miss if you just have this playing in the background. Through a foundation rooted in classic death metal, but seasoned with considerable measures of prog insanity, hints of brutality as in Wormed, of unpredictability as in Cephalic Carnage, of tech-prowess as in Decrepit Birth, you're definitely the weird person of the party if you get this right away. 

Release: July 24th, 2026 | Willowtip Records
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Website: Facebook

Nargaroth - Apocalyptic Steel (2026) Review

Believe it or not, one of the defining moments in my relationship with black metal came the first time I heard Nargaroth's Jahreszeiten, and specifically the repetitive riffing on the last track, "Winter". This was my introduction to this band, before I knew of their earlier, more notorious records, as well as before many of the genre's foundational names. This kind of monotonous melodic austerity captured what I found to be essential in black metal, and shaped how I continue to appreciate it today. 

Through the 2000s, Nargaroth had a remarkably consistent catalog of releases, but the following decade felt emptier. Era of Threnody left me largely indifferent, and I sort of lost connection to Kanwulf's (now Ash's) musical activities. Nine years later, Apocalyptic Steel arrives curiously as it diverges from the band's established character, yet consists of material that is anything but new. According to the band, the album was initially recorded in the United States back in 2014, only to receive newly recorded drums and decade later and finally being presented in its complete form in 2026.

Rather than drawing mainly from black metal, Apocalyptic Steel embraces the traditions of classic heavy metal and old-school death metal, through Ash's own personality and his attachment to home and heritage, as well as his lifelong devotion to straightforward heaviness. Gone are the skeletal riff cycles like on "Winter", the melancholic interludes, and the monochrome visuals. In their place stands an unabashed tribute to traditional metal, expressed through two of its all time favorite words: apocalyptic, and steel.

Even the song titles quickly reveal a new perspective. "Metalheart" can't avoid inviting comparisons to Accept's landmark 1985 album, while "I Drink Alone" inevitably made me wonder how George Thorogood & The Destroyers had found their way into Ash's record collection. Whether intentional or not, the track is one of the album's most aggressive, alongside the title track and "Twisted Steel" on the record's first half. Despite the overt framework, I still detect a clear black metal instinct embedded in the guitar lines, yet the death metal influence is also evident, recalling the militant aggression of bands like Deicide and Angelcorpse.

The first moment of a broadened palette comes with "Dresden", whose restrained clean vocals stand out in the album, yet naming a track after a city is not new even within black metal (remember, e.g. Shining's Halmstad). Tha pace is eased considerably towards the closing stretch of Apocalyptic Steel, as "Shelter the Faithless" moves in modest, mid-paced tempo and "Man of Mayhem" frequently shifts between anger, clean chord progressions and slower passages — a title I seriously hope is a node to Sons of Anarchy, since Ash is also probably into the motorcycle culture.  The record ultimately amounts to a grand finishing with "Requiem Germania" (completely sung in German), clearly the most epic composition on here.

What makes Apocalyptic Steel an interesting case is not the stylistic departure from a stricter black metal border, but the feeling that Nargaroth has finally managed to express Ash's personal experiences and vision without any limitation in terms of approach. You can hear all his influences on the record, without missing a certain appeal to the elements that most fans have been used to hear from him over the decades. Yet, we may inevitably long for the stark, repetitive melodies that first drew us into the band. Nargaroth of today might not feel pressured to satisfy that particular craving, but it's all in all an honest and respectable return to action from one of black metal's most familiar names.

Release: June 26th, 2026 | Season of Mist Underground Activists
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Website: Facebook 

Vafurlogi - Gneisti af eldi Guðs (2026) Review

We're no strangers to the glory of the Icelandic black scene, which has always aimed for production of music with ever-present ferocity, and continental significance. Most of the bands active during the previous decade dominated my playlists of favorites, some of which I still consider recordings or such magnitude that elevates the whole genre. 

One could argue that one of the perpetrators of the movement was Svartidauði with their earliest demos in the mid 00s, then continued by numerous impressive bands, such as Sinmara and their 2014 debut, Aphotic Womb, as well as the more well-rounded continuation, Hvísl stjarnanna (2019).

Both bands have been totally silent for the last few years, but one of the masterminds behind them, Þórir Garðarsson, has moved on to new avenues of exploration with a project named Vafurlogi. In 2024, I naturally checked the debut, Í vökulli áþján, but I almost missed the musicians involved in it, and the realization struck me while listening to the music instead. Having missed the heavyweight black metal sound from Iceland, it was a revalation to listen to that record, and I was now way more aware of the situation once Norma Evangelium Diaboli surprise-announced the follow-up, Gneisti af eldi Guðs.

Alongside Garðarsson stands the drummer of Beneath (and later Ophidian I), Ragnar Sverrisson, the guitarist of Nyrst, and Samúel Ásgeirsson (Volcarona) on additional guitars / vocals, forming a massive line-up well-versed in the sacred melodies of the Northern fire. Familiar patterns emerge everywhere in the album, the characteristic touch of both Svartidauði, and more clearly Sinmara, is everywhere, yet Vafurlogi acts with its own malice.  

Gneisti af eldi Guðs includes seven tracks and a total of almost 49 minutes of dynamic, compositionally intelligent black metal, which has spread its wings further than its predecessors. Melody and aggression are employed in equal measure, while overwhelming the tracks with either is avoided. The crystalline production enhances the album's depth and effectiveness, as the music is truly conveyed in a substantial, terrifying manner. 

There's no lack of interesting shifts all throughout, and potent melodic passages are often rightfully put on the pedestal, essentially outlining how a striking Icelandic black metal album feels like. Gneisti af eldi Guðs opens with a sustained assault across "Af heilagri heift", "Þegar rykið sest", and the self-titled track, which all had me celebrating that the most dominant black metal sound in recent years is back. The guitar work continues on grinding out chromatic descents in "Að handan" and "Vitjun", where Vafurlogi reveal more of their textural range and nicely incorporate epic dual shouting / low-shrieking vocals at a couple of moments. 

Longer pieces are featured towards the end of the album, first carrying a slight change in tempo during the malevolent clean guitar melodies of "Úr himinsölum", and secondly on the record's clear highlight, the 10-minute finisher "Earthy Vestiges". The only English-versed track on the album, it showcases the band at its widest form, takes its time to quiet down in mostly mid-paced rhythm. Especially notable is the piano section at the end of the piece, nocturnal and melancholic remidnign me of the haunting aura of another track, "Audhumla" by Den Saakaldte, even though way more cleanly pronounced here. 

Ecclesiastical transgression with climactic intensity, a wealthy melodic ecosystem and a vivid call to spiritual rebellion, as Vafurlogi appear fully locked in with Gneisti af eldi Guðs. I've kept the Icelandic scene under close inspection during the '10s, and have missed a little bit of more activity after that, yet sparse remarkable releases every now and then make me think, the beast is there, but in hibernation. Maybe not anymore. A big win here.

Release: June 26th, 2026 | NoEvDia / Oration
Website: Facebook
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Saidan - Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory's Wrist (2026) Review

This act has caused significant turbulence within the scene since its formation only a few years ago, yet in that short span it has already assembled a quite formidable catalogue of full-length albums. Saidan's frenetic brand of black metal, amplified by overwhelming melodicism and blended with the dismal aura of Japanese horror, has grown a large audience through the effectiveness of its riffing and mercurial style of songwriting. Evolution has been evident throughout their entire discography, with each release surpassing the last.

While I have not discussed the project on this blog that much before, I have been consistently impressed by their sound and quickly started treating it as essential listening in the current scene. Saidan's greatest strength lies in the ability to construct melodic yet relentless black metal, in which the guitars are the clear centerpiece. Anyone familiar with previous works recognizes how easily they establish memorable motifs that quickly hook the listener into the band's world.

On Fangdriller, an even stronger inclination towards uplifting strains of melodic black metal can be noticed. The guitars soar continuously alongside rapid-fire drumming and piercing screams, all framed by a relatively clean production. I say relatively, because there's always a slight added noise in the background, yet the compositions themselves often tend to power metal territory, abandoning much of black metal's inherent darkness. Hard-hitting, fast-paced passages here are closely linked to heavily symphonic, power or melodic death, keeping tension as Saidan always does.

I've come across numerous bands with a black metal cloak, that actually experiment with a wider variety of emotional registers, and this record comfortably orbits that same sphere, while remaining vastly rich in guitar action from beginning to end. Signs of broader experimentation emerge in the brief drum and bass patters of "Rapture (I'll Wait for You)" and "Womb of Hatred", or the cleaner instrumentation on "Kara No Bara", showing how the band has grown noticeably restless since 2024 and Visual Kill.

I did not identify many truly ominous moments, save for the magnificent symphonic black metal track "Stained Glass Sin // Fang Driller", particularly its slower middle section, or parts of "Beat to Death". The latter features a surprisingly jam-driven passage, where Saidan once again test fully new patterns to their music. You'll enjoy the celebration of exuberant melodies on tracks such as “Razorblade Temptation”, “Immersed By Eternity's Blade”, and “Ethereal Blood”, carrying the band further out of black metal. Even then, nothing will prepare you for the washed-out, acoustic, clean-vocal grunge outro "Mortuary".

What might be interpreted as ambition is what feels to me another step closer to a sound more aligned with Saidan now, who have decided to embrace all their influences rather than remain constrained to a specific genre's framework. Inevitably, this will invite criticism, but to me, Fangdriller represents how this band truly wants to sound like. Congratulations for never spending a minute to sit down.

Release: June 19th, 2026 | Avantgarde Music
Rating: 4 out of 5
Website: Facebook

Devourment - Pious Impiety (EP, 2026) Review

After a seven-year void, Texas pioneers of brutal death metal, Devourment, have returned with a surprise new 12-minute EP that emphatically proves they haven't diminished an ounce of their purpose: absolute heaviness. The '10s saw the band releasing two albums with fairly different responses from the audience, yet I fully enjoyed both Conceived In Sewage (2013) and Obscene Majesty (2019), the latter being of course better.

 As with everyone else, I didn't see Pious Impiety coming, a three-track 7" of the band's relentless, trademark slabs of slam death, heavy in a way that suggests the band can take any kind of hiatus they want and still remain on point afterwards. 

The EP is direct and destructive, a blasphemous incantation of inverted divinity in the form of staggering grooves, deep cave growling and a suffocating sound production. Opening with the self-titled track and a quote which, I think, is from The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), "we are the ones who dwell within - and I am Lucifer, devil in the flesh", Devourment's strictly pressed palette instantly explodes with the familiar devastating riffs and repetitive, machine-gun drums. 

Tempo changes from fast to middle-paced across the whole track, as "Mortiferous Dependency" continues the assault with a little bit of space for more compositional nuance, but always within the context of brutal death metal's logic. "Advanced Stage Decomposition" closes the EP with some of its heaviest moments, even offering seconds for brief oxygenation towards the end. 

For sure, this release is also partially meant to promote the band's upcoming Summer Slaughter tour this summer, but what you're left wondering after it's done is, where's the rest? Three amazing tracks from one of the definitive inventors of this kind of brutal death metal, running close to the longest time period between full length albums they've ever spent, makes you eager for full-length new material. 

Better than nothing, it reminded me of why Devourment is at the top of the food chain, with confidence in heavy fundamentals and a perfected vision.

Release: June 11th, 2026 | Relapse Records
Rating: 4 out of 5
Website: Facebook

Goetia - Mortuary Cult (2026) Review

 

I've known Washington D.C.'s Goetia for a while now and have enjoyed their series of highly regarded EPs from 2023 to 2025, bursting into the underground scene with a sort of boosted ferocity considering a band that barely existed a few years prior. 

 

Debut full-length album Mortuary Cult takes advantage of the momentum and embraces a straightforward yet highly volatile take on death metal, influenced by the classic era of the genre's birth and the style of heavy thrash's bands from the late '80s and start of the '90s.

 

In this concoction of fast-paced riffs, frenetic solos and pummeling drums, you'll hear everything from early Kreator to Morbid Angel, and even the thrashy tendencies of Absu at times, capturing the unique savagery of the '80s extreme metal scene. 

 

On top of that, the titles and cover art glorify the rites of the occult, bringing a record so well-oiled that it's simply difficult to not enjoy if you're and old-school metal fan. Goetia appear entirely uninterested in ingratiating themselves to external conception, and instead are focused on delivering pure frenzy.

 

Mortuary Cult's strongpoint is the consistency at which it delivers. It's not a museum piece despite the purposeful traditional framework, and the tracks almost never fail to bring down the hammer across a totality of 32 minutes. 

 

A short introduction "At Eternity's Gate" brings forth fast-paced demolition a la Exhumed with "Lanterns of the Dead" and "Posthumous Execution", then Goetia slows down to expose their affinity for deathgrind grooves in the middle part of the record (self-titled track, "Earth Inferno" and more notably on the half of "Corpse Candle", the other half is crazy).

 

My favorite section off the record is in final tracks, and specifically the destructive yet remarkably focused sequence of "Bestial Tomb", "Excarnation" (the highlight track) and its transition to "Tortures in Time". The last piece "Eternal Samhain" is the longest on Mortuary Cult and burns out repetitively, ending a record that shows a deep understanding of the old-school fundamentals. 

 

I particularly enjoyed the drum work (done by Nadia Tydings-Lynch of Blood Monolith, among others), and the horror-esque but not flashy aesthetics of the cover art. This debut album is meant for guiltless enjoyment, repetitive listens and appreciation of this sound's fountainheads. Hail Goetia.

 

Release: June 12th, 2026 | Carbonized Records

Rating: 4 out of 5

Website: Instagram

Haemoth - Black Dust (2026) Review

If you had dealings Haemoth's second full-length album, Of Vice, Suffering and Destruction in 2004, you're certainly one of the bookworms of this scene. The band's run of demos and few records since the late '90s is of a semi-legendary status, yet I've always felt they never got the recognition they deserved due to numerous French black metal bands operating at the time. 

When they signed up with Debemur Morti Productions for the release of the excellent In Nomine Odium (2011), I thought things would then get rolling for them, but no — what followed was another 15 year-long silence. Today, we can finally witness the sun turn black with the project's fourth album, Black Dust, this time on Agonia Records and with a never-forgotten, unique trade of black metal malice.

The record evokes a constant oppressive aura, built upon foundations of razor-sharp riffing, relentless percussion and screeching vocals alongside frequent passages of drone / noise electronics manipulation. The terrain feels unstable, energy does not dissipate even when the music slows down, and sonic violence is present everywhere, but never feels out of control. 

A blighted ritual act of demolition, where atmosphere is hostile and comfort is eviscerated, Black Dust is a vortex of blackened entropy with harsh production that not only lives up to Haemoth's name, it also unsettled me in a way I haven't been with black metal lately, and in the same way I always wanted the genre to manage.

Flickering transmitted signals and mid-paced guitar lines set the tone on the opener "Ashen Remains", which introduces the obliterative first set of tracks, "Blood Atonement" and "When the Dust Finall Settles". Haemoth's corrosive sound quickly overwhelms the experience, as tightened riffs parade in a stomping manner with celebratory black metal radiance, followed by instrumental and heavily distorted dark ambient infrasounds on "D = IX" and "Human Defects". 

Noise detours are expertly used in the album, as in "Fragments Of The Sign" and "Void Theory", as well as the beginning and end of the final, haunting track "Stigmata". Highlight moments also include the clouds of ashen riffing of "Incense Of The Last Rite", and for me, the high-pitched short sound strokes on the majestic self-titled track.

Words like true or pure black metal get tossed around easily, but I doubt most people can pinpoint the bands that truly fall under such labels. Haemoth's practices of this long-held creed in the form of Black Dust, still feels like news spread through whispers even at the age of the internet. 

I'm glad for a little bit of more recognition from a new label, general presentation (like this totally necro cover art), and expanded musical horizons. If you've enjoyed Mysticum, Spektr or Drastus in the past, then this record is a kind of venom from the same serpent.

Release: May 22nd, 2026 | Agonia Records
Rating: 4 out of 5
Website: Bandcamp 

Grave Pilgrim - The Pungent Wine of Pride (2026) Review

Grave Pilgrim have been on the rise in the American black metal underground. After releasing a remarkable self-titled debut album in 2021, the band initiated a conceptual trilogy of follow-up releases starting with 2023's The Bigotry of Purpose — a record you must listen to immediately if you haven't already. The Oregon duo's sound is rooted in black metal, but also carries traces of Americana, folk, and a martial grandeur. Most importantly to me, it's always driven by ideas. The Pungent Wine of Pride is the second chapter of this planned trilogy connected to the Nietzschean concept of transformation, specifically revolving around the figure of the Lion. This represents the spirit that breaks free from obedience and asserts its rightful own will.

The band's titles are always so very revealing. The intoxicant of pride is examined, as the symbol of self-importance and unchecked ambition is smartly referred to as the pungent wine, a nice metaphor for the seductive nature of the hybris of arrogance. As with The Bigotry of Purpose, the record's cover art is again a portrait image, this time of Julius Caesar, who is mentioned twice in the track titles. Last piece "With This I Plough, With This I Reap" is one of the most interesting references I have seen lately, quoting a lyric from an ancient poem and specifically of Hybrias the Cretan, who lived in 600 B.C, and hardly anything is known about him apart from that weapon and power-loving poem. A piece of obscure knowledge even for Ancient Greek scholar standards, and perfectly suitable for this album.

After a short cello / acoustic guitar introduction, cutting edge blackened americana reshaped by the palette of black metal, grinding on the thrust of fairly catchy and easy-to-follow guitar riffs, a leaner flow and dry, almost coughy vocals parade on the first three tracks of the album. Conventional structure is then dismantled on the intriguing tune "The Master's Son", which has wonderful clean high-pitched female vocals at the beginning, then a non-canonical pace built on distressingly melodic guitar lines alongside barely any percussion. At the moment, as well as at the self-titled track that follows, Grave Pilgrim's tempo reminded me a lot of Peste Noire's L'ordure à l'état pur-era more accommodating sections between tracks.

Lastly, the song of Hybrias is as combative as mythos wants it to be, featuring a delightful clean string outro after some of the record's most memorable riff patterns, and particularly the solos. On The Pungent Wine of Pride, thoughts and sound reinforce each other. These songs must have been written somewhere between a battlefield, a barren field or a frontier church, being engaging and thought-provoking without overloading the listener with philosophical fanfare. I was on the look out for Grave Pilgrim since their early days, and they seem to build up the momentum with every release — excited for the final third piece of this puzzle, whenever it is complete.

Release: May 29th, 2026 | Death Prayer Records
Website: Bandcamp
Rating: 4 out of 5

Funebrarum - Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence (2026) Review

After 17 years of anticipation, the dream has finally become reality. Among the countless bands and albums of the "cavernous" death metal movement throughout the 2010s, Funebrarum's first two albums have been endlessly cited as predecessors and essential points of reference. Their 2009 masterpiece, The Sleep of Morbid Dreams, in particular (alongside Dead Congregation's Graves of the Archangels), is so complete that it almost renders further listening of this genre unnecessary. You don't feel the need to listen to anything similar once you have consumed it. 

Nevertheless, the band's return with their long-awaited third full-length record, Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence, presents them in probably their most overwhelming form to date. Aesthetic presentation is immediately captivating, with the subtly refined logo (by Turkka G. Rantanen — RIP) and Daryl Kahan himself drawing the magnificent black metal-ish, frostbitten front cover. The production is equally impressive, to a point that I may prefer it to The Sleep of Morbid Dreams. That characteristic dusty guitar tone, the subtle echoing sound of the snare drum and the sense of space between the instruments, makes the album sound more natural in execution (even though the band's earlier work had that undeniable crushing aggression). 

Vocal work has descended into a near-constant torrent of gutturals reminiscent of Demilich, and more recently, Artificial Brain, beneath of which crawl colossal old-school death metal riffs that frequently submerge in doom-adjacent necrosis. The record is also characterized by remarkably hyperactive and expressive lead guitar work, undoubtedly aided by the contributions of Phil Tougas (Worm, Chthe'ilist, Zeicrydeus, a lot more), who clearly adds a sense of heightened guitar activity. Meanwhile, drumming by C. Koryn of Ascended Dead is phenomenal, and ex-Untergang bassist Sam Osborne is also involved in the songwriting pedigree. 

At several points, particularly within the album's interludes, Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence briefly assumes the full mantle of symphonic black metal with nightmarish keyboard melodies. More than once, I was reminded of Cruciamentum in the way track parts were built and unleashed, and the record concludes with an absolutely masterful, almost nine-minute instrumental, nothing short of a perfect closing statement. For the sake of discourse, I find myself eager to elevate this album above Funebrarum's back catalog. 

Between the exceptional quality of the music and collective death metal brainpower of the musicians involved, the expanded vision and subtle infusion of a black metal flair, Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence achieves in embodying the spirit of total death. This is what the end sounds like.

Release: May 29th, 2026 | Pulverised Records
Website: Facebook
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Grabunhold - Frostheim (2026) Review

I remember anticipating Heldentod eagerly in 2021, due to the great impression I had of German outlet Grabunhold from their 2019 EP, Unter dem Banner der Toten. The debut album proved remarkable, and the band continued on a positive note with 2023's split release with Circle of Shadows, slowly drafting their own continuous landscape of Tolkien-inspired, triumphant and vigorous black metal. Half a decade after the first album, Frostheim is still characterized by mystique of the old world, winter imagery, and a higher than average aptitude for guitar-fronted melancholy in darkness buried deep, beyond all towers strong and high, beyond all mountains steep.

As with the very first demo and all that followed since, everything is in strict black and white fashion. Frostheim has a slightly cleaner sound than its predecessor, but the general approach has not deviated much from what Grabunhold has been doing so far. The record is radiant and filled with energetic riffing in its entirety, giving out a strong feeling of pagan black metal that reminds me of other German bands like Odal, or Ulfsdalir (but quite more polished). One may ultimately find the compositional source of inspiration in older legends like Windir, and whoever enjoys this work should definitely search for Vampyric Tyrant, a project by a previous member of Grabunhold.

Frostheim opens with "Der Tod wohnt in Carn Dûm", and a wistful clean guitar melody that quickly dives into a set of boisterous riffs, the first one weirdly reminding me of a motif I still remember from Akitsa's "Espoir Vassal" from Credo (2018). Of a similar mood and sprightly character is "Grambergers Fluch", which also constantly has guitar lines in the forefront, grounded in steady tremolo that runs rampant across the whole album. Third track "Der Mondturm" starts with might and main, but then undergoes a slower, quite more woeful mid-to-end section, that stood out to me alongside the echoing clean chord middle part of the next piece, "Rerirs blauer Schatten".

The only instance of divergence comes on "Über Grat und kalten Gipfel", a straight-up magnific dungeon synth track, and a nice intimation of Grabunhold's talent in this kind of instrumental music. Frankly, if they ever decide to put their heads on a pure DS mini-album, we'd be down for it. Frostheim gets lightly more assertive on the faster and more tense parts of "Schreckenszauber", and especially "In Mordor, wo die Schatten drohn". The last track "Eärnurs Verderben" runs at eight minutes and is the longest in duration, full of radiant, just about joyful melodies that stay on repeat until the record ends.

Sticking to the German language, the band's lyrical themes remain strongly tied to the world of Tolkien, and there are Lord of the Rings references everywhere. This, combined with an engaging musical framework of aboveboard black metal, makes Frostheim a clearly admirable listen. Personally, I would have welcomed some slightly bolder drumming here and there, or a broader variation across the general arrangements, but that's just Grabunhold not overcomplicating things by choice. One of the albums I'll be returning to this year whenever in the mood for black metal of impetus and fantasy.

Release: June 5th, 2026 | Iron Bonehead Productions
Website: Facebook
Rating: 4 out of 5